Troublesome – Chapter 42

Fever Reduction

The fever-reducing patch is here.

Jin Shuiluan chewed her gum and listened to Lu Zhenqiu curse someone out, chiming in with a straight face.

Lu Zhenqiu looked at her and asked worriedly, “So how is your friend doing now?”

Jin Shuiluan said, “She’s doing fine now.”

Lu Zhenqiu breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Really, it’s all fine once you move on.”

Jin Shuiluan gave her a deep look and nodded. “It’s all fine once you move on.”

But she didn’t dare speak of the few spider silk and horse tracks¹ she had found. It wasn’t that she was afraid Lu Zhenqiu hadn’t moved on, but that she was afraid Lu Zhenqiu wouldn’t be able to accept it, and would then bottle everything up inside again. When a person’s emotions have no stable outlet for release, they can get sick.

Jin Shuiluan turned her head to look at Lu Zhenqiu. In the lamplight, her side profile was gentle and very serene. She looked soft, but was actually very decisive; once she made up her mind, she would never look back. For the first few days after she moved in, Jin Shuiluan had constantly dragged Lu Zhenqiu around to run errands, precisely to prevent her from having any idle time. Right after a breakup, being idle makes it easy to overthink, easy to get lost in the past, and easy to—get back together.

In truth, she had been overthinking it. Lu Zhenqiu was not the type of person to easily turn back.

Jin Shuiluan relaxed, chuckling lightly as she watched the leaves get swept up outside the glass window. Beside her, Lu Zhenqiu asked, “Teacher Jin, shouldn’t we be heading back?”

“About time.” Jin Shuiluan put away her gum and followed Lu Zhenqiu out the door. The moment she stepped outside, a cold wind slapped her in the face. The chilly draft snaked through the gaps in her clothes, seeming to pierce through her pores and seep into her body. Jin Shuiluan sneezed twice, wrapping her clothes tighter as she walked forward. Lu Zhenqiu wasn’t wearing a jacket either, but she had on a hoodie, which was much thicker than Jin Shuiluan’s clothes. She turned her head. “Teacher Jin, are you very cold?”

Jin Shuiluan said, “Not cold…”

Before she could finish, she let out another sneeze. Hearing this, Lu Zhenqiu felt a little bad; it was because of her that Jin Shuiluan had come out in the first place. She hesitated, her hand hovering indecisively a few times before she finally said, “Teacher Jin, if you’re cold, you can stick your hands in my pocket.”

As she spoke, she revealed the pocket of her hoodie. It was the large kind that wrapped around the front of her stomach. Jin Shuiluan turned her head to look, then tentatively reached her hand inside. It was lined with a lot of fine fleece. The moment her hand went in, it warmed up. The fleece scraped against her palm, but it felt more like it was scraping against her heart. Jin Shuiluan’s chest felt ticklish, and her throat felt ticklish too. Her body quickly grew hot. She coughed twice, pulled her hand back, and said, “We’re almost there.”

Without looking at Lu Zhenqiu, she walked straight ahead, and Lu Zhenqiu quickly followed.

When they went back inside, Ji Zibo had already paid the bill. Seeing the two of them return, he teased, “You were willing to come back?”

The others also smiled and greeted them, asking what they had gone out to buy. Jin Shuiluan handed over an unopened pack of gum, which everyone shared. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, it was time for idle chatter. Lu Zhenqiu sat down next to Bai Mao and whispered to her. Bai Mao glanced at Jin Shuiluan from time to time before nodding. “Sure.”

Lu Zhenqiu smiled. “Thank you, Teacher Bai.”

Just as she was about to leave, she asked again, “Teacher Bai, are you free next Tuesday?”

Bai Mao: “What’s up?”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “It’s my birthday next Tuesday. I’d like to treat Teacher Bai to a meal.”

Bai Mao frowned hesitantly, subconsciously asking, “Will there be a lot of people?”

Lu Zhenqiu shook her head. “Not many. Just you, Teacher Jin, Teacher Ji, and two of my friends. One of them, Teacher Bai, you might have heard of.”

Bai Mao said, “I’ve heard of her? A colleague?”

Lu Zhenqiu smiled. “Her name is Hua Luo.”

Hua Luo had been in a bad mood recently, and Bai Mao and Jin Shuiluan were both authors she liked. If Hua Luo saw Bai Mao, she would probably be a little happier. Besides, Hua Luo had helped her with buying the tickets, so she ought to treat her to a meal anyway.

“Hua Luo?” Bai Mao said, “I see. No one else, right?”

Lu Zhenqiu shook her head. “Nope.”

Bai Mao thought for a moment. “Alright. Send me the location when the time comes.”

Lu Zhenqiu agreed and was then dragged away by the others to chat. Bai Mao hopped over two seats to sit next to Jin Shuiluan, interrupting her conversation with Ji Zibo. “One piece of good news, and one piece of bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

So mysterious. Jin Shuiluan tilted her head to look at her. “The good news.”

“Let’s hear the bad news first, then,” Bai Mao said, ignoring her. “Lu Zhenqiu just gave me money.”

Jin Shuiluan sat up straight. “Why did she give you money?”

Bai Mao turned her head. “What’s with that look!”

She clutched her chest as she spoke.

Jin Shuiluan watched her performance coldly. Finding it dull, Bai Mao sat up straight and said, “She gave me money to buy two tickets.”

“Didn’t I…”

“Yeah,” Bai Mao nodded. “You said you’d be responsible for the tickets, but she transferred money to me. This means she doesn’t want to owe you too much, which is why I said this is bad news.”

Jin Shuiluan’s expression darkened slightly.

Bai Mao patted her shoulder. “But there’s still good news.”

Jin Shuiluan turned her head, and Bai Mao said, “She bought two tickets.”

No matter what, this could be considered pulling Jin Shuiluan into her circle, even if not completely. Bai Mao patted her shoulder again and uttered that classic line: “The revolution has not yet succeeded; comrades must still strive².”

Jin Shuiluan removed her hand and sat on the chair, sullenly taking a sip of tea.

By the time the dinner ended, it was almost ten o’clock at night. Some people suggested going to a KTV, but Jin Shuiluan had been feeling a bit of a headache ever since coming back from the supermarket, possibly from the cold wind. She wasn’t interested, and neither was Lu Zhenqiu, so they said they would leave together.

They lived together, a fact only Ji Zibo from the crew knew. Everyone else just assumed they lived nearby and thus walked home together every day, so no one found it strange.

After Jin Shuiluan and Lu Zhenqiu got in the car, she pressed a hand to her aching head and asked, “Can you drive?”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded. “I can. Teacher Jin, are you not feeling well somewhere?”

Her face looked a little pale. Jin Shuiluan said, “I might have been chilled by the wind. I have a bit of a headache. You drive back, I’ll sit in the passenger seat.”

Lu Zhenqiu took the car keys. It had been a long time since she’d last driven; she hadn’t had a chance to touch a car since getting her license. As a result, she drove very slowly the whole way, at a speed of thirty or forty kilometers per hour, and she kept looking seriously to both sides. She maintained this serious and solemn expression even while waiting at red lights. Jin Shuiluan glanced over inadvertently and smiled. “There’s no one on the road.”

It was cold, and looked like it was about to rain. There were few cars on the road, let alone people. Lu Zhenqiu said, “I know.”

Her voice was tense.

Jin Shuiluan reached out her hand, hesitating for two seconds before grabbing her arm. Lu Zhenqiu flinched and turned her head. Jin Shuiluan’s voice was low. “Relax.”

“Doesn’t it hurt to keep your muscles so tense?”

Only after her reminder did Lu Zhenqiu let out a breath. Her body had indeed been in a constant state of tension. After chatting with Jin Shuiluan for a bit, she had relaxed some, but her arms were stiff and her palms were covered in sweat. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

Jin Shuiluan pulled out a facial tissue and handed it to her. Lu Zhenqiu didn’t take it, so Jin Shuiluan took her hand and wiped her palm. The tissue absorbed the moisture. Jin Shuiluan’s head was lowered, her eyes downcast, her fine hair hiding her eyebrows and the side of her face. The red light shone into the car, reflecting off the edge of Jin Shuiluan’s glasses. It was clearly a cold light, yet Lu Zhenqiu’s heart felt warm.

Soon, the light turned green. Lu Zhenqiu pulled her hand back and said, “Teacher Jin, I have to drive now.”

Jin Shuiluan nodded with an “en.”

Lu Zhenqiu’s driving was so steady that Jin Shuiluan was about to fall asleep. When they reached the entrance to their residential complex, she stopped by the curb and turned to see Jin Shuiluan’s eyes slightly closed, as if she were asleep. She didn’t wake Jin Shuiluan up, but instead quietly got out of the car. The car door clicked, and she quickly turned her head. Jin Shuiluan just frowned slightly but didn’t wake up. After getting out, Lu Zhenqiu closed the door, and the moment she walked away, Jin Shuiluan opened her eyes.

She had gone to the pharmacy.

A pharmacy that was open twenty-four hours. After entering, Lu Zhenqiu looked up at several types of medicine, spoke to the clerk for a moment, and then pushed the door open to walk out again. Jin Shuiluan closed her eyes, her heart thumping wildly. She turned her head to the side and heard the car door next to her shut with a thud.

The car started up again slowly, driving into the garage beneath their building.

After turning off the engine, Lu Zhenqiu called out, “Teacher Jin.”

After two calls, Jin Shuiluan finally responded, “We’re here?”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded. “We’re here.”

As she spoke, she took the medicine she had just bought from the back seat. After Jin Shuiluan got out of the car, she asked, “What’s that?”

“Cold medicine,” Lu Zhenqiu said. “I saw you got hit by a lot of wind, so you might catch a cold when you get back. I bought some medicine as a precaution.”

Jin Shuiluan glanced at the bag: Banlangen³, 999⁴, and even Cephalosporin⁵ for inflammation. There was even a fever-reducing patch. She had only ever used one as a child and never again since. She asked Lu Zhenqiu, “Is this thing effective?”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded. “It’s quite effective. I use this when I have a fever, and it makes me feel a lot more comfortable.”

Besides her headache, Jin Shuiluan’s throat felt like it was burning; she indeed had signs of a fever. She took the bag and said, “Then put one on for me when we get home.”

Lu Zhenqiu agreed. “Okay.”

After they got home, Jin Shuiluan took a hot shower. Noticing her sore throat, she took an anti-inflammatory pill and also mixed a packet of cold medicine. When Lu Zhenqiu came out of the bathroom, she saw her sitting on the sofa, sipping the medicine in small mouthfuls. Seeing Jin Shuiluan’s actions, she asked, “Teacher Jin, are you afraid of taking medicine?”

Jin Shuiluan’s expression was a little unnatural. “I’m not.”

After saying that, she held her breath, tilted her head back, and drank it all in one go. Seeing her do this, Lu Zhenqiu found it a bit of a cute contrast. She never thought Jin Shuiluan would be afraid of taking medicine; she had assumed Jin Shuiluan would be the type to pick up the cup and drink it down without any expression.

Jin Shuiluan glanced at Lu Zhenqiu from the corner of her eye, coughed twice dryly, and went to rinse the cup. When she came back, she saw Lu Zhenqiu unwrapping the box for a thermometer. It was pink. She held it in her hand and said to Jin Shuiluan, “Teacher Jin, let me measure your temperature.”

“Oh,” Jin Shuiluan said. “Coming.”

She sat down on the sofa, next to Lu Zhenqiu. After Lu Zhenqiu installed the batteries, she turned her head. The thermometer touched her ear and beeped twice—a red alert.

Lu Zhenqiu frowned. “Teacher Jin, you have a fever.”

And the temperature wasn’t low.

Jin Shuiluan touched her own forehead, puzzled. “I do? I feel fine, and my head isn’t hot.”

As she spoke, she scooted a little closer to Lu Zhenqiu and said, “You feel it.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhenqiu turned her head, reached out her hand, and placed it on Jin Shuiluan’s forehead. Jin Shuiluan asked, “It’s not hot, right?”

They were very close, and warm breath swept across Lu Zhenqiu’s wrist. Lu Zhenqiu’s movement paused. She looked at Jin Shuiluan. Her fair skin was tinged with a blush from the fever, and her pupils were clear and bright. The Jin Shuiluan of this moment was slightly different from usual—frail, soft, and heart-wrenching.

When Jin Shuiluan saw she wasn’t responding, she called out, “Qiuqiu?”

Lu Zhenqiu sat up straight, retracting her hand. “You have a fever. I’ll get you the fever-reducing patch.”

She stood up, intending to walk to the counter, but Jin Shuiluan called out to stop her. “Qiuqiu.”

Lu Zhenqiu turned her head. Jin Shuiluan looked at the coffee table and said, “The fever-reducing patch is here.”

Right in front of her.

Lu Zhenqiu said, “Oh,” her face slightly red.

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The author has something to say:

Thirty red envelopes, mwah mwah.

Jin Shuiluan: The fever-reducing patch is here, Qiuqiu.

Lu Zhenqiu: Coming.

Jin Shuiluan: Where are you sticking that…

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