CHAPTER 256: CHAPTER 253: JUST BEAR WITH IT, OKAY?

"Cough—!!!"

Shi Su was suddenly startled into a forceful cough, pulling out a tissue to cover her mouth, her pupils wide with shock as she looked at him.

Just at this moment, the doorbell rang outside the room.

Jing Jihan glanced at her again. Shi Su glanced in confusion toward the door. This was his home, not hers, and at this time, it couldn’t be someone coming to see her, right?

However, when Jing Jihan went to open the door, he unexpectedly came back with a pot of medicinal soup, placing it on the dining table. When he opened it, the familiar aroma wafted out, and Shi Su was surprised, "Is this soup from Mrs. Qin?"

"She’s worried about you, so she specially made this soup and sent it over," Jing Jihan eyed the medicinal soup inside, "Although it’s very nourishing, you’re still taking fever-reducing medicine; just drink a little."

Shi Su nodded. She was actually quite full from eating the breakfast Jing Jihan had made, but she didn’t want to waste Mrs. Qin’s thoughtfulness, so she served herself a small half-bowl and drank a few sips before setting it aside, planning to reheat it at noon; she couldn’t bear to throw it away, after all.

After the meal, her temperature was taken: 38.6 degrees.

Jing Jihan was once again watching her drink water, telling her to go back to bed and rest. She had no choice but to return to the bedroom and lie down. Bored and lying there for a long time, she naturally drifted off to a drowsy sleep.

But she woke up again after only two hours. Jing Jihan had just come in to change her ice pack. Seeing her awake, he gently touched her forehead, "Is your head still hurting?"

Shi Su shook her head, "Haven’t I gotten rid of the fever yet?"

"Thirty-eight degrees." He sat by the bed, reaching into the blanket to feel the heat of her hand.

However, Shi Su’s body stiffened slightly because of his action of reaching into the blanket.

Jing Jihan didn’t miss her slight stiffness, and his gaze immediately fell on her face, "If the fever keeps recurring, we’ll have to go to the hospital. Physical cooling isn’t very effective; we might have to use the old method."

"What method?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the man sitting by the side of the bed suddenly lifted the blanket covering her and lay down beside her, also pulling more of the blanket over her side while tucking it near her neck.

Under the blanket, the man’s strong arm pulled her entire body into his embrace. As Shi Su was firmly pressed into his arms through the fabric of his shirt, she felt like she was about to be incinerated to ashes, given she already felt like a furnace.

This is way too... hot!

Shi Su struggled slightly.

"Don’t move." Jing Jihan said while holding her, covering her even more securely with the blanket, "Try to sweat it out first, listen."

"It’s too hot..." Shi Su couldn’t stand the heat.

"Bear with it." The man’s tone was unforgiving, holding her even tighter and covering her more firmly with the blanket.

Shi Su felt hot and uncomfortable, raising her head in his arms, "I think you’re trying to suffocate me!"

The man lowered his eyes and glanced at her, then, in her raised posture, he leaned down to plant a kiss on her lips, "Sweating will reduce the fever. External cooling isn’t effective on you, so we can only use this method for now. Just bear with it, okay?"

Her body wrapped tightly in the blanket felt hot.

Her heart felt even hotter.

Because of the persistent fever, Shi Su’s face looked haggard, but her lips seemed more vividly red than usual. She lay under the blanket, raising her head to look at him.

Jing Jihan, being stared at by her for a while, suddenly pressed down her head, making her bury it in his chest, his voice slightly hoarse with a hint of imperceptible gentleness, "Stop looking."

Shi Su leaned against him, her vision dark, but her nose and the space around her body were filled with his scent and warmth. She stayed still, obediently.

However, she did need to breathe. Her breath during a fever was hotter than usual, and breathing in and out against his chest through the shirt made not only her feel hot and uncomfortable but also the man holding her tightly to make her sweat was noticeably uncomfortable...

Initially, he probably just wanted her to sweat.

Now it was a bit of a predicament for her.

Shi Su just wanted to find a more comfortable position, so she moved her leg slightly, lifting her knee, and accidentally touched a place she shouldn’t have. She froze, and Jing Jihan’s body also noticeably tensed.

She quickly tried to move her leg away but inevitably wanted to turn sideways in his arms; it was just too hot under the blanket.

Suddenly, a low, slightly clenched voice came from above her head, "Shi Su, if you don’t want something to happen while you’re sick, stop moving!"

Shi Su immediately didn’t dare move anymore.

After getting hot for a while, she got used to it, and the man’s embrace was too reassuring, too secure, so she drifted off to sleep in a daze.

She didn’t know how long she slept, vaguely hearing the sound of showering in the bathroom. She turned over and continued to sleep, feeling a little sweaty and sticky on her forehead and body, uncomfortable. She frowned but was too sleepy to care, continuing to sleep accompanied by the sound of water in the bathroom.

Until the man, who had taken a shower, returned and pulled the little woman, who had finally sweat enough and broken the fever, back into his arms. In her sleep, Shi Su only felt that the person embracing her from behind was a bit cold.

In such cold weather, did he take a cold shower...

She groggily turned around to face him, asking in a sleepy daze, "How long did I sleep? Is my fever gone?"

"Three hours." Jing Jihan brushed her sweat-dampened hairline, "Sleep a little more, and when you wake up, take a shower."

"Mhm." She mumbled, tucking her head under the blanket, finding his body to be cold, she wanted to turn away again, but felt the weight on her waist, held tightly by his arm.

She sleepily opened her eyes and saw his hair still somewhat damp, his face freshly washed, confused, she asked, "What are you... Hmm..."

In the dim bedroom, the man accurately caught hold of her chin, not minding the sweat on her at all despite just having showered. Warm breath brushed her cheek as he suddenly leaned over for a deep kiss.

Shi Su had just gotten over the fever; the sleepiness was due to the fatigue and discomfort of the past few days pressing down on her, making her crave a proper, restful sleep.

But evidently, Jing Jihan, seeing that her fever had subsided, wasn’t giving her the chance for a completely restful sleep...

The kiss landed on her earlobe.

Such a sensitive spot.

She couldn’t help but shudder in his arms.

The man held her even tighter.

"Jing, Jing Jihan..." Shi Su really couldn’t take it anymore, raising her hand to block between them, "I’m still not well; you... don’t..."

She wanted to express her fear that if things escalated amidst kissing... she probably wouldn’t be able to handle it...

Jing Jihan kissed her ear again, his voice husky beside her ear, "Did your visitor leave?"