On the rewards for successfully defeating a boss

In the following days, Chen Qian's life had a very distinct rhythm and was very regular.

Get up in the morning and take the medicine after breakfast.

Then he would read a book or look at the photo albums of big names in the circle, and after a while, Ikemu would appear in plain clothes.

Zhongyi would come before nine o'clock, carrying his school bag and several thick books on local folk customs, and would leave on time.

A little later, it was Yu Wangxi who came at unpredictable times, carrying a lunch bag that was getting fatter and fatter. The first thing he did when he entered the door was to harass Zhong Yi.

As usual, Sun Cheng would come to pick up Yu Wangxi after get off work every day, and sometimes Lin Xixi would follow behind him.

If Lin Xixi came, everyone would eat together in the ward, which would inevitably lead to them being discovered over time. Luckily, they only ate the stir-fried dishes Sun Cheng had made that day—after all, that's what Lin Xixi said. She figured: how could spicy crayfish not be considered a stir-fried dish?

As expected, every one of them was severely criticized by the head nurse in the ward. After the criticism, they all behaved themselves.

Wu Zhefan and Yu Wangze would appear occasionally. Whenever they came, they would start bickering with Yu Wangxi. The three of them were a real drama, shouting so loudly that the nurses came to remind them to be more careful with their voices. After a few times, the nurses and Chen Qian were tired.

A young intern nurse once complained to Chen Qian, "Tell your friends to come less often. If we didn't have so few patients on this floor and we couldn't take care of them, the head nurse would have come to arrest them long ago."

Chen Qian: "You said you could take care of it, nothing will happen tonight, right?"

Little nurse: "Stop talking..."

Chen Tian would appear for more than ten minutes every day, and he would really just come to take a look. After that, he would turn around and leave without any reluctance. No matter what Chen Qian said, he would not stay any longer.

But today, this rhythm was broken by new visitors.

It was still early, the clock hadn't even reached eight o'clock.

Chen Qian had just finished breakfast and was waiting idly for his medicine.

There was a new documentary playing on the tablet, which he used as background music to accompany the book in his hand.

The sliding door was opened with a slight sound, which made Chen Qian look up from his book.

The man was wearing a mask that covered most of his face, and he was also wearing a fisherman's hat with an old-fashioned design, so only a pair of eyes could be seen.

A small diamond dangled from his earlobe, standing out against the light. He wore a gray sweatshirt with cursive text and black jeans. Around his neck were several layers of necklaces in various styles, giving him a youthful look, like a student.

This style and image is unfamiliar to Chen Qian and cannot be connected with anyone he knows.

He asked blankly, "Did you...did you take the wrong path?"

"Chen Qian," the other man said, walking straight to the chair and sitting down with ease, as if he were returning home. He looked around and asked, "Is there anything to drink? I'm a little thirsty."

This voice...Chen Qian immediately thought of someone.

He curled his lips, ignored the other party's question, and continued reading casually, "Chi Yuxing, why are you here?"

"Oh, you don't like me? It's only been a few days, and you've already forgotten who pulled you out?" Chi Yuxing looked at Chen Qian in disbelief, as if he had done something horrific that would irritate the heavens and the people. "You're so disappointing."

"It's been so long, and you're only now coming." Chen Qian turned a page, his eyes moving smoothly across the lines of text. "Besides, you're not the kind of person who would just sit there and come to see how I'm doing."

"We are more or less half friends, okay?" Chi Yuxing waved his hand and changed the subject, "But you understand me quite well. There is indeed something going on."

He stopped talking mid-sentence, then took off his mask and walked around the room, really looking for water.

Everyone was in a similar situation, and Chi Yuxing was no exception. Chen Qian's gaze inadvertently swept across the scars on his face, which were only revealed after he took off his mask. After just one glance, he looked away.

That face would probably look worse from now on, Chen Qian thought. That scar looked like it would be with Chi Yuxing for the rest of his life.

After finding an unopened box of milk in the cupboard that he didn't remember who had sent it to him, Chi Yuxing opened it neatly as if no one was around and started drinking it through a straw.

Chen Qian remained calm and continued to ask calmly, "Good news or bad news?"

"Hmm...it's good news, I guess." Chi Yuxing hesitated for a moment before saying, "I passed the postgraduate entrance exam and received the acceptance letter."

"That does sound like good news." Chen Qian met his eyes, his expression serious and sincere, and said in a clear voice: "Then congratulations, you can finally start doing what you want to do."

"Well, thank you. It's a bit hypocritical to say that, because I have no one else to talk to about this." Chi Yuxing's expression was shy, which Chen Qian had never seen before. He lowered his head slightly, looking a little embarrassed.

"My brother... Yuyuan, you probably don't know, but he's upstairs. I wanted to go tell him directly, but I guess I wasn't mentally prepared enough. So I thought I'd tell you first, just to practice."

"He'll be happy for you. Like you said before, that was his long-cherished wish." Chen Qian said calmly. He noticed the time. It was already past eight o'clock. "Go tell him now. Tell him as soon as possible. Let him be happy for a while longer."