Mocking

Fu Xingyun raised his eyebrows and threateningly asked, "What did you say?"

"Nothing, you must have heard wrong." Lin Qiong replied hurriedly. Lin Qiong finished slicing the fruit and led Fu Xingyun to the dining room.

Fu Xingyun picked up a fork, speared a piece of fruit, and stuffed it into his mouth. Lin Qiong followed and asked, "How has it been?"

The decor in the house was neat and tidy, with no sign of disorder. Fu Xingyun seemed fine as well. There didn't appear to be any major problems.

Fu Xingyun said, "As you can see."

Lin Qiong nodded.

Changing the subject, Lin Qiong looked at him and asked, "Have you been ordering takeout for the past few days?"

"Yeah."

Fu Xingyun didn't like the taste of outside food, so his subordinates had been bringing him meals for the past few days. Subordinates though in a position without power, like a lone bird with broken wings, may seem ignored, but everyone is on their guard. There were no informants, and even if subordinates came over, Fu Xingyun couldn't let anyone know about him ordering food from outside. 

Lin Qiong said, "Takeout is delicious. I still prefer takeout."

"Even when you cook food yourself?."

Before, he used to eat what his subordinates brought him, which was all prepared by the chef. He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but it was different now with Lin Qiong.

"Yes."

Lin Qiong chewed on the mango, enjoying the sweet taste on his taste buds. Then, he pushed the fruit platter towards Fu Xingyun and looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes.

Fu Xingyun also took a piece.

It was indeed quite sweet.

"Hisss"

A soft, painful sound came from Lin Qiong. Fu Xingyun asked, "What's wrong?"

"I bit my tongue."

"..."

Lin Qiong saw the man's reaction and, with a slightly pitiful look, said again, "I bit my tongue."

Fu Xingyun reached out and tilted Lin Qiong's head up while placing his thumb on Lin Qiong's chin to open his mouth. There was a faint trickle of bright red blood seeping out.

"What happened?"

Lin Qiong, feeling a bit painful, looked up with clear eyes and said, "I bit my tongue."

"..."

Fu Xingyun looked at him and extended his long fingers to tap on the wheelchair. He remained silent for a moment and then spoke to Lin Qiong, "Come here."

Lin Qiong leaned into Fu Xingyun expecting to be embraced, Fu Xingyun whispered into his ear mockingly, "I bit my tongue."

Lin Qiong said, "You're so heartless!"

"I'm not feeling sorry for myself at all." Lin Qiong reproached the man with moral high ground.

Fu Xingyun: ...

"What do you want?"

"Care about me, call me 'darling' from now on."

It was difficult, he didn't know how to show concern, and asking him to care about someone was not an easy task. He was forced to say, "Does it hurt?"

Lin Qiong replied, "It hurts!"

The air fell silent for a few seconds.

"Are you satisfied now?"

Fu Xingyun wanted to say something more, but the next moment, he saw Lin Qiong get up and leave, pacing around the house to cool off before coming back. 

Fu Xingyun...

Lin Qiong didn't hesitate and said, "It's better now, the blood taste is almost gone."

Fu Xingyun, interrupting Lin Qiong's speech, said, "You should talk less."

Lin Qiong: ...

In the evening, after preparing dinner, the two of them sat at the dining table, looking at their respective plates of food. Lin Qiong spoke, "My tongue hurts."

Fu Xingyun nodded in understanding, "Your tongue hurts."

After dinner, the two of them returned to their respective rooms. It had been three days since Lin Qiong last saw Fu Xingyun, and during those three days, he had been daydreaming.

He lounged in the massage bathtub, enjoying this feeling because there was no work-related stress.

The next morning, Lin Qiong went out to take out the trash. The ragged old man noticed him and said, "Where have you been these past few days? I haven't seen you around."

Lin Qiong attempted to reply around his swollen tongue, "I've been working."

The old man suddenly realized, "Ah, I see."

Lin Qiong looked puzzled, and the old man continued, "You're injured. Is it a work-related injury?"

Lin Qiong replied, "Yes, you could say that."

The old man said, "Be more careful."

Lin Qiong was touched by the concern, and he thanked the old man.

The old man then asked, "Why didn't I see you walking the dog today?"

Lin Qiong explained, "I don't have a dog; I have a companion."

The old man nodded in understanding, and Lin Qiong returned home to prepare dinner.

He waited in the dining room, but Lin Qiong didn't appear even after the porridge had cooled down. He called out, "Fu Xingyun, dinner is ready!"

There was no response.

Lin Qiong went to the study and found no one there, so he went to Fu Xingyun's bedroom.

He called out again, "Fu Xingyun, it's time for dinner!"

Still no response.

He saw Fu Xingyun lying on the bed, unmoving.

Lin Qiong panicked, "Fu Xingyun! Are you okay?"

Fu Xingyun was unresponsive, and his eyelids seemed heavy.

Panicking, Lin Qiong asked, "How did you get like this?"

Fu Xingyun replied weakly, "I'm fine."

Lin Qiong felt his forehead, and it was unexpectedly warm.

Worried, he reached for a thermometer and placed it under Fu Xingyun's armpit, trying to prevent him from moving.

After a while, it was clear that Fu Xingyun had a fever.

Lin Qiong looked for medication but couldn't find any fever-reducing medicine.

He said, "Fu Xingyun, I need to go buy some medicine. You stay here, and I'll be back soon."

Fu Xingyun agreed weakly.

Lin Qiong then took the keys and left the house to go to the pharmacy.

Meanwhile, inside, Fu Xingyun's face was flushed due to the fever. He had thrown his blanket aside, and now he was struggling to undo his buttons to cool off.

Lin Qiong returned, and seeing Fu Xingyun trying to unbutton his clothes, he scolded, "What are you doing? You can't afford to be uncovered like this!"

Fu Xingyun, in a terrible tone, replied, "I'm hot."

Lin Qiong quickly covered him up and said, "The room temperature is 28 degrees."

Fu Xingyun remained silent.

Lin Qiong then remarked, "Sweating is good; it will help reduce the fever more quickly."

He wrapped Fu Xingyun up like a burrito to help him sweat out the fever. But even after a while, his temperature didn't seem to be going down. Lin Qiong fed him some food and then took his temperature again. This time, it had shot up to 38.3 degrees.

Worried, Lin Qiong asked, "Fu Xingyun, are you okay?"

Fu Xingyun was clearly extremely uncomfortable.

With no other option, Lin Qiong contacted Ji Yao and inquired, "Sister, what should I do?"

There was a heavy silence on the other end, and then Ji Yao took a deep breath.