This fever was caused by overusing his gland, combined with chronic mental strain and exhaustion, which led to a disorder in glandular secretion.
A family doctor had come earlier that morning, administered an IV drip to Lu Shangjin, and given him an energy injection.
When he woke up, Lu Shangjin instinctively reached for Yan Yi sleeping beside him—but only touched a sheet of cold, empty bedding. His eyes snapped open, and he noticed a medical adhesive strip on the back of his hand.
Since dismissing the housekeeper, every breakfast had been personally prepared by Lu Shangjin. He glanced at the clock—already nine o’clock.
“Yan Yan.” Lu Shangjin hurried downstairs in slippers.
Yan Yi was in the kitchen frying eggs.
The fried egg was skillfully cooked to a golden color. Yan Yi carefully placed it onto a slice of toast, added a thinly sliced piece of ham, then a layer of lettuce he shook dry, stacking everything neatly.
He was barefoot in soft slippers, lightly rubbing his heel against the floor.
Through the glass kitchen door, Lu Shangjin stood frozen, arms hanging at his sides, staring at him. Unconsciously, he stepped closer and pressed his fingers against the glass, as if touching Yan Yi’s lowered eyelashes through it.
He wished time could stop here. Even if all he could do was look at this gentle moment through glass, that would be enough.
Yan Yi noticed him, opened the door, and brought out two plates of breakfast. Lu Shangjin hurried to take them and set them on the table, blowing on his still-warm fingers.
“Are you feeling better? You were acting pretty rough last night.” Yan Yi reached over to check his forehead. The fever had gone down.
“It’s already 9:30. I was going to wake you, but you looked uncomfortable, so I let you sleep. I hope I didn’t mess up any meetings.”
“No meetings today. I’m not going in.” Lu Shangjin took the hand on his forehead and pressed it against his cheek. “I told someone to bring the car back yesterday and bought groceries. I was going to make vegetable porridge for you this morning.”
He cleaned his plate completely, not even leaving the milk—like a child trying to please a teacher at kindergarten.
Yan Yi rested his chin on his hand and watched him.
“Does it taste good?”
Lu Shangjin nodded vigorously. Even the simplest sandwich, as long as it was made by Yan Yi, carried a faint milky sweetness when he tasted it.
“…Do you really like me that much?” Yan Yi asked with a smile, sitting on the chair’s crossbar. “What’s so special about me?”
Lu Shangjin blurted out without hesitation, forgetting all his usual charm and restraint. “You’re special. You’re someone I can’t lose.” Like rain and rainbows from his youth.
Yan Yi smiled, then gently flicked his little rabbit ears in mild distress. Being placed under such emotional weight felt suffocating.
Later, he no longer had time to dwell on it. Lu Shangjin took leave and brought him on a long trip across Europe.
On the return flight, Yan Yi focused on browsing the travel photos the photographer had sent.
Lu Shangjin wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “Pick your favorite. I’ll frame it and hang it in our bedroom. I’ll also clear a wall in my study for all of them.”
“Won’t that disturb your work?” Yan Yi leaned into his shoulder, smiling, then yawned slightly after a while.
“Not at all. Looking at you gives me energy.” Lu Shangjin kissed his hair. “Sleep if you’re tired.”
Yan Yi worried about numbing his shoulder, but Lu Shangjin wouldn’t let go, so he eventually closed his eyes against him.
His alpha always released an excessive amount of calming pheromones. Wrapped in them, it felt like sinking into a down comforter—soft and warm.
Near landing time, it was already nine at night. Yan Yi was awakened by a kiss, a thin blanket covering him. Lu Shangjin didn’t want the landing turbulence to startle him.
After leaving the airport, Lu Shangjin frowned slightly and scanned the surroundings. The air carried a faint, restless tension.
He tightened his grip on Yan Yi’s hand and quickened his pace toward the car.
“What’s wrong?” Yan Yi lifted his rabbit ears, listening carefully.
“Smell of pests,” Lu Shangjin said, opening the door for him and retrieving a silver briefcase from the trunk before sitting beside him.
The driver was originally heading toward their new home, but Lu Shangjin checked the time and coldly ordered them to the villa first.
Yan Yi sensed the subtle shift in his alpha’s aura and shifted closer to the opposite door.
“Don’t be scared, baby.” Lu Shangjin kissed his forehead. “It’s fine.”
Yan Yi quietly clutched his collar. The faint oppressive scent of water lily pheromones seeped into his gland, making him uncomfortable as he instinctively pressed a hand against his aching lower abdomen.
The black Bentley moved smoothly through the night road.
Lu Shangjin leaned back, fastening Yan Yi’s seatbelt, gently patting him to soothe him, while his left hand tapped the silver briefcase lock repeatedly.
His low voice broke the silence.
“One. On three, turn the wheel all the way left.”
The driver froze, then instinctively obeyed.
“One… two…”
A red laser sight drifted onto the tire.
“Three.”
The car screeched violently as it veered off the road. A bullet struck the pavement where it had just been.
“Stay in the car,” Lu Shangjin said, half-kneeling on the seat, holding Yan Yi’s pale face. “The glass is bulletproof. Don’t get out.”
He glanced at the driver. “Take the S-curve. Don’t stop for red lights.”
The driver nodded frantically.
Lu Shangjin jumped from the speeding car, rolled across the road, and landed in the greenery just as a sniper round missed him by inches.
Hundreds of meters away stood an office tower. A dark figure was preparing to flee from the rooftop.
Lu Shangjin pressed all elevator buttons on the first floor, then sprinted up the stairs.
By the third floor, he had discarded the briefcase, now carrying a shotgun and dual MP433 pistols, climbing the stairs at full speed.
The sniper realized the trap and descended the exterior cable from the tower.
At the fifteenth floor, as he slowed to land, he passed a floor-to-ceiling window—and met eyes with a cold figure waiting inside.
The glass shattered.
A powerful arm dragged him through the window, crushing him onto the shattered floor.
No creature had ever surpassed the speed of a peregrine falcon’s strike—not even an M2 golden eagle alpha.
Pinned beneath iron-like claws, the sniper struggled. Lu Shangjin pressed the muzzle against the neck marked “PBB000099” and fired without hesitation.
The gunshot echoed through the building.
The elevator arrived on the fifteenth floor at that exact moment.
Doors opened.
Gunfire exploded into the darkness—but the room was empty.
Smoke bombs detonated. Visibility dropped to zero.
Lu Shangjin triggered the elevator close button, fired into the cramped space, and shattered the smoke detector.
Inside the darkness, he moved like a predator.
Two pistols. Controlled bursts. Precise headshots.
Three minutes later, he was already back downstairs.
The black Bentley returned from the left.
“Why are you back? I told you to take him away!” Lu Shangjin rushed forward, opening the door—
And froze.
A gun was aimed directly at him.
Yan Yi stood there, expression cold.
“Yan Yan… it’s me…”
A flash of light.
He didn’t even move.
A shot rang out behind him—an attacker collapsed.
The night was cold.
Lu Shangjin tightened his coat.
He realized something deep inside him could not be warmed anymore.
He had once built a snow rabbit in winter, carefully protecting it—
but it had melted in the first spring night.
Yan Yi lit a cigarette, leaned against the car door, and looked down through the smoke.
After a long silence, he tapped ash from the cigarette.
“Brother Jin,” he said lightly. “Aren’t you going to say something?”