Chapter 3 – 03

“Siwei?”

Dreams and reality overlapped as Jiang Siwei drowsily opened his eyes. The aftereffects of yesterday’s arduous journey became painfully clear in the form of soreness and weakness throughout his body.

“Sister…” He parted his lips, and said with a hoarse voice.

“You have a fever. I made some porridge, have a few bites first, and then take the medicine later.” Lou Jia removed the towel from his forehead. “Can you sit up by yourself?”

Jiang Siwei felt his head was heavy, and even the effort of nodding seemed to use up all his strength. As he struggled to sit up, he felt dizzy, and his body started to fall forward.

Lou Jia quickly raised her hand to catch him, and his burning cheek pressing against the cool side of her neck.

Jiang Siwei, in his daze and comfort, rubbed against her slightly. Lou Jia instantly froze, as if struck by lightning, and her whole body tense from head to toe. She stiffly pushed him away. “Jiang Siwei.”

“…Hmm?” He responded groggily, with his eyelids heavy. His long, thick eyelashes fluttered slightly, revealing a pair of reddened eyes—clearly a symptom of the high fever—but the sight unexpectedly made one’s heart soften for a moment.

“Sit up properly.” Lou Jia held his shoulder with one hand while wiping his face haphazardly with the towel she had just replaced. “Are you more awake now?”

Jiang Siwei’s face hurt from her rough wiping, and even if he wasn’t fully awake, the pain had certainly woken him up. He nodded slightly and said in a hoarse voice, “I want to brush my teeth first.”

“Don’t be so particular. You can barely sit up straight; don’t go collapsing in the bathroom.” Despite her words, Lou Jia still had him wait while she went to get some mouthwash. “Make do with this.”

Jiang Siwei tore open the mouthwash packet, then took the cup and basin Lou Jia handed him. After a quick rinse, he didn’t eat much of the breakfast either.

“Lie down for a bit longer. Take this medicine in half an hour. I’ve written how to take it on the box. I have class later, but I’ll check on you after.” Lou Jia gathered up the bowl, basin, and cup. “What do you want for lunch? I’ll ask the housekeeper to cook something special for you.”

Jiang Siwei said that anything would do, but after thinking for a moment, he added, “I’d like to have the vegetable and egg noodles from last night again.”

Lou Jia smiled at him. “You’ve been eating that for so many years, aren’t you tired of it yet?”

“I haven’t had it in a long time,” Jiang Siwei looked at her as well. “Last night was the first time I’ve eaten it in years. I don’t like it when others make it.”

Lou Jia averted her gaze, showing little reaction. “Alright, I’ll find time to make it for you at lunch.”

“If you’re busy, don’t worry about it. I’m not that hungry,” Jiang Siwei said considerately.

“Even if I’m busy, you still have to eat. It doesn’t take much time to make a bowl of noodles.” Lou Jia didn’t argue with him and walked out with the dishes.

Jiang Siwei stared at her back until she disappeared from view before pulling his gaze away. He picked up the medicine box placed by the bed. The handwriting on it was beautiful, and very familiar.

He raised his hand, his fingertip brushing gently over the writing, then lay back down, clutching the medicine box.

After class, Lou Jia came by the dormitory. Seeing that Jiang Siwei was sleeping soundly, she didn’t disturb him. She went to the cafeteria, cooked the noodles, and then came back to wake him up.

As soon as her hand touched him, she realized that Jiang Siwei’s temperature was still alarmingly high.

Worried that he might faint from the fever, she quickly shook his shoulder. “Siwei?”

Jiang Siwei had fallen asleep and forgotten to take his medicine. With no one watching him, he kicked off the blanket when he was hot and pulled it back on when he was cold. The alternating hot and cold had made his fever even worse than it was in the morning.

Lou Jia called his name a few times before he finally opened his eyes, still in a daze, thinking he was in a dream. He grasped Lou Jia’s hand, the high fever clouding his mind, leaving him emotionally fragile and vulnerable.

With his eyes wide open, tears silently rolled down the corners of his beautiful, almond-shaped eyes. His silent tears softened yet pained the heart of anyone who saw him.

“Why are you still the same as when you were a kid? Every time you get a fever, you start crying.” Lou Jia dampened a towel with one hand, gently wiping away his tears, and let out a light laugh. “And you still have the nerve to say you’ve grown up?”

Jiang Siwei remained silent, continuing to cry quietly.

Lou Jia stopped wiping his tears, sitting at the bedside, lost in thought.

After a while, Jiang Siwei stopped crying, and his thoughts slowly started to clear up.

Realizing what he had just done, he felt embarrassed and wasn’t sure how to face Lou Jia, so he simply closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

At first, Lou Jia didn’t notice. It wasn’t until Jiang Siwei turned over that she realized he was pretending to sleep again. She gently nudged his shoulder. “Don’t sleep, come on, get up and eat.”

Jiang Siwei acted the part convincingly, mumbling a drowsy response without opening his eyes.

Lou Jia didn’t say anything further. When she saw the medicine box by the bed, she reached for it, intending to take out a few more pills. Upon opening it, she realized that he hadn’t taken his morning dose at all.

Furious, she slapped him on the back. “Jiang Siwei!”

You can’t wake someone who’s pretending to sleep.

But a slap will do the job.

Jiang Siwei winced from the pain, scrunching up his nose as he turned over to look at Lou Jia, still trying to act as if he had just woken up. “What’s wrong?”

“Why didn’t you take your medicine this morning?” Lou Jia shook the medicine box in her hand.

“…I fell asleep,” Jiang Siwei propped himself up on the bed, slowly sitting up. “I didn’t mean to skip it. I even set an alarm, but I guess I was sleeping too deeply to hear it.”

Lou Jia, infuriated, tossed the medicine box back onto the bed. “Get up and eat.”

Jiang Siwei didn’t dare say a word. Even though his head was spinning so badly that he could barely sit upright, he didn’t ask for help. Despite feeling too sick to eat, with everything tasting bland, he forced himself to finish half a bowl of noodles.

After eating, Jiang Siwei didn’t feel sleepy anymore, but the high fever kept him dizzy and disoriented. He drank some water and lay back down.

Lou Jia, worried that he might forget to take his medicine again, pulled up a chair and sat by the bed, deciding to wait until he finished the medicine before leaving.

The rain seemed to have gotten heavier in the afternoon, and the sound of it hitting the ground became more distinct.

Jiang Siwei stared at the underside of the top bunk, which was covered with names—three characters, two characters, four characters—messily overlapping each other.

Perhaps those names were left by the previous volunteer teachers.

“Why did you decide to come volunteer here?” he suddenly asked.

“I saw it, wanted to come, so I did,” Lou Jia’s answer was simple, without any grand or lofty explanations.

She had studied languages in college, and after finishing her senior year, she continued with three more years of graduate school at the same university. She had just graduated this year, with no desire to take civil service exams or apply for government jobs, nor had she considered going abroad. Fortunately, her family was supportive, and her parents were open-minded enough to back her decisions.

In her final semester of graduate school, Lou Jia saw the promotion for the volunteer program at her school. She stood in front of the bulletin board and made two phone calls—one to sign up and one to inform her parents of her plan.

After graduation, while her classmates headed off to major corporations and prestigious schools, she headed straight for the mountains.

“How long did you apply for?” Jiang Siwei asked again.

“One year.”

“Do you plan to stay after that?”

“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” Lou Jia replied, being the type to take things as they come. “What about you? Weren’t you planning to go abroad? Why did you come back?”

“It was too far,” Jiang Siwei looked at her, “too far from you…”

Lou Jia met his dark gaze, and that unsettling feeling washed over her again. Her fingers unconsciously scratched at a bump on the armrest of the chair.

“Too far from all of you,” Jiang Siwei said quietly.

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Author’s Note:

There probably won’t be an update tomorrow =3=

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