Good morning

After receiving Xiao Yan's call, Zayne packed up the medical kit at home and hurried out.

At the villa, he examined Xavier, who was already lying in bed, fast asleep.

His wound was slightly infected, and he had mild cold symptoms.

After treating his wound again and starting an IV, Zayne also noticed the little bite wound on Xavier's lip.

Zayne could more or less imagine what had happened between the two of them.

Knowing Xiao Yan was worried, he had her take a cold tablet as a precaution, then simply sleep beside Xavier.

He watched Xiao Yan draw Xavier's right hand over and hold it before finally falling asleep in peace.

Zayne sank into the armchair beside the bed, his arms folded, and remained silent for a long time beneath the warm yellow light.

Behind his lenses, his gaze rested on their clasped hands, his feelings too complicated to put into words.

Xavier woke in the latter half of the night and spotted Zayne through his haze. "You... go get some sleep. You don't need to stay here watching over me. I'm fine."

Only then did Zayne lower his folded arms.

He emerged a little from his cool scrutiny, recovering some of the warmth one ought to show family.

The medicine he had given Xiao Yan had a certain sleep-inducing effect. She probably wouldn't wake easily.

"Uncle Sang told me." He looked into Xavier's eyes, his voice very quiet. "During the five days none of us were home, she kept smiling every day so Uncle Sang wouldn't worry. To keep the chef at home from worrying, she tried to eat as much as she usually did at every meal."

Xavier turned to look at Xiao Yan, sleeping peacefully beside him.

Then he turned back to Zayne with a puzzled look.

"But Uncle Sang also told me in private that she needed sleeping pills to fall asleep on three nights this week. Almost every day after dinner, she also took a tablet to aid digestion."

"..." Xavier tightened his right hand around Xiao Yan's. "Dr. Zayne, I know what you're trying to warn me about."

Zayne shook his head. "It's not a warning. I have neither the standing nor the right to warn you. After all, I didn't notice all those little details about her over these five days either."

"Then what are you doing now?"

"Before she went to sleep, she told me to help her beat you up once your fever was gone and your wound had healed."

"...Huh?" Xavier was completely baffled.

"That was as much as she could express." Zayne's words carried an implication. "Still, the fact that she could say that to me also proves she doesn't really harbor that much resentment toward you."

Xavier lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then smiled.

She'd complained about him to Zayne.

She'd asked a doctor to teach him, a city special police officer, a lesson.

The childish request seemed like a desperate grab at any help available, but it actually revealed a side of Xiao Yan that no one knew.

She had been hurt, so upset she couldn't eat or sleep.

But she wouldn't cry, make a scene, or act willfully with the people around her. She would only bear the pressure silently and process it on her own.

Zayne took off his glasses and rubbed between his brows. "Although I failed to notice her pretense that everything was fine over these five days, that pretense wasn't for me. Everything between her and me was normal. I even assumed, on my own, that I made her feel relaxed and happy."

"You do bring her that kind of positive, uplifting energy," Xavier said.

Zayne shook his head again. "You could do better than me."

Xavier frowned. Although resistant, he still said to Zayne, "What exactly are you trying to say? Be direct."

"My responsibility is to take good care of her, cherish her, and do everything I can to give her a healthy marriage and a wonderful relationship. So, for her sake, I'm also willing to protect this family's interests." Zayne's gaze sharpened. "But I have no obligation to clean up after you, unless you can truly see yourself as her husband, or her family."

Xavier's brows knitted more tightly, and he fell into wordless silence.

Zayne stood and cleared away the medical tray holding the empty IV bag on the table. "A home needs every member to work at it together. I'm willing to take the first step, and I hope you can become my partner, rather than..."

Rather than an enemy who destroys this family.

Zayne left the rest unsaid and turned to carry the tray out.

By the time the door gently closed, Xiao Yan had already been awake for several minutes.

She had heard practically everything Zayne said.

She kept pretending to sleep because she truly felt it wasn't appropriate for her to join this conversation between these two men, these two family members.

Besides, she very much needed Zayne's declaration about protecting their family.

A conversation initiated from another perspective like this should give Xavier something different to think about.

She felt Xavier turn toward her.

She heard Xavier sigh and murmur, "Why did he leave without even turning off the light?"

Xiao Yan's heart ached for Zayne's restraint, for the concessions and sacrifices he was willing to make for their family.

Her heart ached for Xavier too.

Xavier didn't have as strong a sense of family as Zayne did, which had to do with their different lives and experiences.

Zayne's life in this world was much like his life in the game.

He likewise had parents who had loved him since childhood and later became Doctors Without Borders, working abroad year-round.

In this world, Xavier had no relatives. He was an orphan who had grown up in a welfare home.

"A home?" Xavier closed his eyes. In his weakened state, he couldn't be bothered to hide his beast traits anymore.

A pair of white fox ears appeared atop his head, drooping listlessly, unable even to stand upright.

He was still injured and ill, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Xiao Yan carefully opened her eyes and saw that Xavier's cheeks were flushed. His fever hadn't completely subsided yet.

She tenderly stroked Xavier's soft cheek.

Is this home what you want? Will you care about this family and protect it the way Zayne does?

Unable to fall asleep again easily, Xiao Yan thought about many, many things.

She didn't know when she drifted off again.

In the morning, Jiang Miao's call woke her.

She muted it first, then felt around beside her. Xavier was no longer in bed.

Xiao Yan groggily got up and answered.

"My lady, I've called you five times already!" Jiang Miao sounded anxious.

"Mm..." Xiao Yan yawned. "What is it?"

"You have to come early tonight, okay? Otherwise I won't feel confident!"

"Oh."

Jiang Miao really did seem nervous and started rambling. "I told my mom to ask your mom for some tips on vetting people, but she refused. She said our families didn't really have any connection to begin with, and it's only because we're close that they have any connection at all. It would be a little rude for her to just show up at your door."

"What's the big deal? My mom's very easy to talk to." Xiao Yan wrapped herself in a blanket and headed downstairs while talking on the phone.

"Who knows what those adults are thinking all day." Jiang Miao sighed. "Maybe it's still because your family is so powerful that it makes my mom feel a little insignificant and inferior."

Xiao Yan walked down the stairs with her eyes half-closed. "Stop talking nonsense."

Around the corner, she ran into love.

Xavier had already changed into the white tailcoat suit Uncle Sang had prepared in advance and was just about to head upstairs.

Seeing Xiao Yan, Xavier tilted his head and smiled. "Good morning, partner."

"Is your fever gone?" Xiao Yan reached out. "Come here and let me feel."

"It's gone." Xavier climbed a few steps, closed his eyes, and brought his head closer. "From the look of you, you haven't washed up yet?"

Xiao Yan carefully felt Xavier's forehead and cheeks. His temperature was indeed normal.

Relieved, she grew a little petulant. "I can't be bothered to walk back."

"All right. I'll carry you back to your room and help you wash your face and brush your teeth." Xavier tipped his head up and gave Xiao Yan, two steps above him, another gentle smile.

Suddenly, he scooped her up.

He even held her upright, the way one carried a child!

"Hey, you..." Your arm!

Ah, good, he was holding her with just his right arm...

Xiao Yan kept her phone against her ear with her right hand and looped her left arm around Xavier's neck to keep herself from falling.

But just as he had carried her another three or four steps up.

A tall man in a black formal suit suddenly passed the foot of the stairs below.

The man glanced up the staircase, and Xiao Yan met his eyes in bewilderment.

The next instant, her expression changed abruptly.

Xia... Yizhou?