Chapter 15: The Hug
You and I Are Already Best Friends
After returning to the hospital in the afternoon, Yuan An packed up the things he needed to take with him for his discharge tomorrow, then collapsed onto the hospital bed and buried his head in a deep sleep.
It wasn’t until evening that he was awakened by the rich aroma of pork rib soup.
Yuan An opened his eyes in a daze, only to see Qin Sixing standing by the bed, gently pouring the pork rib soup out of the insulated flask.
The curtain in the ward was half-drawn, blocking out the light of the setting sun that streamed into the head of the bed, and his vision was still a bit blurred from just waking up.
Consequently, in the midst of the hazy shadows of light, Yuan An could only watch as Qin Sixing slowly turned his gaze toward him.
Once his vision cleared, Yuan An saw Qin Sixing reach out his hand and gently place it on his forehead.
Meeting his confused gaze, Qin Sixing explained, “When I came in just now, I noticed you had a slight low-grade fever, but it seems better now. Were you out in the wind?”
Yuan An slowly sat up and shook his head upon hearing this.
He had merely walked on the streets for a bit longer after leaving Linjiang Garden, and hadn’t been exposed to the wind for too long.
Then, Yuan An seemed to realize something. “How long have you been here?”
Qin Sixing’s hand paused for a fraction of a second before he picked up the soup bowl from the bedside table and said, “Not long, just a moment.”
Yuan An nodded, taking the soup bowl and sipping it in small mouthfuls.
The two did not continue speaking; one sat by the bed lost in thought, while the other was completely spacing out as he lowered his head to drink the soup.
It wasn’t until the bowl of soup was almost empty that Qin Sixing finally made a move.
Tapping the fingers of his right hand against his knee, he asked, “When you went to view apartments today, did you run into something unpleasant?”
Yuan An paused. He turned his head to glance at Qin Sixing, then finished the last sip of soup, smiled, and said, “It’s nothing, just that the landlord was a bit annoying.”
Qin Sixing looked at the shallow dimple on his right cheek, feeling for the first time that it shouldn’t have appeared at this moment.
—He knew Yuan An had been wronged, and that he was incredibly unwilling to tell him about the painful things, choosing instead to force a smile in front of him.
He even felt a long-lost sense of distance emanating from Yuan An.
Qin Sixing pressed his right fist against his lips, tightly clenching his back teeth.
But very quickly, he restored his usual gentle demeanor. “So the apartment hunting didn’t go smoothly, and our An An is feeling sad in his heart?”
Yuan An was slightly dazed by his words, then shifted his gaze uncomfortably and said, “I’m not sad, I can just look for another apartment.”
Qin Sixing nodded in agreement, rising to sit closer to Yuan An on the edge of the bed.
“Yes, we can find another one. We don’t care for that person’s apartment anyway.”
Yuan An couldn’t help but laugh, his previously tense brows instantly smoothing out. “Hahaha, why do you sound so much like a kindergarten teacher coaxing a child?”
Only now did Qin Sixing find that dimple more pleasing to the eye. His own brows and eyes softened considerably as he said, “Then has the child been successfully coaxed? If you’ve been coaxed, do you want to take a look at a vacant apartment of mine?”
The smile on Yuan An’s lips froze for an instant.
He understood Qin Sixing’s meaning; after giving him a job, the other party wanted to help him resolve his living situation as well.
Yuan An pressed his lips together and said, “But I already owe you so much. And I can’t give you anything in return, nor do I know what it is you need.”
Qin Sixing’s eyes darkened for a split second, his voice turning deep. “Then if there is something I need, will you give it to me no matter what?”
Yuan An nodded, waiting for Qin Sixing to state his requirement.
However, a good while passed, and Qin Sixing still didn’t speak.
Yuan An looked at him in confusion, colliding right with his deep black eyes.
Those black eyes seemed to conceal some complex emotions, but Yuan An couldn’t understand them.
Subsequently, he saw Qin Sixing’s face slowly closing in on him.
What… what did this mean? Could it be…
Yuan An’s heart rate quickened faster and faster along with the suspicion flashing through his mind, his hands and feet tuning so rigid he didn’t know where to place them.
He even felt a surge of heat rush to the top of his head, and his face must be so red it felt like a hot pan, probably capable of frying an egg.
Just when Yuan An couldn’t control himself and directly closed his eyes, Qin Sixing stopped.
He watched as Yuan An, with a flushed face, shrank back slightly. His Adam’s apple bobbed once before he merely raised his hand to stroke Yuan An’s hair, saying softly, “I need An An to treat me as your best friend.”
Huh?
Yuan An gently opened his eyes to look at Qin Sixing.
Only such a requirement? Then what on earth was he thinking about just now…
Yuan An’s face turned even redder. His lips moved a few times before he said, “Mr. Qin, you are already my best friend.”
“It’s still not enough,” Qin Sixing said immediately.
Yuan An looked at him blankly.
Qin Sixing realized his reaction, then lowered his eyes dejectedly, let out a sigh, and said, “An An, today… were you deliberately distancing yourself from me? Do you no longer want me as a friend?”
Yuan An quickly waved his hands, so anxious that he half-knelt on the hospital bed. “I wasn’t, Mr. Qin, please don’t think that way.”
But Qin Sixing still kept his head lowered slightly, his hand on the blanket loosely curling into a fist, as if suppressing his sadness.
Seeing this situation, Yuan An thought it over, simply extended his arms, and slowly wrapped them around Qin Sixing’s shoulders.
It was a hug.
Qin Sixing’s body stiffened for an instant; he hadn’t expected that he would actually reap such a reward.
Subsequently, he unhesitatingly hugged Yuan An back.
Yuan An even patted his shoulder gently, his muffled voice coming from the side of his neck: “Mr. Qin truly is my best friend.”
Qin Sixing gave an “Mm” and said gently, “Then An An, please don’t have any psychological burden, alright? You are sick, you have no place to live, and no one to take care of you. As your best friend, how can I leave you all alone at a time like this? I must do everything within my capability to help you.”
The moment his voice fell, he noticed that Yuan An’s body began to tremble gently.
Was he crying?
Qin Sixing slowly caressed his back and continued, “When you haven’t stabilized your life yet and lack capability, don’t think about what you can give back to your friend right now. Instead, you should think about how to live up to your friend’s help.”
“Or, you can just wait until your situation is much better before giving back even more to your friend.”
Yuan An nodded. “Mm, I will.”
Too gentle; Qin Sixing was simply too gentle.
Unlike Chu Baihan’s past habit of treating everyone around him with gentleness, he could feel that Qin Sixing’s current pool of gentleness was specifically given to him—given to his self, Yuan An.
Even though Qin Sixing usually wore a completely refined smile toward Auntie Su and Song Chucheng, Yuan An still knew it was different.
However, he was terrified that in the end, he would still lose this gentleness, and then return once more to his previous bleak state of life.
He didn’t know if running into Chu Baihan today had made him recall some past events, but while he was sleeping in the afternoon, he had a dream. It wasn’t a nightmare, but something far more agonizing than a nightmare—the things he had truly experienced in his previous life.
The cold shoulders from those family members and the malicious words from those past friends played on a continuous loop in his dream.
In the end, it concluded with that cold, detached phrase between him and Qin Sixing from his past life: “Suit yourself.”
Therefore, right after waking up, he momentarily developed an erroneous, extreme thought.
He thought that if it was destined to be lost anyway, then in order to avoid the extreme pain of losing it later, he might as well cut his losses early.
He had temporarily forgotten that he had already been reborn, and currently, none of the events around him were unfolding along the path of his previous life.
Fortunately, his extreme thoughts were gently set straight by Qin Sixing.
Listening to Yuan An’s occasional soft sobs, Qin Sixing said nothing, merely continuing to gently pat his back.
Before long, Yuan An composed his feelings and released his hands that were tightly clutching Qin Sixing.
He wiped away the traces of tears from his face and awkwardly apologized to Qin Sixing.
Qin Sixing gently caressed his hair. “It’s nothing. So, do you want to take a look at the apartment now? You are my employee, so I’ll give you an employee discount—three thousand yuan a month will do.”
Yuan An’s mood had relaxed a lot. He nodded and asked, “Then shall we set off right now to view the apartment?”
Qin Sixing shook his head. “No need.”
With that, he directly placed a video call over to Song Chucheng.
“It’s right next to the Mid-Hill Villa where I live. Although the area isn’t massive, it’s still quite nice.”
Yuan An was thoroughly shocked.
An apartment with a rent of three thousand yuan a month… is a… a villa?!
The author has something to say:
President Qin, I also want to be your employee. I also want to rent a villa for three thousand a month QAQ.
Yuan An lived a miserable life in his previous life, so in the early stages after his rebirth, he is slowly adapting to the plot twists of this life. Occasionally, under the influence of his past-life memories, he might get stuck in a horn, but I hope everyone can give him a little time~
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