The Long Night - Chapter 45

Recently, the sky had been gray, and it had been raining for a week straight. The temperature dropped sharply, and the weather forecaster also kindly reminded the public to prevent colds.

Every day, Tang Shaocheng had to remind Yan Liao to wear more clothes when he went out to walk the dog and even found his scarf for him to wear in early autumn.

Yan Liao was fully bundled up every day and stayed healthy until the rainy season was almost over. He didn’t expect the other person to be the one who caught a cold.

Tang Shaocheng felt unwell since he woke up early in the morning, thinking it was because he had stayed up all night and didn’t get enough sleep. He took half a day off. He thought he would be fine after a short rest, but when he woke up, he found that the situation was more serious.

Yan Liao touched his forehead, which was a little hot. “You’re sick.”

Tang Shaocheng wanted to speak, but his voice was very hoarse, so he could only “mm-hmm.” Yan Liao told him to go back to bed and went to find the medicine box himself.

He took out some cold medicine and some heat-clearing medicine. He first checked on his phone whether the two drugs could be taken at the same time. After confirming that they could, he confidently went to get a cup of hot water.

Yan Liao thought of the TV series he had been watching these days, where the male lead would put the medicine in his mouth and feed it to the female lead who couldn’t swallow it. He had watched a lot of these things because he had nothing to do. Then he thought that since things had come to this, this was the only way, since Tang Shaocheng became soft and helpless when he was sick.

He hesitated for a moment just before he put the medicine to his mouth. He lightly licked it with his tongue. The bitterness spread on the tip of his tongue, and he almost bit his tongue to death.

Never mind.

Yan Liao quickly put the medicine pill into Tang Shaocheng’s mouth.

Tang Shaocheng, who was taken aback by the bitterness, opened his eyes blankly and frowned. Yan Liao quickly fumbled to hand him the cup of water, feeding him water to swallow the medicine.

Yan Liao went through the cabinets again to find a fever patch. He awkwardly stuck it on Tang Shaocheng’s forehead and then went to the bathroom to get a cold towel, which he placed on his neck.

Yan Liao remembered reading somewhere that the neck had more blood vessels, so a cold compress worked better there.

“Are you cold?”

Yan Liao kicked off his slippers and climbed onto the bed, helping the patient wrap the blanket more tightly. He lay on his side next to Tang Shaocheng and remembered how his mom would stay with him when he was sick as a child.

He recalled that scene and, in a similar fashion, gently patted Tang Shaocheng’s back and hummed a few lullabies.

The lyrics were probably “Sleep, sleep, my dear baby.” Yan Liao hummed very slowly, so every word was clear. Tang Shaocheng was hearing this song for the first time and thought it was an original piece by Yan Liao. He couldn’t help but laugh. “What are you singing?”

“A lullaby,” Yan Liao took the tissue from the bedside table and wiped the sweat off his face, his face flushing when he saw the smile on this person’s face. “…What’s so funny? Didn’t your mom ever sing to you when you were a kid?”

Tang Shaocheng shook his head.

Yan Liao made a short “ah” sound as if he had said the wrong thing. He was already heartbroken to see Tang Shaocheng so sick, and now he was even more so.

He suddenly leaned over and hugged Tang Shaocheng, saying very seriously, “Then I’ll sing to you.”

At this moment, Yan Liao didn’t feel that there was anything wrong with it. He even felt a little touched by his own actions. But after patting this person’s back for a while, he suddenly realized that the position was very strange.

…It was very similar to breastfeeding.

It became even more similar after Tang Shaocheng inexplicably bit him on the chest.

…

The two of them lay in bed for a while. Every few minutes, Yan Liao would touch Tang Shaocheng to see if he was still hot and if his temperature had gone down.

The contact was a little too frequent. When Yan Liao wanted to lean in again, the other person raised his arm to block him. “Don’t get infected.”

Tang Shaocheng’s voice was very hoarse. It must have been very uncomfortable to talk when he was sick. Yan Liao covered his mouth. “Okay, I know. Don’t talk. Just nod or shake your head.”

Tang Shaocheng nodded.

Yan Liao really wanted to say, “I’m not afraid of getting a cold,” but he then thought that he now had to take on the heavy responsibility of taking care of a sick person, so he sensibly got out of bed.

“Then I’ll go make you some food.”

Yan Liao, who was burdened with a heavy responsibility, didn’t want to be idle for a second. He put on his slippers decisively and walked to the kitchen.

He searched on Baidu for what a sick person should eat. After a long time of picking through the recipes, he decided that making porridge was the easiest. It was light and nutritious.

Yan Liao rummaged through the fridge for the ingredients he needed. When he stood in the kitchen, he was a little defeated. He hadn’t cooked for a long time and had almost forgotten how bad his food tasted. The dog “woofed” a few times at the door. Yan Liao looked back at it, wishing the dog could cook.

He spent a long time cooking a pot of porridge that looked decent. He let it cool for a while before bringing it to Tang Shaocheng. He also took the time to put some dog food in the puppy’s bowl.

There was a bed table in the cabinet that hadn’t been used for a long time. Yan Liao stood on a chair to get it down so that Tang Shaocheng could eat the porridge while under the blanket without getting out of bed. Tang Shaocheng would do these things when he was sick, so now he also knew how to take care of a patient.

Tang Shaocheng slowly stirred the steaming beef and vegetable porridge with a spoon. “It tastes good.”

“How can you taste anything when you’re sick?”

Yan Liao remembered that his mouth was always bitter when he was sick, and even his favorite foods tasted weird. Tang Shaocheng’s expression was calm and gentle, as if he really thought the porridge tasted good.

After the puppy finished eating, it went to play by itself. It was very sensible and noticed that someone in the house was sick, so it didn’t make any noise.

Yan Liao stayed in the room with Tang Shaocheng for a while and then actively went to do other chores. He mopped the floor, threw this week’s dirty clothes into the washing machine, put in a laundry pod, and added half a cap of fabric softener.

The washing machine hummed loudly. Yan Liao dried his hands and went back to the room. Tang Shaocheng was just about to clear the table, so he walked over. “Don’t move. Let me do it.”

Tang Shaocheng looked at him, a little amused. “I have the strength to lift a table.”

“And you’re not allowed to talk.”

It would be very uncomfortable to talk with a hoarse throat, so Yan Liao didn’t speak proactively either. He put a small mat by the bed and sat on it, resting his chin on his hands. The cold medicine had a calming effect, and Tang Shaocheng fell asleep after closing his eyes for a while.

Yan Liao looked down at his sleeping face and touched the dark circles under his eyes with his finger.

He tucked Tang Shaocheng in, covering him from head to toe. He thought for a moment and then moved this person’s hand out. He lowered his eyes and squeezed Tang Shaocheng’s fingers, from his thumb to his pinky, and then squeezed them one by one in the opposite direction. He said in his heart, “Please get better soon. Don’t get sick, okay?”

Yan Liao was afraid of waking him up, so his movements were very light. After staring at Tang Shaocheng’s palm lines for a while, he lowered his head and kissed his wrist, then lay down and buried his face in his palm.

The puppy stood at the door and tilted its head to look at him. Yan Liao was a little shy and turned his head in a different direction.

When Tang Shaocheng woke up, it was already dark. The curtains in the room were drawn, and it was dark and gloomy. He didn’t know what time it was.

He lowered his gaze and saw Yan Liao sitting on the floor, his face resting on his palm, asleep, like a mushroom.

His body was curled up in a position that looked like it would cause bone pain.

“Get up.”

Tang Shaocheng moved his hand and rubbed Yan Liao’s face with his thumb twice. Yan Liao’s face seemed to be the size of a palm. Tang Shaocheng could cup it with his hand.

Yan Liao groggily opened his eyes. His cheek rubbed against Tang Shaocheng’s palm again. It took him a long time to wake up. As soon as he moved, his back and waist ached as if a truck had run over his back.

“Why are you sitting on the floor?”

Yan Liao’s chin was still resting on Tang Shaocheng’s palm. He licked his dry lips and looked up pitifully, distorting the truth. “You wouldn’t let me get on the bed, and you wouldn’t let me sleep with you.”

Tang Shaocheng pinched his face. “Get up quickly and turn on the light.”

After sleeping for a long time, he had a bit of a headache when he woke up. Yan Liao “ouch-ed” several times when he got up. He wanted to stretch, but it seemed like all his bones were making a symphony of cracking sounds. He walked to the door and turned on the light. His vision suddenly became bright, and his eyes hurt a little.

Yan Liao rubbed his eyes and walked back to the bed. He was still weak from just waking up and almost fell. Tang Shaocheng grabbed his waist, so he took the opportunity to lie down on the bed and immediately wrapped himself around him like an octopus.

His eyes couldn’t fully adjust to the light, so he said in a hurry, “Even if I get infected, you can’t kick me out.”

“Okay, I won’t kick you out.”

Tang Shaocheng’s voice wasn’t as hoarse after he woke up, and he felt much better. He probably exercised often, took medicine in time during the early stages when his symptoms were not obvious, and felt that he was almost better after sleeping for a while.

And also because Yan Liao was very caring, he thought.

The very caring Yan Liao quickly climbed onto the bed. His neck was much more comfortable on the pillow. He put one leg on Tang Shaocheng’s body and wrapped his arm around the other’s shoulder, sticking to him like he had a skin hunger disorder. He even said that he was afraid Tang Shaocheng would be cold.

Yan Liao was afraid of the heat. He was still wearing summer pajamas in the fall. His pants only went to his knees, and his calves were exposed. He didn’t like to wear socks at home. Tang Shaocheng squeezed his calf, wanting to give this person a massage to relax.

Yan Liao shivered when he was squeezed. His toes suddenly curled up, and his ears instantly flushed red.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and he said in a serious tone, “You’re a patient.”

Tang Shaocheng “hmm-ed.” His fingers were still on Yan Liao’s calf. He squeezed a little harder and asked, not knowing why, “What’s wrong?”

“…Don’t seduce me.”

Tang Shaocheng’s hand paused. He realized that this was a more sensitive area for Yan Liao. He moved his hand away, a little amused, and instead held Yan Liao’s knee. He then saw that this person’s ears were even redder. He shivered as if he had been burned, and the skin from his neck to his collarbone was a moist, rosy pink.

Yan Liao’s throat was a little itchy, and his heart pounded faster. His voice seemed to be able to wring out water. He stammered, “What are you doing?”

…

Tang Shaocheng seemed to have suddenly discovered a very interesting thing that had always existed but had never been deliberately explored.

The temperature of his palm was still slightly high. He stroked Yan Liao’s thigh through his pants and then slowly moved upward, stroking Yan Liao’s waist, soft abdomen, and lean back through his thin shirt.

Wherever Tang Shaocheng touched, Yan Liao felt as if his skin had been set on fire. It seemed like the speed of his blood flow was rushing forward like a steep slide. He was so hot that he felt like he was going to have a fever, even worse than the other person. He felt like he was going to heat up to forty degrees and swell up like a balloon and explode.

“Mmm…”

Yan Liao subconsciously wanted to hide. He put the back of his hand on his hot cheek to cool it down. A layer of water mist unconsciously floated in his black pupils.

Tang Shaocheng stroked his hair and coaxed him softly, “Baby, come here.”

Yan Liao was always very obedient in bed. His hand was still on his face. He shrank his shoulders and went back next to Tang Shaocheng, whispering, “It’s so hot.”

He was like a mollusk that had left its shell and was now sensitive everywhere.

When Yan Liao’s chin was rubbed, he suddenly inhaled a cold breath. It was so good that he felt like the top of his head had been lifted. His scalp felt numb and tingly, as if it had been vigorously combed with a massage comb. He let out a soft “hmm” from his nose and bit his lip. He was very embarrassed, thinking that he hadn’t even taken off a single piece of clothing yet and had become like this.

It was very embarrassing, extremely embarrassing. He felt like he had never been this embarrassed except for the first time.

He closed his eyes in self-pity and, giving up completely, rubbed Tang Shaocheng’s neck. “Kiss me.”

Tang Shaocheng propped himself up. He hadn’t thought about these things before. Maybe he thought less when he was sick, and things just ended up like this. He put his index finger on Yan Liao’s lips. “You’ll get infected.”

He lowered his head, a little surprised. Yan Liao looked like he was about to cry even though he hadn’t done anything yet.

So he cupped Yan Liao’s face and just lightly touched his lips.

Yan Liao raised his arm and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. His eyelashes were wet with the overflowing tears, and they were stuck together in clumps, some poking his retina. The corners of his eyes were a little red from the stimulation. He looked very wronged as he gritted his teeth.

“Not like that.”

Yan Liao hugged Tang Shaocheng’s neck and actively opened his mouth. He bit the other person’s lips hard, as if he were very angry, and then quickly let go.

The voice in his head said “never mind” for the second time today.

This time, Tang Shaocheng was very cooperative and hugged him and kissed him for a while. Yan Liao’s misty eyes were unfocused. He was so soft and weak that he was like a lump of mud that couldn’t be held up. It was only because Tang Shaocheng’s arm was wrapped around his waist that he didn’t fall onto the bed.

He had just righteously said, “You’re a patient,” but now he was telling the patient to hurry up and move.

Maybe it was because he had sweated a lot. By the next morning, Tang Shaocheng’s cold was completely gone. Yan Liao was also not infected by him, and to celebrate, they ate barbecue.

A new restaurant had just opened in a nearby mall. They had eaten there and thought the food was great.

For the October holiday, Tang Shaocheng wanted to ask Lu Xiao and Ge Dong-lin to also go to that barbecue restaurant so the four of them could have a meal together. Yan Liao called Ge Dong-lin. After they agreed on a time, he said he was going to tell Lu Xiao about it.

Ge Dong-lin subconsciously said, “I’ll tell him.”

Yan Liao said thoughtfully, “You’re so busy. I’ll do it.”

“I’m not that busy now…” Ge Dong-lin’s voice was a little hesitant. He stammered, “The two of us are together.”

“What a coincidence. Then you can tell him.”

Ge Dong-lin was silent for a moment. For a long time, Yan Liao only heard his breathing get heavier. Then he spoke again. “I’m saying that we’re together. We’re together now.”