Chapter 140: It Feels So Good to Have Company

Su Yuqing held her breath as she laid the towel against him. Her fingertips flinched the instant they brushed against Chen Mo’s scorching skin, and the damp cloth left a small wet mark near his collarbone.

Chen Mo felt the gentleness and trembling in Su Yuqing’s fingertips. He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze meeting hers—bashful and hesitant, yet seeming to hold a thousand unspoken words.

As he felt the towel in her hand slide gently across his chest, every wipe sent a jolt of electricity through him, causing both of their hearts to beat faster.

"Yuqing, I... I can do it myself," Chen Mo said. His voice was a little hoarse but exceptionally gentle as he tried to take the towel, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

But Su Yuqing stubbornly shook her head, her cheeks flushing crimson. "We agreed that I’d be your caregiver for the day, so I have to see it through."

she said softly, her eyes full of determination and affection.

Seeing the look in her eyes, Chen Mo realized he had rarely seen Su Yuqing this serious.

"Just lie still and leave it to me. And don’t talk so much; it’s bad for your throat right now." It was a rare moment of assertiveness from Su Yuqing.

Chen Mo gave a resigned smile and let Su Yuqing continue.

As the towel moved, his body gradually relaxed, but the nervousness and fluttering in his heart only grew stronger.

He could clearly feel her warm, hurried breath washing over his skin. It was like a gentle spring breeze, utterly intoxicating.

"Relax..." Su Yuqing said softly, sensing the tension in his body.

Her voice was as faint as a spider’s thread drifting in the morning mist, the last syllable shattered by a sudden shiver from Chen Mo.

’This is so frustrating,’ Chen Mo thought. ’It’s not that I want to be tense, but this is the first time a girl has ever been this close. My body is tensing up on its own.’

However, seeing Su Yuqing’s focused, earnest expression, Chen Mo gradually started to relax.

He closed his eyes and let her continue, surrendering to the delicate, gentle touch. It felt as if all his discomfort was being smoothed away.

Su Yuqing cherished this rare opportunity to take care of Chen Mo.

He was always the one taking care of her, and she had been wanting to return the favor.

Now that she finally had her wish, she was taking the task all the more seriously.

But while the young woman was absorbed in her task, the young man’s mind began to race.

Especially as her hands moved further down, his chest began to rise and fall more rapidly.

Suddenly, his hand shot out and gripped the towel.

The corners of Chen Mo’s eyes, flushed from the fever, ticked upward. His hoarse voice was laced with a hot, ragged breath. "That’s enough."

Su Yuqing started, realizing she had unconsciously wiped all the way down to the edge of his waistband, her fingertips hovering near a dangerous mound.

The tips of her ears instantly turned red enough to bleed.

Su Yuqing’s fingers hovered in mid-air, curling slightly. In the morning light, tiny beads of moisture were visible on her eyelashes.

She dipped the towel back into the warm water and wrung it out. As she looked down, a strand of her hair slipped from her shoulder, brushing a cool, ticklish ripple across Chen Mo’s feverish skin.

"Can you turn over? I need to do your back, too," Su Yuqing said, her voice soft and slow.

Chen Mo slowly turned over, burying his face in the pillow.

Su Yuqing gently lifted the hem of Chen Mo’s pajama top. Her small hand, holding the towel, slipped underneath and began to carefully wipe his back.

She pressed her fingertips into his tense shoulder blades with just the right amount of pressure, then slowly slid the warm towel down the groove of his spine.

Chen Mo’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he buried his face deeper into the pillow. He felt like his body, just wiped clean of sweat, was already starting to heat up and perspire again.

When the towel reached the small of his back, he suddenly grabbed her wrist. The tips of his ears were flushed a color that betrayed a heat far more scorching than his fever. "Okay, that’s enough."

The small of his back was extremely ticklish, and the more careful and gentle her touch, the more unbearable the sensation became for him.

Su Yuqing’s gaze fell on the fine beads of sweat on the back of his neck. She gently wiped them away with a corner of the towel and said, "There, all clean."

"Should I do your legs, too?" Su Yuqing teased, the end of her sentence lilting playfully, even as her hands deftly pulled his shirt back into place.

It was hard to tell if Chen Mo’s blush was from the fever or something else. He immediately shook his head. "This is good enough. You should go get some rest before I get you sick, too. Oh, right, could you open the window for me? It’d be nice to get some air."

"Silly, you’re not supposed to be in a draft when you have a cold."

"That’s only if you’re sitting out in it. I’m wrapped in a blanket. COUGH, COUGH, COUGH... A little ventilation will be perfect. It’ll freshen up the air in here, and I’ll feel better," Chen Mo argued.

Su Yuqing didn’t really know whether that was true or not, but since Chen Mo felt uncomfortably stuffy, she decided to indulge him.

After opening the window, she picked up the water basin and headed for the door. Just as a morning breeze lifted the curtains, she stopped and looked back.

She looked at Chen Mo, who was wrapped up like a cocoon on the bed, and gave a gentle smile before turning and leaving the room.

A moment later, she returned with a small chair.

Apparently hearing her, Chen Mo opened his eyes to see Su Yuqing sitting by his bed. "You really shouldn’t stay in here with me. COUGH, COUGH... I don’t want you to catch this."

"It’s fine. I have a mask," Su Yuqing said, producing one and putting it on. "Please, just let me stay with you."

When Su Yuqing was little and had a cold, her grandmother would always stay by her side. According to her grandmother’s theory, the energy of two people together would scare the sickness away.

Although the adult Su Yuqing knew it was just something her grandmother said to placate her, it had given her a great sense of security when she was sick as a child.

A person is at their most vulnerable when they’re sick, and having someone by their side at a time like that is incredibly important.

Even if that person can’t offer any tangible help, the psychological comfort it provides is undeniable.

This was true even for someone like Chen Mo, who was usually so carefree and full of life.

Now, groggy with fever, he could feel Su Yuqing beside him, and for some inexplicable reason, a sense of peace settled over him.

’I always thought I was fine on my own,’ he reflected. ’But today, I’m realizing... it feels so good to have someone by my side.’

Just moments before, he had been so miserable that all he wanted was to fall asleep, yet he had tossed and turned restlessly. But now, knowing Su Yuqing was sitting beside him, he quickly drifted off into sleep.

Su Yuqing sat quietly in the chair, just watching him. He was wrapped up like a little bug, with only his head sticking out, his face flushed and adorable in his sleep. She felt as if she could watch him forever.

This version of him was completely different from his usual handsome, sunny self. Normally, he was her guardian, the one who could hold up the sky and shelter her from any storm. But right now, he was just a big kid who needed her to dote on him and care for him.