Chapter 69: The Vicious Fake Young Master of a Wealthy Family · 69

“One more stop. Wake up, put your jacket on. It’ll be cold when we get off.” Zhou Xu woke him, then handed over the jacket Su Wenyu had taken off and set aside.

The New Year’s holiday was only three days, not long, but the high-speed train was still packed, even in business class.

Someone behind them was on a phone call, voice unrestrained. The noise grated, making Su Wenyu’s already aching head throb faintly.

But Su Wenyu didn’t dare show the slightest sign of discomfort. He didn’t dare tell Zhou Xu he might have a fever—afraid Zhou Xu would get mad, thinking it was from playing in the snow at noon that caused the cold.

So Su Wenyu endured the discomfort. After taking the jacket from Zhou Xu, he adjusted his seat, threw off the blanket, and obediently put it on.

An unnatural flush colored Su Wenyu’s cheeks, but Zhou Xu didn’t think much of it.

The train car was warm, and he’d just woken up. A red face was normal.

After Su Wenyu had his jacket on, Zhou Xu handed him a black scarf.

Su Wenyu’s blue scarf was still wrapped around that snowman. This black one was his spare.

Once the black scarf was wrapped around him, his already fair face looked even paler, making the flush on his cheeks all the more obvious.

Zhou Xu just assumed the car was too warm, that he was a little hot.

“Drink some water.” Zhou Xu handed Su Wenyu the flower tea the attendant had prepared. It was still warm.

Su Wenyu lowered his head and drank a couple sips, easing the dryness and discomfort in his throat slightly.

Once Su Wenyu was fully dressed, phone charger and all tucked into his pockets, Zhou Xu returned to his own seat and gathered his things.

Ten minutes before arrival, the attendant thoughtfully came by to remind them the station was approaching.

Zhou Xu nodded to show he understood, and the attendant turned and left.

The car was warm, and Su Wenyu was bundled up, but he felt like besides the heat on his face, an uncontrollable chill ran through his body. He shrank back into his seat, waiting for the train to stop.

Ten minutes later, they arrived. Zhou Xu pushed two suitcases with one hand, using the other to shield Su Wenyu so he could get off first, then followed closely behind.

The city where Su Wenyu’s biological parents lived was a two-hour high-speed ride from S City. Not too far, not too close. The temperature here was about the same as S City. The moment they stepped out, a blast of cold air hit, and Su Wenyu instinctively buried his neck deeper into his scarf.

Zhou Xu, backpack on and pushing both their suitcases, didn’t forget to reach out and pull Su Wenyu to his side.

A lot of people were getting off at this stop. Zhou Xu was afraid Su Wenyu would get separated. After pulling him close, he restrained himself and let go, murmuring a reminder: “Lots of people. Stick close to me.”

The stray hair on Su Wenyu’s forehead was blown back by the cold wind, exposing his forehead. The heat on his face had subsided a little, but his body felt even colder.

He shoved both hands into his pockets, shivered, and nodded, arm pressing against Zhou Xu’s arm, a picture of determination to follow closely.

But the station exit was truly packed, and Su Wenyu was feeling unwell. Someone suddenly shoved past him from behind, and before he could react, he was jostled a step forward, opening a gap between him and Zhou Xu.

Before he could even anxiously call out Zhou Xu’s name, it was like Zhou Xu had eyes on the back of his head. Without looking back, he grabbed Su Wenyu and pulled him back to his side.

The escalator down had a line. Zhou Xu smoothly stuffed Su Wenyu’s hand into his own pocket and said, turning his head, “Hold on tight yourself.”

Su Wenyu obediently shut his mouth, hand in Zhou Xu’s pocket, silently grabbing the fabric inside.

Now, no matter how people pushed, no one could jostle Su Wenyu away. Zhou Xu was tall and broadly built. He occasionally shielded Su Wenyu’s back with his hand, moving with the flow of the crowd toward the escalator. Soon, they stepped on.

Once on the escalator, Su Wenyu pulled his hand back.

Zhou Xu let Su Wenyu stand in front of him. He stood behind, steadying the two suitcases.

After the escalator, they headed toward the exit, swiping their ID cards one after another to leave the station.

Outside, facing this unfamiliar place, Su Wenyu felt a little lost.

“Let’s go queue for a taxi.” Zhou Xu grabbed his arm and stuffed his hand back into his own pocket.

Su Wenyu glanced up at him. Ultimately, because he wasn’t feeling well, he didn’t resist. He obediently let himself be led toward the taxi stand.

The taxis and ride-shares here were well-organized, no unlicensed cabs crowding the exit trying to snatch passengers.

Because of that, the line for taxis was even longer.

Su Wenyu stood on the inner side of the platform, an advertisement board on one side, Zhou Xu’s body angled to block the cold wind on the other.

Though the wind couldn’t reach him now, Su Wenyu’s throat still itched. He couldn’t help it. Turning his head away, he coughed lightly a few times.

Zhou Xu heard it. Frowning, he looked at Su Wenyu’s slightly reddened ear tip. “A cold?”

Su Wenyu instinctively shook his head.

Zhou Xu, seeing that, didn’t press further. He just reached out and pulled the hood of Su Wenyu’s jacket up over his head.

The hood’s brim was ringed with fur. Once it was on, only Su Wenyu’s two eyes were visible.

But Su Wenyu’s attempt to deny he was sick couldn’t last long.

After they queued and got into a taxi, Zhou Xu gave the driver an address, then immediately reached out and pressed his hand to Su Wenyu’s forehead to check his temperature.

Feeling the burning heat, Zhou Xu nearly let a curse slip.

“You felt awful, why didn’t you say something earlier?” Zhou Xu immediately changed the destination with the driver—to the nearest hospital first.

Su Wenyu saw his deeply furrowed brow. Guiltily, he buried himself deeper into his scarf. “I was afraid if I told you, you’d yell at me.”

Zhou Xu: “Why would I yell…”

He didn’t finish. He figured out why.

Then Zhou Xu laughed out of sheer anger. “So you thought if you didn’t say anything, I wouldn’t yell at you?”

Su Wenyu closed his eyes, feigning a faint. Weakly, he said, “Don’t talk. My head hurts.”

Zhou Xu knew full well Su Wenyu was probably faking it. But seeing his tightly knit brows, Zhou Xu could only curse himself inwardly for not noticing his discomfort sooner. In the end, he couldn’t bear to scold him.

With the prior experience of rushing Su Wenyu to the hospital for acute gastroenteritis, this time, after arriving, Zhou Xu temporarily stored the luggage. Then, holding Su Wenyu’s hand, he expertly guided him through registration, consultation, temperature check, getting the medication, going to the IV room for the injection, and finally helping Su Wenyu find a quiet seat in the corner to settle down and wait for the IV drip to finish.

Thirty-eight point five degrees. If Zhou Xu hadn’t noticed quickly, he didn’t know how long Su Wenyu would have tried to tough it out.

He was a bit angry that Su Wenyu felt bad and didn’t tell him. But looking at Su Wenyu’s frail figure leaning back in the chair with his eyes closed, the words on his lips, he couldn’t bear to say them harshly. In the end, he could only be angry at himself. He pulled out his phone and messaged his parents, explaining they’d be home a bit later today.

Su Wenyu’s biological parents, who were now technically Zhou Xu’s adoptive parents—father named Zhou Jun, mother named Tao Li—received Zhou Xu’s message while both were busy with the last few tasks at the shop. They’d been planning to close up early and go home to wait for their sons.

Instead of their sons, they got a message from Zhou Xu saying their biological son had a fever and was on an IV at the hospital. Tao Li immediately panicked. Wiping her hands on her apron, she hurriedly said to Zhou Jun, “Wenyu has a fever and is getting an IV at the hospital. You finish clearing up these last things in the shop. I’m going to check on him first.”

Zhou Jun was also startled. “Which hospital? Wait, if it’s far, I’ll drive us. Riding the electric scooter is too slow. We can’t waste this time.”

Tao Li saw his point. Despite her anxiety, she finished the last few orders in hand. No time to clean up properly. They took off their aprons, threw on their jackets, closed the shop doors, and rushed toward the hospital.

But the hospital Zhou Xu went to was closer to the train station, quite a distance from the shop. No matter how anxious, Zhou Jun didn’t dare break traffic laws. Driving at the speed limit, pushing as fast as he could, it still took twenty minutes to reach the hospital.

Once there, Tao Li couldn’t even wait for her husband to find a parking spot. She had him let her out by the roadside first, telling Zhou Jun to park the car himself. Tao Li jogged all the way to the emergency IV room.

The IV room wasn’t very crowded at this hour. The moment Tao Li reached the door, her gaze anxiously scanned inside for a familiar figure.

Her eyes stopped. She saw the two sitting in the corner.

Zhou Xu also spotted her standing at the door. He immediately raised a hand and waved, then made a “shush” gesture, pointing at the person beside him.

Tao Li approached, slowing her steps. Only then did she see Su Wenyu had fallen asleep leaning on Zhou Xu’s shoulder.

“How did he suddenly get a fever?” Tao Li wanted to show concern but was afraid of waking Su Wenyu. Yet she also couldn’t bear to miss this first chance to be so close to her biological son. She could only lower her voice, eyes fixed on Su Wenyu’s beautiful face, the words actually directed at Zhou Xu.

“Probably caught a chill playing in the snow at noon. He only started feeling bad on the way. At first, he tried to hide it, but the fever got pretty bad. I noticed.” Zhou Xu knew Tao Li wanted to look at Su Wenyu more and motioned for her to sit on the small stool beside them.

Tao Li saw Su Wenyu’s face flushed red from the fever, and her heart instantly ached terribly.

“Where’s Dad?” Zhou Xu asked softly.

“Looking for parking. He’ll be here soon,” Tao Li said.

“Soon” meant soon. Tao Li’s seat wasn’t even warm yet when Zhou Jun also rushed over, full of urgency.

Zhou Jun was a man of fewer words. After asking about Su Wenyu’s condition, he just sat nearby, silently watching Su Wenyu.

Su Wenyu, dizzy and uncomfortable from the fever, slept soundly leaning on Zhou Xu, completely unaware that his original host’s biological parents were already sitting right in front of him, staring at him for a long time.

Only when the first bag of IV fluid finished and Zhou Xu pressed the call button for the nurse to change to the second bag did Su Wenyu groggily open his eyes.

The moment he opened them, he met two pairs of eyes brimming with intense eagerness.

Su Wenyu’s sleep-fogged brain hadn’t caught up yet. But seeing the two extremely familiar faces before him, in a daze, he thought he was dreaming of the real world and instinctively blurted out, “Dad, Mom.”

The two across from him, unexpectedly hearing those two terms from his mouth, felt their eyes instantly well up. Tears fell.

“Yes,” they hurriedly responded together.

Only then did Su Wenyu sense something was off. He lifted his head, saw Zhou Xu sitting beside him, who had been letting him lean on him the whole time, and then looked again at the two people in front of him.

Even without Zhou Xu introducing them, Su Wenyu could guess who these two were.

But Su Wenyu found it somewhat unbelievable. The original host’s parents… looked exactly like his own parents from the real world!