Chapter 63
Note: not proofreaded
With this, what misunderstanding couldn’t they resolve?
Shi Bufan sat over and tugged Zhen Yuanbai’s hands, immediately crashing his lips into his. After he pulled away, Zhen Yuanbai pushed Shi Bufan aside with his elbow and lowered his head to keep eating the porridge. He said, “Then did we make up?”
“What do you think?”
Zhen Yuanbai humphed in a low voice. Shi Bufan was in a pretty mood after Zhen Yuanbai coaxed him, so after feeding Zhen Yuanbai, this issue was perfectly resolved.
Shi Bufan lied in Zhen Yuanbai’s bed and asked, “When are you parents coming back?”
“Probably in a while.” While saying this, Zhen Yuanbai scratched his waist. Shi Bufan took a look and said, “What’s the matter?”
“It itches a bit.”
Shi Bufan immediately sat up and said, “Let me take a look.”
He was about to lift Zhen Yuanbai’s clothes, but the latter immediately ducked. Zhen Yuanbai leaned against the headboard of the bed and said, “I won’t let you see it.”
“You’re going to be mine in the future, so why can’t I take a look right now?”
No matter what he said, Zhen Yuanbai refused to let him. He touched back dimples and felt swelling. It probably won’t look too good. Plus, he was afraid of being itched. Shi Bufan acted as though he was going to lift his clothes, and this made him shiver.
Shi Bufan said in an unhappy tone, “How itchy is it? Do you have an itch relief ointment?”
“It’s in the drawer over there.” Shi Bufan got out of bed and got the ointment for him. Zhen Yuanbai dipped his finger in the ointment and reached to wipe it on the itchy spot while training his eyes on Shi Bufan.
“Are you guarding against a thief?”
Zhen Yuanbai was a bit embarrassed and pretended he didn’t hear.
Shi Bufan was forced to allow Zhen Yuanbai to have his way. He reached over and touched his forehead before pulling the blankets over him, saying, “What’s up? Do you want to sleep?”
“I’ve already slept the entire day.”
Shi Bufan sat by the bedside and touched the soft and clean blankets, testing, “Then why don’t I come and watch a movie with you?”
Zhen Yuanbai nodded and Shi Bufan immediately reached for his waist. Zhen Yuanbai was stunned before he asked, “Why did you take your pants off?”
“My pants are wet.” Shi Bufan rolled his eyes. “Do you wish for me to get under the blankets with you with my wet pants?”
“…” Zhen Yuanbai had no choice but to say, “I’ll find pajama pants for you.”
The pajamas were a bit baggy, but when Shi Bufan wore it, it was still a bit too short for him. However, at least, he was able to go under the blankets with his little classmate. He picked up his iPad happily and said, “I’m going to look for a few good movies to watch. What do you want to watch?”
“I want to watch something exciting.”
“You like thrillers?”
“I’ve been into thrillers lately.”
Shi Bufan raised his eyebrows and laughed sinisterly, saying, “Could it be that you want to watchk2026;”
Before he could get any closer, Zhen Yuanbai immediately pushed him. His face flushed as he emphasized, “I’m talking about watching popcorn flicks. I want to watch a popcorn flick related to business.”
Although they said they would watch a movie, Zhen Yuanbai started to become dizzy and in a daze, unable to persist any longer. He had a fever and his head was dizzy. He quickly placed his head on Shi Bufan’s shoulders and breathed evenly. Shi Bufan carefully placed it down on the bed and then laid in bed with him shoulder to shoulder. He held him in his arms and attempted to make Zhen Yuanbai sweat.
Zhen Yuanbai hummed something while he was in Shi Bufan’s arms before he sunk into deep sleep.
He woke up to his parents knocking on the door and when they noticed that the lights weren’t on in the room, they walked over and knocked on Zhen Yuanbai’s door. The latter softly hummed and felt as if he agreed to letting them in, but in reality, he didn’t make any noises.
Meanwhile, Shi Bufan sat up quickly and covered Zhen Yuanbai. He got up and went to open the door. When Qin Ying saw him, he was a bit stunned. “Fanfan… why are you here?”
“I’m here to do homework with him.” Shi Bufan moved a bit to the side and said, “He has a fever and just took antipyretic. He’s asleep right now.”
Zhen Pingjin immediately looked over and asked, “How did he get a fever?”
Qin Ying was already two steps in and she reached to touch Zhen Yuanbai’s forehead. She turned the lights on and Zhen Yuanbai opened his eyes from the eye-piercing light. Qin Ying suddenly knitted her eyebrows and reached over to prop his chin up. Seeing the red dots, she asked, “Does it itch?”
“A little bit.”
“When did it start to itch?”
“This…morning.” Zhen Yuanbai was confused, but scratched his back. Qin Ying lifted his clothes to see and immediately said, “Pingjin, we need to take Congming to the hospital. He got chickenpox and he needs to be put on an IV drip.”
Zhen Yuanbai was shocked by the words and woke up. Meanwhile, Qin Ying already walked ahead to call her colleague. Shi Bufan looked at his neck and asked, “How did you get chickenpox?”
Zhen Yuanbai widened his eyes slightly and said, “Then in a few days, my face will be covered in blisters as well.”
Shi Bufan was a bit frightened and asked Qin Ying, “Is chickenpox…serious?”
“It’s fine. He just wouldn’t be able to go to class tomorrow.” Qin Ying hung up and took her jacket, draping it over Zhen Yuanbai. She said, “Fanfan, you can’t stay with him anymore. It’s contagious. Have Uncle Zhen bring you back later.”
Zhen Yuanbai raised his cold hands to touch his warm face before widening his eyes and looking at Shi Bufan. The latter said, “I’ll accompany you guys to the hospital and see if I can help. It’s more important that he gets to a doctor right now.”
Qin Ying nodded and said, “Ok, let’s go to the hospital first.”
She then found Zhen Yuanbai’s coat and draped it over him. Likewise, she also found one for Shi Bufan. “Wear this. It’s quite cold today, so don’t get a cold.”
Shi Bufan’s heart warmed up and he took the coat, draping it over himself. Zhen Yuanbai bumped him and asked, “Are you cold?”
“I’m not.” Shi Bufan purposely said, “I like wearing your clothes.”
On the way to the hospital, Qin Ying also had Zhen Yuanbai wear his hat and mask, and whatnot. In the end, only his ears weren’t covered. Zhen Yuanbai rarely got sick. Whenever he was sick, he felt as though his parents loved him very much, but once he recovered, it felt different.
Shi Bufan sat in the passenger seat and Shi Bufan glanced back, listening to Qin Ying talk softly to Zhen Yuanbai. Then, he quietly shifted his gaze to the front.
When they arrived, Qin Ying and Zhen Pingjin split up to get things done quicker. One stayed by their son’s side while the other went to go through the procedures. No one tended to Shi Bufan. Though Zhen Yuanbai paid more attention to him, in the blink of an eye, Shi Bufan disappeared from his line of sight. “Eh? Where did Shi Bufan go?”
“Call him and ask later on.” Qin Ying followed him into the ward and personally got him hooked up with an IV drop, saying gently, ‘Does it hurt?”
“No.”
“Good boy.” Qin Ying touched his head and asked, “Have you eaten dinner?”
“Shi Bufan ordered takeout for me.”
Qin Ying smiled and said, “Yesterday, I thought that he bullied you. Oh right. What’s his phone number? I’ll dial him for you and ask where this kid ran off to.”
Zhen Yuanbai suddenly recalled the fact that he deleted Shi Bufan’s contacts from his phone completely. He quietly hid his phone and said, “I don’t think he is that far away. If he leaves, he’ll definitely tell me.”
“True.” Qin Ying said, “In the beginning, I heard that child was quite a bad boy, but after getting to know him, he seems sensible. We all misunderstood him.”
“He’s a very good person.”
“Didn’t your younger brother say that Shi Bufan used to bully you in the past?”
“…” Zhen Yuanbai was afraid that his mother might see through something, so he just stopped talking. Zhen Pingjin quickly returned and said, “I’m going to buy some food.”
Zhen Yuanbai then remembered that his parents hadn’t eaten dinner yet since coming back. He hurriedly nodded and Zhen Pingjin delivered the menu to Qin Ying. He was about to turn around and pull the door to the ward open when he suddenly stopped. “Xiao Ye…”
“I was thinking that since you guys were busy with Fanfan’s matters, you guys must not have eaten dinner yet. Therefore, I went to casually buy some things.”
Shi Bufan’s voice rang and Zhen Yuanbai immediately sat up straight. Zhen Pingjin took the food and after taking it in, Zhen Yuanbai noticed that Shi Bufan had bought porridge, wonton, noodles, and specially bought spice as well. He was extremely considerate.
Qin Ying was shocked and she said, “Fanfan is so considerate. In the future, your girlfriend will be blessed.”
Zhen Pingjin also nodded along. Zhen Yuanbai revealed quite a proud look and Shi Bufan glanced at him, making Zhen Yuanbai look down. Shi Bufan said, “Then I’ll be heading back.”
He also knew that it wasn’t suitable for him to stay right now. After all, he needed to go to class tomorrow and didn’t have enough excuse to stay by Zhen Yuanbai’s side.
Zhen Pingjin hurriedly said, “Don’t worry. After I’m done eating, I’ll bring you back home. I can’t stay here either, so have you Aunt Qin stay here. We both need to go to work tomorrow.”
Coincidentally, Qin Ying worked at the hospital. However, the same doesn’t apply for Zhen Pingjin. After all, chickenpox wasn’t anything serious, so there was no need to stay.
After lunch, Zhen Pingjin left with Shi Bufan while Zhen Yuanbai watched him go. His mother gently patted him on his back and asked, “What’s the matter? You don’t want Shi Bufan to leave?”
“No.” Zhen Yuanbai was afraid that she might see through something, so he hurriedly got under the covers. If it weren’t that his face was red from fever, Qin Ying would’ve thought that he was shy.
She stood up and touched Zhen Yuanbai’s forehead, saying, “Ok, let me call your teacher to let her know that you’re going to take a rest for a week or so, ok?”
“Ok.” Zhen Yuanbai answered and Qin Ying took this time to lie in bed on the other side.
Sleeping with his mother in the same room was a memory from a long time ago for Zhen Yuanbai. He lied in bed and touched his warm face. He knew that it was not only because he had a fever, but also due to Shi Bufan.
What was that? How could he say that?
He had slept a lot today, so after the IV drop, he wasn’t that tired. He still itches on his body, but he didn’t dare to scratch it anymore after knowing that it was chickenpox. He was scared that it might leave a scar and it wouldn’t look good then.
He even secretly thought about this before. If he got a scar, then would Shi Bufan…hm, would he dislike him?
Overnight, Zhen Yuanbai’s face was covered in blisters too. He didn’t dare to touch it, so he hid it with his hair. He suddenly thought that he became much uglier and he didn’t feel good in his heart.
Monday was the sports competition, but Zhen Yuanbai didn’t go because he was sick. However, he still received Shi Bufan’s good news in the afternoon. As expected, he obtained first place in the long-distance running.
Without a care for his face, Zhen Yuanbai excitedly kicked his legs in bed. When the elder sister nurse who visited him saw him, he immediately sat up properly. She came here to pull out the needle and smiled, asking, “What’s the matter? You’re chatting with your little girlfriend?”
Zhen Yuanbai’s face flushed and he said in a soft voice, “It’s not puppy love.”
That sister burst into laughter and purposely teased him, “How is it not puppy love?”
Zhen Yuanbai didn’t know whether she was joking or not, but he was worried about blurting out something. Therefore, he kept quiet.
When the sister saw that he wasn’t good with jokes, she giggled again. She had him press against the back of his hand and then she turned around and left. The room was empty for a while before it suddenly became lively. Shi Bufan brought his three beaten up friends over, but was stopped outside the door by the nurse. “You guys can’t enter here. Your friend has chickenpox and it is contagious.”
Shi Bufan walked over and tugged his collar, revealing the little bumps on his neck. “I have an allergic reaction and this is the medicine the doctor prescribed. Please hook me up with an IV drip.”
“You can’t enter either. Go and sit there.”
Shi Bufan glanced at Qiu Jing and the latter hurriedly went to push the nurse, saying, “Sister, you have to prescribe the medicine. He has a serious allergic reaction. If the bumps grow in his throat, he’ll suffocate…”
While he was babbling nonsense, Shi Bufan rushed in. Even Ye Lian and Ming Mai were afraid to enter. “He already hit and scolded us. We should apologize another day since we don’t have to be infected.”
Once Shi Bufan entered, the two hurriedly closed the door.
He hadn’t seen his little classmate the entire day, and Shi Bufan quite missed him. He walked in and while the nurse wasn’t here yet, he walked over to the bed in large strides and captured Zhen Yuanbai’s lips. The latter was startled and instinctively covered his face, asking, “Why did you come here?”
“I came to be put on the IV drip with you.”
“Your neck…”
“Allergic reaction.” Shi Bufan pulled his hand and kissed Zhen Yuanbai’s lips. Hearing the movement outside, he quickly sat on the other bed. The nurse walked in with a dark face. Zhen Yuanbai hurriedly leaned against the bed and pulled the curtains close. The sister said, “How come kids like you guys just won’t listen? Let’s see what happens if you get infected. You’ll have to endure this torment!”
“I got chickenpox when I was younger, so I won’t be infected.” Shi Bufan smiled and said, “Thank you sister.”
The nurse glared at him and patted the back of his hand, inserting the needle. Then, she rambled about the problems of children before turning around and leaving.
Zhen Yuanbai still couldn’t help but worry. He covered the blisters on his face and peeked, asking, “How did you get allergic again?”
Shi Bufan brought his backpack over and took out a plastic bag full of boiled green soybeans, asking, “Do you want some?”
Zhen Yuanbai was stunned for two seconds and he immediately got out of bed to snatch it, saying, “You’re clearly allergic to this and you still ate it. Is there something wrong with you?”
“So what?” Shi Bufan said, “I don’t like seeing you in pain and since you can’t be healed anytime soon, I might as well come and accompany you.”
Zhen Yuanbai was speechless.
Shi Bufan glanced at the little blisters on Zhen Yuanbai’s forehead and sighed. “It is quite ugly. It’s fine. Don’t cover it anymore. I also have some blisters on my face. We can be ugly together.”