Chapter 47: Half-Asleep and Half-Awake Han Wenwen

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Half-Asleep and Half-Awake Han Wenwen

Han Wenwen seemed to have passed out. Lin Zhengran took the keys, went downstairs to buy dinner, and came back.

From the looks of it, Han’s fever probably wasn’t going to break tonight.

So, while he was out, he called his parents to tell them he wouldn’t be coming home.

Lin Xiaoli and Lin Yingjun had always thought their son was bolder than other boys his age, constantly doing things his peers wouldn’t dare. "Ranran, what are you up to that you aren’t coming home tonight?"

"I’m staying at a classmate’s house. She doesn’t live far from us, so don’t worry."

Lin Xiaoli lowered her voice and asked curiously over the phone, "It’s not Jiang Xueli’s house, is it? We can’t approve of that, Ranran."

Lin Zhengran replied, not exactly lying, "No. Mom, what are you thinking? I’m at another classmate’s. A little fox is sick, so I’m taking care of it."

His dad, Lin Yingjun, went "Oh," and subconsciously assumed the classmate was a boy.

"Oh, so that’s it. You scared us. It’s good for you to make more friends at your age. Well, if anything happens, call Mom and Dad anytime. Let us know you’re okay before you go to sleep, and be safe."

"Okay, don’t worry."

Returning to the rental apartment with dinner, he saw Han Wenwen was still on the bed, bundled up like a burrito.

Hearing the door open, she warily eyed the newcomer, only relaxing when she saw it was Lin Zhengran.

"You’re back?" She was still very polite.

"So you’re awake?"

Han Wenwen opened her mouth, but before she could answer, she closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

’The cold medicine must be working,’ Lin Zhengran thought. ’That, plus the fact she hasn’t slept for days, is probably why she’s only half-awake.’

Lin Zhengran sat down beside her, opened the dinner he’d bought, and started to eat.

But after just a few bites, he noticed Han Wenwen’s hand had grabbed the hem of his shirt again. She frowned, as if searching for something in her sleep.

Her curled-up sleeping position, her pained expression from the illness—all traces of the facade this fox usually wore were gone.

In its place was the rawest expression of her inner feelings, like a helpless little creature abandoned by its mother in the forest, unable to find its way.

Lin Zhengran slowly grasped her frantic hand.

Only then did Han Wenwen’s tense expression visibly melt into one of peace and bliss. She squeezed Lin Zhengran’s palm in response and slept even more soundly.

The few hours after taking the medicine were when she was least conscious.

This girl, who had been half-asleep to begin with, gradually started talking in her sleep.

Lin Zhengran ate his dinner and listened quietly, hearing all sorts of information he’d never normally be able to get out of her.

Including how her mother hadn’t wanted her back then, and how she’d accidentally overheard her aunt and uncle fighting about her during the last winter break.

And... the reason why Han Wenwen had let everyone in class think Lin Zhengran had a girlfriend.

She said, "The whole thing about everyone in class thinking I’m your girlfriend... I did that on purpose. At first, I really was just trying to keep an eye on you for Qingqing, but later on, I found myself wanting to hang around you more and more. When everyone said I was your girlfriend, I wasn’t annoyed at all..."

"I was even happy to hear them say it. I could have explained to everyone that we weren’t together, but I didn’t. Because I didn’t even know what I was thinking, or when I even started... to like you."

Lin Zhengran’s chewing slowed. He shot the fox a disdainful look.

’What is she talking about... Liking me? That’s just ridiculous.’

Han Wenwen squeezed Lin Zhengran’s hand and continued to mutter to herself.

"Maybe I liked you even back then, at the bus stop. After all, from the first time I saw you, I thought of you as my boyfriend. Only you know what I’m really thinking..."

"It’s all that damned Heart Connection Festival’s fault. It made me care more and more about you... get more and more curious about you... until I realized I was really starting to like you."

"Heart Connection Festival?" Lin Zhengran was curious. "What’s the Heart Connection Festival?"

Han Wenwen started mumbling other things in her sleep again, this time about her childhood.

So, Lin Zhengran just pulled out his phone and searched online for what the Heart Connection Festival was.

He was surprised when he saw the encyclopedia entry. "A festival for finding love? Just how old is this fox, anyway?"

He felt helpless. ’This is why kids shouldn’t just go to any random festival when they’re bored. Especially when they’re not even adults, trying to imitate grown-ups and pray for love?’

’Just asking for trouble.’

A while later, Han Wenwen’s eyes suddenly flew open as if she were awake. Her first words were, "Classmate Lin Zhengran? Did you leave?"

Lin Zhengran looked up from his phone. "Not yet. You awake?"

Han Wenwen groggily sat up, but she couldn’t feel her other hand. She turned her head and saw that Lin Zhengran was holding it.

Her face flushed slightly. She quickly pulled her hand back, clutching the blanket with both hands in fear, and retreated to the corner of the bed, staring at him at a loss.

"Scary~ Why were you holding my hand, Classmate Lin Zhengran? What are you trying to do?"

Lin Zhengran was truly speechless. "You think I wanted to? You kept pulling on my clothes in your sleep. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I grabbed your hand to make you stop."

Han Wenwen blinked her dazed eyes, not yet fully conscious. "Is that so..."

She argued her case, "Still, you can’t just hold a girl’s hand like that." She shot Lin Zhengran a scornful look. "Classmate Lin Zhengran, you really are no good~ You took my hand’s first time."

"What kind of messed-up analogy is that... Han Wenwen, is there something wrong with you?" Lin Zhengran retorted, then realized, "Oh, wait, there *is* something wrong with you right now. You’re seriously sick."

Han Wenwen stared blankly for a moment, then got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. "I’m going to the bathroom. I can’t hold it. Don’t you peek, Classmate Lin Zhengran."

Lin Zhengran didn’t think of her as a normal person in her current state.

After she said that, she suddenly opened the door again and looked at him. "Oh, and cover your ears. I’m going to pee."

Lin Zhengran: "..."

Unbelievable.

"Hurry up," Han Wenwen said, staring at him. "I can’t hold it anymore."

Lin Zhengran had no choice but to pretend to cover his ears. ’When she’s sick, Han Wenwen is just like any other girl,’ he thought.

Seeing him cover his ears, the Little Fox finally locked the door and used the toilet with peace of mind. Afterwards, she lay down flat on the bed again.

Staring at the ceiling, she mumbled, "So sleepy... my head hurts so much..."

Lin Zhengran handed her the dinner. "Since you’re awake, eat something and take your medicine. You’ll probably be clear-headed by tomorrow morning."

’And then you’ll realize all the ridiculous things you’ve said.’

Han Wenwen stared at him with her foxy eyes, the fever making her speak and act without thinking.

"Classmate Lin Zhengran, why are you so good-looking? All those boys used to say I was pretty and that they liked me, but I never understood what they meant. Seeing you, now I know exactly what they were talking about... I want to make you all mine."

Lin Zhengran sighed. "Are you going to eat or not?"

Han Wenwen suddenly looked wronged. "Why are you being so mean to me? I didn’t do anything to you~ If you call me Wenwen, I’ll eat."

Lin Zhengran wanted to flip the table.

"Fine, don’t eat then!"

Han Wenwen bit her lip and suddenly turned her back to Lin Zhengran. "So mean. I don’t want to talk to you." After a moment, she clutched her head again. "My head hurts."

With the mindset of not arguing with a sick person or a child, Lin Zhengran held out the dinner and medicine. "Hurry up and eat. After you take the medicine, move over and make some room for me. You think I don’t need to sleep tonight?"

Han Wenwen didn’t respond.

Reluctantly, Lin Zhengran said, "Wenwen."

Han Wenwen turned back in surprise, then suddenly gave a shy smile. "I didn’t hear you."

Lin Zhengran’s temper flared, and he gave her a flick on the forehead. That finally made her behave. She obediently ate, took her medicine, and lay back down.

She had just called Lin Zhengran a bad guy when she was awake, but the moment she fell asleep, she started trying to hold his hand again. Lin Zhengran put a pillow between them as a barrier, but she actually tried to reach over it to grab him.

All he could do was dodge.

Han Wenwen kept fumbling around. "Where’s the hand?"

"No hand. I don’t have hands."

"Nonsense. Classmate Lin Zhengran, you’re not a fish, how could you not have hands? Where’s the hand?"

"I just don’t." He felt Han Wenwen’s hands fumbling all over his arm and grew irritated. "Get your hands off my arm, you stinky fox! I told you, I don’t have any!"

"Why are you so mean? You even cursed at me."

"Stinky fox! I’ll do as I please!"

He had no idea how he managed to survive that torturous night with the fox.

By the next morning, the sun was up, and Han Wenwen’s fever had gone down significantly. But when she woke up and turned to see Lin Zhengran’s sleeping face on the other pillow, the events of the latter half of her feverish day slowly flooded back into her mind.

Her face instantly flushed red. She stared at him with panicked eyes, redder than she had ever been in her entire life.

’What on earth did I do yesterday while I had a fever...’