When Ren Yi woke up again, he was already in the hospital.
Because his intracranial pressure had not yet gone down, he felt groggy all over. His temples throbbed, and his head hurt terribly. It took several minutes before he fully regained consciousness.
He raised a hand and touched his neck. The skin was intact.
Almost everyone rescued from the fire had suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. Ren Yi had treated countless such cases. If the symptoms were severe, emergency responders might even have to perform an emergency tracheotomy right there at the scene.
Apparently, his condition wasn’t that serious.
But what about Gong Yingxian?
How was Gong Yingxian?!
He pressed the call button. Before long, a nurse came in.
“Captain Ren, you’re awake.”
“The person who was brought in with me?” Ren Yi asked nervously. “How is he?”
“Officer Gong? He’s not seriously injured. He’s undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy right now. It’ll be over soon.”
Ren Yi breathed a sigh of relief. “How long was I unconscious?”
“More than ten hours, roughly. You just came back from the hyperbaric chamber too.” The nurse said, “The person staying with you seems to have just gone out. Do you want me to call him?”
“No, thank you.”
“Actually, we’re the ones who should be thanking you.”
Ren Yi looked puzzled. “Why?”
“Whenever there’s danger, you’re always the first ones to rush in. So many people are saved because you risk your lives for them.” The nurse looked a little embarrassed. “It’s not easy being you.”
Ren Yi smiled. “It’s our job—to serve the people.”
“You look about the same age as my son.” The nurse sighed. “If my son had a job this dangerous, I’d be worrying about him every single day. Your parents must worry about you too, right?”
“Haha, they’re okay. My dad was a firefighter too.”
The nurse looked at Ren Yi with admiration. “You’ve worked hard.”
Ren Yi grinned.
After the nurse left, Ren Yi’s consciousness and memories gradually returned, and he began recalling everything that had happened before he passed out.
The more he thought about it, the more his heart raced, his mind wandered, and even his spirits soared.
He had actually rubbed against Gong Yingxian for that long, and they had both… gotten hard?
Gong Yingxian had actually given him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
They had kissed?
And there was something that had happened before all of that:
Gong Yingxian had been injured saving him.
Maybe… maybe he really was different in Gong Yingxian’s eyes.
More than just different.
Maybe Gong Yingxian also had feelings for him that went beyond friendship, and simply hadn’t realized it himself.
No.
Now wasn’t the time to let his imagination run wild. His brain was still practically mush.
He was just grateful that he hadn’t done anything irreversible back then. Otherwise, if he had survived only to face that kind of embarrassment, he would have wanted to die all over again.
But… was he really just imagining things?
What if…
He was still agonizing over it when the hospital-room door opened and Qu Yangbo walked in carrying a thermos.
“Oh, you’re awake.” Qu Yangbo came over. “How are you feeling?”
“My head hurts. Otherwise, I’m okay.”
“Headaches are normal. Your brain’s full of water, after all.”
Ren Yi glared at him. He genuinely didn’t have the strength to argue.
Qu Yangbo grinned. “The proper term is cerebral edema. A classic symptom of carbon monoxide poisoning.”
“Did anyone else get hurt? How’s the scene?” Ren Yi could faintly hear sounds resembling construction work coming from outside the window.
“They’re still digging. It’s going to take a while to clear everything out. There may still be survivors.” Qu Yangbo said, “The doctors and nurses have it rough too. They haven’t rested since yesterday. They have to relocate the patients in the inpatient building and treat all the injured at the same time.”
Ren Yi sighed. “A hospital… is a place with so many sad stories.”
“Fortunately, your injuries aren’t serious. You scared the hell out of us yesterday.” Qu Yangbo still looked shaken.
“I’ve got a tough life.” Ren Yi gave him a carefree grin, trying to reassure him.
“You two both have pretty tough lives.” Qu Yangbo poured him a glass of water, then gave him a mischievous look. “Do you remember what happened before you passed out?”
Ren Yi played dumb. “I was practically dying. What could I remember?” His heart immediately grew wary.
Did they know something?
“Really don’t remember?” Qu Yangbo pushed up his glasses and gave him a wicked grin. “Want me to help you reconstruct it?”
Ren Yi nervously swallowed.
“You don’t remember Dr. Gong giving you mouth-to-mouth?”
“Fuck, how do you know about that?” Ren Yi desperately tried to recall. Wait… wasn’t that when they had just cut through the wall?
“Remember now?”
Ren Yi pursed his lips and quickly said, “So what? He was saving me. I’ve given people mouth-to-mouth before. You gave people mouth-to-mouth during training too. Who hasn’t done it?”
Qu Yangbo’s face was full of teasing. “Exactly. Everyone’s done it. So why are you so nervous?”
“Who the hell is nervous?” Ren Yi snapped, embarrassed. “And who else knows?”
Qu Yangbo counted on his fingers, pretending to think seriously. “Let’s see… one, two, three… probably… around a hundred people.”
Ren Yi cursed.
“It’s hard to say now. The internet is so developed, and everyone has a phone. I’m guessing pretty soon every fire station and police station in Hongwu District will know.”
“Damn it, I’m your captain, at least leave me some dignity!” Ren Yi’s scalp practically exploded. He’d never hear the end of this. They’d tease him every day from now on.
“Can’t help it. So many people saw it, including firefighters from other stations.” Qu Yangbo blinked at him. “You were secretly pretty happy about it, weren’t you? Even if it was mouth-to-mouth, that still counts as a kiss.”
Ren Yi rolled his eyes. “What are you talking about? We were in a situation like that. Our lives were on the line. Who was thinking about that?”
“Really? You genuinely don’t care? Even if you don’t, I wonder whether Dr. Gong cares.”
Those words struck Ren Yi right in the heart.
He rolled his eyes around, his mind becoming increasingly restless.
Qu Yangbo watched the changes in his expression and smiled. “Brother, I don’t understand this whole… male-male romance thing of yours, and Gong Yingxian isn’t a woman, so I’m not going to give you advice. But I think if you like someone, don’t chicken out, okay?”
Ren Yi sighed. “I’m not chickening out. You don’t understand.”
There was no point hiding it from Qu Yangbo, a top student from the law school with both emotional and intellectual intelligence off the charts. He had no choice but to admit it.
Qu Yangbo shrugged. “I don’t understand, but I can see how anxious you are.”
“Come on, don’t worry about it. I’m already stressed enough.” Ren Yi said dejectedly. “This is really embarrassing now.”
“What is there to be embarrassed about over mouth-to-mouth? As long as you treat it as mouth-to-mouth.”
Ren Yi naturally couldn’t tell Qu Yangbo about their earlier experience of rubbing against each other. He said instead, “Which room is Gong Yingxian in? Is he back yet? I’ll go see him.”
Qu Yangbo pointed at the bed beside him. “There. He’s sleeping right next to you.”
“What?”
Ren Yi was startled.
Qu Yangbo raised his eyebrows proudly. “I arranged it for you. Pretty thoughtful of me, right?”
Ren Yi’s feelings were extremely complicated, and so was his expression.
They would probably have to stay in the hospital for several days. If they could share a room every day, of course he would be happy.
But he felt incredibly guilty.
Just then, the hospital-room door opened again.
Gong Yingxian was wheeled in in a wheelchair.
Ren Yi’s head suddenly throbbed violently, and his palms became clammy with nervous sweat.
When Gong Yingxian saw Ren Yi, his expression immediately became awkward. He cleared his throat.
“When did you wake up?”
“Just now.” Ren Yi instinctively avoided eye contact with Gong Yingxian. “Are you feeling better?”
Qu Yangbo also smiled. “Dr. Gong, finished with your treatment? How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine now.” Gong Yingxian frowned. “The doctor said we have to stay in the hospital for at least a week. We also need one hour of hyperbaric oxygen therapy every day.”
“Well, you were poisoned by carbon monoxide,” Qu Yangbo said. “You need to correct the lack of oxygen in your blood. Cooperate with the treatment and you’ll recover sooner.”
The nurse reached out to help Gong Yingxian into bed, but he immediately pulled away.
“I can do it myself.”
He stood up and lay down on the bed.
The nurse was a young woman, and she immediately looked awkward.
Ren Yi hurriedly explained, “He’s got a cleanliness obsession. It’s not personal.”
The young nurse blushed and nodded with a smile before leaving.
Qu Yangbo clicked his tongue. “Ren the Fourth, don’t go around turning on the charm for young girls.”
“Bullshit. I wasn’t.” Ren Yi secretly glanced at Gong Yingxian. “Being handsome isn’t my fault.”
Gong Yingxian pulled the blanket over himself and silently stared straight ahead.
Qu Yangbo exchanged a glance with Ren Yi.
They had known each other for more than ten years and been colleagues for six. Their understanding was so good that a single look was enough for them to know what the other was thinking.
Qu Yangbo was asking whether he should leave.
Ren Yi quietly shook his head.
He really didn’t dare be alone with Gong Yingxian. He had a feeling Gong Yingxian wasn’t in a very good mood.
Qu Yangbo had no choice but to try to lighten the atmosphere.
“Hey, that pregnant woman you rescued—the surgery was a complete success. Not only did they save her leg, they saved the baby too.”
“That’s great.”
Gong Yingxian also raised his head.
“That mother was incredible. She refused general anesthesia because she didn’t want to harm the fetus. She went through a lot of pain.”
Ren Yi sighed. “There are plenty of men who couldn’t endure that kind of pain.”
Gong Yingxian couldn’t help thinking of his own mother. His heart clenched, and he said quietly, “A mother becomes strong for her child.”
“Dr. Gong, the evidence you risked your life to bring out—the captain brought it back to the police station last night. They didn’t sleep all night. They’re searching the entire city for the suspect. I heard they’ve made some progress. You can ask later.”
“Okay.”
“They’re still digging over there. Hopefully they can rescue more people—or find more evidence.”
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
The hospital-room door was pushed open forcefully, and a blue blur swept in like a whirlwind, moving so quickly that both men were momentarily dazzled.
When they finally got a good look, it was Gong Feilan, with Uncle Sheng following behind her.
Gong Feilan burst out, “Brother, are you okay? I heard you gave Captain Ren mouth-to-mouth!”