ASFSODS 47

Wen Chi didn’t seem to realize anything was wrong yet. He was just about to hand the phone back to Jiang Siheng when a call came in. After struggling to make out the caller ID, Wen Chi shoved the phone back into the man’s hands.

“Teacher Jiang, your agent’s calling.”

Jiang Siheng gave a brief “Mm” and answered the phone.

Wen Chi was standing close by, so he could more or less hear what Agent Zhou was saying to Jiang Siheng.

It was stuff like:

“Are you okay?”

“Where are you now? Still at the hospital?”

“Did you get hit on the head or something? Why are you acting cute on Weibo?”

“Are you changing your public image or what?”

Wen Chi’s ears practically perked up like a startled rabbit’s—not that he wanted to eavesdrop, but under the circumstances, it was impossible not to.

Jiang Siheng got annoyed by Zhou Ge’s nagging and cut him off, asking, “Why did you call?”

Zhou-ge was caught off guard. “I’m calling to check on you.”

Jiang Siheng sighed. His head was starting to ache. “Thanks for your concern. I’m fine.”

Even over the phone, Zhou Ge could hear the exhaustion in Jiang Siheng’s voice. He didn’t say much more, just told him to get some rest and hung up, then turned his attention back to monitoring public opinion online.

Luckily, not long after, the foreign pregnant woman’s family arrived at the hospital. The moment they saw the child, one elderly woman rushed over and scooped him up into her arms. Her sudden movement startled both her family, Wen Chi, and Sang Sang.

Jiang Siheng explained the woman’s condition to the rest of her family. When they heard that the mother, the baby in her womb, and the child were all safe, they finally relaxed and repeatedly thanked both Jiang Siheng and Wen Chi.

As it turned out, the pregnant woman had come with someone else who had just stepped away briefly. No one expected such an incident to happen. Fortunately, she had encountered Wen Chi and the others. Otherwise, the consequences would’ve been unimaginable.

Now that her family had arrived, Wen Chi and the rest could finally head back. The pregnant woman’s younger brother even walked them to the hospital entrance, thanking them nonstop and waving goodbye even after they had gotten into the car.

When they returned to the guesthouse, everyone was there, including the host family. Seeing the three of them safely back, the worried expressions finally faded from everyone’s faces.

Zhou Yunbai let out a breath of relief. “Thank goodness you’re finally back.”

The air was filled with the sweet scent of warm syrup. Zhou Ruoyao and Tian Yang brought out bowls of sweet soup that Zhou Yunbai had made, urging the three to warm themselves up.

Wen Chi had felt fine outside, but the moment he stepped into the heated room, a chill ran through his body, and he couldn’t help but shiver.

Jiang Siheng noticed and reached out to touch Wen Chi’s forehead, frowning. “Not feeling well?”

“No,” Wen Chi said, gulping down the hot soup in one go and setting down the bowl. “I’m going to shower. I feel gross all over.”

“Mm.”

Zhou Ruoyao said, “Go ahead, go ahead. We’ve all showered already.”

Wen Chi was about to head upstairs when he suddenly remembered something. He turned and looked at Sang Sang, who was still sipping her soup, then walked toward her.

Sang Sang looked up at him. “Hm?”

“Do you want to shower in my room?”

Sang Sang didn’t get what he meant. “Huh?”

Wen Chi gestured vaguely. “It’s all guys over there. You’re the only girl. Might be a bit inconvenient?”

It took Sang Sang a few seconds to catch on. She burst out laughing. “Chi Ge, we girls have our own bathroom, don’t worry.”

Wen Chi blinked. “Oh.”

Zhou Yunbai overheard their conversation and chuckled. “Besides, Xiao Chi, even if you did want your assistant to shower in our part of the house, wouldn’t it make more sense for her to use my room instead of sending a young girl to shower in your man-cave?”

Wen Chi had a lightbulb moment. “Right!”

His clueless expression made everyone laugh.

Main livestream chat:

[From tonight onward, I’m a diehard fan of little brother #sobbing]

[If Wen Chi doesn’t become famous, it’s just not fair]

[I almost bawled seeing both Jiang Ge and Chi Ge’s clothes covered in blood]

[If Wen Chi’s clothes had blood too, does that mean he held the pregnant lady before Jiang Ge did?]

[They’re all such good people. Wishing them peace and happiness]

[Chi’s follower count is skyrocketing!]

[The HengWen CP made it to the hot search!]

[HengWen CP deserves the world!!]

Previously, the livestream chat had a balanced mix of each person’s fans, but tonight, all the focus was on Wen Chi and Jiang Siheng’s heroic act.

Before heading upstairs, Wen Chi seemed to hear Qin Xiyu call out to Jiang Siheng. When he turned to look, he saw the two of them stepping out together.

He tilted his head. Hm?

After such a traumatic event, everyone was mentally and physically drained. Even the usually clingy and rambunctious young master Zhou retreated to his room and fell asleep not long after.

Before showering, Wen Chi put his phone on the nightstand to charge. It was only once he was in the shower that he realized his hands were trembling slightly. Probably from carrying the pregnant woman in a high-stress moment and running hundreds of meters—the adrenaline had worn off, and now his body was reacting.

After the shower, a wave of exhaustion washed over him. He glanced at the dozens of unread messages on WeChat but didn’t have the energy to reply. Instead, he posted a quick update to his Moments.

[JumpedIntoThePondSplashSplash: Everything’s fine, back at the guesthouse. Will reply after a good sleep.]

…

Half-asleep in the middle of the night, Wen Chi started to feel worse. No matter how many times he shifted around, he couldn’t get comfortable, and a chill crept over him.

He drowsily thought maybe the heater was out again. But he was too tired to deal with it, figuring he would just tough it out.

At some point, he vaguely heard voices in the room, but his eyelids were too heavy to open.

“…He’s asleep now… should we…?”

“I’ll go cook some porridge. He can eat it when he wakes up.”

“Tell the director to shut down Xiao Chi’s livestream for now.”

Wen Chi’s livestream chat:

[No, don’t shut it down!]

[Yeah, leave it on—we’ll watch over Chi Ge]

[Damn, I just joined—what happened?]

[Chi Ge has a fever]

[Don’t shut it down don’t shut it down don’t shut it down]

[Once Xiao Chi gets better, he should leave this godforsaken place]

[Agreed. Time to go home]

[Wait, where’s Teacher Jiang?]

[Yeah, Xiao Chi’s sick and Teacher Jiang’s nowhere to be seen??]

[Qin Ge’s missing too. Haven’t seen them since they went out last night]

When Wen Chi finally woke up, his whole body ached, and his throat felt like it was on fire. He opened his eyes with effort and was surprised to see Zhou Ruoyao’s face instead of the familiar white ceiling.

“…What are you doing?” His voice was so hoarse it sounded like a duck’s. It was dry, raspy, and awful.

Zhou Ruoyao looked visibly relieved. “Thank goodness you’re finally awake! I’ll go get the doctor.”

Wen Chi blinked in confusion. What the heck had happened while he was asleep?

Zhou Ruoyao had left alone, but returned with a whole crowd. Everyone let out a visible sigh of relief the moment they saw him awake.

The doctor gave Wen Chi a check-up. “You’re out of danger. Just keep your diet light and stay warm.”

“Got it, thank you, doctor. Take care.”

Wen Chi sipped the warm water Sang Sang handed him, and his throat finally felt a little better.

Zhou Yunbai adjusted his blanket. “I made some porridge. Eat a bit before you take any meds.”

“Thanks, Bai Jie.”

Zhou Yunbai smiled. “No need to thank me.”

With so many people crowded in, it wasn’t ideal to stay long. Soon, only Zhou Ruoyao and Sang Sang remained in the room.

They each sat on a chair by the bed. Wen Chi, feeling self-conscious under their gaze, began to eat slower.

“Honestly, the way you two are staring at me is making me a little uncomfortable,” Wen Chi said with a deadpan expression.

Zhou Ruoyao laughed. “Just pretend we’re not here.”

Sang Sang smiled but then grew serious. “Oh right, Chi Ge. While you were asleep, Jin Ge called and said your parents were really worried because they couldn’t reach you…” She noticed Wen Chi’s already pale face shift, and quickly added in one breath, “But we told them your phone was on silent and you were just catching up on sleep, and that we would have you call them once you woke up. We didn’t tell them you were sick.”

Zhou Ruoyao stared at Sang Sang in disbelief. “Your lung capacity is insane.”

Sang Sang looked like she was about to pass out from that sentence, waved weakly, and said, “Chi Ge, I’m going downstairs to grab some milk. We’ll talk more later.”

Zhou Ruoyao said, “Grab me a box too, thanks!”

Sang Sang nodded feebly.

Wen Chi remembered that he had meant to reply to messages after a nap and never expected to wake up with a fever. He set the porridge aside, picked up his fully charged phone, and nearly fainted at the wall of unread messages and missed calls.

Crap, crap, crap, crap…

Zhou Ruoyao gave Wen Chi a sympathetic look and comforted him, “It’s okay, Chi Ge. Whether it’s sooner or later, you’ll have to face it eventually.”

Wen Chi: “…”

He had originally thought that since there was a time difference and his parents didn’t watch the livestream, he could just casually call them after waking up to let them know he was safe. But of course, something had to go wrong.

He quickly returned the call.

The moment the line connected, his mother’s voice trembled. “Chichi?! Are you okay? Jin Ge and Sang Sang said you were just sleeping, but your dad and I were so worried. Do you want us to fly to Y Country?”

Wen Chi hadn’t felt emotional at first, but the second he heard his mom’s voice, his eyes turned red.

Zhou Ruoyao noticed and quickly got up, muttering something about his milk and heading out, pulling Sang Sang along as soon as he spotted her.

Confused Sang Sang: ???

Inside the room, Wen Chi sniffled and tried to smile as he said, “No need, Mom. I’m really fine, just super tired and didn’t expect to sleep that long.”

Lin Huixiu kept asking to make sure he was truly okay. Only after being reassured did she finally relax. “As long as you’re fine. Chichi, I’m not trying to meddle, but maybe this job isn’t worth it?”

Wen Chi knew she was just worried, but their family wasn’t rich enough to pay a breach-of-contract fee just like that. “Mom, this was just an accident. It’s a one-time overseas shoot and everything else will be in China. Don’t worry.”

She still looked like she wanted to say more, but Wen Zhengde patted her arm and motioned for her to hand over the phone.

He told Wen Chi, “Alright. You’re grown up and can make your own choices. Knowing you’re safe is enough for us. If you’re still tired, get more rest.”

Wen Chi nodded. “Okay, I will.”

After chatting a bit more, he hung up and immediately had a coughing fit that left his throat burning.

The door opened, and he looked up to see two heads peeking in.

He chuckled. “What are you two doing?”

Sang Sang asked, “Chi Ge, are you done talking to your parents?”

Wen Chi nodded. “Yeah.”

The two exchanged a look and walked in.

“Chi Ge, I just heard from the production crew that they’re planning to head back to China tomorrow,” said Zhou Ruoyao.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah. After what happened, it’s not appropriate to keep filming here. They want to continue back in Haining.”

Sang Sang raised her hand in support. “I vote yes.”

Wen Chi lifted the bowl to resume eating and looked at the two of them. “I’m fine with whatever.”

“By the way, do you know where Jiang Siheng went? You’ve been sick and burning up, and he’s nowhere to be seen,” Zhou Ruoyao said, clearly seizing the chance to throw some shade.

Wen Chi frowned. “Teacher Jiang’s not here?”

“Nope,” Sang Sang shook her head. “He and Qin Ge went out last night. Qin Ge came back once or twice, but Teacher Jiang hasn’t returned at all. Even Bai Jie asked Qin Ge, but he wouldn’t say anything.”

Zhou Ruoyao clicked his tongue. “See? Men all turn into pigs at some point.”

Wen Chi gave him a long look.

Zhou Ruoyao quickly added, “Except us two!”

Then thought for a moment. “And your family too!”

Wen Chi: “…” That desperate backpedal…

Sang Sang refilled his cup with hot water and placed it on the nightstand. “Chi Ge, take your medicine and get some more rest.”

Zhou Ruoyao followed up, “I’ll come get you when it’s time to eat.”

Wen Chi smiled. “Alright.”

Once they left and the room fell quiet, Wen Chi picked up his phone and opened WeChat. There were tons of concerned messages, but none from Jiang Siheng.

Wen Chi pressed his lips together. Was he relying on Jiang Siheng too much? No one but himself knew that when he heard Zhou Ruoyao say Jiang Siheng hadn’t come back since going out last night, he felt a brief moment of worry and something else… a kind of disappointment he couldn’t even explain.