Yu Wanlai spoke, then added, “If you don’t…” He didn’t finish his sentence before Yu Qingyue turned around and shoved the quilt back into the cupboard.

Yu Wanlai’s eyes widened slightly. ‘He really does want to sleep here?‘ Was getting his head hit so effective? If he’d known, he would’ve made sure to get hit earlier, instead of trying so hard to please this person. But… he hesitated and spoke again, “Why are you putting the quilt back? If you do that, what are you going to sleep under?”

Yu Qingyue replied confidently, “The bed’s too small. If I put two quilts on it, there’ll be no space left for anyone to sleep. I’ll just use yours.”

Yu Wanlai: …Wow, this is quite the change! He cursed himself for not getting hit sooner. He was actually willing to share a quilt with him?! He thought to himself that maybe now he wouldn’t need to die. He was overwhelmed!

With a “click,” the light above their heads went out, and the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. Only the light from the hallway outside the door filtered through the small window in the door, casting a faint circle of light around Yu Qingyue. Beyond that, the light didn’t reach.

Just as Yu Wanlai was about to speak, the light was turned off. He thought, *Is he in such a hurry?* He had been asleep for so long, but he didn’t feel particularly tired.

Suddenly, a muffled “bang” echoed in the still room. Yu Wanlai quickly reached for his phone on the bedside table, turned on the screen, and looked for Yu Qingyue. “What happened? Did you bump into something?” But it wasn’t his phone, so he couldn’t open the flashlight. He could only see a faint light from the screen, which didn’t help much.

Yu Qingyue made a soft “hiss” sound and then calmly replied, “It’s nothing.”

It was only after he had turned off the light that he remembered the pillow was missing from Yu Wanlai’s bed. He still needed to grab one from the caregiver’s bed. In the process of moving around, he had accidentally bumped into a chair.

Yu Qingyue, using the dim light from Yu Wanlai’s phone screen, found his way to the bed. As he was just about to lie down, he suddenly felt a hand reaching toward him. His breath caught, and he instantly tensed up, pressing down on Yu Wanlai’s hand, his voice shaking slightly, “What are you doing?”

Yu Wanlai’s hand rested on Yu Qingyue’s calf. He didn’t notice that Yu Qingyue’s breathing had become uneven. He spoke softly, “Did you hit your leg earlier? Does it hurt?” He then handed the phone to Yu Qingyue, “Here, turn on the flashlight. Let me see if it’s bruised.”

Yu Qingyue took the phone but didn’t move. “It’s fine, I’m okay.”

Yu Wanlai didn’t believe him. This person was always so stubborn. The last time his hand had been bruised, he still insisted it was nothing. He had even heard him gasp in pain earlier. “Come on!”

Yu Qingyue felt his face heat up again. He secretly felt relieved that Yu Wanlai couldn’t see him now. Since Yu Wanlai wasn’t turning on the flashlight, it seemed like he wanted to fumble around in the dark, so Yu Qingyue reluctantly turned on the flashlight. His ears turned red. “…My leg’s fine, it’s just my toe that bumped into something…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Yu Wanlai grabbed his ankle and shined the light on his foot. This made Yu Qingyue’s breathing feel even warmer, and he subconsciously curled his toes, shrinking further into the blanket. The light from the phone was a bit yellowish, so it was hard to see clearly.

As soon as Yu Wanlai put the phone aside and reached to touch Yu Qingyue’s foot, the latter started squirming, clearly uncomfortable. Yu Wanlai’s fingers, roughened from practicing the piano, brushed against Yu Qingyue’s skin, and the unusual sensation on his foot sent a jolt to his heart. His heartbeat was loud, almost like it was dancing in his ears.

“…Stop looking, I really… it’s nothing…” Yu Wanlai clicked his tongue, and though his voice was trembling, he didn’t believe that it wasn’t anything—he was sure it hurt. He had only lightly touched it earlier.

Yu Wanlai’s hand didn’t release Yu Qingyue’s ankle. “Don’t avoid me! The light is too dim to see clearly. Why don’t you go turn the lights on? No, I’ll go turn them on.”

As he said this, he released his hand and began to get up.

Yu Qingyue immediately panicked, realizing that his face must be as red as can be, and he didn’t want to be seen.

He released the quilt he had been holding tightly in his arms, sat up, and grabbed Yu Wanlai’s sleeve in a panic, saying, “Don’t go!” Yu Wanlai was taken aback by his sudden stern and urgent tone. He quickly realized that his younger brother was just acting according to his kind-hearted personality set by the author—he couldn’t bear to see someone get hurt while trying to save him. That’s why Yu Qingyue was taking care of him after he woke up, but it didn’t mean he really considered him a brother. Naturally, he didn’t like Yu Wanlai casually touching him.

Yu Wanlai nodded, suddenly feeling a little bitter. He murmured softly, “Oh,” his voice laced with a hint of disappointment.

Yu Qingyue regretted his harsh words as soon as they left his mouth. He shouldn’t have been so fierce; he had just been too anxious… Seeing the slightly lonely figure of Yu Wanlai in the dim light, Yu Qingyue kneeled over to him, wrapped his arm around Yu Wanlai’s arm that was close to him, and gently took hold of Yu Wanlai’s large hand that hung over the bed. His voice softened, “Brother, I really am fine. I’m just tired. Let’s sleep, okay?”

Hearing Yu Qingyue’s voice suddenly turn sweet and coaxing, Yu Wanlai’s eyes widened in disbelief. He rubbed his itchy ear with his other hand, doubting if he had heard it wrong. But then he clearly felt Yu Qingyue holding his arm and giving it a little shake, so it was clear he wasn’t imagining things.

It might have been the first time doing something like this, and since they were so close, Yu Wanlai didn’t miss the tremor and awkwardness in his voice. He instantly felt like he was about to melt into a puddle. The slight feeling of grievance that had lasted for two seconds completely disappeared. His heart started pounding again, uncontrollably.

While Yu Wanlai was muttering to himself about why his heart was beating so fast again, he followed Yu Qingyue’s gentle pull and lay back down on the bed.

Yu Qingyue pulled the quilt over them both, then shifted slightly, creating some space between them. Yu Wanlai, lying on his side, paid close attention to Yu Qingyue’s movements. He furrowed his brow and, with one arm around Yu Qingyue’s waist, pulled him back closer to him. “Are you trying to roll off the bed? If you don’t want to be close to me, you might as well sleep on the caregiver’s bed.”

Yu Qingyue, who had already been half-asleep, suddenly heard what seemed like a tone of complaint, and he thought that Yu Wanlai was still upset about what had happened earlier. He didn’t dare to move again. Trying to steady his breath, he denied it, “No… I… I wasn’t thinking anything.” His last two words were too quiet for Yu Wanlai to hear.

Yu Qingyue, curled up in Yu Wanlai’s arms, blinked for a long time but couldn’t fall asleep. Yu Wanlai’s body smelled faintly of medicine, but he still liked it because it made him feel safe—like someone was putting him first.

It wasn’t until dawn that Yu Qingyue finally couldn’t keep his eyes open and fell asleep, even later than Yu Wanlai, who had already been sleeping for many days.

That morning, Yu Qingyue had already told his family that Yu Wanlai had been injured while saving him, so Qin Shuang had been coming to the hospital very frequently in recent days. However, because Yu Qingyue had been visiting the hospital so often, some of the company matters were being neglected, so Yu Cheng and Qin Shuang had to take care of things on their end.

Qin Shuang naturally had no objections. After all, the person who had saved her son was in the hospital, so it was only right to take care of him. However, every time Qin Shuang came, she couldn’t stay long. She’d ask the doctor about the recovery of the wounds, chat with Yu Qingyue for a bit, and then leave after a while.

This day, as usual, Qin Shuang brought the breakfast that Wang Ma had made and went to the hospital. Yu Qingyue, who would usually be awake by this time, didn’t respond to the knocks on his door. Thinking that he might be out, Qin Shuang pushed the door open by herself.

As soon as the door opened, she saw her son and Yu Wanlai squeezed together on the same bed, fast asleep, with Yu Qingyue nestled in Yu Wanlai’s arms. Qin Shuang immediately put down the food container in her hand, her face stiff, and walked to the bedside, gently tapping Yu Qingyue.

Yu Qingyue had only just fallen asleep when he was disturbed. He groaned a few times in irritation, “Yu Wanlai, don’t move!” It was at this moment that Qin Shuang realized something was wrong. She raised her gaze and looked at the other side. Yu Wanlai must have woken up, but this child hadn’t said anything to them.

She reached out and tapped Yu Qingyue again. Seeing that he was about to groan again, and not wanting to disturb Yu Wanlai, she immediately covered his mouth with her hand.

Yu Qingyue, waking up from the disturbance, opened his eyes helplessly and saw Qin Shuang standing at the bedside, looking stern. He was startled, his heart racing a few beats faster, and he immediately became alert. Just as he was about to explain, he saw Qin Shuang gesture for him to be quiet.

Yu Qingyue had no choice but to anxiously close his mouth, pull the blanket off, get out of bed, and follow Qin Shuang outside the room.

Qin Shuang turned around and pointed at Yu Qingyue. “When did you wake up?”

Seeing that there was no suspicion, Yu Qingyue let out a sigh of relief. He realized he had become overly paranoid, afraid of being found out by Yu Wanlai, by his parents, or by anyone else that he liked Yu Wanlai.

But he had also tried to distance himself from Yu Wanlai before, and it hadn’t worked. Ever since that night when Yu Wanlai had fallen unconscious, his heart had been gripped by extreme fear. The panic of possibly losing Yu Wanlai had overwhelmed him, and that was when he finally understood that he likely had no other choice.

“Last night. You guys left not long after,” Qin Shuang nodded understandingly. “You woke up then, why didn’t you tell us?”

“If the child finds out, he’ll think his dad doesn’t care about him.” Yu Qingyue didn’t respond, but when Yu Wanlai had finally woken up, he just wanted Yu Wanlai to focus on him, not diverting his attention to anyone else. Moreover, his parents had been very busy these past few days, and he had noticed. He lowered his gaze and softly answered, “I forgot for a moment.”

“Alright, then how did you end up sleeping in the same bed as him? Didn’t you know he was injured?” Qin Shuang’s words made Yu Qingyue’s heart tighten, and his breathing became erratic. It wasn’t until he heard the latter part of her sentence that he managed to calm down. He spoke in a low voice, “I knew. It won’t happen again.”

Seeing that her son was in a low mood, Qin Shuang didn’t press further, and the two of them went back to the hospital room. When they entered, the other person on the bed was already gone. Yu Qingyue looked around, and only when he heard the sound of water from the bathroom did he feel reassured and pull out a chair to sit down.

Yu Wanlai came out of the bathroom and saw Qin Shuang setting up the small table, placing the food containers on it. He quickly walked over with a smile, “Auntie, you’re here! Let’s set the food up.” As he said this, he gently patted Yu Qingyue on the shoulder, whispering, “Help out.”

Yu Qingyue: … Who is he listening to?

Qin Shuang waved her hand, sounding more cordial than usual, “No need, I’ll do it. You go wash up and get back to bed to rest. Let Xiao Yue take care of you, no need to be polite with him.”

“Thanks to you for everything this time,” Qin Shuang added.

Yu Wanlai waved his hand, “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it. He’s my brother. Helping him is what I should do. I used to be inconsiderate, but actually, I really like my little brother. I won’t bully him anymore.”

Taking the opportunity to express his feelings, and of course, mainly to show his affection to Yu Qingyue.

Yu Qingyue pouted and muttered unhappily, “Who’s your brother? I’m not your brother! Not in the past, and not in the future!”

It seemed that ever since that day, every time Yu Qingyue heard Yu Wanlai call him his little brother, he would furrow his brows and argue with him, getting irritated at the slightest thing.