Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Hui River didn’t even look at the menu before ordering. “One plain rice porridge, one crab porridge.”

In reality, he rarely ate late-night meals and wasn’t hungry right now. He just felt that ordering only one bowl of plain porridge would be too strange.

Hao Tu frowned. “Hey, do you have to be this cruel? Ordering crab porridge just to tempt me.”

“What else am I supposed to do? Who told you to get sick?”

Hui River smiled and handed the menu back to the owner. “Just those two.”

With a face full of resentment, Hao Tu downed several cups of hot tea, only to feel even hungrier.

Damn it.

He shouldn’t have skipped eating this afternoon.

Now he was hungry, tired, and felt like he was about to die.

He glanced sideways and secretly observed Hui River beside him. His gaze unconsciously settled on the other man's face.

Hui River was looking at his phone. The black-framed glasses resting on his nose made him seem somewhat dull and rigid.

Hao Tu touched his own face before suddenly remembering that he had forgotten to bring his glasses.

“Where?!”

“Keep your voice down. He’ll hear you.”

“Why are you so scared? I just want to look. Is being handsome supposed to make him off-limits?”

Hao Tu frowned slightly and raised his cup for another sip of tea.

Turning his head toward the source of the voices, he discovered it was a table of girls. Judging from their appearance, they were probably students from H University as well.

“Did he hear us? I think he looked at us just now.”

“Who knows.”

“Keep it down. It’s not every day we see someone this gorgeous. Don’t scare him away.”

“Tch.”

Hao Tu clicked his tongue in annoyance, turned back around, and drank another mouthful of water.

After finally finding the way to the hospital, Hui River had just been about to pour himself some tea. But when he picked up the kettle, he discovered it was empty.

Turning his head, he saw Hao Tu looking impatient.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

He took another gulp of water.

“I’m starving. When can we eat?”

His face was handsome enough that even when he wore a sour expression, it was pleasing to look at. Combined with his illness today, even his irritation carried a trace of sickly vulnerability, as though he were sulking.

“He’s handsome, sure, but his personality doesn’t seem very good.”

Hui River heard the comment and vaguely guessed what was going on.

“Don’t be angry. Those girls just think you’re handsome.”

Hao Tu already felt awful, and his temper had worsened as a result.

“Hah. Who cares? They’re annoying as hell...”

Then he suddenly remembered that Hui River supposedly had a crush on him.

So did Hui River think he was handsome too?

“Do you think I’m handsome?”

The moment he asked, both of them froze.

Hao Tu himself hadn’t expected the question to come out.

After a second of surprise, he quickly restored his usual expression.

Hui River smiled.

“Handsome. Isn’t that something everyone agrees on?”

Sensing that the atmosphere had become strange, he quickly stood up with the kettle.

“Aren’t you hungry? I’ll go ask the kitchen to hurry up.”

“I...”

Hao Tu clenched his hand slightly, as if wanting to say something.

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

Hui River wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He couldn’t tell what Hao Tu had meant by that question.

Hopefully he hadn’t answered incorrectly.

He quickly refilled the kettle.

When he returned, the two bowls of porridge had arrived as well.

While drinking his plain porridge, Hao Tu stared at the crab porridge on the table.

Pushing up his glasses, Hui River pulled the crab porridge closer to himself.

“Stop staring. Crab meat is considered cooling. You can’t eat it.”

“Hmph.”

Hao Tu lowered his eyes.

Unfortunately, the porridge was still too hot.

After several attempts, he still couldn’t get it into his mouth.

Only after letting it cool a little was he finally able to eat a few bites.

The plain porridge had almost no flavor. It wasn’t particularly delicious, but it was warm, and it soothed his long-empty stomach considerably.

Hao Tu raised his eyes and secretly glanced at Hui River.

For some reason, he felt that the porridge in his bowl resembled this person.

Ordinary.

But also warm.

The thought startled him.

He immediately swallowed a mouthful of porridge.

The next second, it burned him.

“Hiss!”

“It’s really hot. Be careful. Nobody’s competing with you for it.”

Hui River handed him a cup of warm water.

It hurt.

Hao Tu accepted the water and endured the pain silently.

He refused to show weakness in front of the other man.

This illness had made him far too fragile...

“You’re already this old and still getting burned by porridge. Staring at me won’t help. Hehe. Your tongue hurts now, doesn’t it?”

This guy...

“...”

Hao Tu glared angrily at the porridge in his bowl.

The two really were alike.

He must have had a short circuit in his brain just now to think this person was reliable.

Twenty minutes later, Hao Tu finally filled his stomach.

Unfortunately, plain porridge was tasteless.

Even the tea in his cup tasted better.

His body felt somewhat warmer now, but his legs were still weak, and he still needed Hui River’s support to walk.

After paying the bill, the two left the porridge shop.

By coincidence, they ran into the girls who had been discussing Hao Tu earlier.

The girls kept sneaking glances at the two of them.

Their gazes were so intense that even Hui River noticed.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

“What’s wrong with them?”

Hao Tu shook his head.

“Why care about them? Just get me to the hospital.”

After eating, even his voice had become noticeably louder.

“I know, but at least walk by yourself. Don’t put your entire weight on my back. Hey, hey, I can barely keep my balance.”

“Didn’t you eat? How are you this useless?”

Hao Tu criticized him, but the corners of his mouth curled upward slightly.

Bullying the other man somehow improved his mood.

“Hurry up. If you make me fall, forget about borrowing my homework.”

“You...!”

Hui River was furious, yet still carried the other man forward.

The girls watching them covered their mouths as they discussed it.

“They aren’t a couple, are they?”

“Feels kind of like it. The tall one is definitely the top!”

“Huh? Why are you even more excited now than before?”

“Because they have such strong couple vibes. Even if they’re not together, I can’t stop imagining things.”

...

...

As the top university in H Province, H University had extremely complete supporting facilities around it.

There was a People's Hospital near the campus.

It was so close that there was no need to take a vehicle. Walking there only took about ten minutes.

At that moment, Hao Tu sat on a bench outside the emergency department.

The nearly deserted hospital was filled with the cold smell of disinfectant.

The night wind blew in through the main entrance, making the entire corridor feel even colder.

He hugged his coat tightly around himself, yet still felt the chill seeping through his joints and into his body.

So cold.

So uncomfortable.

Hao Tu glanced at the person standing guard beside him and tiredly closed his eyes.

While playing on his phone, Hui River kept an eye on the situation inside the emergency room.

There was only one patient ahead of them now.

It should be Hao Tu’s turn very soon.

“Is it still not my turn?”

Hao Tu asked with his eyes closed.

“Hui River, I’m cold... The wind here is really strong.”

“Really?”

Hui River stretched out a hand to feel for it but didn’t notice any wind.

Still, he comforted him.

“It’ll be your turn soon. Just bear with it a little longer.”

“Even in the middle of the night, there’s still a line at the emergency department.”

The sick Hao Tu suddenly started throwing a tantrum.

“Why did my parents have to suddenly go abroad? If they were here, things would be so much better.”

Speechless, Hui River thought that even if your parents were here, they couldn’t suffer in your place.

Seeing Hao Tu leaning weakly against the chair, looking half-dead, he could only comfort him.

“Soon, soon. I just saw the doctor writing a prescription. You’re next.”

“Hui River...” Hao Road turned his head and saw the sleeping face of the boy. The words that had reached his lips were swallowed back down.

Was he tired too? He reached out and tentatively touched the boy's glasses.

“Mm...” The boy moved slightly, sleeping uncomfortably.

Hao Road hooked a finger and gently removed the glasses, allowing the boy's brows and eyes to be fully revealed.