SITS Ch6

Chapter 6: Caught a Cold

As spring passed, summer was about to arrive.

The first summer rain fell, the wind driving it against the earth, creating a soft, scattered sound.

It was the perfect weather for a nap.

Xu Zhouye knocked on the door and heard a vague “come in” from inside. He entered Shen Man’s room and saw Shen Man dozing off in the rocking chair on the balcony.

Shen Man was wearing a loose, light brown sleepwear made of plush material, making his whole demeanor appear much softer. It seemed like he had just been woken up, as there was still a hint of drowsiness in his eyes. He pointed to the chair beside him and mumbled, “What’s up, sit.”

Xu Zhouye obediently sat down.

The atmosphere between them quieted, with only the soft sound of rain in the background.

Xu Zhouye looked up at Shen Man and noticed that Shen Man had fallen asleep again.

He leaned against the chair, his limbs slightly curled up. His long eyelashes hung peacefully, casting a light shadow on his cheek, resembling butterfly wings poised to fly. The small mole beneath his eye was faint, only visible upon closer inspection. Staring at Shen Man’s eyebrows and eyes, Xu Zhouye’s fingers moved involuntarily, then stilled—he suppressed a sudden emotion that had risen in his heart.

Shen Man had a dream.

The dream was a mess; he turned into a sheep at one point, and at another, he was flying in the sky. While flying, someone suddenly told him to go fight the Bone Armored Snake King. He struggled to fly to the top of the snake king’s head when Xu Zhouye’s face suddenly appeared before him, holding a net, smiling at him, saying, “Captain, I’ll help you fight.” As he spoke, the net was thrown over him.

Shen Man abruptly opened his eyes, struggling to sit up from the chair, breathing heavily. He turned his head and was genuinely startled to see Xu Zhouye sitting beside him. Shen Man widened his eyes, reached out his hand, but found nothing. His body lurched sideways in panic.

The next moment, his arm was firmly grabbed and pulled into a solid embrace with an unrefusable strength. Shen Man smelled the warm scent of sunlight. He looked up and met Xu Zhouye’s gaze.

“Are you okay?” Xu Zhouye’s voice was deliberately low, as if worried about disturbing the butterfly resting at his fingertips.

“Mm…” Shen Man took a moment to recover, feeling a bit disoriented. “Why are you here?”

Xu Zhouye seemed a bit aggrieved. “I came in a while ago. You agreed to let me in.”

Shen Man: “…” After thinking for a while, he remembered that Xu Zhouye had knocked on the door and that he had agreed to let him in. But he had been in a haze and couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or awake.

“Oh.” Fully awake now, Shen Man said, “What’s the matter?”

“The manager asked me to inform you that we’re filming a promotional video tomorrow afternoon,” Xu Zhouye said. “He told you not to wander around.”

Shen Man replied, “He could’ve just texted me.”

Xu Zhouye added, “He said he texted you, but you didn’t reply.”

Shen Man: “…”

Xu Zhouye continued, “He also said that there are sponsors watching this time, and you can’t escape.”

Shen Man: “…”

“Captain?” Xu Zhouye asked, looking at Shen Man, who had silently laid back down like a beautiful doll running out of energy.

Xu Zhouye smiled at the sight.

“You should go back.” Shen Man curled up like a snail retreating into its shell. “I know.”

Xu Zhouye chuckled. “Okay.”

He stood up, walked a couple of steps toward the door, then returned and draped a thin blanket over Shen Man’s legs. His voice was soft. “Cover up, don’t catch a cold.”

Shen Man mumbled a response.

—

The changing season indeed made it easy to catch a cold.

Xu Zhouye’s prophecy came true when Shen Man felt something off during his live stream that night. His throat was itchy and sore.

He wasn’t talkative to begin with, and now barely said a few words. Viewers complained of being subjected to “cold violence” and strongly requested that next time, the contract with the seafood live stream station specify how many words per hour he should speak.

Shen Man said, “Stop it, my throat hurts.”

Bullet comments: [You said the same thing when you gave us cold violence last month.]

Shen Man: “This time, it’s true.”

Bullet comments: [Does that mean last time it wasn’t true?]

[Scumbag, scumbag.]

[You won’t say the same thing next month, will you?]

Shen Man: “…” What happened to the basic trust between people?

After the stream, his symptoms worsened. His throat felt as though it had been scraped with a razor blade. He listlessly took some medicine, hoping it would improve by the morning.

But the heavens were not kind.

In the morning, when he opened his eyes, everything was dark. Shen Man climbed out of bed, feeling like his feet were stepping on cotton, and he immediately collapsed back into the covers.

At lunchtime, someone finally noticed that Shen Man was missing.

“Where’s Shen Man?” The manager asked suspiciously in the cafeteria. “Has anyone seen him?”

“No, I haven’t seen him this morning,” Zhao Rui said, nibbling on a steamed bun.

“He didn’t go back home again, did he?!” The manager said angrily. “Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on him?”

“He’s not a criminal, how can we watch him?” Liu Shishi complained. “Didn’t you talk to the security guard?”

“Talking to him doesn’t help.” Zhao Rui said coolly, “He’s not like he hasn’t climbed over the wall before.”

Xu Zhouye listened quietly, not daring to speak. Until the others suddenly looked at him, he pointed to himself, puzzled. “Why are you looking at me?”

The manager said, “He hasn’t answered his phone. Go knock on his door.”

Xu Zhouye obediently said, “Okay, I’ll go.”

He stood up and walked out. The others exchanged curious glances, muttering, “Isn’t it strange that Shen Man really let him in?”

“Really a first-time thing.”

Xu Zhouye knocked for a while, but there was no response from inside.

Logically, the room could be empty, but Xu Zhouye felt something was off. He knocked harder, calling Shen Man’s name. After a while, he finally heard a faint sound from inside.

Then the door creaked open.

Xu Zhouye saw Shen Man behind the door, wearing loose sleepwear, his fair face flushed, and sucking on an ice lolly. His usually calm and rational eyes were now cloudy with a faint mist, soft and damp. When he saw Xu Zhouye, he mumbled, “What is it?”

“They said you didn’t reply to the messages, so they asked me to check on you,” Xu Zhouye said.

“Oh.” Shen Man turned to walk back to bed, but stumbled and almost fell. Luckily, Xu Zhouye reacted quickly and caught him. “Captain, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Shen Man replied.

“The coach asked about the shoot this afternoon…” Xu Zhouye hadn’t even asked yet, but he already knew the answer.

Shen Man sat on the bed, head down, biting off a piece of the ice lolly and holding it on his tongue. He heard Xu Zhouye’s question and slowly said, “I’m not eating anymore.”

Xu Zhouye said, “Huh?”

Shen Man raised his head. The distance was so close that Xu Zhouye noticed a hint of redness at the corner of his eyes, making his face look as if he had makeup on. Then, he heard Shen Man mumbling in a slightly coquettish tone, “I’m not eating lunch anymore, you guys eat.”

Xu Zhouye: “…” He finally realized something was off and reached out to touch Shen Man’s forehead.

As expected, his hand felt a wave of heat.

“You’re running a fever,” Xu Zhouye said. “You should rest. I’ll go call a doctor.”

But Shen Man grabbed the corner of his clothes, “No need, I really don’t want to eat.”

Xu Zhouye couldn’t help but laugh.

Shen Man didn’t understand why Xu Zhouye was making that expression. He just felt sore all over, his ears ringing, and he couldn’t clearly hear what Xu Zhouye was saying. He stubbornly thought Xu Zhouye had come to ask him to eat lunch.

“Captain, I’ll be back soon,” Xu Zhouye coaxed. “Really, I’ll be back right away.”

Shen Man gave him a glance and let go.

Xu Zhouye quickly rushed out, afraid that if he waited any longer, Shen Man would grab him again and he wouldn’t be able to leave.

But Shen Man was still confused, mumbling to himself, “Why is he so eager to get me to eat lunch?”

—

When the IV drip was administered, Shen Man’s fever had already reached over forty degrees.

He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and asked, “Why is the ceiling spinning?”

The others in the room couldn’t help but laugh. Zhao Rui said, “What if it’s not the ceiling spinning, but you?”

Shen Man: “…” Oh, so it turns out I’m about to die, scared the hell out of me, thinking it was the ceiling spinning.

“Xiao Shen, if you really don’t want to shoot the promotional video, it’s fine, but you don’t need to go this far, torturing yourself,” the manager said helplessly. “Look at your face, you’re almost cooked from the fever.”

Shen Man said, “…You talk too much.”

The manager said, “Alright, alright, I won’t bother you, you rest well. We’ll leave now.”

The people in the room left.

The room became quiet. Shen Man’s mind was a blur, and he couldn’t think clearly. He closed his eyes, but in his daze, he felt someone sit beside him. Something cold was placed on his burning forehead, which felt very comfortable…

And he drifted off to sleep like that.

After all, being young and healthy, his body quickly recovered after a few IV bags and a nap, and the high fever soon subsided.

Shen Man woke up in the middle of the night. He lay in the dark for a while, his brain finally sorting out what had happened. He reached for the switch on the wall, but before he could reach it, the light turned on.

“Captain.” Someone was sitting by the bed, and when they saw he was awake, they helped him turn on the light. “Are you awake?”

Shen Man coughed and felt his throat burning with pain. Before he could speak, water was already brought to his lips.

Shen Man turned his head and saw Xu Zhouye. He hoarsely said, “Thank you…”

“Drink some water first,” Xu Zhouye said.

Shen Man drank a few sips of water and finally felt a little better, but he found it odd. “You’ve been sitting here the whole time?”

Xu Zhouye said, “No, I was just waiting for the IV to finish before coming in.”

Shen Man said, “Oh, thanks.”

“Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?” Xu Zhouye asked.

Shen Man said, “No need, I’ll just order takeout myself.” He wasn’t that delicate.

“No need. Auntie made porridge for dinner. I’ll heat it up for you,” Xu Zhouye said, standing up. “Wait here.”

Without waiting for Shen Man to refuse, he went out.

Shen Man was left alone in the room, lost in thought.

The window was open, and the rain from the afternoon hadn’t stopped. The needle was still in his hand, and the cold liquid flowing through his veins made his entire arm feel slightly sore.

Perhaps it was because being sick made him more vulnerable than usual, but Shen Man thought of some old memories. He exhaled and opened the drawer beside his bed.

Carrying the heated porridge, Xu Zhouye opened the door but was met with the smell of smoke. Shen Man, who should have been lying in bed, was now standing beside it, having already pulled the IV out of his hand.

Xu Zhouye: “…Captain, you pulled it out yourself?”

“Mm.” Shen Man said, “I saw it was almost done, so I took it out.”

“You can’t smoke though,” Xu Zhouye said. “Your fever just went down.”

He placed the food down, walked over to Shen Man, and naturally took the cigarette from his mouth.

Shen Man was slightly stunned as he watched Xu Zhouye put the cigarette in his own mouth. “Don’t waste it, I’ll smoke it for you.”

Everything happened too quickly, and his movements and tone were so natural, Shen Man didn’t have time to protest.

Before Shen Man could even open his mouth, Xu Zhouye had pushed him to sit by the table. “The porridge is freshly heated, hurry up and eat. I’ll go smoke outside.”

With that, Xu Zhouye turned and walked into the hallway.

Shen Man: “…” This kid’s combo move is too fast.

The porridge was at the perfect temperature, accompanied by a few small dishes that were fresh and appetizing. After eating, Shen Man felt his body warm up. Xu Zhouye, who didn’t usually smoke, somehow managed to finish his cigarette and came back in, the smoke dissipating around him.

“Are you full, Captain?” Xu Zhouye asked.

“Mm.” Shen Man said, “It’s so late already, you should go rest. Thanks again.”

Xu Zhouye said, “It’s fine, I’m usually awake at this time. Has the blood stopped from the needle mark on your hand?” He hadn’t expected Shen Man to pull the needle out by himself.

Shen Man wasn’t concerned. “It’s stopped.”

Xu Zhouye seemed to hesitate, but Shen Man didn’t see his expression. After finishing the last of the porridge, Shen Man stood up, intending to clean up himself, but Xu Zhouye stopped him.

“I’ll do it. You rest,” Xu Zhouye said. “You just got better, don’t strain yourself and fall.”

Shen Man didn’t argue and thanked him again.

“Then sleep a bit more,” Xu Zhouye said. “See you tomorrow.”

“See you tomorrow.” Shen Man replied.

Xu Zhouye carried the tray out, and the room became quiet again, the only sound being the gentle patter of rain outside.

Shen Man pressed his lips together. His hand, which had been hanging at his side, was just about to rise when the door creaked open again.

Xu Zhouye poked his head in. Their eyes met, and Shen Man inexplicably felt a bit guilty. “What is it? Did you forget something?”

Xu Zhouye said, “Captain, I don’t want you to smoke anymore.”

Shen Man: “…”

Xu Zhouye added, “You understand what I mean, right?”

Shen Man: “…”

Seeing that Shen Man didn’t respond, Xu Zhouye even felt a little wronged. “Captain, say something, why are you giving me the silent treatment?”

It made sense. After all, the guy had taken care of him all night and just finished serving him his meal. How could he give him the silent treatment now? Shen Man, who was soft after being taken care of, relented. “Fine, I won’t smoke.”

Xu Zhouye said, “I have a very sensitive nose!!”

Shen Man sighed. “I’ll keep my word.”

Xu Zhouye nodded, finally satisfied, and closed the door as he left.

Shen Man thought to himself, this kid is really hard to deal with, coming back for a second round like this. But he kept his promise and didn’t smoke. He sat on the bed for a while, then once again drifted off into a daze and fell asleep.