Lu Qinyi fell sick. His body, although vastly improved, was still weak so the fever wracked through him like flames through kindling. Unfortunately not long after, Zhao Mei also fell sick, the aftermath of the war having left her similarly susceptible. Yang Xun couldn’t watch over them both, and as night fell, both of them worsened. He had just been trying to figure out what to do when Fei Li, in a stroke of luck or misfortune, had been walking past. Fei Li had already proved through his actions that for some reason, he was committed to Lu Qinyi recovering from his grief and Fei Li had already gone to immense lengths on Lu’s behalf. So Yang Xun made a quick decision and before Fei Li could even understand what he had been summoned over for, Yang Xun had tossed a cloth at him. Fei Li caught it, seeming rather at a loss for once.
“Could you just watch over him for the night? His fever is too high, he needs to be monitored but I have to watch over Zhao Mei. She’s no better.”
Fei Li looked surprised before his brows knit. “I can’t.”
Yang Xun rolled his eyes as he laid out a large bowl of water on the bedside table. “It’s just for a night. You’re about the only one besides me who will take proper care of the previous enemy of the North. Or are you going to let him burn up after everything you’ve done lately?”
“No, you don’t understand. I wasn’t saying I was unwilling, I understand the situation. That isn’t the issue.”
“What is the issue then?” Yang Xun asked impatiently.
Fei Li looked at the cloth in his hand. “I haven’t… I don’t know how to care for someone who is sick.”
It was Yang Xun’s turn to look surprised. “You’ve really never…”
Fei Li sighed. “No, I’ve never done such a thing before. Like I said, I can’t. He hates me anyway, he might die of anger if I so much as touch him.”
“Right… Well, you’re clever aren’t you? It’s not hard. Wet the cloth and use it to wipe the sweat then lay it on his forehead to try and keep his temperature down. If he stirs at all, help him drink some water. He’s too sick to know what’s going on. He doesn’t really register much if he wakes up at all, I don’t think he even recognises me so it’s fine.”
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.
It wasn’t like Yang Xun had given Fei Li much of a choice as he quickly left after that. Fei Li slowly took a seat beside the bed. Lu Qinyi was curled under the blanket, damp strands of his hair plastered to his flushed face. His brows were furrowed with discomfort but he didn’t wake, even when Fei Li reached a hand out, hesitating before touching the back of his fingers to the other’s forehead. It was searing to the touch.
Fei Li withdrew his hand again. He dipped the cloth in the bowl of water beside him. When he lifted it again, it dripped a lot of water. Fei Li frowned a little in uncertainty but went to place it on Lu Qinyi’s forehead. It streamed water down along his face, dripping into his hair and onto the pillow below. Lu Qinyi didn’t seem to appreciate being soaked and murmured unhappily as he sluggishly tried to push the cloth off. Fei Li frowned even more as he reclaimed the cloth. That wasn’t right. He twisted the fabric and drained some of the water, feeling more satisfied that this was probably more correct as he placed it back. He felt a little pleased when Lu Qinyi didn’t make another noise of complaint, continuing to sleep quietly this time. It would seem the cloth can’t be too wet, or else it’s uncomfortable. That would make sense.
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Lu Qinyi tried to sit up further but he was swaying as his head swam at even that small movement. It seemed like he might just collapse back into the bed. Fei Li reached out just as Lu Qinyi started to tilt back, securing his arm around him to help hold him up before offering the cup again. Lu Qinyi blinked a couple times but, with how heavy his fever ridden body felt and how sluggish and fogged his mind was, even gripping a cup of water seemed a difficult task. Fei Li hesitated before raising the cup to Lu Qinyi’s lips. He’d seen it done before, Lu Qinyi had even fed Fei Li by hand before, surely it was a simple thing. Apparently not as Fei Li had tilted the cup too far and sent a gush of water, choking his poor patient. Lu Qinyi coughed and spluttered while Fei Li hastily set the cup aside, patting at his back guiltily. He glumly cursed out Yang Xun in his mind. He had told that stubborn man that he wasn’t suited to this.
When the coughing had calmed however, Lu Qinyi looked once more for the cup to try and soothe the way his body felt like it was burning up and wash out the uncomfortable dryness in his throat. Fei Li’s brows knitted but he picked the cup up again, his movements very slow and careful this time. He was surprised by just how delicate and difficult even such a simple task was while concentrating hard to keep from drowning Lu Qinyi again. Lu Qinyi leaned heavily into Fei Li and slowly sipped down 3 cups of water before he finally closed his eyes again. Fei Li could have sighed in relief as he laid him back onto the bed. I should give my physicians a raise.
—
Lu Qinyi had fallen sick plenty of times before, but he hardly ever ran a fever as badly as this.
The last time had been when he was still a child, and Lu Yanlin was a young teenager. In her youth, Lu Yanlin had chosen to live away from home to study under a reputable teacher. As such, she was regularly gone for long lengths at a time.
Lu Qinyi had always been incredibly fond of his older sister. However, back in his earlier days, Lu Yanlin had always rejected her younger brother since she had never wanted a sibling to share her parent’s attention with. Especially not a troublesome one like the little Lu Qinyi had always been. She eventually discovered that Lu Qinyi’s acting out, like the way he would steal her things and hide them in his room or leave dead bugs or mud-and-stick ‘presents’ in her shoes, wasn’t to annoy her. In reality, he was acting out this way because he really and truly missed her when she went away. It was this realisation which caused her to finally soften up towards him. She had completely embraced and dedicated herself to her role as his older sister after that point.
The younger Lu Qinyi had clung to his parents and cried when he had fallen ill. He had cried because of how dreadful he felt and he had cried about how he didn’t like the medicine. He only finally calmed down when his parents had told him Lu Yanlin would be coming home to see him soon. His parents had tucked him into bed and comforted him until he fell into a deep sleep. When he had stirred some time late into the night and opened his eyes, Lu Yanlin was there, just as was promised. She sat at his bedside with her head tilted and her eyes closed. Lu Qinyi’s little hand was held in hers.
Lu Qinyi immediately crawled out from the blankets and threw his arms around her. “Jiejie!” His voice was croaky and nasally, but full of happiness.
Lu Yanlin, who had startled awake from the sudden hug, hurriedly putting her arms around the small figure clinging to her. “S-Siyu! What are you getting out of bed for? You can’t get out of bed when you’re sick.” She had tried to pull him off to tuck him back into the blankets but he was clinging to her neck tightly, stubbornly refusing to let go.
“Sleep with me tonight Jiejie. I won’t leave bed, I promise!”
“Siyu…”
“Please Jiejie!”
She sighed before she nodded her head a little. She scooped him into her arms and he was easily compliant now that she had agreed to his request. He let her settle them both under the blankets. “Okay, but you have to go to sleep now, or else you won’t get better.”
Lu Qinyi immediately shut his eyes but the big grin on his face gave away that he wasn’t actually sleepy yet. Lu Yanlin didn’t expose his deception but instead gazed at him softly as she stroked his hair until he finally seemed asleep for real this time. It wasn’t long until her own breathing evened out as she dozed off with her younger brother cuddled in her arms. It was only at this point that little Lu Qinyi cracked open one eye. He could see Yanlin sleeping beside him. She was breathing quietly, her face peaceful and relaxed. A smile spread on his face and he nuzzled closer into her embrace, closing his eyes again.
Author’s Note:
Big note this time!
I’m back from my unintended hiatus! I had a really fun holiday. I got to meet wonderful people, go to zoos and themeparks, eat lots of yummy foods. I had been working on the chapters in between but I had some trouble with them so after I got home and settled back into work, our beloved editor Rae sat with me to sort out my writing blocks. She was also incredibly fast with the editing turn around on this chapters so I could get them out as soon as I could. Many thanks for your wonderful work as always Rae!
I wanted this set of chapters to go out all together. This chapter is more fun and comforting, the next one is another difficult and emotional one and another stumble in Lu Qinyi’s healing journey, and the one after is a mixed one with some slow progress in repairing Fei Li’s and Lu Qinyi’s relationship.
I also have some very exciting news (for me at least)! Zhiruoaa decided that they wanted to redraw the WWIO cover I commissioned from them, so we have a new cover for the novel! I absolutely love it, their style and art has grown so much. They have been incredibly kind to me, and have even started reading the novel as well!
Here are the two covers side by side and some of the WWIO pieces she has drawn for me either as a commission or gift! You can find Zhiruoaa on Instagram and Twitter.
WWIO Art by Zhiruoaa
(The 2nd one is modern Fei and Lu with their bubble teas. Fei likes sweet things so he has a fruit one and Lu has a matcha)
Awww welcome back dear author! I’ve been wondering when you were gonna update 😂 the new designs are so lovely!
The chapter’s really cute too! From reading how Fei Li learns to take care of a sick person to Yanlin still getting mentioned in the novel, and not forgotten. Thank you so much for the chapter!
💕💕💕❤💕
Miyori!! Hello! Thank you for your patience, I finally got all three chapters up and I’m part way through writing the next. Aren’t they? I love the snowy and wintery look!Yeah! Its kind of cute to watch Fei Li fumble his way through, he figured it out eventually. Yes, I didn’t want her to be used for the emotional punch then just dropped. You don’t forget those important to you, even when they’re gone.
Thank you so much for continuing to support me and the novel even after all this time! It means the world to me 💕I always look forward to your comments
Fei Li not having ever taken care of anyone and now taking care of Lu Qinyi really makes me feel warm. Though him just slapping a dripping wet cloth on a sick person is hilarious. What a cutie!
The Lu siblings’ relationship is so sweet and so…I guess, realistic? It makes sense that they are so close when they’ve learnt to understand each other and depend on each other on this kind of level – which just makes the fact that one of them died horrible. I’m just twisting the knife myself here now!
The art is so, so, so pretty! Wow! The blue, kind of cold atmosphere really fits the two! ❤
Thank you so much for that! Thats always my aim, I want a sense that the characters and their relationships could be believable. Yeahh, exactly that. LQ truly had his world turned upside down when he lost her. Excellent! That makes you the exact fit for this novel! Love and suffering is what its all about.
Right?! Its soo nice, it nails the vibe!