Adopting Myself from the Young Heiress - Chapter 29

Yan Ciwei rarely fell ill.

In An Chixu’s memory, aside from one particularly severe flu season when Yan Ciwei unfortunately caught it, she had never seen her fall sick.

Yan Ciwei’s constitution wasn’t particularly strong. She was sensitive to the cold, and occasional late nights combined with poor eating habits left her somewhat weak.

She did catch minor colds regularly, but they never disrupted her daily life or work. At most, she’d cough, have a runny nose, and never even get dizzy. It was almost miraculous how rarely she suffered serious illnesses—she and An Chixu were complete opposites in this regard.

The one time An Chixu remembered Yan Ciwei being seriously ill was during the second semester of their freshman year.

They had just started dating then, and they insisted on doing everything together.

An Chixu recalled that autumn and winter when the flu ravaged the country. Students wearing masks and coughing were everywhere on campus, and classrooms were often half-empty.

With a legitimate excuse to skip class, An Chixu used it to her advantage. The consequence was that she caught the flu within the first week it spread through campus.

She was sick for three days, meticulously cared for by Yan Ciwei, who tended to her from beside the bed to right in it.

An Chixu, her face flushed with heat and embarrassment, nestled against Yan Ciwei, nuzzling into her embrace.

For the next month, Yan Ciwei acted as if nothing had happened, occasionally even forgetting her mask. An Chixu began to think she was immune.

But a week before the final exams, Yan Ciwei failed to wake up on time.

Groggy, An Chixu crawled out of bed to find the sky bright as if it were ten in the morning, though she couldn’t be sure.

Yan Ciwei had always been her alarm clock. Unfailingly, she woke up at 7:30 AM, and when it was time, she’d gently rouse An Chixu.

An Chixu glanced at Yan Ciwei still lying in bed and almost sank back down to sleep.

Today’s class started at 9:30 AM, and it was crucial for reviewing key points. She had to go.

There’s still plenty of time, An Chixu thought, leaning over to stroke Yan Ciwei’s face.

Only then did she notice how feverish Yan Ciwei felt, her breathing heavy and labored.

“Weiwei?” An Chixu called out uncertainly, nudging her gently.

“Mmm…” Yan Ciwei murmured, turning over, her back damp with sweat.

“Sister, Sister, are you sick?” An Chixu didn’t mind the sweat; she hugged Yan Ciwei tightly, pulling her back into her arms.

“What time is it…?” Yan Ciwei mumbled, her voice hoarse. She had only woken up when An Chixu accidentally kissed her chin, still groggy.

“Don’t worry about that now. Sister, do you have a fever?” An Chixu touched Yan Ciwei’s forehead, her hand burning from the heat.

Yan Ciwei swatted her hand away three times before finally managing to push it aside. “No, I don’t.”

“…But your forehead is so hot.” An Chixu didn’t believe her. She struggled free and used her other hand to check again.

“I just woke up. It’s normal,” Yan Ciwei said, finally sitting up and even managing to pull An Chixu into a hug.

An Chixu always took Yan Ciwei’s word as law. Stunned by this interruption, she followed her up to wash and get ready, her mind still racing with the thought that Yan Ciwei might have a fever, though she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

“Sister, I think you’re sick.” Seeing that it was already 9:20 AM, An Chixu grabbed her backpack and firmly stopped Yan Ciwei, who was about to leave with her.

“You’ve definitely caught the flu too. Don’t come to class with me. I’ll take notes and record the lecture for you. Get some rest at home.”

An Chixu gently stroked Yan Ciwei’s forehead again, which was alarmingly hot.

Though she had never cared for anyone before, having been cared for by Yan Ciwei for so long, she had picked up a few things by imitation.

“Remember to take your fever reducer! I’m leaving now. I’ll bring lunch back for you!” An Chixu didn’t have time for more. She grabbed her bag and hurried out the door.

Yan Ciwei must have been delirious with fever, as she didn’t even try to stop her.

This kind of ordinary interaction between couples felt so foreign to Yan Ciwei that her heart raced.

They had never been apart like this before.

Yan Ciwei wandered aimlessly into the living room, pressed a hand against her frantic heart, and sat down at the dining table, unconsciously picking up the fever reducer lying there.

She stared at the pills for fifteen minutes, her mind a hazy blank.

The world blurred around her, but An Chixu’s face grew increasingly clear in her mind.

Yan Ciwei glanced at the corner of the room and saw An Chixu’s laptop, finally snapping her out of her stupor.

She changed into fresh clothes with lightning speed, took the potent medication stored in her safe, and rushed out the door.

“Sister? Why aren’t you resting at home?” An Chixu asked, sitting in their usual spot next to Yan Ciwei. The empty seat beside her made her uneasy, and her notebook now bore a string of Yan Ciwei’s name.

Having forgotten her recorder, An Chixu was using her phone to record the professor’s highlighted points.

When Yan Ciwei suddenly entered the classroom and walked straight to her side, An Chixu was more than a little shocked.

“Hurry back and rest. I’ll be fine on my own, and I’ll take notes for you,” An Chixu urged, gently pushing Yan Ciwei. She was surprised to feel how much Yan Ciwei’s temperature had dropped.

“You didn’t even bring your laptop,” Yan Ciwei said, suppressing a cough by forcing herself to drink water.

“I told you I was fine. Why did you come out here alone?” Yan Ciwei placed the laptop on An Chixu’s desk and opened it for her. An Chixu noticed the screen had already been adjusted to her preferred settings.

Yan Ciwei then turned on the recorder and placed it on the table.

“Tuantuan, you’re not being very good today,” Yan Ciwei said, taking An Chixu’s hand and squeezing it gently. She raised her gaze to meet the professor’s, signaling An Chixu to remain silent.

An Chixu silently lowered her head.

Yan Ciwei had never criticized her for being disobedient before.

She wanted to be Yan Ciwei’s good Tuantuan.

Perhaps… she should stay home and take care of Yan Ciwei?

That made sense. Her friends could help organize the key points, and her sister needed her right now.

“Look,” Yan Ciwei whispered, her lips barely moving, so only An Chixu could hear.

Yan Ciwei took An Chixu’s hand, guided it to her face, and pressed it against her cheek.

The fever had subsided, no longer burning hot like it had been that morning.

In fact, rushing to class in the cold wind had left her skin slightly cool to the touch.

“Next time, come out with me. Tuantuan needs to be good.” Without her, how could An Chixu manage on her own?

An Chixu would forget things, get lost, and struggle to communicate with others.

An Chixu needed her.

“I’m sorry, Sister…” An Chixu thought she had truly misjudged the situation, abandoning Yan Ciwei to go out on her own and making her angry.

Her apology was choked with tears, making Yan Ciwei’s heart ache.

Yan Ciwei believed this pain stemmed from affection and concern, not the potent medication she had taken.

She pulled An Chixu into a quiet embrace, secretly interlacing their fingers. Their tightly clasped hands were like a red thread binding them together, forever inseparable.

Later, An Chixu would learn that Yan Ciwei kept a box of extremely harmful, fast-acting medication locked in a safe, never even showing it to her. Yan Ciwei had many secrets, and this was just the smallest, most insignificant one.

That day, she had used that medication to forcibly suppress her fever.

All so she could deliver An Chixu’s laptop and recorder.

Yan Ciwei now occasionally allowed herself to show vulnerability to An Chixu.

Yet she never relinquished control of caring for her.

Even when feverish, Yan Ciwei would stubbornly hold An Chixu close, exerting every effort to be good to her.

An Chixu silently closed the private room door, tightened her coat, and cradled her crossbody bag against her chest as she slowly stepped out.

Having woken up so early, even if she dawdled on her way to the office, she could still arrive before 8:30 AM.

An Chixu leaned against the wall, gradually blending into the bustling crowd, becoming part of the background.

Yet her heart remained detached, aching with cold loneliness.

The biting wind whipped strands of hair across her face, loosening wisps from her neatly styled ponytail.

An Chixu raised a hand to smooth her windblown hair, her peripheral vision catching a glimpse of a car.

A black executive sedan, its model understated yet its interior lavish.

It was a car An Chixu wasn’t particularly familiar with, yet she had ridden in it at least three or five times.

An Chixu spotted Yan Ciwei leaning against the car.

Yan Ciwei was puffing on a fruit-flavored cigarette, her eyes half-closed in a languid pose against the door. Her demeanor was utterly relaxed, yet carried an undeniable air of authority, as if she were issuing commands that would reshape the lives of thousands in a boardroom.

The sweet, pungent aroma of the cigarette hung in the air. She exhaled a plume of smoke, then met An Chixu’s gaze.

Yan Ciwei hurriedly extinguished her fruit-flavored cigarette, then reached out the car window for a fresh coat, folding and stowing the old one.

Given Yan Ciwei’s circumstances and immense pressure, she had long harbored this particular habit.

But she had never allowed An Chixu to catch even a whiff of smoke.

An Chixu lowered her hand.

The wind whipped through Yan Ciwei’s stray strands of hair, howling past her ears.

It tore at the corner of Yan Ciwei’s coat, teasing an inch of black and white fabric into a fluttering dance.

Yan Ciwei stood by the car, her gaze fixed on An Chixu. Her peach blossom eyes were as dark as ink, reflecting no light, only the crimson of the mole beneath her eye.

An Chixu blinked, her vision momentarily obscured by her windblown hair, making Yan Ciwei seem both distant and blurred.

The wind persisted, scratching at her for what felt like an eternity.

An Chixu’s eyes grew heavier, her field of vision narrowing.

Yan Ciwei remained motionless across from her, a statue-like figure.

Staring at her.

An Chixu couldn’t tell if Yan Ciwei had taken any strong medication this time.

She simply turned and walked away, without giving Yan Ciwei another glance.

An Chixu boarded the nearby subway, gripping the handrail as she gazed backward through the glass.

The red dot that usually trailed three meters behind her was nowhere to be seen today.

It never returned in the days that followed.