Chapter 22 Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Have you made up your mind? Come back to the capital with me." Xing Mingyuan’s voice echoed from the phone.

Xing Hui glanced at You Miao, who was once again feverish in bed, and replied with a hint of impatience, "Dad, I’m not a child anymore. Why do you always insist on having me by your side?"

"You’re my only child. You’ve been away for years—it’s time to come home!" Xing Mingyuan snorted. "Have you grown too wild out there to return? Let me tell you, don’t even think about refusing. From now on, you must stay close to me. You’re not young anymore; it’s time you attended certain occasions and learned the ways of official circles."

"Got it. I have something to deal with right now, so I’m hanging up." Xing Hui ended the call abruptly, then immediately phoned the doctor, complaining about their slowness upon arrival.

The fifty-something alpha specialist in physiological medicine gave him a helpless look. Before he could utter a word, Xing Hui urged, "Professor, why are you looking at me? The patient is on the bed."

The expert had no choice but to examine the unconscious You Miao. Pulling down the blanket slightly, he spotted bite marks on the neck and shoulders, and everything clicked into place. He checked the previously prescribed medication—nothing amiss—and finally examined the scent gland.

"How is he?" Xing Hui asked, his face etched with worry.

The expert had his assistant draw two tubes of blood and said, "We’ll determine the next steps after the blood test results come back. For now, let’s give him a fever-reducing injection."

Xing Hui’s expression was grim as he instructed someone to take the blood for testing.

Half an hour later, the results confirmed a bacterial infection. After intravenous treatment, the doctor prescribed oral anti-inflammatory medication, advising that the previous anti-inflammatory medication be discontinued, but the topical ointment should continue to be applied.

"Does he need to be hospitalized?" Xing Hui furrowed his brow. "He’s had a fever since yesterday, and it spiked again after a night at home."

"No need for hospitalization. The high fever is due to a bacterial infection. Now that he’s on targeted medication, the fever will subside quickly. Continue the treatment at home for two days," the expert said, hesitating slightly. "He’s very weak. Avoid any sexual activity during this period, and even after he recovers, be gentle. Even though he’s an Alpha, he shouldn’t be overexerted like this."

Xing Hui listened with a stern expression, then sent someone to escort the expert back.

His apartment in Haishi was a two-bedroom, one-living-room, one-bathroom, one-kitchen unit. He owned both units on the ninth floor, located in the university town, directly opposite the military academy he attended. He split his time between the dorm and the apartment, though it hardly mattered since the entire university town belonged to the Xing family.

He had strong territorial instincts. Even close friends like Shen Heng, relatives, and even his own father were not allowed to stay overnight at his place.

But he had brought You Miao back and planned to keep him, which is why Shen Heng was so surprised. Even the housekeeper, Aunt Wang, was astonished, realizing that this Alpha was someone the Young Master cared about, so she took extra care.

At dinner time, after checking that You Miao’s fever had broken, Xing Hui breathed a sigh of relief and brought the porridge Aunt Wang had prepared into the bedroom.

Aunt Wang reminded him, "Young Master, if he wakes up, give him some plain water first. He needs to drink fluids after a fever."

"I already did." Mentioning the water, Xing Hui thought he had been exceptionally accommodating—feeding him mouth-to-mouth, even though he got bitten. But what else could he do? You Miao hadn’t eaten anything in two days since arriving. If he didn’t drink water either, his already sick body couldn’t possibly cope.

You Miao had woken up earlier, feeling as if he had been run over by a car. Every part of his body ached, especially *that* area—it was definitely swollen. His throat hurt too. The physical discomfort was bearable, but the psychological impact was unbearable. The thought of what had happened with another man made him almost too devastated to want to wake up.

How could he have spent three days entangled in bed with another man?

If he hadn’t been drugged, he would never have believed he could sleep with someone of the same sex.

So when Xing Hui appeared in his line of sight, his disgust reached its peak, and he even felt homicidal.

"You haven’t eaten in two days. Have some porridge." Xing Hui placed the bowl on the bedside table and touched it with his palm. "It’s a bit hot; let it cool down." Then he asked, "Do you need to use the bathroom?"

You Miao’s face was pale and sickly. Leaning against the headboard, he looked weakly at Xing Hui, his eyes conveying that Xing Hui was a monstrous criminal.

Xing Hui sat on the bed. "Do you need to pee? I can get a urinal so you can go here."

You Miao ignored him, refusing to look his way, and turned his head away, closing his eyes.

Xing Hui frowned. For two days, You Miao hadn’t spoken a word to him, hadn’t looked at him directly, and hadn’t eaten or drunk anything. Annoyed, he said, "Who are you trying to punish with this refusing to eat or drink, acting half-dead? I’m telling you, you're only hurting yourself!"

You Miao’s eyelashes trembled slightly, but he kept his eyes shut and remained silent.

Xing Hui’s frown deepened, his anger growing. He looked at You Miao’s pale face, wanting to lash out but holding back. Taking a deep breath, he said patiently, "If you don’t need the bathroom, then have some porridge." He picked up the bowl, spooned some, and brought it to You Miao’s lips. "It’s just the right temperature. Open your mouth."

The spoon touched You Miao’s lips, but he turned his head away even more forcefully, not only refusing to drink but also pressing his lips tightly together.

Xing Hui’s expression darkened. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Do you want me to feed you with my mouth again?"

You Miao’s eyes snapped open, glaring at him with hatred, his lips trembling slightly. After a long moment, he finally spoke: "I won’t drink it."

Hearing this, Xing Hui’s face darkened further. "Then you want me to feed you mouth-to-mouth."

"..." You Miao immediately resisted, moving away. "I won’t drink it!"

Xing Hui ignored him, took a big mouthful of porridge, put the bowl down, yanked You Miao upright, gripped his face, and pressed his lips against You Miao’s. He squeezed You Miao’s cheeks to force his mouth open and fed him the porridge, then went for a second mouthful.

You Miao shook uncontrollably. Weak as he was, he struggled to turn his head away, avoiding Xing Hui’s touch. In the struggle, he knocked over the porridge bowl.

The bed was a mess, but Xing Hui didn’t care. You Miao’s resistance had fueled his anger. His face was cold, but he held himself back, staring intently at You Miao, his voice almost a roar: "You weren’t like this that night! Stop pretending now!"

You Miao was filled with extreme anger, disgust, and grievance. Xing Hui’s touch only made him more uncomfortable. Whether it was the emotional distress or not having eaten for two days, after a few rapid breaths, he hurriedly leaned over the edge of the bed and vomited the porridge he had just been fed, all of it landing on Xing Hui’s feet.

"..."

Xing Hui barely controlled his temper. Taking a deep breath, he quickly grabbed a trash bin.

You Miao vomited everything he had been fed, even the little water he had drunk earlier, looking utterly miserable.

For a moment, Xing Hui panicked. Holding the trash bin with one hand, he patted You Miao’s back with the other.

But You Miao found this gesture disgusting and suddenly snapped, "Don’t touch me!" He mustered all his strength to shout, then leaned over the edge of the bed and gagged twice before breaking into sobs.

Xing Hui was stunned by his outburst, and he finally lost his temper. He tossed the trash bin aside, grabbed You Miao, and glared at him. "Don’t touch you? That’s not what you said when you climbed into my bed and let me fuck you! That’s not what you said on the day of your estrus! Now you don’t want me to touch you? I’m telling you, it’s too late for that!"

Aunt Wang, who was about to leave for the day, heard the commotion and rushed into the bedroom. Seeing the two as if they were about to fight, she hurried over to intervene. "Young Master, he’s sick and just recovered from a fever. You can’t treat him like this." She glanced at the mess on the bed and floor. "Oh dear, what happened? Couples shouldn’t fight. Work things out calmly, and make sure to eat properly too."

You Miao cried, feeling a despair he had never known before. He couldn’t understand—he had never done anything wrong; in fact, he had always tried to do good where he could. He worked hard to study medicine and had even secured a spot as a postgraduate student at his dream school, bringing him one step closer to becoming a doctor who could save lives. Why had fate brought him to this strange place and made him encounter this frightening gay man?

Aunt Wang’s words didn’t soften Xing Hui’s heart, but seeing You Miao in tears made him relent. He hugged him, wiped his tears, and cleaned the mess around his mouth. With a long sigh, his anger dissipated, replaced by a knot in his chest. He had never met someone who disregarded him so completely.

Yet, it was he who had started this. Xing Hui felt so frustrated he could vomit blood. He used a wet wipe to clean You Miao’s mouth and wiped his tears with his hand. "Aunt Wang, I’ll take him to the hospital for a couple of days."

"Go ahead. Let the doctors check on him and give him some nutrient injections." Aunt Wang sighed, her eyes full of pity for You Miao. She thought the young man was truly pitiable.

Xing Hui supported You Miao’s bottom, holding him steady. Noticing his pale face flushing red again, he pressed his forehead against You Miao’s—another fever. Annoyed, he yelled at the driver, "Drive faster!"

You Miao stayed in the hospital for seven days and finally improved, regaining some energy. It wasn’t until the third day of his hospitalization that he agreed to eat, and it wasn’t because of Xing Hui. He had met a medical intern, an Omega named Du Huailin who had just been accepted into a medical postgraduate program. Du Huailin specialized in immunology, just like You Miao.

So when Du Huailin encouraged him to eat, You Miao spoke up for the first time.

"There’s an immunology department here too?" he asked.

Du Huailin replied gently, "This is Haishi. The economy and medical fields are well-developed here. There is an immunology department."

Mentioning his field of study clearly lifted You Miao’s spirits. "Does the immunology department here also focus on clinical research related to the human immune system?"

Du Huailin couldn’t hide his curiosity. "Have you studied this?"

You Miao paused, then simply said, "I’m interested."

"That’s great! I specialize in immunology. If you’re interested, we can discuss it." Du Huailin patiently persuaded him. "So, focus on recovering now and eat properly. If you don’t eat, your immune system will suffer—you should know that."

You Miao licked his dry lips and remained silent.

Du Huailin continued, "Health is the foundation of everything. Lying in a hospital bed relying on nutrient drips day after day is miserable. So, eat well and recover quickly—only then can you do what you want and have the energy to discuss immunology with me."

As a medical student, You Miao was well aware of the importance of health. However, his pessimistic and despairing mood since arriving here had given rise to radical thoughts, leading him to refuse food.

Du Huailin added, "I have many books on immunology. Would you like to read them? If so, I can bring them tomorrow." He paused. "But in your current weak state, even speaking is exhausting, and you can barely keep your eyes open. If you want to read, shouldn’t you eat something first?"

You Miao felt a slight shift in his stance. After a long silence, he finally said, "Thank you."

That evening, he ate for the first time.

Xing Hui watched in astonishment as You Miao took small sips of the porridge, not daring to make a sound. Only after You Miao had finished about half a bowl did he speak up, "You haven’t eaten for days. Don’t have too much for your first meal—take it slow."

He tried to keep his tone gentle, but You Miao ignored him and avoided looking at him, stubbornly finishing the entire bowl of porridge.

Sure enough, by midnight, You Miao had stomach pain. Xing Hui was furious, but seeing the pallor of his face, he forced himself to hold back his anger.

Du Huailin, on night duty, came to the ward immediately and encouraged him, "It’s normal to have stomach pain after not eating for days and then having a full meal. Take some medicine, and it’ll ease. For your next meal, eat less and gradually increase the amount—no need to rush."

You Miao looked at him and showed a faint smile. "Thank you, Doctor Du Huailin. I understand."

Xing Hui’s gaze remained fixed on You Miao all along. It was the first time in days that he had seen him smile, but that smile was for someone else—and an Omega at that. His eyes slowly shifted to Du Huailin, growing increasingly cold.