Chapter Eighteen: Fever

He took a deep breath.

“Yu Youchu, are you still working late?”

There was no response from inside the room.

Could it be that she was wearing headphones and didn’t hear him?

Pei Jiayin knocked on the door again, raising his voice, “Yu Youchu?”

Still, silence greeted him.

A creeping unease began to gnaw at him. Before his mind could wrestle with uncertainty, his hand instinctively turned the doorknob.

Fortunately, Yu Youchu trusted him enough not to lock the door.

Pei Jiayin pushed it open and immediately felt the chill in the room—the window was wide open, and a cold draft blew directly toward the door.

His gaze dropped, and he saw Yu Youchu slumped over the desk, unconscious. Perhaps from working so hard earlier, her face was buried in the crook of her arm, hidden from view.

Was she just exhausted and had fallen asleep?

Thinking that, Pei Jiayin approached her quietly.

Sleeping like this, she’d surely wake up with aches all over tomorrow, he thought, glancing at her resting on the chair.

She was sound asleep.

He stepped past her to close the window tightly. Gradually, the temperature in the room rose.

Returning to Yu Youchu’s side, he reached out and lifted her gently in his arms.

Her small face tilted up, resting against his chest. Her bangs clung to her cheeks, and faint red marks traced across her skin.

Pei Jiayin frowned. Though she usually appeared lively and full of energy, she felt so light now—almost weightless.

Had she been eating too little lately?

“Mmm...” Yu Youchu seemed to sense the warmth of his embrace and nuzzled closer.

Pei Jiayin’s heart skipped a beat, freezing in place, unable to move.

After a moment, once he confirmed she was still asleep, he carried her to the bed.

He didn’t even know how he would explain this to her when she woke up.

Why was he in her room late at night, holding her like this? At that point, nothing he said would clear his name.

Carefully, he laid Yu Youchu down on the soft, large bed, which visibly sank under her weight.

She didn’t have the habit of folding the blanket, so Pei Jiayin leaned over her, one hand supporting her side, one knee on the bed, while reaching out to grab the blanket on the other side.

“Don’t...” Yu Youchu seemed to sense his presence, clutching his hand tightly.

Pei Jiayin tensed, feeling her soft arms wrap around his right arm. He stopped what he was doing and placed his other hand on her other side instead.

He was now in a dilemma—unsure how to proceed, maintaining his current posture.

Beneath him, Yu Youchu’s sleeping face was peaceful—her lips slightly parted, long lashes fluttering faintly, chest rising and falling in slow, deep breaths. Yet his heart pounded like a drum, and his breathing grew erratic.

He stared at Yu Youchu before him.

Inexplicably, his mind drifted to the night they became roommates.

He felt as if the intoxication from that evening’s wine had returned, slowly lowering his head.

Yu Youchu’s face loomed larger, and he seemed to shed all his mental defenses.

He gently pressed his forehead against hers, feeling her breath finally brush against his lips, delicate and numerous, like countless ants crawling across his skin.

Pei Jiayin’s dark, profound eyes darkened with desire.

Warmth radiated beneath her smooth skin, and he felt as if he were burning up.

No, something was wrong!

Yu Youchu’s body temperature was abnormal!

He snapped back to clarity instantly, placing his free hand on her forehead, then comparing it to his own.

Sure enough, she had a fever.

“Yu Youchu, Yu Youchu.”

Pei Jiayin whispered her name softly, lightly patting her cheek.

Yu Youchu frowned deeply but only gripped his hand tighter, mumbling words he couldn’t quite catch.

He rose, intending to free her hand to fetch medicine.

Sensing his struggle, Yu Youchu’s grip tightened, and Pei Jiayin felt a faint ache in his wrist.

“...No... don’t...”

Her words grew faster yet clearer.

“What?”

Pei Jiayin leaned closer to listen, “Do you want some water?”

“No... don’t leave me. So... hot...”

This time he heard her clearly. He grabbed the thermos from the bedside table, hoping to use its cool metal surface to help lower her temperature.

“Good girl, I’m not leaving. I’ll get your medicine, alright?”

Feeling something cold pressed against her, Yu Youchu finally released his hand and nuzzled the thermos.

Quickly, Pei Jiayin withdrew his hand, then moved to the other side to pull the blanket over her.

He then went to the living room for the thermometer and medicine.

38.7°C. Pei Jiayin shook off the mercury in the thermometer.

Such a high fever—and he had been oblivious. What a fool. She usually wasn’t this obsessed with work; he hadn’t realized she was such a stubborn workaholic beneath it all.

“Here, take this fever medicine, then we’ll sleep.”

Pei Jiayin carefully lifted Yu Youchu from under the covers, holding a capsule in his hand, hesitating.

He had never given medicine to anyone before—he didn’t know if she could swallow a capsule right now.

He placed the capsule in her mouth and brought the cup to her lips, helping her drink.

Moments later, the capsule reappeared in the cup.

Pei Jiayin: “...”

After some fumbling, he remembered he could open the capsule and dissolve the medicine in water to feed her.

If Yu Youchu were conscious, she would surely mock him mercilessly.

Finally settling everything, a thin sheen of sweat formed on Pei Jiayin’s forehead.

She had only said she had mild allergic rhinitis, but with one careless moment, she’d developed a fever.

He arranged her cup and returned to her desk to carefully save her work.

By the time he finished, it was nearly two in the morning.

“Yu Youchu, you owe me for the sleep I lost tonight.”

Pei Jiayin returned to her bedside. The fever medicine was beginning to take effect, and she slept soundly and peacefully. He lightly brushed his hand across her nose.

The person beneath him stirred and murmured indistinctly, “Shen Wang... don’t tease me...”

Pei Jiayin’s heart sank into an icy pit.

So she had mistaken him for her ex-boyfriend just now...?

He didn’t remember how he got back to his own room, nor why her words had stirred such anger within him.

He only remembered lying awake all night, and when the first rays of sunlight filtered into the room in Jing City, he came to the belated realization:

He seemed to have... fallen for Yu Youchu.

Fallen for a young woman still holding a torch for her ex.

Everything suddenly connected, giving him a clear answer.