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Eighteenth Period (2)
T/N: Translated by Jen on Broken Jinsei! Please do not repost my translations! All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
After sending this message, she anxiously waited for a long time.
However, she didn’t receive a reply for a long time, as if sinking a stone into the ocean.
Jiang Huihui dejectedly lowered her head. Sure enough, it didn’t work.
She can only think of another way. Switch to a more high-end hotel? But she didn’t have any money. Come to her place? That was even more impossible. If they were to get caught……..
In the quiet night, the vibration sound of the phone was somewhat abrupt.
She saw the message that popped up at the top of the screen.
It was from Zhou Jinwei, just the word ‘ok’.
Jiang Huihui was somewhat surprised that he would agree.
[HUIHUI: Thank you! Really thank you very much!]
[HUIHUI: What are you….doing right now?]
She actually wanted to ask if it was okay for them to go over now.
The other party’s reply was concise and direct—–having a fever.
….
Zhou Yanli actually passed it on to him.
Jiang Huihui found an excuse, saying that Zhan Tong got into a fight at home; she was going over to comfort her.
Zhan Tong was a good student with very good grades, so her mom supported Jiang Huihui being friends with her.
Just, right now, it was already very late. Her mom glanced out the window with a worried look, “In this cold weather, how are you going to get there?”
TN: All translations outside of Broken Jinsei are stolen and reposted without permission!
Seeing that her mom’s attitude was still relatively mild, Jiang Huihui quickly added, “I’ll just wear a bit more. She’s close by anyways. I also have a few problems I can’t solve, so can go ask her.”
Hearing the latter half, her mom finally agreed, “Fine, while you’re at it, take some of the pickled vegetables in the fridge with you. Last time, your Aunt Lin said that she liked it.”
“En.” Jiang Huihui returned to her room first to pack her bag, then went to the kitchen to take out a small jar of pickled vegetables, “Then I’ll be going now.”
Her mom was still a bit worried, “How about I still take you there?”
Jiang Huihui shook her head, “I can go on my own.”
She has been independent since she was little. At eight, she could already cook for herself at home on her own.
That’s why, in many aspects, her mom trusted her very much. Hearing her say this, she didn’t continue pressing the matter, just telling her to be careful on her way.
Zhou Yanli was waiting at the bus stop sign in front. He originally planned on coming to pick her up downstairs from her building.
Jiang Huihui was scared that if he stood in the cold wind too much, it would make his cold worse, so just told him to wait for her behind the bus stop sign.
In any case, it wasn’t very far, just a five to six minute walk over.
After arriving, he took the jar of pickled vegetables from her hands, frowning at the smell, “What is this thing, did you bring out your family’s pee jug?”
“….” Don’t know what all he was thinking in his head, “This is pickled vegetables. I lied to my mom saying that I’m going to a classmate’s home, so she told me to bring this with me.”
Zhou Yanli leaned in and smelled it again. This time, his brows furrowed even more.
“This thing has a really strong smell, can we bring it on the bus?”
Through his reminder, Jiang Huihui finally realized.
But if she were to just throw it away, it’ll be a waste of her mom’s efforts. After all, the process of pickling vegetables was very troublesome.
While she was at a loss, Zhou Yanli took off his coat without a second word and wrapped it around the pickled vegetables.
“Alright, now it doesn’t smell anymore.”
Jiang Huihui was instantly startled, “What are you doing?”
Seeing that he had just a sweater left on him, she said, “You can’t catch a cold right now.”
Zhou Yanli was unconcerned, lifting his chin to point ahead, “The bus is already here. It’s fine.”
There weren’t many people on the bus at this hour, and their destination was the final stop.
A shaky one hour ride later, they finally arrived at the place.
After nightfall, the feeling this place gave off was even more mysterious, like an old medieval castle.
She kept feeling that a handsome, pale-skinned vampire would walk out from inside at any moment.
Using his beauty to lure you in, then take the opportunity to bite off your neck and suck your blood dry.
But as the villa’s doors opened, what walked out wasn’t a vampire, but a fair-skinned human that was just as handsome as a vampire.
He was wearing dark gray pajamas, his figure tall and slender, standing against the door with one hand in his pocket, gazing down at them.
He exuded a kind of laziness and casualness that Jiang Huihui had never seen on him before.
His eyes swept back and forth over the two outside the door.
He turned his body sideways, “Come in.”
Jiang Huihui didn’t move and instead somewhat warily glanced behind him. The spacious living room was even bigger than her home.
“Don’t worry, there aren’t others.” Zhou Jinwei turned around first. He walked to the living room and opened the fridge. After hesitating for a few seconds, he still closed it, “There’s bird’s nest soup in the kitchen, drink something hot to warm your body.”
Jiang Huihui somewhat nervously waved her hand, “No need to go through all this trouble, we’re just…..”
Coming to his place was already inconveniencing him a lot to begin with. If they were to also make him take care of them, then that would practically be too rude.
While she was refusing on this side, Zhou Yanli had already entered the kitchen on the other side, natural like he was back in his own home.
He asked Zhou Jinwei with a disdainful look, “There’s just bird’s nest?”
Zhou Jiwnei’s gaze was cold, “In the backyard, there’s also pond water.”
He frowned, “You want me to drink that thing?”
Seeing how they were about to start arguing again, Jiang Huihui hurriedly tried to smooth things over between them.
She asked Zhou Yanli what he wanted to drink, she’ll go make it for him.
She then asked Zhou Jinwei with pleading eyes, “Can I borrow your kitchen…..and fridge?”
She was just like a sponge between two steel bars, using her soft body to have them separated.
The latter nodded, “Feel free.”
Jiang Huihui entered his kitchen. The size of it made her click her tongue.
The fridge was also very big and entirely embedded into the wall, divided into four sections. She opened one of the doors. The ingredients inside were all sorted and categorized according to storage type.
She carefully took out the ingredients she needed.
What she cooked was lily, snow pear, and snow fungus soup[1], good for clearing heat and relieving cough.
Zhou Jinwei came down from upstairs. He’d changed his clothes, no longer wearing those pajamas from earlier.
Perhaps he felt that it was impolite to appear before others in pajamas.
Jiang Huihui actually liked him in his pajamas more, because he didn’t seem as hard to approach as usual, instead having a rare gentle and languid feeling.
She instantly got startled by her own thought.
What was she randomly thinking about again? Why was she always thinking about these things lately?
She rubbed her own face, attempting to let herself sober up a little.
“What’s wrong?”
Her unusual behavior attracted Zhou Jinwei’s attention.
He walked before her and reached out to feel her forehead.
The warmth of his palm intimately pressed against her forehead.
Jiang Huihui froze there, completely motionless.
Zhou Jinwei retracted his hand. Compared to her, he appeared a lot calmer and more composed, “There isn’t a fever, so why is your face this red?”
She avoided his eyes, not daring to look at him, “Probably….probably because the room is too hot.”
For the sake of avoiding his eyes, she lowered her head, yet just happened to see his hand that was naturally hanging by his side.
The joints were prominent, slender and well-proportioned, even able to see the faint blue veins under the fair skin.
Just now, he’d used this hand……
Jiang Huihui forced herself to stop thinking about this matter, “I….that soup, I made a lot, do you want some too?”
Zhou Jinwei soundlessly stared at her, his deep eyes seemingly able to perceive everything.
Her reaction just now, he naturally had taken it all in, but he didn’t say anything, just nodding his head, “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, I should be the one thanking you.” Jiang Huihui went into the kitchen and filled two bowls, one for each of them.
Zhou Yanli felt that it was still more comfortable staying in his own home. That shabby hotel simply wasn’t fit for humans to stay in.
He looked around at the surroundings, staring at that empty living room, “You don’t even have a private doctor at home?”
Zhou Jinwei slightly paused.
An hour ago, after receiving Jiang Huihui’s message, he just let the private doctor go back.
He didn’t answer Zhou Yanli’s question.
Currently, there were just three people in the house, and two of them were sick.
Jiang Huihui willingly took on the responsibility of taking care of them. She followed Zhou Jinwei’s instructions and found the first-aid kit in the drawer.
She had the thermometer handed to them, letting them hold it.
Ten minutes passed. Jiang Huihui took the thermometer from Zhou Yanli and glanced at it.
Thankfully, it wasn’t too high, only 38 degrees.
She then went to take Zhou Jinwei’s.
After seeing the temperature on there, her complexion changed, “It’s almost 40 degrees.”
“What?” Zhou Yanli frowned, appearing displeased, “Mine’s actually lower than his?”
He immediately just took off his sweater, attempting to let his temperature go up more.
Jiang Huihui let him quickly put his clothes back on, “Stop messing around, why are you trying to compete for first place at a time like this?”
“…..”
Fevers tend to make people delirious. Furthermore, the flu this time was particularly aggressive. Zhou Yanli had actually been enduring the whole time, because he was scared that Jiang Huihui will worry.
After taking the cold medicine, its effects gradually kicked in, and he slowly sank into drowsiness.
He collapsed onto the sofa and fell asleep just like that.
Fortunately, the sofa in Zhou Jinwei’s house was very big. Even if three people were to sleep upon it, there would still be plenty of room to spare.
Jiang Huihui squatted down beside him and stuck a cooling patch on his forehead.
Meanwhile, Zhou Jinwei went upstairs to bring down some blankets and casually threw them on him.
“It’s getting late, why don’t you go rest too. He temporarily won’t die.” These words were said to Jiang Huihui.
After covering Zhou Yanli with the blanket, Jiang Huihui once again thanked him, saying that they’ve really troubled him today.
Zhou Jinwei shook his head, “Your room is on the right side of the hallway. It has already been prepared in advance, the bedding all clean.”
Jiang Huihui looked at his lips that were lacking color, hesitating for a long while before asking, “Do….you feel a bit better?”
His tone was very calm, “I’m fine.”
This person seemingly wasn’t very good at showing weakness. Was it because his personality was too cold, or because he didn’t want to get cared about by someone unrelated to him?
Jiang Huihui didn’t continue asking.
–
That night, it began snowing again in Pingjiang City. After taking the sleeping pills, Zhou Jinwei wanted to go downstairs to pour a glass of water.
However, when he came to the living room, he saw Jiang Huihui sleeping on the other sofa.
She was covered in a blanket, sleeping peacefully.
The pendant light in the living room wasn’t turned on. There was just that floor lamp to the side that was on twenty-four hours a day, its light soft.
Zhou Jinwei didn’t leave immediately and instead just stood there, staring at this scene before him.
The two sofas were separately placed to the front and to the left of the coffee table.
The two of them slept differently, but their habit of sleeping talking was practically the same.
In the quiet night, two separate voices murmured and overlapped.
“F#$%, already said that’s mine, try touching it again!”
“The tomato needs to be blanched first. This will make it easier to peel.”
Zhou Jinwei lived alone in this house. His mom was overseas. His dad would occasionally come over, but it was just for the sake of his ‘business’.
The two of them have long reached a consensus and divided their assets, but for the sake of their common interests, they chose not to divorce.
Zhou Jinwei didn’t dislike this place. To him, it was the same no matter where.
There was no difference. He equally and impartially despised everything in this world.
Whether it was calling him heartless or cold-blooded, such descriptions actually weren’t wrong.
Growing up in this kind of messed up family, to be able to turn out normal was already not bad.
He stood against the wall, silently watching for a while.
He suddenly had the urge to smoke, even taking out the cigarette pack already, but he recalled those words Zhou Yanli had said to him.
Six years from now, she will die, die of cancer, lung cancer.
Under the dim light, Jiang Huihui turned her body. The blanket on her got kicked aside, her arm also sliding off the sofa.
Zhou Jinwei had the cigarette pack thrown into the trash can.
He walked to her side and helped cover her with the blanket again, also having her arm put back.
To the side, Zhou Yanli’s sleeping posture was even more restless. The blanket on him had completely fallen onto the floor.
Zhou Jinwei originally planned on ignoring, but after taking two steps, he still turned back, picking up the blanket off the ground and throwing it on him.
It was completely different from how he carefully treated Jiang Huihui.
Zhou Yanli got startled awake by this move of his, but it was also just half-awake.
Seeing Zhou Jinwei who’d just covered him with the blanket and hadn’t left yet, he furrowed his brow, “What the—-did I die? Why am I seeing a dead face in broad daylight?”
Zhou Jinwei: “…..”
However, he very quickly fell back asleep, as if what he said just now was merely sleep talk.
Zhou Jinwei went over to turn off that floor lamp.
He walked out of the living room, but even after standing out in the cold wind for a while, he still felt that his mind didn’t clear up much.
Else, why would he take out his phone and send that extremely absurd message.
—–Do you have time lately? I need a favor.
—–To do a paternity test.
[1] It’s a very common sweet soup that’s often used to help soothe a sore throat.
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