Chapter 93: Visiting the Sick, Hiding Under the Bed Like Playing Hide-and-Seek for Fear of Being Caught
Jiang Yunian took a taxi all the way to the outskirts, near that rumored villa area. When he got out of the car, the rain had already stopped. The air was filled with the faint scent of grass mixed with dirt.
Before his eyes was an estate stretching as far as the eye could see. Standing in front of the main gate, he felt like a speck of dust. He originally thought that a wealthy mansion of Jinghe Manor’s caliber would definitely be heavily guarded. He didn’t expect that there wasn’t even a single security guard at the gate. The way was completely unimpeded, the carved iron gates opening automatically. After entering, he didn’t see a single shadow, which was truly a bit odd.
The interior of the mansion was a low-key luxury style blending Chinese and Western elements, exuding a strong retro charm. With Elder Qi recuperating here, the environment was indeed quiet and secluded.
Like a small animal straying into unfamiliar territory, he held his breath and tiptoed through. It wasn’t until he approached the inner hall that he heard faint voices. It seemed to be a nanny giving instructions, “The young master is still sick, all of you be careful… The congee isn’t quite ready yet, keep boiling it, then send it directly to the third floor later…”
“Yes, Nanny Li.”
The third floor… That should be Jiang Yan’s bedroom. Jiang Yunian noted it down secretly. Like a thief, he avoided the human voices and fumbled his way to find the staircase leading to the third floor.
The third-floor corridor was very quiet, with only a study and a tightly closed bedroom door. The target was already clear. He grasped the cold brass doorknob, quietly pushed it open a crack, and peeked his head in to look.
Jiang Yan lay quietly on the large bed, unmoving, seemingly in a deep sleep.
After waiting a moment, Jiang Yunian gently closed the door, slowly sidled over to the bed, squatted down slightly, and quietly watched him. Not having seen him for a few days, his lips were somewhat pale, and his cheeks seemed to have thinned a little. His appearance with closed eyes shed his usual cold hardness, actually bearing a few traces of the big boy from the past, serene and beautiful.
Jiang Yunian’s heart, which had been hanging all the way here, slightly settled back into place. He was sleeping quite peacefully, not as terrifying as the text message had described. He couldn’t help but inwardly complain about the person who sent the text—why make it sound so serious, making him worry and fear all the way here, rushing over like an idiot without even thinking about the consequences of being discovered.
Looking at this defenseless sleeping face, a certain corner of Jiang Yunian’s heart loosened slightly, feeling a long-lost tranquility. Driven by an inexplicable impulse, he extended a knuckle and touched those eyes and brows.
The eyelid beneath his fingertip seemed to flutter, and the person on the bed let out a blurry murmur, “Ge…”
Awake?
Jiang Yunian pulled his hand back as if he had been burned, his heart instantly leaping into his throat. Flustered, he looked left and right, wanting to find a place to hide. The room was too big, running over would definitely be too late. In a moment of desperation, he dropped down on all fours and slithered under the spacious bed with a whoosh.
How terribly miserable.
His heart pounded loudly in the dark, cramped space, shaking so hard he almost couldn’t contain it. Jiang Yunian held his breath, enduring for a good while, but no further movement came from the bed above.
What was going on…
After patiently waiting a few more minutes, confirming there was truly no reaction from above, he carefully poked his head out. Like a kitten with its belly to the floor, he slowly crawled out from under the bed. He patted off any dust that might have gotten on him. Just as he straightened up, as coincidence would have it, his line of sight crashed straight into a pair of open eyes.
“…”
For a moment, the air stood still.
In those eyes still carrying drowsy sleepiness, there was initially bewilderment, out of focus, as if still wandering between dreamland and reality. He looked at the person who had suddenly appeared in front of him, blinking in disbelief. The voice he let out was laced with faint weakness, “Ge… you’re here again…”
Again?
Jiang Yunian stiffened his body, looking exactly like he had been caught red-handed and didn’t know what to do. The tips of his ears turned red at a visible speed.
Seeing this, Jiang Yan’s eyes gradually focused, becoming clear.
It wasn’t a dream!
He suddenly reacted, a glimmer of light bursting from the depths of his eyes. “It’s really…”
That joy was almost overflowing. Excitedly, he tried to sit up, but due to his body’s weakness, his movements were somewhat stumbling. He even nearly fell when he threw back the covers to get out of bed.
Jiang Yunian, who had originally made up his mind to slip away, instinctively reached out to support him.
However, this support seemed to flip a switch. Jiang Yan took the opportunity to grab his wrist and pulled slightly. As the world spun, Jiang Yunian cried out in alarm and was firmly pulled into his embrace, tumbling onto the soft bedding together.
Relying on his physical advantage, Jiang Yan pressed him securely beneath him. A scalding body temperature transmitted through two layers of clothing, intertwining together.
“Mmph…” Jiang Yunian’s chest was compressed, letting out a low groan. Reacting belatedly, with this person’s strength being so great, how did he look like someone sick to the point of dying? He was clearly fine!
Fooled again.
The chagrin of being deceived surged into his heart. He accused angrily, puffing his cheeks: “You… you lied!”
He shouldn’t have been softhearted.
Jiang Yan was clearly stunned for a moment. A trace of confusion flashed across his face, as if he didn’t know anything about lying. But it couldn’t be ruled out that he was faking it. Jiang Yunian had seen so many of his tricks, he had learned his lesson long ago.
“What did I lie to Ge about?” He kept his voice low, but one hand uncontrollably caressed the cheek of the person in his arms. His fingertips trembled minutely, carefully confirming that the person before him was real, not in a dream. He greedily looked at the person beneath him, his eyes fervent yet carrying a trace of caution.
“Did Ge hear I had a cold and specially come to see me?”
Jiang Yunian turned his head away awkwardly, not wanting to look into those seemingly speaking eyes, stiffly denying it.
“Then what did Ge come here for?” Jiang Yan relentlessly pressed on. His fingers applied slight pressure, turning his face back around. His eyes, which had been dim for days due to illness, were now startlingly bright. “It couldn’t be that you sleepwalked into my dream, could it?”
Leaning closer, his warm breath brushed past Jiang Yunian’s ear. The unsuppressible anticipation in his voice was obvious, choked with emotion, “Ge came to see me, does it mean that in your heart… you still have me?”
“…” Jiang Yunian tightened his small face, his lips pressed tightly together, refusing to answer this question.
Jiang Yan didn’t really seem to expect him to answer either; in his heart, he already had the answer. He chuckled low, exuding a bit of petty pride, mumbling in his mouth, “I knew it…” Seemingly exhausting his strength, or perhaps because his mind wasn’t entirely clear from the high fever, that fluffy head drooped weakly. He dependently buried it into the crook of his Ge’s neck, nuzzling back and forth like a large dog seeking comfort, revealing a rare vulnerability.
“It’s fine if Ge doesn’t say it…” His voice was muffled, carrying a heavy nasal tone, “Just me missing Ge is enough.”
As he spoke, he planted kiss after kiss on Jiang Yunian’s chin and neck, sticky and affectionate. The unique dependence and yearning of someone sick surrounded him. His hair brushed against his skin, bringing waves of slight ticklishness.
Jiang Yunian was nuzzled into a state of distraction. His face, whether from holding his breath or from shame and anger, was dyed with a thin layer of red. He forcefully pushed the person on top of him away a bit, his face still bearing the unfaded embarrassment: “Since you’re fine, I’m leaving first.”
Hearing that he was going to leave, Jiang Yan immediately pouted his lips, his face written all over with dissatisfaction. He wanted to press him down and not let him move, but after receiving a warning glare, he abruptly stopped.
In his whole life, there was almost no one he had feared, except for his Ge. He was afraid he would ignore him. He didn’t dare act recklessly again, so he had no choice but to reluctantly sit up a little, though his arms still domineeringly circled Jiang Yunian’s shoulders, pulling him onto his lap to sit, refusing to let the person go easily.
Like an oxygen-deprived person craving air, he buried his face in Jiang Yunian’s neck and shoulder, sniffing haphazardly. Every now and then, he would kiss the left side, nuzzle the right side, pinch his fingers with his left hand, and rub his waist with his right hand. Despite this, he always carefully controlled himself within a certain boundary, not daring to make any more excessive moves. Just this simple, intimate nuzzling seemed to be trying to make up for all the missing times in one go.
“Mmph… mm…” Jiang Yunian, being kissed, nuzzled, pinched, and slathered in saliva, couldn’t help but let out a few out-of-tune protests: “No… stop kissing… mm…”
Jiang Yan turned a deaf ear completely, exceptionally talkative while sick. Buried in him, he murmured low, “Don’t go, okay? I’ll pretend I don’t know… don’t go… miss Ge so much… give this a kiss too… mwah… miss Ge…” That voice grew smaller and smaller, and the strength of the arms circling Jiang Yunian also gradually weakened. In the end, the muttering became almost inaudible. His shoulder suddenly sank, as the weight of half of Jiang Yan’s body pressed down. His head tilted against his shoulder, and he actually fell into a deep sleep again.
It seemed the sickness hadn’t fully cleared up yet.
Jiang Yunian secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his tense body slowly relaxing. He hesitated for a moment, then slowly raised his two hands and gently circled Jiang Yan’s back, wanting to lay him flat on the bed. But he maintained this posture resembling a reciprocal hug for a moment, without immediately exerting force.
The room quieted down, leaving only the sound of their two breaths.
A long while passed, so long that faint noises came from downstairs, before Jiang Yunian seemed to suddenly snap awake. Carefully, he laid the sleeping Jiang Yan flat on the bed, gently covered him with the blanket, and meticulously tucked in the corners, wrapping him up tightly.
Having done all this, he intended to leave. Just as he turned around, his hand was caught from behind again.
Turning his head back, the person on the bed still had his eyes tightly closed, merely knitting his brows uneasily in his sleep, “Don’t go…”
Looking at his uneasy brow even in sleep, his heart softened slightly. Jiang Yunian patted the back of his hand with a soothing force, then tucked that hand back under the covers. Before leaving, he turned back, and with a bit of petty vindictiveness, pinched that tall nose.
That’s for lying.
In the car on the way back, his phone buzzed continuously. In the Room 707 group chat, Qian Cheng had sent several messages, saying they should celebrate the successful launch of “their company’s” game. He was treating everyone to karaoke on the weekend, all drinks covered, and they wouldn’t return until they were drunk.
Xu Zhiyuan was extremely supportive, immediately popping out to say congratulations, expressing his absolute support, adding that their dorm indeed hadn’t had a proper gathering yet.
He Qing rarely replied with two words: [Anything’s fine.]
Qian Cheng seemed to have completely forgotten about Jiang Yunian’s existence, or perhaps was certain he wouldn’t dare not to show his face, directly making the final decision: [Then it’s settled.]
The group chat was bustling with messages. Jiang Yunian silently put his phone away and looked out at the fleeting street scenes.
The hour-and-a-half car ride finally brought him to the school gate. As he got out, another text message arrived on his phone.
[I’m very happy that Ge could come see me.]
Jiang Yunian stared at that line of text. His fingertips paused on the screen for a moment, then he turned off the display. He closed his eyes and told himself in his heart: He wasn’t worried. It was just… because Jiang Yan catching a chill this time was somewhat related to him. In terms of both emotion and reason, he ought to pay a visit.
Just that, nothing more.
He clutched the phone tightly against his chest, trying to press down that disobedient heart.
Do not be deceived by his pitiful act.
He warned himself once again.
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