“I’ll take you out for a walk in a wheelchair tomorrow,” Mom said, sitting by the bed. “The doctor said you can move around in the courtyard now. Your leg is fine, the previous fracture hasn’t affected anything…”

“You should get some rest, Mom. Liu Wenrui and the others can come,” Zou Yang looked at her. “You’ve lost a lot of weight.”

“I’m not tired. This isn’t just a cold or a fever, and it’s not like your fracture from before,” Mom sighed, frowning as she turned her face away. “You almost lost your life…”

“Let’s not talk about that,” Zou Yang said.

“What do you want for dinner? We’re not eating hospital food today,” Mom said. “There’s a place across the street that makes nutritious meals. The lady next door said it’s pretty good, so I got a menu from them.”

“Let me see.” Zou Yang actually didn’t have much of an appetite. He used to love eating, and although his diet had slowly returned to normal these past few days, he hadn’t felt like eating anything.

“Do you need your glasses?” Mom pulled out the menu and handed it to him, then opened the nightstand drawer. “I brought your old glasses. I’m not sure if the prescription is still right.”

“Yeah,” Zou Yang nodded. “They’re fine. I only changed to those new glasses because they looked better.”

Mom smiled and helped him put his glasses on.

Zou Yang looked at the menu. It was pretty plain, but judging from the pictures, it shouldn’t taste bad… Steamed egg with shrimp paste was okay. Blueberry yam mash? Kind of wanted that… Fish soup, fish soup should be good too… Or maybe pumpkin millet porridge… And steamed dumplings…

Suddenly, a violent wave of nausea hit Zou Yang. He tossed the menu aside and dry-heaved a couple of times.

His chest tore with pain.

… The analgesic pump had just been removed yesterday.

“What’s wrong?” Mom stood up in a panic. “Does it hurt?”

“…No, it doesn’t hurt.” Zou Yang closed his eyes. Luckily, the sensation passed quickly. “I’m fine.”

“Why is this still happening? Didn’t the doctor say it wouldn’t happen anymore?” Mom was a bit frantic.

“No, I might just be hungry,” Zou Yang recovered his breath. “Steamed egg with shrimp paste and blueberry yam, and the fish soup…”

“I’ll call them in a bit. They have someone who delivers directly to the hospital.” Mom took the menu away. As she placed it back on the table, she tilted her head. “Hey? Isn’t this… are these Liu Wenrui’s car keys?”

“Huh?” Zou Yang turned his head to look.

“That kid. He always left things behind every time he came to our house in the past. He’s so old now and he’s still like this.” Mom took out her phone. “I’ll give him a call and bring them out to him.”

“Don’t… no need,” Zou Yang quickly said. “He’ll probably…”

“I’m back again!” Liu Wenrui pushed the hospital room door open and walked in.

“You forgot your car keys,” Mom said.

“…Right,” Liu Wenrui smiled. “Did you see them, Auntie?”

“Here they are.” Mom handed him the keys. “Where are the other guys?”

“Waiting for me outside.” Liu Wenrui took the keys and stood by the bed without moving.

They had agreed that Liu Wenrui would bring the news back to him, but they hadn’t figured out how to actually hand over the information, considering Mom never left the bedside.

“Hurry up and go,” Mom said, looking at him.

“Auntie,” Liu Wenrui gritted his teeth, “could you excuse us for a moment?”

Mom paused, her eyes instantly filled with suspicion.

“I have a bit of a… relationship problem, and I want to talk to Zou Yang about it. Not seeing him for so long has really been suffocating me,” Liu Wenrui said.

“Oh,” Mom hesitated but started walking toward the door anyway. “You have relationship problems now? Didn’t you declare yourself a celibate in middle school…”

“People change, you know… Yang-ah,” Liu Wenrui dragged a chair over to the bed. “So, lately I’ve…”

“She’s out. Get to the point,” Zou Yang interrupted him. “Did you see him?”

“Let me say one thing first,” Liu Wenrui held up a finger. “This is the premise for everything.”

“Mm,” Zou Yang responded.

“He looked pretty good, he could sit up…” Liu Wenrui said.

Zou Yang breathed a massive sigh of relief.

“He looks better than his actual injuries suggest.” Liu Wenrui finished his sentence and looked at him.

“What does that mean?” Zou Yang’s breath hitched again.

“I don’t think I should actually tell you,” Liu Wenrui glanced at the monitors next to him. “Your…”

Zou Yang didn’t speak, just stared at him.

“He told us not to tell you,” Liu Wenrui pulled out his phone, put an earbud into Zou Yang’s ear, and opened a video file. “But we’ve been friends for over a decade. I definitely can’t betray you at a time like this. I’m not like you, abandoning friends for a lover, leading them on and then ditching them…”

The video footage was upside down and all over the place. It was clearly filmed secretly and casually while holding the phone. It was shaking violently, and it took a long time to even tell if the person was right-side up or upside down.

Zou Yang wanted to pause it and watch slowly, but his chest was restricted by an alloy brace fixing his fractures. Although it was smart and quite advanced, it limited many movements. He patted the bed anxiously. “Raise the bed up a bit.”

“Me?” Liu Wenrui looked at him in shock but had already grabbed the edge of the bed. “How do I… raise it?”

Zou Yang looked at him, utterly speechless. Since speaking still drained his energy, he didn’t want to explain.

“Oh! Fuck,” Liu Wenrui suddenly realized. “Why didn’t you just say crank it up? I almost didn’t understand…”

“I have head injuries too,” Zou Yang said, his eyes returning to the screen.

The screen shook, and he saw Fan Jun sitting against the headboard.

He stared at the screen, his finger constantly tapping it.

“What are you doing?” Liu Wenrui looked at him, lowering his voice. “Just look at it, do you want to touch him too?”

“Are you sick? I’m trying to find a good place to pause,” Zou Yang said.

“Let me, let me.” Liu Wenrui took the phone, frantically tapped the screen a few times, and placed it back on the tray table in front of him. “Look. This is the only part where you can see clearly. Later, when I was standing next to him, I didn’t even dare move my hand…”

Zou Yang didn’t pay attention to what Liu Wenrui was saying. He stared at Fan Jun on the screen.

Because of the severe shaking, the paused image was still very blurry, but he could still see that Fan Jun had lost a significant amount of weight.

His head was lowered, making it impossible to see his eyes clearly, or even the scars on his nose and lips. The bandages on his left chest and the splint on his left arm took up most of the frame…

“You two have matching couple hairstyles now,” Liu Wenrui said. “He has a pretty long stitch at the back of his head, but the swelling inside has gone down.”

“Mm.” Zou Yang zoomed in on the image. He stared at Fan Jun’s face for a while before dragging the progress bar back to the beginning to play it again.

Fan Jun’s left ear was completely deaf, and it was unclear if his right ear had also been affected. His head was definitely injured. The thought of those blows the short guy had smashed into his head still made Zou Yang’s hands tremble…

Lü Ze had recited Fan Jun’s injuries very fluently to Liu Wenrui and the others, which meant he had been taking care of him for a while… But the more Zou Yang listened, the blurrier his vision became. A teardrop fell onto the screen, and the video paused.

Liu Wenrui sighed beside him. He took the phone, rubbed it against his shirt twice, and quickly grabbed a tissue to dab at Zou Yang’s eyes. “Don’t cry. Your mom is right outside the door. She might even look through the window in a minute. She probably doesn’t really believe my excuse…”

Liu Wenrui then grabbed another tissue and pressed it against his own eyes. “I need to make this look convincing.”

The video continued. Before Zou Yang could even sort through the extent of Fan Jun’s injuries, he heard Fan Jun’s voice.

“Don’t tell him… Tell him I’m recovering fine, he doesn’t need to worry.”

“Thank you. Go back.”

Fan Jun’s voice was hoarse, revealing a calm filled with a deep depression Zou Yang had never heard before.

Zou Yang lowered his head and stared at the now-black phone screen.

He didn’t want to cry. Aside from the heartache, his deepest feeling right now… was panic.

When Fan Jun saw Liu Wenrui and the others, there was no surprise, no smile, no emotion at all, and almost no words.

“Lü Ze said his left hand… can’t move right now. He injured some nerve, but luckily it’s not the absolute worst-case scenario,” Liu Wenrui said quietly. “When he walked us out, he said it would take half a year to a year to recover. And the lumbar spine too, it can recover, it just takes time…”

“In other words,” Zou Yang was still staring at the screen, “he won’t be able to do anything for a long time.”

“Huh?” Liu Wenrui paused. “Yeah, with these injuries, even if his mobility isn’t permanently affected, still… You mean his work will be affected. Is that what you mean?”

Zou Yang didn’t say anything else.

He didn’t completely understand what kind of person Fan Jun was, but he knew these injuries would affect his coaching job. Even if he could recover, for the next year, he would once again become a burden to Uncle Lü’s family.

Zou Yang felt his fingertips go cold.

“Are you okay, Yang Yang?” Liu Wenrui gently nudged him. “Is this your heart rate? Isn’t it a bit high?”

“…I’m angry,” Zou Yang snapped back to reality.

“Angry at what?” Liu Wenrui looked at him.

“What the hell did you record? Not a single person is clear. You didn’t even film Lü Ze clearly,” Zou Yang said.

“Fuck me?” Liu Wenrui snatched his phone back. “Forget it, considering you’re an invalid right now…”

“Do you guys have time to come wait on me tomorrow?” Zou Yang asked. “My mom needs to rest. She hired someone for a few days but then fired them, said it was too expensive and they didn’t do a good job…”

“They already said when they got back that they’d come help out. If we have classes, we’ll take turns. If we don’t, we’ll all come together. Don’t worry,” Liu Wenrui said. “We’re cheap.”

“Shouldn’t you guys be free?” Zou Yang shot him a look.

Liu Wenrui clicked his tongue. “No, you have so much money. This time your dad will definitely give you at least eighty or a hundred grand…”

“There’s no more after this,” Zou Yang interrupted him.

“What?” Liu Wenrui was stunned.

“He has to pay for tuition and living expenses, whatever is written in the divorce agreement,” Zou Yang said. “But nothing extra.”

“Why…” Amidst his shock, Liu Wenrui suddenly realized. “Does he know too?”

“Yeah,” Zou Yang replied.

“No, what did you do while you were unconscious? What exactly did you say?” Liu Wenrui really couldn’t wrap his head around it. “How could this… Do you think Fan Jun knows too?”

“Huh?” Zou Yang looked up. That was something he hadn’t considered.

Did Fan Jun know?

He didn’t know what crazy things he had blabbed while unconscious, but now everyone knew.

Mom didn’t stay outside for long before returning to the room. Zou Yang felt she didn’t entirely believe Liu Wenrui had any relationship problems. After all, they had grown up together.

“I’m leaving. Get some rest, I’ll come by tomorrow,” Liu Wenrui said, taking the opportunity while helping Zou Yang lie down to whisper, “Keep your phone handy.”

“Mm,” Zou Yang responded.

Less than ten minutes after Liu Wenrui left the room, his phone chimed.

Zou Yang quickly pulled his phone from under his pillow and took a look.

Respect had sent him a photo. Of Fan Jun.

It was obvious he had suddenly burst into the room to take it. In the photo, Fan Jun was looking at the camera with a bewildered expression.

[Respect] Kowtow to me.

Zou Yang smiled.

[Zou_yang] Kowtow.gif

The photo was very clear. Zou Yang zoomed in and stared at Fan Jun’s face, which now took up the entire screen.

He had indeed lost weight, and exhaustion seeped from his eyes.

“Time to eat?” Mom placed the newly delivered food onto the tray table in front of him.

Zou Yang quickly turned the screen off and shoved the phone back under his pillow.

“Chatting with Liu Wenrui?” Mom asked.

“Yeah,” Zou Yang replied.

Fan Jun didn’t have a phone right now and didn’t seem to plan on getting a new one, completely cutting himself off from the outside world.

Mom could probably guess what he and Liu Wenrui were talking about, she was just holding back from asking directly.

Zou Yang could only hold it in and play dumb too.

But at night, Mom would cry.

Thinking he was asleep, she would hide in the bathroom and cry softly.

He couldn’t hear the sound of crying, only the occasional sharp intake of breath.

Listening to it made Zou Yang want to cry too.

Mom had always liked Fan Jun. He was sensible, steady.

She probably still liked him now.

But she would also complain, or perhaps, she felt resentful.

---

Early the next morning, shortly after the doctor’s rounds, his roommates arrived at the room carrying breakfast.

“Eat first,” Liu Wenrui set two insulated thermoses on the nightstand. “My mom made you some pigeon porridge.”

The guys set up the tray table and cranked up the bed, working together seamlessly.

“Two thermoses?” Zou Yang asked.

“The other one is…” Liu Wenrui glanced over his shoulder at the door. “For Fan Jun. Your mom probably doesn’t have time to make food for him right now, and Uncle Lü and Lü Ze don’t look like they can make nutritious meals.”

“Tell Fan Jun to kowtow to you,” Zou Yang said.

“I wouldn’t dare. I don’t even dare talk to him right now. To be honest, I never thought he could be this cold…” Liu Wenrui glanced outside the door again.

“My mom went out. She said she was going for a walk, so she won’t be back for a bit,” Zou Yang said.

“We ran into her on our way in,” Li Zhiyue said. “She was just coming out of… the building where Fan Jun’s room is.”

“What?” Zou Yang froze.

“She went to see Fan Jun, right?” Zhang Chuanlong ladled the porridge from the thermos into a bowl and placed it in front of him. “Do you need to be fed?”

“She couldn’t have gone to see Fan Jun,” Zou Yang said quietly.

“Eat first,” Li Zhiyue said. “We’ll take you out for a spin after you finish.”

“Mm,” Zou Yang responded. “Feed me.”

The strangulation marks on his wrists and neck had healed significantly, but they were still bandaged. When he moved, he could feel the healing wounds pulling. It would be much faster if someone fed him.

Liu Wenrui picked up the bowl, scooped up a spoonful, and brought it to his mouth. “You can eat it right away. My mom let it cool for a bit before packing it.”

Zou Yang took a bite. It was very savory. For the first time in days, he felt hungry.

Liu Wenrui scooped another spoonful and looked at him.

“Just feed it to him. Are you waiting for him to open his mouth before you pour it in?” Li Zhiyue said.

“You do it then,” Liu Wenrui clicked his tongue.

Li Zhiyue took the bowl and spoon, quickly shoving a spoonful of porridge into Zou Yang’s mouth. The moment Zou Yang swallowed, the second spoonful was shoved in.

“Have you ever force-fed a duck?” Zhang Chuanlong marveled from the side.

After force-feeding the duck, Liu Wenrui went to the nurse’s station to borrow a wheelchair, and the three of them moved Zou Yang into it.

“I can do it myself, I can walk now,” Zou Yang said.

“We’re cheap labor,” Liu Wenrui said, casually hanging the thermos on the back of the wheelchair.

Just as they were pushing him out, Mom walked in from the hallway.

“Where are you going?” she asked in shock.

“Going out for some fresh air,” Zou Yang said.

“Just taking a walk in the courtyard downstairs,” Liu Wenrui said. “Don’t worry, Auntie. With us here, we guarantee Zou Yang’s safety.”

Mom didn’t say anything, just looked at Zou Yang, her eyes full of suspicion and pain.

Zou Yang turned his head away, lacking the courage to keep meeting his mom’s eyes.

“Don’t be too long,” Mom said. “His fractures haven’t healed yet, he still needs bed rest.”

“Got it, Auntie,” Li Zhiyue nodded, pushing the wheelchair and walking briskly out. “Just half an hour.”

“What’s that?” Mom noticed the thermos hanging on the back of the wheelchair.

There was no way to answer that. Liu Wenrui probably hadn’t figured out what to say when he brought the two thermoses in. Now even Li Zhiyue was stumped.

The guys could only use the most rigid method—collective silence—as they pushed the wheelchair and bolted out the door.

“Fuck, what do we do?” Liu Wenrui asked once they were out of the elevator.

“To Fan Jun’s room,” Zou Yang said.

“I mean, how do we explain this thermos later?” Liu Wenrui clarified.

“Just order some takeout from further away. Once it arrives, put it in the thermos and say Zou Yang wanted it,” Li Zhiyue said, pressing the button for the opposite elevator. “Say Zhang Chuanlong went to buy it and brought it back. A small shop, doesn’t do delivery.”

The elevator doors opened. This half of the building’s wards looked no different from Zou Yang’s side.

The guys pushed him straight to the very end of the corridor. The single room at the end was Fan Jun’s room.

Zou Yang suddenly felt his chest brace tighten, squeezing so hard he could feel his heart pounding fiercely…

He knew his mom had definitely gone to see Fan Jun just now. He didn’t want to think too much about what she might have said, but he could guess roughly. And given Fan Jun’s personality, he might not want to see him right now.

But he still wanted to see Fan Jun. He wanted to see him, touch him, and hear his voice.

Lü Ze was standing outside the room on a phone call. When he saw them approaching, he froze for a few seconds before shoving his phone into his pocket. He turned to look inside the room, then turned to look at them, then turned back to the room, and finally walked toward them.

“Can you get out of bed? Why did you come all the way over here?” Lü Ze asked.

“I can.” Zou Yang didn’t look at him, staring only at the half-open door.

Liu Wenrui kept pushing him forward.

Lü Ze grabbed the wheelchair. “He’s getting his dressings changed, wait a minute.”

“I want to see,” Zou Yang said.

“He wants to see. He’s not scared. He’s a…” Liu Wenrui kept pushing him, “…pervert.”

Two nurses were standing by the bed. On their small cart were various medications, gauze, and some bloodied dressings.

“Told you not to forcefully exert yourself, and don’t move around so much,” one nurse said. “It’ll heal very slowly like this…”

Liu Wenrui pushed the wheelchair directly in front of Fan Jun’s bed. Zou Yang immediately saw the massive wound on his left chest.

Fan Jun didn’t seem to have heard them come in. He only raised his head when he sensed people in front of him.

When he saw Zou Yang, he froze.

“Hey, handsome,” Zou Yang said.