Chapter 21: Mistaking the sponsor for someone else

Ning Wan took Lu Weizhu’s temperature. “tsk…38 degrees.”

The temperature was high. 

Ning Wan touched the girl’s face, and it felt hot to the touch.

She hesitated, wondering whether she should tease the feverish and delirious Lu Weizhu.

While Ning Wan was struggling with her thoughts, Lu Weizhu’s gaze toward her changed.

Is the person before me really Ning Wan? 

Would Ning Wan be so gentle as to take my temperature, feed me medicine, and caress my face?

Lu Weizhu became confused again.

Ning Wan decided to set aside her thoughts for now and tried to withdraw her hand.

“Mm~”

As she was pulling her hand back, her wrist was gently grabbed. 

Ning Wan paused, feeling the small bump in the girl’s palm—the blood mark she had left.

Lu Weizhu couldn’t speak anymore. 

She just looked at Ning Wan pitifully, rubbing her face against Ning Wan’s hand.

Who exactly is the person before me? 

It no longer mattered.

Ning Wan’s figure blurred, gradually replaced by someone else.

The last time Lu Weizhu had been cared for during a fever was before her parents passed away.

(Note: “Father” and “Mother” are for convenience; in this world, everyone is female. You can think of Father as the top and Mother as the bottom.)

Perhaps it was the scene that stirred up old memories. 

In Lu Weizhu’s eyes, Ning Wan, in a daze, became her long-deceased Mother.

Lu Weizhu’s Father was a Truck Driver. 

Her Mother was an Elementary School Teacher. 

Father was rarely home, so most of the time, Lu Weizhu and her Sister lived with Mother.

Whether it was parent-teacher meetings or being bullied, Mother was always the one in charge.

Lu Weizhu was deeply attached to Mother. 

Now, mistaking Ning Wan for Mother, she instinctively relied on her.

“KR…”

Ning Wan had no idea what was going on in Lu Weizhu’s mind.

She felt the burning heat from the palm in her hand, a strange feeling rising within her—

Lu Weizhu before her seemed like a different person.

Ning Wan didn’t feel disgusted.

She tried to pull her hand out, but Lu Weizhu hugged her entire forearm.

“Don’t abandon me again……”

The hoarse voice carried a sob.

It was a tone she’d never heard before, like a long-lost friend unwilling to part again.

Ning Wan realized she was being mistaken for someone else.

Who? 

A first love?

She didn’t really understand, but regardless, Ning Wan wasn’t happy.

She didn’t like being mistaken for someone else, nor did she like being replaced, or replacing others.

“You’re burning up and confused.”

She forcefully pulled her hand back, her tone turning cold.

She stuck a Retreat Fever Patch on Lu Weizhu’s forehead.

“Go to sleep.”

With that, Ning Wan left Lu Weizhu on the Living Room Sofa and went to the Bedroom alone.

Closing the Bedroom door, Ning Wan climbed into bed.

“I’ve almost repaid all my debts. Once she’s better tomorrow, things can go back to how they were.”

She grabbed a Pillow and hugged it tightly. 

Feeling in a foul mood, Ning Wan couldn’t be bothered to wash up.

Hugging the Pillow, she closed her eyes, planning to sleep just like that.

After Ning Wan left, only Lu Weizhu remained in the Living Room.

“…ABA…”

Something cold and icy was stuck to her forehead, but the person who’d just been there was nowhere to be seen.

Lu Weizhu reached out, grasping at the air a few times, but caught nothing.

Her vision grew blurrier, her nose tingled with the urge to cry.

She instinctively thought she’d been abandoned by Mother again.

“Don’t…don’t go……”

She mumbled to herself, sitting blankly on the Sofa.

In truth, she’d only just come of age—not much more than a child.

She’d borne heavy responsibilities for so long, and finally, when she could rely on Mother, she was abandoned again. 

Lu Weizhu sat on the Sofa, stunned.

She broke down for quite a while, then wiped away her tears, staggered to her feet, and shuffled slowly to Ning Wan’s Bedroom door.

“Mm.”

Her knees gave out—she let out a muffled groan as she fell, making a dull thud.

Inside the room, Ning Wan heard the sound but couldn’t be bothered to care.

“OSIS…”

Choking back sobs, Lu Weizhu slowly climbed up, knelt in front of the door, and slapped it with her palm.

The wooden door was pounded on repeatedly, the dull thuds echoing into the Bedroom.

Ning Wan endured it for a long time, until she couldn’t take it anymore. 

She got out of bed and opened the Bedroom door.

“Mm…don’t, don’t abandon me!”

Just as Lu Weizhu was about to knock again, the door opened. 

She missed and fell awkwardly at Ning Wan’s feet.

She hugged Ning Wan’s calf.

“What are you doing? Stop making trouble and rest, can’t you? Do you really want me to use force on you?!”

Ning Wan’s patience was almost gone.

She felt she’d already done more than enough.

She grabbed Lu Weizhu’s long hair, lifted her head, and made Lu Weizhu look up at her.

“……?”

When she lifted Lu Weizhu, she saw eyes brimming with tears and a face full of grievance. 

Lu Weizhu kept wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.

Ning Wan drew a sharp breath.

She had never seen anything like this. 

It was even more painful than when she’d humiliated Lu Weizhu before.

What exactly was she being mistaken for?

“Mom…Mom, please don’t leave me again…okay?”

With a humble plea, Lu Weizhu tried to get up, but her limbs were too weak.

“…!?”

Finally realizing who she was being mistaken for, Ning Wan was first shocked and baffled, but soon, she became puzzled—why would Lu Weizhu mistake her for Mother?

As Ning Wan fell silent, Lu Weizhu’s muddled mind was still working. 

Seeing that the Mother she recognized wasn’t responding for a long time, she panicked.

“Mom, don’t abandon me…I, I can do anything, I’ll do whatever you ask…I can take care of Sister, I can earn money, I can cook, do housework, I………………”

Lu Weizhu rambled incoherently.

But Ning Wan only caught the part about “doing anything.”

“Get up first.”

She helped Lu Weizhu to her feet.

“Mm…Mom…”

Lu Weizhu threw herself into Ning Wan’s arms. 

She was so thin and light that Ning Wan only felt a fluffy white bundle snuggling in her embrace.

To be honest, her feelings were complicated—being mistaken for someone’s Mother at her age.

But at least most of her resentment at being mistaken faded.

At least she wasn’t being mistaken for a first love.

“You can do anything?”

It was the first time someone had clung to her like this, acting so spoiled.

Ning Wan was actually at a loss.

Her relationship with Bai Lu was very deep, but because of their personalities, Bai Lu had never acted spoiled like this.

Bai Lu was a bit softer than her, but only just a little. 

She was nothing like Lu Weizhu before her.

“Mm, yeah, I can do anything, anything at all!”

The girl in her arms spoke with determination, as if she’d made a huge decision.

For a moment, Ning Wan believed that in this state, Lu Weizhu really would do anything she asked—even if she told her to die, Lu Weizhu would probably agree.

Having encountered this for the first time, Ning Wan pursed her lips and tried hugging Lu Weizhu back, as if she was holding a little heater.

The girl in her arms felt Ning Wan’s response and got even more enthusiastic. 

The Cat Ear Hair Clip on her head rubbed against Ning Wan’s chin, making her itch a little.

The girl in her arms was so passionate that Ning Wan carefully carried Lu Weizhu onto the bed.

Without saying much, Ning Wan turned off the lights.

The rain was still pattering outside. 

The withered grass in the Garden swayed in the wind and rain, battered and trembling.