RKNDL chapter 21

In the end, he was still hooked up to an IV.

Xie Zhinan lay on the pure white hospital bed, his head sinking into the soft white pillow. His fine, light-colored hair spread out, his face flushed from sleep, his eyes half-open. Having just woken from a dream, his eyelids drooped weakly, making his gaze appear a bit unfocused.

But he still looked in Wen Yun’s direction, his focus unmistakable.

His expression was pure and calm, as though he was simply watching Wen Yun, wanting to watch Wen Yun.

“Why are you staring at me?” Wen Yun asked gently, as though worried about disturbing him, disrupting the quiet.

Xie Zhinan thought to himself that it had been a long time since anyone had cared for him when he was sick.

This thought had occupied his mind ever since he woke up. At first, it was just a thought, but it soon grew into countless threads, tugging at his nerves and heart.

Finally, after Wen Yun asked this question, Xie Zhinan’s heart skipped a heavy beat, and the countless threads tugged at him all at once, bringing him an overwhelming sadness and grievance, mixed with an inexplicable bitterness.

Of all people, the one who shouldn’t care about him was the one who did.

Xie Zhinan was an emotionally reserved person. His difficult childhood had taught him a defense mechanism early on. He had learned to suppress, even block out his emotions. Sometimes, he even lived in a bit of numbness.

But this way, he could block out others’ malice the most. The side effect was that he became insensitive to emotions, overly dull.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt tears sting his eyes. Before Wen Yun noticed anything, he buried his face in the blanket, closed his eyes, and skillfully suppressed all the emotions rising within him. After a moment, he quietly shook his head and said.

“It’s nothing.”

He didn’t realize how much it seemed like he had been wronged, bullied.

That long, aching pain surged in Wen Yun’s heart again, even softening it completely. He raised his hand and, very gently, brushed a damp lock of hair from Xie Zhinan’s forehead.

At that moment, Xie Zhinan suddenly realized something and instinctively shrank back into the pillow.

Wen Yun’s fingers paused, and he asked softly, “You don’t want me to touch you?”

The question seemed a bit strange.

But Xie Zhinan’s habitual numbness kicked in, and after thinking for a second without coming up with an answer, he let it go.

He paused for a moment, remembering how much Wen Yun had done for him recently. He pressed his dry lips together and, in a hoarse voice, said something a bit embarrassing but true: “…I sweated because of the fever, my hair smells.”

He still cared about his image even in this situation.

“It doesn’t smell,” Wen Yun said.

Xie Zhinan peeked out from under the blanket, his eyes wide as if trying to gauge whether Wen Yun was lying.

Wen Yun placed his palm on Xie Zhinan’s forehead and, with his fingers, combed through the damp hair, pushing it back in an intimate gesture that exposed his smooth forehead.

This intimate gesture seemed wholly out of place between them. But before Xie Zhinan could even register what was wrong, Wen Yun pressed his palm against his forehead again and said, “The fever has gone down a bit.”

His movements were so natural, and the way he combed back Xie Zhinan’s hair felt so casual that the sense of something being amiss slid away unnoticed in Xie Zhinan’s mind.

“…Thank you for bringing me to the hospital,” Xie Zhinan said, looking at Wen Yun.

He rarely got fevers, and he hadn’t expected this one to be so severe. If he’d just endured it in the afternoon, who knows what might have happened.

Wen Yun lowered his lashes and met his gaze.

Xie Zhinan hesitated for two seconds, then added softly, “Thank you for everything you’ve done recently.”

Sensing that if he let Xie Zhinan continue talking, he’d probably say something irritating again, Wen Yun preemptively replied, “No need to thank me. You can think about how to repay me.”

Repay him.

Having been conditioned by years of domestic TV dramas, a cliché scene immediately flashed through Xie Zhinan’s mind.

His heart exploded in a flustered panic, and he hastily scattered the wild thoughts in his head.

The fever that had just gone down surged back to his face, turning his ears red as if they could bleed.

Wen Yun noticed his face suddenly flushing and furrowed his brows, worried the fever was back. He reached out the back of his hand to check Xie Zhinan’s temperature.

Feeling guilty, Xie Zhinan instinctively tried to dodge, but for some reason, his neck felt soft and weak, leaving him without the strength to move.

So he let Wen Yun’s hand rest on his forehead.

“…Are you feeling unwell again?” Wen Yun asked.

Xie Zhinan’s face reddened further, and he stammered, “N-no.”

Wen Yun still wasn’t convinced. Knowing Xie Zhinan’s tendency to endure things, he couldn’t tell if he was being truthful.

He decided to call the doctor, but as soon as he turned, Xie Zhinan grabbed the corner of his shirt—hurriedly, and with the hand that had an IV needle in it.

This movement might cause blood to flow back. Wen Yun glanced down, his brow twitching, and immediately ordered, “Put your hand down.”

His tone was a bit sharp, sounding somewhat stern.

Xie Zhinan, startled by Wen Yun’s stern tone, immediately withdrew his hand.

“What are you doing?” Wen Yun lowered his gaze, his sharp, narrow eyes carrying a natural air of intimidation when he looked at someone.

Xie Zhinan shook his head vigorously without saying a word.

Wen Yun sighed lightly, sat back down, and softened his tone. “You don’t want me to call the doctor?”

There was no way Xie Zhinan could admit to the nonsense that had been running through his mind earlier.

His face flushed, and he murmured softly, “I’m already feeling much better than before. It’s nothing serious.”

Wen Yun stared at him for a while. Seeing that he did seem more energetic than earlier, he nodded and didn’t insist. He simply said, “If you feel uncomfortable, say something. Don’t just tough it out.”

“…Okay.” Xie Zhinan obediently agreed, then added, “Thank you.”

Thank you.

Thank you.

Wen Yun felt like his ears were about to grow calluses from hearing those words from Xie Zhinan’s mouth. Amused, he said, “Xie Zhinan, are you some kind of ‘thank you’ baby? Or maybe a ‘thank you’ robot?”

Xie Zhinan didn’t quite follow. “Huh?”

Wen Yun’s pitch-black eyes reflected Xie Zhinan’s confused expression. With little change in his own expression, Wen Yun said, “All day long, all you know how to say is thank you.”

Xie Zhinan: “…”

Embarrassed, Xie Zhinan’s ears turned red again.

It was true.

As he thought back, he realized that despite how much Wen Yun had helped him, all he’d ever done was say “thank you.” It seemed he hadn’t contributed anything in return.

With his strong sense of morality, Xie Zhinan quickly began to feel guilty and started scolding himself.

But after thinking about it, he still couldn’t figure out what Wen Yun might need or what he could offer him.

After a long pause, he widened his round eyes, looked at Wen Yun tentatively, and asked, “How about I… work for you for free for a month?”

Wen Yun lowered his eyelids, his head slightly bowed. From Xie Zhinan’s angle, he could only see a cold sliver of Wen Yun’s lowered eyes, exuding a sense of threat.

“If you dare mention paying me again, I’ll dock your salary for the next three months, leaving you too broke to even eat,” he said coldly.

Xie Zhinan: “…”

Actually, I do have some savings. I won’t starve…

But faced with Wen Yun’s icy, intimidating gaze, Xie Zhinan silently closed his already-parted lips, swallowing back any words he might have said.