Pei Jingchen woke at dawn. Glancing at his wristwatch, he saw 6:30. His mind was hazy, but as clarity returned, his pupils dilated in shock. He bolted upright. Rushing from the lounge to the adjacent ward, he found the room empty. The bed was bare. Pei Jingchen’s heart skipped a beat: “Qingci?”
He scrambled toward the bathroom: “Qingci!”
Just as he was about to open the door, it swung open from the inside. Su Qingci stood there, toothbrush in one hand, toothbrush cup in the other, his mouth full of white foam.
Pei Jingchen exhaled a heavy sigh of relief.
Su Qingci rinsed his mouth, wiping his lips with a towel as he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Pei Jingchen stepped into the bathroom and wrapped his arms around Su Qingci from behind, still shaken. It all felt unreal, as if it were just his imagination—a series of empty dreams.
Burying half his face in the crook of Su Qingci’s neck, only by breathing in the lavender scent close up and feeling the warmth radiating from his skin could Pei Jingchen finally find some peace.
After breakfast, Pei Jingchen drove home first. Last night, Su Qingci had suddenly felt the urge to paint, saying it had been ages since he last picked up a brush. So early that morning, Pei Jingchen returned home to fetch the art supplies and set them up in the hospital room, placing them before the large floor-to-ceiling window where the light was perfect and the view outside was beautiful.
Su Qingci sat on the easel stool, palette in his left hand and brush in his right. He turned to Pei Jingchen and said, “Go to work now.”
“Alright.” Pei Jingchen rested both hands on Su Qingci’s shoulders, leaned down, and gave his lips a light peck. “I’m leaving.”
Su Qingci said, “I want Häagen-Dazs.”
Pei Jingchen smiled faintly, “I’ll bring you some when I return.”
Su Qingci pressed his advantage, “And I want mocha coffee too.”
Pei Jingchen replied, “Just one sip.”
Su Qingci was insatiable: “I want more cream puffs.”
Pei Jingchen poked his nose: “Don’t get too greedy.” Then he gave his lips a quick peck. “Want more?”
Su Qingci wrapped his arms around Pei Jingchen’s neck, deepening the fleeting kiss. Two minutes later, he licked his lips contentedly, his smile mesmerizing. “Sweeter than cream puffs.”
Pei Jingchen smiled helplessly, his dark pupils flickering with intense restraint. “Xiao Ci, don’t tease me.”
Su Qingci stifled a laugh, letting the capital’s major taxpayer go to work and diligently contribute to the nation.
It had been months since he’d touched a paintbrush, and his hand felt a bit rusty. But as a professional painter, the essence ingrained in his soul returned with just a few strokes.
The morning passed quickly. At noon, hospital staff delivered lunch—fish, meat, six dishes, and soup. Su Qingci emerged from the restroom after washing his hands and heard a knock. It was Wu Lü.
Xu, the assistant, followed behind him.
“We ran into each other on the way!” Wu Lü’s voice rose sharply.
Su Qingci’s expression remained calm as he replied, “Oh.”
Xu, the assistant, followed Wu Lü into the room and smiled at Su Qingci. “Mr. Pei has an urgent meeting to attend, so he instructed me to bring these to Mr. Su.”
Inside the bag were a box of cream puffs, a cup of mocha coffee, and a box of ice cream well-protected by ice packs.
A red heart-shaped sticky note was attached to the puff box: Only eat one (*^▽^*)
A yellow heart-shaped sticky note was on the mocha coffee lid: Only take two sips (ω`)
The ice cream lid bore a green heart-shaped note: Only show off one-third ╰(￣▽￣)╭
Su Qingci felt both amused and exasperated. Who’s going to listen to you anyway? If I want to eat it, I’ll eat it! If I want to show it off, I’ll show it off! He then ate one cream puff, took two sips of the mocha, and scooped out one-third of the ice cream.
Wu Lü watched in stunned silence, unable to resist asking Xu, the only assistant with a window of opportunity: “Did you do this?”
Xu burst out laughing: “Do you really think that’s possible?”
Wu Lü looked utterly bewildered: “Good heavens! Is this really the same Old Pei I know?!”
Assistant Xu had work to attend to and needed to leave. Before departing, he asked Wu Lü if he wanted a ride, since he was heading that way anyway.
Wu Lü flopped straight onto the sofa: “I just got here. My butt hasn’t even warmed the seat yet. You go ahead.”
Assistant Xu asked, “What time do you start work?”
Wu Lü replied, “I’m taking a day off today.”
“Oh.” Assistant Xu glanced back at Wu Lü one last time as he reached the door, then walked away.
Su Qingci offered Wu Lü an untouched cream puff. After thanking her, Wu Lü accepted it without hesitation, eating as he said, ” “Su Su, I never expected you to be so obedient, just like Xiao Chen. Especially when the other person isn’t even here! Like when I hitched a ride with him, he wouldn’t let me sit in the passenger seat. But he’s an hour’s drive away from you, and you just say ‘have one if you want one.’ Hey, love really does smooth out the rough edges.”
Su Qingci’s heart fluttered at the mention of the exclusive passenger seat: “Is that so?”
“You bet,” Wu Lü replied. “I’ve ridden in every car at Xiao Chen’s company except the passenger seat of his Koenigsegg.”
Su Qingci ate the hospital meal, which wasn’t bad to begin with, but today it tasted especially delicious.
After the meal, Su Qingci returned to his easel. Having not painted in ages, he merely practiced casually, leaving him with leisurely attention to observe Wu Lü’s every move. After finishing his cream puff, he curled up on the sofa playing with his phone. Watching him occasionally grin foolishly, typing furiously with both hands, then kicking his legs excitedly, Su Qingci knew he was chatting on WeChat.
Su Qingci tossed his brush into the inkwell. “Who’s got you so excited?”
Wu Lü answered instinctively without thinking: “Assistant Xu.”
Su Qingci paused washing his brush, turning to look at him. He asked knowingly, “You two added each other on WeChat?”
“Yeah.” Wu Lü seemed eager to share this story. He sat up on the sofa. “Su Su, remember the last time—no, the time before last—I came over? Assistant Xu happened to be there too. He left first, and I left after him.”
“Mm.” Su Qingci listened intently.
“I was definitely the last one to leave, but I ended up catching up with him. Guess what happened?” Wu Lü couldn’t wait for Su Qingci to guess and revealed the answer himself. “His tire blew out, and he was about to call for a tow truck. I said, ‘No way, no way! That’s way too expensive! Do you have a spare tire in your car?’ He said yes, so I told him to just change it. His expression at that moment was just too adorable.”
Recalling the scene, Wu Lü grinned again. “Xu, the assistant, is a top-tier graduate from an elite university. In terms of education and credentials, I should call him ‘teacher.’ But when it comes to essential life skills, he should call me ‘master.’ You know what? I took the tire off in no time, then put the new one on just as fast. After I finished everything, his expression was even cuter.”
Wu Lü put down his phone and vividly recounted to Su Qingci: “Since I got my pants dirty kneeling on the ground changing the tire, he offered to compensate me with a new pair via WeChat transfer. I said no need, no need. Don’t mistake these pants for being fancy—it’s just my great figure making them look good. The pants themselves aren’t worth much, only 19.9 yuan with free shipping on ByXixi! Why not just treat me to two sundaes? But Assistant Xu insisted on keeping things separate—the sundaes are a treat, the pants are compensation. So here we are, added on WeChat.”
Su Qingci: “…”
Wu Lu suddenly froze, slapping his forehead in frustration: Oh no! I got the short end of the stick—reimbursed for the pants but still got the sundaes for free!”
Su Qingci couldn’t help but chuckle. Wu Lü always called Assistant Xu adorable, but he was the one being excessively cute: “You saved him the towing fee and repair costs—enough to buy hundreds of sundaes.”
“Is that how you figure it?” Wu Lü blinked suspiciously, finding it plausible yet somehow off. “Wait, that’s not fair. He later gave me Malaysian red-skinned bananas as thanks—that should cover the repair costs, right? So those two sundaes were basically free for me?! No way, I gotta find him! Susu, you rest up. I’ll come see you tomorrow!”
Wu Lü stormed out.
Su Qingci: “…”
*
Pei Jingchen returned at dusk, stepping into the sunset. He pushed open the door to find Su Qingci painting with his back to him.
The canvas depicted a sunrise of intense, vibrant colors—bright and majestic.
At the very moment the crimson sun rose, the sky and drifting clouds were bathed in golden light. The magnificent sea of clouds and the clear sky intertwined and blended seamlessly through delicate brushstrokes, forming a harmonious whole.
Pei Jingchen stood behind Su Qingci, resting his chin on his shoulder. “It’s beautiful.” Then he took the opportunity to kiss Su Qingci’s cheek.
Su Qingci felt a tickle and said, “Stop messing around.”
Pei Jingchen obediently stopped, then asked, “Have you been a good boy?”
Su Qingci knew exactly what he meant and deliberately nudged his chin with his shoulder. “No.”
Pei Jingchen smiled as he opened the refrigerator. Seconds later, he returned with mocha and ice cream, leaning in to kiss Su Qingci’s cheek again. “Such a good girl.”
Like he was coaxing a child, not the least bit sick of it. Su Qingci wiped his sleeve across his face, wiping away nonexistent drool, thinking how it used to be him cooing and whining for attention, but now it was Pei Jingchen slurring out all these sappy lines.
Anyway, it wasn’t unpleasant.
After sketching for half the afternoon, Su Qingci felt tired. He asked Pei Jingchen if he’d eaten dinner yet. He said no.
Of course he’d come back on an empty stomach to eat with her.
Su Qingci and Pei Jingchen sat across from each other at the dining table. It was just a simple meal—two bowls of tomato and egg noodles topped with sauce and pickled cucumbers—yet it felt the most filling and satisfying.
After dinner, they watched TV for a while. Pei Jingchen finished a call with Assistant Xu on the balcony, then went to the bathroom to run a bath and called Su Qingci to shower.
Su Qingci curled up on the sofa, blinking at Pei Jingchen. “You’ll wash me?”
He resembled a thousand-year-old fox spirit, the tousled strands of hair at his forehead transformed from his jet-black fur. Each strand held a mesmerizing, enchanting power. His chin-resting hand was jade-like in its whiteness, fingers long and sharply defined. His fingertips thoughtfully traced his sombre yet beautiful eyes, their depths holding a bewitching smile—vivid and dangerously alluring.
Pei Jingchen froze in place as seconds ticked by. He stepped toward the sofa, closed his eyes briefly, and said, “Stop messing around.”
Just as Pei Jingchen bent down, Su Qingci hooked his arms around his neck. Muscle memory kicked in as he offered his collarbone.
Pei Jingchen gasped, nearly straining his back. His limbs went limp, and he nearly collapsed onto Su Qingci. Leaning down from his height advantage, he closed his eyes again. When they fluttered open, dark flames danced in his gaze. “I told you—don’t tease me.”
“I did tease you,” Su Qingci replied, his audacity as bold as ever. He curved his lips into a smile, pouring fuel on the fire. “You’ll bear the consequences.”