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If he’d realized the night before, he may have been able to tweak his fate to avoid it, but Su Bei had thought himself merely tired, and did nothing other than take himself to bed early. By the next morning, it was too late. He was sick. Fever, sore throat, a chill in his body, exhaustion. Nothing too serious, but annoying. He attempted to adjust his compass anyway, but the effort of changing his fate was always more difficult, and his bad luck was such that even a success would be more likely to merely lower the level of illness rather than dispel it entirely. And being already ill, his mental power, advanced as it might be, was less focused.
Su Bei remained ill.
With his brain hazy, he found himself thinking back to childhood, when there was someone around to care for him during such times. Not his parents, for his mother had died shortly after his birth, while his father, while caring when present, was often busy at work. Instead, there were a handful of unrelated ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ who helped look after him, with varying levels of success. They’d never been the best at caring for a sick child, but they’d certainly tried their best, and their kind feelings had been felt even though Su Bei soon learned to be independent in handling such matters by himself.
He’d always wondered what it would have been like if his mother had been around. Such thoughts entered his illness addled brain, and his emotions recalled a certain mother-like figure. It had been an illusion, and only a matter of weeks, but during the time of the school exam that tested them against a tide of nightmares invading the city, Su Bei had played the role of a teenage student. And that student had an illusionary mother who felt no different from a real being.
Would that mother be good at caring for the him who was sick?
Impulsively, Su Bei took out the orb that he used for training. Bringing forth a single illusion was not difficult, but in his current state, the effort exhausted him even further. But as he passed into the unconsciousness of sleep, a hand pressing against his forehead gave him warmth and comfort.
* * *
Jiang Tianming stepped out of his room to see an unknown woman wandering the hall. He was immediately alert, but before he could question her presence, she smiled towards him and spoke. “Hello. You must be one of my boy’s yearmates. Would you do me the favor of leading me to the food area? I’d like to get something easy for a sick stomach to handle.”
Her demeanor was completely calm and confident, and he realized there was no sense of her being an Ability User. There had been too many incidents for him to fully relax, but it wasn’t impossible for a parent to be permitted within the academy in certain circumstances. “Your son is sick?”
“A bit of a flu,” she agreed. “It doesn’t appear to be anything too concerning, and he’s currently sleeping it off. I don’t want to be away too long, however.”
Giving in to the woman’s concern, Jiang Tianming led the way to the cafeteria. She was vaguely familiar, he realized, but try as he might, he couldn’t think of from where. Perhaps he’d spotted her dropping off a student at the beginning of the year, or in the surrounding neighborhood where students were more likely to meet with parents coming to visit, as entry to the school itself required going through a number of procedures.
At the cafeteria, it turned out the woman had neglected to bring her son’s ID. Basic food could be gotten for free, but it still required an ID. She looked embarrassed, but accepted Jiang Tianming’s assistance, thanking him with warm eyes as he ordered congee from the free food area. “It’s reassuring that the students here are so kind,” she praised.
At this point, his suspicions had been settled, but just in case, he still intended to accompany her back to the sick student’s room. On the way, she began talking about her son. “Such a mischievous boy. The last time he was sick, the doctor said he was to be off a week of school, but each day after, he was heading out to explore the town as though on vacation, energetic as could be. Came home smelling of something foul at one point, but whatever he’d been up to, he at least washed up after himself quickly. Then I found out he was friends with an Ability User. Oh! There his friend is!”
Jiang Tianming looked ahead to where the woman's gaze rested. On Feng Lan, who was staring back at her with an expression akin to shock.
He tensed as the white haired boy approached cautiously. Was there an issue with this woman after all. “How…?” Feng Lan questioned. “How are you here?”
The woman blinked at him. “My boy is a bit under the weather, I’m afraid. I’m here to take care of him until he gets better.”
“Is there a problem?” Jiang Tianming asked. He tried again to remember where he’d seen this woman.
Feng Lan paused for a moment. “We should check on him also,” he stated. With such words, he joined Jiang Tianming in accompanying the woman back to the dorms.
“Who is her son?” Jiang Tianming asked quietly, thinking the name might give him a clue as to what was going on. The woman’s clothing was common, and her demeanor simple. Nothing like the rich family members of the students who had grown up with Fang Lan. Even if they were within the same school, it was rare for students to have met each other’s families. And to such a degree that the woman labeled Fang Lan, of all people, her son’s friend?
Suddenly, Fang Lan gained a rare look of humor, and instead of answering, he replied. “You’ll see when we get there.”
Curiosity grew. The woman, carefully carrying the congee so it wouldn’t spill, heading back to where he’d first encountered her. She continued to a familiar door. “That…”
It was Su Bei’s room.
* * *
Su Bei woke to the pleasant smell of rice porridge. His head felt fuzzy, and he glanced over to see the tall figure of a vaguely familiar woman. “Awake?” she asked kindly. “Have some food. It’s cooled down a bit, but not too much to eat.”
Recognizing the woman as his one-time illusionary mother, Su Bei pieced together what had happened. In his brain-altered state, he’d summoned her with his temporary illusion item. Had he wanted to be cared for by another person so badly? How embarrassing! Fortunately, no one would know…
The door to his room was opened. Beyond the caring form of the illusionary mother, he saw the faces of numerous classmates looking in on him. And grinning.