Chapter Thirty-Nine: Do Not Leave Me

The situation was incredibly awkward and ambiguous. I quickly averted my gaze, stammering an explanation, "No, please don't misunderstand. I didn't see anything..."

My words, however, were like a sign saying "there is no silver buried here"—only serving to draw more attention to the matter. Ji Leqing looked both shy and flustered.

"All right, all right! Get off me!"

"Oh, oh, right."

But after supporting my weight for so long, my arms had grown weak, and I collapsed, pinning her underneath me.

Her face, filled with panic and bashfulness, suddenly loomed large before me. I felt the soft, moist touch of her lips against mine, and my chest pressed against the soft curves of hers. For a moment, my mind went completely blank.

"Leqing, I brought back Jiang Jian's medical report and forgot to give it to you..."

The door hadn't been closed properly, and Lin Xingfan suddenly walked in with the report. Both Ji Leqing and I were startled.

"Oh, damn! Sorry to interrupt. I'm leaving right now. You two continue—just pretend I was never here!"

With that, Lin Xingfan turned on his heel and dashed out, not forgetting to pull the door shut behind him.

I scrambled to get up, apologizing profusely, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I—I really didn't mean to, Leqing..."

Ji Leqing stood up from the bed as well, her naturally fair cheeks now a deep shade of pink. Her eyes were glazed with moisture, and she bit her lower lip.

Glancing down, I saw her pajamas were disheveled. Two buttons on the collar had come undone at some point, leaving it hanging open to reveal a glimpse of enticing scenery. Even through the thin silk fabric, her curves were laid bare.

I am a man of flesh and blood, after all. Looking at such a beautiful sight, my throat went dry, and a burning heat began to spread from my lower abdomen.

I subconsciously looked down and cursed silently to myself.

"I'll head out first. You, um, get some rest."

I fled her room in a panic, my ears ringing with the sound of my own thumping heart and ragged, heavy breathing.

Back in my own room, I ran to the water dispenser and gulped down a large glass of cold water, trying to suppress the heat. But every time I closed my eyes, I couldn't help but recall the scene from earlier.

"Tsk, it's not like I'm a virgin—why can't I control myself?"

To cool down, I stood under the shower and took a cold bath. As the icy droplets hit my skin, I gradually regained my senses. I dried my hair, lay down in bed, and forced myself to stop thinking about it until I finally drifted into a hazy sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, my eyes felt crusted over, and my body ached as if I had been drugged and then given a brutal beating. I couldn't even lift my arms.

My head was spinning, and I alternated between feeling cold and hot. I managed to sit up, but as I tried to get out of bed, the room tilted violently, and I collapsed back onto the mattress.

"Achoo!"

The result was obvious: I had caught a cold from the cold shower last night.

I really am pathetic. To catch a cold from something like that—it seems my immune system has hit rock bottom.

I remembered that the last time Ji Leqing took out the medical kit to treat my wounds, there were some common medicines inside.

I stumbled into the bathroom, washed up, changed my clothes, and went to the living room. Ji Leqing was in the kitchen making breakfast.

She turned to look at me, her expression as calm as if nothing had happened the night before. "Didn't sleep well?"

"I don't know if you could call it that. Where is the medicine kit? I need to take some cold medicine."

Ji Leqing turned off the stove, wiped her hands, and walked over to me. She reached out and placed the back of her hand against my forehead.

The moment her cool skin touched me, the heat on my face eased. Dazed and disoriented, I found myself craving that coolness and leaned into her hand.

Ji Leqing pulled her hand back. "How did you get such a high fever? Sit down, let me take your temperature."

She retrieved the medical kit and pointed the thermometer at my forehead.

"Thirty-nine degrees. Eat something, then take some Ibuprofen. We'll see if the fever breaks. If not, we'll have to go to the hospital for an injection."

"Okay, sorry to trouble you."

"If you know it's a trouble, then take better care of yourself so you don't keep running into issues."

Ji Leqing brought a bowl of congee with century egg and lean meat to me. "It's a bit hot, be careful."

My vision was blurred, and I almost couldn't find the spoon. Ji Leqing sighed helplessly, took the bowl from me, blew on a spoonful, and brought it to my lips.

Though my mind was a mess, I was struck by a memory very similar to this. If I remembered correctly, the last time Ji Leqing had taken care of me like this was before we were officially together.

The way we met in college was as absurd as a novel. There was a school gala, and I had volunteered to help set up the stage to earn some extra cash. Ji Leqing was rehearsing, and when an accident caused the scaffolding to collapse, I was the closest to her. In a moment of desperation, I shielded her and injured both my hands.

She felt guilty and kept visiting me in the hospital. Since my hands were bandaged and I couldn't eat, she had patiently fed me just like this.

One thing led to another, and our relationship grew closer and more ambiguous. At the time, I wasn't even sure what I felt for her. Starting things in such a muddled, half-reluctant way had perhaps foreshadowed that it would all end in nothing.

Perhaps it was the fever clouding my judgment, but the past and the present kept blurring together. I couldn't distinguish between them, and I suddenly wanted to reach out and hold her hand, to say something to her.

"Leqing, what I feel for you..."

"Go sit on the sofa for a while. Take your medicine in fifteen minutes."

Ji Leqing calmly moved out of reach and stood up to take the bowl away.

"Okay."

After taking the medicine, I barely had the strength to move. I felt like a burning furnace. I simply lay down on the sofa and curled into a ball.

Seeing me like this, Ji Leqing didn't say anything, but a moment later, a thin silk quilt was draped over me.

"Sleep if you're tired. I'll keep watch."

As the medicine kicked in, I yawned several times and eventually drifted into a deep sleep.

I don't know how many hours passed, but when I woke up, I was covered in a layer of sweat, though my head felt much clearer.

I had been sleeping on my side. Ji Leqing was curled up in my arms, half-leaning against me. Hearing her steady breathing, she must have fallen asleep.

I carefully got up from the sofa, moved her legs so she was lying down properly, and tucked the quilt around her.

She didn't seem to be sleeping peacefully. Her brows were tightly furrowed, and her eyelids were twitching.

Just as I was about to leave, I heard her whisper in her sleep.

"Where... exactly do I fall short..."

I crouched down and leaned in close to her, watching as tears slid from the corners of her eyes, dampening her long, thick lashes.

I couldn't help but wonder what she was dreaming about to make her so sad. Seeing her misery, I reached out and gently stroked her hair.

Just as I was about to stand up, my legs numb from crouching, she suddenly grabbed the sleeve of my shirt.

"Don't... don't leave me..."