Chapter 49

Chapter 49

The room suddenly went quiet, the shattered pieces of the porcelain bowl lay scattered on the floor.

Cheng Yuan instinctively reached down to pick them up, but Pei Qingji had already put down his chopsticks and stopped him.

He grabbed his wrist, but felt him tense up, so he quickly let go.

"Don't move. I've got it."

Cheng Yuan froze for a moment, then stayed put, quietly watching Pei Qingji crouch down to pick up the pieces.

He moved very carefully, his expression serious.

The shards were sharp, and it would be easy to get cut if you weren't careful.

Cheng Yuan watched as a shard pricked Pei Qingji's hand, making him suck in a sharp breath, and he couldn't help but tense up.

But he just watched him in silence.

Pei Qingji picked up the bigger pieces and tossed them into the trash can, along with some smaller bits.

Worried there might still be tiny bits on the floor, he grabbed a broom and swept them up.

The grandmother sitting nearby was quiet for a moment, a complicated look in her eyes, and sighed deeply to herself.

Pei Qingji looked at the floor, which was basically clean, but still felt uneasy: "I think that's all of it, but you should still be careful. There might be a few tiny pieces left."

His tone was full of worry, afraid Cheng Yuan might step on a piece.

Cheng Yuan watched the scene, his eyes lowered.

After they finished breakfast, the two said goodbye to the grandmother.

Assistant Lin had something to handle and wouldn't be able to come until later.

As they walked, a light drizzle suddenly started to fall.

"It's raining?"

Pei Qingji looked up at the sky, his brows knitted tightly.

The moment he spoke, the rain started pouring down in sheets. By then, it was too late to turn back to the grandmother's house for an umbrella.

If they got soaked, they'd definitely get sick.

Pei Qingji glanced at Cheng Yuan, quickly shrugged off his jacket, and held it over him.

"I'll cover you."

Cheng Yuan tensed up as he looked over.

Pei Qingji was wearing a leather coat today, so it was waterproof.

He used most of his body to shield him from the wind and rain, his shoulder already soaked, as he hurried him toward the eaves of a nearby shop.

The shop was closed, empty inside, with a "For Lease" sign taped to it, complete with a contact number.

They rushed under the eaves.

Cheng Yuan had been covered and was basically dry.

But Pei Qingji's white shirt was completely soaked, his hair a mess and dripping wet, plastered to his forehead.

A thin sheen of sweat even broke out on his forehead, but he ignored it, gripping Cheng Yuan's shoulders with both hands and asking with a worried look.

"Did you get wet?" Pei Qingji looked him over from head to toe—dry, so he probably hadn't gotten any rain on him.

There was a bench at the shop's entrance, and he told Cheng Yuan to sit down right away.

The rain outside was coming down hard. Passersby probably hadn't expected it either, and none had umbrellas, so they were frantically looking for shelter.

It looked like the rain wasn't going to let up anytime soon.

Pei Qingji frowned deeply, dialed a number, and told Assistant Lin to come right away with umbrellas and pick them up.

"I'm soaked, so I shouldn't get too close to you."

The temperature outside was gradually dropping, and a chill was starting to set in.

Pei Qingji's brow seemed to tremble slightly. Even though he was clearly freezing, his eyes were filled with nothing but worry as he looked at Cheng Yuan.

"You cold?"

He reached out and adjusted the leather coat, pulling it tighter around Cheng Yuan.

Pei Qingji's face was now deathly pale, his whole body drenched, even his long, slender fingers trembling, his knuckles red from the cold, looking completely wrecked.

Seeing Cheng Yuan looking at him, he forced a smile despite the cold and spoke softly.

"What is it?"

Cheng Yuan dropped his gaze.

Not long after, Assistant Lin drove up, and the two finally got in the car.

Pei Qingji helped Cheng Yuan into the car.

Assistant Lin was shocked to see his boss completely drenched.

Luckily, there were some dry towels in the car.

Pei Qingji grabbed a towel and roughly wiped off the water, so he wasn't dripping as much.

Being soaked through was really uncomfortable, but he'd been enduring it, his attention entirely on Cheng Yuan.

The car's heater was on too, and his body finally started to warm up a little.

Cheng Yuan, thanks to Pei Qingji's coat, hadn't felt cold at all.

Now his whole body was warm and cozy, while the rain outside kept pouring down.

By the time they got back to the villa, the rain still hadn't stopped.

The servants heard the car pull up and ran over with umbrellas.

Pei Qingji walked around to the other side again and helped Cheng Yuan out of the car.

"Easy now, watch your step."

His face wasn't pale anymore, but it had become very, very red, which was a little odd.

But Cheng Yuan just glanced at him once and looked away, not paying it any mind.

Pei Qingji took the umbrella from the servant and personally held it over Cheng Yuan, only folding it away once they reached the villa entrance.

The moment they stepped inside, servants handed them towels, and the kitchen staff had already made ginger tea and brought it over.

Because of the rain, it was very dark outside, but the villa was brightly lit, with servants moving back and forth inside.

Cheng Yuan sat on the sofa while the servants fussed over him worriedly.

He held the cup and took a few sips of the ginger soup.

Ginger soup was meant to ward off the cold and keep you from getting sick from the rain.

As soon as he finished, he felt warmth spread from his feet to the top of his head.

Pei Qingji's brow stayed tightly furrowed, his worried gaze fixed on Cheng Yuan as he spoke urgently.

"Does anything else feel uncomfortable?"

"Does your head hurt?"

Cheng Yuan was caught off guard for a second, then replied flatly.

"No."

Clearly, he was the one soaked to the bone, while Cheng Yuan was dry—if anyone should be worried, it was him.

The servants noticed this too, their voices full of concern.

"Sir, you're soaked. Please go take a hot shower now, or you'll catch a cold."

"Let us take care of the madam."

Pei Qingji was still uneasy, but with his clothes completely soaked, not showering wasn't an option.

"Sir, please go. We've got it covered here."

"If you collapse, who's going to take care of the madam?"

"That's right..."

Pei Qingji thought about it, his brow still furrowed, clearly reluctant to agree.

He turned to look at Cheng Yuan, his thin lips pressed together tightly.

"Madam, won't you talk some sense into the master?"

"Yeah, yeah, please talk him into it."

Cheng Yuan didn't say anything and just looked away.

Pei Qingji was quiet for a moment, then walked off to the bathroom to shower, looking dejected.

He changed into some loungewear.

The kitchen had already brought out the food and set the table.

The two had dinner as usual, and when it was time for bed, Cheng Yuan noticed Pei Qingji never came in.

The space beside him was empty, and he felt nothing—if anything, he was relieved he wasn't there.

But not long after, a servant knocked at the door.

"Madam, the master said he has some things to do tonight and will sleep in the study. He won't be coming to bed."

Cheng Yuan's voice turned a little cold.

"I see."

He could hear the servants whispering outside his door.

"Is the master really that busy?"

"Isn't he just hiding it so the madam doesn't worry?"

"He's got a fever and keeps coughing."

"Why don't they call a doctor?"

"I don't know. He just won't let us. If this fever keeps up, he'll cook his brain."

Cheng Yuan lowered his eyes when he heard that, then turned off the light and lay down as usual, but he couldn't fall asleep.

It wasn't that he cared about him or felt sorry for him—he just found the coughing annoying, grating on his nerves.

It was all his own doing—he chose to shield him, chose to get drenched in the rain. It had nothing to do with him.

Even now, Cheng Yuan didn't believe Pei Qingji could actually like him. Though he didn't know why, he figured it might be out of guilt, or maybe for the sake of the baby.

Even when Pei Qingji confessed last time, he still didn't believe it.

He didn't believe it, not one bit—whether it was guilt or just an act, it had nothing to do with him.

It was just that the peace of the past few days had suddenly been broken, leaving him restless.

Especially when he heard the violent coughing from the next room—he seemed to be coughing so hard he couldn't stop.

Cheng Yuan's fingertips curled slightly, but his heart stayed cold.

He just closed his eyes, ready to sleep, and ignored it all.

Lately, the morning sickness had left him emotionally drained, uninterested in everything, and numb.

He had no energy to deal with him, thinking maybe this way he'd stop being so enthusiastic.

But he didn't seem to—no matter how cold he was, even refusing to talk to him, he'd still cling on.

This was different from how he used to be.

The violent coughing started up again from the next room.

"The master's coughing again."

"Didn't they call a doctor?"

"They did."

Although the master told them to keep quiet, the servants couldn't stand it, so they still called Assistant Lin.

Before long, the doctor showed up, and Assistant Lin came rushing over too.

"I'm telling you, thank God the doctor got here in time. If he'd kept running that fever, he'd have ended up in the hospital for sure."

"I don't get why the master's so hung up on this. I don't think the lady... seems to like him at all."

"Shh, you can't just say stuff like that. I heard the master did something that really hurt the lady, which is why she's turned so cold."

"Ah, then the lady must be devastated." After all, which omega would be so cold to her own husband? That's the only way to explain it.

The whispers gradually faded away as the footsteps walked off.

The coughing from next door continued, mixed with rapid, ragged breathing—it didn't sound good.

The doctor had indeed arrived, and some muffled voices could be heard.

Cheng Yuan lay quietly in bed, pressing his lips into a thin line, his fingertips clenching without realizing it.

He still kept his eyes closed, but the noise was so loud—too loud to fall asleep.

After who knows how long, the noise from next door gradually subsided.

Finally, he could sleep.

Cheng Yuan thought, almost coldly.

At some point, he had opened his eyes, but his fingertips were still clenched.

His heart was cold, without a single stir.

In the darkness, a low voice drifted out, so faint it seemed only he could hear it.

"..."

Author's note:

None