[Jingnan Harbor, South Entrance. 8 pm. See you the day after tomorrow! ^^] It was the message He Juan saw once he was awakened from his shallow sleep.

Outside, the birds were chirping lightly, and bright sunshine spilled in through the window, causing He Juan to squint his eyes. With a groan, he rolled over and sat up on the bed, one of his hands clutching his head. The medicine he consumed last night was not working – or perhaps it was because he was staying up until dawn to skim over the articles on the internet. In the end, his efforts turned out to be futile. What the public knew about XIU was really lacking and the articles mostly talked about rumors, assumptions and hypotheses which were proven useless for He Juan.

He spent a few minutes doing his breathing exercises, and only when the pounding on his head subsided that he opened his eyes to gaze at the message again.

The day after tomorrow, 8 pm. It meant that he had less than sixty hours to prepare himself.

He stumbled into the bathroom. Somehow, He Juan did not need to look at the mirror to know how terrible his complexion was right now. And sure enough, his face was bloodless, his eyes rimmed red and bloodshot, and his lips were so dry that he could see a bead of blood oozing out from the crack. Oh God, he looked so horrible... he was actually a little glad that Mu Yuze was not here to see him right now. Otherwise he had no idea whether the omega would be blindsided by his Juan-gege’s ugliness...

He Juan turned the faucet, bent down and splashed his face with cold water, barely sobering his mind up a bit.

Get yourself together He Juan, he told himself. Now was not the time to get sick. He had a big battle to fight soon.

After giving himself a little prep talk, He Juan opened the bottom cabinet to grab his pills. Alas, before he could even twist the bottle open, a droplet of crimson liquid dripped onto his hand, then another.

"Ugh...!" He tilted his head up and covered his nose, then fumbled around to find tissue papers. Not now, he pleaded, please not now...

As He Juan was stuffing his nose with tissues, he suddenly recalled something that had happened years ago, a few months after he woke up from the coma.

At that time, his episode of headache was frequent in numbers and sometimes, they would be so severe that he would be knocked out cold. He spent days in a daze, drifting in between chaotic dreams and reality. And when he finally recovered, Jia Molei took one look at his wan complexion and asked the hospital’s kitchen staff to cook millet porridge with yam for him. It was the first meal he’d had in ages. Alas, because he had not fully regained his mobility yet, Jia Molei had to sit by the bed and spoon-feed him.

But how could He Juan let someone do that for him? Face heating up, he stammered out in shame, "Y–You don’t need to do this—mmh!" A spoonful of warm porridge was stuffed into his mouth, blocking whatever protest that was hanging on the tip of his tongue.

The mild flavor was akin to spring breeze to the dreary bitterness of his tongue. His eyes widened, pleasantly surprised, yet before he could even savor the taste, he felt something dripping out of his nose.

He Juan almost cried out in surprise before he recalled that he still had porridge in his mouth. As a result, it was too late by the time Jia Molei raised his head and realized what was happening. He almost stood up in shock when he saw half of He Juan’s face that was smeared with blood.

For a moment, both of them stared at each other with wide eyes like deers caught in headlights.

Then Jia Molei, the grumpy doctor who carried with him a ferocious aura, actually let out a laugh. "...Pfft– cough cough." He swiftly masked it with a cough, grabbed some tissue papers and helped He Juan clean his face. He put on a scowl and demanded, "Why the hell didn’t you say anything?! What if you pass out again? Are you seeking death, huh?!"

Helpless, He Juan could only swallow the porridge first before saying, "The porridge is hot..." Or in other words, it was Jia Molei’s fault who stuffed the porridge into He Juan’s mouth without blowing it first. Fortunately, the food was only lukewarm or else He Juan would have scalded his tongue.

Alas, how could the prideful Jia Molei admit his mistake? He merely let out a harrumph and proceeded to deal with the nosebleed. By the time it stopped, the porridge had become cold and Jia Molei intended to go down to the kitchen again to ask for another portion, and he was unmoved no matter how many times He Juan tried to persuade him otherwise.

He crossed his arms and asked grumpily, "Is it delicious?"

He Juan couldn’t bring himself to lie. "It is..."

Then the matter was settled just like that. This time, when Jia Molei fed him, he kept up his vigilance in case He Juan was getting another nosebleed again.

This brief event became the start of their friendship.

And it was not until much later that He Juan discovered... the porridge had been cooked by Jia Molei himself.

Despite his tough exterior, Jia Molei’s heart was actually very soft and kind. In this lifetime, He Juan owed him a lot. It was the kind of debt that he would not be able to repay no matter what. During that period where he was alone, confused and helpless, Jia Molei was the first person who showed him warmth and goodwill. And He Juan had always kept it in mind.

No matter what risk he had to take, he had to bring Jia Molei back safe and sound. He must.

He Juan proficiently dealt with his nosebleed, threw the bloodstained tissue papers to the trash bin and jumped into the shower. He exited the bathroom clad in a bathrobe with his long hair dripping wet just in time to hear an incoming call to his phone.

His heart almost jumped to his throat when he saw that it was Su Xieren calling. Could it be that something happened to Mu Yuze?! Flustered, He Juan lunged for the phone with the fastest speed possible and answered the call, his tone slightly breathless. "...Xieren, what’s wrong? Did something happen to Mu Yuze?!"

There was no answer from another side. Flabbergasted, He Juan tried again, "Hello, Xieren?!"

This time, a light exhale drifted into his ear. He Juan shouldn’t have known who it was just by a mere sigh, but somehow he did. He abruptly froze. His heart stopped for a few beats before it proceeded to hammer thunderously against his chest and his Alpha was clamoring ’mate, mate, mate!’ The rush of emotions that surged up his chest was so intense that He Juan almost swayed on his feet.

His voice came out in a shaky whisper, "...Xiao Ze?"