After Falling for the Handsome CEO - Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Stay at My Place

Shen Jin waited in the hospital corridor for about half an hour, but there was still no sign of Yan Yu.

He checked his phone over and over again—not a single text, not a single call. He could only watch as time ticked away. All he could do was wait.

Just yesterday, he had spoken to Yan Yu on the phone. He told him he wanted to make him breakfast and asked if Yan Yu would stop by while driving past the hospital the next morning. At the time, Yan Yu had agreed with a smile, saying he would definitely come and was looking forward to it.

Because of that one phrase—”looking forward to it”—Shen Jin had woken up early to cook. He had carefully selected dishes he knew Yan Yu liked and imagined what Yan Yu would look like while eating them. Would he smile and praise him?

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He had rushed to the hospital with anticipation, only to be met with a long, empty wait.

“Should I call and ask…” Shen Jin muttered softly, his thumb tracing the phone screen, resting over the contact name “A-Yu.”

As soon as the thought appeared, he shook his head. Fearing he might be a nuisance, he chose to keep waiting.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but glance toward the VIP ward building. It wasn’t far from here. He remembered that almost every time he met Yan Yu, the man seemed to come from that direction, and he spent a significant amount of time over there.

He was curious—why did Yan Yu go there so often? Why did he always look toward that building?

But deep down, a faint sense of fear kept him from asking, as if the answer was something he was afraid to know…

“Whew…” Shen Jin patted his own cheeks, rubbing them briskly. He glanced toward the VIP wards again, but unfortunately, he couldn’t see anything.

The corridors were a maze of intersections and the rooms were partitioned off; he had no reason to actually go over there.

After another twenty minutes of waiting, he was still alone. A sense of disappointment washed over him. He lowered his head and whispered to himself, “A-Yu, if you don’t come soon, the breakfast will get cold… you won’t be able to eat it then…”

But still, his wait was in vain.

“Maybe he just forgot…” Shen Jin tried to convince himself. At the moment, this was the only thought that offered him any shred of peace.

Ding, ding, ding—

Suddenly, his phone screen lit up. A text message had arrived.

Shen Jin’s face instantly broke into a smile. He cried out excitedly, “A-Yu!”

However, after the initial rush of excitement, he opened the message only to find it was from an unknown number. It wasn’t the “A-Yu” he was waiting for. The text was a single, simple sentence:

[Stop waiting. He’s not coming.]

The smile on Shen Jin’s face froze. The color drained from his lips. He looked around blankly with vacant eyes, seeing no one, then stared back at the strange number.

After a long moment, Shen Jin finally typed a few words back to the unknown sender: [Who are you?]

The person did not reply.

Shen Jin’s heart sank, but he decided to keep waiting. After all, it wasn’t A-Yu who said he wouldn’t come. A-Yu said he’d be here, so he definitely would…

But after another ten minutes passed with no sign of him, his anxiety grew unbearable. In a daze, he dialed Yan Yu’s number—

…

At the same time, inside the VIP ward, Xie Li was preparing to be discharged.

Yan Yu was by his side.

Xie Li had changed out of his hospital gown into a simple white shirt. He looked clean and refreshed, and the faint, lingering smile on his lips was exceptionally charming.

He stood by the window and pushed it open. As the wind tousled his hair, he tucked a stray lock behind his ear and turned back to smile at Yan Yu. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

Yan Yu chuckled, looking at him with a warm gaze. “You’re smiling so happily just because you’re leaving the hospital. You’re like a little kid.”

Xie Li acted a bit shy under the gaze. His heart began to race, and a touch of pride flared up, but he shifted his eyes away and let out a purposeful sigh. “Now that I’m being discharged, I want to find a quiet place to stay. I wonder if Ah Cheng has found anywhere yet…”

Sure enough, as soon as Yan Yu heard the name “Ah Cheng,” his expression changed. He blurted out, “Don’t spend so much time with him. It’s not appropriate.”

Yan Yu was well aware of Xu Cheng’s feelings for Xie Li. Naturally, he didn’t want them spending too much time together, fearing something might actually happen.

Xie Li seemed taken aback. He frowned slightly, then gave a soft laugh. “A-Yu, what are you saying? Ah Cheng and I have been friends for years. This discharge was a bit sudden, and since I haven’t found a suitable place yet, I was going to stay at his—”

Before he could finish, Yan Yu interrupted him immediately: “Stay at my place!”

The corners of Xie Li’s mouth quirked up in an imperceptible smirk. He quickly masked his joy and looked at Yan Yu as if nothing was wrong, laughing softly. “What nonsense are you talking about? That would be so inconvenient. How could I bother you like that…”

Right then, the phone in Yan Yu’s pocket began to ring—

“Why choose this moment to call me?” Yan Yu was annoyed at being interrupted. Without a second thought and without even looking at the caller ID, he swiped to reject the call.

Then, Yan Yu looked Xie Li in the eyes and repeated himself: “There’s no need to stay with Xu Cheng. Ali, stay at my place.”

Seeing how unhesitatingly Yan Yu had hung up the phone, and hearing him repeat the offer twice, the smile on Xie Li’s lips deepened…

As expected, Yan Yu’s heart is still with me. As for that person named Shen… what does he even matter?