Pei Yusheng’s final test was done on the hospital’s first floor. After it was over, he walked straight out into the open courtyard.
The results would take some time, so he planned to have someone pick them up the next day. Glancing at the time, he saw that more than half an hour had already passed. Just as he was about to call Qi Ji so they could leave together, he looked up—and happened to spot the boy emerging from the fourth floor.
Qi Ji saw him too. He stopped, leaned over the railing, and looked down at him.
The hospital was bustling, voices overlapping so badly it was hard to hear anything. The boy waved at him from above.
The corners of Pei Yusheng’s lips curved unconsciously into a smile as he reached out toward his little friend.
Seeing that, the boy pointed toward the stairwell, then left the railing and hurried over. Probably thinking the elevator would be too slow, he ran all the way down the stairs, never slowing even after he reached the first floor.
By the time Qi Ji ran up to him, Pei Yusheng felt as though his heart had been completely filled.
He had never imagined that one day, a few simple actions from another person could stir his emotions so deeply.
And the satisfaction of it went far beyond anything he had ever thought possible.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t considered catching the boy outright, scooping him up in his arms—but his little friend was shy by nature, and this was a hospital, a place where the boy had painful memories. So Pei Yusheng restrained himself, only lifting a hand to ruffle his hair.
The boy’s hair was fine and soft, just like his gentle nature.
“Finished with your checkup?” Pei Yusheng asked.
“Mm.”
The boy nodded, obedient as could be.
But Pei Yusheng noticed his eyes were slightly red, as if he’d been wronged.
He frowned. “What’s wrong? Why are your eyes red?”
Qi Ji raised a hand awkwardly, about to rub them. “I think something got in my eye earlier. It feels a bit uncomfortable.”
Pei Yusheng caught his hand, stopping him. “You can’t rub them. Be good—close your eyes first. I’ll take you to a doctor.”
Qi Ji clearly hadn’t expected him to take it so seriously and shook his head quickly. “No, no, it’s fine now.”
Afraid Pei Yusheng wouldn’t believe him, he blinked carefully twice. “There’s really nothing there anymore.”
Only then did Pei Yusheng relent, though he was still uneasy. “Which eye was it? Let me take a look.”
Qi Ji paused, then said, “The right one.”
Pei Yusheng gently used two fingers to hold his right eye open and checked carefully.
Seen up close, those doe-like eyes were even clearer and brighter, glazed with a thin sheen of moisture—strikingly beautiful.
After confirming there really was nothing in his eye, Pei Yusheng finally felt a bit more at ease. “Does it still hurt?”
“No.”
The boy answered softly and blinked once.
The moisture pooled there fell with that blink, landing on the web of Pei Yusheng’s thumb.
Pei Yusheng frowned slightly and lifted a hand to wipe away the tear beneath the boy’s eye.
Qi Ji closed his eyes. His long, curled lashes brushed against Pei Yusheng’s fingertip, leaving a faint, itchy tickle.
Pei Yusheng’s hand stilled for a moment—only to have Qi Ji tilt his head and lean in, rubbing lightly against his palm. The touch was cool and soft, just like a clingy kitten.
“It’s okay now,” the boy whispered.
Pei Yusheng’s fingers twitched. After a brief pause, he asked, “It really doesn’t hurt anymore?”
“Mm.”
Qi Ji nodded seriously, as if that single tear had washed away all his fragility.
“Really.”
He even added, “And this time I didn’t react to the disinfectant smell either. I think before I just wasn’t in good shape. Now I’m fine.”
Pei Yusheng nodded and didn’t press further. He was already planning to keep a strawberry-scented mask on hand for him next time, just in case—and for warmth in winter.
Thinking of warmth, he took off his own long scarf and wrapped it around the boy’s neck.
Qi Ji grew nervous. “I’m fine… won’t you get cold without it, Mr. Pei?”
Pei Yusheng placed his warm palm against the boy’s soft cheek.
His hand was hot, the contrast with the boy’s cool skin obvious—something he’d noticed earlier when wiping away the tear. “I’m not cold. But your face is.”
Only then did Qi Ji obediently let him finish wrapping the scarf.
It wasn’t a thick scarf—just a decorative one Zong Lin had paired with Pei Yusheng’s overcoat—but Pei Yusheng looped it around several times, snugly enclosing the boy’s neck.
Afterward, he adjusted the boy’s collar and asked, “Why didn’t you wear a scarf when you came out?”
Qi Ji answered honestly, “I went to the mall this afternoon. I thought I’d be indoors, so I didn’t bring it.”
They chatted as they walked out of the hospital. The driver was already waiting at the entrance and drove them away.
Mentioning the mall reminded Qi Ji of something else. He told Pei Yusheng about winning a prize. “The staff said I won a fifty-thousand voucher—the top prize.”
Pei Yusheng listened patiently, smiling. “That’s impressive.”
Even as he said it, he was thinking: since he’d already arranged one win, next time he’d have to be more careful—at least change the method, so the boy wouldn’t get suspicious.
Qi Ji continued, “We originally planned to buy just two pieces of clothing. After winning, I also got Mingyu a pair of sneakers and gloves.”
“And what did you buy for yourself?” Pei Yusheng asked.
“I don’t really lack anything, so I didn’t buy anything.” Qi Ji hesitated before continuing. “Then, when I passed by one store, I saw a brooch in their display window…”
He spoke a little haltingly. Pei Yusheng raised an eyebrow. “You liked it?”
Men’s brooches weren’t necessities. For people unfamiliar with them, seeing the price—often higher than a full suit—could easily cause hesitation. Pei Yusheng assumed Qi Ji had liked it but couldn’t bear to buy it and was already thinking of having someone look up which one it was to purchase it for him—
—but then Qi Ji said, “Yes, because I thought it was… very fitting.”
He took a shopping bag from his backpack. Inside was a neatly packaged square box.
“So I bought it.”
He carefully opened the box and showed it to Pei Yusheng.
“It’s a sun,” the boy said softly, a little nervous. “I think it suits you, Mr. Pei. But I didn’t know if you’d like it, so I bought it anyway. It might be a bit abrupt. And—and it might be too cheap, not really suitable for your usual outfits…”
He took a breath, steadying himself, then mustered his courage.
“But I still… wanted to give it to you.”
“Because I see the sun every day. Every day, every year of my life, I’ll keep seeing the sun.”
—And Mr. Pei would be like the sun, too.
Even if clouds occasionally covered it, it would always shine on, steady and bright, healthy and enduring.
After speaking, the boy waited nervously for Pei Yusheng’s reaction. He held his breath for a long time, but heard nothing.
Just as he began to wonder whether it had been wrong to buy a gift with prize money, the box was taken from his hands.
Pei Yusheng was still silent. He took the brooch out, opened his coat. He wasn’t wearing a brooch today, only a tie clip. Wearing both would be excessive. So he removed the diamond-studded, clearly expensive tie clip, slipped it into his pocket, and carefully pinned the brooch to his chest.
Right over his heart.
The sun’s rippling lines reflected flecks of golden light—beautiful enough to dazzle.
“Thank you,” Pei Yusheng said hoarsely. “I really like it.”
Qi Ji let out a small sigh of relief, his ears still red. “I’m glad you like it.”
“But I didn’t prepare a gift in return,” Pei Yusheng said softly.
He took the boy’s left hand, held those slender fingers, lowered his head, and pressed a gentle kiss to the fourth finger.
“I hope that one day, I can personally put the gift on for you.”
His words were direct and fervent, like blazing sunlight—never hiding, never restrained.
The boy’s entire face flushed instantly.
“I…”
His shyness was unmistakable; he could barely form a sentence. Pei Yusheng hadn’t meant to pressure him—he’d only spoken from the heart. Seeing this, he gently held the boy’s hand, about to say, It’s okay, we can take it slow—
—but then the boy softly finished his thought.
“I think… I think there will be—there will be that chance.”
Pei Yusheng froze again.
Qi Ji, as if he’d exhausted all his courage, buried most of his face in the scarf, leaving only a pair of ears so red they looked ready to bleed. Just then, the car arrived at Rose Villa. He hurriedly got out, remembering to remove the scarf and hand it back.
“G-good luck with work, Mr. Pei,” Qi Ji stammered. “I’ll wait for you to come back!”
Pei Yusheng took the scarf, still warm with the boy’s body heat, and laughed softly.
“Okay. Wait for me.”
The car drove toward the company. Through the rear camera, Pei Yusheng watched the boy standing there, patting his own overheated cheeks and letting out a long breath.
The corner of his lips curved upward.
The boy didn’t rush inside, but stood there, gazing into the distance, watching Pei Yusheng leave.
Until the car turned the corner, that small figure remained in the camera’s view.
Pei Yusheng lifted a hand and pressed it to his chest.
There, he carried a sun.
In order to get home early, Pei Yusheng left the company as soon as his meetings ended. He arrived home just past ten, still with a few documents left to handle.
After showering, he came out to find Qi Ji walking over with a glass of milk.
The heat in the boy’s face had faded, but since he’d just bathed, his fair skin still held a hint of pink. Pei Yusheng glanced at him before looking at the milk. “Why didn’t you bring the strawberry milk?”
Qi Ji liked everything strawberry-flavored, milk included—that was why he asked.
But the boy shook his head and held the glass out. “It’s for you.”
Pei Yusheng was surprised, but accepted it anyway.
“What made you think of giving me milk?”
“Drinking milk before bed is good for your health,” Qi Ji said.
It also helped with sleep.
The Xu family had arranged three professional nutritionists for Pei Yusheng, but faced with the boy’s hopeful expression, he still finished the milk quickly.
Qi Ji took the empty glass happily. Pei Yusheng got up to rinse his mouth, then returned and leaned against the headboard, picking up his tablet to review documents.
After putting the glass away, Qi Ji climbed into bed as well.
Pei Yusheng read for a while and realized the boy wasn’t browsing design collections on his tablet as usual, nor chatting idly with Star. He was simply lying there.
Thinking Qi Ji might be tired, Pei Yusheng reached to dim the bedside lamp—only to realize the boy wasn’t asleep at all, but lying there with his eyes open.
“Going to sleep?” Pei Yusheng asked.
Half his face was buried in the white velvet duvet. Qi Ji shook his head.
“Lying down but not sleeping?” Pei Yusheng reached out and brushed aside the stray hair on his forehead.
Qi Ji’s voice was muffled under the blanket. “Waiting for you.”
Pei Yusheng smiled. “Waiting for me?”
The boy looked at him with those beautiful eyes. “Didn’t you rest last night?”
“Hm?”
He counted carefully. “You worked late and only called me for five minutes before going back to work. You definitely didn’t get time to rest.”
Then he added quietly, “And you even fainted today from being too tired.”
Pei Yusheng touched Qi Ji’s forehead. He loved these small, intimate gestures.
“Last night there were three meetings,” he explained. “End of the year gets busy. It’ll pass.”
“Then you should sleep earlier tonight and make up for yesterday,” Qi Ji said, glancing at the tablet. “Do you still have a lot of documents to go through?”
Pei Yusheng chuckled softly. “Not many. And not urgent. I’ll look tomorrow.”
He leaned down and kissed the boy’s forehead. “Sleep.”
Qi Ji tucked himself a little deeper under the covers.
After a moment’s thought, he whispered, “Good night.”
“Good night,” Pei Yusheng replied.
The bedside lamp went out, leaving the room calm and dark.
The night was gentle. Soft breathing gradually became steady.
At some point, the boy lying flat turned over, murmured something, shifted again—and slipped straight into the other man’s arms.
As if clinging to something that made him feel safe, he wrapped his arms tightly around Pei Yusheng’s waist.
Pei Yusheng responded in kind, pulling the boy close, holding him gently.
Wrapped in familiar warmth, the boy nuzzled contentedly against Pei Yusheng’s chest, still sleeping deeply.
But in his sleep, he murmured softly, “Mr. Pei…”
Pei Yusheng was surprised.
Was he dreaming of him?
Qi Ji usually slept very quietly. Aside from curling up to cling to him, he rarely moved, and almost never talked in his sleep—except for the occasional murmured “Mom” or “Dad.”
His voice was faint; it was impossible to tell whether the dream was happy or sad. Pei Yusheng lowered his head, about to look at the boy’s expression—but the moment he shifted back even slightly, Qi Ji protested, whining unhappily at the loss of closeness.
Pei Yusheng had no choice but to stay still, gently patting the boy’s back, soothing him.
Only then did the boy settle down again.
Even so, he kept holding Pei Yusheng tightly, refusing to let go.
Once Qi Ji was sound asleep, Pei Yusheng lowered his head and kissed the crown of his hair.
Good night, my miracle.
He said it silently.
Sweet dreams.