Song Yushi subconsciously curled her toes.
“Cute,” Qi Ke said.
Her hot breath fanned across her face, and the words caught in her throat became soft, hoarse, and ambiguous: “Before, your toes would also curl up, wrinkling the bedsheets. Very, very cute.”
Song Yushi was scorched by her gaze and couldn’t help but take two steps back.
Without support, Qi Ke staggered two steps, but was caught just as she was about to fall. Looking up, she saw Song Yushi glaring at her. “Worry about yourself first!”
Although she had just checked her temperature with her forehead and confirmed she had a fever, Song Yushi had no idea what the exact temperature was. She pulled out the first-aid kit, shook down the mercury in the thermometer, and stuck it in Qi Ke’s mouth.
With the thermometer in her mouth, Qi Ke’s eyes were misty, making her look as obedient as a child.
It was just a fever; taking her to the hospital would be too much of an overreaction. They would inevitably be photographed and become the subject of gossip, earning her a bad reputation for falling ill and being unable to endure hardship right after joining the cast.
Song Yushi put down the first-aid kit and looked at Qi Ke. “We can’t go to the hospital.”
Qi Ke: “Mmm-hmm.”
Song Yushi said helplessly, “Just nod or shake your head.”
Qi Ke nodded.
Song Yushi: “Nod for hot water, shake your head for medicine.”
Qi Ke nodded furiously.
She was afraid of bitterness.
Song Yushi had expected her to choose this, but she still couldn’t help saying, “The medicine isn’t bitter.”
Qi Ke blinked her eyes, looking very pitiful.
“Fine.” Song Yushi tossed the ibuprofen back into the first-aid kit, went to boil some water, then grabbed a towel from the bathroom. Returning to the sofa, she ordered Qi Ke, “Lie down.”
Qi Ke shook her head.
Song Yushi: “?”
Not even obedient when she’s sick?
Qi Ke turned her head, looked toward the bedroom, then pointed at the sofa and shook her head firmly.
Song Yushi tried to interpret: “The sofa is uncomfortable, you want to sleep in a bed?”
Qi Ke nodded, then pointed to the guest bedroom.
The guest bedroom is fine too!
The guest bedroom was a converted study. A bed took up more than half the room, making it difficult for another person to even turn around. Song Yushi thought for a moment and said, “Follow me.”
Qi Ke obediently followed her into the master bedroom.
Song Yushi: “Lie down.”
Qi Ke lay down.
The crystal chandelier in the master bedroom was on, its light shining on the strawberry-patterned duvet cover, filling the room with brightness.
Song Yushi glanced at the time. Two minutes left.
She and Qi Ke stared at each other.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Song Yushi said thoughtfully, “Since you can’t talk right now, does that mean you can’t refute anything I say?”
Qi Ke’s eyes widened slightly.
Verification successful. Song Yushi nodded. “Are you an idiot? You didn’t know you had a fever?”
Qi Ke: “?”
Song Yushi: “And you were standing outside in the wind with an umbrella. Did you think you weren’t sick enough?”
Qi Ke: “??”
Song Yushi: “Aren’t you supposed to be smart? Your brain is fried from the fever, and you’re still worried about whether my feet are cold. It’s not like I was a fallen angel in my past life, destined to have cold feet in this one.”
Qi Ke: “???”
Captain, did you get the wrong script?!
Song Yushi said everything she wanted to say and let out a long sigh. Roasting someone like that felt pretty good. Finally, she smiled at Qi Ke, a sweet and deceptive smile. “Time’s up.”
Qi Ke: “…”
Useless Captain, I won’t forget what just happened!
Qi Ke took a tissue, wiped the thermometer clean, and handed it to Song Yushi. Her mouth was finally free, and she hurriedly asked, “What’s the temperature? What is it? I can’t read it.”
Song Yushi glanced at her.
Qi Ke: …
She swore she could read the meaning “You’re cuter when you’re not talking” in that glance!!!
Song Yushi held up the thermometer. “Hmm, 38.5°C.” She asked Qi Ke, “Are you sure you don’t want to take any medicine?”
Qi Ke was very sure.
Song Yushi didn’t insist. She just watched Qi Ke drink half a pot of hot water, then had her lie down properly. She wrung out a damp towel and placed it on Qi Ke’s forehead, then pressed the back of her hand against her cheek to check her temperature. “…Feeling any better?”
Qi Ke lay flat on the bed. The gentle, orange glow of the wall lamp enveloped her like a mist. On her palm-sized face, the feverish blush actually made her look cute.
She hummed softly, “A little better.”
Song Yushi was silent for a moment before saying, “Then get some rest. Call me if you need anything. I’ll be just outside.”
As expected, her wrist was grabbed.
Song Yushi didn’t even try to get up. She lowered her head and looked at the hand Qi Ke had extended from under the covers. Tiny roses were painted on her nails in a bright, golden pink. Under her gaze, Qi Ke’s grip gradually loosened, finally sliding down to pinch the corner of her shirt between her index and middle fingers, giving it a gentle shake.
“Captain…”
“…Hmm?”
The fortress she had hastily erected was gradually crumbling. Song Yushi wasn’t sure if she could withstand a sick Qi Ke’s wheedling.
As Song Yushi’s mind raced, Qi Ke’s fingertips, still pinching her shirt, gradually tightened. “Stay with me for a little while, okay? Don’t… don’t leave yet, okay?”
Her tone, laced with a hint of pleading, slipped into Song Yushi’s ear like a silken thread. Under this not-so-subtle assault, she was routed in an instant. By the time she realized it, the word of agreement had already left her lips.
Qi Ke then smiled, a pale smile, but her eyes seemed to sparkle with light.
Song Yushi sat silently by the bed.
Qi Ke was also silent, quietly watching her.
The sound of the rain outside suddenly became clear, each drop pattering against the window. A sliver of cool wind drifted in through the crack in the window, rustling the thin curtains.
Qi Ke licked her dry lips. “Candy was sent to my place.”
Song Yushi paused, letting out a small “ah.”
“My little corgi, he looks all soft and cuddly, but he’s actually quite fierce. I wonder if they’ll fight.”
“…Candy is very well-behaved.”
“Mm.”
“…”
“I wonder if Zhou Er confessed to Meng Ying. It would be better if she got rejected. She can’t even find the right way to pursue someone she likes. Serves her right.”
“Indeed.”
“Is Meng Ying straight?”
“…”
“Hmm?” Qi Ke turned her head, looking quizzically at the suddenly silent Song Yushi.
Song Yushi looked back at her and said seriously, “I used to be straight too.”
Qi Ke: “…”
Her own fault.
Qi Ke suddenly remembered something and hurriedly turned on her side to ask Song Yushi. In her haste, she didn’t notice the towel on her forehead fall onto the bed with a soft plop, wetting the sheet. She let out a small “uh.” “I forgot.”
Song Yushi shot her an exasperated glare.
The towel was small and square, no bigger than her palm when folded. Song Yushi took it and started folding it in her hands for a bit before asking, “What were you so anxious about just now?”
“I just wanted to ask,” Qi Ke said, maintaining her position. Her eyes traced Song Yushi’s silhouette, and the more she looked, the more she liked what she saw, the corners of her lips unconsciously turning up. “When did you start to like me?”
Song Yushi’s movements paused.
“Anyway, for me, it was love at first sight.” Qi Ke recalled, “At the time, I just thought, how can someone be so beautiful? You looked so aloof and distant, but there was an unintentional gentleness in your eyes. I just wished you were gay. Later, at that celebration party, I must have lost my mind to have tried to flirt with you.”
Qi Ke coughed a few times. Song Yushi patted her through the covers with a gentle force, showing she was listening intently.
“The way you looked at me, in that moment, I felt like you saw right through me.”
Those unspeakable thoughts, those secret desires that lingered in her heart, tossing and turning in the corners of her mind, were all seen through by Song Yushi’s drunken eyes.
“I didn’t.” Song Yushi looked away, avoiding Qi Ke’s gaze.
Qi Ke was slightly taken aback. “What?”
“I didn’t see through you. I just thought…”
She’s so beautiful.
The look in her eyes was like a silent temptation.
Her lips looked delicious.
So I kissed her.
Without thinking, very impulsively, very subjectively, very unlike Song Yushi.
Qi Ke grew inexplicably nervous. “Is that when you started to like me?”
Song Yushi was silent for a moment, then shook her head.
“No?”
“I don’t know.”
Maybe it was before, maybe it was after. Anyway, she just came to like her. Qi Ke was always so likable, so it wasn’t surprising that she fell for her.
Song Yushi glanced at the time. It was almost midnight. She frowned slightly. “Aren’t you sleepy?”
Qi Ke shook her head gently. “I am.”
Song Yushi: “?”
Qi Ke: “But I don’t want to sleep.”
Song Yushi: “…”
Qi Ke: “Are you sleepy?” She shifted to the side. “There’s room here for you.”
Song Yushi: “I haven’t showered yet.”
Qi Ke: “I don’t mind.”
Song Yushi: “…This is my bed.”
Qi Ke: “…”
She was so focused on luring the person into bed that she forgot about that. Of course, she also forgot that you’re not supposed to take advantage of someone you’re pursuing.
Song Yushi had been filming all day and had to get up early the next morning. She checked Qi Ke’s temperature again and felt it was going down, which put her mind half at ease. She turned and went to take a shower. When she came back, Qi Ke was already asleep.
There was a space left for her on the bed.
Song Yushi stood by the bed hesitating for a long time, so long that Qi Ke gave up pretending to be asleep, turned on her side, and sighed, “I’ll go sleep in the guest room.”
Song Yushi refused decisively. “No.”
“Then you’re not allowed to go either.” Qi Ke sat up. “That bed is really hard. It’s not comfortable at all.”
Song Yushi: “…” The way she said it made it sound like she was mistreating her employee.
Helpless, Song Yushi lifted the covers and lay down. She reached up to turn off the wall lamp, and her voice sounded in the darkness, “I wasn’t planning to go either.”
Song Yushi heard Qi Ke let out a muffled “oh.”
Song Yushi thought for a moment and reached out to check her temperature, but her outstretched hand was caught. Song Yushi: “…I’m just checking if you still have a fever.”
Qi Ke said “oh” again, then guided Song Yushi’s hand to her forehead. She asked, “Am I still feverish?”
Song Yushi’s heart skipped a beat. She hummed in response and hastily pulled her hand back.
The air fell silent again.
“Captain?”
“…Sleep!”
“What if I can’t sleep?”
“…”
“Sing me a song.”
“No.”
“Then I’ll sing you a song,” Qi Ke said agreeably.
“…”
Song Yushi felt a hand rest on her, patting her gently, as a low and gentle voice sang, “Sleep, sleep, my dear baby…”
Song Yushi felt a sense of frustration, as if she was being taken advantage of but didn’t know where to begin her complaints. But… Song Yushi closed her eyes, her mind drifting. Qi Ke’s singing was still very pleasant to listen to.
The song ended.
“Was it nice?” The great lead singer Qi, after lulling someone to sleep, still had to ask for a review.
“Mm.”
“So, for my new album, are you really not going to sing a duet with me?”
Qi Ke’s schemes ran deep. The Captain had fallen into her trap without even noticing.
“…We’ll see what the work schedule allows,” Song Yushi said.
“Mm.” Qi Ke seemed to lean a little closer to her, her voice sounding nearer. “It’s okay.”
Song Yushi: “?”
Qi Ke: “I can wait.”
Song Yushi: “…”
Why did she feel like Qi Ke had switched to a tactic she found even harder to resist?
Qi Ke, she’s… leveled up??!!
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