Chapter 8
After Yu Le returned to his room and took a shower, he put on the clothes Lu Yao had given him.
He wasn’t short, standing at 1.8 meters, just half a head shorter than Lu Yao. However, due to their different body types, Lu Yao’s clothes hung loosely on him. The shorts were so baggy that the pant legs flapped, and the T-shirt’s neckline was so wide it couldn’t cover his collarbone.
And the underwear was loose to the point of being slightly insulting.
Well, never mind.
Looser clothes were more comfortable and help with sleep, Yu Le reassured himself as he pushed the window open a crack and begrudgingly climbed into bed.
The mattress under the bed wasn’t hard to begin with, and adding an extra quilt made it even softer, almost making him sink in. He had to admit, lying down on this overly used old back of his felt really good.
There would be a record of the room reservation, so Yu Le opened the app, found the inn, and checked it out. The owner’s surname was indeed Lu, but unlike what he had heard earlier, the owner’s full name had three characters: Lu Shan Hai.
Lu Shan Hai?
Did he mishear?
He probably didn’t; it’s unlikely he would mix up numbers.
If he guessed right, this Lu Shan Hai should be his father or some uncle or elder relative.
So it should be Lu Yao? Or something else?
He should just go to sleep.
The rainfall on the mountain was heavy, and even now, there was no sign that the rain was going to stop. The sound of the bell from outside, mixed with the rain pattering on the leaves, created the most relaxing white noise.
The air was cool and crisp, perfect for sleeping under a light quilt.
This was much more comfortable than falling asleep to the sound of car horns. Almost as soon as he closed his eyes, drowsiness began to quietly creep in.
However, Yu Le was still lacking in life experience.
There were many mosquitoes in the mountains. He had forgotten one of the most important things to do before bed, and soon he was disturbed by the buzzing of mosquitoes circling around him.
He had forgotten about this.
With his messy hair, he irritably sat up. Half of his consciousness was still in a dream, and with a heavy head and light feet, he searched around the room and finally found a box of new, unopened electric mosquito repellent liquid in the cabinet.
Electric mosquito repellent? The kind that plugs in? That should be mosquito repellent.
He found a spot with an outlet, squatted down to unpack it, and stared in confusion at the plug and several boxes of purple liquid.
His brain wasn’t functioning well; it took him several times in reading the instructions to understand them. After studying it for a long time, he finally managed to fit the liquid and the vaporizer together.
He plugged it into the socket, and after turning it on and seeing the light, he let out a sigh of relief.
It’s finally done.
It was okay, though a bit ineffective. It would have been simpler to use a traditional mosquito coil and a lighter.
He turned off the lights, climbed back into bed in the dark, and tried to sleep. The drowsiness bug hadn’t run away; it started working hard as soon as he closed his eyes.
But this time, his sleep was more restless.
Without mosquitoes, he felt inexplicably hot. His nose felt blocked, making it hard to breathe, and the air he exhaled was warm.
And his neck was itchy.
Gradually, it wasn’t just his neck; his ears, back, and arms began to itch as well.
Yu Le was extremely uncomfortable. He wanted to sleep but couldn’t, and wanted to wake up but couldn’t open his eyes. Even though he was aware, his eyelids felt heavy, as if weighed down by two large stones.
His body also felt heavy; he couldn’t even lift his hand to scratch the itch.
What’s going on?
This is so annoying.
He muddled through the thought: Am I having sleep paralysis?
Lu Yao had completed all the lists, finished calculating the accounts, placed the orders, and had a brief video conference after receiving a call from his assistant.
By the time it ended, it was already very late. He got up and went to the backyard, looked up at the second-floor room, and saw that the light was off, so the person should be asleep by now.
The bus ride from Xuan City to here took at least six hours. Lu Yao didn’t know if Yu Le had eaten anything on the way, but he guessed that the bumpy ride would have made it hard to eat much, even if he did.
And from the afternoon until now, he hadn’t eaten a grain of rice.
The rain had gotten heavier. Lu Yao grabbed an umbrella, walked across the yard, and headed to the kitchen on the opposite side.
Though it was called a kitchen, it was actually a space with a brick and tile roof, three walls, and an open side facing the yard, supported by a few yellow pear wood pillars.
The foundation was raised a few steps higher than the yard, so the water couldn’t splash up. The cement floor remained dry.
The stove was on the right side against the wall, next to a refrigerator and other appliances. To the left was a large open space where three or four sets of dining tables and chairs, similar to those behind the hall’s screen, were scattered for eating.
Lu Yao peeled a pear, mixed it with rock candy, and put it into a clay pot to simmer. He then checked the rice steamer and found it still had rice. He took some ingredients from the refrigerator, chopped them up, and made a quick fried rice. The aroma filled the chilly air, making one’s appetite immediately increase.
He served the fried rice onto a plate, placed a wooden spoon from the chopstick holder on top, then carried the plate to the table. After that, he went through the courtyard and upstairs to call Yu Le.
The dim, yellow light of the lantern illuminated the courtyard. Lu Yao used the light to walk down the corridor and stopped at Yu Le’s room.
The door wasn’t locked. He knocked a few times and called out, but there was no response from inside.
Sensing something was wrong, he frowned and pushed the door open.
He turned on the light with the switch on the wall and walked to the bedside. Yu Le was sleeping heavily and restlessly, breathing rapidly, with half of his face exposed outside the blanket showing an abnormal flush.
Lu Yao knelt beside the bed and pulled down the blanket to reveal Yu Le’s entire face.
“Yu Le?”
At his call, Yu Le’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly, as if he was trying hard to open his eyes but couldn’t.
Lu Yao placed the back of his hand on Yu Le’s forehead and realized it was alarmingly hot.
His heart sank. He immediately pulled out his phone and called Wen Yuan, who was still awake at this hour, even a bit more energetic than during the day.
“Brother Lu, good evening!”
Lu Yao quickly explained, “Come over and help me.”
After hanging up, Lu Yao lifted Yu Le in his arms.
Yu Le couldn’t lift his arms, and his index finger clung to Lu Yao’s chest, not letting go. His head rested wearily against Lu Yao’s chest. His nose was blocked, so he could only breathe through his half-open mouth, with the oversized collar tilted to one side, revealing his skin covered with dark red marks.
Lu Yao knew Yu Le had delicate and sensitive skin, but he didn’t expect that after a day and night, there would still be no sign of improvement.
It looked pitiful.
Lu Yao, feeling a mix of emotions, helped Yu Le adjust his clothes and gently rubbed his head.
“It’s okay, I’m taking you to the hospital now.”
Wen Yuan ran in through the rain. The hall lights were on, and he saw the same boy who had asked him about the room earlier, now looking ill and leaning on Lu Yao. Without Lu Yao’s support, he might have had difficulty even sitting up.
“What happened? He was fine earlier today!”
Wen Yuan said, hanging up his umbrella and rushing over to check.
“He has a fever,” Lu Yao said.
“I knew it! You said it wasn’t anything.” Wen Yuan touched Yu Le’s face with concern.
“What kind of cold is this? It looks so serious.”
“He’s exhausted,” Lu Yao said, handing Yu Le over to Wen Yuan.
“Keep an eye on him while I get the car.”
“Okay,” Wen Yuan said, sitting on a stool and carefully supporting Yu Le against his shoulder.
There was a small parking lot further down the street. Lu Yao’s car was parked there.
He drove out of the parking lot, stopped at the inn’s entrance, and got out to enter the building.
Wen Yuan was trying to talk to Yu Le, “Little beauty, what’s wrong?”
Yu Le mumbled something.
Wen Yuan almost put his ear to Yu Le’s mouth but still couldn’t hear clearly.
“Huh? Teeth? Your teeth hurt? Huh? Itchy? It’s itchy!”
He suddenly realized, “Itchy, right? Where does it itch?”
Lu Yao came over, skillfully lifting Yu Le.
“Hold the umbrella.”
Wen Yuan followed Lu Yao, holding an umbrella and helping Yu Le into the passenger seat.
“Thanks,” Lu Yao said, taking the umbrella.
“You should go rest. I’ll take him to the hospital.”
Wen Yuan asked, “Do I need to go?”
Lu Yao replied, “No, I can handle it alone.”
“Alright,” Wen Yuan said, watching Lu Yao return to the driver’s seat. He suddenly remembered something and hurriedly called out, “Wait, Brother Lu!”
Lu Yao was about to open the car door when he looked up. “What’s up?”
Wen Yuan said, “I just heard him say he’s itchy. Check if he has any allergic reactions in addition to the fever.”
Lu Yao hadn’t noticed that.
He got into the car, turned on the light, and leaned over to pull down Yu Le’s collar. He indeed found red, swollen areas resembling an allergic reaction on the back of his neck. It was mixed in with the marks he had previously made, making it hard to notice at first glance.
Yu Le seemed to be a bit more conscious, his eyes half-open in discomfort, looking pitiful with the familiar redness appearing at the corners of his eyes.
He’s even more delicate than he had imagined.
Lu Yao loosened the collar and gently rubbed the swollen, itchy spots with his fingertip, whispering, “Hang in there a little longer.”
The town only had a small clinic, not a hospital. The nearest hospital was at the foot of the mountain, about a half-hour drive away. With the heavy rain affecting visibility, it would likely take even longer.
He put his jacket over Yu Le and drove down the mountain. The car’s headlights cut through the dense rain.
Wen Yuan watched the tail lights of the car disappear into the heavy rain, helped Lu Yao close the inn’s door, and then turned around, running back with a splash.
It was almost midnight, and his new anime episode was about to start!
