My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Jiang Jinyan panted heavily

As soon as Shi Nian came into contact with his hands, she could feel the scorching temperature he exuded. It was so high that she flinched in shock. Tiptoeing to touch his forehead, she exclaimed in distress. "Oh my God, you're so hot!"

Jiang Jinyan let out a breathless laugh, his head lolling down onto her shoulder.

All of a sudden, half of his weight transferred onto her. She staggered back due to the pressure. Fortunately, Jiang Jinyan still maintained a sliver of consciousness not to press his whole weight down. "Help me…inside."

Shi Nian half dragged and half pulled him into his bedroom. She was so worried to the point where it slipped her mind that it was her first time entering the room of a boy she liked. Her attention was wholly focused on the man with flushed cheeks and chapped lips. Shi Nian helped him to lean against the headboard and grabbed the glass sitting atop of the nightstand, relieved when she found the water inside was lukewarm. "Here, drink first."

Jiang Jinyan slowly shook his head. "Have…had enough…"

"Then, have you eaten anything yet? What about medicine? Have you measured your temperature? What did the doctor say?"

Jiang Jinyan lifted his half lidded eyes silently.

Shi Nian instantly understood in one glance. "Wait here for me. I will go and cook some porridge for you."

She adjusted the room's temperature and lightning, covered him with a thick blanket and pushed him onto the bed. "Sleep first, okay?" The appearance of the sickly Jiang Jinyan was too different from the usual Jiang Jinyan. The gloomy and unapproachable aura was softened considerably, replaced with an obedient, harmless and adorable one.

Shi Nian couldn't resist stroking his hair in comfort and got up from the bed. However, before she could leave, Jiang Jinyan's fingers moved to hold onto the tip of her fingers loosely. He hadn't even exerted a bit of force, yet it was enough to hold her in place.

"What's wrong?" She came closer in concern.

His consciousness had gotten hazy and a layer of mist covered his eyes. Even then, he wasn't willing to let go. His pale lips parted. "Don't go…"

Hearing the soft plea, a dull pain drilled its way into her heart. It caused her nose to turn sour. "…I won't go." Shi Nian held his hand in a firm grasp and leaned down to drop a butterfly kiss onto his forehead. "Jiang Jinyan, I will not leave you. Ever."

Jiang Jinyan let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes afterward.

Shi Nian made sure that he was truly asleep before slipping into the kitchen. The little fluffy grey ball waddled along on her trail. 

"Little one, have you eaten yet?"

"Mew~"

"Oh, then I will feed you after I finish cooking, okay? Your owner is sick so we should take better care of him."

The kitten happily mewled, its tail swishing back and forth.

Shi Nian chuckled and rubbed its chin and the back of its ear. The kitten felt so blissful that it rolled onto its back and showed its fluffy belly, eyes narrowed into slits.

The interior of Jiang Jinyan's kitchen was almost the same as hers, albeit a little smaller. Thus, Shi Nian easily found the rice container in the bottom cabinet and a single pan hanging on the wall. Fortunately, Jiang Jinyan still stuffed his refrigerator with some eggs, frozen food and tomatoes, unlike Xu Binchen who had nothing at all.

Shi Nian measured the rice and started to boil porridge. The water simmered and bubbles started to surface along with thick, damp vapor which was instantly sucked away by the ventilator. In the meantime, she grabbed two eggs and whipped out a simple and delicious egg and tomato soup.

An hour later, Shi Nian carefully pushed open the door, bringing with her a warm and delicious fragrance.

Jiang Jinyan had already woken up a few minutes ago. After all, he hadn't eaten anything yet since morning and his stomach had almost glued to his back. However, he didn't have an ounce of strength to get up, much less to cook something. Thus, he only spent the minutes in a daze. When Shi Nian entered, lights from the hallway poured into the room, illuminating a huge lump above the bed.

"Jiang Jinyan?" Shi Nian called out tentatively.

Jiang Jinyan gave a hum. He sluggishly sat up and probed around for his phone. "What time is it? You haven't gone back yet?"

"Don't worry. I have already notified my mother." She flicked the lights on and brought the tray over. "I made you some porridge and soup. Eat first and drink medicine after that, okay?"

Hearing the indulgence in her tone as if she was coaxing a child, he couldn't help but chuckle. "Okay."

Shi Nian sat by the side and blew the porridge. "Here, aah—" She brought the spoon toward his mouth.

Jiang Jinyan stared at her silently, his gaze indecipherable.

Shi Nian blinked and realization dawned on her all of a sudden. Her face instantly erupted in flames. "Ah, sorry, you…you should eat it yourself—"

"No." He cut her off and said softly, "I feel a little weak..."

"Ah?" Shi Nian put on a dumbfounded face and asked carefully. "Then…I will feed you?"

There's a faint, indistinct smile on the corner of his lips. His dark eyes radiated joy and satisfaction. "En."

Shi Nian focused all of her attention on the spoon, taking care not to burn him. "Sorry." She said guiltily. "If not for me, you wouldn't be sick."

Jiang Jinyan blinked, "How so?"

"I—" Shi Nian was baffled? How so? How ah? She didn't do anything yet the man suddenly pulled her into a small alley, pressed her against the wall and kissed her into confusion, causing his back to be drenched by rain thoroughly amidst the cold weather for a long time. So, what exactly did she do? Shi Nian blushed, hemming and hawing. "That…just like that."

She peeked out through her eyelashes and saw the curl on the corner of his lips. "You—" She exclaimed angrily. "You're teasing me!"

Jiang Jinyan spread his palms innocently. "When did I?"

Shi Nian almost choked out of anger. She shoved the rest of the porridge into his mouth and told him to finish the soup himself while she prepared the medicine for him. Rummaging through the plastic bag, she could see a lot of medicines. Fever pad, cough drops, anti-inflammatory, cold medicine and even a new sealed thermometer…

She didn't need to think to know who had bought these.

The scene was so familiar. Everytime General Jiang was sick or injured, the first guest who would come to visit him was Noble Scholar Jia. He would bring medicines, fruits or books although the General's Residence probably had more than enough in stock. Yet General Jiang never refused.

In return, he would brew his favorite tea for him or dug the wine he had buried under the cherry blossom tree. Together, they would sit on the rooftop, chatting or merely gazing into the moon and stars until late into the night. If not for Shi Nian coming out to get them, they wouldn't have rested and would finish all the wine instead.

The sense of familiarity caused her to lower her guard and without her brain processing it, she had blurted out the question. "Mr. Jia Ming'en bought all of these for you?"

Jiang Jinyan froze. He slowly lowered the spoon and asked slowly. "…You know him?"

Recalling the unshakable, firm bond of brotherhood between them, Shi Nian couldn't resist smiling. "You can say so."

She told Jiang Jinyan in a serious tone because the man no longer remembered anything. "He's a good man." Seemingly thinking that it wasn't enough, she paused and added, "Very good and loyal."

Shi Nian took no notice at all of the subtle shift in the air due to her words.

"Oh?" Jiang Jinyan drawled. Without any warning, he yanked on the girl's wrist, causing her to lose her balance and bounced onto the bed. Ignoring her shocked and oblivious expression, he smiled, albeit it didn't reach his eyes. "How good is he? Why don't you tell me slowly?"

.

.

.

A/N: Mass release in pending (ToT)/~~ I am stockpiling so please wait for a few days ehe in the meantime, enjoy the jelly Jiang Jinyan (ʃƪ¬‿¬)

Thank you very much for 100 GT! You guys rock! Let's make it to 200 before the end of the month for another mass release~