No One Else
Of course Nie Xingchao remembered Xia Xinghe’s bed number. Upon hearing “bed 26,” he immediately asked the nurse, “Is it the guy with the golden hair?”
“Yes,” she nodded quickly. “Complaining of nausea, vomiting, weakness. He’s in the emergency room now. He still had the internal medicine wristband on, so we came to get you.”
“He hasn’t even been discharged and he’s already causing trouble? Xia Xinghe really is something else.”
Nie Xingchao was half amused, half exasperated, hastily re-buttoning the white coat he’d loosened during his break. “Do you know what he ate?”
The nurse shook her head. “He’s been vomiting and having diarrhea, totally drained. He couldn’t explain properly.”
“Seafood.”
Just as she finished speaking, Bai Qingzhou suddenly said, “There was probably seafood in the soup he drank tonight.”
His cold, urgent voice echoed through the office, causing several doctors at the table to look up with strange expressions—as if to say, “How do you know what he ate?”
Bai Qingzhou coughed lightly, turned his head away, and quickly resumed his flat tone.
“Cough, I just happened to walk by. Saw it.”
Nie Xingchao caught a hint of something in his eyes and asked, “Want to come take a look together?”
“No…”
Bai Qingzhou was about to refuse, but Nie Xingchao quickly added, “You know the details—it might help with diagnosis.”
Bai Qingzhou was silent for two seconds, then quietly adjusted his white coat without saying a word.
Nie Xingchao knew that meant agreement and turned to the nurse. “Let’s go.”
The nurse nodded and led them both briskly toward the emergency department.
…….
The hospital elevators were always crowded—even at night it didn’t calm down. The ride from the 8th floor to the 1st was slow, stopping at nearly every floor. By the time they made it to the ER, Xia Xinghe was already in the infusion hall with an IV in his arm.
The ER doctors had the same conclusion as Bai Qingzhou: seafood-induced food allergy. Luckily, Xia Xinghe had a sensitive stomach and had vomited and purged everything he ate, so the symptoms were easing after the IV treatment.
After a quick discussion with the ER staff, Nie Xingchao and Bai Qingzhou stepped into the infusion hall, one after the other.
Nie Xingchao entered first. Xia Xinghe was lying half-reclined on the bed in the far corner, looking pale but still trying to smile sweetly at him. But when he saw Bai Qingzhou coming in behind, the smile froze on his face.
…Why is it that Bai Qingzhou always shows up when he’s at his most miserable?
Xia Xinghe didn’t even need a mirror to know how awful he looked right now. Limp and weak, red rashes still on his neck and arms, his face completely drained of color—he looked like a wilted flower.
Xia Xinghe quietly lowered his eyes, not wanting to see Bai Qingzhou’s expression.
Nie Xingchao strode over and couldn’t help but ruffle his milk-golden hair hard. “What’s going on with you? We finally let you go out for a meal and you end up in the ER right after?”
Actually, Xia Xinghe himself didn’t know what happened. He was sure he hadn’t eaten anything unusual, but on the way back, he suddenly broke out in rashes. It was only after he called the restaurant that he found out the delicious soup had seafood in it.
He’d eaten seafood before—not a big fan, but he’d never had an allergic reaction. He had no idea why it suddenly happened this time.
Xia Xinghe always hated long-winded explanations, and knowing he wouldn’t win an argument with Nie Xingchao, he simply let him mess up his hair and quickly admitted fault:
“Dr. Nie, I know I was wrong…”
His attitude was decent, so Nie Xingchao gave him a glance and pulled his hand back.
“Good thing nothing serious happened. You might not be so lucky next time.”
Xia Xinghe nodded and quickly followed up,
“I know. It definitely won’t happen again.”
His hair was fine and soft, and the static made the strands slightly messy in an aesthetically pleasing way. His eyelids drooped a little, the dark lashes casting faint shadows on his pale cheeks. He looked pitiful, his voice so weak it was practically just breath.
“Sigh…”
Nie Xingchao sighed helplessly, truly unable to scold him any further. He gave Xia Xinghe a few more nagging reminders before his phone suddenly rang.
“Hello? Got it, I’m on my way.”
After hanging up, his expression turned serious.
“One of the patients upstairs had an incident. I need to go check on it.”
Xia Xinghe couldn’t wait for him to leave, and quickly said with a generous expression,
“It’s fine, go ahead, I’m okay here.”
As he spoke, he sneaked a glance at Bai Qingzhou, who had been sitting silently nearby with a cold face, and silently made a wish in his heart: Dear Buddha, please let Bai Qingzhou leave too!
But just as he finished his wish and hadn’t even had time to take a breath, Bai Qingzhou said calmly,
“You go ahead. I’m on night duty. I’ll stay and watch him for a while.”
…Apparently the Buddha wasn’t in the mood to answer prayers that night.
Xia Xinghe quickly waved his hand and tried to say it wasn’t necessary, but he was still a step too late. Nie Xingchao had already left the infusion room in a hurry. The door clicked shut with a “ka-cha”, and the atmosphere instantly turned quiet.
Bai Qingzhou glanced at Xia Xinghe coldly and said in an indifferent tone,
“Don’t move your hand.”
“Oh… okay.”
Xia Xinghe looked at his suspended hand, instinctively touched the IV needle on the back of it, then obediently laid his hand down by his side.
Bai Qingzhou ignored him and walked over to the bench nearby, sitting down.
Outside, it was so dark nothing could be seen. The other two patients in the infusion room had already removed their IVs and left. The now empty room left only Bai Qingzhou and Xia Xinghe, making the awkward atmosphere between them even more pronounced.
From his position, Xia Xinghe could see Bai Qingzhou’s side profile. The man’s long fingers were tapping at something on the screen. From the dark images, it looked like a CT or MRI scan.
Xia Xinghe didn’t understand much else. Even though he had lived with Bai Qingzhou for over half a year before, Bai Qingzhou had never shared a single detail about his professional life.
They didn’t talk much before, and even less now that they’d met again. Bai Qingzhou had come and gone quickly whenever he visited Xia Xinghe’s ward. After that weird dog bark incident, he hadn’t come again. Sometimes, Xia Xinghe would spot him from the window, striding through the little hospital garden out front, but there had been no deeper interaction between them since.
Thinking about it, this might be the longest time they’d spent together since their reunion. Lying weakly on the hospital bed, Xia Xinghe noticed he seemed thinner than before. His facial features looked even sharper, his thin lips were just as sexy as four years ago, and those deep brown eyes could still make someone lose themselves with just one glance.
Back then, Xia Xinghe used to enjoy sitting quietly next to Bai Qingzhou, watching him work. Even after four years, that small habit was still etched in his body’s memory. He stared at Bai Qingzhou without blinking—until a cold, low voice suddenly rang out.
“Am I that good looking?” Bai Qingzhou lifted his eyes slightly, meeting Xia Xinghe’s gaze.
Xia Xinghe blurted out,
“Good looking!”
Then immediately realized what he’d said. He quickly turned his head away and pretended like nothing happened. But Bai Qingzhou clearly wasn’t about to let it go. He gave a faint smile and asked,
“Better looking than that girl?”
Xia Xinghe was confused,
“Which girl?”
Bai Qingzhou replied,
“The one sitting across from you at dinner. You two were chatting happily, even took a photo with your heads touching.”
“You…”
Xia Xinghe was momentarily stunned and suddenly realized,
“That person at dinner tonight was really you? You also went to that private restaurant?”
“…”
After a pause, Bai Qingzhou said in a cold tone,
“Not bad. You two were so into your conversation you didn’t even notice people around you.”
He added,
“Not even fully recovered and already rushing to have dinner dates—gained some guts, huh.”
“You said you didn’t have a girlfriend. Found one that fast?”
“You like her that much? Couldn’t wait a few days? Couldn’t skip one meal?”
The cold tone and indifferent expression made Xia Xinghe’s nose sting.
Bai Qingzhou was usually cold, but he rarely spoke with such a sharp tongue. Before, Xia Xinghe only felt disheartened by his aloofness. Today, he realized that Bai Qingzhou’s sarcasm was even harder to endure.
Xia Xinghe’s limbs were still weak, his whole body drained. His head throbbed, and at this already vulnerable and uncomfortable moment, Bai Qingzhou’s harsh words made him feel like crying.
But he didn’t want to lose face in front of Bai Qingzhou. He sniffled hard, forcing back the tears welling in his eyes. Then he dove under the blanket and spoke in a muffled, nasal voice:
“Why are you yelling? It’s not like I did it on purpose! I didn’t touch anything raw or spicy—I just drank a bit of soup… How was I supposed to know it had seafood in it? I’ve never been allergic to seafood before!”
“And don’t accuse me wrongly. The person I had dinner with was my editor. We were signing a contract, that’s all. What liking her? I haven’t liked anyone since we broke up, okay?!”
Xia Xinghe rattled off a whole string of complaints like pouring out beans, his angry voice echoing throughout the large IV room. After venting all his grievances, he belatedly felt a little embarrassed.
Outside, the sounds of e-bike alarms and car horns occasionally rang out, but inside, the room was so quiet it was as if even breathing had stopped.
His head still throbbed dully, and his stomach didn’t feel great either. Xia Xinghe simply curled deeper into the blanket, muttering, “Forget it, just leave. I want to sleep…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly went silent. Bai Qingzhou had reached out and gently brushed aside the stray hair on his temple, tucking it behind his ear.
Just one movement, and Bai Qingzhou calmly withdrew his hand, but the lingering warmth on Xia Xinghe’s skin stayed long after.
“…Got it.”
The man lowered his gaze, his tone softening as if the sharp edge had been sheathed, revealing a gentler side. After a moment, he spoke again in a low voice: “I told you before, allergic reactions usually occur on second exposure. Seafood is a common allergen. Just because you haven’t been allergic before doesn’t mean you won’t be. Be careful when you eat next time.”
It had been too long, and Xia Xinghe couldn’t remember if Bai Qingzhou had ever told him that before, but the man’s gentle tone and slightly lowered eyes made a deep and vivid mark in his heart.
His heartbeat sped up — skipped a beat.