Cheng Huanzhen found that he absolutely loved all the special names Little Uncle had for him.

Whether it was “Brother Huanzhen” or just “A-Zhen,” he loved them all.

…Loved it.

Loved it, loved it, loved it.

Happy. Happy. Happy.

Pressing his lips tightly together, he slumped back into the chair as if all strength had left him, then buried his head in the crook of Little Uncle’s neck again.

Dejectedly, he kissed along the line of his throat, down the curve of his neck to his smooth shoulder, then to his chest, his collarbones, before tilting his head up again to kiss the point of that upturned chin. From there, he kissed along the side of his jaw to the other side of his neck and settled there, nestled in.

In a muffled voice, he said, “Then you better remember what you promised this time, Little Uncle. Otherwise, I’ll get really angry!”

Little Uncle’s eyes were half-closed. His free hand rested on the back of Cheng Huanzhen’s head, as if holding him in an embrace.

Gently, he said, “Hmm, I’ll remember.”

All the fight went out of Cheng Huanzhen at once.

He lay quietly in the crook of Little Uncle’s neck for a long while, closing his eyes and feeling the fingers that threaded leisurely through his hair. The hand stroked over his hair, then slowly slid down to rest on his back, the thin fabric of his shirt barely separating them.

It felt like being hugged.

…Little Uncle’s hands were very nice.

His mind wandered.

He could remember perfectly the feel of every part of Little Uncle’s hand.

The fingertips, the spaces between them, the palm, the heel of the palm, even the back of his fingers and the back of his hand — every spot felt different.

The thought lingered in his mind for a bit. Just as it threatened to expand, his cold, rational mind caught it and slammed it shut.

What are you thinking? Little Uncle is still weak!

He couldn’t even kiss Little Uncle like that! Little Uncle had just had massive internal bleeding a few days ago; what if he accidentally caused it to bleed again?!

Secretly, Cheng Huanzhen tucked the thought away, letting no one else know.

He opened his eyes, propped one elbow on the hospital bed, and gently kissed Little Uncle’s lips. Then he took the hand that wasn’t bruised by needles and kissed it, kissed that perfect, unmarred palm.

He placed it over his heart so Little Uncle could feel his heartbeat and asked seriously, “Little Uncle, can I still come see you when Wen Shaozhuo is here?”

The words had barely left his mouth when he froze.

A thought struck him, and he asked with confusion, “Wait, Little Uncle, aren’t you supposed to be preparing to close the case right now? Why are you…”

He didn’t know how to phrase the question.

He couldn’t just ask, Why haven’t you “died”? Why are you awake and recovering? …Of course Little Uncle should, and must, wake up and recover!

Lin Chen blinked slowly and said, “Because… this is going to be a long-term case.”

Cheng Huanzhen’s eyes flew wide.

Calmly, Lin Chen continued, “You know that A-Shao’s condition isn’t suited for a dramatic exit. His stability is only temporary. If I leave now, his problems could easily resurface.”

The corners of Cheng Huanzhen’s mouth dropped back to their starting position.

His lips were pressed into a hard line, his eyes full of shattered disappointment. Heartbroken, he said, “I saved up thirty million months ago, Little Uncle!”

His ears turned red with anger! Stiffly, he asked, “I was the first to come, the first to ask to renew, and the first to have the money ready! Why did you take his case instead of mine, Little Uncle? Just because I’m stronger than him?”

Lin Chen felt helpless.

Patiently, he said, “A-Zhen.”

Cheng Huanzhen stubbornly stayed silent.

So Lin Chen tugged on his collar, pulling him down to kiss his forehead, then said softly again, “A-Zhen?”

His gaze wavered, but he still held his breath stubbornly.

Lin Chen sighed, drawing out his name this time. “A-Zhen—”

Cheng Huanzhen finally deflated and buried his head again.

After a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice, “Then… are you going to stay at the Wen family for a long time? …Live with Wen Shaozhuo?”

“Not that long.”

Lin Chen did a quick mental calculation. “Maybe another month or so. Could be shorter. Wen Yifeng and Wen Qingcai probably want me to close this case sooner rather than later.”

He tilted his head slightly and whispered by his ear with a chuckle, “After the Lunar New Year, Wen Siheng will go abroad to recuperate. After that, he’ll switch careers and become a travel blogger, going all over the world. What do you think?”

The warm, soft breath tickled his ear.

A shiver ran down his back, and eight-tenths of his sulking vanished. He turned his head silently, kissed once, then twice.

Then he answered in a hoarse voice, “…Just a month? Then I’ll wait for you, Little Uncle. When the time comes, I’ll travel the world with you.”

Lin Chen made a sound of agreement. “And what about your company?”

Puzzled, Cheng Huanzhen paused for a moment, then propped his head up again, looking into Little Uncle’s eyes in confusion. “Aren’t you planning to elope with me, Little Uncle?”

Lin Chen: “?”

He stared at him in silence for a moment, then slapped him on the head.

“Elope? What elope!” he exclaimed in amazement. “When did I ever agree to elope with you? You want to elope that badly?”

Cheng Huanzhen corrected him seriously, “I want you, Little Uncle.”

Even more surprised, Lin Chen said, “What does that have to do with eloping? Besides, if you run away with me, what about Cheng Zhaorui? What about your grandfather?”

Blankly, yet seriously, Cheng Huanzhen thought it over. “Father won’t object. Even if he did, he wouldn’t reveal my location. If he wants to see me, he can come find me.”

“As for Grandfather… hmm… there are plenty of uncles and cousins in the family who would be willing to inherit the business. If Grandfather can’t choose from among them and insists on me, then as long as he agrees to let us be together, we don’t have to leave.”

Lin Chen sighed and patted his head. “Save your energy. Just convince your grandfather, and we can skip the eloping part altogether.”

Cheng Huanzhen sounded a little disappointed. “Oh.”

He rested his head by Little Uncle’s neck and gave a slow, lazy nuzzle. Only when Little Uncle grumbled with a low hum from his chest did he reluctantly reply, “Alright then, Little Uncle.”

“Assuming I need to handle company work while traveling, I can manage daily tasks through online meetings. If my presence is required on-site, I can book a flight and rush back. That way, nothing will be delayed.”

Lin Chen patted him lightly again. “Not very motivated to make money, are you? …How much did you make last year in total?”

Cheng Huanzhen wondered blankly why he should be motivated to make money.

He thought for a moment, then replied, “My cut was thirty-three million, two hundred and seventy thousand, Little Uncle. I didn’t keep track of the change.”

Lin Chen smiled. “Good. Then make fifty million this year, and I’ll take you traveling next year.”

Cheng Huanzhen’s eyes widened. “Little Uncle, our travels are linked to my performance review?”

Little Uncle closed his eyes and tilted his head up, inviting more kisses. “Hmm, is that not okay?”

Cheng Huanzhen didn’t answer, just kissed him hard.

He propped himself up with one elbow, careful not to press down on Little Uncle’s body. With the recent massive internal bleeding, he was terrified of accidentally hurting him.

But Little Uncle seemed completely unaware of his careful efforts, always hooking a hand around his neck, trying to pull him down!

The kissing left his skin tingling.

He thought, is Cheng Huanzhen trying to make up for all the missed kisses in one go?

But before he could find a chance to call a stop, the alarm AC9999 had set went off in his head.

Half an hour had passed since Wen Shaozhuo’s exam ended. By normal timing, he should be back at the hospital any minute now.

Carefully managing the time, Lin Chen interrupted Cheng Huanzhen just before it was too late and coaxed him to his feet.

Reluctantly, Cheng Huanzhen finally stopped kissing.

As he slowly put on his coat, his gaze kept drifting back to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen smiled. “What? Still not satisfied?”

Cheng Huanzhen asked seriously, “Little Uncle, you promised. Just a month or so?”

“Of course,” Lin Chen said. “My hourly rate is very high. I don’t work overtime for free.”

Cheng Huanzhen nodded and said solemnly, “Okay, Little Uncle. I’ll wait for you.”

He looked around the ward again and asked, “Little Uncle, do you think the conditions here are good? Are the doctors good? If not, I know a few other good hospitals. I can help you transfer.”

“…No need,” Lin Chen said. “It’s not like it’s a fatal illness. When you leave, tell that nurse not to mention you were here. Go on, let him come back.”

Cheng Huanzhen was a little disappointed that he couldn’t be of more help.

He replied, “Okay, Little Uncle. One month. I’ll wait for you.”

With that, Cheng Huanzhen finally left, turning back to look every three steps.

Watching him go, Lin Chen wondered aloud, “…Does he have to repeat that too?”

Puzzled, he thought for a moment, then put the oxygen mask back on.

He tucked his hand under the blanket and at the same time, pulled the System out of the little black room.

The System emerged like a wilted eggplant.

It whimpered aggrievedly, “Host…”

Lin Chen gave it no chance to cry.

He questioned it coldly, “It’s been a full half day since I woke up, why isn’t the recovery work done yet? Have I been supplying you with energy for all these years for nothing? Is this your first time doing body recovery work? It’s not! You’re not the new, inexperienced System you used to be! Why hasn’t your treatment efficiency improved? Where did your experience go? Where did your growth go?!”

The System, not yet recovered from the sorrow of the little black room, was almost scared into fading by the barrage of questions!

It stared blankly for a long time, then wailed, “Wuu, wuu! Host! The System really has been trying! I-if you’re in a hurry, the System can use four times the energy to double your recovery rate! Please don’t scold the System, wuu!”

Lin Chen: “?”

“Four times the energy? Who are you trying to rip off? Twice the energy, no more than that.”

The System demurred, “But, but Host, this is a new ability the System updated from the Main System. The energy consumption isn’t up to the System! But if you’re willing, you can also have the recovery rate halved in exchange for the energy consumption being a quarter of the original!”

“Oh,” Lin Chen said in surprise. “So the energy consumption is proportional to the square of the speed!”

He pondered for a moment, then said slowly, “Alright, I guess that counts as progress. I’ll praise you for that. Do a check: using double recovery efficiency, how much more energy will it take to get me from my current state to being able to get out of bed? If the remaining recovery phase rate is halved, how does the total energy consumption change?”

Lin Chen shifted his waist unhappily, feeling a throbbing pain in his internal organs, but his back, which had been lying stiff for too long, finally got some movement.

He hissed lightly, sighed wearily, and complained to the System, “If I lie here any longer, this back of mine is going to be completely ruined!”