Shi Song thanked Wei Huaichen and apologized once again for disturbing him last night.
“It’s fine.”
Wei Huaichen’s voice was detached. “Since you were drunk last night, don’t come into work today. Take the day off to rest at home.”
“Don’t do it again.”
A wave of warmth rushed through Shi Song’s heart. Behind the backs of those involved, he indulged in a tiny bit of narcissistic confidence.
Brother is caring about me, he must really care about me.
“Mm-hmm.”
He agreed cheerfully. He had originally been sluggishly dragging his feet, trying to crawl out from under the covers to get ready for work, but upon hearing Wei Huaichen’s words, he smoothly slithered back down like a puddle of liquid, wrapping himself up in the warm blankets.
“Don’t worry, it definitely won’t happen again.”
Beside him, Jubao had been planning to get out of bed. Seeing Shi Song lie back down, the cat scurried up the mattress, lifted a corner of the blanket with its little paws, and squeezed its way inside.
One person and one cat happily fell back into a sweet second sleep.
When he woke up again, two hours had already passed.
Shi Song unlocked his phone and discovered that there were actually three missed calls and every single one of them was from Lin Yiming.
He frowned slightly.
In truth, Shi Song hadn’t seen Lin Yiming for many days.
Lately, both of them had been working, keeping so busy their feet barely touched the ground. On top of that, Shi Song’s thoughts had been completely disorganized, making him deliberately want to evade things, so they had barely even communicated on WeChat.
But Shi Song also felt this wasn’t a permanent solution. He needed to gradually draw a clear line between them, secure the moral high ground, and then break up.
When Lin Yiming called for the fourth time, he picked it up and uttered a soft, “Hello?”
“Songsong, you finally answered.”
On the other end, Lin Yiming let out a breath of relief. “What happened just now? Were you busy?”
Shi Song let out a shallow yawn, a layer of mist forcing its way into his eyes.
“No, I just woke up.”
Shi Song’s voice was soft and gentle, and in an instant, Lin Yiming felt as though his heart had been struck.
His own voice grew increasingly tender. “So that’s what it was. I thought you had run into some kind of trouble, it scared me to death.”
Lin Yiming continued to ask, “Is everything going well at the Wei Corporation? Have you been taking good care of yourself lately?”
Shi Song’s eyes lazily counted the squares on the quilt cover. Holding the phone in his left hand, he stroked the cat with his right. “Everything’s fine.”
“That’s good. I knew my little Song wouldn’t make me worry.”
“Oh right,” Lin Yiming’s voice grew excited, “I heard that the newly opened barbecue restaurant is having a discount. Let me take you there tonight today is our six-month anniversary.”
Shi Song actually couldn’t quite understand why Lin Yiming felt the need to commemorate their relationship every single month.
He had originally wanted to use an excuse to brush it off, but at that exact moment, a fragment of a dream suddenly flashed through his mind.
In the dream, Su Tang had tracked him down.
Shi Song had looked at him with a dazed expression: “So when exactly did you two start…”
“Are you asking when Brother Lin started to like me?”
A smug smile played upon Su Tang’s face as he looked down at Shi Song with contempt. “Do you remember the day of your six-month anniversary? He went to accompany you.”
“I really hated you back then, so I faked an illness to look for him. He left in such a hurry that day just to take me to the hospital.”
“I saw the look of heartache in his eyes.”
“At that moment, I knew.”
“You are nothing special after all.”
So it turned out that this was the catalyst for Lin Yiming and Su Tang’s feelings to escalate.
His opportunity had arrived.
Shi Song tightened his grip on the phone.
After two seconds, he heard himself speak in his usual tone, “Sure.”
It was barely four o’clock when Lin Yiming impatiently drove over to Shi Song’s house to pick him up.
When Shi Song got into the car, Lin Yiming noticed that his gait seemed a little off. He couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong, Songsong? Did you get hurt?”
Shi Song’s hand paused on the car door.
“I accidentally sprained it yesterday. It’s fine, it just hurts a little bit.”
Lin Yiming’s voice carried a deep sense of concern.
“Then after we eat, I’ll take you to the hospital to get it checked out. Even if it doesn’t look serious right now, it could easily worsen if you don’t pay attention to it you’ve always had a low pain tolerance.”
“Mm.”
Shi Song smiled gently. “Thank you.”
Beating the evening rush hour, the two of them were already seated inside the barbecue restaurant.
The restaurant was elegantly and uniquely decorated. Although the prices were somewhat expensive, there was still a large crowd of customers, making the entire place incredibly lively.
Beautifully marbled meat sizzled on the grill, releasing an enticing color. The aroma of the dipping sauce filled the air to its absolute peak. Wrapped inside a crisp green lettuce leaf, the texture shifted from tender and smooth to crisp and charred it was immensely tempting.
The charcoal smoke curled upward, blending into the chatter of the crowd and adding a rich sense of everyday life.
Throughout the entire process, Lin Yiming barely let Shi Song lift a finger. He said with a grin:
“Baby, you just sit tight and eat.”
“I can’t bear to let your painting hands do this kind of work. What if you get burned?”
As they ate, Lin Yiming casually fiddled with his phone and unexpectedly swiped onto a new post on his Moments.
It was Su Tang.
He had posted a picture of a thermometer alongside a frail-looking selfie. The thermometer displayed a temperature of 38.7°C, and he looked thoroughly washed out in the photo.
“What a shame, trapped at home by illness again. I won’t be able to join everyone at the mixer.”
Sick this severely?
Lin Yiming hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he initiated a private chat to ask him: “Do you have fever reducers at home?”
This was the first time Lin Yiming had actively reached out to Su Tang since the conflict between Su Tang and Shi Song last time.
Su Tang replied very quickly: “I just checked, there’s absolutely nothing left at home.”
“Blame me, I just don’t have the habit of stockpiling medicine.”
After all, they were friends who had known each other for over a decade. Even though he had previously harbored slight doubts about whether Su Tang had truly pushed Shi Song, seeing him this gravely ill made it impossible for Lin Yiming to sit still.
“Why don’t you head to the hospital to get a look?”
He knitted his brows.
Perhaps because being sick makes a person feel down, Su Tang’s tone was highly self-deprecating: “Everyone is busy today, who could possibly accompany me to the hospital?”
“It’s fine, Brother Lin. I’m thick-skinned and sturdy, I’ll be okay after sweating it out under the blankets for a bit.”
Lin Yiming pressed his lips together.
Sitting right across from him, Shi Song naturally noticed that something was amiss.
The scene unfolding before him was identical to the one in his dream.
If his guess was correct, Lin Yiming would probably leave to find Su Tang in just a moment.
“How could that be fine! Wait right there, I’ll take you in a bit.”
Lin Yiming’s brow furrowed tightly.
The message from the other side came through after a short delay: “Brother Lin, are you with Shi Song right now?”
“If that’s the case, you two should focus on your date. Don’t worry about me.”
“It’s just a slight fever, it’s no big deal.”
“How can a temperature that high be no big deal!”
Watching Lin Yiming check his phone for the umpteenth time, Shi Song finally asked, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
Lin Yiming forced a smile. “Songsong, keep eating, don’t mind me.”
“I’m full.”
Shi Song set down his chopsticks, pulled a tissue from the side, and elegantly wiped his mouth. A faint smile graced his lips. “If you have something you need to do, go ahead.”
“No.”
Lin Yiming was about to speak when Shi Song cut him off.
Shi Song looked at him with a serene gaze. “Urgency is written all over your face right now.”
“I’m fine. My ankle doesn’t hurt that much anymore. I’ll just go buy some medicine myself in a bit.”
His voice was incredibly soft, projecting absolute understanding and thoughtfulness.
In an instant, Lin Yiming was deeply moved by Shi Song.
His Songsong really was exceptionally considerate and caring.
It was just a pity that there was still a conflict between him and Su Tang right now; otherwise, he could have brought both of them to the hospital together.
Truthfully, Su Tang wasn’t a bad person, and besides, he had just told him to stay and spend time with Shi Song.
Lin Yiming made a firm resolution in his heart. He wanted to call both of them together one day to clear up the misunderstanding so they could surely become friends.
“Are you sure you don’t need me to drop you off at the hospital first? I…”
“No need,” Shi Song waved his hand in refusal. “My matter isn’t important, and I don’t want to keep worrying about wasting your time. I’m really fine.”
With words pushed to this extent, Lin Yiming didn’t decline any further. After settling the bill, he said:
“Then Songsong, I’ll drive you back first.”
“Don’t.”
Shi Song shook his head. “There’s a pharmacy right nearby. I’ll head inside to buy some medicine before going back. If you’re in a hurry, you should head out first.”
“That works out perfectly,” Lin Yiming smiled. “I need to buy medicine too, let’s go together.”
After a brief thought, Shi Song agreed.
After purchasing the medicine, Lin Yiming originally wanted to insist on driving Shi Song home, but he couldn’t withstand Shi Song’s continuous refusals, claiming he could manage on his own and that the bus was highly convenient.
Although Lin Yiming remained uneasy, he still left, turning his head back with every three steps he took.
He drove straight to Su Tang’s apartment.
Thump, thump, thump!
“Su Tang! Open the door, I’m taking you to the hospital!”
Clatter—
The sound of something being knocked over echoed from inside the room.
Anxiety flared within Lin Yiming. Remembering that Su Tang had previously shared his door code with him, he cast all caution to the wind and hastily punched in the sequence of numbers.
As soon as he pushed the door open, he saw Su Tang collapsed on the floor.
A thermometer was still clutched in his hand, his face flushed a deep crimson, and his forehead was drenched in a thick layer of sweat.
“Didn’t you tell me you were fine? How did you end up like this!”
Lin Yiming was instantly startled. Without even taking off his shoes, he rushed forward to support Su Tang.
“Cough, cough…”
Su Tang struggled to open his eyes, his voice incredibly weak. “Brother Lin… why are you here… Am I hallucinating from the fever?”
Heartache welled up in Lin Yiming. “Get up, I’ll carry you to the hospital on my back.”
“No, no way. Go back and accompany Shi Song.”
Su Tang gave Lin Yiming a feeble push. “Otherwise he’ll get angry… I don’t want you guys fighting because of me again…”
“Alright, save your strength and stop talking.”
Seeing that Su Tang was still refusing to settle down, Lin Yiming exerted some force and scooped Su Tang up into his arms.
He didn’t know what had been going on with Su Tang lately; his complexion was terrible, and his weight felt light as a feather.
This caused a faint, stinging ache in Lin Yiming’s heart.
Su Tang looped his arms around Lin Yiming’s neck, though his hands possessed barely any strength.
“It’s so good that we’re friends.”
He buried his head into Lin Yiming’s chest, his voice faint and breathless. “Even though you were mad at me, you were still… you were still willing to come find me.”
Meanwhile, on the other side.
As night gradually descended, Shi Song stood at the bus stop, waiting idly.
It was currently the peak of the evening rush hour. The bus hadn’t shown up for a long time, and the crowd at the stop was growing denser by the minute.
Every taxi passing by was completely packed with passengers.
As he aimlessly scrolled through his phone, Shi Song suddenly felt possessed by a strange impulse. He opened his Moments and drafted a post.
“Shouldn’t have forced myself to go out today, my ankle hurts so much.”
He set this slightly melodramatic post to be visible only to a specific person, then tapped send.
Shi Song accompanied the text with a picture of a pitiful cat meme.
In the meme, a pampered little Ragdoll cat rested its two round, fluffy paws on a table. Its furry face was planted down as its tiny ears flattened back in distress. Its large, round eyes looked towards the dried fish ahead, glistening with a watery sheen.
It looked exactly as though it had been bullied, evoking immense pity from anyone who saw it.
Catching sight of Shi Song’s profile icon updating in his Moments feed, Wei Huaichen’s finger paused. He instinctively tapped in.
Upon reading the contents inside, his brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
Yet when he refreshed the page again, that specific post had already vanished.
It happened so fast it felt like a mere trick of Wei Huaichen’s imagination.