Rabbit? What rabbit?

Oh—Luo Yunqing suddenly remembered. He had gone to Queen before and spent three hundred bucks to buy a rabbit mask from a pink-haired… 

Teng Zaiye. At that time, he was in a rush and only took a quick glance. Later, he realized that the two rabbit teeth were actually inlaid with some bling-bling diamonds. It was hideous. When he got back, he shoved it to the bottom of his wardrobe.

Hahaha, could he be talking about that rabbit… Luo Yunqing held his breath for a moment, his pupils slightly dilated, and he stayed still. He, he, he recognized me! 

No way, that’s impossible. How could he recognize me with a mask on? If he did recognize me and knew I had been to the auction, he could easily find out that the person who bid against Pei Hengzhi and made him spend eighty million was me! 

The carefully crafted image of a pitiful little white flower at the birthday banquet, unloved by parents, would crumble!

It’s over. Completely over. The more Luo Yunqing thought about it, the more sweat dripped down his temples.

“I, I actually…”

Just as he was trying to come up with a reasonable excuse, Pei Yanli suddenly closed her eyes. She lowered the hand that was blocking her face, opened her eyes again, and recalled, “I remember the first time I saw you was at the hospital. At that time, you and your brother… were you kids from the welfare institute?”

Luo Yunqing had lost the ability to think, nodding woodenly in agreement with her words.

“They looked quite young, five or six years old, what illness did they have?”

“Kidney, kidney failure.”

“No wonder I often saw him in the hospital. I was wondering why he hadn’t gotten better after being sick for so long.” Pei Yanli then suggested, “Let’s go see how he’s doing later.”

“…Okay.”

“What does he like? I’ll ask Chen Zhao to buy it.”

“Anything, he’s not picky.”

That “little rabbit” seemed to be just his imagination. Or maybe he didn’t care about the auction at all? Luo Yunqing cautiously added, “If possible, buy him some drawing books. Xiao Yu likes to draw.”

“So his name is Xiao Yu.”

“The director picked him up and brought him back to the welfare institute on a rainy day… His full name is quite nice, Qu Qingyu.”

“The ‘Qing’ from Luo Yunqing?”

“Yes.”

His brain, which had temporarily shut down, gradually returned to normal. Luo Yunqing quietly released his clenched palm and breathed a sigh of relief. Not a word about the auction. It seemed he was overthinking it.

…………

They arrived at the hospital smoothly. The timing was just right. Tang Yajun was helping an elderly patient with a cane out of the consultation room, and her eyes immediately fell on Pei Yanli’s deep V-neck gray hoodie. Second Master dressed so casually today. Didn’t he usually button his shirts all the way up?

“Dr. Tang.” Before she could look away, Luo Yunqing came over with a paper bag, flashing a bright and sunny smile, “Thank you for last time.”

Was it because of him? Tang Yajun pondered, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and politely pushed the gift bag back, “It’s my duty to treat and save people, I can’t accept gifts.”

“If you won’t accept this, then… how about this?”

Luo Yunqing slowly revealed a hand hidden behind his back, unfurling a gold-edged banner that read: “A doctor’s benevolence, miraculous hands bring spring.”

Tang Yajun: !!!

No doctor can resist the temptation of a banner. If there is one, just add another banner. Luo Yunqing blinked, pure and harmless, “Dr. Tang, please accept it.”

“This is too embarrassing.” Tang Yajun’s attitude shifted from distant to modest, glancing at the bustling corridor, she cleared her throat, “You said, who is this for?”

Luo Yunqing: “…”

Pei Yanli: “…”

Chen Zhao: “…Heh.”

Luo Yunqing took a deep breath and, giving face, announced in a voice twice as loud as usual, “Thank you, Dr. Tang Yajun!”

All eyes in the corridor instantly focused on them. Being the center of attention was nothing new. Tang Yajun curved her lips, accepted the banner, and invited them into the consultation room. Once the door was closed, she relaxed, “You two seem to get along well, becoming a couple so quickly.”

Pei Yanli: “Dr. Tang, are you envious?”

“No.” Tang Yajun shook her head quickly, “I’m not envious at all.”

For her, romantic relationships were far less tempting than a banner. She returned to her desk, skillfully entered his name into the system, and turned her chair to take his pulse, “Now, everyone is talking behind your back, saying Second Master is like an iron tree blooming overnight… Have you felt any chest tightness recently?”

“A little when I sleep at night.”

“Well, your lungs are much better than before.” Tang Yajun immediately switched roles, carefully advising, “September is approaching, the weather is cooling down, you must keep warm and stay away from dust.”

Saying this, she put on medical gloves, preparing to check his leg condition. Chen Zhao helped lift the blanket covering his leg, intending to roll up the pant leg, but Pei Yanli pressed his hand down, looking behind him, “You go find Xiao Yu first.”

“We agreed to go together later.” Luo Yunqing stepped over, squatting by the wheelchair armrest. He wanted to stay here.

Pei Yanli: “But…”

“Alright, stop dawdling.” Tang Yajun glanced between the two, urging, “Hurry up, I have other patients to see.”

As the pant leg rolled up—his left leg was covered in dense scars, stretching diagonally from the ankle to the knee, with stitches not yet fully removed. At a glance, a hand fell in front to block the view. A soft sigh came to his ear, “Don’t look.”

After that, Luo Yunqing only heard Tang Yajun asking in detail:

“Is there any pain?”

“Try moving it now.”

“We’ll have to wait until the stitches are removed to see the situation. As for the medication, I’ll reduce the dosage by one-fifth…”

The examination didn’t take long. When light returned, the blanket was already covering his leg again. Tang Yajun removed her gloves. While entering data into the medical system, her focused black eyes looked straight over, “Why reduce the dosage?”

Can it still be effective after reducing it? Tang Yajun glanced at Pei Yanli, seeing he had no intention of hiding anything, she explained, “He’s taking sedative painkillers. Reducing the dosage means his injury is healing… Don’t worry, the possibility of him standing up in the future is still very high.”

Luo Yunqing: “Really!”

Tang Yajun nodded. A genuine smile appeared on the young man’s face. “Oh, right.” Suddenly remembering something, Tang Yajun turned with a teasing expression, “A kind reminder, before all your health indicators stabilize, don’t do anything too extreme.”

Luo Yunqing: “Like what?”

Tang Yajun coughed, maintaining a straight face, “Restricted activities.”

Luo Yunqing: “Oh.”

Why did he look so unhappy? Tang Yajun quickly retracted part of her statement, “It’s not that you can’t have any contact at all, like holding hands, hugging, kissing…”

Outside the consultation room, many people were waiting to see the doctor. Tang Yajun didn’t have time to finish her sentence before the next patient closed the door, cutting off her words.

*

After coming out, Chen Zhao sensibly went to get the medicine first. As soon as he left, a light tap on the shoulder. Luo Yunqing extended a finger, tentatively poking, “Dr. Tang said we can hold hands.”

Pei Yanli’s gaze drifted away. Before Luo Yunqing could poke again, the hand that had once ruffled his hair was offered, “Want to hold?”

“Yes!”

Luo Yunqing quickly wiped his damp palm on his clothes and held on reverently. The dry, calloused hand was warm. So nice! No blood on the hand, clean and neat. Luo Yunqing’s eyes curved with a smile.

Pei Yanli: “So happy?”

“Yes!” Luo Yunqing pressed palm to palm, comparing, “Your hand is a bit longer than mine, big, big…”

Before he could finish comparing, the much larger hand bent down, long fingers easily threading through his, pressing down. Without thinking, Luo Yunqing clasped it. For a moment, the only sound in the corridor was the electronic screen’s call announcements.

“How long do you want to hold?”

“A little longer.”

“Okay.”

…………

The entire afternoon was spent at the hospital. After the check-up, they went to the inpatient department to visit Xiao Yu, and it was near evening when they sent Luo Yunqing back to the Song Family. After dropping him off, Chen Zhao returned to the back seat, seeing the boss staring at his right hand the whole way.

Is there a painting on his hand? Speaking of paintings, Chen Zhao took out a crayon drawing from his inner jacket pocket, a gift from a little friend, marveling at how small the world is. “I didn’t expect him to be that little boy’s brother.”

The drawing depicted the scene from their first meeting. Two wheelchairs, with a boy squatting in the middle, head down, holding a toy car. It was extremely abstract, yet the people involved could understand it at a glance. At that time, the boy wore a mask, and Chen Zhao didn’t pay much attention. Later, hearing his stammering voice at the Song Family, he only found it familiar, never connecting the dots. Who would’ve thought they had met before?

“The boss and the lady boss, what a deep connection.”

“Not just that.”

Pei Yanli finally moved his gaze from his hand, dialing a number to call Teng Zaiye. The other end answered weakly, “Hello?”

“Do you remember the person who snatched the mask from you at Queen last time?”

Not having a great memory, it took Teng Zaiye a while to recall, “Oh, wasn’t that…”

Wait a minute. Why is he asking about this? Could it be he knows that person is Luo Yunqing? Teng Zaiye’s eyes darted around, playing along, “I remember, why?”

“Have you found out who he is?”

The phone went silent for a few seconds. Teng Zaiye opened his mouth, shook his head, “No.”

Then asked, “Did you find out?”

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he heard a barely audible laugh through the receiver, followed by Pei Yanli saying, “Neither did I.”

If not, why ask? After hanging up, Teng Zaiye quickly dialed Luo Yunqing’s number, but before it could ring twice, the call was cut off! He hurriedly sent a message, noting, “It’s Teng Zaiye.”

Soon, the call came back. The first thing he heard was, “Where did you get my number?”

“Naturally, I’m all-powerful and omnipotent.”

“Heh, hanging up.”

“Hey! Don’t, I have something important.” Teng Zaiye quickly relayed what happened earlier, “Old Pei is starting to suspect you, little green tea.”

Luo Yunqing suddenly gripped his phone, “What did you say?”

“Of course, I played dumb.” Teng Zaiye lifted his chin, seeking credit, “How about it, am I a good brother?”

Luo Yunqing didn’t believe he’d be so kind, “Tell me, what do you want?”

“What could I want, it’s Xiao Yuyu…” Mentioning Jiang Ziyu, Teng Zaiye’s voice noticeably lowered, sniffling, he hugged his phone and wailed, “Your brother is mad at me recently! Qingqing, my adorable little brother~”

“Want to make my brother happy?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

“Simple, give him a raise.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.” Recalling Pei Yanli’s actions during the day, Luo Yunqing felt uneasy, “Are you sure he’s just suspicious?”

“Of course. If he was sure, he wouldn’t have asked me.”

The Maybach returned to the Pei Family under the starry night. Getting out of the car, they heard a commotion from the main house courtyard.

“Second Uncle’s marriage is already settled!”

“I’ve said it many times, I don’t know who was bidding against me. If I knew, I’d have settled the score with him long ago.”

……

Pei Hengzhi had taken a solid beating from his father, lying at home for a few days, even missing Song Xuechen’s important birthday banquet, only recently recovering. To be honest, Chen Zhao was also curious, “Room 201 has always been Young Master Teng’s resting room, how could they not find that person?”

Pei Yanli discreetly pinched his ring finger joint, remaining silent. Inside, Pei Hengzhi’s voice, full of energy, soon echoed again, “Enough about that, can I have my phone back? School starts in a few days.”

“Chen Zhao.” Pei Yanli suddenly asked, “I remember he’s studying at Jing University, right?”

“Yes, Jing University, third year in computer science.” At this point, Chen Zhao suddenly froze, “The lady boss also applied for computer science.”