HSS CH43

Chapter 43: The Clothes Are All Dirty

Huo Yuchuan’s hot breath scorched Lin Miao’s earlobes, and the undeniable bulge beneath his palm made Lin Miao’s face flush red. His mind turned to mush, and he could only stammer, “T-Turn eighteen, and you’re an adult…”

Huo Yuchuan’s chest heaved, and he asked in a low voice, “Just eighteen years old?”

He slowly moved Lin Miao’s hand, his heavy breathing exceptionally clear in the quiet room. It was like the dream from his eighteenth year had crashed into reality, overlapping through the years and abruptly falling into the present, right into his arms.

Lin Miao’s eyes widened in fear, and he babbled, “Y-You’re still running a fever…”

Huo Yuchuan didn’t let go, “So it’s even hotter, isn’t it?”

Lin Miao’s mind was in chaos, unable to think of anything. He buried his face in Huo Yuchuan’s chest, listening to the intermingled sounds of heartbeats and panting. He himself seemed to be burning up as well, breathing softly.

Suddenly, he realized something was off about himself too, becoming just like Huo Yuchuan…

His heart skipped a beat, and he panicked, wanting to escape, but Huo Yuchuan firmly held him in place.

Huo Yuchuan released his hand and grasped him below.

Lin Miao’s whole body trembled, and his voice changed, “Don’t… Huo Yuchuan…”

“Fear not,” Huo Yuchuan held his hand and gently soothed, “It’s a normal physiological reaction.”

Lin Miao whimpered, trembling in the confusion, his mind completely blank. It felt like everything about him was under Huo Yuchuan’s control. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, and he heard Huo Yuchuan call him, Miao Miao…

Half an hour later, Lin Miao was squatting in the corner, hugging his knees, his eyes wet and his eyelids red.

Huo Yuchuan wanted to go over, but Lin Miao immediately said, “You’re not allowed to come over!”

Huo Yuchuan’s mouth moved, and Lin Miao added, “And you’re not allowed to talk either!”

Huo Yuchuan: “……”

After a long while, the heat on Lin Miao’s face subsided, and his neck wasn’t as red anymore.

Both he and Huo Yuchuan’s clothes were dirty. Fortunately, there were fresh pajamas in the room’s wardrobe. He grabbed a set and threw it at Huo Yuchuan, then went into the bathroom to change. When he came out, he saw Huo Yuchuan sitting on the edge of the bed, still in his dirty clothes, just staring at him.

Lin Miao was puzzled, “What are you doing?”

Huo Yuchuan said, “You made a mess on me. Aren’t you going to help me change?”

Lin Miao: “……”

The blood drained from Lin Miao’s face again, and he retorted, “W-Well, you didn’t either…”

Huo Yuchuan: “I can help you change too.”

“No way,” Lin Miao wasn’t falling for it, “You don’t have hands or feet? Can’t you change yourself?”

Huo Yuchuan: “I have a fever.”

Lin Miao was even more annoyed, “I think you’re feeling better now. You were pretty strong just now!”

Huo Yuchuan nodded, “I did sweat a bit. I’m feeling a little better.”

Lin Miao: “……I’m not dealing with you anymore!”

He took his clothes to the laundry room and washed them with a loud “clang clang.”

After hanging the clothes to dry, he ran into Lv Hanxiu in the living room.

Lv Hanxiu looked at the pajamas he was wearing and asked doubtfully, “Why are you……”

Lin Miao quickly said, “I, I took a shower. Yeah, I changed clothes after the shower.”

Lv Hanxiu’s brow furrowed, “Are you staying here tonight?”

Lin Miao nodded, “I promised Huo Yuchuan I’d wait until his fever breaks before I leave.”

Lv Hanxiu felt something was off, but she didn’t know what. She didn’t bother with it and forced a polite smile, “I’m tired. I won’t entertain you.”

Lin Miao didn’t mind at all and obediently said, “It’s okay. You should rest, Aunt.”

Lv Hanxiu awkwardly responded with a “good” and felt like Lin Miao was more like the master of the house than she was.

She went back to another guest room. In the middle of the night, when she got up to get a drink of water, she saw Lin Miao quietly coming downstairs.

They looked at each other.

Lin Miao stammered, “I, I just wanted to check if Huo Yuchuan’s fever had broken.”

Checking in the middle of the night? Lv Hanxiu forced a stiff smile, “……You really care about him.”

Lin Miao hurried back to his room, “Then I’ll go back to sleep. Goodnight, Aunt.”

Lv Hanxiu was puzzled and went upstairs. When she opened Huo Yuchuan’s door, she saw he was sleeping soundly, with nothing unusual.

She was about to close the door when Huo Yuchuan suddenly opened his eyes, seemingly with a hint of a smile. But as soon as he saw who it was, his expression turned indifferent again, and he coldly said, “Mom can’t sleep?”

Lv Hanxiu almost went over to hit him, “Can’t you speak properly?!”

Huo Yuchuan: “No.”

Lv Hanxiu was so angry she slammed the door and left.

The next morning, in an attempt to persuade Huo Yuchuan to take more interest in the Huo family’s affairs, Lv Hanxiu had prepared a bowl of tremella fungus porridge in the kitchen, complete with lily bulbs and goji berries, playing the role of a caring mother to the fullest.

Lin Miao came out after washing up and saw her placing the porridge on the table to cool. He casually asked, “Aunt, do you like tremella?”

Lv Hanxiu smiled, “It’s for……”

Before she could finish, Lin Miao said, “Huo Yuchuan doesn’t like it. He won’t even drink sweet soup.”

Lv Hanxiu: “……”

“And goji berries,” Lin Miao continued, “He only likes them in soup. Otherwise, he won’t eat them.”

He’s so picky and troublesome.

Lv Hanxiu couldn’t bring herself to smile anymore and just agreed, “Right, he doesn’t like them.”

She pushed the porridge toward Lin Miao, “You eat first. I’ll make some more for him……”

Make what? It was then that she realized she didn’t even know what Huo Yuchuan liked to eat, not as much as his junior high school classmate did.

Fortunately, Aunt Chen came out and said she had already started making more, and it would be ready soon.

In the afternoon, the doctor came again.

Huo Yuchuan’s fever had broken. The doctor prescribed some medicine, gave a few instructions, and then left.

Seeing that Huo Yuchuan was in much better spirits, Lin Miao thought for a moment and said, “I’ll head back to school later. I still have to work at Boss He’s place tonight.”

“I haven’t been there for two days and lost a lot of money.”

Huo Yuchuan looked at him and said indifferently, “Is money more important than me?”

Lin Miao: “……”

Lin Miao avoided his gaze and said in a low voice, “Money is pretty important.”

Huo Yuchuan: “Call the doctor over here.”

Lin Miao was startled, “What’s wrong?”

Huo Yuchuan: “Heart attack.”

Lin Miao realized he was joking and grumbled, “If everyone thought money wasn’t important and stopped working at Boss He’s place, wouldn’t his shop go out of business?”

Huo Yuchuan picked up his phone and called He Congshan. It took a while for the other end to pick up, “Hello?”

Huo Yuchuan: “Is your shop going to go out of business?”

“Let it go out of business,” He Congshan seemed to be in some kind of commotion on the other end and said irritably, “Stop bothering me.”

A very soft voice called out, “He Congshan……”

And then the call was disconnected.

Huo Yuchuan looked at Lin Miao and said, “See, he doesn’t even care about his own shop.”

Lin Miao grabbed his phone and said in confusion and curiosity, “Why did I seem to hear Teacher Yu’s voice? Is he bullying Teacher Yu again?!”