Wen Song walked to the hallway, pondered for a moment, and took out his phone to send a WeChat message to Zhao Mingzhuo.
[Song]: I am at the hospital now and might not be able to return for a while. If you still feel uncomfortable later, call me or take a taxi to the hospital for an IV drip.
As soon as the message was sent, he received a phone call from the other person.
It took no more than two seconds.
The moment he answered, he heard Zhao Mingzhuo’s weak voice coming through the phone.
“Xiao Song, did something happen to Grandma?”
Hearing Zhao Mingzhuo speak so anxiously about his grandmother’s condition despite running a fever, and remembering how the other had helped him entirely during his years in Suicheng, the repressed, suffocating feeling in Wen Song’s chest felt like it had found a pillar of support he wanted to pour his heart out to.
Smoothing out his emotions, he said, “Nothing is wrong, it is just…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he heard a familiar yet unfamiliar Omega voice coming from Zhao Mingzhuo’s end.
“A-Zhuo, I found a fever patch, let me put one on you.”
Wen Song instantly snapped out of his emotional state.
Perhaps the moment he left, the Omega appeared at Silver Lake Mansion.
There was also another possibility: if he hadn’t taken the initiative to inform Zhao Mingzhuo today that he had free time, the other person might have already made an appointment with the Omega.
They were merely a transaction.
Wen Song had never held true romantic feelings for Zhao Mingzhuo, but that did not mean he was strong enough to face everything with ease and poise.
He had been a bit tired these past two years.
Or perhaps he simply did not know how to make a choice.
“Xiao Song, hold on a second.” Zhao Mingzhuo pulled the phone away, or perhaps turned off the microphone, leaving the other side completely silent.
Wen Song stood quietly in the hallway and waited.
After about two minutes, Zhao Mingzhuo turned the microphone back on and said, “Sorry, Xiao Song, what were you about to say just now?”
Wen Song drooped his eyelids, pressing his curved fingers against the white wall as his fingertips rubbed the cold surface. He adjusted his emotions and said calmly, “Grandma is fine, it is just that she had an adverse reaction to her medication this morning.”
“The doctor suggested continuing with tests and observation.”
Zhao Mingzhuo replied, “As long as nothing is wrong, let me know if anything comes up. I will handle the hospital fees.”
Wen Song sincerely said “Thank you.”
After hanging up the phone, he stood in the hallway for a long time without leaving.
Last time, Elder Wen had mentioned to him that the hospital had launched a new injection on the market to help recuperate his grandmother’s condition. The doctor had also told him about it, except that the cost would be quite expensive, priced at twenty thousand per dose.
It needed to be injected every other day.
Thinking about needing this injection fifteen days out of a thirty-day month, with each dose costing twenty thousand, fifteen doses would amount to three million.
This was on top of adding new items to the existing treatment course.
The cost was a difficult problem that needed to be solved.
“What are you doing standing here?”
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded by Wen Song’s ear.
With a dazed expression, thinking his ears were playing tricks on him, Wen Song turned sideways and saw the Alpha standing at the hallway entrance wearing a long black windbreaker.
It was Guan Sui.
“Why are you here?” Wen Song asked in surprise.
Remembering that the other had first asked why he was lingering here, he added, “A family member is hospitalized, and I came here to catch some fresh air.”
Guan Sui narrowed his eyes and glanced at the hallway.
“Is this hallway where you catch fresh air?”
Wen Song remained silent.
Although he knew saying that wasn’t quite right.
Usually, people went to more open places like the rooftop for fresh air.
“What about you,” Wen Song asked, “why are you at the hospital?”
Guan Sui placed both hands in his windbreaker pockets and walked toward where Wen Song was standing.
There was a slight height difference between the two of them.
As an Alpha, his net height of 192cm gave him an exceptional proportion, tall with long legs, making ordinary people standing next to him look like tiny figurines.
Wen Song was an ordinary Beta, though his height of 181cm was considered quite prominent among Betas.
The difference between him and Guan Sui lay in lacking the sturdy muscle lines of an Alpha.
Even though he had a thin layer of muscle on his abdomen rather than soft flesh, it paled in comparison to the other man’s well-defined abs.
Standing together now created a noticeable height difference.
They looked quite well-matched.
“Came to take a look,” Guan Sui said.
Wen Song gave a dry “Oh.”
There was still one thing he really wanted to know.
Were those specialists the ones Guan Sui had called to help examine his grandmother?
Aside from Guan Sui, no one else would go out of their way to find specialists to help look into his grandmother’s condition.
It certainly wouldn’t be Zhao Mingzhuo.
Although the other would help cover his hospital expenses, he never got involved to understand the medical condition, let alone go out of his way to find a team of pheromone cancer cell experts to treat Ms. Song Lanxue.
No matter what, Wen Song felt grateful.
Yet, facing Guan Sui.
“Did you come to see my grandmother?”
In the end, he still asked.
Guan Sui did not stubbornly deny it, letting out a very faint “Mhm.”
Even though quite a bit of time had passed, he still sharply noticed that the seemingly quiet Beta before him, whose emotions had appeared undisturbed, had been crying.
He took his hand out of his pocket and brushed his fingertips against the corner of Wen Song’s eye.
“Crying?”
Wen Song’s eyelids trembled at the touch, and before he could speak, he heard the Alpha say flatly:
“Don’t cry.”
“Your grandmother’s condition is under control.”
“She can undergo surgery in two months.”
Those three short sentences left Wen Song stunned in place, temporarily unsure of how to respond.
Finally, he managed a dry question:
“Why?”
Guan Sui kept a straight face. “What do you mean why?”
Wen Song could not understand why the other would care this much just from sleeping together once; he did not think his charm was that limitless.
“What do you want to get from me?”
Guan Sui parted his thin lips and uttered a single word:
“You.”
Wen Song stared blankly.
Before pulling his hand back, Guan Sui lightly grazed Wen Song’s cheek. “You do not need to overthink it. You can take your time considering.”
“In any case, you will eventually have to choose me over Zhao Mingzhuo.”
It was an extremely overbearing and possessive statement.
Wen Song felt that leaving Zhao Mingzhuo right now would be too unethical, feeling like he was utilizing someone only to kick them aside the moment a better option appeared.
This required careful deliberation.
“Is there anything else you want besides this?” He lowered his eyelashes, crossing his hands in front of him. “As long as it is within my power.”
Guan Sui raised an eyebrow. “Are you rejecting me?”
Wen Song shook his head slightly. “No.”
Lowering his head further to stare at the tips of his shoes, he spoke in a voice no louder than a mosquito’s.
“An extra reward.”
Guan Sui raised an eyebrow. “Let me think about it.”
Then, he added another question, “Can it be anything?”
Fearing that Guan Sui might make an excessive demand, Wen Song quickly laid down the rule for the reward: “No physical contact.”
At least not right now.
Not while he was still Zhao Mingzhuo’s boyfriend.
Guan Sui curved his lips, thought about it carefully, and finally said, “Then cook me a meal. Something better than what you made for Zhao Mingzhuo.”
Wen Song looked up at the Alpha before him.
It seemed the other was competing with the noodles he had made for Zhao Mingzhuo this morning.
“Is there anything you like to eat?” he asked.
“Or is there anything you dislike?”
Guan Sui replied, “No dietary restrictions, no pickiness, anything is fine, just make it on the sweeter side.”
Wen Song noted down the crucial detail of “sweeter side.”
He had free time this week and already had an idea of what to cook and send to Guan Sui.
He asked, “Can you give me your address?”