Zhou Ran’s voice was very soft, his clear tone still carrying a hint of hoarseness.
Xia Mian stared blankly at Zhou Ran, still able to feel the warmth of his finger pad on her forehead.
Shui Cao nodded, opening her mouth into an O-shape.
Zhou Ran withdrew his hand, stood up straight, and put some distance between them: "You still have a bit of a fever. Take the fever medicine, and wait until after dinner to take the allergy medicine."
Xia Mian’s thoughts were pulled back, and she blinked in a panic: "You went to buy medicine?"
Zhou Ran took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and pressed it against Xia Mian’s cheek.
Xia Mian shivered from the cold and sat up straight abruptly.
"Ah!"
Zhou Ran unscrewed the cap, took a few pills out of the medicine box, and handed them to Xia Mian together.
"By the time you wake up, the food will have already gone cold."
"If it’s cold, you can just heat it up again," Xia Mian said sullenly. "I have to take these on an empty stomach?"
Zhou Ran sat on the chair opposite her, a hint of an imperceptible smile rising in his eyes.
"I’m afraid you’ll get poisoned if you take them all at once."
Xia Mian put the medicine in her mouth: "I won't."
She held the bottle to her lips and took a gulp of water; just as she swallowed the medicine, she heard Zhou Ran’s lazy voice.
"Is that so? Then you should spit it out."
Xia Mian looked at him.
Zhou Ran was righteous and confident: "You aren't afraid of being poisoned, so why are you afraid of taking them together on an empty stomach?"
...What a boring person!
Shui Cao crawled along the sofa, cupped Xia Mian’s cheeks with her little hands, opened her mouth wide, and went "ah" at her.
Xia Mian was stunned: "What?"
Zhou Ran leaned back in his chair, spinning it back and forth as he explained for her.
"She wants you to open your mouth so she can see; she wants to check."
Xia Mian didn't understand, but she obediently opened her mouth.
"Ah—"
Shui Cao patted Xia Mian’s head and nodded in satisfaction.
The wind chime shook twice, and Lao Lu walked in carrying two large bags, with a Pi Tao'er keychain hanging on his back, its two legs dangling and swaying.
"Yo, you're awake?" Lao Lu looked at Xia Mian and smiled. "Just in time for dinner."
Xia Mian felt a bit awkward; she hadn't intended to freeload a meal here.
"Um, I..." Xia Mian hesitated, subconsciously glancing at Zhou Ran.
The man tilted his head slightly as he looked at her.
"Hmm?"
She wanted to leave, but she felt it wouldn't be right to just sleep at someone's shop and eat their medicine for free.
Lao Lu saw through Xia Mian’s intention at a glance: "Who leaves at mealtime? Sit down and have a bite."
He bounced Pi Tao'er, shook her off his back, and pulled a coconut out of the bag to toss to Zhou Ran.
"It’s a coconut on special offer from the supermarket; I specifically bought it back to compensate you."
Zhou Ran was hit squarely in the chest by the heavy coconut, causing him to let out a muffled grunt.
Just as he was about to start cursing, Lao Lu’s next sentence blocked him from saying a word—
"It’s just a coconut, why are you so stingy? You didn't even throw away the shell after I finished drinking it, and you even put it on the second-floor window. Since when did you have a hoarding habit, may I ask?"
Zhou Ran’s eyes widened: "Where the hell did you see that?"
"I saw it when I was coaxing Tao'er this afternoon. Buddy, it’s summer; if you don't throw that coconut away, it’s going to start stinking soon."
Zhou Ran choked, subconsciously looking at Xia Mian beside him, only to find her blinking at him.
So he likes drinking coconut water.
But she thought coconut water was very average, and not very sweet either.
Zhou Ran frowned, his expression showing a bit of irritation, and he raised his hand to throw the coconut back to Lao Lu.
"Who wants to drink this? Buy it yourself and drink it yourself."
Lao Lu caught the coconut: "Hey, if you don't like it, why are you hiding it? You wouldn't even let me have any. What’s wrong with you?"
Zhou Ran pressed his brows together: "Shut up!"
"Fine, I’m going to start the pot for the hot pot."
Lao Lu picked up both bags with one hand and held the coconut with the other, walking toward the small kitchen in the back.
Pi Tao'er held Shui Cao’s hand and followed behind him into the kitchen; through the curtain, they could still hear Lao Lu’s voice.
"What are you doing, ancestors? This place is only so big, why are you crowding in here?"
Xia Mian looked at Zhou Ran; the tips of the man’s ears were turning red, and his expression looked somewhat unnatural.
She pursed her lips, hesitating for a moment.
"Would you like me to bring you my coconut shells next time I finish one..."
Zhou Ran interrupted her abruptly: "No need."
"Oh."
Xia Mian closed her mouth and carefully raised her eyelids to look at him again.
She added another point to her impression of Zhou Ran, beyond "cold on the outside, warm on the inside" and "hard-mouthed but soft-hearted"—
He loves collecting coconut shells and can't stand being called out on it.
Zhou Ran frowned and raised his hand to rub his buzz cut a few times, looking somewhat irritable.
Xia Mian watched his movements, wanting to say, "Stop rubbing it, it won't grow back even if you do."
Actually, she still thought the hairstyle Zhou Ran had when she first met him looked better, even if the color was a bit too flashy, but he had shaved it off—shaved it off quite cleanly and decisively.
His current buzz cut wasn't actually ugly.
It was just that when paired with his cold expression and furrowed brows, he looked like someone you definitely shouldn't mess with.
A bit like... a underworld boss.
Xia Mian gave a heavy "mm-hmm" in her heart.
"Hey."
Zhou Ran’s voice suddenly rang out.
Xia Mian was lost in thought and subconsciously wanted to reply, "First of all, my name isn't 'Hey'."
Realizing what she was doing, she swallowed the words back.
"Hmm?"
Zhou Ran turned to look at her, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Is Zhuang Zhong pursuing you?"
✦✦✦