The Illusion of Gentleness
Xia Xinghe had grown used to Bai Qingzhou’s coldness, so now that he showed even a bit of gentleness, he was completely defenseless. He already felt weak and limp, and now he felt even more dizzy, as if floating on a thick cloud.
“…Okay,” he replied softly.
Bai Qingzhou let out a low “mm,” then walked over to sit on a nearby bench.
The IV room returned to silence, but it no longer felt as suffocating. It was like a clear stream quietly flowing beneath an icy surface, melting the frost without a sound.
The area outside the hospital was bustling. The foot traffic fed a wide array of street vendors, and as night fell and stars began to appear, it became their busiest time.
Car horns, shouting vendors, and even the distant sound of square dancing music mingled in the air. Somehow, the noise didn’t feel annoying — instead, it gave a sense of groundedness, the warm energy of ordinary life.
This kind of atmosphere was fertile ground for ambiguous feelings. Lying under the blanket, Xia Xinghe’s heart thumped quickly. In the stillness, his mind flooded with memories — of skin against skin, lips against lips.
They were adults, after all, and had lived together for over half a year. They’d done everything that lovers do.
Bai Qingzhou might appear cool and indifferent, but in bed, he was relentless. He’d use his teeth to torment Xia Xinghe’s sensitive Adam’s apple, leaving striking red marks all over his body, never stopping until Xia Xinghe was crying and begging for mercy.
Xia Xinghe would always end up breathless and exhausted, but deep down, he actually liked it. Because only during those moments could he truly feel Bai Qingzhou’s emotions — it was the only time he felt like he meant something special to him.
The flood of memories made his throat tighten, his Adam’s apple bobbing. A restless heat rose within him.
Hiding under the blanket, Xia Xinghe quietly peeked at Bai Qingzhou. He saw him speaking briefly with a nurse making rounds, then walking over with two large paper cups.
The cups clinked softly as they were placed on the table. From Xia Xinghe’s angle, he could clearly see Bai Qingzhou’s slender, well-defined fingers.
His hands were indeed beautiful — perfect hands for a surgeon. His fingers were longer than Xia Xinghe’s by half a joint. Back when they lived together, Xia Xinghe had secretly measured them while Bai Qingzhou was asleep.
“Are you asleep?”
The cool voice sounded close to his ear. Xia Xinghe poked his head out from the blanket, snapping out of his thoughts. “…No.”
“Mm.” Bai Qingzhou picked up one of the cups and curved his fingers slightly to hand it to him. “Drink this.”
Xia Xinghe obediently took the cup. The half-filled liquid swayed slightly — it was warm. The heat seeped into his skin from his fingertips and quickly spread to his chest.
Bai Qingzhou was being too gentle at this moment, so gentle that it made Xia Xinghe’s heart tremble. He lowered his eyes, brought the cup to his lips, and took a big gulp…
Then almost spat it out!!!
Though the liquid in the cup looked clear, it wasn’t plain water. It had a strange mix of sweetness and saltiness, with a muddy, earthy undertone — like fish tank water or rusty metal. Honestly, mixing dirt into water might’ve tasted better than this.
Xia Xinghe’s expression twisted immediately. He put the cup down with disgust and shoved it far away: “What is that?!”
“Glucose saline,” Bai Qingzhou said blandly. “For hydration.”
Xia Xinghe frowned and set the cup aside. “Aren’t I already getting fluids through the IV? Why do I have to drink this too?”
“You’re getting anti-allergy meds. I told the nurse to switch the fluids to oral saline for hydration,” Bai Qingzhou replied.
Xia Xinghe immediately shot back, “Why?!”
Bai Qingzhou gave him a sidelong glance: “Would you remember otherwise?”
Xia Xinghe: “……”
That gentleness just now? All a delusion. He should’ve known better than to have any romantic expectations about Bai Qingzhou.
…This man clearly just wanted to watch him suffer!
Xia Xinghe made a final attempt: “Can I not drink it?”
“No,” Bai Qingzhou said, handing the cup back with a calm tone. “Two cups. Five hundred milliliters each. Drink them all.”
“……”
Xia Xinghe, defeated, accepted the cup like a prisoner accepting his sentence. He cautiously sniffed it — and his body instantly remembered the fear this flavor had instilled.
But Bai Qingzhou was right there, and Xia Xinghe refused to embarrass himself in front of him. So he took a deep breath, pinched his nose, closed his eyes, and chugged the entire cup down in one go.
The metallic sweetness lingered in his mouth long after, and just as he was about to exhale in relief, Bai Qingzhou oh-so-“kindly” handed him the second cup:
“Here’s the other one.”
“…Fine.”
Xia Xinghe completely lost his temper and, accepting his fate, downed the second cup in one go. He slammed the cup down on the table, burrowed under the blanket, turned over, and refused to acknowledge Bai Qingzhou any further.
Bai Qingzhou silently picked up the paper cups on the table and threw them in the trash. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his eyes.
The hospital’s air conditioning was set to a low temperature, and the air was filled with the distinct smell of disinfectant, but under the blanket it was soft and warm. After an exhausting night, Xia Xinghe was genuinely tired. He had only intended to sulk at Bai Qingzhou, but his eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he finally fell asleep.
The IV drip finished quickly. Bai Qingzhou helped remove the needle and called a nurse to clean up.
“Let him rest here for a while,” Bai Qingzhou said. “He’s been through a lot tonight and just fell asleep.”
Since Bai Qingzhou had spoken, the nurse had no reason to object. She nodded and said, “Okay,” then hesitated before asking, “Dr. Bai…”
Bai Qingzhou looked up slightly. “Hm?”
“Why did you switch the IV fluid to oral rehydration salts?”
Under normal conditions, intravenous infusion is absorbed more efficiently than oral intake and is more convenient. Oral rehydration solution doesn’t taste good, and many patients specifically request IV drips instead.
Bai Qingzhou glanced at the peacefully sleeping Xia Xinghe. After a moment, he quietly explained, “His veins are sensitive. He’s been on IV fluids for several consecutive days. Continued IV administration over a long time would cause discomfort.”
……
Xia Xinghe was woken up by the urge to pee.
It was still dark outside. The large IV hall was silent, with only one dim light left on.
At some point, the needle had been removed from his hand, leaving only a small white patch stuck to the back of it. Bai Qingzhou was nowhere to be seen, and the nurse was also gone—he was the only one left in the hall.
His head still ached a little. Xia Xinghe sat up groggily, gathered himself for a moment, and then reached for the phone left by the bed.
It was 3 a.m.
He had actually fallen asleep in the IV room?
And the nurse hadn’t woken him up?
Xia Xinghe automatically ignored the fact that Bai Qingzhou had forced two large cups of salty glucose water down his throat. He slowly put on his shoes and got out of bed.
No matter what, this was the IV hall, not a ward. Falling asleep earlier might have been unintentional, but now that he was awake, he felt too embarrassed to keep staying there.
The nurse at the entrance was gone. Xia Xinghe made his way to the first-floor restroom and relieved himself, humming a tune as he walked back upstairs.
Honestly, even though the two large cups of glucose water were awful, after the IV and a nap, he felt much better than when he arrived.
After saying goodbye to Yanmai, Xia Xinghe had happily taken the subway back to the hospital. But only two stops in, his stomach began cramping painfully, his limbs went weak, and his skin started swelling with red hives.
Red rashes rapidly spread across his neck. Because he was so fair-skinned, the contrast made the hives look especially alarming. People in the subway were stunned and didn’t dare go near him.
One stop.
Two stops.
The pain blurred his vision, and everything he saw had double images. He staggered into the hospital on sheer willpower, not wanting to faint on the street or end up in tomorrow’s news.
Fortunately, treatment was timely, and now no trace of the reaction remained.
Xia Xinghe contentedly touched his smooth neck—the redness and swelling had completely subsided.
The hospital at night was quiet but still brightly lit, not at all eerie or cold.
He wandered around looking for the elevator. As he passed the emergency room again, a sudden commotion erupted inside.
“What’s wrong with this nurse?! Do you even have a shred of medical ethics?!”
A burly man stood at the emergency room entrance, his fleshy face trembling with rage as he spat and yelled at the on-duty nurse.
The emergency nurse stood trembling, not daring to say a word. Beside her, a woman softly tried to soothe a crying child in her arms.
Seeing the nurse stay silent, the man got even angrier and grabbed her violently. “Can’t you see my kid is crying? What kind of hospital can’t even handle a crying child?!”
The nurse turned pale with fright and quickly explained, “Sir, please wait a moment. Our doctor is helping another patient with a wound. He’ll be back soon.”
“What about my son then?! He’s the only boy in the Sun family line for generations! If anything happens to him, can your hospital afford to pay?!”
“Sun…”
The woman beside him tugged on his sleeve, but he violently shook her off. “Shut up, woman! Don’t interrupt when I’m talking!”
The man’s voice echoed through the narrow corridor, mingling with the baby’s cries—noisy and grating.
The nurse bowed her head silently under his tirade. The woman didn’t dare speak and kept gently comforting the baby.
“Three minutes,” the man roared. “If that damned doctor isn’t here in three minutes, I’ll smash your whole hospital!”
With that, he grabbed a glass bottle from the table and aimed it at the nurse.
Xia Xinghe didn’t have time to think. He rushed over and snatched the bottle from the man’s hand. “Sir, please calm down!”
“There are limited staff in the emergency room. It’s standard to prioritize based on arrival time and the severity of the condition. Causing a scene won’t make your son better!”
The man glanced sideways at Xia Xinghe and let out a cold snort. He then smashed the bottle on the ground.
A sharp shattering sound rang out. Glass flew everywhere, and Xia Xinghe finally caught a whiff of the strong alcohol reeking from the man.
…So he was drunk.
No wonder he was being so unreasonable.
“Who the hell are you? What right do you have to lecture me?!”
The man shoved him forcefully. Xia Xinghe reached out to shield the young nurse and staggered backward from the impact, finally falling hard to the ground.
Shards of glass embedded in his palm, and his hair became a disheveled mess from the violent fall.
The emergency nurse panicked all of a sudden:
“Sir, please calm down! The doctor will be here any minute now!”
“Sir, are you okay?”
“Security! Where’s security? Someone get security, now!”
“Get lost!”
The man shoved aside the young nurse who rushed forward to break up the fight, raised his foot, and was about to kick Xia Xinghe.
Xia Xinghe instinctively raised his arm to block it—but the expected pain never came.
The next second, a clear and cold voice rang in his ear.
“Stop!”
It was Bai Qingzhou’s voice.
Bai Qingzhou rushed forward in a few strides, grabbed the man’s wrist from behind, and pressed him against the nearby table.
Still sitting on the floor, Xia Xinghe looked up at the fluid motion and thought of two things:
I’m saved.
And… he’s seen me in such a sorry state again.