Song Qiuyu clenched her hands tightly, her face beneath the covers still flushed red.
If it were just getting up to drink water or use the bathroom, there would be no need to tidy the bedding—so Jiang Xiao had wet the bed again!
And this time, he had even dirtied the bedding.
The thought that they both probably had strange dreams—though unlikely the same one—made her head buzz and stirred uneasily inside.
Listening to the coughing next door as Jiang Xiao tidied his bedding, she felt a pang of sympathy thinking about how he would have to secretly wash the bedding and the soiled underwear.
Maybe this would worsen Jiang Xiao’s condition.
Worse still, he might collapse on the balcony halfway through washing.
With that in mind, she pulled back the covers from her face and sat up on the bed.
“Jiang Xiao?”
She lowered her voice, speaking softly.
“Uh…”
Jiang Xiao froze.
The next moment, the two layers of curtains between their beds were yanked aside by Song Qiuyu.
Facing the sudden appearance of her pretty face in his line of sight, his body trembled violently, a chill running down his spine.
Catching sight of the bedding he was clutching, he instinctively tried to hide it behind himself.
The memory of the bizarre dream where he had tangled intimately with Song Qiuyu made him feel deep guilt, unable to look her in the eye.
What kind of nonsense had he done—even if it was only in a dream…
“I know.”
Song Qiuyu’s sudden words made Jiang Xiao pause.
He raised his eyes to look at her.
“It’s fine, we’re just bros. This kind of thing is a normal physiological reaction; I’m not going to tease you.” Song Qiuyu smiled gently.
Then her gaze dropped to the bedding he was holding, shifting slightly to the spot on his body that must also be soiled—the very place where, in the dream, he had treated her roughly.
Her body grew warm in that moment.
“Give me the bedding. I’ll wash it for you.”
She clenched her hands tightly, steeling herself as she looked steadily into his eyes and continued in a low voice,
“And the underwear too.”
“You don’t have to get out of bed. Just change right there. Need some tissues? I’ll get them for you!”
Jiang Xiao remained silent for a long time, glancing at her with a complicated expression, about to shake his head to refuse and say he’d handle it himself.
“Oh, Jiang Xiao, do you have spare bedding?”
She tilted her head and glanced toward the balcony, her beautiful apricot eyes blinking twice, a faint watery gleam in them.
“The weather’s too cold. If you don’t, you’ll have to sleep like this, and your condition will get worse. Or…” She hesitated, biting her lip before continuing quietly, “Or you could sleep on my bed for one night?”
It was a last resort.
In the middle of winter, they couldn’t just leave a patient burning close to 40 degrees Celsius unattended.
If possible, she would rather lie in bed herself and wait until Jiang Xiao finished secretly washing his things, then quietly take care of her own.
But a fever combined with nocturnal emissions would lower immunity. Normally, it wouldn’t matter, but with a high fever near 40 degrees and weakened immunity, going to wash underwear and bedding with cold water late at night…
If she really let it go, he’d probably be in the hospital by tomorrow.
Song Qiuyu sighed inwardly.
Jiang Xiao’s pupils suddenly dilated. He doubted he had misheard or was so sick that his mind was unclear.
If it wasn’t an auditory hallucination, how else could he have heard Song Qiuyu offer to wash the bedding and underwear he had dirtied—the very items covered in his…
And then heard Song Qiuyu invite him to sleep on her bed.
He fell silent.
He couldn’t guarantee that if he shared the bed with Song Qiuyu again now, something might happen between them—
Something like what had happened in the dream.
Regardless of whether Song Qiuyu was male or female, he might still get aroused…
His thoughts were in chaos, his fevered mind growing sluggish.
He looked at Song Qiuyu and clumsily blurted out the suspicion buried in his heart: “Song Qiuyu, do you like me?”
“Huh?”
Song Qiuyu was stunned.
“You’re crossing way too many boundaries… you know that?”
Jiang Xiao’s voice was unclear, his consciousness muddled.
“I…”
Song Qiuyu hesitated.
But if she didn’t act this way, seeing Jiang Xiao in pain would hurt her too.
She also knew that her concern and actions toward Jiang Xiao might have gone beyond the limits of friendship or even brotherhood.
It didn’t sound like the conversation between roommates, but more like a married couple sleeping apart for some reason.
And then the wife, considering the husband’s health, actively inviting him to share the bed.
Seeing his hesitation, she gave up on restraint, revealing the side that only a husband’s eyes could see.
“Darling, I thought about it too.”
She bit her lip shyly, sending a blunt and clear signal.
Then Jiang Xiao suddenly understood, grinning broadly as he lifted her up and carried her straight to her bed, placing her down and fulfilling her wish.
Spring rises and falls; the once cold and quiet room burned with an unusual heat tonight.
Perhaps it was the vividness of that spring dream, or maybe the strong masculine scent coming from the clothes in Jiang Xiao’s hands.
It completely overwhelmed her mind’s control, making certain sensations uncontrollable. Song Qiuyu’s already flushed and ashamed neck blushed even deeper.
Jiang Xiao thought the same, his body heating up, feeling it was no longer just fever raising his temperature.
Perhaps the dream had affected him too deeply. He couldn’t control his thoughts, believing this was her way of giving some kind of permission.
But if so, he couldn’t help but wonder when Song Qiuyu had started to have these feelings for him—had it been a long time ago already?
“Jiang Xiao, you’re not misunderstanding me because of what you saw in that book, right?” Song Qiuyu suddenly thought quickly.
“Misunderstanding? When has helping each other ever reached this level?”
Jiang Xiao’s voice was steady as he looked Song Qiuyu directly in the eyes.
“Why can’t it?”
Song Qiuyu forced calm, lowering her voice, avoiding his gaze.
After all, she had dreamed several times of being violated by Jiang Xiao.
Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she couldn’t lie to herself—her body had found pleasure in his roughness in those dreams.
What one thinks by day, one dreams by night.
So in truth, she wanted to be with Jiang Xiao…
These chaotic thoughts flooded her mind, and she dared not think any further.
The more she thought, the stranger her body felt.
Her body’s switch flipped on again.
She was afraid if she kept thinking, something serious would happen…
She exhaled deeply, forcing herself to calm down and looked at Jiang Xiao.
Seeing him unmoving, she worried.
Ha, Jiang Xiao wouldn’t seriously insist on washing things himself and then sleep on an unmade bed, would he?
Jiang Xiao was about to speak when suddenly his throat itched, and he coughed violently several times.
“Look at you—you’re this sick. Better say less.”
Song Qiuyu took the opportunity to lean over and snatch the bedding from Jiang Xiao’s arms.
“Besides, didn’t you carry me back to the dorm and help me wash before? So I’m just returning the favor. It’s not weird at all, okay?
“Besides, the sooner you get better, the sooner we can shoot longer Business-Order Short Videos!”
Jiang Xiao quietly watched her. She looked like she was telling the truth, clutching his bedding as she carefully climbed down the stairs.
Then tiptoeing toward the balcony, she placed the bedding into a basin.
She came back, grabbed a pack of tissues from the table, raised her hand, stood on tiptoe, and handed it to the side of his bed.
Her thoughtfulness was giving him a headache worse than the flu and fever.
“My bedding probably hasn’t dried yet.”
Jiang Xiao caught the pack of tissues and said helplessly.
“Mm!”
Song Qiuyu nodded.
She was relieved that although they both had suffered the same magical attack tonight, the items damaged on her side didn’t include bedding.
So she only had two pairs of pants to deal with.
“Don’t just nod. Stop looking. I’m going to change.”
Jiang Xiao instinctively tried to avoid her direct gaze. In the past, he wouldn’t have cared much about this.
“Okay.”
Song Qiuyu hurriedly withdrew her gaze and turned away.
Seeing her so obedient, Jiang Xiao’s mood grew even more complicated. After some fumbling, he looked at the dirty pants he had taken off and, after a moment’s hesitation, shamefully handed them to the person under the bed.
Along with the tissues.
He never imagined things between him and Song Qiuyu would turn out like this. The unbelievable part was, he didn’t reject it.
He was enjoying Song Qiuyu’s thoughtfulness and felt… very satisfied.
This didn’t seem right.
“Don’t stress too much. It’s just helping to wash some clothes.”
Song Qiuyu didn’t know what Jiang Xiao was thinking. She assumed he was just reluctant about a roommate washing his underwear and hurried to say:
“I watch university dorm videos. It’s normal for an adoptive father to help a roommate with this kind of thing.”
Jiang Xiao squinted slightly and gave a faint “hm.”
He watched her return to the balcony to put the dirty underwear in the basin, then follow into the bathroom.
He suddenly turned his face away, covering it with one big hand.
He had no idea what mood Song Qiuyu was in when she helped, but one thing was clear.
Song Qiuyu was acting strange. Very strange.
But maybe she was strange because he himself had too many issues, which was why he thought she had a problem.
His head was spinning. He could barely tell what was real and what was fantasy.
Song Qiuyu really had invited him to sleep over, hadn’t she?
Through his fingers, he looked toward the bed next door.
He clenched his hands tightly, coughing weakly, then got up, pulled back the bed curtains, and cautiously moved over.
For some reason, there seemed to be a faint sweet fragrance lingering on Song Qiuyu’s bed tonight…
It was a scent he had never encountered before, never smelled on her.
He frowned in confusion, pulled back the covers, and lay down.
Surrounded by warmth and fragrance, he covered his mouth, coughing weakly, and closed his eyes.
The bathroom door creaked open, and Song Qiuyu came out.