A Feverish Morning and a Bold Decision

The alarm on his phone blared, rousing Li Chunsheng from his slumber.

The familiar aroma of breakfast, which he had grown accustomed to over the past few days, was conspicuously absent, leaving him feeling a touch disoriented.

He turned his head to find the diligent figure, who usually rose early to prepare their meal, still lying peacefully beside him, eyes tightly shut in what appeared to be a deep, serene sleep.

Liuxia’s cheeks were remarkably flushed, resembling a ripe apple, tempting one to lean in and take a gentle bite.

“Huh? Why am I sleeping next to a beautiful girl?” Li Chunsheng’s mind, still hazy from sleep, struggled to process this, having only drifted off late last night and now forcibly awakened by the alarm, his thoughts still clouded by profound drowsiness.

He gazed blankly at Liuxia for a long moment before his muddled thoughts slowly began to coalesce.

“Oh, right… she’s my senior. It was me last night… I asked her to sleep with me…” He raised a hand to slap his own face, attempting to jolt himself into full wakefulness.

“She’s certainly a deep sleeper,” Li Chunsheng mused with a touch of wonder. “This alarm even woke me up, but it didn’t stir her.”

It seemed his senior had accumulated a great deal of fatigue.

He decided to let her rest properly.

As for breakfast, he would, for once, eat out.

Li Chunsheng quietly rose from the bed and left the bedroom, heading to the bathroom to complete his morning routine of washing and using the facilities.

Ten minutes later, upon returning to the bedroom, Li Chunsheng found Liuxia still peacefully asleep on the bed, precisely as he had left her.

Her alluring, undefended posture, reminiscent of a sleeping beauty, captivated him once more, allowing a strange impulse to quietly burgeon within him.

‘This sight…’ Li Chunsheng swallowed hard, a bold thought surfacing in his mind. ‘…Just a little touch, that should be fine, right?’

After all, he and his senior had already agreed that even at home, she would treat him as her “girlfriend.” So, by extension, shouldn’t the reverse also hold true?

It was a boyfriend’s rightful privilege!

Driven by a sudden, mischievous impulse, Li Chunsheng extended his ‘sinful’ hand towards Liuxia’s flushed face.

If one were to ask why he was so spineless, only daring to touch her face, the answer was simply that Li Chunsheng was a ‘Xiao Chunan of two lifetimes’—a man perpetually stuck in the role of a timid protagonist.

Had he possessed true courage, he would have shed this identity long ago.

“Hehehe…” Li Chunsheng chuckled foolishly, like a pervert. ‘My senior’s face is so soft, and wonderfully elastic… it feels warm to the touch.’

It was almost like the perfect hand warmer.

‘Hmm? Warm?’ Li Chunsheng’s brow furrowed as he realized something was amiss.

Having endured a night of freezing rain, the morning chill still lingered, leaving Li Chunsheng’s exposed skin quite cold.

Yet, Liuxia’s face, exposed beyond the covers, felt remarkably warm to the touch.

Even accounting for a girl’s naturally higher body temperature compared to a boy’s, such warmth against the frigid air seemed distinctly… abnormal!

Hastily, Li Chunsheng retrieved the digital thermometer from a drawer in the room and, after a brief procedure, measured Liuxia’s current body temperature.

“Hiss—42 degrees Celsius!” He gasped, drawing a sharp breath as he stared at the alarming number.

This temperature was alarmingly high! Li Chunsheng recalled reading popular science articles explaining that such a fever in an ordinary person could be fatal, capable of literally ‘cooking’ cells.

However, for his senior, whose body had once transformed into a goblin, was this temperature truly considered high?

Li Chunsheng had no idea, yet he dared not be complacent; even in the short time it took him to check her temperature, Liuxia’s condition seemed to be deteriorating rapidly.

The girl’s delicate brows were weakly furrowed, her eyes tightly shut, and her fair skin, despite the cold air, seemed to faintly emit a scorching heat.

“Senior! Senior!” Li Chunsheng urgently called out Liuxia’s name, desperate to ascertain if she was still conscious.

Fortunately, after his persistent efforts, the girl’s eyelashes fluttered a few times before her eyes slowly creaked open.

“Chun… sheng?” Liuxia’s voice was soft and weak.

Overjoyed, Li Chunsheng exclaimed, “That’s wonderful! Senior, you’re finally awake!”

This was excellent news, indicating that the high temperature had not yet caused significant damage to her brain.

Li Chunsheng was about to implement some cooling measures when, at that very moment, Liuxia’s body stirred.

From her movements, it appeared she was attempting to rise from the bed, but each effort proved futile.

Then, she murmured softly, “I’m sorry… Chunsheng, Senior… Senior woke up too late, I haven’t made your breakfast or bento yet…”

“Just a moment, Senior… I’ll get up slowly…”

Hearing her words, a surge of anger flared in Li Chunsheng’s chest, and he stepped forward, gently but firmly pressing Liuxia back onto the bed.

“Are you out of your mind? You’re thinking of cooking for me in this condition? Don’t you realize how unwell you are?!” he demanded, his gaze fixed on the girl, unable to suppress his frustration.

However, Liuxia merely tilted her head, her red eyes, hazy with fever, gazing at him blankly, as if she hadn’t understood a single word he’d said.

Seeing the girl’s innocent, bewildered expression, Li Chunsheng’s anger dissipated instantly, replaced by a profound sense of helplessness. ‘Ah… it seems taking leave is absolutely unavoidable now…’

‘Mu Shengling is definitely going to be furious about this, isn’t she?’

Yet, there was no alternative; for someone like his senior, who lacked official identification, even small, legitimate clinics now required online identity registration.

Visiting one would undoubtedly expose her immediately.

Black market clinics? Those were entirely out of the question.

At this moment, his senior could only rely on him.

However, taking leave was considered an extremely serious matter in this world, typically requiring approval only from high-ranking officials.

Consequently, Li Chunsheng picked up his phone and, without hesitation, dialed Mu Shengling’s number. “Hello, Miss Shengling?”

On the other end of the line, Mu Shengling was clearly caught off guard by his early morning call, momentarily flustered.

She had agonizingly pondered the situation all night yesterday, ultimately deciding that even if it meant becoming a ‘cuckold’, she could not abandon Li Chunsheng, who represented her hope for promotion.

In fact, with Liuxia as a stumbling block, her fighting spirit had intensified.

Aside from perhaps her pectorals being slightly inferior, in what other aspect could she possibly be less than that country bumpkin, Liuxia?

After a brief pause, she replied, attempting to maintain an elegant tone, “Chunsheng, is that you? What’s the matter, calling so early?”

“I need to take a leave of absence today.”

“…Li Chunsheng… do you honestly believe you have me cornered?” Mu Shengling’s voice suddenly stiffened with an edge.

“You’re actually taking leave now? If you dare to take leave, what else won’t you dare to do in the future?”

“Perhaps I should just promote you directly to Vice President, letting you earn a high salary while doing a security guard’s job?”

This was utterly outrageous! Truly, beyond the pale!

“Liuxia caught a chill from the rain yesterday and developed a high fever; there’s no one at home to care for her… I need to stay and look after her…” Li Chunsheng stated the facts plainly, completely disregarding the faint anger in Mu Shengling’s tone.

“My call is merely to inform you, not to seek your permission.”

Such an unyielding declaration rendered Mu Shengling speechless.

“I can… arrange for a doctor to visit her at home,” the young lady finally conceded, her tone softening. “You can come to work without worry…”

However, Li Chunsheng unequivocally rejected her “kindness,” stating firmly, “No, I don’t trust anyone else. I’ll take care of it myself.”

It was no joking matter; his senior’s constitution was currently unclear, and certainly not that of an ordinary girl.

He couldn’t possibly entrust her examination to an outsider.

“I’m hanging up now…”

“Wait…!” Before Mu Shengling could finish her sentence, Li Chunsheng decisively ended the call.

He turned to glance at Liuxia, who lay on the bed, watching everything with a bewildered expression, his face betraying a hint of doting affection that he himself had yet to notice.

‘It’s a good thing Senior is still disoriented,’ Li Chunsheng mused, shaking his head. ‘Otherwise, she would surely lecture me for this…’

She would no doubt talk about not valuing his job, disrespecting his superiors, and other ‘correct’ admonishments that, in this world, truly pertained to one’s livelihood.

However, for Li Chunsheng, none of these concerns held greater importance than his senior’s life.

‘But what exactly should I do now?’ Li Chunsheng found himself at a loss.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, recalling something an auntie at the orphanage had done for him when he was a child suffering from a fever.

‘I remember… it was something about using warm water to wipe the body for physical cooling, right?’

Li Chunsheng swallowed, his gaze turning solemn as he looked at Liuxia, who lay on the bed, unconsciously emitting pained moans.

‘This… this is going to be a huge test…’

After all… he hadn’t exerted himself, and he was feeling quite energetic!