A midnight commotion

Cheng Yue lowered his eyes to the rimless glasses in his hand, his thoughts unreadable.

Unlike those domineering CEOs who wore glasses as accessories, our Professor Ji really was nearsighted.

His prescription was a little over minus three. Going without glasses wouldn't interfere with his daily life, but Ji Huaijin couldn't be bothered to spend time on laser surgery, so he had simply kept wearing them.

The sun blazed overhead, beginning to drift toward the treetops. The birds downstairs had fallen silent, and not a soul had appeared for quite some time.

Cheng Yue sat beside the bed, propping his head up with one hand as it bobbed with sleep.

He had worked the afternoon shift yesterday and hadn't gotten home until after one in the morning. After only a few hours of sleep, he had headed to the market early, and now his overdue drowsiness had finally caught up with him.

Perhaps because he had something on his mind, he kept jerking his eyes open just after falling asleep, checking the man on the bed and then the IV bag.

The nurse came in right on schedule. Her earlier instructions had only been a precaution, mainly because this Mr. Ji didn't like being watched.

Over the past two days, whenever they came to finish up, the patient had already pulled out the needle himself, leaving the nurses speechless at having their work stolen.

They had grumbled about it in private, too. Everyone staying in this building was someone important, and they had seen plenty of workaholics, but very few took it as far as Mr. Ji.

He had been here for less than three days in total, and every time they checked his room, he was awake. He had even delayed his medication and injections for the sake of work.

They had mentioned it to the gentleman who had brought him in, hoping the patient would follow medical advice, rest more, and spend less time on his computer and his work.

Second Young Master Lin had merely smiled faintly, saying everything without a word.

Cheng Yue had woken up ten minutes earlier and was staring unblinkingly at the IV bag hanging overhead, ready to press the call button at any moment.

As soon as the nurse pushed the door open, he hurriedly gestured for her to keep quiet.

Changing the IV bag took less than five seconds, without a single sound. The young nurse took the empty bag and tiptoed out.

Just as she closed the door, she caught a glimpse through the gap of the man who had been keeping watch gently pulling the blanket higher.

"How is he?"

"Asleep."

The young nurse sitting at the computer looked astonished. "That's odd. Why is he suddenly so cooperative today?"

Nothing's happened to him, has it?

The nurse who had just left the room threw away the empty IV bag, squeezed out some sanitizer, and carefully rubbed it over her hands. Remembering what she had just seen, she suddenly smiled.

"Maybe there's someone with him who puts him at ease."

Ji Huaijin was still sleeping soundly when the second IV bag finished. Cheng Yue pressed over the needle site gently enough not to wake him, only letting go once he was sure it wouldn't bleed again.

He took out his phone and checked the time. It was past three in the afternoon, and he still had a night shift to work. If he went home now, he could squeeze in another nap.

The man on the bed hadn't even changed position the entire time. Cheng Yue looked around, then picked up the cup from the bedside table, filled it with hot water, and put it back before slipping silently out of the room.

What he didn't know was that, as the door closed, the man he thought was fast asleep slowly opened his eyes.

Ji Huaijin turned his gaze toward the cup on the bedside table, wisps of steam rising from it. The tenderness overflowing in his eyes was like a cool breeze sweeping through the summer heat.

That evening, Cheng Yue had barely reached the east gate when someone called out to him.

"That friend who came looking for you last time left this here. He said to give it to you."

The man had meant to remind Cheng Yue that day, but after being assigned to another post the next day, he had forgotten all about it. Seeing it again today had jogged his memory.

Looking at the familiar wooden liquor box, Cheng Yue sighed helplessly and reached out to take it.

As the weather grew hotter, the residential complex was no longer as peaceful late at night as it had once been.

Cheng Yue had just put the liquor in his locker and hadn't even finished changing when a racket came through his radio.

Who knew which of them had nothing better to do? Someone was arguing at the top of their lungs, and the resident geniuses on their security team had actually started broadcasting it live.

"This lady's in the wrong, but she's sure got a loud voice. Talk about firepower!"

"Tsk, this girl's no good at this. If you're going to argue, argue! What's the point of crying?"

By the time he finished changing, Cheng Yue had pieced together what had happened.

One was a socially anxious young woman who had come out to walk her dog late at night when no one was around. The other was a mother coming home with her child after a movie.

They had run into each other on the way back. The young woman's dog was a Labrador, and as soon as she spotted someone in the distance, she pulled its leash tight and crowded it up against the flower bed.

The main paths in the complex were five meters wide. As long as neither side bothered the other, there should have been no problem.

But whether this woman had a bad temper or was possessed by something, no one knew. As she passed, she suddenly snapped, "Are you crazy? Who walks a dog in the middle of the night?"

It would have been fine if she hadn't said anything. The young woman had kept the dog completely hidden, but the moment the mother mentioned it, her seven-year-old daughter darted over.

As luck would have it, the dog poked its head out at the noise. Whether the little girl was frightened or something else, she stumbled backward two steps and landed on her bottom.

That really stirred up a hornet's nest.

It was the middle of the night, when everyone should have been asleep, yet the surrounding windows were packed with people who never passed up a spectacle.

"I'm telling you! If you don't deal with this dog today, I'll deal with you tomorrow!"

Good grief. Anyone who didn't know better would think you served some almighty immortal.

With his radio clipped to his uniform, Cheng Yue walked to the center of the commotion, utterly exasperated.

To be fair, five minutes ago he had still been enjoying the joke. Five minutes later, once he learned it was happening in his assigned area, he couldn't keep smiling anymore.

"Ma'am, if there's a problem, let's talk it through. Don't shout. Your child's right here."

Perhaps Cheng Yue looked authoritative enough that she mistook him for a junior supervisor on the security team, because she became even more animated. Without clearly explaining what had happened, she demanded that they resolve it for her, or else she would take up the weapon of the law to protect herself.

Cheng Yue and the onlookers: "..."

What a joke. The girl has all the proper paperwork and hasn't broken any rules. What are you going to use against her? The weapon of the law? With the way you're carrying on, you'd better worry about getting yourself hauled in for questioning.

The girl walking the dog was crying so hard she could barely breathe. Even so, she remembered to keep the dog hidden behind her so it wouldn't frighten anyone.

The woman seemed to be the sort who got carried away in front of an audience. As more and more people came downstairs to gather around, she only puffed herself up further and tried harder to tear the other girl down.

"A young woman out in the middle of the night instead of staying home, claiming she's walking her dog? I bet you're doing some kind of shady business!"

The entire complex erupted at those words.

Argue all you want, but what right did you have to insult someone? The girl had barely said a word from beginning to end, while you kept hopping around like a flea.

Most people in this upscale complex had manners. There were things they couldn't say in front of her daughter, so they held themselves back and only criticized her for being so hurtful.

But some of the younger residents weren't bound by those moral restraints. They pushed open their windows, loudly gave her a taste of her own medicine, then quickly shut them again.

"Aren't you a woman too? What are you doing out in the middle of the night, then? Picking up clients?"