Chapter 68: The Fake Straight Man

The next day, when Wen Xiao opened his eyes, he found that it was already broad daylight outside. However, he did not get up, feeling a lingering dizziness throughout his head and a distinct lack of strength in his limbs.

Hearing footsteps and seeing shadows moving before his eyes, Wen Xiao realized there were other people in the room.

Noticing that he was awake, the person picked up a glass, tore open a packaging packet, and poured some brownish powder into it. The next second, hot water was added to the transparent glass.

"Song Jingbai?" Wen Xiao squinted, finding it difficult to keep his eyes open, and took a long time to process why Song Jingbai was in his room.

"Xiaoxiao, you've caught a cold." Song Jingbai glanced at him, then stirred the cold medicine in the cup. "I just went to the school infirmary to get this cold medicine. It works fast, but it's a bit bitter."

Song Jingbai touched his chin, then walked toward Wen Xiao holding a thermometer. He gently pulled back the quilt and pulled out one of Wen Xiao's arms.

"Be a good boy and hold the thermometer under your arm."

Feeling something cool being tucked under his armpit by Song Jingbai, Wen Xiao initially wanted to struggle a little, but his arms felt too weak, and he couldn't be bothered to move.

Besides, this wasn't the first or second time Song Jingbai had done this, and taking care of him had become second nature.

"What time is it now?" Wen Xiao asked with a squint, feeling his throat was a bit hoarse.

"Nine o'clock. I've already asked for leave from the teacher for you." Song Jingbai sat on the edge of the bed, bent down slightly, and looked down at him. "Right now, your only responsibility is to rest well."

Someone knocked on the door. Wen Xiao turned his head to look toward the entrance, and Song Jingbai stood up to open the door.

He leaned against the wall by the door with his arms crossed, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

He didn't even need to look to know who was outside.

"Xiaoxiao, open the door. You didn't reply to my messages, and the teacher just said your leave is because..." Huo Zhanyan was still knocking when the door was suddenly pulled open from the inside, revealing Song Jingbai's smiling face.

"Huo Zhanyan, and you guys, need something?" Song Jingbai still had his hand on the doorknob, showing no intention of clearing the path.

He looked first at Huo Zhanyan, then swept his gaze sequentially to Leng Shucheng and Wei Nanxing, who was standing a little farther back.

Leng Shucheng was holding a bouquet of flowers, Wei Nanxing had brought some fruit, and Huo Zhanyan had simply brought himself.

"Song Jingbai, why is it you?" Huo Zhanyan's brow furrowed tightly as he pressed a hand onto Song Jingbai's shoulder without a word, shoved him aside, and squeezed himself into the room.

Song Jingbai glanced at him. "If I remember correctly, don't you have classes this morning?"

"This class is boring as hell, I'm not going..." As soon as Huo Zhanyan entered the room, he saw the person lying in bed with half his face buried in the quilt, leaving only a pair of eyes glaring at him with ill intent.

Whether due to the cold or not, the young man on the bed still had a slightly flushed face, looking like a thoroughly cooked little tangyuan and exceedingly soft.

Unknowingly, Huo Zhanyan quieted his voice and softened his movements, terrified of startling the other person. He couldn't help running a hand through his red hair and muttered softly, "How can he be so frail..."

Yet Wen Xiao still heard him. He simply averted his gaze, too lazy to engage with him, feeling that getting upset with Huo Zhanyan was utterly childish.

Turning around, Huo Zhanyan noticed the strange atmosphere at the doorway where the other two still showed no intention of entering. He couldn't help snapping, "Are you guys coming in or not? If not, close the door."

Leng Shucheng glanced at the empty doorway where the sticky note had already vanished. He then looked at Song Jingbai, who was lazily leaning against the doorframe, and asked in a cold tone, "You've been here all night?"

"What do you think?" Song Jingbai replied with a smile, making no denial. "Xiaoxiao needs someone to keep him company, as you can see."

"Insidious." Leng Shucheng spat out the two words with a poker face, then walked into the room cradling a bouquet of golden roses.

Song Jingbai followed him inside, letting out an indifferent chuckle. "Much obliged for the compliment."

Leng Shucheng walked up to the bedside. Just as he set down the bouquet, Wen Xiao was hit by a rich, fragrant scent, and upon seeing the flowers, his eyes involuntarily dazzled for a moment.

Especially when the sunlight fell upon the bouquet, the golden roses looked brilliantly like captured sunshines wrapped in bright yellow-green translucent paper, dazzling to an unbelievable degree.

It felt as though just a glance at the vibrant, sun-seeking life within them could infuse itself into one's body simply through the touch of a gaze.

"This is Golden Celebration. For you, hope you get better soon." Leng Shucheng rested his fingers on Wen Xiao's forehead to test his temperature, a trace of guilt flickering in his emerald-green eyes. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have let you catch a chill during swimming yesterday."

Huo Zhanyan leaned against the desk and glanced at Song Jingbai. "Was it because you let Xiaoxiao get caught in the rain while holding an umbrella for him last night? I told him to share mine from the start. If he had, he wouldn't have caught a cold..."

Song Jingbai glanced at him, too lazy to argue, and walked over to Wen Xiao, slipping his hand under the quilt to retrieve the thermometer.

Meeting Wen Xiao's somewhat awkward gaze, a trace of hard-to-detect amusement flashed in his eyes.

He checked the thermometer. "Thirty-seven point six degrees Celsius. A bit of a fever."

Wei Nanxing walked over, gripped the edge of the bed frame with one hand, brushed his bangs aside with the other, and bent down to press his own forehead against Wen Xiao's.

Wen Xiao froze for a second. With his eyes open, he could see Wei Nanxing's tightly closed eyes and slightly long eyelashes. Ever since entering the room, Wei Nanxing hadn't uttered a single word.

Huo Zhanyan's eyes widened instantly. He strode forward in two steps, grabbed Wei Nanxing by the collar, and yanked him away, his face as dark as ink.

"Wei Nanxing, what are you doing?!"

Jerked away abruptly, Wei Nanxing gave Huo Zhanyan a cold look and directly shook off his hand.

"Checking his temperature." Although Wei Nanxing spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Wen Xiao, as if offering an explanation solely to him.

Huo Zhanyan figured out his intent and sneered, "Does taking a temperature require doing it like that? I think you just wanted to—"

Before the word "take advantage" could escape his lips, Wei Nanxing abruptly turned his head to look at him, those dark, sunken eyes devoid of emotion.

"I have my own methods."

Seeing that they were about to start arguing again, Wen Xiao sat up by himself, staring coldly at the few of them.

His single dorm room wasn't particularly large to begin with, and having four tall, broad-shouldered youths crammed inside made it feel rather crowded.

"I don't need you guys to take care of me; I'm not a kid." Wen Xiao's voice was still slightly raspy as he slid into his slippers, walked over to the desk, and picked up the cold medicine Song Jingbai had brewed for him.

After sitting for a while, the medicine was no longer hot, but it was truly bitter.

Wen Xiao frowned deeply after just a single sip. He was just about to steel himself and gulp it all down when he saw Song Jingbai suddenly grab his hand.

Looking down into his palm, Wen Xiao found that the other person had placed a few strawberry candies into it.

"If it's bitter, drink it with a candy." Song Jingbai smiled gently at him, sitting down in the chair right beside him, resting his chin in his hands, and looking at him with a smile.

While looking back at him, Wen Xiao unwrapped a candy wrapper and popped it into his mouth. Once the sweetness of the strawberry candy dissolved on his tongue, he couldn't help remarking, "How do you always carry candy around with you?"

"Because there's a... friend around who likes sweet things. How could I not carry any with me?"

Pinned under Song Jingbai's gaze, Wen Xiao subconsciously averted his eyes again. Staring at the liquid in the cup, he muttered, "Who likes sweet things?"

By now, he even suspected that Song Jingbai had intentionally given him the most bitter cold medicine on purpose.

However, as the sweetness of the strawberry candy melted across his palate, the bitterness of the medicine seemed diluted, leaving behind a lingering sweetness after the faint astringency.

"Xiaoxiao, since your constitution is so frail, you must find someone gentle, considerate, and good at taking care of people in the future..." Song Jingbai said half-jokingly.

Wen Xiao couldn't figure out why Song Jingbai brought this up. Did he really look like he couldn't survive without someone else's care? He almost rolled his eyes and retorted ungraciously, "Think about whether you guys relied on me to take care of you more over the years, or the other way around."

Though he had been prone to illnesses since childhood—and he remembered his parents even considering sending him to a special school because of his health, though things improved vastly after middle school—

engaging in more physical exercise had built up his fitness, yet he hadn't expected to fall victim this time.

Perhaps due to his experiences in his past life, he had a particular terror of going hungry. Whenever hunger struck, it would trigger secret abdominal cramps, painful and agonizing.

"I can take care of Xiaoxiao." Wei Nanxing spoke up suddenly. When Wen Xiao looked over, he stubbornly repeated, "He doesn't need to look for anyone else."

Holding a fruit knife, Wei Nanxing skillfully peeled a pear in his hand.

His slender fingers gripped the knife handle, peeling away the skin of the pear in smooth, continuous circles to reveal the milky-white flesh beneath.

His movements were so meticulous that it looked less like holding a fruit knife or peeling a pear, and more like carving a work of art with intense focus and care.

"You take care of him? Isn't the person who causes Xiaoxiao the most trouble right here?" Huo Zhanyan sneered.

Wei Nanxing's expression turned icy as well. The two still wore the bruises left from punching each other earlier, as if a mere glance between them could spark thick gunpowder smoke.

Having finished his cold medicine, Wen Xiao set the cup down on the desk with a thud and addressed the group, "Alright, all of you get out. Go to your classes if you have classes, do your chores if it's your turn. With you guys crowding around here, I can't even sleep..."

Just as he finished speaking, his phone began to ring.

Recognizing the caller ID, Wen Xiao immediately made a shushing gesture to the others before answering the call.

"Brother."

"Xiaoxiao, your teacher said you caught a cold and asked for leave this morning. Did you take your medicine?" Wen Yu's voice came through the receiver.

"I've taken it." Wen Xiao checked the time, realizing it must be around eight or nine in the evening over on Wen Yu's end. Furthermore, the background noise during the call sounded a bit bustling, clearly indicating he was on the street.

"Are you busy, Brother?" Wen Xiao blinked.

Hearing the raspy, muffled quality of his voice through the phone, Wen Yu felt a pang of heartache, yet still put on a stern tone. "I'm not busy. I specifically called you."

"Autumn is here now, remember to keep warm. And when winter comes, make sure to wear more layers and don't catch a chill," Wen Yu said in a deep voice, right before a cough sounded from the other end of the line.