Free Web NovelChapter 204: Chapter 202: Yelias Pretends to Be Sick
Bai Su had already deftly prepared the ingredients for the seafood stew, placing the food into the pot.
The people of the Sea Country were all feeling a bit guilty. Seeing Bai Su busy and ignoring them, many felt a pang of anxiety.
’Rushing into the livestream to attack Bai Su like that... it won’t affect the peace between our countries, will it?’
Bai Su glanced at the camera. "However, I’m still very grateful you all went against your own and voted for me during my competition with Rosa Meiya. Thank you, everyone."
That only made them feel more guilty.
They had no idea what had come over them that day. They had suddenly picked up their smart devices, suddenly opened the livestream, and suddenly started voting frantically for Bai Su...
By the time they came to their senses, their princess was already sitting in front of the camera, wailing.
Bai Su ignored the comments and focused on her work.
She had to go find Yelias after work and didn’t have the energy to deal with these tiresome people online.
Bai Su’s mind drifted to Yelias that morning, and she let out a soft sigh.
’I admit I have been neglecting Yelias a little lately,’ she thought. ’But he never complained, so I didn’t even notice.’
’Besides, so much has happened recently.’
’Lu Tingyan’s sudden seclusion, the visit from the Mermaid siblings, the unexpected appearance of the two children...’
’On the surface, I’ve been handling everything just fine, but only I know how lost I’ve truly felt.’
’If Yelias hadn’t said something, I probably still wouldn’t have thought to check in on him.’
A pang of guilt hit Bai Su.
After work, she didn’t rush to find Yelias. Instead, she first sent a message to Grandpa Yarco: [Grandpa, are you busy?]
[I have a little something I want to ask you.]
There was no reply.
Bai Su thought for a moment, then tried calling him.
Still no answer.
She paused. ’Maybe Grandpa Yarco went to inspect another project on the frontier. The signal might be bad.’
After some thought, she left a message for Grandpa Yarco: [Grandpa, I was wondering about Yelias’s tastes. Is there anything he particularly likes to eat, or anything he likes to collect?]
The reply came quickly this time: [He’ll like anything you prepare for him.]
Bai Su rubbed her nose. [Grandpa... I want to get to know him better.]
There was no reply for a while.
Just as Bai Su was about to give up, her smart device vibrated again.
[He likes sweets and fluffy little animals. He especially loves raising small rabbits. There’s not much else. His life is quite dull; most of his time is spent on medical research, so he doesn’t have many hobbies. He’s not like certain idle people who do nothing all day, cause trouble without cleaning up their own messes, and just wait for others to handle it. All they do is chase romantic notions and rack their brains trying to date. Susu, if you ever meet an irresponsible male like that, you must keep your eyes wide open and see him for what he is. Don’t be fooled.]
Bai Su broke out in a sweat after reading the long tirade.
’Why do I get the feeling that last part was about Li Chenlin...?’
’Did Yelias complain to his grandfather?’
’But he doesn’t seem like the type to tattle.’
Bai Su replied: [Okay, Grandpa. I understand.]
She picked out a sweet chocolate mousse cake and had Kong Ji take her to the research institute.
On the way, she stopped by a small shop and picked out a fluffy little rabbit brooch to bring with her.
’If I’m going to make it up to him, I should at least be sincere about it.’
Bai Su arrived at the Lanton Research Room with her gifts. It was two-thirty in the afternoon, and the researchers were getting back to work after their midday rest.
This wasn’t her first time here.
Carrying her gifts, she was the subject of stares from the staff all the way down the hall.
Bai Su pushed open the door to the core laboratory, finally shutting out the predatory gazes.
Yelias was in the laboratory, scolding two assistants who had made a mistake with the data. The moment he saw Bai Su walk in, his expression softened considerably.
He waved a hand. "Forget it. You two can go. Don’t make a mistake like this again."
The two assistants were dumbfounded, not expecting to be let off so easily. When they turned, they saw Bai Su had arrived.
They both breathed a sigh of relief, feeling eternally grateful to Bai Su as they clutched their data and beat a hasty retreat.
Before Yelias could greet her, Li Yue approached first and took the items from Bai Su’s hands. "You had time to stop by today?"
Her attitude was as cool as ever, but her eyes were much warmer.
Evidently, being plied with food by Bai Su every day had made Li Yue start treating her as one of their own.
Bai Su smiled faintly and nodded. "I got off work early, so I thought I’d come see..."
She felt a pang of guilt as she said it. ’If Yelias hadn’t complained, I wouldn’t have even thought to come visit.’
A small smile played on Li Yue’s lips. "You should have come to see him sooner. Yelias is the busiest person here. He’s a complete workaholic—first to arrive, last to leave. He even had a fever a few days ago but refused to rest..."
"Li Yue, do you have too much free time?" Yelias’s warning tone came from behind her.
Li Yue turned and shot him a cold glare.
’Damn it,’ she thought, ’wasn’t he the one who bribed me with food this morning to say all this?’
Yelias raised a hand to his lips and let out two feeble coughs.
Li Yue secretly rolled her eyes before turning back to her work.
Bai Su placed the cake on a nearby table, her voice laced with worry. "Yelias, when were you sick? How did I not know? Why didn’t you tell me?"
She felt even more guilty.
’It’s like, subconsciously, I figured that since Yelias is a doctor, I didn’t need to worry about him...’
’Now I know just how wrong I was.’
Yelias cleared his throat, a hint of resignation in his eyes. "I’m fine. You don’t need to worry."
He insisted on continuing his work, asking only that Bai Su stay and keep him company until he was finished, and then they could go home together.
Throughout the afternoon, the lab was filled with Yelias’s stifled coughs.
He coughed while running experiments. He coughed while recording data. He coughed while developing algorithms...
Eventually, even Flar couldn’t take it anymore. "Yelias, I didn’t hear you coughing at all this morning. How did it get so bad this afternoon? Why don’t you head home and get some rest?"
Yelias cleared his throat, his brow furrowed deeply. "It’s nothing. Don’t mind me."
Flar had no choice but to drop it.
Bai Su took it all in, the guilt nearly drowning her.
’I’ve really neglected Yelias too much.’
When the end of the workday finally arrived, everyone else had already left the laboratory.
Bai Su couldn’t take it anymore. "Yelias, it’s past closing time. Can we please go home and rest?"
Yelias shook his head gently, his eyes filled with dedication to his work. "No... COUGH, COUGH... I want to finish this last little bit. Susu, if you don’t mind, could you just wait a little longer?"
Seeing his flushed face, Bai Su bit her lip and stepped forward to pull him up. "Yelias..."
She never expected him to be pulled over so easily. He fell solidly against her, his head landing on her shoulder.
Bai Su staggered, bracing herself against the dissection table behind her to keep them both upright. "Yelias!"
The scorching heat radiating from his body was clearly not a normal temperature.
Bai Su was terrified. "You’re burning up! You’re so hot! I’ll go get help..."
But Yelias grabbed her, pushing her back onto the dissection table and pinning her underneath him. "It’s just a fever. I’m not going to die. Don’t be afraid."
Bai Su was exasperated. "Yelias! Don’t joke about your health!"
A smile played on Yelias’s lips as he nuzzled her earlobe with the tip of his nose. "I’m not joking. Susu, if you want to help me, there are many ways to do it..."
Bai Su froze. "What do you mean?"
Yelias said, "White Spider Beastmen have a unique constitution. We don’t get fevers easily, and common fever reducers have no effect."
"If you want to bring my fever down, you could try... this..."
Before Bai Su could react, her limbs were suddenly bound by spider silk, spread wide, and pinned to the dissection table. The intense light from overhead forced her to squint.
"Yelias..."
As the strands of silk slipped beneath her clothes, she finally understood what he intended to do.
’He’s burning up like this, and he still has the energy to think about *that*?!’
For some reason, as she watched the silk peel away her clothes and arrange her limbs in a strange position, she subconsciously recalled the lengthy descriptions of Yelias from the novel. Her face instantly flushed crimson, and her breathing grew ragged.
Scorching fingers gripped her chin.
"Susu, do you know the penalty for letting your mind wander at a time like this?"
