The Trade City, with all its shops closed, was much quieter than Nanzhouping. The empty streets, the empty buildings—it was so quiet that he could faintly hear the soft tap-tap of Xiao Bai’s paws on the bluestone floor.

However, there were many streetlights, and it was much brighter. As he walked back with Xiao Bai through the street, their shadows on the ground lengthened and shortened much faster and much more clearly.

He didn’t know if it was because of Zou Yang’s reaction on the road today, but right now, a sudden trace of tension would occasionally flash through his heart.

Although it would quickly subside, it wasn’t usually this frequent.

He pinched his left thumb, letting the pain pull him back to reality.

A safe, danger-free, ordinary late night coming home. Except for a bit of pain in his finger, everything was fine.

He had spent the whole night practicing chiseling lines. Xiao Long didn’t let him start the actual production right away, but had him practice on scrap materials first. Because of the material’s hardness, the force of the hammer in his right hand couldn’t be too light. After smashing his hand several times in one night, his fingers were bruised.

This work was harder than he imagined. Let alone his left hand lacking stability now, even in the past, he would have had to practice for a few days to really get the hang of it.

Returning home, he took a shower and collapsed onto the sofa. Fan Jun grabbed his phone and checked the time; it was past midnight.

Zou Yang hadn’t sent him a single message all night. He was probably chatting with Sister Shan the whole time.

[Fan]: Good night

After sending the message, he put down his phone, getting ready for bed. He still had to go to the hospital tomorrow. Given Zou Yang’s sleeping habits, he figured he’d have to go over and pick him up first.

He yawned. As he got up, he casually folded the small blanket thrown on the sofa used for his legs. As he put it back on the sofa, his movements paused for a fraction of a second.

The things that happened in this exact spot last night rushed entirely back into his mind in that brief fraction of a second.

For a moment, his breathing became a little hurried.

He put down the small blanket, cleared his throat, turned off the light, and turned to quickly walk back to the bedroom.

Before Zou Yang stayed over, he had always felt that if there was someone next to him, it would be very hard to fall asleep and extremely awkward.

But right now, with Zou Yang not beside him, he found it wasn’t that easy to fall asleep either.

Even though the two of them hadn’t even slept together that many times in total.

Fan Jun sighed, pulled the covers over himself properly, and closed his eyes.

Would he have a nightmare tonight?

He might, but it was indeed very rare.

He was always a light sleeper, and under these circumstances, it wasn’t easy to dream anyway.

Today was the same. Xiao Bai came into the bedroom and circled twice during the night. Da Hei slept a small round each between the two pillows, at the head of the bed, and at the foot of the bed, purring the whole time… He knew all of this.

Outside the window, at 4:30 sharp, the sound of sanitation workers sweeping the streets would come.

Then the sounds would multiply: breakfast carts passing by, cars passing by, shared electric scooters honking, roosters crowing, dogs barking…

He would start to hear less clearly, finding it hard to distinguish specific sounds.

At this point, it was time for him to wake up.

In the morning, he woke up on time as usual in the empty bed. Xiao Bai was already sitting by the bedroom door waiting.

Fan Jun first grabbed his phone to check. Zou Yang surprisingly hadn’t replied all night.

A chatterbox, surprisingly not uttering a single peep all night…

He wondered if he had stayed up too late chatting with Sister Shan.

After finishing the whole string of morning chores, he checked the time; it was about time.

He sent Zou Yang a message.

[Fan]: You up yet?

Zou Yang didn’t reply. He sighed, took Xiao Bai out the door, and first brought the dog to the shop.

Xiao Bai actually quite liked lying in the shop, though sometimes when there were too many people, it had to stay in the backyard.

Growing up, every day it was either in the old hall’s courtyard or at the new hall’s front desk, or taken next door to play by Rong Rong. It was already used to this life of seeing people and getting its head patted every day.

He had just opened the shop door and wiped down the tables and everything.

He Lu arrived at the shop door riding her small electric scooter: “Morning.”

“Morning, why did you come over today?” Fan Jun asked. “Don’t you need to look after your witch shop?”

“Can you guys give it a rest? He Chuan keeps calling it a shaman shop, and you’re calling it a witch shop,” He Lu sighed. “Aren’t you going to the hospital today? I came over to rest a bit, it’s too busy over there.”

“Business is that good?” Fan Jun was a bit surprised.

“People buying stuff is just so-so. The main thing is there are a lot of people asking to have their fortunes read,” He Lu waved her hand. “People nowadays, everyone lives so exhaustingly. When they can’t see hope, they have to look for external causes. It can’t all be just because they’re not good enough themselves, right.”

“Mm.” Fan Jun smiled.

“You’re going to the hospital today, right?” He Lu asked. “He Chuan mentioned it yesterday.”

“Yes, I’ll be back in the afternoon.” Fan Jun said.

“Go on then, I’m here,” He Lu stretched. “Xiao Bai! Morning!”

Xiao Bai stood by the backyard door and barked once in response. The He siblings were both a bit afraid of dogs, so it didn’t go over to let them pat its head.

Zou Yang still hadn’t replied. Fan Jun straddled his bike and directly dialed Zou Yang’s number.

It kept ringing on the other end, but no one answered.

Fan Jun suddenly felt a bit unsettled. After a moment of hesitation, he dialed Sister Shan’s number.

Sister Shan, however, answered the phone very quickly: “Hello? Jun’er?”

“Sister Shan, it’s me.” Fan Jun very rarely called Sister Shan, and calling to ask about Zou Yang right now was quite awkward. “Um… I just called Zou Yang and he didn’t answer. Is he… still at home?”

“He’s at home! We chatted for a bit after getting home yesterday and then he went to sleep. He was still sleeping when I left this morning,” Sister Shan said. “He’s probably still asleep right now.”

“Is he okay?” Fan Jun was still a bit uneasy and double-checked.

“He’s fine, just a bit angry again, and… a bit spooked. It is his biological dad after all, and such severe injuries,” Sister Shan sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on these past two years, whenever something happens, it’s always something this huge…”

Fan Jun stayed silent, not knowing what to say for a moment.

“Oh, if you’re looking for him, just call him again. Call a few more times. If he has nothing to do in the morning, he definitely won’t be able to get out of bed.” Sister Shan added.

“Okay.” Fan Jun replied.

Regardless of the reason keeping Zou Yang in a deep sleep, his sleep quality was somewhat enviable.

Fan Jun called about ten times in a row, but no one answered.

He had already booked a doctor’s appointment for the morning, so he could only head to the hospital while continuing to call Zou Yang.

But all the way until he finished his various checkups, went to the sports rehabilitation department to chat with the doctor, and confirmed that his current recovery was much better than before, Zou Yang’s phone was still unanswered.

Fan Jun knew that, theoretically speaking, Zou Yang was currently in his own home, in a residential complex that required facial recognition to use the elevator. It was an absolutely safe environment.

And Zou Yang hadn’t shown any abnormalities when Sister Shan left the house. It had only been a few hours since she left…

Yet, he suddenly started to panic. With almost no hesitation, he rode his bike to the bottom of Zou Yang’s apartment building.

But then he didn’t quite know what to do next.

Calling Sister Shan would be too embarrassing, and it felt a bit weird. He might even make Sister Shan inexplicably nervous along with him.

Finally, he opened the completely blank chat window with “Respect” and sent a voice call to Liu Wenrui.

“Fan Jun?” Liu Wenrui’s voice on the other end sounded quite shocked. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Zou Yang?”

“No, no, no, no, his mom said he’s sleeping,” Fan Jun quickly said. “It’s just… I’ve been calling him and he hasn’t answered…”

“It’s normal for him not to hear the phone when he’s sleeping…” Liu Wenrui breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’ve been calling since past seven until now…” Fan Jun said.

“Then that is a bit abnormal!” Liu Wenrui’s voice rose again. “He should have at least woken up once to take a piss in the morning! Did you tell his mom?”

“No, I’m afraid of scaring her,” Fan Jun glanced at the residential security guard wandering not far away. “I’m downstairs at his place right now, do you know if…”

“Scare her? Her guts shouldn’t be that small.” Liu Wenrui was a bit puzzled; he probably didn’t know about Zou Yang’s dad yet, but he didn’t ask much more. “It’s fine, I’ll call her. I’ll just say I’m looking for him and get the property management to open the door. Wait a bit, if someone asks you, just say you’re Liu Wenrui.”

“Wh…” Fan Jun hadn’t finished speaking when the phone hung up on the other end.

A few minutes later, two uniformed security guards drove over in a four-wheeled electric vehicle. One of them came up and asked: “Excuse me, are you here looking for someone?”

“…Yes.” Fan Jun quickly nodded.

“May I ask your name?” the other asked.

“Liu… Wenrui.” Fan Jun could only answer according to Liu Wenrui’s arrangement.

“Sister Peng, is this him?” The man held up his phone, pointing it at Fan Jun’s face. “Liu Wenrui.”

“Ah?” Sister Shan’s voice came from the phone.

In that second, Fan Jun just wanted to go over, snatch the phone, and knock the security guard out. When Liu Wenrui said he’d contact Sister Shan just now, Fan Jun hadn’t quite thought it through…

“Jun’er,” Sister Shan’s voice came through again. “Have them take you up to open the door… You guys can take him up.”

“Okay.” The security guard hung up the phone.

He couldn’t care about the awkwardness right now. He followed the security guards into the elevator and went upstairs. The guards used the spare key for Zou Yang’s apartment to open the door.

The room was very quiet, with all the lights off.

After the guards left, Fan Jun closed the door before calling out in a suppressed voice: “Zou Yang?”

No one responded.

He hadn’t been to Zou Yang’s house and didn’t know which room was his bedroom. After taking off his shoes, he walked up to the closed room door like a thief.

He tried to listen for any movement, but he didn’t know if his ears were bad or if there really was no sound. In short, he didn’t hear a thing.

Finally, gritting his teeth, he turned the doorknob.

The moment he pushed the door open, he could confirm this was Zou Yang’s room.

He smelled the scent that belonged to Zou Yang—a very pleasant smell that was a fusion of laundry detergent, shampoo, body wash, and Zou Yang himself.

The room was dark, with the lights off and the curtains drawn, but at a glance, he still saw Zou Yang sleeping on the bed, hugging a pillow.

He let out a sudden breath of relief. It looked like he really was just sleeping.

“Zou Yang?” He called out, fumbling along the wall for a while until he found the switch and turned on the light.

Zou Yang shifted and buried his face into the quilt.

“Zou Yang, you’re a god of sleep.” Fan Jun walked to the bedside, bent down to take a look, and at the same time, he felt a wave of heat.

He froze for a moment, quickly reached out and lightly touched his face, then abruptly threw off Zou Yang’s quilt and patted his face: “Zou Yang!”

Zou Yang’s body was burning hot. After pulling back the quilt, he could see that his face was also flushed.

“…Mm?” Zou Yang finally let out a very low sound, turned his head, and raised a hand to cover his eyes.

“It’s me, Fan Jun.” Fan Jun grasped his hand again; it was still scorching hot. “You have a fever!”

“Fan Jun?” Zou Yang sounded dazed. “Did I… not go home?”

“You’re at home, I came over,” Fan Jun tugged his wrist. “Can you get up? You need to go to the hospital.”

“What time was the appointment you booked…” Zou Yang propped himself up on the bed and sat up.

“I’ve already come back from the hospital,” Fan Jun lifted his chin slightly. “Now you need to go to the hospital. You have a fever, you’re burning hot.”

“Fuck?” Zou Yang finally slowly came to his senses and looked up at him. “Why did you run over to my house?”

“I called a thousand and eight hundred times and you didn’t answer,” Fan Jun said. “I was afraid something happened to you, so I came over.”

“What time is it?” Zou Yang grabbed his glasses from next to the pillow and put them on, muttering softly as he patted around for his phone. “Damn, why am I so dizzy…”

“You have a fever, can’t you understand?” Fan Jun felt his forehead, wondering if his brain was a bit fried from the heat. “Do you have a thermometer at home?”

“There’s a medicine box in the drawer under the coffee table in the living room…” Zou Yang said.

Fan Jun walked out before he even finished speaking. By the time he found the thermometer in the medicine box and returned to the bedroom, Zou Yang had collapsed back onto the pillow.

He shook the thermometer a few times, pulled up Zou Yang’s arm, and tucked the thermometer in properly: “Do you feel uncomfortable?”

“Not uncomfortable,” Zou Yang kept his eyes closed. “Just a bit dizzy.”

“Let’s see what your temperature is first,” Fan Jun knelt by the bed, leaning on the edge and looking at him. “Why didn’t you tell Sister Shan you were running a fever? You were probably burning up last night, right?”

“I was just sleepy, didn’t feel anything else.” Zou Yang said, then frowned. “How could I have a fever? I didn’t even get a fever when I was hospitalized with such severe injuries…”

It’s probably from the shock of your dad’s incident.

Fan Jun didn’t dare say it out loud. He just reached out, took the skewed glasses off the bridge of his nose again, and put them on the nightstand.

“Fuck.” Zou Yang suddenly opened his eyes.

“Hmm?” Fan Jun quickly leaned closer.

“I have a fever?” Zou Yang stared at him, his eyes clearly a bit unfocused. “Shouldn’t it be you…”

“Why would I have a fever?” Fan Jun didn’t understand. “And ‘should’ be?”

“Isn’t it always like this? The one who gets… that, is the one who gets a fever.” Zou Yang said.

Fan Jun froze for almost ten seconds before realizing what he was talking about: “Ah?”

“Damn,” Zou Yang rolled over and lay flat. “I’m probably not having a fever.”

“You’re burning to the touch.” Fan Jun said.

Zou Yang turned his head and looked at him: “Come here.”

“Hmm?” Fan Jun leaned forward a bit.

Zou Yang hooked his arm around the back of Fan Jun’s neck, pulled him forward, and pressed his lips to his forehead.

A few seconds later, Zou Yang let him go.

“Who’s hot?” Fan Jun asked.

“You rode your little electric scooter over, right? Chilled to the bone, you’re freezing.” Zou Yang clicked his tongue.

Fan Jun smiled and didn’t say anything.

“How did you get in?” Zou Yang suddenly remembered, abruptly propping up his head wanting to look towards the living room, but as soon as he lifted his head, he fell back down. “My mom…”

“Property management opened the door,” Fan Jun pressed down on his shoulder. “Can you just lie still? We’re taking your temperature, can you stay perfectly still for ten minutes?”

“Oh.” Zou Yang closed his eyes, then opened them again after a while. “Did you contact my mom?”

“Yeah, twice. The second time was… Liu Wenrui contacted her,” Fan Jun said. “You weren’t picking up the phone, and I was worried something happened to you…”

Zou Yang smiled.

“What are you laughing at?” Fan Jun asked.

“Nothing,” a smile still lingered on Zou Yang’s lips. “I’m thirsty, bring me a bottle of ice water.”

“Ice water?” Fan Jun asked. “Room temperature is better.”

“Ice.” Zou Yang said.

“Room temperature is better.” Fan Jun repeated.

“My house doesn’t have room temperature water,” Zou Yang said. “We put the cold water pitcher straight in the fridge.”

Fan Jun got up and walked out. With Zou Yang saying this, he seemed to remember that back in Nanzhouping, Sister Shan also always took water straight from the fridge to drink…

He took a lap around the living room and kitchen and indeed couldn’t find any room-temperature water.

He hesitated over whether to boil a kettle, but Zou Yang’s voice drifted out from the bedroom: “Water—Jun’er—Water—”

“Coming!” Fan Jun had no choice but to open the fridge and grab a bottle of ice water.

Zou Yang was half-sprawled over the edge of the bed, stretching his arms toward him: “Water… give me water…”

“…Why are you acting out a whole scene with me?” Fan Jun unscrewed the cap and handed it over. “Drink slowly, don’t just chug it…”

Before he even finished speaking, Zou Yang had snatched the water bottle, tilted his head back, and chugged.

“Give that to me…” Fan Jun grabbed his face with one hand and snatched the bottle away. “Drink slowly!”

“Ah…” Having already chugged two huge mouthfuls, Zou Yang let out a happy sigh and collapsed back onto the bed. “I’m fine now, all better.”

Fan Jun looked at him: “Where’s the thermometer?”

“Don’t know,” Zou Yang said. “Isn’t it tucked under Zhen’s arm?”

“With the commotion you just made, who knows where it fell, Your Majesty…” Fan Jun felt a bit helpless. He pulled up his arm and lifted his pajamas to look.

Nothing.

He pulled on Zou Yang’s arm again to roll him onto his side and felt around his back.

Still… nothing.

But there was… his waist.

Zou Yang’s waist… was indeed very beautiful…

Very firm, with clear but not overly prominent muscle lines…

This kind of behavior was very wrong.

Zou Yang was still running a fever, burning hot everywhere, and even seemed a bit delirious from the fever…

But he still couldn’t resist pressing his hand against Zou Yang’s waist.

“Fan Jun,” Zou Yang suddenly started laughing.

“Hmm?” Fan Jun glanced at him.

“You’re more of a pervert than I am,” Zou Yang said. “I’m a sick patient…”

“Didn’t you just say you were all better?” Fan Jun said.

“…Fuck.” Zou Yang said.

Fan Jun didn’t say anything. He pulled Zou Yang close, lowered his head, and bit his waist.

He bit down quite hard, not even knowing why himself.

“Hiss…” Zou Yang drew a sharp breath.

When he let go, Fan Jun felt the thermometer that had dropped on the bed. At the same time, he saw a ring of round teeth marks left on Zou Yang’s waist.

“You’re crazy.” Zou Yang rubbed his waist.

Fan Jun didn’t speak. He stood up, held the thermometer to the light, and checked the numbers: 38.9°C.

“Let’s go,” Fan Jun yanked him up from the bed again. “Get dressed, we’re going to the hospital.”

“Aren’t you going to continue?” Zou Yang asked.

“…What?” Fan Jun froze.

“In case it really is a fever from being… you know,” Zou Yang said, “You might as well do it while I have a fever… If I have to go through two rounds of fevers, I really won’t be able to handle it.”

In this moment, Fan Jun truly felt that Zou Yang’s brain was a bit fried from the fever.

“I’m not that… desperate,” he said. “Be good, get up and let’s go to the hospital.”

“I have class in the afternoon,” Zou Yang said. “I’ll just take some Ibuprofen to bring the fever down. It might just be because my stomach is empty and I’m hungry. We can go out and eat something, walk around a bit, and I’ll recover…”

“You love studying that much?” Fan Jun looked at him.

“It’s just a fever,” Zou Yang said. “There’s no need to go to the hospital. Do you go to the hospital every time you get a fever? My mom doesn’t even go to the hospital when she gets a fever.”

“Your fever is running pretty high.” Fan Jun said.

“Let’s eat first, Gege,” Zou Yang pressed his forehead against Fan Jun’s stomach and leaned on him. “I’m starving to death.”

“What do you want to eat?” Fan Jun sighed.

“Cake.” Zou Yang said.

“…Alright,” Fan Jun ruffled his hair. “Let’s go get cake.”