Chapter Thirty-One: The Cold

  At 10 o'clock in the evening, after finishing the patrol, locking the door and turning off the lights, we returned the keys to the duty room and were sent home by Ji Dong. Please remember the website of this station: Guanhua Home Network. Three people, two umbrellas, because I took into account Ji Dong's figure, so I and Ruoxi squeezed under one umbrella. The big raindrops hit my arm, my canvas shoes were already soaked through, and there were water droplets on my calves and thighs, feeling cool and refreshing.

  "It's been a long time since it rained so heavily!" I stretched out my palms to enter the rain curtain, feeling the cool raindrops, "You can even take a shower directly!"

  "What a great idea! It's all the same whether we get wet or not, might as well enjoy it to the fullest!" Yu Xi was in high spirits tonight, and she put away her umbrella, letting us both get completely drenched in the rain. She also urged Ji Dong to join in: "Donggua! It feels so good! Come on, hurry up!"

  Ji Dong was stunned for a moment, then smiled and put away his umbrella: "I don't care, aren't you guys afraid of getting sick from the rain?"

  The creek was happily opening its arms wide, closing its eyes and lifting its head, enjoying the baptism of nature.

  "Wow! I haven't gotten soaked like this in ages!" I skipped and jumped around them on the sidewalk, my shoes squelching with water, soft bubbles forming inside, and splashing droplets scattering everywhere.

  The pedestrian path on a rainy night, the white light of the street lamp is dim, and the line of sight is full of halos that have been dissolved in the rain, with a strong dreamy color.

  Along the shaded path leading to Qingquan residential area, the dense foliage of the Chinese parasol trees blocked out the heavy rain. Yu Xi grabbed my hand and her eyes darted back and forth between me and Ji Dong: "Let's have a running race! See who can reach the entrance first! Okay? I'll count 1, 2, 3."

  "Alright!" I responded happily, but Ji Dong frowned and shook his head, unwilling to cooperate. I walked over to his other side and punched him on the arm: "Stinky winter melon, don't be a spoilsport! Are you afraid of losing to us two female soldiers?"

  He raised an eyebrow and lightly punched me back: "Kidding! I'm afraid you guys would say I'm taking advantage."

  "Alright! Then let's get going first! Get ready! 1...2...GO!" Ruoxi gave me a signal with her eyes, then took off running quickly.

  I basically flew out with her in sync, the rubber-soled shoes had resistance and slipped in the rain, all three of us started running and laughing like we were dancing, I and Ruoxi waved our paws in mid-air to block each other's progress, Ji Dong who started late finally caught up, but was pulled by me and Ruoxi, his feet felt heavy and couldn't run far, the three of us ran while blocking and pulling each other, with childlike smiles on our faces. At this moment, I felt like I had returned to my childhood, surrounded by close friends, it's a truly happy feeling!

  Finally having had enough, when the three chickens stood in front of my parents, their faces were filled with astonishment. I walked in barefoot, drenched from head to toe, and couldn't avoid a round of questioning.

  "Go take a shower first, you'll feel better in the summer if you catch a cold." Mom said with a scolding tone, taking out a light pink bath towel from the laundry room and covering my head: "Dry yourself off a bit first, then Yifeng and Jidong can go wash together." Seeing Jidong's terrified expression, Mom patted her forehead and added with a smile: "Oh, don't get me wrong, there's also a small bathroom in my room!"

  I let out a snort of laughter, and Yu Xi's face immediately turned bright red on the side. Ji Dong closed his eyes, raised his head, and also let out a sigh of relief.

  Dad took out a set of casual clothes from the house and handed them to Ji Dong: "Put on mine first, it might be a bit small, just make do with it!"

  "Uncle and aunt, I'll just send them back, I'll go change and that's it, no need to bother. Mimi, go wash up, don't really catch a cold!" Ji Dong didn't take over, he was just making excuses.

  I wrapped myself tightly in a bath towel and personally went to pick him up: "You come in first! You just wash, I'm fine, it's not that easy to catch a cold, hurry up!"

  Ji Dong and Ruo Xi each went into the bathroom, and mom came over to help me wipe my wet hair: "Are you guys going to jump in the river? Didn't you bring an umbrella? How did you get so soaked?"

  "I'm so happy I've forgotten myself, it's been a long time since I've felt this excited!" I made a silly face and let mom fuss over me.

  "Dad looked at me with concern: 'Cold? Hurry up and dry your hair, or go change out of those wet clothes first.'"

  "How did Ji Dong send you back? What are you two..." Mom's face was full of suspicion, her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

  This is terrible! If Dad and Mom find out about my current situation, I'll be in big trouble even if I'm right. The best of the 36 strategies is to run away!

  I pretended to be deeply affected by the cold, wrapped in a towel and shivering violently, with a pitiful expression on my face, I said: "Dad, Mom, it's really too cold! I'll go to my room and take off my clothes first, oh no~ can't do it!" My mouth kept muttering as I quickly walked into the room.

  I took off my wet clothes and changed into a strawberry pajama, opened the door, and a gust of cold wind came in. I inadvertently let out a sneeze, my nose was itchy, and goosebumps appeared on my arms. I hugged my arms with a chill, sniffled, and another sneeze burst out. Oh no! Am I really catching a cold?!

  Ji Dong had already washed up and was sitting on the sofa, when he saw me come out of my room, he immediately stood up. He was wearing my dad's white casual outfit, but it was a bit short in the sleeves and pant legs. I thought it looked awkward on him, but his expression still seemed harmonious. Who let him have long arms and legs, just like Yu... Uh, why do I always end up thinking of him whenever I think about anything? I'm doomed!

  He walked over with a frown, his large hand grasping my shoulder and pushing me into the house to take a bath. His tone was very dissatisfied: "You're catching a cold! And you said it was nothing! Hurry up and wash!"

  "Alright, alright! I can walk myself!" He swept me into the bathroom like a gust of wind, and the steaming mist blurred my vision, condensing into small water droplets that hung from my eyelashes. I propped my hands on the doorframe, laughing at him as I waved my hand: "Big brother! That's enough, do you still want to follow me in?" He was still incredibly strong, and if there hadn't been something for me to lean against, he probably would have pressed me all the way into the wall by now.

  He was taken aback, turned his head away and slightly tilted it upwards, as if he didn't want me to see his expression: "The water has been prepared, you can go in and wash quickly." As he said that, he scratched the back of his head and turned around to return to the living room.

  The bathtub was refilled with clean hot water, and the steam filled the air, wrapping my body in a warm and cozy feeling that chased away the chill from my bones. The air was still filled with the rich scent of soap, which entered my lungs with each breath, bringing a dizzying sensation. I took off my pajamas, tested the water with my toes, and found it wasn't too hot - just right. So I quickly sat down, lay back comfortably, and let the hot water drive out the flu virus that was slowly coming to life inside me.

  There were four people chatting and laughing in the living room, Ji Dong looked a bit awkward, after all, it had been too long since they last met, his parents were both catching up with him. Coming out of the bathroom, I just felt dizzy, didn't know if it was because I soaked for too long or really got sick, shook my head and walked to Ruoxi's side to sit down.

  "What's taking you so long to take a bath? Are you really catching a cold? Or is it a fever?" Yifeng saw that I was acting strangely, her expression worried, she placed her hand on my forehead, tightly adhering to it for several seconds. Her hand felt so cool and comfortable...

  "What's wrong? Are you uncomfortable?" Ji Dong also looked over.

  "Are you sick? First take some medicine, there's still cold medicine at home, and anti-inflammatory ones too, I'll go get them!" Mom got up and walked away, with the sound of rummaging through drawers coming from her direction.

  "Really a bit hot, you go rest on the bed."

  I also raised my hand to touch my forehead, and it was indeed hot. My nose was stuffy from the cold air, but when the cool wind outside blew in, I let out a big sneeze again.It seems that I really did catch a cold, and today's temperature isn't even low, how could just getting rained on make me like this?

  My dad immediately went to close all the windows and brought a cup of hot water, letting me hold it to warm up. I carefully took a sip, and the warm water slid down my throat, warming up my whole body again.

  I took the medicine and drank hot water, obediently crawled into bed, covered myself with a quilt to sweat it out: "This is OK, I'll be fine after sleeping for a night, but sis, I'm afraid I might infect you with my cold, so maybe you shouldn't sleep with me tonight!" Recently, the news has been saying that the flu is severe, didn't expect I'd actually become a patient.

  "I don't despise you, besides I have nowhere to sleep, can't squeeze together with your father and mother!" Ruoxi sat down at the head of the bed, while Jidong sat at the foot.

  "Hey! Why don't you go live with Winter Melon? He's living alone now, and his place has two rooms. You can each have one room!"

  "No way!" The two of them exclaimed in unison, both with excited expressions, then looked at each other and froze. Don't react so intensely, I was just joking, my face is red, we're all innocent kids, don't think too much about it.

  "Hey, what's wrong with you?! You're so energetic and healthy, not even a hint of illness, you think you can infect me? No way!"

  Ji Dong stood up, his voice low: "I should go." Then he looked at me with a complicated gaze and said: "Take good care of yourself, don't make me worry again." The look in his eyes was clear and transparent, like water could seep out, and my heart was once again a mess. Why did I feel that his tone was so ambiguous?! Looking at Ruoxi, she was still staring at me with a scolding expression, her face very normal. Since she didn't think there was anything wrong, it must be my imagination! Winter melon was probably feeling guilty for using my bathroom and causing me to get sick.

  "Alright I will! You go back, it's really late, thanks for today!"

  "I'll take you!" Yu Xi said and immediately followed up.