Chapter 16: Fever

Thunder and lightning raged, and in the black night, the air was filled with a cool sensation and the scent of earth. The ground was cold, but Lanfan didn’t care. She sat at the entrance of Zhu Silver Pavilion for nearly an hour, still waiting for Zhu Wansheng to return.

She regretted more than once that no matter how fierce Yingshi was, she should have fought and accompanied Zhu Wansheng, rather than allowing herself to be at the mercy of others.

That Gu Yingqing wasn’t reliable, and rainy nights were when incidents were most likely to occur in the city…

The more Lanfan thought about it, the more fearful she became. She stood up abruptly, patted her bottom, and just as she was about to take a step forward, she froze.

Ten steps away, Gu Yingqing was holding an umbrella, with Zhu Wansheng very close to him. He had his head slightly bowed, while she tilted hers up. She was speaking, and he was listening.

The light flickered, shadows intertwining. Zhu Wansheng looked as sweet as an orange-tinted candy, her smile overflowing with sweetness.

Lanfan withdrew her step.

As they approached Zhu Silver Pavilion, Zhu Wansheng ran a few steps and hid under the eaves. “Wow, we’re finally back. It’s so cold.” Lanfan immediately noticed her water-soaked hair strands, the darkened half of her clothes, and the mud spots on her skirt hem. “My lady, I shouldn’t have trusted him and let you suffer like this.” Lanfan frowned, casting a somewhat resentful glance at Gu Yingqing. He didn’t say anything, just looked at her once before melting into the night sky.

Zhu Wansheng comforted Lanfan, “The umbrella was only so big. I’m already quite alright, see? Half of me is still dry. He’s the one who’s soaked through.” Zhu Wansheng’s fingertips were red with cold. Lanfan felt uneasy and held her hands to warm them.

“Alright, it’s so cold. Let’s not stand here anymore. Let’s go back and enjoy a nice hot bath!” Lanfan pouted and muttered softly, “If the umbrella was small, he should have carried you back on his back, my lady. Even if he didn’t use the umbrella himself, he should have protected you properly.” That wasn’t necessary; the two had no affection between them. Having him carry her back would have been worse than letting her get a bit wet… Lanfan went to prepare hot water, while Zhu Wansheng began to remove her wet clothes as she hurried into the main room.

She had unbuttoned halfway when she hastily buttoned up again, cursing Lanfan in her heart for being unreliable and letting just anyone into her room.

Lin Cangai was sitting on her bed, his posture not very elegant. He was leaning back, supporting himself with his hands on the bed. Wearing thin clothes, the contours of his chest were faintly visible, extending from his chest all the way to his abdomen, his even skin tone appearing honey-colored in the lamplight.

His pants were loose, and Zhu Wansheng felt that if he exaggerated a bit more, those pants might just fall off… “Elder sister, why did you return so late today? I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.” Zhu Wansheng asked him, “Do you have something?”

He didn’t answer, but sat up straight. “Elder sister is all wet. With the rain so heavy outside, did elder sister go out to meet brother Ji?” “Elder sister will fall ill like this. May I warm the bed for elder sister? I’m quite warm!” Lin Cangai walked over slowly, his already loose inner garment slipping from his shoulder, revealing his slender collarbones.

“Didn’t go to see him.”

What Ji gongzi? She didn’t have time to see any Ji gongzi.

As for warming the bed… She, a lifelong single female Ph.D… Letting a little puppy warm her bed, she dared not imagine… Lin Cangai quickly stepped forward, his upper garment completely slipping off, the sturdy physique hidden beneath his clothes now bare before her eyes.

He looked thin, but without clothes, he was quite fleshy…

Zhu Wansheng turned her face away. He embraced her arm, his chin resting on her shoulder, his warm breath lingering on her neck, somewhat ticklish.

“Elder sister, I miss you so much. I’ve been waiting here for so long, thinking that elder sister might be getting rained on. Here, it hurts.” He pointed to the area of his heart.

Zhu Wansheng pushed his head away, “You’re too hot…”

She pushed him away, but he came back. “Elder sister got rained on, let me warm you up.” Zhu Wansheng started to feel uncomfortable, “Young Master Lin, don’t be like this…” “Elder sister, I can drink with you. The weather is a bit cool, drinking can warm you up. Isn’t that what elder sister told me herself? We can drink until we’re drunk like we did at my home that time, chat and talk heart-to-heart. So please don’t send me away, alright?” His smiling expression changed, the corners of his eyes turning slightly red, with a hint of grievance.

But she was truly tired. Steeling her heart, she shook her head.

“Lanfan, escort Young Master Lin back to rest. We’ll drink another time. I’m a bit fatigued today.” Zhu Wansheng frowned, standing in place as she watched Lanfan pull Lin Cangai towards the door. As they reached the doorway, he lifted his foot, revealing his white shoes, wet and stained with mud.

Zhu Wansheng’s mouth reacted before her brain could, “Wait.”

Lanfan and Lin Cangai both turned back. The latter ran back, somewhat expectantly, “Is elder sister going to keep me here?”

Zhu Wansheng pointed at the clothes scattered all over the bed, all left behind by Lin Cangai. “It’s cold outside. Put on your clothes before you leave.”

Lin Cangai let out a disappointed “Oh” and reluctantly picked up his clothes to put them on.

During this, he grumbled softly several times, muttering, “The clothes are wet…”

Zhu Wansheng pretended not to hear…

Finally immersing her body in hot water, her limbs and senses immediately relaxed, her pores expanded. By the end, she had actually fallen asleep in the bath.

In her hazy state, she began to have nightmares again. In the dream, her senior sister left resolutely. No matter how much she cried and shouted, her senior sister never looked back at her once.

Zhu Wansheng’s voice became hoarse from calling out. Finally, her senior sister turned back, but her eyes were bloodied. She smiled at Zhu Wansheng, but as she smiled, blood trickled down from the corners of her mouth.

Zhu Wansheng woke up startled, her foot kicking against the wooden tub. Her toes were no match for the wood, and a piercing pain shot through. She pulled her leg back gently.

Leaning back, the lights of this world were not fluorescent, not so bright, but she was still stung, her eye sockets feeling hot. Warm, scalding liquid slid from the corners of her eyes, melting into her hair.

Once again, she had this dream. Even though she had come to another world, what was frightening remained frightening… Unable to be healed.

***

When the post-rain sunlight shone into the room, Zhu Wansheng lifted her aching hand, accompanied by a stabbing pain. It was a very familiar feeling: she had a fever. The full-body ache brought on by the surge of white blood cells made her not want to get out of bed.

Zhu Wansheng turned to her side to sleep, wrapping herself in the blanket. Before she could close her eyes, the door was pushed open heavily. Without looking, she knew who it was. She didn’t know what Lanfan ate every day, but she seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of strength.

“My lady, lunch is ready. I’m here to help you get up.”

Zhu Wansheng said weakly, “Lanfan, I want some water.” Her voice was hoarse beyond recognition.

Lanfan exclaimed in surprise, “My lady, are you ill? Why is your voice like this? I’ll call for a physician.”

Zhu Wansheng stopped her, “Lanfan, no need to call anyone. I have medicine here. Just prepare some water for me.”

Lanfan retreated, half-believing and half-doubting.

Zhu Wansheng thought silently: Little Hua, are you there? Give me 200mg of acetylsalicylic acid, divided into separate packages of 50mg each.

Taking it four times should be enough to bring down her fever.

Another special reagent.

Zhu Wansheng: Are all medicines special reagents? Or what are the classification criteria?

Every time she asked this question, the system would simply crash and ignore her.

After a while, Lanfan entered with water, still looking worried. “My lady, I’ve been thinking, and it’s still that Gu husband’s fault for not taking good care of you yesterday. If it weren’t for Yingshi insisting I leave, you wouldn’t have…”

Zhu Wansheng propped herself up with her hand, leaning against the headboard. She took the water from Lanfan’s hand and took a small sip to moisten her throat before speaking, “Lanfan, from now on, don’t blame Gu husband anymore. He didn’t really do anything wrong.”

Lanfan let out a disappointed “Oh.”

Zhu Wansheng took out the reagent bottle from under the covers and poured the acetylsalicylic acid directly into her mouth, swallowing it with water.

Without the protection of a capsule, the bitter taste spread directly throughout her mouth, causing her to involuntarily clench her jaw.

“My lady, in two days it will be Young Master Ji’s birthday. Is there anything your servant needs to prepare in advance?”

She pondered for a moment. She certainly couldn’t replicate the original owner’s usual practices from previous years, but it seemed she couldn’t do nothing either. After a pause, Zhu Wansheng said, “Find some items that Young Master Ji likes and have someone send them over. Also, draft a note saying that I’ve troubled him in many ways before and have much to apologize for. I wish for Young Master Ji to find his true love and never part till old age.”

Lanfan didn’t understand, “My lady, you actually want Young Master Ji to find true love? If Young Master Ji finds true love, what about you?”

Zhu Wansheng smiled, “I don’t mind either way.”

Lanfan couldn’t quite figure it out. Was her lady playing hard to get or truly giving up?

After much consideration, she couldn’t help but ask, “My lady, I don’t understand. Why are you suddenly indifferent towards Young Master Ji, and why are you suddenly so kind to Gu husband? My lady, are you planning to live well with him?”

Zhu Wansheng laughed when she heard this, but the laugh triggered her sore muscles. She inhaled some cold air, covered her mouth and coughed a few times, then lay back heavily.

Although the pillow was soft, it felt like there was a second of misalignment in her head. She rubbed the back of her head and then rested it on the pillow. “Lanfan, do I absolutely need to be with someone to live my life? In the past, I was always following Young Master Ji, and what was the result?”

Without waiting for Lanfan to answer, she continued, “Now I’ve come to understand. Love is too ethereal; it can dissipate due to any trivial factor. But a career is different. If you truly put your heart into it and are willing to spend time on it, it will surely give you returns.”

“Sooner or later, it will come. Now, be it Young Master Ji, Gu husband, or even Young Master Lin, there’s no difference to me. If there’s a connection, then we can work together. If not, so be it.”

Having said so much at once, her already dry and itchy throat felt even more uncomfortable, so she sat up slightly and drank some more water.

The original owner was undoubtedly a love-obsessed person, willing to give up even her life for Young Master Ji.

But she couldn’t do that. Her life was too precious. The only regret in this life: becoming a great professor was out of reach, and she dared not dream of being an outstanding youth. But at least she could pursue the Zhu family business.

When she’s old and looks back, she should be able to say that when she was young, she had real motivation, strived for something, and achieved some success, living without worries about food and clothing.

Rather than revolving around a man, being happy when he smiles, and being upset for half a day over his casual words.

That would be too weak.

Lanfan didn’t know if she understood or not, she just stood there stunned. Zhu Wansheng just wanted some peace and quiet. “Lanfan, I have no appetite. I want to sleep some more. Go about your business, and I’ll call you when I’m hungry.”

Lanfan left, somewhat dazed and dejected.