Su Hui coughed, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He trembled as he asked Lu Junchi, “Did I hit him just now?”

Lu Junchi’s eyes were red, the effect of the anesthesia causing countless fragments to float in front of his eyes. His temples throbbed, and his chest hurt like a knife. Choking, he said, “You hit him. Your marksmanship is exceptional.”

Fortunately, Lu Junchi’s injuries weren’t severe, Su Hui thought to himself, looking up at him.

Lu Junchi wanted to cover Su Hui’s chest wound, but the bright red blood kept flowing incessantly.

Su Hui bit his pale lower lip, his slender fingers lightly pressing on his abdomen, afraid to exert too much force. Then he furrowed his brows and emitted an unbearable low moan from his throat. He didn’t want Lu Junchi to worry, but it hurt too much. It felt like his internal organs had been shattered by the bullet, and as the blood flowed out, he had no strength left.

It is said that before one dies, they will recall everything that happened in their life. Perhaps due to excessive blood loss or the effect of chloroform, numerous images involuntarily appeared before Su Hui’s eyes.

From childhood to adulthood, his parents, relatives, friends…

Those who loved him, and the people he loved…

He remembered noticing Lu Junchi at the awards podium, remembered the umbrella he gave him, the chicken soup he brought, the stars he gifted. He recalled how Lu Junchi held him while crossing the road, how he moved in to live with him, how he pulled him away when the grenade was about to explode, how they searched for a cat together, sang in harmony at the KTV, and how he shielded him during the car accident.

He remembered how they went to crime scenes together, investigated cases together, faced danger together…

Lu Junchi was present throughout his life, and he would never forget this person.

Su Hui clenched his teeth tightly, cold sweat incessantly pouring out, wetting his forehead. His gaze began to lose focus, making it difficult to gather his thoughts. “Lu Junchi, I love you…”

After Su Hui finished speaking, he coughed a few times, and blood continued to flow from the corner of his lips, trailing down his cheek to his ear.

Lu Junchi panicked, choked up, and hastily wiped away the bloodstains on Su Hui’s cheek with his hand. “I love you too, I love you the most… I want to be with you forever…”

His heart had never been so filled with fear. He was afraid that Su Hui’s eyes would close, afraid that he would pass away quietly.

Su Hui’s beautiful face turned pale, his long eyelashes slightly twitching. The strands of hair on his cheek were soaked, clinging to his face, as if they had reached the utmost fragility.

Lu Junchi wiped away the blood from his lips, and Su Hui furrowed his brows, moaning softly and spitting out even more blood.

Voices could be heard from the entrance, indicating that the property management and firefighters had arrived and were trying to find a way to open the door.

Lu Junchi held him and said, “Hold on, you must hold on…”

Su Hui could feel the warmth emanating from Lu Junchi’s body. He felt something falling onto his lips, a slight coolness—a tear. It was a bit salty.

Su Hui endured the pain, wanting to smile, he reached out to wipe the tears at the corner of Lu Junchi’s eye. “Don’t cry, my Captain Xiao Lu, with anesthesia, it doesn’t hurt at all…”

A lie…

Lu Junchi himself was injured too; his shoulder still throbbed with intense pain. Although chloroform had an anesthetic effect, it wouldn’t diminish the pain before losing consciousness.

“If I die…” Su Hui began.

“Don’t say that… You won’t die.” Lu Junchi interrupted him, feeling himself losing consciousness. He desperately held onto Su Hui’s hand, trying to keep him there.

He whispered in Su Hui’s ear, “We still have so much to do. My uncle’s case isn’t solved yet, your jigsaw puzzle isn’t completed, I haven’t proposed, haven’t put a ring on your finger… You haven’t met my parents, and what about your cats? Think about your cats. You said you wanted to take Hemingway for neutering, you have a responsibility for its lower body…”

Upon hearing this, Su Hui wanted to respond with a laugh, but instead, he coughed out another mouthful of blood.

Due to excessive blood loss and the effects of the drugs, his consciousness was becoming unclear.

Lu Junchi choked up, “It’s because I didn’t protect you well enough…”

“You’ve already saved me…many times.” Su Hui felt his body growing colder, trembling with pain. Even speaking was becoming difficult. His gaze became unfocused to the point where he couldn’t even see Lu Junchi clearly. He could only softly close his eyes and say, “I’m just a little tired… Will you accompany me and let us sleep together? When we wake up, we’ll do all those things together… As long as you’re by my side, I won’t be afraid…”

He was too exhausted. He couldn’t even open his eyes, let alone summon the strength to breathe. He just wanted to fall into a deep slumber.

The corridor was dimly lit, the alarm had stopped, and music still played in the clinic. A buzzing sound could be heard from outside the door; the door was about to give way.

Lu Junchi held Su Hui tightly. He wanted to tell him not to sleep, but a tremendous dizziness and ringing in his ears overwhelmed him.

He felt his consciousness slipping into the depths of the ocean, as if it was about to be swallowed by darkness.

In their final moments, he could only manage to grasp Su Hui’s hand and gently kiss his blood-stained lips.

Whether they were greeted by dreams or hell, he was willing to fall together.

The clinic was filled with a strong fragrance, accompanied by soothing music, as the entire world gradually faded away.

Finally, the door was opened…

The surroundings were noisy, and Su Hui heard many voices coming from all directions.

The most annoying sound was a beeping noise, urgent and incessant. The light shone through his eyelids, and the people around seemed like they were wound up and constantly swaying.

“The bullet hit the right chest and lower abdomen.”

“Prepare for surgery immediately!”

“The patient has lost excessive blood, blood pressure is rapidly dropping…”

“Prepare the plasma, administer adrenaline!”

“Heartbeat and respiration have stopped…”

“Prepare for CPR and AED…”

Beep, beep, beep, beep…

Hell was right before his eyes, fear flooding his heart, and then his hand was tightly grasped…

That hand was warm, as if it wanted to pull him, draw him from the void into the earthly realm.

All the clamor gradually faded away, and everything finally quieted down…

Su Hui hadn’t slept so peacefully in a long time.

He felt himself curled up in a warm embrace, his body floating in the universe, surrounded by countless twinkling stars, with a distant galaxy composed of starry seas.

He didn’t feel too uncomfortable; it was warm all around, no longer the icy indifference.

Then he heard someone calling his name, “Su Hui.”

Su Hui opened his eyes and saw Lu Junchi sitting by the bedside.

It was that familiar person, the familiar voice, the familiar world.

Seeing the redness around Lu Junchi’s eyes, Su Hui extended a finger, wanting to touch him, but his hand was grabbed by Lu Junchi.

Lu Junchi pressed the nurse button and tremblingly informed them that Su Hui had woken up.

Doctors and nurses immediately came and checked Su Hui’s condition.

After those people left, Su Hui’s slender fingers were tightly held by Lu Junchi, as if afraid he would slip away.

“It’s good that you woke up… It’s good that you woke up…” Lu Junchi asked him, “Does the wound still hurt?”

Su Hui blinked his eyes and bit his lip as he gently shook his head. He was too weak to speak. Although the wound still throbbed faintly, it was no longer as painful as when he was shot. Within his tolerable range, there were occasional twinges of pain that coincided with his breathing, distracting his attention.

Those pains came in waves, and he knew they would gradually subside, but for now, he had to grit his teeth and endure.

Lu Junchi said, “If it’s too painful, I’ll ask the doctor to increase your pain medication.”

Su Hui shook his head again, fearing that excessive use of those drugs would affect his brain.

His complexion was extremely pale, accentuating the darkness of his eyes, which appeared like ink beads. The tear mole at the corner of his eye became particularly prominent. When the pain flared up, his brows would occasionally furrow, and his breathing would become momentarily rapid. He appeared calm and restrained.

Lu Junchi felt extreme heartache and offered his finger, saying, “Don’t bite your lip. Bite this instead when it hurts…”

Su Hui didn’t bother being polite and opened his mouth, taking hold of Lu Junchi’s finger and gently biting it. It was as if a cat was holding onto its beloved toy.

Unbeknownst to him, he fell asleep again, and when he woke up, he didn’t know how much time had passed.

Lu Junchi was still by his side, dozing lightly with his head on the table. As soon as Su Hui moved, he woke up too.

The last time he woke up, Su Hui felt that his consciousness wasn’t very clear, but now it had improved significantly. He opened his mouth and felt that he finally had the strength to speak.

Su Hui wanted to tell Lu Junchi not to worry about him, that this was just part of life, accidents of life and death are normal occurrences.

He also wanted to ask if Lu Junchi’s wound was hurting, if everyone else was okay, and how the case had turned out.

But right now, all he could think about was how hungry he felt. His mouth seemed to act on its own instincts, and he opened it, his voice hoarse and unfamiliar, “I want to drink chicken soup.”

After saying it, Su Hui himself was stunned, not quite understanding why he had said that. He suspected that the poison had damaged his brain. It seemed like nothing in this world was more important than this. Then his thoughts were occupied by chicken soup… He didn’t want to think about anything else.

Lu Junchi readily agreed, “I’ll find a way to cook it for you.”

Sunlight streamed onto the hospital bed as he quietly watched Su Hui.

Due to poisoning and injuries, Su Hui’s face and lips were pale, his eyes slightly closed, and even his voice sounded huskier than usual.

Lu Junchi’s heart was filled with pain. After all, this was a human body, and he didn’t know how much Su Hui could endure. He wondered if the lost blood could be replenished with chicken soup.

Su Hui opened his eyes and admonished, “I want it made with free-range chicken.”

Lu Junchi said, “Alright, I’ll buy two and stew them for you. The kind that has an exceptionally fragrant taste, with a thick layer of oil that can be skimmed off, leaving only the aroma of the chicken and a rich clear broth. We’ll also put in bamboo shoots, mushrooms, black fungus, and pigeon eggs. You can only have liquid food for now, but you can taste their flavors…”

He mentioned every item that Su Hui loved to eat.

Su Hui enjoyed drinking the chicken soup cooked by Lu Junchi, but he didn’t like eating boiled chicken meat. He always felt that the meat lost its soul.

Lu Junchi said to Su Hui, “You’ve always been amazing, exceptionally strong…”

Su Hui opened his eyes and nodded softly. His head was still a bit dizzy as he murmured, “Captain Lu, the way you praise me sounds remarkably like Director Tan…”

The little nurse who came in to change the dressing heard it and smiled, saying, “Looks like you’re really feeling much better now.”

Su Hui’s body was still very weak, and after a while, he fell into a deep sleep again.

When he woke up again, there was a half can of steaming hot chicken soup in a thermos flask in front of him. It had that golden color that seemed to glow.

The entire ward was filled with the enticing aroma of the chicken soup.

Lu Junchi wiped Su Hui’s face and helped him rinse his mouth with mouthwash.

Lu Junchi even refused to let Su Hui hold the spoon. He lifted the bed and used his right hand to take the soup spoon, feeding him spoonful by spoonful. He asked Su Hui, “Is it delicious?”

“Mm,” Su Hui thought for a moment and said, “It’s especially delicious.”

Lu Junchi scooped another spoonful and blew on it carefully. “Professor Su, do you still remember? You promised me back then that we would do those things together.”

Su Hui made a sound of agreement, his expression serious and earnest. “I remember. Let’s take it step by step. When I’m out of the hospital, we’ll go and get Hemingway neutered.”

Lu Junchi: “…”

And that was the end of Hemingway’s happy life.

The chicken soup was too delicious.

Whether it was because he had been hungry for too long or not, Su Hui felt like he had never tasted such delicious chicken soup in his life. The flavor was rich and fragrant, something that no chicken essence or seasoning could replicate.

After drinking it, his whole body felt warm, and his heart felt warm too.

Su Hui later learned that when he had just woken up, the doctor said it was not convenient for too many people to visit. Lu Junchi sought the doctor’s opinion and said they could slightly reduce the amount of chicken soup.

It was a rare day off, and everyone in the Major Crimes Unit was busy for him. Yao Fei rode an electric scooter to the countryside to get the free-range chickens, Qiao Ze bought other ingredients, Qu Ming handled the actual cooking, Xia Mingxi live-streamed the process, and Zheng Bai drove all the way to deliver the soup. The whole process was under Lu Junchi’s remote guidance.

Although it was a bit chaotic, the outcome was extremely satisfying.

Everyone praised Lu Junchi’s exclusive recipe, saying that even if they became unemployed in the future, they could open a chicken soup shop together.

When Su Hui heard about this, he felt that he was loved by this world, loved by these people…

Su Hui also learned later that he had spent a full 18 hours in the operating room, received two blood transfusions, and was issued three critical condition notices. Due to his extremely weak physical condition, he had experienced a respiratory arrest during the rescue process. So when he woke up, Lu Junchi had red eyes.

During the two days he was unconscious, Lu Junchi had not rested since waking up from the surgery. He had been by his side, waiting for him to wake up.

It was as if he had made a detour outside the gates of hell.

Fortunately, during the removal of the bullet from his chest, the doctor discovered a fragment left from the explosion years ago. It was because of that fragment that he had been repeatedly infected and coughing up blood. After this surgery, Su Hui’s body actually improved a lot, and his recovery was rapid.

On the seventh day, he was able to walk again. The doctor said that moderate walking exercise was necessary for wound recovery, so Lu Junchi began to support him as they walked slowly in the hospital corridor.

As time went on, Su Hui could feel that his condition was gradually improving. The pain was diminishing, and it seemed like his organs and flesh were healing. There was a tingling sensation, as if he was being reborn.

If the explosion two years ago almost left Su Hui at death’s door, plunging him into the abyss, then this time, it was like a phoenix bathing in flames, undergoing a rebirth.

Suddenly, Su Hui remembered that his parents had given him this name when he was young. “Hui” meant to reply or return. Perhaps it was truly thanks to this name that he was able to repeatedly turn danger into safety…