Concern

The man was taken aback, "What?"

Lin Qiong hurriedly explained, "I was calling you... calling you to wake up."

Fu Xingyun's gaze shifted to the hand on his cheek, "What are you doing?"

At this moment, Lin Qiong's hand was still pinching the man's face.

Upon hearing this, Lin Qiong instantly withdrew his hand, and shyly lowered his head, "A wake-up massage."

"..."

Fu Xingyun slowly sat up from the bed, casually pushing the stray hair on his forehead back. His sleeping robe slipped down, revealing his muscular arms. With sharp eyes showing signs of being disturbed, the man raised his gaze and glanced at Lin Qiong.

Lin Qiong instantly straightened his back, unintentionally staring at the man, swallowing nervously.

For the first time in more than twenty years, he felt such a strong male charm.

Feeling the intense gaze from the other, Fu Xingyun spoke, "What's wrong?"

Lin Qiong snapped back to reality, quickly turned his gaze away, and then somewhat embarrassedly touched his messy hair.

"Nothing, just... I just feel..."

The man leaned against the headboard, "Feel what?"

Lin Qiong glanced at the man again, the sleeping robe slightly ajar, exposing a strong chest that abruptly entered his sight.

Being honest, Lin Qiong said, "I think you look handsome."

Lin Qiong hurriedly threw glanced at the time, then quickly got up, "Xingyun, tidy up a bit. The doctor is probably here by now. Change your clothes and come down for breakfast."

Saying that, Lin Qiong jumped off the bed, and when he opened the door, he peeked left and right.

Fu Xingyun: ...

Acting as if they were having an affair, when they were legally married.

"What are you doing?"

Suddenly hearing a voice, Lin Qiong was startled, turned his head abruptly, and with a "bang," he hit the door frame.

Lin Qiong groaned, holding his head, the pain making him spin like a top.

"Lin Qiong!"

Fu Xingyun saw Lin Qiong hit the door frame and hurriedly stood up, then realized he shouldn't. Lin Qiong was about to lift his head to tell him he was fine when he heard a "thump."

He saw Fu Xingyun had fallen to the ground.

Lin Qiong, startled, forgot about the headache for a moment and rushed over to help him. However, stepping on the carpet, he slipped, and for a moment he started to fall. 

Lin Qiong closed his eyes tightly waiting for the pain. The anticipated pain didn't come.

Lin Qiong opened his eyes and saw Fu Xingyun under him.

Lin Qiong was surprised, "Xingyun, weren't you at the bedside?"

Sweating, Fu Xingyun replied, "I just crawled fast."

Lin Qiong said, "Oh," and then quickly got off Fu Xingyun, "Xingyun, are you hurt?"

Fu Xingyun sighed, "I'm fine."

Lin Qiong, praising generously, said, "Xingyun, you're amazing."

Fu Xingyun glanced at him, feeling delighted, but he still observed Lin Qiong's head.

Lin Qiong, who had forgotten about knocking his head, suddenly felt his head being pulled down.

Lin Qiong, puzzled, asked, "Xingyun, what are you doing?"

Fu Xingyun looked at Lin Qiong's messy hair, "Checking if there are any bumps."

Lin Qiong: ...

In the end, Fu Xingyun raised his hand and touched Lin Qiong's head. Seeing no visible bump, he finally relaxed his worried heart but still maintained a cold expression, "Be more careful in the future."

Lin Qiong nodded like a chick pecking at rice, "Got it."

Unexpectedly, this old man was quite caring. Lin Qiong helped him back to bed before leaving the room.

----

After changing into clean clothes, Lin Qiong hurriedly went to open the door, thinking that the doctor and nurse had been waiting outside for a long time.

However, upon opening the door, there was no one there except for a medicine bag at the entrance.

Lin Qiong was puzzled, walked into the yard, and finally found the nurse and doctor chatting in the garden with their heads lowered.

As he approached, he overheard their heated conversation.

"I think this is a rose."

The doctor shook his head at the nurse's words and chuckled, "You're still too young; this is a peony."

It was early April, and spring was in full swing. The garden was in full bloom, except for a single plant where the two were standing.

After carefully examining it, the nurse, no matter how he looked at it, insisted it was a rose. "No, you're just old and have blurry vision."

The doctor said, "You're getting too arrogant."

"Teacher's teachings are profound." The nurse pointed at the single plant, "But, this is a rose."

The doctor raised an eyebrow, "Peony!"

Then, upon hearing footsteps, he turned around and saw Lin Qiong. The doctor smiled, "Mr. Lin, you came at the right time. We are discussing the variety of this flower."

Pointing to the solitary plant, he said, "This peony is blooming nicely."

Lin Qiong glanced at it, "That's a rose."

"..."

"..."

The nurse chuckled, "I told you; no wonder you mistook it, they are similar."

Lin Qiong asked, "Similar how?"

"Both bloom in April."

"..."

To conceal his embarrassment, the doctor pointed and said, "Then it must be a peony."

Lin Qiong replied, "It's a rose."

"..."

So much for their knowledge.

As they continued chatting, they walked towards the house. The doctor picked up the medicine bag at the entrance, "Did you two wake up late today?"

Lin Qiong nodded.

"Didn't rest well last night?"

Lin Qiong thought for a moment and nodded, remembering the book under Fu Xingyun's pillow from last night. "I stayed up late reading yesterday."

"You two are indeed exceptionally diligent."

"Your praise is too kind."

Today's practice went smoothly, but Lin Qiong, who kept a close eye on his partner's legs, noticed that there was no progress.

Sitting on the sofa in the living room with his hand on his head, Lin Qiong muttered, "This shouldn't be how it is."

He shook his head as he spoke.

They would celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary in a month. According to his expectations, by this time, Fu Xingyun's legs should have already recovered..

Lin Qiong glanced at the man drinking coffee on the side, his gaze shifting to his legs.

Fu Xingyun noticed the scrutiny, "What's wrong?"

Lin Qiong looked away, shaking his head, "Nothing."

But he couldn't resist moving closer to him, "Xingyun, have you felt any strength in your legs recently?"

The man looked at him, "What strength?"

Even just the strength of a small bug would be good. 

Lin Qiong always thought that the antagonist being able to stand up again was a mistake in the plot.

In other stories, the antagonist, once paralyzed, would remain in that state, never to rise again, falling into a bottomless abyss, never to wreak havoc again.

Yet, in this novel, the antagonist not only successfully turned the tables but also thoroughly crushed the protagonist.

"I guess the author suddenly remembered who the protagonist was and couldn't find a way to fix it, so he abruptly killed off the antagonist."

Seeing that Fu Xingyun showed no reaction, Lin Qiong waved his hand dismissively, "It's nothing."

While the two were chatting, a phone on the side suddenly rang. Fu Xingyun glanced at the caller ID, "What's up?"

Qin Heng's voice carried a hint of laughter, "Are you coming to the celebration party?"

"Now?"

"Tomorrow night."

Fu Xingyun immediately responded, "No time."

"What do you mean you have no time? After finishing the project, come to my residence to relax. There's no one busier than you right now. You must come tomorrow."

Fu Xingyun responded nonchalantly, "Celebrate what?"

Fu Xingyun then continued without waiting for a response, "Have you found her? That run-away?"

"What run-away? That's my wife."

Fu Xingyun soul-searched, "Did you get back together?"

Qin Heng replied, "No, not really."

"Did she talk to you?"

"Also no."

"What are you celebrating then?"

Qin Heng gritted his teeth, "Can't I celebrate what I want? You must come tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, Lin Qiong asked curiously, "Who was that?"

"Qin Heng." Fu Xingyun put the phone aside. "There's a party tomorrow."

"Really?" Lin Qiong's eyes lit up with anticipation.

Fu Xingyun looked at him tenderly, "Do you want to go?"

Lin Qiong nodded. He had attended numerous banquets in this world, but there were very few parties. He nodded again, "I want to."

----

The next night, when Lin Qiong was about to cook, he was stopped by Fu Xingyun. Turning around, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Fu Xingyun in a casual tone said, "We're going to the party tonight."

Hearing this, Lin Qiong quickly went upstairs to change clothes. After dressing up, he pushed Fu Xingyun out the door.

When they arrived at Qin Heng's house, many people were already inside, most of whom Lin Qiong recognized. However, the host, Qin Heng, was nowhere to be seen.

Li Hanyang saw them and waved, "Come over quickly."

Seeing the anxious look on his face, as if something big had happened, Lin Qiong pushed Fu Xingyun over and asked, "What's going on?"

Li Hanyang sighed with relief when he saw the two of them, as if he had seen a savior. Then he pointed to the mahjong table behind him, "We're short one person."

Lin Qiong: ...

Fu Xingyun: ...

Ji Yao looked at Lin Qiong, "Can you play mahjong?"

Lin Qiong: "Barely."

He glanced at Fu Xingyun, "How about you?"

"No!" Ji Yao suddenly spoke, surprising Lin Qiong. Last time, Ji Yao had played mahjong and won against everyone with ease.

Lin Qiong: "Why not?"

Li Hanyang whispered in his ear, "Old Fu is amazing at playing cards."

Lin Qiong looked at Fu Xingyun in surprise, unable to tell.

Ji Yao didn't give Lin Qiong a chance to speak and insisted on dragging him to the table.

Lin Qiong looked at Fu Xingyun, "I'm not deliberately ignoring you. How could I not care about you when I like you so much?"

Ji Yao didn't give Lin Qiong a choice and insisted on pulling him to the table. Lin Qiong looked at Fu Xingyun being left aside and quickly said, "I didn't mean to ignore you. How could I ignore you when I like you so much?"

As people started to pick up cards, Fu Xingyun, with an expressionless face, asked, "Then what are you doing?"

Lin Qiong responded confidently, "Accepting fate."

In card games, luck plays a crucial role. To prevent Fu Xingyun's off-table assistance, everyone guarded against him tightly.

After a while, Qin Heng returned with an annoyed face, but no one paid attention to him as the atmosphere was very lively. Qin Heng walked to Fu Xingyun, "Let's talk."

Fu Xingyun glanced at him and then pushed his wheelchair. Qin Heng was about to speak but received a silent warning from his eyes, wisely choosing to stay quiet.

The two went to an outdoor balcony, and Qin Heng casually handed him a cigarette. Fu Xingyun took it and glanced at him, "What's the situation?"

Qin Heng, feeling frustrated, adjusted his hair, "What else can it be? She ran away again."

Looking at Fu Xingyun, he was one of the few who knew about Fu Xingyun standing up. Qin Heng asked, "What's your situation?"

Fu Xingyun exhaled a puff of smoke without answering.

Qin Heng quickly understood, "You don't want the person inside to know, huh?"

Fu Xingyun gave him a meaningful look.

Qin Heng instantly grasped the situation, "Really cunning, Fu Xingyun."