NOVEL NEXT 14
Chapter 14
“Dear Mr. Xia Baiyuan: Hello, your account balance is now insufficient, XXXX yuan. Please transfer XXXX yuan before the 15th for medical expenses.”
In the pitch-black living room, thick curtains were tightly drawn, with only a hint of light seeping through the small gap in the middle.
This light was dark blue, like a thin ribbon, falling by the window.
A figure sat by the window, and this thin ribbon wound around him.
Xia Baiyuan lowered his head, his communicator also emitting a dim blue light. Other than that, there was no other light in the room.
He propped up his legs against the cold wall, his back against it, slightly hunched, his posture showing a tense state of “curling up.”
His fingers slid down, exiting the message interface, and then opened another software.
On the software were rows of bright red transaction records.
【March 21st, 16:27, -15000 yuan】
【March 22nd, 3:16, -23000 yuan】
【March 25th, 12:02, -60000 yuan】
…
【June 12th, 17:39, -120000 yuan】
…
【September 27th, 8:12, -290000 yuan】
…
Xia Baiyuan tapped on the communicator a few times, and a new record appeared on the interface.
【October 25th, 4:25, -500000 yuan】
Immediately after, a message popped up.
“Dear Mr. Xia Baiyuan: Hello, you have successfully transferred five hundred thousand yuan to A Star United Hospital on October 25th at 4:25.”
The clock on the wall ticked away, a sound almost unheard in the past, but now seemed so clear in the silent night.
The communicator, left unattended for too long, went out. It slipped from Xia Baiyuan’s hand and fell to the floor, making a “clatter” sound.
Xia Baiyuan buried his head in his knees. His silver short hair was scattered, revealing the curve of his thin jawline.
His lips were tight, showing a hint of fatigue in this dark night.
“Female father…” He murmured softly, his voice tinged with confusion.
It was a very faint sound, almost imperceptible even to himself.
———–
Lu Xi was excited all night.
This was his first time arranging his own room. It might sound like a trivial matter, but just the thought of being able to freely arrange items according to his preferences made him very happy.
He had always wanted to cover the entire room with photos of Xia Baiyuan. Unfortunately, his father felt that this would keep him in a perpetual state of excitement, and mercilessly rejected his request.
Well, of course, he couldn’t cover the walls with Xia Baiyuan’s photos now, even though he had more photos now. But doing so would make him seem like a dead pervert.
After rolling on the neatly made bed for a whole five hours, Lu Xi barely managed to fall asleep.
He woke up still feeling a bit groggy, probably with dark circles under his eyes by now.
It seemed Xia Baiyuan hadn’t gotten up yet. Lu Xi yawned and washed up, then brought freshly baked cookies to Xia Baiyuan’s door.
He had just bought the milk yesterday, and he had checked the refrigerator in the room, which had nothing inside, not even plugged in. It was all set up by Lu Xi when he cleaned the kitchen yesterday.
In addition, there was also a washing machine in the bathroom that seemed to have not been used for a long time.
Lu Xi cleaned everything, and when he stood barefoot in the bathroom, he almost slipped on a towel. Fortunately, he grabbed onto the towel rack, but the rack broke in the process.
So, his father’s scolding for Lu Xi’s sloppiness made sense.
He hoped Xia Baiyuan wouldn’t mock him, considering how hard he had worked.
And because of these cookies.
He knocked on Xia Baiyuan’s door. “Are you awake?”
There was no response from inside. Lu Xi waited for a while and then called out, “Xia Baiyuan?”
This time, a very faint voice came from inside the door. “Um… Lu Xi?”
Even through the door, Lu Xi could hear the hoarseness in Xia Baiyuan’s voice.
He approached a bit and asked, “Are you okay? You don’t sound too good.”
Lu Xi was extremely worried. Although Xia Baiyuan was a famous warrior among the zergs, it was impossible to record every detail of his life over three thousand years.
His achievements were well known, but no one could say when exactly he contracted those illnesses.
Perhaps it was on the battlefield, perhaps when he enlisted, or maybe even earlier.
The thought of such a possibility made Lu Xi tense up all over. He couldn’t help but press against the door and say urgently, “Xia Baiyuan! Xia Baiyuan? Are you okay?”
Xia Baiyuan coughed lightly. “I’m fine, just caught a cold.”
Lu Xi’s eyes went blank.
“Cold = pneumonia = coughing up blood = death.”
In his empty mind, the sound of a funeral bell rang out, and he even began to hallucinate:
Wearing black clothes, Lu Xi himself held a black-and-white photo of Xia Baiyuan, kneeling on the ground, crying uncontrollably. He reached out toward Xia Baiyuan’s grave and wailed, “The warrior of the zergs can never come back!”
And all of this, all of it, was because he ignored this small signal today!
No.
It’s not possible.
Lu Xi pounded on the door, his voice tense. “Xia Baiyuan, let me in to check on you!”
Meanwhile, in the room…
Xia Baiyuan reluctantly opened his eyes, his vision somewhat blurred due to the high fever.
Perhaps it was due to excessive fatigue. He had been running around for the past four months, and even before Lu Xi arrived, he hadn’t had a full night’s sleep for almost two months, averaging less than three hours of sleep per day.
At Xia Baiyuan’s level, the school didn’t really regulate students’ actions. Some students chose to experience military reserve service early, while others had their own ideas.
—Such intensity, even for a female zerg, was a bit too much.
He just didn’t expect it to erupt after resting for a few days.
No, that’s not right either.
In Xia Baiyuan’s confused mind, everything that happened on the starship came to mind.
It seemed that there had been an outbreak back then, but it was suppressed by Lu Xi using some strange method…
Outside the door, Lu Xi, seeing no response, became more urgent. “Xia Baiyuan, I’m coming in!”
You still have to go to school yourself… Oh, today is Sunday, Xia Baiyuan thought drowsily. This employer is indeed a bit too enthusiastic.
…
The door wasn’t locked, which was great—otherwise, Lu Xi would have to consider breaking it down.
He opened the door, and what caught his eye was a slight bulge on the bed. Xia Baiyuan covered himself completely with the blanket, revealing only a bit of silver short hair at the edge.
Lu Xi placed the plate on the table beside the bed and reached out to pull the blanket open a little. “Do you want to drink some milk first?”
A warmth emanated from the gap in the blanket, revealing Xia Baiyuan’s face.
He was originally very pale, with no color on his face. Lu Xi often felt that he was like an ice sculpture.
But now his entire face was flushed, sweat dampening his hair and sticking to the sides of his cheeks.
Lu Xi touched his forehead and recoiled from the heat—this wasn’t just a cold; it felt like he was about to be burned alive.
He exclaimed, “How long have you had a fever?”
Xia Baiyuan made a faint sound and said hazily, “Three hours? I—I don’t remember.”
Lu Xi was dumbfounded.
Three—three hours?
Xia Baiyuan endured a fever for three whole hours? Why didn’t he call for help?
He quickly asked, “Do you have any medicine here? I’ll get it for you.”
Xia Baiyuan looked at him blankly, surprised by Lu Xi’s urgency. He gestured vaguely and said belatedly, “In the cabinet above the kitchen.”
Lu Xi turned and rushed to the kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets, making a clattering noise.
He was in a hurry, and his loose home coat caused him to accidentally knock over things. He cursed softly with some not-so-nice words as he picked up one thing and knocked over another.
Xia Baiyuan remained in his original position, half-opening his eyes and watching Lu Xi’s busy figure.
His blue-green eyes blinked incessantly, as if he were staring at something absent-mindedly.
After a while, he pulled the blanket closer around himself as if he were afraid of the cold, and covered himself again.
Lu Xi returned to the room with hot water and medicine. Although Xia Baiyuan was still somewhat dazed, he was still conscious enough to reach out, but Lu Xi pushed his hand away.
“Do you want to scald yourself to death?” he said impatiently.
Xia Baiyuan blinked dryly and said, “Oh.”
Lu Xi poured hot water back and forth between two cups, and the slightly reddened tips of his fingers could be seen through the transparent cups.
Xia Baiyuan said, “I’m a female zerg.”
“Haha, indeed you are,” Lu Xi laughed with a strange tone, “If you were a male zerg, you would’ve burned to death long ago.”
He was quite annoyed. He had never seen anyone act like this— even if they were about to be burned alive, they wouldn’t yield, unwilling to humble themselves and call out to their roommate who was sleeping next door.
Xia Baiyuan closed his mouth.
—No one would take care of a female zerg like this.
He suddenly remembered that when his female father was feverish, he said he was thirsty.
So Xia Baiyuan handed him the freshly boiled water, and he drank it.
It wasn’t that Xia Baiyuan wasn’t patient enough or attentive enough, but he had never seen anyone worry that a female zerg might find something too hot.
How could he learn something he had never seen before?
His female father had always been a stern elder, and wouldn’t do these delicate things.
Several minutes later, Lu Xi handed the finally cooled cup to Xia Baiyuan, with a cold face, saying, “Drink.”
Xia Baiyuan took the medicine with the lukewarm water. Lu Xi saw that he still looked a bit dazed and restrained himself from questioning, helping Xia Baiyuan lie down instead, and whispered softly, “Rest well.”
Xia Baiyuan mumbled with a muffled voice, “I was hired… but it seems you’re the one taking care of me…”
Lu Xi: “…”
What? Just because of this shitty reason, you refused to call for me?
Thank you. The thought of the war god of the zerg race almost dying for such a reason made him want to cry.
He sighed and said, “Well, I spent money after all. I can’t let you die halfway and let the money go to waste.”
Xia Baiyuan silently smiled.
Lu Xi looked around and moved another chair over.
It was a folding chair that could be turned into a recliner. Lu Xi covered himself with a small blanket, barely covering his body.
Feeling cold in his feet, he pulled the blanket down to cover them.
Soon he felt cold in his stomach, so he pulled the blanket up to cover his stomach, leaving his feet exposed again.
Lu Xi lost his temper.
He prided himself on having no grace and not having the gentlemanly demeanor of his male zerg friends.
Not only would he sneak attack female zergs with psychic power, but he also dared to stay under the same roof as them, and even dared to snatch a sick zerg’s blanket—
So he pulled another blanket from Xia Baiyuan’s body and covered his own stomach with it.
After all, his room only had one thick blanket 🙂
Lu Xi hadn’t slept well either and drifted off unknowingly.
In a half-asleep state, he heard Xia Baiyuan’s voice:
“Lu Xi… the last time…”
Lu Xi reluctantly responded, “What’s wrong?”
After a while, Xia Baiyuan said, “Nothing, forget it.”
He wasn’t sure if Lu Xi had paid a price to help him with his strange ability.
In this situation, he couldn’t ask Lu Xi to save his female father again.
Lu Xi fell into a deep sleep.
If his female father knew about his way of taking care of people, they would definitely mock him: “Oh, are you taking care of someone or catching up on sleep?”
Xia Baiyuan looked at Lu Xi’s quiet profile and felt the burning heat all over his body gradually subside.
His hand under the blanket couldn’t help but touch his heart.
He didn’t call Lu Xi, mainly because…
Every female zerg, without exception, would endure.
If he couldn’t even endure such a small illness, how could he go to the battlefield?
They are to resist the star beasts and guard this star domain.
Female zergs can bleed, but they cannot shed tears.
Weakness is for male zergs and sub-females.
He should wake Lu Xi up and let him do his own thing, rather than staying here as if he were some delicate patient in need of careful care.
But—
Xia Baiyuan’s azure-blue eyes gazed at the dark circles under Lu Xi’s eyes, and he changed his mind.
Because Lu Xi looked very tired.
So he shouldn’t wake him up.
Xia Baiyuan closed his eyes but couldn’t ignore the faint sense of peace that arose from within.
They were just coincidentally resting in the same room, that’s all.
So it doesn’t matter.