The Third Year After The Breakup, He Knelt and Begged to Get Back Together - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

It was during the four years they were together…

Qi Mingfeng restarted his career in live-streamed teaching. Because of the “A-Chou” incident, his traffic was even higher than before, and he was busily happily every day.

Things had returned to normal on his end, but He Xian’s side had become a bit strange.

For the past two days, He Xian actually hadn’t dragged him into the study!

Previously, when He Xian came home at night and wasn’t busy, he would ask him to watch movies together, work out, or take a walk in the neighborhood. If he was busy, he would have Qi Mingfeng bring his homework to the study; Qi Mingfeng would write his assignments while He Xian worked.

Qi Mingfeng wasn’t an actor, but he had already come to terms with the logic of doing a job for the money. Plus, to avoid giving He Xian any excuses to go crazy, when he saw He Xian enter the study in the evening, he proactively brought his laptop and headphones to find him.

But He Xian had locked the study door.

This was a true first.

Never mind the period since his return—even during the four years they were together, He Xian had never locked any door in the house.

Qi Mingfeng couldn’t help but be a little curious.

But not very.

If He Xian didn’t want him to know, he wouldn’t force it. Holding his laptop and headphones, he prepared to return to his workspace.

The workspace was next door to the study. Before he could pull open the door, He Xian walked out of the study and asked him, “Looking for me for something?”

Qi Mingfeng: “Oh, I was going to say I’d stay with you while you work overtime.”

He Xian cast a quick glance back into the study, then pretended nothing was wrong: “I need to have a video conference.”

He added, “I’ll be having them for the next couple of days.”

Qi Mingfeng didn’t point out that He Xian never used to lock the door even during video conferences. He only said, “Okay, then get to your work.”

Perhaps He Xian was working on some major deal lately; his mood seemed unusually good.

Since he didn’t have to accompany He Xian, Qi Mingfeng’s mood was also very good.

It wasn’t just this one thing making him happy; it was as if twenty-plus years of doing good deeds had finally been noticed by the heavens—good news arrived one after another.

Because He Xian had given him 600,000 all at once, combined with the money he’d earned from private gigs recently, he had paid back the debts he owed, and Qi Huan had enough for his medical expenses.

With the money in place, the medications used were better, and Qi Huan’s health improved day by day. He was about to undergo surgery.

Even better news was that He Xian was going out of town on a business trip!

In other words, he could go to D City to accompany Qi Huan through his surgery!

It was truly a case of “extreme misfortune turning into luck.”

Qi Mingfeng asked about He Xian’s departure time. It was enough for him to accompany Qi Huan through the surgery, and if he hurried, he could even stay with him for an extra day.

The moment He Xian left, Qi Mingfeng packed his things and even gave Auntie Sun two days off.

Auntie Sun said she had something to do and asked for one extra day.

Qi Mingfeng agreed immediately.

However, when Auntie Sun asked for the extra day, her expression was a bit suggestive.

Could she be going to find a “second spring” (a new romance)?

It seemed he should prepare a red envelope (gift money) for Auntie Sun.

…

Qi Huan’s surgery was very successful. However, because the treatment had been delayed for too long, they needed to pay close attention to his vitals for a few days post-op.

This was already the best possible outcome.

The ward was originally a three-person room. One patient had just been discharged, and the other was in the recovery phase and had secretly sneaked home. Qi Mingfeng and Brother Jiu both happened to have chairs to sit on.

In D City, the luckiest thing he had ever done was meeting a friend like Brother Jiu.

Back then, he had been delivering food and took a shortcut to save time, where he found the collapsed Brother Jiu and rushed him to the hospital. When Brother Jiu woke up, he wanted to become sworn brothers on the spot. Brother Jiu’s girlfriend, who rushed over overnight, happened to witness it, crying and laughing at the same time.

Brother Jiu was a man of great loyalty. After learning about Qi Mingfeng’s situation, he brought him to work at the bar. Even after Qi Mingfeng went to C City, Brother Jiu often visited Qi Huan. Now, he was accompanying him, waiting for Qi Huan to wake up.

Neither of them wanted to leave the ward, but they were afraid of when Qi Huan might wake up and didn’t want their conversation to be overheard, so they didn’t talk about the matter between Qi Mingfeng and He Xian. They chatted idly about work at the bar instead.

As the sun began to set, Qi Huan slowly woke up.

Qi Mingfeng noticed immediately and stood up to check his condition: “A-Huan, can you hear me?”

Qi Huan’s eyes gradually focused. Upon seeing it was him, he revealed a smile: “Brother.”

Having just finished surgery, Qi Huan was weak and lacked strength. He was still wearing an oxygen mask, and his two words breathed out a small puff of mist, making his face appear slightly blurred.

Despite this, Qi Huan reached out his hand toward him.

Qi Mingfeng quickly grabbed Qi Huan’s hand: “How do you feel? Does it hurt?”

Qi Huan: “I’m okay, Brother, don’t worry.”

The corners of Qi Mingfeng’s eyes grew moist, and his voice trembled as he held Qi Huan’s hand: “That’s great, that’s great.”

Qi Huan used his free hand to wipe away Qi Mingfeng’s tears: “Don’t cry, Brother. Aren’t I okay now?”

Qi Mingfeng couldn’t speak; he could only nod repeatedly.

Seeing this, Brother Jiu couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. He stepped forward, put his arm around Qi Mingfeng’s shoulder, and gave it a hard pat: “The doctor said the surgery was successful. You two will be fine from now on.”

Qi Huan: “Thank you, Brother Jiu.”

Brother Jiu: “Eh, don’t mention it. You two brothers spend some time together; I’ll go buy some food for you.”

Qi Mingfeng sniffled: “I’ll go.”

Brother Jiu: “Just sit down, you. I’ll be right back.”

Qi Huan could only eat liquid food and didn’t eat much; he couldn’t stay awake long and fell back asleep.

Brother Jiu had work and a girlfriend, so after seeing them finish dinner, he left. Qi Mingfeng stayed at the hospital to accompany him. He pulled out a folding bed and set it up. He Xian wasn’t coming back until tomorrow, so he would stay at the hospital tonight.

He couldn’t do live streams or demos, but he could listen to XB’s classes.

Before sleeping, he followed the doctor’s instructions to repeatedly check Qi Huan’s status and the indicators on the monitors. He only dared to close his eyes once he was sure everything was fine.

When he woke up the next day, Qi Mingfeng discovered that Qi Huan had actually curled his body up to sleep on only the bottom half of the bed. He had secretly taken off the oxygen mask, and one hand hung down, holding Qi Mingfeng’s hand.

Qi Mingfeng was startled into a jolt and immediately sat up.

Qi Huan was woken by him and asked hoarsely: “What’s wrong, Brother?”

Qi Mingfeng stared wide-eyed: “You still dare to ask me? What is going on with you? Why did you take off the oxygen mask yourself? And why isn’t your arm inside the blanket? What if you catch a cold!”

He nagged while gently tucking Qi Huan back into the blanket and dragging him back to lie flat at the head of the bed.

“I’m going to call the doctor.”

Qi Huan stopped him: “It’s fine, Brother. I’m a medical student myself. My condition doesn’t require an oxygen mask; it’s just there for insurance.”

Qi Mingfeng: “It doesn’t matter what you study, just stay still for me!”

Fortunately, after the doctor came to check, they said nothing was wrong. Qi Huan’s condition was stable, so they took the oxygen equipment away.

Only then did Qi Mingfeng feel relieved, saying fearfully to Qi Huan: “Even when you’re sick, you can’t behave. If you do this again, I’ll be angry.”

Qi Huan was leaning against two pillows. He sat up and tried to pull him. Qi Mingfeng was startled again and quickly went over: “What are you doing? Lie down quickly.”

Qi Huan pulled his arm coaxingly and shook it, moving over a bit on his own: “Brother, come sit with me for a while.”

Qi Mingfeng didn’t agree: “The bed is so small, what if I crowd your incision?”

Qi Huan looked at him with watery eyes: “It’s fine, the incision is on the other side. Just sit with me for a bit, Brother. I haven’t had a good talk with you in a long time.”

Qi Mingfeng was soft-hearted toward persuasion rather than force, especially since Qi Huan had followed him for over ten years and knew best how to handle him. His acting spoiled hit right at Qi Mingfeng’s heart. Seeing that Qi Huan’s spirit was good, he hesitated for a moment before taking off his shoes and getting onto the bed: “If you feel uncomfortable, say so.”

Qi Huan said “Mm-hmm-hmm” while leaning his head right onto Qi Mingfeng’s shoulder.

Qi Mingfeng chuckled: “How old are you now? You’re taller than me, yet you’re still like when you were a kid.”

Qi Huan: “No matter how old I am, you’re still my brother.”

Qi Mingfeng: “You’re just being a brat.”

The sunlight passed through the gaps in the leaves outside and spilled into the room, dyeing the plain white of the ward with layers of warm color, as if it wanted to warm people to their very core.

Qi Mingfeng didn’t do anything; he just leaned against the headboard with Qi Huan, feeling his whole body relax.

He hadn’t been this satisfied in a long time, hoping all of this could last.

“If only things could stay like this forever,” Qi Huan suddenly spoke.

Qi Mingfeng didn’t hear clearly: “What?”

Qi Huan buried himself further into his shoulder: “I want to be with Brother forever.”

Qi Mingfeng smiled: “Childish thinking. In the future, maybe you’ll find me a foreign sister-in-law and forget all about me.”

He waited for a while and noticed Qi Huan didn’t respond. He couldn’t help but lower his head and ask: “What’s wrong?”

Qi Huan spoke tentatively: “Going abroad is very expensive. How about you go first, Brother? Besides, you must have owed money to treat my illness. I’ll stay in the country to save some money and then go find you.”

Qi Mingfeng didn’t dare say the money was all “tricked” out of He Xian. He said vaguely: “Don’t worry about the money. When you’re better, think about whether you want to go to school with me after going abroad, or find a place to work.”

Qi Huan paused for a moment, then raised his hand to gently stroke Qi Mingfeng’s right ear. His eyes were full of heartache: “Then, the things that happened here… will they just be forgotten like that?”

The air went silent for an instant, as if even the dust stayed still.

Qi Mingfeng suddenly felt uneasy, his tone quickening: “Qi Huan, what do you want to do?”

Qi Huan’s expression was clouded with a layer of gloom: “They bullied you so much, Brother. I want to…”