Chapter 57: A Feverish Dream (2)
[Why does this dream feel so real?] Lin Xueyi wondered. [I can even smell his real scent. He always smells a little like a hospital.]
[Could this not be a dream?] Lin Xueyi suddenly panicked, but then relaxed again when she realized something. [No, it has to be a dream. If this were real, Rong Shuyan would never let me call him Yanyan.]
[That would be so disrespectful...]
[He hates being called disrespectful names.]
[He’ll hate me.]
Meanwhile, Rong Shuyan didn’t know what he should be more confused about, Lin Xueyi’s strange praise or the fact that she seemed to think he was really that bitter in her eyes.
"Why are you praising me?" Rong Shuyan asked at last. "I wasn’t the one who drank the medicine."
Lin Xueyi slowly pulled her head away from him, but only far enough to look at his face. Then, without any warning, she lifted both hands and cupped his cheeks.
"Yanyan drinks bitter medicine every day," she said softly. "That’s an achievement."
Rong Shuyan held his breath and couldn’t even blink because Lin Xueyi was too close to him.
Rong Shuyan could feel the heat from her fever against his skin. Her hands were still cupping his cheeks, and her face was so close that he could see the sleepy look in her eyes.
Lin Xueyi, however, didn’t seem to notice anything strange. She simply continued staring at him. [Why is Yanyan so handsome even in my dream?]
Rong Shuyan’s expression stiffened.
[This is unfair. His eyelashes are longer than mine.]
His eyes twitched slightly. Lin Xueyi suddenly leaned even closer, studying his face as if she had discovered something interesting.
[And his skin is so good too.] Her thumb gently brushed across his cheek. [What does he even use on his face?]
"Lin Xueyi," he finally called her name.
"Hmm?"
"You should sleep."
"But I’m already sleeping."
Rong Shuyan took a slow breath, trying his best to stay calm because there was no point arguing with someone who was half-asleep and burning with fever.
"How about you lie down, then?" he said patiently. "The medicine will work better if you don’t move around too much."
Lin Xueyi narrowed her eyes at him, clearly doubtful. "Really?"
He actually had only said it because he wanted her to stop moving around, but there was no need to tell her that.
"Really," he replied without hesitation.
Lin Xueyi stared at him for another moment, as if trying to decide whether she believed him.
Finally, she gave a small nod. "Alright..."
Rong Shuyan finally let out a sigh of relief, then he pushed his wheelchair forward with one hand, making it easier for him to guide Lin Xueyi back down to lie on the bed.
This time, thankfully, she didn’t argue with him.
Once Lin Xueyi was lying down again, Rong Shuyan pulled the blanket up to her shoulders.
He reached for the wet cloth that had fallen beside her pillow and placed it back on her forehead.
Lin Xueyi blinked up at him. "Yanyan."
"Yes?"
"Are you leaving?"
Rong Shuyan raised both his eyebrows. "No."
"Really?"
He hummed. "Really."
She stared at him for a few seconds, as if she was trying to figure out whether he was lying again. Then, without warning, her hand slipped out from under the blanket and grabbed his sleeve.
Rong Shuyan looked down at it. "I’m not leaving."
However, Rong Shuyan didn’t push her hand away and simply let her hold his sleeve.
Once she was sure that Rong Shuyan really wasn’t going to leave, Lin Xueyi closed her eyes, but her thoughts continued to fill the quiet tent.
[This is a nice dream.]
[I should dream about Yanyan more often.]
Thankfully, after a while, Lin Xueyi finally fell asleep again, freeing Rong Shuyan from her feverish nonsense.
Since he had promised Physician Liu that he would watch over her through the night, Rong Shuyan kept his word. He remained beside her bed, checking on her from time to time and making sure her fever didn’t get worse.
He only allowed himself to fully close his eyes when the sky outside was beginning to brighten.
Unfortunately, he barely managed to sleep for an hour before trouble came knocking again.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!" A soldier’s urgent voice came from outside the tent.
Rong Shuyan immediately opened his eyes. He turned toward the bed and saw that Lin Xueyi was still fast asleep and her hand was still holding onto his sleeve.
Careful not to wake her, Rong Shuyan gently opened her fingers one by one and freed his sleeve from her grasp. He pulled the blanket over her properly before quietly pushing his wheelchair toward the entrance.
"What’s wrong?" he asked.
The soldier’s face was pale, and he seemed to have rushed there in a hurry. "One of the soldiers who was captured by the Southern Wolf Tribe managed to make it back to camp, Your Highness!"
Rong Shuyan’s expression immediately turned serious. "Where is he?"
"He was brought to the medical tent, Your Highness. His injuries are quite severe."
Rong Shuyan nodded once before glancing back at his tent. "Go and find Physician Liu first. Tell him to come here and stay with the Princess Consort until I return."
The soldier hesitated. "But Your Highness, the injured soldier—"
"Have another physician treat him for now," Rong Shuyan said firmly. "Physician Liu stays with the Princess Consort."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The soldier quickly left to carry out his order. Only after making sure someone would watch over Lin Xueyi did Rong Shuyan head toward the medical tent.
The camp was already beginning to wake. Soldiers hurried between the tents, and the news of the escaped prisoner seemed to have spread quickly. Several officers were already waiting outside the medical tent when Rong Shuyan arrived.
"Your Highness."
The soldiers immediately stepped aside for him and Rong Shuyan immediately entered without wasting any time.
The smell of blood and medicine filled the air, and on one of the beds lay a soldier covered in wounds.