Health Maintenance

Shi Sui stared at the school jacket that fit Lu Huaizhi perfectly, unwilling to believe that Lu Huaizhi’s arms were actually longer than his.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly stood up. “Get up.”

Once Lu Huaizhi stood straight, Shi Sui walked to his side, turned, and looked at him horizontally.

His shoulder was a level lower than Lu Huaizhi’s, and his line of sight only reached just above Lu Huaizhi’s chin.

Shi Sui stood there for a long time without moving.

Did this kid grow up on hormones? He is so tall.

He looked at the floor unwillingly, trying to find evidence that Lu Huaizhi might be standing on a higher spot.

But the floor was smooth and level. Even if there were a slope, it could not cause such a height difference.

Shi Sui gave up and sat back down with a wooden face.

When Lu Huaizhi placed the newly written problems in front of him, Shi Sui uncharacteristically did not resist, though he unconsciously poked the scratch paper with his pen.

Actually, Shi Sui’s face showed no expression, but Lu Huaizhi somehow sensed that trace of frustration. Even his hair seemed to be drooping.

Lu Huaizhi replaced the scratch paper with a new one for Shi Sui and suddenly lowered his head to tug at the sleeve of the school jacket. “Don’t you think this jacket is a bit big? It feels quite empty.”

Shi Sui’s poking motion paused. “No.”

Having said that, he realized something and turned his head to scan Lu Huaizhi up and down.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, but that did not mean what was under the clothes matched the exterior.

Recalling that the other boy felt uncomfortable even from the air conditioning, Shi Sui was suddenly relieved. Why was he comparing himself to an empty frame? He had a six-pack. With Lu Huaizhi’s build, he probably only had one.

Thinking this through, Lu Huaizhi seemed a lot more tolerable to Shi Sui.

“Cough, cough.” Lu Huaizhi appropriately covered his mouth to cough and pulled the jacket zipper all the way up, looking weak and frail.

Seeing that Lu Huaizhi’s lips were still a bit pale, Shi Sui pushed his chair back and pointed to his own seat. “Sit here.” Lu Huaizhi’s current spot was directly facing the air conditioner vent.

“Thank you.” Lu Huaizhi lowered his eyes, hiding his thoughts, and politely thanked him. This was the first time Shi Sui had spoken to him so civilly.

After switching positions, Shi Sui continued to look at those d*mn physics problems.

Before long, a customer walked in. Shi Sui had to operate the computer to open a station for them, but the computer was now on Lu Huaizhi’s side. He could only brace his hand on the desk and lean over.

Lu Huaizhi tactfully moved his stool back to give Shi Sui space.

“Fifth row, eighth seat. Remember to come renew when your time is up.”

After finishing the procedure, Shi Sui prepared to pull his hand back. However, there were too many papers on the desk; he did not notice he was bracing himself at the very edge. When he tried to push off, his hand slipped, and his body tilted uncontrollably to the side.

He instinctively tried to grab the partition of the counter, but before he could touch it, a pair of hands suddenly supported his waist, propping him up.

Shi Sui was only wearing a thin short-sleeved shirt. When the palms pressed against him, he could clearly feel the outline of the five fingers and the sense of control in the fingertips, as if his waist were being held in a vice.

But Lu Huaizhi let go quickly and looked up. “Are you okay?”

Shi Sui shot him a glance. “I’m fine.” After saying that, he dragged the computer directly in front of his own position to avoid a repeat of the situation.

The atmosphere between them felt strangely odd.

When Lu Huaizhi explained problems to Shi Sui, Shi Sui leaned so far out of the counter he was practically falling out. Once, while Lu Huaizhi was drawing an auxiliary line, the back of his hand accidentally brushed Shi Sui’s fingertip. The other boy retracted his hand as if he had been burned.

From then on, there was no more physical contact.

Except for their arms, which inevitably bumped due to the narrow space.

Every time they touched, even through the school jacket, Lu Huaizhi could feel Shi Sui’s tension.

He tilted his head, his gaze covertly landing on Shi Sui’s ear.

The lighting in the internet cafe was dim, but he could clearly see the redness of Shi Sui’s earlobe. Was it annoyance, or was he shy?

Shi Sui held his pen, eyes fixed on the paper, but his mind was wandering.

The other person’s presence was too strong. Every time an arm moved, their clothes rubbed together.

Shi Sui had not noticed it at first, but ever since Lu Huaizhi held his waist, he had become inexplicably aware of these small details.

When the other boy’s elbow brushed his again while writing, Shi Sui looked down.

The counter was not so small that they had to be this close. Why was Lu Huaizhi always crowding him? Was he taking advantage?

Just as Shi Sui was debating whether to deliver a sharp elbow to knock him away or just kick him over to Wang Cheng’s side, a cough sounded beside him.

Shi Sui looked up instantly.

“I’m fine.” Lu Huaizhi said, followed by another, weaker cough. “Am I bothering your studies?”

He let out a soft breath and unconsciously leaned a bit closer to Shi Sui. “I just feel a bit cold.”

When Lu Huaizhi’s hand had touched him earlier, Shi Sui had noticed it—Lu Huaizhi’s body temperature was indeed on the lower side. Being sensitive to cold was a classic sign of a weak constitution.

As expected of a young master who came down from the big city to the countryside to recover from an illness.

Thinking of this, Shi Sui did not push him away. But shortly after, remembering something, he stood up. “I’m going out for a second.”

He had only taken one step when the hem of his shirt was grabbed.

Lu Huaizhi looked into his eyes. “Where are you going?”

“I’m working here, you think I’m gonna run?” Shi Sui knit his brows. “I’m getting some water.” He was afraid Lu Huaizhi would cough himself to death right next to him.

Only then did Lu Huaizhi let go.

Shi Sui went to the water dispenser for some hot water. He happened to run into Qi Sizheng doing the same. As they faced each other, Shi Sui was about to leave when he saw Qi Sizheng putting little red things into his cup.

Shi Sui asked, “What are those?”

Qi Sizheng had not expected Shi Sui to talk to him. Once he recovered, he answered honestly, “Goji berries.” His face looked a bit flushed as he added, “They are good for your health.”

Shi Sui’s departing step paused. He pivoted and handed his cup over. “Give me some too.”

Lu Huaizhi was finishing an annotation on the problem Shi Sui had just looked at. Before he could finish, a cup of water was suddenly placed in front of him.

The white disposable paper cup was filled to the brim, with steam rising from the top.

Lu Huaizhi’s gaze settled on the goji berries almost covering the surface. The hand holding the pen paused. He looked up at Shi Sui. “?”

“Drink.” Shi Sui snatched the pen from his hand. “I specifically added goji berries to nourish you. Stop coughing after you drink it.”

Lu Huaizhi: “…” Lu Huaizhi really wanted to explain that his body was just weak, but there was nothing wrong with his kidneys.

But seeing Shi Sui’s urgent gaze, he swallowed his words. Forget it, there was no point in explaining.

After drinking the goji berry water, Lu Huaizhi indeed stopped coughing.

The atmosphere between them returned to normal. Shi Sui no longer resisted Lu Huaizhi leaning toward him, though the look in his eyes now held a trace of pity.

The strong should always look after the weak. Shi Sui told himself this.

However, when Lu Huaizhi looked at his problem-solving process with the same gaze, that pity vanished instantly.

“You need to deduce the relationship of forces from the state of the object.” Lu Huaizhi’s pen tip stopped on those crooked symbols. “More importantly, I can’t read your handwriting.”

The tone was calm, the content blunt.

Shi Sui: “…”

“Don’t look if you can’t read it.” He kicked Lu Huaizhi’s chair away with a cold face. “Also, don’t lean so close when explaining problems.” Lu Huaizhi was pushed directly to the corner of the counter, separated from Shi Sui by half an arm’s length.

Shi Sui took the opportunity to snatch the scratch paper back and flipped it over to cover it.

Just as Lu Huaizhi was about to say something, his phone chimed. It was a WeChat message from his mother.

[Mom: Are you home? Why didn’t you answer when I called?]

Lu Huaizhi’s eyes darkened, and he did not reply.

Shi Sui had good eyesight and saw the message notification on Lu Huaizhi’s phone. He said, “If you have something to do, go back first. I’ll leave after my shift ends.”

He put the stack of papers into his bag. “I’ll look at the problems at home.”

Shi Sui spoke without blinking, but Lu Huaizhi knew very well that once he got home, Shi Sui definitely would not look at the problems.

“I’m not leaving.” Lu Huaizhi pulled a sheet out and placed it in front of Shi Sui. “Look at it a bit longer. I won’t bother you.” Having said that, he really stayed in that little corner to do his own homework.

Feeling the suddenly spacious area, Shi Sui actually started to feel unaccustomed to it.

“I didn’t ask you to curl up in a ball.” He kicked Lu Huaizhi’s stool. “Act normal, or Sister Lulu will think I’m bullying you when she comes.”

As Lu Huaizhi slowly moved his stool back, Shi Sui spoke abruptly, “Lu Huaizhi, you aren’t faking it, are you?”

He somehow felt like he was being led by the nose by Lu Huaizhi.

Lu Huaizhi’s hand moving the stool paused, then he put it down normally. “Faking what?”

Shi Sui stared at him for a long time, and Lu Huaizhi let him look openly.

Lu Huaizhi: “I admit I want to be closer to you. If you are affected, I can sit back.”

Shi Sui: “?”

“Come back.” He pulled the boy over and almost roughly pressed Lu Huaizhi down next to him. “Stay close.”