Heartbeat Command - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: If you don’t go, I’m not leaving.

Gu Shiyue looked at the bowl of birthday noodles in silence.

“I only just found out today was your birthday, so I just threw together a simple bowl of noodles,” Jiang Luo said. “It’s your birthday, after all; you have to eat noodles. The taste might not be great, though—my cooking isn’t very good.”

Gu Shiyue asked: “Did you carve the carrots?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Luo smiled. “How is it? They look decent, right? I spent quite a while on them. Oh, right, Senior, I should report to you—to carve these, I went through three carrots.”

Jiang Luo tugged at his earlobe, feeling a bit embarrassed: “I didn’t actually need that many, but my skills aren’t great, so I wasted two.”

Gu Shiyue said: “It’s fine.”

The carrots in the fridge were originally for Miantuan (Cottonball), and Gu Shiyue himself absolutely hated the taste of carrots.

Hearing its name, Miantuan hopped onto the sofa and burrowed into Gu Shiyue’s arms, lying down plumply. Gu Shiyue lowered his eyes to look at it: “Get down.”

The fat old cat had no concept of its own weight; it just wanted to cuddle—what could it possibly be doing wrong?

Miantuan was very obedient. As soon as Gu Shiyue gave the command, it got up and went to lie down elsewhere. It had already gotten used to Gu Shiyue’s indifference, lying there lazily licking its paws and washing its face.

Jiang Luo wanted to laugh: “Senior, you’re too cold to the little kitty.”

Gu Shiyue glanced at Miantuan: “It can’t really be called a ‘little’ kitty given its size.”

Jiang Luo burst out laughing.

Jiang Luo brought over the medicine and water from the coffee table and handed them to Gu Shiyue: “Take the fever reducer first.”

Gu Shiyue took the medicine. Jiang Luo added, “I also cooked some porridge. If you don’t have an appetite, you can have some of that.”

Gu Shiyue gave a soft “hmm,” then took a bite of the noodles. Even though Jiang Luo didn’t have high expectations for his own cooking, he held his breath and stared eagerly at Gu Shiyue, asking, “How does it taste?”

Gu Shiyue looked at him: “Do you want the truth or a lie?”

Jiang Luo laughed, picking at his knee with his fingers: “That basically tells me everything already.”

He asked one more time, unwilling to give up: “Is it really that bad?”

Gu Shiyue nodded.

Jiang Luo felt his heart die: “Then just drink the porridge; the porridge is definitely fine. I’ll go get you a bowl.”

“No need,” Gu Shiyue said. “Eating this is fine.”

“Don’t do that. If it’s gross, don’t eat it.”

“It’s not so gross that I can’t eat it.”

“Alright then.” Jiang Luo smiled, feeling inexplicably moved. Aside from his younger brother, who he suspected had malfunctioning taste buds, no one had ever proactively eaten anything he had cooked.

The “filter” of admiration Jiang Luo had for Senior Gu was expanding.

Jiang Luo said to Gu Shiyue: “Senior, why don’t you go to the hospital for an IV drip later? It’ll help you recover faster.”

Gu Shiyue said: “Not going.”

“You really should.”

“I said I’m not going.”

Jiang Luo sighed. Since Gu Shiyue wouldn’t go, he couldn’t exactly drag him there. He asked Gu Shiyue: “Has Miantuan not gone out for its walk yet? You keep eating, and I’ll take it out for a walk first?”

“Mhm.”

Jiang Luo reminded him: “When you’re done eating, just leave the bowl here and go back to your room to rest. I’ll clean up later. Remember to use a cold towel to bring your temperature down—it’s best to put it on your main arteries.”

Gu Shiyue nodded.

After Jiang Luo left to walk the cat, the living room was empty. The coffee table had been cleaned perfectly, and the lights were still on. Jiang Luo thought Gu Shiyue had gone back to his room to rest, but then he caught a glimpse of the light on in the bathroom, the frosted glass door covered in a layer of mist.

Click. The bathroom door opened from the inside.

Gu Shiyue walked out wearing a black patterned bathrobe, his hair still wet.

Jiang Luo stood rooted to the spot, eyes wide, staring at him blankly.

Amidst the misty atmosphere, Gu Shiyue’s gaze swept over him naturally.

Jiang Luo opened his mouth, feeling a bit helpless: “Why did you take a shower, Senior? It’s even easier to catch a cold showering right now…”

“I smelled bad,” Gu Shiyue said. “I felt uncomfortable.”

“You should have just endured it. You’re running a fever—what are you going to do if it gets worse?” Jiang Luo frowned slightly, looking at his half-damp hair. “And you didn’t even dry your hair.”

“Dry your hair first, Senior.” Jiang Luo was genuinely afraid Gu Shiyue’s fever would spike; he was terrified of the people around him getting sick.

Gu Shiyue started walking toward the bedroom: “In a moment.”

“No ‘in a moment’.” Jiang Luo walked straight toward him and blocked his path, his attitude suddenly firm. “Right now.”

Gu Shiyue looked down at the boy in front of him.

Jiang Luo was so focused on Gu Shiyue’s illness that he didn’t even realize the boundaries between them were being broken.

The man had just finished a shower and was wearing a bathrobe—this was as private as a situation could get. If it had been anyone else he’d only just met, Jiang Luo would have cleared out of the house long ago; he never would have walked up to them to demand they dry their hair.

“Go dry it now. Isn’t this just making things worse?” Jiang Luo looked up at him: “Go on, go on, Senior.”

He used a coaxing tone, which always seemed to be effective. Gu Shiyue, for some reason, developed a streak of rebellion and insisted on teasing him: “What if I don’t?”

Jiang Luo knew he was joking, so he pursed his lips and stared straight at him: “If you don’t, I’m not leaving. I’ll just stand here and stare at you until you do.”

“Then you don’t have to leave.” Gu Shiyue made a move to head toward the bedroom.

Jiang Luo couldn’t help but laugh, spreading his arms to block him: “Hey, stop it, Senior. Please, just go. I’ll wait here for you, go on!”

Gu Shiyue stopped teasing him and asked: “What are you waiting for?”

“Waiting for you to come out after drying your hair.” Jiang Luo put his hands on his hips. “I have to personally confirm that you’ve dried your hair and are lying down in your room before I go.”

Gu Shiyue went to dry his hair. Jiang Luo waited outside, passing the time by playing with Miantuan.

A few minutes later, Gu Shiyue came out of the bathroom with a head of fluffy, dark hair. His hair color matched his pupils—very deep, black as ink.

“That’s more like it.” Jiang Luo smiled. “I’m heading out then, Senior. Get some good rest and remember to use the cold compress.”

Jiang Luo suddenly remembered something and added: “If you start feeling cold later, watch out for the temperature—cover up with a quilt, but don’t bundle up too tightly. Basically, keep warm when you’re cold, cool down when you’re hot, and drink lots of water.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to personally confirm I was lying in bed before leaving?” Gu Shiyue said while walking toward the bedroom.

Jiang Luo was just about to leave, but he turned his head at the sound: “Huh?”

Gu Shiyue stood at the bedroom door with his hand on the knob, looking at Jiang Luo: “I haven’t gone into the room yet. Are you counting that as your confirmation?”

Jiang Luo blinked, looking a bit dazed. But he reacted quickly, smiled, and before he could speak, he heard Gu Shiyue say: “Come here.”

Jiang Luo was taken aback: “Ah?”

Gu Shiyue seemed to have gotten hooked on teasing him today. He looked at Jiang Luo and said: “Come here to confirm.”

Jiang Luo had said that, but he hadn’t actually expected to follow him in to check if he was on the bed; he wasn’t familiar enough with Senior Gu to casually enter his bedroom. He smiled: “Confirming from here works too. You go in, I’m watching.”

“I said come here,” Gu Shiyue said.

His tone was calm but carried an air of refusal. Jiang Luo wasn’t the type to just do whatever he was told—his temperament depended on who he was dealing with. Because he held such a strong “filter” of admiration for Senior Gu, he was exceptionally obedient and soft in front of him.

Whatever the Senior said was law.

“Alright then.” Jiang Luo nodded and obediently walked over.

Jiang Luo was a bit confused; he didn’t know what Gu Shiyue was plotting. He suspected that perhaps his own pushy behavior earlier had annoyed Gu Shiyue, and now Gu Shiyue was giving him a taste of his own medicine?

Jiang Luo stopped two steps away from the bedroom door.

Gu Shiyue asked: “Can you see from there?”

Jiang Luo took another half-step forward and whispered: “You aren’t going to make me go inside to confirm, are you?”

Gu Shiyue pushed open the bedroom door: “You can if you want.”

Jiang Luo looked eagerly at his back: “Are you intentionally trying to discipline me, Senior?”

Gu Shiyue looked back at him.

“Did I make you mad by being too pushy earlier?” Jiang Luo blinked and asked with a smile.

“Your imagination is too active.” Gu Shiyue commented, then pushed the door open and went inside. He left the door ajar, leaving it open for Jiang Luo to inspect.

Gu Shiyue also felt he was acting strangely today; maybe the fever had scrambled his brain. But he couldn’t deny that he liked the feeling of being cared for.

Just like that moment when he opened his eyes on the sofa—those familiar eyes had been the first thing he saw.

Those eyes, gazing at him with gentleness and concern.

Now that those eyes were about to move away, perhaps he was subconsciously trying to make them stay.

There was a constant-temperature water dispenser in the room. Gu Shiyue poured a glass of water, took a sip, and stood by the bed looking at the doorway. The door was half-open. Jiang Luo didn’t come closer; he was still standing where he was, half his figure hidden behind the doorframe.

Even though Jiang Luo was just outside, he didn’t look into the room; he felt it would be overstepping.

Gu Shiyue didn’t say anything either. He finished his water, climbed onto the bed, and lay down, leaving Jiang Luo alone at the doorway in a daze.

His gaze remained fixed on the doorway, and Jiang Luo never took another step forward. From outside the door, Jiang Luo said with a laugh: “You’re definitely disciplining me, aren’t you, Senior? I feel like I’m in prison right now.”

“Can I break out of jail?” Jiang Luo asked, his mood suddenly shifting.

Gu Shiyue replied: “You can.”

Jiang Luo never quite figured out what Gu Shiyue’s series of actions meant; he just felt like Gu Shiyue was probably messing around with him. He didn’t want to disturb Gu Shiyue’s rest, so he said, “I’ve confirmed it now, okay?” and closed the door with his head down—acting as if there was something inside that couldn’t be looked at directly, not even glancing into the room once.

Gu Shiyue curled his lips into a scoff, thinking to himself: Confirmed what, exactly?