CH 69

Due to everything that happened from the earthquake to the physical labor he put himself through, Zhou Qingbo hadn’t slept well for about ten days.

He had rushed between several towns where Pei You might appear, day and night without rest. He saw through the arrival of relief supplies with Qing Shan, while also joining the rescue team to save people, as if he were an unwavering top, all fueled by that bit of fairy energy in his heart.

Now that he saw Pei You safe and sound, that “fairy energy” supporting him seemed to vanish in an instant. Zhou Qingbo closed his eyes, finally realizing his exhaustion.

He was like a game player who’d fought through thorns and bushes all the way, finally reaching the finish line. Seeing Pei You at the end, he felt a deep fatigue mingled with excitement.

“So tired.” Zhou Qingbo complained softly, “My hands ache, my legs hurt, everything hurts.”

Pei You was in his embrace, and at his words, he subconsciously wanted to pull back a bit and check Zhou Qingbo’s condition. But before he could move, Zhou Qingbo held onto him even tighter.

After his emotions let loose, Zhou Qingbo’s playfulness seemed to follow suit. He slightly furrowed his brows. Without waiting for Pei You to speak, he preemptively acted.

“Pei You?” Zhou Qingbo’s voice softened, and he complained in a tone that was neither angry nor joyful, “I came all the way from Beijing, ran up and down the mountains, carried stretchers, and worked so hard to find you. Now, can’t I be held a little longer?”

It had to be said, Zhou Qingbo’s talent for “acting cute to get his way” was clearly much better than Pei You’s. He’d already hit the softest part of Pei You’s heart with just a few words, making Pei You freeze for a moment, unable to move.

“Not… it’s not that.” Pei You explained softly, “I just wanted to see where you’re hurting.”

Zhou Qingbo quickly responded, as if he’d prepared the words beforehand. He said, half in truth, “My heart aches.”

Pei You: “…”

Pei You could tell that Zhou Qingbo was intentionally teasing him.

So he lightly exhaled in relief, pursing his lips and smiling. He then reached out and gently wiped away the mud from Zhou Qingbo’s face.

“Hug me as much and as long as you want.” Pei You looked around and said, “There’s no one here. Everyone’s gone to work on the collapsed area, and no one’s watching.”

Zhou Qingbo: “…”

It’s no fun! Zhou Qingbo thought, is the issue whether someone’s watching or not!

He’d come all the way from Beijing, not slept well for ten days, just poured his heart out for the first time, and now he was tired and excited. He wanted to hear a few sweet words, but Pei You, this wooden block, couldn’t pick up on his meaning, leaving him hanging for so long.

But he’d known Pei You for a while now. He wasn’t surprised by this reaction. It was just a little disappointing, and he sighed inwardly, starting to “hint” at him.

“Just comfort me a bit,” Zhou Qingbo said.

“Okay ,” Pei You quickly said, “I’m sorry, hug me as long as you want.”

The corners of Zhou Qingbo’s lips couldn’t help but curl upwards, feeling much better.

He was always easy to please; a kind word would satisfy him. So he didn’t make things difficult for Pei You anymore. He just silently leaned against his shoulder for a while.

“Shall we go back?” After a moment of silence, Pei You tentatively asked, “you need to rest”

Zhou Qingbo also wanted to go back, but his eating and sleeping schedule had been irregular during this period. He had been alternating between being hungry and full, not properly having meals at noon or in the evening. Amidst his emotional turmoil, he was experiencing some low blood sugar symptoms. As soon as he left Pei You’s shoulder, his vision started to blur, and his hands and feet went weak.

Taking advantage of the chance to act spoiled, he leaned against Pei You’s body for a while to recover slightly. Then he straightened up, grabbing Pei You’s hand.

“Come back to camp with me,” Zhou Qingbo decisively said, “I’ll have the team leader pass a message to your colleagues—today you’re not allowed to leave me.”

He decisively decided Pei You’s course of action in just a few words, which appeared rather domineering. Fortunately, Pei You had just confirmed their relationship and wasn’t eager to be away from Zhou Qingbo’s side either. He obediently responded with an “Mhm,” and followed Zhou Qingbo back to their campsite.

Before returning, Pei You had thought that Zhou Qingbo’s comment about being “sore all over” was just a playful remark. However, when they entered the tent, Zhou Qingbo took off his rescue uniform, and Pei You suddenly realized that those words carried a certain degree of truth.

Zhou Qingbo’s body was covered in scrapes and bruises, and he had no idea where they had all come from. His arms were practically a disaster area, with a large wound on his left wrist that was already half scabbed over, and deep bruises in shades of purple and blue on his right arm. The old and new injuries mixed together, making for a distressing sight.

“Where did these come from?” Pei You furrowed his brows tightly, instinctively wanting to reach out and touch Zhou Qingbo’s shoulder carefully. However, he was afraid of hurting him, so he held back his strength and gently touched the wounds with his fingertips.

Having removed his jacket, Zhou Qingbo was now only wearing a light vest. Pei You lowered his head and noticed a distinct bruise on Zhou Qingbo’s shoulder, about three fingers wide. It ran vertically, splitting open his shoulder in a rather noticeable manner.

“Oh, this,” Zhou Qingbo had switched into “resting” mode since they entered the tent, and now his exhaustion was such that he could hardly keep his eyes open. He mumbled vaguely, “I got it while carrying stretchers, it’s almost healed.”

As he finished speaking, he collapsed onto the camp bed as if he had suddenly lost power, slumping onto the bed board.

“There’s another bed over there, let’s pull it over and combine them,” Zhou Qingbo, half-closed eyes, mumbled drowsily. “I have this tent all to myself.”

Having come to the disaster area alone, Zhou Qingbo was treated with respect by the rescue teams, given the situation of him leading a team, carrying funds, and bringing a lot of supplies. Although the tent was small and could only fit two camp beds and a folding table, it was still a “single room” all for him, better than squeezing with others in the large common sleeping area.

Pei You looked around and followed Zhou Qingbo’s words, dragging the spare bed over to combine it with the one Zhou Qingbo was on. Then he patted the dust off his hands and stood up.

He turned to leave, but before he could take a step, Zhou Qingbo, as if he had an extra sense, raised his hand accurately and grabbed his wrist.

“Where are you going?” Zhou Qingbo asked.

“To find some disinfectant for you,” Pei You said, “You have many wounds on your hands.”

Zhou Qingbo had been lifting rocks all day under the rain. His hands had many small cuts. Pei You had only given them a brief glance earlier, but he then saw several unattended wounds.

“Don’t go out,” Zhou Qingbo’s spirit had already fallen asleep, only a part of him was still awake, acting and speaking out of instinct. He gave a low hum upon hearing Pei You’s words, and said, “There’s some in the luggage.”

Ever since confirming their relationship or maybe from pure post-fright, Pei You suddenly realized that Zhou Qingbo was sticking to him even more than before, as if he didn’t want him out of his sight for even a moment.

Pei You’s heart couldn’t help but soften. He responded with an “Okay,” and reached out to touch Zhou Qingbo’s wrist.

“Alright,” Pei You said, “I’ll stay here and look around.”

Zhou Qingbo seemed to relax at that, releasing Pei You’s hand strand by strand. He slumped back onto the bed and remained motionless.

Pei You looked around and saw Zhou Qingbo’s luggage sitting in the corner of the tent. There weren’t many valuable items inside, so it had been casually placed on the ground with the zipper half open.

The tent had no electrical light, and only a faint moonlight seeped in through the rolled-up blinds. Pei You gently dragged the luggage over to the window, opening the top.

Zhou Qingbo’s ability to take care of himself was similar to his personality—ample potential but lacking seriousness. His style of organizing and storing things was quite laid-back, verging on carefree and careless.

Pei You reached in and rummaged around a bit, not intending to invade Zhou Qingbo’s privacy. He was planning to neatly fold up a paper he came across and put it away, but he suddenly saw a familiar phone number on the paper.

—It was the phone number for their office’s front desk.

Pei You hesitated for a moment, then couldn’t help but pick up the paper. In the moonlight, he noticed that it was densely filled with writing. The first half contained Zhou Qingbo’s travel path, while the latter half was a collection of phone numbers, lined up row by row, each followed by its owner.

Those phone numbers covered a wide range of categories. Some were contacts for the leaders of the rescue teams, some were contacts for hospitals treating the injured, and a portion of them were official contact channels for Pei You’s office.

The majority of those numbers and addresses were crossed out with horizontal lines, followed by sparse annotations such as “unavailable,” “invalid,” and “pending confirmation.”

The specificity of this information was quite clear. Pei You easily deduced the purpose of this paper. Scanning through it all, he finally spotted his mother’s phone number at the end.

This number hadn’t been crossed out yet; it was the last entry among all the information. Zhou Qingbo had left a small notation beside it, simply stating “caution.”

The paper showed clear signs of being crumpled up. It was apparent that he had hesitated for a long time. But perhaps fearing that Pei You’s family would worry if he made the call, he ultimately hadn’t dialed that number.

The moonlight on that rainy night was blurry and faint. Pei You held that piece of paper in his hand, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.

Zhou Qingbo, usually lazy and careless, put in so much effort and traveled so far just for him. He worked tirelessly, as if it were a matter of life and death.

Every mark on that paper was a trace left by Zhou Qingbo’s journey. He had experienced setbacks and disappointments. Each mark on the paper represented a hope that had been dashed.

The joy and emotion of their reunion had been replaced by an unknown feeling. Pei You’s eyes slightly warm, and his hand holding the paper trembled. He gazed at the paper for a while and couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

His heart was a mix of sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy sensations, feeling heavy in his chest, filled with something nameless.

Pei You didn’t know what that something was. He pressed his lips together and carefully folded the paper back to its original state, tucking it into the suitcase, then covering it with neatly folded T-shirts.

He stared at the dark T-shirt for a moment, lost in thought for a while, until he finally realized what that overwhelming feeling in his chest really was.

— It was Zhou Qingbo’s sincere affection for him.