Zhou Zhuoyuan didn’t say a word. His cheek pressed against Pei He’s flushed and burning ear. Pei He, who was always picking him up and carrying him around or reaching for his hand at the slightest excuse, now felt shy himself in his clear-headed state, blurting out words that sounded like a confession.
Slowly, he lifted his hand and hugged Pei He back, letting his fingers rest lightly on the man’s back.
What else could such a response mean, if not permission for Pei He to take an inch and claim a mile? Pei He’s spirits soared from rock bottom to the heights of elation, and he pulled Zhou Zhuoyuan even closer. “I like you, Little Yuan. I’ve liked you ever since I agreed to that trip to North City with you. It’s not about being nice to Qinglan—I want to be with you.”
He had taken several minutes to reply to He Qinglan, not because he was dithering over whether to go or shuffling his schedule, but because the sudden rush of joy upon reading the message had left him stunned.
That ear burned hotter still. Zhou Zhuoyuan shifted his head awkwardly. “Have you told me everything now?”
Pei He felt the man’s impossibly soft skin brush against his own ear, and his heart gave a violent thud. “Not yet, not yet. Will you… will you be my boyfriend? I’ll treat you better than anyone.”
His heartbeat thrummed powerfully against Zhou Zhuoyuan’s chest, fast and insistent.
Zhou Zhuoyuan reflected that Pei He, so long down on his luck in love, had finally rounded that dark corner into brighter days.
He murmured into the scorching ear, “Sure. I like you too. And I’ll treat you the best.”
The room grew warmer by the minute. Outside the window, birds sang amid the flowers; inside, their hearts fluttered wildly like startled fawns.
When they finally pulled apart from the embrace, both their faces were beet red, and they sat fidgeting awkwardly.
Determined to be good to Pei He, Zhou Zhuoyuan immediately offered to share his Buddhist prayer beads—but Pei He refused with utmost sternness.
“No! It was because you didn’t have them that you got kidnapped this time. You can’t give those prayer beads to anyone else. No one!”
Zhou Zhuoyuan chuckled. “Didn’t you call me superstitious before?”
Pei He replied, “That’s different. Back then, I was just talking big from the sidelines. I only said it because I knew Qinglan was okay.”
The words jogged Zhou Zhuoyuan’s memory—he still hadn’t settled the score. “You have the nerve to bring that up? When you saw me crying like that, didn’t you think I was an idiot?”
Pei He paused, then shifted the blame. “Qinglan insisted on it. He’s the pushy one.”
Zhou Zhuoyuan laughed in exasperation. “You just do whatever he says? That obedient?”
Pei He said nothing of his own awkward position sandwiched between them. Instead, he carefully slipped the prayer beads, which Zhou Zhuoyuan had just removed, back onto the man’s slender white wrist. “I’m not that obedient, right? Haven’t I gone behind his back now? Little Yuan, please don’t think I’m the type to break promises or act dishonestly, okay? And don’t tell a soul.”
Zhou Zhuoyuan knew they hadn’t hidden it from him just for kicks. Though deeply disappointed in He Qinglan, he had no desire to press the issue. “Will he be in life-threatening danger again?”
Pei He lied coolly, without a flicker. “No, it’s just a messy situation. He probably won’t be back in the country for years.”
~~~
Liu Kuo’s surgery had gone off without a hitch. He’d pulled through a few days earlier and been moved to the general ward. When Zhou Zhuoyuan stopped by to see him that day, Liu Kuo was propped up against the headboard, glued to a game on his phone.
Spotting Zhou Zhuoyuan, he set the phone aside with poorly concealed excitement. “You fully recovered already?”
Zhou Zhuoyuan took the chair beside the bed and glanced up at Pei He.
Catching the look, Pei He said, “I’ll stand.”
Standing meant they wouldn’t impose with a long chat.
Zhou Zhuoyuan, clueless to Pei He’s little scheme, turned back to Liu Kuo. “Almost. I should be out in a day or two. Sorry it’s taken me this long to visit.”
He didn’t bother asking after Liu Kuo’s health—the doctors and nurses kept him posted daily.
Liu Kuo had never shared such a civil conversation with Zhou Zhuoyuan before. He fiddled with his earring to mask his nerves. “Sorry for what? I knew you were sick too. Those couple days you were out, you were shaking like a leaf. I was scared you’d never wake up. Good thing we both beat the odds.”
Pei He’s grip tightened on the chair back.
Zhou Zhuoyuan sensed the tension and soothed them both. “It was nothing—just a fever.”
Liu Kuo scowled, irked by the brush-off. “There you go again with the ‘nothing,’ ‘fine,’ ‘no big deal.’ If it was nothing, why the long hospital stay? You never know your own limits. Stomach in knots and you still picked a fight with me.”
Zhou Zhuoyuan shot back, “…Was I supposed to run when you came looking for trouble?”
Liu Kuo retorted, “Why not? You couldn’t take me—run and save yourself the pride that nearly killed you.”
If not for Liu Kuo getting dragged into his mess and brushing death because of it, Zhou Zhuoyuan would’ve been tempted to give him a real thrashing.
Zhou Zhuoyuan’s face turned ashen. “Forget it. I won’t argue with you.”
Liu Kuo realized he’d pissed off Zhou Zhuoyuan again with just a few words. Sure, he enjoyed watching Zhou Zhuoyuan get mad and let loose with some colorful curses, but not like this—not when the man was still sick in bed. And he certainly didn’t want Zhou Zhuoyuan holding back out of gratitude.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and tried to make amends. “Go ahead and argue if you want. You’re not completely innocent—you were too stubborn to explain that it was my little brother who’d been lying—but the real blame is on me. I jumped to conclusions without checking the facts and caused you trouble. I’m sorry.”
Zhou Zhuoyuan reluctantly accepted the apology—thirty whacks for Zhou Zhuoyuan, seventy for Liu Kuo. “As long as you get it.”
~~~
After Zhou Zhuoyuan returned to his own room, he noticed Pei He’s mood wasn’t great. Amused yet helpless, he said, “I’ve told you he doesn’t like me. So why are you still jealous?”
Pei He stared straight into his eyes. “Only half of it is jealousy.”
Zhou Zhuoyuan blinked in confusion. “What’s the other half?”
Pei He replied, “The other half is worry. You always hide your health issues from everyone—not just once or twice, but over and over. You had low blood sugar but kept playing basketball. You fought Liu Kuo until you ended up in the hospital, telling us you had something to do at home. Your stomach hurt so bad you bit through your lip before admitting how rough the ride had been. You spiked a fever in the middle of the night but didn’t let me know until the next day. You lost your voice for an entire day but pretended nothing was wrong. You were sick enough to cough up blood and land in the Intensive Care Unit, yet you downplayed it as just a fever. And I’m sure there are other times I don’t even know about. Sometimes I wonder if you even fool yourself.”
Zhou Zhuoyuan had forgotten about some of those incidents. He asked blankly, “When did I have low blood sugar and keep playing basketball? Which time?”
Pei He pressed his lips together. “Don’t think you can play cute and get out of this. I really do worry that one day, when I’m not around, you’ll get seriously ill with no one to look after you. So, Little Yuan, you promised me one favor before. I want to use it now.”
“Huh?” Before Zhou Zhuoyuan could get mad about being called cute, he saw the serious expression on Pei He’s face as he invoked the promise—one that would make Zhou Zhuoyuan walk through fire or climb mountains of blades if needed.
Pei He gripped his shoulders, his dark eyes boring into Zhou Zhuoyuan’s soul, allowing no room for half-hearted promises or sweet talk. “From this moment until the day I die, whenever you feel even the slightest bit unwell—a tiny cough, anything—you have to tell me right away. Even if we break up someday, you still have to do it afterward.”
Exaggerated, cheesy, childish.
Wasting such a precious promise on something like this left Zhou Zhuoyuan unable to look straight at the impulsive Pei He.
And so cunning too. Talking about after a breakup, as if any exes kept tabs on each other’s health? What was the difference between that and demanding they never break up? Or declaring that Pei He would always care about Zhou Zhuoyuan?
