Chapter 82: What Am I Even Doing?!
At first, when the fever started, Chen Cheng only felt a bit of warmth on her face.
She could still act pitiful in front of An Yuan, argue with him, and stay energetic. Aside from the constant sneezing, it didn’t really affect her.
But as time passed, her body started feeling weak, her mind grew sluggish, and her eyelids kept drooping as she tried to work on her test paper. Every breath she exhaled felt hot against her skin.
"Ah-choo!"
The girl sitting in front of her turned around and glanced at Chen Cheng, noticing her flushed, feverish face.
"You look worse... Did you take any medicine?"
"It’s fine, I’ll be better after a nap at lunchtime."
Chen Cheng rubbed the corners of her sore eyes, but just then, she felt someone lightly poke her shoulder.
The girl behind her handed over a thermos. "Do you want some warm water?"
"Huh? Oh, thanks."
Chen Cheng wasn’t the most outgoing person and didn’t have many friends in class, only An Yuan and two close girlfriends. But for some reason, people seemed to like her. Even classmates she barely talked to were now checking up on her.
Was it because she was good-looking?
If she were more extroverted, maybe she’d be able to get along with everyone?
She briefly imagined herself being the center of attention, surrounded by a crowd of admirers. The thought made her instinctively press her lips together in discomfort. She lowered her head, poured a glass of warm water from the thermos, and drank it.
Forget it! Socializing is too exhausting! She definitely didn’t want to be too popular.
"Thanks~"
"It’s nothing! You’re sick, after all!"
The girl smiled shyly.
Chen Cheng immediately buried her face in her arms, playing dead like a turtle, leaving only her innocent eyes peeking out at the blackboard.
Still in the middle of class...
She was really starting to think that the worst part of traveling ten years back in time was having to redo her senior year of high school.
Even college would be better!
Wait, no. If she were in college, that would mean being separated from An Yuan...
Back when she first turned into a girl, if it hadn’t been for An Yuan’s support, who knows what kind of reckless things she might have done? Even now, with him around, she still had moments of terrifying impulses. She couldn’t even picture what life would be like without him.
Lost in thought, she didn’t even hear the bell ring for the end of class until someone shook her shoulder.
Dazed, she lifted her head and saw Hu Wei and Chen Shuting looking at her with concern. An Yuan, meanwhile, was casually leaning against a nearby desk, staying out of the conversation.
"We called your name so many times! Is your fever really that bad?"
"The doctor said it’s just a little over 38°C... I just feel exhausted. The worst part is this awful stuffy nose."
Hu Wei reached out to check her forehead. "You don’t feel that hot..."
Chen Shuting tugged on Hu Wei’s sleeve, then turned to An Yuan. "Should we go grab lunch first?"
"Can you bring me something back to the classroom? I don’t feel like going downstairs..."
"Let An Yuan get it for you."
"Oh, and grab me two packs of tissues! I’m almost out."
Her desk drawer was already overflowing with used tissues, practically forming a small mountain. She had borrowed tissues from everyone around her at this point.
"Got it, got it~ We’ll leave you two alone~"
Chen Shuting dragged Hu Wei out of the classroom. Hu Wei kept turning back every few steps. "Rest well, okay? Let’s go shopping this weekend when you’re better!"
"Huh? Shopping..." Chen Cheng flopped down on her desk. "Maybe I should just stay sick until the weekend."
This is exactly why she didn’t want to be too social! Making her go out on her break? So unfair!
"Stop being such a shut-in."
An Yuan finally walked over and knocked lightly on her head.
"You’re hitting me when I’m sick..." Chen Cheng pouted, resting her chin on the desk while wrapping her arms around her head for protection. "I wanna eat something good to recover."
"Like what?"
"I haven't had grilled fish in so long~"
"Where am I supposed to find grilled fish for you at school?" An Yuan handed his phone to Chen Cheng. "Why don’t you call my mom and tell her?"
"I don’t want to trouble Auntie."
"But you have no problem troubling me?"
After their usual little argument, An Yuan lowered his head and typed out a message to his mom.
"Chengcheng has a fever. She said she wants grilled fish and crayfish for dinner. She can eat five pounds. Make it mildly spicy."
"???"
"Seriously, she told me herself. The grilled fish should be blackfish, it has fewer bones."
"Alright, I’m heading to the market to buy crayfish now!"
An Yuan chuckled and showed Chen Cheng the screen. "See how much my mom spoils you?"
Chen Cheng glanced at it. "I never said I wanted crayfish! Wait... Auntie’s going to cook it herself?"
The fever left her feeling weak, so her voice came out soft and airy. Her stuffy nose added a bit of a nasal tone, making her sound like a little kid.
Honestly, it made her seem even cuter.
"She always says restaurant crayfish aren’t clean." An Yuan put his phone away and asked, "What do you want for lunch?"
"Just get me something, anything’s fine~"
"Alright, but don’t tell me you have no appetite when I bring it back. You need to eat more when you’re sick."
Chen Cheng yawned and was about to lay down for a nap when she suddenly felt a sharp gaze from her back.
She turned around and saw Li Wanyi still sitting in her seat, staring at An Yuan.
This woman still hasn’t given up? Why is she staring at him like that?!
What are you looking at?! Looking isn’t allowed either!
Chen Cheng thought for a moment, then suddenly grabbed An Yuan’s arm just as he was about to leave for the cafeteria.
"What’s wrong?" An Yuan looked down at her, confused.
"Can you check? Does my fever feel worse?" Chen Cheng tilted her face up at him.
An Yuan bent down and reached out, but before he could touch her forehead, Chen Cheng suddenly stood up, took a step forward, and pressed her forehead against his.
"Feels hotter, right?"
An Yuan froze completely. His mind went blank, and he stayed bent over, unmoving. His face visibly flushed. Within seconds, he was even redder than the feverish Chen Cheng.
Instinctively, he pushed her away, his hands fumbling awkwardly, and he stammered, "Y-yeah, maybe?"
"Whoa~"
A few classmates who were still in the room let out teasing gasps, like they had just witnessed a sweet moment.
The reaction made Chen Cheng freeze too. She took a deep breath, only now realizing what she had just done.
It’s one thing to say dumb things without thinking, but now she was doing dumb things too?!
She quickly muttered, "It’s because of Li Wanyi. She still seems interested in you. That awful woman keeps trying to steal you away."
"Oh... I get it."
"Good, as long as you understand. It didn’t mean anything, okay?"
Somehow, that made it sound even more suspicious.
An Yuan finally snapped out of it, nodded with a complicated expression, and said, "Alright... I’ll go get your food now."
His hands and feet were somewhat uncoordinated, he walked out of the classroom clumsily, moving his same side hand and foot together.
Chen Cheng took a deep breath to suppress her embarrassment. Then, straightening up like a victorious warrior, she turned to look down at Li Wanyi.
Li Wanyi, expressionless, quietly packed up her books.
Ha! Bad woman! I win again!
That’s payback for cornering me in the bathroom and yelling at me last time!
"Ah-choo!"
With a sneeze, Chen Cheng slumped back into her seat. The joy of victory disappeared, replaced by regret.
What was she even doing just now?
An Yuan wouldn’t misunderstand, right?
Probably not? We’ve done way more questionable things before. The only difference is that this time, we had an audience…