On the third day of the trip, the group discussed their itinerary for the day and finally settled on visiting the water park.
They had too much fun at the water park, and as a result, Jiang Chu inevitably caught a cold upon their return. He sneezed one after another, forced himself to drink some cold medicine, and sat listlessly in a corner during the evening barbecue event.
Du Jichen had been keeping an eye on Jiang Chu’s movements all along. Seeing him sitting blankly on a small camp stool with the lawn lights casting a soft glow over him, and a few mosquito bites marking his slender, fair calves, Jiang Chu didn’t even make a move to swat them.
Du Jichen’s brows furrowed tighter involuntarily, but he was busy with the barbecue at the charcoal stove in front of him and had no time to spare. He could only say to Yang Qianqian, who was seasoning the skewers beside him, “Jiang Chu doesn’t seem right.”
Yang Qianqian finished seasoning the mutton skewers in her hand before looking up. “Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Not quite sure,” Du Jichen frowned. “Would you mind going over to ask?”
“Sure, I’ll go,” Yang Qianqian said immediately, putting down the mutton skewers and clapping her hands.
Du Jichen flipped the skewers over and cast his gaze back toward Jiang Chu. He watched as Yang Qianqian hopped over to Jiang Chu, presumably to ask what was wrong. Jiang Chu waved his hand. The distance was too far for him to hear what Jiang Chu said. After asking a couple more questions, Yang Qianqian came back.
“How is he?” Du Jichen asked.
“Xiao Chu said he’s fine,” Yang Qianqian said. “He said he was worn out from playing all afternoon and didn’t have much energy tonight, and that he’ll be better by himself in a little while.”
“Is that so?” Du Jichen murmured. Through the hazy smoke of the barbecue, he looked over in that direction again. Jiang Chu was still sitting alone in that corner, lowering his gaze to stare at the flowers on the lawn with a dazed, absent-minded expression.
Jiang Chu’s zoned-out, distracted state didn’t look like someone who was just fine. Still uneasy, Du Jichen put down his skewers and casually pulled someone over to help. “Hey friend, I’ve got something to attend to. Could you help me grill for a bit? Thanks.”
“No problem! Go ahead and take care of your business.”
Du Jichen rinsed his hands with clean water and, before he even had time to dry them, walked over toward Jiang Chu.
Jiang Chu was still lost in his own thoughts and didn’t notice anyone walking toward him. It wasn’t until the bright light in front of him was suddenly blocked by a shadow that he reacted, slowly raising his head to see the person who had just been grilling across from him now standing right before him.
The tall figure blocked most of the outdoor light, casting a halo around Du Jichen in the pale glow, making him look almost like a descending deity.
Because the distance had been a bit too far earlier, Du Jichen couldn’t clearly see Jiang Chu’s expression. Only upon walking closer could he sense that even Jiang Chu’s pheromone scent carried a depressed quality, entirely unlike its usual clear and crisp nature.
Jiang Chu’s fair cheeks were flushed with an abnormal blush, and his innocent, pure gaze slowly fell upon Du Jichen like a clean, noble cat.
Jiang Chu was somewhat surprised and wanted to ask Du Jichen what was wrong, but before he could even open his mouth, a cool hand still carrying water droplets cupped his face.
Jiang Chu’s eyes widened abruptly, but he didn’t feel violated at all. Instead, the coolness of the palm made him narrow his eyes in comfort, making him instinctively want to lean in and rub against it.
The warm-sun scent that belonged exclusively to Du Jichen swept over Jiang Chu from the palm of his hand, instantly enveloping him and blending with the faint, cool breeze in the air, lingering and intertwining.
The next second, that hand slid upward to stroke Jiang Chu’s smooth forehead, followed by the owner of the hand clicking his tongue. “You call this fine?”
Jiang Chu looked dazedly at Du Jichen and said, “What’s wrong?”
“Jiang Chu, you have a fever.” Du Jichen bent down and stared intently at Jiang Chu. “Your face is burning; it’s abnormally hot.”
“I took cold medicine,” Jiang Chu said, feeling a bit unaccustomed to Du Jichen’s intense gaze, which felt just like a naughty child making a mistake and being lectured by an adult, but he had already taken his medicine and hadn’t done anything wrong. “I’ll be better in a little while.”
“Bullshit,” Du Jichen said, uttering an uncivilized word in front of Jiang Chu for the very first time. His hand was still resting on Jiang Chu’s forehead, and the scorching temperature transmitted through his palm made Du Jichen seriously doubt the likelihood that Jiang Chu had actually taken any medicine. “Let’s go, we’re taking medicine again.”
Upon hearing the word “medicine,” Jiang Chu’s brows knitted together involuntarily, and his pretty eyes mixed with a hint of resistance. He muttered, “It’s just a simple cold; it’ll get better without medicine.”
“Medicine makes it better faster.” There was an unquestionable tone in Du Jichen’s voice. He grabbed Jiang Chu’s wrist, pulled him up from the camp stool, glanced down at his calves, and said, “Besides, with so many mosquitoes here, do you want to stay behind and feed them?”
Du Jichen brought Jiang Chu back to his room and had him sit down on the sofa.
Before the trip, he had packed a small medical kit containing basic cold medicine and a thermometer. He flicked the mercury down below 35 degrees and handed it to Jiang Chu, instructing him to keep it under his tongue. “Hold it obediently, don’t move.”
Jiang Chu, who dyed his hair pink and wore two ear studs, looking very much like a delinquent youth, was docilely subdued by the back of his neck under Du Jichen’s grip, obediently doing whatever he was told.
Du Jichen boiled a pot of water using an electric kettle, sorted out the correct dosage of capsules and pills, and then opened the door and walked out.
Left with nothing to do, Jiang Chu hugged his knees and stared blankly at the blooming eustomas on the coffee table.
By the time Du Jichen returned, the water had just finished boiling. He placed the bottled water and floral water he had brought up from downstairs onto the coffee table, and first took the thermometer out of Jiang Chu’s mouth. “Open your mouth.”
Jiang Chu obediently opened his mouth. Du Jichen checked the mercury level, which was 37.9 degrees. Fortunately, it wasn’t too serious.
Du Jichen let out a breath of relief, put the thermometer aside, reached for the boiled water, poured half a cup of hot water, and mixed in some bottled water before handing it to Jiang Chu.
The temperature was just right, neither too hot nor too cold.
Jiang Chu whispered a thank you, took it, and took a small sip. Du Jichen handed the medicine to Jiang Chu. “Eat it.”
Jiang Chu took it hesitatingly, raised his gaze to look at Du Jichen, hoping to find some room for negotiation, but was met with Du Jichen’s ruthless rejection signal: “You must eat it.”
With a sense of resignation, Jiang Chu lowered his gaze, poured all the pills into his palm, hardened his heart, and dumped them all into his mouth. Then, taking a big gulp of water with a single gulp, he swallowed them all in less than a second.
A look of approval fell upon Jiang Chu from Du Jichen, like praise for a well-behaved child.
Du Jichen half-crouched down on one knee, slid his hand past Jiang Chu’s calf, and rested his fair foot upon his own knee.
“What are you doing?” Jiang Chu was even less accustomed to this posture and tried to pull his foot back, only to have Du Jichen grip it tighter.
Being so close, Du Jichen’s pheromones washed over him completely unmasked, lingering around Jiang Chu’s nose and leaving him with nowhere to escape. The scorching scent caused the temperature of Jiang Chu’s cheeks to soar, making him flush even redder than he had from the fever.
“Don’t move,” Du Jichen said, keeping his head down as he steadied Jiang Chu’s ankle with one hand. “If we don’t treat the bug bites on your legs, they’re going to itch terribly tonight.”
Du Jichen was hardly immune to the trouble of pheromone scents either; he seemed exceptionally sensitive to Jiang Chu’s pheromones, always able to accurately capture his scent. This pheromone drove him to the verge of losing control, an Alpha’s self-discipline crumbling completely in front of Jiang Chu, yet he could only force himself to hold on.
Du Jichen picked up the floral water and sprayed it onto the bites on Jiang Chu’s legs. The fragrance of the floral water instantly diffused, lingering between the tips of their noses.
The scent of the floral water was indeed overpowering. With just a single spray, the two of them could no longer smell each other’s pheromones at all, and their surroundings were filled entirely with the cool freshness of mint.
The greenish floral water was sprayed onto Jiang Chu’s fair legs and slowly massaged in by Du Jichen’s fingertips until it covered all the red swelling, after which Du Jichen finally withdrew his hand and let go of Jiang Chu’s calf.
Truth be told, Jiang Chu was thoroughly satisfied with Du Jichen’s technique, and even felt a lingering reluctance when it ended. However, he quickly pulled himself out of the emotional fluctuation and pulled Du Jichen up. “Thank you.”
Du Jichen stood up, pondered to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, and then smoothed out his brow. “You’re welcome.”
From this angle, it was easy for Du Jichen to take in a full view of the seated Jiang Chu. Jiang Chu’s sitting posture was also exceptionally reserved and polite, occupying only a third of the massive sofa, while his clean white T-shirt gently covered just below his collarbone, revealing a small patch of fair chest.
That patch of fair chest seemed to be covered by half a maple leaf, with the remaining half hidden beneath the collar, making it unclear.
This was the second time Du Jichen had noticed something unusual on Jiang Chu, and he grew a bit curious. “Is this a tattoo?”
“Huh?” Jiang Chu gave him a puzzled look, followed his finger to his own chest, and upon realizing that the sticker on his chest had been spotted by Du Jichen, his ears turned noticeably red.
Jiang Chu raised a hand to cover the maple leaf, pulled his collar up a bit higher, and said, “It’s a sticker, not a tattoo.”
Clearly, Jiang Chu didn’t want to expand on the topic any further, and Du Jichen sensibly stopped asking, only making a mental note to himself:
Such a cute hobby.
Since Jiang Chu was sick, Du Jichen wouldn’t force him to go back down to join the barbecue activities. Besides, a barbecue was smoky and unsuitable for someone who was unwell anyway.
He told Jiang Chu to get a good rest in the room, and before long, brought up a bowl of millet porridge for Jiang Chu to drink so he wouldn’t go hungry.
Watching Jiang Chu finish the porridge with his own eyes finally set Du Jichen’s mind at ease. He gently and softly patted Jiang Chu’s head and comforted him in a low voice, “Get a good night’s sleep, and you’ll be all better tomorrow.”