My straight roommate is so good

After taking the fever-reducing medicine, Qiao Song fell back into a deep sleep.

Ling Jianshu returned to his side of the room, opened his phone’s browser, and searched for “Fluoxetine.” He found a page that read:

**”Fluoxetine hydrochloride capsules are an oral antidepressant medication that treats various depressive disorders by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin in the central nervous system, including depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anorexia.”**

He stared at the text for a long time, thinking deeply. His mind was filled with images of meeting Qiao Song for the first time and their recent interactions.

From Ling Jianshu’s impression, although Qiao Song always seemed indifferent, he did not display obvious signs of depression or any excessive compulsive behaviors. Could it be… anorexia?

He recalled how Qiao Song always rinsed his vegetables in plain water. He began to form a vague suspicion.

Turning off his phone, he looked back at Qiao Song, who was asleep, with only a small part of his straight nose and delicate, gentle eyebrows visible.

Long, curled eyelashes fluttered slightly with each breath, casting a half-shadow on his pale face. Qiao Song seemed to be dreaming something distressing, his eyebrows furrowed even in sleep, which made him feel a pang of sympathy.

He pondered for a while, feeling conflicted about whether he should be more attentive to Qiao Song or keep a distance, considering he might not want any special treatment.

After a while, he heard the door to the dormitory open. Cheng Yuan and Liu Junming had returned from class. Cheng Yuan, known for being talkative, continued his chatter with Liu Junming even in the dormitory corridor, which was becoming noisy.

Ling Jianshu found the noise distracting. He turned his attention away from Qiao Song and glanced towards the door.

As soon as Cheng Yuan opened the door and saw Ling Jianshu, he received a cold, piercing look.

Cheng Yuan was puzzled, “…?” What did he do wrong?

Ling Jianshu silently mouthed, “Be quiet, Qiao Song is sleeping.”

Liu Junming immediately nodded and gave him an “OK” hand gesture, clearly having had enough of Cheng Yuan’s incessant chatter.

“…” Cheng Yuan felt a bit hurt.

However, feeling hurt was secondary; what bothered him more was not being able to talk, which was a bit stifling.

But under Ling Jianshu’s intimidating presence, he did not dare to act out and complied, pulling his metaphorical zipper over his mouth.

The dormitory fell into a long period of silence, with the only sounds being the tapping of keyboards as everyone worked quietly at their desks.

The rhythmic clicking of keyboards created a soothing white noise, beneficial for Qiao Song’s sleep.

He slept soundly, and when he woke up, the sky outside was already dark.

His roommates had turned on their desk lamps, and unspoken agreement kept the main lights off.

Qiao Song gathered his senses, looked around, and took note of everything.

He cleared his throat, sat up with the help of the bed’s railing, and called out, “Ling Brother.”

Ling Jianshu turned around, saw that he was awake, and immediately walked over, checking his forehead without hesitation.

Although Qiao Song had sweated a lot during sleep, his forehead was still warmer than Ling Jianshu’s palm.

“Still feverish,” Ling Jianshu said with a frown. “This isn’t working. I’ll help you up. We need to go to the hospital now.”

At this point, Cheng Yuan and Liu Junming realized Qiao Song was sick. They hurried over and gathered around him, asking about his condition.

Despite it being just a common cold, the fever still persisted despite the medication, which worried them.

Liu Junming volunteered, “Should we go to the hospital now? I’ll go with you and Ling Brother. It’s better to have more people to look after him.”

Cheng Yuan added, “Take me with you! I also want to help take care of Qiao Qiao!”

Liu Junming shot him a look. “You’ll only cause more trouble. Stay here and watch over the dorm. If someone comes to check, you can help explain.”

Ling Jianshu intervened decisively, “No need. You both stay here. I’ll take him to the hospital.”

Qiao Song did not want to trouble anyone more than necessary. If possible, he even wished not to trouble Ling Jianshu. But if he had to rely on someone from the three roommates, he would rather it be Ling Jianshu.

So he followed his plan and said softly, “Ling Brother can take good care of me. It’s quite cold outside, so Yuan and Junming, you two don’t need to come along.”

With his insistence, Cheng Yuan and Liu Junming reluctantly agreed to stay behind.

Qiao Song got up, put on his coat, and went downstairs with Ling Jianshu to catch a cab. Although his muscles ached from the fever, he still had enough strength to walk.

If it were someone else offering to help, Qiao Song would have politely declined. But with Ling Jianshu, he felt comfortable relying on him and let himself lean heavily on him.

In the cab on the way to the hospital, he kept his eyes closed, resting his head on Ling Jianshu’s shoulder. They remained silent throughout the ride.

The atmosphere in the car was quiet but not awkward or uncomfortable. He didn’t fall asleep; he was lost in thought, trying to understand his unusual sense of closeness to Ling Jianshu.

Perhaps due to the fever affecting his rationality, he couldn’t come up with a reasonable answer. 

He only knew it definitely wasn’t because of romantic feelings. He had never considered a straight man, especially one who was homophobic, as a romantic possibility. Even in his feverish state, he remained steadfast in this belief.

Finally, they arrived at the hospital. Ling Jianshu supported him to a quiet area to wait and then went to the lobby to queue for registration.

He watched Ling Jianshu’s tall and upright figure from afar and thought he hadn’t been wrong in what he told Cheng Yuan and Liu Junming—Ling Brother truly could take good care of him.