Shi Linchuan woke up at exactly the right moment.

The nurse, who had just finished her rounds, returned to the room. She first helped the wounded man into his own bed, then leaned over by Shi Linchuan’s bedside, using English to explain his injuries: primarily severe damage to the muscles and ligaments of his entire left arm and side of his neck, followed by subcutaneous hemorrhaging and lacerations from sharp objects. Fortunately, there was no internal organ damage.

Shi Linchuan conversed with her fluently. He learned that due to the tearing of muscle fibers and fascia, he would experience intense pain over the next few days. The recovery period would be long, requiring physical therapy and bed rest, which would likely affect his work and life for the coming weeks.

Following this, the nurse asked him,

“Sir, are you currently in unbearable pain?”

“You can use pain medication if necessary.”

Hearing these two sentences, Shi Linchuan couldn’t help but glance out of the corner of his eye toward the person sitting up in the next bed, only to bump directly into a pair of eyes that were still slightly red.

Xie Jinghe was watching him quietly.

Shi Linchuan paused for two seconds, then delayed his response before refusing.

To be honest, compared to himself, Xie Jinghe seemed to fit the nurse’s treatment plan even more; he truly didn’t understand why someone with a cast on his leg could still be running around all over the place. Couldn’t he just stay put?

Thinking of this, Shi Linchuan withdrew his gaze and steered the topic toward Xie Jinghe.

The nurse, clearly aware that the two were partners, looked down to flip through the medical chart in her hand and proceeded to explain the other’s condition point by point:

Multiple glass lacerations; seven stitches in his right palm.

Bruising on his left forearm from being gripped.

A minor hairline fracture in his left leg, requiring a cast for three to four weeks.

…

Shi Linchuan understood clearly now.

On the first day of filming in Dodan, both of them had become bedridden patients.

What was most ridiculous was that this accident story didn’t exist in the original novel. It was because he didn’t know what kind of brain cramp he’d had, abandoning the “scum ex-husband” choices from the original story arc, and on a whim, dragged Xie Jinghe skiing.

The result? They didn’t get to ski, but they almost died on the snowy ground.

Xie Jinghe was truly unlucky.

He had to run into him. It was just running into him.

After the nurse finished detailing their conditions, she took a bottle of anti-inflammatory eye drops from the man’s nightstand, helped him apply them, and left.

In an instant, the double room returned to a “double” state.

Shi Linchuan had lain there for a whole day and slept for a whole day; although his body was still in a state of exhaustion and even the slightest movement triggered pain, his mind had indeed been rested.

Conversely, looking at Xie Jinghe:

In the few minutes since he had woken up, he had already yawned two or three times, stopping halfway through each time like a child staying up for New Year’s Eve, trying hard to hold on even though he was extremely sleepy.

Shi Linchuan looked at him with a calm expression, blinking his eyes, which were irritated by the medicine; the base of his eyelashes was soaked with the liquid, which seeped to the corners of his eyes.

Xie Jinghe’s fracture was very minor, and he didn’t need to elevate his leg while sleeping at night, just a pillow at the end of the bed. Right now, this person was wearing a light blue hospital gown, his right hand wrapped like a pig’s trotter, with an IV line in the back of his left hand, yet he was still restless as he sat up straight to talk to him.

“Linchuan, how are you?”

Shi Linchuan didn’t have a mirror in front of him; he didn’t know how terrifying he looked. The subcutaneous blood spots were dense and numerous, giving his skin a sickly red-purple hue, and the majority of the whites of his eyes were filled with blood, as if he were suffering from some blood disease.

He was silent for a moment, then replied: “I’m fine, you…”

Before the word “you” was even out, the sight before him made Shi Linchuan’s eyelids twitch, and his tone took a sharp turn; the rest of his sentence changed as well. “What are you doing? Can’t you just stay there honestly? Are you planning to participate in this year’s International Paralympics?”

Rip.

Xie Jinghe shrank his neck, honestly accepting the scolding, but his movements didn’t falter in the slightest. After getting out of bed, he dragged his chair over to the man’s bedside before whispering back: “It’s only two steps, and I’m sitting down. I won’t bump into my injuries…”

Shi Linchuan had nothing to say.

The two stared at each other for a long while without speaking.

Half a day later.

Shi Linchuan suddenly asked: “Does it hurt?”

The person who would usually demand to be pampered several times over even for a minor wrist sprain shook his head immediately upon hearing this, responding: “It doesn’t hurt. It’s just a minor injury.”

Another silence followed.

Shi Linchuan lowered his eyes and shooed him away. “Go back to your bed. Go to sleep.”

Xie Jinghe shook his head again, saying: “I want to look at you.”

Having heard the nurse’s description earlier, Shi Linchuan had an idea of his own appearance now, and immediately responded: “What is there to look at right now? Aren’t you afraid of having nightmares?”

Xie Jinghe proved his answer with his actions.

He didn’t make a sound, staring fixedly at the man.

In a sense, Xie Jinghe was a very stubborn guy.

Even Shi Linchuan was occasionally helpless against him.

“Xie Jinghe…” He closed his eyes and sighed lightly, his voice lazy and raspy, mature and sexy, with a faint hint of allure. “Didn’t you say on the cable car that you wanted to force a kiss on me?”

The man lifted his eyelids, his red and black eyes colliding with a dangerous tone.

“Now, bend over.”

Seconds later.

An extremely light, shallow kiss occurred between the two.

In reality, this didn’t count as a kiss at all, let alone the words “force a kiss.” It was as if two minors had put their mouths together; their soft lips touched, appearing exceptionally pure.

It was a romance between a feather and a wisp of cloud, light and airy the whole time.

This kiss was very long, very lingering.

Shi Linchuan pressed against Xie Jinghe’s lips and asked softly:

“Now tell me the truth. Does it really not hurt?”

Xie Jinghe pecked at the man’s mouth corners one after another, then took the dry, chapped parts of the other’s lips into his mouth, attempting to soften them, his voice becoming blurry because of it.

“It hurts a little bit.”

…

A little later.

Xie Jinghe fell asleep.

He lay flat on the hospital bed, but his head was tilted toward the man’s side.

His face was pale and tired; even in his dreams, his brows were slightly furrowed, and in the middle of the night, he had a nightmare, opening his eyes in a daze, his mouth calling out Shi Linchuan’s name.

Shi Linchuan looked at him, responding to him call by call, before being infected by the other’s drowsiness, unable to help but close his eyes and fall asleep as well.

This time, he had no dreams all night.

The next day, in the morning.

After the medical staff finished their rounds, the ward became lively.

The chief director of the show and several other staff members came to visit.

The chief director brought their communication devices back and briefed them on everything that had happened from yesterday to today.

That cable car accident yesterday had caused quite a stir.

Dodan was a country that focused on tourism, with many tourists in the winter.

When the accident happened, many people on the scene recorded videos. Some posted these videos on public social platforms, sparking quite a lot of discussion.

Now, the media had already reported on the accident.

Following a joint investigation by local fire and police departments, it was confirmed that the source of the accident was the aging of the scenic spot’s facilities. There were over twenty tourists trapped, and the passengers in the two colliding gondolas were the most severely injured. The scenic spot would be fully responsible.

That there were no deaths was already the luckiest of the lucky.

The negotiations with the scenic spot were handled and followed up by the show team; Shi Linchuan didn’t need to worry much, but the trouble in other aspects was perhaps harder to handle…

In just one day and night, the chief director looked like he had aged several years.

Although the show team reacted quickly and took down the relevant videos showing their faces, the speed of internet dissemination was something human resources couldn’t keep up with, especially since many foreigners of Chinese descent had recognized the protagonists in the videos right when the incident happened.

The news reached home and had already exploded.

Inside the ward.

The bed by the window was empty; the quilt was flipped up at one corner, leaving an indentation in the middle of the cushion at the end of the bed. About ten minutes ago, Xie Jinghe had been pushed away in a wheelchair by the nurse for a minor check-up and had not yet returned.

Shi Linchuan was lying in bed receiving an anti-inflammatory drip.

The chief director sat by the bed, looking a bit worried, and said: “President Shi, President Pei is dealing with the public opinion sparked by the accident. The official account has already issued a notice announcing that the live broadcast room will be temporarily suspended.”

Shi Linchuan’s hand—the one not receiving the IV—was holding his phone, communicating with his domestic team while listening to the chief director sigh and continue:

“Some peers have seized the opportunity to secretly spread negativity. Our itinerary has been exposed, and the emotions of the fans of Best Actor Xie in particular are especially agitated…”

The situation now was…

Xie Jinghe’s fans were already picking a fight with the show team, demanding that they give the public an explanation as soon as possible, and for Xie Jinghe and his partner to withdraw from the recording and quietly recover from their injuries.

The only positive public opinion since the event happened was probably regarding Shi Linchuan’s reputation. But he himself cared the least about this point; it didn’t matter if he was a “scumbag” in the eyes of Xie’s fans, or the “partner” who had shared adversity with their idol.

However,

Being called “brother-in-law” by Xie Jinghe’s little fans… that actually felt kind of good.

Shi Linchuan finished receiving the message from Pei Yue, turned off his phone screen, and heard the chief director ask him: “President Shi, what do you and Best Actor Xie plan to do? Are you going to stop the recording? According to the terms of the contract, this counts as force majeure and does not count as a breach of contract…”

Stop the recording.

This was also the demand of Xie’s fans.

After all, the situation at the time was too perilous. Even without knowing the specific extent of their injuries, as long as one watched that long, eleven-minute video, no one would think that this divorced couple could continue participating in the recording of a variety show.

They almost didn’t make it out alive!

As the top boss who single-handedly pushed this divorce variety show, Shi Linchuan had taken the lead, personally participating. In just a few days, he had contributed many “classic scenes” and traffic…

Of course, it wasn’t to chase topics or make money.

Money—he could make that anywhere.

But his divorce task with Xie Jinghe had to be completed within this variety show.

Shi Linchuan didn’t hesitate for even a fraction of a second, decisively stating: “Continue filming. Make corresponding modifications to the subsequent filming process. No matter what, I want this variety show to have a successful finale.”

He said it with determination.

It was at this moment that Xie Jinghe walked in.

He was still in a wheelchair, but the person pushing him had changed. A man with a gentle and elegant demeanor was pushing his glasses up, patiently explaining to him in Chinese what kind of damage “subcutaneous hemorrhaging” would cause…

Xie Jinghe listened very carefully, nodding repeatedly.

Until the moment he entered the room.

His movements stopped abruptly, his expression one of shock.

Li Huan stood behind the wheelchair, frowning slightly, and advised: “Mr. Shi, neither of you is in a condition to participate in the recording now. You need rest…”

Shi Linchuan said calmly: “The planners should be able to come up with a way to film while resting.”

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Xie Jinghe didn’t make a sound.

Shi Linchuan originally didn’t want to say anything more; whether Xie Jinghe was willing or not, he had a hundred ways to make him agree. But meeting this person’s gaze, his mouth actually opened and closed on its own, and he began to speak.

“One should see things through from beginning to end. Besides, the show team can cooperate with us and adjust the recording content, so…”

He hadn’t finished his sentence.

Xie Jinghe looked at him and asked out of the blue:

“Linchuan, are you explaining this to me?”

…

“If you say so.”