Chapter 20: Medication and Domestic Spats.

The force of He Guan's embrace made Lou Dongcang step back twice, but he quickly steadied himself.

After snuggling close, He Guan instinctively tried to pull away, asking, “Are you cold?”

He began to pull away but didn't quite manage it.

Lou Dongcang held him firmly; his well-defined fingers pressed against He Guan's shoulders, enveloping him completely.

He commented, "I am cold. I've been squatting so long my legs have gone numb."

He Guan pushed him lightly, but Lou Dongcang's hands slid downward, tightening the embrace around his waist.

Whispering into He Guan's ear, Lou Dongcang said, "Let me lean on you a bit longer, my legs are still numb."

He Guan's ears twitched at his words, turning his face to push him away, "You're pushing it. You're heavy."

His push was ineffective.

Lou Dongcang's grip was incredibly firm, yet his voice was dripping with tenderness, "Were you upset when you didn't see my message?"

It's been a while since he last exercised; pinning He Guan down was proving a bit of a challenge.

While He Guan tried to push him away, Lou Dongcang pressed him even closer.

He Guan didn't want to answer that question.

Continuing, Lou Dongcang said, "He Guan, it wasn't intentional."

As Lou Dongcang's grip tightened, for the first time, He Guan felt that he wasn't so cold. Seeing that Lou Dongcang wasn't pressing further, he stopped pushing him away and remarked, “My arm hurts. I can't support your weight. If you keep this up, we'll both end up on the floor.”

This was the first time He Guan felt slightly vulnerable in front of Lou Dongcang.

Lou Dongcang: "Hmm... What to do then? I don't feel like moving either."

He Guan chuckled at his comment: "Then let's just stay here, neither of us leaving."

Lou Dongcang genuinely began to sit down, still holding him.

Dodging the doorframe, He Guan leaned against his shoulder, letting out a sigh, "I might fall asleep. I'm truly exhausted and a bit weary."

Lou Dongcang: "It's alright."

He Guan looked down, his eyes wandering over the clothes Lou Dongcang wore, curiously remarking, "Why does this outfit seem so familiar?"

Lou Dongcang: "You wore it that day."

Upon reflection, He Guan realized that was indeed the case.

He hadn't worn that cashmere sweater since washing it. Due to its slightly large size, He Guan felt it drooped over his shoulders, making him appear listless. He had stashed it away in the wardrobe and hadn't taken it out since.

Surprisingly, it fit Lou Dongcang perfectly now.

He Guan chuckled softly, whispering, "Stealing my clothes now? Are you the household thief?"

Lou Dongcang: "One you keep?"

He Guan: "Hmm. Quite a fierce one at that..."

His voice grew softer and softer, until his words became mere lip movements.

In a safe environment, He Guan's thoughts seemed to fade away, leaving only comfort and drowsiness.

The overwhelming sleepiness enveloped him like a net, pulling him into the realm of dreams.

Someone at the edge of this net asked, "What did you say? I couldn't hear."

Both sleepy and uncomfortable, He Guan, with half-lidded eyes, still wanted to answer the question.

With great effort, he unwrapped his arms from around Lou Dongcang's waist and shifted them to encircle his neck, their faces pressed close.

Lou Dongcang hadn't anticipated this move, and the words he had prepared were momentarily stuck.

Had He Guan been more alert, he would have noticed the reddening of Lou Dongcang's ears.

Sadly, He Guan was too tired to even keep his eyes open.

In his drowsy state, guided by memory, he drew closer to Lou Dongcang's ear and murmured, "I said it's fine... I've encountered fiercer... My pet Xiao Huang even bit me... As long as it's not venomous..."

Having said that, He Guan, resting on Lou Dongcang's shoulder, drifted off into a deep sleep within his embrace.

As his head slumped, it gently brushed against the side of Lou Dongcang's face, soft lips grazing the skin.

Lou Dongcang almost let go of his embrace but, upon realizing, held on even tighter.

The position was rather uncomfortable—kneeling on the ground, curled up in someone else's arms, resting one's head on their shoulder.

But He Guan was beyond caring.

He was utterly exhausted.

It wasn't until He Guan's breathing became steady that Lou Dongcang adjusted slightly, gently tilting his head down.

As he opened his mouth, he felt a cautionary gaze piercing through him from the archway of the seventh entrance.

It was Uncle Yue from the house ahead.

Lou Dongcang feigned ignorance, continuing to lean down.

The neck of the person in his arms was just below his chin. Leaning down would let him touch He Guan's warm skin.

Lou Dongcang's lips were cold.

The person in deep slumber instinctively shrank away, then reflexively reached for the cool spot on his neck.

Although he seemed awake, he was mumbling in his sleep, “Xiao Huang, move... Be careful or I'll crush you... How did you break out of the tank again…”

Lou Dongcang curbed his impulse to bite, lifting his head slightly.

The resident of the sixth entrance withdrew his hand resting on the archway and turned to go back inside.

The warning gaze directed at him vanished.

As if sensing that the "snake" had departed, He Guan drifted back to sleep.

Late into the evening, Zang Dong Garden witnessed another rainfall.

The gentle pitter-patter of raindrops landed on leaves and graced the courtyard. The traditionally designed eaves shielded against the drizzle but couldn't fend off the chilly wind.

Lou Dongcang held the warm body in his arms tighter and shifted to shield him from the wind.

*

When He Guan awoke in the middle of the night, his first sensation was coldness, followed by warmth.

The coldness was from himself; the warmth was from another.

Opening his eyes, he noticed the house lights were still on. Before him was the courtyard, surrounded by an indistinct darkness.

He didn't know the time.

Glancing at his phone, He Guan realized he'd slept for four hours.

It was almost one in the morning.

It seems to have rained again; the paper bag he placed beside him felt damp to the touch.

But He Guan no longer had the mood to bother about such details.

He Guan couldn’t recall how he fell asleep. He remembered coming in and holding Lou Dong for a while, but then he unknowingly drifted off.

The two of them couldn’t possibly have maintained their kneeling position for four hours, yet to He Guan's surprise, they had even shifted their postures.

Lou Dong was inside when they slept, but now he's leaning against the door, shielding him from the wind.

The warmth radiating from him was scalding... like a piece of iron freshly forged from the furnace, as if the heat was about to evaporate.

He Guan patted his face, calling out, "Lou? Wake up, you have a fever."

Lou Dong gave no response.

His brows were deeply furrowed, as if he were trapped in a profound nightmare, unable to awaken.

He Guan attempted to get up and close the door, but Lou Dong held him tightly. A slight misstep and he almost fell back into his embrace.

He Guan remarked, "How can you be so strong when you have a fever…"

It took He Guan three tries to pry away the hand that was gripping his waist.

Once he stood up, he attempted to support and carry Lou Dong. However, due to exerting too much force earlier that day and even after resting for four hours, he hadn't recovered.

Unable to support the weight, Lou Dong slipped from his grasp after just two steps.

He Guan sighed, noting that Lou Dong was no longer blocking the door. He laid him down, shut the door, and went to fetch the fever-reducing medicine.

There was a carpet on the floor; laying there for a while shouldn't cause any harm.

The door was now closed, blocking the drafts.

By the time He Guan returned swiftly with the fever medicine, warm water, and an ear thermometer, Lou Dong remained in the position he left him in, curled up lying on his side.

The ear thermometer beeped.

.2°C.

This temperature was alarmingly high to He Guan, yet it didn't seem to show on Lou Dong's face.

His complexion was still pale; the only difference from usual might be his slightly labored breathing.

He Guan knelt before him, softly urging, "Lou, get up and take your medicine."

Lou Dong showed no reaction.

Seeing that calling him wasn't effective, He Guan reached out to pinch his jawbone.

Although Lou Dong was clearly in pain, he didn't open his mouth. Instead, he shuffled on the carpet, distancing himself slightly more from He Guan.

He was avoiding.

He Guan immediately realized that forcibly making him comply would not work.

He knew his own strength and the position where he had placed his fingers earlier was precisely where one could grip the root of a tooth.

The pinch He Guan gave Lou Dong was enough to make any grown man scream out in pain from a deep sleep.

Yet, Lou Dong didn't react at all.

The only explanation could be...

His pain tolerance was far higher than most.

As for the reason...

He Guan knew he didn't need to ask.

Left with no other options, he took the glass of water and tried to touch Lou Dong's lips, hoping he'd open his mouth to take the medicine.

That didn't work either.

As Lou Dong lay on his side, trying to feed him directly from the cup would only result in the water spilling onto the carpet.

He Guan considered fetching a spoon, but from his cooking, he knew what spoons they had at home.

The spoons were a bit too large, and in Lou Dong's current position with his lips sealed tight, it wouldn’t work.

He Guan set the water and medicine aside, knelt beside him, and tried to turn him over.

He needed Lou Dong to lie flat to be able to administer the medicine.

An unexpected turn of events.

The motionless man suddenly opened his eyes and lunged at the hand He Guan reached out!

The sudden move, combined with considerable force, allowed He Guan only half a step backward.

But since he was initially on his knees and leaning backward, he inadvertently made it easier for the other, getting himself pinned down onto the carpet.

The water glass slipped from He Guan's grasp, rolling away and dampening the carpet.

Dodging a swift hand, He Guan opened his eyes and mentally chided himself for his clumsiness, only to meet Lou Dong's gaze.

Astonishingly, Lou Dong had opened his eyes.

This was the first time He Guan saw deep into his eyes.

The hue of his iris was incredibly light, a pale blue. No matter how hard He Guan tried, he couldn't find the right words to describe such a uniquely translucent and otherworldly color.

...So beautiful.

He Guan thought Luo Dongcang was jolted awake, but Luo Dongcang wasn't.

The person atop him opened his eyes, hands cupping He Guan's face, shifting his gaze from the empty cup on the ground, murmuring weakly, "Thirsty..."

Fever had seemingly glued the mucous membrane in his mouth together, making his speech thick and slurred.

He Guan strained to hear, "What?"

He Guan was thirsty too.

He hadn't drunk water since the afternoon, having slept straight into the evening.

As the young man opened his mouth, saliva clung together, casting a faint gleam between teeth and lips.

The remnants of the nightmare fogged his consciousness, but he knew...

There was water.

Before He Guan could react, the man acted on instinct, lowering his head.

He Guan: "What are... mmm—"

The young man was abruptly captured, pinned beneath, his neck gripped to the ground, while also enduring the other's ravenous lapping.

Intent on seeking hydration, this kiss lacked all tenderness.

It aggressively invaded He Guan's mouth, scraping and sucking deeply.

So hot.

As if molten lava had been poured into him.

For a fleeting moment, He Guan felt as if he'd be licked down to his throat, a rising urge to cough reminding him he could move his limbs.

His initial reaction was to resist, yet as he lifted his hand, the man before him furrowed his brow, noticeably recoiling.

His expression bore the fear of being hurt, yet he didn't flinch away.

His thirst seemed to outweigh his fear of being hit.

Luo Dongcang shouldn't be hurt again... What to do...

In mere moments of hesitation, the kiss from him intensified.

Luo Dongcang's hand no longer gripped He Guan's neck but cradled his chin, tilting his head back.

The urge to cough disappeared as He Guan regained his senses in this position. With a snap of his teeth, he bit down hard on Luo Dongcang's tongue and flipped him over, pinning him to the ground!

Their lips parted, and He Guan instinctively used his sleeve to wipe his mouth—

A sharp sting followed.

Damn it, he bit his lip.

The water was now out of reach. He Guan quickly popped the pill in his palm into his mouth and restrained Lou Dong before he could make another move.

—Using his mouth.

If Lou Dong wanted the moisture in his mouth, then he would take the medicine with it.

This was the only solution He Guan could think of at the moment.

Lou Dong's mouth was scorching. When confronted with the pills, his initial reaction was to resist.

He Guan mirrored Lou Dong's earlier tactic, pressing against Lou Dong's forehead to tilt his face upwards and forcefully delivering the pill.

With the exchange of saliva, the pill began to dissolve, but fortunately, it worked.

Relieved, He Guan straightened up, straddling Lou Dong's waist, taking deep breaths.

Feeding him medicine felt like waging a battle.

So bitter.

He despised anything bitter.

The man beneath him remained still.

He Guan glanced down to see Lou Dong closing his eyes, making a slight crunching sound.

...Lou Dong had crushed the fever pill.

At the same time, his muscles relaxed, no longer trembling or attempting to restrain He Guan.

Fully awakened from the nightmare, Lou Dong shut his eyes.

With a sardonic lift of an eyebrow, He Guan questioned, "Did you enjoy the medicine?"

Lou Dong replied, "...Bitter."

He Guan retorted, "If it's bitter, why'd you chew it?"

Lou Dong didn't respond further.

Bitterness reminded him that he wasn't dreaming.

He realized...

What happened earlier wasn't a dream after all...

After the struggle, He Guan was drenched in sweat. He stood up, brought the paper bag inside, and sat by the kitchen island, sipping cold water.

He glanced at his phone, 2 a.m.

Pinching the horse. (This is a direct translation, context may be needed for a better translation)

His mouth hurt so much.