Chapter 24
In his sleep, Chu Xiao could vaguely feel someone using a towel to apply a cool compress to his forehead to bring down his fever.
Although his mind wasn’t quite clear yet, his subconscious told him it was Luo Shizhen.
Aside from Shizhen, no one else would take care of him like this.
The tearing pain that seemed to constantly plague his body had almost vanished.
Chu Xiao had a high tolerance for pain. Compared to physical suffering, he detested the restless voice in his mind far moreâit was as if a darker version of himself was trying to crawl out from the bottom of his heart.
When Chen He’an first met Chu Xiao, he had told him that this was the effect of pollution.
It could be understood like the “Heart Demons” encountered by cultivators in xianxia settings when their cultivation went awry.
The difference was that while most cultivators didn’t have Heart Demons, every Awakener would have their inner demons drawn out by Qi.
It was just that some had it worse than others.
Fundamentally, Awakeners were another form of mutation; they simply retained their humanity.
This was why most newly awakened individuals had explosive tempers and relatively negative thoughtsâthis was the influence of the Heart Demon.
Older Awakeners appeared steadier not because their Heart Demons were gone, but because they had grown accustomed to living this way.
So, while Chen He’an was surprised that Luo Shizhen wasn’t affected, he didn’t find it too strange.
Luo Shizhenâs personality was too sunny and positive; how could darkness breed within him?
The implication was essentially that an Awakener like Chu Xiao, who was affected by pollution, harbored a dark side within his heart.
But now, Chu Xiao felt extremely calm. He even felt a trace of serenity and peace.
Someone was wiping his face.
No need to guess; it had to be Shizhen. He was a stickler for cleanliness and didn’t mind helping others stay clean too.
The fingers, not particularly soft and bearing thin calluses, accidentally brushed against Chu Xiaoâs face during the wiping process, making him wish he could sleep here for a long time, just to feel this moment forever.
Fortunately, Chu Xiao still had his reason. He enjoyed it quietly with his eyes closed for a while before slowly opening them.
Sure enough, his gaze met Luo Shizhen’s, who was lowering his head and wiping him gently with great focus.
Luo Shizhen instantly revealed a surprised and happy smile. “Chu Xiao, you’re awake!”
Chu Xiao smiled back at him. With his cold temperament, such a smile was already quite significant.
No matter how unstable his emotions had been before, how unwilling he had felt in that moment, or how triggered he was hearing Luo Shizhen mention “Godfather” again…
When the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Luo Shizhen, Chu Xiao still felt a deep sense of happiness.
At this moment, he was absolutely certain in his heart.
âAlthough Luo Shizhen was still thinking about getting married and having children.
But at least it showed that Xiao Shan wasn’t much of a threat.
True, he had been on the verge of mutation then, and his mind wasn’t clear.
Don’t be fooled by how easygoing Luo Shizhen usually was; no one could change his mind on things he insisted upon.
If Chu Xiao hadn’t been able to do it in over a decade by Shizhen’s side, how could Xiao Shan possibly achieve it in just two days?
Xiao Shan was just another Zhang Chuan.
They were all friends, but Chu Xiao could determine that in Luo Shizhen’s heart, he was the most important one.
Chu Xiao looked at Luo Shizhen with a gentle expression. He liked the way Luo Shizhen looked at him with such focus and concern.
“Shizhen, have you been guarding me the whole time?”
He asked, knowing the answer.
Luo Shizhen nodded honestly.
“Yes. The doctor-teacher said you would feel dizzy and unwell, and you had a fever last night. Chu Xiao, are you still dizzy now?”
Chu Xiao felt even more at peace.
“Itâs not uncomfortable anymore.”
He suggested, as if it were perfectly normal, “Do I still have a fever? Measure it for me.”
“Okay.”
Luo Shizhen had a habit inherited from his grandmother: when checking if someone had a fever, he would use his hand to gauge their forehead temperature directly.
If his hand felt it was hot, he would touch his forehead to theirs to confirm, and only use a thermometer as a last resort.
Luo Shizhen was also very afraid of Chu Xiaoâs fever returning, so he leaned in to check his forehead temperature.
From Chu Xiaoâs perspective, he could see Luo Shizhenâs body gradually approaching as he leaned over.
Chu Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly, lying relaxed on the hospital bed, his mood serene, his eyes filled only with Luo Shizhen.
Then, Xiao Shanâs face appeared behind Luo Shizhen.
Followed by Lu Qiujinâs face.
Chu Xiao: “…”
His peace vanished instantly.
Xiao Shan grabbed the hand Luo Shizhen was extending, while his other hand pulled open the drawer beside the bed and tossed a thermometer onto the bed.
Meeting Chu Xiaoâs icy gaze, he gave a fake smile, his eyes full of fire.
“Use a thermometer to measure temperature. Hands aren’t accurate.”
Chu Xiao sneered. “It’s a custom from our hometown.”
He looked at Xiao Shan coldly, enunciating every word:
“Mine and Shizhen’s hometown.”
Luo Shizhen didn’t notice the undercurrents between the two at all. He nodded along.
“That’s right, my grandma always taught me that.”
Xiao Shan opened his mouth to accuse Chu Xiao of having ulterior motives, but Lu Qiujin interrupted him directly.
He looked at Luo Shizhen and said with a smile:
“The older generation does like to do that. Touching the forehead can quickly judge if a patient has a fever, but since Chu Xiao isn’t in a rush, using a thermometer is more accurate.”
Luo Shizhen immediately felt that Lu Qiujin made a lot of sense.
He quickly removed the thermometer from its case and handed it to Chu Xiao.
“Chu Xiao, put this under your arm quickly. Ten minutes and it’ll be done.”
Chu Xiao lowered his eyes, his expression unreadable. “I don’t have the strength.”
Luo Shizhen immediately volunteered. “Then I’ll help you!”
He reached out to pull open Chu Xiaoâs clothes, but was blocked by Xiao Shan again.
Luo Shizhen was puzzled. “What’s wrong, Big Brother?”
Xiao Shan already knew Chu Xiao was plotting something; how could he let him have intimate contact with Luo Shizhen?
Suppressing his disgust, he said, “You’ve been taking care of him for so long, you must be tired. I’ll do it.”
Luo Shizhen was a bit confused.
It was just placing a thermometer; that wasn’t tiring, was it?
But seeing Xiao Shan so eager to help, he didn’t insist on doing it himself. He obediently handed the thermometer to Xiao Shan and stood aside.
Then, Luo Shizhen watched as Chu Xiao, who had claimed to have no strength, suddenly snatched the thermometer from Xiao Shanâs hand and placed it inside his clothes himself.
Luo Shizhen was pleasantly surprised. “Chu Xiao! You’ve got your strength back!”
He rejoiced on his own:
“That’s great! It looks like you’ll recover very quickly!”
Chu Xiao gave a grunt of acknowledgement, then asked, “Why are these two here?”
Luo Shizhen actively explained how Xiao Shan and Lu Qiujin had volunteered to use their own Qi to help Chu Xiao adapt to his body.
“Big Brother and Lu Qiujin are very kind-hearted. Neither of them went back to the dorm last night; they both stayed here to keep watch.”
Luo Shizhen wasn’t possessive about his friends.
Chu Xiao was so good; he was happy that Chu Xiao could have other friends, meaning more people would care about him.
He had just been sick; hearing that everyone cared about him should improve his mood, right?
Thinking considerately, Luo Shizhen praised Xiao Shan and Lu Qiujin even more enthusiastically for their helpful behavior toward a classmate.
He chuckled, “Chu Xiao, hurry up and thank them.”
Chu Xiao was good in every way, except he didn’t like to talk much. Now that he had received help, he didn’t even know to say thank you.
How impolite.
But it didn’t matter; he could just remind Chu Xiao.
Luo Shizhen wished he could turn into a red string of friendship to tie them together and help them build a boat of friendship.
Chu Xiao said expressionlessly:
“Thank you.”
Xiao Shan maintained his fake smile. “You’re welcome.”
Lu Qiujin gave a standard smile. “We are all classmates; helping each other is expected.”
Luo Shizhen watched this scene happily.
He liked a friendly atmosphere, which was why he used to enjoy hanging out with the female classmates back in his old class.
Before coming to this school, both the teacher and Chu Xiao had said the other students had bad tempers, and he had been worried.
But that wasn’t the case at all. Everyone Luo Shizhen had met since enrolling had been quite niceâeven Rong Nian, who had scolded him before, had apologized.
Just as he thought of Rong Nian, everyoneâs watches chimed with a notification sound simultaneously.
The other three didn’t move; only Luo Shizhen hurried to check.
He remembered the teacher saying that during school hours, a ding-dong notification meant a message from the school.
As someone aspiring to be a good student, Luo Shizhen maintained a serious and earnest attitude toward reading every school announcement.
And upon looking, he saw a familiar name.
ăSchool Administration Office Notice: Student Rong Nian left confinement without authorization and damaged the confinement room during the confinement period, violating school rules and regulations. His confinement time is doubled. Students, please take this as a warning and work together to create a harmonious, warm, and loving campus atmosphere.ă
Luo Shizhenâs eyes widened slightly in surprise. Before he could digest this news, another notification chimed.
ăPrincipal’s Notice: If anyone damages public property again, I’ll make you live in a twenty-eight-person dorm ^v^ă
“Rong Nian violated the school rules again. I hope he’s okay.”
Luo Shizhen scratched his head. In his eyes, Rong Nianâs image now overlapped with the bad students from junior high who often skipped class and climbed walls to go to internet cafes.
But Mr. Chen said Rong Nian acted unruly because of his past experiences, where he didn’t treat himself as human.
Also, those bad students used to extort classmates. Rong Nian wouldn’t do that, right?
The materials he memorized yesterday stated that Siren Awakeners could turn tears into pearls, just like in the legends.
If Rong Nian needed money, he could just cry some pearls.
But damaging school property was wrong. The school was so nice; last time he broke a tablet, the teacher didn’t even make him pay for it.
This time Rong Nian damaged the confinement room, but looking at the notice, the school didn’t seem to intend to make him pay either.
Luo Shizhen thought to himself that Rong Nian seemed amenable to adviceâhe apologized last time when asked to. Next time he saw Rong Nian, he would tell him to stop damaging school property.
Chu Xiao keenly sensed something was off.
He suddenly asked, “Violated school rules again? Are you and Rong Nian close?”
Xiao Shan hadn’t thought much of it initially, but hearing Chu Xiao, he frowned as well.
“Didn’t you say you weren’t close with him this morning?”
He had left the dorm with Luo Shizhen. Rong Nian had indeed initiated a conversation with Luo Shizhen, but Xiao Shan had quickly interrupted it.
Later, they entered the classroom, and with the Vice Principal living underground present, Xiao Shan had felt relieved, not worrying about anyone bullying Luo Shizhen while he was away.
Then, he had immediately sought out Chu Xiao for a fight.
Basically, Xiao Shan had only let Luo Shizhen out of his sight for the short duration of his fight with Chu Xiao.
Surely Luo Shizhen couldn’t have gotten close to Rong Nian in such a short time?
The two stopped targeting each other for a moment and both looked at Luo Shizhen.
One was clearly vigilant, while the other was vigilant without realizing it himself.
Lu Qiujin knew everything, but he said nothing.
He raised an eyebrow slightly, wanting to see how Luo Shizhen would answer.
Luo Shizhen didn’t think there was anything to hide.
It was just helping a classmate with a small favor.
“It’s nothing, really. Rong Nian just doesn’t like other people’s scents, but he likes mine. He said I smell goodâprobably because I bathe diligently.”
He chuckled, showing a bit of pride in his cleanliness and a little satisfaction in helping a classmate.
“So I helped out and let him put a Mark on me.”
Silenceâ
The atmosphere in the hospital room stagnated instantly.
Chu Xiao slowly closed his eyes. “A Mark…”
Xiao Shan clenched his fist. “A Mark…”
Luo Shizhen thought they had great tacit understanding, speaking in unison. They looked exceptionally harmonious.
Seeing they were interested, he shared this wondrous experience of helping a classmate with his friends:
“Yeah, a Mark. I thought it would be troublesome, but it wasn’t hard at all.”
Luo Shizhen showed off the back of his hand, beaming happily.
“Rong Nian licked my hand, and the Mark was complete.”
“It didn’t hurt or itch. It was super simple!”
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