Chapter 43

The two entered the room, and Lu Siyu said, “Captain Song, you go take a shower first.”

As the lights came on, Song Wen noticed that Lu Siyu’s lips were turning white from the cold. Concerned about his well-being, he pushed him into the bathroom, saying, “Go take a shower; we wouldn’t want you catching a cold later.”

Lu Siyu looked up as if he wanted to say something, and Song Wen, with a smile, added, “No need to be modest. We’re both grown men; I don’t mind sharing.”

Hearing this, Lu Siyu’s pale face turned a little red, especially the tips of his ears, which became rosy. Without saying anything, he took a bathrobe and went in, and soon, the sound of running water could be heard.

Outside, Song Wen took off his wet shoes, turned on the air conditioner, and retrieved spare clothes from his bag. The things he had prepared at the police station were coming in handy now.

After a while, the bathroom door clicked, and Lu Siyu emerged in a bathrobe. He hadn’t fully recovered from feeling unwell earlier in the afternoon, and after climbing the mountain for several hours at night, his complexion hadn’t improved. Now, after the shower, steam enveloped him, making him look even paler, like he was carved from jade. The lights in the holiday resort emitted a soft glow, and in this setting, the person in front of Song Wen appeared more attractive than he had imagined.

The bathrobe was a bit large on him, and after a few steps, Lu Siyu’s collar revealed a section of his collarbone. The red mole on his throat was particularly eye-catching, resembling a blood dot or a spot of cinnabar applied with a brush.

Seeing that Song Wen was staring at him, Lu Siyu lowered his head and gently tightened the collar. In this movement, two slender and straight legs were revealed from the bottom of the bathrobe.

Song Wen had stayed with Fu Linjiang and Lao Lin during business trips before, and it was always natural. But with Lu Siyu, the atmosphere suddenly became abnormal. Song Wen silently repeated in his mind three times that they were just colleagues and nothing more. He cleared his throat, bent down, and carried his clothes inside, saying, “I’m going to take a shower.”

Under the water, Song Wen took his time, waiting until he had calmed down before coming out. Lu Siyu had changed into casual sleepwear, sitting against the bed. Despite the air conditioning, the mountain nights were cold, and they still needed a blanket.

Lu Siyu looked at Song Wen coming out and turned his head, adjusting his position. “This bed is a bit hard.”

Song Wen walked over and touched it. “It’s not bad ah. Princess *da ren, did you feel the peas under the mattress?”
*respectful title for high ranking official/royal

Leaning against the bed, Lu Siyu raised his head, his eyes meeting Song Wen’s for a moment. After a short while, his long eyelashes drooped, casting a small shadow, like two little fans. “I checked all the cabinets and only found one blanket.” His voice was a bit muffled, as if embarrassed. Still, since he suggested sharing a bed, he felt obliged to tell Song Wen to avoid awkwardness.

Song Wen replied, “I think it’s not too cold with the air conditioning on.”

Lu Siyu said, “It’s okay. The blanket is big enough. Let’s each take one side. I just wanted to let you know.”

After thinking for a moment, Song Wen said, “When I sleep, theoretically, I don’t snore. However, once asleep, who knows? If I make any noise and disturb you, just wake me up.” It was the first time they shared a room, and both of them were a bit reserved. After saying this, Song Wen climbed onto the bed.

Lu Siyu made a sound of agreement. As Song Wen got on, he felt the mattress sink beside him. From childhood to adulthood, he had never shared a bed with anyone, and it made him a bit nervous. He lay down and turned his body away, facing the other direction.

There was a glass decoration on the head of the bed. Song Wen glanced over and noticed that Lu Siyu’s eyes were still open.

Song Wen pulled the blanket, turned off the lights, leaving only a nightlight on, and closed his eyes.

After all, he had been rushing around all night, and there was a faint sound of rain outside the window. Song Wen lay there for a while and gradually fell asleep.

Only then did Lu Siyu sneak a glance at him. Song Wen slept quietly, with his eyes closed, and his high nose bridge looked even more prominent. Song Wen’s earlier concerns seemed unnecessary; he was well-behaved when sleeping, with no noticeable sounds while breathing, and his limbs were neatly placed by his side.

In the dim light of the nightlight, Lu Siyu cautiously reached out and gently lifted a few strands of hair near Song Wen’s eyebrows. Looking at him this way, the man in front of him was indeed quite handsome. No wonder there were female colleagues in the police station who always seemed to be interested in him. However, Song Wen was entirely focused on his career, keeping a distance from such matters.

After watching for a while, Lu Siyu turned around, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

The night in the mountain village was extremely quiet. Initially, there were occasional sounds of insects, but later, even those sounds disappeared. The whole world seemed to quiet down, as if only this room and a bed remained.

In the middle of the night, Lu Siyu entered a state of pseudo-sleep, as if his body was deceiving itself into thinking it was asleep. He felt drowsy, yet also felt like he hadn’t really fallen asleep. It seemed there were dreams, but he couldn’t remember what they were about. He tried to wake up but couldn’t, feeling as if something was pressing down on his body, struggling desperately.

Song Wen slept for who knew how long. Eventually, he felt a bit cold. The sensation was as if his entire body was immersed in icy rainwater. In the latter half of the night, he was awakened by the cold, opening his eyes to find Lu Siyu wrapped in the blanket, curled up with his back to him. As he turned, all the blankets were pulled to Lu Siyu’s side.

The mountain temperature was already low, and the continuous rain in the past few days had further lowered it. The air conditioning seemed unable to warm up the room, and without covering anything, it was indeed a bit cold.

Song Wen sat up silently for half a minute, looked at the curled-up Lu Siyu beside him, and noticed that all the blankets were on his side. Song Wen found it both annoying and amusing. Who was the one who said they would each take one side? He snatched half of the blanket from the sleeping Lu Siyu, leaving him covered like a snail, and crawled under the blanket.

Just as Song Wen was about to doze off in a drowsy state, he felt the blanket on him sliding away, rolled by Lu Siyu. Song Wen couldn’t help but grab a corner of the blanket and whispered, “Little ancestor! Don’t pull it!”

Lu Siyu mumbled, “Little wolf…”

Song Wen started to think that Lu Siyu was calling him, but then he remembered that this person should be calling his own dog. This time, Song Wen felt something was wrong. He moved closer to Lu Siyu and noticed that Lu Siyu’s body was curled up, covered in cold sweat, and trembling slightly. Suddenly, Song Wen woke up and quickly reached out to feel Lu Siyu’s forehead, finding it terrifyingly hot.

Song Wen urgently called out to Lu Siyu, “Don’t sleep, wake up. You’re about to turn into a heater.”

In a dazed state, Lu Siyu, feeling the pressure lifting from his body, struggled to open his eyes. He saw a worried-looking Song Wen but didn’t know what had happened. Then he felt severe body aches, his stomach felt like it was being sliced, and his throat seemed blocked, burning. Unable to help it, he made a muffled sound, biting his lower lip and closing his eyes while curling his body tighter.

“Get up, let’s go to the hospital,” Song Wen said, swiftly getting up and dressing. “Didn’t you realize you have a fever?”

Struggling to get out of the pseudo-sleep state, Lu Siyu, feeling a bit unsteady, asked with a hoarse voice, “What time is it? Can’t we go tomorrow?”

Song Wen checked his phone for the time. “It’s just past four. You might reach 40°C by tomorrow.” Since there was no thermometer, he could only rely on touch to know that Lu Siyu had a significant fever. “Maybe you already have 40°C now.”

“Captain Song… My stomach hurts.” Lu Siyu, not hiding anything this time, said pitifully. The light from the lamp pierced his eyes, and he shielded them with one hand while tightly gripping the blanket against his stomach with the other. He was covered in cold sweat, his pale face now even whiter, and he looked more pitiful with redness around his eyes.

Reflecting on it now, he had signs of discomfort yesterday afternoon. He had rested for a while, thinking it wasn’t a big deal, but after tossing and turning all night and getting soaked in the rain, the situation worsened during the night. Lu Siyu tried to sit up, but the spasms in his stomach were intense, feeling like a knife twisting inside him. After adjusting to the light, he sat up, both hands pressed firmly against his protesting stomach, not daring to exert force in his breathing.

“Stomach pain requires a visit to the hospital. I told you not to follow last night, but you insisted on being strong,” Song Wen said, pulling out his phone. “Shall I call an ambulance? It might take some time for 120 to come here.”

Lu Siyu, trembling from the pain, but still wanting to save face, blinked his eyes and said hoarsely, “Don’t… give me a couple of minutes to rest. I’ll change my clothes and get up.”

Song Wen poured him a glass of warm water, made him drink it, and then brought his clothes over. Lu Siyu waited until the pain inside his body eased slightly before sitting up. As soon as he changed into his clothes, he made another sound, clutching his stomach and bending down. It felt like he had swallowed razor blades, slicing through his body.

Song Wen, helping Lu Siyu fasten his buttons, comforted him, “Endure a bit more, and you’ll be fine when we get to the hospital.”

Lu Siyu, pale and somewhat weak, looked at him, unable to speak, and let him handle everything. Song Wen felt that the person in his arms was abnormally feverish. Seeing him bowing his head, his sharp chin almost touching his neck, with closed eyes and long eyelashes trembling, he had no strength to get up.

Song Wen made an emergency call to inquire about the situation. The hospital in town would send a car, taking an hour for a round trip, and Song Wen couldn’t drive there faster. Moreover, Lu Siyu’s condition was unclear. So, he decided to go to the village clinic first, grab some medicine, and seek some peace of mind.

Song Wen fetched Lu Siyu’s shoes; they had been soaked in the rain yesterday but had dried overnight with the air conditioning. Kneeling on one knee, Song Wen helped him put on his shoes. Seeing Lu Siyu in such pain, Song Wen didn’t expect him to walk. He pulled Lu Siyu up, saying, “Come, lie on my back, I’ll carry you out.”

Lu Siyu agreed and obediently placed his hands on Song Wen’s shoulders. “Captain Song, I’m causing you trouble again.”

“Why be so polite? Who hasn’t been sick before?” Song Wen said, lifting him. Lu Siyu looked thin, but he wasn’t light. Song Wen, testing his weight, remarked, “Are you solid inside? I didn’t expect you to be this heavy.”

“I still have muscles…” Lu Siyu, lacking the strength to joke, couldn’t help tightening his grip on Song Wen’s neck. Turning his face to the other side, he laid it on Song Wen’s back, saying, “It hurts…”

Song Wen didn’t dare delay any longer, feeling that the person on his back was unusually hot even through their clothes. He carried Lu Siyu out and placed him in the car, then quickly searched for the nearest clinic to head there.

In this area, each township had a small clinic with few doctors, capable of handling minor illnesses and emergencies. Now, in the silent night just before dawn, Song Wen drove for seven to eight minutes, arriving at the location indicated by the navigation system. The village clinic was a few bungalows with blue roofs, painted white, and a sign hanging saying “Wentou Village Clinic.” On the simple wall at the entrance were various health promotion posters.

Stopping the car outside, Song Wen said to Lu Siyu, “Wait for me; I’ll go check.”

Lu Siyu raised his eyes, weakly acknowledging.

Only then did Song Wen get out of the car, walked over, and pushed the door of the clinic. The door was locked from the inside. “Is anyone here?” Song Wen knocked on the door and called out several times. After a while, a nurse wearing white opened a small window beside the door, looking at Song Wen with a complex expression. “Big brother, what’s the matter?”

“Here for medical treatment, it’s an emergency,” Song Wen thought, what else could someone come here for so late?

“The doctor in the village is off duty at night. I’m the one on duty, and I can’t treat illnesses. You should hurry to the county hospital. It’s only forty minutes from here.” The nurse was about to close the window.

“Don’t…” It was quite a struggle for Song Wen to knock on the door, and he held his hand out to stop the nurse. “Can I at least buy some medicine?”

The nurse seemed a bit helpless and asked, “What are the symptoms?”

“Fever, cold, and stomachache.” Song Wen didn’t know exactly what was wrong with Lu Siyu. “The stomachache is quite severe.”

“There’s no medication for these symptoms here.” The nurse spoke with a flicker of something strange in her eyes, hesitating.

“Just give me some fever-reducing medicine, can you?” Song Wen made a final concession. “Fever patches would do, too. If you have them here, it would be even better to get a thermometer.”

“Wait a moment, then.” The nurse said as she went inside. After a while, she handed out a box of medicine and a thermometer through the small window, urging, “Big brother, you should leave quickly and not waste any more time.”

Song Wen took the box of medicine, feeling that something was off but couldn’t quite put his finger on it. “Uh, the cost of the medicine…” Before he could finish, the nurse abruptly closed the small iron window.

Encountering such a situation for the first time and fearing any further delay, Song Wen returned to the car. Lu Siyu, unable to wait, was sitting in the car, his face pale, drenched in sweat. Suddenly, he lifted his head and said, “I’ve figured it out…”

“What?” Song Wen was puzzled, handing him the thermometer. “You should take your temperature first. I’ll take you to the county hospital right away.”

Lu Siyu took the thermometer, biting his lip, and said, “I’ve figured it out. At that time, Xue Jingming… might have fallen down the mountain. He was shot, and if he’s still alive, he might…”

The supernatural and immortal beings don’t exist, and people can’t just disappear into thin air. The location on the mountain just now wasn’t far from a small slope where he nearly slipped and was pulled by Zhang Dahai. Because it was too steep and covered with vegetation, the villagers, familiar with the terrain, didn’t thoroughly search it. Now thinking about it, perhaps Xue Jingming had fallen down there, which was why they didn’t find him during the search.

Although Lu Siyu was currently running a fever and experiencing severe stomach pain, his mind was exceptionally clear. A sudden insight led him to consider a possibility.

Song Wen glanced at the medicine box in his hand, “SOS” was hastily wrote on it with a pen, and nodded.