Hei Bao let out a quiet sigh.
His gaze lingered on the sleeping figure before him.
The pale complexion, the nightmares, the trembling, and the fever.
None of it seemed normal.
How long has he been suffering like this?
A few days?
A few weeks?
Or had it been longer?
The more he thought about it, the more dissatisfied he became with himself.
He had noticed Gou Feng looking tired recently, but he had assumed it was simply work, training, or the usual burdens of adulthood.
Now, looking at him like this, that explanation felt woefully inadequate.
For a long moment, he simply sat there in silence.
The room was quiet except for the soft ticking of the clock and the steady rise and fall of Gou Feng's chest.
Then Hei Bao reached out and brushed a few damp strands of hair away from the young man's forehead.
In sleep, Gou Feng looked peaceful, but Hei Bao knew better than to trust appearances.
What was visible on the outside was often far different from what a person carried within.
"Just what have you been through lately that I didn't know about, kid?" he murmured softly.
There was no answer.
Only the quiet rhythm of breathing.
Hei Bao remained seated for a while longer, watching to make sure the fever did not worsen.
Eventually, he adjusted the blanket one last time, and reached over to switch off the bedside lamp.
Darkness quickly settled over the room.
Yet even after closing his eyes, the image of Gou Feng's frightened expression refused to leave his mind.
It lingered stubbornly in the darkness.
Hei Bao frowned.
No matter how he tried, he couldn't fall asleep. Several minutes passed, and more, but that image still glued on his mind.
Eventually, he let out a quiet sigh and opened his eyes again.
Sleep was clearly not happening to him tonight.
He sat up and rubbed a hand across his face.
The room remained silent except for the soft hum of the air conditioner.
After a moment, he reached for the phone resting on the bedside table.
Careful not to disturb Gou Feng, he rose from the bed and quietly left the room.
The bedroom door clicked shut behind him.
Hei Bao walked down the hallway and stepped onto the terrace balcony.
A cool night breeze greeted him immediately, brushing against his face and stirring his hair.
The city lights stretched into the distance below.
For a few moments, he stood there in silence before unlocking his phone and dialed Cheung Qi's number.
The line rang several times before finally connecting.
Almost immediately, deafening music exploded through the speaker.
Loud music, laughter, and the unmistakable noise of a crowded nightclub echoed from the other end of the line.
Hei Bao's expression darkened, and his muscles twitched in his jaw.
Of course, where else would his younger cousin be at this hour?
If he wasn't working, he was usually at a club, causing trouble somewhere and calling it 'networking.'
"Did you bring Shen Jiu and Huan Zhan there again?"
A familiar chuckle came from the other end.
Cheung Qi sounded thoroughly drunk.
"I learned my lesson last time. The elders nearly skinned me alive. I'm not getting scolded again."
That earned a small laugh from Hei Bao.
"What is it?" Cheung Qi asked.
"How's Gou Feng? Is he still with you?"
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
"I see."
Cheung Qi leaned back against the railing, one hand casually holding his drink.
"Is he sleeping in the guest room, or is he sleeping in your bed again?"
There was a brief silence.
The question wasn't entirely random. Back when Gou Feng was younger, Hei Bao had a habit that had always baffled him.
Whenever the boy stayed over, Hei Bao would simply let him sleep in the same bed.
As though it were the most natural thing in the world. Cheung Qi had never thought much of it before.
After all, Gou Feng had been a child back then. But now?
The boy was twenty.
A full-grown adult. At some point, sleeping in the same bed had to become inappropriate... didn't it?
Then again, this was Hei Bao. Normal standards rarely applied to him.
"So?"
Cheung Qi pressed.
"Which is it?"
The grin in his voice was impossible to miss.
"Guest room or your bed?"
Hei Bao leaned against the balcony railing, staring out at the city lights.
"In my bed."
There was a beat of silence there and, then…
"What do you mean, 'in my bed'?!"
Cheung Qi nearly shouted into the phone.
"A-Feng isn't a child anymore!"
His voice rose another octave.
"You have a guest room for goodness sake. Wake him up and make him sleep there."
"I can't." Hei Bao's reply made his cousin's brows draw closer.
"What do you mean you can't—"
Cheung Qi stopped mid-sentence.
Silence stretched between them. Several seconds passed before he spoke again.
This time, his tone had changed completely.
It was filled with suspicion.
"...Wait."
The moment Hei Bao heard that tone, a headache immediately began forming behind his eyes.
"Yah."
Cheung Qi lowered his voice.
"You didn't do something, did you?"
Hei Bao's eyes twitched.
"What?"
"You know."
"No, I don't."
Hei Bao pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Elaborate."
"To A-Feng."
"..."
"..."
A dangerous silence followed.
"I swear," Hei Bao said flatly,
"If you finish that sentence, I'll hang up, and ask some people to hunt you down this instant."
"But you practically raised him!"
Cheung Qi continued anyway.
"You've been letting him sleep in your room since he was a kid. Now he suddenly spends the night at your house again, and you're telling me he's sleeping in your bed?"
The more he spoke, the more horrified he sounded.
"You're not having some kind of midlife crisis, are you?"
"What kind of nonsense is going through your head?"
Hei Bao's patience was rapidly evaporating.
Cheung Qi ignored him completely.
"You know what? Don't answer that."
He let out a long sigh. His tone became more serious.
"Look, just wake him up and move him to the guest room."
Hei Bao frowned.
"If someone finds out you two spent the night in the same room, people are going to talk."
Cheung Qi paused before adding quietly,
"And it won't be good for A-Feng."
The vein on Hei Bao's forehead visibly twitched.
For the past minute, he had been trying very hard not to throw his phone off the balcony.
His efforts finally failed.
"HE HAS A FEVER, FOR GOODNESS' SAKE!"
The shout exploded through the call.
For the first time all night, Cheung Qi went completely silent.
Even the nightclub music seemed quieter somehow.
"...What?"
"He has a fever." Hei Bao repeated through gritted teeth.
"Oh." Understanding finally dawned on Cheung Qi.
"So that's what you meant."
Hei Bao pinched the bridge of his nose once more, and released a sharp sigh.
"I knew he wasn't feeling well earlier," Cheung Qi admitted.
"But he kept insisting he was fine."
His playful tone gradually disappeared, and concern replaced it.
"How bad is it?"
Hei Bao glanced through the glass door toward the hallway leading to his bedroom.
"He fainted."
The words immediately wiped away the remainder of Cheung Qi's amusement.
"What?"
"He collapsed in front of me."
Cheung Qi sighed heavily.
"That stubborn idiot."
Despite the insult, worry was obvious in his voice.
"He always does this. He doesn't know when to stop."
Hei Bao's gaze darkened.
No.
The problem wasn't that Gou Feng didn't know when to stop.
The problem was that he never complained.
Never asked for help.
Never told anyone when something was wrong.
Just like he had done as a child.
Just like he was doing now.
Cheung Qi took another drink before speaking.
"So why are you calling?"
The music in the background had become slightly quieter, as if he had moved away from the dance floor.
"Do you need me to come over and help take care of him?"
"No."
"Then what?"
"I need you to tell Shen Jiu and Huan Zhan to come to my office tomorrow afternoon."
Cheung Qi blinked.
"What for?"
"I have something to discuss with them." Hei Bao answered.
"That's it?"
"And..." Hei Bao hesitated.
For some reason, that young man named Hao Mingyu's face surfaced in his mind.
That stranger's calm eyes, his polite smile, and that scent.
The faint scent of strawberries that had lingered in the air long after he had left.
A scent identical to the one his late husband had carried.
Even now, it refuses to leave Hei Bao's memory.
Cheung Qi immediately noticed the hesitation.
"...And?"
Hei Bao stared out at the distant city lights before speaking.
"The friend you met at the café."
"Which one?" Cheung Qi asked.
"I have plenty."
"The one named Hao Mingyu."
"Oh."
A note of interest entered Cheung Qi's voice.
"What about him?"
"I want everything." Hei Bao answered.