When Cheng Yue woke up, his mind was still a bit hazy. He stared at the white ceiling for a while, unable to process what was happening.
A voice from outside made him shift his gaze slightly.
“The patient’s high fever caused by emotional distress has subsided. It’s not a major issue, just needs proper monitoring.”
The voice belonged to an elderly man.
Cheng Yue blinked and was about to figure out how he ended up here when another voice came from outside.
“Sorry for the trouble.”
Ji Xu!
Hearing that voice, Cheng Yue jolted upright from the bed. The sudden movement made him see black for a moment, and he collapsed back onto the fluffy pillow.
The sound of the door handle being gently turned seemed amplified in Cheng Yue’s ears. He heard the familiar footsteps approaching and, frightened, closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.
He wasn’t afraid of Ji Xu; he was afraid that it might not be Ji Xu who had entered.
Ji Xu walked in slowly, holding a thermos, and glanced at Cheng Yue, who was still lying with his eyes closed. He then gently placed the thermos on the bedside.
Cheng Yue’s hand, hidden under the covers, was clenched tightly. It seemed that Ji Xu… he must not have heard incorrectly.
Ji Xu noticed Cheng Yue’s trembling eyelashes and was about to stand up and check when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw it was a call from Tang Jing.
Ji Xu glanced at Cheng Yue, then walked to the window to answer the call, lowering his voice, “What’s up?”
“Is Cheng Yue okay?” Tang Jing’s voice was also oddly subdued.
“He’s fine. What’s the matter?” Ji Xu looked back at Cheng Yue, catching the quick movement of Cheng Yue turning his head away.
“I’ve dismissed everyone. It’s his birthday, so I’ll bring the cake over,” Tang Jing said, his voice growing breathless.
“Sure, I’ll ask him.” Ji Xu turned towards Cheng Yue and asked, “Do you want some cake?”
Cheng Yue actually opened his eyes as soon as Ji Xu answered the call and saw Ji Xu’s back at the window. He felt a huge sense of relief. Just as he was about to smile, he saw Ji Xu turning back towards him and immediately turned his head back.
He thought he had hidden his wakefulness well and that Ji Xu wouldn’t notice.
It wasn’t until Ji Xu asked if he wanted cake that Cheng Yue realized Ji Xu was speaking to someone else, so he kept his eyes tightly closed, pretending to be asleep.
Ji Xu found it somewhat amusing to see Cheng Yue lying so stiffly in bed. He turned back to the phone and said, “He’ll eat it. Bring it over.”
“Okay.”
After Tang Jing agreed, Ji Xu ended the call and walked slowly to the bedside. He looked at Cheng Yue’s long eyelashes, which were especially prominent because he kept his eyes closed, and couldn’t resist lightly brushing them with his finger.
Cheng Yue felt the movement on his eyelashes and was puzzled. What was Ji Xu doing?
As he was about to ponder further, Ji Xu’s fingers moved from his eyelashes down to his face.
The cool, gentle touch made Cheng Yue even more nervous. Just as he was about to continue pretending, he felt a pinch on his face.
“Stop pretending.” Ji Xu laughed softly, gently pinching Cheng Yue’s face.
Cheng Yue felt embarrassed and slowly opened his eyes. Initially nervous, his heartbeat calmed when he saw Ji Xu’s gentle, smiling face.
“What are you thinking about?” Ji Xu smiled and gave the flesh he was pinching a gentle squeeze.
“I…” Cheng Yue awkwardly forced a smile.
“Fool.” Ji Xu scolded him, releasing his face. His expression then turned serious. “Being sick is one thing, but what you did today is another. Think it through and explain to me where you went wrong and why you did it. I want to hear your explanation.”
Seeing the concern in Ji Xu’s eyes, Cheng Yue suddenly understood, as if he had connected with the essence of the matter. He realized he had truly made a mistake, one without excuses.
The excuses he had made to comfort himself or avoid facing the truth were based on the assumption that nothing would go wrong.
But what if it did?
What if today he had hit someone else or had fallen and hurt himself? It would be fine if he hurt himself, but who would be responsible for him hitting someone else?
He would take responsibility, but he’s useless and incapable of handling things. Ultimately, Ji Xu would bear the responsibility.
Thinking about these potential consequences made Cheng Yue feel a chill. He suddenly realized that the changes he thought he had made, or his attempts to obey, were still a burden to Ji Xu.
His changes were too small, Ji Xu’s expectations were too high. Ji Xu might lower his standards to accommodate him, but why should Ji Xu have to lower his expectations for him? Why couldn’t Cheng Yue push himself further?
For example, if he had been calm enough today and not done something so thoughtless, Ji Xu wouldn’t have gotten angry.
More importantly, although he was lucky this time and didn’t harm anyone or cause an accident, what about next time?
If he continued with his foolish behavior, how many more messes would Ji Xu have to clean up? Everyone’s patience has its limits.
Cheng Yue didn’t want to be discarded when Ji Xu’s patience ran out. He didn’t even want to see a hint of disappointment in Ji Xu’s eyes. So he needed to move forward, to keep up with Ji Xu, even if someday Ji Xu didn’t want to be with him, he should still be able to keep up, rather than relying entirely on Ji Xu to drag him along.
The room gradually fell silent as the two remained in their separate thoughts.
Until the hospital room door was abruptly pushed open with a loud bang, and in came a glaring piece of fatty pork.
“Cheng Yue! Uncle’s here!” Tang Jing, holding a birthday cake in one hand and takeout from the restaurant in the other, beamed brightly.
“Happy birthday!”
Ji Xu glanced at his watch, stood up to take the cake from Tang Jing, and placed it on the table. He then picked Cheng Yue up and set him down on the nearby sofa.
Ji Xu then told Tang Jing, “Get the medicine bottle.”
Cheng Yue was startled and, not daring to move, obediently settled into Ji Xu’s arms until Ji Xu placed him on the sofa.
Ji Xu observed Cheng Yue’s improved complexion and opened the cake box in front of the sofa.
The deep blue color slowly revealed from the cake box made the three people around the table stare for a moment.
“Hey? That’s not right.” Tang Jing circled around the cake, “What’s this? This chubby appearance?”
“You…” Ji Xu frowned at the cake, “Did you pick the wrong one?”
“Nope.” Tang Jing looked closer and pointed at the cake, where some words written in cream said, “Isn’t this it? ‘Happy Birthday Cheng Yue,’ so it’s right.”
“How did you tell that to the cake shop?” Ji Xu asked.
“Just like that. What else could I say?” Tang Jing recalled, “A little kid at home, a boy, and I told them his name. That’s it. Why did they give me this thing?”
Cheng Yue looked at the plump, blue cake and smiled with squinted eyes. His mother used to do the same every year. Since he was one year old, every cake had been handmade by his mother, always featuring these chubby cartoon characters.
“Do you like it?” Ji Xu was a bit surprised by Cheng Yue’s smiling eyes; he thought that he might find the cake childish.
“Yeah.” Cheng Yue nodded.
“Well, that’s good. Let’s cut the cake quickly before it gets too late.” Seeing Cheng Yue had no objections, Tang Jing cheerfully organized the cake cutting, candle lighting, and making wishes.
Ji Xu wasn’t fond of these sweet things and put down his fork after a few bites. He looked at Cheng Yue, who was enjoying the cake with cream smeared all over his face, with some interest.
Cheng Yue felt uneasy under Ji Xu’s gaze, finished his plate, and set it down.
“Whose motorcycle was it?” Ji Xu suddenly asked.
Cheng Yue paused for a moment, and the sweet cream in his mouth suddenly turned bitter.
“The one belonging to that guy?” Ji Xu recalled the person who helped drive them to the hospital.
“Not…,” Cheng Yue clenched his fork tightly, speaking in a very low voice, “It was my mother’s…”
Cheng Yue’s voice was so low that Ji Xu didn’t catch it and had to lean closer to ask, “Who?”
Cheng Yue looked up at him and forced a smile, “It was my mother’s. She picked it out after a long time.”
Ji Xu saw Cheng Yue’s awkward smile and felt a pang of discomfort.
He was usually busy with work, often working overtime on weekends, and would only pick Cheng Yue up from school. He ate out almost every day for dinner.
Ji Xu suddenly found it hard to imagine this seventeen-year-old child spending every day alone at home and eating alone at the table.
Cheng Yue had no other family left. Ji Xu was one, but he had been inadequate.
“I was wrong. I’m sorry.”
Cheng Yue looked nervously at Ji Xu, “I have no excuses. I did make a mistake. I shouldn’t have been reckless with the motorcycle on the street, I shouldn’t have disregarded others’ lives, and I shouldn’t…”
Cheng Yue hadn’t finished when Ji Xu interrupted him.
He heard Ji Xu say “Happy Birthday” and another sentence…
“Let’s go home.”
