The room had finally gone quiet.
The earlier intensity had faded into something softer, heavier… like the lingering warmth after a storm. The lamplight flickered low, casting long shadows across the bed where Jin Yue lay, his breathing still uneven but no longer frantic. The heat had not fully left his body, but it had dulled...settling into something more manageable, though still present beneath his skin.
Jun Kai did not move.
He sat beside him, one hand still resting lightly against Jin Yue's wrist, as if afraid that the moment he let go, Jin Yue would disappear.
Jin Yue's fingers shifted weakly.
Not awake.
Not fully conscious.
But searching.
His hand brushed against Jun Kai's wrist… then tightened, instinctively catching onto it.
"…don't go…"
The words were barely more than a breath.
Soft.
Broken.
Unaware.
Jun Kai froze.
For a moment, everything in him stilled.
Then something in his expression softened… just slightly.
"I'm not going anywhere," he murmured quietly.
