[Alternate t.i.tle: Delirium

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Watching Zhongli Luo be incoherent with fever, only knowing how to call out her name and breaking out in a cold sweat also has Jiahui burning with anxiety. She wanted nothing more than to break free, but this sick chick's arms were tightly enclosed around her neck– why won't she let go? Being so strong even in her illness, she's really not like a woman at all.

Jiahui had no choice but to say sweet words as if she were coaxing a child. “Be good and let go. If you do, big sis will go buy you something sweet.”

“Jiahui…” She ignored her, only continuing to call for her.

Jiahui sighed. Sheesh… so long as she hears Zhongli Luo use that weak and gentle tone to call out to her, her heart will soften up. Using a great amount of effort, she lifts her head up and gazes into the darkness, able to make out an outline of Zhongli Luo's face. She's really good-looking. She's well aware that even back then, she'd always thought her to be good-looking, lean, and refined, thinking that maybe she'd go take the imperial examination and be a scholar, only for her to go in the opposite direction and be a soldier. On one hand, she'd been a bit happy back then — it was great that that autumn wind was gone — and on the other, she despised Zhongli Luo's idiocy. Is studying properly not better than going to suffer somewhere really far away? Running off to the desolate and perilous Northwest means that it's likely no one can even send the corpse back!

In reality, though, the idiot has always been her.

Every time Zhongli Luo was before her, she always seemed to have a bit of a naive air — and she truly was naive — yet seemed as if nothing could break her and she could hold up the sky. Unveiling such a frail look for the first time today inevitably makes her feel some pity for her.

She might forget every once in a while, but the other is actually a girl. She should be like her and dress herself up prettily on the daily, yet she doesn't know the feeling of being a girl at all. She has no idea if Zhongli Luo feels any injustice in her heart about all that, or whether she's sad, but she does feel very sorry for her right now.

She touched the other's face, both hands feeling out Zhongli Luo's scrunched-up brows. Using her warm and soft fingers, she gently pressed down, wanting to smooth them out.

She could sense that Zhongli Luo's clothes were currently soaked through with sweat. The weather's starting to warm up recently, but it hasn't gotten to the extent where people can sleep in wet clothes.

She exhaled gently, grabbing her rigid Zhongli Luo-hoop and trying to pull it apart for a very long time…

And she gives up, resigned to her fate. “Be good and let go! I'm going to change your clothes, otherwise they'll be uncomfortable for you to sleep in.”

Yet Zhongli Luo is like a chunk of metal on her, not letting go for the life of her.

Jiahui calmly competes with her, but unfortunately, half a day later, she didn't struggle free from her, only thras.h.i.+ng about until she was as coated in sweat as Zhongli Luo was.

This girl…!

“Zhongli Luo, you need to let up! I'm not going to hurt you! I want to help you! If you burn up and die, you can't blame me!”

Jiahui had used up all of her strength. Noticing that Zhongli Luo's hands still hadn't budged, she got a bit desperate.

Huffing, she went and broke an already cracked jar. “If you keep not letting go, then you better believe I'm going to hara.s.s you!”

What girl in this day and age isn't afraid of hara.s.sment? She doesn't believe Zhongli Luo will still be unmoved.

A shame that the unconscious other girl doesn't seem to hear her and still doesn't give any response.

With Jiahui's upright and honest nature, she's as good as her word, and no letting go has happened. She s.h.i.+fted upwards, then planted a big, sloppy chomp on Zhongli Luo's sweaty face. This is the greatest degree of hara.s.sment she's capable of.

A bit of color suffused Rong Jiahui's face. “Have you not let go? If you don't, I'll–“

Her threats didn't manage to be said when the living hoop abruptly brought her more over, reining in Jiahui until it was a bit hard for her to breath.

She stared, stumped, at Zhongli Luo's face that was now even closer, and nearly raged to death. Does she actually have a fever, or is she faking it?!

“C'mon now,” she continued urging, having no option but to persuade her. “Big sister's being good to you. When you let go, she'll change your clothes for you, and once they're changed, you can keep on holding her, okay?”

A long time later, and still no answer.

Jiahui's patience has almost been completely worn out and now she's mad. “If you don't let go I'm going to chop off your paws!”

“Jiahui…”

“It's no use asking for me!”

“Don't leave…” She mumbled.

Finally hearing her say something different, Jiahui felt a wave of gratification after the shock. “I'm not leaving,” she soothed, “I'm just getting up and changing your clothes.”

Zhongli Luo doesn't seem to hear her, only mumbling “Don't leave…” on repeat.

“I won't leave, even if I'm beaten to death I still won't leave!” Jiahui pledged.

Being pledged such, Zhongli Luo purses her lips and continues to encircle her in perfect happiness.

Jiahui can't take this anymore.

“Zhongli Luo! That's enough out of you! You're just taking advantage of me being weak!”

Even if she's weak, she can still be a bully. Thinking of that, she reached up and rudely squished Zhongli Luo's red, soft, burning face, treating it like some clay she's arbitrarily mas.h.i.+ng up.

The loop around her neck suddenly loosened, and Jiahui sat up with glee, thinking she had finally escaped to live another day, but she didn't yet have the chance to take back her hand that was making a mess of Zhongli Luo's face when it was captured.

She focused her sight ahead. Within the darkness, Zhongli Luo's eyes slightly opened into thin likes, like two lights.

Jiahui's face reddened. “You're awake, ah… me kneading your face or whatever… wasn't intentional. Don't think too much about it. I'll find you some clothes and change them for you…”

Zhongli Luo's slightly open eyes only calmly gazed at her, seeming somewhat confused.

Her hand followed along Jiahui's hand, all the way up until she cupped her face. Her extended arm slowly retracted, forcing Jiahui's head to follow her hand's lead.

Unwittingly, Jiahui was despair-inducingly returned to her original position. She really can't have a temper towards her, so she just says, “Ah, you… don't make such a fuss when you've got a fever.”

Saying that, just as she was about to pry her off, a gentle kiss fell at the corner of her eye.

This featherlight kiss and her menacing chomp earlier are like black and white. Her lips… go all the way down from her eye to the corner of her mouth.

Her breath still has the scent of the plain congee Jiahui had fed to her her before. She hadn't even fed her a few mouthfuls when more than half of it started flowing back out the unconscious person's mouth, and she very quickly stopped.

When Jiahui reacted, she only felt that this was far from good. She tried to push her away, but Zhongli Luo looped around her, then turned over and had them change positions.

Jiahui lowered her eyes in trepidation, lashes lightly trembling and her whole body shaking. Is she… actually going to be the one to hara.s.s her, while burning up? If it was before, she might have still been shouting about impropriety, but right now, they're acting a fake couple; what wife would say that her husband could be improper towards her?

Her crimson lips opened lightly, but she didn't have any time to speak when the one right before her eyes kissed her. Zhongli Luo's lips are chapped and bloodless; in comparison, Jiahui's are a full and vibrant red, plump and glistening, with a bit of the sweet taste of a young lady. Like a thirsty person who been wandering a desert for a long time coming across an oasis they've longed for day and night, Zhongli Luo is reluctant to let go.

Jiahui is laid upon the bed, her waist-length black hair spread out unevenly on the bedding in a devastatingly beautiful display, not daring to move but nevertheless trembling even more violently. She wanted to bring back her viciousness and viciously bite this person, yet, just as she opens her mouth, the other disregards her astonishment, and her tongue gently pries open her teeth, deepening the kiss and intertwining with her own. Zhongli Luo's frenzy is on the brink of suffocating her, as if she wanted to swallow her whole.

“Zhong– Zhong…li Luo…”

She could only speak in fragments between the contact of their mouths.

Zhongli Luo slowed, and Jiahui took the opportunity to shove her away, tears gathering at the rims of her eyes. “You're not getting off easy for taking advantage of me!”

Zhongli Luo still has the same dazed look as before. Jiahui is ashamed and angry, but thinking of how the other is sick because of her, she breathes in through her nose and says to her, “Considering our many years of friends.h.i.+p, I'm not going to slap you in the face, but I'm warning you– from now on you can't just kiss me as you please! Understand?”

Zhongli Luo t.i.tled her head, and quite a while later, said ambiguously, “Why…”

The originally extraordinarily wronged Rong Jiahui looked at her stupid appearance, and couldn't stop a puff of laughter from escaping her.

“I don't allow it!”

“But… I… like you…”

Hearing that, Jiahui can't help but silently curse: ‘like', ‘like', now you're paying for your d.a.m.n actions, and she knows what threads of ‘liking' these are.

“Can you kiss someone you dislike? That makes no sense. You'd have to have the kind of like my wife would have to kiss me, got it? Don't get me confused.”

This kind of cheap talk is something Jiahui has always been able to use to get one over the other woman.

Hearing that, Zhongli Luo suddenly stopped reacting.

Zhongli Luo's head is swimming and Jiahui is disinclined to bicker with this inpatient. After pinching the other's nose in retaliation, she kicks her and makes her way out from under her.

She makes large strides away, fleeing a great deal away from Zhongli Luo. “You're forbidden from moving! I'm going to go get you a set of clothes and I'll be back really soon. Get some good sleep and don't make a scene!”

Liberated at long last, Rong Jiahui stole into the middle of the night, thickened her face, and knocked upon Aunt Liu's door, asking the old lady who was slightly displeased at being woken up at midnight for some alcohol. That was a way to reduce a fever, she had promptly recalled from the pile of G.o.d knows what she idly talked about with the young armed escort that day.

Taking the alcohol and clothes back, she saw that the one who was burning with delirium was now sleeping deeply, and she sighed in relief. Even if Zhongli Luo is feverish, there's still a huge disparity in strength between them, and it's beyond hard to deal with. Having been flailing about a whole day, Jiahui is physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted, and following her rubbing the alcohol onto Zhongli Luo's body and feeling about int he dark to change her clothes for her, she laid down on a table and fell asleep.

When she woke up the next day, she ma.s.saged her sore neck, then got up to see how Zhongli Luo was doing. What she saw was a certain someone shrunk back into a corner of the bed, coc.o.o.ned within a blanket pulled over her head.

Jiahui can't help but sneer at that sight. Ah, what a little jerka.s.s, hiding for a lifetime like an ostrich with its head in the sand that won't come out to see her!

The author says: After reading some commentary, I had a moment of enlightenment that when you're sick or drunk or such, do not, under any circ.u.mstance, eat tofu. _(:з」∠)_ Big sister's finally done with her fever.

The translator had a laugh attack.