/
Newlyweds. Couples hug and kisses. (1)
Lin Yu He knew every word in that extraordinarily short sentence, but they were so unfamiliar and congesting together.
Lin Yu He choked and couldn’t help but start to cough, and his mind went blank. When he reacted, the cough became worse and worse, and he wasn’t able to stop it at all.
“Cough, cough
”
Lin Yu He reluctantly took a step back and left the bed, his throat hurting badly. His vision was darkened and he could hardly see clearly anymore, leaving him to grope around by feeling.
Someone supported him and patted a hand on his back, as if trying to help him breathe.
But Lin Yu He continued to cough. He covered his lips with his hand, while white liquid overflowed between his fingers and down the back of his hand.
He had been so stunned that he spat out the milk he had just drank.
Lin Yu He took deep breaths, and was half supported, half carried to the bathroom.
There was a warm touch on the back of his hand, and he blinked away the tears in his eyes, minimally clearing his hazy vision.
It was Lu Nan who wiped away the milk on the back of his hand with a hot towel.
After wiping the back of his hand, the man grabbed a new towel: “Wipe your face.”
Lin Yu He shook his head. He couldn’t speak yet, but insisted on turning on the faucet and splashing water on his face.
There was a strong scent of milk all over his hands and face that wouldn’t dissipate, stubbornly lingering on the noise.
Lin Yu He rinsed his mouth three times before he finally stopped. He held onto the sink, dizzy.
He didn’t dare to raise his face, and there was only one thought in his head.
So embarrassing.
He had only been living there for two days with Lu Nan, yet he was losing face everyday. Lin Yu He simply didn’t have the courage to look at the other again. He lowered his face, vision blurry, heart pounding in his chest, deafening and noisy.
Lin Yu He was breathing hard, rapid and heavy, and would cough a few times occasionally. There was always a hand on his back to calm him, but the situation had not improved.
The man had noticed something was wrong, and the hand stopped. He turned to raise his head.
“Ning Ning, what’s going on?”
Lu Nan’s voice was lowered.
“I thought the asthma was under control?”
Lin Yu He grabbed the man’s wrist and finally, with difficulty, squeezed out a few words.
“I’m fine. I just choked.”
He still didn’t look up. Fingers that had always been cold had a rare warmth, with flushed red fingertips and originally pink knuckles even redder. But it was not here on Lin Yu He’s body that he was the reddest, but his face.
Lu Nan stood next to him and supported him. He was much taller than him and could see his condition clearly with his downward gaze. Lin Yu He’s face was flushed, with the delicate smooth skin full of blush from the white ears to the slender back of the neck.
The red did not weaken at all, with the deepest parts covered by pajamas, invisible to the eye.
This made people unable to help but think that, perhaps under those pajamas, the bare back and chest were the same, with a deep, persistent red.
It seemed like a long time had passed before Lin Yu He finally felt the man withdraw the hand holding his chin. A strong arm was wrapped around his waist, and another hot towel wiped his cheeks lightly a few times.
“It’s okay.”
The man lightened his voice with a hint of comfort.
“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a child spit up milk.”
A child who
spat up milk?
Lin Yu He blinked hard, his eyelashes full of water.
He had doubts, but he didn’t want to speak anymore.
He just wanted to erase this entire experience from his life.
After a while, Lin Yu He finally got ahold of himself.
He declined the man’s kindness and insisted on leaving the bathroom by himself.
Lu Nan didn’t insist and walked out behind him.
“It’s getting late, so rest.”
After the man finished his sentence, he put away the computer and didn’t further mention the wedding procedures.
Lin Yu He sat beside the bed and watched Lu Nan put away his things and take away the milk cup.
The man didn’t come any closer after that, and merely reminded him to put on the lip balm himself. It was as if he was actively giving him space to calm down.
Before sleeping, Lu Nan asked him only one question.
“Are you still in pain?”
Lin Yu He hugged the hot water bottle tightly: “It’s alright.”
Lu Nan reached over and turned off the light.
“Go to sleep then.”
The darkness gave people a sense of security. Lin Yu He took a breath and said softly, “Good night.”
His voice was very light, with his face half buried under the quilt. His speaking was muffled and would have been easily missed.
But his words were quickly answered.
“Good night.”
The man’s voice was low, coaxing him to sleep.
“Sweet dreams.”
—
When he woke up to the noise of the alarm clock the next day, Lin Yu He subconsciously groped around at his side before he opened his eyes. There was nothing there, nothing at all.
As soon as he calmed down, he realised there was no painful chill in his hands or feet, and was surprised awake.
Fortunately, there was nothing surprising in front of him when he opened his eyes. Lin Yu He was still on his own side, he had slept without crossing the boundary, and there was no man next to him.
Even though he was unsure why he didn’t feel cold, Lin Yu He breathed a sigh of relief.