The elevator arrived at the first basement floor of the inpatient department.

More than a decade ago, after the First Hospital of the Northern Capital received capital injection from the Yan Corporation and established a partnership, the hospital’s medical facilities and environment were completely revamped. It became advanced and comfortable, and the service was top-notch.

Lin Zhu stepped out of the elevator in his slippers and found the entire basement floor brightly lit. The people coming and going weren’t just patients and their families, but also medical staff on the night shift.

This area was divided into two sections.

On the left were shops selling various medical equipment and daily necessities; on the right was a cafeteria supplying three meals a day as well as late-night snacks.

The cafeteria occupied a large area with numerous food stalls inside, offering everything from light salads to famous regional delicacies.

The aroma of food drifted through the air, exceptionally enticing.

Lin Zhu looked left and right, then decided to head toward the cafeteria first. He walked a lap past all the stalls that were still open, holding his phone and sending a WeChat message to Yan Ruoyun.

[Lin Zhu: Ge, what do you want to eat?]

He also attached a few photos he just took of the stalls.

The time on his phone screen showed past 9:00 PM, nearing 10:00 PM. It was already quite late.

Outside, the torrential rain was still pouring continuously, and the air was incredibly cold and damp. However, the indoor air conditioning system ran twenty-four hours a day, maintaining a constant temperature and humidity.

Wearing only a thin hospital gown, Lin Zhu didn’t feel cold at all; he was just purely hungry.

For dinner, he had eaten the high-end Japanese cuisine Yan Ruoyun ordered for him, and it was absolutely delicious.

Perhaps afraid he wouldn’t be used to the food, the man had ordered a wide variety of dishes, but the portions weren’t large. Lin Zhu was currently still in his growing phase. After clearing the plates, he was only about 70% full.

Under normal circumstances, he generally didn’t expend much physical energy. He would just do homework at home, read some books, take a shower when it was time, and lie down to sleep.

So that level of fullness would be just right. He wouldn’t be hungry before bed, and right when he woke up, it would be the perfect time for breakfast.

Not a bit more, not a bit less.

He actually quite admired Yan Ruoyun’s ability to estimate.

But the accident happened too suddenly.

Lin Zhu had been kept incredibly busy tonight.

It wasn’t until he finally had some free time just now that he suddenly felt an emptiness in his stomach, giving him a strong craving to fill it with some warm, piping hot food.

Even he felt hungry, let alone Yan Ruoyun.

Judging from the photos the man had sent earlier tonight, he had worn a very fitted suit to the banquet. When wearing such pure hand-tailored bespoke suits, one couldn’t eat too full, otherwise it would ruin the fit.

Moreover… Omegas suffered a severe loss of physical energy during their heat period, and the vast majority of them would feel exhausted and weak. Therefore, they needed to pay extra attention to their diet to avoid malnutrition.

Unfortunately, Lin Zhu had left in too much of a hurry just now and forgot to ask what Yan Ruoyun wanted to eat first.

After sending the message, Lin Zhu held his phone and waited a bit. Seeing that the other party hadn’t replied for a long time, he could only frustratingly lock his screen and take another lap around the cafeteria stalls.

…Mm.

It was probably best to eat something light. He thought.

In the end, Lin Zhu packed two portions of freshly wrapped meat wontons that smelled incredibly fragrant.

The two small bowls were stacked on top of each other, placed inside a transparent bag that he carried as he walked. The plump, round, white little wontons bobbed up and down in the bone broth, emitting a rich, meaty aroma.

Before returning to the elevator, Lin Zhu hesitated for a long time, turning back several times to look at the medical supply shops opposite the cafeteria, his face written all over with conflict and distress.

After agonizing over it for a good while, as if finally making up his mind, he turned his feet and walked into one of the more high-end looking medical supply stores.

“…”

The glass door opened and closed, bumping into the small wind chimes installed on the inside and letting out a crisp ding-a-ling sound.

At the same time, the store’s automatic sensor system announced: “Welcome~”

Hearing the noise, the store owner sitting behind the counter immediately lifted her head.

The owner was a young woman. Probably because of the ‘Character Persona Synchronization’ he experienced tonight, Lin Zhu easily distinguished her—she was a female Alpha.

Seeing a customer walk in, the owner quickly put her phone away, stood up to greet him, and warmly said: “Hello! May I ask what you need?”

Lin Zhu’s gaze first swept rapidly around the store. Upon failing to find what he wanted to buy, he finally opened his mouth somewhat embarrassedly: “I want to buy…”

He described the item he wanted to purchase.

This item wasn’t uncommon.

In the inpatient department, it could even be considered a best-selling product.

The owner nodded quickly and led him to the corresponding shelf. “Handsome, take a look, which style do you want? I have them all here.”

Lin Zhu’s gaze carefully swept across this row of shelves. Listening to the owner’s eloquent introduction, he quickly made his choice and pointed at it:

“This one. How much?”

Beep—

After scanning the QR code and successfully paying, Lin Zhu now had an extra shopping bag in his hand.

The item was more expensive than he had imagined.

One pack only contained two pieces, but it cost over three hundred yuan.

However, its quality was the best among similar products, and supposedly it was a very famous big brand from country M.

The owner handed him the receipt and pointed to a small display rack next to the cash register. “Handsome, our store has a ‘gift with purchase’ promotion. If you spend over three hundred yuan, you can pick a small gift from in here.”

“Take a look, see if there’s anything you like?”

Lin Zhu’s gaze moved down, landing on the small rack stuffed with little gifts.

Very quickly, his eyes lit up. He reached out and picked up a chocolate ball wrapped in shiny paper.

“I’ll just take this.”

After finishing his purchase, Lin Zhu turned and walked out.

He checked the time, estimating that Doctor Xu and Yan Ruoyun were probably done talking. Also afraid that the small wontons would get soggy and taste bad if left too long, he hurried onto the elevator and returned to the original floor.

This floor of special care wards belonged to the Omega Gland Department. The doors of the occupied wards were all tightly shut, making the floor seem extremely deserted.

The overhead sensor lights followed his footsteps, lighting up the entire corridor.

Lin Zhu returned along the original path. Just as he rounded a corner, he suddenly heard a few very low, breathless sounds coming from a stairwell.

His footsteps instantly paused.

This sound—Lin Zhu was very familiar with it.

Just tonight.

Before he and Yan Ruoyun completed the marking, when the man had been pinned back onto the hospital bed by him while he was under the influence of the character persona, he had let out this exact same sound—

A suppressed, restrained, trembling sob.

Lin Zhu hesitated for a moment, but still followed the sound and walked over, very lightly glancing into the stairwell.

The lights in the stairwell were off.

A figure stood by the window, silently gazing at the heavy rain pouring down outside, occasionally raising a hand to wipe their cheek with a handkerchief.

By the gloomy light of the night, Lin Zhu recognized that it was the back of a female figure. He couldn’t tell her age; he only felt that her entire person was very thin, especially her wrists… seemingly so thin that only bones were left.

Lin Zhu lowered his eyelids. Not knowing what he had thought of, his lips flattened into a straight line, the curve looking extremely cold and hard.

He reached into his shopping bag, rummaged around, and pulled out that platinum foil-wrapped chocolate ball—the chocolate ball originally intended as a gift for Yan Ruoyun—and placed it on the rack by the stairwell door.

Knock knock.

After setting it down, Lin Zhu knocked very lightly on the half-closed stairwell door. He hid his entire body behind the door, not wanting the other person to feel awkward.

He said in a low voice,

“…Have some candy.”

–

Returning to the hospital room.

Lin Zhu found that Doctor Xu had indeed already left.

And Yan Ruoyun was leaning against the headboard, the thin blanket covering him up to his waist, with a black business laptop resting on his thighs over the blanket.

He was holding his phone, talking to someone on a call.

Lin Zhu didn’t hear exactly what Yan Ruoyun was saying, only vaguely catching the trailing ends of one or two syllables.

He closed the door and walked slowly toward the bed.

“Ge, are you hungry?”

“I bought small wontons, let’s eat some together.”

“Oh right, can you tell me what Doctor Xu said? Are the test reports out yet?”

Yan Ruoyun didn’t hang up the phone. As if showing off, he deliberately spoke into the phone while addressing the blond youth: “I’ll tell you in a bit. You went to buy food for me just now?”

Lin Zhu sat down on the single stool beside the bed and placed the two bags in his hands onto the bedside table one by one. He first took out the small wontons and replied: “Mm, I figured you might be hungry.”

The man’s lips curled up. “Thanks.”

On the other end of the phone.

Lin Xiujie stayed silent for a long time, then squeezed out a sentence: “…You really love showing off, don’t you?”

Yan Ruoyun turned a deaf ear. Staring at his incredibly handsome little boyfriend, he couldn’t help but add another sentence,

“You worked hard tonight.”

The youth had rushed all the way to the hospital and hadn’t rested for a single moment. He didn’t even seem to realize that right now, he looked… exceptionally exhausted and sleepy.

One must know, even for an Alpha, releasing pheromones continuously at a high intensity for a prolonged period was an extremely energy-draining task.

Lin Zhu shook his head. In a few quick movements, he helped Yan Ruoyun set up the overbed table, then placed one portion of the small wontons onto it, finally setting a disposable spoon on top of the lid.

The entire process was meticulous and attentive.

Watching him, Yan Ruoyun suddenly had the strong urge to grab his face and kiss him hard, or even just be pinned down and kissed by Lin Zhu.

At this moment, Lin Xiujie’s clicking tongue of critique came through the phone: “Pretend, just keep pretending all you want.”

Yan Ruoyun smiled faintly. His gaze swept over the other opaque shopping bag on the bedside table, and he asked casually: “Lin Zhu, what else did you buy for me?”

Seeing that the man was holding his phone but exclusively talking to him the whole time, Lin Zhu thought he had already hung up. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly pulled that pack of items out of the shopping bag and explained:

“When I was changing the bedsheets earlier, I noticed there were no more clean bedsheets in the cabinet… So, um…”

He stood the pack upright, turning the side with the logo and trademark toward Yan Ruoyun, and added a few very detailed remarks.

“The store manager said this type has the best effect. It uses new high-tech skin-friendly cotton, it’s thin, breathable, and doesn’t feel stuffy, plus it’s highly waterproof. No matter how you lie down, it won’t leak…”

Before the final syllable of the word ‘leak’ was even fully out of his mouth, Lin Zhu saw Yan Ruoyun tap the phone screen with extreme speed, then violently shove it under his pillow.

Even after completing this entire sequence of actions, the smile on the man’s face hadn’t faded. His enunciation was extremely clear, yet right now, it sounded inexplicably like he was grinding his teeth.

He said: “Lin Zhu, repeat that one more time… What did you buy for me?”

Lin Zhu blinked, not understanding what the man meant. He turned the item in his hands back around, inspected it very seriously from top to bottom, and after confirming he hadn’t bought the wrong thing, answered with absolute certainty:

“—Urine pads.”

After saying that, he added: “It’s the highest quality brand in the store. Clean and hygienic.”

Yan Ruoyun: “…………”

Was this a question of what brand it was!

Yan Ruoyun’s cold, noble face completely broke down, instantly flushing fiery red from his cheeks all the way to the roots of his ears, as if he were on fire.

Twenty-eight years old.

…Given urine pads by his eighteen-year-old little boyfriend.

Haha, I’m doing just great.