Lian Ziho woke up with a headache and regret.Sunlight filtered through the curtains of his apartment, too bright, too honest, making everything feel louder than it should. His phone buzzed violently on the table beside him again and again, refusing to be ignored.
"Turn it off." he muttered, rolling over and pulling the pillow over his head.It didn't stop.
After a few seconds of relentless buzzing, he finally groaned and reached for it, squinting at the screen.A video from last night.His stomach sank slightly anyway.
Friend 1: You were very expressive yesterday.
Friend 2: Didn't know you cared that much.
Lian ziho sat up abruptly, rubbing his face once before staring at the screen. "Delete that," he muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone. Another message came in immediately.
Friend 1: Relax. We're just teasing. You said you don't like it when Suo worries about Cai Lang.
Lian Ziho typed quickly.
Lian Ziho: That was nothing. I was drunk.
Friend 2: Sure. But you looked serious.
His fingers paused over the screen.He locked the phone abruptly, throwing it down on the bed beside him like it burned.His chest felt tight, not from embarrassment alone, but from something worse something that had slipped out without permission. The way his voice had sounded in that recording. The way it hadn't felt like a joke even to him.Because it hadn't been.He exhaled slowly, forcing his shoulders to relax.It doesn't mean anything, he told himself firmly. He's my friend.
But the thought didn't settle the way it was supposed to.It stayed.Following him even as he got up, even as he dressed, even as he tried to move through the morning like nothing had changed.
Cai Lang woke slowly.Pain greeted him first dull, steady, lingering in his side but it was manageable now. Not sharp enough to panic him, just enough to remind him it was there.
What surprised him was warmth.He turned his head slightly, eyes adjusting to the light, and paused.Suo Ran was asleep on the floor beside the couch, back against it, head tilted awkwardly, blanket half-slipped from his shoulder. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, proof of another sleepless night.
Cai Lang stared at him.Minutes passed.
He traced the familiar lines of Suo Ran's face with his eyes the relaxed brow, the faint crease between his eyebrows, the lashes too long to be fair. In sleep, Suo Ran looked younger, softer and unaware.Cai Lang's chest tightened.If you weren't here, he thought, this would be easier.But the thought didn't comfort him.
Suo Ran stirred.Blinking slowly, he opened his eyes and froze.Cai Lang was watching him."How long have you been awake?" Suo Ran asked groggily.Cai Lang didn't look away. "Long enough."Suo Ran shifted, embarrassed, trying to sit up too quickly. "You should rest." "I did." Cai Lang said.
Their eyes met something quiet passed between them unspoken, unresolved.
Suo Ran leaned forward to stand, but Cai Lang reached out instinctively, steadying him.Their bodies were suddenly closer than intended.Suo Ran's breath caught.Cai Lang realized it at the same time.They froze, faces inches apart.Neither moved and neither spoke.Cai Lang was the first to pull back.
"I need to freshen up." he said, voice controlled.He stood and immediately faltered.Pain shot through his side.Suo Ran caught him without thinking."Don't." Suo Ran said sharply. "You can't move like that."
"I can manage." "No," Suo Ran said, firmer now. "You can't."
Cai Lang clenched his jaw. " Help me then."
The request hung heavy between them.
Suo Ran hesitated, then nodded slowly, supporting him toward the bathroom. Every step was measured, careful. The mirror reflected them Cai Lang leaning slightly into Suo Ran, Suo Ran focused entirely on keeping him steady.At the sink, Cai Lang paused."I can't." he admitted quietly.Suo Ran looked at him. "What?""I can't do this alone," Cai Lang said, avoiding his eyes. "Just help. That's all."
Suo Ran hesitated, then reached for the tap, steadying Cai Lang with one hand while helping him rinse his face.Their closeness felt dangerous.Suo Ran tried not to notice how Cai Lang's fingers tightened briefly around his wrist.Or how his own heart refused to slow down.When it was done, Suo Ran stepped back abruptly. "I… I need to go out for a bit," he said quickly. "I'll be back."
Cai Lang watched him carefully. "Where?"
"Just… something I forgot."
He left before Cai Lang could ask more.
The hallway felt cooler.Suo Ran leaned against the wall outside, exhaling shakily.
Get it together.Because every quiet moment was starting to feel too loud. Inside, Cai Lang sat alone on the couch, bandaged, thoughtful.The silence pressed in.
Then the doorbell rang.Cai Lang's body tensed instantly.He moved carefully to the door and opened it to find his father standing there."You're injured." his father said, eyes flicking to the bandages.Cai Lang's jaw tightened. "You shouldn't be here.""And yet," his father replied smoothly, "here I am."
They stood facing each other in the doorway, tension crackling like static."I heard you were discharged." his father continued. "You should have informed me.""I didn't want to." cai Lang replied. His father stepped closer.
"Because you're hiding something?"
Cai Lang held his gaze. "No."
His father's eyes drifted briefly toward the interior of the apartment, then back to him.
"Good," he said quietly. "Because whoever you're protecting "Cai Lang's phone buzzed.
A message from Suo Ran. I'll be back soon.
Cai Lang closed his eyes briefly.His father noticed and smiled.
The door opened softly.Suo Ran stepped inside, shoes quiet against the floor, shoulders still tense from whatever thoughts he hadn't managed to escape.He froze.
Cai Lang's father was standing in the living room.For half a second, no one spoke.
The air itself seemed to stiffen."You're back." the man said calmly, eyes sharp, assessing Suo Ran like he was confirming something.
Suo Ran instinctively straightened. "I… sorry. I didn't know there was a guest." Cai Lang turned quickly. "Suo Ran!"
His father raised a hand slightly, stopping him without even looking."So." he said, voice low and controlled, "you're the one."Suo Ran's throat tightened. "Sir?" "You've been very busy lately," his father continued. "Staying out late. Taking responsibility that isn't yours."Cai Lang stepped forward immediately. "Father. Stop." But his father didn't look at him. "I told you to stay away," he said instead, voice still calm but heavier now. "And yet here you are. In my son's house."
Suo Ran swallowed. "Cai Lang was injured. I didn't think..." "That's the problem." his father cut in smoothly. "You think."Silence snapped into place.
Suo Ran's hands curled slightly at his sides. He suddenly felt very aware of himself like every step he had taken so far had been wrong in ways he hadn't understood. "I'll leave." Suo Ran said quietly.Cai Lang turned sharply. "No. You don't have to."But Suo Ran had already bowed slightly, polite, distant. "Please excuse me."He walked past them.
The door closed softly behind him.Cai Lang stared at it for a long moment, jaw tight, breath uneven."You see?" his father said quietly. "He knows his place."Cai Lang's hands clenched at his sides.