Chapter 47: Feverish Confessions

Han Wenwen had drifted off into a deep sleep, so Lin Zheng Ran grabbed the keys and headed downstairs to buy dinner before returning.

From the looks of it, Han the Fox’s fever wouldn’t break tonight.

While shopping, he called his parents to say he wouldn’t be coming home.

Lin Xiao Li and Lin Ying Jun always thought their son was braver than most boys, always doing things other kids his age wouldn’t dare: “Zheng Ran, what are you up to tonight that you’re not coming back?”

“Staying at a classmate’s place. It’s not far from home, so don’t worry.”

Lin Xiao Li asked curiously in a low voice over the phone: “It’s not Lily’s house, is it? We can’t agree to that, Zheng Ran.”

Lin Zheng Ran replied, not exactly lying: “No, Mom, what are you thinking? It’s another classmate’s house. There’s a little fox there that’s sick, and I’m looking after it.”

His dad, Lin Ying Jun, just said oh, assuming the classmate was a boy:

“Oh, I see. You had us worried. Making friends at your age is a good thing. Just call us if anything comes up, check in before bed, and stay safe.”

“Okay, don’t worry.”

Back at the rental house with dinner, Han Wenwen was still curled up like a dumpling on the bed.

Hearing the door open, she glanced warily at the intruder, then relaxed when she saw it was Lin Zheng Ran.

“You’re back?” she said politely.

“Did you wake up?”

Han Wenwen opened her mouth to answer but closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

Lin Zheng Ran figured the cold medicine was kicking in, and since she hadn’t slept for days, she was now in that hazy state between dreams and wakefulness.

He sat beside her, unwrapping the dinner and eating it himself.

But after a few bites, he noticed Han Wenwen’s hand clutching his shirt again, her brow furrowed as if searching for something in her sleep.

Her curled-up posture and the pained expression from her illness stripped away her usual fake demeanor.

In its place was raw emotion, like a lost cub in the forest, abandoned by its mother and wandering aimlessly.

Lin Zheng Ran gently took her restless hand in his.

Han Wenwen’s tense face eased into peace and happiness right before his eyes, and she gripped his hand back, sleeping more soundly.

The hours after taking the medicine were when she was least aware.

She shifted from half-awake to mumbling in her dreams.

Lin Zheng Ran ate his dinner quietly, listening to bits of information he’d never heard before.

It included how her mom hadn’t wanted her back then, and how last vacation she overheard her aunt and uncle arguing about her.

And why Han Wenwen let everyone in class think Lin Zheng Ran had a girlfriend.

She murmured: “Actually, everyone thinking I’m your girlfriend was on purpose. At first, I just wanted to keep an eye on you for Xiao Qingqing, but then I found myself wanting to hang around you more. When they said I was your girlfriend, I didn’t mind it at all…”

“In fact, hearing them say that made me happy. I could have told them we weren’t together, but I didn’t because I didn’t know what I was thinking or when I started… liking you.”

Lin Zheng Ran’s chewing slowed as he shot a disdainful look at the fox.

What was she saying? Liking him was ridiculous.

Han Wenwen tightened her grip on his hand and kept talking to herself:

“Maybe I liked you back at the bus station. From the first time I saw you, I thought of you as my boyfriend. You’re the only one who gets what I’m thinking…”

“It’s all that darn Heart-Linking Festival’s fault, making me care more about you and get curious until I realized I was starting to like you for real.”

“Heart-Linking Festival?” Lin Zheng Ran wondered. “What’s that?”

Han Wenwen drifted back into mumbling other dream talk, sharing stories from her childhood.

So Lin Zheng Ran pulled out his phone and searched for Heart-Linking Festival on Baidu.

Reading the encyclopedia entry, he was surprised: “A festival for seeking romance? How old is this fox anyway?”

He sighed. Kids shouldn’t wander into festivals like that, especially not underage ones chasing romance like adults.

It just invites trouble.

A while later, Han Wenwen suddenly opened her eyes as if waking up, her first words: “Lin Zheng Ran, have you left?”

“Not yet. Awake now?”

Han Wenwen groggily sat up but noticed her other hand was being held by Lin Zheng Ran.

Her face flushed slightly as she yanked it back, clutching the blanket and retreating to the corner, staring at him in panic:

“Lin Zheng Ran, why are you holding my hand? What are you trying to do?”

Lin Zheng Ran was exasperated: “Do you think I wanted to? You were tugging my clothes in your sleep, so I grabbed your hand to stop it.”

Han Wenwen blinked dazedly, her mind not fully clear: “Oh, is that so?”

She argued back: “You still can’t just hold a girl’s hand like that.” She gave him a scornful look: “Lin Zheng Ran, you’re not a good person at all~ You took my hand’s first time.”

“What kind of weird metaphor is that, Han Wenwen? Are you crazy?” Lin Zheng Ran realized: “Wait, no, you are crazy right now, seriously ill.”

Han Wenwen stared blankly for a moment, then got out of bed and headed to the bathroom: “I’m going to the bathroom. I can’t hold it, Lin Zheng Ran, don’t peek.”

Lin Zheng Ran didn’t treat her as normal right now.

After closing the door, she suddenly opened it again to check: “Oh, and cover your ears. I’m going to pee.”

Lin Zheng Ran: “.”

Unbelievable.

“Hurry up.” Han Wenwen stared at him: “I really can’t hold it.”

Lin Zheng Ran pretended to cover his ears, thinking sick Han Wenwen acted just like any other girl.

Once he did, the little fox locked the door, did her business, and came back to lie down again.

Staring at the ceiling: “So tired… My head hurts so much…”

Lin Zheng Ran handed her the dinner: “Since you’re awake, eat something and take your medicine. You’ll probably be clear-headed by morning.”

Then she’d realize all the nonsense she said.

Han Wenwen’s fox eyes fixed on him, her illness making her speak without thinking:

“Lin Zheng Ran, why are you so good-looking? Guys used to say I was pretty and that they liked me, but I never got it until I saw you. Now I understand—they want to keep you all to themselves.”

Lin Zheng Ran sighed: “Are you going to eat or not?”

Han Wenwen suddenly looked upset: “Why are you yelling at me? I didn’t do anything~ Call me Wenwen and I’ll eat.”

Lin Zheng Ran wanted to flip the table.

“Eat if you want!”

Han Wenwen bit her lip, turned away from him: “You’re so mean. I don’t want to talk to you.” After a pause, she clutched her head: “My head hurts so bad.”

Keeping in mind not to argue with the sick, Lin Zheng Ran held out the dinner and medicine: “Come on, eat up. Take the medicine, then scoot over. Leave me some space—I’m sleeping too, you know?”

Han Wenwen didn’t respond.

Lin Zheng Ran reluctantly said: “Wenwen.”

Han Wenwen glanced back, suddenly shy with a smile: “Didn’t hear that.”

Lin Zheng Ran’s short temper led him to flick her forehead, and she finally settled down, eating and taking her medicine before lying back.

Even though she’d called him a bad person when she woke up, once asleep she reached for his hand again. Lin Zheng Ran put a pillow between them, but she tried to grab him over it.

He had to pull away.

Han Wenwen kept fumbling: “Where’s your hand?”

“No hand here. I don’t have one.”

“Liar. Lin Zheng Ran isn’t a fish—you have hands. Where is it?”

“I don’t have any.” He grew irritated as she felt along his arm: “Get your hand off my arm, you sneaky fox! I said I don’t have one!”

“Why are you so mean? And calling me names.”

“Sneaky fox! I can if I want!”

That grueling night, he had no idea how he survived with this fox.

By early morning, as dawn broke, Han Wenwen’s fever had dropped a lot. When she fully woke up, she turned to see Lin Zheng Ran’s sleeping face on the other side of the pillow, and memories of her feverish antics flooded back.

Her face turned bright red, her eyes wide with panic—it was the worst blush of her life.

“What did I do while I was feverish…”