In the middle of the night, Chu Cheng was awakened by a series of coughs. He groaned and then realized that Su Lanqiao's head was still on his chest, maintaining this awkward posture, with her long legs curled and stretched out on the nearby carpet, looking very uncomfortable.
How long had they slept like this? Chu Cheng raised his hand and looked at the clock in the moonlight. It was 4:17 in the morning.
Carefully, he sat up, trying not to disturb her, and gently put Su Lanqiao's head on the edge of the sofa.
Chu Cheng saw the half-dried towel, water, and a pile of medicine on the small coffee table nearby, understanding that the little model was quite good at taking care of people. Although her palms were still hot, she wasn't as feverish as before.
The feeling of someone caring for him was better than he had imagined. Having been the eldest in the family since he was young, he was naturally trained to be resilient and independent. Whenever he encountered anything, he would grit his teeth and deal with it on his own without showing any weakness.
Su Lanqiao wasn't afraid of him and was open-hearted without any ulterior motives, which made him feel very comfortable.
Her various reactions were very unusual, and the conversation on the first night was too eerie. Chu Cheng had also tried to recall if they had any previous interaction, but after recollecting the possible segments in his mind, he couldn't remember anyone named Su Lanqiao.
Forget it, since Su Lanqiao didn't mention it, maybe there was some difficulty in expressing it. He decided not to ask any further.
Chu Cheng sat up, wrapped the medicine carefully in a tissue, took it with water, then carried Su Lanqiao to the bed, and took off his clothes to lie on the other side with his eyes closed.
—
Su Lanqiao's biological clock was still ticking, and he woke up promptly at 8 o'clock in the morning. He looked at the ceiling for a while before realizing that he was on the bed, and Chu Cheng was lying next to him in a well-behaved manner.
It was the first time they lay on the same bed without doing anything, just lying quietly as if they were an old couple who had been together for a long time.
He slowly moved closer, intending to get nearer, and his hand touched warm skin under the blanket. Chu Cheng wasn't wearing clothes under the blanket.
Did this person have a habit of sleeping naked? It really suited his reserved character.
Su Lanqiao stopped his hand from wanting to touch his abdomen. Taking advantage of someone's vulnerability was too perverse, and he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Chu Cheng turned onto his side, facing each other, their breaths entwined. Su Lanqiao smiled and then hesitated for a while, propping his forehead up with his hand as he gazed at Chu Cheng for a moment before finally lifting the covers and quietly getting out of bed.
He took the thermometer from the coffee table and pressed it against Chu Cheng's forehead, it showed 38.4 degrees.
Su Lanqiao reached into his coat to send a message to Ling Feng, "Does Mr. Chu have any plans today? He is sick and might need to see a doctor."
Ling Feng couldn't help but respond with a shocked expression, "Surprised.JPG."
"Do you have any plans?" Su Lanqiao muttered to himself slowly as he typed, "I had dinner with Mr. Chu yesterday, and when I saw that he wasn't feeling well, I came back with him. Is there a private doctor you can contact to come over? His fever hasn't gone down."
Ling Feng: "Wait, I'll contact a doctor to come over."
Ling Feng: "By the way, can I call you 'madam' one day?"
Ling Feng: "I need to build a good relationship with you in advance."
Su Lanqiao smiled in dumbfounded amusement, this was so out of left field.
He replied with a hand waving goodbye, put away his phone, and went downstairs to find ingredients in the kitchen. As expected, the refrigerator was empty.
After rummaging through the cupboards, he found only a little rice. It was ironic that this person mocked his lack of life skills when he couldn't even take care of himself.
Su Lanqiao added water to the pot with the rice and simmered it on low heat, looking passable. He was a novice in the kitchen and only knew this basic skill.
Half an hour later, he painstakingly served the porridge in a bowl, intending to take it upstairs, when the doorbell rang.
Su Lanqiao went to open the door barefoot and saw a middle-aged man in a white robe. He seemed startled and took a step back to check the door number, "Did I come to the wrong place?"
"No, are you Mr. Chu's private doctor? How should I address you?" Su Lanqiao offered a pair of slippers, "Mr. Chu started to have a fever yesterday, and it hasn't gone away. Could you please take a look?"
"You can just call me Dr. Zhang." The man carried the medical kit and walked upstairs, "Is Mr. Chu awake?"
Su Lanqiao returned to the kitchen, bringing the porridge upstairs, "He hadn't woken up when I got up."
"Then go and wake him up." After hearing this, Dr. Zhang had an image of Chu Cheng's expressionless face flash through his mind and took a deliberate step back, gesturing for Su Lanqiao to go first.
Chu Cheng looked so unapproachable, who would dare wake him up?
Su Lanqiao sensed his apprehension, smiled knowingly, and pushed the door to the third floor.
He placed the porridge by the bed and half playfully pinched Chu Cheng's cheek, "Mr. Chu, wake up."
"Don't be silly." Chu Cheng evaded for a moment. When he heard it was Su Lanqiao, he relaxed a little and furrowed his eyebrows without opening his eyes.
"The doctor is here." Su Lanqiao leaned closer to speak directly into his ear, "Don't act like a child."
Chu Cheng rubbed his brow and slowly opened his eyes to see Su Lanqiao beaming and the flustered Dr. Zhang by the bed. He hoarsely asked, "Why did Dr. Zhang come over?"
"Ling Zhuo said you weren't feeling well and asked me to come and take a look." Dr. Zhang placed the medical kit on the nearby table and then took out his tools in an orderly manner, not daring to look at the two people on the bed.
It was too ambiguous, were these two not together?
Su Lanqiao took Chu Cheng's coat from the sofa and draped it over his shoulders, covering his bare upper body, "I spoke to Ling Zhuo, and he said you were fine this morning and could go to the company in the afternoon."
Chu Cheng propped a pillow behind him and chuckled, "You did quite a bit behind my back. Should I thank you for giving me half a day off?"
"You're welcome." Su Lanqiao accepted his gratitude generously and stepped aside to await the doctor's examination.
"Did you catch a cold yesterday?" Dr. Zhang measured his temperature with a thermometer, "The fever hasn't gone down."
Chu Cheng reached out to pull the coat slipping down, "Caught a cold from the wind, it's not that serious."
"Since I'm here, let's treat it early. Injection or intravenous?" Dr. Zhang put away the thermometer and asked seriously.
"Intravenous drip." Chu Cheng did not want to take off his pants and be spanked on the buttocks in front of the little guy. It was awkward and embarrassing.
Doctor Zhang quickly prepared the medicine, disinfected, then used a fine needle to secure it in Chu Cheng's left hand. After standing up, he retreated to the door and closed it, saying, "I'll come back to change the medicine in an hour. You can sleep a while longer. If you need anything, call me."
Chu Cheng nodded and, as the door closed, glanced at the bedside, "Did you make porridge?"
"You don't have anything else at home, so I could only make this." Su Lanqiao put the porridge in front of him, "Besides, I only know how to make this. Have some, it's not hot anymore."
Chu Cheng raised an eyebrow and kept his right hand still under the blanket, not reaching for the spoon.
"Do you need me to... feed you?" Su Lanqiao bit her lip, "Then?"
"Sure." Chu Cheng's face quickly flashed a smile, slightly opened his mouth, as if waiting to be fed.
Su Lanqiao thought, your hand is still there, isn't it? Why are you acting like you're paralyzed and can't move? Is this being coquettish?
With a jumble of thoughts in her mind, her hand obediently scooped up a spoonful of the porridge, cooled it, and brought it to Chu Cheng's mouth.
Being fed is an experience Chu Cheng hasn't had since he grew up and it feels strange.
He ate the meal slowly, savoring each mouthful, and gradually began to enjoy it. Looking at the earnest little boy, he spoke, "That's enough, help me wipe my mouth."
Su Lanqiao sighed helplessly, thinking, does he really think he doesn't have hands?
Fine, the patient is the boss.
She took out a piece of paper, carefully wiped Chu Cheng's mouth, then tidied up the things from the bed to the table, and sat down with her legs crossed on the carpet next to the bed.
"You are not busy today?" Chu Cheng finally took out his precious right hand from the blanket, picked up the iPad by the bedside, and began to work on the files sent by Lingfeng.
With her hands on her knees, Su Lanqiao looked at the still-working Chu Lao Ban with the IV, hesitated to speak but stopped, "I have to go for a program recording in the afternoon, and it might last for a few days."
I’m quite reluctant to leave you, he didn’t dare say.
"What program?" Chu Cheng's gaze was still on the documents on the tablet, asking casually.
"'Peak of the Sky', a model talent show program, the company asked me to go." Su Lanqiao sat on the floor and shifted in position, lazily leaning against the bed, looked up at the man on the bed.
Feeling his gaze, Chu Cheng lowered his eyes and met hers, "What, do you want to tell me something?"
"Well, President Chu, have you ever raised a small animal?" Su Lanqiao blinked her cat-like eyes, shimmering as she looked at him.
Chu Cheng's attitude today was too unusual, almost unconditionally accepting his presence, making him unable to help wanting to get closer.
But he was afraid of scaring him off, so he decided to gradually progress the conversation.
Chu Cheng raised an eyebrow, not understanding how the topic had come to this point, but went along with his question, "I had a German Shepherd at home when I was a child, but it passed away. Why do you ask?"
Su Lanqiao licked her lips, as if gathering the courage, "So, do you want to raise a cat?"