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Because his work schedule ended early, Qi Xing's accompanying subordinates returned to Huaicheng in the afternoon and left him alone in the capital. He had indeed made an appointment but it wasn't with Chen Chang; it was with a cousin who worked here. They had agreed that since his cousin had a holiday for New Year's, he would show him around for a few days.
After picking up his luggage and checking out of the hotel, Qi Xing took a taxi directly to his cousin's house. He couldn't believe that Ye Xingzhou could still find him with such ease.
His cousin had to work in the afternoon, so he sent the password for the fingerprint lock via WeChat and allowed Qi Xing to enter first. He would come to pick him up for dinner after work.
Feeling bored, Qi Xing played mobile games for two hours. In the evening, his cousin called. He say that his girlfriend's family had suddenly encountered an emergency and he had to accompany her back to her hometown to deal with it. They were already on their way to the airport, so he told Qi Xing to make himself at home and if he couldn't find anyone to hang out with, he could return to Huaicheng early.
Qi Xing: "… Fine then."
After hanging up, he slumped onto the sofa and lamented his bad luck. There was no other choice; he would have to wait until tomorrow to return to Huaicheng. For tonight, he would have to make do here.
When his Grandpa's call came in, Qi Xing was eating the spicy hot pot he had ordered while watching TV. The old man immediately asked where he was.
Qi Xing slurped a mouthful of the spicy noodles that nearly brought him to tears and said, "In the capital. Didn't I tell you a couple of days ago that I was here to help my dad with some business? I was supposed to hang out with my cousin but my cousin's wife had an emergency and they went back to her hometown. Now, I'm all alone here."
Grandpa: "So you're at the hotel or at your cousin's house?"
Qi Xing: "At my cousin's house, why are you asking this?"
His Grandpa chuckled and said, "It's not that I want to ask but that Young Master Ye just called me. He said he ran into you on a business trip to the capital and that you two had a falling out. You got angry and ran off then he couldn't reach you anymore. He was worried something might have happened to you and asked me to check on you."
"Cough—" Qi Xing choked on a piece of chili and began to cough violently.
It took him a while to gulp down half a bottle of cola to recover. On the other end, his Grandpa laughed at him: "How old are you that you still choke on food? And why are they reacting so strongly to Ye Xingzhou's name? What did he do to you? You two are quite interesting, huh? But from the tone of his voice, he seems to genuinely care about you. What exactly is your relationship with him?"
"I have nothing to do with him," Qi Xing said disdainfully. "He's just a lunatic. I don't want anything to do with him. Anyway, Grandpa, don't worry about it. I'm fine; I just don't want to deal with him. If he bothers you again, just block him, okay? Don't pay him any mind."
His Grandpa still laughed: "Alright then but since your cousin isn't around, you should come back early."
Qi Xing mumbled a few affirmatives and ended the call.
Ye Xingzhou had just finished his work schedule and was on his way back to his residence when he received Mr. Chen's call.
"Qi Xing is fine. He’s hanging out with his cousin these days, so you don't need to worry. Let him have his fun."
Ye Xingzhou frowned and then he heard Mr. Chen casually ask him, "Xingzhou, what is your relationship with that Teacher Lin?"
Ye Xingzhou replied calmly, "Just a regular friend."
Chen Lao: "And with Qi Xing?"
Ye Xingzhou: "For now, just friends."
His meaning didn't need to be explicitly stated as someone like Mr. Chen would certainly understand.
"I didn't expect you to have such intentions," Mr. Chen's tone was hard to read as he was neither approving nor disapproving and just reminding him, "Although Qi Xing loves to have fun, he has his limits and won't play recklessly."
Ye Xingzhou replied steadily, "I feel the same way."
Mr. Chen: "That's good then. I won't interfere in your matters and I won't tell his parents for now. But since he doesn't want to see you right now, let him be. Don't push him too hard."
Ye Xingzhou was silent for a moment before responding, "Understood."
After hanging up, Ye Xingzhou closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again, his expression remained calm.
He instructed his secretary in the front seat, "Qi Ronghua mentioned at the dinner table that he has a nephew who is an associate professor in the Chinese department at Jing University. Check their school’s official website for any matching resumes and see if anyone here knows him to find out his home address."
After finishing his meal, Qi Xing continued playing games and watching TV. Less than half an hour later, he suddenly felt waves of discomfort in his stomach and followed by pain.
It then quickly escalated to vomiting and diarrhea. He wasn't sure if it was the grilled fish he had for lunch or the spicy hot pot he had for dinner but he felt terrible.
After crawling out of the bathroom for the sixth time, he was nearly exhausted. While he scrolled through his phone contacts, he realized that he didn't have a single acquaintance in the capital. Finally, he grit his teeth and unblocked Ye Xingzhou then dialed his number.
"Hey, Ye Xingzhou, where are you? Come help me. I think I'm dying..."
Hearing Qi Xing's weak voice on the phone, Ye Xingzhou interrupted him in a deep voice: "Where are you? What happened?"
"At my cousin's house," Qi Xing quickly provided an address. "I think I ate something bad."
Ye Xingzhou paused for a moment and said, "I'll be there soon."
Qi Xing suspected that this bastard was holding back laughter but at that moment, he didn't even have the energy to curse. He could only say, "Hurry up; I really feel like I'm dying."
Ye Xingzhou: "Just wait."
Qi Xing thought he would have to wait a long time but Ye Xingzhou arrived in less than ten minutes. When he heard the doorbell, he was still dazed and struggling to get to the door to open it and it really was Ye Xingzhou.
"How did you get here so fast..."
Seeing Qi Xing's weak and helpless appearance, Ye Xingzhou furrowed his brow and supported him: "Let's go to the hospital."
Qi Xing shook his head: "No, I can't walk."
Ye Xingzhou simply picked him up.
Qi Xing had no strength to struggle.
He rested his head on Ye Xingzhou's shoulder and let his body go limp but his mouth couldn't stop: "I'm so tall; can you really carry me? Your place is pretty far from here, so how did you get here so quickly? I can't take it anymore; I feel like I'm going to throw up again. I'm going to throw up on you."
Ye Xingzhou hurriedly walked towards the elevator with his voice low: "Hold it in."
As if he could hold it in, his stomach was churning like a storm and if he hadn't just thrown up everything, he would have definitely thrown up on this bastard.
After the ordeal, they arrived at the hospital, and it turned out to be acute gastroenteritis caused by food poisoning and requiring an IV drip.
In the emergency infusion room, Qi Xing shrank his head into the heavy hood of his down jacket and leaned back in the chair with his eyes closed. He refused to communicate with Ye Xingzhou, who had returned with medicine and sat down beside him.
Although it was true that Ye Xingzhou had brought him to the hospital, but if he had any other choice, he wouldn't have sought out this person.
When things go wrong, even drinking cold water can get stuck in your teeth.
"Last night, you were out partying, then for lunch, you had grilled fish from a small restaurant and then tonight you had what? Spicy hot pot?" Ye Xingzhou's voice was slightly cold. He had already seen the takeout packaging thrown at the door when he knocked. Qi Xing had put himself through this trouble at the hospital and it was all self-inflicted.
Qi Xing didn't want to respond to him. Ye Xingzhou could say whatever he wanted.
"With a bad stomach, you shouldn't eat like this anymore."
Qi Xing impatiently listened to his nonsense and pulled the elastic band of his hood down hard to cover his entire face.
Go ahead and talk to the air.
Ye Xingzhou finally fell silent but didn't leave. He leaned against him quietly while looking at his phone.
Qi Xing silently scoffed. He was too lazy to pay him any attention and just closed his eyes and soon dozed off.
He slept for over an hour and when he woke up, the IV needle had already been removed and the other patients in the infusion room had left.
Rubbing his sore neck, Qi Xing sat up while being dazed for a couple of seconds and thinking that Ye Xingzhou had probably left. Just as he sighed in relief, the man appeared again at the door of the infusion room then came in and asked, "Can you leave now?"
Qi Xing mumbled, "Why are you still here?" He rubbed his stomach as he was still feeling uncomfortable but it was better than before.
"I just went outside to make a call," Ye Xingzhou explained.
Qi Xing ignored him and Ye Xingzhou continued, "I called your dad to tell him you have acute gastroenteritis. I'll take care of you for the next couple of days and once you're better, we can go back to Huaicheng."
Qi Xing was speechless.
Was this person in elementary school? Always reporting to others. First to his grandfather then to his dad. Was that all he could do?
"Come to my place," Ye Xingzhou said.
Without any hesitation, Qi Xing refused: "Not going."
He had nearly twisted his ankle climbing over the wall this morning; he would be a fool to walk into a trap again.
"With you like this, I won't touch you. Just come to my place," Ye Xingzhou insisted.
Qi Xing sneered: "I'm this weak and sick yet, you still want to touch me? If you did, then you'd really be a beast then. Well, although you already are. Plus, I'm vomiting and having diarrhea; if you still want to touch me then you're something else."
Ye Xingzhou silently looked at him for two seconds while saying nothing: "Let's go."
After getting in the car, Qi Xing again insisted on returning to his cousin's house. Just then, his phone rang; it was Qi Ronghua calling.
Seeing the caller ID, Qi Xing felt a headache coming on. Reluctantly, he answered.
Qi Ronghua first asked how he was doing and why he suddenly had gastroenteritis. Qi Xing stammered that he had eaten something bad but he had received an IV and was feeling better but he still couldn't escape a lecture from his dad.
Then his dad changed the subject, saying, "How did you run into Ye Xingzhou over there? He said he took you to the hospital?"
"Ah, you already know," Qi Xing replied, "Cousin's wife had an emergency and my cousin went back to her hometown with her. I couldn't find anyone else, so I had to ask Ye Xingzhou for help since he happened to be here."
Qi Ronghua: "Well, having someone to look after you is good. If there's nothing wrong, your mom and I won't go over. Just stay there for a few more days and once you're better, come back. Since you've already troubled him, just continue to trouble Ye Xingzhou for a couple more days. I'll thank him in person when you return."
Qi Xing had nothing to say; it was useless no matter what he said.
After a few perfunctory replies, he hung up the phone and leaned back in his seat while staring out the window in a daze.
"Come to my place; I won't lock the door again."
The person beside him suddenly spoke as the car stopped at a traffic light.
Qi Xing was taken aback then turned to look. Ye Xingzhou was frowning at him with his voice somewhat stiff but indeed carrying a hint of concession.
Qi Xing stared at him for a few seconds and scoffed: "Young Master Ye, what are you saying? If you don't lock the door, should I be grateful to you?"
"Don't climb over walls next time; it's dangerous," Ye Xingzhou reminded him.
Qi Xing: "Then just don't lock the door!"
Ye Xingzhou: "I said I won't lock it again."
Fine, he had been convinced.
"I mean," Qi Xing raised his voice, "I was just having dinner with my high school classmate. Look at how worked up you are! You're acting like a mad dog. Are you secretly in love with me and getting jealous?"
He had prepared for Ye Xingzhou to use the same old lines to shut him down but Ye Xingzhou countered, "If I said yes, what would you do?"
Qi Xing was momentarily speechless. Ye Xingzhou's strange tone and sudden intense gaze gave him a bad feeling. What would happen if this person said yes?
Of course, he would run as far away as possible as he couldn't be friends with a hookup anymore. Even though he had originally planned to kick this person to the curb today.
After a moment of awkward silence, Ye Xingzhou looked away then pressed the gas pedal again and spoke in a calm voice: "I find casual hookups dirty."
Qi Xing was taken aback then realizing what he meant and suddenly felt his previously calmed stomach churn again: "You find it dirty? I haven't found you dirty! If you find it dirty, why are you looking for me? When exactly did I have a casual hookup?!"
"Having dinner is also a hookup," Ye Xingzhou replied coolly. "Was that grilled fish place not dirty? If it wasn't dirty, would you have ended up in the hospital tonight?"
Qi Xing: "…"
The breath he had just taken was abruptly cut off. What the hell, that grilled fish place was dirty.
"Ha, Young Master Ye, I didn't know you had a sense of humor."
Ye Xingzhou reached out to rub Qi Xing's uncomfortable stomach a couple of times before withdrawing his hand as Qi Xing would swat it away: "The doctor said to drink more warm water when you go back. He prescribed you two kinds of medicine and you need to take them. For the next few days, you can only eat bland and soft food. And avoid spicy, cold and stimulating foods from now on."
Qi Xing felt a wave of darkness before his eyes; it would be more merciful to stab him with a knife.
"Look outside," Ye Xingzhou suddenly said.
Qi Xing instinctively turned his head as his gaze fell on the car window. The neon lights of the surrounding skyscrapers rapidly flickered and intertwined, converging on the LED display outside the tallest building ahead, where a countdown suddenly lit up.
"3, 2, 1..."
The crowd, near and far, erupted into a huge cheer, mixed with shouts of "Happy New Year."
Qi Xing was stunned for a moment before realizing that tonight was New Year's Eve with neon lights everywhere. No wonder there were so many people on the street in the middle of the night.
"Happy New Year."
Ye Xingzhou's voice was slow and deep, almost sounding like something he couldn't say. Qi Xing looked at him in surprise but seeing him focused on driving, for a moment, he even thought that the words weren't directed at him.
But there were only the two of them in the car.
Suddenly, he found himself at a loss for words. He hugged his arms tightly around himself in his down jacket while lying back in the seat and silently turned his face away to continue looking out the window. But he no longer mentioned wanting Ye Xingzhou to take him elsewhere.
The car slowly navigated around the crowds celebrating in the streets until the noise was completely left behind and the night returned to silence. But before Qi Xing closed his eyes again, he finally mumbled, "Happy New Year."