Shi Sheng woke up in the hospital.

Everything around him was white, and someone was standing by the window with their back to the light, making their silhouette unclear. He felt a splitting headache and his whole body began to ache. The glaring light made him instinctively flinch and groan.

With a swoosh, the curtain was drawn, and the room suddenly darkened.

“How are you feeling now?”

So considerate.

Shi Sheng tentatively opened his squinted eyes and saw the person standing there with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. The muscles on his arms were so strong that they seemed to be tightly wrapped by the sleeves of his white shirt, as if he could easily lift two of him.

The clothes were a bit small, but the figure was really good. Shi Sheng couldn’t help but size him up.

“Satisfied with what you see?” The man raised his eyebrows slightly with a hint of disdain in his eyes when he noticed Shi Sheng’s gaze. He approached and leaned against the bed, seeming to make sure that Shi Sheng was really okay. “Do you know you were in an accident? Next time, don’t lower your head to look at your phone while crossing the street. Nine lives won’t be enough for you.”

Shi Sheng nervously pursed his lips. The man had a rugged facial structure, wheat-colored skin, and the kind of handsome, masculine appearance that seemed unfamiliar yet striking.

The distance between them was now less than safe, making Shi Sheng slightly uncomfortable.

He hummed softly and his head began to ache again. “Are you… the owner of the car?”

The man’s expression suddenly became quite colorful.

“Got hit and became dumb for three years, huh?”

“…”

The patient in the next bed was still snoring softly, and the air-conditioned room was just the right temperature. Shi Sheng was still in a daze when a girl came in carrying a big bag of stuff. “Ge, is he awake?”

“He’s awake, but still acting dumb.” Lu Lin stood up, took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, glanced at him, and then put it back.

Lu Lin’s younger sister turned her head and saw Shi Sheng looking at her blankly.

“You don’t know who I am, do you?”

Shi Sheng shook his head and lowered his gaze to see that the big bag of stuff she was carrying was all snacks. Although junk food wasn’t very friendly to patients, this little sister was really considerate.

While he was thinking about this, Lu Yin placed the bag of snacks on the bedside table, opened a pack of potato chips, and started eating by herself.

“…”

“It really seems like you’re not very bright, even though you were dumb before,” Lu Yin picked up the phone from the bedside table. The screen had a few cracked marks, but it still worked. She picked it up and waved it at Lu Lin. “Password.”

“My birthday.” Lu Lin glanced at Shi Sheng, seeming unsure of what to do with him.

Shi Sheng silently watched Lu Yin unlock the phone and start searching through the photo album.

 “Isn’t this my phone?”

“Yes.”

“How does he know the password, and is it really his birthday?”

Lu Yin was momentarily stunned, then looked up at Lu Lin and then at Shi Sheng. Lu Lin spread his hands in response.

“You’re really dumb,” she said with disdain, shaking her head and handing the phone to him. “Take a look at this photo. These are your parents.”

“…”

“Your college roommates, a group photo!”

“…”

“Oh my, why are there so many selfies? And what about this one?”

“…”

“You don’t even recognize yourself!”

Shi Sheng silently pursed his lips and looked at the person in the photo. Leaning against the railing, the person was slender and delicate, with a round earring on one ear and a very refined face, the type that you would remember at a glance.

He glanced at Lu Lin beside him, estimating that he was at least a head taller than him.

“Nurse, nurse!” Lu Yin had already rushed out with the potato chips. Through the curtain, the patient in the next bed was awakened and began to grumble. Soon, everything quieted down, leaving Shi Sheng staring blankly at Lu Lin.

“You really don’t remember anything?” Lu Lin bent down again to look at him. “How did you manage to get yourself into this mess?”

Shi Sheng remained silent and turned his head away.

He was somewhat afraid of the unknown, but with this person beside him, although he was a stranger, he felt comforted.

The doctor came, conducted a full-body examination, and ordered an enhanced MRI scan of Shi Sheng’s brain, revealing mild brain damage.

Lu Lin frowned deeply. “So, he really doesn’t remember anything?”

“In fact, this situation is normal. Short-term memory loss is common after accidents, and most people gradually recover as time passes,” the doctor explained, adjusting his golden-rimmed glasses. “I recommend keeping him in the hospital for observation for a while.”

Lu Lin looked over, seeing Shi Sheng curled up on the bed, dialing the contact labeled ‘Dad’ on his phone. He listened for a long time, but no one answered. Then he dialed his mom’s number, with the same result.

“Your parents are overseas. They’re either working overnight or sleeping at this time, so they might not be reachable,” Lu Lin said, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, lazily considering how to take care of this guy.

Shi Sheng looked up hopefully. “Then how did the hospital contact you?”

“Emergency contact.”

That made sense. It wasn’t surprising that he was set as the emergency contact, considering he even knew the phone password.

Shi Sheng scrolled through his WeChat messages with his parents, finding only transaction records; at the top of the list were his studio and club chats, and a group chat named ‘苟富贵勿相忘’ (“Do not forget to strive for wealth and honor”), with a few scattered messages from friends underneath—; as for Lu Lin, he searched for a while but couldn’t find anything.

“On QQ, my nickname is ‘Muscle Hunk 1’,” Lu Lin reminded him, unfazed.

“…You changed the nickname on my phone, didn’t you?”

“Caught me.”

Shi Sheng opened QQ and saw a large ship and fireworks as the top profile picture, with a red “53” icon standing out. He was about to laugh at this silly profile picture, but when he clicked on it, he found that the one he was using was a blue “53”.

Disturbing.

“Why is this a couple profile picture?”

Lu Lin listened, lowered his head, and raised the corner of his lips. Shi Sheng continued to scroll up the chat records, his eyes gradually changing.

(1)

Blue 53: Baby, accompany me for a script killing game tonight.

Red 53: No time.

Blue 53: But I can’t find anyone else…

Red 53: Okay.

Red 53: Although you call everyone baby.

(2)

Blue: I got emo-ed by the client today.

Blue: It was supposed to be a ten-minute voiceover job for a hundred bucks, but it took two hours.

Blue: [Penguin hugging heart expression] I’ll treat you to a big meal.

[One hour later]

Red: Today was too busy, just got back from duty. Your client is really demanding.

Red: Order takeaway.

Blue: You order and I’ll pay!

Red: [Link]

Blue: You’re so useless, how can you only eat thirty bucks.

Red: ….

(3)

Blue: Feeling bad today.

[Ten minutes later]

Red: [Red envelope] Like this

Red: [Red envelope] Are you

Red: [Red envelope] Happy

Red: [Red envelope] Now

Blue: Baby, stop it.

Shi Sheng wanted to continue reading, but the phone was already snatched away by Lu Lin. He rubbed his heated earlobe, wondering why he never realized that he could be so intimate and sticky in chats.

“Give me back my phone—” Shi Sheng reached out. “How come we’re so close?”

Lu Lin glanced faintly, cleared the chat records, and threw the phone on the bed, then leaned over and got close to Shi Sheng.

“Wanna know why?” Lu Lin’s lips curled up as he whispered in Shi Sheng’s ear, “Because I’m your boyfriend.”

A gust of wind stirred the trees outside the window, and the snoring from the neighboring bed was as loud as thunder. Shi Sheng’s pupils shrank, unaware of the teasing look in Lu Lin’s eyes.