“President Xie.” Xian Sui, lying on the hospital bed, was startled for a moment, instantly becoming on guard.
Sensing the other person’s nervousness, Xie Zhuangqiu refrained from stepping closer for the moment. Instead, he placed the exquisitely packaged gift he was holding on the bedside table, explaining that these were tonic supplements he had brought, which would be beneficial for Xian Sui’s recovery. “An artist from my own company is hospitalized, it is only proper for me to come take a look.”
Mechanically, Xian Sui thanked Xie Zhuangqiu for his kind gesture. Showing no intention of leaving anytime soon, Xie Zhuangqiu casually pulled up a chair by the bedside, inquired about Xian Sui’s recent physical condition, and extended a hand toward him. “May I take a look at your injury?”
Hesitating for a moment, Xian Sui extended his injured right hand toward Xie Zhuangqiu. It was wrapped in thick gauze, and any abrupt movement would cause a sharp pulling pain, so he moved with great care.
Clearly noticing the other’s cautiousness, Xie Zhuangqiu eased his grip around Xian Sui’s frail wrist, his gaze landing on the bandage. “Security on set has already been stepped up during this period. You can rest assured once you are discharged.”
“Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to handle these issues, President Xie.”
“It is nothing. The most important thing is ensuring the safety of the actors and crew members.” Before Xie Zhuangqiu could let go of Xian Sui’s wrist, the hospital ward door was pushed open from the outside. Gu Fanzhou offered a feignedly polite greeting to President Xie, then proceeded as if no one else was present, beginning to replace the spices in the sachet resting by Xian Sui’s pillow.
“You keep a very close watch,” Xie Zhuangqiu shifted his gaze from Xian Sui to Gu Fanzhou. “Can the Best Actor not even boil a piece of meat properly?”
Tying off the opening of the sachet, Gu Fanzhou replied, “I visit frequently, yet President Xie still manages to seize every opportunity to wedge yourself in. If you are truly that hungry, you might as well go down to the cafeteria and order two bowls of noodles.”
Rather than taking offense, Xie Zhuangqiu redirected the conversation back to Xian Sui. “I was simply worried about Xian Sui. Has he eaten anything yet?”
Just as Xian Sui prepared to explain, Gu Fanzhou opened the thermos he had brought right before Xian Sui, and a rich aroma immediately filled the air. Unlike the food his assistant had casually bought from nearby last time, this was clearly a nutritious meal specially prepared by a master chef, featuring presentation and ingredients that could not be found at an ordinary eatery.
Gu Fanzhou scooped up a bowl of porridge with a spoon, the generous ingredients evident in a single spoonful. “Open wide.”
Obediently opening his mouth, Xian Sui waited as Gu Fanzhou blew gently on the porridge before bringing it to his lips. Whether because Gu Fanzhou had scooped the spoonful too full or due to sheer clumsiness, a bit of the porridge smeared onto the corner of Xian Sui’s mouth, though he remained entirely unaware of it.
Halting the feeding, Gu Fanzhou wiped the corner of Xian Sui’s mouth clean, then brought his finger right to Xian Sui’s lips. “Lick it clean.”
With Xie Zhuangqiu sitting right there, Xian Sui naturally dared not defy Gu Fanzhou. He cast a quiet, sideways glance at the man, feeling as though this gesture was meant to assert dominance.
Carefully, the tip of his tongue licked across Gu Fanzhou’s finger, clearing away every trace of the smudge at the corner of his mouth, yet Gu Fanzhou showed no intention of withdrawing his hand. Raising his gaze to meet Gu Fanzhou’s, Xian Sui watched as the man offered a feignedly nonchalant smile. “What is it? Unwilling to obey?”
Xian Sui hurriedly lowered his gaze once more, keeping it down until Gu Fanzhou’s finger glistened from top to bottom before the man finally pulled his hand back. Witnessing the scene from the side, Xie Zhuangqiu merely found it absurd. Before leaving, he deliberately cast another glance at Xian Sui. “I will come check on you again next time.”
As Xie Zhuangqiu exited the doorway of the ward, Xian Sui instinctively met Gu Fanzhou’s gaze, only for the other man to deliberately avert his eyes. “I have matters to attend to. I have already contacted your assistant.”
“Are you leaving?”
“Yes. Contact me if anything comes up.” Gu Fanzhou hurried out of the ward doorway, leaving Xian Sui with a vague sense of anomaly, as though Gu Fanzhou were reluctant to face him.
He watched Gu Fanzhou’s retreating figure disappear, lingering his gaze on the door panel for a good while before finally looking away.
Xian Sui’s condition wasn’t particularly critical, but recovering from his injuries required a considerable amount of time. By the time he was finally cleared for discharge, the rest of the cast had nearly completed filming all of their scenes.
His assistant packed up his personal belongings, handled the discharge paperwork, and finally followed behind Xian Sui as they took the elevator downstairs. In the elevator, the assistant couldn’t help repeatedly glancing at Xian Sui’s right hand, only breathing a sigh of relief upon confirming there were no permanent scars left behind.
Upon reaching the ground floor, the assistant shoved all the miscellaneous bags into the trunk, hopped into the driver’s seat, and prepared to drive Xian Sui back, only to find that the car refused to start no matter what. “Brother Xian Sui, it might be broken. Let me get out and take a look.”
Popping open the hood to inspect the engine, the assistant left Xian Sui, who knew very little about cars, idly letting his gaze wander around the surroundings, where he unexpectedly spotted Gu Fanzhou’s car parked not far away. Instinctively stepping up to the passenger-side window, he gave it two light knocks. “Brother Gu.”
The window rolled down to reveal Xie Tangqing sitting in the front passenger seat.
Catching sight of Xian Sui, Xie Tangqing couldn’t help letting out a light laugh. “You’ve already been discharged? Just a moment ago, Brother Gu was still debating whether to head upstairs to check on you.”
“Miss Xie,” Gu Fanzhou clearly looked displeased at having this brought up, “you have arrived.”
“I am getting dropped off at the building near the hospital, not at the hospital itself. Didn’t you say it was on your way to drop me off?” Just as Xie Tangqing voiced her objection, Gu Fanzhou remained entirely silent on his end. Frustrated, she simply unlatched the door and stepped out of the vehicle. “Fine, fine. I won’t disturb you two, I’ll just walk over myself.”
Once Xie Tangqing departed, Gu Fanzhou turned his head to meet Xian Sui’s gaze. “Give me your hand.”
Xian Sui extended his previously injured right hand toward Gu Fanzhou, who confirmed that there was no lingering damage before shifting the topic. “I am leaving.”
Before Xian Sui could say anything further, his assistant came rushing over from not far away. Upon questioning, he learned that the car couldn’t be fixed anytime soon and would require a tow truck, prompting the assistant to grumble about the company digging up some antique clunker from who knows where that was on the verge of falling apart after driving mere meters.
Their conversation clearly reached Gu Fanzhou, who understood the awkward predicament they were currently facing. “Get in the car.”
While Xian Sui hesitated, the assistant accepted without a shred of politeness, immediately transferring Xian Sui’s personal belongings into the back of Gu Fanzhou’s car. With no other choice, Xian Sui took the front passenger seat while the assistant climbed into the back, and Gu Fanzhou promptly started the engine.
Upon reaching the entrance of the small alley, Xian Sui didn’t rush to get out. Instead, he asked Gu Fanzhou if he minded stepping inside for a moment. “Brother Gu, you’ve taken such good care of me, the least I should do is invite you in for a cup of tea.”
Seeing that Gu Fanzhou did not decline, Xian Sui instructed the assistant to keep watch over Gu Fanzhou’s car outside while leading Gu Fanzhou into his home. The apartment was quite small and the walls appeared somewhat aged, but it made up for it by being impeccably clean and tidy, keeping any sense of discomfort at bay.
Inviting Gu Fanzhou to take a seat on the sofa, Xian Sui headed to the kitchen to brew tea. Just as he poured hot water into the teapot, likely due to his hand being out of practice from weeks of inactivity, he accidentally tipped boiling water onto his hand, splashing some onto his foot and lower shin as well, prompting an involuntary gasp of pain.
Hearing the commotion, Gu Fanzhou entered the kitchen to investigate and discovered that Xian Sui’s hand was scalded bright red, instinctively stepping forward to grasp and inspect it. Even before Xian Sui uttered a sound, he noticed the hot water pooled on the floor and deduced that his legs and feet must have suffered burns as well. “Is your body so easily battered? First a slash, now a scald.”
He followed up with a question, “How are your feet?”
Seeing Gu Fanzhou’s fingers wrapped around his palm, Xian Sui experienced a strange sense of detachment. He recalled the moment in the hospital ward when he had licked Gu Fanzhou’s finger right in front of Xie Zhuangqiu, and in the next second, he found himself subconsciously closing his grip over the other man’s hand in return.
“Xian Sui,” Gu Fanzhou called out his name specifically.
“Brother Gu,” Xian Sui snapped back to reality with a start, dazedly retracting his hand. “I am sorry, I just felt your palm was very cool.”
“Do you have ointment?” Refusing to dwell on Xian Sui’s previous action, Gu Fanzhou abruptly changed the subject. Receiving an affirmative nod, Xian Sui stepped out of the kitchen, retrieved the first aid kit, and began applying medicine to his burns.
Upon returning to the living room, he found that Gu Fanzhou had left hurriedly without waiting for that cup of tea, having simply dropped a WeChat message explaining he had matters to attend to.
In truth, ever since Xie Zhuangqiu’s visit, Gu Fanzhou’s visits had grown significantly scarcer. Xian Sui realized that in this world, he had no family to speak of, and Gu Fanzhou was one of the very few individuals who had consistently showed up in his hospital room.
Consequently, when the other man suddenly vanished, he felt an unfamiliar sense of displacement, even beginning to miss his presence.
Staring at the WeChat notification on his phone, Xian Sui felt an inexplicable grey cloud settle over his spirit.
Returning to the set for the first time since his discharge, Xian Sui was greeted by numerous crew members offering well wishes, along with staff members who handed over fan condolence gifts consisting of small greeting cards and bouquets.
“I checked, they are genuine fans,” a staff member whispered into Xian Sui’s ear. “You’ve become quite popular online lately.”
During his hospital stay, Xian Sui had heard from his assistant about how Gu Fanzhou’s Weibo post had driven a wave of curious onlookers to his profile, some of whom ended up hitting follow and leaving comments.
He snapped a few photos to post on Weibo as a thank-you to his fans before heading into the dressing room to prepare for filming. The scene opened with Jian Shuyu indoors, crafting pastries for the children at the orphanage just as he routinely did. Right as he began kneading the dough, someone knocked on his door.
Opening the door cautiously, Jian Shuyu was met by a stranger in military uniform who claimed to be a friend of Fu Minglou. “You must be Miss Shuyu, correct?”
“I am.” Jian Shuyu took an involuntary step back in wariness.
“I am merely here to inform you that Minglou is currently hospitalized and appears to be gravely ill.” Stating the core matter directly, the soldier finally asked if Jian Shuyu wished to visit him.
A clear hesitation flickered across Jian Shuyu’s face for a long moment. “Where is he?”
The soldier promptly provided the location of the nearby hospital. Calling for a rickshaw, Jian Shuyu rushed to the hospital and wandered the wards asking after Fu Minglou until a nurse directed him toward the corridor’s far end, where Young Master Fu and his mother occupied a private room.
Reaching the doorway without blindly barging in, Jian Shuyu sheltered against the wall, peering in through the narrow gap in the door.
Due to some unforeseen twist, the person lying on the hospital bed was not Fu Minglou at all, but rather his mother, whom servants were currently transferring into a wheelchair as if preparing to wheel her out of the ward.
Just as Jian Shuyu turned to leave, his gaze inadvertently locked onto Fu Minglou’s eyes through the narrow crack of the closing door.