248. A Bustling Early Morning
As the sunlight danced through the window and splashed onto the young man’s face, he suddenly jolted awake.
How on earth did he fall asleep yesterday?
Still sitting at the head of his bed, leaning against the wall, he glanced down at himself and discovered he was covered with a thin blanket.
Stretching lazily and giving his head a little shake that produced a satisfying crack, he finally felt a bit more comfortable.
Rubbing his sore neck muscles, Chen Yao turned to the side to spy a chipper Lin Nan beside him.
“When did you wake up?” he asked.
“Around an hour ago,” she replied, lying on her side with bright eyes fixed on him.
She definitely looked much perkier!
Chen Yao handed her the thermometer from the nightstand and asked with genuine concern, “Do you feel any better?”
“Kind of got my strength back,” Lin Nan said as she sat up cross-legged, tucking the thermometer under her armpit.
“What do you want for breakfast?” Chen Yao checked the time on his phone and realized it was only seven in the morning.
Compared to the usual wake-up calls from his parents around eight or nine, he had no idea why his sleep was so light today.
Lin Nan was clearly in a good mood, swaying back and forth a little, and after pondering for a moment, she asked, “How about some fried dough sticks?”
“I’ll see if the takeout is open at this hour,” Chen Yao said, heading into the bathroom to splash some water on his face, which helped wake him up a bit more.
Although he’d gotten up early, he realized he had fallen asleep around ten last night; it was just that his sleeping position had been less than ideal, leaving him sore all over.
Back at the bedside, he poured the last cup of warm water from the thermos for Lin Nan and remembered he had planned to boil more water for her last night.
But of course, he had dozed off!
Lin Nan climbed out of bed, looking much steadier than the precarious state she’d been in yesterday. After a night of meds, she was finally back to half a functioning human.
Looks like the hospital’s meds were really doing the trick!
When the thermometer beeped, Lin Nan checked it herself and handed it to Chen Yao, “38 degrees—almost normal!”
She felt a bit warm still, but it was manageable compared to the fiery fever from yesterday. Still, her head was a bit foggy, and she felt weak.
“At least you’re improving,” Chen Yao sighed in relief after looking at the thermometer, feeling a mountain of pressure lift off him. “Takeout’s not open yet; should I go downstairs and ask my mom to whip up breakfast for you?”
“Why don’t I just make it myself?” Lin Nan eagerly suggested, “I saw you had bacon and toast in the fridge; we can make sandwiches!”
“Forget it, just rest!” Chen Yao insisted, pushing her back down to bed gently, but she kept trying to get up, so he had to use a bit more force to keep her down. “Trust me, just chill, no running around!”
“But I need to use the bathroom…” Lin Nan looked at him with wide eyes.
Chen Yao awkwardly released her, turning to leave the room, “I’ll be downstairs.”
For the first time, he regretted not having taken cooking classes back in the day.
If only he could whip up a splendid meal at this hour, he could definitely up his charm factor with her a notch.
And Lin Nan was a classic foodie; looking at his parents, they had completely won her over in just a few days.
Lin Nan’s health was much improved today, though her lower abdomen pain seemed to be a tad worse than yesterday.
The Temperature Control Magic could only ensure she felt normal with the outside world temperature, but for a fever that burned from within, it was utterly useless.
Purification Magic only cleaned up bodily waste, leaving her a little fairy that didn’t need to go to the toilet, but it wasn’t much help against bacteria.
Her throat still hurt like heck, and her voice retained a raspy dryness; she felt as if she might puke at any moment, with beads of cold sweat forming on her skin.
Despite feeling better, her furrowed brows showed that she was still uncomfortable.
After changing her sanitary napkin, Lin Nan returned to bed, clutching her phone in a desperate attempt to distract herself.
But just a few minutes later, a clamor erupted from the front door.
She raised her head in confusion towards the bedroom door, and in mere seconds, Chen Yao’s mom burst in, her face filled with worry as she rushed over to Lin Nan’s side.
“How are you? Where do you feel bad? Have you seen a doctor? What do you want to eat? Auntie will make it for you!”
Lin Nan stared blankly at her frantic expression and chuckled weakly, “Auntie, it’s nothing serious, just a regular cold.”
Hearing Lin Nan’s calm response, Auntie relaxed a bit and shot an accusatory glare at Chen Yao near the door, “I only left for a day, and you’ve let Lin Nan end up like this!”
“It’s not his fault…”
Lin Nan was perplexed as to how she got sick; maybe she didn’t cover herself properly while sleeping two nights ago, and the arrival of her monthly visitor had weakened her immune system.
But hey, Chen Yao shouldn’t take the blame at all; she figured Lilith might be the real culprit here.
“Auntie, go take care of your own things; I can manage just fine,” Lin Nan remembered that both Uncle and Aunt were volunteers and added, “It’s more important to be a volunteer.”
“You really won’t be needing anything?”
“Nope, I’m good!”
Hearing Lin Nan’s hoarse voice made Auntie’s heart ache; she gently patted Lin Nan’s head and said, “How about this—I’ll make you three meals a day to help boost your nutrition!”
Eat something nice, you say?
Lin Nan shook her head violently in refusal, “No, that’s so troublesome.”
“Don’t be silly! Being a volunteer doesn’t mean you can’t have any of your own time.”
Moreover, being a volunteer was just a convenient excuse.
Seeing that she was persistent, Lin Nan sighed and nodded, “Alright then, you can go ahead and get busy.”
With Lin Nan just focused on not inconveniencing Auntie, she missed Auntie throwing Chen Yao a knowing look as she got up.
If you miss such a good opportunity, don’t come running to me when everyone is asking about my son!
Chen Yao nodded quietly, feeling totally worn out just an hour after getting up.
After Auntie left, he walked back in with two bowls of Corn Porridge, shrugging at Lin Nan, “My mom sometimes tends to overreact.”
Seriously, he had no room to talk when it came to overreactions!
Lin Nan shot him a look and sat on the edge of the bed, blowing on the bowl of porridge that was resting on the nightstand.
This local breakfast specialty was basically rice porridge with bits of dried shrimp and fish; outside, it cost two or three dollars a bowl, but Auntie’s homemade version was packed with all sorts of seafood and was wonderfully flavorful.
“Try to not play games today; just stay in bed, and call me if you need anything.”
“Got it, got it.” Lin Nan plopped down beside Chen Yao with her bowl, her habit of eating on the bed evident.
She took a bite, but restlessness got the better of her, and she turned to Chen Yao, suddenly asking, “What if I really got that infectious disease yesterday…”
“Then the whole family would be quarantined with you,” Chen Yao replied smoothly, “Not like we can go out now anyway, so it wouldn’t matter.”
“Then why are you so tense…?”
Lin Nan muttered, lowering her head, feeling a little flustered.
“Because… it’s you, right?” Chen Yao instinctively glanced at her, but with her hair draped over her face, he couldn’t quite make out her expression. He quickly added, “If you end up getting infected at my place, your mom would definitely k*ll me!”
