"Did you happen to see a familiar car parked out front?" Haoran asked the moment Qixian stepped through the clinic doors. "There was a friend of yours waiting inside it earlier. He said he wouldn't leave until he saw you."
"Ah, Wu Chengli?" Qixian replied, his voice nonchalant as he moved into the room. "Yes, I ran into him on my way in."
"And?" Haoran prompted, leaning against the counter with a look of genuine curiosity. "What did he want? He seemed pretty anxious to find you."
"Nothing major," Qixian said, shrugging dismissively as he claimed a seat. "He just wanted to let me know he'd finished the repairs on my car. He only stopped by to drop off the keys and return the vehicle to me." He settled into the chair with a practiced calm, acting as if he hadn't just spent the last hour uncovering a life-altering conspiracy.
"You have a car?" Haoran asked, his voice climbing an octave in pure disbelief. "You didn't bribe that poor man into giving you his, did you?"
"I am not that kind of person!" Qixian snapped, though a faint, defensive flush crept up his neck. "And yes, I have a car. It broke down the night I was disowned, right before I ended up staying here."
"Ah, I see," Haoran nodded, the pieces finally fitting together. "So, any luck with the job hunt?"
"Not exactly," Qixian replied, his mind drifting. "But Chengli mentioned that my position at the hospital is still secure. They haven't fired me yet."
Qixian leaned back, his thoughts spiraling. The idea of returning to the hospital made his stomach churn—the cloying, sterile scent of a large medical facility was overwhelming for an S-tier Omega like him. He had to keep his secondary gender a guarded secret, but the events of the last twenty-four hours had made that nearly impossible.
His heat cycle was already beginning to stir, triggered prematurely by the suffocating barrage of Alpha pheromones he'd inhaled. First, the violent, jagged scent of Jun Xiang's attack, and then the heavy, dominant pressure of Yichen and Sihan's S-tier presence. His system was in a state of hormonal chaos.
He needed a way to disappear. If he didn't find a reason to isolate himself soon, the sweet, tell-tale scent of his heat would expose him to everyone and that would give the unknown enemies an advantage.
"Which hospital were you at?" Haoran asked, leaning in with a curious tilt of his head.
"The ZH General Hospital," Qixian answered absentmindedly, his voice hollow as his mind began to blueprint a survival plan.
Wait... that's it, he thought, his pulse quickening. 'I'll tell them the hospital called me back in for a double shift. I can claim I'm covering for the night surgeons. That gives me the perfect excuse to disappear. I'd find a quiet hotel, lock myself away, and ride out the impending storm of my heat in total isolation!'
Qixian's thought continued, 'But the plan had a hole. If Haoran calls the hospital and asks for me... Qixian's brow creased in a momentary panic. 'Chengli... Right! I need Chengli to run interference for me. I'll text him to intercept any calls.' Qixian thought, a faint, weary sigh escaping him. 'I suppose I'll just have to keep working and find a way to pay him. That stubborn minion clearly has no intention of quitting, no matter how many times I tell him he's fired.'
He felt the reassuring weight of the phone in his pocket—the one he'd spent an hour frantically digging out from under the car seat earlier. He just needed one minute alone to send the message.
"Qixian? Hello? Earth to 'Qixian'?" Haoran's voice sliced through his haze, pulling him back to the present.
"Are you even listening to me?" Haoran asked, his voice laced with a huffy, wounded irritation.
"Sorry," Qixian replied, his tone softening with a rare touch of guilt.
"What's so important that you're miles away?" Haoran asked, turning his back to Qixian in a theatrical display of annoyance.
"I was just debating whether or not I should actually return to the ZH General Hospital," Qixian answered, his mind still churning with the logistics of his hidden heat cycle.
"You absolutely should!" Haoran blurted out, spinning back around with sudden intensity.
Qixian raised a skeptical eyebrow. "And why is it so important to you?"
"Because... if you're there, you could keep an eye on my mother," Haoran admitted, his voice dropping into a quiet, pleading hum. "When the clinic gets busy, I can't always be at her side. I'd be so much more at peace knowing you were the one looking after her."
"I see," Qixian said, his expression shifting into a genuine, warm smile. "In that case, consider it done. I'll go back."
"Really?!" Haoran's face lit up, his eyes beaming with relief.
"Yes. But," Qixian paused, his voice carefully neutral as he prepared his next lie. "I'll need her name so I can find her chart." He knew perfectly well she was Mrs. Hong, but he had to maintain the mask, Haoran couldn't suspect how much Qixian already knew about their shared past.
"Hong Ronghua!" Haoran chirped, his smile wide and full of trust. "That's my mother's name."
"Wait," Qixian began, his voice trailing off in a fake feigned realization. "Isn't she the one who was selected for that experimental new treatment? The one that just launched?" He spoke as if he hadn't been the one to rig the selection process—as if he hadn't been the one to quietly drain his own accounts to ensure her bill was paid in full.
"Exactly!" Haoran's face lit up, his voice thick with sudden emotion. "The person who sponsored her is incredibly kind. I've spent every day since then wishing I could thank them in person. I just want them to know what it means to our family..."
Haoran's gaze drifted to the floor, a small, wistful smile touching his lips. "I wish I could at least see their face. I owe them everything, and I don't even know their name."
Qixian watched him, a sharp, internal ache blooming in his chest. He saw the genuine, shining gratitude in Haoran's eyes and had to look away. He couldn't let Haoran know—not yet—that the "mysterious benefactor" was the same person who was currently hiding behind a wall of lies.
"I'm sure they know, Haoran," Qixian said, his voice low and uncharacteristically soft. "Some people prefer to stay in the shadows."
"Yeah I guess..." Haoran let out a smile.