APR 23
by SnowlynThe night at the hospital did not pass as peacefully as Zhong Su had hoped.
Although He Jinzhao in the neighboring bed no longer pounded on the wall, he tossed and turned all night, occasionally letting out stifled gasps and rustling sounds. The footsteps of nurses making their rounds, the faint ticking of medical equipment, and the occasional sweep of car headlights outside the window repeatedly roused Zhong Su from his shallow sleep.
It wasn’t until the early hours of the morning that Zhong Su finally managed to fall into a deep slumber.
By seven in the morning, the scent of disinfectant mingled with the soft morning light, seeping into the ward. Zhong Su was awakened by the commotion from the next bed. He ran a hand through his hair, irritated, and sat up.
As he lifted his gaze, he saw a well-maintained, wealthy-looking woman in her thirties speaking with He Jinzhao. Behind her stood a sharp, middle-aged man.
Yuan Meilan, clutching a handkerchief, wore a tailored champagne-colored suit and a string of lustrous pearls. With a sorrowful expression, she asked, “Zhaozhao, how are you feeling? Are you still in a lot of pain anywhere?”
“Mom and Secretary Dong have already arranged for you to be transferred to a VIP room. The director of this hospital happens to be your Uncle Wang. When he heard you were hospitalized, he was very concerned and is rushing back from out of town just to give you another check-up.”
Her eyes welled up as she looked at He Jinzhao in his hospital gown, wiping her tears as she spoke. “My heart broke when I heard about your motorcycle accident. If only you had told me sooner. How could a child like you stay alone in such a small, dirty ward?”
He Jinzhao’s handsome face darkened, his annoyance with the elegant woman plain to see. “Stop meddling. You’re not my real mother, so quit pretending to care—it’s nauseating.”
“Whether I race or crash on the road, it’s my business! I do as I please!”
Yuan Meilan was momentarily speechless, tears falling even more freely as she nearly lost her balance.
Secretary Dong, standing behind her, leaned forward slightly and adjusted his glasses expressionlessly. “Young Master, Madam is only worried about you. Chairman He is already aware of your… reckless behavior this time. He has ordered all your accounts frozen—until you admit your mistake.”
“What?! How dare that old man freeze my cards!” He Jinzhao exploded like a tiger cub whose tail had been stepped on, raising his voice in a furious roar. “Give me my phone. I’m calling him right now to sort this out!”
“The Chairman has instructed that no one is to help you contact him.” Secretary Dong was no stranger to dealing with a distraught Madam, a rebellious Young Master, and a boss perpetually at odds with his son.
Calmly, he shook the bag he was holding. “I’ve brought you a change of clothes. Rather than arguing with the Chairman, I believe your priority should be changing out of these germ-ridden hospital clothes.”
As He Jinzhao’s side erupted into chaos, Zhong Su, listening from the other bed, couldn’t help but twitch his mouth at the remarks from He Jinzhao’s entourage—one moment complaining about the “small, dirty ward,” the next about “germ-ridden hospital clothes.”
He cast a strange glance at He Jinzhao. Although he had noticed the night before that the necklace around the young man’s neck was no ordinary piece, he hadn’t expected him to be a genuine young master from a wealthy family.
Having pieced together this melodramatic rich-family saga, Zhong Su lost interest in listening further. He got up and headed toward the shared restroom in the corner of the ward.
As soon as the door closed, the quarreling from outside was instantly cut off, leaving only the sound of running water and a rare moment of tranquility.
Among the toiletries Little Chatterbox had brought yesterday was a set of disposable toothpaste and toothbrush, but no cup.
Zhong Suo used a disposable drinking cup to catch water from the faucet and managed to brush his teeth with it.
He spat out the toothpaste-laced water, dampened a towel, and wiped the water stains and sweat from his face, feeling much fresher—though the wound beneath the bandage still throbbed faintly.
Next, Zhong Suo walked into the cubicle and habitually began to undo his pants. But as his fingers touched the zipper, he suddenly froze, belatedly realizing: he had switched bodies, and the part he was about to touch now… felt no different from touching a stranger’s.
As soon as this thought surfaced, an uncontrollable sense of revulsion surged within him.
………………This is just awful.
But it was unavoidable—after all, one couldn’t just avoid using the bathroom.
Zhong Suo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his discomfort, and stiffly pulled down his zipper, reaching into his underwear—
A familiar yet awkward sensation spread from his palm… The shape was about the same, just a bit smaller in size, but why did it carry a strange, metallic coolness?
His heart sank, and he quickly looked down, only to see a narrow metal ring snugly fitted around the tip of that crucial part, gleaming with an unmistakable cold light.
Zhong Suo’s pupils contracted sharply, his mind buzzing, and he nearly blurted out:
“………………What the hell is this?!”
Struggling to stay calm, he racked his brain, trying to recall what the original owner had done to himself, and then it hit him with a wave of despair—this was a private piercing ring, one that was notoriously difficult to remove once put on.
“Having a bunch of ear piercings is one thing, but why mess around with this? That idiot must have been addicted to piercing.”
“Damn it.” Zhong Suo couldn’t help but curse under his breath, grinding his teeth as he finished up in the bathroom.
Fuming with rage, Zhong Suo pulled open the bathroom door just as the argument outside reached its peak.
Yuan Meilan’s sobs came in broken intervals: “Chaochao, just go apologize to your dad… Ah!”
“I said no, would you stop nagging?!”
He Jinchao snatched up a nearby thermos and hurled it—straight toward the bathroom.
The thermos narrowly grazed the black-haired young man’s temple, smashing against the doorframe and splashing him with water.
—Time seemed to freeze in that instant.
Yuan Meilan gasped, covering her mouth, while Secretary Dong’s face flickered with surprise. He Jinchao’s expression stiffened between fury and shock, as if he hadn’t expected someone to emerge from the bathroom just then.
Zhong Suo slowly wiped the water from his face. Thankfully, it wasn’t hot water, so it wouldn’t burn.
His expression was eerily calm as he strode step by step toward He Jinchao.
Sensing danger, He Jinchao tried to back away: “W-Wait, my people are here now. You can’t hit me like yesterday.”
Without a word, Zhong Suo yanked He Jinchao’s blanket away, wrapped him tightly in it, and deftly tied the excess fabric into a firm, unyielding knot.
“Hah, you lunatic!” Before He Jinchao could react, he was already immobilized, struggling helplessly inside the blanket like a silkworm trapped in its own cocoon.
“Let me out right now! You’re in big trouble!”
Zhong Suo’s gaze swept over the bedside table. He picked up a roll of paper, tore off a long strip, folded it into a thick wad, and without hesitation, stuffed it into He Jinzhao’s mouth.
He turned to Yuan Meilan and Secretary Dong, who were both stunned, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather: “I’ve helped you discipline him for free. You’re welcome.”
He Jinzhao was so furious that veins bulged on his forehead. With his mouth stuffed full of paper, he could only manage muffled protests: “Mm! Mmm—!!”
Zhong Suo paid no attention to the reactions of the three. In a few swift moves, he packed his belongings into
“Yeah. Usually, when I run errands for my uncle on set for three or four days, I can earn a bit of pocket money. Sigh, it’s a pity I can’t lose weight. Otherwise, with my handsome face, I’d have become a big star by now, sweeping across Hong Kong…”
Zhong Suo listened to Little Chatterbox ramble on for a while before finally looking at him seriously and saying, “Thank you.”
“What?” Little Chatterbox paused for a moment, then met Zhong Suo’s gaze and realized he had agreed to take the job.
Instantly, a shy blush spread across Little Chatterbox’s face, and he grinned so widely his eyes disappeared. “What’s there to thank? We’re bros! We’ve been sticking together since we first joined the gang. How could I just stand by and watch you die?”
Watching the chubby guy hum happily, Zhong Suo thought that although his original life had been a complete mess, at least there was one person who genuinely cared about him. He wouldn’t die alone and miserable.
Yu Ziyue walked into the hospital room carrying a fruit basket, only to find the bed empty, with the sheets neatly folded.
He froze for a moment, then asked a nurse who was making her rounds, “Excuse me, do you know where the patient who was in this bed last night went?”
The nurse, busy registering a new patient, didn’t even look up as she replied, “He checked out. Just left a short while ago.”
Yu Ziyue was surprised. “He was discharged so soon? Then… did he mention where he was going after leaving the hospital?”
The nurse finally looked up and gave him a strange glance. “The hospital doesn’t keep track of that.”
Yu Ziyue immediately realized his question had been inappropriate and flashed an impeccable smile. “Alright, thank you.”
He glanced at the empty bed, a faint trace of disappointment flickering in his eyes, and murmured to himself, “What a shame.”
He had genuinely wanted to get along with Zhong Suo, even become friends.
An middle-aged woman pointed to the fruit basket Yu Ziyue had placed on the table and asked, “Young man, aren’t you taking this fruit basket with you?”
“No, Auntie. If you don’t mind, please take it. The fruits are all fresh,” Yu Ziyue said with a bright smile. “Being chosen by someone who needs them is a kind of luck for them too.”
His tone was gentle, his eyes clear, and anyone who saw him would think he was a sincere and kind young man. But if someone looked closely into his eyes, they would find a deep, inorganic coldness, devoid of any warmth.