Chapter 87
The regular season was finally over, the team rankings were set, and the playoffs would use a promotion tournament format. As the first-place team in the regular season, Free's semifinal was still half a month away. Zhou Huo and Old Qiao had mercifully given everyone one night off.
When they got home that day, no training required—everyone could do whatever they wanted.
"Is Evil okay? You were sweating during the match." After dinner, back at the base, Zhou Huo glanced at Shi Luo with concern. "The temperature was so low today, and you got caught in the wind while waiting for the bus. You're not coming down with something, are you?"
"I'm fine." Shi Luo waved it off. "I haven't had a cold in years."
Two hours later, Shi Luo touched his burning forehead, racking his brain trying to understand why he'd jinxed himself like that.
The past period of training had been grueling. Zhou Huo could clearly see that several team members had all lost weight. They finally had a day off from training, and Zhou Huo wouldn't let anyone cooped up in the training room playing games. He'd shooed everyone back to their dorms early. Shi Luo knew he wouldn't be able to sleep and didn't want to disturb Yu Sui, who was catching up on sleep, so he didn't ask Yu Sui to come to his room.
After washing up, Shi Luo lay on his bed scrolling on his phone. The longer he scrolled, the more uncomfortable he felt all over. He thought it was probably from being too focused during the match, muscles tensed too tight—that kind of discomfort had happened before. When you've given it your all in a competition, you sometimes push your body to its limits. Another half hour passed before Shi Luo finally realized something was wrong. He touched his forehead again—it was hot as a computer motherboard.
Shi Luo threw on some clothes, got up, and went downstairs. There was a small medicine kit in the living room on the first floor. Basic common medications were all there.
The main team members were all resting in their dorms, so the first floor was empty and quiet. Shi Luo found the medicine kit, sat on the sofa, and rummaged through it, pulling out a box of cold medicine. He squinted with his feverish eyes, struggling to read the expiration date. Confirmed it wasn't expired, popped out one pill, and threw it in his mouth. He walked to the kitchen, got a glass of water, and swallowed the pill down. When he turned around, he found Chen Huo standing in the darkness—when had that happened?
Shi Luo startled. "What are you doing?"
"Suddenly got hungry... ordered takeout, waiting for it." Chen Huo looked Shi Luo up and down. "Snacking on something? Are you sick? Actually got a cold?"
"No cold..." Shi Luo took a few more sips of water, half-heartedly. "Just feeling overheated, took some heat-clearing medicine. Don't tell Yu Sui."
"Why would I tell him about you being overheated?" Chen Huo gave Shi Luo a look, still somewhat worried. "Why are you overheated out of nowhere? Smoking too much?"
"Yeah..." Shi Luo finished his glass of water. "Don't make a fuss. If Zhou Huo finds out, he'll mother-hen all over the place."
Chen Huo nodded. "Got it. I also ordered yogurt, want some?"
Shi Luo shook his head, put the medicine kit away, and went back upstairs to his dorm.
Shi Luo had experience dealing with colds. Take a cold pill, drink a glass of water, bury yourself in bed and sleep it off—you'll be fine by the next day. Just one night's worth. He didn't want to worry Yu Sui, so he went back to his dorm,老老实实地埋在被子里等着出汗，继续玩手机。
He hadn't had a cold in ages. The sudden fever caught him off guard.
Shi Luo cocooned himself in his blankets, scrolling through Weibo. The playoff groupings were set each year based on rankings. Once Free finished their final regular season match, the groups were basically determined. Saint and NSN's official accounts had already started their usual banter, poisoning each other with reverse jinxes. Saint was begging NSN to please show mercy this time, and NSN was pleading with Saint to stop coming up with new tricks. The two accounts were already calling each other "big brother" in advance, quite entertaining.
Shi Luo wanted to comment from his main account—where's the emperor when his subjects are panicking? He and Chen Huo had nearly had mental breakdowns.
Before the match, his emotional state really hadn't been right. He'd been affected too much.
Ever since joining Free, Shi Luo had become more and more empathetic toward others.
Every family has its own struggles.
Shi Luo wasn't that broad-minded, wasn't that angelic. It was just that after he'd once been pushed into a corner himself, when he saw others heading toward the edge of a cliff, he couldn't help but want to pull them back.
Let alone that NSN had once helped him out back then.
He'd never forgotten that favor. So when WaWa joined NSN, he'd genuinely tried to coach him. At that time, WaWa was new to pro play, and he was so grateful to this helpful god from another team that he was practically jumping out of his skin, asking Gu Qian repeatedly how he should repay Shi Luo.
Gu Qian told WaWa not to make a big deal of it, just saying that he himself had once received kindness from FS back in the day. He just needed to keep that goodwill in his heart.
Shi Luo was burning up, his thoughts drifting aimlessly, when it suddenly hit him—Gu Qian had been so good to him back then, probably because he was repaying some debt to Yu Sui.
If that was the case, then when he was at NSN, he was also being looked after by Yu Sui. And if he thought about it further...
"Excuse me, just a moment."
Shi Luo's thoughts were interrupted. His dorm door opened, and the lights turned on. Shi Luo squinted against the brightness, shielding his eyes.
"Got dressed?" Yu Sui gave Shi Luo a once-over, then turned toward the door. "Come in."
Shi Luo's forehead was flushed red from the fever. He forced his eyes open, momentarily unable to process what was happening. "What's wrong?"
Yu Sui ignored him, letting the team's accompanying medic into the room. He lowered his voice. "Might be a cold. Training's been pretty intense lately, and today the match was rushed. He got blown by the cold wind afterward... Could you take a look, see if there's anything else wrong?"
The team medic was essentially Yu Sui's personal doctor for his stomach issues, living elsewhere and not often in contact with other team members. After being led into Shi Luo's dorm, he politely sat to the side, pulled out a thermometer, and handed it to Shi Luo. "Have you taken any medicine? What did you take?"
Before Shi Luo could speak, Yu Sui handed the medic the medicine box. "This one. Did he just take one tablet?"
Shi Luo held the thermometer, inexplicably feeling guilty. He admitted honestly, "Just one tablet."
The medic nodded. "Alright. Let's see the temperature first. How long ago did you take it?"
"It's been..." Shi Luo hesitated. "Maybe over half an hour."
The medic nodded and waited. Shi Luo tucked the thermometer under his arm, sitting on the bed wrapped in blankets. He glanced at Yu Sui and said quietly, "Chen Huo told you? I told him not to make a mountain out of a molehill..."
Yu Sui's expression was flat. "If you hadn't emphasized it to him, he probably wouldn't have snitched."
Shi Luo could tell Yu Sui was a bit angry. He didn't want Yu Sui to scold him in front of a stranger, so he老老实实地低头闭嘴等温度。
At the same time, he prayed the temperature wouldn't be too high.
Five minutes later, Shi Luo took out the thermometer. Before he could look at it, Yu Sui took it from him. Yu Sui glanced at it, then handed it to the medic. "37.6 degrees."
The medic studied it carefully, then smiled. "Let's call it 37.5... You're Evil, right? How old are you? Are you an adult?"
"I'm an adult. Just turned adult." Yu Sui answered quite detailed. "Technically not even nineteen yet."
"Good." The medic checked Shi Luo's throat, then handed Yu Sui a pack of fever patches and another bottle of medicine. "Put the fever patch on your forehead. If you want, you can put two more on your chest and back. He's already taken cold medicine, so he doesn't need this one yet. Only take it if his temperature goes above 38 degrees. Drink plenty of warm water, and no staying up late for the next couple of days."
The medic stood up and said kindly, "Nothing serious. It's not flu season, just the seasonal change weakening your immune system. Rest up. I'll come check on you tomorrow."
"Thank you." Yu Sui nodded. "I'll walk you out."
It was late at night, calling the medic over just to check his temperature made Yu Sui feel a bit bad. He tossed the fever patch that the medic had given him onto the bed by Shi Luo's side and went out to escort the medic to the base entrance, then came back upstairs. The fever patch was still lying by the bedside. Shi Luo's eyes were closed, his face having turned noticeably more haggard than just moments ago.
This freshly-minted-adult fragger's little schemes really weren't enough to fool someone at Yu Sui's level. Yu Sui stood in the doorway and gave Shi Luo a once-over. "Did you hear the medical advice?"
This not-quite-nineteen-year-old fragger acted as if he really was confused from the fever, forcing his eyes open. He looked at the fever patch by his bedside and slurred, "Heard it, didn't quite catch it all... Is this the thing? What is this? How... how do you open it? Where do I put it?"
Yu Sui's expression remained impassive. "One on your forehead, one between your legs."
Shi Luo: "..."
Shi Luo pretended he couldn't hear clearly. "I've got ringing in my ears from the fever... How do I open this thing..."
Yu Sui wasn't about to waste any more time. He walked to Shi Luo's bedside, tore open a fever patch, peeled off one side, and pressed it onto Shi Luo's forehead, gently smoothing it down with his palm. Then he peeled off another one and looked at Shi Luo. "Chest."
Shi Luo moved with effort, frowning. "Chest? Where? Straight or sideways? My ears really are ringing..."
Yu Sui took a deep breath. He wasn't in the mood to play house with Shi Luo. He was afraid Shi Luo would sweat through it and didn't dare lift the blanket. He had to crouch半蹲在床头，拿着那张掀开的祛热贴伸进被子里，低声说："睡衣掀开，贴前胸正中间……"
Yu Sui felt Shi Luo's hand inside the blanket gripping his wrist, helping guide him to the right spot. Two seconds later... Yu Sui's hand went still.
Yu Sui: "..."
In this situation, Yu Sui really didn't feel like eating this kind of low-level tactic.
But the sensation under his fingertips still made Yu Sui's expression shift slightly.
His tone was also involuntarily gentler.
Yu Sui gazed at Shi Luo deeply, his lips barely moving, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear. "Is this the center?"
Yu Sui watched Shi Luo's already flushed cheeks from the fever turn even redder.
Then he heard Shi Luo cough slightly and say quietly, "Don't be mad. A disease that heals in one night—I didn't want to make a fuss with you."
Yu Sui himself had hidden his stomach problems from Shi Luo before. Having that experience, he understood even better how big a hidden danger it was to just tough things out. If you could hide minor aches and pains now, you'd just hide bigger discomforts later, right?
He really had wanted to keep a straight face and have a proper talk with Shi Luo. But right now...
The sensation in his hand was being transmitted to his brain and heart in real-time, truly hard to bear. Yu Sui closed his eyes. "Can you first let go of my hand?!"
"No." Shi Luo shifted slightly, wanting to flirt but being utterly inexpert at it. After a lot of hemming and hawing, he finally said quietly, "Y-You... don't scold me anymore..."
Yu Sui looked at Shi Luo and thought to himself—the simplest path is often the best.
This tactic of Shi Luo's—just asking directly for you to stop being angry—really left no room to refuse.
Yu Sui pried Shi Luo's hand off his, efficiently stuck the fever patch on, pulled his hand back out, then peeled off another one and slapped it onto Shi Luo's back in one swift motion.
"I'm not mad anymore." Yu Sui took off his jacket. "Scoot over. I'm sleeping here tonight."