Who could compensate for Fang Shaoyi? Nobody could.

Fang Shaoyi's chest tube was still draining blood, and it wasn't the normal amount for post-surgery. The color was also very dark. They had to push him out to do a lung check, and after the doctors' consultation, they decided to do a CT scan at 10 o'clock to find the bleeding source.

Yuan Ye let everyone else go back, leaving only Geng Jinwei and Ji Xiaotao in the hospital. It was enough for the three of them to handle any emergencies or tests. Having too many people around was useless, and it would only cause more trouble for the hospital.

It was not good for everyone to be stuck in the hallway, and it made everyone anxious. Yuan Ye didn't want others to see Fang Shaoyi's current state, fearing that his parents would worry and that others would see his distress.

Yuan Ye understood Fang Shaoyi. If it weren't for the fear that something unexpected might happen and he wasn't enough to handle it, he would have been fine staying there alone.

No one mentioned the film now that Fang Shaoyi was in this state. Nobody dared to bring it up. Whether he would wake up or recover was uncertain, and the danger period had not passed yet. After he recovered, it was unknown whether the movie could still be made. The director didn't mention it and didn't have time to consider such things.

If Fang Shaoyi stopped bleeding, he could still move a little, and they would have to make him practice breathing and coughing. But they didn't know where the bleeding was coming from, and the doctor didn't allow him to move. If it was a major blood vessel, it would be very dangerous if he moved too much and caused it to rupture.

Now wherever he goes, there's a little doctor following him. They walk through the doctor's passage the whole way, without having to wait outside for the elevator. Fang Shaoyi is awake, Yuan Ye and Ji Xiaotao are both wearing masks, and Fang Shaoyi isn't wearing an oxygen mask anymore. He said to Yuan Ye in the elevator, "Have you not rested at all?"

Yuan Ye smiled and lowered his head, his smile hidden behind his mask but could be seen in his eyes. He said, "I've rested."

Fang Shaoyi blinked slowly and said, "You're lying."

Ji Xiaotao chimed in, "Brother, he's lying."

Yuan Ye glanced at him and said, "You're quick to speak."

This was the first time Ji Xiaotao had spoken to Fang Shaoyi since he was injured. He had followed him the whole way these past few days, and looking back, he didn't know how he had managed to endure all the panic and fear. It was all fine until he spoke to Fang Shaoyi, and then his emotions suddenly broke down, unable to hold back his tears.

Geng Jinwei patted him on the back, and Fang Shaoyi called out to him, "Xiaotao."

"Yeah!" Ji Xiaotao sniffled and responded hoarsely, "What's up, bro?"

Fang Shaoyi's voice was low, and he spoke with some difficulty, "You stay here tonight and send him back to rest."

"I've been chasing him day and night, but he just won't listen," Ji Xiaotao pulled down his mask and complained, "He's out of control now, bro, you'll have to deal with him later."

"Mm." Fang Shaoyi chuckled silently and turned his gaze towards Yuan Ye, who blinked back at him.

In the afternoon, the team of doctors that Geng Jinwei had arranged arrived. They brought with them all of Fang Shaoyi's test results and reports, and together with the hospital's doctors and the doctors who had rushed to the county town to perform emergency surgery on him, they consulted and studied for an hour. Fang Shaoyi currently had two bleeding points. They would observe the situation further and if necessary, perform another thoracoscopy.

Yuan Ye was very unhappy about having to undergo another procedure. It would mean being put under general anesthesia again, which was like having another surgery.

Who could bear to go through it all over again? Would Yuan Ye's heart be ripped out and stomped on once, only to have it done once more?

"Brother, please stop bleeding and let the blood clot, don't go into surgery again, it's killing me," said Yuan Ye to Fang Shaoyi.

Yuan Ye was half-squatting at the time, and Fang Shaoyi lifted his hand and placed it on Yuan Ye's head, smiling and saying, "Okay, I'll try my best."

Yuan Ye grabbed his hand, wanting to pinch it but hesitated because there was a needle in his hand.

During the examination, they could only exchange a few words while on the way back and forth, and the rest of the time they were separated by doors.

During the days that Fang Shaoyi was in the ICU, Yuan Ye never left his side and didn't even go back to sleep. There were a few times when he went to a hotel near the hospital where Ji Xiaotao was staying to take a shower and change his clothes, but he always rushed back immediately. He couldn't be away from Fang Shaoyi for too long, always afraid that the nurses would have something to say when he wasn't there.

Yuan Ye's heart was hanging by the door of the ICU, and even going downstairs felt like he was carrying his heart outside of his chest.

Listening to updates over the phone, he had grown to hate this feeling.

For however many days Fang Shaoyi stayed inside, Yuan Ye stayed outside for just as many. Even when Fang Han tried to chase him away and told him to go sleep, he wouldn't listen to anyone. He would just sit and doze off on a chair in the hallway. The nurses told him many times that he didn't need to stay, and that they would call him if there were any problems, but Yuan Ye couldn't leave. His heart was here, and he couldn't take a single step away.

Thankfully, Fang Shaoyi's bleeding eventually stopped, and he didn't need another surgery. When Yuan Ye went in to see him, he kissed him hard on the mouth.

Later, Fang Shaoyi escaped the danger period. His lungs were not severely infected and there were no complications. His fever only recurred occasionally, so he could be transferred to a regular ward.

Actually, he could have been transferred two days earlier, but Yuan Ye was not at ease. Since he had already been staying for these days, another two days wouldn't make much of a difference.

Fang Shaoyi's hair was shaved off completely. When his wound was being stitched up at the back of his head, a small patch was shaved off. When his wound was being dressed, he decided to shave it all off, making it easier to manage during his hospital stay.

On the day he was discharged from the ICU, he walked out on his own with needles still buried in his hand. He slowly lifted his hand and hugged Yuan Ye. Both of them had lost weight, and it was quite noticeable.

Yuan Ye was hesitant to touch him, not knowing where to put his hands. He had wounds on his chest and back, and couldn't even rest his face against his collarbone. Yuan Ye let out a sigh and asked him in a low voice, "My hand...Where should I put my hand?"

Fang Shaoyi looked at him and knew he was feeling uneasy. He chuckled softly and whispered in his ear, "...Put it on my butt."

"Huh?" Yuan Ye let go of him and turned to look at Ji Xiaotao and the young doctor following them. Then he turned back to Fang Shaoyi and whispered, "So you mean you won't do it in future? I'll take over?"

Fang Shaoyi smiled and shrugged his shoulders slightly, "Sure."

Yuan Ye curled his lips, "You're dreaming."

Many people were waiting for him in the hospital room. When Fang Shaoyi entered, he joked, "Wow, this scene scared me."

His parents were there too. His mother's eyes turned red instantly. She was a dignified lady, and was trying hard not to cry. Fang Shaoyi slowly walked over and hugged her, saying, "I'm fine now, don't worry."

Fang's mother touched his face and didn't say much. She just kept touching him back and forth.

His father, Fang Han, said, "It's good that you're okay. It's inevitable. Little Yuan has been working too hard these days. Let him rest well. Don't mess around!"

With a grin on his face, Yuan Ye said, "Actually, every time you guys leave, I just find a place to sleep. Who really stays up all night? Do you really believe that, Dad?"

He was being playful in front of others, still putting on that lazy look. When the room was empty, he gently wiped Fang Shaoyi's head with a towel. It was good, he didn't even need to wash his hair. Now the two of them had similar hairstyles.

Fang Shaoyi had shaved his head before for a role, so Yuan Ye was familiar with it. But back then, Fang Shaoyi wasn't as thin and haggard-looking.

Yuan Ye' stopped wiping and looked at Fang Shaoyi, who was looking up at him. Yuan Ye didn't show much expression, he just said, "You're not pretty anymore."

Fang Shaoyi touched his own face and smiled, "Do I look bad? Give me some time."

"Can you go back to how you looked before if I give you time?" Yuan Ye held a towel in his hand and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, his voice a little hoarse. "You can't be even slightly different from before."

"I can." Fang Shaoyi held his hand and looked up at him with a serious expression. "I can do it."

He said he could do it, and his reassuring gaze conveyed the strength that Yuan Ye needed. Yuan Ye stood still and looked at him for several minutes. They didn't say anything, just looked at each other. After this injury, they often looked into each other's eyes like this, as if there were many things that didn't need to be said.

The other person would understand what was on their mind.

Although Fang Shaoyi had been discharged from the intensive care unit, it didn't mean he was completely fine. He had suffered serious injuries, with almost half of his lung cut off. Every day, he had to take medicine and undergo lung expansion exercises. Yuan Ye followed the doctor's orders and bought a bag of balloons for Fang Shaoyi to blow on every day.

When Wei Hua entered the room, Fang Shaoyi was discussing with Yuan Ye whether he could skip the balloon blowing for the day.

Yuan Ye asked him, "Does it hurt?"

Fang Shaoyi showed his weakness and said, "Ah, it hurts. Can we skip it today?"

"No, blow it, you've only done a few." Yuan Ye was unmoved and continued to cut fruit for him. Fang Shaoyi had become quite spoiled after his injury, and it was unbearable for others to see. Yuan Ye had to cut the fruit into small pieces and mix them together for him to eat.

"It hurts. My lungs..." Fang Shaoyi interrupted himself as he saw Director Wei walking in, greeting him with a smile, "Leader."

"What's going on here?" Director Wei walked in and stood by Fang Shaoyi's bed, talking to him, "You seem to be in good spirits."

Fang Shaoyi shook the balloon in his hand and said, "Yuan Ye keeps asking me to blow this every day."

"Well, then you should blow it well," Director Wei said with a smile.

Now that Fang Shaoyi has been released from the ICU and his condition has stabilized, visitors who come to see him no longer have to put on a sad face, it wasn't auspicious to. The director visits him almost every day, and on this particular day, Fang Shaoyi took the initiative to talk to him about the film. Although he didn't have many scenes left, the lead character's scenes where he acted foolishly had yet to be filmed.

Director Wei said, "You just focus on getting better, don't worry about anything else. I'll figure it out."

The situation for this film was really difficult right now, especially for the director. Some people on the crew are saying privately that this film has been plagued with problems from start to finish. The director and that old locust tree just don't get along, causing trouble at every turn.

Director Wei has been making movies for a lifetime, but no other crew has been as difficult as this one. The lead actor had an accident halfway through filming and had to be replaced, but the replacement also had an accident and almost died. Even the set had problems, with Yuan Ye falling from the tree and injuring his feet.

Everything just seems to be going wrong, with unexpected accidents happening all the time. Now, no one knows if Fang Shaoyi can recover or if they can even continue filming. Maybe they'll have to replace him with someone else in the future.

On set, no one dared to ask the question on everyone's mind: will this movie ever see the light of day? With so many setbacks, no one knew what the future held. The director remained tight-lipped, leaving everyone in silence.

As for Fang Shaoyi, he could barely speak without coughing, but his coughing was a good sign. After he finished, Yuan Ye handed him some fruit to soothe his throat and lungs. Fang Shaoyi even joked with the director, "With my current physique and weight, I'm perfect for the later scenes. But I can't do the scenes where he's young anymore, so it'll have to be a stand-in."

Director Wei didn't respond, only waving his hand.

Fang Shaoyi knew what he was thinking and called out to him, "Director."

Director Wei looked at him, his brow furrowed with deep wrinkles.

Fang Shaoyi spoke seriously, "You know my situation now, I really can't return to the crew in a short time. It's unrealistic to ask me to start filming next month, it's impossible. But since I've taken on this role, I must finish it. I know the weight you're carrying now, but tell everyone to rest assured, besides having to delay the schedule, nothing else will be affected."

Fang Shaoyi spoke so much in one breath that he started coughing. Yuan Ye came over to pat him gently on the back. Director Wei watched them silently for a long time before sighing deeply and speaking in his usual weathered voice, honed over half a lifetime, "Child... I didn't come here to talk about the film."

The word "child" sounded a bit surreal to Fang Shaoyi. It had been years since Director Wei had called him that. When Fang Shaoyi was only sixteen and just starting out in the film industry, Director Wei would always address him as "child". As Fang Shaoyi matured, the nickname no longer seemed appropriate, and Director Wei stopped using it.

Fang Shaoyi had initially turned down the role in this movie, but Director Wei pulled him over to save the production. Fang Shaoyi's luck had almost run out on this project, and everyone knew how the director must have felt.

Fang Shaoyi smiled at him like a child, simple and innocent. He shrugged and said, "I'm just an actor. If you're not going to talk to me about the film, what else is there to say?"

As for this matter, Yuan Ye had never discussed it with him, it wasn't important. Yuan Ye knew Fang Shaoyi too well, so he never doubted that Fang Shaoyi would complete the filming.

Yuan Ye had just gone out to deliver a bunch of balloons that Fang Shaoyi had blown up to the children in the neighboring ward. He had been doing this every day recently, and the children were always so happy. When he returned, Fang Shaoyi called out to him, "I need to go to the bathroom."

Yuan Ye rolled up his sleeves to his elbows, agreed with a mischievous smile, and deliberately asked him, "Do you want me to help you?"

"Do you ever stop?" Fang Shaoyi laughed and cried, "Do you have some kind of obsession? If you really want it, then I can satisfy you once."

During his time in the ICU, Fang Shaoyi was unable to move for several days. At that time, there was a urinal, and when it was emptied, the nurse would bring all of his belongings over. Yuan Ye had been thinking about using it once, but now that Fang Shaoyi could walk and move, there was no way he would use it.

"Is it me who has an obsession?" Yuan Ye walked over to help Fang Shaoyi and led him to the bathroom. "Is it me or is it you?"

Fang Shaoyi could have gone by himself, but he insisted on having Yuan Ye support him. Ever since he got injured, Yuan Ye had been helping him like this. Standing behind him, Yuan Ye supported him in a way that was almost like hugging him from behind.

This was the most intimate position they could be in, even more intimate than making love. Only when one loves someone deeply from the bottom of their heart can they treat them like this, and only then can they naturally become so close.

Afterwards, the two of them stood together in front of the water basin to wash their hands. Fang Shaoyi adjusted the water temperature and squeezed out some hand soap to create foam in his palms. Then, he grabbed both of Yuan Ye's hands and carefully rubbed them clean.

Their four hands intertwined, their fingers slippery and entangled. They played with the foam for a long time, laughing and having fun. Finally, Yuan Ye couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"

Fang Shaoyi lowered his head and replied, "I'm washing your hands."

There was a bed in the hospital room specifically for family members to stay overnight, and this was Yuan Ye's bed. Before, he had spent many nights in the hallway, and even after he got a bed, he couldn't sleep soundly. He would wake up in the middle of the night to check on Fang Shaoyi, and he knew when Fang Shaoyi would cough in his sleep.

Fang Shaoyi coughed softly a few times, then he sat up, and Yuan Ye asked, "What's wrong?"

Fang Shaoyi looked over at him and asked, "Did I wake you up?"

"No, I just can't sleep well," Yuan Ye replied. He walked over to Yuan Ye and poured a glass of water for Fang Shaoyi, handing it to him to drink.

Fang Shaoyi knew that Yuan Ye couldn't sleep well, so he thought for a moment and said, "Let's move the bed over here, and I'll hold you to sleep."

Yuan Ye actually considered it for a moment, but then shook his head and said, "No, if I accidentally hurt you again, it'll be painful for both of us."

Fang Shaoyi turned on the bedside lamp and looked at Yuan Ye's calm and gentle expression, asking him, "Are you not going to sleep?"

Yuan Ye's chin was sharp now, and Fang Shaoyi suddenly said to him, "I'm sorry."

Yuan Ye was stunned by his words, but then laughed and asked, "Where did that come from? What are you sorry for?"

Fang Shaoyi lifted his hand and gently stroked the spot where Yuan Ye's heart was, then whispered, "...Don't be afraid."

It had been fine before, and Yuan Ye had always acted like nothing was wrong. But now, with just two words from Fang Shaoyi, every nerve in Yuan Ye's body was taut. He could even hear the sound of them snapping one by one.

Back when Fang Shaoyi first suffered from jet lag in front of Yuan Ye, it had scared him so much that his lips turned white. Even though Yuan Ye was a grown man now, almost thirty-five, he could still remember that moment vividly. But he had been able to handle everything that had been thrown at him these past few days, and he was feeling pretty damn proud of himself.

At first, Yuan Ye just stood there in shock. But then he suddenly bent down, burying his face in Fang Shaoyi's bed and curling up into a ball. His shoulders shook, the tremors growing more and more violent until they were like spasms.

Fang Shaoyi touched his head, apologizing with every pat.

"I don't accept your apology," Yuan Ye's words were thick with a nasal tone and childish anger. He gripped Fang Shaoyi's blanket tightly, his entire back shaking. "What good does your apology do... My heart has been ripped out and trampled into dust these past few days. How can a simple sorry make up for that..."

"It was raining on the island and I can't go back to you. Xiaotao told me you were injured, that a steel bar had pierced your chest and you were unconscious. I couldn't come back!"

Yuan Ye's voice was now out of control. He pressed his face hard against the bed and breathed heavily.

"Just because you say not to be afraid, can I really not be? Why don't you try it?"

"Stand outside there while I'm lying inside and see if you're still not afraid!"

"I wished I could swim back... Do you know what despair feels like..."

Fang Shaoyi kept patting his neck and back, apologizing continuously and reassuring him that everything will be okay.

Yuan Ye's throat let out an uncontrollable sob as he pushed away Fang Shaoyi's hand. "I want to rip out my lungs for you, as long as you don't bleed or have a fever!"

"I regretted so much these past few days... Do you know how much I f*cking regretted it? Why did I give you red envelopes for Chinese New Year? I haven't given you anything in years, why did I suddenly decide to give you one this year? I shouldn't have given it to you, I shouldn't have given you anything..."

Fang Shaoyi's heart was now shattered, and every word of Yuan Ye's made him ache. Fang Shaoyi knew he was afraid, and he had never changed in this regard, whether he was seventeen or now, he was very timid in this aspect.

So, the only thought in Fang Shaoyi's mind before he lost consciousness was Yuan Ye. It was terrible, the little monkey was going to be scared out of his wits.

Fang Shaoyi's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked down at Yuan Ye, his palm pressed against the back of his head, and said in a deep voice, "How could I leave you alone?"

Yuan Ye's face rubbed back and forth on the bed twice, then he suddenly raised his head to look at Fang Shaoyi, and shouted hoarsely, "Bullshit! You almost died, that's all bullshit!"