Upon arriving at their destination, they found a bustling outdoor food stall. Despite being nighttime, the street was brilliantly lit and teeming with life.
Many tables inside were already occupied, and a large canopy had been set up outside, sheltering over a dozen tables. Most of these were also taken, with only a few scattered tables remaining empty.
It was the prime time for nightlife, and many customers were still present.
Seeing the good business, Wen Bai began to feel a flicker of anticipation. He found an empty table and sat down. Immediately, someone approached with a menu.
The waiter greeted him warmly, "What would you like to eat, young sir? Here's the menu. Our specialty dishes are on the top row. Tell me what you'd like."
From a nearby table, a customer called out, "Boss, another few bottles of wine!"
"Coming right up!" The boss called back. "And when you've decided, young sir, just let me know." He then went inside to fetch the wine.
Wen Bai glanced at the menu on the table, but didn't immediately order. Instead, he pulled out his phone and began to tap.
Wen Bai made a call.
To his surprise, Su Ying answered quickly.
Before Su Ying could speak, Wen Bai spoke first, his tone tinged with a little pride, "What do you want to eat? I'm buying supper and bringing it to the hospital for you."
This was a statement, not a question.
System 001 couldn't bear to watch. The mission wasn't urgent, and they were constantly foraging for food. Now, what was he so proud of for ordering supper?
Su Ying had just finished surgery. He checked the time; the hands pointed exactly to ten o'clock.
It was quite late, and his work was just finishing.
"Where are you?" Su Ying asked, walking towards his office to get his coat.
As he spoke on the phone, he nodded in response to nurses who greeted him.
Wen Bai gave him the address.
"Then I'll come over. Just order what you like," Su Ying's gentle voice said from the other end of the line.
Wen Bai then ordered a pile of food according to his preferences, naturally including all the specialties. He sat back, eagerly awaiting their arrival.
Before Su Ying arrived, a delivery person got there first.
A young man in a delivery uniform ran up and stood outside the stall, shouting loudly, "Is Mr. Wen Bai Wen here?"
Wen Bai, who had been watching what people at the next table were eating, froze at the sound.
Same name?
When no one responded, the delivery person called out again. Wen Bai then gestured.
"I am."
The delivery person placed the bag on Wen Bai's table. "Your delivery, please enjoy."
"But I didn't order delivery."
"Then it must be from your friend."
With that, he left.
Wen Bai picked up the bag and looked. The packaging was the same as the pastry bag Su Ying had bought him before. He opened it to look. The pastries weren't the same kind he'd eaten before.
It was good to have something to snack on while waiting. He took one out, took a small bite, and chewed slowly. After just two bites, he frowned slightly.
The rich, cloying sweetness spread in his mouth. This particular one wasn't very tasty.
On the principle of not wasting, Wen Bai ate one pastry and put the bag aside, not touching it again.
He calmly waited for his supper.
If Wen Bai's gaze could have solidified, the chef would have been stared through several times.
When Su Ying arrived, he saw Wen Bai looking dejected and wistfully at the dishes on the next table.
For a moment, he was reminded of a cute, short-legged, stout little puppy begging for food that he had seen before.
He paused in his stride, took out his phone, and from a distance, captured Wen Bai's slightly amusing and rather endearing expression.
"If you're so impatient, why not eat something else to tide you over?"
"It's not the same," Wen Bai shook his head.
Though only three words, Su Ying immediately understood what Wen Bai meant.
He only wanted the food from this place, and other food couldn't satisfy his craving.
Su Ying felt a bit warm. He took off his jacket and draped it over his arm. He looked at the chair beside him, then, as if unable to bear it, put the jacket back on before sitting down.
"You didn't eat dinner?"
Wen Bai finally turned his head. "Mm."
Su Ying tapped the table disapprovingly, his tone somewhat indulgent. "You don't even eat dinner when I'm not around?"
Wen Bai remained silent.
"I'll try not to work overtime in the future," he said gently.
Wen Bai's eyes sparkled. "Then will you come home and cook every day?"
Su Ying chuckled. "If I don't cook, you won't be looking forward to my return?"
Wen Bai stared at the boss, who was approaching with a tray, and changed the subject. "The food is here!"
Seeing Wen Bai's obsession with food again, Su Ying found it peculiar.
"How did you find this place? Who recommended it? You're so eager."
"Lin Shuangshuang."
Su Ying slowly scalded the bowls and chopsticks in front of him with water and placed them before Wen Bai, then swapped the freshly unwrapped bowls and chopsticks in front of Wen Bai with his own. "You two seem to be getting along well now."
Unaware of the subtle shift in Su Ying's tone, Wen Bai swiftly picked up a piece with his chopsticks. Without waiting for it to cool, he took a small bite, then stuck out his tongue, yelping, "Hiss..."
"Slow down. Let it cool before you eat. No one will snatch it from you."
Su Ying didn't eat much. He drank tea, watching Wen Bai elegantly but quickly devour the dishes on the table with evident pleasure.
It was as if everything Wen Bai did, every move he made, captivated Su Ying's attention.
However, as he ate, his exquisite and adorable face suddenly froze, and his eating slowed down.
Because he had been constantly watching Wen Bai, Su Ying was the first to notice when Wen Bai's lips lost their color and sweat beaded on his forehead.
Su Ying's expression shifted slightly. "What's wrong?"
Then he saw Wen Bai clutching his stomach, his back hunched over. He couldn't even speak and simply collapsed to the side.
Su Ying's reflexes were swift; he caught the person.
The commotion immediately caught the attention of people at nearby tables, and the boss hurried over.
"What happened? Should we call 120?"
Su Ying ignored the boss. His face was grim. He pressed on Wen Bai's body and asked, "Does it hurt here? Here? Or here?"
At this moment, Wen Bai was unable to speak and could only nod slightly, indicating he was in severe pain.
It was his abdomen.
Cold sweat, disorientation, abdominal pain – it had all come on so quickly.
Within minutes, Su Ying quickly scanned the food on the table and his gaze fell upon the bag at the corner. He picked it up and took a look, immediately frowning deeply.
He immediately scooped up Wen Bai and strode towards the car.
System 001: "Host, what's wrong, host! I checked the food on the table, and there's no poison!"
But Wen Bai was already too weak, hanging on Su Ying, unable to reply.
When Su Ying carried Wen Bai into the hospital with long strides, the duty nurse, seeing Dr. Su, who had just left, walking in with a terrifyingly dark expression, holding someone who appeared to be unconscious, gasped.
This... wasn't this the handsome young man the assistant had posted in the group chat earlier!
"What... what happened, Dr. Su?"
"Arrange for a gastric lavage immediately," Su Ying said directly as he carried Wen Bai inside.
"Yes... yes!" The young nurse hurried after them.
Su Ying disliked this feeling intensely, disliked seeing such a pained expression on Wen Bai's face. But for now, he had to endure it.
Su Ying performed a series of rapid actions: injections, IV drips, the whole nine yards.
Wen Bai was hospitalized again.