Nan Qing slept on and off for several days.
Perhaps it was the medication, or perhaps he had been too badly frightened, but he never slept well. Whenever he closed his eyes, he dreamed of the horrific scene of being crushed by a billboard in his previous life, then woke with a start, again and again.
But every time he woke with fear still lingering, a broad, solid embrace gathered him close, gentle kisses brushed his forehead, and a low voice, like Sanskrit chants from the depths of the sea, soothed him into quiet again and again.
Nan Qing could not remember how many times he had startled awake in Huo Yuzhou's arms, or how many times he had been coaxed back to sleep.
He was terrified of being abandoned.
But Huo Yuzhou had not left him behind even once.
When his awareness finally cleared again, it was a bright, sunny morning.
Wearing wireless earbuds, Huo Yuzhou was in a video conference with the senior executives of one of his companies.
Nan Qing slowly opened his eyes, watching the vast gray dome overhead sharpen from a blur as Huo Yuzhou's voice reached his ears.
Something about "market share," something about "next quarter." Before Nan Qing's brain could catch up, his eyes had already turned toward him.
The man leaning against the bedside wore a dark blue shirt. His stern, cold features were sharply defined and handsome. Without a smile, he exuded an aloofness that kept everyone at a distance.
Propped against the bed, the young man blinked his long lashes, staring at him in a slight daze.
Huo Yuzhou happened to glance his way and caught sight of a pretty little face, still bleary with sleep and not fully awake.
A smile surfaced in Huo Yuzhou's eyes. He pushed his laptop a little farther away, then scooped him into his arms out of habit.
His long fingers patted him gently, as though he were a child startled awake by a nightmare, and even his voice was especially soft.
"It's still early, baby."
"Go back to sleep."
The executives in the conference room, who had been holding their breath and waiting to be scolded, were thunderstruck by that "baby."
They exchanged looks, then stole glances at the large screen.
Unfortunately, they could see nothing, not even their boss's face, which was usually as terrifying as a living King of Hell.
He had probably forgotten to mute his microphone. The general manager presiding over the meeting hesitated, unsure whether President Huo had really forgotten or had instructions to give them shortly.
In that brief moment of hesitation, rustling came from the other side of the screen, followed by an unfamiliar voice, slightly hoarse with sleep, its final syllables soft and drawn out.
"But I'm not sleepy anymore..."
The man gave a low chuckle, then sincerely praised the child who had slept until the sun was high.
"How are you so hardworking, baby? You even managed to get up this early."
His languid, low voice echoed through the conference room.
It frightened the executives so badly that they felt as though they were dreaming, and they began frantically reviewing everything they knew-
Huo Yuzhou hated lazy people most of all. He led by example, arriving at work at seven sharp every day.
If people like them were late even once in a while, they still had to face Huo Yuzhou's knife-sharp gaze.
Who could have imagined hearing Huo Yuzhou praise someone who had slept until ten for being hardworking, in such an indulgent tone?
The world really was absurd.
Having heard all this, the general manager decisively clicked on the meeting interface.
The sound from Mr. Huo's end was muted, but the conference room erupted into noise.
Countless people craned their necks, questioning the general manager.
"President Li, who is that? Is Mr. Huo seeing someone?"
"Is this why Mr. Huo hasn't been to headquarters these past few days?"
"Whose daughter is she? From his tone, Mr. Huo dotes on her like his most precious treasure. Are they getting engaged soon?"
Their questions came one after another. General Manager Li, looking just as bewildered and with his mind completely blank, spread his hands.
"I don't know!"
"Haven't you heard? Mr. Huo's partner wanted to break up with him. He couldn't even spare a thought for the company and went off specifically to save his relationship!" someone declared with absolute conviction.
"That's not right, is it? Didn't they say Mr. Huo took a rescue team out that night because his girlfriend went exploring in the mountains and accidentally got trapped? They only managed to rescue her after a lot of effort."
"What is all this outdated news? The people in marketing said Mr. Huo's boyfriend is a celebrity, a rival of our former spokesperson Xi Juan. That's why we stopped working with Xi Juan. Did you forget that notice from a couple of days ago?"
"Wait, think about it yourselves. Does any of your information sound reliable? My friend at headquarters said Mr. Huo drove to the hospital in a hurry a few days ago. They heard something about obstetrics. His partner must have accidentally gotten pregnant! Otherwise, would a workaholic like Mr. Huo take this many days off?"
This theory involving the group's future crown prince instantly won everyone's support. Even General Manager Li turned it over in his head several times before chuckling and tapping the table.
"Quiet. It's good news. This is good news."
"Mr. Huo has things to attend to. Let's carry on."
Huo Yuzhou sent Old Li, who was presiding over the meeting, a brief message and forwarded the outline he had prepared before closing his laptop.
He reached out to feel Nan Qing's forehead. He had done this so many times that the motion had become especially practiced.
"How do you feel now? Are you dizzy? Do you still feel unwell?"
The young man tipped up his pretty face and shook his head.
"I'm a little hungry."
The corners of Huo Yuzhou's crimson lips lifted, and he relaxed.
"All right. The kitchen has food ready at all times. I'll have them bring it up in a moment."
"Let's get you washed up first."
Huo Yuzhou reached out and picked him up. Nan Qing instinctively wrapped his arms around his neck, then glanced down at his own leg and asked nervously,
"Is my leg broken?"
The tall man held him in his arms and had been about to head out, but stopped when he heard that.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and rolled up Nan Qing's trouser leg, revealing a slender length of calf with a simple bandage around the shin.
"It's not broken, but you injured it when you rolled down the mountain, and you strained a ligament too. You'll need to rest for a while."
"The doctor said to move around less for now and be good about eating your meals. You'll recover soon, and it won't leave a scar."
Nan Qing reached out to touch it, and a faint ache came from his skin.
He snatched his hand back as though he had been stung, still shaken.
"I couldn't move it then. I thought my leg was broken..."
He let out a breath of relief and raised his eyes to Huo Yuzhou, gratitude in his gaze.
"Huo Yuzhou, thank you."
"If you hadn't been there that day, I definitely would have died in the mountains."
The man stroked his head with a large hand, his long, straight lashes lowering to hide the chill in his eyes.
A smile colored his low voice as he asked softly,
"So I saved your life?"
Nan Qing nodded. "Of course!"
Huo Yuzhou's lips curved, and he asked just as naturally,
"Then how does Qingqing plan to repay me?"