"Me?"
Xia Mian widened her eyes slightly as she looked at Zhou Ran.
Zhou Ran lowered his gaze to look at her: "Yes."
"How am I an ingrate?"
Zhou Ran did not answer; he fished a box of medicine from his pants pocket and handed it to Xia Mian: "One pill at a time. If the red rash doesn't fade, you'll have to go to the hospital for an injection."
Xia Mian took the medicine box and glanced at it.
Chlorpheniramine.
She clutched the medicine in her hand and whispered in her own defense: "I am not an ingrate."
Zhou Ran said nothing, only letting out a soft, mocking hum.
"Let's go."
Xia Mian looked up at him: "Go where?"
"To Mount Liang," Zhou Ran said with a smile, "where else do you want to go?"
"Oh."
Xia Mian secretly curled her lip.
The two walked one after the other, with Zhou Ran strolling slowly behind. The surroundings were filled with the shouting of vendors on Snack Street. Xia Mian glanced back at him twice and unconsciously slowed her pace.
"Where are you going?" Xia Mian asked.
"Ate too much, just helping digestion."
Zhou Ran's voice was lazy.
"Are you helping digestion by walking toward Snack Street?" Wouldn't that just make you feel even fuller?
The corners of Zhou Ran's lips curled up: "Mind your own business."
I don't care anyway.
Xia Mian muttered to herself.
Zhou Ran followed her like that until they stopped at the alley entrance of the homestay building.
"Go on up."
Xia Mian looked at him for a moment: "Aren't you here to help digestion?"
"I'm done," Zhou Ran said in a lazy tone, "remember to take your medicine."
His tone was so natural, as if he had just casually walked her here.
The area downstairs of the homestay was pitch black.
Xia Mian tapped her phone screen and stared blankly at the chat interface with Zhou Ran for a while.
"When is your mom coming back?"
As Xia Mian went upstairs, she suddenly heard a voice. Her hand shook in fright, and her mobile phone nearly fell.
"I don't know. She said she joined a tour group with some friends and won't be back for a while."
The sound of a key opening a door came from upstairs; the male voice was somewhat familiar.
"So you're in charge of the homestay during this time?"
"I'm not."
"Then what if a guest comes?"
"Don't take them in. Just say the Boss Lady isn't here."
Xia Mian looked up; the door upstairs was pushed open, and a dim yellow light spilled out.
Several boys were crowded upstairs.
"Where should I put the beer?"
"Just throw it here, we'll finish it soon."
The boy turned his head and locked eyes with Xia Mian.
Only then did Xia Mian see the boy's appearance clearly.
His facial features were about thirty percent similar to Aunt Pang's. His nose wasn't very prominent, his expression was listless, and especially those triangular eyes made him look somewhat gloomy.
"Back?" the boy asked.
Xia Mian was stunned and looked back.
"Don't look around, I'm asking you."
The men beside him looked at Xia Mian: "Li Yu, do you know her?"
He said "oh": "My mom's tenant."
"She's quite pretty."
The gazes of the several boys were direct, appraising Xia Mian back and forth without any concealment.
Xia Mian felt uncomfortable and walked past quickly toward her room.
Li Yu's gaze remained fixed on her until she disappeared into the doorway, then he slowly shifted it back.
"Why didn't you tell me you had such a pretty girl here before?"
Xia Mian entered her room, and as she was closing the door, she heard Li Yu's voice from outside.
"She's like a mute; I've never heard her speak."
By the time Xia Mian finished washing up, the room next door had already started drinking. The noise came through several rooms, sounding exceptionally loud.
A tenant from some room went over to knock on their door.
"Can you guys keep it down? What time is it?"
"Go to sleep."
"Who can sleep with you guys being this noisy?"
"How about we refund your money and you go find somewhere else?"
"Hey, what kind of attitude is that?"
Xia Mian took out her earphones and put them on, only then seeing the message Zhou Ran had sent her ten minutes ago.
Zhou Ran: 【Did you take the medicine?】
Xia Mian's gaze fell on the medicine box sitting on the table.
She opened the box, broke off a pill, swallowed it with water, and crawled into her quilt.
【Took it.】
She stared at her phone screen, her eyes half-open, feeling sleepy.
The sound from the room next door occasionally came through the earphones. Xia Mian burrowed deeper into her quilt and finally just covered her head with her pillow.
Zhou Ran: 【Do you have a thermometer? Take your temperature.】
Xia Mian lifted her eyelids and typed word by word: 【No.】
Zhou Ran: 【Aunt Pang keeps common items stocked. Go borrow one.】
Xia Mian: 【Aunt Pang isn't here; she went traveling.】
Zhou Ran: 【...】
Xia Mian huddled in her quilt, her eyelids growing heavier.
Perhaps because she had been stifled under the pillow for too long, she actually felt breathless. She sat up and pushed the window open to take a deep breath.
With that breath, she almost passed out.
She wasn't just sleepy; her head felt incredibly heavy.
Xia Mian sat on the bed, muttering: "Am I really this sleepy..."
She leaned her head against the balcony, and the air drifted in through the window, seeping into her nose.
Her phone buzzed twice, and Xia Mian picked it up to take a look.
Zhou Ran: 【Come downstairs.】
Xia Mian blinked her heavy eyelids: 【I'm so sleepy...】
Zhou Ran: 【Go back to sleep after.】
Zhou Ran: 【Take your temperature.】
Xia Mian stared blankly at her phone for a while before slowly crawling out of bed.
The moment she opened her room door, the noise became clearly audible.
That room door was wide open, and the doorway was piled with beer bottles, scattered carelessly on the floor.
"Damn it, I'm telling you, if there hadn't been so many people there at the time, I would have beaten him up no matter what..."
Xia Mian deliberately quickened her pace as she passed that room.
Li Yu looked up at her: "Where are you going?"
Several people followed his gaze and looked over.
"Yo, isn't this the little sister?" someone joked, "Come in and have a drink?"
A thick smell of alcohol hit her. Xia Mian frowned and walked away quickly.
Laughter came from inside: "You're no good, Li Yu, the little sister won't even pay you any mind."
"Get lost, drink your drink."
Xia Mian walked down the stairs quickly. She didn't know if it was because she was sick and sleepy, but her legs felt like they were stuck in cement; they were incredibly heavy.
She went downstairs too fast and couldn't lift her legs, stumbling and nearly falling down the steps.
In the darkness, someone was quick-witted enough to grab her arm, lifting her entire body up.
"What are you running for?" Zhou Ran's voice came from the darkness, "Is there a ghost chasing you?"
Xia Mian thought that was about right.
"Take my temperature," Xia Mian said in a muffled voice.
Zhou Ran took a thermometer out of his pocket, pulled it from the box, and shook it.
Xia Mian watched his movements: "Is it new?"
"Yeah, just bought it," Zhou Ran said, "there's a pharmacy nearby. If I had to go back to the shop to get one, I was afraid you'd be burned stupid."
"I won't be burned stupid. It's only a ten-minute walk; if you ran faster, you could even smoke a cigarette on the way."
Zhou Ran looked up at her and handed her the thermometer: "Still have the energy to be cheeky?"
Xia Mian took it and raised her arm, preparing to tuck it under.
"No," she paused, "what does a cigarette taste like?"
She had seen Zhou Ran smoke last time, just holding it in his hand, puffing away.
"Like a cigarette," Zhou Ran said.
...Better if he hadn't said anything.
Xia Mian tucked the thermometer in twice, feeling something was wrong, and muttered softly: "Why can't I feel it?"
Zhou Ran turned on his phone flashlight and leaned in to look: "Big sister, you tucked it outside your clothes."
"...Oh."
Xia Mian raised her arm to tuck it in again, but Zhou Ran grabbed her arm.
"Don't move."
Xia Mian's hand was held up in mid-air by him. He held the flashlight and shone it from her armpit to her forearm, staring at it. It was extremely awkward.
She was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and hadn't exposed her armpit, but she felt embarrassed and blushed.
Xia Mian pulled her hand back: "This isn't good, I think you have a weird habit."
"I think your brain is a bit weird," Zhou Ran retorted mercilessly, "You're having an allergic reaction; your body is covered in red rashes, can't you feel it yourself?"
Hearing this, Xia Mian followed his gaze and looked; large patches of red rashes covered her arms, to the point where the original color of her skin was barely visible.
But she really hadn't felt it.
"Should I take medicine?" Xia Mian asked.
Zhou Ran frowned deeply: "Take what? We're going to the hospital."
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