“Come here,” Fu Shen repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. Yan Xiaohan hesitated at first, but the urgency in Fu Shen’s tone compelled him to step closer.
Once beside the bed, Fu Shen reached for Yan Xiaohan’s hand and squeezed it gently. “I’m okay,” he reassured, his eyes earnest. “You don’t need to worry so much.”
Yan Xiaohan, still visibly shaken, nodded but said nothing. He couldn’t shake the fear that gripped him when he thought of what could have happened if Fu Shen hadn’t woken up.
After a moment of silence, Fu Shen continued, “You stayed by my side, didn’t you? I… I can’t thank you enough for that.”
A faint blush crept onto Yan Xiaohan’s cheeks. “Of course. I… I just couldn’t leave.”
The air was thick with unspoken words, but they communicated through their shared gaze. It was a moment of connection that transcended the situation, and for a brief second, everything felt right again.
“I’ll get better, I promise,” Fu Shen smiled softly, trying to lift the weight of worry off Yan Xiaohan’s shoulders.
Yan Xiaohan felt a weight lift from his heart as he finally allowed himself to smile back. “I know.”
“Yan Xiaohan suddenly snapped out of his previous state of shock, quickly realizing his own loss of composure, hurrying over and leaning down to ask: ‘What’s wrong?’
Fu Shen grabbed one of his hands, pulling it to his lips and gently rubbing it.
‘Nothing,’ he said, ‘Just wanted to kiss you, stop crying.’
Yan Xiaohan inhaled a long, extremely controlled breath, looking like he’d been acupunctured, completely stiff, forgetting even how to blink, a large droplet falling directly onto Fu Shen’s hand.
‘Scared you, huh?’ Fu Shen curved his mouth, laughing very softly, ‘It’s okay, I’m awake now.’
Yan Xiaohan slowly bent down, not daring to use force, but still trying to hold him tightly, burying his face in Fu Shen’s neck.
He had a thousand words, but couldn’t say a single one, only trembling as he called: ‘Jing Yuan.’
‘Mm, don’t be afraid,’ Fu Shen said, ‘I told you, leaving you alone in this world, I couldn’t close my eyes even if I died.’
That was not a casual promise.
