Chapter 5

After washing up and lying in bed, Xu Zhou couldn’t fall asleep for a long time.

Qingchuang’s biggest crisis now had a solution, and the tension in his chest could finally ease.

But why had Shen Yan suddenly said those things to him? Was it a whim? Just to tease him? Hadn’t that “incident” been a kind of adult transaction?

Xu Zhou’s thoughts only grew more tangled.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed, breaking his train of thought.

He picked it up and saw a message from Shen Yan asking if he had slept.

Xu Zhou frowned and hesitated before replying with two simple words: Not yet.

Shen Yan: “What I said today was serious. Can you consider me?”

Xu Zhou’s knuckles trembled. After a long moment, he replied with a single question mark.

Shen Yan: “I like you. I’ve had a crush on you. So… can I pursue you?”

Reading the message, Xu Zhou felt a jolt through his chest. His mind was a chaotic mess, completely tangled.

For a moment, countless thoughts rushed through him, but one conclusion surfaced: he couldn’t offend this “god of wealth.”

He decided to seek advice from someone most experienced in these matters, quickly opening a chat with Lu Feng.

Xu Zhou: “Need to ask you something.”

Lu Feng: “Go ahead.”

Xu Zhou: “If someone said they like you and want to pursue you… how would you respond?”

Lu Feng, who had been at a bar chatting up women, put down his glass. His curiosity flared; he’d never seen Xu Zhou ask such a question before—there must be something going on.

He replied almost immediately.

Lu Feng: “Who is it? Someone who could make you ask me this? Do I know them? Are they good-looking?”

He stared at the phone screen, completely ignoring the women around him trying to flirt.

Xu Zhou: “What does that have to do with my question?”

Lu Feng: “Just trying to understand the situation ┐(‘～`；)┌”

Xu Zhou: “So what’s your advice?”

Lu Feng: “Say yes!”

Over the years, besides Lu Feng, Xu Zhou had almost no one in his personal life—just colleagues and business partners he had to deal with professionally.

Even when Lu Feng tried to set him up, Xu Zhou would always refuse. But despite Lu Feng’s questionable track record with relationships, he genuinely wanted his friend to be happy. He had witnessed Xu Zhou’s struggles and would be glad to see him with someone sincere.

Reading Lu Feng’s message, Xu Zhou frowned and set his phone aside on the nightstand.

He tossed back the covers, got out of bed, and pulled out a cigarette and lighter from the drawer. Opening the window, he lit a cigarette with practiced ease…

…

At seven in the morning, the alarm went off on schedule.

Xu Zhou groggily reached out to turn it off. His head throbbed, his eyes refused to open, and consciousness quickly slipped away again.

Two hours later, after making a dozen unanswered calls, Lu Feng felt like he was about to explode. Just as he was about to head over to Xu Zhou’s place, Xu Zhou returned the call.

Lu Feng exhaled in relief. “Finally! Why weren’t you answering all my calls?”

Struggling to sit up, Xu Zhou said, “I think I’ve got a fever. Handle things at the office; I’ll come by in the afternoon.”

“Fever? What did you do last night?” Lu Feng’s voice carried a teasing undertone.

Xu Zhou was speechless…

He hung up, touching his warm forehead. No, it can’t be… Shen Yan cleaned me up last night…

It must have been from the wind while smoking outside.

He ordered some fever medicine online and soon dozed off again.

After a few more hours, persistent doorbell ringing woke him. Groggy, he dragged himself up, assuming the medicine had arrived.

Shuffling to the door in pajamas, Xu Zhou barely cared about his appearance; he was too feverish to worry about that.

“Here’s the medicine,” a familiar voice said.

Xu Zhou looked up. “Shen Yan?”

No way… how would he know my floor?

He must be hallucinating from the fever.

Shaking his head to clear his mind only made him feel dizzy, and he stumbled forward. Shen Yan immediately caught him. Xu Zhou was scorching hot in his arms.

He was carried inside and placed on the bed. Xu Zhou blinked, still shocked. “Why are you here? And how do you even know my address?”

Shen Yan began unpacking the medicine. “Your friend told me…”

“Which friend?”

Shen Yan placed the medicine on the cabinet, noticed a cigarette butt in the trash, frowned, and tucked the blanket over Xu Zhou while checking his forehead. “Something like Lu….”

“I’ll boil some water; you lie down a bit longer,” he said, striding toward the door.

Xu Zhou took a deep breath and picked up his phone. Seeing countless missed calls and notifications, he closed his eyes for a moment.

First, he checked Shen Yan’s messages—about a dozen, mostly about arranging lunch and several calls.

Then he opened the chat with Lu Feng, who had been bombarding him with messages:

Lu Feng: “Wait… you know Shen Yan??? He actually came to your company? I must be blind…”
Lu Feng: “Now I understand why he signed the contract with us. You two already knew each other, and you didn’t tell me?!”
Lu Feng: “Damn, bro, you’re the real secret keeper.”
Lu Feng: “Impressive.jpg”
Lu Feng: “Tell me your relationship—how did he agree to cooperate with Qingchuang so quickly?”
Lu Feng: “……”

Xu Zhou: “We were classmates.”

Lu Feng: “I didn’t hear about him in college! That’s Shen Yan!! Even if classmates, that’s brag-worthy! But wait, how did your relationship suddenly get so close that he personally came to your company?”

Xu Zhou: “So you gave him my address?”

Lu Feng froze. When had he ever told Shen Yan his address? He had only mentioned he was home, and Shen Yan hadn’t even glanced at him before leaving.

Lu Feng sent a brief reply. Xu Zhou stared at the screen for a long time.

Shen Yan returned with a cup of water and held it to Xu Zhou’s lips. “Drink some water first, soothe your throat.”

Xu Zhou was slightly dazed but took the cup. “I can do it myself.”

Shen Yan: “I called the doctor. He’ll be here soon. Take the fever medicine first and rest. The kitchen made porridge—I’ll keep an eye on it. Call me if you need anything; I can hear you.”

Xu Zhou felt completely attended to and took a deep breath.

“No need for the doctor. I’ll go to the hospital myself later.”

Shen Yan paused at the door, glancing back. “Not a fan of hospitals, right?”

Xu Zhou froze—he had casually mentioned this before, and Shen Yan remembered.

“Lie down for now. Call me if you feel uncomfortable.”

“Okay…”

He finally fell asleep.

When he woke again, his hand had an IV drip. The doctor must have come. Shen Yan sat nearby on the small sofa, typing on his phone.

Xu Zhou looked up. Their eyes met, and he quickly looked away, embarrassed.

Shen Yan’s Adam’s apple moved. Xu Zhou, freshly awake, had a flushed face, sweat-damp hair sticking to his forehead, and half-closed eyes. Shen Yan couldn’t help but notice…

“I… want to shower. Can this be taken off?” Xu Zhou gestured to the IV.

“Wait. Can’t shower with a fever. After the IV, then.” Shen Yan left, returning soon with a small bowl. “Drink some porridge first.”

Xu Zhou was impatient. Sweating and sticky, his perfectionist tendencies were nearly overwhelmed.

“I want to shower.” Xu Zhou’s stubborn nature was well known to Shen Yan.

“Drink the porridge first.” Shen Yan fed him a spoonful.

Xu Zhou pouted, determined not to do anything else until he showered.

Shen Yan raised an eyebrow. “Sure you don’t want it?”

Perhaps due to the fever, Xu Zhou’s stubbornness flared. He closed his eyes.

Shen Yan set the bowl on the nightstand and lifted him up.

Xu Zhou opened his eyes at contact, trying to push him away, but weak from the fever and IV, he had no strength. His flushed face only deepened…

Seeing this, a dark thought crept into Shen Yan’s mind—he wanted to see him squirm.

One hand held his chin; the other held the spoon. Shen Yan’s eyes fixed on his lips. “Drink?”

The expression clearly said: If you don’t, I’ll kiss you. Xu Zhou twitched his lips.

“Drink.”