Drunk On The Night Breeze - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

A fever? He was fine just a moment ago; how could a fever come on so suddenly without any warning? Drinking shouldn’t cause a fever.

Ruan Lingfeng had Tao Zhi take his temperature: 38.3°C. It was indeed high.

Ruan Lingfeng figured he should still have a doctor look at him. If he had noticed Tao Zhi’s abnormality while they were in the car, he could have had the driver go straight to the hospital.

Tao Zhi sat on the sofa in the lounge, looking up at Ruan Lingfeng. Ruan Lingfeng rarely looked down at Tao Zhi from this angle, and it made him feel slightly awkward. He squatted down so that his eyes were level with Tao Zhi’s, as if he were talking to a child.

Ruan Lingfeng asked, “Should I take you to the hospital?”

Tao Zhi, who had been incredibly obedient after drinking, had a strong reaction now. He knit his brows, his entire body radiating resistance. “No.”

Ruan Lingfeng thought about it—he didn’t know any private hospitals and didn’t dare send him to a random one. General hospitals were public places; even late at night, the emergency rooms wouldn’t be empty. Going there would be like handing the media a front-page headline.

Ruan Lingfeng asked again, “Then give me the contact info for a private doctor you know? I’ll ask them to come here.”

Tao Zhi: “No!”

He sounded fierce, but for some reason, he looked pitiful. Ruan Lingfeng softened his voice. “But you’re sick.”

Tao Zhi remained resolute, his body tensing up. “I’m not seeing a doctor.”

Ruan Lingfeng felt it was impossible to reason with Tao Zhi right now. Seeing that Tao Zhi was about to get agitated again, he quickly soothed him. “Okay… no doctor. Why don’t you go lie back down in bed, okay?”

“Mm.” Once Ruan Lingfeng promised not to take him to the doctor, Tao Zhi dropped his guard and returned to his well-behaved state. But then he added, “I have to wipe down. I’m dirty; I can’t lie on the bed… I should have finished wiping before changing clothes.”

There was a hint of annoyance in his voice.

He really was a clean freak. Ruan Lingfeng asked, “Can you manage on your own?”

“I can.” Tao Zhi nodded.

That was for the best. If Tao Zhi had said he couldn’t, there was no way Ruan Lingfeng would help an Alpha wipe down his body. That would be a bit disgusting; he might consider calling the police instead.

However, since Tao Zhi wasn’t in a good state, Ruan Lingfeng was somewhat worried. Before Tao Zhi entered the bathroom, Ruan Lingfeng gave him a few instructions: “Just a quick rinse and wipe. Don’t stay in there too long. I’m afraid you’ll faint, and I won’t be able to carry you out… Don’t make the water too cold, and watch your step. Don’t slip… Call me if anything happens; I’m right outside.”

If it were the usual Tao Zhi, he would probably be exasperated by such a lecture, but the current Tao Zhi simply replied, “I know. I’ll be careful.”

Ruan Lingfeng remembered something and asked, “Do you have medicine here?”

Tao Zhi shook his head.

Ruan Lingfeng: “Do you have any allergies or restrictions regarding medication?”

“No,” Tao Zhi said, “but I don’t like it.”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…”

While Tao Zhi was in the bathroom, Ruan Lingfeng boiled some water. Just as Tao Zhi said, even after rummaging through everything, Ruan Lingfeng couldn’t find so much as a first-aid kit. The one at the studio’s front desk seemed to be locked. Ruan Lingfeng had no choice but to open a delivery app to find a courier to buy medicine, and while he was at it, he ordered some sweet porridge.

He had already indulged Tao Zhi by not calling a doctor; if he didn’t even take medicine, Ruan Lingfeng wouldn’t be able to take responsibility if the guy ended up “burning out” his brain.

After finishing these tasks, Ruan Lingfeng sat on the soft sofa, almost sinking entirely into it. He was exhausted. Shouldn’t today’s itinerary have been: watch the show, eat, go home, check some reviews of the performance before bed to relive the atmosphere, and then end the day happily? How did the plot take such a sharp turn, leaving him to take care of a suddenly ill client?

Soon, Tao Zhi came out. Ruan Lingfeng sat up straight, mixed the boiled water with some room-temperature mineral water to get the temperature right, and handed the cup to Tao Zhi. He studied him and asked, “Did you wipe all the water droplets off?”

“I’m dry.”

“Then go lie down,” Ruan Lingfeng sniffed the air and added, “You didn’t just wipe down; you took a shower, didn’t you? …Why is there still a smell of alcohol after a shower?”

Tao Zhi’s cognitive abilities seemed dulled. “Mm…?”

This alcohol scent wasn’t the same aroma as the Cabernet Sauvignon they had earlier. Ruan Lingfeng found the scent somewhat familiar. Suddenly, a realization struck him—Could this guy be releasing pheromones again?

But thinking about it, that didn’t seem right. Last time, it was due to an accident that Ruan Lingfeng smelled the Alpha pheromones, and that scent had left a deep impression on him… The alcohol smell he detected now was slightly similar to the previous one, but still different.

The previous pheromones were like a strong spirit. The reason Ruan Lingfeng, who had never smelled Alpha pheromones before, could identify it immediately was because of its sheer aggressiveness—the moment he smelled it, his body had involuntarily gone weak.

But this time, it wasn’t like that. It was very gentle. If expressed as an alcohol percentage, it would only be like a 3% alcohol-by-volume beverage meant for casual sipping.

Ruan Lingfeng didn’t feel any discomfort smelling it; on the contrary, he thought it smelled quite nice.

Perhaps it was the aftertaste of that bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon—Ruan Lingfeng drank a lot during business socializations, but he had never studied it in detail, so he didn’t know if his theory was correct.

Although “aftertaste” usually referred to the sensation on the tongue… perhaps scents had top, middle, and base notes just like perfume.

Now wasn’t the time to split hairs over this. Tao Zhi was back in bed. Ruan Lingfeng first touched Tao Zhi’s forehead again—it was still very hot. He took a towel soaked in cold water, folded it, and placed it on Tao Zhi’s forehead. Tao Zhi cooperated obediently, his eyes fixed intently on Ruan Lingfeng.

His phone rang. Ruan Lingfeng picked it up; it was the delivery guy with the medicine. He planned to go to the main entrance to get it, but the moment he stood up, his wrist was grabbed by Tao Zhi.

Tao Zhi asked him, “Are you leaving?”

Ruan Lingfeng: “…I have to get the medicine.”

“Don’t leave,” Tao Zhi said, then paused to process for a moment before reluctantly letting go. “…Then come back quickly.”

How can he be so pitiful? Ruan Lingfeng thought. Does Tao Zhi have a split personality? Should I record a video so he can see how he’s acting once he’s sober?

That “don’t leave” kept Ruan Lingfeng there all night. After the medicine arrived, he coaxed Tao Zhi—who clearly didn’t want to take it—into eating a few bites of sweet porridge before taking the pills. Once the medicine was down, Ruan Lingfeng felt he had fulfilled his duty, but Tao Zhi—though he didn’t grab Ruan Lingfeng again—refused to fall asleep. He looked exhausted to the limit, yet he forced his eyes open, just staring at Ruan Lingfeng.

Whenever Ruan Lingfeng moved, his gaze followed.

To be honest, Ruan Lingfeng felt very self-conscious being watched like that.

Tao Zhi even said, “Are you going back? If you want to—you should go back. Be safe on the road.”

Ruan Lingfeng felt he was being morally hijacked. He was a sucker for a soft approach. Usually, when Tao Zhi was mean to him, he might maintain a professional smile on the outside, but he’d be rolling his eyes internally. Yet, when Tao Zhi showed such vulnerability, his heart softened. Tao Zhi was usually so arrogant, yet he was so pathetic when sick; Ruan Lingfeng wondered if he had some past trauma.

Logically, he knew he had done enough—even if he hadn’t helped at all from the start, it would have been fine. Even Tao Zhi’s manager wasn’t looking after him; Ruan Lingfeng was just a business partner, so why should he care? Calling a doctor would have been sufficient. Even if the guy did have trauma, what did it have to do with him?

But when Tao Zhi looked at him like that, an inexplicable sense of responsibility welled up from somewhere. Sometimes he felt that because he took responsibility so easily, he ended up making himself exhausted. He always vowed to be tougher next time, but when the time came, he’d go back to being the “good guy.”

Taking care of a patient wasn’t impossible… Ruan Lingfeng was actually quite good at it. When his father was bedridden, he used to go to the hospital to provide care right after school.

In the end, Ruan Lingfeng gave up on the idea of leaving. “Go to sleep. Sleep now. I’m not leaving; I’ll stay right here.”

Tao Zhi: “Really?”

“Really,” Ruan Lingfeng even went over to tuck the covers in and looked at him gently. “Sleep now, or I’m leaving immediately.”

These words were more effective than anything else; Tao Zhi closed his eyes instantly.

After tidying up briefly, Ruan Lingfeng lay down on the sofa. However, no matter how soft and comfortable the lounge sofa was, it wasn’t meant for spending the night. Ruan Lingfeng remained in a half-asleep state. Tao Zhi woke up once in the middle of the night, and Ruan Lingfeng, out of an old caregiver’s reflex, shot up instantly and prepared a cup of warm water for him.

He finally made it to 7:00 or 8:00 AM when his phone suddenly vibrated. Ruan Lingfeng forced himself awake as quickly as possible. Seeing Tao Zhi still in a deep sleep, he stepped out of the lounge into the hallway to answer. It was Chen Ping. Ruan Lingfeng had left him a message last night, and Chen Ping had rushed back early this morning.

Chen Ping apologized profusely over the phone. Ruan Lingfeng rubbed his aching neck and shoulders but simply shook his head with a smile. “It’s fine.”

Maybe I owe him one, he thought.

Once Chen Ping arrived to take over, Ruan Lingfeng saw that Tao Zhi was still sleeping and wouldn’t cause trouble, and his fever had subsided. Only then did he feel safe enough to take the car Chen Ping had called for him to go back home.

On the way back, Ruan Lingfeng couldn’t help but wonder: when Tao Zhi wakes up and returns to normal, will he remember how strangely he acted yesterday? If he remembers, will he be so mortified and angry that he refuses to deal with him anymore?

That was very likely something that “bratty younger brother” would do.

Fortunately, it was still a rest day. After Ruan Lingfeng got home, he quickly washed up and went back to sleep.

When he woke up again, he had several voice messages from Chen Ping. Ruan Lingfeng clicked on them one by one.

Chen Ping: “Teacher Ruan, after Tao Zhi woke up this morning, I had someone check on him. It’s nothing serious. It seems he’s been spending too much time with some Omega lately, so his Rut Period came early. Combined with the fact that he stayed up late for a recording session two days ago—I think he only slept three or four hours—and the fatigue of traveling after the show… it seems he went to see a performance as well. He was too tired and drank alcohol, so all these factors exploded at once… But it’s not a big deal. He wasn’t ‘sick’ in the traditional sense. We gave him a suppressant, and he’ll be fine after some rest.”

Chen Ping: “I’m really sorry for troubling you to take care of him all night. I feel terrible about it. Mostly, I didn’t realize his Rut was coming early, otherwise, I would have told you to just give him a suppressant.”

Chen Ping continued with some after-the-fact remarks about how risky it was for an Omega like him to do this and so on—Ruan Lingfeng had always claimed to be a Beta to the public, but since Chen Ping was present at the police station during the mediation previously, he was one of the few who knew Ruan Lingfeng’s true gender.

But Ruan Lingfeng wasn’t in the mood to keep listening. There was a lot of information to process, but Ruan Lingfeng only caught one keyword.

So it wasn’t drunkenness, and it wasn’t a viral fever—it was because of a Rut?

The reaction of an Alpha during a Rut… was it like that? It was different from what he knew.

But that wasn’t the main point… The main point was that he, an Omega, had spent an entire night in the same room with an Alpha in the middle of a Rut!