The next day, at the Second Affiliated Hospital of the Medical University.
The lady in Bed 1 of Room 502 was an old grandma who sprained her ankle doing square dancing. Bed 2 was taken by a middle-aged guy who got his leg broken by his father-in-law after getting caught cheating. Neither of them had anything in common with Lin Shen.
Lin Qianqian hadn’t finished college yet, and her school was pretty far away. There was no way she could come by every day to check on her brother who just couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble. Once she confirmed he wasn’t dead, she went back to doing her own thing.
Left alone in the ward, Lin Shen couldn’t even win a fight over the remote with the square dancing grandma. He stared blankly at the TV playing ‘Legend of the White Snake’, so bored he could scream. The gloom he radiated was so intense that even the King of Hell would have to bow in fear.
He waited all morning with puppy eyes until someone finally pushed the door open. Lu Chengxuan walked in.
Lin Shen sat up and craned his neck to look behind him.
“Just you? Where’s Lin Wangye?”
“He went home to cook.” As he spoke, Lu Chengxuan handed over the stuff in his hands. “These are the class notes Fu Xuexue copied for you. And these—your classmates folded them after hearing what happened to you. Paper flowers. Get well soon, they said.”
Lin Shen stared at the weird little bouquet made from white scrap paper, silent for a while. Then finally he asked, “Did you tell them I’m still alive?”
Lu Chengxuan smiled a little and turned to place the stuff on the bedside table.
“Hey—”
Lin Shen let out a deep, tragic sigh as he leaned back on his arm. “My oldest son still treats me the best. Actually cares enough to cook me a patient meal. Not like some people who won’t even buy me a fruit basket.”
The thing was, Qu Liuliu had already bought everything that needed buying when she brought Lin Shen here yesterday.
Lu Chengxuan glanced at the bedside cabinet stuffed with all kinds of fancy fruit and knew the guy was just looking for someone to roast. He sat down, picked up a pear, and started peeling it slowly without saying a word.
That calm, unshakable attitude of his always managed to tick Lin Shen off.
Lin Shen turned his head, took a deep breath, then stretched out the arm that wasn’t injured and grumbled, “Gimme the class notes.”
The notebook was literally right on the bedside table within arm’s reach.
Without even blinking, Lu Chengxuan handed it over along with a mechanical pencil.
The notes were copied directly into Lin Shen’s own notebook. He looked at the handwriting—which was obviously not his—neat and pretty, and after flipping through a couple pages, he landed on the last blank one. Resting his head on his hand, he started sketching Old Man Ding, completely bored out of his mind.
“Got any plans for college?” Lu Chengxuan suddenly asked.
“Hm?” Lin Shen turned his head and looked at him, spinning the pencil fast between his fingers. He’d already made up his mind a while ago, so he didn’t need to think about it much before answering, “Ningchang University. Where else?”
Lin Shen was usually easy to get along with. Even if he didn’t like someone, he wouldn’t be openly rude to their face.
But whenever he talked to Lu Chengxuan, there was always this edge in his voice.
It wasn’t like they’d never had normal conversations before. But at some point—no one knew exactly when—every time Lin Shen talked to him, whether he started the convo or just replied, it always felt like he was itching for a fight, like he was poking at Lu Chengxuan just to see if he’d snap.
Problem was, Lu Chengxuan didn’t snap easily.
No matter how passive-aggressive Lin Shen got, the guy somehow had this superpower of turning it into a regular chat, like his brain came with a built-in sarcasm filter. He could always stay calm, cool, and collected—totally unshaken.
Just like now. He didn’t react to Lin Shen’s prickly tone at all, just kept talking. “My dad wants to send me abroad. He asked what I think.”
Lin Shen stopped spinning the pencil. He clicked the mechanical pencil, eyes down, staring at the little bit of lead poking out like he didn’t really care.
“So… you going?”
“Haven’t decided yet,” Lu Chengxuan said. “My family thinks studying overseas would give me a bigger picture, help me see the world. They say it’d be good for my future.”
Lin Shen didn’t reply right away. He waited a while, then said flatly, like it was nothing, “Well, that sounds nice. Go, then.”
The tiny 0.5mm lead kept inching forward under the pressure of his fingers.
All it took was the slightest tremble of his hand—and the moment the lead touched the paper, it snapped.
“You—”
“I’ll get on my knees and beg my dad for forgiveness,” Lin Shen cut him off coldly, like he couldn’t be bothered. “Beg him to forgive how dumb I am. Maybe he’ll have mercy and pay for me to finish college, and after that, stick me in some security job in a backwater branch of Linhong.”
And just like that, the whole talk about going abroad hit a dead end.
Lin Shen kept twirling the pencil and waited a bit. But Lu Chengxuan didn’t say a word. Didn’t look like he was planning to either.
So Lin Shen put the pencil down. He didn’t bother turning his head to check Lu Chengxuan’s face. He just leaned back, turned his face toward the window, and shut his eyes without another word.
Lu Chengxuan didn’t move. He kept peeling the pear, never once breaking rhythm. It was obvious he was still stuck on that first question.
When the long coil of pear skin finally dropped into the trash can with a soft thud, he looked up slowly. His gaze landed first on the snapped pencil lead on the notebook page, then shifted to Lin Shen.
The guy was dead set on pretending to sleep—back of his head facing Lu Chengxuan like he was trying to block him out.
Even though the other side was the window, and the sunlight was coming straight in through the glass, bright enough to sting his eyes, making it almost impossible to sleep.
Lu Chengxuan quietly cut the pear into bite-sized pieces and placed them on a plate. Without a word, he tore a page out of the notebook, folded it into a right angle, leaned over, and propped it up on the nightstand by the other side of the bed—just enough to block the sunlight that had been shining straight into Lin Shen’s eyes.
Lin Shen wasn’t asleep. He hadn’t even closed his eyes.
He stared silently at the scrap paper in front of him. With the sun hitting it directly, the tiny fibers and grooves from the paper pulp looked like dried-up riverbeds—every crack clear as day.
But even with Lu Chengxuan so close, he still couldn’t see through what was going on in that guy’s head.
Ever since elementary school, from the moment they first met, Lu Chengxuan had always seemed… different. Like his mind had been programmed with a version years beyond his age.
He was sharp. Polished. Raised to be the heir of the Lu family. The kind of guy who could handle just about anything and never, ever lost control of his emotions.
It was like he didn’t even feel anything—no joy, no anger, no sadness, no fear.
But Lin Shen knew—there was a time when Lu Chengxuan was just like any regular kid.
He used to be fragile. Sensitive. Hungry for friends.
And Lin Shen was sure—absolutely sure—he’d once touched that real, soft part of him. Seen the version that wasn’t locked up behind layers of cool logic.
But machines fix themselves over time.
And the older he got, the more he seemed to reset back to factory settings.
Now, it was like no one had ever left a single fingerprint in Lu Chengxuan’s world. No scratches, no dents, no marks.
He’d been carrying way too much, way too early. He was built to be strong—and he was.
And honestly, no one could blame him for it.
Lin Shen finally closed his eyes. After a long pause, he opened them again, let out a slow, deliberate breath.
The folded paper wobbled once, then floated to the floor like a feather.
A chair scraped quietly against the ground—Lu Chengxuan had walked over to the window, bent down, and picked up the fallen paper.
But when he straightened back up, their eyes met. Totally unexpected.
Lin Shen had pale skin, made even fairer from staying indoors so much. In the sunlight, the tiny blue veins beneath his eyelids were faintly visible.
He blinked at the brightness, eyes stinging, then stretched with a lazy groan. Reaching up, he snatched the paper from Lu Chengxuan’s hand, crumpled it, and chucked it into the trash behind him without looking away—expression flat as ever as he stared at Lu Chengxuan.
“You seriously can’t tell I’m trying to start a fight with you?” he said.
Lu Chengxuan shifted two steps to the right to block the sun and nodded. “I can tell.”
Lin Shen’s voice shot up: “Then can’t you just react? Does watching me sulk make you feel good or something? Why can’t you just ask me why I’m trying to fight with you? Would that kill you?!”
“I know why you’re mad,” Lu Chengxuan said. “You don’t want me to go abroad.”
That threw Lin Shen for a loop.
“Then why didn’t you just say that?”
Lu Chengxuan stayed calm. “You say one thing but mean another. You told me going abroad was great and I should go, then started sulking. No matter what I say or do, you won’t be happy anyway—am I wrong?”
Lin Shen had come in ready for a fight, but he knew better than anyone he was just being irrational.
He glared at Lu Chengxuan—but didn’t last more than a few seconds before losing steam.
They stared each other down for a while, and it all ended with Lu Chengxuan letting out a quiet sigh.
He walked back, picked up the fruit plate, and handed it to Lin Shen. “Since everything I say only makes it worse, there’s no point trying to argue. If you need to let it out, just take it out on me. I’m not going to fight you.”
Lin Shen almost laughed out of sheer frustration. “Couldn’t you just say you’re not going? What’s the point of having a mouth?”
Lu Chengxuan paused, then said in a low voice, “I can’t promise that.”
Honestly, by the time Lu Chengxuan started being real with him, Lin Shen had already cooled off.
But hearing that, the hand he’d just raised to pop another fruit into his mouth froze mid-air.
“Didn’t you say your dad asked for your opinion? He’s not forcing you, right?”
“He’s not,” Lu Chengxuan said. “I’ve been thinking about it myself.”
Lin Shen’s heart suddenly sank. He dropped the pear back onto the plate with a loud thud and slammed it down on the nightstand, his face changing instantly. His voice turned cold.
“You can do whatever you want. No need to keep me posted.”
And just like that, he turned his back on Lu Chengxuan, done talking.
“If I stay here, whatever I do, it’s all under my dad’s control,” Lu Chengxuan said to his back. “But if I go to Northern Europe to be with my grandpa, I’ll be out of his reach.”
Lin Shen’s eyes flew open, stunned.
So earlier, after Lin Shen had gone all passive-aggressive and told him to just go, Lu Chengxuan had wanted to say something. But he never got the chance.
Was he… was he actually going to ask if Lin Shen would go with him?
Lin Shen’s fists clenched under the covers, hidden from view. His lips moved slightly. For one second—just one—he really wanted to turn around and ask him straight.
But he’d already blown it. He’d ended his tantrum in the most dramatic, over-the-top way possible.
This whole back-and-forth—wanting to hold on, but too proud to reach out—was exhausting and honestly kind of pathetic. But no matter who it was, it seemed like no one could really break out of it.
Just like how Lu Chengxuan never made promises he wasn’t sure he could keep—Lin Shen’s pride didn’t allow him to look back either.
When no reply came for a long time, Lu Chengxuan quietly lowered his eyes and said softly, “If I don’t go abroad… maybe I can manage. But it’ll be tough, and I’m not confident I can pull it off.”
He didn’t do things he wasn’t sure about. That was just who he was.
Lin Shen stared at the blinding sunlight outside the window. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of that pale little bouquet made from scrap paper. He looked closer and realized there was a white rose tucked inside it.
He thought for a while, but still couldn’t figure out who might’ve given it.
Whatever. It didn’t really matter.
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
