“Awake?” Jiang Wenyan interjected rather abruptly, his tone icy.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about the atmosphere between Lu Xingheng and his brother.
Jiang Wan nodded.
Lu Xingheng turned sideways and returned to his own seat.
Jiang Wenyan continued to feign aloofness. “Drink your medicine first.”
His stomach still burned. Unconsciously pressing the thick quilt against his abdomen, Jiang Wan frowned slightly, clearly in discomfort.
Jiang Wenyan withdrew the hand holding the medicine. “Does it still hurt that much?”
His tone softened considerably, no longer restrained.
Jiang Wan’s voice was soft and low, as if suppressing pain. “It’s fine, I just suddenly feel a bit nauseous.”
“You…” Jiang Wenyan couldn’t stay harsh. He lowered his head. “Don’t press so hard. Never mind… I’ll massage it for you.”
Jiang Wenyan reached under the blanket. Afraid of hurting Jiang Wan, he didn’t dare press too hard, only gently massaging through the school uniform.
Jiang Wenyan: “Feeling any better?”
Jiang Wan didn’t respond, his gaze distant and unfocused.
Jiang Wan rarely acted like this.
Jiang Wenyan stopped massaging and looked up at him. “What’s wrong? Still feeling unwell somewhere?”
“No.” Jiang Wan snapped back to attention, his voice slightly hoarse. “You’re not angry anymore?”
Jiang Wenyan felt awkward, then heartache—an overwhelming, indescribable heartache.
“Did I scare you at the infirmary?”
“I shouldn’t have forced you to get the shot.”
Jiang Wenyan continued massaging Jiang Wan’s stomach. “You nearly scared me to death.” How could he still be in the mood to be angry?
The door lock made a faint sound. Xu Yichen moved very, very quietly, mouthing to Lu Xingheng, “Is the class monitor asleep?”
Lu Xingheng: “Just woke up.”
Xu Yichen held a hot water bottle, clumsily filling it with hot water. His voice remained soft. “Liang Min told me that warming the stomach with a hot water bottle helps a lot.”
Scratching his head, Xu Yichen handed the bottle to Jiang Wan. “Is it too hot?”
“Hotter is fine. His stomach is cold as ice…” Jiang Wenyan quickly trailed off, then asked Jiang Wan, “Try it. Is it too hot?”
Jiang Wan smiled faintly. “You’ve started acting less like my brother.”
Xu Yichen, confused, asked, “What’s going on with you two?”
Jiang Wenyan turned his face away, leaving Jiang Wan with the back of his dark head. “I lost my temper and scared him.”
Xu Yichen had asked casually, not really paying attention. He rummaged through a plastic bag. “There are also heating pads here… or something?”
Jiang Wan hugged the hot water bottle. “Where did all this come from?”
The bag, filled with pink and green items, really didn’t seem like Xu Yichen’s aesthetic. After all, Xu Yichen only believed in light—even his school ID card had Ultraman printed on it.
“Mostly from girls in our class,” Xu Yichen said, even reading it aloud. “Renhe Uterine Warming Pads…”
Jiang Wan: “…Do you have some misunderstanding about me, or do you think I have a uterus?”
Xu Yichen couldn’t hold back anymore. Just as he was about to laugh, Jiang Wenyan covered his mouth. “My brother has a low threshold for laughter. If you laugh, he’ll definitely break down too.”
“What are you laughing at?”
Jiang Wan, like an emperor inspecting his domain, suddenly turned his head to look at Lu Xingheng.
Lu Xingheng hadn’t even noticed himself and denied it outright. “I’m not laughing.”
He stood up and placed two small jars on Jiang Wan’s desk.
One was Jiang Wan’s previous medicine jar; the other was much more delicate, filled with candy.
Jiang Wan: “Were you laughing at me for not having a uterus?”
Lu Xingheng replied objectively, “You don’t have one to begin with.”
“Do you have one?”
“…No.”
Jiang Wan circled back, “Then what are you laughing at? I don’t have it, and neither do you.”
Lu Xingheng: “Wrong.”
“Wrong about what?”
Lu Xingheng kept a straight face: “Wrong because I left your brain in the infirmary.”
“…”
Jiang Wan still couldn’t help but laugh.
It wasn’t all that funny to begin with, but coming from Lu Xingheng’s mouth, it was hilarious.
Not long after, Lu Xingheng also turned his head away and chuckled.
Jiang Wan reached out to touch the stomach medicine Jiang Wenyan had brewed earlier, but Lu Xingheng raised his hand to stop him. “Take the medicine half an hour after eating.”
“Oh.” Jiang Wan pointed at the jar on the table. “What’s that? For me?”
Lu Xingheng: “A jar of candy.”
Jiang Wan: “I have some.”
Lu Xingheng said gently, “Candy is candy, medicine is medicine.”
“Don’t mix them together.”
Jiang Wan’s voice was muffled, “I don’t.”
Lu Xingheng: “I didn’t say you did.”
He picked up Jiang Wan’s medicine jar from earlier, “I tightened it for you. Don’t take too much at once.”
“It’s so hot.” Xu Yichen turned on the small fan in front of his seat, “Let’s eat first, we still have classes this afternoon.”
Jiang Wan casually asked, “What are you eating?”
“Rice noodles.” Xu Yichen replied blankly, “Do you want some? It’s not spicy.”
As he spoke, Xu Yichen took out a disposable paper cup and scooped two chopstickfuls for Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wenyan: “Add some broth for him. He eats slowly, otherwise it’ll get cold quickly.”
When Xu Yichen handed it over, he paused again, “Is your stomach still hurting? If it is, don’t eat too much. Just have a taste.”
Jiang Wan tapped the table, pretending to be serious, “What’s going on now? Do I have no say in the dormitory?”
“Who would dare?” Xu Yichen exclaimed, “Damn, little brother! You’re stealing my food again!”
Lu Xingheng pushed the porridge container forward, “I added a little sugar.”
Jiang Wan: “How much is it?”
Lu Xingheng: “A return gift.”
A return gift for the housewarming present.
This was also the first return gift Jiang Wan had received in his nineteen years of life.
Jiang Wan drank the porridge first. It didn’t seem like something from the school cafeteria—it was a bit too delicious. He glanced over at Xu Yichen, “Lu Xingxing, aren’t you hot?”
They hadn’t turned on the fan on their side.
“Not hot.”
Lu Xingheng was also drinking porridge. He stirred it for a while. After some time, when Jiang Wan had finished about half the bowl, he finally spoke up: “Everything Jiang Wenyan said was out of anger. Otherwise, the nurse wouldn’t have arrived so quickly.”
Lu Xingheng’s gentle voice fell beside Jiang Wan’s ear, like a soft coaxing.
Jiang Wan whispered, “I know.”
Knowing was one thing, but Jiang Wan still felt sad.
Lu Xingheng: “I know too.”
Jiang Wan: “Then why did you say it?”
“Not sure.” Lu Xingheng showed a faint smile, “I just felt like saying it.”
After lunch, Jiang Wan’s stomach only had a dull ache left. During this time, Jiang Wenyan was still worried and, after Jiang Wan fell asleep, carefully massaged his stomach.
By the time Jiang Wan woke up, his stomach felt warm and comfortable.
Jiang Wan sat up and gathered his thoughts for a moment, “Little brother, how much was the medicine? I’ll transfer the money to you.”
Jiang Wenyan: “No need.”
Jiang Wan held his stomach, “Be good. Mom will scold you if she finds out.”
“Stop being annoying. I said no, so no.”
Jiang Wan: “Where did you get so much money?”
Jiang Wenyan softened his voice, “Don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t want you to suffer so much.”
Jiang Wan was only a year older than him.
Jiang Wan was just nineteen, so thin that his body was all bones.
“Everyone’s acting strange today.” Jiang Wan put the candy jar into his pocket and didn’t insist further. “Just let me know when you need money.”
Jiang Wenyan: “Brother, are you going home this weekend?”
“No,” Jiang Wan replied. “You can go back by yourself, or I’ll take you.”
Lu Xingheng didn’t have the habit of taking naps. He had just taken off his headphones when he overheard this conversation.
Jiang Wenyan said that he and Jiang Wan were not related by blood… Jiang Wan must have been adopted.
So the first time he met Jiang Wan was probably at the orphanage. Jiang Wan as a child was as pretty as a little girl.
He really had mistaken him, for nearly twenty years.
His phone screen lit up.
Xu Yichen was still asleep, so Lu Xingheng went to the balcony to answer the call.
“Xingheng.” Wen Qian was watching TV while making the call. Lu Xingheng could even hear the female lead sobbing in the background.
Lu Xingheng lowered his voice. “Mom, you should watch fewer Qiong Yao dramas.”
Wen Qian ignored him. “Why did you ask Auntie to bring porridge over at noon today?”
Lu Xingheng: “My roommate had a stomachache.”
Wen Qian turned down the TV volume, sounding somewhat incredulous. “You brought it for your roommate?”
“Yeah.”
Wen Qian: “Male or female?”
Lu Xingheng: “I’m hanging up.”
“Hey—” Wen Qian was actually a bit worried. “Are you adjusting well to the new school?”
Lu Xingheng’s voice remained flat. “Aside from failing exams, everything else is fine.”
Wen Qian: “I want to visit.”
Lu Xingheng said expressionlessly, “No, you don’t.”
Wen Qian: “My son failing exams is a big deal. I want to visit.”
“…”
Lu Xingheng: “By the way, do you remember that kid from the orphanage with the cold constitution?”
Wen Qian thought for a moment. “Yes, I remember.”
“The one we wanted to take home as your child bride—”
Lu Xingheng: “I ran into him at school.”
“Lu Xingxing.” Jiang Wan suddenly called out to him.
Wen Qian: “…”
Lu Xingheng turned around. “What’s up?”
Wen Qian instantly held her breath.
Jiang Wan’s clear, gentle voice came through the phone. “I can’t open this candy jar.”