The entrance of Huainan No. 1 High School was packed with private cars, and Song Mian’s car was parked across the street.

Chu Tao struggled to find his family’s car amidst the cluster of blinking lights and honking vehicles.

One piece of clothing wasn’t enough to shield them from the rain. Holding Chu Xingning close, he could feel Chu Xingning shivering from the cold.

Chu Xingning felt dizzy and weak, his fever making him miserable. His wet clothes clung to him, and the breeze made his skin tighten with the cold.

Song Mian rushed out of the car and, with Chu Tao’s help, carefully settled Chu Xingning into the back seat.

Chu Xingning frowned, his eyes tightly shut as he curled up, clearly uncomfortable.

Instinctively, Chu Tao raised his hand to shield Song Mian from the rain, even though it didn’t help much. “Mom, get in the car quickly.”

With a loud “thump,” Song Mian shut the car door, pushed Chu Tao’s arm aside, and demanded, “What’s going on? Why does your brother have a fever?”

Her slap to Chu Tao’s wrist left a slight ache, and he paused, stunned. “My brother wasn’t feeling well all day.”

Song Mian flung her arms out in exasperation, gesturing frantically. “Why didn’t you take him to the school clinic? Why wait until now to tell me? You know he’s not in good health—what if he gets worse?”

Soaked through, Chu Tao’s hair clung to his forehead, his long lashes matted together, and tiny beads of rain clung to them, ready to drip into his eyes.

He swallowed, wiped the rain from his face, and said softly, “I’m sorry.”

Song Mian took a deep breath, huffed in frustration, and got back in the driver’s seat.

Lowering his gaze, Chu Tao opened the passenger-side door.

He noticed Chu Xingning forcing himself up, his eyes barely open, as he weakly muttered, “Mom, stop yelling.”

Outside, rain poured heavily, glistening under the streetlights in a honey-colored glow.

The droplets, like relentless bullets, hit the ground, the car windows, shattering and scattering, then vanishing into the dark night.

Puddles half a finger deep had already formed along the edges of the road, and tires rolled through, creating ripples.

Inside the car, the warm air was on, and Song Mian seemed to calm down a little.

She glanced at Chu Tao, noticing his silent, expressionless gaze fixed on the school building across the street.

“I’ve been dealing with pension issues, relocation compensations, registering new residents, and issuing temporary permits all day, nonstop from morning till night. Your dad’s not home, so I had to run back in the afternoon to close the windows. Now your brother’s sick, and I’m exhausted.”

Chu Tao turned, took a tissue from the box, and gently wiped the rain from Song Mian’s neck.

“Mom, you’re working really hard.”

Seeing that Chu Tao wasn’t reacting much, Song Mian felt reassured.

She shifted away from his hand. “Wipe yourself off; I didn’t get that wet.”

“Okay.” Chu Tao pulled back the tissue, casually wiping his own face.

There was hardly a need to, as he was already soaked.

Still, if it put Song Mian at ease, he would do it.

This was the quiet understanding they shared as mother and son.

With Chu Xingning’s reminder, Song Mian realized she might have overreacted by yelling at Chu Tao, but her pride kept her from apologizing outright, so she offered a dry explanation instead.

And for him, that was enough.

After all, it was normal for family members to have disagreements.

“I’ll drop you both at the hospital first to check if he needs urgent care. If he does, stay with your brother, and I’ll go back to get you both some clothes.”

“Alright.”

The city center hospital was close to the school, only two kilometers away from Huainan No. 1 High School.

Unfortunately, getting to the hospital was easy; finding parking was difficult.

Especially on a rainy night, with private cars and taxis mixed together, the narrow entryway was a chaotic tangle.

The recent warming weather brought big temperature differences between day and night, so the hospital was packed with patients.

Song Mian glanced back at Chu Xingning, noticing his slight shivers. Despite the high temperature inside, he still seemed cold.

Song Mian was anxiously worried.

Chu Tao unbuckled his seatbelt and said, “I’ll help my brother register first. You can find a place to park.”

Song Mian pulled an umbrella from under the seat. “Take this with you.”

Chu Tao nodded.

He took the umbrella, got out, and went to the back seat, opening the umbrella to shield the door before helping Chu Xingning out.

The two leaned on each other as they walked to the outpatient department.

Chu Tao held the umbrella entirely over Chu Xingning, who was too weak from the fever to push it back.

“Don’t cover me completely—you’ll get sick too.”

Chu Tao replied, “I’m fine; I’m strong.”

The rain washed away their scent inhibitors, allowing the faint aroma of their pheromones to mix with the rain.

If close enough, one could smell the unique scent mingling with the rain.

Chu Xingning frowned, mumbling, “Is my fever messing with my sense of smell? Your pheromone seems different somehow.”

Chu Tao didn’t think much of it. “Maybe it’s because I’ve eaten less fruit and more meat recently.”

There’s a saying that pheromone scents can vary, much like bodily fluids, depending on diet.

Chu Xingning’s headache kept him from overthinking it, so he waved his hand dismissively. “It used to be a bit bitter; now it’s sweeter, like ripe fruit.”

Chu Tao’s eye twitched slightly as he suddenly remembered a couple of times he’d had, well, other urges.

He swallowed, muttering vaguely, “Maybe it’s just because my development phase recently finished.”

Chu Xingning, too tired to analyze further, accepted this answer. “Could be.”

Chu Tao helped Chu Xingning sit on a bench in the hallway, then went to line up to register him. While waiting, Song Mian finally found a parking space and hurried inside.

After another ten minutes, it was Chu Xingning’s turn.

The doctor asked a few questions about gender and recent diet before using a stethoscope to check his abdomen.

“Acute gastroenteritis. Medicine will work, but an injection is faster.”

Chu Tao winced at the mention of an injection and looked at Chu Xingning.

Chu Xingning pressed his dry lips together. “An injection, please. I still have homework to do, so I need to recover quickly.”

Luckily, there was a bed available in the emergency room. The doctor prescribed medication, and Song Mian went to pay.

Chu Tao helped him take off his soaked uniform and tucked him in with a blanket.

Song Mian returned after paying, and a nurse wheeled in the equipment.

The sight of the long IV needle glinting under the fluorescent light made Chu Tao’s head buzz.

He had a deep dislike of needles piercing the skin—even if it didn’t hurt, it made him feel uneasy.

Since he and Chu Xingning were twins, seeing a needle go into his brother made him feel the same discomfort.

Song Mian rolled up Chu Xingning’s wet clothes and said to Chu Tao, “You should take off your uniform too. I’ll go home to get dry clothes and bring back some food.”

Underneath, Chu Tao was wearing his summer uniform and thermal pants, and he felt too embarrassed to walk around the hospital in just those, so he shook his head. “I’m fine. I’m used to it.”

Song Mian didn’t insist and took only Chu Xingning’s clothes.

Chu Tao’s thoughts wandered to Jiang She’s pants.

If nothing unexpected happened, he was supposed to return them tonight.

He cautiously called the owner of the Laundry shop, who explained they had to leave due to a family bereavement.

Since there were many pickups scheduled, the boss had left the keys with a neighboring convenience store.

If Chu Tao urgently needed something, he could borrow the key from the neighbor, as long as he left a receipt with his signature.

Tomorrow was already Thursday, and if he didn’t return the pants to Jiang She by Friday, it wouldn’t feel right.

The nurse told him that Chu Xingning’s IV would take about an hour and a half.

With Song Mian going home for clothes and food, she’d likely be gone for an hour.

If he quickly went to the laundromat and retrieved the clothes, he’d be back in about thirty minutes, just in time.

While he was thinking, someone pushed the door open, and the cold hallway wind gave him a slight shiver.