As soon as Xiao Cheng thought about Luo Jingshu arriving soon, he felt a tightness in his chest. Even though his head was already heavy with exhaustion and his eyelids were so heavy that he seemed ready to pass out at any second, he still forced himself to keep his eyes wide open, staring at the hospital room door.
If he fell asleep before Luo Jingshu arrived and ended up missing their conversation, who knew what Luo Jingshu and Mr. Bai would say to each other?
Even when they weren’t meeting face-to-face, Luo Jingshu would mock Mr. Bai with sarcastic remarks, nitpicking everything about him. If they actually met, wouldn’t he go completely crazy?
Xiao Cheng had always known that Luo Jingshu was extremely jealous. He figured that if he could just stay awake, he might be able to mediate the situation and at least try not to trouble Mr. Bai too much.
It was a nice thought, but in the end, Xiao Cheng couldn’t resist the overwhelming fatigue in his body. Leaning against the pillow, he tilted his head and drifted off into sleep.
With an IV in his hand, one of Xiao Cheng’s hands lay exposed outside the covers. His brows were slightly furrowed, clearly indicating that he wasn’t sleeping peacefully.
After hanging up the call, Bai Yiheng spoke to the bodyguards outside before pushing the door open and stepping inside.
By the time he entered, Xiao Cheng was already asleep.
Bai Yiheng tucked the blanket around him and gently touched the exposed hand.
If Xiao Cheng were awake, he would never allow him to do this.
Thinking of this, Bai Yiheng couldn’t help but show a slight smile.
He had no ulterior motives, nor any inappropriate thoughts—he was simply worried that Xiao Cheng’s hands might be cold.
After pondering for a moment, he decided to have the bodyguards buy a warm water bag.
It was unclear how long he had been waiting when hurried footsteps finally approached the door.
A bodyguard stepped forward to intercept the young man. Though he had already guessed his identity, he still asked for confirmation: “Are you Mr. Luo?”
Luo Jingshu, his expression cold, nodded. The bodyguard then let him through.
Luo Jingshu pushed the door open in one swift motion. Xiao Cheng, exhausted and unwell, remained deep in slumber, unaffected by the noise.
However, Bai Yiheng looked up and acknowledged him with a calm, “You’re here.”
Luo Jingshu’s gaze immediately landed on Xiao Cheng. His face was still slightly flushed, but his lips were dry, and he had an air of sickly fragility.
Stepping closer, Luo Jingshu noticed the warm water bag placed under Xiao Cheng’s hand. He rubbed his own hands together to make sure they weren’t too cold before gently pressing one to Xiao Cheng’s forehead.
His temperature was slightly high but still within a normal range.
Seeing Xiao Cheng in this state, Luo Jingshu finally felt a bit of relief. His gaze remained fixed on him, reluctant to look away.
Even though they had only been apart for a few days, it felt like years to Luo Jingshu. He had an almost unbearable urge to shrink Xiao Cheng down, put him in his pocket, and take him away.
It had only been a few days without him around, and yet his Brother Cheng had already ended up like this—looking so pitiful.
Luo Jingshu’s hands clenched tightly into fists before he slowly released them.
He carefully brushed aside the stray strands of hair on Xiao Cheng’s face before straightening up and turning to Bai Yiheng.
“Let’s step outside and talk.”
It wasn’t just that Xiao Cheng was asleep. Even if he were awake, he probably wouldn’t tell him the truth.
If Xiao Cheng had intended to be honest, he would have said something earlier during their phone call.
Luo Jingshu had immediately known that Xiao Cheng was lying—what nonsense about “going home soon”? His voice had clearly sounded off.
Moreover, when Bai Yiheng had answered the phone earlier, though he had concealed it well, there was still an undeniable hint of evasion in his tone. His driving had also been more hurried than usual, the car speed noticeably fast.
All these unusual details told Luo Jingshu one thing—something had definitely happened tonight that he wouldn’t want to know about.
And Xiao Cheng was well aware that if Luo Jingshu found out, the consequences wouldn’t be something he wanted to face.
As for what exactly had happened, Luo Jingshu already had a guess.
Suppressing the anger rising in his chest, he raised his eyes to Bai Yiheng.
Bai Yiheng nodded slightly. “Let’s go.”
At night, the hospital was far quieter than during the day. The two of them exited the room and took a right, walking toward the balcony on that floor.
The outside lights cast a faint glow over them, making the space not completely dark but giving it an extra sense of solitude. The wind had been blowing all night, carrying an inexplicable chill.
“Thank you for bringing Brother Cheng to the hospital,” Luo Jingshu spoke first.
Even though he disliked Bai Yiheng, he had to admit that if not for him, Xiao Cheng might have been in a far worse situation tonight.
Bai Yiheng studied the young man in front of him. His gaze was sharper than before. If his previous presence had been openly aggressive—like a wolf poised to strike—now it was more restrained, exuding a quiet but no less dangerous intensity.
But this restraint didn’t make him seem gentler. On the contrary, it gave him an even more enigmatic depth.
Bai Yiheng thought to himself—perhaps this was the difference between chasing someone and having already caught them.
Before he had won Xiao Cheng over, Luo Jingshu had been like a wolf, always ready to pounce, watching everyone around him like a predator guarding its prey, terrified that another wolf would snatch away what wasn’t yet his.
Now that he had successfully claimed Xiao Cheng as his own, fully marking his territory, he could finally relax a little. Every word he spoke, every action he took, carried the natural confidence of a boyfriend who knew exactly where he stood.
Bai Yiheng didn’t think Luo Jingshu was childish. In fact, he had seen even more immature sides of him before. Compared to that, Luo Jingshu was much calmer now—he even knew how to say thank you.
“Do you know who did it?”
Bai Yiheng suddenly asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
Luo Jingshu exhaled, a cloud of white mist dispersing in the cold air. His face was partially hidden behind it, but his gaze was especially cold and terrifying.
“I have a pretty good guess.”
Who else could it be but that person?
Bai Yiheng frowned slightly. “Jiang Ying?”
As far as he remembered, the only person Xiao Cheng had ever had a real conflict with was Jiang Ying.
Their plan against Jiang Ying had reached a critical stage, but from what Bai Yiheng had observed, Jiang Ying shouldn’t have noticed anything yet. Why would he target Xiao Cheng at this moment?
Luo Jingshu let out a cold laugh before finally asking about what had happened earlier.
Xiao Cheng hadn’t explained things clearly over the phone, but Bai Yiheng had already pieced together a rough picture of the situation. Besides, back at the hotel, he had personally seen that man tied up with a rope by Xiao Cheng.
Hotels wouldn’t provide that kind of rope—there was no need to think too hard about where it came from.
Bai Yiheng tried to explain the situation in a neutral tone, even defending Xiao Cheng a little.
After all, none of this was Xiao Cheng’s fault. He was a victim. Before things happened, no one could have predicted such a possibility.
Luo Jingshu understood the logic, but his possessiveness toward Xiao Cheng had already reached an unhealthy extreme. He wished he could keep Xiao Cheng by his side at all times. After this incident, he couldn’t help but feel some resentment toward Xiao Cheng.
If Brother Cheng had just stayed by his side, let him protect him, and not gone off to meet anyone else, he wouldn’t have put himself in danger.
Luo Jingshu couldn’t deny that the thought had crossed his mind—to lock Xiao Cheng away somewhere only he knew about.
But at the same time, he knew it was impossible. He couldn’t keep Xiao Cheng from ever seeing anyone else.
Xiao Cheng wouldn’t be able to take it, and Luo Jingshu didn’t want Brother Cheng to hate him.
This contradiction and restlessness tore at him, as if he were being split into two separate selves.
One told him to lock Xiao Cheng away.
The other told him to let Xiao Cheng be free.
At the root of it all was the fact that he hadn’t gotten enough security from Xiao Cheng. That was why he kept doubting Xiao Cheng’s feelings for him.
Luo Jingshu was someone who easily took things to extremes. In the past, he had put himself above everything, playing with Xiao Cheng’s feelings as if he didn’t care.
Now, he had placed himself too low, as if he were nothing more than a dog at Xiao Cheng’s side.
As if the moment Xiao Cheng no longer wanted him, he would be left out in the cold, a stray with nowhere to go.
Bai Yiheng didn’t know what kind of dark thoughts were running through Luo Jingshu’s mind, but he could sense that something about him was off.
Luo Jingshu’s eyes were dark and unfathomable, filled with emotions so complicated that even Bai Yiheng couldn’t quite decipher them.
There was a dangerous aura radiating from Luo Jingshu.
Before, Bai Yiheng had only thought of Luo Jingshu as childish, but he had never told Xiao Cheng that Luo Jingshu was actually a very dangerous person.
The danger lay in how uncontrollable he was. Luo Jingshu acted purely on his own will. If he were pushed too far, there was no telling what insane things he might do.
Luckily, there was one thing—Luo Jingshu loved Xiao Cheng.
Maybe that love could restrain his obsession and his desires.
Bai Yiheng sighed softly. “That man from earlier—I already had him released.”
Luo Jingshu shot him a cold glance but said nothing.
Bai Yiheng lowered his voice. “That was Xiao Cheng’s decision. You should know who the real culprit is.”
Luo Jingshu had insisted earlier that Jiang Ying was behind it. Bai Yiheng had a vague suspicion that Luo Jingshu knew more than he was letting on.
“Did you do something to Jiang Ying?”
Luo Jingshu smirked. The wind lifted a stray lock of hair from his forehead as his deep eyes narrowed slightly, his voice cold as ice.
“He can’t get hard anymore.”
His tone was full of malice.
Bai Yiheng was stunned for a moment. “You did that?”
There was no need to ask. Who else could it have been?
Luo Jingshu cast an almost absent-minded glance at Bai Yiheng’s lower half, his voice eerily calm. “Anyone who dares covet Brother Cheng deserves to die.”
Bai Yiheng: …
Should he be grateful that Luo Jingshu had spared him?
He closed his eyes for a moment before saying, “Didn’t you already collect evidence of his crimes?”
Honestly, Bai Yiheng couldn’t wrap his head around how Luo Jingshu had managed to uncover such well-hidden secrets, let alone gather evidence so quickly.
Jiang Ying wouldn’t have dared to act unless he was sure there was no evidence against him.
So how did Luo Jingshu do it?
“That would be too easy on him.” Luo Jingshu gazed into the distance. “I want to destroy him little by little.”
He wanted to let Jiang Ying fall from the highest heights at his most triumphant moment, without a shred of hope left—make him suffer even more than in the previous life.
Otherwise, Luo Jingshu wouldn’t be able to swallow his rage.
Bai Yiheng didn’t respond. He simply followed Luo Jingshu’s gaze and happened to see a clump of snow fall from a branch, breaking into countless tiny pieces upon hitting the ground.
Bai Yiheng sighed again.
Just then, a bodyguard walked up. “Sir, Mr. Xiao has woken up.”
Luo Jingshu immediately snapped his focus back, turning and walking away without a second thought.
Bai Yiheng remained where he was, staring into the night, his expression calm.
The bodyguard hesitated. “Aren’t you going to check on him?”
Bai Yiheng shook his head. “The lovebirds have things to talk about. What would I be doing there?”
His voice carried a trace of melancholy.
The bodyguard fell silent.
Meanwhile, Xiao Cheng propped himself up and sat up, rubbing his temples. Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps approaching.
He looked up, his voice hoarse. “Mr. Bai—”
Before he could finish, his words caught in his throat, his tone shifting dramatically at the last second.
Xiao Cheng’s pupils dilated in shock, his eyes full of panic. “Jingshu, y-you… when did you get here?”
He hadn’t been asleep for long—how had Luo Jingshu arrived so quickly?!
Luo Jingshu shut the hospital room door behind him and took a step forward, then another, his gaze sharp as a blade, pinning Xiao Cheng to the bed, rendering him unable to move.
“Brother Cheng, are you surprised to see me?”
The first thing out of your mouth after waking up… is calling another man’s name?
