(1)
“W-What do we do? An Jing, think of something!”
“Don’t panic! It looks like she’s still breathing… Call 120, hurry.”
“Just call 120?”
“Yeah, calling 120 is definitely more reliable. We aren’t professionals. What if it’s… an acute heart attack or something? Getting her to the hospital even a second earlier is for the best!”
“Wait, wait a second, where’s my phone…” Zhu Ying fumbled through her pockets in a panic. She had just managed to pull out her flip phone when her grip slipped, sending it tumbling to the ground. The pile of gaudy charms attached to the phone let out a loud clatter as it hit the floor, and the back cover flew off along with the battery.
“Ugh…” Wang Xinru, who had been lying motionless on the ground for half a minute, suddenly flickered her eyelids. “My head… it hurts so much…”
“Wang Wang? You suddenly collapsed just now, what happened?”
“I don’t know…”
“Then, do we still need to call an ambulance?” Zhu Ying asked nervously as she shoved the battery back into the phone and pressed the power button.
“No…” Wang Xinru, still lying on the ground, struggled to shake her head, though the movement was faint. “I’ll just… go to bed and lie down for a bit… I’ll be fine.”
“Just lie down for a while then… If you suddenly fainted, could it be anemia?” An Jing scratched her head. “Have you been eating poorly lately?”
Wang Xinru forced a smile, but unfortunately, it looked more painful than a sob. Her voice was incredibly weak: “I don’t know…”
“Ying, can the two of us lift her up together?”
“Probably not… It’ll be even worse if we drop her.”
“I can get up myself. I’m sorry… can you give me a hand?”
An Jing instinctively reached out, bypassed the other girl’s palm, and gripped her wrist. She then immediately grabbed the slightly raised arm with her other hand, gritting her teeth as she helped her up.
The moment she stood up, Wang Xinru leaned almost her entire body weight against An Jing. An Jing’s body swayed, nearly causing her to tumble to the floor with her.
At this moment, Wang Xinru was as soft as if she had no bones. Not only that, her entire body was alarmingly hot.
She was like a burning furnace.
“Ying, hurry and help! I can’t hold her!” Forget about being embarrassed, An Jing shouted out in a hurry. Only then did Zhu Ying support the other side, helping to stabilize her body.
“Can you still walk?”
“I think… so…” Wang Xinru forced a bitter smile. “Sorry for the trouble.”
“Xiao Ru, at a time like this, don’t say things like that. We’re friends. Let’s get back to the room quickly. You’ll feel much better once you’re lying in bed.”
“Going upstairs now, use some strength, Ying.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got her.”
Messy footsteps echoed on the wooden stairs, accompanied by the wind rattling the windows in the stairwell.
Right now, this narrow stairwell was so difficult to navigate. Every step felt like walking on the moon, as if they could never quite step firmly on the stairs beneath them.
With great effort, they reached the third floor. In front of Wang Xinru’s room, An Jing stumbled, nearly bringing both her and Zhu Ying down to the floor.
“Jing, what are you doing? Don’t mess up now!”
“Cough… hurry and open the door.”
“I’ll do it!” Zhu Ying deftly turned the handle and pushed the door open, leading Wang Xinru quickly into the bedroom.
The window in the room wasn’t closed, and the curtains were blown high by the damp wind.
The white bedding on the bed was neatly laid out, without even a single wrinkle to be seen.
“So hot… I want to… take off my clothes…”
“Jing, come help.”
“Huh? Me? Do I have to?”
“There’s no need to avoid being seen at a time like this!” Zhu Ying cast a side-glance at her. “Stop standing there like an idiot, hurry up!”
“Oh, oh-oh…” An Jing’s face turned slightly red. She tried her best to control herself and avoid touching any sensitive areas as she and Zhu Ying worked together to pull the plaid sweater off Wang Xinru.
She was actually dressed very lightly today. Under the plaid sweater was just a gray long-sleeved shirt, faintly revealing the outline of her undergarments.
After removing the outer layer, she looked quite impressive.
Even Zhu Ying looked on with a hint of envy before using her shoeless foot to gently kick An Jing. “Turn around.”
“For what?”
“To take off Xiao Ru’s pants, obviously. You don’t want to watch that too, do you, you pervy Jing?”
“Hey, hey, I didn’t mean it like that! I just didn’t think of it!”
“Less talk, turn around!”
“I got it…” Feeling a bit wronged, An Jing pouted and turned around, hearing the sound of rustling behind her.
By the time Zhu Ying told An Jing she could turn back, Wang Xinru was already tucked into the bedding, so tightly that not a breath of wind could leak in.
“Her forehead is burning up.”
“It must be a fever.” An Jing looked at her flushed face. “Should we go buy medicine?”
“The nearest pharmacy… is a long walk…” Wang Xinru’s voice was as faint as a mosquito. There wasn’t much light in her half-open eyes. “So hot… the blanket is too tight…”
“Don’t move around. Just sweat it out and you’ll be fine. That’s what my mom always did when I had a fever.”
“She’s already sweating. We should leave a little gap for ventilation.” An Jing lightly scratched the tip of her nose. “I’ll go buy medicine. Ying, why don’t you stay here and watch over her?”
“Yeah, I’ll take care of her here. But is it okay for you to go buy medicine alone? There are so many kinds of medicine even for a fever, right?”
“Uh… wait a sec, I’ll ask Zhou Chao if he’s free. He’s definitely an expert at buying medicine.” That exceptionally reliable name suddenly popped into An Jing’s mind. “After all, he’s always buying medicine for girls.”
***
At the same time, in the outskirts of the small city, Zhou Chao—who was currently engaged in some intimate activities with his not-so-long-term girlfriend in an abandoned house—suddenly sneezed violently. Immediately afterward, his body shuddered, and his flushed cheeks turned pale.
“What’s wrong? That was fast this time.” The other party’s voice carried a hint of complaint.
“It’s nothing. I wonder who’s thinking about me.”
“Hmm—? Is some girl thinking about you?”
“Yeah, it must have been you thinking about me just now. After all, you’re the only girl who would be thinking about me.”
“Pfft… such a smooth talker!”
“Not at all, I’m serious… My phone is ringing, hold on.” The smile on Zhou Chao’s face vanished instantly. He glanced at his phone, moved his finger from the ignore button to the answer button, and pressed it firmly. “Hello? Bro, what’s the word?”
His girlfriend, who was older than him but looked younger, snuggled into his arms, wrapping her arms tightly around him.
“Oh, that happened? She suddenly fainted? What medicine to buy? Don’t worry, big brother will handle it for you. A sudden faint might be anemia. If it’s a fever, she probably hasn’t been eating well and caught a cold. How is she now?”
“It’s useless for you to say all that. Tell me first, is she sweating? Does she feel cold or hot? Is she thirsty?”
“OK, OK, fine.” Holding the phone, Zhou Chao nodded. “It’s not that I’m an expert, it’s just that I know what they’ll ask at the pharmacy. I’ll just answer honestly. Yeah, that’s right, don’t you worry, I’ll be there right away!”
“Big brother~ why are you leaving again?”
“I’m sorry, my dear little sister. My bro has something going on, I have to hurry over and help.”
“Is your bro more important, or am I?”
“Haha, you’re both important. It’s just that the trouble my bro is in right now is a bit bigger. Don’t worry, if something happens to you next time, I’ll definitely come help even if I’m with my bro.”
“Really?”
“Really. I swear to heaven, if I’m not there the next time you have a fever or go to the hospital, may lightning strike me five times.”
“Big brother Chao is so nice~”
Zhou Chao pulled back his smile and looked expressionlessly at the motorcycle keys lying nearby. “Well then, I should get going.”
***
(3)
When An Jing heard the familiar roar of a motorcycle engine approaching from the distance and then coming to a steady halt nearby, the weight in her heart lifted significantly.
“It seems you really trust Zhou Chao.”
“Huh?”
“The expression on your face relaxed a lot.” Zhu Ying gave her a side-glance. “Honestly, I’m a bit worried you’ll be snatched away by Zhou Chao eventually. I have so many love rivals!”
“Eee—!” An Jing let out a long sound of disgust. “Don’t think about such disgusting things, okay? A man and a man… damn, just thinking about it makes me want to puke.”
“But you aren’t one right now.”
“I am in my soul, okay?”
“Zhou Chao wouldn’t even make a move on his own bro, would he?”
“He’s not that kind of person.” An Jing’s eyelids drooped. “Besides, the status of a brother is much higher than a girlfriend to him.”
“What about you, Jing? Brothers or a girlfriend, which is more important?”
“Uh… uh… g-girlfriend…”
“Tsk, lying.”
“In the future, I’ll make you truly feel that I’m the most important one, okay?”
“…That’s a dangerous statement. It sounds like you’re going to kill Zhou Chao and the others…”
“Pfft… what do you take me for? A murderer from Detective Conan?”
The door downstairs was unlocked, so hurried footsteps soon echoed in the stairwell. Then the bedroom door was pushed open with a ‘bang’. Zhou Chao, with a few droplets of water hanging from his eyebrows, held up a slightly damp transparent plastic bag. “The medicine is here! Hurry up and take it!”
“Yeah!” An Jing snatched the bag and anxiously pulled everything out. “Anti-inflammatories, fever reducers, cough syrup… You bought way too much, didn’t you?”
“Just in case. If we don’t use it, we can keep it for later.” Zhou Chao patted the water off his clothes and shook his head like a big golden retriever. “How is Wang Wang doing now?”
“Um… she’s okay…”
“Get up and take some medicine before you sleep.”
“Thank you…”
“Thank you for what? There’s no need to be so polite with me.” Zhou Chao waved his hand with a laughing curse. “Don’t think too much. Just take the medicine and get some good rest. You’ll be fine after a night’s sleep.”
“Mm.” Wang Xinru slowly closed her eyes and then slowly opened them again, seeing that An Jing had already brought a water cup to her lips…
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