The coffee shop was not particularly far from home, so Zhou Hao took the bus to work and walked back in the evening.

Chu Qi had been waiting until he changed into clean clothes after work before tidying up his books and following along. He walked side by side with Zhou Hao, but it was evident that Zhou Hao didn't want to be with him. He quickened his pace, leaving Chu Qi two steps behind. Chu Qi then jogged to catch up.

He stumbled again after just a few steps, but quickly ran and caught up.

Zhou Hao couldn't help but smile when he saw him like this. It was just like when they were children - he would walk in front, while his younger brother, who was small and had short legs, would chase after him from behind.

However, he had no intention of stopping and waiting for Chu Qi.

Chu Qi secretly checked again and saw that her favorability points had increased by 50, while her current favorability was at -8. He felt happy and thought, "Oh, he's still a nostalgic person after all."

After diligently studying for half a month, I didn't earn as much as I did with this small gesture. If things continue this way, won't I reach a goodwill score of 200 in no time?

However, he was well aware that in order for someone not to dislike you, all you had to do was not oppose them directly, and instead try to please them and show them your shining side. So, it wasn't particularly difficult to raise the favorability level from negative to zero. Besides, growing up together, it was impossible for Zhou Hao and Zhou Nian to have no feelings for each other at all.

However, it's not easy to raise the favorability rating from 0 to 100. Although it's not an absolute requirement to reach 100, if the favorability is too low, the other person won't sleep with you either.

So he decided to give it a try.

When taking a shower at night, Chu Qi deliberately used cold water, thinking that even if she didn't have a fever, she still needed to catch a cold to make herself look pitiful and make Zhou Hao feel sorry for her. Otherwise, when would her favorability points go up?

However, Zhou Nian's body, although somewhat thin, had surprisingly strong resistance. After taking a shower for several hours, he remained especially energetic. He decided to fill a tub with cold water and brought all the ice cubes that were usable from the refrigerator, pouring them into the bathtub.

Lying inside, he felt like his blood was about to freeze.

It's really cold.

He stubbornly held onto the freezing cold water in the pool until it became somewhat warm. Then, shivering, he slowly climbed out of the bathtub. His legs were completely frozen. He hurried into the bedroom and turned the air conditioning to the lowest setting. He went to sleep naked, without even drying the water off his body.

The next day, Zhu Qi was very energetic as he had both a fever and a cold. His mind felt heavy and his whole body felt weak. He simply couldn't get up. He thought he must look very pitiful right now, and he refused to believe that Zhou Hao wouldn't take pity on him.

Zhou Hao sat at the dining table eating breakfast. He had almost finished when he didn't see Chu Qi coming down from upstairs. He snorted coldly, probably unable to pretend any longer. Originally, he never had the habit of getting up early at home. He wouldn't wake up until the afternoon. His behavior in the past few days was indeed unusual. Has he finally revealed his true colors today?

When he was about to leave and put down his cup, he saw Chu Qi coming down from upstairs. Her hair was messy, and she was only wearing a white pair of shorts. Her steps were a bit unsteady as she walked.

Chu Qi moved to the sofa and leaned against it, feeling somewhat weak as she said, "Brother... can you please take me to the hospital?"

When he spoke, he was startled by his own voice, because his throat couldn't produce normal sounds at all. He could only rely on friction from the airflow to utter some syllables.

Zhou Hao's eyes darkened, "What's wrong with you?"

Chu Qi cleared her throat lightly, her gaze slightly unfocused as she looked at him. Her long curled eyelashes lazily flickered, and she slowly said, "I have a fever..."

Zhōu Hào glanced at the clock on the wall. It was the perfect time to leave for the coffee shop; if he procrastinated, he would definitely be late. With that in mind, he said, "I'll call the doctor myself and ask him to come over." Then, he walked out the door.

The moment the door closed, Chu Qi suddenly sat up from the sofa and stumbled to the entrance, desperately clinging to the door to catch a glimpse of Zhou Hao. Sure enough, Zhou Hao didn't even turn his head as he left.

Chu Qi was really angry in her heart!

Damn it, he felt like his face could steam buns, it's obvious he has a high fever! How could this idiot Zhou Hao heartlessly leave him alone at home without a care in the world?

How deep is this fucking grudge! Even if our relationship is negative, you should at least give the enemy a call when you see them in such a miserable state. It's not like it's a deep-rooted hatred. This Zhou Hao needs to be disciplined properly!

Anyway, no matter how he burns himself, he won't die. So he might as well just lie on the carpet next to the sofa pretending to be unconscious. After all, he believes that Zhou Hao will definitely come back to see him. After all, for the sake of their parents' face, he should come back and take a look. Even if he doesn't come immediately, he will come back at noon. By then, when he sees himself lying on the floor, he will definitely regret refusing to send himself to the hospital.

Haha! This time, the affinity didn't force him to rise, so I'll just share the same surname as him!

Alright, now they do share the same last name.

Having lain on the ground for a while, he felt a bit hungry. Since Zhou Hao had not returned yet, he got up and ran to the fridge to grab a bunch of grapes. He reclined on the sofa with his legs crossed, opened the monitor, and kept an eye on the situation at the door while eating grapes.

There weren't many people in the coffee shop in the morning. Whenever Zhou Hao went back and forth delivering coffee, he couldn't help but glance at the window where Chu Qi usually sat. Maybe it had become a habit, but suddenly he felt that the absence of the young man's figure in that seat was very conspicuous.

Empty and desolate, his heart also followed suit and became empty and desolate. He remembered when Chu Qi asked him in the morning if he could take her to the hospital, he resolutely refused. Because he knew that Chen Mama was at home, even if he didn't make the call, Chen Mama would help make it anyway.

Not right!

He seemed to suddenly remember something. Today was the weekend, the day when Chen Ma takes a day off and returns home. Since he had made his own breakfast of milk and bread, he thought to himself, did that guy actually call?

He could tell that Chu Qi's fever was very serious. If they didn't go to the hospital immediately, it was estimated that there would be serious complications.

Zhou Hao suddenly felt a little worried, so he made an excuse to go to the restroom and called Chu Qi. When he opened his phone book, he realized that he didn't have Chu Qi's phone number. It was ironic that they had been living under the same roof for so many years but didn't even have each other's phone numbers.

Without time to think too much, he dialed the landline at home, which was convenient for contacting Aunt Chen. It rang several times, but nobody answered. He dialed again a few more times, but still, nobody answered.

Has he already gone to the hospital?

He endured and made the last call, just as his phone was about to die. The other end picked up and weakly said, "Hello..."

"Have you not gone to the hospital yet?"

Zhou Hao furrowed his brow and asked, "Didn't you call the doctor?"

Without waiting for the other person's response, there was a sudden sound of the phone hitting something, followed by the silence of the young man.

Zhou Hao felt a bit panicked and shouted, "Hey? Zhou Nian!"