Morning and Evening Chapter 16

After He Mu finished sneezing, he sniffed, and his eyes blinked slowly twice, becoming smaller and smaller, as if he were about to fall asleep sitting up. His bare feet were on the ground, and his toes were curled up, making him look even more pitiful. Chang Ming’an pulled him up and led him to the bedroom, saying as they walked, “Change your clothes, we’re going to the hospital.”

Who knew that He Mu sat down on the edge of the bed, then leaned back, groping for the blanket to wrap himself up.

Chang Ming’an was at his wits’ end. He rummaged through the closet and found the hoodie and jeans that He Mu usually wore. He gently patted He Mu’s face, which was burning hot to the touch, indicating that he had a high fever. He was a little anxious, but He Mu still looked drowsy and didn’t seem to want to move at all.

Chang Ming’an had no choice but to forcibly pull him out of bed, make him sit up, and then go to untie the straps of his nightgown. The silk nightgown was exceptionally smooth, and without any straps, it slipped down immediately, bunching at his waist, revealing He Mu’s fair chest and a bright red mole on his chest.

He Mu’s body felt limp; he swayed and leaned forward, his forehead resting on Chang Ming’an’s stomach. Chang Ming’an felt a little uncomfortable and quickly grabbed the hoodie, helping He Mu put it on like dressing a child. He Mu pulled his hands out of the sleeves himself, his head still buried in Chang Ming’an’s stomach, and murmured, “Thirsty, want some water…”

Chang Ming’an, sweating profusely as he fiddled with He Mu, coaxed, “Put on some clothes first, or you’ll catch a cold.”

“Hmm.” He Mu responded groggily, pulled Chang Ming’an’s arm to stand up, kicked the nightgown that had fallen on his feet aside, revealing his two fair legs. The hem of his sweatshirt was long enough to cover his lower body, which was covered by women’s underwear.

Chang Ming’an made him sit down, squatted down, held his feet and tucked them into his trouser legs, and put his arm around his waist to help him pull up his pants.

He Mu wasn’t completely immobile, but he really enjoyed being taken care of. Chang Ming’an’s body temperature and scent made him feel relaxed, like a child who had lost the ability to take care of himself, climbing onto Chang Ming’an’s back and letting him carry him.

Chang Ming’an supported He Mu’s bottom with one hand, and with the other hand he took the thermos and a thin blanket from home, carried him downstairs, put him in the passenger seat, turned on the heater, covered him with the blanket, went to the school cafeteria not far away to get hot water, returned to the car, coaxed He Mu to drink half a bottle in one go, and then stepped on the gas to take him to the hospital.

He Mu had already fallen into a deep sleep in the car.

In his dream, a soft, pleasantly scented embrace enveloped him. He wrapped his arms around the person’s neck and softly whispered, “Mommy, my head hurts…”

She hugged him tightly and said, “You’ll be fine after taking the medicine. Mom will sing you a song.”

“Twinkle, little star, twinkle, little star, it winks at you. Little star…”

He Mu suddenly woke up.

He found himself lying in the hospital receiving an IV drip, covered with two layers: a thin blanket he had brought from home and Chang Ming’an’s coat. Chang Ming’an was sitting by his bedside, looking at his phone in one hand, and had placed his other hand under the hand with the needle in it so that his hand receiving the IV wouldn’t get cold. It was already dark, and the IV drip was almost empty. Chang Ming’an quickly stood up and asked the nurse to change the bottle.

He Mu just lay there, blinking his eyes.

Seeing that he was awake, Chang Ming’an asked, “Are you hungry?”

“A little bit.”

Chang Ming’an watched as the nurse changed the IV bag, then left without a word. Ten minutes later, he returned with a takeout bowl of porridge, helped He Mu sit up, and opened the lid to feed him. He Mu shyly backed away. Chang Ming’an paused, then belatedly felt embarrassed himself, and simply held the bowl for him, letting He Mu use his right hand (the one without the needle) to scoop up the porridge and eat it himself.

He Mu hadn’t eaten all day, and he finished a whole bowl of porridge in one go. Chang Ming’an tidied up the things, and naturally placed his hand on He Mu’s forehead to check his temperature, saying, “He still has a slight fever.”

He Mu, his face flushed, propped himself up on the bed to put on his shoes and stood up to get the IV drip. Chang Ming’an quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Go, go to the toilet…”

In the end, Chang Ming’an still insisted on holding the IV bottle for him, reminding him as they walked, “Keep your hand low, don’t let the blood flow back up.”

He Mu stood in front of the urinal in the restroom, biting his lip as he glanced back at Chang Ming’an. Chang Ming’an quickly turned away, trying to think about something else, but the noise behind him still reached his ears. Perhaps because he could only use one hand, the sound of He Mu zipping up his pants was intermittent, and then after a long while, the sound of running water could be heard, its presence quite noticeable in the empty restroom.

When He Mu finally said “Okay,” Chang Ming’an turned around and found that although He Mu’s face was expressionless, his entire ear was bright red, with the red color spreading all the way to the base of his ear.

By the time the second IV drip was finished, it was already late at night. Chang Ming’an drove He Mu home. Afraid of catching a cold, He Mu didn’t shower, but quickly dried himself off with hot water, then wrapped himself up tightly before coming out. He saw Chang Ming’an still sitting on the sofa, wearing glasses and reading a book.

The medicine brought back from the hospital had already been taken out and divided, with Chang Ming’an having already sorted out which pills to take two of and which to take three of. The small pills were placed on the table, resting on a tissue, and the hot water in the glass was at the perfect temperature.

“Take your medicine and go to bed early.”

He Mu obediently took the medicine, his eyes lingering on Chang Ming’an out of the corner of his eye. He saw him enter the room in slippers, grab his pajamas, and head into the bathroom, seemingly to take a shower. He Mu quickly swallowed the water in his mouth and asked, “Aren’t you leaving?”

“Okay,” Chang Ming’an said, “You should go to sleep.”

He Mu suddenly remembered that Mumu hadn’t eaten all day, so he hurried over, only to find that the cat food had already been added and the litter box had been cleaned. He could only guiltily tap Mumu’s nose, get up and go into the bedroom, wrap himself in the blanket, and prick up his ears to listen to Chang Ming’an’s movements. He waited and waited until he fell asleep.

Chang Ming’an took a hot shower and came out to find the bedside lamp still on in the bedroom. He went in and found that He Mu had fallen into a deep sleep. He remembered that on the way to the hospital, he had carried He Mu on his back and had him hugging his neck and murmuring “Mom.”

He bent down to turn off the lamp and tucked He Mu in. After thinking for a moment, he decided to take his own blanket and go sleep on the sofa.

Chang Ming’an stood at the door, opened it a crack, gently nudged Mumu’s bottom with his toes, and whispered, “Go sleep with him.”

Mumu nimbly leaped onto the bed, stepped on the blanket, walked to He Mu’s sleeping head, and curled herself into a ball.