**Chapter 4: Applying Medication**

**Chapter 4: Applying Medication**

"Brother, please be gentle, I'm afraid of pain."

It was a sticky orange-flavored candy. It had perhaps been in the drawer for quite some time. When Jiang Fengmian tore it open with his teeth, the candy stretched into strings from the corner of his mouth. He used his tongue to push the candy into his mouth, then smiled foolishly at Huo Zong, his lips curling sweetly.

"Brother, the sweet candy is so sweet, but it's sticking to my teeth."

Sticking to your teeth? How is that possible? Huo Zong rummaged through the candy bag and found the expiration date on the sealed part. It had expired a year ago.

"Spit it out, it's expired."

"No, it's delicious."

Huo Zong wrapped up the remaining half-bag of candy, threw it into the trash, and called their housekeeper. From now on, she would come at a fixed time daily, with light, nourishing meals focused on stomach health.

"Jiang Fengmian, can you walk?"

"Yes, I can, yes."

Somehow, the slippers by the sofa had been replaced with brown bear-shaped ones. Jiang Fengmian bent down to pick them up and showed them off proudly to Huo Zong. "Brother, cute."

Huo Zong shifted his gaze away. Jiang Fengmian smiled widely, his candy-filled cheeks more noticeable than the stiff bear plush.

Jiang Fengmian's feet were still wrapped in bandages. He awkwardly hopped on one leg, trying to keep up with Huo Zong, but started panting after just a few hops.

Sigh, his physical condition was still quite poor. Once his injuries healed a bit more, he really needed to start exercising.

Hearing Jiang Fengmian's soft panting, Huo Zong slowed down, waiting for him to tiptoe after him leisurely.

"Brother, can you carry me? Xiong Er is carried by Xiong Da when he's injured."

Jiang Fengmian's tone was unusually serious, his hands fidgeting behind his back, as if he was already prepared to be picked up. Huo Zong absentmindedly hummed in response.

"Which episode?"

Jiang Fengmian wrinkled his brow, unable to recall immediately, and crunched on the hard candy noisily.

"Many episodes."

Watching Huo Zong walk ahead, Jiang Fengmian lifted his foot to follow, mustered some courage, and grabbed the hem of Huo Zong's shirt. Meeting Huo Zong's questioning gaze, he put on an innocent expression.

After a few seconds of silent eye contact, Huo Zong said nothing. Silence meant consent.

Ding.

Jiang Fengmian followed into the elevator, standing properly behind Huo Zong, his fingers unwilling to let go.

"You'll live here from now on, and if you need anything, just say so."

The bedroom was in cool tones, but the bedding had been transformed into a cute style. The bedsheet and comforter set featured fluffy little rabbits, and a cat plushie was placed on the bedside.

Jiang Fengmian hugged it happily, his fingers gently stroking the cat's head. "Brother, it's a cat."

"Chen Chen took the liberty to buy it."

Jiang Fengmian pursed his lips, secretly amused. Hmph, his dear one was so contradictory. Chen Chen unconditionally followed his lead, so he must have asked for permission.

"The suitcase is here." Huo Zong lifted the suitcase with one hand, as if it were as light as an empty case.

Jiang Fengmian received the suitcase and opened it. Half the suitcase was filled with miscellaneous little items, and there were only two sets of clothes, both having faded from too many washes.

The brown bear was especially worn out, with the torn areas crudely stitched together. It seemed like the cotton would fall out if handled with a bit too much force.

The most valuable item in the suitcase was probably the silver brooch, decorated with simple patterns, elegant and understated.

"Brother, here, I'm giving this to you."

Surprise flashed in Huo Zong's eyes for a moment. Jiang Fengmian pressed the brooch he had secretly appraised into his arms.

"Little Bear, look, this is your younger brother. From now on, you two will be best friends."

Jiang Fengmian raised the hand of the plush toy, resting the cat doll's head intimately against the bear's shoulder. He nodded approvingly.

"Jiang Fengmian, I can't accept this brooch."

Cat looking sad.jpg

"Brother, it's not dirty, I didn't pick it up, it was left to me by my mother, it's clean."

Jiang Fengmian cried again in a hurry, and Huo Zong couldn't understand where all his tears came from. He had been crying all day and was still sniffling.

"It's not that I think it's dirty, it's just too valuable."

There were too few things in the suitcase, and what little was there were Jiang Fengmian's treasures. He couldn't accept it.

"It's not a big deal, and I'm happy to give it to you, Brother."

Jiang Fengmian seemed set on crying unless Huo Zong accepted it. Huo Zong, worn out by his tears, slowly clenched his palm.

"I'll keep it safe, and you can have it back anytime."

"You can't just enter the study, but you can go anywhere else you like."

Huo Zong took the brooch back to his bedroom next door. He found a velvet box and gently placed the brooch inside, then decided to write "study room" on a piece of hard cardstock and stick it on the door.

"Hey, Huo Zong."

"Tomorrow, notify the custom tailor shop to send some clothes in Jiang Fengmian's size."

"Yes, Huo Zong. Would you like something cute as well?"

"Anything is fine."

His watch read 7:45. Usually, by this time, he would have finished four projects, but now Huo Zong stared at the pile of documents in front of him, feeling a bit anxious. The sound of flipping papers grew louder, and what lingered in his mind was the anxiety of his routine being broken.

"Brother, come quickly."

Jiang Fengmian's voice was muffled, like he was stuck behind glass. Huo Zong paused in his document review, frowning as he got up.

A lump rose on the bed, moving under Huo Zong's watchful eyes.

"Brother—"

It was a strained cry.

"Hmm."

Jiang Fengmian replied, frustrated, "Brother, I'm stuck."

Jiang Fengmian originally wanted to straighten out the rumpled quilt, but his whole body ached so much that he couldn't muster the strength to toss it. He could only crawl inside to smooth it out but then realized he couldn’t get out. He could only call for Huo Zong's help.

Huo Zong looked at the neatly pulled zipper in silence for a moment before saying helplessly, "Jiang Fengmian, who taught you to zip yourself in from the inside?"

"Ah?" Jiang Fengmian's face turned completely red with embarrassment and he stammered, unable to find words.

Hey, don't misunderstand, I'm not that silly, really!

Jiang Fengmian wanted to pretend to be silly, but he didn't want Huo Zong to think he was really stupid. He had no idea when he'd zipped it up.

Swish.

A draft entered the quilt cover, and Jiang Fengmian slowly crawled out. When he poked his head out, he looked into Huo Zong's helpless eyes and tried to justify himself, "Bro, actually, I was playing hide-and-seek with you."

"Oh."

Jiang Fengmian's clothes were a mess, revealing his fair skin and the obvious red marks from being beaten.

"Get dressed and come downstairs for dinner."

Jiang Fengmian instinctively glanced at Huo Zong's watch. As someone obsessive about time, Huo Zong always had dinner at eight sharp at home. Today, it seemed a little late, maybe because he'd been "rescuing" me.

The dinner on the table was still steaming, so the housekeeper had probably just left.

"Jiang Fengmian, you’re sticking to bland food for the next two days."

"Alright, alright."

The millet porridge had a thin layer of creamy film on top and a light, sweet fragrance. Jiang Fengmian sipped slowly, occasionally stealing a glance at Huo Zong.

Huo Zong ate gracefully but quickly, and two small steamed buns were left in his dish, saved for Jiang Fengmian.

It was 8:20, the usual time to load the dishwasher.

Jiang Fengmian bit into the bun, his wide eyes reflecting that he was the reason for the delayed routine.

After waiting for a while, with no sign of Huo Zong urging him, Jiang Fengmian continued to eat at his own pace.

"Brother, I don't have to eat too quickly at home. There are buns. Over there, I had to eat very, very fast, or I wouldn't get enough, but it hurts here."

Jiang Fengmian pointed to his stomach, his face full of distress. "Brother, does it hurt here for you?"

Huo Zong had been dealing with stomach problems for years. Of course, it hurt.

"It doesn't hurt."

"Brother, let's eat slowly in the future. We won't scold or hit bad people, and we'll be super happy to be full."

Huo Zong's mood wasn't high; perhaps the broken routine made him anxious. He responded with a soft sound and got up to put the dishes into the dishwasher.

"Jiang Fengmian, who taught you these strange nicknames?"

It was, of course, those Green Jiang novels. People call their favorite fictional characters like that.

"Brother, I don't understand."

"Do you know what my name is?"

"Huo, Zong."

Jiang Fengmian called out the name with a lingering tone, a name he had whispered countless times in his heart. But when truly facing Huo Zong, it felt somewhat awkward to say.

"Hmm, just like that."

"Brother, I call you Huo Zong when there are others around, and Brother when we're alone."

Whatever he said would be in vain.

Knock, knock knock, knock knock knock.

The knocking sounded like a secret code. Huo Zong, still dripping wet from his hair, adjusted the belt of his bathrobe.

"Come in."

A glimpse of Huo Zong's firm abs flashed by.

Wow, it seems his OCD has its perks; he finally got to see those abs he had been eyeing for so long.

Oh, if only he could have looked a bit longer, and maybe even touched them.

"Brother, I can't reach the wound on my back. What should I do?"

Jiang Fengmian held the ointment, his eyes fixed on Huo Zong's face with an expectant look, almost as if he were writing "please help me" on his forehead.

Huo Zong subconsciously pinched his fingertips and said in a hoarse voice, "Come over and lie down."

Jiang Fengmian quickly took off his pajamas and lay down on Huo Zong's large bed.

He looked at Huo Zong oddly and pouted, "Brother, be gentle, okay? I'm afraid of pain."

Huo Zhong patted the sofa, thinking to himself, useless thing, I've been watching you, and you didn't even think to call Jiang Fengmian over.

Sofa: Huh? Me?

"Where's the cotton swab? I remember Doctor Li put it here."

"Oh, I got scratched on my thigh, I didn't take it."

Jiang Fengmian was about to struggle up to show Huo Zhong his scratched thigh but was pushed back down as soon as he moved.

"Don't move."

Huo Zhong had seen the wound in the afternoon, but under the light, the raised red mark still made him frown.

He squeezed out some ointment and gently applied it with his fingertips.

Even though Huo Zhong was being extremely careful, Jiang Fengmian couldn't stop trembling, feeling a sharp pain with each touch.

"Does it hurt?"

"Mm-hm." Jiang Fengmian's voice was muffled; he bit his lip and quickly wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes.

"Why didn't you complain about the pain earlier today?"

"I would get beaten if I said anything."

Huo Zhong raised an eyebrow and applied the ointment even more slowly. Jiang Fengmian found it odd that he always cried when pretending to be pitiful, but when the pain was unbearable, he would stubbornly hold back his cries.

Huo Zhong's fingertips were burning hot, his eyes bloodshot, as he suppressed the sigh welling up in his chest.

It was a satisfaction that rose from his heart, thick with possessiveness, a desire to claim without restraint, to want more and more.

For so many years, Huo Zong had never felt this way. Jiang Fengmian was the first person he not only didn't dislike but also found a subtle fulfillment in his touch.

He wanted Jiang Fengmian to pinch his fingertips again...

Sigh.

The sound of his intake of breath pulled Huo Zong back to reality, as if waking from a dream. He squeezed out a bit more ointment and quickly applied it to the injured areas.

"Don't move, let the medicine dry."

Beads of sweat formed on Jiang Fengmian's forehead. He had taken the painkillers prescribed by Dr. Li, but when really pressed, the pain was still intense.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom; Huo Zong was washing his hands.

"Big brother, is the ointment dry yet?"

Jiang Fengmian's skin, smooth as white porcelain, caught the eye. Huo Zong glanced at it distractedly and gave a light hum.

"Thank you, big brother."

Jiang Fengmian slowly got up, hanging his head as he dressed.

He really wanted to stay in this bed and not get up.

Excess is as bad as deficiency. Jiang Fengmian put on his clothes and picked up the ointment, about to leave. After taking a few steps, he suddenly said, "The instructions say three times a day, big brother, you'll have to help me again tomorrow."

Huo Zong's brow twitched, feeling that this was a form of torture for himself.

Late at night.

Lying flat, Mr. Huo opened his phone for the first time and sent Dr. Li a “.”

[Dr. Li: ?]

[Dr. Li: The sun must be rising in the west. This is the first time you've messaged me past eleven, Mr. Huo. Did something happen to Young Master Jiang?]

[Mr. Huo: My sleep schedule is all messed up tonight. I can't fall asleep.]

Dr. Li knew exactly what was going on. With someone new in the house, it was impossible to maintain the mechanical, precise routine he used to have.

[Dr. Li: Feeling restless?]

Mr. Huo pressed his hand to his chest; his heart seemed to beat a bit faster.

[Mr. Huo: It's manageable.]

[Dr. Li: Then there's nothing to worry about. It's a good thing. Mr. Huo, I've told you before, OCD can be treated. See, your medicine has arrived. Don't resist it; go with the flow.]

Mr. Huo hesitated, deleting and rewriting his message several times. After a long pause, he finally replied with just one word: "Mm."