“I dreamt that you said you missed me.”

In fact, he couldn’t see clearly at the moment. The continuous illness had drained his body too much, and in addition to not eating anything during the two days he was unconscious, although he had been given nutritional fluids, the effect was limited.

At this moment, his whole body was weak, slightly feverish, and he had no strength. Everything he saw was blurry.

But even in the blur, he could tell it was Si Xuanyang, and he could recognize him with his eyes closed.

Hearing this, his little boyfriend’s voice became even hoarser, as if he was trying hard to suppress some emotion. There was a barely perceptible tremor in his calm, gentle voice.

“Yes, you dreamt right. I thought about you every second.”

Doctors and nurses filed into the room, pushing Si Xuanyang aside to further examine Yu Sen’s condition.

The entire process was quiet and serious. Even when the nurse reported his vitals, her voice was very low, and her movements were careful and gentle.

Yu Sen’s body was extremely weak, and at this moment, he was slightly dizzy. But he could still tell that breathing was much more difficult than after any previous injury.

He struggled to keep his eyes open and asked softly, “How long was I asleep?”

The nurse beside him paused for a moment, then answered in a low voice, “More than two days. Mr. Yu, are you hungry? You can have something nourishing and easy on your lungs first.”

Although he had just woken up, he was already starting to feel tired again.

Yu Sen didn’t respond, recalling the last scene on the pirate ship. He guessed that he must have fallen into the water at the last moment and was brought back to the real world just in time to save his life.

However, he had inhaled a lot of seawater into his lungs, which probably led to his current symptoms.

After a brief pause, he suddenly stiffened, and his breathing became rapid—he remembered that Si Xuanyang had jumped in with him. Was he hurt?

His disrupted breathing led to a sudden, sharp pain in his lungs. His vision darkened, and he started to cough violently, as if he was about to cough out his organs. The coughs were accompanied by choking and shortness of breath, the air in his windpipe swirling chaotically, making him feel dizzy and disoriented.

“Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough, cough… Cough, gag—!”

As the world spun around him, he heard alarmed cries around him, felt an oxygen mask being hurriedly placed back on his face, and sensed the doctors doing something to his body…

His mind, which had been trying to stay awake, was once again drained. Si Xuanyang’s panicked voice seemed muffled, as if it was coming through thick, fuzzy glass. The wave of exhaustion washed over him again, taking control of his body.

His consciousness returned to darkness.

……

People came and went quietly in the room, without making much noise. The setting sun was sinking, and the autumn-winter night was coming earlier and earlier. But no matter the time outside, inside the room, there was still the soft, warm light, quietly keeping watch over someone whose awakening time was uncertain.

When Yu Sen opened his eyes again, he felt a little better. Perhaps he had slept enough, and the drowsiness was less severe, replaced by a slight sense of hunger.

There was some sort of instrument clipped to his finger, with a bit of weight. As soon as he moved slightly, someone leaned over him and touched a thermometer to his ear, speaking in a low voice, “The fever has gone down a little. Do you want some water, my Sleeping Beauty?”

Yu Sen smiled but didn’t speak.

This time, he wasn’t wearing an oxygen mask. He had probably been carefully taken care of, as his lips didn’t feel dry and uncomfortable. But after sleeping for so long, he did feel like he really wanted a drink of water.

Si Xuanyang seemed to know him very well. Before he could say anything, he handed him a cup from the bedside table and placed a straw at his lips.

“Drink slowly, swallow slowly, take your time, okay? Don’t rush.”

His careful, anxious manner made Yu Sen want to laugh.

The warm, sweet water soothed his throat comfortably. After taking a few sips, he could taste a hint of pear water, but there seemed to be something else added that he couldn’t quite identify.

After a while, Yu Sen moved his head slightly to indicate that he’d had enough. Once Si Xuanyang removed the cup, he gently hooked his finger around him.

His boyfriend leaned down and placed a light kiss on his lips, whispering, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Sen took a couple of breaths and then asked slowly, “Did you… get hurt? I saw you… jump in too.”

Mentioning that moment, Si Xuanyang’s breathing paused slightly. He stared at Yu Sen in silence for a while before answering, “Of course not. Before I hit the water, I was pulled back by the clock.”

As he described what had happened, Si Xuanyang’s fingers, pressed against the bedhead, clenched tightly as if they were about to break.

He didn’t mention that when he watched the person in front of him fall into the sea while he was still in midair, already being pulled upward by the clock, the heart-stopping fear of losing his loved one forever was something he would never forget for the rest of his life.

It was difficult to forget the moment when the person in his arms woke up and began coughing up blood. The bright red liquid gradually cooled on his trembling body, and the despair that followed felt like the world was collapsing.

It could completely destroy him.

Yu Sen didn’t notice anything unusual about him and felt a slight relief when he heard he was okay. “That’s good…”

He paused, looking up at the person in front of him, and with a soft smile that seemed almost playful, continued slowly, “When I woke up and suddenly remembered that you jumped down too, I almost choked myself. Don’t do that again.”

Si Xuanyang’s heart suddenly tightened, a fine, aching pain spreading like cracks—it turned out Yu Sen had been worried about him at that time?

Intense, overwhelming emotions filled every cell of his body, silently expanding, almost consuming and overwhelming him.

But he held onto the last thread of control, hiding all his deep, intense feelings from his weak and pale boyfriend, merging them into his flesh and burying them deep in his lungs.

Then he gently embraced him, applying no pressure, and softly said, “But you are the most important.”

He closed his deep, stubborn eyes, carefully feeling the frail breath and presence of the person in his arms, and repeated seriously, “You are the most important person in my life.”

---

When they returned this time, the clock in the living room was already pointing to ten.

But what was even stranger was that one night, the clock suddenly developed countless cracks, as if it had been dropped, yet no matter how they touched it, not a single wood chip fell off.

When Aunt Zhang and the other servants first discovered this, they panicked and repeatedly assured Si Xuanyang that no one had touched the clock, fearing they would be blamed for it.

Si Xuanyang and the others knew, of course, that no one could damage this thing. The best explanation was that the clock was only two ticks away from completing a full circle, meaning that after passing through one more world, the clock might just shatter on its own.

And then they wouldn’t have to go through those supernatural clock worlds anymore.

Because of this, Si Nan browsed many posts on the forum but didn’t see anyone who had completely escaped from second-hand products. Perhaps no one had ever completed it, but it was more likely that once they returned to normal life, these strange items and forums related to the supernatural world could no longer be found or accessed.

……

As time passed day by day, Yu Sen’s body gradually recovered with careful care. He regained some strength and could now get out of bed and walk around.

Finally freed from the days of being carried around by Si Xuanyang, Yu Sen felt completely refreshed.

But now that winter had arrived, the temperature outside had dropped sharply, and because of the inflammation in his lungs, he kept getting fevers. Si Xuanyang had no reason to let him go out.

Shu Yuqing had visited several times, and for some reason, Yu Sen felt that her attitude toward him was exceptionally good, even better than toward her own son, which was unbelievable.

She was afraid that Yu Sen would be bored being confined to the house, so she always recommended many things to him. This time, she even showed him the hot spring trip she had planned last time, promising that once he got better, she would take him along.

Yu Sen was interested, and after she left, he clung to Si Xuanyang, murmuring about wanting to go to the hot spring.

“Auntie said hot spring water is very nourishing. I want to go…”

“She meant after you’ve recovered,” Si Xuanyang said, pulling him closer and holding him in his arms.

Yu Sen’s waist was still very slender, easily encircled by one hand, but he had lost a lot of weight overall. Illness made it easy to lose weight, and Yu Sen had a poor appetite. No matter how carefully he was cared for, he still lost a lot of weight.

After chatting with Shu Yuqing for about an hour, his lips were now somewhat pale, and he was softly lying on Si Xuanyang, speaking in a delicate tone.

Si Xuanyang felt a bit helpless. This person really didn’t consider his physical condition. In his current state, soaking in a hot spring for ten minutes might make him faint, and after twenty minutes, he might have to be carried to the emergency room.

But seeing how bored he was, Si Xuanyang felt a bit of pity. After weighing the options, he suggested, “How about we soak in our bathtub for a while? It’s almost the same.”

“……”

The atmosphere froze awkwardly for a few seconds before Yu Sen muttered in disbelief, “Damn! You’re a straight guy, aren’t you, Si Xuanyang? How can you even say something like that?”

Is soaking in a bathtub really the same as soaking in a hot spring?

What a lie!

Si Xuanyang awkwardly cleared his throat, “You should know best whether I’m straight or not!”

“……”

After some playful bickering, Yu Sen was exhausted again, leaning weakly on him, his breathing becoming labored.

Si Xuanyang reached out to touch his forehead, a flash of pain crossing his eyes: he was starting to have a fever again.

Nodding to signal Aunt Zhang to bring the thermometer, he leaned down to kiss Yu Sen’s brow, “Are you feeling unwell again?”

“I want to sleep for a while…” Yu Sen closed his eyes, raising his right hand to clumsily pat Si Xuanyang’s face in a comforting manner, but it lacked strength and was about to fall down. “Don’t worry.”

Si Xuanyang caught his hand, placing that pale wrist to his lips for a gentle kiss, “Sleep peacefully. No matter when you wake up, I’ll be the first person you see.”

^[1]Author’s note:

Ah, the stench of love~  After the story ends, I’ll let Yu Ge and Xuanyang go soak in a hot spring, then have some hot spring fun. I really am their true mom.