When Zhong Jiacheng received his son’s call, he was on a business trip. Zhong Qi’s voice was calm as he said he had broken his shoulder and was in the hospital, asking his father to come when he returned.

No matter how neglectful he was, Zhong Jiacheng cared for his son. He hurriedly called Qin Man, but she snapped at him, accusing him of hypocrisy and saying he was too busy with his mistress to care for his own son.

They couldn’t agree on anything, so he hung up angrily. After two days of finishing business, he bought a ticket and rushed back.

Zhong Jiacheng arrived at the hospital in the evening. Zhong Qi was sitting on a bench in the corridor, one arm immobilized, leaning silently and deep in thought. Seeing his father, he remained silent.

Zhong Jiacheng sat next to him. “How did this happen?”

“I fell.”

“How did you fall and break your shoulder–”

“Father,” Zhong Qi said coldly, “let’s not waste time. I called you here to discuss something.”

Zhong Jiacheng was slightly stunned. This was the first time since the divorce that Zhong Qi called him “father,” though his tone was indifferent and distant.

Something about his son seemed different.

“What is it?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted me to work at your company after graduation?” Zhong Qi adjusted his posture. “I agree. I’ll join your company after graduation and take over the business. You won’t have to worry anymore. From now on, whether you stay with mom or divorce, find other women, or remarry, I won’t interfere.”

Zhong Jiacheng scolded, “What nonsense are you talking about!”

Zhong Qi remained indifferent. He looked at his father with dark, emotionless eyes.

“Father, I need a favor.”

In the dimly lit hospital corner, father and son stood by the window. Zhong Jiacheng smoked, and Zhong Qi stared outside in silence.

Zhong Jiacheng took a drag and flicked the ash. “You want me to find a lawyer for your friend?”

“Yes.”

“I know many good lawyers.” Zhong Jiacheng frowned at Zhong Qi, “but what does his family’s business have to do with us?”

Zhong Qi didn’t want to explain much. Zhong Jiacheng continued, “You said his dad pushed him from a building, and now he’s in the hospital. Let them handle their lawsuit. Why get involved? Let me tell you, Zhong Qi, loyalty doesn’t work like this. This is adult business, not for kids. Don’t stir things up.”

“It’s too hard for them to handle the lawsuit themselves. I wanted you to hire a good lawyer who could get his father locked up for a long time, ideally for ten years or more.”

Zhong Jiacheng looked at him in astonishment, forgetting the cigarette in his hand. “Wait, did his father push you down from the building as well?”

Zhong Qi gave him a cold glance and turned back to look out the window. “Just tell me if you’ll help or not.”

“What if I don’t help?”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Qi suddenly smiled.

He looked at his father, who was still uncertain, and said seriously, “Then I’ll go to prison along with his father.”

Three days after Lin Shiyu was taken to the hospital by ambulance, he still hadn’t woken up.

He had hit his head, had a knife wound in his arm, and the stretcher was covered in blood when he was carried out of the ambulance. Lin Hui, who arrived at the hospital and saw this, almost fainted on the spot. Lin Shiyu’s aunt also came to help with the bills, take care of him, and run back and forth between the police station and the hospital. Li Zhong temporarily handed over school duties to the assistant homeroom teacher and stayed busy, checking in on Lin Shiyu’s hospital room every day, sighing at the sight of him in the bed.

Zhong Qi’s shoulder had been broken from catching Lin Shiyu and he was forcibly taken to another ward for care. When Class Seven heard about this, they visited the hospital. Shen Ziyi looked through the window at Lin Shiyu lying inside, then went downstairs and cried loudly in a corner by the back door. Mao Silu and Tao Chen stood nearby, their eyes red, while Ruan Zhikai and Gao Jie stood silently beside them for a long time.

After waking up, Lin Hui cried again. She spent her days sitting by Lin Shiyu’s bed in a daze, returning home at night to fetch Lin Wanyue from school, buying groceries, cooking, helping with homework, and putting her to bed. She would then take her to school the next morning and return to the hospital to watch over her son.

Day and night, Lin Shiyu lay quietly in his hospital bed. The machines beeped rhythmically, and the IV drip fell drop by drop. Lin Hui sat by his bed, holding his bruised, thin hand, gently stroking it repeatedly.

“He has a skull fracture, a certain degree of concussion and bleeding, but no brain damage has been found so far. His arm and abdomen have varying degrees of injury and bleeding, and his calf was fractured when he landed…”

“Wu Xiang, are you crazy? He’s your son! He’s your biological son!”

The police station was in chaos that day. Lin Hui had never lost her composure like that before. She lunged at Wu Xiang like a madwoman. “You pushed him from the third floor! Were you trying to kill him?!”

“Ms. Lin, please calm down!”

“You demanded money from me, beat me, cursed me, but now you want to kill your son!” Lin Hui, her hair disheveled, threw everything she could at the man, screaming hysterically, “You wanted to throw your daughter into the river before, and now you want to kill your son too! They are my son and my daughter, whom I raise with so much effort and care, never scolding or hitting them! And you want to throw them into the river or off the building! They aren’t your children! They’re mine! Mine!”

Everyone at the police station gasped. Officer Shen and another female officer tried to calm Lin Hui down, comforting her as she sobbed, her voice hoarse. She curled up in the chair, trembling, a pitiful sight that no one could bear to watch. Meanwhile, the man pinned to the chair remained expressionless and sullen, as if his former wife and children had nothing to do with him.

“It’s my fault, all my fault…” Lin Hui covered her face, crying in utter despair. “I shouldn’t have given you money. I should have let you kill me instead. Then little Shiyu wouldn’t have come looking for you… It’s all my fault…”

Lin Shiyu gradually regained consciousness from the darkness, his mind slowly becoming clear. It felt like he had slept for a long time, long enough for time to slow down. The lights were blurry, and he didn’t know where he was. He vaguely sensed people talking around him, sometimes holding his fingers, sometimes touching his face, sometimes with cool skin, other times with a familiar warmth.

He felt uncomfortable and wanted to move, struggling unhappily, fighting the dizziness and weakness, trying several times until he could finally take a deep breath, and his senses returned.

Lin Shiyu opened his eyes.

He stared blankly at the white ceiling, smelling the disinfectant of the hospital. Then, he felt a flurry of movement at his side, and his mother’s thin face came into view, tears of joy streaming down her face. “Little Shiyu, you’re awake… you’re finally awake, my precious son…”

Lin Shiyu looked at her and made a hoarse sound, unable to speak. Lin Hui hurriedly pressed the call button for the doctor, continually touching his face and hair, speaking incoherently: “You’re awake. Are you uncomfortable anywhere? Your sister misses you so much. She asks when you’ll come home every day. Don’t move, let the doctor check you.”

Doctors and nurses bustled around the bed, asking questions. Lin Shiyu, dizzy and lightheaded, lay in bed, drifting back to sleep soon after the checkup.

When he woke up again, his aunt was by his side, opening a food container. Seeing him awake, she helped him sit up. “I was just about to wake you for food. I bought you some porridge. Here.”

His aunt picked up the bowl to feed him, and Lin Shiyu felt quite embarrassed, wanting to take the spoon and eat by himself. His aunt avoided his hand. “Oh dear, let Auntie feed you. Your arm is still hurt.”

She fed him porridge, spoon by spoon. After finishing, she put the bowl aside, patted the back of his hand, and sighed helplessly.

“Little Shiyu, don’t ever do such a foolish thing again, do you hear me?”

Lin Shiyu lowered his head and didn’t speak. His aunt, somewhat reproachful, continued, “What if something happened to you? What would your mother do? Could she still go on living? You went to find your father…that despicable man, all by yourself. How old are you? What could you possibly do? If you won’t think about yourself, at least think about your mom, okay?”

His aunt rambled on, sighed, and then left. Not long after, Old Li came in carrying a bag of fruit. He made eye contact with Lin Shiyu, who was leaning against the bed, uncomfortably fidgeting with the bandages on his arm. Feeling guilty, Lin Shiyu lowered his gaze. Old Li pointed a finger at him and sat down by the bed.

“Lin Shiyu, you’re here just to make me worry,” Old Li said irritably as he peeled an apple. “As soon as I take my eyes off you, you run off. You’re just a kid, what are you doing fighting adults? You can’t win, and you ended up with a head injury and wounds all over. Are you dumb?”

Lin Shiyu muttered softly, “I could win.”

Old Li slammed the knife onto the table. “Still talking back?!”

Lin Shiyu shut his mouth.

“I’ve told you so many times, if you can’t solve a problem, ask an adult for help. Do you think I’m just a decoration as your homeroom teacher? After more than a year, we haven’t built any rapport, have we?”

“No…that’s not it.”

“Then why did you run off without saying a word? Skipping class and going to your dad for money? Do you think a kid like you can get money from him? Why can’t you use your brain? If everyone acted impulsively like you, we’d all be beating each other up instead of reasoning. Instead we would let things be decided by who hits hardest.”

Lin Shiyu didn’t dare make a sound, lowering his head, and nervously rubbing the quilt with his fingers. After peeling the apple, Old Li tossed it into his hands. Unable to knock him on the head, he tapped the bed frame instead, frustrated. “Do you think you’re the only one who feels pain? Your mother feels it, too. Everyone who cares about you feels it. Your mom stays by your side all day, skips work, goes home at night to take care of your sister, and runs to the police station for statements. Do you know how hard Shen Ziyi cried when she came to see you? Mao Silu and the others ask me every day when you’ll return to school, wanting to visit you after class, and neglecting their homework. Do you think your injuries affect only you? You don’t value and protect yourself; do you really think no one cares about you?”

Lin Shiyu sat on the bed, holding the peeled apple, motionless for a long time before finally speaking. “I’m sorry.”

Old Li looked at him for a moment, his gaze a mix of helplessness, anger, and pain. He wanted to shake some sense into this stubborn kid, but his heart ached for him. This kind, gentle, obedient child had such a terrible father, forcing him into such a state. He was covered in injuries and still apologizing.

Li Zhong’s expression softened. He changed the subject and asked Lin Shiyu, “Do you know you fell from the third floor?”

Lin Shiyu nodded. “My mom told me.”

“It was Zhong Qi who ran over to catch you. If he hadn’t, who knows what would have happened.”

“…Mom told me.”

“Ah, I saw Zhong Qi run so fast for the first time.” Li Zhong laughed. “We all thought it was hopeless, but somehow Zhong Qi got there and caught you. It scared Officer Shen and me half to death.”

Lin Shiyu tightened his lips, looked around, and finally couldn’t help but ask. “Where…is he?”

Li Zhong pointed behind him at the door. “He’s been sitting at the door the whole time, hasn’t moved.”

The door to the hospital room opened and closed as people came and went. Finally, Zhong Qi appeared at the door. One arm in a sling, he stood tall and quiet, casting a long shadow on the floor.

In the soft afternoon sunlight, Lin Shiyu turned to look at Zhong Qi. They gazed at each other silently. Lin Shiyu’s eyes fell on Zhong Qi’s arm, his throat moved, and his eyes slowly reddened.

Zhong Qi walked over and sat by the bed. Lin Shiyu tried to hide his emotions, cleared his throat, and looked around awkwardly. He held out the apple he hadn’t touched. “Do you want an apple?”

He didn’t dare look Zhong Qi in the eye. The room was very quiet, the sunlight casting a faint white glow on his pale skin, covering the unhealed wounds and bruises.

“Look at me,” Zhong Qi said.

Lin Shiyu raised his head and looked at Zhong Qi. At that moment, he felt a brief suffocation, unable to ignore the bandages and sling on Zhong Qi’s shoulder.

He finally realized that his terrible past and unruly behavior had hurt the person he cared about the most. He had dragged them into a world they had never known, and when disaster struck, this small world bore the pain with him.

If he remained impulsive, foolish, and left alone, the world would be damaged.

A slice of sweet apple touched his lips. Lin Shiyu snapped out of his daze, seeing that Zhong Qi had somehow taken the apple from his hand, sliced it with one hand, and fed it to him.

Lin Shiyu opened his mouth to eat, and whenever he ate a slice, Zhong Qi would feed him another. Soon, they finished the apple. The sweetness of the apple diluted the inexplicable bitterness in Lin Shiyu’s mouth.

Zhong Qi set the plate aside and sat beside the bed, watching him. After a while, he spoke softly, “Do you know what I was thinking when I watched you fall from the balcony?”

Lin Shiyu was startled, looking into Zhong Qi’s clear, bright eyes, just like the sunlight that had flashed across his retina that day.

Zhong Qi lowered his gaze to look at those eyes, raising his hand to gently touch the scrape at the corner of Lin Shiyu’s mouth. As he drew closer, a familiar, cool-as-rain breath enveloped him, fitting snugly around him.

“I was thinking, there’s only one Lin Shiyu in this world. If he fell to the ground, the only Lin Shiyu in the world would be gone.”

Lin Shiyu clenched his hand on the blanket, holding back tears that gradually welled up uncontrollably, turning his trembling eyelashes damp with tears. He tightly held Zhong Qi’s hand, fingers tracing over the thick bandages and dressings, as if grasping at the most painful place in his heart, tears dripping down his face, soaking the trembling eyelashes and blankets.

Zhong Qi pulled him into his arms, kissed his wet eyes and ears gently. “Cry, it’s okay to cry. My boyfriend looks so beautiful when he cries.”

Lin Shiyu sobbed, burying his face in his waist, unable to catch his breath. He felt like a stray cat that had been wandering outside for a long time, and was finally picked up by someone. He released all the accumulated grievances, frustrations, hatred, and exhaustion that had been festering inside him. His unspeakable worries, under the facade of prickliness, revealed the fragile interior that couldn’t withstand a single blow, all pouring out in tears under Zhong Qi’s strong, reassuring heartbeat.

Lin Shiyu realized, in his life, there was also only one Zhong Qi.

He said he would never let him fall again.

 

Edited by: Jaisland

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