DL Chapter39

Fu Baiqi’s condition was gradually improving, but he still hadn’t woken up. Because he needed Fang Fengzhi’s pheromone treatment, Fang Fengzhi had to ask for leave from the company and stay in the hospital.

 

By the time the person woke up, a week had passed.

 

The first thing Fu Baiqi saw when he opened his eyes was Fang Fengzhi, who was quietly working beside him. At this time, Fang Fengzhi no longer had any marks left by Min Zhi. On the contrary, because he stayed in the ward every day, his body was covered with the woody scent that belonged to Fu Baiqi.

 

Noticing the movement of the person on the bed, Fang Fengzhi was stunned. Realizing that the person who had been lying there for so long had finally woken up, he hurriedly called a doctor over.

 

All the indicators have returned to normal, but a period of rest is still needed.

 

After leaving the ward with the doctor, he thought for a moment and suddenly asked, “Does he still need my pheromones now?”

 

“He’s not fully recovered yet, so try not to leave him.”

 

Fang Fengzhi stood in place for a while, then slowly made his way back after some time.

 

Fu Baiqi sat on the bed with a blank expression. Normally, after waking up, the wounds on his body should have been painful, but Fu Baiqi seemed able to endure it. He only frowned, not making a sound. When he saw Fang Fengzhi return, his gaze stayed fixed on him.

 

Fang Fengzhi felt uncomfortable under his gaze, suppressing the emotions building up inside. He asked, “Are you thirsty?”

 

Fu Baiqi gave a slight nod.

 

Fang Fengzhi brought over a cup of warm water. Fu Baiqi was still wondering if he had the strength to hold it himself, but the next moment, the rim of the cup was already pressed to his lips.

 

Fang Fengzhi didn’t seem to find anything unusual about it; he had always taken care of his sick mother this way. But Fu Baiqi felt completely uncomfortable, stiffening up. His throat was dry, and he couldn’t speak, so he had no choice but to let Fang Fengzhi do as he pleased.

 

The cup slowly tilted, and warm water spilled into his slightly parted lips. It moistened his entire mouth, then his throat, and Fu Baiqi felt like he had come back to life. The scent of chamomile from the Omega beside him filled his nostrils. During his dark, silent slumber, there had been no sound, no images, only this scent, continuously surrounding him.

 

“Do you want more?”

 

Fu Baiqi shook his head, then looked at Fang Fengzhi’s back as he turned to leave and asked, “How long have I been asleep?”

 

His voice was still weak and powerless.

 

“It’s been almost a week.”

 

“We have already arranged your leave in the company.”

 

Fu Baiqi seemed to feel very tired. He lay on the bed and stopped talking, but his eyes were still glued to Fang Fengzhi.

 

Fang Fengzhi had just informed Fu Baiqi’s parents that he had woken up, and they would probably be here soon. At the moment, he felt really awkward and uncomfortable as he was the only one sitting in the same room with him.

 

He moved the chair that he had placed beside Fu Baiqi’s bed to one side, not wanting to be too close to him. But Fu Baiqi glanced at him and asked, “Why are you sitting so far away?”

 

Fang Fengzhi paused. “I’m afraid I’ll disturb your rest.”

 

“It won’t affect me.” Fu Baiqi frowned.

 

Fang Fengzhi caught the meaning behind his words but pretended not to understand. He deflected what he had said to him earlier, “You said being too close to you would make you uncomfortable.”

 

“And I didn’t apply the suppressor patch today.” As he spoke, he sat down in the chair, then turned his attention to the laptop, no longer saying anything. He understood Fu Baiqi’s personality, he was usually a very aloof person. If someone insisted on being close to him, he’d only respond if he felt like it. If someone ignored him, he wouldn’t bother acknowledging them at all.

 

As expected, Fu Baiqi was silenced by Fang Fengzhi’s words and didn’t say anything else. An inexplicable sense of irritation rose in his heart.

 

He had indeed said those words before, back when he didn’t like Fang Fengzhi. Whenever he saw him, an overwhelming sense of being bound would rise in his heart. But now, he didn’t feel that way about Fang Fengzhi anymore. He wasn’t sure if it was because they hadn’t seen each other in so long or something else, but whenever he looked at him, there was an indescribable… indescribable feeling.

 

It wasn’t that he wanted to talk to him or anything, but it just didn’t feel right to be so distant. However, seeing that Fang Fengzhi had an expression that seemed to avoid any conversation, Fu Baiqi didn’t want to be the one to force things, so he swallowed the words he was about to say and kept them to himself.

 

After a while, the caregiver and Fu Baiqi’s mother arrived. While they were talking, Fang Fengzhi instinctively stepped outside the door. Fu Baiqi continued speaking to his parents, but his gaze kept drifting toward him. When he saw Fang Fengzhi silently walk out, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

 

Fang Fengzhi sat in the hallway. After what happened last time, he now felt awkward whenever he saw the Fu family. He also considered himself an outsider, so it was better not to interfere in their conversation. The door behind him opened and closed, and Fu Baiqi’s father walked out. Fang Fengzhi steeled himself and called out, “Dad.”

 

The middle-aged Alpha looked at Fang Fengzhi, his expression somewhat helpless. “Did you tell him about that matter?”

 

Fang Fengzhi knew he was referring to the divorce. “Not yet.”

 

The man nodded. “Then let’s not bring it up for now.”

 

Fang Fengzhi didn’t respond.

 

“Your mark has faded now. I’ve discussed it with Baiqi’s mother, and we can pretend we don’t know. As long as you live well with him from now on, that’s all that matters.”

 

Fang Fengzhi’s eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t expected them to be so tolerant of him just because of the pheromones. But this family was truly strange. They had been extremely respectful toward him before, treating him as if he were their own child, yet they hadn’t responded to that. Now, after he had done something like this and made things clear, they suddenly became forgiving, as if the family couldn’t function without him.

 

Fang Fengzhi shook his head. “But he confessed to the affair himself.”

 

“I can’t pretend I don’t know.” After speaking, he turned to leave, but the man called out to him.

 

“Fang Fengzhi!” The man seemed to hesitate for a long time, his expression growing troubled and pitiful. “Baiqi made a mistake, but he’s still sick. He needs your pheromones. For the sake of your marriage, please take care of him for a little while longer.”

 

Fang Fengzhi didn’t move. Indeed, Fu Baiqi couldn’t do without his pheromones right now, and he was still sick. Originally, he had planned to bring up the matter once Fu Baiqi woke up, but under these circumstances, leaving without a word would be too unethical.

 

Seeing Fang Fengzhi hesitate, the man spoke again. “It’s almost the end of the year. Let’s wait until after the New Year to bring it up.”

 

Fang Fengzhi silently returned to the ward. Fu Baiqi’s parents had been gone for some time, and inside, only the caregiver and Fu Baiqi sat on the bed. It seemed that after being without his pheromones for a while, Fu Baiqi’s complexion had become pale, and his pheromones were faint, almost fading away. A perfect pheromone match was like that, he could sense even the slightest fluctuation from the other party.

 

So, Fang Fengzhi slowly began to release his pheromones.

 

Fu Baiqi noticed Fang Fengzhi’s actions and subtly shifted his gaze toward him. He had always known that Fang Fengzhi was good at taking care of people. No matter how cold others were toward him, he would still consider their feelings, he was gentle and obedient. But Fu Baiqi had never paid much attention to it. To him, these gestures of care were unnecessary, things that could easily be ignored.

 

Surrounded tightly by the scent of chamomile, Fu Baiqi felt so comfortable that he wanted to drift off to sleep. He blinked and quietly stared at Fang Fengzhi’s back.

 

But now, in his weakest moment, being cared for by Fang Fengzhi like this, he inexplicably felt that this kind of care wasn’t so bad after all.

 

He remembered the joy that had flashed in Fang Fengzhi’s eyes when he first woke up and how he had treated him gently afterward, never once bringing up the divorce. He recalled the time when Fang Fengzhi had asked him about the affair; his tone had seemed so deeply sorrowful. He thought back to earlier, when he had said harsh words to Fang Fengzhi, his tone had always been like that.

 

This made him think of how Fang Fengzhi’s actions toward him never seemed like mere flattery, but rather as though they were driven by genuine feelings.

 

Fu Baiqi’s heart suddenly tightened, and it thumped a few times.

 

Suddenly, he wanted to get closer to Fang Fengzhi.

 

Although it was a single-person ward, there was still a bed for family members to sleep on. At night, Fang Fengzhi always slept on the bed next to Fu Baiqi’s.

 

Tonight was no different. After Fu Baiqi woke up, the atmosphere between them was a bit awkward, but he couldn’t stay too far from Fu Baiqi, so they ended up sleeping in the same room, just like before.

 

The entire room was filled with the mixed pheromones between them, the woody scent surrounding Fang Fengzhi. He had originally feared that the scent might trigger his heat, but for some reason, whether it was because Fu Baiqi’s pheromones were too weak now, or the aftereffects of Min Zhi’s marking, he didn’t feel the intense desire he had felt before.

 

After a few days, he had gotten used to the scent, treating it like a pleasant fragrance, much like a nice perfume.

 

Slowly, Fang Fengzhi’s eyes grew too heavy to keep open. In a half-dream, half-awake state, he thought he heard a rustling sound behind him. Just as he thought it was part of the dream, a heated body pressed against his back.

 

The sleepiness disappeared in an instant. Fang Fengzhi struggled a few times, accidentally brushing against the man’s wound. The person behind him let out a muffled groan, and Fang Fengzhi immediately stopped his movements. “What are you doing?”

 

The man’s hot breath brushed against Fang Fengzhi’s ear. “Don’t move, let me hold you for a while.”

 

Just as he had expected, Fang Fengzhi’s body was soft, and with a slight movement, he could be held in his arms. He lowered his head, burying his face in the back of Fang Fengzhi’s neck, inhaling the sweet chamomile scent, which seemed to warm his cold, icy blood.

 

Fang Fengzhi’s entire body stiffened. He couldn’t understand why Fu Baiqi was suddenly so clingy. He felt the man’s breath become hot, gradually moving closer to his gland. Fang Fengzhi jolted, his body reacting involuntarily, and he suddenly pushed him away, standing up.

 

He glanced at the man on the bed in the darkness, quickly putting on his jacket and heading for the door. “I’ll go outside for a moment.”

 

Fang Fengzhi walked all the way to the small garden outside the hospital, breathing in the fresh night air, and his tense body finally started to relax. Fu Baiqi had been acting strangely all day, his gaze always glued to him, even making the same move earlier. It wasn’t hard to guess, it was the result of their destined bond. Because of the influence of their pheromones, one would unconsciously want to get closer, to be near the other. He had been like that too before, wanting to get close whenever he caught a whiff of Fu Baiqi’s pheromones.

 

And now, because he hadn’t applied a suppressant patch, this state had shifted to Fu Baiqi. He was afraid that Fu Baiqi might accidentally mark him.

 

He unconsciously tightened his grip on the phone. He really wanted to call Min Zhi, but he was afraid of disturbing him so late at night.

 

But the next second, the phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number. Fang Fengzhi hadn’t saved the contact, but he spoke to this number almost every day.

 

He answered the phone, “Mr. Min?”

 

The man’s deep, magnetic voice was particularly clear in the night. “What are you doing?”

 

Fang Fengzhi felt a tingling sensation in his ears. “I’m… downstairs at the hospital, just sitting for a while.” Facing Fu Baiqi, his stiff body softened, and he felt a heat spreading through him.

 

“Can’t sleep?”

 

Fang Fengzhi thought for a moment, deciding not to mention what happened tonight, and simply replied with a soft “En.”

 

“Then I’ll come over to keep you company.”

 

“No need!” Fearing Min Zhi might actually do it, Fang Fengzhi quickly replied, “I’ll be getting ready to sleep soon.”

 

On the other end, it seemed like he let out a chuckle. “Why the hurry?”

 

Fang Fengzhi’s face reddened, and he didn’t reply.

 

Since that day, Min Zhi had been coming to the hospital every day to check on him. However, worried about being discovered by others, he would always leave quickly after only a few words. Today, due to work, Min Zhi hadn’t come. It had only been one day, but Fang Fengzhi found himself missing him terribly.