CHAPTER 19 (PART 1)

Shi Li was momentarily stunned, suddenly realizing that Shen Jingyan had always taken his medicine when she wasn’t around to see it.

…That little bastard. Just to live with her like before, he was willing to gamble with his own health. No wonder he kept getting sick and stubbornly refused to go to the hospital.

Shi Li took a deep breath, suppressing her emotions. She didn’t confront him. Instead, she stood up, threw in some more trash to completely cover those colorful pills, and then went to prepare a simple meal.

During dinner, Shi Li brought over his medicine and a glass of water.

Shen Jingyan had little interest. “I’ll eat first.”

“No, take it before eating.” Shi Li looked at him calmly. “Be good.”

Shen Jingyan pressed his lips together. “I don’t have an appetite.”

“Hurry up,” Shi Li urged.

Their interactions had already reverted to how they were five years ago. Shen Jingyan often acted childishly in front of her, and sometimes, Shi Li felt like she was dealing with a stubborn kid.

Shen Jingyan stared at the medicine on the table, visibly displeased. But in the end, he took it.

Shi Li’s lips curled up slightly, though she quickly suppressed her smile to avoid being caught.

From that day on, Shi Li personally supervised his medication. She wouldn’t let him eat anything else until she saw him swallow his pills. Though Shen Jingyan wasn’t happy about it, his body gradually recovered against his will.

Every time she saw him sulking in silence, Shi Li had the urge to ruffle his hair. But with his hatred value now down to 6%, she didn’t dare get too close—last time, a single act had dropped it from 10% to 1%. If she wasn’t careful, it might hit zero.

Sensing her increasing distance, Shen Jingyan’s mood darkened even more.

After dinner one evening, Shi Li rested for half an hour before picking up a jump rope to exercise. She had been cooped up here for too long, moving less than usual and snacking more out of boredom. She had put on some weight, and since she often napped during the day, her sleep quality at night had suffered. So, she decided to start working out.

Shen Jingyan sat nearby, quietly watching her. His eyes seemed vacant, but the occasional flashes of devotion and obsession betrayed his true emotions.

Despite looking energetic, Shi Li’s stamina was terrible—after just seventy or eighty jumps, she was exhausted.

Shen Jingyan immediately approached her. “You can’t stop all at once. Walk around a bit.”

As he spoke, he reached out to take her hand, intending to lead her around the room.

Shi Li wiped the sweat from her face and looked up at him—only to see that his hatred value had dropped to 3%. Alarmed, she instinctively took two steps back.

Shen Jingyan’s face darkened instantly. His eyes locked onto her, but after a brief pause, he turned away as if nothing had happened. “Stopping suddenly is bad for your heart. Keep moving.”

“…Okay.” Shi Li nodded stiffly, mentally kicking herself for reacting too obviously.

A thick tension filled the air. Shi Li walked laps around the room while Shen Jingyan went to wash up. They busied themselves separately, outwardly harmonious but with an invisible wall growing between them.

When bedtime came, Shen Jingyan lay in the middle of the bed, effectively dividing it into two smaller sections. No matter which side Shi Li chose, she would have to be close to him.

But when Shi Li stepped out of the bathroom and saw him lying in the center, she mistakenly assumed he was still upset about earlier and didn’t want to share the bed with her. That suited her just fine—she was also afraid of getting too close when his hatred value was only at 3%.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she turned and went to sleep on the sofa.

“I’m turning off the lights,” she called out deliberately.

Shen Jingyan’s fingers clenched the blanket tightly, but he didn’t say a word.

Shi Li awkwardly switched off the lights and lay down on the sofa. She wasn’t sleepy yet, so she quietly listened for any movement from his side. Only when she was sure he had fallen asleep did she relax and adjust her position.

Late at night, she heard sounds coming from the bed.

She tried to open her eyes to check, but her eyelids felt too heavy. After a few failed attempts, she had no choice but to give up and continue sleeping.

The next morning, Shen Jingyan had caught another cold.

“…What is wrong with you?” Shi Li frowned. “The temperature in this room has been constant. You shouldn’t be getting sick so often.”

After what happened with his discarded pills, she couldn’t help but be suspicious. Remembering the noises from last night, she immediately asked, “Did you get up last night? What did you do?”

Shen Jingyan turned his face away, refusing to answer. His nose was red, his eyes glassy, as if he had been crying.

Shi Li reminded herself that these were just normal symptoms of a cold—she shouldn’t be fooled by his pitiful appearance. But despite her rational thoughts, her tone softened. “I’m not accusing you. I just want to know why you got sick.”

“You think I did it on purpose,” Shen Jingyan said coldly, his voice rough from illness.

Shi Li hesitated. Seeing how calmly he called her out, she suddenly felt uncertain. “…Not exactly. It’s just that your timing is too convenient. One illness ends, and the next starts almost immediately.”

Given how weak his immune system was, he could easily make himself sick whenever he wanted. It was hard not to be suspicious.

Hearing her words, Shen Jingyan shot her an indifferent glance before pulling the blanket over his head, completely shutting her out.

Shi Li sighed helplessly. She steamed an egg custard and brought it over. “Eat a little. You need food before taking your medicine.”

Since she couldn’t get anything out of him and he was sick, he had the right to be stubborn. She decided to set her doubts aside for now and just observe him more carefully.

Shen Jingyan remained motionless, pretending not to hear her.

Worried he had actually fainted, Shi Li quickly put down the bowl and pulled back the blanket—

Oh. Not only was he fully conscious, but his expression was extremely vivid: 30% resentment, 70% grievance.

Shi Li found his sulking unexpectedly cute. She coughed lightly to hide her amusement and softened her tone. “Don’t be mad. That was my fault. I shouldn’t have doubted you. I’m sorry. Can you eat something? Don’t make me worry, okay?”

“You still worry about me?” Shen Jingyan retorted.

Shi Li sighed. “Of course I do.”

Shen Jingyan stared at her for a long moment before a mocking glint flashed in his eyes. “Liar.”

“…How am I a liar? I really do care about you,” Shi Li said helplessly.

Shen Jingyan lifted his gaze, his tone void of emotion. “Even if you care, it’s only when I’m sick. Once I’m better, you keep your distance.”

After a long silence, he lowered his eyes and stared at the veins on the back of his hand. Then he murmured, “You don’t see me as a man at all. To you, I’m just a pet. You act like you like me, but compared to a real person, I’m something you can dismiss more easily.”

Shi Li felt a sharp pain in her chest. She almost blurted out, “Who takes a pet to bed?”

Shen Jingyan froze and looked at her, as if trying to see straight into her soul.

Shi Li coughed, her face heating up as she turned away.

Something in Shen Jingyan’s expression shifted. Remembering certain past events, his mood suddenly improved. “I’m hungry.”

“Then eat.” Seeing him finally willing to eat, Shi Li smiled slightly and began feeding him bite by bite.

She took meticulous care of him, hoping he’d recover faster. But by the afternoon, he was burning up with a fever again.

Since he still refused to go to the hospital, Shi Li had no choice but to stay by his side, patiently cooling him down with a damp towel.

As she tried to pull away to fetch an ice pack, Shen Jingyan tightened his grip on her hand.

“I’ll just grab an ice pack,” she coaxed.

“You’re already cold,” Shen Jingyan murmured, looking at her steadily.

Shi Li held his gaze for a moment, then sighed and climbed into bed with him. “I’m only humoring you because your fever is starting to drop.”

Shen Jingyan held her tightly, closing his eyes. “I wish we could always be like this.”

“…Yeah, no. I’d rather you just get better,” Shi Li muttered.

Shen Jingyan smirked wordlessly, letting her comment slide.

By nightfall, his fever had gone down. Shi Li sat by the bed to keep him company, but before Shen Jingyan even fell asleep, she dozed off first.

He gazed at her sleeping face for a long time, then carefully pulled her onto the bed and held her close as he drifted off.

In the early hours of the morning, Shi Li once again heard the sound of OO@@. She was even more exhausted today than yesterday, and logically, she shouldn’t have been able to wake up. However, as soon as she turned over, her hand instinctively reached out to the spot beside her. After feeling around a few times and realizing there was no one there, she immediately woke up with a start.

When she opened her eyes, her mind went blank for a brief moment before gradually regaining clarity. She turned her head toward the bathroom. The room was dark, with no lights on, except for a faint glow seeping through the crack of the bathroom door.

Shi Li remained silent for a moment before lifting her foot and walking toward the bathroom. She took a deep breath, grasped the doorknob, and suddenly pushed the door open.

The sound of running water instantly became louder, and a wave of steaming heat rushed toward her. The moment she saw the man standing under the showerhead, she was rendered completely speechless.

Shen Jingyan, who was in the middle of a shower, had his skin flushed red from the hot water. When he saw her push the door open, he didn’t seem startled at all. Instead, he calmly asked, “Need to use the toilet? Wait a moment, I’m almost done.”

“…You’re showering at this hour?” Shi Li didn’t know what to say. Her gaze inadvertently landed on him, and she quickly looked away, feeling a bit embarrassed. Even though they had already done the most intimate things, that didn’t mean she wouldn’t still feel shy seeing his body.

Though Shen Jingyan was on the thin side, some areas were still quite impressive. Was this a standard trait for male leads in novels? As Shi Li’s thoughts wandered, a wet hand suddenly grasped her chin, forcing her to look up at Shen Jingyan’s eyes.

“Want to join me?” he asked seriously.

Shi Li hesitated. “…I don’t think so.”

Shen Jingyan acted as if he didn’t hear her, leaning down to press a kiss on her lips. Shi Li instinctively stepped back, but he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him. Her already-thin sleepwear was instantly soaked through, and his scorching body heat completely overwhelmed her senses.

“I was sweating too much, so I just wanted to wash up. I feel much better now.” As he answered her earlier question, he continued to tease and linger on her lips.

Shi Li placed her hands against his chest, feeling as if even breathing was becoming difficult. “Y-you should dry off first, or you’ll get sick.”

Shen Jingyan’s response was to pull her into the shower, letting the hot water cascade over both of them.

“This way, it’s fine,” he said.

Shi Li turned her face away with difficulty, dodging his kiss, and tried to speak in a steady voice. “You’re still sick. Dry off and go to bed.”

Shen Jingyan’s eyes darkened. He kissed her earlobe and whispered, “Didn’t you say you don’t dislike my body?”

“Of course, I don’t…” Shi Li started, looking at him.

Shen Jingyan cut off her words by pressing his lips against hers again, backing her against the cold tiled wall. The stark contrast between the icy ceramic and the steaming hot water made her let out a muffled hum, and before she knew it, her arms had wrapped around his neck.

Shen Jingyan shielded her as he reached out to adjust the water temperature to something more comfortable. Only then did he pull her back under the shower.

“Then prove it.”

In the haze of it all, she vaguely heard those words before completely losing herself.

The greatest advantage of doing such things in the bathroom was that everything from exercise to cleanup was handled in one go. By the time they returned to bed, they collapsed immediately into sleep—it was even more effective than jump rope for Shi Li.

However, the next day, Shen Jingyan started running a fever again. And it wasn’t just once—it became a recurring cycle. His temperature would go down at night, only to spike again the next morning.

Shi Li couldn’t shake the feeling that he was doing something behind her back. But she had been keeping a close eye on him every day. Aside from occasionally taking nighttime showers, he followed a strict routine—eating meals and taking medicine on time. He didn’t do anything else out of the ordinary. If he ever left the apartment, it was only briefly to take out the trash or grab some daily necessities, and he returned almost immediately, barely lingering downstairs.

…But even if he did linger, what could he possibly be doing? Injecting himself with some kind of fever-inducing drug? That was ridiculous. It was more reasonable to assume he simply had a weak immune system, which was why he kept getting sick.

Shi Li sighed, turning on the faucet to continue washing vegetables. But halfway through, the water suddenly stopped flowing.

She fiddled with the tap for a while and confirmed that the water had been cut off. Staring at the half-washed vegetables in front of her, she spaced out for a moment.

“What’s wrong?”