Translator: Drea
Co-tl/Editor: MadMadamMims
The entire dormitory building wasn’t completely quiet – the sound of talking, laughing and music could still be heard – but for Nie Chuan, the sound of Reece’s breathing was the clearest in this space.
Nie Chuan’s eyelids slowly sank, but his sleep was not smooth or steady
His stomach was bloated and he gradually became nauseous. His stomach began to gurgle again and he could only get up and go to the toilet.
After vomiting and diarrhea, Nie Chuan returned to the bedroom. Reece turned on the bedside lamp.
“What’s the matter with you?” He was already sitting up, frowning.
“Nothing, just went to use the restroom! Sorry for disturbing you!” Nie Chuan returned to bed.
He waited for Reece to turn off the bedside lamp, but Reece instead came to Nie Chuan’s bedside, sat down and reached his hand out and pressed it against Nie Chuan’s forehead.
Covered by Reece’s warm palm, Nie Chuan felt an inexplicable sense of ease.
“It doesn’t seem to be a fever. What did you eat tonight?”
“Chicken stir fry with mushrooms ah, and instant noodles.”
“How old were the instant noodles?”
Nie Chuan thought for a moment. “I don’t remember……”
“Where’s the box?”
“Threw it away.”
Nie Chuan didn’t dare to say, now that he remembered, that there was a layer of dust on the box…… It seemed to be very old……Zhou Bin did seem to have said that it was going to expire soon, but he kept forgetting to eat it. It probably really expired!
Reece poured a glass of water for Nie Chuan and handed it to him. “Drink a little, you’ll get dehydrated if it’s diarrhea.”
“Mmh,” Nie Chuan suddenly felt that Reece was no less attentive than Zhou Bin.
“What are you thinking about with your head down? Thinking about the date on that box of instant noodles?”
“No. I think you’re very good to me, even better than Zhou Bin.”
Nie Chuan had no guilt towards Zhou Bin in saying it this way. After all, Zhou Bin abandoned his brother for his girlfriend!
“Of course I’m better than Zhou Bin. Don’t randomly compare other people to me.”
Nie Chuan was a little surprised. He never thought Reece would say these words so seriously.
Nie Chuan went to sleep, but his stomach was still gurgling. Not long after, he went to the bathroom. As soon as he sat up, Reece had turned on the bedside lamp to give him lighting. Nie Chuan felt touched.
Nie Chuan slept uncomfortably until dawn, his stomach constantly feeling bloated.
Reece didn’t wake him up early like usual, but Nie Chuan heard the sound of Reece rinsing his mouth and sat up.
“Reece…… can I suspend today’s morning exercise? I have no strength……”
Nie Chuan wasn’t lying, he felt very tired even just moving, his whole person was wilted.
“I know, go to sleep ba.” Reece came to Nie Chuan’s bedside, laid his palm against his forehead again and frowned, “Do you have a fever?”
“Do I?” Nie Chuan pulled at the quilt, feeling a bit cold.
Reece removed Nie Chuan’s coat from the hanger. “Get dressed, we’re going to the hospital.”
“Ah? No need ba? I’ll be fine after I lie down! I’ll be refreshed by the time you come back from class! Diarrhea is just getting all the bad stuff out of the body!”
Last night, he already hadn’t let Reece sleep well and Nie Chuan didn’t want to trouble him further.
“Do you want to be the first student in the hospital to die from food poisoning after eating expired instant noodles?” Reece asked.
Nie Chuan saw absolute persistence from Reece’s eyes.
He must go see a doctor.
Nie Chuan took his coat and slowly put it on, then pulled on his pants.
He looked for his socks but when he found that only the pair he had had already been worn and were thrown into the basket, he was a little embarrassed. Reece turned around, took his own socks from his wardrobe and threw them to Nie Chuan.
Nie Chuan made a firm resolution to wash his socks every day from now on!
They drove to the hospital. While waiting in the queue, Reece sat next to Nie Chuan the whole time. Although he didn’t speak, he didn’t show any impatience.
After seeing the doctor, Nie Chuan came out with some prescribed medicine. He said to Reece, “Look, it actually wasn’t anything. I’ll be fine after getting some rest!”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Tbe wera ifjgc ab mtfglrt sbeg ybvs ogbw cbk bc,” Effmf rjlv.
Rlf Jtejc ofia j aklcuf bo uelia. “P xcbk, P’ii qjs jaafcalbc ab la lc atf oeaegf.”
Coafg ifjnlcu atf tbrqlaji, Effmf vgbnf ab j Jtlcfrf gfrajegjca jcv bgvfgfv qijlc glmf mbcuff obg Rlf Jtejc.
“P xcbk sbe vbc’a tjnf jc jqqfalaf, pera fja jr wemt jr sbe mjc.”
“En, thank you.” Nie Chuan could only eat four or five bites before he didn’t feel like eating anymore, but he didn’t put down his spoon from beginning to end.
Because he felt that it was very good like this. Even if there was no conversation whatsoever, he was certain that the Reece who was sitting beside him and the Reece who read the newspaper while eating the cha siu that he didn’t even like did it to accompany him.
“Next time you’re hungry at night, don’t eat something like instant noodles. Doesn’t the school have a dining hall?” Reece replied.
“Mmh, got it.” Nie Chuan didn’t say how boring it was to go to the dining hall alone, he would be better off having some biscuits or bread.
“I’ll go with you.”
As soon as Reece’s words fell, Nie Chuan felt a slight chill on his body. Why was his heart so hot?
“I’m not a child, no need to be so careful!”
“If someone treats you like a child, isn’t it good to just happily accept it? That means the other person will take care of you and dismiss all your mistakes with a laugh.”
Nie Chuan didn’t know how to answer. Reece got up, packed another portion of congee, and took Nie Chuan back to school.
Nie Chuan lied in the dormitory all day while Reece went to class.
Nie Chuan, who had been sleeping, was very bored. He really wanted to get out of bed and continue playing games, but he still didn’t have much energy, so he could only turn on his phone and watch the boring Big Bang Theory.
A text message was sent over: Are you feeling better?
The text message was sent by Reece.
Nie Chuan smiled and replied: Much better.
He had just turned around when another text message came: Don’t play games, take a good rest. Otherwise I’ll make you drop back to level zero.
This threat is strong enough.
Nie Chuan replied helplessly: I wasn’t playing games, I really am in bed.
Reece: Then go to sleep.
After waiting a while, Reece didn’t send any more messages and Nie Chuan could finally go to sleep.
After class, Reece didn’t continue his group discussion, but went straight back to the dorm.
Nie Chuan, who didn’t sleep at all last night, was sleeping so deeply that he snored softly.
Reece sat by the bed and touched his forehead with the back of his hand. Nie Chuan was awakened by the smell of congee. His appetite became better and he drank a whole bowl of congee.
Reece started to clean up the room, completely throwing away all the messes.
“What is this?”
“Ah, spicy bean curd!”
“It’s inflated with air. Throw it away.”
“Alright.”
“What is this? You actually eat these?”
“Those aren’t mine! They’re Zhou Bin’s!”
Nie Chuan quickly refuted because Reece actually found a dozen Playboy magazines from under his bed!
The corners of Reece’s lips curved into a smile, it seemed he wasn’t convinced by Nie Chuan at all.
“What kind of shoes are these?”
“Don’t take it out!”
Nie Chuan reached out to stop him, but it was already too late. The faint scent of chocolate permeated the air. it was the box of condoms that Reece had previously sent to him.
Reece probed around the box casually with his finger. He leaned down to look at Nie Chuan who was sitting at the head of the bed. “You didn’t even use one of these? How many times have you failed?”
Nie Chuan hadn’t seen that kind of smirk in a while.
“It’s none of your business!”
“Don’t know how to use it? Should I teach you? Although, you’re not in good shape today.” Reece leaned even closer.
“You might as well throw it away!” Nie Chuan lifted the blanket and covered his head with it.
“How can I throw it away? Of course they should all get used one by one.”
“Do whatever you want!”
That night, Nie Chuan’s body finally just about recovered.
Reece, meanwhile, was preparing for a vocational qualification exam. As soon as he finished reading, he turned off the lamp.
“Reece, I’ve decided to promote you to my best friend.” Nie Chuan said seriously.
“Best” meant that Reece was placed above Zhou Bin and Mao Xian, which for Nie Chuan is considered a great honor.
“If I can be your best friend then that just means you have no friends.”
“Hey! How can you say it like that! Do you know what it means to be my best friend?” Nie Chuan sat up from the bed.
“Sleep.” Reece was obviously not interested in this topic.
“It means that when I get married, the bride may not be her, but the groomsman must be……”
“The groom must be me.”
“What——” Nie Chuan’s voice raised an octave, “You’ll even steal my bride, you’re too inhumane!”
“Sleep.”
“What about your humanity?”
“If you don’t go to sleep, I’ll take the shoe box out from under your bed and teach you how to use the things inside.”
Nie Chuan quickly laid down and covered himself with the quilt.
He had a premonition that for a very long time in the future, the contents of that shoebox would become black history that he could not erase.
When Nie Chuan came back to the game brimming with energy, Zhou Bin and Mao Xian had been waiting for a long time.
Zhou Bin: Youngster, you’re really good ah. You didn’t go online for several days and you’re already this strong!
Nie Chuan: Da Bin, have you no shame! Did you know that box of instant noodles was out of date? You made me get diarrhea!
Zhou Bin: There’s a date on the box, and I told you to pay attention to the date when I left yet you’re still blaming me!
Mao Xian: Eh! Ah Chuan, if you were having diarrhea, how did your level suddenly advance so quickly? Don’t tell me you got hacked?
Zhou Bin: ……
Nie Chuan: ……
Mao Xian: Ah Chuan! You’re married! Wow! The other person is super powerful! Diamond level! If these equipment can be sold, we can exchange for a new computer each!
Zhou Bin: No way ba, Ah Chuan, you’re married to…… is this an imposter? That guy wouldn’t play this kind of IQ-decreasing game, right?
Nie Chuan: Don’t forget that you are also in this IQ-decreasing game!
Zhou Bin: I had no choice but to lower my own IQ to accompany you guys. But…… it seems that your new roommate is taking care of you quite “thoroughly”. I wish you a harmonious marriage, one as enduring as the skies and earth!
Nie Chuan trembled with fear.
Reece, who was leaning against the headboard while reading, glanced at Nie Chuan. “What’s wrong?”
“Ah? Me? Nothing…… haha……”
This semester passed much faster than Nie Chuan had expected. It seemed like the end of term came in a blink of an eye.
In addition to the exams for the compulsory courses, there were also several essays. It doesn’t seem to account for much, but if they’re abandoned, the pressure of the exam will be considerably larger.
Nie Chuan and other Chinese foreign exchange students were bitterly immersed in the library. Besides the exercise in the morning, the one-on-one practice between Nie Chuan and Reece was suspended while Carlo was also too busy to arrange other practice matches.
When Nie Chuan brought back the notes he took at the library, Reece was already leisurely leaning against the headboard, and the book that he was reading didn’t even have anything to do with his major. This damn top student, the pressure of final exams was nothing to him!
Nie Chuan spread his notes out and switched on the computer to bid farewell to the game before seriously typing up a short paper.
After finally finishing writing with great difficulty, Nie Chuan stretched, only to hear a “pa——” sound as the opened bottle of coke that he had placed on the side of the table fell completely over, falling on the bed.
“Oh my god——”
Nie Chuan stared blankly as he took in the bubbling sounds of carbonation as well as the damp patch that was constantly expanding.
“Finished, I’m finished!” Nie Chuan threw the Coke bottle aside, lifted his bed sheet and miserably found out that the mattress underneath was also soaked through.
He took out countless napkins to soak up the soda, but to no avail.
What to do! He was originally going to say that he had been at the library all weekend and wouldn’t be back, but the sheets ah……
Fine, he can buy new ones tomorrow, but what about tonight?
“Reece…… do you have anything else I can borrow to pad the bed?” Nie Chuan asked despite not expecting an answer.
“Nope,” Reece turned the page.
Look around…… sure enough……
Nie Chuan suddenly had a bright idea. He thought of his emergency response when he had wet the bed and was scared that he’d get found out by his mother when he was a child —— use a hair dryer to blow it dry!
Nie Chuan unplugged the hair dryer in the bathroom and plugged it into the outlet only to find that the wire was too short! He could only lift the sheets and hang them on the chair before beginning to blow.
He blew and blew, blowing until the hair dryer stopped due to overheating. Nie Chuan felt the sheets with his hand. It was still damp and smelled like a carbonated drink.
Or…… he could just rotate it to where his feet are and make do with it?
At this time, Reece closed the book and put it by the bed. He frowned and patted the area beside him, “Hey, how much longer are you going to toss around? Come here and sleep.”
“Ah?” Nie Chuan was dumbfounded.
Reece had already laid down against the wall, undoubtedly leaving room for Nie Chuan.
This isn’t scientific! Reece is actually giving him half the bed! Nie Chuan had always thought that Reece’s bed was off-limits!
Nie Chuan stood motionless with the hair dryer until Reece spoke again, “Are you not going to class tomorrow? Or do you want to keep blow-drying your mattress until the entire floor is complaining?”
“I’m coming! I’m coming!”
Nie Chuan quickly returned the hair dryer to its original place. He simply left the sheets on the chair and went to sit on Reece’s bedside. Reece lifted the corner of the blanket with his hand, letting the blanket fall over him when he laid down.
Then, Nie Chuan felt regret. He should have brought his pillow over! Otherwise, how close would two people be if they’re sleeping on the same pillow?
At this time, Nie Chuan didn’t even dare move while he was laying on his side. On one hand, he was afraid of disturbing Reece’s sleep while on the other, he was afraid of crowding him in.
Unexpectedly, Reece’s arm squeezed under Nie Chuan’s neck and fished him over.
“What are you doing sleeping on the edge?”
Nie Chuan, who had originally thought that a single bed would be very crowded with two people sleeping together, suddenly found that the space was actually much larger than he had imagined. He felt like he could assume a 九 position! (tn: with his legs spread out)
Of course, he didn’t dare be so unbridled.
Reece’s arm that was cushioning Nie Chuan’s neck didn’t move away. To be honest, sleeping on the other’s arms was actually really comfortable, but he’ll numb them! More importantly, he’s being cuddled!
“I can just sleep on the corner of the pillow!” Nie Chuan moved the other’s arm. Who knew Reece would bring him into his embrace.
When Nie Chuan turned his head, the tip of his nose brushed against the other’s as his eyes collided with Reece’s eyes which revealed a smile.
It was Reece’s mischievous smile which Nie Chuan hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Are you feeling shy? Aren’t you already ‘married’ to me?”
The word “married” was especially pronounced.
“I’m not shy! Sleep! Sleep!”
“What else can we do right now if not sleeping?” Reece asked.
Nie Chuan now really regretted sleeping over!
“Or, what do you want to try in particular?” Reece continued.
Nie Chuan had never been so close to him. His lashes, the tip of his nose, the mysterious shadow casted under his eyes, and the shallow curve of his lips were all very distinct.
“I’m tired! Let’s go to bed!”
Nie Chuan quickly turned over.
He could hear Reece’s soft laughter from behind his ear.
Nie Chuan, who had been studying all day in the library, soon fell asleep. Vaguely, he could feel Reece adjust his posture behind him. Nie Chuan felt as if he was surrounded by the other. Something warm was at the back of his head and slowly moved to the nape of his neck. His legs were gently entangled and his calves were slowly rubbed against. This feeling of being warmly enveloped made Nie Chuan feel very at ease.
The next morning when Nie Chuan was woken up by Reece, he found that he was practically occupying the whole bed while Reece was standing by the bed buttoning his shirt.
___________
Drea: Author making it sound like something happened last night when nothing actually did xD how dare you bait us
MadMadamMims: Koala Reece gives the best snuggles I imagine ^^
I can’t wait for Nie Chuan’s enlightenment! ☺️
Thanks for the chapter!!!
I feel like it won’t be long! Then they can finally use what’s in the shoebox. Waste not want not right?
I sometimes despair of NC’s straight man mindset. Bros can cuddle but what part of Reese’s cuddling seemed platonic to you??? Well, actually I suppose NC did get flustered. Baby steps, baby steps. Thanks for the chapter!!
I’ve been wondering
Will the *pa pa pa * scean be detailed,?
Reece is eating so much tofu. But he also takes care of Nie Chuan so well. Thank you for the chapter!
Every time Reece teases/threatens to personally teach Nie Chuan about how to use condoms I snicker so much. Help him roll it on Reece! Safety is important, he has to learn!