Chapter 122: He Did It On Purpose

The next day arrived quickly. Felix Ford had been worrying about that matter, but after spending the evening with his mom, he’d somehow forgotten all about it. When he woke up this morning and heard her say she was taking him to the amusement park, the memory came flooding back. The chopsticks in his hand fell to the floor with a CLATTER.

’He’d almost forgotten. Today, Dad and Mom were going to take them out to have fun.’

’This was something he wouldn’t have dared to dream of before, but now... it wasn’t the right time.’

’Mom will leave me.’

Panic surged through him at the thought.

"What’s wrong?" Amanda Vance looked up at him. Seeing his unhappy expression, she was puzzled. After a moment’s thought, she ventured, "Have you and Colt not made up yet?"

"Ah..." The sound had barely left his lips when Felix remembered his previous excuse to his mom—that he and Colt had fought. His mom had even wanted him to use this trip as a chance to reconcile. Realizing this, he quickly said, "Yeah, we haven’t made up yet, Mom. I don’t really want to see him right now. I think it would be good to let him cool down for a while."

Amanda chuckled, amused by his bossy, CEO-style pronouncement. She flicked him lightly on the forehead. "Colt is your friend. When you two have a falling-out, you both need to do some self-reflection."

’Let him cool down? What if Felix was part of the problem too? If Colt decided he didn’t want to be friends anymore, it would be too late.’

’Fine.’

Seeing her firm stance, Felix didn’t dare make any more excuses. He claimed he needed to change his clothes and ran back to his room. He secretly made a phone call, letting it ring just once before hanging up.

Hearing the dial tone on the other end, Felix pouted, displeased. He couldn’t help but feel a little resentful. ’If you have a plan, just tell me! I can play along. What’s the point of this silent treatment?’

He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. When he heard Amanda call for him, he hastily shoved the phone into his pocket, called out, "Coming!" and headed out the door.

’Forget it. I don’t care anymore. He can do whatever he wants. I’ve done what I can.’

「The Ford Residence.」

Jean Vance was propped up on pillows, reclining in bed. His face was flushed, yet his lips were pale, giving him a sickly appearance. The moment his phone vibrated under the covers, his hand moved to decline the call. His expression remained unchanged as he looked up at the man beside him, a hint of disdain in his eyes.

Samuel Ford blew on the bowl of medicine. When he felt the temperature was about right, he held it out. "Drink up."

Jean turned his head away. "I’m not drinking it."

The words were barely out of his mouth when he let out a loud, "ACHOO!" and his nose started to run. He froze. When a tissue appeared in his field of vision, his expression stiffened. Forgetting his aloof act, he took it impassively and blew his nose, which made him feel a little better.

Samuel took his temperature again. It was 100 degrees. Not a high fever, but it was obvious he was miserable. The boy looked completely drained.

"Drink your medicine first."

Jean burrowed deeper into the blankets, his lips pressed into a thin line. A muffled voice emerged from under the covers. "No. I’ll be fine after some sleep."

"The medicine isn’t bitter."

Jean still didn’t give any reaction.

’It was only at times like this that he actually acted like a child.’

Seeing this, Samuel frowned. "If you don’t drink it, I’m calling Dr. Vance. She’s a doctor, and she has no patience for disobedient patients."

Jean remained motionless. ’I’m Felix Ford right now. Even if Mom gets annoyed, she’ll be annoyed at Felix Ford, not me.’

’Besides, he knew Mom would never be truly annoyed with Felix Ford.’

’But he didn’t want her to come over, either. He’d stood in the cold wind last night for the sole purpose of avoiding this meeting.’

At this thought, the boy under the covers finally stirred. He propped himself up, slowly sitting up in bed. He took the bowl of medicine, and as if mustering all his courage, he took a deep breath, furrowed his brow, and downed it in one go, giving himself no opportunity to back out.

He had barely finished drinking when, before he could even set the bowl down, he suddenly lurched over the side of the bed and threw up all the medicine he had just swallowed.

Samuel’s expression changed instantly. He caught the boy with one hand, steadying him and preventing him from falling. But it all happened so quickly that Jean couldn’t react in time, and some of what he threw up splattered onto Samuel’s arm.

Jean heaved for a long moment. When he felt there was nothing left to bring up, he propped himself up on the bed and immediately noticed Samuel’s sleeve.

’It hadn’t been down long, so there wasn’t much of a smell, but it still looked disgusting. He was a neat freak himself, so he knew how unpleasant it was.’

Samuel, however, merely glanced at it, paying it no mind. He helped Jean sit up straight, gently rubbing his back with his clean hand to soothe him. "Feeling any better?"

Jean seemed lost in thought and didn’t answer immediately. After a moment, he gave a slow "mm," glanced at the man’s arm, and said, "You should go change your clothes."

"Mm, I will in a minute."

Samuel replied nonchalantly, picking up a glass of water from the nightstand. "Rinse your mouth."

Jean looked at him for a second before slowly taking the glass.

With the strange taste gone from his mouth, he finally felt much more comfortable.

After Jean finished, Samuel suddenly picked him up. "I’ll have Miss Lynch clean this up," he explained. "You can rest in my room for now."

Jean said nothing, feeling the man’s strength in a daze.

’This wasn’t the first time the man had carried him, but he didn’t know if it was because he was sick, but it felt... different somehow.’

Jean refused to dwell on how it was different. He kept his small face impassive, showing no reaction as the man set him down on the bed.

Samuel first changed the boy into a fresh set of clothes before going to change his own.

When he returned, he sat on the edge of the bed and used a towel soaked in warm water to wipe Jean’s palms and the soles of his feet. Finally, he touched his forehead again. "Try to get some sleep. We’ll figure out what to do next if your fever still doesn’t break."

’Since he couldn’t keep the medicine down, this was the only option for now.’

"Mm," Jean nodded. He knew what he was doing and he knew his own body. ’A nap should be enough. It’s not a serious illness, but it will be enough to get me out of this meeting.’

’He really had no other choice. If Felix were the one to get sick, their mom would have to take care of him. After thinking it over, he had decided it was better to do it himself.’

At that moment, Samuel’s thoughts also turned to Amanda Vance. Today’s trip was definitely off. Glancing at the boy, whose eyes were already closed, he stood up and walked out of the room.

Amanda had already left the house when she received the call. She was surprised by what he said. "Colt’s sick?"

Sitting in the passenger seat, Felix’s ears perked up, and he couldn’t help but lean closer. ’Jean’s sick?’

’Was this the plan he came up with?’

"Yes, he has a fever... Thank you, but that won’t be necessary." Hearing her offer to bring her son over, Samuel politely declined. "They’re still young, it’s better if you don’t come. We wouldn’t want Jean to catch it."

It was the season for catching colds, so when Amanda heard this, she nodded in agreement. She then suggested a few food-based home remedies. Since the boy couldn’t keep medicine down, they might be worth a try.

Samuel agreed and apologized to her once more before hanging up.

Just then, Miss Lynch walked out of the room, looking rather perplexed.

He asked casually, "What is it?"

Miss Lynch came over, a puzzled look on her face. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Sir, I was just tidying up the room and I discovered that the water heater in the young master’s bathroom suddenly broke yesterday. We haven’t had a chance to fix it yet, so the young master... he..."

She didn’t have to finish. Samuel already understood what she was implying.

’He took a cold shower.’

’He wasn’t stupid, and he certainly wasn’t mute. He also wasn’t the type to suffer in silence. Yet he hadn’t said a word and simply finished his shower. There was only one possibility.’

’He did it on purpose.’

At this thought, Samuel’s eyes narrowed.