The Fantastic Little Farmer

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Suspected Mixed Poisoning

It was two in the afternoon, the hottest part of the day. Everyone was resting at home, so Xiuxun wouldn’t be seen coming over. Still, she didn’t dare call out too loudly, afraid someone might overhear her.

Zhang Yun hurried out. The moment he left the air-conditioned room, his body immediately felt even hotter.

”Come in, Sister-in-law Xiuqin.”

Xiuxun was standing under the eaves, holding a plate of fried dough twists. This was the excuse she had prepared, though she still felt a bit guilty and worried about being seen.

Seeing her peering inside, Zhang Yun quickly smiled and explained, ”My dad got drunk on liquor at noon.”

Xiuxun, having already smelled the alcohol, stepped into the living room. ”I brought these for you.”

”Thanks, they look delicious.”

”Did you drink too?” Xiuxun asked. As she approached, she caught a whiff of alcohol on Zhang Yun as well.

”Just a little.”

Xiuxun frowned. ”You were bitten by a snake recently. Can you even drink?”

”It should be... fine.” Zhang Yun hadn’t considered this at all. With his current physical condition, it definitely wouldn’t be an issue.

Xiuxun nodded. ”How is your wound? Did you buy any ointment or anything while you were in town?”

Zhang Yun’s face immediately flushed. He wondered if she was here to apply medicine for him. Even though his injury was perfectly fine, he still wanted to experience the process of her tending to him.

”It’s just a small issue. It’ll heal quickly, so I probably don’t need any medicine.”

”Mhm,” Xiuxun replied softly. She could tell Zhang Yun was embarrassed, but she couldn’t exactly strip him herself either. ”If you need any help... just say the word. I asked you on WeChat, but you didn’t say anything...”

”Huh? I had guests over earlier. I haven’t checked my phone since I got back from town,” Zhang Yun said, feeling a little sheepish.

”Here... I don’t know if this will help, but you can apply it yourself.”

Xiuxun handed over a tube of ointment, pressing it into Zhang Yun’s hand.

As their fingers brushed against each other, Zhang Yun’s heart fluttered. It was as if an intense heat had transferred over to him, making his body burn even hotter.

Xiuxun had already noticed Zhang Yun’s flushed face but had assumed it was out of shyness and embarrassment, especially since she felt bashful herself. However, the scorching heat of his fingers when they touched took her by surprise.

”Are you running a fever?”

She immediately reached up and placed her hand on Zhang Yun’s forehead. ”Oh my god! Your temperature is incredibly high. You need to go to the hospital right now!”

Zhang Yun cried out internally, ”Oh my god!” Just a brief graze of their fingers had heightened his senses, and now, with her delicate hand resting directly on his forehead, the sensation was magnified tenfold!

”N-no... I don’t have a fever. It’s probably just because I rarely drink liquor, so I’m feeling a bit hot. I was just cooling off in the air conditioning.”

Zhang Yun reached up and pulled Xiuxun’s hand away from his forehead, but once he grabbed her wrist, he couldn’t bear to let go.

Worried about his condition, Xiuxun quickly urged, ”Then go back to your room and enjoy the air conditioning. Take your temperature with a thermometer, too. You can’t be careless about this. What if it’s a toxic reaction from mixing snake venom and alcohol...” She then muttered to herself, ”No! I need to keep an eye on you!”

Zhang Yun’s bedroom was upstairs. Xiuxun couldn’t care less about propriety at this point; she dragged him upstairs and marched straight into his room.

Earlier, Zhang Yun had set the air conditioner to its lowest setting of sixteen degrees Celsius. Outside, it was a sweltering midday with temperatures well over thirty degrees. The compressor had been running non-stop, and the stark temperature contrast upon entering the room instantly made Xiuxun shiver.

”You can’t do this. Going back and forth between extreme hot and cold will easily make you sick.”

The room’s chill provided Zhang Yun with a bit of relief, making him feel as if he had plunged into a pool of cool water. He had originally been wearing just shorts and had only thrown on a T-shirt before going downstairs. As soon as Xiuxun left, he planned to strip off his clothes.

”I have a thermometer here. I’ll take my temperature in a bit,” Zhang Yun said, retrieving it from his desk.

Without a word, Xiuxun snatched the thermometer, inspected it, and then flicked her wrist forcefully to shake down the mercury.

Zhang Yun’s breath hitched. The way she swung her arm so vigorously to shake the thermometer created a spectacular, bouncing display...

”Xiuxun, I can do it my—”

Xiuxun checked that the mercury had reset. She then lifted one of his arms, rolled up his sleeve, and tucked the thermometer directly into his armpit, pressing his arm down tightly to secure it.

Such close physical contact with the opposite sex initially thrilled Zhang Yun, but he soon stood completely dumbfounded.

”Keep it tucked tight... Are you okay?” Noticing his strange expression, Xiuxun quickly searched his face and asked.

Zhang Yun shook his head slightly. ”No... it’s just...”

”What’s wrong?” Xiuxun grew increasingly worried. His face was persistently flushed, and the skin on his arm felt scalding hot. This definitely wasn’t just shyness anymore. It was highly likely a severe fever! She wondered if he was starting to become delirious from the heat.

Zhang Yun said softly, ”The way you just took care of me, helping me check my temperature... it felt like having a mother or an older sister.”

Xiuxun was already worried about him, but hearing those words instantly melted her heart.

Even though Zhang Yun was now a tall and strapping young man, his mother had passed away early on. His father had raised him single-handedly and was certainly not as attentive. At his core, he was just a big boy starved of a mother’s love!

Overwhelmed by her maternal instinct, Xiuxun couldn’t help but reach out and gently stroke Zhang Yun’s cheek to comfort him. If he were a little boy, she might have even pulled him into her arms.

”Thank you...”

Xiuxun quickly snapped back to reality, her concern returning in full force. ”You definitely have a high fever. We don’t even need to wait for the thermometer to finish reading. There’s no time to go to the hospital. Do you have any fever reducers or cooling patches at home?”

Zhang Yun shook his head. Those were usually kept on hand for children.

”Drink some water first,” Xiuxun immediately instructed. ”I’ll go check if I have any at my place. If not, I’ll run to the pharmacy and buy some for you.”

”Wait!” Zhang Yun hurriedly grabbed her hand.

Xiuxun hadn’t actually taken a step yet. With Zhang Yun’s newly enhanced strength, his panicked grasp lacked control, and he ended up yanking Xiuxun directly into his arms!

Xiuxun’s eyes went wide as she stared closely at his face.

What was this guy doing? How could he still be thinking about things like that at a time like this?

Zhang Yun instantly felt a raging fire surge within him. He quickly let go of her and offered an awkward smile. ”There’s no need to get medicine. I know my own condition; I’m fine.”

”You’re just trying to be brave!” Xiuxun poked him in the forehead. ”This is very likely a toxic reaction from the snake venom and alcohol! Your dad is drunk, so what if I ignore you and something terrible actually happens?”

Zhang Yun laughed awkwardly. ”I’m really fine...”

As far as Xiuxun was concerned, this was just his male pride acting up. He was burning up with a fever, yet he still insisted he was fine?

”Alright, you’re fine. But just to be safe, you need to be a good boy and take some medicine, okay?”

Seeing her coax him like a child left Zhang Yun not knowing whether to laugh or cry. However, the true cause of his heat was his own secret, and he couldn’t exactly explain it to Xiuxun!

”Xiuxun, you should head back first. If you stay here too long... Aunt Jiu might come looking for you. I promise that if I feel unwell, I’ll message you on WeChat.”

Zhang Yun tactfully hinted that staying at his house for too long—especially upstairs in his bedroom—would be hard to explain if anyone, particularly Aunt Jiu, saw them. It would ruin her reputation.

Xiuxun rolled her eyes slightly. ”I know... but your fever is so severe right now, and there’s no one to take care of you. What if something actually happens? I’ll explain it to her later. My mother-in-law is a reasonable woman.”

She had felt embarrassed about staying, but out of fear that it might be an issue with the snake venom, she gritted her teeth. ”Let me see the snake bite!”

Seeing that she was about to make a move, Zhang Yun...