Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Birthday gift." Lu Xingwen lowered his eyes. "You haven't spent my birthday with me in five years."

Su Xingze felt a pang in his chest. Had he really missed Xiaolu's birthday for five years straight? But Xiaolu's current state seemed out of it, and it was hard to tell if he was even in his right mind. If he actually said yes, that would be irresponsible.

Su Xingze looked up at Lu Xingwen, trying to figure out if the other guy was lucid, and suddenly got lost in a pair of hazy eyes.

He was still wrapped in Lu Xingwen's arms from behind. He was 5'10", Lu Xingwen 6'4"—a 15-centimeter difference. So up close, he had to crane his neck to look at him.

The second Su Xingze tilted his head up, a hand clamped around his neck. The hand slid up, gripping his jaw, forcing his head to tilt back.

"Mm..." Before he could even react, their lips were pressed together—soft and warm, like the chewy rice dumplings he used to eat—sticky going in, sweet on the finish.

Su Xingze was so startled he didn't even blink, while Lu Xingwen stared down at him, his eyes fierce and possessive, giving his prey zero chance of escape.

It was just a simple lip-to-lip touch. Yet Su Xingze's ears and neck were already bright red, about to spread to his face.

The temperature in the hospital room felt like it was climbing. Su Xingze shoved Lu Xingwen away and stood facing him, head down.

But if he'd looked up, he'd have seen Lu Xingwen's ears and neck were red too. Lu Xingwen cleared his throat, trying to act cool, and said, "I received the gift."

This was literally his first kiss. He'd pictured it a thousand times in his head—every dirty and innocent thought imaginable. But no matter how much theory he knew, it couldn't beat the real thing. His blood felt like it was boiling, and his heart was pounding out of control.

But he was scared of freaking Su Xingze out. Even if this was just a hallucination, he couldn't stand to scare him.

Su Xingze tried to pretend that never happened and get back to normal. He brought the cake over: "Make a wish. You get five this time."

"After I make my wish, will you leave?" Lu Xingwen asked out loud, but his body wasn't listening either—he hugged Su Xingze, sniffing and nuzzling into him, and when Su Xingze didn't push him away, he buried his face in and took two deep breaths.

Leave? Where would he even go? He was literally in the next room—they were roommates, basically.

"You're hugging too tight." Su Xingze felt hot, and it was only getting hotter. He pushed at Lu Xingwen a few times, but it didn't work.

"Will you leave?" Lu Xingwen asked persistently, like he wouldn't drop it until he got an answer.

What the hell happened to make his sunny childhood friend so scared and fragile? Su Xingze patted his arm: "I'm not leaving. I won't go see him anymore, I swear."

The man holding him went stiff, then suddenly grabbed his neck, turned his head, and bit down—nibbling and licking at his Adam's apple, making Su Xingze itchy and desperate to squirm away.

Why did he have to bring up someone else? He didn't say it out loud, but Lu Xingwen knew exactly who he meant. This was his hallucination, his and his alone—couldn't it think only of him, care only about him, worry only for him?

Lu Xingwen was so jealous he lost his mind, not wanting to think about anything else. His lips and teeth lingered on the neck of the man in his arms, and after a while, he sucked a hickey onto Su Xingze's neck.

Su Xingze just felt itchy, not realizing the mark was even more obvious than a summer mosquito bite.

Because his brain was basically about to shut down. His ears, cheeks, and neck slowly turned pink, and even the corners of his eyes were burning to the touch.

He caught a blurry glimpse of himself in the window reflection. With strength he didn't know he had, he shoved out of Lu Xingwen's arms and bolted out of the room.

He went back to his own room, crawled into bed, and curled into a ball.

So weird. Xiaolu was so weird. The whole thing felt so weird.

Su Xingze's body was twenty-two, but his mind and logic were stuck at seventeen, no question. Back then, he hadn't presented yet, and he and Lu Xingwen were close—they went to school, ate, and walked home together.

Lu Xingwen seemed to love touching him—patting his head, rubbing his cheeks, brushing his hands. Su Xingze wasn't used to it at first, but he got used to it, figuring it was no big deal. They were bros, right?

As for hugs, they'd been doing that since they were kids—especially Lu Xingwen, who seemed obsessed with them, especially hugs from behind. He'd hug him anytime, anywhere.

Su Xingze knew Lu Xingwen had some rough stuff happen when he was little—he was terrified of the dark and had no sense of security—so he'd always let him get away with it.

But back then, his heart never pounded like this, and he never got this hot. It felt like it was about to burst out of his chest.

Su Xingze pressed a hand to his chest, telling himself to chill. He'd deal with Lu Xingwen tomorrow when the guy was thinking straight!

*

The room went quiet.

Lu Xingwen stared at the door Su Xingze had walked out of, his eyes getting darker and darker.

He looked at his own arms, feeling a twinge of regret.

If I'd held on tighter, so he couldn't get away, could I have covered him in hickeys, watched him get all shy and flustered, until his legs gave out and he collapsed in my arms, too weak to run, looking only at me?

Chen Chen, you're mine. Only mine.

There was a knock at the door. Dr. Zhao knocked again and called out, "Mr. Lu, you awake?"

"Come in." Lu Xingwen shook his head, then sat up in bed.

Dr. Zhao looked around the brightly decorated room—snacks everywhere, five fancy, different cakes. He smiled: "Mr. Lu, is it your birthday or something?"

Lu Xingwen nodded: "How'd you guess?"

Dr. Zhao: "..."

Wasn't the room obvious enough? There were decorations and gifts piled up almost to the ceiling.

"Mr. Lu, you overdosed on medication. Your family brought you in to get your stomach pumped, but your body still absorbed a little of the drug. You feeling any discomfort now?"

"No."

Dr. Zhao swapped to another chart and opened it: "I came here mainly to talk to you about the patient next door. Su Xingze is your family, right? When we called you in before, the patient wasn't stable, so we only told you he was hurt. After more tests, we found out the patient has amnesia—specifically, partial amnesia. I've been trying to explain the situation to you, plus his gland care, but I couldn't get ahold of you. And Mr. Su wouldn't let us call his parents."

Lu Xingwen shot up: "What did you just say?"

His whole vibe changed. Dr. Zhao, who already didn't like him, now pegged him as violent, quietly stepping back, feeling sorry for the lovesick idiot next door. He straightened up and said: "As a doctor, I shouldn't get involved in your family business. But you've been gone the whole time—you didn't even know he had amnesia, and nobody came to see him. You just left a couple of bodyguards. That's completely irresponsible!"

"After the car crash, the patient had a visible lump of blood at the back of his head. It needs proper care—no hits, and that hematoma absolutely cannot burst."

"Also, he's lost his memories from seventeen to twenty-two. He only remembers bits and pieces from that time. When you talk to him, don't push him, or it could trigger really bad headaches."

"And most seriously, his gland was sliced in half by a piece of glass. It took hours of surgery to fix it. Marking is absolutely off-limits, but his gland needs calming pheromones, so you—"

Lu Xingwen's eyes were so bloodshot they were practically red all over. He was breathing fast, like there wasn't enough air in the room. It startled Dr. Zhao so much he stepped back a few more paces, then quietly repeated: "His gland is swollen and bruised all around. No marking—not even one bite."

Dr. Zhao felt like their job was way too high-risk.

Lu Xingwen stood right in front of Dr. Zhao, sinking into a daze of helpless confusion. He wanted to laugh, but mostly he just felt guilty and helpless. And underneath all that was disbelief—the feeling of having lost something and gotten it back, which nearly broke him.

Lu Xingwen asked: "You said he lost his memory?"

"Yes."

"He doesn't remember anything from seventeen to twenty-two?"

"Mhm."

"He's been in the room right next to mine this whole time?"

"That's right."

With a crash, every shred of rationality and self-control came tumbling down. Lu Xingwen made his way to Su Xingze's door, hesitating for ages, too afraid to go in. He was shaking all over.

He'd screwed up a lot over the past few days.

It hit Lu Xingwen late: the Su Xingze he'd seen these past few days had been real, not a hallucination. Even with his head foggy from the pills, he could recall the warmth, the solid reality of him—hospital gown, breath, the works.

He'd filled that room with gifts, all carefully picked out for Su Xingze. But he'd scared him off.

He'd been a wreck—crying, laughing, going crazy. Dr. Zhao, scared he'd do something to himself, instructed, "Bring him by in a bit, and I'll walk you through gland care. Ping me at the nurse's station if anything comes up."

Then he hightailed it out of there.

Lu Xingwen said "Okay" and dialed. Someone picked up right away: "Bro, what's up?"

"Get to the hospital. Bring Aunt Zhang along."

Lu Hean asked, sounding worried, "You alright? Want me to line up more nurses for you?"

Lu Xingwen kept his cool: "Just hurry up."

Lu Hean showed up with a wheelchair—his brother had told him to buy one, though he had no clue why.

Upon entering the ward, Lu Hean was first shocked by the room full of snacks. He picked one to eat, but Lu Xingwen snatched it back.

Lu Hean said, "Stingy."

Lu Xingwen had already changed into a hospital gown, his hair disheveled, his face pale—the picture of someone chronically ill and utterly frail.

Lu Xingwen sat in the wheelchair and gestured for Lu Hean to lean in.

Lu Hean listened to Lu Xingwen's plan, then shuddered and cursed, "You're playing that dirty?"

Lu Xingwen pulled out a card—no spending limit, use it freely.

Lu Hean immediately changed his tune: "Brilliant. Absolutely genius."

With Aunt Zhang, Lu Xingwen was far more sincere, because she was the nanny who had raised Su Xingze since childhood. After Su Xingze cut ties with the Su family, Aunt Zhang had resigned too. Lu Xingwen had found her and brought her back to stay at the Lu residence.

"Aunt Zhang, you know that Chen Chen has been bewitched by that Alpha these past few years. I can bring him back to himself, but I need your cooperation."

Aunt Zhang also knew Su Xingze had been off these past few years, as if under a spell. He no longer recognized her or his mother, only caring about that Alpha. If he could truly be brought back, it would honor the kindness Miss Su had shown her back then.

Aunt Zhang's eyes welled with tears. "Mr. Lu, tell me."

After listening, Aunt Zhang's eyes flickered. After a long moment, she made up her mind: "Alright, I'll help."