HSS CH40

Chapter 40: Tell a Story

In the end, Lin Miao finished the lobster, but Huo Yuchuan still didn’t mention what he really wanted to eat. Lin Miao felt a bit annoyed, as if Huo Yuchuan had another secret he didn’t know about, which made him uncomfortable.

“You’re so annoying! I’m ignoring you!”

He stood up and left the room, going downstairs to tell Aunt Chen that he was heading back to school.

“Why are you leaving already?” Aunt Chen reluctantly held him back. “There’s no rush. Tomorrow is Saturday; you don’t have classes, right?”

Lin Miao glanced upstairs and grumbled, “I still have to go back.”

Aunt Chen said, “The steak I just got is so fresh. I was thinking of pan-frying it for you tomorrow, and there’s also…”

Lin Miao, fearing that he wouldn’t be able to move if he listened further, quickly said, “No more food. I’m on a diet.”

“For what?” Aunt Chen disagreed. “You’re not fat at all.”

Lin Miao muttered, “I just want to.”

Aunt Chen sighed and said, “What about Mr. Huo?”

Lin Miao was confused. “What do you mean?”

Aunt Chen looked worried. “If you leave, he won’t listen to me. He won’t even take his medicine. What am I supposed to do?”

Lin Miao said, “…He’s not a child.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Little Zheng walked in, listening to a phone call and responding, “Okay, I’ll check.”

He hung up and looked at Lin Miao, saying, “Mr. Huo asked me where he should be buried and if it’s expensive.”

Lin Miao: “……”

Lin Miao ran upstairs again, shouting at him, “Huo Yuchuan, what nonsense are you talking about?! Just because you have a fever, you’re asking about burials? Spit it out!”

Huo Yuchuan, leaning against the headboard and looking weak, said indifferently, “It could happen. Some people die just from a sneeze.”

“That’s just an exception,” Lin Miao said. “If you follow the doctor’s advice, you’ll be fine.”

Huo Yuchuan looked at him and asked, “Are you leaving?”

Lin Miao turned his face away and said awkwardly, “What else am I supposed to do here?”

Huo Yuchuan still looked at him and said, “Then let Little Zheng check where to bury me…”

“Huo Yuchuan!” Lin Miao exclaimed. “You’re so annoying!”

He stormed out, saying, “I’ll wait until your fever breaks before I leave, okay?”

He went downstairs and sulkily had another meal.

When he came back upstairs, Huo Yuchuan had already fallen asleep.

Lin Miao stood beside the bed, looking at his sleeping face, remembering the last time Huo Yuchuan had a fever, which seemed to be last year. He rarely got sick, but whenever he did, it was usually severe.

Back then, he had also slept soundly after taking medicine, looking drowsy. Lin Miao, who had just finished his evening class, sat by the bed, touched his forehead, and then his palm, feeling that he was still a bit feverish.

Huo Yuchuan was not only taller than him but also had larger hands. Years of exercise and fitness had built strong arms and broad, steady palms.

Lin Miao traced from his palm to his knuckles, enviously tickling them with his fingertips. Suddenly, that hand moved and grabbed his tickling fingers.

Lin Miao looked up and saw Huo Yuchuan quietly watching him.

“How are you feeling?” Lin Miao asked. “Still uncomfortable?”

Huo Yuchuan “hmm”-ed.

“Aunt Chen said your fever has broken,” Lin Miao said, “but you still feel a bit warm. Let me check your temperature again.”

He ran out to find a thermometer and discovered that Huo Yuchuan’s fever had indeed subsided.

“Your temperature is normal now,” Lin Miao tucked the blanket around him and comforted, “You’ve taken your medicine. You’ll get better soon.”

Huo Yuchuan nodded, but his brows were still furrowed, probably still feeling unwell.

Lin Miao couldn’t do anything to ease his discomfort and thought that distracting Huo Yuchuan might help.

“It’s not bedtime yet,” Lin Miao said, lying down beside the bed. “If you’re not sleepy, I can tell you a story.”

Huo Yuchuan asked with a nasal tone, “What kind of story?”

Lin Miao cleared his throat and said, “In the forest, there was a little lion with three ears. It felt different from other lions and thought it was a monster, so it was scared and hid in a cave.”

“One day, it saw a squirrel at the cave entrance. The little lion thought the squirrel would be afraid of its three ears, but the squirrel said that one of its ears couldn’t hear. The little lion had three ears, and it could lend one to the squirrel.”

Huo Yuchuan asked, “Don’t lions eat squirrels?”

Lin Miao: “……”

“Can you not be so brutal?” Lin Miao said seriously. “Fairy tales shouldn’t involve eating each other.”

Huo Yuchuan: “Alright, go on.”

Lin Miao continued, “The squirrel said that if the little lion lent it an ear, they would both have two ears, which would be just right.”

“The little lion agreed and asked the squirrel how to lend its ear.”

Huo Yuchuan said, “Cut it off and give it to the squirrel?”

Lin Miao: “……You’re still so brutal.”

He covered Huo Yuchuan’s mouth with his hand, “Don’t interrupt, or I’ll forget where I was.”

Huo Yuchuan nodded.

Lin Miao organized his thoughts and said, “The squirrel suggested that the little lion go out more and listen to the sounds of the forest together. That way, it would be like the squirrel was hearing them too.”

“The little lion agreed. From that day on, it stopped hiding.”

“At first, it didn’t dare to go too far, only wandering around the cave.”

“When the squirrel found out, it encouraged the little lion to go a bit further.”

“Eventually, the little lion went to every corner of the forest, met more animals, and everyone gradually got used to the little lion’s three ears, no longer finding it strange.”

“Later, the little lion realized that the squirrel could actually hear perfectly with both ears. The squirrel just wanted the little lion to be brave. The forest is beautiful in all seasons, and it would be a pity not to see it.”

“So, they became the best of friends and lived happily in the forest.”

Lin Miao released his hand from Huo Yuchuan’s mouth and said, “That’s the end.”

Huo Yuchuan smiled and asked in a hoarse voice, “Who wrote this story? Teacher Meow?”

Lin Miao’s face turned red as he fidgeted with the blanket, mumbling, “I wrote it randomly a long time ago. You’re the first person I’ve told, so don’t tell anyone else.”

Huo Yuchuan said, “Teacher Meow, can we change the ending?”

“Why change it?” Lin Miao said. “Isn’t living happily in the forest good enough?”

He immediately became alert, “Don’t change it to the lion eating the squirrel.”

Huo Yuchuan said, “Change it to… they got married and lived happily in the forest.”

“Ah?” Lin Miao was stunned. “How can a lion and a squirrel get married?”

Huo Yuchuan: “In fairy tales, don’t they always end with marriage?”

Lin Miao: “……” It seemed true. They were always about princesses marrying princes and living happily ever after.

But I wrote about animals. Do animals have to get married too?