Qin Mingyuan sat on a wicker chair in the outdoor garden, his arm resting on the small glass table beside him. On the table was a velvet box and a cup of hot water that Zhou Yang had just brought over. Zhou Yang had gone to handle the auction payment.

Wearing a suit outside in this weather was stifling. Qin Mingyuan loosened his collar, finding the outdoor air more comfortable than the air-conditioned venue. His headache seemed to ease a little, but his body still felt sluggish and overheated.

He rested his head in his hand, closing his eyes lightly, with a slight frown on his face.

The sound of wheels rolling over the ground reached his ears, causing his eyelashes to flutter slightly. Without opening his eyes, he said, “You didn’t reply to my message. I thought you hadn’t seen it.”

The wheelchair stopped in front of him. Yun Pei had originally wanted to ask why Qin Mingyuan had called him out, but as he got closer, he noticed something wasn’t right. Qin Mingyuan’s breathing was heavier than usual, sweat beading on his forehead, and his voice was hoarse.

He looked like a wounded lion, hiding his usual sharpness, lying down to lick his wounds while trying to remain composed, not wanting anyone to notice his vulnerability or bite back.

The question on Yun Pei’s lips was swallowed, replaced with concern. “Are you… feeling unwell?”

Qin Mingyuan opened his eyes and looked at him. The young man was quietly sitting in his wheelchair, his gaze filled with a bit of worry. Qin Mingyuan pressed his dry lips together slightly, his voice soft as he said, “Come closer.”

Sensing that Qin Mingyuan’s voice was lacking strength, Yun Pei didn’t hesitate and moved his wheelchair forward, his knees nearly touching Qin Mingyuan’s legs. “What do you need?”

Qin Mingyuan didn’t answer, instead sitting up straight and taking the velvet box from the table, opening it to reveal the 30 million yuan ring.

Yun Pei’s gaze followed his movement, seeing up close the luxurious item that had stirred the curiosity of everyone in the hall. For some reason, he suddenly felt nervous.

“When I saw it earlier, I thought…” Qin Mingyuan, a little dazed, ran his fingers over the ring, pulling it from the box and placing the empty box back on the table.

He reached out to take Yun Pei’s hand. The cool touch felt soothing against his fevered palm, though Yun Pei flinched as if burned. Qin Mingyuan tightened his grip slightly, pulling Yun Pei’s hand closer, and slid the pigeon-blood ruby ring onto his index finger.

The smooth, pale skin complemented the vibrant red, just as Qin Mingyuan had imagined. A satisfied smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “…You’d look beautiful wearing this while painting.”

Yun Pei felt as if his whole hand had been seared by Qin Mingyuan’s warmth, the heat spreading all the way to his cheeks. He opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, his heart beating so fast it felt like it might burst from his chest.

At the entrance of the garden, Yun Yuexian stood by the door, watching the scene with a dark expression, his eyes filled with barely concealed jealousy.

He had followed Yun Pei out, curious to see what he was up to, only to stumble upon this moment.

How dare Qin Mingyuan do this? He knew how much Yun Yuexian despised that cripple, yet he kept testing him again and again, and now, he was actually doing this for real?

Yun Yuexian’s hand tightened around the glass door, nearly shattering it. He watched Qin Mingyuan embrace that cripple, gritting his teeth as he turned away and stormed off.

Qin Mingyuan had slumped forward, and Yun Pei instinctively caught him. Just as he was about to push him away, he realized that the forehead pressed against his neck was burning hot. His heart sank. He cupped Qin Mingyuan’s face, feeling the abnormal heat radiating from his skin.

So it wasn’t his imagination earlier—Qin Mingyuan really was feverish!

“Qin Mingyuan! Qin Mingyuan!” Yun Pei called his name a few times, but the man didn’t respond, his breathing growing more labored, clearly uncomfortable. The hand with the ring on it was gripping his tighter and tighter, making it impossible for Yun Pei to reach his phone in the right-side pocket of his wheelchair.

Qin Mingyuan’s tall frame was too heavy to move, and Yun Pei couldn’t shift him. With no other choice, he maneuvered his wheelchair forward slightly, letting Qin Mingyuan rest more comfortably against him.

Perhaps Yun Pei’s cooler body temperature helped alleviate Qin Mingyuan’s discomfort, as he buried his head deeper into Yun Pei’s neck. The hot skin pressed against Yun Pei’s made him instinctively want to pull away, but Qin Mingyuan quickly leaned in again.

Trapped between the wheelchair and the man, Yun Pei had nowhere to escape. Resigning himself to the situation, he let Qin Mingyuan rest against his neck, feeling the hot breaths on his skin, while he struggled to reach his phone with his left hand.

“Uh… sorry, I’ll just leave!”

A voice from behind startled Yun Pei. He turned to see Zhou Yang, Qin Mingyuan’s assistant, about to slip away. “Wait! Don’t leave! President Qin has passed out!” Yun Pei quickly called after him.

Zhou Yang, who had just been about to leave, froze. Turning around, he saw his unconscious boss leaning against Yun Pei. Dropping any thoughts of gossip, he quickly pulled out his phone and called the driver waiting outside to come help. After hanging up, he said, “Young Master Yun, could you take care of President Qin for a bit? I’ll go inform the organizers that we’re leaving early.”

Yun Pei nodded, allowing Zhou Yang to leave. Looking down at the unconscious man, he lightly patted his face. “Qin Mingyuan?”

Of course, the unconscious man couldn’t respond. Yun Pei sighed, noticing how dry his lips looked. He reached for the cup of water on the table.

The water was still warm to the touch, just right. Yun Pei brought the cup to Qin Mingyuan’s lips and gently coaxed him, “Qin Mingyuan, open your mouth and drink some water, okay?”

Whether he heard Yun Pei’s voice or was simply too thirsty, Qin Mingyuan obediently opened his mouth, letting Yun Pei feed him about half the cup. After setting the cup down, Yun Pei instinctively reached out to wipe the water from Qin Mingyuan’s lips with his finger. The gesture startled even him, and he quickly withdrew his hand, hesitant to touch him any further.

Zhou Yang returned quickly, accompanied by the driver. As they tried to lift Qin Mingyuan, he wouldn’t cooperate, clinging tightly to Yun Pei’s hand.

Zhou Yang, sharp-eyed, noticed the ring on Yun Pei’s finger but quickly looked away, pretending not to see anything. “Young Master Yun, would you mind coming with us? President Qin is unconscious and won’t let go of your hand.”

Yun Pei hesitated, but with his hand firmly gripped, he realized that Qin Mingyuan’s action was unconscious, a fever-driven search for security. It wasn’t something to blame him for. In the end, he nodded.

The driver and Zhou Yang helped lift Qin Mingyuan while Yun Pei was pulled along behind them. The group exited through the garden’s back door and headed straight for the elevator, avoiding the banquet hall to prevent any unnecessary commotion.

A few hotel staff members they passed by asked if Qin Mingyuan had had too much to drink and offered help, but they politely declined.

Once they reached the parking lot, they helped Qin Mingyuan into the back seat, and Yun Pei followed. Zhou Yang finally let out a sigh of relief, putting Yun Pei’s wheelchair in the trunk before taking the front passenger seat.

As soon as he got in, Zhou Yang called the family doctor, asking him to head to Qin Mingyuan’s apartment immediately. They’d be home soon.

After hanging up, Zhou Yang glanced into the rearview mirror and saw that his boss had once again slumped against Yun Pei. The tall man’s weight was fully pressing on the much smaller Yun Pei, making the scene look a little unfair.

Now that the urgency had passed, Zhou Yang’s mind began to wander. Wasn’t the boss interested in the younger Yun family heir, Yun Yuexian? So why did he now seem so close to the elder heir, Yun Pei?

Could it be a case of “settling for the second best”? A replacement? Or some twisted revenge against Yun Yuexian for spurning him?

Zhou Yang was startled by his own wild theories and quickly shook his head. No, no, that couldn’t be it. His boss wasn’t like that. How could he have such thoughts?

But then, why?

What had happened between them that he didn’t know about?

Frowning, Zhou Yang tried to recall the events of the past few months but couldn’t piece together the puzzle. He looked back into the rearview mirror again and locked eyes with Yun Pei.

Startled, Zhou Yang quickly flashed a smile. “Thank you for your help, Young Master Yun. I’m Zhou Yang, President Qin’s assistant.”

“Hello.” Yun Pei nodded through the rearview mirror. “You don’t have to call me Young Master, just call me Yun Pei.”

“Uh… Well, Yun Pei Shao…” Zhou Yang trailed off, unsure of the exact nature of their relationship, and not daring to address him too casually.

Yun Pei didn’t push further, knowing they weren’t close enough to insist on familiarity. He wasn’t much of a talker, so he remained silent.

Zhou Yang also stopped glancing at the rearview mirror, afraid of getting caught spying again.

“Mmm…” Qin Mingyuan groaned in his sleep, seemingly uncomfortable. He moved, raising a hand to tug at his already loosened collar.

Yun Pei quickly caught his hand. “Qin Mingyuan, are you alright?”

“Hot…” Qin Mingyuan mumbled. With Yun Pei’s cool hand resting on his, he stopped moving, but his brows remained tightly furrowed, his breath hot.

Knowing that it was his fever making him feel hot, Yun Pei sighed. Lowering the car’s air conditioning wasn’t an option, so he could only try to soothe him. “We’re almost home. Just hang in there a little longer, okay? It’ll be fine.”

In the front seat, Zhou Yang heard Yun Pei’s gentle voice and couldn’t help but glance back. This Yun Pei is so much better than that spoiled, manipulative Yun Yuexian!

Yun Pei didn’t care what Zhou Yang was thinking. He noticed a thin layer of sweat forming on Qin Mingyuan’s neck, and the wet warmth of his forehead pressing against his neck. He turned his head toward the front seat. “Assistant Zhou?”

“I’m here!” Zhou Yang responded quickly.

“Could you hand me the wet wipes from the glove compartment?” Yun Pei had noticed them last time when fetching Qin Mingyuan’s glasses.

“Of course.” Zhou Yang opened the compartment and handed over the wet wipes, his curiosity piqued. How does Yun Pei know about these? There must be a story here!

Yun Pei took the wet wipes, opening the packet and pulling one out to gently wipe the sweat from Qin Mingyuan’s neck, hoping to make him feel a little better.

The coolness of the wet wipe seemed to help, as Qin Mingyuan relaxed under Yun Pei’s care, not resisting or struggling.

After Yun Pei finished wiping his forehead and cheeks, Qin Mingyuan leaned back against him, burying his head in Yun Pei’s neck once more.

Seeing Qin Mingyuan in such a vulnerable state, Yun Pei couldn’t help but feel like the man had transformed from a fierce lion into a large, clingy dog.

He reached up to smooth the strands of hair that had fallen over Qin Mingyuan’s forehead and thought to himself that being around this man wasn’t so bad after all.

Though Qin Mingyuan often seemed cold and distant, his actions were always considerate, never going out of his way to hurt Yun Pei’s pride.

No matter how powerful or commanding Qin Mingyuan might be in the business world, in this moment of illness, he was just a weak, needy person, seeking comfort and safety.

Yun Pei smiled softly, pulling out another wet wipe to clean Qin Mingyuan’s sweaty palm and long fingers.

Zhou Yang, watching this scene unfold in the rearview mirror, couldn’t help but think again, This Yun Pei is so much better than that whiny Yun Yuexian, always calling him Brother Mingyuan and sweet-talking to get him to spend money!

This one actually knows how to take care of people! Even though his own health isn’t great, our boss finally has his eyes in the right place!