Yu Wanlai pursed his lips and sat down on the corner sofa. Since no one else was eating, he decided to eat himself. He had been running around all day for this, and now he was starving. He devoured the food quickly, almost finishing it, and only then did he mumble with disdain, “I’m not going to the cafeteria tomorrow. This food… really isn’t great.” After eating, he washed the lunch box and placed it on the table, then slouched sideways in his chair, not moving.

The sky outside gradually darkened, and the scene in the hospital room was reflected on the window. Yu Wanlai’s gaze instinctively focused on the figure lying in the hospital bed. It seemed… being the male lead in a romance novel wasn’t so easy. There were many sacrifices behind the scenes. Plus, his so-called “cheap younger brother” had to go through the tragic, strong, and enduring path—ugh. Yu Wanlai suddenly felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively pulled back a little. Wasn’t that just… too pitiful to think about? But now, since the antagonist (him) was gone, those things shouldn’t happen.

While lost in these random thoughts, Yu Wanlai suddenly saw Yu Qingyue’s figure move. He quickly turned around. “He moved!”

Yu Cheng glanced at Yu Wanlai, frowning. “What moved? Don’t make a fuss. Your brother is resting…”

Qin Shuang tugged at Yu Cheng and smiled gently at Yu Wanlai, signaling for him to be quiet. After all, the kid had been running around helping all day, and it wouldn’t be right to scold him now.

Yu Wanlai clicked his tongue and walked over to Yu Qingyue’s bed, bending down to look at him. “Of course, he moved!”

Hearing this, the other two immediately stood up and gathered around the bed, looking at the person lying there. To be honest, Yu Qingyue woke up because of the pain. The anesthetic had worn off, and in his dreamlike state, it felt like someone was tearing at his skin, forcing him to wake up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a person standing next to his head. Looking up, he saw that it was Yu Wanlai. Yu Qingyue snorted and closed his eyes again, turning his head to the other side.

He had intended to turn over, but immediately felt a sharp, dense pain in his back. He hissed, lifted his head, and looked at his back, but he couldn’t see anything. Yu Qingyue felt a panic rise in his chest. “…What happened to my back? Ah… hiss…” As he spoke, he reached his hand toward the wound.

Qin Shuang grabbed his restless hand, her eyes red as she spoke softly, “Yueyue, you’re finally awake. Mom was so worried.”

Only then did Yu Qingyue notice the two people standing on the other side. He weakly called out, “Dad, Mom…” Then, he asked, “What about my back…”

Qin Shuang nodded. “Your back was probably scratched by some broken stones. You need to rest and recover, so don’t move around.”

Yu Cheng reached out to pat Yu Qingyue’s head. “Don’t worry, son, it’s nothing. A man… getting a few injuries is nothing.”

Yu Wanlai: … So it’s not just me who gets harsh words.

Qin Shuang shot a glance at Yu Cheng, pushed him aside, and sat down next to Yu Qingyue, talking to him from time to time. She opened the lunch box she had been holding and placed it in front of Yu Qingyue. The food inside was still warm. “Yueyue, are you hungry? Want to eat something?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Qingyue’s stomach let out a faint growl, almost as if answering her.

Yu Qingyue nodded, trying to sit up, but Qin Shuang immediately pressed his shoulder back down. “You still can’t move these days. Let Mom feed you.”

Seeing that there was no room for him to speak, Yu Wanlai retreated back to the chair by the window. The reflection in the glass showed the two of them, one feeding the other, and the warm yellow light above them created a rare, cozy scene.

Seeing that Yu Cheng, just like him, was being rejected, Yu Wanlai couldn’t help but chuckle.

When Yu Qingyue woke up, it was already late. He noticed the dark circles under Qin Shuang’s eyes, which even foundation couldn’t hide. “Mom, why don’t you and Dad go rest? I should be fine here. If anything happens, I can call a nurse.”

Yu Cheng slapped his thigh. “I forgot to hire a caregiver after sitting here all this time. I’ll speed it up, and they should be here tomorrow morning…”

Yu Wanlai quickly interrupted, “No need, there’s still me. I’ll take care of my little brother.”

Yu Cheng: …
Qin Shuang: …

Yu Cheng seemed to not hear anything and continued preparing to call his assistant. Yu Wanlai had no choice but to move in front of Yu Cheng, blocking his phone screen and speaking again, “Who would take care of him as well as I can? Didn’t you always want me to get along with my little brother?”

At this point, Qin Shuang no longer doubted Yu Wanlai’s intentions. However, she still felt a little uncomfortable. After all, he wasn’t really her biological son… But taking care of her son herself wasn’t exactly convenient. “And it’s so late, do you want to bother the assistant? They might already be asleep. Such evil capitalists.”

Yu Cheng looked at Qin Shuang, “So, Xiao Shuang, what do you think?”

Qin Shuang lifted her gaze to look at Yu Qingyue, but Yu Wanlai immediately moved to block her view, smiling kindly. “Auntie, don’t worry, I will definitely take good care of my little brother.”

After a long silence, Yu Qingyue responded weakly, “I’m fine.” In fact, he had something to ask Yu Wanlai.

Yu Wanlai suddenly felt a chill down his back. Maybe he should just forget it—he didn’t really need to do this… Yu Cheng put down his phone. “Alright then, since you’re the older brother and have this sense of responsibility, take good care of him. We’ll come by tomorrow morning.”

After sending them off, Yu Wanlai stood in the empty corridor, feeling a bit confused. Initially, he just wanted to clear his name and leave, but now he felt a bit sorry for the male lead… He hadn’t forgotten the panic he felt when he heard that Yu Qingyue had fallen down the mountain. At that moment, he thought it was just fear that the plot was going back on track, but now he realized there were some differences in the story. And in this incident, he didn’t have any role in causing trouble—he could have just ignored it and walked away.

Yu Wanlai scratched his head. Forget it, if he couldn’t figure it out, then he wouldn’t think about it. He was a good person, always kind-hearted. So it made sense that he felt sorry for his little brother and wanted to take care of him.

Yu Qingyue glanced at the hospital room door a few times, wondering if Yu Wanlai had taken himself away while seeing the visitors off. He knew Yu Wanlai was pretending. However, he hadn’t really expected him to take care of him; he just wanted to extract some information from him. But he didn’t expect Yu Wanlai to not even return to the room.

Yu Qingyue clicked his tongue. This “big bad wolf”… Couldn’t he at least pretend for a bit longer?

Meanwhile, Yu Wanlai, who had been about to reach the door of the room, suddenly turned around and left the hospital. He bought a bag of oranges from the street outside the hospital, and then, realizing there was no fruit knife in the room, went to a supermarket to buy one. On his way, he passed by the children’s section and saw a toy that made a clicking sound. Seeing a little child playing with it excitedly with their mother, he stretched out his hand and grabbed one to take to the checkout.

Half an hour later, Yu Wanlai returned to the hospital room. When he pushed the door open, he saw Yu Qingyue struggling to get out of bed. He quickly tossed the things he was holding onto the chair, rushed over, and pressed Yu Qingyue back down. His tone was urgent, “What are you doing? Didn’t I say you can’t move?”

As he spoke, he checked Yu Qingyue’s back to confirm there was no bleeding before he relaxed.

Yu Qingyue turned his head to the other side. “Why are you back? I don’t need you to take care of me.”

“I know you don’t want to care about me. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Mom and Dad. Just tell me what you know about what happened before.”

Yu Wanlai: What? Wronged!

Not wanting to get involved, Yu Wanlai left his place and went to put everything on the bedside table. He felt a little frustrated and said, “What do you mean ‘back again’? I didn’t leave in the first place. I just went to buy some things.”

He took out a large orange from his pocket and washed it along with the toy in the bathroom. When he came out, he tossed the still-wet toy next to Yu Qingyue. “I bought this for you. You can play with it. You’ll be lying in bed for a few more days.”

Yu Qingyue reached out to take the toy, glancing at it. His fingers got wet with the water droplets on the toy, and he disdainfully tossed it aside. “You’re the child here, not me. I’m not playing with this kind of thing!”

Yu Wanlai, who was at the counter cutting the orange, nodded. “Alright, if you don’t want to play, don’t. But then, you can just lie in bed and play with the corner of the blanket every day.”

Yu Qingyue turned his head and glared at Yu Wanlai. Was this guy sick? Did he mean to call him stupid?

“You don’t need to worry about me. Just tell me what you know. If you had just told me earlier, I wouldn’t have been distracted and fallen down…”

Yu Wanlai: What?! How is this my fault?

Yu Wanlai tossed the sliced oranges into a lunch box and sat down in a chair, looking miserable. “Look at me.”

Yu Qingyue, confused, looked at Yu Wanlai. “Look at what?”

Yu Wanlai pointed at himself with one finger. “Do you think I’m just a jinx? How can you blame me for this…?” Frustrated, he began to speak without thinking. “This is your family’s business. Why do you keep bringing it up with me? If I say anything, I’ll just look like I’m sowing discord.”

In the end, he waved his hand, his patience running out. “Don’t bring it up again. Ask whoever you want, but don’t ask me.” Why couldn’t this issue be put to rest? Why was it so certain that he knew about it? Yu Wanlai was full of questions.

Yu Qingyue lowered his head, his eyes starting to redden. “…Got it, I won’t ask you anymore.” Why was he being so harsh, like he’d suddenly eaten gunpowder?

After speaking, Yu Wanlai noticed the oranges in his hand and looked up, intending to offer them to Yu Qingyue. But when he looked, he saw Yu Qingyue curled up in the blanket, looking aggrieved. He rubbed his eyes. What’s going on?! Was he seeing things? This person… was actually feeling wronged? Was he even capable of feeling that way?

Sighing lightly, Yu Wanlai moved his chair closer to the bedside, holding the orange up in front of Yu Qingyue. He softened his voice, “…Here, have some oranges. It’ll help you get some Vitamin C.”

Yu Qingyue pushed his hand away and turned his head to the other side. “I don’t want it! Take it away!”

Yu Wanlai glanced at the reflection in the window and then at Yu Qingyue. Could it be that he was crying? Could his aloof, cold little brother, who looked like he was above worldly concerns, really be crying?