Hearing the sound inside the bathroom, Wei Huaichen abruptly turned his head back.
His gaze fell upon the tightly closed bathroom door, the emotions within his eyes fluctuating slightly.
Wei Huaichen properly placed the torn cufflinks into his inner pocket.
Only then did he stand up, walk over to the bathroom, and ask softly, “Songsong, what’s wrong?”
His voice was very gentle, bearing absolutely no trace of the abnormality from just moments ago.
It even carried a hint of concern, looking exactly like a typical elder brother towards his younger brother.
I am already such a grown adult, yet I actually tripped over nothing.
Even though Shi Song was drunk and still muddled, in his daze, he still felt a bit embarrassed.
Shi Song subconsciously bit his lip.
“Are you alright right now?”
Wei Huaichen placed his hand on the doorknob.
Upon touching that icy coldness, it was as if he suddenly realized something, and he swiftly drew his hand back.
However, after a long while, Shi Song still did not speak.
Wei Huaichen furrowed his brows.
“Songsong?”
He called out Shi Song’s name softly, his tone rising slightly at the end.
“It’s nothing.”
Shi Song grit his teeth, forcing himself to stand up.
Click.
The door opened from the inside.
Standing outside, Wei Huaichen stepped back slightly.
A rush of steaming heat enveloped in a sweet fragrance blew straight at his face.
The youth who walked out was vivid and full of life, like an alluring patch of white hidden behind the mist.
As if he had been scalded, Wei Huaichen turned his head away slightly: “What happened just now?”
“I… I accidentally sprained my foot,” Shi Song said in a very small voice. “It hurts so much.”
Moving his gaze downward, Wei Huaichen saw a section of Shi Song’s smooth calf and his slightly red and swollen ankle.
It looked a bit pitiful.
And it was also exceptionally easy to provoke improper desires in others.
Wei Huaichen’s eyes flickered slightly.
Inexplicably, his throat felt a bit dry.
Yet his tone remained calm: “I’ll help you out.”
The heavy dark shadow he cast completely wrapped Shi Song within it, still bearing a dangerous aura that had not yet dissipated.
Shi Song couldn’t help but shrink back a little.
Because of this movement, the water droplets clinging to the tips of his hair finally fell, landing right into the distinct hollow of his collarbone.
Wei Huaichen instinctively licked his lips gently.
With his support, Shi Song walked back to the bed step by step with great difficulty, burying himself into the duvet.
His hair was still wet.
Soon, a small patch of water stain soaked into the pillow.
So uncomfortable.
He gently shook his hair, just like a little kitten shaking off its fur after taking a bath.
A stray droplet of water accidentally splashed onto the back of Wei Huaichen’s hand, feeling cool and crisp.
Wei Huaichen’s eyes darkened slightly, and he used the thumb of his other hand to gently wipe away that tiny patch of water.
“Meow—”
Right at this moment, a drawn-out cry of a little milk cat actually came from the side.
Jubao sprang out from nowhere. With a push of its hind legs, it leapt straight onto Shi Song’s bed.
As if sensing danger, it lowered its body and bared its tiny milk teeth at Wei Huaichen, seemingly protecting Shi Song.
It was just that it was truly too small; the way its fur puffed up did not make it look threatening at all, but rather made one want to squeeze and knead it even more.
Wei Huaichen’s deep eyes locked gazes with the little kitten.
“Meow!”
Jubao seemed to be frightened as it retreated two steps in succession.
Wei Huaichen averted his gaze and spoke to Shi Song.
“Take good care of yourself, I’m leaving first.”
“Huh?”
Shi Song was still in a daze. It was only after Wei Huaichen turned around that he reacted.
“Brother—”
With a bang, the door had already been shut.
Shi Song shrank back slightly, startled by the sound of the door closing.
He lowered his eyes and asked Jubao blankly: “My brother… why did he leave?”
“Meow.”
Of course, Jubao would not answer him.
The little orange cat gave Shi Song a highly aloof glance, its short tail held high in the air. It tilted its head slightly, and two seconds later, it leaned over to help lick Shi Song’s wet hair.
It was as if it was wondering why this human didn’t know how to lick their own fur.
Shua—
Shua—
Feeling the soft sensation on his hair, Shi Song couldn’t help but smile.
In a dream.
Pain.
It was very painful.
It was with great effort that Shi Song managed to force his eyelids open.
Staring at the white ceiling of the hospital, he felt nothing but a sharp pain coming from all over his limbs, as if he was about to be torn apart and crushed completely.
Feelings of despair flooded over him like a tide, threatening to swallow him whole.
Knock, knock, knock.
From outside came a rhythmic knocking sound: “Ward rounds.”
Shi Song barely managed to turn his head slightly.
Seeing the doctor who entered, he struggled to get up.
“Hey, what are you doing,” the doctor hurriedly went over to support him, “You still need to rest more right now. Don’t get up, just lie down properly.”
Feeling the doctor’s care, Shi Song’s nose grew sour, and he almost wanted to cry.
It had been many years since anyone had taken care of him like this.
During the months of hospitalization, the young man’s hair had grown very long, his bangs covering his eyes. He was so thin that he was practically out of shape, his skin revealing a sickly pale complexion, and his aura was both gloomy and decadent.
But because he was overly beautiful, right now he looked like a fragile glass doll exquisite and making people afraid to touch him.
Shi Song raised his eyes to look at the doctor, forcing a smile: “Am I not going to live much longer?”
After all, being in the oncology department, the doctor had already witnessed all kinds of deaths over the years.
Yet at this moment, he still couldn’t help but feel a bit saddened: “Take your treatment well. Anything is possible in the future.”
Shi Song already understood his meaning and shook his head slightly: “I won’t trouble you further.”
“Excuse me, please help me handle the discharge procedures.”
“Why?”
The doctor’s eyes widened in surprise.
Shi Song smiled forcedly: “I don’t have any money left.”
“You don’t know?”
Hearing that this was the reason, the doctor let out a sigh of relief.
“Your medical expenses were already paid by someone yesterday, and they even advanced enough fees for your subsequent treatments. Oh right, he also left his phone number at the hospital, telling us to look for him if there are any problems in the future.”
Even though things had reached this point, Shi Song’s heart still held onto a native instinct to survive.
He had already been completely disheartened, but upon hearing this, a spark of hope actually reignited in his eyes: “That person… is his surname Lin?”
However, the doctor shook his head.
“He said he is your brother.”
“Brother…”
Shi Song couldn’t help but mutter out loud.
Not knowing what else he had dreamed of, he suddenly woke up with a start, sitting upright in bed as he opened his eyes.
Drenched in cold sweat all over, he felt like he had been completely dehydrated.
The threat of death had been too clear and vivid. It took a long time before Shi Song finally broke free from that state.
So, the person who paid for the medical expenses in the end was Wei Huaichen?
Even though he clearly knew that the things in the dream had not yet happened to him, a warm current still uncontrollably surged within Shi Song’s heart.
As this dream reached its end, Shi Song almost wanted to cross into the dream world just to shake his obstinate self awake.
Since heaven had given him this kind of opportunity, he was absolutely going to grasp it.
In any case, after spending these past few days together, he clearly realized that Wei Huaichen was both excellent and kind; Lin Yiming simply couldn’t compare to him at all.
Although Shi Song couldn’t quite remember what exactly happened last night because he had been drunk, he still remembered that it was Wei Huaichen who sent him home and took care of him with all his heart.
The deeper Shi Song thought about it, the more apologetic he felt.
He vigorously rubbed his forehead to make himself clear-headed, and along the way, fished out his phone from the side to dial Wei Huaichen’s number.
The phone rang a few times before being picked up.
“Hello?”
From the other side came Wei Huaichen’s cool voice, as if it contained mint leaves, though his vocal tone was highly elegant and pleasant to hear.
Shi Song’s voice was light and cheerful.
“Brother, it’s me.”
“About last night…”
Beep, beep, beep.
In the next second, the call was hung up.
Shi Song slowly visualized a question mark in his mind: “?”
He stared down at the darkened phone screen, reflecting a little blankly on whether he had just said something wrong.
Fortunately, after only two seconds, the phone from the other side dialed back again.
“Songsong.”
Through the receiver, Wei Huaichen’s voice carried a faint electronic static.
Yet it still sounded calm and gentle.
“I’m sorry, I accidentally pressed the wrong button just now.”
“Is something the matter?”
On the other side of the phone, Wei Huaichen picked up the iced coffee from the side and took a sip.
The astringent and bitter coldness finally cleared his mind a bit.
Beside him, Assistant Wu secretly stole a glance at Wei Huaichen before quickly lowering his head again.
Arriving at work very early today, he discovered that President Wei was actually already here, and he was even wearing yesterday’s clothes.
He didn’t know what President Wei had done, but that fabric was severely wrinkled, completely inconsistent with his usual style.
The man sat meticulously before his desk reviewing documents, and beneath his eyes, there was actually a faint shadow of darkness.
Holy crap, President Wei couldn’t have worked through the night in the office, right?
There had been a lot of matters in the company lately, but it hadn’t reached this kind of extent.
Assistant Wu secretly stole another glance at Wei Huaichen, finding that he was lowering his eyes to answer a call, the aloofness around his body softening by a few degrees.
What was going on?
We don’t know.
And we don’t dare to ask.
Assistant Wu’s small, balding head was filled with massive doubts.