Chapter 35: Emergency

In winter, BBQ restaurants are always busier than at any other time. Not long after sunset, the restaurant was already full—the sizzling of BBQ blending with the sounds of drinking, conversation, and the clinking of glasses, creating a lively atmosphere.

Fu Rangyi sat quietly amidst this bustle, feeling somewhat out of place. The Alpha colleague diagonally across had already drunk himself red-faced, arm around another Alpha’s neck, urging him to escape the winter with a trip to an island over the holidays.

Everyone was used to Fu Rangyi’s reticence—he was the youngest of them all, so nobody minded. They just made sure to include him each time glasses were raised.

They’d toasted him nine times already. Zhu Zhixi still hadn’t shown up. Fu Rangyi kept glancing down, and for the sixth time opened WeChat, clicking on the pinned chat and refreshing—even though he knew it was pointless.

Zhu Zhixi’s last message was sent forty-three minutes ago:

[Bad Rabbit: Professor Fu, I might be a bit late, sorry, sorry. You all start eating, don’t wait for me, and please help me apologize to your colleagues!]

Beneath that were the three messages he’d sent after sitting down:

[Pretty Widower: Is there an emergency? Need help?]
[Pretty Widower: Don’t worry, we haven’t even started, everyone’s late. Drive safe, safety first.]
[Pretty Widower: You okay?]

“Professor Fu didn’t drive today, right? Then have a drink! I heard you can hold your liquor.” The Beta teacher next to him smiled, “Want a little? Clear spirits, or wine?”

Fu Rangyi smiled and shook his head. “I have a bit of a headache today, I’ll just have water.”

Director Wang from the same lab heard and looked up. “Hey, you didn’t drive today, Fu? I was hoping to hitch a ride home with you later.”

Before Fu Rangyi could speak, Professor Zhang from the next office jumped in, “His tire burst, so it’s in the shop.” They’d left work together two days ago, walking to the parking lot.

“It burst? What happened?”

“Thank goodness it didn’t happen on the road.”

“Probably the cold these past days, icy roads, brittle tires,” someone guessed.

“Could be,” Fu Rangyi said, “It’s in for repairs, waiting to hear from the shop.”

Professor Zhang was warmhearted, tending the grill while adding, “I told Xiao Fu to have security check the surveillance, just in case a student pranked him.”

“Professor Fu is so popular, no way.”

Fu Rangyi hesitated. “I went to security this morning but there was no one there—they told me to wait, but a student came looking for me, and I got busy, just didn’t have time.”

“It’s been cold—security’s been out clearing ice, they’re swamped.”

A professor at another table heaved a sigh: “Ugh, with this cold, I’ve got to take my group out to the field. Students are already drawing symbols and praying for rain.”

“Good thing Professor Fu doesn’t have to go, otherwise he’d spend his first married Spring Festival out in the wild, can’t even accompany his wife.”

Lost in thought, Fu Rangyi only realized he’d been addressed when laughter rippled around the table. He looked up, a bit dazed, making everyone laugh harder.

Unsettled, he mulled things over and, in a low voice, asked a colleague who’d previously worked with the museum. After some difficulty, he got Zhou Ming’s number.

“I’ll be right back.”

A few minutes later he returned, frowning. Zhou Ming had answered—but said that Zhu Zhixi had left right at closing time.

After hanging up, Fu Rangyi tried calling Zhu Zhixi. He knew Zhu Zhixi procrastinated and didn’t like being hurried, but his uneasiness was growing.

It was only when he tried calling that he realized—Zhu Zhixi’s phone was turned off.

A bad feeling rose up his spine, squeezing at his heart. Even if it was the evening rush, the journey from the museum to here, or even from home to the BBQ place, shouldn’t take more than two hours.

Could something have happened? He checked map apps: no accidents on any of the routes, just normal traffic jams.

Those thoughts began to spiral. The “tick-tock” hallucination in his mind started to echo.

They’d planned everything. Tomorrow it was time for their checkup.

Terrible. Old anxieties flared up, burning away all his calm composure. In truth, he’d never been able to handle the threat of loss—Zhu Zhixi had been right, it was all a paper tiger.

The air felt stifling. Suddenly unable to sit still, Fu Rangyi grabbed his coat and phone and stood.

“Hey, Professor Fu? Where are you going?”

“I…” He was tongue-tied. Where could he look? Maybe he should just go home—what if he’d fainted there?

This wasn’t rational. He knew Zhu Zhixi was a capable, adventurous adult, someone who’d been everywhere solo—there was no need to treat him like a child, no need to panic just because he was late.

“I’m going out to make a call,” he offered as an excuse and left.

It was snowing on the street, the air crisp. This was a busy area, with lines of young people waiting for food. It was noisy. He tried calling several more times—still powered off.

There was a small grocery store across the street from the BBQ place. Fu Rangyi went in and bought a pack of cigarettes at the counter.

He’d quit smoking three years ago. During his studies, the pressure had been overwhelming and the rut syndrome hard to bear—he’d picked up smoking for a while, but given it up in favor of exercise. Yet in anxiety, his first instinct was still the old vice. A bad habit buried in the body, never truly cured.

He borrowed a lighter from the shopkeeper, lit a cigarette, and walked back outside. The red ember glowed even brighter in the cold wind. Greyish smoke mixed with the frosty air. Leaning against the wall, he was shaking so much—whether from the cold or not—that he nearly dropped the cigarette.

Out on the street, cars rushed past. He glanced at a taxi with its green light on, and finally decided he’d just go home, raising his hand to flag it down.

But just then, he caught a familiar figure in his peripheral vision: turned away, standing beneath the red light at the crosswalk across the street. At the same moment, his phone vibrated.

Relief flooded him. Fu Rangyi answered as he walked quickly to a trash can, stubbing out and tossing the cigarette.

“Hello? Fu Rangyi, I’m so sorry, I’m really late—have you all started eating? A ton of things happened, it’s hard to explain all at once. If you’re still in the restaurant, can you come out for a second? I’m right next door, there’s a—”

“Turn around.”

He turned, and froze.

Neon lights flashed, lines of people surged at the crosswalk, but Fu Rangyi’s tall figure stood out. He ran over, his dark gray coat flaring in the wind. Many people were glancing at him.

“How did you end up on the other side…” Zhu Zhixi clutched his phone, watching as Fu Rangyi strode over, grabbed his arm, and led him a few steps away from the crowd.

“I was just coming out.”

Maybe it was his imagination, but in the crosswalk, Zhu Zhixi caught a hint of anger on his face—he expected to be scolded, but now, with Fu Rangyi holding his arm, he seemed calm and gentle instead.

But Zhu Zhixi still felt very guilty, so he immediately bowed his head and apologized, “Sorry, I promised I wouldn’t be late, but so much happened on the way, really, I swear I’m not making excuses. Listen, I left just past four, everything was going fine, but once I got off the bridge—you know what I saw? That little white dog! The same one as before, I can show you a pict—”

He pulled out his phone, but it flickered and powered off.

“Out of battery again.” Zhu Zhixi groaned, scratching his head. “I’d just barely charged it in the shop, as soon as it turned on I rushed to contact you.”

The light here was fickle and dim; an ad’s neon swept over, illuminating Zhu Zhixi’s face for a second.

He didn’t finish. Fu Rangyi suddenly reached out, cupped his chin, and made him look up: “Is this blood?”

“Huh?” Zhu Zhixi was confused, then quickly realized, “It’s fine, just a nosebleed, I wiped it up, some was left.”

It had dripped on his clothes, a white jacket now stained and dirty. Zhu Zhixi knew he probably looked a mess, and suddenly felt a wave of embarrassment, not wanting Fu Rangyi to see.

But Fu Rangyi didn’t say anything. Instead, he let go, dug out some wet wipes from his coat pocket, opened the package, and gently started cleaning his face. This time, he held his chin much more softly.

“Keep going, I’m listening.”

Zhu Zhixi’s heart skipped a beat, but it was the strangest timing—his Adam’s apple bobbed, and he struggled to pick up the thread.

“And then…”

“Met the dog,” Fu Rangyi prompted as he wiped.

“Right! The dog, so I parked, tried to look for it, chased it down a street, lost it anyway, it wouldn’t come even when I called…”

He was eager to spill out everything that had happened, but his tongue felt frozen.

Fu Rangyi continued carefully, wiping from his nose to his lips and down, cool fingers and wet wipes tracing every mark.

“Slow down, it’s okay.”

His tone was warm and deep; for no reason, Zhu Zhixi’s nose stung. He pursed his lips and looked away.

“I couldn’t find it, so I went back to the car. There was still time, so I planned to go home and change, but just after setting off, something happened.”

As luck would have it, that was a road he’d never taken before—a perpetually congested old neighborhood. If not for chasing the dog, he’d have never gone there. Just as he was about to leave, he caught sight of an old lady collapsing by the roadside, her head and upper body landing outside the sidewalk, in a dangerous place.

His first thought was a heart attack.

“Isn’t it something? This morning we were just talking about AED stickers, and now—I really needed it!” His voice grew louder.

“You helped her?” Hearing about the accident, Fu Rangyi’s shoulders visibly relaxed. But Zhu Zhixi didn’t notice, just that after his face was wiped clean, Fu Rangyi started rubbing each finger on his hand clean as well.

“Of course!”

He hadn’t hesitated—every second counted. He double-parked with the hazard lights on and rushed out with the AED to help. Kind strangers helped move the woman to safety for him to administer aid and called an ambulance.

“My hands were shaking, and she didn’t respond at all at first, I was worried I was doing it wrong, terrified. Thankfully, I succeeded in the end. Her phone didn’t have an emergency contact, and I couldn’t unlock it, so I was worried the doctors and nurses wouldn’t get hold of her family, so I went to the hospital too, to see if I could help more.”

As expected, the hospital couldn’t reach her family; Zhu Zhixi just paid the fees himself and waited until the woman was stabilized and only needed fluids before heading home.

“On the way, my phone was dead, and I didn’t have a car charger. I thought I could charge it at home, but oddly, our door’s electronic lock wasn’t working, wouldn’t recognize my fingerprint, just kept beeping the alarm. With no way to contact customer service, I knew I’d be late if I kept messing around, so I set out right away instead. Then I hit rush hour traffic, got stuck, and nearly got rear-ended…”

As Zhu Zhixi hurried through the story, his face went red.

He glossed over all the difficulties, picking out the highlights to give a rough idea of his miserable misadventures. He sneaked looks at Fu Rangyi, who didn’t seem angry—just very serious about cleaning his “face.”

Such a clean freak.

“Am I a mess?” Zhu Zhixi’s voice sank, and he exhaled deeply. “Sorry. I know you hate people being late most of all. I’m so late, and even came looking dirty.”

For some reason, Fu Rangyi suddenly laughed.

“You’re laughing!” Zhu Zhixi got even more upset. This was so different from what he had expected. He’d planned on making a dazzling entrance!

Just then, someone spoke up behind them.

“Hey! Professor Fu, why aren’t you coming in?”

Partly hidden behind Fu Rangyi, Zhu Zhixi craned his neck out to take a peek.

“Hey, who’s that?”

He hurried and ducked back, tugging Fu Rangyi’s coat as if to shield himself.

Fu Rangyi looked down and, still smiling, told the colleague, “It’s fine; my partner’s here.”

Zhu Zhixi’s heart began to pound frantically at that moment.

Partner?

Partner.

Those two words spun before his eyes, fluttering around like two butterflies, chasing away all his frantic worry and pressing pause on every trouble.

Only Fu Rangyi’s voice remained.

“It’s cold out here—shall we go in?”

I wanted to walk in coolly.

Zhu Zhixi ducked his head, mumbling, “I’m such a mess, I’m too embarrassed to eat with you all. That’s why I called you out, to explain so you wouldn’t worry.”

“What mess?” Fu Rangyi lifted his chin again, looking left and right, as if examining his artwork.

“Isn’t this good? Pure, clean, kind and helpful.”

Was this guy always this sweet? Zhu Zhixi was unused to it, almost as if he missed being scolded.

“No, it’s not good, my clothes are filthy, looks like I was mining coal.”

Fu Rangyi, utterly serious: “It’s fine. They’re all dirt-diggers too.”

Zhu Zhixi was exasperated. “Professor, you sure know how to joke.”

“Are you really that bothered?” Fu Rangyi asked, “If you don’t want to go in, just wait here. I’ll say a word to them, and we’ll go home.”

“That’s not right, that teacher already saw me, it’d be rude.” Zhu Zhixi glanced at the next-door shop, then down at himself. “I’m just a bit annoyed. I wanted to look good, had my outfit planned, but didn’t get to change. Now this down jacket is filthy, all dirty from kneeling on the ground for first aid.”

“Take it off.”

“Huh?” Zhu Zhixi was confused.

Three minutes later, he walked through the BBQ restaurant’s glass door respectably, dressed in Fu Rangyi’s coat. Fu Rangyi followed behind, in a black high-neck knit, holding the now dirty white jacket.

“Hey! Professor Fu’s back!”

Several teachers waved. Zhu Zhixi immediately flashed his infectious smile, bowed, and greeted everyone.

Following Fu Rangyi, they finally sat together. Fu Rangyi made introductions, and everyone exchanged names. As soon as he finished, Zhu Zhixi seamlessly took the lead in the conversation, skillfully controlling the social scene.

“Hello, everyone, sorry I’m so late, something unexpected happened on the road, everyone’s probably almost finished already? Well, I’ll pay for the dinner tonight!”

He spotted the sake on the table and quickly found a solution: he stood up, took the cup in front of Fu Rangyi, and immediately poured himself some. “I should’ve arrived earlier, but kept you all waiting at our first meeting. My fault, so I’ll drink three cups as a penalty and toast all the teachers.”

With this smooth apology routine, Zhu Zhixi polished off three drinks with sincerity. He smiled and shrugged, “Last time I had dinner with so many teachers was at my graduation thank-you banquet.”

Faced with this, the entire table of university teachers reacted in rare unison—each was dumbfounded, glancing from him to the silent, repeatedly trying-to-intervene Fu Rangyi, then all bursting out laughing in chorus.

Zhu Zhixi was a little confused.
What’s so funny? Is my toast awkward?
Or do I look like a kid playing dress-up in Fu Rangyi’s coat?

After sitting down, still smiling, he nudged Fu Rangyi under the table and whispered, “What’s going on…?”

Fu Rangyi picked up his cup to drink water, blocking his face, and whispered, “Your persona’s busted.”

“Huh? Persona?”

“I told them you were really introverted…”

---

Author’s Note:

Sorry, my computer froze just now… late orz

—Why has Professor Fu stopped being so mean-mouthed lately?—

A flashback to the night of the first snow: by the tree-lined path on campus, student Zhu gave Professor Fu a thorough lecture, including keywords like “annoying,” “cold,” “serious,” and “harsh.” That night, Fu Rangyi reflected deeply and took these criticisms to heart, deciding on a major self-examination.

So he added a line to the memo in his [Little Rabbit Fosting Plan]:
[7. Think before you speak; avoid saying harsh things if possible.]

He then remembered, during his rut, how his first “make it up to Zhu” demand was—”praise me.”

So, he added another line:
[8. Learn to praise him more.]