“Why did you two run off halfway through class?”
At noon, the roommates gradually returned to the dorm.
As soon as Wang Zuhao entered, he immediately started complaining.
“Why didn’t you call me!”
Whenever he was around, the quiet dorm instantly became noisy.
“Keep it down, Bai Yao is sleeping.”
Qiu Ye turned his head and made a “shh” gesture.
He had finally managed to coax Bai Yao to sleep.
If it weren’t for the fact that their roommates would return from class at twelve and might misunderstand, he would have liked to lie down and take a nap together while holding him.
“Sleeping is sleeping, but in broad daylight we’re not even allowed to talk?”
Wang Zuhao said that, but he still lowered his voice a little.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“It seems like… diarrhea and a fever.”
“Fever or horny?”
Wang Zuhao walked to Bai Yao’s bed and stood on tiptoe to peek up, but the bed curtains were tightly closed, and he didn’t feel comfortable pulling them open.
He turned and asked Qiu Ye, “Did he take medicine?”
“No. He doesn’t want to.”
They had bought **ibuprofen sustained-release capsules**, but Bai Yao felt the problem wasn’t serious.
He treated the menstrual pain like ordinary stomach pain and thought it would get better after sleeping.
“Bai Yao is sick?”
Chen Zhilong had just returned to the dorm with Lin Mingxin.
“In the afternoon, help us ask for leave. I’ll take care of him.”
“You two might as well get married. It’s just being sick, what’s there to take care of?”
Lin Mingxin muttered as he sat down.
“If you treated the girl you like the same way you treat Bai Yao, you would’ve gotten her already.”
Qiu Ye thought about it.
He hadn’t gotten anyone though.
“Alright, I’ll ask for leave for you two.”
Chen Zhilong lowered his head and sent a message to the counselor on his phone.
At the same time he reminded him, “He’s asleep, right? If he’s not better after waking up, take him to the campus clinic. Otherwise the whole dorm might end up getting infected.”
Wang Zuhao’s eyes lit up.
“Wouldn’t that be great?”
“Get lost.” Qiu Ye kicked him.
Before, even when Bai Yao wanted to take a nap, the dorm was usually noisy because he didn’t like speaking up.
Now that Qiu Ye spoke for him—and with a much firmer personality than Bai Yao’s soft one—the roommates obediently stayed quiet and did their own things.
“Bai Yao snores too.”
Wang Zuhao heard the snoring and muttered quietly.
“He looks pretty skinny though.”
“You snore louder than anyone.”
Lin Mingxin dug in his ear.
He was also a victim of that snoring, otherwise he wouldn’t frequently skip the eight-a.m. class.
“How come I didn’t know?”
“If you could hear it, that’d be a miracle.”
Qiu Ye was still worried about Bai Yao.
He stood up and pulled the curtain open to peek inside.
Bai Yao was curled up like a kitten, small and delicate, his brows tightly knitted even in sleep.
Clearly, he wasn’t resting well.
*What should I do about these menstrual cramps…*
He rubbed his temples, sat at Bai Yao’s desk, and began searching everywhere for ways to relieve menstrual pain to see if there were any remedies.
Low-fat foods, avoid high salt and high sugar, avoid coffee.
Stay warm, use heating pads, drink more hot water—he already knew that.
Putting the heat pack on the lower back works better?
“Menstrual cramps?”
When Chen Zhilong passed by, he glanced at Qiu Ye’s phone screen and asked curiously.
“Nothing.”
Qiu Ye quickly flipped the screen face down.
“A friend has cramps. I’m checking for him.”
“The girl you like, right?”
Chen Zhilong teased.
“Honestly, just being there in person would help more than anything.”
“Why can’t it be Bai Yao?” Wang Zuhao suddenly cut in.
The two of them burst out laughing.
Only Qiu Ye couldn’t laugh; his face stayed expressionless and he even felt a little nervous.
*Damn it. They guessed it exactly!*
The snoring above suddenly stopped.
Qiu Ye looked up and saw the bed frame shaking slightly.
He stood up and pulled the curtain open a bit.
Bai Yao was indeed awake.
His originally lively big almond eyes now looked lifeless, staring blankly at the top of the bed curtain.
“Why did you wake up?”
“Want some water?”
Bai Yao tucked his chin into the blanket.
His voice was hoarse and weak from just waking up, carrying a faint whimper that sounded almost like he was acting spoiled.
“Qiu Ye… my lower back hurts…”
After sleeping, the bloated pain in his lower abdomen had eased slightly—or rather, it had spread toward his waist and stomach.
“Why does your back hurt?”
Chen Zhilong came closer.
“Last time when I had a fever my whole body ached too. I have a thermometer. Want to check your temperature?”
As soon as he saw the roommates, Bai Yao’s expression stiffened and he quickly suppressed the urge to act spoiled.
“Maybe you should take some ibuprofen?”
Qiu Ye added guiltily.
“It reduces fever and relieves pain.”
“I heard you can only take painkillers when the fever is above forty degrees?”
“There’s such a rule?”
“I’ll go get some ice for a cold compress.”
Chen Zhilong really was a responsible dorm leader.
“Don’t keep covering yourself with blankets. You might make it worse.”
Unfortunately, his suggestion would only worsen menstrual cramps.
Bai Yao turned his head and looked at the two people standing by the bed.
He wanted to call Qiu Ye up onto the bed… but the roommates were here.
Being too intimate might cause misunderstandings.
Ah… actually, maybe it wasn’t really a misunderstanding anymore.
Today they had been so close that they were practically like a couple.
Originally, Bai Yao wanted to observe the situation a bit longer to see whether he had just imagined that Qiu Ye liked him.
But Qiu Ye had literally pointed a gun at his lower back earlier!
At the very least, that meant the guy desired his body!
*Shameless! I’m still having menstrual cramps!*
“I feel like I’m dying…”
Even though he was cursing in his heart, Bai Yao’s voice sounded weak and fragile.
Qiu Ye brought over a cup of slightly hot water.
“Drink some water?”
The dorm kettle didn’t have a keep-warm function, so he had to boil water frequently, mixing a bit of cold water to make it comfortably warm.
Bai Yao sat up, took the cup, and sipped twice.
Honestly, being held by Qiu Ye while having his stomach rubbed felt much better.
But the roommates were here—he wasn’t that shameless.
“I’ve already asked for your leave. Get some rest.”
Chen Zhilong asked with concern, “Do you want me to buy you anything?”
“Maybe… cola?”
“You want cola while you have a fever?”
Wang Zuhao came to stir trouble again.
“Sounds like you’re horny instead.”
Bai Yao didn’t even bother responding and simply rolled his eyes while continuing to drink hot water.
After the warm water went down, it felt like all the pores in his body opened slightly.
A light sweat formed on his forehead, easing the cramps a bit.
Seeing his complexion improve a little, Qiu Ye finally relaxed.
“Are you hungry? You barely ate lunch.”
“A little.”
“Then I’ll order takeout. How about some pork congee?”
“Mm, anything is fine.”
Bai Yao set the cup down.
Chen Zhilong immediately took it, refilled it with hot water, and placed it back on the bed frame.
Looking at the three people by the bed, Bai Yao thought that aside from Wang Zuhao—who only liked to mock and watch the drama—his roommates were actually pretty nice.
Soon everyone went back to doing their own things.
After waking up, Bai Yao felt a bit more energetic.
He didn’t want to appear weak in front of his roommates, so he climbed down from the bed and sat at the computer watching videos with a cold expression.
On the surface, he only looked a bit pale.
Qiu Ye leaned against the ladder beside the bed, ordering **century-egg and lean pork congee** while asking,
“Stomach pain, back soreness… anything else?”
Bai Yao looked up at him.
His normally indifferent face visibly turned pitiful.
“My whole body feels sore too… I don’t have any strength…”
But Qiu Ye was different.
After all, Bai Yao had already acted spoiled in front of him before, so the embarrassment felt much less.