Save That Miserable Protagonist - Chapter 14

Pei Tingsong regained a sliver of consciousness amidst a series of continuous, almost violent knocks on the door. He had already felt slightly unwell yesterday afternoon, but since he frequently suffered from low blood sugar, he had not taken it seriously. It was not until he lay down on the bed in his rented room and felt the discomfort intensify, his breath turning scalding hot, that he realized he must have a fever.

The rented room was merely a temporary shelter for nights when he worked too late to return to school. It contained very little. Pei Tingsong had to force himself up to scavenge through the corners until he found a single tablet of fever medication, though he had no idea if it was expired. Perhaps the medicine truly was past its date; instead of improving after taking it, his consciousness grew heavier, and an aching weakness began to seep from the very marrow of his bones.

He truly lacked the strength to get up. Over the years, Pei Tingsong had avoided major illnesses but was plagued by constant minor ones; fevers were a common occurrence. Despite the pain throughout his body and a throat so dry it felt as if it might catch fire, he simply wrapped himself tighter in his quilt.

“A good sweat will fix it. A good sleep will fix it. As soon as I wake up, I will be better.” This was the survival experience Pei Tingsong had gathered over the years.

Today, however, was different. Just as he was drifting into a hazy sleep, knocking erupted from the door. The sound seemed to come from a distant future, ethereal and unreal, yet it persisted stubbornly in his chaotic mind. The rhythmic thumping disturbed his peace. He suspected he was hallucinating from the fever, but the sound was too vivid.

Pei Tingsong forced his heavy eyelids open. His vision was blurred by stinging sweat, but the noise outside continued. Who could it be? Aside from his grandmother and his landlord, who would come looking for him? Regardless of who it was, they should not be here at this hour. His grandmother was still in the hospital, and he had already paid this month’s rent. Who was left?

Gritting his teeth, Pei Tingsong used every ounce of his strength to get out of bed. As his feet touched the cold floor, his vision went black from the sudden movement. He quickly reached out to grab the edge of the bed to keep himself from collapsing. After standing still to catch his breath, he moved toward the door one step at a time.

Whoever it was, he truly had to thank them for visiting at this time. The short distance felt exceptionally arduous. He felt like a little mermaid who had just come ashore to learn how to walk; his feet were soft and weak. Despite the difficulty, he finally reached the cold iron door.

With his last bit of energy, Pei Tingsong finally turned the old lock. The moment the door pulled open, his blurred vision caught a pair of familiar, beautiful eyes.

“Lu Xun?”

Why was Lu Xun here? Had the fever finally driven him to hallucination?

Regardless of whether it was an illusion, the moment he saw Lu Xun, a strange sense of security settled in his mind. The strength he had been forcing himself to maintain finally evaporated, and he collapsed in the next second. Before darkness swallowed his consciousness, Pei Tingsong felt himself fall into a familiar, warm embrace.

The hospital ward in the early morning was deathly silent, filled with a heavy scent of disinfectant. Outside, the rain had not stopped; the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the glass made the room feel even quieter.

Perhaps because of the rain, Lu Xun felt cold just looking at the tube dutifully delivering fluids. He looked down at the back of Pei Tingsong’s hand where the needle was inserted. The sight was a startling, stark white. It was different from Lu Xun’s natural fair complexion; it carried a pale, sickly quality.

He could not resist reaching out to touch it. The skin beneath his fingertips was exactly as he imagined: bone-chillingly cold.

“It is still raining outside. Are you sure pumping several bottles of this ice-cold water into him will not make him worse?” Almost instinctively, Lu Xun reached out and carefully covered the section of the IV tube on the back of Pei Tingsong’s hand.

Though he did not know if it would help, he instinctively wanted to use his own body heat to warm the frigid liquid. The system was currently perched on Pei Tingsong’s pillow watching him. It had experienced very little and lacked basic human emotions. Observing this scene, the system said in a puzzled tone, “According to my measurements, the speed of the liquid passing through the tube is much faster than the speed at which you can warm it up.”

Hearing this, Lu Xun shot a cold glance at the system. “Shut up. Did I ask you for your opinion?”

Although Lu Xun felt embarrassed by the system’s remark, his hand immediately slid down to cover Pei Tingsong’s cold hand entirely. Fearing he might disturb the needle, he did not press down but let his hand hover closely over the skin. Even so, he could feel the icy chill emanating from the back of Pei Tingsong’s hand.

The system saw this and asked again, “Why is the host doing such a meaningless thing? I thought you were not this kind of person.”

In the eyes of the system, most human behaviors were incomprehensible, making it impossible to see a person’s true character. It had originally thought Lu Xun was merely a wealthy heir who bullied others using his influence. He lacked empathy and kindness. His friendliness was always a performance to gain something. In Lu Xun’s eyes, everything seemed to have a price and could be bought with money. His willingness to save Pei Tingsong was merely a compromise he had to make for his own survival.

However, over the past few days, Lu Xun’s attitude toward Pei Tingsong had changed. He had begun to care about Pei Tingsong’s feelings. Now, he was even using his own body temperature to warm the IV tube because he feared the fluid was too cold.

Lu Xun felt a surge of defensive anger at the system’s words. He felt a strange sense of guilt, though he could not say why. Lowering his voice, he retorted, “What does a heartless mechanical ball like you know? This is just how we are. When we see something fragile, we protect it. This is a fine virtue from five thousand years of history.”

The system’s question and Lu Xun’s answer were not even on the same page. Lu Xun, acting out of a guilty conscience, completely misunderstood the point of the question. His mind was entirely occupied with denying any special relationship with Pei Tingsong.

But what exactly was his relationship with Pei Tingsong?

While Lu Xun was still pondering this, an extremely raspy voice suddenly spoke. “Who are you talking to?”

The voice came so suddenly that Lu Xun’s entire body stiffened. He immediately looked down. On the hospital bed, Pei Tingsong had opened his eyes at some point. His long, straight eyelashes were coated with tiny droplets of moisture, drooping under the weight and casting a small shadow beneath his eyes.

Perhaps because the fever had sapped his strength, his dark, glass-like pupils were now veiled with a layer of mist. The usual sharp spirit was gone, replaced by a hazy, defenseless confusion as he stared directly at Lu Xun.

Seeing those crystal-clear eyes, the conflict in Lu Xun’s heart vanished instantly, replaced by a sudden panic at being caught. He instinctively wanted to pull his hand away, but the moment his fingertips brushed the back of the other man’s hand, Pei Tingsong’s pinky gave an extremely tiny, subtle twitch against Lu Xun’s finger.

The movement was light, like a feather brushing past, carrying a hint of cautious testing and an unspoken plea for him to stay. Lu Xun froze as if a spell had been cast on him. He worried he had misread the sensation, but looking down, he saw Pei Tingsong remained still, gazing at him with watery eyes.

Lu Xun pursed his lips. Instead of withdrawing his hand, he turned his palm over and took Pei Tingsong’s cold hand completely into his own.

“Did I wake you?” Lu Xun paused. He rubbed his nose and explained in a hoarse voice, “I was not talking to anyone. Just a mechanical AI that cannot understand humans.”

Hearing this explanation, Pei Tingsong tilted his head and smiled softly. He did not smile often, and when he did, it was usually mocking. But his smile today lacked its usual cynicism; it was a genuine smile that did not imply anything else. Seeing this sincere smile, Lu Xun was dazed.

After his initial shock, a wave of immense embarrassment washed over Lu Xun. He immediately looked away, the tips of his ears turning bright red. “What are you laughing at? If you are cold, why do you not say so? You just stand there smiling like a fool.”

His tone was harsh, but he never let go of Pei Tingsong’s hand.

Noticing this detail, Pei Tingsong blinked. He had never been cared for so meticulously. His grandmother was in poor health, so Pei Tingsong had always been the caregiver. In this moment, a strange warmth surged into his heart. He could not describe the feeling; it felt a bit aching and full, but mostly, it was a sudden sense of being cherished.

Looking directly at Lu Xun, Pei Tingsong realized for the first time that one does not have to endure illness alone. He shrunk into the quilt, lightly nuzzling the fabric like a cat. Suppressing the bitterness in his heart, he closed his eyes again.

“He must be exhausted,” Lu Xun concluded.

Lu Xun said nothing more. He reached out to tuck in the loose quilt, wrapping the other man like a mummy. He sat quietly watching the sleeping figure. Only after confirming that the other man’s breathing had become steady did Lu Xun reach out to gently straighten his messy hair.

From beginning to end, he never let go of the hand he was holding.