Chapter 42: Care

After hanging up the phone, Yu Xi hurriedly found the manager to ask for leave.

“So urgent? Then you should head over quickly. There aren’t many people in the shop today anyway, so there’s not much to do. You can leave with peace of mind.”

With the manager’s approval, he returned to the private booth to inform Lin Shuhuai and the other two.

“Sick?” Lin Shuhuai raised an eyebrow slightly.

Yu Xi nodded. “He seems to be very heavily sick, I need to go find him right away. I won’t be able to accompany you guys anymore, bye-bye.”

He turned around to head out, but was caught by Zhang Xingkuo once again.

“He has private doctors when he’s sick, why on earth did he call you out of the blue? He definitely has no good intentions and is tricking you into going over. Don’t go, his place isn’t anything good either.”

Yu Xi was deeply worried about Gu Chuanzhou, and his wrist was being gripped somewhat painfully. Hearing Zhang Xingkuo’s unreasonable, making-a-scene remarks directed at Gu Chuanzhou, an onset of anxiety caused him to blurt out: “How can you say something like that? He’s already sick, how could I not be anxious? Let go of me quickly, or else I’m going to get angry!”

Yu Xi’s manner of speaking had always been incredibly light and soft, his temperament good to the point of being somewhat submissive. Even when dealing with Zhang Xingkuo—the little devil who had been the most boisterous and a massive headache for adults since childhood—he could always patiently coax him with a gentle voice and mild words.

The three had never seen him speak with such harsh words and stern expressions. His features, which were inherently rich and glamorous, shifted as his usually smiling peach-blossom eyes narrowed in tandem with his knitted brows. His red lips flattened, hiding his sweet dimples completely. The softness and docility brought by his usual aura vanished entirely, instead highlighting the original striking vividness of his facial features. It was a beauty possessing a sharp edge of aggression, forcing one not to dare dismiss his current look of anger.

By the time Zhang Xingkuo snapped back to reality, he had already uttered an apology and released his grip, letting Yu Xi go.

Though his soul had returned, he hadn’t fully recovered from the shock, his mind still lingering on Yu Xi’s appearance just a moment ago while the heart beneath his chest beat rapidly.

Zhang Xingkuo stared blankly at the hand he had used to grip the youth, murmuring to himself as if in a daze, “This is… the first time Xiao Xi has ever shouted at me…”

Yet, despite being shouted at, Zhang Xingkuo didn’t harbor a shred of anger or grievance. On the contrary, it was a completely novel, bizarre sensation—a tingling numbness inside his bones, as if ants were crawling through them.

It felt exactly like the rush of excitement that surged through him when he first gripped a racing car steering wheel, encountering an entirely new domain.

It wasn’t until he heard Lin Shuhuai beside him let out a sigh and remark, “For Xiao Xi to be anxious to this extent, he truly must care about Chuanzhou immensely.”

Instantly reminded of who exactly Yu Xi was being so anxious for, Zhang Xingkuo’s flames of jealousy flared up again. He snapped his head around to glare fiercely at Lin Shuhuai. “If you don’t speak, nobody will think you’re a mute.”

Lin Shuhuai remained in his casually reclined posture on the sofa, clicking his tongue and shaking his head as he addressed the silent Meng Shen on the other side: “A-Shen, look at him. He’s like a powder keg. No wonder he could manage to make even Xiao Xi angry.”

Zhang Xingkuo instantly grew even more infuriated. A breath of air stuck squarely in his throat, unable to go up or down with nowhere to vent it, nearly suffocating him to death from sheer frustration.

Yu Xi took a taxi to the address Gu Chuanzhou had sent.

It wasn’t at Lakeview Mansion, but a closer luxury flat apartment located in the city’s most bustling commercial district, surrounded by tall and grand office buildings.

However, Yu Xi was in no mood to observe the surrounding environment, making his way into the elevator with the assistance of the front desk property management. The building featured a layout of one flat per elevator; he directly rang the doorbell of the singular door.

The moment the door swung open, before he could even manage to ask Gu Chuanzhou how he was doing, he saw the man collapse straight toward him, a sudden weight dropping onto his shoulder.

He nearly failed to maintain his footing, his hands instinctively reaching up to support the man’s back. He detected a scalding breath against his neck, and upon lowering his head, he realized Gu Chuanzhou seemed to have already burned to the point of semi-consciousness, yet his mouth was still murmuring his name.

“Xi Xi… you’re here.”

“Brother Chuanzhou, let’s head inside first. Hold on for just a bit longer… Mm, ungh…”

The man’s weight was heavy. Yu Xi expended quite a bit of effort to support him into the bedroom. While placing him down onto the bed, he was pulled along by the momentum, his face crashing directly into Gu Chuanzhou’s resilient, firm chest.

He clutched the bridge of his nose—which had been struck into a dull ache—and inhaled a sharp breath. Just as he intended to push himself up, his waist was tightly encircled. Assuming Gu Chuanzhou had some sort of need, he hurriedly leaned his ear close and inquired softly, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Chuanzhou merely raised his other hand, gently rubbing the bridge of the youth’s nose for him. “Does it hurt?”

The man propped himself against the headboard. His reddish-brown silk robe’s collar had loosened slightly during the brief struggle earlier, exposing a broad expanse of his chest. The musculature was full and solid, which explained why the impact had been so painful.

Yu Xi stared blankly for two seconds before catching Gu Chuanzhou’s hand. “Stop worrying about me. Your illness is far more critical, lie down properly.”

He pulled Gu Chuanzhou’s hand away, drawing the blanket over to cover him, and took the opportunity to tuck the man’s collar tight as well.

“Have you checked your temperature? Has a doctor been here?”

Gu Chuanzhou replied, “A doctor examined me this morning. It wasn’t too severe at the time, but the high fever keeps recurring. An hour ago, I measured it myself and it was 39°C…”

Following this, Yu Xi located the medical box and re-measured Gu Chuanzhou’s temperature, discovering it was 38.7°C. While slightly better, the situation remained far from optimistic.

Yu Xi spoke with a solemn expression, “If it gets any worse, we are going to the hospital, or we’ll call the doctor back over. You can’t just force yourself to endure it, do you understand?”

“Okay.”

Yu Xi proceeded to ask a few more questions. He heard Gu Chuanzhou explain that it was due to a drop in temperature a few days ago; the night before last, the temperature plummeted and he caught a cold. Upon waking up the following day, he felt a headache but assumed it was merely exhaustion from staying up late. He went ahead and worked a full day, which ultimately caused his condition to deteriorate to this severe state…

The more Yu Xi listened, the tighter his brows knitted, his lips forming a straight line as his cheeks uncomfortably puffed out slightly. He couldn’t bring himself to scold the man, but his two pitch-black eyes looked exactly as though they were demanding a trial: How could you treat your own body with such disregard?

Gu Chuanzhou proved to be quite self-aware, initiating his own confession: “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so negligent with my health, forcing you to come over and take care of me… But as I lay sleeping in a daze by myself, I kept dreaming of you. The moment I woke up, I wanted nothing more than to hear your voice again, so I couldn’t resist calling you…”

Gu Chuanzhou grasped Yu Xi’s hand resting by the edge of the bed, his voice significantly raspy due to the high fever.

A man who normally possessed an extraordinary aura of authority in the outside world was currently displaying an exceptionally rare facet of himself. Stripped of his rigidly tailored, upright suits and with his hair no longer meticulously styled in place, his complexion looked pale and bloodless, radiating a fragile, sickly aura.

This formed an immense contrast against the image Yu Xi had established of him in his heart, making the emotional impact double in effectiveness.

Having listened through Gu Chuanzhou’s “admission of guilt,” Yu Xi couldn’t voice a single word of blame.

“Don’t blame yourself, I was the one who said I wanted to come see you. And I’m not blaming you either, I just feel you push yourself way too hard for work normally, so I can’t help but get anxious.” Yu Xi rambled in a soft, cautious murmur, his hand remaining intertwined with Gu Chuanzhou’s. “You’re always telling me to get more rest and that there’s no need to take on so many part-time jobs for money, yet you turn around and do the exact same thing yourself…”

The corners of Gu Chuanzhou’s lips tilted into a smile. Massaging the youth’s fingertips, he murmured, “So Xi Xi understands now? How much my heart aches when I see you working so hard?”

Yu Xi pursed his lips, pushing Gu Chuanzhou’s hand away. “I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m going to cook something for you to eat.”

He stood up and departed from the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Thus, he was entirely unable to see that the moment he left, Gu Chuanzhou immediately sat up and swung his legs out of bed, his movements completely effortless—bearing absolutely no resemblance to a weak invalid who struggled to even walk on his own.

Gu Chuanzhou walked into the bathroom, adjusted the temperature settings inside to the absolute lowest setting, and casually stood directly beneath the air vent, loosening his robe to let the freezing air blow over him.

Yu Xi prepared some light, easily digestible meals suitable for a sick patient. Because he had to head downstairs to purchase ingredients, it took an extra chunk of time, requiring a full hour before everything was finally completed. He carried the tray back into Gu Chuanzhou’s bedroom.

While assisting Gu Chuanzhou to sit up, his hand brushed against the man’s skin. His movements froze, and he clasped onto it tightly once more. “Why is your hand this cold?”

Gu Chuanzhou let out a low cough. “It might be because I just broke into a cold sweat.”

Yu Xi immediately set the dining tray off to the side, stating, “Then let’s change your clothes first. Wearing sweat-drenched clothing will only make your illness worse.”

“Okay…” Gu Chuanzhou complied, preparing to step out of bed, but Yu Xi blocked him.

Yu Xi put on a strict front: “I will fetch them for you, you stay seated!”

Gu Chuanzhou let out a helpless laugh. “Then I’ll have to trouble Xiao Xi.”

Following Gu Chuanzhou’s directions, Yu Xi located a set of pajamas from a wardrobe drawer and handed them over. Seeing Gu Chuanzhou merely staring at him without reaching to accept them, he tilted his head in bewilderment. “Did I grab the wrong clothes?”

Gu Chuanzhou smiled. “Seeing how Xi Xi insists on doing everything firsthand, I actually thought you were going to help me change out of them too.”

“…Of course I won’t.” Yu Xi huffed in a soft, cautious scold, tossing the clothes onto the bed before turning around to walk out of the bedroom.

Once Gu Chuanzhou finished changing, Yu Xi re-entered the room to accompany him through his meal.

As the bowls and dishes made soft, clinking sounds against each other, Yu Xi inquired about how long after the meal Gu Chuanzhou needed to take his medicine. Right then, the phone inside his pocket began to chime and vibrate incessantly, messages pouring in without a pause.

“Aren’t you going to check it?” Gu Chuanzhou inquired.

Yu Xi shook his head. “No.”

Gu Chuanzhou didn’t press further, merely suggesting, “Then turn off the sound.”

Thinking it was indeed a bit noisy, Yu Xi retrieved his phone and switched it to silent mode, simultaneously catching a glimpse of the names displayed across several message preview boxes on the screen.

In truth, even without looking, he knew exactly who had sent them and what the contents entailed.

Recently, handling their demands had already left him entirely exhausted in mind and body; he had never realized that the “enthusiasm” of friends could actually morph into such a profound burden.

Could it be that when this kind of affection becomes too much, it actually makes a person tired?

Yu Xi couldn’t help but experience a wave of blank perplexity.

He didn’t know how to properly handle these entangled, unresolvable relationships. Feeling anxious and miserable in his heart, his ultimate recourse was to choose evasion.

Hanging out here at Gu Chuanzhou’s place actually brought him a faint sense of relief—a heavily sick person naturally had to be placed as the top priority, and not immediately responding to those messages could easily be forgiven. This way, he could naturally and logically give the others the cold shoulder.

Yu Xi set his phone aside, refusing to grant it another glance as he focused entirely on eating with Gu Chuanzhou.

After the meal, he didn’t allow Gu Chuanzhou to get out of bed either, heading out by himself to load the dishes into the dishwasher before bringing back a glass of warm water. He fished out the proper medication from the medical box and watched Gu Chuanzhou swallow them pill by pill.

He re-measured Gu Chuanzhou’s temperature, seeing that it had dropped to 38.5°C, but he still didn’t dare lower his guard.

He quickly came to a firm decision: “I won’t return to the university dorms tonight. I’ll stay here to accompany you.”

Gu Chuanzhou asked, “Is that truly okay?”

Yu Xi replied earnestly, “Of course. Your health is the most important thing, someone absolutely must stay by your side to monitor it.”

With that said, Yu Xi decisively contacted his counselor to request a leave of absence, and also notified his roommates so they wouldn’t worry due to his overnight absence.

Once everything was squared away, he sat down directly on the cashmere rug beside the bed, his hands crossed and resting against the mattress. Pressing his chin onto his hands, he stared unblinkingly at Gu Chuanzhou. “Alright, you go to sleep now. I’ll watch over you.”