“Is that you?”
Fang Yangzhou’s voice was soft again, almost as if he were afraid of disturbing something.
The question struck Lian Qing as strange. He was full of doubts, but having just disturbed him, he didn’t dare ignore the question. Although he wasn’t particularly fond of being called “Xiaoqing,” he forced a reply: “Yes.”
Fang Yangzhou looked at him. Even through his glasses, his gaze was startlingly intense.
“Just as I thought,” he murmured, “only in my dreams do you let me look at you like this quietly.”
Lian Qing frowned. What did he mean by that?
Before he could respond, Fang Yangzhou reached out his hand. Lian Qing froze and instinctively tried to pull away—but he couldn’t.
Even drunk, Fang Yangzhou’s reflexes were far beyond Lian Qing’s.
For a moment, Lian Qing almost wondered if Fang Yangzhou was about to start acting wildly drunk.
But the unforgivable, shameless Fang Yangzhou didn’t do anything inappropriate. He simply held Lian Qing’s hand gently.
His fingertips were cool, a small relief against the stifling heat of the summer night.
Lian Qing momentarily zoned out. After a beat, he heard Fang Yangzhou speak:
“I hope that after I leave, you’ll still come to my dreams.”
Leave?
Lian Qing furrowed his brow. Ignoring the part about dreams, he asked directly, “Where are you going?”
Fang Yangzhou seemed to treat this conversation as if it were a dream. He answered every question: “To Germany. To treat my eyes.”
“My eyes? What’s wrong with them?”
Lian Qing suddenly recalled that Fang Yangzhou had unusually worn glasses today. As far as he knew, Fang Yangzhou had always had 5.2 vision in both eyes and never needed glasses before.
Thinking back, Lian Qing vaguely remembered that during their recent encounters, Fang Yangzhou had been wearing glasses each time. But Lian Qing had been too irritated with him to notice the change.
Eagerly, Lian Qing pressed further, but Fang Yangzhou gave no straight answer, only murmuring, “Just a minor issue.”
Before Lian Qing could ask more, Fang Yangzhou lifted a hand and lightly touched the side of his face.
“When I leave, I won’t bother you again.”
The words pinned Lian Qing to the spot; he hadn’t even managed to dodge the gesture.
Then he heard Fang Yangzhou speak again:
“In your dreams… could you stop avoiding me?”
Lian Qing was at a loss for words. His lips moved, but no sound came out.
The Fang Yangzhou before him—the aloof, cold, high-standing Third Young Master—when had he become so vulnerable?
Lian Qing’s mind was a mess. After a long moment, he asked, “How long… will you be gone?”
Fang Yangzhou lowered his gaze. Long lashes cast a shadow across his eyes.
“Three years, ten… or even longer.”
Lian Qing was shocked. “Why so long?”
He had expected maybe a month or two at most.
Fang Yangzhou paused, as if unsure whether to reveal the truth. Perhaps he thought that someone who cared about him this much would only appear in his dreams, so in the end he did not hide it:
“The initial treatment will take three years. If all goes well, ten years for a full recovery.”
What kind of injury could be this serious?
The words almost slipped from Lian Qing’s mouth, but he forced himself to clamp down on them.
Earlier, Fang Yangzhou had said only “a minor issue.” And yet, here was “ten years, or longer.”
Fang Yangzhou had just returned from studying in Germany last year. At that time, he had even asked Lian Qing’s father if Lian Qing should go to France. Having spent three years in Germany, he was familiar with the environment; if he stayed for so long, he might end up staying there permanently.
That was his life plan—what did it have to do with Lian Qing?
The car grew quiet, but Lian Qing’s mind was still in turmoil. He struggled to suppress his emotions until the car arrived at the Fang residence. Only when the security escorted Fang Yangzhou inside did Lian Qing feel a slight ease in his tense breathing.
He glanced up unconsciously, catching in the rearview mirror that Fang Yangzhou had refused the security’s hand and insisted on walking alone.
Lian Qing forced himself to look away, but his thoughts wouldn’t stop.
Why was Fang Yangzhou’s condition so serious?
He had never heard of any eye problems before. More strangely, when he realized Fang Yangzhou was truly leaving, he felt none of the excitement he had expected.
Even though he had been avoiding Fang Yangzhou before.
The complex feelings were inexpressible; Lian Qing felt a hollow space in his chest.
Despite the sweltering summer, a cold wind seemed to blow through, chilling his chest.
The journey home was short, but Lian Qing didn’t even remember how he got back. He struggled with his emotions, forcing himself not to think about the unease in his heart.
Once in his room, he showered quickly and lay down, desperate to sleep. He barely cleared his thoughts when his phone rang.
He pounded the bed in frustration. Couldn’t he have a moment of peace?
Exhaling in defeat, he picked up, seeing it was Dr. Zhao calling.
“Hello, Young Master Lian? I just finished surgery. Sorry I missed your call,” Zhao Mingzhen said tiredly. “Was there something you needed?”
“Nothing,” Lian Qing replied, embarrassed at the doctor’s obvious fatigue. He rubbed his nose. “I wanted Qi Ji’s number, but I don’t need it anymore.”
The call referred to earlier, when he went to the club to pick up Qi Ji.
“That’s good to hear,” Zhao said, about to hang up, but Lian Qing stopped him.
“Um, Dr. Zhao…” Lian Qing hesitated. “If I wanted to check someone’s medical records, how would I do that?”
Zhao paused. “Huh?”
“I mean, he said he has an eye injury and is going for treatment. I want to know what’s wrong with his eyes,” Lian Qing explained. “Your system is networked now, right? Can this be checked?”
Zhao looked a little troubled. “The networked system exists, but these are patient records. You can’t just check them.”
Lian Qing fell silent.
Dr. Zhao knew Lian Qing had been in low spirits recently and tried to comfort him: “Why don’t you ask him directly, or check with someone close to him?”
Lian Qing frowned but still said, “Mm, thank you, Dr. Zhao. You should get some rest.”
The call had disrupted the fragile calm Lian Qing had just managed to gather. Now, sleep was impossible.
After hanging up, he hesitated, then pulled up a number from his call log. At this hour, the person probably hadn’t gone to sleep yet, but Lian Qing wasn’t sure whether calling would accomplish anything—after all, Fang Yangzhou rarely shared his private matters.
And by asking, Lian Qing was effectively exposing himself.
He wrestled with the decision for a long time, tossing and turning, before finally dialing.
Sure enough, the call was answered quickly.
“Young Master Lian? Why are you calling? Are you looking for the Third Young Master?”
It was Fang Yangzhou’s assistant.
“I’m not with him right now, but I can get in touch if you like,” the assistant said apologetically.
Lian Qing looked down at his pale fingers. “I’m not looking for him. I just want to ask you something.”
“What is it?” The assistant noticed the seriousness in Lian Qing’s tone and immediately matched it. “Go ahead.”
Lian Qing asked, “He’s going to Germany?”
The assistant, who usually answered Lian Qing’s questions without hesitation, was silent for a moment, then asked, “Where did you hear that?”
“Fang Yangzhou told me,” Lian Qing replied.
There was a small, surprised sound on the other end.
Lian Qing licked his dry lips. “Why is he going?”
The assistant’s tone was helpless. “Well… the Third Young Master wants to expand some business in Europe. And, since he studied in Germany before, he also wants to continue his education there…”
As expected, he wasn’t telling the full truth.
Lian Qing’s heart sank.
“Don’t play games with me,” he said sharply, “isn’t Fang Yangzhou supposed to be seeking treatment? Why lie to me?”
The assistant was silent again.
Although Lian Qing had anticipated this, the lack of a clear answer still gnawed at him. He pressed further: “What’s really going on? Why hide it from me?”
Sighing, the assistant said helplessly, “I don’t know why the Third Young Master told you this, but his instructions to us were clear: everything is to remain confidential.”
Lian Qing realized the truth.
He had guessed it correctly, but instead of feeling triumphant, he was gripped by a deeper unease.
“What did he want you to keep secret?”
The assistant hesitated, reluctant to speak.
Lian Qing raised his voice, anger seeping in. “You told me he was chasing me before! Why is he suddenly leaving and hiding it? Is this supposed to be fun for him?!”
The assistant was intimidated and hurried to explain: “No, Young Master Lian, we never meant to deceive you…”
Lian Qing pressed further. “Then tell me the truth. What happened to his eyes?”
Seeing that Lian Qing already knew so much and there was no way to hide it, the assistant sighed and finally said: “The Third Young Master’s right eye… was burned.”
Burned?
Lian Qing’s chest tightened.
The lingering unease intensified, and the cold reality ruthlessly shattered the last thread of his hope.
“It happened during the fire rescue—the debris from the flames fell… that’s how he was injured.”
“He didn’t want you to know. Seeing that you were avoiding him, he didn’t want to trouble you further, so he accepted the family’s plan to go to Germany.”
Once spoken, the assistant no longer held back.
“The past few days, the Third Young Master has been busy preparing for his trip abroad, handing over his work… we’ve all been occupied with these matters.”
The assistant said much more, but Lian Qing could hardly process it.
A ringing filled his ears; he could only hear the rushing of blood in his head.
He hadn’t known… he had known nothing. Lian Qing had been entirely self-absorbed, thinking only of himself, even imagining Fang Lin trapped inside, wanting to rush in recklessly, only to be forcibly pulled out—not realizing that Fang Yangzhou had been injured in the fire trying to save him.
The most painful part wasn’t even that. Lian Qing suddenly remembered Fang Yangzhou’s confession and his own resolute rejection, remembered deliberately dressing in a way to disgust Fang Yangzhou, willing to be sloppy and unkempt just to avoid him…
Now he realized how reckless his behavior had been.
What had he done?
Dazed, Lian Qing only vaguely heard the assistant say something. His mind had stopped functioning, yet his body still received the words cruelly and clearly:
“Young Master Lian… the Third Young Master doesn’t want to trouble you anymore…”
“He really intends to leave.”