Chu Yanzhang, whom Xie Zhuzhou had been worrying about, was undergoing treatment. One operation had already failed. Wen Shuming and Wu Chang worried that Chu Yanzhang would not be able to take it, and even breathed carefully around him.
Chu Yanzhang had not spoken for three days and had little appetite. They looked into the hospital room, their eyes filled with worry and melancholy.
The room was dim. The young man leaned against a pillow. In just over a week, he had lost a great deal of weight. His skin was pale as ice and snow, and his hollow, vacant amber eyes were covered with gauze.
The two special assistants had always thought Chu Yanzhang was strong. Only today did they realize that sometimes, being beside him could feel suffocatingly cold.
They did not know Chu Yanzhang's story, and so they did not know that Chu Yanzhang, who usually seemed so sunny, had actually been born in the depths of winter.
He had been abandoned in the ice and snow, found and sent to an orphanage, abused and bullied until he was fifteen. Along the way, he had been adopted, then abandoned again.
Later, he had been found and brought back to the Chu family. He was not his parents' only child; they had given him a younger brother and sister. His life still felt like living under someone else's roof.
Just this year, his own younger brother, Chu Yu, had framed him. Later, his car had been tampered with, and brake failure had led to the accident that blinded him.
Yet when Chu Yanzhang learned the news, he had not seemed particularly upset. He had remained just as he always was.
In truth, no one knew that on the day Chu Yanzhang met Xie Zhuzhou, he had intended to walk onto Golden River Bridge and jump.
Fate played tricks sometimes. Before he reached that bridge, he met Xie Zhuzhou.
Xie Zhuzhou took him home.
"You still have a chance. The doctor said you can have another operation in two weeks, and the success rate will be higher than before."
"Would anyone look forward to me being able to see again?"
"Yes! We all want you to get better! And Mr. Xie is very worried about you! He's sent you so many messages... and called so many times. Why don't you call him back?"
"No." Chu Yanzhang knew his hopes were slim.
Xie Zhuzhou treated him so, so well, so well that he wanted him all to himself. The time he had spent with him had brought an ease he had never known before, as though he could forget everything.
"Please, just give Mr. Xie a call. Otherwise, he must be so worried back home. Think about it. Mr. Xie cares about you so much. If you don't respond, he'll definitely think something has happened to you."
Chu Yanzhang's brows stirred, and he held out his hand. A phone was placed in it.
Xie Zhuzhou had also asked someone to take the phone in to have its screen repaired. Chu Yanzhang rubbed his fingertips over the cold screen. "You can leave."
"Yes," Wu Chang said.
Once he was alone in the hospital room, Chu Yanzhang dialed Xie Zhuzhou's number, but there was no response from the other end.
Was Rongxuan angry...?
Meanwhile, Xie Zhuzhou was with the production crew. There was a date activity today.
He stood outside the livestream area, expressionless.
Qin Fang still came over to talk to him like an unkillable cockroach. Xie Zhuzhou simply kept giving him the cold shoulder, which made Qin Fang lose his composure from time to time, but there was nothing he could do. When had anyone ever treated him like this before?!
After losing his composure enough times, he gradually grew impervious to it. To him, Xie Zhuzhou had become not just a tough nut to crack, but someone he was determined to have.
He could not imagine what Xie Zhuzhou would be like as his partner, but he could not worry about all that now! So what if it meant being gay! As long as it was Xie Zhuzhou...
At the sight of Xie Zhuzhou's ice-cold face, he felt as though someone had gripped his heart tightly, then ruthlessly torn it out and thrown it onto the ground.
Yet he was still so pathetic, sidling up to him anyway.
As usual, he asked Xie Zhuzhou what he was going to do today. Suddenly, Xie Zhuzhou's brow shifted, and he pulled his phone from his pocket. The privacy screen made it impossible to see who was calling.
Xie Zhuzhou had never looked so grave.
"Director Wang, I'm going to take a call." Xie Zhuzhou gestured that he would step away for a moment.
Could Director Wang really refuse to let him go? He could only nod.
But Director Wang had no idea that once this guy left, he would not be coming back!
Qin Fang also thought Xie Zhuzhou was merely stepping away for a moment.
"Hello, Little Yan."
"Mm. Rongxuan, have you been well lately? I'm sorry I missed your calls. I've been undergoing treatment these past few days and couldn't get hold of my phone."
"All right, I guess. I wouldn't really call it good or bad. How... are your eyes? What did the doctor say?"
"The doctor said it'll take a while longer... I wanted to go back and spend New Year with you, but it looks like I won't make it." The young man's voice sounded indistinct, with a slight rasp.
"It's all right. Your treatment comes first. Do you need any help?" Xie Zhuzhou was very perceptive, so he could sense that Chu Yanzhang was not doing well. He began to worry.
"No, everything is fine here."
Everything was fine?
Xie Zhuzhou did not believe it. Something must have gone wrong!
His brows knitted. He took a deep breath and waved for Xiao Nan to bring the car over. After getting in, he moved his lips, silently mouthing, "Home."
Xiao Nan was obedient, too. Told to leave, he left, skipping work just like that.
Xie Zhuzhou now had savings of his own and no longer worried about breaching his contract. Although he felt very sorry toward the director, he was only background decoration, after all. Putting up a life-size standee of him would be as good as having him there.
"Rongxuan, are you in a car?"
"Yes. You have sharp ears." As he spoke on the phone, Xie Zhuzhou felt glad that the body's original owner had already gotten a passport.
He would have to set aside his appointment with Ms. Sheng tonight and visit her to apologize later.
His thoughts whirled, and his heart pounded. Chu Yanzhang's unusual behavior reminded him of people who were lured abroad and scammed. They, too, would first lose contact for a while.
But this body still had a father. He could not take such a risk...
After weighing the pros and cons several times, Xie Zhuzhou decided to go abroad. This way, he would not have to attend classes, either.
"Rongxuan, why aren't you saying anything?"
"It's nothing. I suddenly remembered that last night's dinner wasn't very good. Have you been eating on time over there?"
"Yes."
"When you come back, if I find you've lost weight, we'll see how you explain yourself."
"Rongxuan, you're a little fierce today."
"Don't change the subject."
"..."
Usually, all it took was a little coaxing for Chu Yanzhang to smile gently and happily.
Today, no matter what Xie Zhuzhou said, Chu Yanzhang seemed unable to muster any energy. Yet Chu Yanzhang thought he was hiding it well.
Xie Zhuzhou chatted a little longer, then hung up.
"Xiao Nan, how long does it take to get to Country D?"
"Over ten hours. Are you going to see Mr. Chu?"
"Yes. I won't feel at ease until I see him. I suspect someone is holding him... but I'm not entirely sure."
"You're really going?! If your uncles find out, you won't be coming back!" Just two days ago, Xiao Nan had thought life was wonderful. Now his head tightened and his scalp prickled.
Xie Zhuzhou was far too unpredictable!
"Why don't you ask your eldest brother? You can't sneak off now." Xiao Nan was scared. Xie Zhuzhou had been behaving himself all this time. Who could have known that the moment he opened his mouth, he would drop a land mine that left you unable to move your foot once you stepped on it!
He and Xie Zhuzhou were grasshoppers tied to the same rope now. He was truly terrified!