The salty sea breeze clung to Jianyang’s hair by the seaside, his bangs sticking to his forehead. He touched his hair and then extended two fingertips to stroke the collar of Guan Ciyan’s shirt. “Sir, aren’t you cold?”

After leaving the hospital, Guan Ciyan’s suit jacket was on Jianyang’s body. Jianyang wore two jackets and shivered.

Guan Ciyan touched his forehead. “Are you still cold?”

Jianyang replied, “I’m not cold.”

Achoo—

“Sir, I’m really not cold.” Jianyang wrapped himself tighter in his clothes and crossed his arms over his waist.

“Jianyang.” Guan Ciyan’s palm, which was pressed against his forehead, was cold. “Go back.”

They walked along the beach for a while, and it would take more than ten minutes to walk back. The sea breeze kept blowing, but Guan Ciyan felt no effect, while Jianyang’s lips trembled, still complaining. “Just a little longer, sir, just a little.”

Guan Ciyan still had a shirt on, and it was impossible to take it off and give it to him. He pulled Jianyang into his embrace, wrapping his arm around Jianyang’s shoulder. Their bodies were pressed close together, and Jianyang stopped complaining, quietly rubbing against Guan Ciyan.

The warmth from his body spread through the clothes, making Jianyang feel warmer and more attentive to the scent of the sea breeze.

“Sir, does this sea area have a name?” Jianyang began to feel a little sentimental. “I want to come here again.”

“Are you serious, Jianyang? You’d fall over as soon as the wind blows.” Guan Ciyan’s words were faster than usual. “You still want to come again?”

This kind of thing had happened countless times before. When his sister had free time, she would take Jianyang out to play, but little Jianyang was physically too weak. A bit of wind would give him a cold, and a little rain would make him feverish. Later, his sister didn’t let him go out anymore.

When he grew up, he didn’t have freedom for even two years before becoming a star.

When Jianyang was shoved into the car, he couldn’t stop thinking about the scenery by the sea. His gaze passed over Guan Ciyan’s shoulder and fell far ahead. Guan Ciyan fastened his seatbelt, and when he raised his head, he saw the lost look in Jianyang’s eyes. He didn’t understand what was so memorable about that sea area.

Guan Ciyan drove quickly back home, where Zhang Bo had prepared ginger soup to ward off the cold. Jianyang pinched his nose and drank it, his cheeks turning red. “Zhang Bo, sir, I’m going upstairs first.”

“Jianyang, are you alright?” Guan Ciyan looked at Jianyang with suspicion.

Jianyang was burning with heat. “I’m fine, really. I’m just a little tired, I’m going to sleep.”

Zhang Bo saw that Guan Ciyan’s clothes seemed wet and handed him a bowl of ginger soup. “Sir, please have some too.”

The sharp scent filled his nostrils, and Guan Ciyan tilted his head. “No need.”

What’s a man afraid of, a little wind? Guan Ciyan went upstairs, took a shower, and lay down. Miraculously, his mind wasn’t filled with old memories or work, and his body, like an ordinary person, sent out signals. He fell into a peaceful sleep.

He slept so deeply and quickly that his biological clock was disrupted. He woke up around ten o’clock the next morning. Zhang Bo had already cleared away breakfast, but Guan Ciyan told him not to prepare anything again. Jianyang always liked to sleep in, and if he didn’t get up, no one would call him.

Until the assistant informed Guan Ciyan that Director Xu had received Jianyang’s contract and was preparing to start filming in five days. That’s when Guan Ciyan realized something was wrong.

Jianyang may be a little slow, but his work attitude was surprisingly positive. He knew he was going to start filming and should have gotten up at six to prepare, not slept until noon. Guan Ciyan asked Zhang Bo, “Has Jianyang not gotten up yet?”

Zhang Bo spoke for him. “He’s tired. Let him sleep a bit more.”

Guan Ciyan sent a message to his assistant, canceling today’s schedule and pushing everything back.

“Call the doctor over.”

After leaving that sentence, Guan Ciyan went upstairs and opened Jianyang’s room door. The blackout curtains blocked all the light. Just as he was about to pull them open, he stopped and walked to the bedside, turning on the small bedside lamp.

Jianyang’s pale face was bathed in the cold light, making it appear even softer. His forehead was completely soaked in sweat, sticking to his skin. Sweat trickled down to his ears, and his skin shone with a light reflection, the fine fuzz on his skin clearly visible.

It looked like a fine fox fur blanket, quietly lying on an expensive oak chair, waiting to be used.

Guan Ciyan placed his fingers on Jianyang’s forehead. As expected, he had a fever.

When he touched Jianyang’s particularly cold skin by the sea last night, he knew something was wrong.

However, it was still hard to believe that an adult man could get a fever just from the sea breeze. Guan Ciyan sat down by the bed and casually scanned the surroundings. He saw some opened cold medicine and half a cup of warm water on the bedside table.

Guan Ciyan was a little shocked.

This little thing already knew he would catch a cold and had gone to get the medicine when everyone was asleep last night.

What right did he have to say he was deceiving him?

Seeing the amount of medicine, it seemed Jianyang wouldn’t wake up for a while. Guan Ciyan didn’t disturb him and quietly left the room, closing the door behind him.

The doctor arrived an hour later. Zhang Bo also had a cold, so the doctor had come to administer an IV. Since Guan Ciyan often came back injured from the old house, the doctor was already familiar with the Guan household. After checking on Jianyang, the doctor directly went upstairs to find Guan Ciyan in the living room.

“Already finished the IV so quickly?” Guan Ciyan was handling some work on his laptop in the living room.

The doctor nodded and looked at Guan Ciyan. Guan Ciyan didn’t look up. “What’s wrong?”

“Sir.” The doctor spoke carefully. “I should have told you before, young master’s health is very poor, right? Because of congenital weakness, his overall bodily functions are worse than ordinary people.”

The first time Jianyang left the old house with Guan Ciyan, the doctor had diagnosed him. What did the doctor say back then? Guan Ciyan stopped his work and thought back. He couldn’t remember the exact scene from back then, only vaguely recalling the doctor warning him that Jianyang’s health was fragile and that he was very tolerant.

“What’s wrong?” Guan Ciyan asked.

The doctor took a deep breath. “Sir, young master is in poor health. How could he withstand the cold? Once he has a fever, his eyes become dry and itchy, and they are already swollen.”

“Is there really such a chain reaction?” Guan Ciyan said, “Last night, he ate too much hotpot and wanted to walk by the beach to digest. Is it this serious?”

“Hotpot?” The doctor’s voice raised a couple of octaves, as if scolding an irresponsible parent. “With this young master’s constitution, it’s fine to nourish him with mild ingredients, but how could he eat hotpot? His stomach can’t handle such stimulation.”

“It was just a seafood hotpot, not too spicy.”

“Seafood??!!!”

The doctor already dashed back into the room.

The IV was still being administered, and Jian Yang, wrapped in a blanket, was now sweating, his cheeks flushed. He looked like a hawthorn soaked in water, much more pale than earlier that morning. The doctor wiped him down with an alcohol swab, about to lift his blanket.

Guan Ciyan furrowed his brows and said, “I’ll do it.”

“Sir, please be gentle,” the doctor said nervously, as if Jian Yang in bed were a delicate snowman that would melt with a touch.

“I understand.” Guan Ciyan sat by the bed and gently lifted Jian Yang’s blanket.

As he lifted it slightly, Jian Yang’s eyelids fluttered. His long eyelashes cast a shadow under his eyes, and he moved slightly, saying, “It itches.”

His golden eyes barely opened, looking at Guan Ciyan weakly. He grabbed his hand, his voice hoarse and barely audible, “Sir, it… it itches.”

“Okay,” Guan Ciyan’s brow deepened further, “I understand.”

He moved slowly, pulling the blanket away gently. Jian Yang’s neck was covered in several red patches, his fair skin looked like it had been branded. On closer inspection, the red spots were slightly swollen. Guan Ciyan held his voice down, “What’s going on?”

The doctor, startled by the sudden pressure, stepped back, “The young master has a low immune system and is prone to allergies. Normally, cold medicine is fine, but after eating seafood, his body can’t handle it.”

“It itches so much.” Jian Yang reached for his neck.

Guan Ciyan held his hand.

“It itches so much.”

Guan Ciyan kept his hand firmly held, while Jian Yang used his other hand to rub his eyes.

His pink eyelids were rubbed raw, turning deep red, and his lower eyelids swelled up completely, sweat and tears mixing together, making him look even more pitiful.

“Should we use medication quickly?” Guan Ciyan’s low tone filled the room.

In the cold autumn wind, even the healthy doctor started sweating.

“We can’t use anything now, sir,” the doctor stood his ground, “If we use allergy medicine now, it will react with the cold medicine. The young master’s body can’t handle it. We can only wait for him to get better on his own.”

“He’s in a lot of pain.”

“That’s why I said the young master’s body is weak and needs to be nurtured. How could he eat seafood, hotpot, and be exposed to the wind?” The doctor was near tears.

“So, what can we do now?” Guan Ciyan didn’t expect a man to be so fragile. Even using medicine wasn’t an option.

“After the fever goes down, his body will recover slowly. It will be uncomfortable for the young master, and he’ll have to endure it himself.”

“So you’re saying you’re useless?” Guan Ciyan suddenly became cold.

The doctor, now calm, seemed relieved, as though he had been dreading the judgment from above. But when it finally came, he felt at ease.

“Don’t come next time,” Guan Ciyan declared. “No need to go to the hospital anymore.”

“Yes, sir.”

The doctor, worried about the lie he told Jian Yang yesterday under pressure from Guan Ciyan, was now relieved. He wouldn’t have to clean up this mess.

The wind and rain battered outside the window as the doctor left with his medical kit. After being personally fired by Guan Ciyan, his career was over. No hospital would hire him again. Luckily, he didn’t have a family, and his wages over the years were enough for a comfortable life in his later years.

When Jian Yang woke up, his body ached. It felt much better than the cold shiver from last night. The first thing he did was check his phone.

Wei Wei told him that the contract was fine, and he had forgotten to mention that the film payment would go through Wei Wei’s company. The first payment would be transferred to Jian Yang in a few days, and he would join the set in five days to start filming. Jian Yang weakly smiled, his eyes filled with happiness.

This life was going much smoother than his previous one. He didn’t even have to do extra roles—he was a supporting character right away!

Jian Yang scratched his neck, sweating, and got up to take a shower. He looked in the mirror and saw the red patches on his neck, his pale lips, and flushed face… This body… Jian Yang pointed at his reflection in the mirror, and Guan Ciyan leaned in and, with genuine emotion, cursed, “Useless!!”

How could he get sick at such a crucial moment?!

He raised his hand and saw needle marks. Jian Yang froze for a moment, then walked back to the bed. He saw that the cold medicine had been switched out for one with foreign text he didn’t understand.

Guan Ciyan knew… Jian Yang had stubbornly tried to hide his illness from him last night.

Jian Yang crouched on the floor, holding the medicine for a while, and the door opened. Guan Ciyan walked in, “You’re awake? Are you feeling better?”

Jian Yang stood up instinctively. “I’m fine.”

His vision blurred, and his head spun.

Thud—

He collapsed into Guan Ciyan’s arms.