There was a thermometer in the office. Wen Yun had originally planned to turn around and get it to take Xie Zhinan’s temperature. But when he saw Xie Zhinan still covering his mouth and nose, he stopped and asked, “Why haven’t you let go of your hand yet? Isn’t it uncomfortable to keep covering?”
Xie Zhinan had a small face, covering the lower half, leaving only his beautiful round eyes visible. His eyelashes were trembling slightly, showing signs of nervousness.
He mumbled vaguely, but still kept his mouth and nose tightly covered, standing motionless.
Wen Yun was helpless and had no choice but to reach out and grab his wrist.
Xie Zhinan’s wrist was burning hot, and in comparison, even Wen Yun’s palm, which was usually warm, felt cool and comfortable. Xie Zhinan’s entire arm started to go numb, and where their skin touched, small bumps began to form.
Wen Yun barely used any effort and quickly pulled Xie Zhinan’s hand down. However, Xie Zhinan still used his other hand to cover his face.
Wen Yun’s gaze slid down to the delicate wrist and asked, “Do you want me to take this hand down as well?”
Xie Zhinan’s head was already burning, and after hearing this, he felt even hotter. He quickly lowered his other hand.
Wen Yun smiled and finally released the grip on his collar.
The pressure on his throat vanished, his breathing became smooth again, and the tension in his back loosened. Xie Zhinan swallowed his dry, itchy throat, but suddenly felt his legs go weak.
His back pressed against the office door, and his legs couldn’t hold up, causing him to slide down.
Seeing that Xie Zhinan was in an unusual state, Wen Yun quickly grabbed his arm and lifted him up.
Xie Zhinan was shaken, and his vision began to fade. His ears started ringing, and his entire body felt weak and powerless.
Wen Yun hesitated for a moment, then gently extended his hand and wrapped it around Xie Zhinan’s slim waist, helping him lean against him for support.
…So thin, Wen Yun thought. His waist was almost engulfed by Wen Yun’s arm, like a piece of paper.
Xie Zhinan was gently laid on the sofa.
The ringing in his ears was deafening, and his head was dull. Instinctively, he curled up, looking pitiful. His lips were dry and peeling from the fever, and his face was flushed red. His eyes were dazed and unfocused, as if he couldn’t even see properly.
It seemed like he was a little delirious from the fever. For once, he wasn’t saying anything frustrating. He did whatever Wen Yun asked, as if he had turned into a docile herbivore, even showing his fluffy belly.
When Wen Yun told him to raise his hand, he slowly lifted it, and his collar was lifted. A cold object touched his burning body, sending a shock through him.
Xie Zhinan’s dull thoughts finally kicked in, and he began to understand what was happening.
He looked down and saw that Wen Yun had somehow found a mercury thermometer and placed it under his armpit, moving very politely without touching his body.
…It felt like it had been his imagination earlier when Wen Yun had unceremoniously grabbed his hand and touched his Adam’s apple.
Xie Zhinan stared at him in a daze. Wen Yun lowered his dark gaze and met his eyes, speaking softly, “Squeeze it tight.”
At Wen Yun’s words, Xie Zhinan instinctively tightened his arm, clamping the cold thermometer tightly in place, then lifted his head, looking at Wen Yun with wide eyes.
So obedient.
Wen Yun’s heart softened immediately, though his face remained expressionless.
“I’ll check your temperature,” Wen Yun whispered. “If it’s serious, we’ll take a sick leave and go to the hospital.”
Xie Zhinan struggled to activate his sluggish brain, and despite realizing he didn’t really need his temperature taken in his boss’s office, he instinctively said, “…No need, there’s a pharmacy near the company. I’ll just buy some medicine.”
Seeing him stubbornly insisting, Wen Yun furrowed his brows. “Is this how badly you want to work for the capitalist?”
Xie Zhinan nodded dully, then shook his head.
“What does that mean, nodding and shaking your head?”
Xie Zhinan slowly said, “…I’ve come this far, I’d feel bad taking leave after working for half the day.”
He paused for a second, then added quietly, “I’d lose my full attendance bonus.”
Wen Yun said, “…I won’t deduct your attendance.”
“No.” Xie Zhinan shook his head. “You can’t do that. You have to deduct my attendance.”
Wen Yun: “.”
Even with a fever like this, he still remembers to keep the boundaries clear.
Wen Yun almost laughed in frustration.
He moved his lips, about to say something, when Xie Zhinan suddenly frowned, likely feeling uncomfortable. He closed his eyes and exhaled a heavy, hot breath.
Seeing him in such distress, Wen Yun pressed his lips together, holding back what he had been about to say.
No one spoke, and the office fell into silence.
Wen Yun watched the time. Five minutes passed quickly, and Xie Zhinan was still with his head lowered, silent, looking dull and unresponsive.
Wen Yun softly asked, “Your temperature’s done, do you want to remove it yourself?”
Xie Zhinan recalled how Wen Yun had placed the thermometer for him earlier, and immediately felt another wave of heat surge through him. He nodded hurriedly, clumsily fumbling to take the thermometer out.
He held the thermometer up to the light, squinting his eyes to see what temperature he had, but his vision was blurry. After turning it around for a while, he still couldn’t make it out. He leaned in closer, but before he could get a clearer look, the thermometer was snatched from his hand.
“…It’s almost 39 degrees,” Wen Yun said, looking at the thermometer’s reading. His brow furrowed tightly, as if slightly annoyed. “Probably from last night’s cold… Xie Zhinan?”
He noticed that Xie Zhinan’s condition had started to become a bit disoriented, so he called his name softly.
Xie Zhinan snapped back to attention, still trying to struggle. “…I’ll just go home and take some medicine, don’t worry about me.”
After saying this, he pushed himself up to leave. Wen Yun watched him get ready to stand, his lips pressed into a flat line, and the expression on his face disappeared in an instant.
…..He’s still trying to leave.
Xie Zhinan was always like this.
He tried his best not to trouble anyone, not even his boyfriend.
It seemed like he was always prepared to be abandoned by anyone at any moment.
If one day he really was abandoned, he would just stand there, staring blankly at the retreating back of the person leaving, until he couldn’t see the person’s figure anymore. The feeling that would rise in his heart wouldn’t be sadness, but a calm, almost relieved “I knew this would happen.”
Then, he would quietly erase all traces of his existence, retreating in the opposite direction as far as possible.
Before leaving, he’d make sure to consider the other person’s feelings, afraid to cause any inconvenience, even if it meant burning himself out, drying himself up, just to be discarded willingly.
How could there be such a person?
And yet, this person had already abandoned him first.
Wen Yun clenched his fist, then helplessly released it. His throat tightened, and he couldn’t put into words what he was feeling.
He stayed silent, not saying a word. There was an emotion building up inside him, exploding like magma and flames, almost suffocating him, as if it would burst out of his throat.
Xie Zhinan had already staggered to his feet, pressing his dizzy head and saying, “Thank you, Mr. Wen. I’ll leave now.”
He took a step, but didn’t move forward.
Wen Yun grabbed his wrist.
Xie Zhinan turned his head and saw Wen Yun’s expressionless, tense face.
Wen Yun still looked cold, but Xie Zhinan inexplicably felt a heavy, oppressive force pressing down on him, with a fiery intensity burning under his skin, almost ready to explode at any moment.
Xie Zhinan tried to pull his hand back, but Wen Yun’s grip was too tight, so tight that his wrist began to ache, and he couldn’t escape.
“…Mr. Wen?” he called, hesitantly.
Wen Yun’s pitch-black eyes fixed on him, staring for several seconds. Then he gently closed his eyes, forcibly pushing all the inappropriate emotions back into his body, making sure no trace of them leaked out, before he spoke calmly.
“I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“…You don’t have to worry about me.” Xie Zhinan said.
Xie Zhinan had already sensed the danger, and he stared unblinkingly at Wen Yun, determined that if anything felt off, he would escape.
But Wen Yun just coldly looked at him and said, “Who said I’m worried about you?”
Upon hearing this, Xie Zhinan’s fingertips trembled, his back slightly relaxed, and his shoulders drooped, unsure whether it was disappointment or a sigh of relief.
“Then I…”
Before he could finish, Wen Yun interrupted him.
“Treating employees like family is our company culture.” Wen Yun’s gaze was frosty, his eyes thin as they fell on Xie Zhinan’s face with no trace of unnecessary emotion. “You should be very clear about this, right?”
This was something Xie Zhinan himself had said, but he hadn’t expected it to come back to bite him like this.
He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, he heard Wen Yun coldly continue.
“Or do you want me to ignore sick employees, continue to exploit them until they collapse and die at work, and make headlines? Then I’ll have to pay extra for PR, right, Xiao Xie?”
The way his boss called him “Xiao Xie” felt strangely sarcastic.
Xiao Xie: “0.0”
Xie Zhinan’s tongue tangled in his mouth, and he could only weakly reply, “…No… no.”
….
In the end, Xie Zhinan was forced into a car heading to the hospital.
Sitting in the car, it seemed his fever had worsened. He felt so bad that he closed his eyes and said nothing.
Wen Yun pressed his lips together, concerned that Xie Zhinan’s fever might have risen above 39°C, and was also worried about driving too fast in case it made him feel worse, which made him feel a bit anxious.
During a red light, his fingertips tapped on the steering wheel. Xie Zhinan, sitting in the passenger seat, had curled up into a miserable ball, his brows furrowed lightly, wrapped in a gray blanket.
Just moments ago, Wen Yun had been angry, but now, seeing him look so uncomfortable, he felt an unusual pang of tenderness.
“…I won’t get an IV.” Xie Zhinan mumbled suddenly, half asleep and half awake.
Wen Yun was taken aback, then softened his tone, speaking very quietly and gently, “Why?”
Xie Zhinan moved his pale lips but didn’t say anything, so Wen Yun leaned in closer.
He finally heard him murmur in a soft, rambling voice.
“If you get too many, your immunity drops, and you’ll get sick more often, and you won’t be able to take medicine properly.” It seemed the fever had really clouded his mind. If he were clear-headed, he certainly wouldn’t have said such things.
Wen Yun, being from a wealthy family, probably hadn’t heard of this theory before.
He didn’t know whether it was true, but some poor families, when their children got sick, would choose to endure as much as possible, only giving medicine when they couldn’t stand it anymore, and only taking them to get an IV when it was absolutely necessary, usually avoiding it if possible.
They were afraid of becoming dependent on it and damaging the body’s ability to recover on its own.
It cost more money and was more troublesome.
Xie Zhinan moved his lips again.
His breath, hot and short, along with his weak voice, delivered the rest of his thoughts to Wen Yun’s ears.
“…Spending money, troublesome, annoying people.”
