It's unclear whether it was the damp face cloth on his forehead or a genuine fever, but Liu Chen soon closed his eyes again.
This time, Liu Chen didn't dare to enter his dreams for extra study, and obediently slept.
When he woke up again, the moonlight outside the window was very bright, casting its glow into the bedroom, clearly illuminating the face of Ren Yu, who had fallen asleep in his chair.
It even revealed the dark circles under his eyes.
Liu Chen sighed imperceptibly, quietly pulled back the quilt, and stepped onto the floor barefoot. The underfloor heating had made the floor warm, so there was no discomfort.
The only discomfort, Liu Chen lowered his head and slightly lifted the collar of his pajamas. A sweat smell instantly rushed out from the gap in the collar, filling Liu Chen's nostrils.
"Mmm..."
This smell was quite pungent. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
Silently, he walked to the walk-in closet, picked up his underwear and pajamas, and then went into the bathroom. He turned on the faucet for the bathtub and then stepped into the shower to rinse off.
This time, Liu Chen was wiser. He didn't try to overthink things. While showering, he focused solely on washing himself clean. After he was thoroughly rinsed, he stepped into the bathtub filled with warm water.
"Ah..."
Bending his legs slightly, Liu Chen submerged his upper body, letting the warm water wash over his shoulders. The tingling sensation made Liu Chen let out a soft sigh of relief.
Soaking in the bathtub, he cleared his mind of everything, fully enjoying the baptism of the warm water.
After his bath, Liu Chen dried himself and emerged from the bathroom dressed neatly. The room was now lit, as bright as daytime.
"You shouldn't have bathed right after having a fever," Ren Yu said, his gaze falling on Liu Chen's wet hair. He frowned slightly, his tone tinged with reproach.
Liu Chen took a deep breath, wanting to talk to Ren Yu properly about why he had flipped through his study notes left on the table. Just then, Ren Yu strode past him and entered the bathroom.
Liu Chen's prepared emotions were suddenly halted. Sometimes, if emotions aren't vented in one go, it's hard to muster the courage again.
He slumped onto the chair somewhat dejectedly, gazing out at the office buildings in the distance, where only a few lights were on. Liu Chen suddenly felt that apart from studying and making money, his life seemed to be utterly empty.
As Liu Chen's heart felt hollow, Ren Yu's footsteps stopped behind him. Then, some rustling sounds could be heard, followed by the loud roar of a hairdryer.
"You came out without even drying your hair. Your IV drip isn't finished yet, and you're still a patient. You need to take care of yourself."
Ren Yu was unusually talkative today, even bordering on nagging.
Liu Chen's inner confusion was directly blown away by the roaring hairdryer. He felt fingers interspersing through his hair from above, and the warm air blowing across his scalp.
At this moment, Liu Chen suddenly relaxed his rigidly straight back, his entire body loosening up.
"Ren Yu."
"Mmm?"
"Let's go out on a date today."
The hand holding the hairdryer paused for a moment, and then Ren Yu's voice, tinged with a smile, emerged from his chest:
"Okay."
-
Since they were going on a date, and considering Liu Chen's current condition with the IV drip, Ren Yu decided the date would be indoors.
Liu Chen sat on the sofa, flipping through channels with the remote control, while listening to Ren Yu's words.
"I've booked a high-rise restaurant. The entire floor is glass-enclosed, with only the central air conditioning on, maintaining a constant temperature of 26 degrees Celsius.
Chenchen, what do you think?"
A high-rise restaurant? I wonder if their raw ingredients have any requirements we need to...
"Hiss..."
A sharp pain in his head made Liu Chen's entire face contort into a grimace. He gritted his back teeth to prevent himself from crying out.
Even so, Liu Chen couldn't help but let out a "hiss."
Hearing this sound, Ren Yu immediately put his phone aside, turned, placed his hands on either side of Liu Chen's head, and began to gently massage it.
"I told you to not use your brain too much. Now you know the consequences."
Listening to Ren Yu's words, Liu Chen pouted slightly in defiance and then closed his eyes, pretending not to hear anything.
"It's perfect. After dinner, we can go to the supermarket downstairs to buy some things. The supplies you bought last time are almost depleted while you've been sick."
Listening to Ren Yu's constant rambling, Liu Chen finally couldn't help but frown and reply:
"Why do you become so nagging like my mom just because I'm sick? You used to be so cool when you didn't talk."
Upon hearing Liu Chen's complaining jab, Ren Yu's hands continued to massage his forehead without change, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl upwards.
"Oh? You think I was cool like that?"
Liu Chen replied in a muffled voice:
"Mmm."
"Then take good care of yourself. I don't want to see you lying unconscious in bed again. I'm very scared."
Hearing Ren Yu's words, Liu Chen stopped complaining. He continued to press the remote for another ten minutes, then got up to retrieve his charged phone from the bedroom, giving Ren Yu a break.
If he's not letting me work, then 'playing on my phone' shouldn't tire my brain, right?
Thinking this, Liu Chen opened QQ. He usually didn't pay much attention to the chat in their small group because those guys had too much free time and often sent hundreds of messages.
Opening QQ, the chat window kept scrolling until it stopped at the 'Beijing Branch' five-person group chat.
The last message in the group chat was at three in the morning. Well, that was Mi Zhuzhu's usual schedule.
Mi Zhuzhu: I messaged Chenchen but she didn't reply. Many people said they tagged me on Weibo for prize redemption and got no reply, what should I do?
Probably because everyone else was asleep, no one replied to Mi Zhuzhu's message, so she didn't say anything further.
Seeing Mi Zhuzhu's message, Liu Chen finally glanced at the calendar time on his phone.
He had been feeling listless since waking up. Looking now, Liu Chen's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the calendar on his phone.
Today was already the thirteenth day of the first lunar month. This meant he had been sleeping in bed for almost five days?
The moment he realized this, Liu Chen's first thought was that he had missed five days of one-on-one tutoring.
What a loss!
Holding his phone, Liu Chen no longer felt like lying around. He used the excuse of going to the bathroom. Without even lifting the toilet seat, he sat down and opened Weibo with his phone in both hands.
As usual, Weibo lagged for a long time before opening successfully.
Liu Chen then saw a pile of Weibo posts tagging him for prize redemption. He picked a few from the past few days and saw that there were no replies from the staff of the 'Meimei Brand' below their posts.
Liu Chen exited Weibo and opened the chat box with Yu Bing on QQ.
"Why is no one checking the prize redemptions on Weibo?"
After sending the message, Liu Chen noticed the time in the top right corner of his phone: 8 AM.
"They're probably not awake yet."
As he said this, Liu Chen held his phone and prepared to get up and leave the bathroom.
"Buzz buzz."
His phone vibrated, someone had replied. Liu Chen raised his hand and turned the phone screen to face him, then slid to unlock it.
Yu Bing: Boss, we've found duplicate redemption numbers. We suspect someone is starting to falsify lucky cards.