Shi Yuxing brightened for a moment at his words and nodded. “Thank you for your trouble, Officer An.” An Bao casually threw his arm around Shi Yuxing’s shoulder, but Shi Yuxing flinched and dodged away. Officer An was half a head taller than Shi Yuxing—not as tall as Gu Lingzhou, but still carrying an indescribable sense of pressure.
“No need to be so polite. Just think of me as Gu Lingzhou’s older brother, and I think of you as a younger brother too. We’re family, so no need for formalities.” The uniformed man awkwardly withdrew his hand, then patted his chest instead. “Just call me Brother Bao like Lingzhou does. You and Lingzhou take care of each other—if you run into any trouble, come to me.”
Shi Yuxing didn’t stand on ceremony either and blurted out: “Brother Bao.” An Bao, that old fellow, froze for a few seconds. Gu Lingzhou’s little wife had such a cool, clear voice—how did it come out sounding so… sweet? An Bao scratched his head and suddenly found himself wanting a sweetheart who’d call him “brother” too.
“Oh, the way you say that—it’s making me a little embarrassed instead.” The police uniform on his chest puffed out slightly. He cleared his throat. “Did Lingzhou bring you lunch today?”
Shi Yuxing shook his head.
“That kid really was a jerk before. I’ve given him a talking-to too—such a beautiful wife is supposed to be treasured, right? Lingzhou has taken it to heart too. These past few days, he’s been cooking and delivering meals for you. That kid’s been neglecting his military duties…” Shi Yuxing tilted his head, feeling a bit bored.
“…My brother really has been working hard to make up for his past mistakes. Just recently, he even came to me asking for the recipe for sweet and sour pork tenderloin—the best kind—because you like it.”
Ripples stirred in his tea-colored eyes. Shi Yuxing blinked, his brows furrowing slightly. “He came to you to learn how to cook?” On one hand, he hadn’t expected this burly, rough-looking man to know how to cook. On the other hand—so that beautifully presented sweet and sour pork tenderloin last time had been taught by An Bao.
An Bao held up his fingers and counted them off one by one. “Yeah. I told him about oil temperature and ingredient ratios. I even went to the supermarket to buy ingredients and taught him over video call.”
An inexplicable flutter stirred in his heart, like spring bamboo shoots—having only just poked out their tips, in the blink of an eye they’d shot up and turned into bamboo. Seeing the smile hidden in Dr. Shi’s downcast eyes, An Bao silently lamented: Little brother, your big brother here has really gone through hell for your love.
Before leaving, An Bao offered one last reminder: “Little sister-in-law, I’ll say one last thing—don’t mind me being long-winded. Wildflowers are never as fragrant as the ones in your own garden. You’re still young, so keep your eyes open.” With that, he walked into the hospital room without waiting for Shi Yuxing’s reaction.
A question mark slowly materialized over Shi Yuxing’s head.
What was he talking about just now? Wildflowers aren’t as fragrant as garden flowers? What did that mean?
·
At dinner time, a visitor arrived who shouldn’t have been there.
Shi Yuxing had just sent off his last patient and was bent over his desk, writing notes, when his peripheral vision caught a familiar military uniform. He looked up immediately. “Gu Lingzhou? Aren’t you working today?” His gaze shifted—he was holding the same food container he’d seen just yesterday.
In theory, the first day back to work would be busy, yet Gu Lingzhou still managed to bring him food. It was almost unbelievable. A few gossiping white-coated figures peeked in from the doorway. Shi Yuxing stood up and closed the door after they scattered.
“I squeezed out some time. I’ll leave in a bit and come pick you up tonight.” Gu Lingzhou opened the containers one by one. “Didn’t have time to cook today—the kitchen made these.” There was a hint of jealousy in his tone, which Shi Yuxing found amusing.
He walked to the sink to wash his hands. “You don’t have to come if you’re busy. I’m used to going home after my late shift and eating then.” He shook the water off his hands. Gu Lingzhou’s face appeared in the mirror—he was led by Gu Lingzhou to dry his hands, then a pair of chopsticks was promptly inserted into them.
Gu Lingzhou pulled out a chair for him to sit, then opened each container one by one. “I’ll try to bring you food every day and pick you up and drop you off from work.”
Stubborn, Shi Yuxing thought to himself, yet it felt like he’d just had a spoonful of honey.
Both of them held important positions—how could they realistically have time to deliver meals every day? He took a bite of braised eggplant, his cheeks bulging as he chewed. No wonder it was Da Ling’s cooking—the tender eggplant paired with that sauce was absolutely divine.
“Is it that good?” A voice suddenly cut in from beside him.
Without thinking, Shi Yuxing nodded. Halfway through, he suddenly snapped to attention and turned his head. Just as he expected to see Gu Lingzhou’s dark expression, a miracle occurred—General Gu actually showed no sign of anger. Instead, he wore an expression that said “I see.”
“You’re not mad?” Shi Yuxing voiced his confusion.
Gu Lingzhou, embodying the magnanimity of the rightful husband, replied: “Why would I be mad? What he makes is just what I make. Whether you like his cooking or mine, it’s the same.” Shi Yuxing was even more shocked. Wasn’t Gu Lingzhou just fighting with those two for the privilege of sharing his bed last night? Why was he suddenly so generous today?
Seeing his slightly parted lips and surprised expression, Gu Lingzhou continued: “I admit he cooks better than me. So I’m going to learn from him.” His gaze burned with intensity, as if it could bore straight through Shi Yuxing’s body. Once he learned the skills, he could kick those two out the door.
Shi Yuxing had no idea what was going through his mind. Gu Lingzhou pushed the remaining good dishes closer to him. “Hurry up and eat. I’ll leave once you’re done.” Shi Yuxing let out an “oh,” moved his chopsticks, and scooped up more than half of the sweet and sour pork tenderloin.
About seventy percent full, he suddenly recalled running into An Bao today and the baffling things the man had said. The office was too quiet with just the two of them. Shi Yuxing spoke up awkwardly: “I’m going to Lin Anran’s place tonight to see Lin Wuyang. He might be able to help us decode the message Mom left behind. I’ll send you the address when I get there—just pick me up directly from his place.”
Gu Lingzhou gave a slight nod. “Okay.”
“Also, I ran into An Bao.”
“Mm.”
“I think he’s… strange.” Shi Yuxing set down his food container and casually picked up a bite of shredded potatoes to put over his rice.
Gu Lingzhou quietly played the role of listener, his expression encouraging him to continue.
“He said, ‘Wildflowers are never as fragrant as the ones in your own garden.’” Shi Yuxing repeated the words, watching Gu Lingzhou’s brows knit together. His tea-colored eyes locked onto Gu Lingzhou. “You think it’s strange too, right? What did he mean by that? I really don’t get it.”
As he finished speaking, the shredded potatoes went into his mouth along with the rice, his cheeks still working. Gu Lingzhou’s clear black-and-white eyes glanced at him and unexpectedly dropped a bomb: “He was the one who sent me the photos of you with those two.”
A bolt from the blue struck him directly. Shi Yuxing was fried crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, his lively eyes now filled with utter bewilderment. He sat there dumbfounded, the rice in his mouth nearly spilling out.
General Gu furrowed his brow and picked a grain of rice off the corner of his mouth. “Didn’t you ever wonder how I showed up that day?” Shi Yuxing truly hadn’t thought about that. He’d assumed it was a surprise inspection from Gu Lingzhou—it had never crossed his mind that someone had tipped him off.
Finally snapping out of it, Shi Yuxing swallowed the rice and stammered: “He—he, he, he knows?!”
Gu Lingzhou’s reaction was calm, letting out a breath through his nose. “He knows. Before I left, I assigned him to find people to protect you. He’d send me photos from time to time.”
It felt like thousands of ants were crawling up his back. His spine felt drained. Shi Yuxing’s blood ran cold, his whole body chilled, and his breath seemed to freeze in his throat.
“Then… all this time, has he thought I was a scumbag?” Shi Yuxing’s back was taut, prominent lines visible on his neck. Gu Lingzhou observed the micro-expressions on his wife’s face, then looked down at the grain of rice on his thumb. “No. I explained it to him.”
“Explained what? That there are three of you? Are you insane?” Shi Yuxing’s attention snapped back. Gu Lingzhou couldn’t have been stupid enough to spill their secret, right? Clearly, he wasn’t. “I told him you’re not that kind of person, and that we’re not getting divorced.”
Shi Yuxing let out a breath of relief. “Did he believe it?”
“He should have.”
That meant he didn’t. Otherwise he wouldn’t have said what he did today. No wonder something had felt off earlier. Had Officer An been looking at him like he was a “scumbag” this whole time? In An Bao’s mind, he’d already been a bastard all along.
Thinking back over everything An Bao had said, the more he thought about it, the worse it got. He couldn’t eat anymore. Shi Yuxing put down his chopsticks and pushed his food aside, pressing his lips together.
Seeing him set down his chopsticks, Gu Lingzhou asked: “Full?”
“Mm—”
The sound of running water faded into background noise. Shi Yuxing scrubbed between his fingers while staring blankly at himself in the mirror.
“Yuxing, Yuxing, Dr. Shi! What’s wrong with you? You look so distracted.” Lin Anran looked at the figure in the mirror that had barely moved for ages, calling out several times before finally snapping him out of it. “Don’t tell me you’re thinking about General Gu? I heard from a few nurses that he brought you dinner tonight.”
Shi Yuxing shook the water off his hands, then wiped them on a towel a couple more times as something occurred to him. “You’re overthinking it.”
“Fine, fine. I’ll text Wuyang and ask if he’s awake.” Lin Anran pulled out his phone and tapped a few times. After a long while, his phone buzzed with a message notification. Lin Anran: “Hey, perfect timing. He just woke up. Let’s go.”
Shi Yuxing glanced at it. “Send me your home address.”
“Why?”
“So I can have Gu Lingzhou pick me up.” He said it casually, but Lin Anran started to waver. “You didn’t say the General was coming too. My place can’t fit four people.”
“Why are you so scared? I saw you two chatting happily at the door before.”
Lin Anran knew which time he was talking about. “He forced me to chat. I didn’t have a choice.”
After much dawdling, they finally arrived at Lin Anran’s apartment building. Shi Yuxing looked up—he hadn’t expected anyone to still live in such an old building without even handrails. “Why don’t you rent somewhere better? This is too dangerous—no handrails at all.” The sensor lights, lagging half a beat behind their footsteps, chased them up floor by floor until they stopped at the sixth.
Lin Anran inserted the key into the lock. “My brother likes it here. The rent’s cheap and it’s close to the hospital. We’ve lived here for years—we’re used to it.” The lock clicked open. The apartment was pitch black inside. Lin Anran called out: “Wuyang!”
The next second, light spilled out from the bedroom directly across from the front door, and a figure that looked almost identical to Lin Anran shuffled out. Lin Anran turned on the entryway light. “Have you eaten?” Lin Wuyang’s hair was much longer than Lin Anran’s—his bangs covered half of his glasses frame. His loose pajamas had the words “WRITE TILL I DIE” printed boldly across them.
“There’s noodles for you in the pot. You said you were bringing someone back—who?” Lin Wuyang rubbed his eyes before putting his glasses back on. Seeming unable to see clearly, he squinted and leaned closer, finally stopping when he was just two steps away from Shi Yuxing. “Lin Anran, where did you find such a pretty omega boyfriend?”
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