Chapter 41: The KB Virus
Today, Ji Shuohan got off work earlier than Ye Zhile. When Ye Zhile returned, he was already sitting on the sofa wearing loungewear. The gray, casual loungewear gave him an air of relaxed nobility, while his cold, pale skin and deep brows made him look as icy as an ancient Greek statue.
Ye Zhile obediently greeted him. It seemed their relationship had unknowingly reverted to how it was when they first got married. Ji Shuohan asked, “Why are you back so late today?”
“I had dinner with a friend,” Ye Zhile said.
The two didn’t speak further. Ye Zhile went upstairs first. He changed into his little bear pajamas and then turned on his computer to look up some information.
Only when the cold winter wind blew in did Ye Zhile stand up to close the window.
Ye Zhile’s health always deteriorated in winter. Whether it was from the draft or something else, he coughed intermittently throughout the night. This state persisted into the next day during his exam.
He wasn’t the only one coughing in the exam hall, but he was coughing the hardest. Afraid of disturbing others, he covered his mouth with his hand and suppressed it forcibly. It wasn’t until the exam ended that Ye Zhile collapsed onto the hallway railing, coughing his lungs out.
“Are you okay?” Leng Xingtu followed him out and patted his back. “Is this a cold or something else?”
Ye Zhile shook his head. “My throat feels uncomfortable. It’s always like this in winter; it’s an old problem.”
“Then go home and drink something to soothe your throat. Don’t cough until you damage it,” Leng Xingtu said with concern, then immediately brought up another matter. “I recently heard online that the KB virus is spreading on a large scale. Many people have been infected and hospitalized. I heard a lot of people have died.”
“What?” Ye Zhile was startled.
Leng Xingtu continued, “The Imperial Health and Safety Center suppressed the news for fear of causing panic. But because of the delayed reporting, the Supreme Leader’s Ministry didn’t receive the news and failed to dispatch medical rescue teams in time. Now medical resources are tight, and the management of the Health and Safety Center has been removed.”
Ye Zhile really hadn’t known about this. “If it’s that contagious, will the city be locked down?”
“I don’t know. The notification was only issued yesterday, but the virus hasn’t reached the Capital yet, so don’t worry,” Leng Xingtu said.
However, what neither of them expected was that after the exam that day, the school notified all personnel to leave immediately and forbade unauthorized stays on campus. Even the exams scheduled for the next day were canceled. Shortly after, the Supreme Leader’s Ministry issued a lockdown notice. For a moment, the entire city was in a state of panic.
Ye Zhile returned home absent-mindedly. Ji Shuohan hadn’t returned yet. He asked the kitchen to boil some water to soothe his throat. After drinking it, the coughing did subside a bit, but as soon as dinner time arrived, he started coughing again.
“Caught a cold?” Ji Shuohan frowned deeply.
Ye Zhile shook his head. “No, just my throat is uncomfortable.”
“The KB virus has exploded recently. Stay at home and don’t go out,” Ji Shuohan reminded him. “Do not have contact with anyone.”
“Okay,” Ye Zhile agreed obediently. Then he asked, “There aren’t any infected people in the Capital for now, right?”
Ji Shuohan looked thoughtful, then shook his head. “No, but I can’t guarantee that the data reported by the Health and Safety Center to the Ministry is correct.”
Ye Zhile fell silent. “I heard from Xingtu that many people died… What caused it?”
On the way back just now, Ye Zhile had also seen the data. From the discovery of the virus until now, a total of twenty-eight thousand people had died from the KB virus. He had been restless the whole way, worried not only for himself but also for his parents and his two older brothers.
“Pheromone gene modification.”
“What?” Ye Zhile was unfamiliar with this term.
Ji Shuohan explained, “Modifying low-level pheromones into high-level ones, or modifying an Alpha into an Enigma. The genes don’t match, leading to pheromone chaos and causing the blood to be infected by external viruses.”
Ye Zhile was stunned. “Is someone actually doing this? When did it start?”
“There is an industrial chain behind pheromone gene modification. Many years ago, people were conducting experiments by abducting people of various genders. Later, it shifted to buying and selling, only there hasn’t been a successful case to date. It quieted down for a while, and the Monitoring Center couldn’t find any leads, so that group is still at large,” Ji Shuohan said calmly.
Hearing this, Ye Zhile’s heart trembled. He couldn’t speak and lowered his head to eat silently.
Ji Shuohan watched him. He reached out, paused for a moment, and then covered the hand the boy had placed on the dining table, wrapping it in his own. “Don’t be afraid.”
Ye Zhile looked up, his eyes sparkling with starlight. He nodded. “Mn…”
Later in the evening, Ye Zhijin called. His opening question was whether Ye Zhile was staying home obediently or if he had gone out to play.
Ye Zhile shook his head, wrinkling his small face. “Where can I go play? If I go out, I’ll be like a monkey in a zoo.”
Ye Zhijin chuckled softly. “Anyway, don’t go out during this time, not even during the winter break. Wait until the storm passes.”
Ye Zhile coughed once and agreed obediently, “I know.”
“Is your throat uncomfortable again? Don’t catch a cold, don’t go out in the wind, and don’t drink icy things. Ask the kitchen to make more soup for you, especially that loquat soup…”
When Ye Zhile was at home, his family was very attentive to his health. Now that he had left home, everyone was busy, and Ye Zhile didn’t know how to take care of himself, so Ye Zhijin rambled on with a long list of instructions.
Finally, Ye Zhijin said helplessly and lovingly, “Lele, you have to learn to take care of yourself. Don’t make the family worry.”
Ye Zhile gave a light “hmph,” but seeing his eldest brother’s worried brow, he nodded unconsciously. “I know, I will take care of myself. Big Brother and Second Brother must also take care of yourselves, especially with that virus. You must be careful.”
“Understood. You rest early then, don’t stay up late,” Ye Zhijin said.
“Okay.”
After hanging up the phone, Ye Zhile took a shower, dried his hair, and went to bed.
At midnight, Ye Zhile woke himself up coughing. He sat up and coughed a few times. His throat was dry and itchy. Unable to bear it, he went downstairs to pour some water.
Ye Zhile poured the water and turned around. Suddenly, a tall figure appeared before his eyes. He shook with fright, and the glass slipped from his hand. “Ah!”
Crash—
Water splashed everywhere. Ji Shuohan stepped forward immediately. “Don’t move.”
Saying that, he grabbed Ye Zhile under the armpits and lifted him out of the mess. Ye Zhile looked visibly shaken. “In the middle of the night… My Lord, what are you doing?”
“Sorry.” Ji Shuohan realized his mistake. “I just heard you coughing badly, so I got up to check.”
“Enigmas really do have amazing hearing; you could hear that even with such good soundproofing,” Ye Zhile muttered. Then he shook his head. “I’m fine, just a slightly uncomfortable throat.”
Ji Shuohan poured another glass of hot water and handed it to him. He touched Ye Zhile’s forehead and asked, “Just coughing?”
“Mn.” Ye Zhile nodded.
Ji Shuohan felt his forehead and found no signs of fever, so he relaxed. “Go to sleep.”
Afterward, Ji Shuohan cleaned up the glass shards on the floor and wiped the floor dry with a towel.
Ye Zhile stood behind him holding the water cup before heading upstairs. “Goodnight, My Lord.”
“Mn.”
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