Time Has Grown Dim, And Evening Has Already Fallen - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The weather was uncooperative. It had been perfectly sunny when they arrived in the morning, but by the time school let out, it had tragically begun to pour.

The school’s mini-mart wasn’t open today, meaning there was no way to buy an umbrella.

Cheng Xun hesitated, wondering if he should just prop his backpack over his head and make a dash for it. All his books were in his desk anyway; if the empty bag got wet, so be it. But…

He tentatively glanced toward Lu Xingshu. He felt it wasn’t quite right to make this guy get drenched along with him.

Just then, Lu Xingshu looked down, and their eyes met.

“Let’s run for it

“Wait for the rain

They spoke at the same time, then fell into a simultaneous silence. The rain pattered on relentlessly, but for a moment, it was quiet around them.

“Then let’s wait for the rain to stop before going back,” Cheng Xun changed his mind. “Anyway, these showers come in waves. If you catch a cold from the rain, Grandma will definitely blame me.”

Lu Xingshu’s eyes darkened slightly, holding a rare look of gentleness. “She won’t blame you.”

The two stood by the first-floor staircase, waiting quietly for the downpour to let up before finally dashing out.

The ground was soaked, covered in puddles of varying depths. One wrong step and you’d land right in one, resulting in a tragic string of mud splatters across your pant legs.

The two raced against time, terrified the sky would repeat its trick and start pouring again.

Unfortunately, halfway home, the rain began to fall once more. Faint rumbles of thunder accompanied it, and the rain came down even harder than before.

Rain hit Cheng Xun square in the face, stinging with the impact.

“Damn it!”

Leaving behind a cry of tragic indignation, Cheng Xun hoisted his empty backpack over his head and began to bolt.

He didn’t see that Lu Xingshu followed suit—propping his own bag over his head and sprinting to avoid the rain. It was a sight that was both out of character and hilarious.

One after the other, they ran back to the small grocery store. After such a heavy rain, they looked like two drowned rats, utterly pathetic.

Grandmother was both heartbroken and scolding. She had told them that morning it might rain.

But neither child had listened. Now look at them—drenched to the bone. What if they got sick?

She quickly ushered them to the second floor, telling them to change out of their wet clothes and take a hot shower.

Grandmother even boiled ginger soup and brought it up. With the flu going around lately, she was quite worried about them.

Cheng Xun pinched his nose and gulped down the ginger soup. Though it was spicy going down, it did warm his stomach, and the slight headache he’d been feeling eased up.

Getting sick on the first day of school was seriously lame, but unfortunately, Cheng Xun had succumbed.

He blamed himself; he hadn’t taken a hot shower immediately, and because he hated wet clothes, he had just stripped them off and tossed them in the laundry basket while naked.

By the time Lu Xingshu finished his shower and came out, Cheng Xun had already caught a chill.

The ginger soup warmed his stomach, but the comfort was short-lived.

First came the runny nose, then he started feeling flashes of hot and cold, his face turning a bit pale.

Cheng Xun dozed off at his desk, his face resting on his arm, the flesh of his cheek pressed into a cute curve.

Lu Xingshu went to the living room to get a glass of hot water. Seeing Cheng Xun slumped over listlessly, he placed the water on the desk and tapped Cheng Xun’s finger.

Cheng Xun looked up at him, dazed. “?”

“I think you have a cold.” Lu Xingshu looked down at him, pressing the back of his hand against Cheng Xun’s forehead. Fortunately, there was no fever yet. “At least you don’t have a temperature.”

Cheng Xun slowly sat up straight, also checking his own forehead with the back of his hand, then leaned back into his chair, exhausted.

“Drink hot water.” Lu Xingshu pushed the cup toward him.

Cheng Xun puckered his lips in resistance.

Even in winter, he was the type who only liked drinking cold water—he had a stomach of iron.

But Lu Xingshu’s expression looked colder than an ice cube, making Cheng Xun feel inexplicably intimidated.

In the end, Cheng Xun gave in, taking the cup and sipping it while blowing on it.

Lu Xingshu frowned. “The water isn’t that hot. If you drink it all at once, you’ll feel better.”

“Fine, fine, fine.” Cheng Xun tilted his head back and drained it in one go, as heroic as if he were drinking cold liquor instead of hot water.

His stomach felt warmer, but the malaise persisted.

The frown on Lu Xingshu’s face didn’t relax. “Is there cold medicine upstairs? I’ll go look for you.”

“In the drawer of the first-floor counter,” Cheng Xun leaned back onto the table listlessly. “Don’t tell Grandma, she’ll just worry about me again.”

“Okay,” Lu Xingshu agreed. “If you don’t feel well, go lie in bed. Sleeping huddled over a desk makes it worse.”

“I know.”

Cheng Xun rubbed his face and sluggishly climbed the stairs.

Sickness comes like a landslide; stepping on the wooden stairs felt like walking on cotton. It seemed he really was dizzy.

Lu Xingshu took the cup back downstairs, intending to fill it with more ginger soup.

Grandmother took one look at him and knew exactly what was going on.

“Did Xiao Xun catch a chill?”

Lu Xingshu nodded and gave a soft “Mm.” “I’m getting him some cold medicine.”

Grandmother pulled some medicine out from the desk drawer and handed it to him. “The ginger soup…”

“I’ll go to the kitchen and get some.” Lu Xingshu took the medicine and added, “Grandma, I’ll watch the shop in a bit.”

Grandmother squinted and smiled, shaking her head. “No need. You take care of Xiao Xun.”

Lu Xingshu remained silent.

When Lu Xingshu returned to the bedroom, he found Cheng Xun in a half-awake, dazed state. Unfortunately, he had to wake him.

Being tall, he could see everything on the top bunk clearly while standing by the bed.

He lightly patted Cheng Xun’s arm. “Cheng Xun, take your medicine.”

Cheng Xun crossly swatted his hand away, groggily scratching his cheek and muttering, “Don’t bother me.”

Lu Xingshu frowned, looking at him speechlessly.

This face of Cheng Xun’s was clearly gentle and harmless, yet his personality had a streak of wild rebellion. The contrast was excessive, making him rather interesting.

When he was asleep, there was no hostility; he looked quite simple.

And his cheek looked very soft and easy to pinch.

Lu Xingshu didn’t hesitate for long. He reached out and gave Cheng Xun’s cheek a firm pinch.

Cheng Xun woke with a start, rubbing his face as his mouth twisted. “Damn it…”

Once he saw that the culprit who pinched him was standing by the bed with a cold, serious face, Cheng Xun was both angry and speechless.

“Lu Xingshu, why did you pinch me?” He didn’t even notice that his voice had gone raspy.

Lu Xingshu flicked his eyes toward him, his voice carrying a hint of confusion. “You wouldn’t wake up.”

Cheng Xun’s cat-like round eyes were filled with various emotions in a short span of time, all of which finally turned into resignation.

Lu Xingshu glanced at him and handed over the ginger soup and the pills.

“Take the medicine.”

Cheng Xun’s black hair hadn’t been cut in a while; it was messy and fluffy from sleep. He helplessly took the medicine and downed it with a large gulp of the ginger soup.

That aftertaste… he never wanted to experience it again.

Lu Xingshu grabbed the air conditioner remote from beside Cheng Xun’s pillow and swiftly turned the unit off.

Cheng Xun: “…”

“It’s so hot out, is it really okay for you to not let me use the AC?” he protested indignantly.

Especially since he had just finished the ginger soup and his whole body was already burning up, this guy actually turned off the air conditioner.

“You’ll get better faster if you sweat it out,” Lu Xingshu explained with downcast eyes. “That’s what Grandma said.”

Those innocent, beautiful puppy eyes now looked like the incarnation of a demon in Cheng Xun’s eyes.

And yet this guy was using Grandma to pressure him…

Speechless.

Cheng Xun lay flat on the bed, his thin blanket kicked to the side. He felt as if the bamboo mat beneath him was starting to boil.

The cold medicine should have made him sleepy, but he was so hot he couldn’t sleep at all, his consciousness drifting in and out.

In his dream, Lu Xingshu turned into a three-head-tall “chibi” character. Cheng Xun chased him with a slice of ginger, beating him senseless to vent his anger.

Even as a chibi, this guy still had a cold, expressionless face—he looked so annoying.

He lay like a corpse on the bed, nearly smoking from the heat. By the time evening rolled around, he felt much better than he had initially.

His strength had returned a bit. Cheng Xun slowly sat up, his mind clear and no longer foggy.

He felt a bit sticky, though. After some thought, he decided to take a hot shower.

After washing up, he felt much more comfortable. Cheng Xun changed into his pajamas and climbed back into bed, though now he had the energy to play on his phone.

To take care of him, Lu Xingshu didn’t turn on the AC that night either. Instead, he moved the floor fan from the dining area upstairs, letting it blow from a moderate distance. It was at least somewhat better.

The next day, Cheng Xun was much better; he had finally suppressed the illness.

When the alarm went off, he hurriedly got up to wash, then went back to the room to strip off his pajamas and change into his school uniform. His movements were fluid, but then he noticed Lu Xingshu was still sound asleep.

He was out cold.

Cheng Xun narrowed his eyes, clearly plotting something.

He knelt with one knee on Lu Xingshu’s bed, leaning over without making a sound. With speed and precision, he pinched Lu Xingshu’s cheek.

The boy’s face was also soft, though he was lean and didn’t have much “meat” to pinch. With his eyes closed, the folds of his eyelids were light and shallow, and his eyelashes were long and thick—the kind that was truly a waste on a boy’s face.

“He won’t even wake up like this,” Cheng Xun chuckled to himself. “Actually oversleeping.”

The youth’s summer uniform was a bit loose. As he leaned down, a stretch of fair skin peeked out from his collar. Paired with his mischievous grin, his whole face was brimming with boyish charm.

Lu Xingshu suddenly snapped his eyes open, startling Cheng Xun. Just as Cheng Xun tried to pull back awkwardly, the other boy grabbed him by the collar.

Cheng Xun: “?”

While he was still a question mark personified, Lu Xingshu had already yanked his collar hard, pulling him down. In a blur of motion, the positions were reversed—Cheng Xun was on the bottom, and Lu Xingshu was on top.

Cheng Xun’s head hit the bed, leaving him dazed.

Furthermore, the other boy’s elbow was pressed firmly against Cheng Xun’s throat. His dark eyes still held a bit of blankness, proving he wasn’t fully awake yet.

In other words, this reaction was entirely instinctive…