Chapter 59: Anomalous Time 25

The instant his cool fingertips poked the shoulder of the man on the bed, they jerked back as if electrocuted.

At the same time, he reflexively shook his hand, as if it had been scalded.

The person who had cautiously bent down at the bedside to poke him now stared in bewilderment, eyes wide.

…How could it be so hot!

Yu Bai’s impression of Xie Wufang’s body temperature had always been one of icy cold, utterly unlike that of a normal human. He’d even worried once that if someone accidentally touched him, they might notice something off.

But at this moment, through the thin fabric of his shirt, what came through was a scorching heat bordering on burning.

Yu Bai’s own fingers were still chilled from immersing himself in those chilling memories, making Xie Wufang’s temperature feel even more feverishly hot by comparison.

Stunned, Yu Bai froze in place at first, anxiously watching for the man’s reaction after being poked.

Under his gaze—filled with both apprehension and anticipation, his pale eyes fixed intently—the man on the bed showed no response. His profound, handsome profile was half-hidden in the sunlight, eyes closed, hiding that familiar gray-blue lake.

He waited a moment longer, but there was still no movement. Xie Wufang seemed to be deep in slumber.

The bedroom was exceptionally quiet. The window nearby was tightly shut, a layer of hazy mist on the glass, like a room with the heat cranked up in the midst of a frigid winter day.

The serene tranquility made that fleeting scorch of heat from his fingertip feel almost like an illusion.

Yu Bai hesitated for a moment, his gaze lingering on the man’s shirt-covered shoulder. Then he cautiously extended his fingertips again, now warming up a bit.

He tentatively poked the man’s cheek.

Still hot.

About the temperature of an ordinary person running a high fever—maybe a touch higher.

…Not an illusion.

Yu Bai immediately pulled his hand back, staring in alarm at the man on the bed, whose condition was clearly off.

His normally icy cold body temperature had turned scorching; the one who never needed sleep was now sunk in deep slumber.

If he used human terms for comparison, Yu Bai thought, Xie Wufang seemed to be sick.

But a god falling ill had far greater repercussions than for an ordinary human. Not only did his power leak out uncontrollably, blanketing the world in an abrupt winter, but the intense heat trapped within his body was having an even more obvious effect on his surroundings, warming the air around him.

When regular people got sick with a fever, they went to the hospital for shots and medicine…

Those methods clearly wouldn’t work on Xie Wufang.

He wasn’t truly human, after all.

But Yu Bai was just an ordinary human, he thought.

So… could he do anything for Xie Wufang, who might be sick right now?

He had no idea what to do, yet he couldn’t just ignore it.

Just as Yu Bai felt at a loss, a burst of cheerful music suddenly shattered the room’s silence.

It was his phone ringing in his pocket.

Yu Bai jumped in fright and fumbled for the phone in a panic. Without checking the caller ID on the screen, he hastily hit accept and hurried out of the room.

Yan Jing, who had been frozen in place in the other bedroom, was equally startled by the sudden ringtone. He reflexively reached for his own pocket, only to see Little Bai clutching his phone and striding quickly back into this room, gently closing the door behind him.

“So it was your phone!” Yan Jing patted his chest, sincerely relieved. “You scared me half to death. I was so afraid it’d wake Brother Xie.”

“I’m scared of that too,” Yu Bai replied with lingering fear. “He needs rest right now.”

“He needs rest?” Yan Jing blinked in confusion. “Do you know what’s up with Brother Xie?”

Yu Bai didn’t have time to answer. The familiar, concerned voice was already coming through the phone pressed to his ear.

“Little Bai! You finally up from your lazy sleep?”

A rough voice cut in from the other end: “Hey, I didn’t mean to wake you on purpose! It’s just that the weather out here’s really turned crazy!”

It was Sun Tiantian, who had arranged last night to come over today.

Yu Bai paused for a second before responding, “No worries, I’m awake now, Tian Ge.”

“Oh, good!” Sun Tiantian replied reflexively, then backtracked. “What good is that? How’d the weather turn into this mess all of a sudden? The internet’s blowing up about it!”

Yu Bai hadn’t left this vast estate since the temperature drop began, and he hadn’t even had time to check his phone. He had no idea how far-reaching this sudden winter was.

Only now, hearing Sun Tiantian, did he realize the temperature plunge wasn’t localized—it might have spread across the entire planet.

Just like that global celestial anomaly everyone had witnessed together.

Yu Bai thought for a moment, then reassured him first. “Don’t worry. It’s probably not the end of the world.”

Even if doom came to this spacetime that shouldn’t exist, the real world where people truly lived would remain safe.

Because Xie Wufang knew this planet was important to him. He wanted to keep living here, didn’t want it to explode or perish.

So at some moment unknown to him, the god who had warmly agreed to humanity’s wishes had quietly wielded his vast, wondrous power to change certain things.

The moment Yu Bai realized the cause and effect, he plunged back into that distant, dark after-school day he never willingly recalled.

He had nearly thought he’d face another loss without even a chance to say goodbye.

The person who vanished forever into ordinary days had gone there for his sake.

That was the true end of the world.

His personal apocalypse.

Sun Tiantian went on in his ear: “I’m not worried. If it’s the end, we’ll all go down together—fair and square! I’m just worried you’d be scared all alone!”

He slowed his voice a bit, sounding tentative. “Little Bai, how are you holding up? You okay? Inside or outside? You freezing?”

“I’m fine,” Yu Bai came back to himself. “I’m in a room. Not cold.”

The rough voice, laced with concern, said cautiously, “Can you take the phone away from your ear?”

“What?”

Bemused but compliant, Yu Bai did as asked and moved the phone away.

Then he saw that familiar, rugged face bobbing on the screen.

…

Sorry, he’d forgotten that Tian Ge, who always wanted to “see the person live,” invariably made video calls.

The two stared at each other across the video call, both stunned for an instant.

Yu Bai felt a bit awkward. “Sorry, I didn’t notice it was video.”

Sun Tiantian exclaimed, “Whoa! You’re not wearing your glasses today!”

“I took them off earlier.” Yu Bai reached for the black-framed glasses nearby. “I’ll put them on now.”

“No, no, don’t! Keep ’em off!” Sun Tiantian waved him off frantically. “This looks way better—kinda like my younger self. Er, no, I mean, it suits the weather better.”

“With how cold it is outside, you’d have the heat blasting indoors, right? Glasses fogging up every time you go in and out—super inconvenient!”

…He had a point.

Yu Bai stopped reaching for the glasses, pretending not to hear the true reason slip from the former Black Boss’s mouth—the real motive for not wanting him to wear them.

Seeing Yu Bai seemingly drop the idea, Sun Tiantian beamed with delight on the video. “Haha, this crappy weather’s got some upsides after all!”

“Right, since you’re up, should I head over now? Where you at? Still at your friend’s place?”

“Yeah, still at my friend’s,” Yu Bai said. “But I might be tied up with something right now.”

He still couldn’t stop worrying about Xie Wufang’s condition and had little attention for anything else.

Earlier, when Sun Tiantian said he’d come by, Yu Bai had dreaded what might happen if the two met—definitely a headache for him.

Now, with Xie Wufang in deep sleep and that potential trouble averted, he’d rather have the headache.

“Sure, I won’t bug you!” Sun Tiantian agreed readily. “You do your thing. I’ll just swing by for a quick look, drop off some stuff. No need to host me.”

True to his straightforward nature, he wasn’t just being polite.

Yu Bai stopped refusing and gave him the estate’s address.

“Prime real estate!” Sun Tiantian noted it down, then asked, “How many friends you got there?”

If counting only his friends, it was five. But including everyone else in the estate, it was more.

Unsure why Sun Tiantian was asking, Yu Bai vaguely replied, “…Lots of people here. A dozen or so?”

“Whoa, made a bunch of new friends, huh?”

Sun Tiantian chuckled in surprise, waved at him, and ended the call himself. “Got it! Go handle your stuff. See you later!”

The video call disconnected, leaving Yu Bai a bit puzzled.

Why’d Tian Ge ask that?

He had no time to dwell. His attention quickly returned to the issue weighing on him most.

Facing this non-human who might be “sick,” what could he do?

Also, the phone had rung so loudly just now—had Xie Wufang been woken by it?

A few seconds later, the bedroom door eased open slowly. A brown head poked cautiously from behind it, peering toward the room next door.

Right on its heels came a black head.

The two round heads, one above the other, clung to the edge of the door as they gazed into the adjacent bedroom, whose door stood wide open.

The room inside remained utterly still. The man on the bed lay quietly, his position unchanged.

The brown head pulled back, a mix of relief and disappointment in the motion. “He didn’t wake up.”

The black head withdrew as well. Trying to parse the tone, it asked in mild confusion, “So, do you want Brother Xie to wake up, or do you hope he stays asleep?”

“…” Yu Bai let out a sigh, his expression conflicted. “I don’t know.”

He was worried that waking Xie Wufang might have some adverse effect, yet at the same time, he desperately wanted to see those familiar gray-blue eyes again—like a lake under an overcast sky.

“Then what do you know?” Yan Jing, having listened to the end of his phone call, couldn’t resist picking up the question that had been interrupted earlier. “Why’d you say Brother Xie needs rest?”

“Because his body temperature is scorching hot right now, like he’s running a high fever,” Yu Bai replied glumly. “I think he’s in something like a human illness state—and when you’re sick, you definitely need rest.”

“But he’s not actually human,” he added, his voice heavy with frustration. “Medicine and doctors won’t do a thing for him. I have no idea what I can even do to help.”

“You can cool him down!” Yan Jing blurted out.

Yu Bai blinked, caught off guard. “Cool him down?”

“Yeah! Isn’t his temperature sky-high?” Yan Jing scratched his head. “The first thing you do for a fever is bring it down, right? That should make him more comfortable, whether he’s human or not.”

…It made perfect sense.

Why hadn’t he thought of that?

Probably because he was too worried to think straight.

Yu Bai sprang to his feet and headed straight for the bathroom, calling back with sincere praise, “You’re a genius.”

“…” Yan Jing looked flustered by the compliment. “Th-thanks.”

Moments later, fully prepared, Yu Bai returned to the bedside where the quilt rose in a soft mound. In his hand was a towel he’d soaked in cold water and wrung out until it was nearly dry. He hesitated, his expression uncertain.

He’d never taken care of anyone who was sick before.

Even when he himself fell ill, if no one was around to watch him, he’d just pop a few pills and ride it out. He never bothered with proper self-care.

This was the first time he’d faced someone who’d gotten sick because of him. Little Doctor Yu—whose title was more name than reality—felt utterly at a loss.

He had no clue if a cold compress would do anything for Xie Wufang’s burning fever.

Still, it was worth a try.

If it worked, he could grab a few more towels or even some ice to wrap up.

With that in mind, Yu Bai steeled himself. He leaned down, aiming to place the neatly folded towel on the man’s forehead.

Then—

Standing at the bedside, he realized he couldn’t quite reach.

His fingers, clutching the stiff towel, hovered frozen in midair, just an inch shy of the target.

He was so close, but not quite enough to lay it steadily on the forehead of someone lying on his side. He worried it might slip off.

…This bed was enormous!

Caught between slapping the damp towel right onto the man’s face or kicking off his shoes and climbing up, Yu Bai wrestled with the choice for a few seconds. In the end, he went with the latter.

After all, even the blaring phone ring hadn’t roused Xie Wufang.

A little bed-creaking surely wouldn’t either.

With deliberate care to keep his movements quiet, he eased onto the spacious, yielding mattress. It dipped further beneath his weight, sending fresh ripples across the snowy quilt—like waves rolling gently inward.

The brown-haired young man, still dressed in his thin summer clothes, shuffled forward on his knees until he was beside the side-lying figure.

The closer he got, the more palpable the searing heat became.

When his knees were nearly brushing Xie Wufang’s back, Yu Bai halted cautiously. Seeing no sign that the man had stirred, he let out a silent breath of relief.

He lowered his eyes, gazing down from above at the pale profile so near at hand. Their breaths mingled in the space between them.

After a dazed moment, the one kneeling on the bed shook his head, reeling in his thoughts that had wandered off to who-knew-what timespace. His fingertips, chilled and faintly reddened from the cold water, twitched.

Then, without a sound, he leaned forward. His fingers crossed the strikingly hot air, and with the gentlest of touches, he laid the carefully folded wet towel across the forehead of the feverish man.