When Xin Hexue fell ill, he lost his usual sharpness. When talking to people, his responses were a beat slower, like a cat that walks with the same hand and same foot in sync.
But you absolutely must not laugh at him.
Not only must you not laugh, you must comply with everything, and it would be best if you let the cat ride over your head.
Only then would Xin Hexue be satisfied.
However, there were also those who were rebellious, like Lu Yang. As a result, he earned himself two solid punches.
“Water.”
Xin Hexue was curled up in the blanket, his voice a bit hoarse from the fever.
Lu Yang went to the living room to get water. Xin Hexue slowly propped himself up, his aching limbs weak. His eyes, reddened at the corners from fever, looked at Lu Yang.
A water cup was handed to him, and Lu Yang asked deliberately, “What should you say to me?”
“…Thank you.” Xin Hexue said weakly.
Lu Yang shook his index finger in front of the other party, “Wrong, you should say…”
He cleared his throat and demonstrated: “Thank you, Lu Yang gege.”
Xin Hexue slowly raised his eyes and stared at him for a while, “Who is the master, you or me?”
After getting punched twice, Lu Yang felt better.
He put a cooling patch on Xin Hexue’s forehead, served him water, and like an attendant beside the emperor, busied himself finding a thin jacket for Xin Hexue from the wardrobe, saying that if he wanted to go to the hospital, he could carry him there.
Lu Yang was most skilled at this kind of thing.
“I don’t want to go.” Xin Hexue looked listless, his figure leaning against the headboard looking frail. “I took medicine in the morning.”
Going to the hospital meant getting an injection and recovering faster, but sick leave was also a rare rest time for high school students.
When sick, people’s thinking slows down, and Xin Hexue occasionally gets lazy too.
“In the morning?” Lu Yang drew back all the curtains. The sun was shining brightly outside, and the shadows of the trees stretched long, “It’s almost 1 PM now.”
“You slept that long?” Lu Yang asked.
Xin Hexue put on his house slippers, “En, so you’re the one who woke me up.”
“Okay, then I was wrong.” Lu Yang went to the living room, familiar as if in his own home. He tied on an apron, “Since not going to the hospital, as an apology, I’ll make lunch at home for you? What do you want to eat?”
Xin Hexue suspected he wanted to poison him, “Is what you make edible?”
Lu Yang was spurred on, “How is it not edible? Times have changed, a scholar who has been away for three days must be looked at with new eyes. I’ve recently learned some skills from my mom. You can make your order now. The menu is omelette rice, egg fried rice, tomato and egg noodles.”
Xin Hexue dragged his steps to open the fridge. There was a whole box of eggs on the upper shelf. He asked Lu Yang, “Have you eaten lunch?”
Lu Yang said he had eaten a fast-food meal on the snack street outside the school right after class, and thinking that Xin Hexue might not have gone to the hospital, he rode his bicycle back during the lunch break.
Calculating the time between eating and riding back from school, Xin Hexue was stunned. He closed the fridge door, “Don’t do strenuous exercise right after eating in the future.”
Maybe his stomach wanted to show support, or perhaps the fever had consumed energy during sleep, Xin Hexue’s appetite was awakened now. He handed three eggs to Lu Yang, “The master wants to eat omelette rice, hurry up.”
“Wait, gege will show you his skills.”
Lu Yang was full of vigor, seemingly unable to let go of this title.
Xin Hexue: “…”
‘I can’t be bothered to respond.’
There happened to be leftover rice in the fridge, so he just poured it into the pan, heated it up and stir-fried. The ingredients needed for omelette rice were all in the kitchen.
Lu Yang’s schoolbag was casually thrown on the living room sofa. Xin Hexue went over while drinking water and sat on the sofa.
He deliberately pulled the zipper of Lu Yang’s schoolbag open with great force, making a sharp sound so that Lu Yang in the kitchen could hear it.
The sound of the stove igniting came from the kitchen and oil sizzled in the pan.
Xin Hexue pricked up his ears to listen. Lu Yang was still humming a song, “Mimi ah mimi please believe, we haven’t forgotten you, the high moon hangs in the sky, where is tomorrow’s breakfast…”
He sang really badly.
Worried that Lu Yang hadn’t heard…
He unzipped the schoolbag completely, closed it, then sharply opened it again. This time, anyone would have heard it unless they were deaf.
There was still no reaction from Lu Yang.
Yes.
He wasn’t allowed to react.
Lu Yang wasn’t allowed to have any secrets in front of him.
He rummaged through Lu Yang’s schoolbag, turning it upside down and emptying everything inside.
Lu Yang’s voice came from the kitchen, “I brought your homework back. Only math and physics were assigned this morning, and I folded the corners of the corresponding sections in the workbooks.”
“Oh.”
The cooling patch on Xin Hexue’s forehead was icy cold. As his temperature slowly dropped, he also felt amused by his own childish actions.
Forget it.
Since Lu Yang had come back to make amends, he would magnanimously forgive him.
As for whether he would bring up past grievances, it depended on Lu Yang’s future performance.
Xin Hexue sorted the homework assignments one by one and neatly reorganized them back into the schoolbag.
“I’m hungry.”
He urged Lu Yang in the kitchen.
The spatula worked busily, and Lu Yang responded amidst his work, “Almost done.”
………
A scholar should be viewed with new eyes after three days of separation..
Indeed.
The egg skin was tender and smooth, with a bright and vibrant color, and a rich egg aroma, wrapped around snow-white rice.
There was also diced ham.
Only…
Xin Hexue pointed at the red, crooked “LOVE” drawn on the egg skin, and the solid heart shape drawn in the empty space at the edge of the plate.
Xin Hexue frowned, “What did you draw?”
Lu Yang: “Ketchup.”
Xin Hexue: “Who’s asking about that?”
Lu Yang’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his gaze shifting. He simply stood up and turned on the TV, “Doesn’t it look good? That’s how they always spread ketchup on TV.”
After saying this, he seemed hot and started fanning his T-shirt collar.
Xin Hexue glanced at him and began to eat lunch slowly.
Lu Yang then relaxed.
“How’s the taste?” He sat back down and asked expectantly.
Xin Hexue deliberately turned his head away and looked at the TV, his cheeks puffing out as he chewed, “Just so-so, just the ordinary level of dog food.”
“If you eat dog food, then you’re a dog too.” Lu Yang said, shamelessly adding, “We are family.”
Before Xin Hexue could argue with him, Lu Yang changed the subject, “Xin Hexue.”
Xin Hexue switched the channel to the news with the remote and responded absentmindedly, “Hmm?”
“I reflected carefully after going back last night.” Lu Yang lowered his head, appearing docile and showing a good attitude in admitting his mistake. “I’m sorry, actually I accidentally lost that letter.”
“That Friday afternoon, Miao Ling came to me and asked me to pass it to you. I was going to training, so I put it in my desk drawer.” Lu Yang explained while recalling the details, “I remember putting it together with the subject intention form at the time.”
But when he finally handed the homework and subject intention form to Xin Hexue together, that love letter was gone.
So he thought, it was still in the drawer anyway, left over for only one weekend, could it grow legs and run away?
Lu Yang waited until Monday to check, but he still didn’t find it.
He didn’t dare tell Xin Hexue.
He thought maybe it was at home but he didn’t remember.
“I planned to look for it again after school yesterday when I got home.” Lu Yang said, “Then Miao Ling talked to you first.”
Then the situation developed like a spark igniting a fuse, all the way with flashes, sparks, and firecrackers.
“Lin Oufei said this morning you were sick with a fever, and asked for leave to go to the hospital.” Lu Yang asked cautiously, “Was it because of me?”
“It’s just the change of seasons, I rode my bicycle in the cold wind.”
After answering, Xin Hexue’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly. He felt that even with the series of explanations, the whole matter still seemed somewhat…off.
He looked up and asked, “But why didn’t you just tell me you lost it?”
Lu Yang originally had no need to lie to him.
Meaning they could have avoided arguing yesterday.
Lu Yang stared at him, his expression completely different from usual, “If I were Pinocchio, then at least one sentence last night was true… I didn’t want to match you two up.”
Once the truth was spoken, the heartbeat sounded exceptionally loud.
Lu Yang didn’t know if Xin Hexue could hear it. His heart was pounding chaotically in his chest, like a bird about to break out of its cage, eager to soar into the sky.
Their eyes met, and sparks exploded in mid-air.
Xin Hexue’s intuition had always been sharp. He realized things were heading in a certain direction, and the path ahead was not something he could control at this current stage.
He didn’t want changes he couldn’t anticipate, so Xin Hexue subconsciously lowered his head to avoid it. He stirred the half eaten omelette rice with his spoon, and said, “You made too much, I’m full.”
“How come you only ate so little?”
Lu Yang’s attention was indeed diverted.
Xin Hexue reneged, “I told you you made too much.”
“Didn’t you give me three eggs?” Lu Yang felt wronged.
Xin Hexue retorted, “If I give you three, do you have to use them all? Add Stupid Egg, that makes four, why not crack them all into the pan?”
Puppy Rule Number One: Because it was Xin Hexue who said it, it is completely correct.
Lu Yang dared not refute.
“Then I’ll finish it.” Lu Yang pulled the plate over, “Don’t waste food.”
“Wait.”
Xin Hexue called out to stop him.
Having stopped Lu Yang in time, he told him his concerns, “I’m sick now, won’t you get infected if you eat from the same plate?”
Lu Yang said firmly, “No, eating together won’t spread the infection, only kissing will.”
As soon as these words were spoken, something started brewing in the atmosphere.
Both fell silent simultaneously.
Xin Hexue avoided his gaze and pursed his lips.
So strange. It was just a silly joke between good friends.
But something just felt off…something was different.
This made Xin Hexue unconsciously bite his lip. When he released it, the light pink color had changed. The fever caused a high temperature, making his lips look red and slightly fuller than usual.
He didn’t know when, but Lu Yang had gotten very close to him.
A force pressed against the back of his head, and Lu Yang caught the corner of his lips.
His palm was even hotter than Xin Hexue’s, trembling uncontrollably with excitement. Their burning breaths intertwined, momentarily making it hard to tell who actually had the fever.
Fine eyelashes fluttered hastily, and a thin layer of sweat beaded on the tip of his nose. Xin Hexue suddenly pushed Lu Yang away, “What are you doing?”
Lu Yang told the truth, “Kissing.”
[I kissed Xin Hexue! Kissed! Kissed! Kissed!]
His heart was like boiling water, and Lu Yang could no longer control it. He didn’t know what expression was on his face, maybe a smile, or maybe no expression at all, he had lost control of his facial muscles.
His soul was burning, and his body felt parched with fever. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he confessed, “Xin Hexue, I like you.”
Something was shoved into his hand, and Xin Hexue subconsciously looked down.
A make-up coupon doodled with colored pens.
Lu Yang returned the get-out-of-jail-free card to Xin Hexue’s hand, stating solemnly, “If you don’t tear up this coupon, then I’m going to start pursuing you.”
