"Did you take your temperature just now?" Chang Xuyu chewed her rice and asked again.
"No."
Hearing this, Chang Xuyu suddenly stood up, reached her hand toward him, and before he could react, pressed her warm palm against his forehead, covering the conspicuous scar that others might find scary.
Feeling the warmth of her touch on his brow, he sucked in a breath and his Adam's apple bobbed.
"Still very hot..."
Chang Xuyu murmured, "Shouldn't sleeping and sweating help a bit?"
"After you take the medicine, make sure you get some more rest."
She wondered if it was because he was always too busy and didn't take care of himself, leaving his immune system so weak that he'd collapse at the slightest breeze.
He was still wearing the pajama set that matched hers—the top half open, revealing his muscular chest. Because of the fever, it was flushed, sweaty, and rising and falling slightly. Chang Xuyu's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked away, burying her head in her meal.
Yi Zhuo was silent, his eyes on her with a hint of bewilderment and gravity.
"I can't sleep," he said hoarsely. "I just had a nightmare. When I woke up, you were really gone. I didn't know what to do. I thought you might still come back, and you hadn't eaten, so I made some of your favorite dishes."
He was gambling that she would come back, that she wouldn't leave him without a word.
And now, he had guessed right.
Chang Xuyu was stunned. She didn't look at him and forced a light laugh. "How could I not come back?"
Yi Zhuo didn't want to bring up old matters. But perhaps because of the fever, his head was hazy, and he couldn't help blurting out, "The first time you mentioned divorce, you didn't come home for several days. You stayed at the teachers' dormitory at your institution. I had to pick you up."
Chang Xuyu's chopsticks almost dropped the spare rib as her hand trembled.
Yi Zhuo followed her gaze, trying to catch hints of guilt in her expression. When he succeeded, a shadow flickered in his eyes, and his expression turned grim.
"You've always been able to drop me whenever you want. That time, I made ribs too, but you didn't come back until late at night. In the end, I threw them all away."
He said it calmly, his tone cold, but she sensed a hint of grievance.
"It's my fault..."
Chang Xuyu didn't know how to defend or rebut. She wasn't fond of arguments anyway, and besides, he was right.
She'd just accept it.
Yi Zhuo suddenly put down his chopsticks. The sound of them hitting the plate made Chang Xuyu's heart skip a beat.
His eyes locked onto her without mercy.
"So on the day of Jingzhe, you want to abandon me for good."