A transparent blue plastic box with a large red cross printed on it. Opening the lid, the first thing visible was a brand-new thermometer lying on top. Qiqi's original one had been snapped in half by the Wolf King in a fit of rage when he first arrived, and this new one was something she had specially bought from the pharmacy later.
For this long, thin object with a silver line inside, Rong Yi had an incredibly... painful memory.
His handsome brows furrowed as he struggled to restrain himself, barely suppressing the urge to snap it in two.
"Qiqi, here's your thermometer..."
Rong Yi pinched it between two fingers with some disgust and held it out to Qiqi, but by then she had drifted back into a drowsy sleep, hugging her pillow and shivering violently—clearly, she was very cold now.
Rong Yi felt a pang of concern. He glanced at the girl, then at the thermometer in his hand, gritted his teeth, and pulled off Qiqi's blanket...
"Qiqi, I'm going to take your temperature. You don't mind, do you?"
"Mmm..."
"Alright, then I'll start. Sorry, forgive the intrusion."
"Mmm..."
Qiqi mumbled a vague response, then suddenly felt a chill on her back, followed by a pair of burning hands pressing against her lower back, slowly sliding downward...
The girl jolted awake and slapped away the wolf's wandering hand: "Rong Yi, what are you doing?"
Rong Yi looked a little wronged: "Helping you take off your clothes."
"Why are you taking off my clothes?"
"To take your temperature."
"Take my temperature?" Qiqi was stunned.
Rong Yi explained: "I think you might have a fever, but my body temperature is naturally higher than yours, so I can't tell how bad your condition is. I figured using your thermometer should be able to measure it..."
He held the thermometer in his hand, his face slightly flushed, looking a bit awkward.
In a flash, Qiqi suddenly understood—the Wolf King was going to take her temperature using the only method he had experienced in the human world.
How embarrassing...
Qiqi's face turned bright red: "Um, Rong Yi, that's not how a thermometer works..."
The Wolf King looked confused: "But last time you took my temperature, that's exactly how you did it... Though it was a bit, well, intrusive, but you're this sick now..."
Seeing the guilt spreading across the girl's face, he suddenly sensed something was off. He leaned in angrily, glaring at Qiqi: "Tell me, how is this thing really supposed to be used?"
Qiqi's eyes flickered timidly as she took the thermometer and tucked it under her armpit: "Actually, actually, this is how you use it..."
The Wolf King's forehead darkened with veins, storm clouds gathering above his head as he stared at Qiqi, looking like he wanted to devour her: "So you deliberately took liberties with me back then. How... infuriating."
He ground his teeth, and Qiqi could hear a faint grating sound.
She quickly defended herself: "Back then, you were a dog—a dog! Dogs and people are different..."
"What did you say?" His tone was threatening.
Qiqi wisely shut her mouth.
Hmph. So unfair.
The Wolf King was so furious he didn't know what to do, pacing around the room like a caged beast. Finally, he yanked open the door: "I'm going out to buy medicine—"
Qiqi was about to say there was still medicine at home, but the Wolf King had already stormed out, so she gave up.
Forget it. He was in a rage right now; better to let him blow off steam outside, or she might not even know how she'd end up dead.
She lay still under the covers for five minutes, then pulled out the thermometer to check—39 degrees Celsius, a high fever. That "bath" at the mental hospital had certainly done its work; she had a bad cold now.