Fifteen minutes later, in Qi Fang’s private hospital room, Shen Yu, Qi Fang, and Chen Ke met. The room was silent, and the atmosphere tense.

After a long silence, Shen Yu finally spoke first, his tone flat. “Why did you lie to me?”

The earlier misunderstanding was naturally cleared up with Qi Fang’s appearance. There was a middle-aged man whose legs were necrotic due to an accident in the operating room. His family hadn’t been seen since the incident, and they couldn’t be contacted even on the day of the surgery.

Without waiting for Qi Fang to answer, Shen Yu’s gaze fell on his trouser leg, asking with some confusion, “Has your fracture completely healed?”

Qi Fang and Chen Ke exchanged glances. Chen Ke nodded slightly, so Qi Fang took a deep breath, steeling himself. He said, “Shen Yuyu, sit down first. I have something to tell you.”

Shen Yu sat on the edge of the hospital bed, his dark eyes fixed on Qi Fang. “What is it?”

Qi Fang chose his words carefully. “Actually, I… didn’t fracture anything, Shen Yu. That car accident only left me with some scrapes. Look, right here. It’s already half-healed.”

He rolled up his trouser leg to show Shen Yu the bruise on his knee. Shen Yu lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the spot Qi Fang was pointing to, saying nothing.

“Why did you think I had a fracture?” Qi Fang softened his voice, watching Shen Yu’s face, his tone gentle. “Did you mishear what the doctor said? Or did you dream that I’d broken my leg?”

Shen Yu remained silent, his slim back ramrod straight, but his gaze slightly unfocused—he felt dizzy.

The dizziness didn’t start from his eyes but spread gradually from his brain. Shen Yu felt as if he were wrapped in a fog, his thoughts becoming sluggish. Even Qi Fang’s words flowed past his ears without leaving a trace, making it difficult to grasp their specific meaning.

Shen Yu wondered when he had started believing Qi Fang had a fracture.

This concept had suddenly taken root in his mind one day, and while there were many inconsistencies, whenever Shen Yu tried to think about it carefully, he would encounter an invisible obstacle like now.

“Shen Yu?” Qi Fang keenly noticed Shen Yu’s distraction.

The word ‘distraction’ had never been associated with Professor Shen, who always prioritized efficiency and never wasted a second. But today, Shen Yu’s lack of focus was glaringly obvious.

“Then why are you hospitalized?” Shen Yu suddenly asked after a while.

Qi Fang replied, “It’s because you thought I was seriously ill, Shen Yuyu. You misunderstood that I had a fracture, but I’m not hurt at all.”

Shen Yu fell silent again.

Qi Fang paused, moving slightly closer to Shen Yu, consoling him:

“It’s alright… Are you too worried about me getting hurt? I’ve never been the fragile type. I’ve hardly lost any hair since childhood. Are you tired lately? Since I’m fine, shall we go home and rest?”

Shen Yu stayed quiet for a moment, then looked up at him and asked softly, “You’re not injured?”

“No.” Qi Fang felt a pang in his heart. He wanted to stroke Shen Yu’s hair but his outstretched hand curved in mid-air and fell on Shen Yu’s back, gently patting it twice.

“I eat well, drink well, and exercise regularly. I’m very fit and strong,” Qi Fang said lightly. “Even the flu from before wasn’t a big deal. I just had an occasional itch in my throat and coughed a bit more than usual.”

“Don’t you have a few medical exams left to complete?” Qi Fang continued, “Once you finish them, shall we go home? The takeout food these past few days are disgusting. I’ve noticed you’ve barely eaten anything. We can’t have you losing weight from hunger. I’ve worked hard to…”

To bring Shen Yu from malnourished to a normal, slightly thin weight…

A few seconds later, Shen Yu responded with a soft “Mm.”

Qi Fang felt half-relieved. They could finally go home. He had grown restless staying in this hospital, seeing that fool Li Congming every day was driving him mad. At last, he could cook again… His frying pan, blender, kitchen knife, spatula…

And that wretched smart cooking machine.

Qi Fang was convinced that this cooking machine was the root cause of how things had developed to this point.

Chen Ke took out the unfinished examination form from his bag and said with a smile, “Well then, Professor Shen, shall we continue with your medical exams now?”

Qi Fang added, “I’ll come with you.”

Shen Yu nodded. Seeing Qi Fang and Chen Ke stand up, he also rose from the edge of the hospital bed—

The next moment, Shen Yu felt a wave-like fatigue wash over him. He seemed to float lightly, falling asleep in the hospital bed.

*

Qi Fang watched helplessly as Shen Yu fainted, his heart nearly bursting with fear. “…Shen Yuyu!”

Chen Ke was also startled and hurried out to call a nurse for help.

Seeing someone come to check Shen Yu’s temperature, Qi Fang took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He turned to Chen Ke and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong with him?”

Chen Ke frowned deeply. “We’ll need to complete the examinations to be sure… but it’s likely a temporary loss of consciousness due to shock.”

Qi Fang watched as several nurses helped Shen Yu lie down on the hospital bed. After a moment of silence, he said, “I shouldn’t have said those things to Shen Yu.”

“It’s not really your fault,” Chen Ke sighed. “At least now we know that Professor Shen’s condition is serious. It’s not something we can change with a few words, and it might even cause confusion in his thoughts, leading to physical discomfort.”

Shen Yu felt he had fallen into a deep sleep. The persistent fatigue of many days seemed to have followed him into his dreams, making even his dreamscape feel exhausting and hazy.

He dreamed of being in school again.

In Shen Yu’s memory, studying occupied the vast majority of his life so far. The energy derived from acquiring knowledge would fill him with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. But in this dream, he seemed younger, and for some reason, studying had become a somewhat difficult task.

…He was too hungry.

Shen Yu clutched his book, straining to look up at the window. He wasn’t tall, so to see the scenery outside, he had to stand up.

But Shen Yu couldn’t stand. His stomach growled, and his legs felt weak.

From outside the window came the sound of children’s laughter and shrieks. His classmates were playing “Red Light, Green Light” in the hallway. A few of them were particularly loud, their voices giving Shen Yu a headache, making it impossible to concentrate on his book.

The moment his focus wavered, his hunger intensified.

“Shen Yu.” A female teacher crouched down beside his desk and asked gently, “Why aren’t you going out to play? Sitting and reading all the time isn’t good for your health.”

Shen Yu looked at her. The teacher had kind, gentle eyes.

He remembered her. She was his second-grade homeroom teacher.

“You don’t look well,” the homeroom teacher stroked his head, asking with concern, “Are you hungry? I have some cookies here. Would you like some?”

The expensive private school boasted unparalleled teaching resources and snack provisions compared to other schools.

But Shen Yu shook his head. He didn’t like cookies.

He preferred very sweet chocolate, but teachers generally didn’t give students chocolate because it could make their throats sore if they ate too much.

The homeroom teacher didn’t know what to do with Shen Yu. Just then, the bell rang for class, so she stood up and went to call the children outside to come in.

The next class taught simple English greetings and math with bracketed addition and subtraction. Shen Yu glanced disinterestedly at the blackboard, then lowered his head to continue reading his extracurricular science book.

The teacher didn’t bother him. Shen Yu was a little oddball, not only unsociable but also never paying attention in class. The school had tried calling his parents, but the line was always busy. On the rare occasions they got through, the response was always a mild, “It’s alright. Our Yuyu is very smart. Let him be.”

So the teacher gave up on teaching Shen Yu the “correct” classroom habits. After all, Shen Yu scored full marks in every subject.

But today, Shen Yu not only didn’t want to listen to the lesson, he didn’t even want to attend class. He was simply too hungry, so he kept craning his neck to look out the window.

He was waiting for someone to bring him food.

Mom was busy, Dad seemed busy too. Shen Yu hadn’t eaten breakfast for three days. At home, even when Mom was swamped with work, she would try her best to remember him, or Dad would personally cook breakfast for him.

But Shen Yu hadn’t seen Mom or Dad for several days. Perhaps they were on a business trip.

Mom had forgotten to ask Auntie housekeeper to make breakfast for him. Dad wasn’t around either.

These days, food would occasionally appear on the dining table at home. Shen Yu would eat it when he saw it, but it still couldn’t stave off the hunger.

This morning, he couldn’t help but send a message to Dad using his watch, telling him he was very hungry. But until now, Dad hadn’t replied, and no one had come to bring him food.

Shen Yu decided to wait another ten minutes. After that, if he was still very hungry, he would eat the unappetizing cookies on the teacher’s desk.

He couldn’t starve to death here – he hadn’t finished this science book yet.

Just as Shen Yu was seriously making his plan, he suddenly heard a knock on the window beside him.

From his sitting position, Shen Yu couldn’t see who was knocking, only a chubby little fist.

The knocking was forceful, making the window shake. The lecturing teacher stopped and glanced out the window, her expression indescribable. “Qi Fang, why aren’t you in class on the second floor? What are you doing here?”

Shen Yu saw half a face squeezed against the window. It was that chubby boy Shen Yu always tried to avoid. He pressed his face against the glass, trying hard to look into the classroom while shouting to the teacher:

“Teacher, I’m looking for Shen Yu!”

The teacher said, “Go outside to talk. Don’t disturb the other students.”

Shen Yu had always believed that in the teachers’ eyes, Qi Fang must be even more troublesome than himself.

He merely ignored the teacher’s lectures, while Qi Fang simply didn’t attend class at all, spending his days running around the school with a group of children, seemingly having the time of his life.

Shen Yu didn’t particularly like children who didn’t enjoy studying.

Moreover, Qi Fang was always bothering him.

To avoid disturbing the other students, Shen Yu had no choice but to follow the annoying chubby boy into the hallway.

Qi Fang was half a head taller than him, with a round face and a sturdy build. To Shen Yu, he looked like a roadside stone pillar, the kind with a round belly.

Today, as usual, Qi Fang pulled out a few pieces of chocolate from his pocket and held them out to Shen Yu. After a moment’s thought, he began to speak:

“Shen Yuyu, I heard about what happened at your home. You… don’t be too sad. From now on, I’ll bring you food every day. Whatever you want to eat, I’ll bring it. You can come play at my house too. My room is huge, it can fit five Shen Yuyus…”

Shen Yu paid no attention to what Qi Fang was saying. He stared at the chocolate in Qi Fang’s chubby hand, and after a few seconds, took it and unwrapped one to eat.

“…What happened at my home?” Shen Yu asked indistinctly, chewing on the chocolate.

Qi Fang watched Shen Yu eat his chocolate, utterly shocked. After a long moment, he responded, “Ah… it’s about your dad…”

“What about Dad?” Shen Yu finished one piece and unwrapped another.

Qi Fang opened and closed his mouth, his face showing a somewhat troubled expression. He hesitated, “Yuyu, isn’t your dad…”

Shen Yu stopped chewing. He felt something was strange.

At that moment, the homeroom teacher appeared at the other end of the hallway, talking on the phone. She was speaking softly into the phone while walking quickly towards the classroom.

Halfway there, she saw Shen Yu and Qi Fang standing outside the classroom and stopped in her tracks.

After a while, the homeroom teacher came over, crouched down, and gently put her arm around Shen Yu. She sighed, “Student Shen Yu…”

*

When Shen Yu woke up, Qi Fang was sitting in the hospital room with dark circles under his eyes, writing a “self-criticism.”

Li Congming sat nearby, trying to persuade him. “It’s not your fault that Shen Yu… Can you stop writing? You’ve been at it for a day and night… Will Shen Yu even read this thing?”

Qi Fang was writing furiously. He paused at Li Congming’s words and said gravely, “I won’t be at ease if I don’t write it.”

Li Congming looked down and saw that Qi Fang had already written 131 self-criticisms for not taking good care of Shen Yu, including:

“Forgot to add glucose to Shen Yu’s thermos,” “Attempted to destroy the cooking machine against Shen Yu’s wishes,” “Didn’t donate thirty buses so Shen Yu could sit while riding crowded public transport,” “Didn’t build a lab at home so Shen Yu could do scientific research at home”…

Li Congming felt dizzy reading this, thinking Qi Fang’s mental state was worrisome.

“Hey, you two…”

Chen Ke pushed open the door, holding examination reports in his hand. He was about to tell the two men in the corner not to make noise when he suddenly glimpsed Shen Yu sitting quietly on the hospital bed.

Chen Ke paused for a moment. “Professor Shen, you’re awake?”

Qi Fang & Li Congming: “?!”

Before Li Congming could react, Qi Fang leapt up and moved to Shen Yu’s bedside with almost blur-like speed, still clutching the stack of self-criticisms in his hand.

Chen Ke: “…”

Shen Yu watched Qi Fang rush to his side. His gaze scanned him up and down, then he nervously raised his hand, holding up three fingers, and asked, “What’s this?”

“…” Shen Yu: “Three.”

Qi Fang: “These are my fingers, Shen Yuyu.”

Shen Yu showed no reaction to this cold joke.

He had been unconscious for quite some time. His dark pupils were misty, as if he hadn’t fully awakened yet. His brow was furrowed, his gaze no longer sharp, his eyes no longer cold. At first glance, he even looked a bit dazed.

His gaze fell on Qi Fang’s face, pausing for a moment, his eyes seeming somewhat hesitant.

The fingers resting on the snow-white blanket twitched slightly, as if wanting to lift, but lacking the strength, they ultimately remained still.

Shen Yu’s small movement was barely noticeable; only Chen Ke caught it, immediately furrowing his brow.

Qi Fang was still elated by Shen Yu’s awakening. He stuffed the “self-criticism” into Shen Yu’s hand. Surprisingly, Shen Yu lowered his head and looked at it very seriously, then folded the papers neatly after reading.

Chen Ke and Li Congming stood to the side, holding their breath as they continued to observe.

Finally, amidst everyone’s anticipation, Shen Yu spoke.

“If it can’t be cured, let’s go home,” he said.

Qi Fang carefully observed his expression and said cautiously, “Shen Yu, my leg has already healed.”

Shen Yu shook his head, lifting his eyelashes to look at him, and said, “It’s not the leg, it’s the heart… Let’s stop treating it.”

Qi Fang: “Huh?!”

Again???

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