"Jerry, could you please move your hand? I want to place the wet towel on your forehead." Absent-mindedly staring at the ceiling, I quickly moved my hand away from my forehead when I heard Zhiye's slightly troubled voice.
Seeing that I moved my hand, Zhiye started placing the wet, folded towel on my forehead. It instantly felt like a balance of hot and cold, and I started feeling slightly more comfortable. However, the nausea and dizziness still lingered.
Zhiye would change the wet towel on my forehead every ten minutes. She looked so serious and careful, as if she was taking care of someone with great dedication. I felt a warmth and gratitude that I couldn't put into words. With that feeling, I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.
Aside from the occasional sound of twisting wet towels, there was no other noise. The surroundings were very quiet, allowing me to quickly drift into a dream. As I was about to fall asleep, I suddenly felt a smooth and warm hand touching my cheek.
I wanted to open my eyes, but I heard murmuring sounds. Subconsciously, I kept my eyes closed and pretended to be asleep while listening carefully.
"Jerry... I love seeing you sleep so peacefully. Even though you can't speak and your body doesn't move, you make me feel at ease. This Jerry won't leave me, right?" Zhiye gently touched my burning cheeks with her palm.
"So warm, just like touching Jerry's heart," Zhiye continued. Her words were similar to the self-talk I heard every night when my consciousness was hazy. Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine and I broke out in a cold sweat.
When I slightly opened my eyes, I saw Zhiye looking at me with a gaze that was obsessive and enchanting, sending shivers down my spine. I was too scared to move, so I continued pretending to be asleep.
After some time, Zhiye's hand left my cheek and she changed the wet towel on my forehead again. Then, I heard faint footsteps, probably indicating that Zhiye had left the room. Only then did I open my eyes wide, gasping for air with my heart pounding.
After calming down for a while, I looked up at the ceiling, pondering why Zhiye would behave so strangely. However, I couldn't find an answer because my head was too dizzy and my body felt very uncomfortable. Soon, I fell asleep again.
When I woke up and opened my eyes, I saw Zhiye sitting next to me. Her sudden appearance startled me.
"Jerry, you're awake," she said.
"Mm... what time is it now?" I asked.
"It's already 2 p.m.," she replied.
"2 p.m..." I was surprised to find out that I had slept for such a long time again.
"I cooked some porridge. You must be hungry, Jerry. Try it quickly. I spent a lot of time making it and I don't know if you'll like it or not," Zhiye held the bowl of porridge on the desk with one hand, holding a spoon with the other.
Although my stomach felt a bit empty, I hesitated because of what had happened earlier.
"You can leave it there... I don't want to eat," I said, taking the wet towel from my forehead and sitting up on the edge of the bed. I still felt a bit lightheaded, but the fever seemed to have subsided.
"I don't want to drink...," I shook my head to refuse.
"Is it because the porridge I made doesn't suit your taste?" Zhiye asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable.
"It's not that..."
"Then why don't you want to eat?" Zhiye asked.
"I just don't want to eat..." I almost lost my temper, but I realized that Zhiye hadn't done anything wrong. Besides, she had taken care of me so well. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to speak to her loudly. So, I lowered my voice.
"It's not that I dislike your presence..." Her face looked a bit gloomy.
"Then what is it?" she asked.
"I... I just don't feel like eating..." I couldn't figure out why, yet.
"Does Jerry want me to feed you in a special way? I'm more than happy to do that... because Jerry is my everything. Even if you can't speak and are like an inanimate object, I'll never leave you," Zhiye muttered to herself before finally putting the spoon with porridge into her own mouth. I still hadn't figured out what she was trying to do.But suddenly, she hugged my head with both hands and fed me the porridge she had in her mouth. It was a sudden kiss, and the porridge went down my throat, choking me. When I recovered and wanted to ask her what she was doing, Zhiye forcibly fed me more porridge. The first kiss left me traumatized, and I almost completed this act without being able to resist or in fear. Both Zhiye's and my mouth corners were stained with the liquid from the porridge. Zhiye took a tissue and wiped away the sticky stuff around my mouth as if in a trance. My face was bright red, and I didn't know what to say. My mind was in a state of confusion. Zhiye, after cleaning the corners of my mouth, seemed to return to normal. "Now let's check your body temperature..." Zhiye took out a thermometer, and I opened my mouth as she placed one end on my tongue. I held it in my mouth, and after a moment, Zhiye took it out and looked at the reading, saying, "37.5 degrees centigrade is within the normal range. It looks like the fever has subsided..." "I want to sleep a bit more..." "Jerry, if you want to sleep, go ahead. I'll call you for dinner later..." "Hmm..." I replied softly and laid down on the bed, turning to one side. Soon, I heard Zhiye leaving the room again, and only then could I relax and fall asleep.
