Even as a "normie," I'm completely oblivious to it.

Yu Che followed closely: "That's right, brother is so gentle. After answering the video call, he pretended that his fever wasn't that bad and even held back his cough. If that woman Qi Xinye knew that your fever hadn't gone down much, she would have come over immediately no matter what."

"Hahaha...cough cough." This made Yu Zhe a little embarrassed. "I just try not to say anything so that people won't worry. Besides, with the two of you here, you can take good care of me, that's a fact."

Unlike Zixiao's shyness, Yuche stood with his hands on his hips, exuding pride: "That's right! Even if Su Zixiao isn't here, I, your little sister, can satisfy all your needs by myself!"

"No, no, no... Why do you say that? Is there something wrong with my thinking?"

Despite her sister being a bit slow on the uptake, Yu Zhe did remember her.

Although it's said that it's just Zixiao and Yuche, isn't there actually a third person here taking care of him? Qin Ruoke is still washing vegetables in the kitchen.

Sigh, so why do I need three people to take care of me just because I have a fever? Is a boy that fragile?

Qin Ruoke, in particular, had only just recovered from a serious illness, yet she still insisted on doing all sorts of chores, saying she couldn't settle down without helping out.

See? Qin Ruoke finished washing the vegetables, went back to her room to pour Yu Zhe a glass of water, and the battle started again.

Zixiao stood up and called to Qin Ruoke, who was about to leave: "Senior, you can finish washing the vegetables. I'll make lunch. You can go back to your room and rest, or watch TV in the living room."

Is there no option to take care of Yu Zhe here?

Qin Ruoke decided to try again: "I can cook... too."

"No."

"..."

Forget it, Qin Ruoke felt she had no right to compete with Su Zixiao, after all, Qin Ruoke knew she was just a pitiful child who had been saved by Yu Zhe.

She didn't intend to compete or fight; as long as she could stay by Yu Zhe's side and watch him silently, Qin Ruoke would be content.

So Qin Ruoke simply nodded: "Okay... then thank you for lunch too. I... I'll go wipe the glass again."

"It's ready."

Zixiao smiled and said, "Senior, you don't need to be so reserved, it's okay."

After saying that, she went out to prepare some light dishes for the day, as it's best not to eat anything too greasy when you have a fever.

After Zixiao left, Yuzhe waved his hand and said, "Qin Ruoke, come here, let's have a chat. We haven't had a proper conversation since you woke up."

Qin Ruoke walked up to Yu Zhe and stood in front of him in a flustered manner.

At this moment, Yu Che naturally clung tightly to Yu Zhe's arm, as if asserting his dominance.

Yu Zhe shook his head helplessly: "Hey, Qin Ruoke, where are you planning to live from now on? Are you going back to that little house?"

"Maybe... the rent is lower there."

“But now you don’t have to pay off your father’s debts anymore, and besides, whether that place is safe or not is another matter. It’s inconvenient to live there, and the space is too small.”

Qin Ruoke, who had grown accustomed to a frugal lifestyle, hesitated, "But..."

Yu Zhe was straightforward: "Go back and find a better place. It's not like you can't afford to rent one. If all else fails, I'll help you out."

This unreasonable and domineering statement did not make Qin Ruoke uncomfortable; on the contrary, she lowered her head shyly.

“Okay… I’ll listen to you. I’ll go back and find another place… I can afford the rent myself.”

"That's good. By the way, it feels a bit awkward to always call you Qin Ruoke. We're friends now, so can we change how we address each other? You can just call me Yuzhe."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ruoke replied without hesitation, "Yu Zhe! Then I'll... I'll call him that."

I had thought of this for a long time, but I never dared to say it. Yu Zhe suggested it himself, so we took advantage of the opportunity.

What would he call himself... Ruo Ke...?

Just as Qin Ruoke was secretly pleased, Yu Zhe smiled mischievously: "Then, I'll call you... Little Ruoke?"

"?"

Just then, there was a knock on the door from the entrance.

Yu Zhe propped himself up and sat up, patting Qin Ruoke's shoulder: "Zixiao is cooking in the kitchen, she might not hear you, Ruoke~ could you go open the door?"

"Stop doing that! It's so embarrassing!"

43. I gave you a chance, but you didn't do it.

Xiao Ruoke?

Why is this being addressed like a child?!

She quickly walked out of the room, thankfully someone knocked on the door, otherwise it would have seemed so awkward.

Despite saying that, Qin Ruoke herself didn't realize that she didn't seriously object to the title.

It feels pretty good...

"coming."

Open the entryway door.

Outside the door was a little girl holding a large lunchbox.

Luo Xiaomeng.

Both of them, including Qin Ruoke, who was looking directly into her eyes, had a big question mark above their heads.

"What are you doing here?" "What are you doing here?"

Sigh... Actually, they both knew without even asking that the other person was there for Yu Zhe, so what else could it be?

First, I led Xiaomeng into the house and had her put the large lunchbox she was carrying on the dining table. Then I explained the whole story to her.

Of course... Qin Ruoke would never tell Xiaomeng the specifics of her situation, so the story was simplified to her and Yuzhe both getting caught in the rain, and then she was temporarily staying here because she was moving.

After listening, Xiaomeng nodded thoughtfully: "Hmm, I see, I see. Wait! You mean Yuzhe has a fever now?!"

"Yes...it's still quite serious. The fever has gone down a little, but the temperature is still very high."

"That's terrible!"

Forget about chatting with Qin Ruoke, Xiao Meng suddenly turned around and wanted to go see Yu Zhe.

But after only a few seconds, she walked back sheepishly.

Oh no! Xiaomeng was already a little nervous when she first entered Yuzhe's house, and she panicked even more when she heard that Yuzhe had a fever. She didn't seem to know which room Yuzhe was in.

Looking at Qin Ruoke, she asked somewhat awkwardly, "Um... which room is Yuzhe in...?"

"...the middle one."

"Okay! Thank you!"

She took a few more steps on her short legs and ran to the door, only to find it half-open. As she got closer, her worry for Yu Zhe's condition intensified, and Xiao Meng rushed inside.

The moment the door was pushed open, Yu Zhe was startled again.

Goodness, ever since Zixiao started pushing the door open this morning, she hasn't stopped being so irritable. He's starting to wonder if that's why his cold won't get better.

Upon closer inspection, I realized that Xiaomeng had already rushed right in front of me.

No… it means “right in front of me” in the literal sense.

She ran too fast. The carpet in Yu Zhe's room was actually very slippery. Xiao Meng lost her footing and fell right in front of Yu Zhe, right in front of the bed.

Even when Yu Zhe was running a fever, he still managed to react with astonishing speed in the critical moment.

With a swift movement, he wrapped his arm around Xiaomeng's waist in mid-air, and with his other arm around her lower abdomen, he brought her to a steady stop in a pose reminiscent of embracing a young girl.

Whew~ That was close. If he had fallen, the bed was soft enough that Luo Xiaomeng might not have been hurt, but Yu Zhe would probably have been hit hard.

However, his physical condition was not very good at the moment, which made Yu Zhe feel a little dizzy.

With a somewhat weak gaze, he looked at Xiaomeng in his arms: "Are you alright? Oh, really, how could you be so careless? It's okay here, but if you had fallen on the road, you would have been in trouble with your cute little face."

"!"

Oh no, Xiao Meng's mind went blank for a moment, and she couldn't say a word she wanted to ask about Yu Zhe's health.

The slight weakness in Yu Zhe's sky-blue eyes, and the way he protected Xiao Meng, were both powerful and gentle.

Ahh~ This feels so good, it's like a haven of gentle comfort, where words don't even need to be spoken.

Need can make this little girl unable to extricate herself.

Well, just because someone can't extricate themselves from this situation doesn't mean others can't pull them out.

Now, she felt a strong force pulling her out of Yu Zhe's arms.

Looking up in confusion, she was met with a face that looked quite similar to Yu Zhe's, but which gave her a somewhat frightening feeling.

Su Yuche has set out.

Pulling Xiaomeng out of her brother's arms, Yuche immediately launched into a tirade of questions: "Hey, where did you come from?"

"You've got some nerve running into your brother's arms."

"It's one thing to say that what happened just now was an accident, but you're being held by your brother and you're not even getting up yet. You're pushing your luck."

Yu Che's barrage of criticism left Xiao Meng somewhat bewildered.

She was stunned. This... this silver-haired loli, Xiao Meng had seen her at the last anime convention. She was the eldest daughter of the Su family, Su Yuche, and Yu Zhe's younger sister.

But... why did she immediately confront me?

Xiao Meng didn't know how to reply, so she looked at Yu Zhe with pleading eyes.

Yu Zhe acted very quickly!

She reached out and gently patted Yu Che on the back of the head: "What are you saying! Cough... Xiao Meng just arrived, and you're already scaring her. She just had an accident. Why are you so hostile?"

"Waaah... Brother, you don't understand." Yu Che turned his head slightly, gesturing for Yu Zhe to look at Xiao Meng. "Brother, look at her. She's petite, has pigtails, and is even shorter than me. How can this be?"

Pfft! The words "slightly shorter than me" were like a sharp knife stuck in Xiaomeng's heart.

Really... I feel like I'm a little bit taller than you.

Yu Zhe asked in confusion, "Why not? You're envious that people are shorter than you?"

This rhetorical question prompted Yu Che to reveal the truth: "No! So far, no girl besides me has been this short by my brother's side. If my brother takes her into his harem, wouldn't my unique advantage be gone?!"

"Buy my ass!"

Yu Zhe patted Yu Che on the back of the head again, which calmed her down temporarily, and she obediently shrank back into the corner next to Yu Zhe.

However, he never hits Yu Che hard, because he can't bear to.