Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Ning Yuyi puffed up his cheeks, "One must have dreams."

After all, what if Fan Zhongchuan did everything out of love?

Ning Yuyi blissfully indulged in his pleasant dreams, and Xie Yezhou, not wanting to dampen his spirits, simply shrugged.

During dinner, Xie Yinan and Fan Zhongchuan came over, under the pretense of "checking on the production team", to invite Ning Yuyi for a meal.

——And, incidentally, invited Xie Yezhou and Lin Chijing as well.

Lin Chijing spent the entire day collaborating with the co-writer. After a full day's discussion in a small tent, he felt sore and cramped. Once he sat down in the hotpot restaurant, he didn't want to move.

Xie Yezhou, in a rare gesture, kindly served him some beef and Basa fish, asking, "Have you smoothed out the first half of the plot?"

"Not at all," Lin Chijing covered his face in exasperation, plunging himself into darkness, "Scriptwriting is much harder than novel writing. The director's ideas are absolute rubbish. If I used them, my readers would crucify me."

"Then go with your gut," advised Xie Yinan, "The investors are on our side; he doesn't have the final say."

Ning Yuyi nodded in agreement.

Exactly, this director held very little sway, only exercising control over secondary characters.

Lin Chijing murmured his agreement, tiredly picking up his chopsticks to eat what Xie Yezhou served him.

Sitting together, Ning Yuyi's food was entirely prepared by Fan Zhongchuan, ensuring Ning's bowl was constantly filled.

By the end of the hotpot meal, Ning Yuyi felt delightfully sated from the inside out.

On the way back, Ning Yuyi rode in Fan Zhongchuan's car. When they arrived at the set, Fan parked by the roadside. Without hesitation, he leaned over to kiss Ning Yuyi.

Gripping his seatbelt tightly, Ning Yuyi gave himself over to the passionate embrace.

Finally, when Ning Yuyi felt breathless, Fan pulled away, leaning down to unbuckle his seatbelt for him.

Only after leaving a soft kiss on Fan's lips did Ning Yuyi exit the car.

Xie Yezhou had been waiting at the entrance of the set for a while, leaning against a wall, chatting idly with Lin Chijing and occasionally glancing towards the black Porsche by the road.

"Still not here?" Lin Chijing followed his gaze.

"Here he comes." As the white silhouette emerged from the car, Xie Yezhou straightened up and walked towards him.

"Cousin, Second Brother," Ning Yuyi approached them, his cheeks still flushed.

"Let's head in," Xie Yezhou didn't comment on why he hadn't picked Ning up.

Ning Yuyi cast a lingering glance at the car, noticing Fan Zhongchuan hadn't left.

"Stop staring," Xie Yezhou sighed, pulling Ning Yuyi along, "He's waiting for you to go in."

Reluctantly, Ning Yuyi continued walking, stealing glances back every now and then.

A pang of jealousy surged in Xie Yezhou. Once inside the makeup room, he pinched Ning Yuyi's cheek, lamenting, "We're not even married, and my little brother already belongs to someone else."

Ning Yuyi's cheeks were pinched by Xie Yezhou, making his words come out muffled, "I didn't..."

Xie Yezhou didn't squeeze hard, gently releasing him after a brief pinch, "Get your makeup done. We have two night scenes to film later."

……

By the time they finished shooting the two night scenes, it was already past ten. Having risen early that morning, Ning Yuyi was exhausted. As soon as the director called "cut", he couldn't help but yawn deeply.

After reviewing the footage, the director turned and told the crew that they were wrapped for the day.

Hearing that they were finished, Xie Yezhou and Ning Yuyi headed to the makeup tent, planning to remove their makeup and head to bed.

"Make sure to dry your hair before sleeping. The weather is getting colder; don't catch a cold," Xie Yezhou reminded Ning Yuyi.

"Mhm," Ning Yuyi murmured, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

As they moved away from the filming area, the area was shrouded in darkness, making it hard to see.

Xie Yezhou turned on his phone's flashlight, casting a faint glow on the path.

Following Xie Yezhou, Ning Yuyi felt something slippery underfoot. As he stepped on it, it seemed to wrap around his foot.

"What's that?" He felt a sudden sting at his ankle and instinctively lifted his foot, trying to shake off whatever it was.

"What happened?" Xie Yezhou shone the light on Ning Yuyi's foot, catching a glimpse of a black, elongated shadow swiftly slithering away.

"Damn!" Ning Yuyi, startled, took a couple of steps back. Losing his balance, he quickly reached out to steady himself on Xie Yezhou.

"It's a snake," Xie Yezhou said, shining the light in the direction the snake had vanished.

"Oh, a snake?" Ning Yuyi exclaimed, glancing at his foot, then looking up, "If... if I was bitten by the snake... is that bad?"

"Wait, what?" Xie Yezhou's face paled, "You were bitten?"

"I think so," Ning Yuyi recalled the sensation, suspecting he'd indeed been bitten.

Xie Yezhou supported Ning Yuyi, helping him stand on one leg, and squatted down to examine the bite.

"Which foot?"

Ning Yuyi lifted the foot that was bitten.

"Where were you bitten?"

Ning Yuyi shifted to show her ankle.

In the dim light from Xie Yiezhou's phone, Ning Yuyi saw two sets of tiny puncture wounds on her ankle, surrounded by a hint of purplish bruise.

Xie Yiezhou's lips pressed tight, his face filled with panic.

"Brother..."

"Stay quiet." Xie Yiezhou held Ning Yuyi's ankle tightly to restrict the blood flow and called the director with his other hand, "Get a car here. Ningning has been bitten by a snake."

The crew members who hadn't left work quickly drove over to help Ning Yuyi into a car, rushing him to the hospital.

Ning Yuyi hung his head, his palms sweaty from tension.

In the car, he kept looking at his ankle, held tightly by Xie Yiezhou. Due to the restricted blood flow, his foot began to swell and turn a shade of purple.

Would he die?

A stray thought crossed Ning Yuyi's mind, wondering why he'd think such a thing.

He thought of Fan Zhongchuan, Xie Yiezhou, Xie Yinan, even Xie Lou, and Lin Yiyue. He had so much to hold onto in this world.

"Don't be scared, Ningning," Xie Yiezhou's hand trembled slightly as he comforted Ning Yuyi, "Given the geographical environment here in Haimarket, there aren’t any highly venomous snakes."

He wondered if that reassurance was for Ning Yuyi or himself.

Xie Yiezhou was more fearful than Ning Yuyi, urging the driver to speed up.

Upon getting in the car, Xie Yiezhou informed Xie Yinan and Fan Zhongchuan, so shortly after Ning Yuyi arrived at the hospital, he saw the two of them rushing in.

At that moment, the doctor was asking Xie Yiezhou about the snake's appearance, while Ning Yuyi sat in a chair, his leg propped up.

Xie Yiezhou provided a detailed description, and after some thought, the doctor smiled, saying, "Don't worry. From your description, it seems like a common watersnake, which is non-venomous. But we'll confirm with lab results."

It was then that Fan Zhongchuan entered, still wearing his black shirt from when he'd left. Due to his rush to the hospital,

His usually immaculate hair was somewhat disheveled.

Ning Yuyi had never seen Fan Zhongchuan like this before.

Panicked, fearful, and even a hint of bewilderment.

Emotions one would never associate with Fan Zhongchuan were now present because of Ning Yuyi's injury.

Fan Zhongchuan cautiously crouched down.

"It's okay, the results will be out soon," said the older doctor, his temples graying, not recognizing Fan Zhongchuan and Ning Yuyi and comforting them like any other patient, "According to the description, it's probably a harmless snake."

However, Fan Zhongchuan's heart didn't settle. He asked in a deep voice, "How much longer for the results?"

"Not long. Snakebites are prioritized," the doctor glanced at his computer, "If it's non-venomous, we'll give you some anti-inflammatory medication and you can go home."

Ning Yuyi tugged at Fan Zhongchuan's cuff, meeting his gaze.

Fan Zhongchuan fetched a stool, sat beside Ning Yuyi, and drew him into an embrace.

He couldn't bear to recall how he felt when he received the message from Xie Yiezhou.

With a blank mind, he mechanically dashed from his office towards the hospital, breaking countless traffic rules and turning a one-and-a-half-hour drive into just thirty minutes.

"I'm okay," Ning Yuyi's lips were slightly pale as he placed his hand in Fan Zhongchuan's, "You got here so fast, did you speed on the way?"

Fan Zhongchuan remained silent, but his embrace tightened.

Knowing he was still scared, Ning Yuyi playfully scolded him for not following traffic rules.

"Otherwise, tomorrow, there'd be a giant image of your handsome face on the electronic billboard at the roundabout, saying 'Ran a Red Light'," Ning Yuyi chuckled, "Then your company's PR department will be working overtime."

Xie Yiezhou couldn't help but laugh.

However, Fan Zhongchuan remained silent, leaving Ning Yuyi slightly uneasy.

Quick-eyed, he spotted a nurse entering the room, papers in hand.

"The results are out," Ning Yuyi began, only to see Fan Zhongchuan immediately approach the nurse.

"Is he alright?"

The nurse, taken aback by the sudden approach of this stern-faced handsome man, stood there, staring blankly at him.

Fan Zhongchuan frowned, asking the question again.

"Ah!" The nurse hastily handed him the test results, "The blood shows no toxins. He's fine."

Fan Zhongchuan meticulously scanned the results multiple times.

Xie Yiezhou leaned over to look at the results as well. Relieved upon seeing the non-toxic diagnosis, he called Xie Yinan, who was still en route, advising him to drive more slowly.

Most importantly, if caught running a red light and the footage gets displayed on large screens, it would be a significant embarrassment for the Xie family.

The report was passed between Fan Zhongchuan, Xie Yiezhou, and Ning Yuyi before finally reaching the doctor.

"Ah, are you all friends?" The doctor, holding the report but not yet examining it, adjusted his reading glasses and remarked, "Such strong friendship is rare these days."

"No, I'm his elder brother," Xie Yiezhou clarified.

The doctor replied, "Ah, your family has good genes. So, the gentleman behind is the patient's cousin?"

Fan Zhongchuan, the "gentleman behind" mentioned by the doctor, darkened his face, "I'm his boyfriend."

"Oh?"

"Boyfriend," Fan Zhongchuan emphasized, "The kind one intends to marry."

The rather traditional doctor paused for a moment before replying, "Ahem, I wish you both happiness."

A nurse nearby, who had heard the entire conversation, was too stunned to speak.

Who am I? Where am I? What just happened?

In her early twenties and fond of browsing Weibo during her downtime, she recognized Xie Yiezhou and Ning Yuyi.

But what had she just heard?

Oh my God, Ning Yuyi has a boyfriend?!