The old fan blades were spinning continuously.
Xia Mian sniffled, her face slightly flushed. She walked over to Zhou Ran, rolled up the sleeves of her small jacket, and extended her arm for Zhou Ran to see.
"This, I don't know how it happened."
Zhou Ran snapped back to reality and looked toward her arm.
Around the small butterfly tattoo that had already scabbed over, a large area was red, covered in small red dots, looking quite alarming.
Zhou Ran frowned and subconsciously took hold of Xia Mian's wrist to examine it.
It wasn't just on the tattoo; it had spread upward over a large area, looking like a rash.
"What happened?"
Xia Mian sniffled, shook her head, and said, "I don't know either. It's been like this since yesterday."
"Don't cry," Zhou Ran said, his brows locked tightly. "Did you go into the water? It doesn't look like an infection."
"No," Xia Mian said. "You said I couldn't go into the water, so I wrapped it in plastic wrap when I took a bath."
"Bathing is fine, as long as you don't soak in the water for a long time, it's fine."
Zhou Ran touched the skin near Xia Mian's arm to confirm there were no raised bumps under the skin.
"Do you feel anything? Itchy, or painful?"
The male's fingertips had a thin layer of calluses, somewhat rough, yet carrying a bit of warmth; when he touched her, it really did feel a bit itchy.
"Itchy."
Xia Mian answered truthfully.
"I don't dare to scratch it, afraid of breaking the scabs, so I can only scratch the areas nearby."
As she spoke, she sniffled again.
After sniffing, she was afraid Zhou Ran would misunderstand, so she explained, "I'm not crying."
Zhou Ran raised his head and glanced at her.
Her face under the sun hat was flushed, not the usual rosy pink, but a kind of... feverish flush?
The corners of her eyes were stained with redness, and she blinked a couple of times. Zhou Ran looked closely, and only after confirming she really wasn't crying did he ask.
"Did you catch a cold?"
"Yeah," Xia Mian said, dragging out the end of her sentence. "I think I caught a chill from the wind the day I went out to sea."
Zhou Ran paused, not letting go of Xia Mian's hand, and instead pressed his palm against it.
The moment the warmth arrived, Xia Mian was stunned, and her hand trembled involuntarily.
Zhou Ran knitted his brows, his hand tracing along Xia Mian's arm all the way to her palm.
He pressed against her palm for just a few seconds before letting go.
"This doesn't look like a cold; you probably have a fever."
Xia Mian hadn't recovered yet, staring blankly at her own hand. Zhou Ran had let go, leaving her palm feeling empty, yet the sensation remained.
"Really?" Xia Mian asked.
She felt like maybe she was a bit hot.
"Can't you tell yourself?" Zhou Ran looked at her.
Xia Mian realized belatedly and used the hand that Zhou Ran had inadvertently touched to press against her forehead, her voice very soft.
"I think I can tell now."
Her face was burning hot; she must have a fever.
"It looks like an allergy," Zhou Ran asked. "What medicine did you take at home?"
"I drank some cold medicine. I thought it was inflamed, so I took some anti-inflammatory pills..."
Xia Mian's voice was hoarse, and it sounded a bit pitiful now.
"Why didn't you send me a message when you felt uncomfortable yesterday?" Zhou Ran asked, looking at her.
Xia Mian rubbed her nose and looked up at him.
"I did, you didn't reply."
Zhou Ran was stunned and took out his mobile phone to open WeChat.
The list of messages was full of little red dots; some were groups, and he was too lazy to click on them, so they just stayed at the top.
There were also some idle chats from unimportant people that he hadn't replied to either.
After scrolling for a while, he finally saw the two weak messages Xia Mian had sent below.
He hadn't replied, so Xia Mian hadn't sent any more.
Zhou Ran paused, cleared the messages, and tapped a couple of times.
"Sorry, I didn't see them."
Zhou Ran stood up and walked to the cashier counter, took a thermometer out of the drawer, and handed it to Xia Mian.
"Measure it. I'll take you to get some allergy medicine later."
Xia Mian took the thermometer, turned around, and tucked it under her armpit; her nose was still a bit stuffed.
"What about the shop if someone comes?"
"Looks like you aren't fever-stupid yet, still knowing how to help others take care of business," Zhou Ran laughed. "There's someone in the shop; Lao Lu is still upstairs."
"Oh."
Xia Mian walked to the sofa and sat down, pulling her hat to cover her face.
Zhou Ran looked at her drooping head and reached over to grab a cushion to hand to Xia Mian.
Xia Mian was very quiet.
She sat there without speaking, even her breath was very shallow.
Zhou Ran rummaged around the cashier counter; he remembered there was a pack of fever reducers left over from when Pi Tao'er had a fever.
He couldn't find it; he figured it must have been taken by Lao Lu.
Although "Chan" wasn't big, it was fully equipped.
Zhou Ran didn't usually go back; he always slept upstairs.
He turned his head, just about to speak, when he discovered Xia Mian had tilted her head and fallen asleep on the sofa again.
...What kind of operation is this?
Every time Xia Mian came here, as long as she touched the sofa, she would fall asleep in seconds.
What is this? A sleep god?
A small arc curled at the corner of Zhou Ran's mouth. He leaned against the cashier counter and watched Xia Mian for a long while before heading out.
Xia Mian was touched awake by something.
It felt like a small hand was crawling all over her, soft, not knowing what it wanted to do.
Xia Mian opened her eyes and saw Shui Cao kneeling on the sofa beside her, reaching out a small hand to touch her arm.
Seeing Xia Mian wake up, Shui Cao blinked twice, turned her head, and made "ah-ah" sounds at the male.
"Awake?"
Xia Mian looked back.
Zhou Ran's voice was clear, his tone somewhat nonchalant.
Shui Cao pointed at Xia Mian's arm, then raised both arms, making a gesture of surrender.
Xia Mian was dazed from sleep and didn't understand what it meant.
Zhou Ran explained: "She wants the thermometer from you."
Xia Mian was startled, only then remembering she still had the thermometer tucked away, and hurriedly pulled it out from under her armpit.
"What's the temperature?"
Xia Mian stared at the mercury for a long time, thinking she had gone blind from sleep.
"...34 degrees."
Zhou Ran nodded: "Hopeless."
Xia Mian felt a bit embarrassed: "I don't think I clamped it right."
Zhou Ran instructed Shui Cao: "Touch big sister's face and see if she's still hot."
Shui Cao obediently placed her hand on Xia Mian's forehead.
The little girl's hand was small and soft; she thought while touching, and after a moment, she cupped Xia Mian's face to feel it.
She looked back at Zhou Ran and blinked twice.
"Can't tell?"
Shui Cao nodded.
Zhou Ran walked up and reached out to take off Xia Mian's hat.
She didn't know how long she had slept, but she had broken into a sweat, a thin layer glistening on her forehead, with a few stray hairs stuck to it.
The light became bright in an instant. Xia Mian blinked, and before she could react, Zhou Ran had already leaned over.
The distance between the two was closed at this moment. Zhou Ran grabbed Shui Cao's hand with one of his, their large and small hands overlapping as they pressed against Xia Mian's forehead.
The man's scent was light and elegant, invading Xia Mian's breath bit by bit along with the air.
She held her breath, actually hearing the sound of her own throat swallowing.
Zhou Ran's eyes met hers, the distance seemingly even closer than it had been on the second floor.
So close that he was almost touching the tip of her nose.
Zhou Ran's hand, separated by Shui Cao's small hand, pressed against her forehead. His fingertips carried the man's unique temperature and touch, making Xia Mian almost forget to gasp.
He asked Shui Cao: "Did you remember?"
Xia Mian blinked her eyes.
Remember what?
He said.
"Touch like this."
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