Chapter 100: Taking Care of a Patient

First, there was a heavy, viscous darkness.

Consciousness was like debris being repeatedly battered by the tide, swept away again and again, only to be pushed back to the shore.

What Gu Yebai felt first was the weight of his eyelids, which felt as if they were filled with lead and were nearly impossible to lift.

Next, a dull ache radiated from the back of his head, as if he had been struck by a blunt object, or perhaps the lingering sluggishness of a hangover slowly diffusing deep into his nerves.

He subconsciously raised his hand to press his temples.

His fingertips touched a thin layer of cold sweat, the chill spreading across his skin.

“I…”

He opened his eyes slowly, and the first thing to enter his vision was the 12-foot-high ceiling.

It was so hot.

He turned his head slightly and finally discovered the source of the heat—Gao Hongyi was wrapped tightly around him, like a small cat that had fallen asleep but refused to retract its claws.

Her red hair was spread out in disarray on the pillow, with a few strands stuck to his neck and chest by sweat, carrying her familiar scent of shampoo.

Even while deep in sleep, she was beautiful to the point of being unreal, her features as delicate as porcelain, long lashes drooping, lips slightly parted, her breathing shallow and hurried.

Her arms were locked tightly around his waist, her thighs hooked over his legs, as if she were terrified that if she let go, he would vanish into thin air.

He tried to move, wanting to shift her slightly, but found his limbs held fast like iron hoops.

Instead, because of his movement, she pressed in even closer, burying her cheek directly into the crook of his neck, her breath shockingly hot.

‘Wait. Isn’t this too hot?’

Gu Yebai’s heart tightened, and he immediately realized something was wrong.

“Hongyi?”

He quickly reached out to touch her forehead—scalding hot, at least 102 degrees.

He touched his own forehead: normal, perhaps even a bit cool.

“Hongyi, Hongyi…”

Gu Yebai called to her softly, but there was no response.

She only rubbed unconsciously against his collarbone, her lips trembling slightly as she let out broken, tearful sleep-talk: “Sorry… Uncle Bai. Don’t leave me. I was wrong…”

Her voice was intermittent and carried a hint of resentment.

Gu Yebai’s heart felt as if it had been suddenly gripped by something, so tight, so suffocating, and so painful.

He would rather be the one with the fever, suffering through nightmares in bed, than see her endure such torment.

“I won’t leave you.”

He whispered in response, his voice so quiet that only he could hear it.

“How could I leave you, you silly girl?”

“Hongyi, I’m going to get you medicine, please let go of me first.”

He shook her slightly.

“Uncle Bai…”

Gao Hongyi slowly opened her pitch-black pupils, looking at him with a dazed expression, her eyes still clouded by the haze of the fever.

“You’re sick, Hongyi…”

“Kiss me, and I’ll let you go.”

She looked at him with an oddly calm expression, her voice soft but carrying a refusal to be denied.

“Otherwise, I absolutely will not let you off this bed.”

Gu Yebai’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

There was no other way.

He leaned down and, in a quick, decisive movement, pressed a light kiss to her red lips, as much an act of comfort as one of surrender.

Gao Hongyi hummed in satisfaction, and her limbs finally loosened slightly.

She continued to mutter.

“Hehe, my Uncle Bai loves me the most. A kiss from Uncle Bai in the morning, hehe…”

‘This child, she must be fever-drunk.’

Gu Yebai climbed out of bed, his heart feeling as though it were being ripped apart.

He stepped barefoot onto the cold floor.

In truth, Gu Yebai was also feeling a bit dizzy, his walk unsteady, as if he might topple over at any moment.

He walked quickly to the medicine cabinet, struggling to search through it until he found the ibuprofen and the Xiao Chai Hu granules.

He prepared the dosage, then quickly grabbed a cooling patch and a towel, wringing the water out in the sink.

He had to take good care of Hongyi.

The sky was still just beginning to brighten, and the living room light was dim.

As Gu Yebai walked back toward the bedroom with the medicine, his gaze subconsciously drifted over the Bosendorfer upright piano.

His footsteps faltered.

Last night, he felt as if something truly extraordinary had happened.

But unfortunately, he couldn’t remember a single thing.

*

Memories were like a broken single-player game; the save file was corrupted, leaving only chaotic fragments.

He seemed to recall the sound of piano playing, and countless crimson threads wrapping around his bones and limbs.

Then, he seemed to have seen the dilapidated living room in Linchuan County, seen his deceased parents, and seen their lips moving.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t hear a word.

The fear came from out of nowhere, yet it felt exceptionally real.

Looking at that piano, it felt to Gu Yebai like being a person who had accidentally wandered into a hyper-realistic wax museum in the middle of the night.

Everything was clearly still.

Yet it felt as though they would open their eyes and walk toward him the next second.

“Breathe, breathe, stay calm…”

Gu Yebai’s hands were shaking.

But, the most important thing right now was not fear of a piano, but taking good care of Hongyi.

“Hongyi, take your medicine.”

Gu Yebai entered the bedroom.

“After you take the medicine, we’ll check your temperature again.”

“I’ll call the butler, Uncle Gao, and Aunt Ya later.”

Gao Hongyi nodded obediently.

“Sorry for the trouble, Uncle Bai.”

“Right, I also need to have Mom and Dad call the school to excuse you; you won’t be going to school today, Hongyi.”

Gu Yebai lifted the prepared cup of Xiao Chai Hu granules.

Since the water had just been boiling, it was still quite hot, so he pulled a chair over, sat by the bed, and gently blew on it.

“Take the ibuprofen first.”

“Don’t worry, once you take these, you’ll probably be fever-free by tomorrow.”

“Uncle Bai…”

Gao Hongyi smiled with childish innocence, her fair cheeks flushed like overripe peaches from the high fever.

“You’re just like a big brother.”

“I don’t think so.”

Gu Yebai shook his head, his voice gentle but tinged with self-deprecation.

“Hongyi is more like the big sister. You understand so many things I don’t, you can play the piano, you speak French, and you’re always so confident when dealing with things.”

“Compared to you, I’m the one who looks like a child who hasn’t grown up.”

“Here, keep the thermometer under your arm, don’t let it drop.”

“Do you want to watch TV?”

“I’m satisfied just looking at Uncle Bai’s face…”

Gao Hongyi’s voice grew softer and softer, carrying the nasal congestion of her fever.

“It feels like something happened last night, but for some reason, I can’t remember anything…”

“It feels like a real pity, as if I missed out on a good opportunity…”

“Forget it, it doesn’t matter.”

“Anyway, it’s enough that Uncle Bai is by my side.”

She suddenly lifted her burning red face, her eyes shining as she stared at Gu Yebai, her mouth curving into a satisfied yet frail smile.

“Seriously, being sick isn’t bad at all, at least… I can stay at home with Uncle Bai for a whole day.”

“At school, I’d still have to worry…”

“Worry about what?”

Gu Yebai asked softly.

Gao Hongyi blinked, her voice low but carrying a kind of childish, nearly naive stubbornness.

“Worry about Uncle Bai opening the door for strangers.”

“If I wasn’t home, and you got kidnapped by a stranger, and I couldn’t find Uncle Bai for the rest of my life… what would I do?”

Gu Yebai was stunned, then couldn’t help but laugh.

“You make it sound like I’m a little kid.”

His hand remained firmly locked with Gao Hongyi’s, their fingers intertwined as if responding silently to her unease—I won’t leave, I am here.

Gao Hongyi uttered a satisfied “Mmm” and rubbed her cheek against his palm again.

“Alright, the temperature of the Xiao Chai Hu granules is about right to drink now.”

Gu Yebai brought the bowl closer, stirred it gently with a spoon, and blew on it twice.

“I’ll tell the chef not to make breakfast too greasy today, and ask him to make some millet porridge or applesauce or something, okay?”

Gao Hongyi nodded obediently, her eyes never leaving him for a second.

Gu Yebai reached for his phone, wanting to send a message to the butler about breakfast.

The moment the screen lit up, he suddenly noticed a new friend request in his WeChat notifications.

The applicant was a girl with a UFO avatar.

The ID was a string of Korean characters that Gu Yebai could not understand.