Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Ji Mian’s autumn was fairly uneventful.

Until the end of December, he hadn’t had any further health problems.

Thanks to Lu Ge, during this time of year when people typically put on weight, Ji Mian successfully gained a full four pounds compared to the summer. He didn’t notice it in the mirror, but even Yi Lan asked with pleasant surprise later if he had gained a little weight recently.

Indeed, it was just a little. He was still skinny from head to toe, with no part of him looking plump.

But he had indeed gained weight, with a little extra flesh on his wrists, making them look less alarming than before. Ji Mian wasn’t sure if it was all in his head.

This state lasted for several months, so much so that Ji Mian almost believed his health would improve day by day.

But as soon as the coldest season arrived after the Lunar New Year, he suddenly took a turn for the worse.

Near the end of January, the area was hit by a heavy snowfall. In his previous life, Ji Mian lived in the south, where he had only seen snow three or four times in decades, with snowflakes that looked like large grains of salt.

Here, the snowflakes were as big as a thumb, truly a heavy snowfall.

Watching the large, fluffy snowflakes fall outside the window, he couldn’t help but go out for a walk. When he left, Ji Mian bundled up in multiple layers, but he only wandered outside for half an hour before returning.

However, that half hour was enough to knock him back into bed.

That night, Ji Mian started coughing. He took medicine and stayed under the covers all night, and the next day, as expected, he came down with a fever. The Xu family’s private doctor examined him and diagnosed it as a common cold. But even a common cold was enough to knock Ji Mian out.

"Cough..." The coughing symptoms were much milder than a few months ago, but it was still uncomfortable. His throat, nose, and head were all a mess. Ji Mian lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the bright white paint making his head spin.

Knock knock—

Two knocks sounded on the bedroom door.

"Brother, I’m coming in?" Xu Zhixia’s voice came through the thick wooden door. The Xu family’s doors were well soundproofed, making Xu Zhixia’s voice sound muffled.

At the end of January, Xu Zhixia happened to be on vacation, so their parents solemnly entrusted him with the task of caring for his elder brother.

Caring mainly involved making sure Ji Mian took his medicine and ate, as other tasks were handled by the household staff.

After announcing himself, Xu Zhixia entered the room, carrying warm water and a hefty packet of medicine. It was a hefty packet, bulging in his hand.

He helped Ji Mian sit up and handed him the medicine and water.

As Ji Mian took the medicine, his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, then suddenly stopped, refusing to go down.

Xu Zhixia knew this meant Ji Mian was feeling nauseous and couldn’t swallow.

He quickly grabbed a trash bin, thinking Ji Mian might vomit.

When the trash bin was placed in front of Ji Mian, he managed to swallow, calmly putting down the cup, and his Adam’s apple moved back down.

Xu Zhixia put down the trash bin, crumpled the medicine wrapper into a ball, and threw it in, hesitating whether to leave now. When he looked up, he noticed Ji Mian’s gaze fixed on him, very intently.

He was puzzled: "Brother?"

"On your hair," Ji Mian pointed to the right side of his hair, "there’s cat fur."

And not just a little. Xu Duoduo must have been playing on Xu Zhixia’s head, and it was clear she had been lying on the right side of his head, leaving several long, white strands of fur that shone like feathers.

"Oh..." Xu Zhixia raised his hand to touch it, running his fingers through his hair, but he missed the fur entirely.

"Let me do it," Ji Mian said, raising his hand towards him.

Xu Zhixia hesitated for a moment before stepping closer and obediently lowering his head.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room was surprisingly harmonious. In fact, whether it was Xu Zhixia or Xu Chiqiu, they never showed any signs of annoyance towards each other when they were together, getting along exceptionally well.

Their hostility towards each other only surfaced in private; in public, they never let it show, keeping up a flawless facade.

After removing the cat hair, Ji Mian ran his slender fingers through Xu Zhixia's soft hair a couple of times, making sure it was clean before pulling his hand away.

Xu Zhixia blinked slowly, processing the moment.

It seemed like ever since Lu Ge took "Xu Chiqiu" out that one time, his brother had... changed a little.

He couldn’t quite pinpoint what had changed.

But "Xu Chiqiu’s" change left him feeling uneasy.

It was like catching the scent of a sun-drenched blanket, making him want to sneeze.

To be exact, a subtle shift had started in "Xu Chiqiu" a few months ago, but it hadn’t been enough to make him uncomfortable back then.

"This is a bit out of character," the system remarked.

Ji Mian replied, "But you said you wanted me to be happy."

The system fell silent.

It regretted saying that!

Ji Mian didn’t intend to go entirely against the system’s wishes. But in small things, he wanted to indulge himself a little.

Xu Zhixia studied Ji Mian’s face but couldn’t read anything from it. All he could see was that frail, thin face.

'Young Master Xu, why stress? It’s just a few years.'

He thought to himself, That guy’s right.

Even if he left "Xu Chiqiu" alone, sooner or later—whether in a few years or just a short while—Xu Chiqiu would disappear from his life.

Xu Zhixia frowned, his lips pressing together, irritated by his own fleeting thoughts of giving in.

That evening, Lu Ge showed up.

After a quick greeting to Uncle Lin, he headed straight upstairs and knocked on the door.

The room was stuffy and warm, the wall heater cranking up the heat. A humidifier hummed in the corner, keeping the air from drying out.

Lu Ge’s eyes flicked to the bed.

His gaze landed on Ji Mian, who was just peeking out from under the covers, before sweeping the rest of the room.

He’d never set foot in Ji Mian’s bedroom before—today was a first.

Ji Mian's bed was very soft, layered quite "thickly."

The mattress itself was thick, and the sheets and quilts were layered one on top of another. Just the bedding alone was longer than the span of Lu Ge's fingers, nearly thirty centimeters.

He was covered with two thick quilts, also layered together.

When Lu Ge first saw Ji Mian's winter bedding, he couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

How can he stand it? Sleeping in such a bed, you’d either die from the heat or suffocate.

He definitely couldn’t sleep in it; just looking at it made him feel suffocated.

Ji Mian was nestled in the impossibly warm and soft bedding, his cheeks flushed red.

"Ahem, Mr. Lu..." Ji Mian only managed a few words before his throat hurt, and he stopped speaking.

But when he spoke, his voice was muffled and slightly hoarse.

Lu Ge only caught this much, and his heart seemed to sink, softening uncontrollably.

He lowered his eyes, quietly observing the person nestled in the center of the quilt, only his head visible, cheeks flushed, and breathing with a stuffy nasal sound from his cold.

"So obedient, Young Master," Lu Ge thought, suddenly feeling a pang in his heart.

He wished Ji Mian weren’t so obedient, preferably a bit more wicked, a bit more ruthless. A bit more lively, not so endearingly obedient.

"I heard the Young Master is sick again, so I stopped by to check on him."

The heating in Ji Mian’s bedroom was cranked up to the max. Lu Ge took off his coat and casually hung it on the back of the chair in front of the desk, then pulled the chair over and sat down beside Ji Mian.

He couldn’t resist being mischievous again, reaching out to poke Ji Mian’s cheek. The touch of his fingertip was warm, like poking a thin piece of soft dough.

A finger suddenly appeared on his cheek, poking the already thin flesh into a small dent. Ji Mian didn't have the energy to respond.

Lu Ge, never one to hold back, escalated to poking and pinching relentlessly.

Finally annoyed, Ji Mian slowly turned his gaze, not saying a word, just looking at him with those slightly reddened eyes. Because of the fever, his eyes were dark, bright, and moist, completely devoid of aggression.

Lu Ge felt his lips go dry and his body weaken under that gaze.

How could a human heart endure so many emotions? Lu Ge felt his heart was like a balloon, filled with all sorts of emotions from the moment he saw Ji Mian upon entering—sometimes heartache, sometimes heartbreak, swelling up.

But just when he thought he was about to burst, Ji Mian’s glance made the balloon expand again.

This time, what filled it wasn’t sourness or sweetness, but a desire that instantly made Lu Ge flush.

He felt he was truly sick, seriously so, to feel lust for someone as thin as a rail.

Ji Mian watched as Lu Ge’s face changed color in an instant, his expression as if he’d drifted off to the clouds.

He couldn’t help but wonder, "What’s Mr. Lu thinking about?"

Lu Ge looked at him intently.

"Thinking about sleeping with a fairy."

Ji Mian suspected he was so feverish that even his hearing was off.

A fairy? What fairy... going to... going to what?

But Lu Ge didn't bring it up again.

He sat down on the stool by the bed, chatting idly with Ji Mian.

Ji Mian, already not very clear-headed, was lulled into drowsiness by his chatter, and soon his eyes drifted shut.

Lu Ge: ...

Was that polite?

So he slowed his speech, his tone softening gradually, as if someone was slowly turning down Lu Ge's volume.

After several seconds, the volume faded to nothing.

He stopped talking, a slight smile curving his lips as he looked at the sleeping figure.

After a moment, Lu Ge glanced at his watch; it was past nine. He’d arrived late today due to work, and now it was time to leave.

Lu Ge quietly got up, walked to the bedroom door, and pressed the handle.

Still groggy, Ji Mian sensed the movement beside him and opened his eyes.

"Is Mr. Lu leaving?" His voice was thick with sleep.

Lu Ge paused his action of opening the door and turned his head.

Looking at Ji Mian, he answered unexpectedly, "Does the Young Master want me to stay, then?"

He let go of the handle and sat back in his original spot in two seconds, saying, "It’s doable, but I toss and turn, so you’ll need to move over."

Under the blanket, Ji Mian spread his arms, claiming his space like a guard—even though the bed could fit ten, his arms barely covered half its width.

Lu Ge had said it offhandedly, just teasing the Young Master, but the words stuck with him, and he kept turning them over in his mind.

The bedding still looked thick, and for someone like Lu Ge who runs hot, lying there too long would be stifling.

But he suddenly thought: If he slept with Ji Mian, a little heat and sweat wouldn’t be so bad.

Lu Ge imagined it and realized sleeping with Ji Mian wouldn’t be bad at all.

Though thin, the Young Master’s waist was soft, perfect for holding.

If Ji Mian’s fever spiked at night, he’d feel it right away by holding him.

If Ji Mian coughed, he’d pat his back and soothe him until he calmed down, then use his fingertips to gently stroke the protruding spine. He’d give Ji Mian whatever he wanted.

Lu Ge didn’t have much patience, but if it were for such things, he wouldn’t get bored all night.

He thought further ahead, feeling that he wouldn’t get tired of it even after decades.

There was nothing in this world that Lu Ge wanted to do but couldn't.

He was sure he’d be a better caregiver than even Zhou Zhong.

The scenes in his mind were like warm light, so warm that it made one yearn.

Just by thinking about it, Lu Ge had to pinch his nose to suppress the rising sourness in his nasal cavity.

The thought was so satisfying it made his eyes sting.

He really wanted to sleep by this person's side and take care of him for a lifetime.