"Ugh... my head is spinning..."
In the room, which was especially dark because the curtains were drawn, the bloated blanket monster let out soft groans and writhed constantly, only resting briefly when a tuft of thick, dark blue short hair extended outside the blanket.
After a few moments of heavy breathing, the blanket monster finally replenished its energy and extended a pale predatory arm again, groping around until it successfully grabbed the thermometer by the bed!
"Beep!"
"Thirty-nine degrees? Why is the fever higher than last night, even though I'm covered with such a thick blanket and the air conditioning is off!"
As the thermometer's reading was freshly announced, the short, blue tuft of hair instantly stood up straight, as if startled by something unacceptable!
Having wrapped herself up like a zongzi with the determination to get well quickly, Yoshiwara Aina could not accept the current facts, nor could she endure the stuffy heat of the quilt!
With a whoosh, she kicked the blanket completely onto the floor, and Aina's small face, which was even redder than a hot iron, finally saw the light of day!
Her blurry vision converged on the air conditioner in the room, she couldn't resist the temptation of coolness and once again extended her sinful predatory arm towards the air conditioner remote control...
"Slap~"
Unfortunately, the first predation attempt of the newly emerged monster, Overheated Aina, failed. The air conditioner remote was too far away, and she had to get out of bed to reach it.
But the moment she tried to touch the floor with her foot, she realized the sensation was wrong. It was accurately like stepping on cotton, completely unable to find her center of gravity—the kind where if she dared to stand up, she would fall backward!
As for the hand she struggled to extend, it unsurprisingly landed back on the bed after five seconds of sustained suspension.
Facts prove that one should never underestimate illness, especially when renting alone. Otherwise, you will experience what true helplessness feels like.
"Wuwu... I can't get up at all... I'm hungry..."
Pathetically dragging her arms and feet back onto the bed, Yoshiwara Aina now regretted why she hadn't gone out to buy cold medicine when she first felt a slight cold coming on last night.
With her head hotter than a phone, she opened her phone and found that it was already afternoon, and the unread messages in Line were practically drowning the entire screen!
Only two of them were advertisements; the rest were almost all messages of concern from the Pab Club members.
"Tokita-senpai... Yuu... Kouhei... Iori..."
She skimmed through the messages from top to bottom intermittently, finally stopping the screen on a message from Chisa, "Should I ask Chisa to help me..."
Muttering to herself in the darkness, she quickly shook her head stubbornly—she wasn't a seven or eight-year-old child anymore; asking a friend to take care of her when she was sick was too much trouble for others!
She should just keep sleeping. Maybe she would be better by night, and then she could eat...
"Thump thump thump..."
Just as Yoshiwara Aina's consciousness was gradually fading again, and the world in front of her began to spin.
In a daze, she heard hurried footsteps coming from the corridor. As a tenant who had lived in the apartment for several months, she could tell that this did not belong to any of her neighbors!
Could it be those guys from the NHK TV station? They knock on doors like they are crazy; she couldn't be that unlucky...
"Clack~"
"???"
Startled, she sat up like a dying person. Now she could be sure it wasn't the TV people either, as they wouldn't use a key to open the door.
If she remembered correctly, besides the one the apartment manager had, the remaining key to her apartment should be with...
"Aina! Aina, are you home?"
Having seen that Aina's apartment was the only one with the curtains drawn downstairs, Imamura Kouhei practically burst into Aina's apartment after unlocking the door.
And then he saw...
"Uh... almost!"
In the dark room, with half her body leaning out of bed and slumped on the floor, Yoshiwara Aina's small face was flushed, mosquito coils were spinning in her eyes, and her entire state was, if not life-threatening, at least close to death!
"Aina!"
"Eek!"
She knew it had to be Kouhei who came! Yoshiwara Aina was initially just trying to reconcile with the kicked-off blanket because she didn't want to be seen with her pajamas in disarray.
But the next second, she felt a sudden tightness on her body. Kouhei, whose male scent was inexplicably stronger today, hugged her back onto the bed, face to face.
"What's wrong? Is something hurting? Do you need to go to the hospital?!"
"Kouhei, why are you here? It's fine, it's just a common cold!"
Turning her head and coughing lightly twice, Yoshiwara Aina didn't dare to look at Kouhei, whose nose was no more than five centimeters from hers, and the blush on her face intensified even more.
If she was a seven-tenths hot iron just now, she was now a ten-tenths blazing hot iron, the kind that could burn a person with a mere look of her shyness!
"Um... distance! Breathing!"
"I'm sorry, because Aina didn't reply to any messages..."
After repeatedly confirming that Aina only had a fever, Imamura Kouhei finally relaxed.
At the same time, he realized that their current position, with him above and her below, was a bit suggestive, so he quickly drew back nervously, hitting the bookshelf with a bang.
"Ah ah~ So, Kouhei can be at ease now, right?"
A quiet moment alone is not suitable for an unprepared young man and woman. Miyazawa Yuu, who had been watching the drama unfold by the door with satisfaction, timely interrupted their awkward eye contact just before the atmosphere turned awkward.
"Good morning, Aina, how are you doing?"
"Uwah! Yuu? Why are you here too!"
She propped herself up in surprise. Yoshiwara Aina's original intention was shyness that their interaction had been seen by someone else.
But the phrase, once spoken, was as nonsensical as asking an air conditioner repairman, "Master, what work do you do?"
"What a silly question, did your head get muddled from the fever? Speaking of which, this guy really uses me like a pack animal..."
Throwing the large bags he was carrying onto the floor, Miyazawa Yuu speechlessy glanced at the thermometer on the table, and was instantly shocked by the 39-degree reading.
"It's a bad cold? Aina didn't even have the strength to send a message asking for help? That's dangerous!"
"!!!"
Instantly realizing that Aina was still sick! Imamura Kouhei shook his head twice, breaking free from the shackles of embarrassment, and then quickly rummaged through the pile of miscellaneous items, finding ice packs and fever reducers.
He carefully applied the former to Aina, and considerately placed the latter next to her with a bottle of mineral water.
The entire sequence of actions flowed smoothly. By the time Yoshiwara Aina reacted and wanted to thank him, Kouhei had already taken out the kettle and rushed into the kitchen to boil water.
"Th-thank you..."
"Sigh~ Kouhei seems very familiar with Aina's place."
Looking at the busy figure in the kitchen, Miyazawa Yuu would be crazy to steal the spotlight now.
He found a cushion nearby and sat on the floor, enjoying the rare sight of the Pab Club's mutual affection, and casually teased: "It looks like he comes here often!"
"Mhm, Kouhei usually sends me home after the drinking parties break up..."
Swallowing the cold medicine with mineral water, Yoshiwara Aina leaned against the headboard with a relieved smile, reaching out to adjust the ice pack that was slightly crooked despite his carefulness.
"Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I boiled water myself, but the thermos seems to have been full all along."
"Is that so..."
"Aina! Are you hungry? Can you eat congee?"
The rare confinement to bed made Aina notice the details of her life, but before her rusted little brain could figure out the reason, Kouhei's voice came from the kitchen, pulling her thoughts back to reality.
"No problem! But I don't think I have any rice..."
"No worries!"
Wearing a surprisingly well-fitting apron, Imamura Kouhei walked into the living room, picked up a twenty-pound bag of rice from the miscellaneous items he had brought earlier, and gave a reliable thumbs-up: "Wait a moment, it should be ready in about ten minutes!"
"Eh?"
Her large eyes wide with astonishment, Yoshiwara Aina watched helplessly as Kouhei carried the rice bag into the kitchen, a huge question mark suddenly rising above her head—
Just buying ice packs and cold medicine in advance to visit a potentially sick friend was already thoughtful enough, but what the heck was this bag of rice!
According to the traditional script in TV dramas, shouldn't the male lead be struggling to run out and buy things right now!
"He's completely overwhelmed by concern, that's why I said this guy uses me like a pack animal..."
Rubbing Aina's messy hair, Miyazawa Yuu spread his hands helplessly and walked to the pile of miscellaneous items, picking up a plastic bag full of pre-made meals, and criticized: "And this guy didn't just buy rice; he bought various flavors of pre-made meals too. He's totally taking care of a child~"
"Taking care of a child, huh?"
Her chest suddenly felt as warm as her face, Yoshiwara Aina lay down completely, shyly covering the lower half of her face with the blanket, her voice softer than a mosquito's hum.
"It feels quite nice..."