Quick Transmigration: What to Do When the Male Supporting Character You Saved Becomes Obsessed with

Chapter 369 Obedient and Clingy Younger Brother (80)

I originally thought I'd spend more time with Sister Li Ruan, like a plant absorbing sunlight.

But the wish is beautiful.

He ate his meal and took the prescribed dose of medicine. After a short while, he became drowsy again.

The lack of sleep and the depleted energy he's been taking these past few days can't be recovered from immediately.

Surgery really takes a toll on one's energy; Jin Shuhe himself could feel it, and his body was more prone to fatigue than before.

Lu Liruan was playing a game and was just about to make a phone call to discuss the collaboration that would be filmed in a few days when she felt a weight on her shoulder.

Tilting my head, I saw the child leaning against me with eyes closed, completely unguarded, his expression still somewhat childish, already half asleep...

Lu Liruan typed out what she wanted to say.

I thought he would wake up on his own soon, but to my surprise, he slept even more soundly.

Lu Liruan was both amused and exasperated; her shoulders were numb from being used as a pillow by him.

"Hey, wake up—"

Lu Liruan stirred, and Jin Shuhe opened his eyes blankly, his gaze unfocused, looking quite lost.

"Go back to your room and sleep." Lu Liruan checked the temperature of her forehead and then touched the side of his neck.

I don't feel feverish.

"Hmm," he mumbled in response, but made no move.

"Huh? What's wrong? Why is it all sticky?" Lu Liruan moved her arm, and Jin Shuhe moved along with her.

"I want to spend more time with Sister Li Ruan."

"Are you made of super glue?" Lu Liruan moved twice, but he remained pressed against her.

"You're not going to work again tomorrow..."

Lu Liruan looked at him with a slightly stunned expression, her brows furrowing: "You're not planning to sneak off to work again tomorrow morning before I get up, are you?"

Lu Liruan felt that she had guessed correctly.

"I'm really going to get angry!" Lu Liruan was amused by her own anger: "Are you betting that I won't be able to get up in the morning?"

"No..." Jin Shuhe looked away slightly, trying to avoid the question: "I wasn't planning on doing it secretly."

"Oh, you want it to be done openly and honestly?"

Lu Liruan snorted coldly: "Just stay put! Your boss has already given instructions to my work through your colleagues. Keep an eye on you so you don't cause them any trouble outside of work!"

Jin Shuhe: ...

"Go to sleep now! Don't make me tie a rope to your bedside!" Lu Liruan pushed him up, urging him to go wash up.

Seeing that Jin Shuhe had finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, she tried to move closer to him again.

"Go back to your room!" Lu Liruan said, raising her chin in a serious tone.

"Why isn't Sister Li Ruan asleep yet?" Jin Shuhe asked, leaning against the doorway.

"Me? I'm not sick!"

"Sister Li Ruan, be careful not to get a headache from staying up late..."

"You're having a hard time yourself, so you're trying to control me, aren't you?" Lu Liruan understood his intentions.

But Jin Shuhe looked listless and somewhat tired, wearing soft pajamas, gentle and non-aggressive like a small animal.

"What, do you want me to tell you a bedtime story?" Lu Liruan sighed and turned off the game.

"..." Jin Shuhe didn't say anything, but he didn't refuse.

Lu Liruan: ?

It's such an obvious case of playing hard to get.

Lu Liruan pushed his back: "Come on, come on, let's go inside, my little darling."

Lu Liruan doesn't tell bedtime stories. She turns the bedside lamp to its dimmest setting, puts two hot water bottles under the covers, and then tucks Lu Liruan inside.

"Go to sleep."

"Ah."

As soon as she lay down in bed, Jin Shuhe's eyes were drooping and she could barely keep them open. Fear, cold, exhaustion, pain, and all sorts of negative emotions seemed to have been driven away.

All that remains is peace and comfort.

When Jin Shuhe regained consciousness, she heard soft breathing sounds in her ear.

It feels like everyone's back in their cages.

He found himself holding Li Ruan's hand, and Li Ruan was sleeping next to him.

There was only one pillow on his bed. Perhaps because his sleeping posture was quite bad for his neck, Sister Li Ruan was squeezed on his pillow, very close, and still asleep...

His blanket had been half-rolled over by Sister Li Ruan, and there were obvious gaps that let in drafts, but he didn't feel any coldness at all; he was hot from head to toe.

He didn't dare to move until Sister Li Ruan opened her eyes.

Lu Liruan slept in one position all night, then subconsciously stretched, and then felt...

The hand that I was holding, Jin Shuhe's, was so hot it was burning.

Upon closer inspection, the child's neck was red, and the base of his ears was red...

"You have a fever?"

Lu Liruan was startled.

"No!" Jin Shuhe breathed a sigh of relief after realizing that Lu Liruan was awake, and his voice was particularly loud as he answered. Then he jumped off the bed.

Lu Liruan: ?

With such a strong voice, it seems... he's really alright?

Why is he running?

Lu Liruan's neck and half of her shoulder were stiff. When she slowly got up, Jin Shuhe was still in the bathroom.

Lu Liruan walked over to the kitchen and knocked on the door: "You can go back to sleep for a while, it's only a little past seven!"

"Hey? Are you taking a shower? You're still sick this morning, why are you taking a shower?"

Lu Liruan's eyes darted around, becoming wary: "You're not going to work later, are you? Let me tell you, I'm not letting you..."

"I'm not going! Sister Li Ruan! I really'm not going!"

Jin Shuhe's voice interrupted her somewhat hurriedly. Lu Liruan wondered if it was just her imagination, but he seemed flustered.

"So what do you eat for breakfast?"

"Anything is fine..."

Lu Liruan felt that Jin Shuhe's whole body was flushed, and reached out to touch him, but he dodged her: "Sister Liruan, I really don't have a fever!"

"Alright, you have to tell me if you feel unwell." Lu Liruan felt something was off about him, even though he seemed to be in relatively good spirits.

"Oh, by the way, Aunt Xia and Uncle Zhao are coming over for dinner this afternoon. Can you think of something to cook and make a menu for me? I'll go buy the groceries later," Lu Liruan suddenly said.

"Huh?" Jin Shuhe felt quite surprised.

"Aunt Xia just sent me a WeChat message. I told them you were off today, and they said they had to come see you no matter what, so I said come over for a meal." Lu Liruan felt that they really cared about Jin Shuhe.

"Okay, I'll go with Sister Li Ruan later."

"If you're still feeling alright, then go ahead. It's too much trouble for me to carry all that stuff by myself."

In terms of relationships, they weren't exactly relatives of Jin Shuhe, and they hadn't had a deep friendship over the years. However, the fact that the two of them rushed to Jin Shuhe's side the moment the accident happened was a debt of gratitude that would last a lifetime.

Lu Liruan decided to make eight dishes.

Around 3 p.m., Aunt Xia arrived first. Compared to back then, her life is much better now.

Back then, she stayed in Pucheng doing odd jobs and working as a nanny, all so that her children could go to school. Now, her eldest son is quite successful. He runs a small business, has been working for a few years, and bought a small house for the couple, paying off the mortgage every month.

The fact that she's not married yet is a real worry for Aunt Xia.

She had permed her hair and gained some weight. When she looked at Jin Shuhe, she was initially cheerful, but after a while, she couldn't help but start to shed tears.

"Look at me... I've actually caused her trouble." She sighed, "Xiao Miao was such a good person. You were too young to remember, but Xiao Miao was incredibly kind. Back then, your brother had asthma, and she accompanied me to the hospital with my child. She lent me money to pay for my child's treatment. I know your family didn't have much money either, but for your brother's sake, I still took it..."

"Xiao Miao said that we are all working away from home, so it is only right that we help each other out when something happens..." She rambled on about what happened back then.

Jin Shuhe really didn't remember any of these things.

Lu Liruan didn't know what she was talking about with Aunt Xia, so she went to the kitchen to busy herself.

Seeing this, Aunt Xia quickly offered to help: "This is too much trouble for you..."

"It's alright, you're all Xiaohe's elders, what's the trouble?"

As we were talking, there was a knock on the door.

Jin Shuhe went to open the door.

There were two people standing outside the door: Uncle Zhao, Zhao Lizhu, and a younger woman beside him.

"Uncle Zhao!"

Jin Shuhe's first impression was that Uncle Zhao looked much older than he had back then; he had lost a lot of weight and gotten much darker.

"Xiao He! Wow... you've grown so tall!" Zhao Lizhu had returned to his hometown in recent years, then went south to work, and only returned to Pucheng last year. He said he's now working as a construction site supervisor.

"Uncle Zhao, please come in quickly."

"This is your aunt," Zhao Lizhu introduced the woman beside him.

"Auntie." Jin Shuhe nodded and took an extra pair of slippers.

He had heard from Aunt Xia that Uncle Zhao had gotten married, but this was the first time he had seen him.

Seeing that there was one more person, Lu Liruan was thinking of adding two more dishes.

"Girl... no, don't bother!" The woman seemed embarrassed. She had dark skin and looked a little timid, not like a local.

It was only after chatting that I learned she was from her hometown. Zhao Lizhu had never married all these years, always traveling around.

A few years ago, when I went back to my hometown, I married Chen Xingmei from the next village. Now that I'm back in Pucheng, I've brought her with me.

Jin Shuhe and Lu Liruan both called her Aunt Chen, but they always felt that she was not very old.

Sure enough, after talking for a while, I learned that she was only thirty-eight years old this year, and had divorced at thirty-three and gone back to her parents' home.

She married Zhao Lizhu, who was 48 years old, when she was 35. The two were about ten years apart in age.

Lu Liruan felt a little awkward, but it was someone else's life and none of her business.

Chen Xingmei was very shy, but it was clear that she was very efficient at her work. She didn't like to talk, and when Lu Liruan didn't let her work, she felt very uncomfortable and couldn't sit still.

Lu Liruan could only ask her for help.

While the vegetables were blanching, Lu Liruan turned her head and found that all the vegetables had been cut neatly according to her requirements, with long and thin shreds, demonstrating excellent knife skills.

"Aunt Chen, you're amazing!" Lu Liruan looked up and praised sincerely.

The woman was a little embarrassed and pursed her lips: "I used to... work as a kitchen helper in a restaurant. I had to chop dishes one by one. That's not much work at all."

"With your skills, why are you still working at a restaurant?" Lu Liruan asked casually.

The woman paused for a moment, then lowered her head, busy with her hands: "I'm quitting."

Lu Liruan, ignoring her, replied, "So what are you doing now?"

"I'm not doing anything right now. It's hard to find a job in Pucheng."

Lu Liruan paused for a moment, realizing that she might have asked something that made the other person unhappy.

But in Pucheng, finding a job as a kitchen helper in a restaurant shouldn't be too difficult, Lu Liruan thought to herself.

Perhaps they haven't been here long and are unfamiliar with the place.

With the help of two people, the mealtime was brought forward considerably.

Jin Shuhe went downstairs to buy a few bottles of beer. He remembered that when he was a child, Uncle Zhao loved to drink.

“Back then, I was drinking with Lao Jin… I never imagined I’d be drinking with Lao Jin’s son now…” Zhao Lizhu said softly after a moment of silence.

Jin Shuhe didn't know what to say.

He didn't have a deep impression of his father; in fact, he could say he had almost no impression of him.

When Jin Shuhe was young, as far back as he could remember, he was working away from home and rarely came back. Later, he and his mother came to Pucheng, but he still didn't go home often and was often drunk.

All Jin Shuhe could remember now was the smell of alcohol on him. He would come home drunk, occasionally hug him and call him "son," then slip him a few bills: "Go! Buy some good food tomorrow!"

But overall, the father and son were not close.

Jin Shuhe was ill, and although he hadn't taken any medication that prohibited him from drinking alcohol, he only took a small sip. Zhao Lizhu drank most of the rest himself.

After getting a little drunk, he suddenly looked at Jin Shuhe and said, "You don't look like your dad, you look like your mom. You couldn't really tell when you were little, but the more you grow up, the more you look alike."

Aunt Chen, who was standing nearby, quickly patted him on the shoulder: "Old Zhao, you're drunk!"

Zhao Lizhu ignored him and repeated it twice more.

Jin Shuhe knew that he and his parents were from the same hometown and had known each other for many years.

"Alright! Stop talking!" Aunt Chen suddenly seemed a little angry when she saw that he was going on and on, and her voice became louder.

“It’s alright, Aunt Chen, I don’t mind,” Jin Shuhe said softly.

Aunt Chen was a little embarrassed, but Lu Liruan felt that she seemed to have something she hadn't said.

After finishing their meal, Uncle Zhao and Aunt Chen left first, while Aunt Xia helped Lu Liruan tidy up.

Jin Shuhe also rolled up his sleeves and helped Lu Liruan wash the dishes.

Aunt Xia glanced between Lu Liruan and Jin Shuhe, then asked in a low voice, "When are you two... getting married?"

Lu Liruan paused. She had never told Aunt Xia about her relationship with Jin Shuhe. Back then, she only said that Jin Shuhe was staying at her house.

Seeing their embarrassed expressions and slippers, Aunt Xia laughed and said, "Do you think I can't tell? I'm so old!"

"Great! Xiao Lu is beautiful, and Xiao He is beautiful too. Just standing together, you two look like a perfect match!" Aunt Xia gave a thumbs up.

“Xiaohe isn’t young anymore. If you two get married and have a wedding that you can’t manage, just come to me!” she said cheerfully.

Jin Shuhe knew she meant well, but he opened his mouth and didn't know how to answer.

Lu Liruan was very generous: "Okay, then I'll trouble you, Auntie!"

Aunt Xia chuckled, then suddenly seemed to remember something and lowered her voice: "Hey, Xiao He, Auntie has something to ask you."

"You say."

"This doesn't violate your rules, does it?" Aunt Xia clicked her tongue. "A few days ago, the police came to see me, and I even asked Xiao Lu about it, you know?"

"Mm." Jin Shuhe nodded.

"Don't worry, I didn't say anything!" She suddenly said this, which puzzled Jin Shuhe.