Picked him up

Shen Lian hung up sheepishly. For the first time, Li Yi saw apprehension on his face.

Shen Lian muttered, "So I lost my phone and didn't contact him right away. Did he have to get that angry?"

Even now, Shen Lian had no idea those two videos had spread everywhere.

Unable to reach them for the moment, Hu Kailan considered his options and kept suppressing the trending topics. Now was not the time to court publicity.

On the phone, Chu Yilan had asked for Shen Lian's exact location. They waited at the shelter for just over ten minutes, and after Shen Lian's fifth sneeze, a black car stopped outside.

The man who stepped out of the passenger seat spotted him immediately. He strode over and said politely, "Mr. Shen, Mr. Xu sent me to pick you up."

Shen Lian nodded. "All right. Sorry for the trouble."

Shen Lian carried the little girl into the back seat and asked for a clean blanket to dry her hair. "Don't catch a cold, okay?"

The little girl still said nothing. After a moment, she shook her head lightly.

When they reached an upscale hotel, Shen Lian did not see Xu Jingge. He was shown to a room, where his first order of business was a hot shower. He threw his clothes into the washing machine beforehand, and by the time he came out and drank a cup of hot coffee in his bathrobe, they were more or less dry.

Li Yi and Jiang You were well looked after, too. The little girl stayed with Jiang You; she had stopped crying by then and fallen into an exhausted sleep.

Shen Lian changed and dozed on the sofa for a while. Then he heard a noise and got up to open the door. When he saw Chang Qing, he thought he must still be dreaming.

"Mr. Chang?"

"Mm." Chang Qing looked Shen Lian up and down. "Are you all right?"

"Everything's fine."

Chang Qing took Shen Lian to the third floor for something to eat. Even then, Shen Lian was still bewildered. Chang Qing had come?

Once they sat down, Chang Qing seemed to read his confusion and explained, "Jingge's busy coordinating supplies and won't be able to get here for a while. When I heard it was you, I came straight over."

There was a lot to unpack in that, and Shen Lian pondered it.

Mr. Xu, Jingge... Xu Jingge? Shen Lian thought he had seen him in the financial magazines Chu Yilan often read. Judging by Chang Qing's relaxed, familiar tone, their relationship was no ordinary one.

Shen Lian did not pry. He simply smiled and thanked him.

There were no elaborate dishes. A steaming bowl of Chicken Shred Clear Soup Noodles did him more good than anything else. Once he had eaten his fill, Shen Lian remembered to ask the waiter to send servings to Li Yi, Jiang You, and the little girl as well.

Shen Lian kept coughing intermittently. Chang Qing frowned. "Have you caught a chill?"

Shen Lian did not give it much thought. "Probably not."

"You braved the wind and rain, then got into the water to save someone. Don't take it lightly. I'll have someone bring you some medicine in a bit."

Shen Lian looked up. "How did you know, Mr. Chang?"

Chang Qing met Shen Lian's eyes for two seconds, looking somewhat surprised. "Someone filmed you. Who in the industry doesn't know by now?"

Shen Lian: "???"

"Mr. Chang, could I borrow your phone for a moment?"

Shen Lian took the phone without another word and logged straight into Weibo.

His notifications showed 99+, and a quick glance through his private messages revealed almost nothing but praise. Shen Lian went to his Super Topic Square and immediately saw the videos people kept bumping to the top.

After watching them, Shen Lian fell silent.

He finally understood why Chu Yilan had been so furious.

Seeing Shen Lian's conflicted expression, Chang Qing said, "That was dangerous. Be more careful next time. But it isn't necessarily a bad thing for you."

Of course Shen Lian understood what Chang Qing meant. But when he rushed out to save someone, publicity and attention had never crossed his mind. With a life at stake, what did any of that matter?

Yet just briefly putting himself in Chu Yilan's shoes and imagining how he must have felt watching those videos sent a chill down his spine.

Chu Yilan had not been joking. He really wanted to kill him.

After a little more conversation, Shen Lian returned to his room to rest. A waiter brought cold medicine, and he took it according to the instructions before lying down in bed with the old phone he had borrowed from Chang Qing.

There was no SIM card, but with an internet connection, he could use it just fine.

He tapped Chu Yilan's pitch-black WeChat avatar and sent a sticker sticking its tongue out.

Then he waited ten minutes. No reply.

What should I do? Shen Lian was at a loss. This was not something a bouquet or a few sweet words could smooth over.

Wrapped in the quilt, Shen Lian racked his brain. Without noticing, he began to grow warmer, yet a chill seeped through his bones. Perhaps he was coming down with a cold. He burrowed farther down, and soon his consciousness grew hazy.

Shen Lian slept like the dead. He had no idea when the rain stopped. Rescue teams reached every district, and apart from more than twenty injuries, there were no deaths.

Online, everyone expressed relief and offered well wishes.

Only after arriving in Lin City did Chu Yilan see the sticker Shen Lian had sent.

Xu Jingge had already called to tell him they had picked Shen Lian up. Now Chu Yilan brushed his thumb lightly over the phone screen, his taut nerves settling.

Yang Bin led the way, bringing thirty-two truckloads of supplies with him.

Xu Jingge was one of Lin City's "outstanding entrepreneurs." Naturally, he went straight to the front lines when something like this happened. On the phone, he had mentioned how difficult it was to coordinate supplies, so Chu Yilan had taken care of it in one go.

With Yang Bin handling the supplies, there was nothing to worry about. Chu Yilan headed to the hotel with Sun Binghe.

What a coincidence, Special Assistant Sun thought. He would be seeing Mr. Shen again so soon.

Poor Mr. Shen was aching all over, his throat burning.

He was stubborn enough not to breathe a word of it.

Outside the room, Chu Yilan ran into Chang Qing, who had just arrived.

Chu Yilan did not notice it himself, but Chang Qing saw his expression darken at the sight of him. Possessiveness, mingled with aggression, seeped from his eyes.

"Shen Lian belongs to Chu Yilan from Qu City. It's rare for Chu to ask a favor, so I'll oblige him."

Xu Jingge's words echoed in his ears. Taking in the other man's imposing presence, Chang Qing understood. "Mr. Chu? I came to see how Teacher Shen was doing."

Chu Yilan narrowed his eyes. "You are...?"

"Chang Qing."

The instant he heard that name, Chu Yilan's hostility subsided. He gave a slight nod, entered the passcode, and pushed the door open.

Chang Qing considered it for a moment and stayed outside.

On the way there, Chu Yilan had made up his mind. He was going to pin Shen Lian down and give him a beating-preferably one he would remember for the rest of his life.

Less than a minute later, just as Chang Qing decided to leave, someone kicked the room door open. He turned and saw Chu Yilan emerging with Shen Lian bundled tightly in a quilt in his arms. The young man had one arm around Chu Yilan's neck, while his other hand slipped out of the quilt, revealing slender, pale knuckles.

Chang Qing was startled. He had been fine that afternoon.

Without a word, Chu Yilan strode away.

Sun Binghe had just opened his phone, intending to check in on Shen Lian's Super Topic and complete tasks for his boss, when he saw his boss coming down with someone in his arms. Without a word, he put the car in gear and opened the door. Once Chu Yilan was settled, he hit the accelerator and sped off.

Sun Binghe glanced in the rearview mirror. His boss carefully lowered his head and checked the temperature of the person in his arms.

"Chu Yilan..." Shen Lian mumbled.

"I'm here."

"You can touch my waist... don't be mad anymore."

Chu Yilan: "..."

Sun Binghe: "..."