Yu Wanlai retracted his hand, initially so furious that he wanted to punch the bed, but before he could act, he suddenly noticed the redness around Yu Qingyue’s eyes, and the unshed tears lingering in them.

He immediately leaned forward, one hand supporting himself on the edge of the bed, while the other gently lifted Yu Qingyue’s face, carefully wiping away the tears under his eyes. “It’s okay, it’s okay, you still have your dad, we’ll just pretend this never happened. Don’t cry, okay? How can such beautiful eyes be used for crying?”

Yu Qingyue’s sadness suddenly stopped, leaving only the awkwardness of the tears that had already fallen. He realized that Yu Wanlai wasn’t mad at him, and he sighed in relief, but still asked, “…So, you’re not mad that I dragged you into this?”

Yu Wanlai replied with an “Mm,” then added, “Why would I be mad at you? This isn’t what you think, and you’re still so pitiful.”

Yu Qingyue’s mood lightened completely. Seeing that Yu Wanlai’s hand was still on his face and didn’t move away, he didn’t remind him. His eyelashes were slightly wet, clinging together, looking rather pitiful.

Yu Wanlai truly felt a sense of pity for Yu Qingyue. Yu Qingyue raised his chin slightly and placed his face in the palm of Yu Wanlai’s hand, staring at him without blinking. “Then come and hug me, and I’ll believe you’re not mad at me.”

Yu Wanlai raised his tone in surprise, “Huh?” He was confused, not understanding how these two things were related. He tried to explain, “Whether I hug you or not has nothing to do with whether I’m mad at you. I’m not mad at you. I chose to save you. How could I be mad at you?”

Yu Qingyue naturally knew that Yu Wanlai wanted to save him, but he didn’t want to hear that right now. He lowered his gaze, no longer looking at Yu Wanlai, his tone becoming dejected. “I see… You’re mad at me for causing you to be hospitalized, as I thought…”

Yu Wanlai immediately rushed to explain, “I’m not mad at you, really. I’m not lying to you.” In fact, he should be thanking him because otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the chance to see his parents again.

Yu Qingyue’s voice dropped, sounding somewhat wronged, “Then why won’t you hug me? You used to hug me.”

Yu Wanlai really wanted to cover Yu Qingyue’s mouth. Why was this person suddenly so difficult? This was practically slander!!! Helpless, he lowered his hand and grabbed Yu Qingyue’s arm, pulling him into his embrace with a strong tug.

However, it seemed that either Yu Wanlai was kneeling awkwardly, or his urgency made him pull too hard. He ended up pulling Yu Qingyue and causing both of them to fall onto the bed.

Yu Wanlai thought to himself that this might be the end for him, unsure if his injury could withstand the fall.

Yu Qingyue hadn’t expected a joke to turn out like this. His pupils contracted, and he quickly reached out to grab Yu Wanlai’s neck with one hand while the other supported under his neck, barely avoiding disaster.

Yu Wanlai, seeing that they were both fine, relaxed and smiled, looking up at the person above him with a teasing tone, “Come on, big brother will hug you.”

Yu Qingyue’s face flushed, his gaze darting around, not daring to look at Yu Wanlai. He hadn’t intended for it to end up like this. It was just… too much.

He scolded himself inside but still remained suspended above Yu Wanlai’s body, not moving for a long time.

Yu Wanlai rested his head on Yu Qingyue’s arm, his eyes full of amusement, enjoying seeing Yu Qingyue flustered and uncertain. He gently lifted both hands, wrapping them around Yu Qingyue’s waist, pulling him firmly into his embrace.

Yu Qingyue used all his strength to support Yu Wanlai’s head with his hands, and without anything to support his legs, he was already at his limit. With a gentle pull from Yu Wanlai, he couldn’t maintain his balance and collapsed onto him, their bodies tightly pressed together.

Yu Wanlai opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly felt a shift in the person above him. He paused for a moment, then looked up at Yu Qingyue.

Yu Wanlai: “…”

Ahhh! How is this fair?! He told him to take care of things or he’d cut them off, and now this person was passionately pressing against him! What a famous double standard!

Yu Qingyue also noticed this and nervously glanced at Yu Wanlai, carefully studying his expression. Seeing that there was no disgust on his face, he quietly sighed in relief. He pressed his palm against the bed and found a point of support with his legs, intending to get up immediately.

However, the next second, he wasn’t able to get up, and instead, he wanted to strangle Yu Wanlai. Yu Wanlai blinked, as if sensing the atmosphere wasn’t hot enough, his hand slid down past his waist and finally patted Yu Qingyue’s perky behind. He had patted it once before, but at that time, there had been more clothes, so it didn’t feel like anything. But now, Yu Qingyue was probably only wearing suit pants, so the sensation was especially clear—there was a bouncy, soft feeling.

Yu Wanlai couldn’t resist and gave it two more pats. This time, he seemed to hear the “slap, slap” sound, and he awkwardly coughed, speaking casually, “You’re being unreasonable now. Last time you scolded me and said you would cut me off, what’s this now?” He really wanted to ask if he could also cut something off, but after hesitating for a while, he didn’t dare say it.

Yu Qingyue exhaled, his head dropping weakly to rest on Yu Wanlai’s neck. He felt so conflicted—what should he do? Did Yu Wanlai’s behavior mean that he wouldn’t like him? Yu Wanlai thought he was still upset about earlier, so he reached out to lightly rub his back, mumbling, “Be good, little brother~ Don’t cry, okay? You still have your big brother, I’ll protect you!” If it really gets bad, just call me dad, I’d be okay with that too.

Yu Qingyue’s lips curled down, the warmth on his face fading immediately, and the romantic thoughts he had just moments ago disappeared completely. He gave the person beneath him a glance—was he really such an idiot? Yu Qingyue couldn’t believe that even though they weren’t actual siblings, Yu Wanlai still considered him a little brother.

Yu Wanlai didn’t see Yu Qingyue’s face and, seeing that he still wasn’t moving, wondered if he was shy. He tilted his head toward Yu Qingyue and pressed his soft cheek against him, not planning to pull away, only thinking that his face was so warm. He tried to comfort him, “…It’s okay, I’ve been through this age too. Young people, you know—ugh, no, that sounds like I’m old.” Yu Wanlai clicked his tongue, then continued, “Anyway, you don’t have to feel embarrassed about this, everyone is the same… Ahem, so how about you go to the bathroom and take care of it? I won’t laugh at you.” Besides, you’re the male lead in a romance novel, after all.

Yu Qingyue bit his lip. His feelings were a mix of sweetness and bitterness. On one hand, he was happy that Yu Wanlai didn’t dislike him despite everything, but on the other hand, he felt upset. Yu Wanlai seemed to treat him as if he weren’t even human.

He lightly nudged Yu Wanlai with his head, his breath warm as he whispered, “Big brother~ you…” He almost blurted out, “Can you help me?” but luckily, he stopped in time. He felt like this would be too much, like he was bullying Yu Wanlai.

At that moment, Yu Wanlai’s phone suddenly rang, breaking the strange atmosphere in the room. Yu Qingyue snapped back to his senses. He immediately got up from Yu Wanlai’s body, frowning in annoyance. He was going crazy! How could he have thought of saying something like that? His face flushed red as he quickly walked toward the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

Yu Wanlai stood up and glanced at Yu Qingyue, then grabbed his phone to answer the call. His milk tea had arrived. So, Yu Wanlai went out to pick it up, his head wrapped in a white bandage.

The delivery guy thought it was a family member ordering, but was surprised to see a patient with their head wrapped up. He couldn’t help but glance at him, thinking how strange the world was. Even in this condition, the guy was still thinking about drinking milk tea. How hungry could he be?

Yu Wanlai, feeling the admiration from the delivery guy, returned to the hospital room with two cups of milk tea. Hearing the sound of running water from the bathroom, Yu Wanlai’s face heated up.

Actually, he wasn’t as calm as he appeared. He still felt a bit embarrassed. But he couldn’t resist Yu Qingyue curling up in his arms, acting cute and asking him to hug him. He couldn’t say no to Yu Qingyue, especially when he called him “big brother” in that soft voice. His heart almost melted.

In the bathroom, Yu Qingyue splashed cold water on his face a few times, and the heat finally began to subside. His rapidly beating heart gradually returned to normal.

After taking some time to calm himself down, Yu Qingyue was finally able to return to the hospital room with a composed expression.

Yu Wanlai had just taken a couple of sips from his milk tea when he heard the bathroom door open. He looked up in surprise at Yu Qingyue, seeing that his expression had returned to normal. His gaze unintentionally shifted downward.

That was fast, wasn’t it?!!!

Yu Qingyue’s breath became erratic again. What kind of look was that? And what was he staring at? If you’re not going to help, could you at least not tease him?

He ground his teeth, and coldly said, “I didn’t!” He wasn’t in heat; there was no way he would do something like this in a hospital. Yu Wanlai instantly withdrew his gaze and nodded, saying “Oh” in a tone that seemed to suggest he had an epiphany, as if he had understood the ultimate truth of life. His self-control was so strong; no wonder he was able to stay chaste for the female lead.

Yu Qingyue furrowed his brows, still feeling like Yu Wanlai wasn’t thinking the right things. “What are you thinking?” Yu Wanlai swallowed his milk tea and casually answered, “I was thinking of you…” How come you’re still single? But he suddenly realized that he had started thinking about himself, and his face turned red, so he hesitated to finish his sentence.

Yu Qingyue heard this and, although he knew Yu Wanlai didn’t mean it that way, was still pleased. His earlobe flushed with a pink hue, and his lips unconsciously curved up as he took a few steps to sit down in front of Yu Wanlai. Yu Wanlai pointed to the other cup of milk tea placed on the nightstand. “Here, it’s the one I promised to get for you. Drink it.” The one he got for Yu Qingyue was a new chestnut flavor for the New Year, while he himself had chosen a lighter, more refreshing one since he couldn’t handle too much sugar right now. Look at how good this “big brother” was—being called “big brother” by the male lead, how lucky.

Yu Qingyue took a sip, and realized it tasted different from the previous ones. But it was still delicious. He glanced at the label, and the corner of his mouth twitched. What a terrible name—long and hard to pronounce.

That afternoon, Yu Wanlai was lying in bed, taking a nap. Suddenly, the door to the hospital room was pushed open with a loud “bang,” startling Yu Wanlai. He quickly sat up halfway and looked toward the door, only to see Jiang Cheng stumbling in loudly.

Jiang Cheng shouted as he rushed toward Yu Wanlai, “Wow, boss, boss, how are you? I didn’t even know you were hospitalized!” Jiang Cheng knocked him back, and he almost fell onto the bed. Fortunately, Jiang Cheng was small enough now that Yu Wanlai managed to steady himself.

Yu Wanlai lightly tapped Jiang Cheng on the head, saying, “Tsk, what are you doing? Didn’t I tell you not to rush at me? Do you want a beating?” Jiang Cheng let out two “ow” sounds, covering his head, “It hurts! I forgot, why did you hit me so hard?”

Yu Wanlai rolled his eyes at Jiang Cheng, not paying attention to his exaggerated acting. He hadn’t hit him hard at all. Suddenly noticing another figure in the room, he looked up.

Bai Jian reached out a hand and gently rubbed Jiang Cheng’s head. When she noticed Yu Wanlai’s puzzled gaze, she spoke, looking slightly embarrassed. She had been so worried about Jiang Cheng that she had forgotten to introduce herself earlier.

“Hello! Big Brother Wanlai, I’m Bai Jian. Thanks to you for saving me before. I haven’t found the chance to visit you until now. I hope you won’t hold it against me, and this time, I came quickly with Chengzi.”

After hearing her introduction, Yu Wanlai finally understood why she seemed so familiar. But when had this kid gotten so close to the female lead? She was even calling her by a nickname now. He shook his head, his tone distant. “It’s okay, actually, it was mainly Jiang Cheng who found you.”

Bai Jian also found a chair and sat down, unconsciously sitting very close to Jiang Cheng, her hand lightly resting around his waist. It was almost like marking her territory, but neither Yu Wanlai nor Jiang Cheng noticed her subtle move.