He Kissed My Hand While I Was Burning With Fever

Ning Shixue raised his hand and wiped away Ji Xiao’s tears.

The bandage on his hand got wet.
Out of all the kids on this show besides Xie Yaoyao, he had watched Ji Xiao the most.

Because Ji Xiao was a bit like him.

Even worse.
He wasn’t even a little black bunny.
He should be the black forest itself.

His forest only needed him.
Little bunnies, they should just go home.

Ji Xiao’s tears burst forth.
He cried until his face was red, almost unable to breathe.
Only then did he finally stop.

He rubbed his tears hard.
When he looked up again, his little face was quite determined.
He carefully touched Ning Shixue’s bandage and said,
“Little Ning Gege, I will support you when I grow up.”

Ning Shixue: “…”

That wasn’t necessary.
His hands were still attached.

Xie Yaoyao was grumbling.
If He Lin hadn’t been holding him, he would have been lying on the ground by now.
As soon as Ning Shixue opened the door, he pounced into his arms.

Baby checking in!

The great antagonist Xie Yaoyao couldn’t bear this injustice.
He rubbed his chubby face hard against Ning Shixue.
He told the baby everything, and the baby had actually whispered secrets with Little Mantou.

It was already evening.
The wind and snow were heavy outside.
The night was pitch black.
The other guests hadn’t eaten yet.
The director found someone to take Ji Xiao and the others to the hospital cafeteria.

Ning Shixue and Xie Yaoyao ate in the hospital room.

“Baby, what were you,”
Xie Yaoyao held his bowl, his little mouth puckered into a trumpet shape,
“talking to Little Flour about?”

Ning Shixue took a moment to realize.
He asked, puzzled,
“Little Flour? Who’s that?”

Xie Yaoyao raised his soft little hand and gestured in the air.
“That’s Little Mantou.”

The butler grandpa said Mantou was made from flour.
Little Mantou cried.
Mantou plus water would turn back into flour.

Ning Shixue: “…”

You’re really good at restoring things to their original state.

–

Yan City was damp and cold.
It had just rained.
Leaving the airport, Xie Zhaozhou went straight to the company.

This shareholder meeting wasn’t actually attended by all shareholders.
It was essentially a high-level meeting.
When the meeting adjourned, Xie Mengyuan suddenly spoke up, stopping him.
“Zhaozhou.”

Xie Zhaozhou stopped.

He was dressed in a somber, austere black suit.
His face was pale, his features carrying an impersonal, cold stillness.

Xie Hanzhou was standing behind Xie Mengyuan.

“Are you going to the hospital later?”
Xie Mengyuan asked gently.
“I haven’t visited your mother since she was admitted. Want your uncle to go with you?”

Xie Zhaozhou looked up, his voice very calm.
“She’s still in treatment. Too many people aren’t good for her recovery. If you were planning to go today, Uncle, I’ll go another time.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,”
Xie Mengyuan didn’t insist.
He quickly said,
“Then you go ahead. She probably misses you too. Your uncle won’t disturb you. I’ll go another day.”

Xie Zhaozhou nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Song Li finished organizing the documents from the conference room and followed Xie Zhaozhou out.
Passing through the corridor, he bowed slightly and greeted Xie Mengyuan and Xie Hanzhou.

Once on the elevator with Xie Zhaozhou, remembering the meeting just now, he couldn’t help frowning.

Xie Zhaozhou’s suit jacket was draped over his arm.
His dark eyes were thick as ink, unreadable.

Xie Hanzhou didn’t have a position in the Xie Group.
He shouldn’t have been at the company.
But a few days ago, Liao Yanwan had suddenly transferred all her shares to him.
Although the shares Liao Yanwan held weren’t many, they were enough to let Xie Hanzhou attend this meeting.

Liao Yanwan had never wanted Xie Hanzhou to inherit the Xie family.
Her only heir in her heart was Xie Sui.

After Xie Sui died, she wanted Xie’s father to take over the Xie Group.
Then, when Xie Yaoyao grew up, she would give the company to him.

Her shares and inheritance were naturally also meant for Xie Yaoyao.

But now, whether pressured by Xie Zhaozhou or because of something Xie Hanzhou said to her, Liao Yanwan had actually let them go.

Actually, these shares didn’t mean much within the Xie Group.
Being able to attend the meeting didn’t mean having a voice.

But doing this, Liao Yanwan was telling everyone that Xie Hanzhou was the heir recognized by Xie’s father.

The Xie family was an old wealthy family in Yan City.
There were many collateral branches.
Internal factional struggles within the company were also severe.

Even when Old Master Xie was alive, countless people wanted to see him fall.
Until his death, Xie Sui hadn’t completely secured his position.
He was just Old Master Xie’s deputy.

Thanks to Xie Zhaozhou’s ruthless methods, for the past three years, no one had dared to openly or secretly struggle.
But Liao Yanwan suddenly pulled this stunt.
Beneath the surface, things were bound to get turbulent.

After all, under Xie Zhaozhou, people couldn’t get any extra benefits.
But if Xie Hanzhou came to power, Xie’s father and mother definitely wouldn’t treat them poorly.
Some people were bound to be tempted.

Song Li just felt a chill in his heart.

Liao Yanwan clearly knew that Xie Sui’s death was definitely connected to the Xie Group.
Yet she still did this.

She wanted to make Xie Zhaozhou a target for everyone.
While everyone, openly and secretly, targeted Xie Zhaozhou, she could pave the way for her youngest son.

Liao Yanwan was in a sanatorium.
Xie Zhaozhou drove there.
When he arrived, Liao Yanwan had just taken her medicine and was relatively calm.

Xie Zhaozhou didn’t waste words.
He handed a document folder to Liao Yanwan.
“These are photos of some people.”

After several days in the hospital, Liao Yanwan had stopped her hunger strike.
But she had visibly thinned.
The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were much more noticeable.

She took it suspiciously.

She hadn’t wanted to see Xie Zhaozhou in the first place.
Why should Xie Zhaozhou lock her up when he wanted and see her when he wanted?

But since it involved Xie Sui, she had to swallow her pride.

She patiently picked it up, only to find she didn’t recognize anyone.
Finally, her eyes reddened, and she threw it to the floor in anger.
“Why are you showing me these? I told you, your elder brother was murdered. Why aren’t you investigating?!”

Song Li had tracked down the person who had been loitering outside Old Master Xie’s hospital.
He had also investigated the person’s social network.
These were people who knew or had met him.

Now, only Liao Yanwan knew Xie Sui best.

If among these there were people Xie Sui knew, or who had appeared near him, things would be much easier.

Afraid Liao Yanwan wouldn’t tell the truth, Xie Zhaozhou had come to the hospital himself.
But now it seemed, Liao Yanwan really didn’t know.
Xie Zhaozhou didn’t delay any further and turned to leave.

But Liao Yanwan’s eyes were red, tears suddenly falling.
“I raised you for so many years. When you were in high school and hospitalized, didn’t I come and stay with you, take care of you? And now you treat me like this?!”

She couldn’t stand another day in this hospital.

Xie Zhaozhou did remember this.
When he was in his second year of high school, he broke his arm.
Old Master Xie ordered either Liao Yanwan or Xie’s father to come back and stay with him.
Liao Yanwan flew back overnight.

But because of this, she lost a business deal.

When Liao Yanwan arrived at the hospital, she had a dark face and didn’t speak.
It wasn’t until the nurse came to change his dressing that she finally couldn’t help saying,
“I told you to have the driver take you to school. You insisted on riding your bike. Now you can’t even use your hand. How are you going to take your final exams?”

Xie Zhaozhou didn’t even have the desire to speak.

Actually, he had been injured on set while filming.
And the final exams had ended a month ago.
Liao Yanwan had been abroad for years and couldn’t even remember the domestic holiday schedule.

Liao Yanwan was still wiping her tears when Song Li suddenly walked quickly into the hospital room and whispered something to Xie Zhaozhou.

Xie Zhaozhou’s face darkened.
He strode out of the room.

Liao Yanwan called after him a few times.
He didn’t even hear.
Liao Yanwan dried her tears and saw Xie Zhaozhou’s back.
She was suddenly stunned.

For so many years, it seemed she had always been the one leaving Xie Zhaozhou like this, for Xie Sui, for the company.
This was the first time she had seen Xie Zhaozhou’s back.
Her chest felt so tight she could barely breathe.
When she looked up again, only deeper resentment remained in her eyes.

–

Ning Shixue had been fine while eating with Xie Yaoyao.
But right after eating, his stomach suddenly churned.
He crouched in the bathroom and vomited.
His face was pale, his whole body burning up.

He Lin heard the commotion and helped carry Xie Yaoyao out to play with He Miao and the others.

The nurse quickly called the doctor.
When they took his temperature again, Ning Shixue already had a fever of nearly 39 degrees, and it was still rising.
The doctor prescribed fever reducers and antibiotics and had Ning Shixue start an IV.

Ning Shixue was naturally weak.
Even a small thing could lead to serious consequences.

He lay on the hospital bed with the IV, just feeling a headache, his eyelids burning, his whole body weak.
He couldn’t even lift his arm properly.
When the nurse asked him to make a fist for the IV, he couldn’t do it.

“Director Meng,”
the assistant director paced anxiously outside the hospital room,
“What do we do now?”

It was late at night, and the wind and snow were too heavy outside.
They were still at the foot of the snowy mountain.
Even locals wouldn’t go out in weather like this.
Besides, the central hospital in the northern city was very far from here.

The director was also worried.
He knew Ning Shixue was in poor health.
This couldn’t go wrong.
If something did happen, his life would be over too.

The doctor looked up and reassured them,
“Just let the IV run. If the fever breaks, it’ll be fine.”

In this cold weather in the northern city, the wound on Ning Shixue’s hand shouldn’t have gotten inflamed easily.
But now, with this sudden high fever, it was hard to say.
They could only hope it didn’t get worse.

He Lin was outside with the kids.
Tang He’an and Yan Ting were both in Ning Shixue’s hospital room.

Ning Shixue was burning and drowsy.
But he wasn’t actually asleep.
His hearing was very keen.
He could even sense people coming from far down the corridor, let alone the people in the room now.

The nurse was also coming and going.

Yan Ting reached out and touched his forehead.
Ning Shixue’s whole body stiffened.
He could only close his eyes and pretend to be asleep.

But his fever grew worse.
His consciousness became a bit vague.
He didn’t know how long he had been lying there.
He just felt a suddenly ice-cold hand touch his burning cheek.
His whole body was burning uncomfortably.
He almost couldn’t help leaning his cheek into it.

The person also carried that cold rose perfume scent, mixed with the chill of snow like air.

“When this bottle is done, there won’t be any more, right?”
Xie Zhaozhou tucked the corner of Ning Shixue’s blanket and quietly asked the nurse.

Ning Shixue’s eyelids were flushed red.
His pale cheeks were also flushed from the fever, but it gave off a sickly air.
He lay on the hospital bed.
His hair wasn’t tied up and was sweaty.
His dark, disheveled strands stuck to his pale cheeks.
He moved uncomfortably.

Xie Zhaozhou leaned down slightly and brushed away the strands that were bothering him.
Then he cupped his burning, soft cheek in his palm.

The nurse also lowered her voice.
“Yes, this is the last one.”

“Thank you,”
Xie Zhaozhou nodded.

The nurse came over to change Ning Shixue’s bandages.
Besides the sutured wound, the other wounds needed to be re-dressed.
And because of the fever and sweat, the bandages were wet and couldn’t stay on like that.

This IV was almost done.
The nurse removed the needle and had Xie Zhaozhou help hold the cotton ball in place.

Ning Shixue’s eyelashes fluttered.
He finally opened his eyes.
He was a bit dazed.
His voice was hoarse and soft from the fever.
“Second Brother?”

Xie Zhaozhou was wearing a long black coat.
He must have just arrived.
There was still unmelted snow on his shoulders.
His dark, narrow phoenix eyes were deep as he looked down at him.

Late at night, the wind and snow howled.
The roads were thick with ice.
Ning Shixue didn’t know how he had driven here.

When Song Li told him something had happened with the program team, Xie Zhaozhou immediately bought a ticket.
For a moment, his mind went blank.
The program team staff told him he had fallen down a snowy slope.

Although the director had urgently cut the live stream, online was already in an uproar.
After all, people had seen Ning Shixue and Ji Xiao fall with their own eyes.
They were demanding the director give an explanation.

Xie Zhaozhou opened the final video of the live stream.
At the bottom of the snowy mountain was the freezingly cold frozen lake.

Even another person might not survive, let alone Ning Shixue.
For him, falling meant death.

“Time to redress the wound,”
the nurse said gently to Ning Shixue.
“If it hurts, tell me.”

Before, Ning Shixue’s palm had been bloody and mangled.
At first glance, it was especially scary.
Now, after cleaning and suturing, the torn flesh was exposed.
It looked even worse.
When the bandage was removed, it was still oozing blood.

The innermost layer of gauze was soaked through.
When they took it off, you could smell the strong metallic scent of blood.

Ning Shixue waited silently for the dressing to be applied.

Xie Zhaozhou half-lowered his eyes.
His gaze was cold and dark.
At first, afraid Ning Shixue might move from the pain, the nurse asked Xie Zhaozhou to hold his wrist.
But Ning Shixue never pulled away.

It was like he couldn’t feel the pain.

Asking him now if it hurt seemed redundant.
How could it not hurt?

Xie Zhaozhou took his other hand and found his fingers clenched into a fist.
His palm was soaked with sweat from the pain.
His fingertips trembled slightly.

Ning Shixue’s eyelashes moved.
The nurse was still there.
But Xie Zhaozhou wrapped his hand in his palm.
The tips of his ears felt a bit hot.
He couldn’t help looking down at their intertwined hands.

Xie Zhaozhou had driven here.
But the snow was too heavy now.
His car had stalled halfway at the foot of the mountain.
He had to walk to the hospital himself.
His hands were still cold, not yet warmed up.
His knuckles were a bit red and swollen from the cold.

“…”

Ning Shixue suddenly couldn’t speak.
He lifted the blanket and pulled Xie Zhaozhou’s hand under it.

Xie Zhaozhou was stunned.

“It’s warm under the blanket,”
Ning Shixue said, his whole body cold, his voice a bit nasally.

After the nurse left, Xie Zhaozhou’s expression still wasn’t good.
He suddenly realized he couldn’t quite imagine what would happen if Ning Shixue really fell and died like that.

He had been thinking before, maybe many years later, he could still take Ning Shixue to that little supermarket to buy lights.

Every snowy night, he would remember those beautiful, clear eyes, sparkling as they looked at him.

But to never see this person again.

Never hear Ning Shixue complain to him, a bit wronged, saying my clothes are dirty.

Who would he coax then?
In a place he couldn’t reach, would there be someone to buy him new clothes?

Ning Shixue pressed his lips together.

He also noticed Xie Zhaozhou’s expression was wrong.
He thought it might be something with the company, or someone in the Xie family.

After all, in the whole Xie family now, only Xie Yaoyao wanted Xie Zhaozhou to live.

But he wouldn’t understand company matters even if Xie Zhaozhou told him.
It was completely outside his knowledge.
As for the Xie family, it didn’t seem appropriate to ask.

Only a small lamp was on in the hospital room now.
Ning Shixue lay for a few more minutes.
Then he suddenly nudged Xie Zhaozhou with his leg.
He raised his hand, and a shadow appeared on the wall.

His left hand was stitched up, so he could only curl it slightly.
Then he raised his other hand and placed it on top, like two upright ears.
The shadow touched Xie Zhaozhou’s hand.
Ning Shixue still had a fever.
His peach blossom eyes were moist and bright under the lamp, like they held many little stars.

Xie Zhaozhou looked down.
He blinked a few times and whispered,
“The little bunny is going to bite you.”

Xie Zhaozhou wanted to take his hand, afraid he would move and pull his stitches, needing to be re-sutured.

But Ning Shixue moved away from him.
He changed positions.
With the bandage, his pale fingers were a bit clumsy.
But you could still see it was the shadow of a wolf.
The hand he raised with effort slowly moved down, hiding under the blanket.
It was like the wolf suddenly disappeared.
Then he curved his eyes and said,
“You’ve been eaten by me.”

If it were Xie Yaoyao, he would definitely be coaxed by now.
But Ning Shixue, meeting Xie Zhaozhou’s deep eyes, realized this didn’t work on the great antagonist at all.

His toes curled awkwardly.

“Second Brother,”
Ning Shixue tried to make him forget that scene just now, pulling at his hand.
“I want some water.”

Xie Zhaozhou got up to pour him water.
But Ning Shixue couldn’t sit up.
Leaning was also very hard.
So Xie Zhaozhou used a spoon and fed him water bit by bit.

Ning Shixue obediently placed his hands on his body.
His pale lips moistened again.

He had been burning badly at night and had thrown up everything he ate.
He hadn’t eaten since.
He Lin had bought him food and left it on the table.
Xie Zhaozhou looked down and asked,
“Hungry? Want me to feed you later?”

“…”
Ning Shixue was still lying in an awkward position.
For a moment, he wasn’t thinking and asked blankly,
“Just like that?”

“What else?”
Xie Zhaozhou’s dark phoenix eyes curved slightly, the corner of his mouth also curved.
His voice had returned to its usual frivolity.
“I could also hold you in my arms and feed you.”

Ning Shixue’s already burning cheeks instantly flushed even redder.
But he didn’t have the strength in his hands, and his legs were under the blanket.
He couldn’t even hit him.
Opening his mouth, he still couldn’t out-argue Xie Zhaozhou.

He had been influenced by Xie Yaoyao.
He couldn’t help pouting slightly.
Then he pressed his lips together again.

“Second Brother,”
Ning Shixue paused, then looked up and asked him,
“Are you a little happier now?”

Xie Zhaozhou was stunned.

“You seemed unhappy just now,”
Ning Shixue still had a fever.
His eyes were misty with moisture.

His whole being was a bit slow.
His language skills had degraded.
He could only think of the simplest things.
He lay in bed, tilted his head, and asked Xie Zhaozhou,
“Did someone bully you?”

Xie Zhaozhou had never in his life had anyone ask him this.
A bit childishly.
Asking if he was a little happier, if he had been bullied.

And that person was the one lying in the hospital bed, sick and in pain, needing to be taken care of.

Xie Zhaozhou’s eyes were dark, like a storm was coming.
Ning Shixue was very confused.
He didn’t know what he was thinking.

But Xie Zhaozhou suddenly leaned closer.
He couldn’t help getting nervous.
His ears burned red.
He raised his hand to push him away.

But Xie Zhaozhou only leaned down.
Not daring to use force, he held Ning Shixue’s hand.
His Adam’s apple moved suddenly.
He couldn’t control himself any longer and, through the bandage, kissed the palm of his hand.