IMH - 46

The next morning, when Shen Shen received Cheng Xiaonan’s call and heard his Brother Nan’s slightly hoarse voice, he immediately chuckled: “Oh my, oh my, what did you do last night? How intense was it? Your voice is completely hoarse.”

“Go away, I have a cold.”

“Huh? You have a cold again? I’m telling you, Brother Nan, your immunity isn’t doing so well this year, is it? Back then, you used to play basketball in short sleeves in winter, and I never saw you get sick this frequently.”

It was indeed a bit strange, catching a cold twice in one winter.

Yesterday, during the move, Cheng Xiaonan was only concerned with making sure Yu Qian was bundled up, while he himself wore just a shirt, shuttling back and forth in the hotel lobby with its open doors.

When cooking, he also opened a kitchen window. Even going downstairs to take out the trash, he went in just his shirt.

Perhaps he was too cocky and caught a chill.

________________________________________

Last night, after dinner, while watching TV, the cold symptoms had already begun to show.

A movie was playing on the screen, but Cheng Xiaonan couldn’t focus. He felt lightheaded, and a little cold.

Yu Qian inadvertently turned her head, watched him for a while, and said his eyes were red at the corners, asking if he had a fever again.

He rummaged through the medicine box for a thermometer and indeed, his temperature was already 38 degrees Celsius.

So, on Yu Qian’s first night in her new place, nothing happened, not to mention they slept in separate rooms.

Cheng Xiaonan reluctantly made up the guest bed, leaning against the door frame: “I’ll sleep in this room. Don’t want to infect you; you have work tomorrow.”

Cheng Xiaonan thought of this and coughed a few times, thinking, How miserable.

________________________________________

On the phone, Shen Shen was still surprised about Cheng Xiaonan’s cold and even asked, “It’s not like you’re faking a cold to get sympathy again, is it? Ji Ran said that in high school, to catch a cold, you deliberately moved your desk next to hers when she had a bad cold. I don’t remember this, by the way.”

“You only remember eating and playing.”

Cheng Xiaonan’s throat was uncomfortably dry. He leaned against the bed and took two sips from his water glass. “If there’s nothing urgent at the company, come over here.”

“To your place? Is it convenient for me to go?”

“Yu Qian isn’t here. I need your help with something.”

When Shen Shen arrived at Cheng Xiaonan’s place, it was already almost noon. He had picked up two lunches on the way.

Cheng Xiaonan’s house had a password lock. There was a period when his and Ji Ran’s apartment was being renovated, and he stayed at Cheng Xiaonan’s place, so he knew the password.

Upon arriving, he took off his gloves, entered the password, and let himself in.

Cheng Xiaonan had washed up, but his cold hadn’t fully subsided. He was lazily leaning back on the living room sofa.

Outside the window, the plane trees had been stripped bare of leaves by the winter wind, their branches trembling with the breeze. Inside, however, the room was sunny, and several Shirley Poppies by the French windows were in bloom.

Cheng Xiaonan sat in the sunlight. Hearing the sound at the door, he looked up at Shen Shen: “You’re here.”

“Not only am I here, but I also brought you lunch. Quick, tell me, am I not your savior?”

“Like hell you are.”

Shen Shen didn’t mind being called “like hell,” cheerfully took off his down jacket, hung it in the entryway, changed into slippers, and placed the takeout containers on the coffee table: “Your voice being hoarse is actually quite sexy. Still have a fever?”

“Yeah.”

Cheng Xiaonan wasn’t entirely focused on talking to Shen Shen. He was fiddling with his phone, sending many messages to Yu Qian.

He said he still felt uncomfortable after drinking water, his head hurt, his nasal cavity hurt, he was sleepy and lacked energy, and felt dizzy.

Shen Shen saw his typing posture and knew he was chatting with Yu Qian again.

His Brother Nan was only chatty when texting Yu Qian. When replying to him, most of the time it was just a “.”, indicating he understood.

If he sent some nonsensical message, Cheng Xiaonan wouldn’t even bother replying.

Shen Shen sat next to Cheng Xiaonan, wiped his hands with a wet wipe, and opened the takeout container lid: “I didn’t eat breakfast; I’m starving. Let’s eat first, then I’ll help you with your work?”

Yu Qian had work this morning, and Peter had scheduled her for a fitting of his latest finished designs this afternoon.

She would likely be back later, so there was no rush.

Cheng Xiaonan “mm”-ed again.

Shen Shen ate a few bites, then saw Cheng Xiaonan staring motionless at his phone. Just as he was about to urge him, he suddenly saw him smile.

Shen Shen curiously leaned closer. The entire screen was filled with the green chat bubbles he had sent, while the white chat bubble from the other person contained only one sentence:

[Get some good rest, little brother.]

That’s it?

That’s enough to make his arrogant Brother Nan so happy?

Shen Shen, being a smartass, reached out and touched Cheng Xiaonan’s forehead, imitating Yu Qian’s voice: “Get some good rest, little brother~”

Cheng Xiaonan raised his eyes coolly, slapped Shen Shen’s hand away, and told him to remove his dog paws.

________________________________________

After eating, Shen Shen stood excitedly by the wine cabinet, urging Cheng Xiaonan: “Quick, quick, Brother Nan, I can’t wait to help you out.”

Actually, Shen Shen was curious. When Cheng Xiaonan bought this house, it was a new development, and Shen Shen and Ji Ran had even accompanied him to view it.

Cheng Xiaonan bought the top floor, which was more expensive because it was a duplex with an attic.

When Cheng Xiaonan finished decorating, Shen Shen came again, walked around several times, but couldn’t find the stairs to the attic.

Later, he found out that Cheng Xiaonan had made a hidden door in the wall, and didn’t let anyone into the attic; it was all very mysterious.

Shen Shen had crashed there for a month, eating and drinking, but Cheng Xiaonan never let him see the attic.

The hidden door was behind the living room’s wine cabinet. Cheng Xiaonan, having taken fever medicine, walked over and pushed it open: “Let’s go.”

Shen Shen was dying of curiosity. He followed Cheng Xiaonan inside, stepped onto the light-colored solid wood stairs, and peered upwards.

Only halfway up the stairs, Shen Shen clearly saw what the attic looked like: “Holy! Cow!”

“Not bad, right?” Cheng Xiaonan’s voice was still a bit hoarse from his illness, not very energetic, somewhat low.

“Brother Nan, this is more than ‘not bad’! This is so f***ing cool! Have you shown Yu Qian yet?”

“No. If it’s finished today, I’ll bring her up to see it tonight.”

Shen Shen wanted to touch and look properly, but his Brother Nan told him to hurry up. As soon as he reached the top of the attic, a bag of LEGOs was thrown into his arms: “Stop looking, hurry up.”

Time really flew when building LEGOs. The two of them were busy in the attic for half the afternoon, finally finishing the last piece.

Shen Shen was relieved. He walked around the attic, taking photos and sending them to Ji Ran.

“Brother Nan, Ji Ran said we’re going out for dinner tonight. Are you and Yu Qian coming?”

Cheng Xiaonan’s throat was itchy. He drank half a bottle of mineral water to suppress the discomfort: “No, you guys go. We’ll get together another day.”

“Alright, I’m heading out then to pick up Ji Ran.”

When Shen Shen left, Cheng Xiaonan glanced at his watch. It was 3 PM.

Yu Qian said when she left this morning that Peter needed to try on clothes and revise designs, so she probably wouldn’t be back until evening. He decided to go to the kitchen to boil some hot water for himself.

Walking into the kitchen, he saw a pair of rubber gloves and suddenly remembered what happened last night.

When he told Yu Qian, “Help me put it on tonight,” Yu Qian agreed quickly, simply saying, “Okay.”

But then he caught a cold, and nothing happened. Before going to sleep, he asked her, “Remember you owe me one.”

Yu Qian had just showered then, standing in the master bedroom in her pajamas, looking at a pot of green radish by the window.

Hearing him, she turned her head, very calmly: “Didn’t I already help you put it on?”

“When?”

“When you were about to wash the dishes.”

Helping him put on rubber gloves counted as “putting it on”?

Cheng Xiaonan chuckled a few times as he filled the kettle with water, laughing until he coughed.

Who said Yu Qian was a cold beauty? She clearly had her sly and cute moments too.

________________________________________

Yu Qian had only eaten a few bites of pastries for lunch. After trying on the new batch of clothes for Peter, she drove back quickly.

On her way back, she stopped at a restaurant suggested by the navigation system to pick up a container of chicken soup.

The weather in the afternoon was quite good. In the morning, when she woke up, the cold wind was howling outside, accompanied by sudden, brief snow flurries.

When Yu Qian got up, Cheng Xiaonan had just returned from outside.

His fever hadn’t gone down, and the corners of his eyes were still red. He came in, flicked off a few melted snowflakes from the fur collar of his down jacket, and asked her, “Morning.”

“Your fever hasn’t gone down. Why did you go out?”

Cheng Xiaonan held up a bag of breakfast and extended it to her: “I had to go out, couldn’t let you go to work on an empty stomach, right?”

Many times, a simple act from him could make her feel intensely loved.

The elevator reached their floor, and a “ding” sound interrupted Yu Qian’s thoughts.

She walked out with the chicken soup and entered the password on the door.

Before she even stepped inside, Cheng Xiaonan’s hoarse voice came from within: “You forgot to bring...”

Seeing that it was her pushing the door open, he seemed a bit surprised. He lowered his eyes to look at the watch on his wrist, “You’re back quite early. I thought you’d only return after having dinner with Peter.”

“You’re still sick.”

Cheng Xiaonan smiled, placing the half-full cup of hot water he was holding aside: “You care about me a lot, don’t you? And chicken soup?”

When this younger man was happy, he’d tease her, saying things like, Being sick is so blissful, maybe I shouldn’t get better.

She shot him a glare, and he raised both hands, revealing his innocent dimples: “Just kidding.”

He helped Yu Qian hang up her coat and mysteriously said he wanted to show her something.

When the hidden door on the wine cabinet was opened, Yu Qian indeed raised an eyebrow in surprise. Cheng Xiaonan’s palm still held a faint, feverish warmth as he pulled her up the stairs.

Before she had even fully ascended the stairs, Yu Qian already saw the LEGOs.

At first, she didn’t think much of it, assuming Cheng Xiaonan was just a kid at heart and had built a secret LEGO base upstairs.

Men, it was normal for them to like such things.

Just like someone Peter’s age still hated being called “Pan Ergou” (Peter Two-dog) and had given himself the name Peter Pan from Disney’s Peter Pan.

Moreover, Cheng Xiaonan always did things casually. After all these years, he still seemed like a teenager.

Having a secret LEGO attic wasn’t surprising.

But when she actually stood on the last step, she could no longer make lighthearted guesses as she had half a minute ago.

The attic was indeed full of LEGOs, like a LEGO store.

On the largest main wall, LEGO bricks had been assembled to create a flat portrait. Even though LEGOs couldn’t perfectly replicate such smooth facial features, it was still clear that the woman was her.

The surrounding walls featured LEGO “skyline” series, with silhouettes of almost every city she had visited for photoshoots.

On the low cabinet were her magazines, and some of her photography prints were framed in LEGO-made frames and hung on the wall.

In the corner, there was a LEGO-built castle, and piled beside the castle were still materials about her.

There were photos of her as a child advertising for a photo studio, children’s magazines, and even black and white newspapers.

He didn’t like LEGOs.

He liked her.

________________________________________

Yu Qian slowly walked around the attic, and Cheng Xiaonan followed her quietly, hands in his pockets.

Actually, when he first started building this attic, he had thought that perhaps he might never have the chance to show it to her.

But he still wanted to build it.

He remembered the first time he went to a LEGO store. He was accompanying his aunt to buy a gift for her daughter’s promotion to junior high. He originally had no interest in these colorful little bricks and leaned lazily in the store.

But next to him, a father with his daughter patiently communicated with the child: “What you like, what you want to build, you have to envision well, what color, what shape of LEGO you need.”

At that time, Cheng Xiaonan thought, Then I like Yu Qian, so why don’t I just build Yu Qian?

He caught a unlucky sales associate passing by him and told them he wanted to build a person.

The sales associate was enthusiastic and led him to a display cabinet with a bunch of minifigures, asking what profession or scene the minifigure should represent.

Cheng Xiaonan said, “Not like that. I want a real person, a woman 170cm tall, who looks a bit aloof. Can you build her? I’ll show you a picture?”

The sales associate was stunned for a moment, then awkwardly said he didn’t know, but some people had built flat pictures, and the effect was very good.

Later, Cheng Xiaonan commissioned a LEGO portrait, finished it quickly, felt it was too small, and then ordered a larger one.

Eventually, it evolved into its current state, with the entire attic filled with LEGOs related to Yu Qian.

Cheng Xiaonan also had no other way to relieve his worries like smoking or drinking. Many times when he missed her, he would hide in the room and build LEGOs.

Little by little, it accumulated. This afternoon, after finishing the latest set, he himself was surprised.

Had he missed her so many times in these seven years?

Yu Qian stood in front of the giant portrait, not turning around, and only asked him, “What if I didn’t come back?”

Cheng Xiaonan didn’t hear clearly and instinctively leaned forward: “What?”

“If I hadn’t come back to China, and hadn’t gotten together with you, wouldn’t all this have been for nothing?”

“No, it wouldn’t be for nothing.”

Cheng Xiaonan leaned back against the wall, a smile in his voice, “If you came, I’d show you, consider it showing off. If you didn’t come back, it still wouldn’t be for nothing. At least I’d have a keepsake for my unrequited love.”

Yu Qian turned her head and met his gaze.

Cheng Xiaonan’s throat was uncomfortable, and he turned his head, coughing a few times, taking a few seconds to speak.

The youthful swagger was back in his eyes as he said, “Besides, why so many ‘ifs’? Aren’t you here with me now?”