My Roommate is a Gloomy, Sensitive Guy Who Cries Over Everything - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Sweating All Night Long

Lin Zhiyu almost spat out his latte!

With a look of sheer bewilderment, he stared at Qin Rui, who remained firm in his conviction. One holding a broom and the other a rag, they stared at each other in silence for a moment before both calmed down.

Lin Zhiyu coughed twice and adjusted his mask. “You’re overthinking it. We’re just roommates, and Brother Lin is straight.”

Qin Rui picked out the key point: “And you’re not?”

Lin Zhiyu paused for a split second, then immediately laughed. “I am too.”

If he wanted to be straight, he could be as straight as a steel bar, hmph.

Qin Rui noticed his ears were red and remained expressionless. “Better be. I hate gay people the most.”

“Are you discriminating?” Lin Zhiyu kept his cool on the outside, but his world was crumbling internally. How could this guy be like this?

Qin Rui: “I’m despising.”

“…”

Lin Zhiyu lowered his head and worked more than ten times faster, managing to change his clothes and clock out a step ahead of Qin Rui.

Because of Qin Rui’s words, he felt awkward facing Lin Rangchuan. He kept fidgeting—fixing his curly hair, pulling at his mask, and touching his neck.

Lin Rangchuan looked at him, pausing for half a second. “What were you two chatting about?”

Chatting until his ears turned red.

Lin Zhiyu looked up; his eyes were naturally round, but right now they were a bit guilty and bloodshot. “Nothing.”

Lin Rangchuan frowned slightly and leaned in closer.

The skin visible outside the mask was so red.

His breath was so hot.

“Don’t move,” Lin Rangchuan said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Lin Zhiyu stood frozen to the spot, his back stiff, chest slightly puffed out. He watched as Lin Rangchuan bent down, drawing closer and closer.

Lin Rangchuan reached a calm conclusion: “You have a fever.”

Lin Zhiyu relaxed like a shrimp having its vein removed. His voice went raspy. “A little. It shouldn’t be very high… just a normal fever. I shouldn’t need the hospital, right? If I go, they’ll give me a shot.”

“Do you want a shot?”

“No.” Lin Zhiyu’s tone went flat with reluctance.

“Then no shot.” Lin Rangchuan looked down at his phone. “I’ll go buy some medicine.”

Lin Zhiyu peeked at him secretly. Because of the illness, his voice was small and raspy, like a “smoke-voice.” “Thanks. You’re really a good person.”

Lin Rangchuan’s vision of his phone blurred for a moment. He said nothing but: “Go back first.”

The bubble tea shop was very close to the rental, about a ten-minute walk. The two walked side-by-side. Usually, Lin Rangchuan would maintain a proper distance, but now he stayed very close. As they walked, their arms brushed against each other—separating for one second, touching the next.

Lin Zhiyu, who was highly sensitive to men, suddenly pulled his arm back and took two quick steps forward.

Lin Rangchuan slowed his pace, looked at his back, and pursed his lips.

…

Back home, they took his temperature: 37.5°C—a low-grade fever.

Lin Zhiyu had no appetite. He ate a little, popped the medicine, and lay down to sleep. However, the moment his head hit the pillow, he became wide awake, losing the groggy feeling he’d had all day.

Just in case, since Qin Rui was so sensitive, Lin Zhiyu messaged the Senior.

[Xiao Yu]: You don’t need to ask Brother Lin to take care of me anymore.

[Senior]: What happened?

[Xiao Yu]: I don’t need to be taken care of.

Although Lin Zhiyu had many friends, only Yu Hechang knew about his sexual orientation. Because it was easy to attract strange looks, he didn’t want Lin Rangchuan to be misunderstood.

Though he had no idea why Qin Rui would misunderstand in the first place.

After a long while—

[Senior]: Fine.

Lin Zhiyu relaxed. Though he wasn’t sleepy, his head was dizzy; typing felt like treading on white clouds in a dream.

The other side suddenly shifted the topic.

[Senior]: But you’re sick now. Someone needs to keep an eye on you. Just this once, be obedient.

Lin Zhiyu didn’t push back further.

[Xiao Yu]: Okay. [Sea otter rubbing face.jpg]

[Senior]: Can you sleep now?

For some reason, Lin Zhiyu felt the Senior’s mood wasn’t great today. He poked the screen.

[Xiao Yu]: Are you unhappy? Who upset you?

[Senior]: You.

[Senior]: Baby is sick, and my heart aches.

Gosh, a big straight man saying these things…

Lin Zhiyu tossed the phone aside as if he didn’t dare look. Only after a long time did he pick it up again, peeking with one eye open.

He wondered if it was his imagination, but the Senior occasionally felt a bit “gay-ish.” Could this stuff be transmitted through a screen?

Lin Zhiyu thought: Nonsense! He clearly presents a super-straight image!

His breathing grew heavier as he tried to induce sleep. He was still holding the phone but didn’t reply, nor did he see the Senior’s subsequent string of “Baby” messages…

Just as he was about to drift off, Lin Zhiyu struggled for a long time before finally getting up to use the bathroom.

His bladder was a nuisance—insisting on waking him up right when he was about to fall asleep.

Lin Zhiyu leaned against the wall as he went out. Feeling light-headed and heavy-footed, he used the bathroom in a daze. The moment he closed the door, he felt like someone was watching him. He turned and found Lin Rangchuan standing by the door crack with a cold expression.

Not knowing when he’d arrived, Lin Zhiyu stepped aside, his thin pajamas clinging to his feverish skin. “Do you need to go first?”

Lin Rangchuan considerately closed the door. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

Lin Zhiyu felt a few notes of inexplicable weirdness, but the urge to pee quickly drove him to finish.

When he came out, Lin Rangchuan was still in the same spot. Lin Zhiyu felt uncomfortable under his gaze. “Brother Lin…”

His hair was messy, his voice soft and weak, and his exposed skin flushed with an unhealthy red…

Lin Rangchuan didn’t look up. As Lin Zhiyu passed him, he let out a few words: “You’re very hot.”

Lin Zhiyu blanked, touched his neck, and felt his palm burn. “Mhm…”

“It’s easy to get a high fever in the middle of the night,” Lin Rangchuan said. “Don’t lock your door tonight. It’ll make it easier for me to come in anytime.”

Lin Zhiyu didn’t think much of it and nodded obediently. “Okay.”

…

This time he slept like the dead. The air conditioning was set low, and the blanket had been swapped for a thicker one. Lin Zhiyu’s body began to sweat; his hair stuck stickily to his cheeks, which were flushed red. Despite the discomfort, there was no sign of him waking up.

Thus, when the door opened and someone stepped in through the darkness, standing by the bed watching him for a long time, he had no reaction at all.

Lin Zhiyu’s messy hair was spread across his face. Half his face was buried in the pillow; his cheek moved with his breath, red and damp.

His hands were folded by his face, his pointed chin resting on a rabbit plushie. His eyelashes were very long. Lin Rangchuan stared intently, his pupils gleaming in the night.

He looks so cute when he sleeps.

The person under the covers suddenly breathed harder. Lin Zhiyu frowned and rolled over. Likely feeling too hot, he started kicking the blanket. His pajama collar and back were soaked with sweat, clinging to his feverish skin.

The way he whimpers is also cute.

Lin Rangchuan wrung out a cold towel and placed it on his cheek to cool him down. Only then did Lin Zhiyu’s breathing frequency slowly steady. His brow remained unconsciously furrowed as he kept making little whining sounds.

After wiping his face and neck, Lin Rangchuan didn’t stop. Instead, he took Lin Zhiyu’s hand, wiping every part—from the fingertips to the gaps between fingers, from the palm to the wrist—not missing an inch of skin.

But the sweat on his body was sticky and uncomfortable. Lin Zhiyu curled up, his hem flying up to reveal a small patch of pale, tender belly. His feet rubbed against the inside of the blanket.

Lin Rangchuan looked at him. The loose collar revealed a wide expanse of collarbone. He chuckled for no reason and whispered:

“I can’t wipe you down.”

He muttered to the air: “What would happen if I did? At most, a bit of discomfort.”

The next second:

“What is discomfort? This is also called discomfort.” Lin Rangchuan said gloomily to the unconscious Lin Zhiyu, “This isn’t discomfort. This is a reward.”

The person on the bed seemed to understand; the restlessness suddenly vanished. His curled, slender eyelashes stilled, and his breathing became even.

The skin wiped by the cold towel felt cool. Lin Rangchuan tested the temperature with his palm. Not enough. He leaned down, feeling Lin Zhiyu’s breath—hot and rhythmic—hitting his face. He closed his eyes slightly, enjoying it.

The phone screen on the pillow suddenly lit up. It was a browser push notification, and below it were row after row of messages from the Senior.

Lin Zhiyu was asleep and hadn’t replied to any.

Lin Rangchuan tucked the corners of the blanket and gave a few light pats. Once Lin Zhiyu was sleeping soundly again, he left, closing the door behind him.

He lit a cigarette. Facing the quiet living room, he exhaled puff after puff of smoke, blurring his features. He leaned against the bedroom door as he smoked nonchalantly.

After a while, he looked down at his lap expressionlessly.

Just as excited as its master.

Finally, he said coldly:

“Baby is sick. You’ll just have to endure it tonight.”

…

When Lin Zhiyu woke up, it was already past ten. The manager had sent him a message at 6 AM telling him not to come and to take a day off.

Money can always be earned, but health comes first.

He tried to get out of bed, but his head spun, and he lay back down.

Wake-up attempt: Failed.

He decided to chat with the manager.

[Xiao Yu]: Received. Manager, you get up so early.

Most of the time, the manager wasn’t at the shop. After working for several days, Lin Zhiyu hadn’t seen him once. Jiang Xinran said the boss usually appeared in the early hours of the morning; staying up all night was normal for him, so don’t expect to see him during the day.

[Manager]: Thanks to a certain someone.

Lin Zhiyu was confused. That sounded very resentful. He replied cautiously.

[Xiao Yu]: Is it the Senior?

[Manager]: I won’t say more. If you have questions, go ask him.

Lin Zhiyu didn’t ask. He just felt restless at the thought of having nothing to do in the afternoon.

He’d had an excellent constitution since childhood and was full of energy. Yu Hechang always looked like a sixty-year-old man in comparison. In high school sports meets, he could sign up for three events; he could run 3,000 meters one day and harvest rice in the fields the next without feeling tired. Compared to a 300-yuan daily wage, a fever felt like a minor issue.

School was starting soon; earning money was urgent.

[Xiao Yu]: Boss, I’m fine. I’ll still go to work today. I might be a little late, you can dock my pay, okay?

[Xiao Yu]: Let me go to work, let me go~~

The manager was hearing this kind of request from an employee for the first time.

[Manager]: It’s not that I’m not letting you go… forget it, you’re truly my ancestor.

He really wanted to say: I’ll transfer you 300, just don’t go, okay? A certain someone was petty; there was no telling how he might retaliate.

[Xiao Yu]: Boss, don’t reject me…

[Manager]: Go if you want. I’ll pay you if you show up.

Having secured permission, Lin Zhiyu planned to eat lunch before heading out. Switching apps, he saw that the Senior had sent many messages.

[Xiao Yu]: I was too tired and fell asleep last night.

[Senior]: Has Baby’s fever broken?

Lin Zhiyu felt his forehead and neck.

[Xiao Yu]: There might be a little left.

[Xiao Yu]: I want to take a shower first.

His body was too sticky.

[Senior]: Remember to find me after your shower.

[Senior]: Baby ignored me last night.

Lin Zhiyu felt a thump in his heart. He didn’t know if the Senior spoke to others like this. If he were a girl, it would feel like flirting.

But he was a straight… man…

[Xiao Yu]: Got it, my bad. You’re too controlling.

[Senior]: Starting to find me annoying?

[Xiao Yu]: No.

[Senior]: Then be obedient.

Tsk tsk, the way he says it…

[Xiao Yu]: [Cat giving a punch meme]

Lin Zhiyu arrogantly sent a sticker and stopped replying. He got up to get a change of clothes, then looked back at a new message.

[Senior]: Baby, remember to lock your door at night.

Lin Zhiyu thought: Wait, weren’t you the one who told Brother Lin to take care of me?

[Xiao Yu]: Okay.

[Senior]: Did anyone come into your room last night?

[Xiao Yu]: No.

Although Brother Lin said he would check on him, he hadn’t actually come. If he had, Lin Zhiyu would definitely have noticed.

He was super alert.

[Senior]: Really? No one came?

[Senior]: He said you sweated a lot just going to the bathroom.

[Xiao Yu]: You mean Brother Lin? Then definitely not.

If he had come, wouldn’t he have woken him up to change clothes?

Instead of letting him sleep in the dampness all night.