Huo Lan pushed open the door, even before the responsible doctor could arrive.
Liang Xiao closed his mouth just in time, releasing his manager and looking up.
President Huo was unusually dressed down, his suit jacket open, his shirt heaving with his chest’s rapid rise and fall, one hand braced against the doorframe.
His gaze fell on Liang Xiao.
“President Huo found out during the afternoon meeting,” the butler, who had just had the helicopter parked, explained breathlessly as he caught up. “Fearing he wouldn’t make it in time, he rushed here as fast as he could…”
In all his years with the Huo family, the butler had rarely seen their President so awakened to his role, except for that one time with Feiyang Pharmaceuticals.
If it weren’t for the difficulty in finding a qualified helicopter pilot at night, they might have arrived even faster.
The butler felt both pleased and inevitably worried. He glanced at Liang Xiao on the hospital bed and lowered his voice to pull Duan Ming aside: “Mr. Duan?”
Duan Ming, who had just been force-fed water by Liang Xiao, was still a bit dazed. Standing at the door, he was being tugged by his assistant, who was quietly requesting to be the next one to say he’d won a million in the lottery.
Duan Ming nodded blankly at the butler, covered his assistant’s mouth, and dragged him out of the hospital room.
Liang Xiao, who had been holding himself up for a while, felt his arms weakening. He tried to move but his whole body went limp.
Huo Lan rushed over in a few steps and firmly supported him.
Enveloped in a cool aura, Liang Xiao looked up after a moment, his mouth opening: “President Huo…”
The attending physician had been notified and hurried over. The butler took charge of explaining, keeping him outside, and thoughtfully closed the door.
Only the two of them remained in the hospital room, so quiet they could hear the rhythmic operation of the large machines.
Liang Xiao met Huo Lan’s gaze, unable to speak.
Huo Lan supported him for a moment, then silently took a pillow and arranged it behind Liang Xiao, helping him lean back against it.
Liang Xiao, with strength from an unknown source, suddenly grasped Huo Lan’s arm.
Huo Lan looked up.
Liang Xiao paused for a moment, came to his senses, smiled, and released his hand: “…Sorry.”
The manager’s words had been prophetic, and the sudden event had caught Liang Xiao off guard.
Thinking about it now, since he had planned to go to President Huo’s home after landing, his itinerary had clearly been reported to Huo Lan.
Usually, it wouldn’t matter much, but during his sensitive period, Huo Lan was particularly strict about such promised matters.
Last time, when Liang Xiao accidentally washed away his book review, the butler said that President Huo had been staring at his phone waiting until the very last second.
“It was my mistake, don’t blame Brother Duan or Xiao Gong.”
Liang Xiao took a breath and looked up: “I was originally planning to–”
Huo Lan leaned forward, pulling him into his arms.
Liang Xiao was stunned, the rest of his words dying in his throat.
President Huo’s unusual silence today made Liang Xiao uneasy. He raised his hand to Huo’s back: “What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine,” Liang Xiao quickly explained, fearing Huo would worry, “The doctor said it’s my heat, but I’m special. I can’t go into heat, so it’s just… a period…”
Huo Lan tightened his arms.
The sudden pressure on his back and the intense heartbeat through sweat-soaked clothes pressed against his chest.
Liang Xiao stopped mid-sentence.
After a moment of silence, Liang Xiao lowered his eyes and smiled: “…Sorry.”
“I should be the one apologizing,” Huo Lan spoke, “I underestimated your physical condition and made decisions about your work on your behalf.”
Liang Xiao was too exhausted to argue about who should take the blame. He shook his head: “I’m fine.”
Huo Lan remained silent for a while, then released his arms and gently laid Liang Xiao back on the pillow.
His hands on Liang Xiao’s shoulders were steady, waiting until he was fully settled before slowly withdrawing.
Liang Xiao looked at him: “President Huo.”
Huo Lan’s eyes focused.
“Really, I’m fine,” Liang Xiao carefully observed his expression and tried to repeat, “It’s a normal omega heat cycle.”
Huo Lan had already heard the remote report from the hospital on the plane, but his heart remained suspended, unable to settle.
Huo Lan lowered his eyes: “Mm.”
Liang Xiao secretly gave himself a pep talk, slowly moving his hand over to cover Huo Lan’s.
Liang Xiao knew that after those few life-threatening incidents in the past, everyone around him had been left with some trauma, constantly worrying, especially afraid of any more accidents.
Duan Ming was a beta and used to his occasional issues every few days, so he was actually a bit better.
In the eyes of their President Huo, a strong alpha who could flip things with one hand, he might believe that with any carelessness, this fragile omega might turn into foam and be washed away by the waves.
Liang Xiao’s mind wandered aimlessly for a while, then he remembered how Huo Lan had changed the ending of “Yun Lian,” and his heart ached inexplicably.
Liang Xiao gathered his thoughts and explained to Huo Lan: “I’m not disregarding myself… I will live well.”
Liang Xiao carefully watched him and softly promised: “I am living well.”
If these words were said to his manager, he’d probably be so angry he’d pick up the assistant and slam him down eighteen times, then point at Liang Xiao’s shoulder and list three hundred offenses from head to toe, forcing him to apologize for each one.
But saying it to Huo Lan made it easier to explain.
Liang Xiao looked at Huo Lan’s shoulders, still hard-lined even under the light, feeling uncertain. He started to pull his hand back.
Just as he was about to move away, Huo Lan’s palm suddenly turned over.
Before Liang Xiao could react, his hand was caught, firmly enveloped by Huo Lan’s cool, damp palm.
Huo Lan closed his eyes.
When he learned of Liang Xiao’s incident, he was in a meeting.
The call from the show’s production team came with a flustered tone and noisy background, explaining intermittently that an artist had an accident and was being rushed for treatment.
Before he could ask more, another burst of exclamations came from the other end, and the call was abruptly hung up in the chaos.
…
Having experienced this kind of situation twice already, Huo Lan didn’t want to dwell on it further. He held Liang Xiao’s hand, noticed the temperature difference between their palms, and loosened his grip again.
Huo Lan met Liang Xiao’s gaze and nodded: “I understand.”
Liang Xiao, who indeed hadn’t intended to cause trouble and was prepared to explain, was slightly taken aback.
“You can take care of yourself,” Huo Lan said, “But there are always unexpected events.”
Liang Xiao was stunned for a moment, then smiled and lowered his head, tugging at the blanket a couple of times.
Huo Lan reached out to help him: “Cold?”
Liang Xiao nodded: “It’s okay.”
Liang Xiao was weak, and the cold air that had rushed in when the hospital room door opened and closed still hadn’t dissipated. The warmth he had barely accumulated had mostly escaped.
The magical attack of the southern winter meant it would take a while to warm up again.
Huo Lan stared at him for a moment, then suddenly stood up.
Liang Xiao was surprised: “Do you have something to do?”
“I’ll be quick,” Huo Lan said, “Ten minutes.”
Liang Xiao thought for a moment and quickly understood: “Please, go ahead with your work.”
Huo Lan had left in the middle of a meeting, and this whole situation had likely disrupted his focus.
Now that things had calmed down, he naturally needed to deal with the previously delayed matters as soon as possible.
Dealing with it now, the forgotten Xingguan management team was probably still in the meeting room, crying and discussing which troublemaking little wild omega their president had gone to find.
“No rush,” Liang Xiao sacrificed himself, “I’m fine, you can work longer, even an hour is okay.”
Huo Lan felt it wouldn’t take that long, shook his head, and turned back at the door, taking off his suit jacket.
Liang Xiao blinked, looking up while wrapped in the blanket.
Huo Lan embraced him, helping Liang Xiao sit up slightly, and draped the jacket over him.
The clean scent of fresh snow clung to the particularly formal suit jacket, enveloping him completely.
Liang Xiao was dazed as Huo Lan meticulously wrapped him in the jacket. His chest rose and fell uncertainly a few times before he hastily held his breath.
…He felt a bit like causing trouble for the country.
Huo Lan tucked the jacket around him, his arm half-raised before stopping midway.
Liang Xiao closed his eyes tightly, praying that President Huo wouldn’t pat his head.
Otherwise, in a few minutes, the Xingguan leadership team cursing the troublemaking little wild omega might only be able to join a conference call hosted by their President Huo while holding said little wild omega.
The prayer was more effective than usual. Liang Xiao waited anxiously for half a minute before hearing Huo Lan’s footsteps stop at the door, followed by the smooth opening and closing of the hospital room door.
Liang Xiao, who had been holding his breath for a while, let it all out and collapsed weakly onto the pillow.
The butler was still discussing the situation with the doctor. Duan Ming slipped in during a lull, saw Liang Xiao’s half-dead appearance, and unsurprisingly pulled the oxygen mask down for him.
Liang Xiao felt it was a bit excessive: “It’s not that bad…”
“It is. In a moment, you’ll be gasping ‘Ah ah ah, too intense’ and running out of oxygen.”
Duan Ming put the mask on him: “Didn’t you say you wanted to hug President Huo in bed?”
Liang Xiao: “…”
Duan Ming knew his actions were probably ten levels of censorship away from his words, and sighed worriedly: “Where did President Huo go, to handle company business?”
Liang Xiao nodded.
“You’re too obedient,” Duan Ming knew he wouldn’t do anything, and adjusted the oxygen flow for him: “In books, disobedient omegas would be crying and begging the domineering CEO not to leave at this point.”
Liang Xiao’s mind was still replaying the recent scene, and hearing these words, he suddenly felt a bit oxygen-deprived.
Duan Ming’s hand paused: “Has my mouth become this effective…?”
“It’s not that,” Liang Xiao lifted the mask slightly, guiltily confessing, “I also… almost did.”
Duan Ming stared at him in shock, eyes wide.
Liang Xiao felt too embarrassed to say more. He had mentally stepped back and sternly reprimanded himself from an overall perspective. After a moment, he said, “I’ve reflected on it.”
“Why are you reflecting?!” Duan Ming pulled at him, questioning, “What did you almost do? What did President Huo do?”
“President Huo–”
Liang Xiao took two breaths of oxygen, his face and ears red: “President Huo… draped his jacket over me.”
Duan Ming: “…”
Liang Xiao covered his eyes, red to his neck, stammering: “If President Huo had… had patted my head then.”
Liang Xiao sighed deeply: “I might have lost control and clung to him, crying for him not to leave.”
“…” Duan Ming didn’t even want to recall the ‘pinning against the door and kissing’ incident: “That’s… a pity.”
At this rate of development, if one day President Huo really pinned him against the door and kissed him, he might immediately need to contact 120 to prepare CPR for an omega who wished to remain anonymous.
Duan Ming was tempted to tell Liang Xiao to stay silent about all details until he and President Huo actually kissed, but he couldn’t resist watching the drama unfold: “Does President Huo often pat your head?”
Liang Xiao was startled: “Brother Duan!”
“I’m just asking about head pats,” Duan Ming said, “Your reaction makes me feel like I just asked how many times a day you do it.”
Liang Xiao: “…”
Liang Xiao tried his best to calm down and regain composure: “Not… not often.”
Liang Xiao couldn’t help it, his mouth twitching for a while before curling up slightly: “President Huo… has a really good technique.”
Duan Ming: “Huh?”
“I’ve tried it myself,” Liang Xiao lowered his head, quite embarrassed, “It’s much more effective than when I do it myself.”
Duan Ming looked at him in disbelief, then couldn’t help but carefully recall everything, wondering if he had accidentally asked something that would be censored.
Liang Xiao coughed once: “When he comes back, I’d like President Huo to… help me again.”
Duan Ming couldn’t take it anymore: “…Alright.”
Duan Ming was nearly driven crazy by how pure these two were. He silently cursed his own heart, not having the courage to remind Liang Xiao of what he had just said: “Then you just wait for a while.”
Liang Xiao nodded.
“Don’t take off the oxygen,” Duan Ming reminded him softly, “Be kinder to yourself.”
Duan Ming: “It’s fine if you don’t want us to worry, but with President Huo, you don’t need to put up a strong front, right?”
Liang Xiao was taken aback, his eyes curving silently. He didn’t answer but cooperatively put the mask back on.
Duan Ming didn’t want to push further, having made his point. He turned to leave and met Huo Lan returning.
President Huo, unusually wearing a trench coat, nodded slightly to the manager and quickly walked to the bedside.
He was surrounded by warm, steamy air, his deep eyes looking even darker, with water droplets visible on his hair tips.
Duan Ming felt that President Huo probably hadn’t just held a meeting with Xingguan’s leadership.
Liang Xiao also sensed something unusual, blinked, removed his mask, and looked up at Huo Lan.
Huo Lan walked to the bedside.
The cool, snowy aura around Huo Lan had almost completely disappeared, even more noticeable as he took off his coat. His shirt exuded warmth, and the exposed collarbone at his neckline was flushed red with heat.
Liang Xiao’s chest suddenly tightened.
Looking at him, Liang Xiao blinked hard, his voice unconsciously hoarse: “President Huo…”
“I’m not cold anymore,” Huo Lan looked at him, “I want to hug you.”
Liang Xiao couldn’t speak, hastily closing his eyes.
Huo Lan embraced him fully.
With his broad chest and shoulders silently stable, Huo Lan knelt on one knee at the edge of the bed, protecting Liang Xiao’s slightly trembling back, enveloping him completely in his arms.
“Don’t be afraid,” Huo Lan patted his head, his voice exceptionally gentle, “It won’t hurt anymore.”
aaah they’re so cute 🥹