He turned his head, pressed his cheek against Xia Liu Yi’s forehead, closed his eyes, and finally drifted into a light sleep.
…
He had only slept for an hour or two when a quiet knock sounded outside the door.
“Mr. He?” Kevin called.
He Chu San opened his eyes. “Come in.”
“Yes.”
Kevin unlocked the door with his key and entered. Before leaving the previous night, he had worried that Master Qiao might send someone else to administer “medicine,” so after confirming it with He Chu San, he had deliberately locked the door. Seeing Xia Liu Yi asleep against the hospital bed, he froze.
Xia Liu Yi was sleeping deeply and showed no sign of waking. He Chu San raised a finger to his lips and gestured for Kevin to close the curtains.
“He climbed in through the window. Nobody saw him,” He Chu San explained quietly.
Kevin nodded. “Don’t worry, Mr. He. All the bodyguards are our own people. But Master Qiao chose this hospital, so I’m worried he may have people outside too. Mr. Xia probably shouldn’t walk straight out later in case someone sees him. How about I find him a doctor’s coat and a mask?”
He Chu San had always appreciated how meticulous Kevin was. He smiled. “Good idea. Did you rest well last night? How’s your mother?”
Kevin smiled too. “My little injury is nothing. Thank you, Mr. He. My mother is energetic and healthy. After finishing work yesterday, she helped an elderly neighbor carry a sack of rice upstairs, then spent the whole evening bragging about it to me.”
“That’s good. You really have worked hard during all this. I should be thanking you.” He Chu San thought for a moment. “I’m a few years older than you. When no one else is around, call me Brother Chu San. You don’t have to keep saying ‘Mr. He.’ It sounds too distant.”
Kevin smiled and lowered his eyes, unconsciously smoothing hair that was not messy in the slightest. He knew He Chu San was not merely being polite and genuinely cared about him. He also understood that He Chu San’s words were drawing the line between them at brotherhood—the man He Chu San loved was still lying very visibly asleep against his shoulder.
“All right, Brother Chu San.” Kevin smiled. “I’ll go find the doctor’s clothes.”
“Thanks.”
Kevin turned to leave. Out of habit, He Chu San tilted his head, intending to rub his cheek against Xia Liu Yi, only to discover that Xia Liu Yi was awake and staring thoughtfully in the direction Kevin had gone.
He Chu San took the opportunity to kiss him. “Did you sleep all right like that? Does your neck hurt?”
Xia Liu Yi shook his head and leaned closer to kiss him gently, stroking his face. He said nothing, but faint unease had begun scratching at his heart. He had the feeling Kevin might be a little interested in He Chu San. Although he knew He Chu San would handle that relationship properly, he still felt strangely nervous. Once, he had feared nothing and approached love carelessly, never paying any attention to the little romantic prospects constantly orbiting Elite He. Now that he had suddenly become painfully self-aware and knew he was no good, his feelings in love had grown sensitive and delicate. He felt he owed He Chu San too much, yet at the same time wanted to put a glass cover over this precious treasure and hide him in his arms where no one else could even look at him.
…
Kevin soon returned with a set of doctor’s clothing. Xia Liu Yi secretly studied him while hurriedly putting on the disguise. Before leaving, he asked He Chu San, “Can I come see you again?”
“You’re not allowed to climb through the window again. It’s too dangerous,” He Chu San said seriously. “I’ll arrange something.”
He pulled Xia Liu Yi down by the waist, and the two shared another lingering kiss. “Take good care of yourself, understand?”
“All right. You take care too. Stay safe.”
“I’ll be fine.”
Xia Liu Yi hugged He Chu San tightly and whispered beside his ear, “Remember what you just said. If anything happens to you, I won’t go on living alone.”
He Chu San turned his face slightly and whispered back into his ear, “If anything happens to me, I’ll wait for you down there.”
Xia Liu Yi’s eyes widened. He had not expected He Chu San to answer like that. But after a moment of stunned silence, he looked as though he had heard the sweetest words in the world and broke into a delighted smile. “All right. It’s a promise.”
…
After He Yi Society forcibly took away the “traitor” He Chu San, Xiao Qi Hall threw itself into several fierce clashes with He Yi Society. Inspector Zheng later came personally to mediate, Boss Xia accepted the settlement, and both sides finally lowered their banners and ceased hostilities. The turmoil between two major underworld factions once again ended with bizarre speed. But Master Qiao was suspicious by nature and remained deeply wary of Xia Liu Yi’s violent temperament. He stayed hidden at home for several days, afraid Xia Liu Yi was merely pretending to accept the settlement while secretly so consumed by rage that he no longer cared about the consequences, lying in wait near his house to chop him down the moment he appeared.
Only after repeatedly confirming that no one was following him and receiving reports from his scouts that Boss Xia had actually spent the past several days sailing to Lamma Island to clear his head and was not even in Hong Kong or Kowloon did Master Qiao finally dare leave his lair. With his adviser in tow, he went to the hospital to visit He Chu San again.
The hospital was on Hong Kong Island in a busy part of the city, with a police station directly across the street. Master Qiao had placed He Chu San there partly because he believed Xiao Qi Hall would never guess he had hidden him somewhere so crowded, and partly because he believed Xiao Qi Hall would never dare openly come hacking people apart directly opposite a police station.
Although the hospital entrance faced a busy street, a quiet little garden lay behind the building for patients to stroll and recuperate. More than a week had passed since He Chu San’s surgery. The sunlight was warm and gentle that day, so with Kevin supporting him, he followed the doctor’s instructions and came down to the garden for some movement to prevent adhesions from forming around the wound. Master Qiao and his adviser found the hospital room empty and wandered downstairs, where Master Qiao limped around on his cane until he was panting. At last, he spotted several tall, intimidating bodyguards in a corner of the garden. They looked like Kevin’s men.
Master Qiao strode toward them. The bodyguards recognized him and quickly opened the circle. Consultant He sat leaning against a long wooden bench in a sky-blue silk robe over his thin hospital clothes, head lowered as he read a book. In his lap was a tiny jade-green vase no bigger than his palm. Kevin was crouched on the grass nearby gathering wildflowers. Holding a small handful of pure white blossoms, he carefully returned and arranged them in the vase. He Chu San closed his book, lifted the vase to smell the flowers, gently adjusted one of the fresh petals, smiled faintly, and said, “Thank you.” A breeze stirred his soft black bangs. He was more striking than the flowers themselves, and the entire scene was almost absurdly peaceful.
No wonder this brat Kevin has lost his head over him! He even dared block my “painkiller” for his sake! Master Qiao cursed inwardly.
He immediately gave a loud cough and spat a mouthful of thick phlegm onto the grass, abruptly shattering the idol-drama atmosphere. Dragged back into filthy reality, He Chu San looked up, saw him, and kept the delighted smile on his face without losing so much as a fraction of it. “Brother Qiao! What a surprise. You actually had time to come see your little brother?”
“You’re looking pretty good today, Brother He!” Master Qiao cackled.
“Thanks to Brother Qiao taking such good care of me.” He Chu San laboriously shifted to one side. “Please, sit.”
Master Qiao leaned on his cane and dropped heavily onto the bench beside him without ceremony. He rolled his neck and thumped his aching knees. “Ah, things have been so busy these past few days that I haven’t had time to visit my little brother. How’s your health, Brother He?”
“I lie around every day. My bones are practically rusting.” He Chu San smiled. “I want to leave the hospital, but the doctor keeps advising against it. Did you come because you have something for me to do, Brother Qiao? Please give your little brother some work. If I stay in bed much longer, I’m going to die of boredom.”
“What a coincidence! Hahaha! Your big brother happens to have something for you!” Master Qiao slung an arm around his shoulders and leaned close to whisper in his ear for quite some time. He Chu San endured the foul breath spraying across his face, listened carefully, and worked very hard to keep smiling. “That’s simple. But work like this requires a team. I can’t do it alone. I’ll need people from my company too.”
“That’s easy! I’ll rent another office nearby for all your top students! They can come see you whenever they need and work under your direction!”
“That won’t be necessary. Moving all the equipment and data back and forth would be too troublesome, and I’d be worried something might go wrong. The supporting services around Central are more convenient too. It’s better to keep the original office and let me direct them over the phone. It’s just…” He Chu San hesitated. “Kevin told me people from Xiao Qi Hall came to smash up my company and injured him too. The employees are still too frightened to return to work. I’m worried Xia Liu Yi might come back looking for revenge.” Elite He looked pitifully toward him for help. “Brother Qiao, about this…”
In truth, Kevin had gone straight to Master Qiao that same afternoon, injured and miserable, to cry and complain after Xiao Ma’s staged attack, and the conflict between the two factions had erupted immediately afterward. Master Qiao knew the entire sequence even better than He Chu San supposedly did. Inwardly, he cursed, Wasn’t this whole mess caused because you stupid homo couldn’t bear to let go of Xia Liu Yi’s ass? He stuffed a handkerchief over his mouth and hacked violently for a long while. Amid the spray of spit, he weighed things for several seconds before finally giving a deeply pained guarantee. “Easy! Brother He, I’ll keep Xia Liu Yi under control for you. I’ll have your office renovated and cleaned up and make sure everyone can come back to work safely. You and your people just focus on the job. How’s that?”
Elite He looked full of admiration and dependence. “Then I’ll have to trouble Brother Qiao.”
“Good! Don’t worry!” Master Qiao happily hooked an arm around his shoulders again and breathed another wave of foul air beside his ear. “My good little brother, I’ll have someone send the account books over this afternoon. Take a look at them first.”
He Chu San leaned docilely against him like a little bird, smiling without changing expression. “Of course. Oh, Brother Qiao, there’s one other small thing. This hospital faces the street, and it gets terribly noisy at night…”
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