Chapter 214 Steven Calls to Check on Her
Steven weakly lowered his eyes, and suddenly his expression turned cold. "You need to leave now."
He noticed she wasn't wearing a mask.
Nora seemed to read his mind and said casually, "It's fine. Since I promised to take care of you, I'm not afraid."
"Get out." Steven just repeated that one phrase and pushed her hand away. "I don't need you to take care of me. Get James to come."
"He's already gone back to the office." Nora held the towel, looking a bit lost after being pushed away.
Steven turned his head, his head throbbing with pain. His face showed restraint as he closed his eyes.
Nora stood there for a while. Seeing that he was still sweating, she wanted to help wipe it off.
Steven glared at her and buried his nose and mouth in the blanket. "I said I don't need you to take care of me. Are you deaf?"
Nora could tell he was trying to drive her away. She lowered her voice and said, "It's too late to talk about this now. I already kissed you earlier."
"You took advantage and kissed me again?" Steven's eyes looked like they could shoot fire.
"...Because you wouldn't cooperate." Nora lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong.
The two fell silent.
The air froze.
Steven looked at her lowered head and suddenly felt that she was pitiful.
She had come to take care of him without hesitation, only to be coldly rejected by him. Anyone would feel wronged, wouldn't they?
"Put on a mask."
Steven's voice reached her ears.
Nora paused and looked up. Steven was looking at her, with a hint of sympathy in his eyes.
Nora smiled. "Actually, there's no need. Olivia said once this kind of cold spreads, everyone in the household will get it. It's just a common cold anyway. If I catch it, I'll just rest for a few days."
"Put it on!" Steven didn't want to argue anymore.
Nora had no choice but to find a mask and put it on. She came back and touched his forehead. "The fever seems to have gone down. How do you feel now?"
"My head still hurts a bit," Steven answered.
"Are you hungry? Can you eat? If you can, I'll bring you some soup. I made soup."
Steven hadn't eaten anything since last night and was indeed a bit hungry, so he nodded.
Nora brought a bowl of carrot soup and didn't ask if he wanted to feed himself. She just took the spoon and fed him directly.
Steven froze for a second, then accepted her care without question, even saying, "Carrot soup doesn't taste good."
"Carrots are good for you." Nora fed him another spoonful.
"I don't like it." Steven frowned with distaste.
Nora thought for a moment. "Then I'll make you a different soup tonight?"
"Okay." Steven didn't object, but glanced at her and added, "But don't tire yourself out. Just make soup, don't do anything else."
"Okay." She agreed. "After you finish the soup, rest. You need to sleep well when you're sick."
Steven nodded and lay down.
Nora tucked him in and went out to call Olivia.
Olivia asked, "Is Steven okay?"
"He just took fever medicine and went to sleep."
"Then don't go out either. Just work from home, don't keep running back and forth." Olivia advised.
Nora agreed and worked on her computer at home.
In the afternoon, Nora went into the room to check on Steven. He was sleeping and covered in sweat, his back soaked through.
She didn't wake him up. She went to the closet to find a clean set of loungewear and sat on the bedside to change him.
Steven woke up and looked at her drowsily. "What's wrong?"
"Your clothes are soaked with sweat. I'll help you change."
Steven didn't stop her.
"Turn on your side." Nora had him turn over and helped him take off his clothes.
Throughout the process, he kept staring at her.
She hadn't thought much of it at first, but his constant staring made her uncomfortable.
Especially on this bed.
So much had happened here. Just thinking about it made her face heat up.
"Stop looking at me." Nora put the loungewear on him, her face a bit red.
"Why are you blushing?" Steven's fever had gone down, and he felt much better, even in the mood to tease.
"I'm not blushing." She pulled back the blanket to take off his pants, then felt it was weird and stopped.
Steven noticed her embarrassment and glanced at his pants, understanding. "These aren't the pants I was wearing when I came, right?"
He was wearing a set of loungewear that Nora had bought.
He hadn't expected that after he left, she would still keep his things.
Steven looked at her and said, "Did you already help me change once?"
Nora bit her lip and said reluctantly, "You were wearing dress pants when you came. They're not comfortable sleeping in, so I changed them for you."
"Then why don't you dare change them now?" Steven's eyes showed amusement.
Nora thought to herself: Being awake is different from being unconscious, isn't it? He kept staring at her—how could she continue?
"Hurry up and change. Wet pants are uncomfortable."
Nora thought, fine, considering he has a fever, she'd help him change.
Steeling herself, she took off his pants. Nora didn't dare look elsewhere and picked up the pajama pants to put on him.
Steven suddenly said, "Change the underwear too."
"Can you change that yourself?" She still found him a pair of underwear.
Steven looked at her. "I don't have the strength."
Nora felt like her brain was oxygen-deprived, but urged on by him, she could only continue.
She pretended she didn't see anything and put clean underwear on him, her face burning red.
After changing, Nora had broken out in a sweat herself. "This is really hard work."
She took a thermometer and checked—no fever.
"The fever's already gone?" Nora touched his forehead. It really wasn't hot. "Your fever's gone?"
Steven nodded. "Seems like it."
"You're not feeling bad anymore?" Nora asked again.
Steven nodded.
Nora muttered awkwardly, "Since your fever's gone, why didn't you change your clothes yourself just now?"
Steven said frankly, "You brought the clothes over, so I thought you wanted to help me change. That's why I didn't stop you."
Nora was embarrassed to the extreme.
But he was still very weak. He got sleepy again soon after waking up. Nora told him to sleep, temporarily resolving the awkwardness.
She thought Steven would have a fever for a day or two, but unexpectedly, his temperature was normal at night, leaving only his stomach problem and cough.
When he woke up the next day, all his symptoms had eased except for the cough.
Nora brought him cough medicine, but he refused to take it.
"No." He didn't like taking medicine.
"You're not still afraid of taking medicine at your age, are you?" Nora teased.
Steven lay in bed, his face displeased. "Anyway, I'm not taking it. Take it away."
"You need to take medicine when you're sick."
"No." His attitude was firm.
Nora was helpless. "Just take it. I have to go to work today and might not be able to look after you."
"You should go do what you need to do. I can take care of myself." Steven's fever had broken, and he was fine now.
Nora wasn't reassured. "The company's been busy lately. I can't keep not going. I've made soup at home and left it warming in the pot. Eat it when you're hungry."
"OK." Steven coughed a few times.
York Development Group's project had been salvaged, so he could rest for a few days.
Nora took a taxi to Harman Tower.
She was busy all day.
When she realized she was hungry, it was already eight in the evening. She glanced at Olivia. "It's eight o'clock again. Time flies so fast."
The two were coding warehouse inventory numbers.
After all the goods were coded, they still had to be entered into the computer—a tedious task.
Olivia said, "Starting a company is exhausting in the early stages. We have to pack, promote, and manage the warehouse. The two of us can't finish it all."
"Yeah, so tiring." Nora sighed along.
Olivia smiled and said, "Once we finish coding the warehouse, it won't be so tiring. Keep at it."
"Keep at it." Nora continued working.
Her phone rang.
It was Steven calling.
Nora held the phone between her shoulder and ear while working. "Hello."
"Aren't you coming back?" Steven was afraid she'd misunderstand that he missed her, so he added, "Have you felt unwell today?"
She had taken care of him all day yesterday. Steven was worried she might get sick.
Nora had no symptoms. "I'm fine. I've been energetic all day."
"That's good." Steven was relieved.
Nora asked, "Have you eaten dinner?"
"I had the hotel send food over. Are you coming back? We can eat together."
"You can't eat takeout right now." Nora stopped him. "You have a stomach problem. Eating outside food will make it worse. I have food in the fridge. I'll come back and cook for you."
"Don't cook. Don't tire yourself out." Steven cared about her.
Nora's heart warmed. "I'm not tired. I want to cook for you."
After saying this, she bit her lower lip, feeling like she was waiting to cook for him.
Steven heard clearly, and his heart warmed. Even his physical discomfort seemed to disappear. "When are you coming back?"
"Right away." Nora packed up her things.
Even though Andrew said Steven wasn't a kind person, Nora didn't believe it. She had spent so much time with Steven, and he had always been good to her.
Compared to Andrew, who had hurt her before, she was more willing to trust Steven.
She believed he wouldn't hurt her.
Even if he ultimately chose divorce, Nora was willing to take care of him.
Nora took the subway and quickly arrived at Riverside Apartment.
She opened the door to light spilling out.
Steven sat on the sofa waiting for her, a glass of water beside him. He had taken a couple of sips, looking tired.
Nora could tell something was wrong at a glance and quickly walked over. "Is your stomach bothering you?"
"A bit of stomach cramping." Steven looked at her.
Without thinking, Nora reached out and placed her hand on his stomach, gently rubbing.
She did all this instinctively, just wanting to make him feel better.