After The Beautiful Woman Moves Into The Jock's Dorm Room - Chapter 69

Chapter 69: Too busy to even notice his own boyfriend is sick…

Receiving the harassing message from that person again after a long time, Shen Qingyu irritably ran his fingers through his hair, his heart filled with extreme dread and unease.

He considered whether to tell Cheng Che. After all, Cheng Che was his boyfriend. But if he told him, it seemed like it wouldn’t achieve anything other than having one more person feel angry about it. He couldn’t find who the person hiding behind the network was.

Entering November, the weather turned much colder. The Physical Education College seemed to have some event, and Cheng Che had been very busy during this time. Although they were in the same dorm room, they could only exchange a few simple words in the morning and before bed.

Seasonal change is a high-incidence period for the flu, and Shen Qingyu’s physique was not particularly strong to begin with; he would inevitably get sick every season change. However, since moving into this dorm, with more people watching out for him, his frequency of getting sick had significantly decreased. But this time, he couldn’t escape it.

Shen Qingyu realized he felt unwell but didn’t tell Cheng Che immediately. He was an adult, and telling Cheng Che about such a small matter would seem too helpless. Furthermore, Cheng Che was incredibly busy, and Shen Qingyu didn’t want him to be distracted because of him.

On this day, Shen Qingyu, while sick, completed the physical fitness test for the semester. After leaving the 1,000-meter test area, he felt dizzy, his limbs weak, and he fell to the ground. Just as he felt embarrassed about causing a scene and tried to push himself up, someone supported his arm and held his waist.

The embrace was too warm and familiar. Shen Qingyu’s eyelids were too heavy to lift, and he simply let the entire weight of his body rest in that person’s arms.

“You’re running a fever,” Song Yu’s low voice sounded in Shen Qingyu’s ear.

So it was Song Yu. No wonder he felt so reliable and strong.

“I didn’t know…” Shen Qingyu’s voice was very weak. Even the simple action of raising his arm to touch his forehead was extremely difficult.

Song Yu let out an almost imperceptible sigh that reached Shen Qingyu’s ears, making him feel a bit ashamed.

“I’ll take you to the hospital,” Song Yu said.

Shen Qingyu understood his own condition and quickly refused, coughing a couple of times because of the rush. “No need to go to the hospital. It’s just a common cold. I’ll be fine if I take some medicine and get a good rest.”

Song Yu initially didn’t want to listen to him, but seeing his persistence, he had no choice. He gently pinched his chin with his other hand, lifting it. Seeing the two patches of flush on his face, his eyelashes trembled.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. He said, “Alright, then I’ll carry you back to the dorm.”

With that, he lifted Shen Qingyu up in a bridal carry. Afraid of falling, Shen Qingyu fluttered his legs a couple of times and quickly wrapped his arms around Song Yu’s neck. He was still feverish, and his arm temperature was high, pressing against Song Yu’s somewhat cool neck, which sent shivers down Song Yu’s spine.

“Why… why are you carrying me? I can walk myself.” Being princess-carried by another boy in full view of everyone made Shen Qingyu very embarrassed. He pressed his head tightly against Song Yu’s shoulder, taking a deep breath, and caught the pleasant scent on him.

It smelled like cedarwood in a forest, carrying a sense of cool refreshment.

Shen Qingyu’s voice, soft and slightly nasal from the sickness, was slow when he spoke, sounding like he was whining.

“You’re walking too slowly. This way is faster,” Song Yu explained.

“Okay, thank you.” Being carried was indeed much more comfortable, but his head was still very swollen and dizzy, feeling like it might explode at any moment. Shen Qingyu wanted to change the subject to distract himself, so he asked, “How come you’re here?”

“Physical test.”

“Your class is today too, then.”

“Mhm.”

“You ran 1,000 meters without even breathing heavily. That’s amazing,” he paused, saying, “I almost died from exhaustion.”

“I have a habit of morning runs.”

“That explains it.”

“Mhm.”

Shen Qingyu suddenly felt a bit shy. “Am I heavy?”

Song Yu’s lips moved, seemingly forming a fleeting smile that Shen Qingyu couldn’t quite catch. “Not heavy, very light. You should eat more.”

“I eat a lot,” Shen Qingyu defended himself. “Why does everyone say I eat little?”

Their striking appearances attracted a lot of attention along the way. The short ten-minute walk felt incredibly long to Shen Qingyu.

When they reached the dorm entrance, they ran into Lu Xiao leaving. Lu Xiao saw Shen Qingyu lying pale in Song Yu’s arms, his brows furrowed, and his voice anxious: “What’s going on?”

Lu Xiao reached out his arm, wanting to take him from Song Yu’s arms, but Song Yu skillfully avoided him.

“He’s sick and still took the physical test. He has a fever,” Song Yu said.

Lu Xiao “Tsk’d” and turned to find his car keys. “Take him to the hospital.”

“I don’t need to go. Just some medicine will be fine.” Shen Qingyu grabbed his clothes. “Really, Lu Xiao.”

“Do you have fever reducers? If not, I’ll go buy some now. Does your throat hurt? I’ll buy some lozenges, too, and…”

“I have everything.”

Lu Xiao stopped, his eyes full of concern.

Shen Qingyu wasn’t good at dealing with this kind of emotion. He closed his eyes and said, “It’s just a little cold. You don’t have to be like this…”

Song Yu placed him on a chair. “Where are the medicines? I’ll get them for you.”

“The bottom drawer right there.” Shen Qingyu pointed to the approximate location. Song Yu quickly found his medicine and checked that they were all within the expiration date before handing them to him.

Lu Xiao brought him a cup of warm water.

Under their watch, Shen Qingyu took the medicine with a grimace, then slowly climbed onto his bed to sleep. He slept until ten o’clock that evening. He was awakened by the sound of Cheng Che closing the door. He opened his eyes and touched his forehead; the fever had broken. He was sweating, feeling a bit sticky, but also relieved after the fever had passed.

“You’re back?” Shen Qingyu said with some surprise.

Shen Qingyu’s voice sounded off, and his skin had an unnatural flush. Cheng Che walked over, tossed his backpack onto his own desk, and asked worriedly, “Why is your face so red?”

“It’s nothing, just a bit of a cold.”

Hearing this, Lu Xiao let out a mocking laugh: “Yes, just a bit of a cold, just a bit of a fever.”

Cheng Che’s heart skipped a beat. He rushed to the bedside and tightly held Shen Qingyu’s hand. Shen Qingyu tried to pull away, but Cheng Che’s grip was too tight, so he could only whisper, “My fever’s gone now.”

“A fever and you call it nothing? Why didn’t you tell me!” Cheng Che was extremely distressed, his voice low and urgent, carrying an almost imperceptible tremor.

Shen Qingyu got out of bed, wanting a drink of water. His throat suddenly tickled, and he couldn’t help but cough. Cheng Che didn’t care about anything else, immediately half-kneeling on the floor, picking up Shen Qingyu’s cup, testing the temperature, and carefully bringing it to his lips.

“Here, drink slowly.”

Shen Qingyu took a few sips from his hand, moisturizing his dry, cracked lips. Seeing the dark circles under Cheng Che’s eyes and his undisguised anxiety, Shen Qingyu’s heart softened. He comforted him instead: “It’s really okay. I saw you were so busy recently, I didn’t want to worry you. See? I’ve already taken medicine.”

At this moment, Lu Xiao, who was sitting at his desk, seemingly playing a game but actually paying attention to the happenings, suddenly scoffed, his tone carrying his usual sarcasm, though perhaps mixed with a hint of self-mockery:

“Busy? Too busy to even notice his own boyfriend is sick? He actually collapsed on the track. Good thing Song Yu was around.”

His words were like a fine needle, subtly piercing Cheng Che’s heart.

Cheng Che’s movements paused, and his brow furrowed. A feeling of indescribable discomfort welled up in his heart. As the official boyfriend, being absent at such a moment and having it pointed out by an outsider did not feel good.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his displeasure, and turned to Song Yu, who was sitting at his desk quietly reading. His tone was sincere: “Song Yu, thank you for today.”

Song Yu looked up from his book. His gaze behind his glasses was calm and unperturbed. It rested on Cheng Che’s face, then swept over Shen Qingyu leaning against Cheng Che for comfort. His tone was as flat as if stating a simple, ordinary fact: “It’s nothing. It was necessary.”

His gaze returned to Shen Qingyu’s face, which looked especially soft due to his sickness, and he added silently in his heart: “Taking care of my Xiao Yu is the righteous thing to do.”

Since Song Yu caught him and Cheng Che kissing in the dorm, Shen Qingyu no longer completely avoided being affectionate with Cheng Che in front of their roommates. However, considering Song Yu was the only straight man in the dorm, they still slightly restrained themselves when performing intimate actions.

After Shen Qingyu finished drinking water, Cheng Che naturally pulled out a tissue to wipe the water from the corner of his lips. Their eyes met, and deep affection flowed between them.

Lu Xiao’s attempt to sow discord had failed again, leaving him feeling frustrated and even more unwilling to watch their sweetness. However, he had grown used to it over this time. The wound in his heart had already scabbed over. He could now face the intimacy between the person he liked and another person quite well. Lu Xiao often felt pathetic, but he was powerless to change anything. At least for now, he could stay close to Shen Qingyu as an alternative. That was enough.

…

After the lights went out, Shen Qingyu fell into a deep sleep again, his breathing becoming steady. However, the other three in the dorm room were preoccupied with their own thoughts, finding it hard to sleep.

In the darkness, every subtle sound was amplified.

After an unknown period, a soft rustling indicated Cheng Che quietly getting up. He walked to Shen Qingyu’s bed, using the faint light from the window to check the temperature of his forehead. Only when he was sure the fever had not returned did he feel a slight sense of relief and lay back down.

Cheng Che woke up several times throughout the night. Each time, he would toss and turn, get out of bed, and only feel reassured after touching Shen Qingyu’s cool forehead. Finally, as the sky began to lighten and dawn approached, he fell asleep.

Lu Xiao’s bunk was next to Cheng Che’s. He usually slept well, but this night he couldn’t sleep at all. Especially with the slight movements from Cheng Che’s bunk occurring at short intervals, he became even more irritable. He turned over, then finally resigned himself, got up, shuffled to the restroom in his slippers with a restrained sigh. He then casually walked past Shen Qingyu’s bed, lifted the curtains, and reached in to check his temperature. Only after confirming his temperature was normal did he try to sleep again.

After Lu Xiao fell asleep, Song Yu slowly opened his eyes. His bunk was closest to Shen Qingyu’s, and he only needed to stretch out his arm to touch the bothersome bed curtain. He had wanted to rip that curtain apart countless times but always held back.

It was twilight now. Song Yu had waited until now, finally finding the time that belonged to him.

He didn’t even need to get out of bed; a gentle pull of the curtain was enough to see Shen Qingyu’s sleeping face. He had done this countless times before.