In the special care ward, a pot of lush, green touch-me-not sat by the window.
Yan Yi, wrapped in a white blanket, hugged his knees and watched the plant. Usually scentless, lightly touching its thick, juicy leaves released a subtle, fresh fragrance, much like a mimosa.
He plucked a small, juicy leaf and popped it into his mouth. Sweet, like jelly.
He had been in the ward for a week, and the touch-me-not was nearly nibbled bare.
Every day, a dose of anesthetic was injected to gradually put his gland to rest in preparation for the replacement surgery next month.
The entire floor of the special care ward was quiet. Unnecessary interruptions were rare. From a few meters away, he could hear footsteps, but he lowered his ears in mild disappointment.
He hadn’t seen Lu Shangjin in a week.
Lu Shangjin was busy with company matters, rarely finding time to visit.
Yan Yi could only wait in silence.
Out of boredom, he scrolled through Weibo, seeing many auto-followed celebrities in his feed. He had met many in person, but wasn’t close to any.
After a while, he searched for Yuan Mi’s name.
Millions of fans followed him; every post garnered hundreds of thousands of shares.
He was a popular figure.
Yan Yi scrolled through the latest updates—Yuan Mi had been discharged from the hospital. Previous videos of interviews showed him three parts delicate, seven parts strong. Fans of his motherly type were moved to tears, alpha fans thumped their chests in admiration, and omegas refrained from jealousy out of pity.
Further back were variety shows, where Yuan Mi interacted with other celebrities and hosts with humor, grace, and courtesy.
Yan Yi looked at him and then at himself, like the only fish in a fish tank, separated from the outside world by a pane of glass, with no friends or social circle. His world had only Lu Shangjin.
What did it feel like to be loved, to be chased?
He thought he remembered, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t recall much beyond a few searing memories. Ten years had passed. All the other details had been smoothed over by time, like pebbles polished by the sea, gradually disappearing as if they never existed.
Only Yan Yi knew they had existed. Time had simply worn them away.
He raised his right hand to look at the ring on his ring finger, gently moving it aside to reveal the faint edges of the tiny tattoo: everlasting love.
“Soon… less than a month.” Soon, someone would care for him, too. With a 97% compatibility rate, how gentle would Lu Shangjin become?
Would he occasionally let Yan Yi act spoiled and feed him a spoonful of food?
Would they be able to sleep together every day, waking up not to a cold ceiling but to the serene face of his alpha?
He would no longer have to endure his intense heat alone; his alpha would envelop him with soothing pheromones, never leaving him alone until the late hours, alone on the sofa with only a thin blanket and a prepared dinner, receiving a message: “Not coming tonight.”
Yan Yi closed his tired eyes. The daily anesthetic left him weak, his gland gradually resting, his body’s functions declining. It was exhausting. The longer he went without seeing Lu Shangjin, the harder it became, as if running nonstop on a treadmill for hours, yet never finding a bottle of water.
At four in the afternoon, a nurse came punctually to inject the anesthetic.
The medicine flowed slowly beneath his gland, and Yan Yi curled up, enduring the icy spread through his body and the nausea in his chest. He bent over the bed to vomit, unable to expel anything, then curled back into his blanket, feeling even weaker.
The young nurse patted his back sympathetically. “It’s tough, I know. That’s just a side effect of the anesthetic… If your alpha were here, it wouldn’t be so bad. Where is he?”
Yan Yi closed his eyes tightly. “He’s busy. It’s fine. Go care for someone else.”
The nurse, still new in the hospital and having never seen an omega preparing for such a dangerous surgery without their alpha, offered a few words of comfort before leaving and closing the door behind her.
Yan Yi curled in his blanket until eight in the evening. The discomfort enveloping him hadn’t lessened. He went to the restroom to vomit twice, drenched in sweat through his pale blue hospital gown.
He reached under his pillow for his phone and dialed the number he knew by heart, waiting for the call to be answered.
After ten cold, silent rings, the line finally connected. Lu Shangjin’s indifferent voice came through, background noise of people discussing a project: “I’m outside. What’s up?”
Yan Yi shivered, silent, unsure what to say.
He wanted Lu Shangjin to come and be with him.
But he knew saying that would get him nowhere.
Lu Shangjin’s patience thinned: “Speak.”
Yan Yi weakly said, “Nothing. Just… don’t be too tired.”
Lu Shangjin gave a few instructions to others, then returned to listen: “Anything else?”
Yan Yi hesitated. Just as he thought to say no, the line went dead.
He kept the phone pressed to his ear, staring blankly for a long time.
He scrolled his contacts. He still had Yuan Mi’s number, used during his hospital visit a few days ago.
He dialed, rang for a long time, no answer.
Most others were either clients or top executives; no one had the time to speak.
His mind grew foggy. Suddenly, a call appeared from an unknown number.
Without thinking, he answered.
A not-so-gentlemanly voice spoke: “What are you doing?”
Had he dialed wrong?
The voice was somewhat familiar.
Yan Yi buried himself deeper in the blanket, too eager for someone to talk to, and softly replied: “Sleeping.”
The man on the line chuckled lightly: “Sleeping, and you’re talking?”
Yan Yi, exhausted, said, “I’m not feeling well.”
“Not feeling well? Why?”
Yan Yi, too tired to explain, hung up.
Moments later, the screen lit again—same number.
The alpha’s firm aura pressed faintly through the line: “Hey, where are you?”
The number had been acquired through a costly chance; he wouldn’t easily let the opportunity slip.
He had sharp senses and caught the call from the hospital: “Which hospital are you at?”
Yan Yi inhaled slowly. “I can’t explain… I’m just a little white rabbit.”
What was he saying?
He rolled over, arm covering his eyes.
The alpha laughed for a long while.
A crazy alpha, Yan Yi thought.
Nausea rose again. He hurried to the restroom, vomited once more, returning pale and weak, brain foggy.
The call was still active.
The alpha’s suspicion grew: “Are you really sick?”
Yan Yi mumbled, “Very… not well… come be with me… just for a day… or one night… can’t you just let me hear your voice…”
“…”
The line went silent.
Yan Yi asked softly, “Still there?”
“Yes,” the alpha replied, voice serious, no longer teasing.
“This surgery… if it fails… will I die?”
The alpha paused, then said, “…No. Don’t be afraid.”
Yan Yi let out a small laugh. “If it fails, then let me disappear. Life is exhausting… so exhausting.”
“Lie down first,” the alpha urged, anxious, trying in vain to send calming pheromones through the line. “I’ll… I’ll touch you.”
Yan Yi curled, enduring the dull, throbbing pain in his bones. Fantasizing, he imagined hands stroking his back. He gasped softly, voice like a mosquito: “It hurts so much.”
——
The next day at noon, Yan Yi was roused by the squeak of the door. He opened his eyes to see Lu Shangjin entering, a nurse with medication following behind.
“How are you?” Lu Shangjin asked about his condition.
Yan Yi, still haunted by the previous day’s drug side effects, nuzzled toward the bed corner under his blanket: “Let’s skip today’s dose… I need more time to adjust.”
Lu Shangjin frowned. “You can’t slack off with this surgery. Endure it.”
Yan Yi closed his eyes. “Alright.”
A dose of medicine was administered to his gland. His face turned pale.
Lu Shangjin sat beside the bed, gently lifting Yan Yi’s face and feeding him a strawberry.
Yan Yi swallowed with difficulty.
Lu Shangjin looked at him oddly. “You used to really like these. Throwing a tantrum?”
Yesterday, Lu Shangjin had been busy taking Yan Yi’s call, but today he came as soon as he could.
Yan Yi didn’t respond appreciatively.
Yes… he did like it.
But at this moment, he didn’t want a strawberry. He just wanted an embrace.
Lu Shangjin gave him a strawberry.