The next day, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, gently resting on Su An’s face. He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze still carrying a trace of confusion. The ward was empty, making him feel a bit desolate lying there on the bed.
Su An stared at the ceiling in a daze for a while. He gradually realized that he had been sent to the hospital last night because of a sudden, sharp pain in his heart. He had no memory of anything that happened afterward. The only thing he remembered was the “phantom” from that dream…
His pale hands exerted a bit of strength, knuckles turning white, with faint blue veins visible beneath the skin. Su An propped himself up and sat against the headboard, reflecting on the events of the “dream.” He wondered if his actions in changing the plot had triggered some sort of consequence or punishment.
His previous check-ups showed no heart issues… and what did the phantom mean by “You’ve already been discovered”?
A flood of questions rushed into Su An’s mind. An invisible pressure began to spread from his temples, resulting in a splitting headache. He gasped for breath a few times and slumped back against the pillows, deciding not to dwell on these problems for now.
The ward door was pushed open from the outside. Wen Yun walked in carrying a lunch box, accompanied by Yu Feng.
“Auntie Wen.” Seeing them, Su An struggled to sit up straighter, but the weakness in his body caused him to fail after several attempts.
“Just lean back, it’s more comfortable.” Yu Feng grabbed a bolster from the sofa by the bed and tucked it behind Su An’s back.
Wen Yun produced a bed table from somewhere and began opening the layers of the lunch box. As she worked, she asked with concern, “Xiao Su, how are you feeling now?”
“I don’t have any discomfort anymore, just… no strength.” Su An leaned against the bolster, his eyes feeling slightly warm as he watched Wen Yun’s motherly actions.
But in the next second, Yu Feng’s words made him blink back the tears threatening to fall.
“No strength? Then I’ll feed you.” As he spoke, Yu Feng actually picked up a spoon, stirred the porridge in the bowl, blew on a spoonful thoughtfully, and held it to Su An’s lips.
“Is there something wrong with you!” Su An shot an annoyed look at Yu Feng and hissed in a low voice.
Watching their interaction, Wen Yun couldn’t help but smile. She felt secretly happy, thinking she wouldn’t have to wait long before Xiao Su started calling her “Mom.”
Su An looked at the porridge, then glanced at Wen Yun. He reached out to take the spoon from Yu Feng, but Yu Feng expertly dodged his hand with a nimble movement, not spilling a single drop.
Su An: “…”
“Open up, ah”
Su An was determined not to comply. The two stared each other down until, finally, Su An gave in. He opened his mouth in a self-deprecating manner. A spoonful of warm, sweet porridge was gently fed to him.
“So well-behaved.” Yu Feng curled his lips into a smile, put the spoon back in the bowl, and used his free hand to pat Su An’s head, ruffling his hair twice before letting go.
Su An gave him a silent glare. If his physical condition allowed it, he really wanted to punch Yu Feng in the head and give him a concussion to call it even.
After watching for a while, Wen Yun picked up her bag to head out. She made a point to tell Yu Feng to take good care of Su An before closing the door without hesitation, leaving the two of them alone.
Once she was gone, Su An still tried to take the bowl, but Yu Feng flatly refused. Unable to win the argument, Su An had to let Yu Feng feed him every single bite until the bowl was empty. After finishing, Su An went back to staring into space, only for a large face to suddenly lean in close.
“What are you doing!” Su An was startled and shrank back until he was pressed against the headboard.
Yu Feng used a tissue to wipe a remnant of porridge from the corner of Su An’s mouth. Su An’s ears instantly turned red.
Su An: “Than—”
“In broad daylight, you two!” a voice gasped from the doorway.
The “thanks” Su An was about to say was swallowed back down. Yu Feng looked coldly at the intruder. Gu Cheng had changed back into casual clothes; he was covering his eyes with both hands, though he left a gap between his fingers perfectly sized for his eyes.
“I didn’t see anything,” Gu Cheng blinked, offering a weak defense.
Yu Feng’s body partially blocked Su An. Due to their size difference, it looked from the outside as if Su An was being completely encircled in Yu Feng’s embrace. In fact, Su An was currently nestled there with a red face, his hand giving Yu Feng’s pectoral muscle a light pinch.
Su An: …What does he eat to grow like this? I can’t even pinch it.
Yu Feng felt the pressure on his chest. He took a quick look at the blushing person in his arms, then turned a cold, expressionless gaze back to Gu Cheng. “Is there something?”
“Nothing… nothing…” Gu Cheng gave a dry laugh, backed out, and closed the ward door.
The next second, the door swung open again.
“Yu Feng, don’t be too rough, Su An is still sick,” Gu Cheng poked his head in to offer a “thoughtful” reminder.
Yu Feng’s face darkened. His thin lips thinned into a line as he reached for the hospital-grade stainless steel cup on the nightstand, preparing to hurl it at the door. Gu Cheng saw this, quickly ducked back, and scurried away, slamming the door shut.
Once he was gone, Su An pushed at the man in front of him. Even though his strength was like a tickle to Yu Feng, the man still obediently backed away a few inches.
Staring at Su An’s still-flushed face, Yu Feng asked, “Didn’t the check-up say you were fine? Why the sudden heart pain?”
Su An sat on the bed, his fingers curling slightly over the blanket. He actually had a suspicion regarding this question. However, he didn’t know how to speak this cruel truth.
The room fell silent for a moment. Yu Feng lifted his gaze, looking at the silent figure on the bed, and spoke slowly. “It has to do with you not belonging to this world, doesn’t it?”
Under Yu Feng’s gaze, Su An slowly nodded. “I had heart disease before…”
Though he didn’t finish the sentence, Yu Feng understood. He let out a heavy sigh. This was a dead end. If it were a physical heart problem, with his wealth, there was no specialist or medical equipment he couldn’t provide. But a heart that showed no abnormalities during a scan left no room for treatment. He had no way to fight a problem that didn’t exist. At its root, Su An simply didn’t belong here.
A trace of fear actually sprouted in Yu Feng’s heart. He was afraid—afraid that one day, Su An would completely vanish before his eyes.
Have I really fallen that far?
A warm touch on his hand pulled Yu Feng back to reality. Su An was holding Yu Feng’s hand, which was hanging by his side.
“I won’t leave, Yu Feng.”
Su An could tell Yu Feng was afraid. He lacked a sense of security, just like his past self. Since coming to this world, he had become incredibly accustomed to the security this man provided, but he hadn’t considered the inner world of the person giving that security. Now, stripping away their identities and everything on the surface, the essence beneath was laid bare: they were the same kind of people.
Su An continued, “You asked me if I liked you.”
Yu Feng gripped Su An’s hand tightly, his burning gaze fixed on him.
“My answer is: I do.”
Having made up his mind about the person before him, Su An chose to step toward him without looking back. Since Yu Feng couldn’t walk out of his own world, Su An would walk into it.
As their eyes met, Su An felt the glaciers in the depths of Yu Feng’s eyes begin to melt and collapse. Shards of ice crashed into the endless deep sea, sending up silent yet violent waves…