“Does it hurt?” Liu Wenrui sat on the hospital bed, gently stroking the freshly set plaster cast on Zou Yang’s leg.

“It doesn’t hurt,” Zou Yang looked at his hand. “I just feel a little nauseous.”

“Didn’t you just say you didn’t have a concussion?” Zhang Chuanlong instantly panicked, turning to head out and call a nurse. “Why are you nauseous now!”

“He’s nauseated by me!” Liu Wenrui glared at him. “Go sit on the side!”

“You are a little nauseating,” Li Zhiyue laughed hard while leaning against the doorframe.

“Where’s my phone?” Zou Yang asked.

“Rest for a bit before playing on it,” Liu Wenrui frowned. “The doctor even said your head needs rest, otherwise they wouldn’t have made you stay hospitalized.”

“Phone, phone, phone, phone, phone…” Zou Yang stared at him.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Liu Wenrui took his phone out of the bag. “How many do you want? Are four enough?”

Zou Yang took the phone, opened the camera, adjusted the angle, and framed his own head and leg along with his three roommates. “Give me an anxious expression.”

All of them simultaneously furrowed their brows and looked at him. Zou Yang snapped a photo.

“Sending it to your dad?” Liu Wenrui really did understand him best.

“No, posting it to Moments, visible only to him,” Zou Yang lowered his head to inspect the photo, zooming in and looking at it closely several times to ensure there were no flaws. “Did Fan Jun call me just now?”

“Yeah, he called my phone,” Liu Wenrui said.

“He said he’s coming over right now,” Li Zhiyue said.

Zou Yang jerked his head up. “You guys told him to come over?”

“He wanted to come over himself,” Li Zhiyue was a bit baffled by his reaction. “Wenrui started off by just saying you got into a car accident. There’s no way he wouldn’t come.”

“He…” Zou Yang didn’t know what to say. Forgetting about posting to his Moments, he hurriedly opened Fan Jun’s chat window.

[Fan]: Are you there yet?
[Fan]: Just call me when you get there, I’ll come down.
[Fan]: Is something wrong?

Zou Yang hesitated and didn’t call him directly. Fan Jun was likely already on his way, and he wasn’t sure what his situation was, so he sent a message first.

[Zou yang]: You’re coming over? Where are you?

Today’s sunlight was piercing. Even with his hat and sunglasses on, Fan Jun was still getting blinded by the glare off the ground.

Perhaps it was because this area lacked the greenery of an ancient city district like Nanzhouping. The trees lining the road were noticeably sparser and much smaller than those in Nanzhouping…

The navigation on his screen was a bit hard to read under the intense light. Fan Jun was wearing his earphones.

But the earphones couldn’t block out the chaotic traffic around him. He had to concentrate to hear the navigation voice.

If his mind wandered even slightly, the voice would drift away.

“I’m fucking talking to you! I told you to boil water, where the hell did you boil it?”

Fan Jun frowned and looked up ahead. A cluster of electric scooters had stopped at the red light.

At the intersection ahead, they needed to go straight.

“What the fuck use are you anyway? Come here, come on, come over here and tell your daddy, what the fuck use are you?”

“Come here!”

The light turned green. Fan Jun moved forward with the crowd. Blending in with the masses gave him a brief moment of peace, but the sight of the shifting cars and people brought a faint sense of suffocation.

“Come here,” Fan Gang waved at him, a smile on his face. “Come.”

He hesitated before walking over slowly.

While there was still half a room’s distance between them, Fan Gang had already lunged forward, aiming a kick right at his face.

He only felt his head snap backward violently as his body flew backward, before crashing heavily onto the ground.

A flash of reddish-gold light exploded across his vision.

Amidst the chaotic sounds, a horn blared. Fan Jun inhaled sharply. When he looked back, he saw Fan Gang behind him, face contorted with rage due to his sudden braking.

I’ll kill you when we get back!

He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled out his earphones. “Sorry.”

Fan Gang vanished, transforming back into an irritated-looking guy on a scooter.

He drove his e-bike onto the nearby sidewalk and parked it in a shaded parking spot.

Straddling the bike, he sat frozen for a moment before slowly recovering, lowering his head and letting out a long exhale.

Today wasn’t too bad.

At least he wasn’t completely submerged in the terror of Fan Gang appearing to hunt him down at any moment.

But as he felt around his pocket for his phone, he could see that his hand was still trembling slightly.

He glanced at his phone.

Sure enough, there were messages from Zou Yang and four missed calls.

He didn’t have time to read the messages. Just as he was about to return the call, Zou Yang’s fifth call came through.

“Hello?” He answered the phone.

“Holy shit,” the sharp exhalation of relief was clear in Zou Yang’s voice. “Why weren’t you replying to messages or answering your phone?”

“It’s too noisy on the street,” Fan Jun said. “I didn’t hear it.”

“Where are you?” Zou Yang asked.

“I… don’t know,” Fan Jun looked around. The unfamiliar streetscape made it impossible for him to focus on any single building or any piece of text. He paused. “I’m in a taxi.”

“You took a taxi?” Zou Yang was momentarily stunned.

“Mm,” Fan Jun replied.

“Alright then,” Zou Yang’s voice instantly relaxed. “Call me when you get to the hospital. I’ll have Liu Wenrui go out to the entrance to get you.”

“Mm,” Fan Jun acknowledged.

“Tell the driver to stop at the back entrance, the one by the inpatient department,” Zou Yang said, his voice unhurried and steady.

“Mm,” Fan Jun kept acknowledging, feeling his vision slowly clear up.

His dad’s voice carried an anxiety that was hard to tell whether it was genuine or not: “How could you not tell your parents about something this big! Which ward at the First Affiliated Hospital?”

“It’s really not that big of a deal,” Zou Yang leaned against his bed, frowning. “Dad, you don’t need to come over…”

“I just finished eating lunch with someone nearby. I’m not far from the First Affiliated Hospital, I’m heading over right now,” his dad didn’t give him a chance to decline, talking over him. “Give me your bed number…”

Zou Yang looked helplessly at his roommates, who were standing by his bed with equally sorrowful expressions.

He had only wanted to play the victim on his Moments; he hadn’t expected his acting to be so convincing that it drew out his dad’s paternal instincts…

At that moment, a baseball cap flashed past the glass window of the ward door, and then quickly flashed back.

Zou Yang bolted upright, pointing at the door.

He didn’t pay attention to whatever his dad was still saying on the phone. Staring at the glass window, he couldn’t keep up the act anymore.

Fan Jun’s face drew near, appearing outside the glass, peering inside.

Before Liu Wenrui could go over and open it, the door was pushed open, and Fan Jun walked in.

“Fan-ge,” the few of them greeted him quietly.

Zou Yang directly hung up the phone, looking at him in astonishment. “How did you find this place?”

“I asked people,” Fan Jun also looked at him with a shocked expression, his eyes sweeping back and forth between the bandages wrapped around his head and the plaster cast on his leg. “You… how is it this bad?”

“Did you hang up on your dad?” Liu Wenrui was also shocked.

“Just tell him I passed out just now.” After saying that, Zou Yang looked back at Fan Jun. “My injuries aren’t serious.”

“Didn’t you just… pass out?” Fan Jun said.

“You were the one who got hit, weren’t you?” Zou Yang started laughing.

Fan Jun paused for a moment before realizing what he meant, and then he started laughing too.

“Don’t be too cheerful,” Li Zhiyue reminded them, poking his head out to look into the hallway. “Your dad could get here any minute…”

“He said he wasn’t far from here, so I already know where he ate. It’s that Jufu Restaurant,” Zou Yang said. “It’ll take about twenty minutes to get here.”

“Fan-ge, take a seat,” Liu Wenrui shifted toward the foot of the bed. “Sit…”

“Don’t sit on the hospital bed,” a nurse walked in.

“Okay, sister,” Liu Wenrui immediately stood up.

After the nurse changed his IV drip and left, the four of them just stood around the bed, looking at Zou Yang.

They probably wanted to chat about something, but they were afraid Director Zou would suddenly walk in and they wouldn’t have time to switch gears emotionally, so they all fell into an inexplicable silence.

Zou Yang actually wanted to chat a bit with Fan Jun. After all, Fan Jun had been in a really bad state when they went to the amusement park before, but he couldn’t ask about it in front of these guys.

Finally, he hesitated, looking at Fan Jun. “My mom…”

“Hm?” Fan Jun took two steps toward the head of the bed.

Zou Yang didn’t say anything, just shooting a glance over at Li Zhiyue and the others.

“We’ll go outside and keep watch,” Li Zhiyue immediately turned and headed for the door. “We’ll let you know in advance when your dad gets here.”

“You know his dad?” Liu Wenrui followed him. “You’re keeping watch?”

“Are you blind or were you just not there?” Li Zhiyue said.

“The reason our dorm can’t win any excellence awards is because you two are always arguing,” Zhang Chuanlong followed them out and closed the door.

“Sister Shan is at the old gym today,” Fan Jun said. “I didn’t tell her.”

“I wasn’t going to ask about her,” Zou Yang said.

“Hm?” Fan Jun looked at him, then leaned closer to inspect the gauze on his head. “Your head…”

“Fell on the ground and got a cut, needed three stitches,” Zou Yang said. “The fracture in my leg isn’t too serious either. They’ll just observe it for a bit, and if everything’s fine, I can be discharged this afternoon.”

“Oh.” Fan Jun nodded, though his brows were still furrowed.

“When you came over…” Zou Yang finally had the chance to ask, but he didn’t know how to broach the topic. “…was it…”

Fan Jun looked at him.

“Did it go smoothly?” Zou Yang asked.

Fan Jun didn’t say anything, seemingly pondering why he would ask that.

“That day at the amusement park,” Zou Yang sighed and said softly, “I noticed you felt uncomfortable when there were a lot of people. My mom… mentioned that you don’t really leave Nanzhouping.”

“Yeah, I’ve been in Nanzhouping for over a decade,” Fan Jun said. “I haven’t gone out many times in total. I can remember exactly what I did every single time I went out.”

“Holy shit,” Zou Yang couldn’t contain his shock. “Are you an NPC?”

“Yes,” Fan Jun smiled.

“Are you…” Zou Yang gritted his teeth. “Are you hiding from Fan Gang?”

Fan Jun gently tipped his hat up a bit. The gaze from beneath the brim landed on Zou Yang’s face. It was a long while before he said, “Yes.”

“My dad is coming over soon. Once I’m done dealing with him, I’ll go back to Nanzhouping to eat,” Zou Yang glanced at his phone.

“Let’s just eat around here,” Fan Jun said. “It’s fine.”

“Alright,” Zou Yang didn’t insist. He immediately opened his phone. “There’s a private kitchen nearby. Let me see if they’re still open now and book a table…”

“Your dad,” Liu Wenrui pushed the door open, his face stuck in the crack as he said it.

“Your uncle,” Zou Yang didn’t even lift his head.

“He’s here!” Liu Wenrui lowered his voice, then turned his head and shouted down the hallway, “Uncle, over here!”

Zou Yang still didn’t lift his head. He tossed his phone onto the bedside cabinet and leaned back against his pillows. The relaxed expression on his face vanished in an instant.

Fan Jun leaned against the wall watching him, unable to stop his eyebrow from twitching upward.

“Xiao Yang?” A man walked in from outside the door.

Even though Zou Yang looked a lot like Sister Shan, upon seeing this man, Fan Jun could still tell he was Zou Yang’s father. He was very young, with an upright posture, and handsome.

Both his parents were remarkably good-looking, so it made perfect sense that Zou Yang was handsome.

However, unlike Sister Shan, Zou’s dad carried an undisguised air of superiority.

He first swept a glance over Fan Jun. Before Fan Jun could react, he had already walked to Zou Yang’s bedside.

“Dad, I’m fine,” Zou Yang sighed. “Why did you still come running over?”

“Why did you hang up on me?” Zou’s dad demanded.

“I was afraid you’d ask for my bed number…” Zou Yang turned his head to look out the hospital window, speaking in a low voice, “so I just hung up.”

At this distance, Fan Jun basically couldn’t hear that sentence clearly; he guessed it from reading Zou Yang’s lips.

“You kid… Did they do all the tests? Did they take a scan of your head?” Zou’s dad touched the gauze wrapped around his head and checked his leg, his voice lowering as well.

Fan Jun couldn’t see his mouth and didn’t know what he said.

“Dad, Dad,” Zou Yang grabbed his hand. “I’m really fine. I’m not that fragile. They’ve already done the tests. My stitches come out next week, and my leg isn’t serious. Stop worrying.”

“You still need to get a…” Zou’s dad’s voice was still inaudible, but halfway through his sentence, he turned his head and looked at Fan Jun. “You…”

Fan Jun looked back at him.

What, does he want me to leave the room?

Fan Jun turned, walked out of the ward, and closed the door.

Liu Wenrui and the others were standing in the hallway. Seeing him come out, Li Zhiyue pulled a bottle of iced black tea from the plastic bag he was holding and handed it to him.

“They putting on a show in there?” Liu Wenrui asked.

“…Yeah,” Fan Jun smiled.

He knew that Zou Yang was different in front of his dad than he was with Sister Shan, and different in front of Sister Shan than he was with Liu Wenrui and the others. He even had yet another side to him when he was just with Fan Jun…

Would it be tiring, having so many faces?

Which one was the real him?

About ten minutes later, Zou’s dad walked out of the ward, looking at his watch.

“Uncle’s leaving, huh?” Liu Wenrui said.

“Yes, I have an appointment this afternoon,” Zou’s dad didn’t even look in Liu Wenrui’s direction, walking briskly straight toward the elevators. “I’ll trouble you guys to take care of Xiao Yang.”

“Don’t worry, Uncle,” Li Zhiyue said.

When the group returned to the ward, Zou Yang seemed to still be immersed in his role, his eyes lowered as he stared absentmindedly at a scraped, bloody scratch on his arm.

“Cut—” Liu Wenrui walked over and pinched his cheek. “Mission accomplished.”

Zou Yang clicked his tongue, lifted his head, leaned back, and stretched lazily.

He then grabbed his phone, checked his messages, and said while replying, “I’ll book a table. We’ll go eat at that ‘Grass Hut’ private kitchen in a bit.”

“Holy shit,” Zhang Chuanlong immediately pulled Zou Yang’s shoes out from under the bed and placed them neatly by the bedside. “Please, utilize your shoes.”

“When we get back today, I’m going to help you write a report to apply to drop out,” Li Zhiyue said.

As they helped Zou Yang pack his things, Zou Yang sat on the edge of the bed, yawned, and turned to look at Fan Jun, who had been standing quietly to the side the whole time. “My dad was just trying to ask you to go get the attending doctor.”

“I didn’t hear what he said,” Fan Jun replied. “I thought he wanted me to excuse myself.”

“Perfect. That really pissed him off,” Zou Yang laughed for a good while, giving him a thumbs-up. Then, imitating his dad’s tone, he said, “Who is this? So impolite! How can he be so impolite!”

Fan Jun didn’t say anything, merely looking at him.

“What’s up?” Zou Yang asked with a smile.

“Are you really okay?” Fan Jun bent down, leaning his hands on the edge of the bed, and asked in a low voice.

Zou Yang’s smile froze on his face.

It was a while before he spoke softly, “I’m fine.”

“Alright then, how are you leaving?” Liu Wenrui walked over. “Are we going to wait for me to go buy crutches, or should we just carry you on our backs first?”

“I’m supposed to be carried by the guy who needs a stick just to do a leg kick?” Zou Yang said. “My fracture hasn’t displaced right now. Don’t let you guys drop me and turn it into a comminuted fracture.”

“That’s Zhang Chuanlong!” Liu Wenrui protested.

“I’ll carry him,” Fan Jun said.

“Oh, right!” Liu Wenrui clapped his hands. “We have Fan-ge!”

“I’m not light, you know,” Zou Yang warned Fan Jun.

“You’re not that heavy either,” Fan Jun held out his hand.

Zou Yang grabbed his hand and used the leverage to stand up. “You know?”

“…I’ve kicked you before,” Fan Jun turned around. “I can roughly estimate it.”

The group instantly burst into laughter.

Zou Yang clicked his tongue, wrapped his arms around his shoulders, and used a bit of momentum to hop onto his back. Fan Jun reached back and caught his legs.