329. Cold 【5/99】
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Lin Nan sat on the couch, chin resting on her hand, giving Chen Yao, now resembling a drowned rat, a look that screamed “what were you thinking?”
“I have magic! I wouldn’t get wet no matter what. Why are you so bored that you just had to drench yourself?”
Chen Yao, shivering like a leaf in a hurricane, sneezed a few times, looking as wilted as a flower left out in the rain, before hastily running to his bedroom to change out of his soaked clothes.
It was already cold today, and though he had worn a jacket when he went out, he lent it to Lin Nan. Dressed only in a short-sleeve shirt, he endured a downpour all the way to the rental apartment, and surprise, surprise—he was clearly coming down with a cold.
Donned in thick, warm clothes, Chen Yao sat beside Lin Nan with his arms wrapped around his belly.
“You’re such a fool,” Lin Nan said, noticing the kettle on the coffee table had stopped boiling. She hurriedly poured him a cup of water. “Drink up, it’s like lava.”
Chen Yao trembled as he took the cup, his face nearly turning blue from the cold. His chattering teeth managed to curse, “So cold, d*mn it!”
“So I told you, you’re an idiot. You ran around in a short-sleeve shirt in the rain for like fifteen minutes! How could you not be cold? If you get a fever, I’ll have to take care of you, and what a hassle that’ll be.”
Chen Yao straightened up, replying bluntly, “At least you stayed dry! It’ll be more troublesome if you catch a cold!”
I’ve got magic! I don’t even need an umbrella! Plus, getting cold and catching a cold is not a thing for me, okay?
But no way was he going to say that, fearing he’d get sent to the hospital for electric therapy.
Lin Nan was torn between being touched and amused.
After sipping some hot water, Chen Yao felt a bit warmer and scrambled for his game console, ready to continue his quest for virtual glory.
“Take your game console to the bed and snuggle under the blanket,” Lin Nan nudged his calf with her foot.
“Right, right!”
Not bothering to look up, he jogged into the bedroom, engrossed in his game.
Lin Nan peeked in to find him obediently sitting on the bed, wrapped in a blanket. Relieved, she ordered two takeout meals and went back to her computer.
Lately, Lin Nan felt like she was living the high life, always ordering takeout that cost twenty bucks a pop. In the past, she’d have settled for a meat and a veggie in the cafeteria.
Money was getting tight; buying Chen Yao a game console had drained her savings, and finding a part-time job now felt like searching for a unicorn.
While playing, she fretted about finding a part-time job that suited her.
If only she could figure out how Li Na made money.
Learning a quick magic trick might allow her to become a tutor, making cash in no time.
Moreover, tutoring probably wasn’t too affected by the pandemic, so job hunting should be manageable.
But that magic was way beyond her skills. Even trying to unlock it left her with a dazed expression.
Maybe she could ask Li Na for help?
Her train of thought drifted farther and farther away, and so did her game, which got messier with each d*ath. Just then, the delivery person called, inquiring about her location.
The spot was too remote, not exactly an apartment. Every time she ordered takeout, she had to run out to the alley to fetch it.
Usually fine, but today—raining cats and dogs—it was a nuisance.
“Chen Yao, I’m going to grab the takeout.”
She glanced at the game, which had already hit fifteen deaths, and decisively grabbed her umbrella before heading out.
By the time she returned, it was already past eight.
Peeking into the bedroom, she found Chen Yao, still clutching his game console, lying on his side and sound asleep.
“Not even gonna wait for dinner?” Lin Nan softly murmured. She tiptoed in, doing her best not to wake him, and quietly closed the bedroom door.
For the last few days, Chen Yao had been crashing on the couch, and it seemed he hadn’t gotten much rest. His dark circles had grown notably worse.
Lin Nan felt bad for him, but as soon as he slept in her bed, he couldn’t resist his old habits—always fidgeting and moving around.
After dinner and waiting for an hour, Lin Nan finally ventured back into the bedroom and gently nudged Chen Yao’s shoulder. “Time to eat.”
“Hmm?”
Chen Yao groggily opened his eyes, feeling feverish and sweating like a fountain.
His face was pale, lacking any signs of life. As soon as he stepped out of the blanket, he burst out sneezing.
Lin Nan, filled with concern, reached over to feel his forehead.
“Looks like you might have a fever.”
“Hmm.” Chen Yao sat up against the headboard, glancing down at Lin Nan, who was rummaging through the nightstand for a thermometer.
Her face wore an annoyed expression as she grumbled, “I told you to give me back my jacket, but you refused. You insisted on going out in the rain without an umbrella, and now look—fever and a cold. Guess who has to take care of you?”
“Stop being reckless from now on! Eat first, then take your medicine.”
Finding the thermometer, she twirled it a couple of times before handing it to Chen Yao, followed by a box of cold medicine.
Lin Nan wasn’t exactly a whiz at nursing the sick, so she seemed a bit flustered. Just a low fever, yet from under the blanket, he got a withering glare. “Get back under the blanket; sweat it out!”
“That’s pseudoscience!” Chen Yao protested.
Having no choice, he dutifully sat at the head of the bed, coiling himself in the blanket, only to be handed one of Lin Nan’s puffy jackets, which he reluctantly put on with a grimace.
Initially, he felt like d*ath warmed over, but gradually his symptoms eased.
“I’m not getting infected, am I?” he joked. “Do you want to call 120 and send me to the hospital? You might as well get checked too.”
“Stop talking nonsense! If I were infected, I’d react first.” Lin Nan set the takeout on the nightstand and poured him a cup of hot water, then moved a small stool over to sit at the bedside, resting her chin on her hands as she watched him eat.
Should she conjure up a healing spell? But Lilith seemed out of her league—no healing magic in sight.
Watching Chen Yao munching at the head of the bed, she reminded him, “If you spill food on the blanket, you’ll have to wash it yourself once you’re better.”
“It’s fine! Why are you stressing over a little cold?” Chen Yao leaned back against the headboard, taking a bite of the now-cold food.
“I’m not stressing! You were the one who made a fuss when I was sick, dragging me to the hospital!”
“You couldn’t even carry me.”
Even while sick, he had the energy to banter.
After finishing half his bowl of food, Chen Yao lost his appetite. He set his bowl down, and Lin Nan quickly handed him hot water and cold medicine, instructing, “No getting out of bed today unless you start rolling around again tonight.”
“I’m not paralyzed…,” Chen Yao complained, but when he noticed Lin Nan’s furrowed brow filled with concern, he decided to stay put.
Otherwise, he’d face her wrath, which could turn into a slap hard enough to make him wish he were paralyzed.
Taking advantage of being sick, he mimicked Lin Nan’s antics from when she was ill; right after finishing his meal, he started crying out, “I want cola!”
“Take something else.”
“Cola cures colds! That was the remedy back in the day.”
Lin Nan blinked for a moment, “Seriously? I’ll go get you some.”
“And grab a bag of chips; they have high calories, cures colds too!”
“I suspect you’re just using the old ‘three days without a beating, and you want to tear down the roof!’ trick!”
