Chapter 75: In a Sorry Plight Part 1

Fu Si Heng stood two or three hundred meters away from him.

The streetlights at night weren’t very bright, and with the distance, Tao Zhi could only vaguely make out the silhouette. But he recognized him at a glance.

The tall and straight figure had the lights casting a long shadow behind him.

Fu Si Heng stood quietly in the night, holding his phone to his ear with his right hand as he looked toward him.

Their gazes met unexpectedly, and Tao Zhi felt a bit incredulous. His mind couldn’t process it.

He didn’t understand why Fu Si Heng had appeared in his hometown, thousands of miles away.

It felt so magical.

So surprising.

While Tao Zhi was lost in a daze, Fu Si Heng walked toward him.

The voice on the phone suddenly cut off, followed by a dial tone. Fu Si Heng stopped in front of Tao Zhi.

It was real.

Not an illusion.

Tao Zhi blinked several times before finally accepting the fact. A complex mix of emotions welled up inside him.

A bit warm, a bit sour.

And his heart was beating fast… no, not exactly fast.

It felt different from the usual rhythm, like a little person was constantly thumping away inside.

His breathing rhythm was disrupted too.

It suddenly paused for a moment. When he came back to his senses, the surroundings seemed extraordinarily quiet.

Across from them, at the convenience store, a few young men paid their bill, carrying several plastic bags as they loudly discussed staying up all night to game. They were noisy enough to annoy anyone.

But Tao Zhi didn’t notice.

He looked at the person in front of him, tilted his face up, and dazedly called out, “Brother Fu.”

Fu Si Heng: “Mm.”

“How did you end up coming here?” Tao Zhi’s eyes flickered. “I’m so surprised. You just appeared in front of me out of nowhere and scared me.”

“It was too sudden.” Tao Zhi repeated himself, trying to convey his shock. “I thought I was dreaming. It’s unbelievable.”

Fu Si Heng couldn’t help but laugh at his words.

Tao Zhi’s way of putting it was adorable.

“I’ve been here for a while.” Fu Si Heng told him. “I arrived this morning.”

Because he really missed him.

More than the last time they parted.

This separation had been much shorter, only five days… no, less than five.

Tao Zhi would head back to school in the afternoon of the fifth, and Fu Si Heng could pick him up at the high-speed rail station that evening. It was a brief parting. Even during yesterday’s call, a day had already passed.

He just needed to wait three more days, and Tao Zhi would be back in S City.

Just three days—such a short time. They’d been apart for thirty days before and gotten through it.

Fu Si Heng had tried to convince himself like that.

…

But he just couldn’t endure it.

After hanging up, Tao Zhi’s voice lingered in his ears.

Tao Zhi probably hadn’t even noticed it himself, but when he complained about his cousin, his voice sounded stuffy, unhappy, headache-inducing, and even a little… reluctant.

When he said he was tired, he repeated that it was only a little, but the faint grievance in his tone betrayed him.

He was used to shouldering family matters and felt he shouldn’t even complain about being tired.

He only dared to say a little, telling himself his aunt was pretty good.

But this wasn’t a debt Tao Zhi should have to repay.

Poor little guy.

Fu Si Heng could even imagine Tao Zhi’s lonely, slender figure on the street below during their call.

In the middle of the night, he woke up, smoked several cigarettes, and then impulsively booked a flight to see him.

It was too impulsive, like a reckless kid, completely out of character for him.

He only realized it on the plane.

And Tao Zhi didn’t want him to come.

He shouldn’t have done this.

But the thought only lasted half a minute.

Because Fu Si Heng knew why Tao Zhi didn’t want him there.

It was just that he felt he had no time to entertain him. Tao Zhi couldn’t bring himself to leave him aside unattended.

So at first, Fu Si Heng hadn’t planned to show up in front of Tao Zhi.

After landing, he went straight to the hospital entrance.

He arrived around seven in the morning and sat in a self-service restaurant near the hospital.

Through the window, he saw Tao Zhi buying steamed buns and soy milk at the breakfast shop across the street, then heading into the hospital with breakfast in hand.

After Tao Zhi entered the hospital, he booked a room nearby.

He didn’t see Tao Zhi at lunch.

It wasn’t until around five in the evening that he spotted him again.

The little fool had no sense of vigilance; Fu Si Heng had followed him without being noticed and easily learned where he lived.

Originally, Fu Si Heng planned to just watch from afar. He had nothing to do at home anyway; it was just a way to pass the time. But he hadn’t expected this situation to arise.

“Were you that surprised to see me?” Fu Si Heng thought Tao Zhi looked adorable in his dazed state.

Early May, the weather was warming up. Tao Zhi had switched to thin long-sleeved pajamas. The pure cotton fabric featured cartoon puppies with big grinning mouths, looking joyful.