The stations infirmary didn't have much diagnostic equipment—it mostly contained supplies for treating external injuries—so Chen Man ended up bringing Xie Qingcheng to the hospital.
Chen Man rushed back and forth, registering at overnight urgent care, picking up medicine, and waiting for the blood test results, while Xie Qingcheng reclined in the hospital's ice-cold metal chair and rested with his eyes closed.
After a while, Chen Man returned from the service window with a freshly printed examination report in hand. Written on this report was a line of text that made Chen Man wonder whether he'd gone blind: an allergic reaction to mango.
"Comrade, shouldn't you know what you're allergic to at your age?" The overnight urgent care doctor pushed up their glasses as they scolded Xie Qingcheng. "You really were too careless—just look at your test results. How terrifying."
Brandishing their pen imperiously as they spoke, the doctor prescribed a slew of medicines in an indecipherable script.
"We usually give patients with such serious allergic reactions antihistamine injections, but given the severity of his current state, he would need to receive them over the course of three days. If he's too busy to take time off from work, there's a new type of IV saline solution that will alleviate the symptoms overnight. Think it over and decide which option you'd prefer."
Xie Qingcheng disliked antihistamine injections. He detested the thought of having to go to the hospital three days in a row even more.
"I'll have the IV," he said, and Xie Qingcheng and Chen Man were led into the infusion room.
Xie Qingcheng had a delicate constitution and tended to feel dizzy and nauseated if the IV drip delivered the medicine too rapidly, so he slowed down the infusion himself after the nurse left.
Chen Man busied himself with swiftly taking care of the administrative procedures, and then sat down next to Xie Qingcheng, who was resting with his eyes closed.
Chen Man stared at his profile for a while, then said quietly, "Ge, don't you always avoid eating mango?"
Feeling unbelievably unfortunate, Xie Qingcheng said, "I was so unlucky I went fucking blind, okay?"
Chen Man was already used to being cursed out for no good reason. His older brother had been Xie Qingcheng's father's mentee, so he had known Xie Qingcheng since childhood and was familiar with this dage's personality. When this dage lost face, you'd better pretend not to see it—if you dared point it out, you'd definitely end up just like him right now, thoroughly chewed out.
Chen Man sighed. "Sit tight. I'll go pour some hot water for you."
He returned in a heartbeat and held a paper cup out to Xie Qingcheng. "Ge, you should drink some."
Only then did Xie Qingcheng open his eyes to receive the cup of piping-hot water with his slightly cool fingertips and drink a few sips.
"So, who tricked you into eating mango?" Chen Man took in his sickly appearance and mumbled, "What a fucking asshole."
After finishing the water, Xie Qingcheng's voice seemed to have finally warmed back up to a certain degree. "It was payback…"
That's what it was, wasn't it? he thought.
Nothing good ever happened whenever he ran into He Yu.
Of course, Xie Qingcheng knew that he had a mango allergy, and a severe one at that. His skin wouldn't just burn up and flush red, he would also come down with a high fever. He had known since he was seven or eight years old that he needed to avoid this fruit as if it were a biological weapon; even his little sister, who craved mango so much she would literally drool when she saw it, had to accommodate him. In fact, in the interest of his health and safety, she never brought any mango-flavored foods into their home.
It had been so long that he'd forgotten what mango tasted like. When He Yu brought out the cake on Neverland Island, it was already too dark for him to see what type it was, so he had eaten the mango mousse cake thinking it was peach-flavored.
Xie Qingcheng sighed. "I'm going to sleep for a bit. Are you in a rush to get back?"
"Oh," Chen Man said hastily. "No, I'm not in a rush. I'll keep you company."
Xie Qingcheng truly was too tired and miserable. He lowered his lashes, leaned back against the chair, and fell asleep.
The air-conditioning was rather cold in the IV ward, and patients receiving IV treatment were susceptible to the cold to begin with. Chen Man saw a slight frown appear on Xie Qingcheng's sleeping face, as though he was displeased with the temperature. In response, Chen Man got up and removed his own navy-blue uniform jacket and draped it over Xie Qingcheng.
Sensing the warmth, Xie Qingcheng's brow slowly smoothed out.
Chen Man fixed his eyes on Xie Qingcheng's handsome, chiseled features and felt that the time wasn't passing too slowly at all…
Sometime later, an emergency room nurse came over. "Time for a new bag?" she inquired.
The nurse was doing her rounds while taking over for the next shift, but as soon as she walked over and saw that the patient receiving the IV transfusion was Xie Qingcheng, she became instantly dumbfounded.
She was an old colleague of Xie Qingcheng's at Huzhou First Hospital, but their relationship wasn't the greatest. Her expression darkened slightly as her gaze darted back and forth between Xie Qingcheng and Chen Man before landing on the police uniform draped over Xie Qingcheng's shoulders for several seconds.
An oblivious Chen Man replied with utmost politeness, "Yes, thank you."
The nurse laughed humorlessly and dragged out her words in a singsong manner as she said, "No problem. May I ask who this person is to you?"
"…My…" Chen Man's cheeks subconsciously flushed. "My friend."
"Oh, your friend." The nurse smiled. "Officer, you're going to a lot of trouble, bringing your friend here in the middle of the night and keeping watch over him so closely."
Chen Man didn't know how to respond. He found her words a bit odd, but he didn't take them to heart.
The nurse sashayed away after she was done changing the IV bag. As she left the room, she took out her phone to tap some messages into the group chat that she had with her colleagues.
It had been late at night when Xie Qingcheng was first hooked up to the IV, so by the time the three IV bags were in his system and he woke up, it was already morning.
He had an allergic constitution—his reactions were intense, and his recovery slow, so he still felt rather unwell even after the IV needle had been removed. Realizing this, Chen Man said to him, "Ge, keep my jacket for now. Don't catch a cold."
Xie Qingcheng hummed weakly in agreement and walked out of the treatment room with Chen Man's uniform jacket on.
The hospital lobby was already brimming with people when they checked out—Huzhou First Hospital was the busiest hospital in the area, after all. Chen Man took the medical report to fetch the oral prescription while Xie Qingcheng waited in a less crowded area.
Xie Qingcheng leaned against the wall with his eyes closed and head hanging down. After a while, he heard footsteps approaching.
Someone stopped before him.
Thinking it was Chen Man, Xie Qingcheng opened his eyes. "All done?" he asked without looking at the newcomer and simply straightened up. "Thanks for today. Now, let's go."
"…Xie Qingcheng."
Xie Qingcheng's head shot up at the sound of that voice.
A handsome face with well-defined features appeared before his eyes. It was the culprit who had reduced him to such a sorry state: He Yu.
He Yu stared at him. "Why are you here?"
Xie Qingcheng's expression soured in an instant.
The fact that they'd just had a falling-out on the island the night before aside, it seemed that, ever since Xie Qingcheng and He Yu reunited, they would get into an altercation every time they met. He Yu had grown up into a full-fledged adult in the time that they had been apart, so he didn't find Xie Qingcheng as scary as he did when he was a child, nor did he feel the same powerful reverence toward him anymore. What's more, He Yu had found many ways to vex this man and make him feel ill at ease—and found it deeply satisfying to boot.
Xie Qingcheng emphatically refused to let a young man laugh at him. His features grew sharp and cold while he stood up perfectly straight, as if he were not ill at all. "It's nothing. I had some business to take care of." He sized up He Yu. "And why are you at the hospital?"
As he spoke, his gaze slid downward to land on the bag of medicine that He Yu was holding.
He Yu moved the bag behind him without batting an eye and replied mildly, "My roommate is sick. I'm getting him some medicine since it's more convenient for me to drive."
The two of them stared at each other in silence, hiding their true selves.
After a while, He Yu said, "The jacket you're wearing…"
It was only then that Xie Qingcheng realized that Chen Man's uniform was still draped over his shoulders; layered on top of his snowy white dress shirt, the police jacket really was quite conspicuous. No wonder He Yu had been able to spot him immediately in the bustling crowd.
"It's my friend's."
"You're waiting for him?"
Xie Qingcheng nodded perfunctorily.
He Yu was still in a terrible mood. Xie Xue's love letter had given him such a great shock that he could no longer suppress the symptoms of his illness with his usual medicine, so he had come to the hospital to pick up a new prescription. To be honest, he'd wanted to ignore Xie Qingcheng when he spotted him earlier, but upon remembering that Xie Qingcheng was Xie Xue's elder brother, he thought that he should at least check in on him since they'd run into each other at a hospital.
But right now, he didn't want to talk much more with Xie Qingcheng either, much less meet his friend.
"I'll be leaving first then," said He Yu. "I still have other things to do."
And so, he left just like that.
Xie Qingcheng frowned slightly as he watched He Yu make his way through the bustling crowd. He knew that when He Yu's illness worsened, some of the medication he used could only be prescribed at provincial-level hospitals. Could it be…
"Xie-ge." At that moment, Chen Man returned, interrupting Xie Qingcheng's thoughts. "I got your medicine. I'll take you back now."
He noticed Xie Qingcheng's gaze and followed it, but He Yu had already disappeared.
Chen Man asked, "What's wrong?"
"…Nothing," Xie Qingcheng replied.
What else could he say?
That he'd met the culprit responsible for this whole mess?
Of course not. So, Xie Qingcheng simply said, "Let's go."
"Oh, okay. Ge, be careful on the steps."
They arrived half an hour later at the single faculty dormitory of Huzhou University's Medical Science Department in Chen Man's car. Chen Man hung his uniform jacket on a clothes rack beside the door and went into the kitchen to prepare the medicine. He handed it to Xie Qingcheng and watched as he slowly drank it down.
"Ge?" Chen Man thought for a moment and then said, "Did you run into an acquaintance at the hospital just now?"
Xie Qingcheng didn't reply.
"By the way, a nurse came by last night to change the IV bag, but she was acting kind of weird."
This time around, Xie Qingcheng acknowledged him. "Did that nurse have a long face, a mole below her lips, and look to be around thirty or forty years of age?"
"Yes."
"That's Nurse Zhou. She used to work under an older doctor," Xie Qingcheng said. "It's fine. She and I just don't get along very well."
After taking his medicine, Xie Qingcheng started to feel tired again. He lay down on the sofa with his arm over his eyes and annoyed himself with thoughts of Nurse Zhou and He Yu.
Regardless if it was his former coworker at Huzhou First Hospital or He Yu, they both irritated him to no end. When he was vexed, he liked to smoke. He didn't even get to touch his lighter at all last night as he was stuck in the IV room. Now, he lifted his arm from his eyes and said to Chen Man, "Hand me a cigarette."
Chen Man paled in shock. "You can't smoke! Your test results! Look at them, they—"
"Look at what? Who's the doctor here, me or you? Hand me a cigarette."
"I don't have any. I won't give it to you!"
"You don't or you won't?"
"I won't! I-I don't!" Chen Man stammered.
Xie Qingcheng yanked Chen Man forward by the lapels, swiftly rifled through his pockets, and fished out a pack of Liqun brand cigarettes from Chen Man's police uniform. He rolled his eyes as he tore the pack open and drew out a cigarette. He then held it between his teeth and looked at Chen Man expectantly.
Chen Man was silent.
Xie Qingcheng said, "Light."
Chen Man sighed deeply, truly at the end of his rope. "Xie-ge, it's really bad for you to continue like this. If Aunt and Uncle knew…"
Chen Man hadn't intended to bring up Xie Qingcheng's parents. When he saw how ugly Xie Qingcheng's expression had become, he didn't dare to speak another word. Instead, he quietly mumbled, "Sorry."
He handed Xie Qingcheng the lighter with utmost reluctance and looked on helplessly as Xie Qingcheng proceeded to slowly poison himself right before his eyes.
Xie Qingcheng took a few puffs from the cigarette, his pale, slender hand dangling from the edge of the sofa as he lay back to stare at the ceiling with an empty expression.
"You've been busy rushing around all night," he said to Chen Man. "I've also gotten in the way of your work. Thank you. You can go back now, I'll be fine."
"How could this be called getting in the way?"
But Xie Qingcheng couldn't make Chen Man bustle about anymore. "Go back and rest," he insisted.
Reluctantly, Chen Man thought things over and said, "Ge, I'm worried for you. I feel like your allergic reaction to the mango must have been planned out by some malicious bastard. If anyone tries to harass you, tell me. I'm a police officer now, and I can take care of him real—"
"What can you do?" Xie Qingcheng finally shifted his gaze and looked at the young man whose face still held a touch of childish innocence. He raised his hand and pulled down hard on his police hat until it covered his eyes. "You talk about doing this and doing that, but you're still a rookie, so what can you even do? I'm telling you to go back and do your civil policeman duties properly. Don't show off when there's nothing happening. Your brother is already gone, and you're the only son left in the family, so don't make your parents worry so much."
"Got it…" Chen Man mumbled and then lowered his head in silence.
Xie Qingcheng leaned back against the soft cushion once more, exhausted and rather listless. "Go home."
Chen Man had no choice but to comply.
Chen Man was a good kid, but he was just too brash and impatient in everything that he did. Xie Qingcheng knew he became a police officer because his brother had died in an anti-gang operation and he wanted to get revenge. But the silly child was foolish and never capable enough, so he ended up getting assigned to a local police station instead of the criminal investigation team to which his brother had belonged. Xie Qingcheng could tell that this was a fact that Chen Man had never truly gotten over in his heart.
But Xie Qingcheng thought it was for the best.
Chen Man's brother had stuck too closely to Xie Qingcheng's own parents, getting swept deeper and deeper, one step after another, into intrigue and danger. Because of this, Xie Qingcheng had always felt a sense of remorse toward Chen Man's family.
It was best for Chen Man to be a base-level civil police officer and spend his days catching thieves, doing things like finding lost dogs for grandpas and such. It'd be even better if he stayed at this level for the rest of his career.
Pushing these thoughts aside, Xie Qingcheng fell into a dizzy sleep that lasted until the next morning when he was awoken by his phone's ringtone.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Ge…eh?" It was Xie Xue, calling him as she was getting ready in her dorm. "What happened to your voice?"
"It's nothing. I wasn't paying attention when I was eating and ate some mango."
"What?! You're allergic and you still—"
"I already said I wasn't paying attention. Why are you calling me?"
"Oh, it's nothing," said Xie Xue. "I was just letting you know that there's a fall trip after class today. We're going to Nanshi."
Xie Qingcheng coughed a few times. His body felt so hot it was as though he were on fire. "Then go. Stay safe on the way and don't go to any remote places with anyone by yourself. I told you, you got lucky at Cheng Kang Hospital. If–"
"Okay, already! I got it. Don't worry! Ge, you take care of yourself too."
Worried that she was disrupting Xie Qingcheng's rest, the siblings only exchanged a few more words before Xie Xue hung up. She deliberated for a while after ending the call, then sent a voice message to He Yu.
Xie Qingcheng fell asleep again.
He was someone who excelled at taking care of other people, but wasn't particularly good at doing the same for himself. Other than taking two pills after Chen Man brought him back, he had done nothing but smoke a handful of cigarettes—he still hadn't even eaten. But he felt ill and wasn't in the mood to cook, so it was only natural that he just fell right back to sleep without doing anything else.
This time, he slept for who knew how long. While drifting in and out of slumber, Xie Qingcheng heard the faint click of the lock. His consciousness was like a kite floating in the air as he dreamt, but the sound of the lock was the string that pulled him back to reality.
He didn't open his eyes, but he knew that someone had come.
In his daze, he thought it was Xie Xue. She was the only one who had the key to his dorm.
Didn't she have to go on the fall trip? It was frowned upon for new teachers to miss events like these at universities. Why did she come here?
Despite his concerns, Xie Qingcheng nevertheless turned over in an attempt to avoid being disturbed by his sister. He instinctually wanted to curl up under the covers, but unfortunately, there were no covers to grab and he realized he'd been lying on the couch ever since he got home. He hadn't even undone the buttons of his cuffs.
Just as he furrowed his brow in irritation, a sudden warmth descended over him.
The person who entered his house had walked over, stared at him for a while, and placed a thin summer blanket over his body.
Xie Qingcheng wanted to open his eyes, but he really was exhausted. There was only the blurry image of a tall young man reflected between the fluttering of his lashes before his heavy eyelids fell shut once more.
It was already dusk by the time he woke up again. Someone had diligently mopped the floor of his dorm and opened the windows to let in fresh air. A slightly damp breeze blew in through the curtains and set the snowy-white gauze fluttering under the glow of the setting sun.
Xie Qingcheng narrowed his eyes slightly. He stuck an arm out from under the summer blanket that had been warmed by his body heat and covered his eyes with the back of his hand.
There was the sound of another man talking within the room, as if on the phone. "Mm…okay. Then I'll come in a few days. Don't worry about it. You aren't asking for a lot of time. I also want to gain some experience unrelated to my major, so it's no trouble at all."
"Rest assured, Feng-jie. I've already asked for time off. I know it's difficult for you. There won't be any surprises."
"Mm, yes. Then I'll let you go now."
The sickly Xie Qingcheng finally realized that this was He Yu's voice.
Xie Qingcheng bolted up and turned in the direction of the voice.
He Yu had just finished his call and came out of the kitchen carrying a wooden tray in his hands. He walked to Xie Qingcheng's side and set the tray down on the tea table. On the tray was a large Mino ware ceramic bowl. It was filled to the brim with chicken porridge that had simmered for a very long time until it turned an appetizing milky white. The porridge had taken on the chicken stock's flavors, with each grain soaking up the rich and milky soup enveloping it. Snowy-white pieces of chicken floated within the porridge, and fragrant and crispy white sesame seeds had been sprinkled on top.
"Oh, you're awake? Since you're awake, you should eat this while it's hot. I made it following a recipe I found online."
He Yu paused for a few moments, then said, "I saw the lab results and the medical prescription on your desk."
Xie Qingcheng didn't respond.
"You went to the emergency room last night for an IV, didn't you?"
With a hand pressed to his forehead, Xie Qingcheng spent some time gathering himself before adjusting his position on the sofa.
After ensuring that his voice wouldn't sound as pathetic as he felt, he finally said, "Why did you come here?"
He Yu didn't seem to be in the greatest shape either. He was calm—so calm that there was a sense of darkness lurking within.
Even though Xie Qingcheng was sick, he could still faintly sense He Yu's strangeness. He traced his gaze along He Yu's arm and discovered that there were bandages wrapped around his wrist. He looked higher and found that the almond eyes that had been kept lowered this whole time seemed to be slightly red. Xie Qingcheng thought once again of the medicine He Yu got at the hospital.
But before he could ask He Yu about it, the younger man had bent down and reached over Xie Qingcheng's shoulder to push a hand into the sofa behind him. He Yu looked down at the man and said, "Xie Qingcheng, if you are having such a severe allergic reaction to mango, why did you tell me nothing was wrong at the hospital?"
"Xie Xue told you?"
"Yes. She asked me to come visit you, saying that you didn't feel well and that your voice was all hoarse when you spoke to her."
Xie Qingcheng made no reply.
The boy watched him intently. "I was the one who gave it to you. I was the one who caused you to end up like this. Why did you hide it from me? Why didn't you come find me? Why didn't you tell me the truth at the hospital?"
"There was no need." Xie Qingcheng said in a very calm and cold tone. "You didn't mean it. You didn't know that I'm allergic to mangoes. Besides, I was already being taken care of."
But these words didn't satisfy He Yu; on the contrary, they triggered the appearance of something slightly dangerous in his eyes as he stared at Xie Qingcheng. "I don't think I'm so evil that I'd stand back and ignore someone I hurt like this."
Xie Qingcheng said nothing.
"So, what exactly do all of you see me as?"
All of you? Xie Qingcheng furrowed his brow silently. Aside from him, who else was there at the hospital? But given He Yu's deteriorating mood, Xie Qingcheng held his tongue and didn't ask.
He Yu stilled before him. He, too, might have felt that he'd gone a bit overboard. He slowly straightened back up and said, "Never mind."
He poured Xie Qingcheng a cup of water, then tidied up his examination results. He sighed at the sight of the terrifying data printed at the top detailing the allergic reaction.
"If there's nothing else you need, I'll be going now."
Out of instinct born from serving as He Yu's doctor for seven years, Xie Qingcheng stopped him. "He Yu."
"What is it?"
Xie Qingcheng frowned slightly. "Did something happen to you?"
"…No."
"Then what's with the bandages on your wrist? And the medicine you went to the hospital for?"
He Yu draped his uniform jacket over his shoulders and replied without a backward glance, "I already told you about the medicine. It was for a friend. My wrist is bandaged because your stovetop was too messy, and I burned myself while cleaning up."
He straightened his arm, and that bandage disappeared beneath the wide sleeves of his uniform jacket. He Yu stood motionless for a moment, as though trying to decide what to say. He turned his head slightly to address Xie Qingcheng again. "I still have the evening self-study session to get to, so I'll be leaving now. Remember to give Xie Xue a call and tell her I came over."
Xie Qingcheng nodded, but he still felt that there was something vaguely off about He Yu as he watched him getting ready to leave. After some thought, he asked, "Even Xie Xue went on the fall trip, so why didn't you?"
He Yu paused for a moment while tying his shoes. From Xie Qingcheng's line of sight, he couldn't see the younger man's entire face clearly, only part of his sharp and elegant jawline that was half-hidden in the shadows.
"It's too boring. Most of the people going on the trip are acting majors. I have nothing in common with them, so I didn't want to participate."
He Yu knotted his shoelaces with a yank, pushed open the door, and left before Xie Qingcheng could ask any more questions.