On the fifty-sixth day of living together, Lin Xia had a fever.
It came suddenly, yet it was ordinary.
The day before, it had rained.
Lin Xia went out to buy things.
When she came back, she didn’t change clothes immediately.
That night when she went to sleep, she felt a little discomfort in her throat, but she thought she could tough it out, so she didn’t bother.
The next morning, she woke up with a headache.
She grabbed the thermometer and checked her temperature.
It was 38.2 degrees.
She sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the thermometer, thinking it over.
The temperature was still within an acceptable range, so she got dressed as usual, walked out of the bedroom, and sat at the table to start working.
When she reached the living room, she met Yin Qi’s gaze.
Yin Qi was sitting on the sofa. She looked up at her and said, “Your face is really red.”
“I have a fever,” Lin Xia said.
“It’s fine. Nothing serious.”
“Did you take your temperature?”
“I did… 38 degrees.”
“Go back to bed,” Yin Qi reached out and pressed her palm against Lin Xia’s cheek, feeling her temperature.
Her tone was calm.
That tone… it was like an order.
“I still have tasks for today—”
Lin Xia felt the touch of Yin Qi’s hand on her face.
The ring surface was a little cold.
“Tell your superiors you’re not feeling well today,” Yin Qi said.
“There’s nothing going on today anyway. I know.”
Lin Xia knew that too.
There really wasn’t any mission today, at most a routine report.
But… if she reported “feeling unwell,” would the branch record it?
Would it affect her evaluation?
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Yin Qi withdrew her hand.
‘Taking leave for illness doesn’t affect your performance review. I’ve read your manual.’
“Go back to bed,” Yin Qi repeated, standing up.
“Is there fever medicine here?”
“In the cabinet… I think so.”
Lin Xia paused for a moment, feeling like the situation was a bit strange…
She’s taking care of me?
“It’s fine, you don’t have to—”
“I’ll get it.”
Yin Qi was already walking to the storage cabinet.
She opened the door, found a box of fever medicine, then went to the kitchen and poured a glass of warm water.
She brought both back and handed them to Lin Xia.
“Take the medicine first.”
Lin Xia took it, swallowed the pills, and placed the cup on the table.
She looked up at Yin Qi’s face.
She felt… there was something different about her expression today?
“…Thank you,” Lin Xia said.
“I can handle it myself…”
“You can, but you don’t need to,” Yin Qi said.
“Now go back to bed. I’ll cook lunch.”
Lin Xia was silent for a moment, then spoke.
“You can cook?”
“Yes.”
Lin Xia wanted to say something else, but a sudden headache made her give up.
She turned around and walked back to the bedroom, lay down on the bed, and pulled the covers over herself.
That morning, Yin Qi was very well-behaved.
She sat in the living room, much quieter than usual.
Occasionally, she would perk up her ears and listen to the sounds from the bedroom.
Lin Xia was sleeping obediently inside, not tossing and turning, breathing evenly.
Yin Qi turned down the volume on her phone and closed one of the windows.
After a while, she checked the refrigerator in the kitchen.
There were eggs, pork, and some vegetables.
Yin Qi planned to cook a pot of congee for lunch.
She hadn’t cooked since she came here, but she wasn’t completely incapable—her memories from her previous life still held plenty of experience.
She just normally couldn’t be bothered to move.
***
By noon.
The smooth surface of the stove reflected light.
Yin Qi looked down at the ten rings on her hands, each one glowing coldly and silently.
She moved her fingers, feeling the familiar sense of restraint she had long grown accustomed to.
She wasn’t really that worried about Lin Xia.
If it was just a normal fever and the medicine worked, a good night’s sleep would probably get her mostly better.
But when she stood in the kitchen, listening to the silence of the next bedroom, and sensed through her awareness that Lin Xia’s emotional aura had shifted from “unwell” to “stable,” she suddenly realized something…
Lin Xia being sick made her feel…
Uneasy.
It wasn’t a strong feeling—just a tiny bit—but it was enough to make her feel like she’d been poked.
It wasn’t anything weird. Just ordinary concern.
‘I’m just worried about Lin Xia, that’s all. It’s normal. After all, as her charge, I need to cooperate with her work.’
Yin Qi tossed the sliced ginger into the pot and stirred, then waited for the congee to finish cooking.
***
At noon, Lin Xia woke up.
She shuffled out in her slippers, feeling that her headache had eased quite a bit, though she was still a little groggy.
When she reached the kitchen doorway, she saw Yin Qi ladling congee into bowls.
“You’re awake,” Yin Qi said without looking up.
“Come eat.”
Lin Xia sat down at the table and looked at the plain congee in front of her: it had ginger, finely chopped greens, and next to it was a small dish of pickled cucumber.
“Did you make this?” she asked knowingly.
“Yeah, yeah,” Yin Qi brought her own bowl over and sat across from her.
“I made something light. Just eat up.”
Lin Xia lowered her head and took a sip of the congee.
It was hot, with a very light ginger flavor—not harsh at all.
“Thank you.”
“You can go back to sleep after you eat,” Yin Qi said.
“I already recorded today’s report for you.”
Lin Xia looked up.
“You recorded it… for me?”
“I logged into your account,” Yin Qi said.
“I imitated your writing style. Want to check? If there’s a problem, I’ll revise it.”
“…You logged into my account?”
“The one you use for daily reports. I didn’t touch the encrypted stuff,” Yin Qi said.
“Besides, if your account didn’t have a login record today, it would trigger an alert. They would call to confirm, and that would be troublesome.”
“…Your logic is quite thorough.”
“I just don’t want to cause you trouble,” Yin Qi said.
“Alright, eat.”
Lin Xia lowered her head and continued drinking the congee, saying nothing more.
But halfway through, a thought occurred to her, and she looked up to ask, “Why are you being so well-behaved today?”
“You’re sick.”
Those four words were said simply.
“You’re sick,” so I didn’t cause any trouble.
As if that was an obvious cause and effect.
Lin Xia stared at her for a while, but in the end, she said nothing.
She lowered her head and finished the congee that Yin Qi had cooked for her.
The afternoon sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, landing on the table, looking warm.
The congee in the bowl was warm too.
Yin Qi sat across from her, and the ten silver rings on her fingers glittered in the sunlight.
Her face showed no expression, but Lin Xia felt… something was different.
Lin Xia couldn’t quite put her finger on what was different, so she decided not to think about it for now.
She would get better first, then worry about everything else.