Because she had come up with a great idea to make money, Su He fell into a peaceful sleep. Lately, she rarely dreamed and usually slept soundly until dawn.
However, before bed tonight, she might have been a bit too excited. After falling into a groggy stupor, she woke up inexplicably—twice in a row. Su He consciously told herself, “I’m just dreaming, go back to sleep, I have work tomorrow.”
When she woke up in a daze yet again, Su He opened her eyes in annoyance. What on earth is going on today? She rolled over, trying to find a comfortable position to drift back off.
At that moment, a suppressed groan drifted in from outside. At first, Su He thought she had misheard or wasn’t fully awake yet. But then came another low, muffled cry. Su He’s eyes snapped open, and she sat up instantly.
She pulled open her door. The living room lights were on, and she shielded her eyes from the sudden glare with her hand. There, sitting on the kitchen floor, was Shen Juanzhou, clutching his stomach and doubled over in pain.
Su He was startled and rushed over. “Shen Juanzhou, what’s wrong?” She reached out tentatively to grab his arm.
Shen Juanzhou slowly lifted his head. Large beads of sweat were rolling down his face, his skin was as pale as paper, and he had bitten his lip until it bled. For a split second, Su He panicked. Fortunately, the warmth of his skin against her hand snapped her back to reality.
She quietly told herself to stay calm. Taking a deep breath, she said—partly to him and partly to herself—”Don’t panic, don’t panic. I’m going to call for help and take you to the hospital.”
Shen Juanzhou’s eyes, unfocused from the pain, finally rested on Su He’s retreating back.
Su He threw on a jacket and stuffed her phone and wallet into her bag. Just as she was about to help him up, she realized she didn’t have much money on her, so she dashed into Shen Juanzhou’s room to grab his phone as well.
With great effort, she draped Shen Juanzhou’s arm over her shoulders. Gritting her teeth, she managed to hoist him up, murmuring words of comfort: “Shen Juanzhou, hang in there! Just hold on, I’m getting you to the hospital!”
In the hospital, the surgical light flickered on. Su He stared at the glowing sign in a trance. She could hardly remember how they had even made it there. She rubbed her aching shoulders; Shen Juanzhou was heavy, and she had nearly collapsed under his weight.
Cabs had been impossible to find. In her desperation, she had stood in the middle of the road to force one to stop. Then, she had shouted for doctors at the top of her lungs until Shen Juanzhou was finally placed on a stretcher.
“Phew…”
The doctor said it was just a minor surgery. Luckily, Shen Juanzhou had managed to tell her his lock screen password while they were in the car. Her thousand yuan would have been a mere drop in the bucket at the hospital, but fortunately, there was enough money in Shen Juanzhou’s WeChat account to cover the costs. Thankfully, they had arrived just in time.
By the time Shen Juanzhou was wheeled out of the operating room, it was already past three in the morning. Su He stayed by his side, and around four, he finally woke up.
“I’ve troubled you…” he whispered. “Not only did you… bring me here… but you stayed up all night…”
“Thank you.”
Su He replied, “We’re roommates, it’s only right that we look out for each other. Besides, if I ever get sick, I might have to trouble you to take me to the hospital too. So, don’t mention it. Just focus on resting.”
The corner of Shen Juanzhou’s mouth twitched into a faint smile. “Then you should… go back soon. You can still get two or three hours of sleep.”
Su He checked the time. “Yeah. You rest, I’ll go back to pack some things and bring them to you tonight. Just focus on recovering for now.”
“Sorry for the trouble.”
Su He left the room and double-checked with the doctor. Once she was certain there were no issues, she finally emerged from the hospital, exhausted. She felt like she was really getting older—staying up for one night made her head throb and the world spin.
Su He stumbled home and set five alarms in a row before heading to bed. This time, there was no tossing and turning or dazed waking; she fell into a deep sleep the moment her eyes closed.
After a hectic day, Su He—who had only slept two hours in the morning—felt like she was walking through a dream. She functioned like a puppet, smiling when she was supposed to smile and working when she was supposed to work. After clocking out, she hurried home to grab some supplies and rushed back to the hospital.
By the time she arrived, visiting hours had already passed. Su He desperately played the “pity card,” claiming that she and her “brother” only had each other in this world, and since he was lying in his hospital bed all alone, he surely needed to see her face just once.
In the end, the nurse auntie let Su He in, though Su He suspected it was mostly just to get her to stop talking.
Once upstairs, she knocked on the door and only entered after hearing Shen Juanzhou’s voice.
“Hi~ Feeling any better today?” Su He greeted him with a smile.
He looked much better; at least some color had returned to his face. Su He placed his things on the bedside cabinet and walked to the foot of the bed. “Do you need me to crank the head of the bed up for you?”
Shen Juanzhou nodded. He had been lying flat on his back all day, and his lower back was already starting to feel stiff and uncomfortable.
As Su He adjusted the bed, she sat down on a nearby chair and smiled. “I brought your clothes.”
Shen Juanzhou glanced at the bag. “Thank you.”
Once the necessary pleasantries were out of the way, an awkward silence settled between the two of them, who weren’t exactly close to begin with. Su He let her mind wander, searching for a topic. “By the way, do you need to tell your fans? Otherwise, they’ll think you’ve quit streaming, and you might lose followers.”
“I told them just now,” Shen Juanzhou replied.
“Oh.”
“The doctor said your condition was caused by an unhealthy diet. You definitely can’t eat instant noodles anymore.”
“Yeah. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Shen Juanzhou had become unexpectedly easy to talk to, which actually left Su He at a loss for words. She glanced at the empty table, stood up, and grabbed the thermos. “Let me go get you some hot water. I brought your cup, too.”
Shen Juanzhou initially wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but he was indeed thirsty. Around noon, the doctor had come by and told him he could start drinking small amounts of water. He didn’t have much strength, and the thermos was empty.
Watching Su He leave with the kettle, he suddenly understood why his parents always insisted he find someone to live with. He used to get stomach aches often, and he had assumed this was just the same—something he could push through if he just endured it. He had taken medicine, but the pain had become uncontrollable. He had ended his stream early, thinking he could sleep it off, and had tried to come out to boil some water to soothe the pain, but he had run out of strength.
Fortunately, Su He had found him. He still remembered the sight of her standing in the middle of the road, hailing a taxi for him. He was truly grateful to her this time.
Su He returned with the hot water and filled his cup. “Let it sit for a bit. Drink it once it’s lukewarm.”
“Okay.”
The dim, amber light hit Shen Juanzhou’s face, his long, curled eyelashes casting a soft shadow beneath his eyes. Perhaps because of his illness, the lines of his brow and the corners of his eyes seemed softer. Su He couldn’t help but steal a few extra glances at his slightly upturned lips.
This seemed to be the first time she had seen him smile.
Sigh, even while sick, he’s still so good-looking.
After a few more admiring glances, Su He stood up. “I’m heading out. Get some rest. I’ll come pick you up when you’re discharged.”
Seeing that Shen Juanzhou was doing well, Su He left with a peace of mind. On her way out, she made sure to say a polite goodbye to the nurse at the door—everyone has a hard job, after all.
For the next two days, Su He visited Shen Juanzhou right after work. On the fourth day, the hospital notified him that he could be discharged.
Shen Juanzhou didn’t trouble Su He. It was only a minor surgery, after all. He packed his things and headed home on his own.
When Su He returned from work and saw that he was back, she was pleasantly surprised. “Eh? You’re back? Why did you come back by yourself? We agreed I’d pick you up!”
“How are you feeling? Have you eaten?”
Shen Juanzhou put down his phone and looked at her with a smile, waiting for her to finish before replying. “I can manage on my own. I had some porridge. Have you eaten?”
Su He set her bag down and sat on the other sofa. “The restaurant provides meals, so I already ate.” After saying this, she smiled happily. “We got paid today!”
Shen Juanzhou watched her, smiling.
“But there’s no real surprise there; it’s still the same small amount. The company always pays so late—not until the 25th. It’s basically like they’re withholding a month’s wages. You can really tell if a company is good or bad just by when they give out paychecks. Clearly, this company isn’t worth dedicating my life to.”
Perhaps because Shen Juanzhou hadn’t been so cold lately, Su He gradually began to let her guard down, chatting and rambling away. When she finally finished and realized she had just spouted a bunch of nonsense, she rubbed her head awkwardly.
“Go to sleep early, I’m going back to my room now!”