The words, though seemingly gentle, were almost like a neon sign flashing “I want to stay with you” on Lin Fengqi’s stiff face.
Wen Xia paused for a moment, slowly withdrawing his hand, leaning back as he closed his eyes, “I’m feeling dizzy. I’ll take a nap. Wake me when we arrive.”
Lin Fengqi, having not received an answer, looked a bit disappointed but obediently stayed quiet and didn’t disturb him further.
The dizziness was real. Especially in the car, the air wasn’t the freshest, with a stuffy leather smell and a lingering scent of smoke, either from the driver or a previous passenger, making Wen Xia feel even more uncomfortable. He opened the window slightly, preferring to endure the cold wind.
Lin Fengqi followed him all the way to the door of the room. Wen Xia didn’t say anything, and neither did he, trying to live by the principle that “if you don’t say anything, I’ll assume it’s a yes.”
Wen Xia pulled out his room key and swiped it to open the door. As soon as he stepped inside, Lin Fengqi attempted to follow, only to be stopped by Wen Xia, who blocked the doorway with his hand.
Lin Fengqi halted and met his gaze.
“You want to come in?” Wen Xia asked.
Lin Fengqi pressed his lips together, not answering, but the determined look on his otherwise cold face clearly said, “I will come in whether you agree or not.”
Wen Xia asked again, “Where’s your luggage?”
Lin Fengqi paused, “At the airport.”
Wen Xia lowered his hand. “Then have the airport deliver it here now,” he said as he stepped inside.
Lin Fengqi stood there dumbfounded for a few seconds before realizing—Wen Xia had agreed!
He was overjoyed but tried to play it cool, giving a casual “Mm” as he walked into the room with an air of entitlement and shut the door behind him.
The unpleasant smells and cold wind had made Wen Xia feel even worse. Back in the room, he felt his symptoms worsening and was annoyed by the lingering odor from the taxi. After setting his things down, he decided to take a shower first.
He turned to look at Lin Fengqi, who was standing awkwardly in the room, trying to act calm but clearly unsure of himself. Wen Xia nodded toward the sofa, “Sit. Or you can watch TV or something, whatever you like.” His voice was even more muffled than before, carrying a hint of hoarseness.
Wen Xia walked into the bathroom. Lin Fengqi hesitated for a moment but obediently sat on the sofa. The room was too quiet—aside from the sound of his breathing, all he could hear was the running water in the bathroom. At first, he didn’t think much of it, but as his gaze wandered around the room and landed on the only bed, the sound of the water took on a different meaning…
Realizing what he was thinking, a rush of heat surged to his head. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to banish the thoughts by mentally tossing them into a washing machine to be vigorously scrubbed away.
How could he think such things… It was so disrespectful to Wen Xia.
Just like in the countless dreams he’d had about Wen Xia, where he’d wake up ashamed, remembering Wen Xia’s hoarse voice and reddened eyes in those dreams. He loathed that uncontrollable side of himself. Those dirty dreams never even made it into his diary.
Fortunately, by the time Wen Xia came out of the bathroom, Lin Fengqi had managed to suppress those disrespectful thoughts.
Wen Xia had no idea that in the ten short minutes it took him to shower, the man outside had gone through a fierce internal battle. When he emerged from the bathroom, Lin Fengqi was standing by the bed, looking at the bottle of lavender essential oil.
Wen Xia couldn’t really tell if the lavender oil had worked last night. From an objective standpoint, it didn’t seem to have helped much.
But it had worked when he was staying at Lin Fengqi’s place. Although he’d struggled with his sleep for the first couple of nights, he adjusted much quicker than he had in any other new environment before.
Maybe one night in a hotel wasn’t enough to see the effects?
Wen Xia mused over this when Lin Fengqi’s hand touched his forehead.
The man’s hand was cool, and it felt nice against his feverish skin.
Wen Xia felt better after the hot shower, but Lin Fengqi wasn’t convinced. “Your temperature’s gone up.”
To prove him wrong, Wen Xia took his temperature again, and sure enough, Lin Fengqi was right—it had risen from 37.4°C to 38.2°C.
“Maybe I used water that was too hot,” Wen Xia said, though he didn’t feel too bad. It was even less bothersome than the dizziness during the shoot.
Lin Fengqi ignored his comment and asked, “Does anything hurt?”
“If I had to say… my throat hurts a bit. And I’m a little dizzy,” Wen Xia paused, “Just a little.”
To Lin Fengqi, Wen Xia’s “just a little” equated to “a whole lot.” His expression turned serious, and he used a tone that brooked no argument, “Lie down and rest.”
Wen Xia said, “I really don’t feel that bad.”
But Lin Fengqi acted like he didn’t hear a word, stubbornly standing there with a stern expression until Wen Xia gave in.
“…Alright.” Wen Xia relented.
He wondered if he might have a masochistic streak because instead of getting annoyed at Lin Fengqi’s strong attitude, he actually felt a little happy. It wasn’t always like this. Back in high school, he had been hurt by Lin Fengqi’s cold demeanor more times than he could count.
Maybe this is the difference between mutual feelings and unrequited love?
Wen Xia lay on the bed, watching as Lin Fengqi boiled some water and then stood by the table, rummaging through the bag of medicine. When the water was ready, he poured a warm glass, brought over the medicine, and said in that same firm tone, “Take this.”
Wen Xia sat up and took the medicine.
Afterward, he lay back down, and perhaps the temporary relief from the hot shower wore off, but his mind started to feel foggy, and he could tell his breath was becoming hotter.
Lin Fengqi, having given him the medicine, didn’t leave. He sat quietly at the bedside, his gaze softened as he looked at Wen Xia.
Seeing Wen Xia looking back at him, Lin Fengqi felt a bit uneasy, wondering if he was disturbing his rest, and started to get up.
But Wen Xia spoke, “Wait a second.”
Lin Fengqi’s half-risen body lowered back down. He waited for Wen Xia to continue, but Wen Xia said nothing more.
Unable to resist, he asked, “What is it? Do you feel uncomfortable?”
“Not really,” Wen Xia’s nose was stuffy, and he sniffed, “I just can’t sleep.”
Lin Fengqi knew about Wen Xia’s trouble sleeping in new places. He glanced at the bottle of lavender essential oil on the nightstand and noticed the faint dark circles under Wen Xia’s eyes. “Did you not sleep well last night?”
Wen Xia responded vaguely. He didn’t want Lin Fengqi to feel bad about the essential oil not working. After a moment, he added, “Maybe I was a bit nervous about today’s shoot.”
But Lin Fengqi, glancing again at the bottle of oil, couldn’t shake off the self-blame.
He had given Wen Xia something useless.
He hesitated before saying, “Then tonight…”
“I’ll just have to tough it out,” Wen Xia said, half-jokingly, “When you’re exhausted, sleep comes naturally.”
Lin Fengqi didn’t like the sound of that and felt a mix of worry and self-reproach, “Is it always this bad when you travel?”
“Pretty much. If I can, I’ll tire myself out during the day so I’ll be more likely to sleep at night.”
But hearing this only made Lin Fengqi feel worse. His voice dropped, “I’m sorry.”
Wen Xia was confused, “Why are you apologizing?”
Lin Fengqi hesitated. It was his idea to push for the collaboration that brought Wen Xia here, thinking only of his own desires and forgetting how uncomfortable Wen Xia would be in a new environment. He also thought of how he had forced Wen Xia to move in with him…
The more he thought about it, the more guilty he felt, and he muttered, “I shouldn’t have forced you to move in with me…”
Wen Xia thought for a moment before understanding the reason for the apology. Seeing Lin Fengqi’s downcast expression, which made him look like a deflated puppy, Wen Xia couldn’t resist teasing him.
He said, “You forced me into marriage, so why would this bother you?”
Lin Fengqi froze, looking alarmed and helpless, “I… that was…”
Oh no, was Wen Xia hinting at wanting a divorce?
“I was joking,” Wen Xia laughed, “It was mutual, so it wasn’t forced.”
Lin Fengqi stared at him blankly.
Mutual… mutual…
Wen Xia said it was mutual and he was smiling as he said it…
Even though it was just a contractual agreement, Lin Fengqi was still overjoyed.
Seeing Lin Fengqi’s visibly brighter expression, Wen Xia thought, He’s so easy to please.
If Lin Fengqi were like Ah Mou, with dog ears and a tail, those ears would definitely be perked up high, and the tail would be wagging uncontrollably by now.
Wen Xia chatted with him casually, not even realizing when he drifted off to sleep. But his body wasn’t built to rest well, and he woke up after only an hour.
When he woke up, there was a neatly folded damp towel on his forehead.
The medicine must have worked. He’d sweated a bit while sleeping, and with the help of the towel for physical cooling, he didn’t feel as bad as before.
He removed the towel and sat up, grabbing the thermometer from the nightstand to check his temperature.
Lin Fengqi wasn’t in the room. His suit jacket was draped over the sofa armrest. Wen Xia picked up his phone and called him.
The ringtone came from outside the door.
Wen Xia opened the door to find Lin Fengqi standing just outside, seemingly having just stood up.
“What were you doing outside?” Wen Xia asked.
“I was on a call,” Lin Fengqi replied calmly.
Seeing how he had stood up, and that his phone wasn’t busy, Wen Xia asked, “Why didn’t you come back in after the call?”
Lin Fengqi hesitated before answering, “I didn’t have a room key.”
Wen Xia: “…”
“How long were you out there?” Wen Xia stepped aside to let him in, frowning.
“Not long.” Lin Fengqi averted his eyes slightly.
Wen Xia didn’t say anything.
After he came inside, Wen Xia closed the door, suddenly reaching out to grab Lin Fengqi’s hand hanging at his side.
The unexpected action startled Lin Fengqi, and he looked at Wen Xia with a mixture of surprise and something like being flattered, like a girl being teased by a rogue on the street.
Wen Xia only held it for a moment before letting go, saying, “So cold. ‘Not long’?”
Lin Fengqi finally curled his fingers, trying to warm them with his palm, but he couldn’t argue.
At this time of year, the central heating in Ancheng hadn’t been turned on yet, and the room was chilly. After Wen Xia returned, he had turned on the air conditioning, but it wasn’t very warm. Lin Fengqi had taken off his jacket because it got too hot after a while. He had gone to the hallway to take a call without grabbing his jacket, and when he finished, he realized he didn’t have a key card to get back in, so he had to wait in the hallway for Wen Xia to wake up.
“Don’t get sick just as I’m getting better,” Wen Xia said.
Lin Fengqi could only weakly reply, “I won’t.”
“Put your jacket back on. Don’t catch a cold, and you can take it off again if you get too warm later.”
Lin Fengqi nodded and put on his jacket, all the while staring at his hand, secretly savoring the lingering warmth from Wen Xia’s touch. He asked, “Are you feeling better?”
“Much better.” Despite saying this, his voice was still thick with congestion.
A while later, he took out the thermometer, and his fever had indeed gone down, dropping from 38.2°C to 37.5°C.
By now, it was past five in the afternoon, and Wen Xia saw that he had a few messages from Gui Qulai, checking in on him, but he had been asleep and hadn’t replied.
Wen Yi Xia: [I’m okay. Are you guys done filming?]
Gui Qulai: [We finished a while ago. We’re out eating now. Do you want me to bring you something back?]
Wen Xia looked up and asked Lin Fengqi, “They’re out eating. Should I have them bring something back?”
Lin Fengqi asked, “When will they be back?”
“I don’t know. Let me ask.”
“Forget it.”
Wen Xia had just started typing but stopped and looked at him.
Lin Fengqi grabbed his coat, “I’ll go out and buy something.”
Wen Xia said, “We can just order delivery.”
“It’ll take time for it to get here.”
Wen Xia didn’t argue. Since he was the patient, he figured he might as well enjoy being taken care of. So, he replied to Gui Qulai, telling him to enjoy the meal and not worry about him.
Lin Fengqi returned quickly with food, much faster than delivery would have been. He brought back a bowl of porridge and a bowl of wonton noodles for Wen Xia to choose from. Wen Xia chose the wonton noodles.
“Isn’t the porridge too bland?” Wen Xia asked, feeling a bit bad as he took the wonton noodles.
“It’s fine,” Lin Fengqi replied. As he sat down and opened the porridge, he quietly added, “I’ll have it with you.”
Wen Xia couldn’t eat anything too greasy or rich because of his illness, so Lin Fengqi kept him company by eating simply as well.
Lin Fengqi thought Wen Xia hadn’t heard him, but Wen Xia had.
Wen Xia glanced at him with a smile and opened his food.
As they ate, Lin Fengqi’s phone rang again. He got up to take the call, not trying to hide anything from Wen Xia, who could overhear that it was work-related.
When he returned and sat down, Wen Xia asked, “Is it okay for you to be away from work for two days?”
“I sent Zeng Yuan back to handle things,” Lin Fengqi said. “He’ll let me know if anything comes up.”
Wen Xia had also left things at the studio in Ah Deng’s hands. But his little studio wouldn’t have any complex issues requiring his attention.
After dinner, Wen Xia felt much better and took his temperature again. It hadn’t gone up or down, staying steady at 37.5°C. Still, he wasn’t in the mood to go back to sleep just yet, so he crawled into bed and turned on the TV.
It wasn’t that he wanted to watch anything in particular, but the silence between him and Lin Fengqi in the room was becoming awkward.
It was an awkwardness that’s hard to describe. He and Lin Fengqi had been alone together before, but this time, with nothing else to do, in a single room with no pets to distract them, there was a peculiar tension in the air… like they were two single men stuck in a small space.
Not that long ago, Wen Xia used to watch TV all the time. When he was a kid, before smartphones, Wen Shanhai worked a lot, so it was just him and the nanny at home. After finishing his homework, he would sit in front of the TV watching cartoons. If he didn’t like what was on TV, he’d ask the nanny to put on a DVD for him.
Wen Shanhai was always busy, so the DVDs didn’t last long. Then he started playing video games, begging Wen Shanhai to buy him consoles, controllers, and all kinds of game cartridges. So every night, after finishing his homework, he would still be in front of the TV.
As he got older and had a phone and the internet, the TV seemed less necessary.
Wen Xia flipped through channels, curious about what was on TV these days. But after a round of channel surfing, nothing really caught his interest. Even the cartoons weren’t appealing, so he lost interest and tossed the remote aside, realizing his phone was more entertaining.
But his attention wasn’t really on his phone. Lin Fengqi, sitting on the sofa, was too hard to ignore.
Wen Xia pretended to browse his phone while sneaking glances at Lin Fengqi.
To his surprise, Lin Fengqi was watching TV intently.
At first, Wen Xia thought, like him, Lin Fengqi was just using the TV to break the awkward silence, but after a while, he realized that wasn’t the case.
Lin Fengqi was genuinely engrossed in the TV.
Wen Xia looked at the TV. He still had the remote, and it was on the channel he had just left it on, playing a crudely drawn, very childish cartoon. It was clearly not meant for adults.
But Lin Fengqi was watching it with rapt attention.
This made Wen Xia even more intrigued.
He kept holding his phone, but his focus shifted to Lin Fengqi. Lin Fengqi was fixated on the TV, his normally cold face occasionally reacting subtly to the cartoon’s plot.
For example, when the main character did something stupid, Lin Fengqi would frown, looking displeased until the character overcame the challenge. Even if the way they did it made no sense to Wen Xia as an adult, Lin Fengqi would relax and look satisfied. And when the character did something funny—though the humor was lost on Wen Xia—Lin Fengqi would find it amusing, a slight smile tugging at his lips.
And then…
Without him realizing, the cartoon ended. When the ending theme played, a hint of disappointment crossed Lin Fengqi’s face.
When he turned to look at Wen Xia, Wen Xia hurriedly shifted his gaze back to his phone, pretending to be very absorbed in whatever was on the screen. That’s when he realized he had accidentally posted a nonsensical string of characters on Weibo. His comments were full of question marks, asking if he had been hacked or if his cat Wen Da Ge had stepped on his phone.
Wen Xia quickly deleted the post.
“Are you feeling worse?” Lin Fengqi didn’t know he had been watched for so long and asked with concern.
“I’m fine.”
“How’s your head? Still dizzy?”
“A little, but it’s not too bad.”
Hearing his voice, Lin Fengqi got up and went to the bag of medicine to get a throat lozenge, “This should soothe your throat.”
Wen Xia reached out, and Lin Fengqi placed a lozenge in his hand.
As Wen Xia popped the lozenge into his mouth, there was a knock at the door.
Wen Xia was comfortably nestled in bed, so Lin Fengqi naturally went to answer it.
“Lao Xia, how are you—” Gui Qulai’s voice stopped mid-sentence and awkwardly shifted, “Ah, hello.”
Lin Fengqi nodded politely, “Hello.”
“Uh, I’m here to see Wen Xia,” Gui Qulai said, “Is it convenient?”
Lin Fengqi studied the person in front of him for a moment before stepping aside.
Gui Qulai checked to make sure he didn’t have anything embarrassing on his face, then walked in, “Lao Xia, how are you feeling? Better?”
Wen Xia: “Much better.”
Gui Qulai asked a few more questions and then told him about the filming schedule for tomorrow. Even though Nana had already mentioned it in the group chat, Gui Qulai figured he’d stop by since he was in the area.
“Will you be able to manage tomorrow?” Gui Qulai paused and then added, “Remember, men don’t admit they can’t.”
Wen Xia said, “I’ll have to manage, even if I can’t.”
The shoot was originally scheduled for two days, and there wasn’t much left to film at the other locations. If everything went smoothly, they could have finished all the filming today.
After a brief chat, Gui Qulai left, not wanting to disturb the patient. Plus, for some reason, he felt like the suited guy kept staring at him, making his back feel cold.
Wen Xia said this was his husband… Jeez, was he really that possessive?
And during the live streams, when the mysterious benefactor kept showering Wen Xia with gifts, and the fans were shipping them, wasn’t this guy fuming?
—Wait a minute. Could that mysterious benefactor be this suited guy???
Gui Qulai had a sudden epiphany.
It was all just a playful game between lovers.
And he had been the clueless fool, always joining in the fun, not realizing he was just a pawn in their romantic antics?
Realizing this, he couldn’t help but curse under his breath, “Damn.”
Damn couples!
•
After seeing Gui Qulai off, Wen Xia checked the time and suddenly remembered something. He asked Lin Fengqi, “By the way, where’s your luggage? Didn’t the airport send it over?”
Lin Fengqi was startled, realizing he had forgotten, “I… forgot.”
And by now, it was too late to arrange for luggage delivery.
Lin Fengqi suddenly looked like a child who had done something wrong, standing there awkwardly.
Apart from some essentials like his ID, keys, and phone, everything else was in his luggage. That meant he didn’t even have a change of clothes for tonight.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Lin Fengqi said, “There’s a small store downstairs. It should still be open. I’ll go buy…”
“No need,” Wen Xia said, “You can wear mine.”
Lin Fengqi stopped in his tracks.
As soon as the words left Wen Xia’s mouth, his own heartbeat sped up a little.
He and Lin Fengqi were about the same size. Wen Xia preferred to buy clothes that were a bit loose, so Lin Fengqi should fit into them just fine.
Lin Fengqi hadn’t expected him to say that. He glanced at the open suitcase on the floor, noticing the underwear Wen Xia had taken out earlier, and his ears turned red.
He was about to step back when a thought crossed his mind, and his face also turned red as he turned and headed for the door.
Wen Xia was puzzled, “Where are you going?”
Lin Fengqi’s voice came from around the corner, accompanied by the sound of the door opening, “…To buy underwear.”
Wen Xia froze for a moment, then glanced at his suitcase. The underwear he had taken out earlier was still lying there, plain as day.
Suddenly, he realized what Lin Fengqi had been thinking, and a wave of heat crept up his own face.
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