Bringing My Rival Back to Life (Accidentally) - Chapter 18
Wu Jiu had no idea why he had come to the human world.
He had managed to come up only to encounter a sickly Zhu Xiao.
Zhu Xiao’s condition was so poor that arguing was out of the question; he looked like he would gasp for breath after uttering a single sentence.
Wu Jiu didn’t want to quibble with someone who was ill. He spent three seconds convincing himself to forgive Zhu Xiao for one day and another three seconds praising his magnanimous and tolerant character, capable of harboring a ship in his heart like a prime minister.
Then he began to dutifully take on the role of a caretaker.
The calico cat’s body was inconvenient for taking care of people, so Wu Jiu reverted to his original form.
He took Zhu Xiao’s temperature, gave him water, and covered him with a blanket. With the experience from last time, he was much more proficient this time, ensuring that Zhu Xiao was well-covered.
“Zhu Xiao, listen carefully. I’m only forgiving you for one day. I’ll continue to be angry tomorrow, so you better hurry up and recover. Don’t blame me if you lose the argument,” he said.
As he was about to leave the bedroom, he glanced up and noticed that the window in Zhu Xiao’s room was closed. It had rained a few nights ago, and Zhu Xiao had forgotten to open it after closing it.
“Didn’t you know to ventilate when you’re sick? You have no common sense at all,” Wu Jiu muttered, “Who is the human here, anyway?” He walked over and pushed the window open to let in some fresh air.
He was almost done, but as he looked down, he saw the dust in the grout of the floor tiles.
Zhu Xiao’s home was actually quite clean and tidy. He would occasionally tidy up, but he didn’t sweep every day, and it was normal to have some dust in the corners. It was hard to notice unless you specifically looked for it.
But these specks of dust were now glaringly obvious to Wu Jiu, making him feel particularly annoyed.
“I give up. Why do these dust particles have to appear right in front of me?”
In an instant, Wu Jiu’s mind raced through a list of illnesses, such as rhinitis, pneumonia, bronchitis, pharyngitis, and even pneumoconiosis.
He casually imagined the scenarios and felt extremely worried. Zhu Xiao was already frail, and now he looked half-dead. Who knew if this little bit of dust could take his life? Besides, he didn’t want to see Zhu Xiao down there.
“Forget it, I’ll reluctantly sweep for you,” he said, picking up the broom again.
Being a ghost had its advantages. Wu Jiu could float from one end to the other much faster than when he was human, making his work efficiency quite high.
After sweeping the floor, he began to mop it.
As he mopped, he muttered to himself, “So mature and steady… Sounds good, but utterly useless when it matters. Didn’t even make a phone call. Pfft, old man.”
The promised half-hour had long passed, and Wu Jiu was starting to get annoyed again.
He looked at the spotless, reflective floor and suddenly realized he must have fallen for Zhu Xiao’s trick once more.
“Am I some kind of fairy tale character?” Wu Jiu quickly threw down the mop in his hand.
But then he thought, since he had already mopped the floor, what was the point of leaving a dirty mop behind? If he left it there, who knew what kind of bacteria might breed and make someone sick.
Wu Jiu picked up the mop again.
Since he had already mopped the floor and done so much, he might as well clean the rest. He wiped all the furnishings in the room, not missing a single corner or crevice.
After Wu Jiu’s thorough cleaning, the entire house looked as good as new.
After finishing, he even went to the kitchen to brew some health tea and poured it into the freshly cleaned thermos.
In a half-asleep, half-awake state, Zhu Xiao felt as if he saw Wu Jiu.
Given that Wu Jiu was already dead, this feeling was no different from seeing a ghost.
He was drowsy and somehow recalled something from a long time ago.
Zhu Xiao rarely fell ill, but when he did, it was usually severe.
He had also been sick once during college. On the worst day, he had skipped class for the first time and lay in his dormitory bed like a zombie.
Wu Jiu hadn’t seen Zhu Xiao all day, not even in their major class.
From what he knew about Zhu Xiao, he wouldn’t skip class casually.
Could something have happened?
Wu Jiu’s mind raced through many news stories about college student accidents.
Before the class bell rang, Wu Jiu touched the cover of the orange book, apologized to the esteemed Mr. Ma in his heart, and then resolutely turned around and skipped his favorite Marxism class without any hesitation.
Wu Jiu arrived at Zhu Xiao’s dormitory.
“Hey, Zhu Xiao, are you there?”
The dormitory door was unlocked, and after knocking twice with no response, Wu Jiu simply walked in.
The dormitory was quiet; all of Zhu Xiao’s roommates had gone to class.
It was the first time Wu Jiu had entered Zhu Xiao’s dormitory, and he walked cautiously, barely daring to breathe loudly.
He pricked up his ears and heard faint breathing. Following the sound, he saw Zhu Xiao lying in bed.
Wu Jiu leaned in to observe. Zhu Xiao looked very uncomfortable, with a furrowed brow, a slightly flushed face, and uneven breathing, as if he was having a nightmare.
He reached out and touched Zhu Xiao’s forehead, feeling the burning heat.
It seemed Zhu Xiao had skipped class because he was sick.
Wu Jiu actually didn’t know what to do. He had never been sick in the human world. In the underworld, everyone was a ghost, living carefree. Even if an eyeball fell out, it could be simply put back in place without any need for sterile conditions.
He knew what to do when someone’s head was smoking, but he had no idea what to do for a cold or fever.
Wu Jiu stared at Zhu Xiao’s pale face, deep in thought.
He seemed to be having trouble breathing… Would performing CPR like Zhu Xiao had done help?
Wu Jiu’s knowledge in this area was extremely limited, and his few experiences all came from Zhu Xiao.
He leaned over the edge of Zhu Xiao’s bed, mentally repeating “I’m saving a life, I’m saving a life,” discarding all his old-fashioned notions and mentally preparing himself to lower his head.
Zhu Xiao wasn’t asleep but just didn’t feel like dealing with Wu Jiu. He closed his eyes, pretending to sleep, thinking Wu Jiu would leave if he didn’t get a response. But instead of leaving, Wu Jiu got closer and closer.
Zhu Xiao had no interest in playing Sleeping Beauty waiting to be kissed awake and immediately opened his eyes and pushed him away.
“What are you doing?”
Caught red-handed, Wu Jiu coughed to cover his embarrassment, “I, cough cough, I was just checking if you were dead.”
“……”
“No, get out.”
“Why are you overreacting? You did the same to me before,” he said, referring to the time when Zhu Xiao had performed CPR on him during his first visit to the human world.
Zhu Xiao, at his wit’s end, said, “You… go to my desk and open the second drawer.”
“Do you see that red card? Pick it up. It’s my first aid certificate issued by the Red Cross after I passed both the theoretical and practical exams.”
Zhu Xiao wanted Wu Jiu to read the words on the first aid certificate, but Wu Jiu’s attention was entirely on the photo on the left, “Zhu Xiao, when was this photo taken?”
“After the college entrance exam, why?”
The first aid certificate was something Zhu Xiao had obtained after his eighteenth birthday as a gift to himself.
Wu Jiu looked at the photo on the certificate. At that time, Zhu Xiao looked quite youthful, with an air of innocence that hadn’t yet faded from his features, yet he was as spirited as the rising sun. If this photo had been posted on the high school confession wall, it would have garnered at least three years of secret admirers.
He didn’t know Zhu Xiao back then.
Wu Jiu lightly traced the photo on the certificate with his fingertip and insincerely said, “You look so ugly.”
Zhu Xiao took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to punch him, and said as calmly as possible, “What I mean is, I have basic first aid knowledge and a legitimate first aid qualification. The rescue actions I took on you were all within the normal scope. If you think there’s a problem with my handling, you can report it to the police.”
Wu Jiu had actually looked up what CPR was the next day, but that didn’t stop him from firmly believing that he had lost his first kiss, and the culprit was Zhu Xiao.
“Talk big all you want, but you still got sick,” Wu Jiu snorted, “So according to your theoretical knowledge, what should be done now?”
Zhu Xiao wanted to tell Wu Jiu that the first aid certificate was for non-medical professionals, and the first aid knowledge he had learned didn’t include how to cure diseases.
But he was too weak and didn’t feel like arguing with Wu Jiu.
“Pour me a glass of water.”
Wu Jiu didn’t expect Zhu Xiao to command him so naturally and stared at him with wide eyes.
“Aren’t you asking me what to do?” Zhu Xiao said, “Pour me a glass of water.”
“You want me to serve you tea and water? Are you kidding, Zhu Xiao? Am I your servant?” Wu Jiu complained, but his actions were swift. He picked up Zhu Xiao’s cup and filled it with hot water.
On his way back, he saw some red dates on the table and asked, “Do you want to add some of these?”
“Whatever.”
Zhu Xiao’s face was pale and looked terrible. Thinking this, Wu Jiu added countless red dates to the water.
“Zhu Xiao, I really give up on you. You’re so old and still manage to look this bad. You’re so ugly now that I’m afraid you’ll come to haunt me in the middle of the night,” Wu Jiu handed him the water, “After pouring the water, what’s next?”
Zhu Xiao took it, drank a sip of the overly sweet red date water, and lay back down, placing the cup back into Wu Jiu’s outstretched hand.
“Then turn around, go out the door, go downstairs, walk straight for three hundred meters and turn left, then follow the road signs for another six hundred meters.”
“With your current state, is there some place you absolutely have to go? Is there gold to be picked up there?” Wu Jiu placed the cup back on the table, “Why go to the multimedia classroom?”
“To attend a lecture.” Five students from the class were randomly selected to attend this boring lecture, and Zhu Xiao was one of the unlucky ones. It was said that not attending would result in a deduction of comprehensive assessment points.
“……You want me to attend the lecture on your behalf?”
Zhu Xiao didn’t insist, after all, they weren’t the kind of people who would do such favors for each other, “You don’t have to.”
“I’m going to sleep now. Remember to close the door when you leave.”
With that, he pulled the blanket over himself and closed his eyes, pretending to be oblivious to everything outside.
“……”
After quietly walking out the door, Wu Jiu walked another ten meters before speaking loudly, “I didn’t say I wouldn’t go! You’re so sick and still don’t know how to ask for help politely.”
When he first learned that Zhu Xiao was chosen to attend this time-wasting lecture on “how to manage time,” Wu Jiu had gloated for a long time.
He never imagined that a few days later, the one sitting in the audience under Zhu Xiao’s name, enduring this boring lecture, would be himself.
The so-called master was speaking eloquently and spewing saliva, while Wu Jiu sat there feeling like sitting on pins and needles. Several times he wanted to leave, but thinking of Zhu Xiao’s frail appearance, he endured and sat back down.
In the end, he didn’t hear a single word of what the master said. Throughout the lecture, his mind wandered, thinking only of how much he hated that Zhu Xiao was sick!
The next day, Zhu Xiao was much better and went to class after taking his medicine.
During the class, a classmate saw him and quietly asked, “Zhu Xiao, where did you find a substitute teacher yesterday? How much did it cost? If it’s cheap, can you recommend me one?”
“Yesterday?”
Yesterday, only Wu Jiu had come to the dormitory. He had mentioned it. If someone had attended on his behalf, that person must have been Wu Jiu.
“Yeah, someone signed in for you.”
“The regular substitute I use immediately refused when he heard the lecture was going to last three hours. Later, I begged him, and he said he would do it, but only if I added fifty.”
“Oh, I thought my time wasn’t that valuable, so I went myself.”
Zhu Xiao had only mentioned it without much hope, not expecting that Wu Jiu would actually go. He didn’t know about the going rate for substitutes, but from what his classmate said, it seemed like money was involved.
Letting Wu Jiu sit through three hours for free made Zhu Xiao feel a bit guilty.
After class, Zhu Xiao walked up to Wu Jiu and blocked his way.
“What do you want?” Wu Jiu’s tone wasn’t very pleasant, but his eyes were fixed on Zhu Xiao. According to his observation, Zhu Xiao looked much better today than yesterday, and his complexion wasn’t as bad.
“You attended the lecture for me?” Zhu Xiao paused, “Thank you.”
Wu Jiu had never heard these two words from Zhu Xiao’s mouth before and immediately widened his eyes in shock.
“Say that again?”
It sounded like he was picking a fight, but Zhu Xiao repeated it anyway: “Thank you.”
Wu Jiu felt that these two words sounded particularly pleasant and melodious coming from Zhu Xiao, and he urged again, “Say it once more.”
Zhu Xiao was already getting a bit annoyed, but considering that Wu Jiu had helped him yesterday, he repeated, “Thank you.”
Wu Jiu took out his phone and pressed the record button, “Zhu Xiao, say it again.”
The recorder captured the sound, but it wasn’t the same two words as before.
“Wu Jiu, don’t push your luck. If you pretend to be deaf one more time, I’ll take your ears off.”
…What was this? A sick cat just acted like a tiger.
Wu Jiu, who failed to pretend to be deaf, quickly pressed “stop recording” to prevent the phone from capturing any more conversations that would damage his dignity.
Then Wu Jiu changed the subject and pressed his advantage: “Zhu Xiao, is this how you thank someone? Just saying ‘thank you’ and that’s it?”
“What do you want, then?” Zhu Xiao asked, “Should I pay you the market price?”
“What? I don’t want money,” Wu Jiu said disdainfully, “Don’t be so vulgar.”
Zhu Xiao: “……”
“If you really want to thank me—” Wu Jiu rolled his eyes, “Can you give me your first aid certificate?”
Who asks for a first aid certificate? Besides, it wouldn’t do Wu Jiu any good; it had Zhu Xiao’s name on it.
“No,” Zhu Xiao refused, “If you like it, you can get your own.”
Wu Jiu didn’t actually want the first aid certificate; he just wanted that particular one belonging to Zhu Xiao.
“Zhu Xiao, you’re so stingy.”
“Ask for something more normal.”
“Then pour me a glass of water.” Yesterday he had served Zhu Xiao tea and water, and today Zhu Xiao was a bit better, so it was only fair to return the favor. He wasn’t helping for nothing.
However, Wu Jiu glanced at Zhu Xiao’s delicate-looking hands and added, “Cold water.”
“Wait a moment,” Zhu Xiao picked up Wu Jiu’s cup and really went to the water dispenser in the middle of the teaching building corridor to fill it with a cup of cold water.
Wu Jiu received a cup of water poured by Zhu Xiao’s own hands and savored it for a moment, feeling like it tasted a bit different from the water he usually poured himself.
Did he poison it? Wu Jiu took three big gulps.
Zhu Xiao: “……Are you that thirsty? Do you want me to pour you another cup?”
Wu Jiu was a bit tempted, but then he thought that Zhu Xiao wasn’t fully recovered yet, and there was no need to run around like this. He wasn’t really that thirsty.
“No, I can do it myself.”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I didn’t help you. I went to that lecture because I actually wanted to attend,” Wu Jiu said stubbornly, “I learned a lot. Zhu Xiao, you really missed out by not going.”
The class representative happened to be nearby and, upon hearing Wu Jiu’s words, almost shed tears of gratitude: “That’s great, Wu Jiu. Since you like these lectures and no one else in our class wants to go, I’ll sign you up next time.”
“……No need for that,” Wu Jiu didn’t want to go through another three-hour ordeal like being in prison, “I’ve already learned enough. It’s better to let others have such a great opportunity.”
……
Zhu Xiao had slept for a long time and woke up in the evening.
He rummaged through the medicine box, found a box of pills, and was about to take his evening dose.
However, as he was about to take the medicine, he suddenly stopped.
The medicine was placed too conveniently, and the water was right there within reach, even at the right temperature.
He looked around with a strange expression.
Was it his imagination?
Why had his home become so clean?
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