The tears didn't flow out, they surged out uncontrollably without pause. He could clearly feel the warm tears streaming down his face, quickly tracing paths before merging into one.

For so long, Jiang Cheng had felt like he had cleared his mind of all distractions except studying. At most when reviewing, he would habitually glance at Gu Fei to feel settled.

Other than that, there was no other extraneous content in his mind. It was only today when chatting with classmates that he found out someone in the neighboring class had fallen ill recently, and someone else had gotten into a fight from the third floor all the way down to the first, causing quite a commotion. He was completely unaware of all this.

For so long, his mind had been full, his nerves taut. It remained that way until now.

All the heavy burdens had been removed, all the pressure cast aside, and all the emotions returned to his body. It was as if the stuffy jar he was in suddenly had its lid removed - everything he saw, heard, experienced, and felt became clear all at once, even more so than before.

And in this state, when he suddenly saw Gu Fei's tired expression and heard his slightly weak voice, Jiang Cheng seemed to suddenly remember all the complicated pressures Gu Fei had been enduring these past few months.

The flash of remorse and heartache in that moment was unbearable to him.

Gu Fei had been like this day after day, taking care of the home, the shop, and him. He had to make time to accompany Gu Miao, take care of the shop, restock, look up nutritional recipes to cook for him every day, and tutor him...

He had always felt quite tired himself from studying so hard, but he had never noticed how tired Gu Fei must have been, staying up with him every night until he fell asleep before going to bed himself. And by the time Jiang Cheng woke up, Gu Fei must have already gotten up.  

Compared to his own simple, singular "tiredness", Gu Fei's exhaustion was much harder to bear.

"I'm sorry," Jiang Cheng hugged Gu Fei tightly. Gu Fei's whole body felt like a burning little stove, the heat making Jiang Cheng's heart race anxiously. "I'm sorry, Gu Fei."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Gu Fei's voice sounded a little hoarse, perhaps from relaxing or the fever. "Saying sorry and all that, I was afraid you'd say it."

"I really..." Jiang Cheng rubbed his teary eyes on Gu Fei's shoulder, but almost immediately after, the tears flowed out again uncontrollably. "I really didn't think at all during this time about how tired you must be."  

"I didn't feel tired myself," Gu Fei gently patted his back. "Besides, it's common for people to get sick after exams..."

"Don't blame me," Jiang Cheng tried hard to control his tears. Crying like this made it hard for him to speak properly without hiccuping. He kissed Gu Fei's neck, and when his lips touched Gu Fei's burning skin, the tears that had just stopped flowed out again. "Don't blame me."

"I'm not blaming you," Gu Fei laughed softly. "How could I blame you? I didn't connect this to you at all."

"Don't talk anymore," Jiang Cheng held him tightly. "It hurts my heart to hear you talk."

"Mm," Gu Fei responded without speaking further.

Jiang Cheng closed his eyes and hugged him tightly until his waist started aching. Only then did he loosen his arms.

But Gu Fei didn't move. When he turned his head, he realized Gu Fei had fallen asleep leaning against his shoulder.

Jiang Cheng used one hand to support himself against the sofa back to maintain his balance, while the other hand carefully lowered Gu Fei onto the sofa. He ran into the bedroom to grab a small pillow to tuck under Gu Fei's head, and took the bed quilt to cover him up completely.

After doing all this, Jiang Cheng stood in the middle of the living room, unsure what else he should do.

After spacing out for a bit, he went to wring out a towel with cold water and carefully placed it on Gu Fei's forehead.

He had thought about using an ice towel, but Gu Fei was sleeping deeply right now. He didn't want to wake him up.

After pacing around the room for a while, he grabbed a small stool and sat in front of the sofa, staring at Gu Fei's face.  

Gu Fei's face was slightly flushed, though he couldn't tell if it was from the quilt or the fever - likely both. He reached back for the thermometer and took Gu Fei's temperature again.  

It was still 38.3°C, no change. Of course, it wouldn't change much in just a few minutes.

After a while, he removed the towel. Just that brief time was enough for the towel to be warm again. He went to the bathroom to rinse it in cool water before bringing it back out and replacing it on Gu Fei's forehead.

Gu Fei usually had very good health. Jiang Cheng couldn't recall him ever being sick, not even a cold. People who rarely got sick tended to deteriorate rapidly when they did.  

Jiang Cheng took Gu Fei's temperature two more times - once was 38.3°C, the next was 38.4°C.

Damn, it was still rising!

He couldn't sit still any longer. Remembering what Gu Fei said about electronic thermometers being inaccurate, he dashed out the door and pedaled furiously to the community hospital.

He had to buy a mercury thermometer and also ask if he could get some medication from the hospital.

Just as he raced up to the hospital entrance, he saw Li Yan walking out of Gu Fei's family shop, dialing a number on his phone while squatting on the entrance steps.

"Li Yan!" Jiang Cheng called out.

"Huh?" Li Yan turned around. "How come you're by yourself? I'm calling Gu Fei right now. He..."

"Don't call, don't call!" Jiang Cheng jumped off his bike. "He has a fever and is sleeping!"

"Fever?" Li Yan seemed surprised as he hung up the phone. "He has a fever? That guy's health is like the Bull Demon King, and he can still get sick?"

"Who knows if the Bull Demon King never gets sick?" Jiang Cheng said. "You're not Princess Iron Fan anyway..."

"What if I am?" Li Yan tsked. "How high is the fever?"

"Over 38 degrees," Jiang Cheng frowned. "I'm worried the electronic one isn't accurate. I want to buy a mercury one."

Li Yan accompanied him into the community hospital. The doctor gave Jiang Cheng a mercury thermometer and two fever reducers. "Lots of people get sick after exams. It's probably nothing serious. Give him the medicine later. Have him drink plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. Come in tonight to get checked out if the fever doesn't go down or gets higher in case there are other issues."

Jiang Cheng took the thermometer and medication and was about to leave the hospital when he suddenly remembered to ask Li Yan, "Why did you come over?"

"Weren't we planning to go eat a celebratory meal after your exam?" Li Yan said. "How would I know he'd gotten sick?"

"Then..." Jiang Cheng looked at him.  

"Don't mind me. Hurry back to take care of him," Li Yan said, glancing at the time. "I'll keep an eye on things for a bit here, then close up the shop later."

"What about his mom?" Jiang Cheng asked.  

"She took Er Miao out shopping with the boyfriend as soon as I got here," Li Yan said.

"Oh," Jiang Cheng nodded and got on his bike. But before pedaling off, he asked one more thing, "To make egg drop soup, you use..."

"Egg drop soup?" Li Yan interrupted him. "No high protein foods when you have a fever! Eat plain congee or noodles if you must eat something."

"That's so unappetizing," Jiang Cheng sighed. "Would he even be able to eat it?"

"Don't worry, he's very tolerant," Li Yan said. "He can eat shit and not complain."

"Hey!" Jiang Cheng looked at him and sighed deeply.

"It's true," Li Yan laughed. "Hurry back now."

What Li Yan said was quite disgusting, but it did seem accurate. Gu Fei was very tolerant, about everything. He would likely eat the plain congee or noodles calmly even if he hated it.

Thinking about it made Jiang Cheng's heart ache again.

"Does his family shop have noodles?" Jiang Cheng asked. "Like really high quality, delicious ones?"

"......Wait here, let me grab some for you," Li Yan went back into the shop. He soon came out with a bag containing vacuum-packed noodles and some seasoning bottles. "These - I cooked them before. Very smooth, great texture. And these seasonings, pick what you want, they're all good."  

"Thanks," Jiang Cheng hung the bag on his handlebars and raced back to the rental unit.  

Gu Fei was still sleeping, seeming not to have woken up at all.