Ting Shuang maintained a calm expression, but his palms were sweating.

Over and over, he kept recalling everything he did after the girl placed her order.

He knew that he should have been more worried for the girl’s safety, but he was, in fact,? more worried about whether he was to blame for the current situation, and feared that he wouldn’t be able to explain himself.

Suddenly, something tightened around his waist.

It was such a small movement, but Ting Shuang was startled like a frightened bird. He only calmed down slowly after realizing that it was Bai Changyi who had wrapped his arm around his waist.

Bai Changyi described the situation to the paramedics on the phone, tucking Ting Shuang’s head into the crook of his neck.

After hanging up, Bai Changyi said, “Don’t be scared. The ambulance will arrive in a few minutes.”

In the crook of Bai Changyi’s neck, Ting Shuang nodded and made a shallow, nasally sound, “Mm.”

At that moment, a customer opened the door, and Bai Changyi said, “Sorry, there’s been an emergency here, so the cafe is temporarily closed.”

“Is there any sign you can put up to indicate that business is suspended?” Bai Changyi asked Ting Shuang in a low voice.

“Let me think.. Yes.” Ting Shuang went to the staff louge to look for the sign, then hung it outside the door.

When he came back, he subconsciously held on to Bai Changyi’s hand.

He didn’t speak.

Bai Changyi felt his sweaty hand, so he took Ting Shuang into his arms again, pressing his head into the crook of his neck.

One person keeping an eye on the girl would be enough.

Bai Changyi gently stroked the back of Ting Shuang’s head and neck, asking in a low voice, “Why are you so scared.”

On Bai Changyi’s neck, Ting Shuang’s breath hitched for a while, before gradually returning to normalcy.

“.. I don’t know,” Ting Shuang said.

“If you don’t know, then why are you scared?” Bai Changyi’s voice sounded like he was coaxing a child, “Don’t worry.”

Ting Shuang replied with a low “.. mm.”

The cafe was in the city center, so the ambulance arrived quickly. Soon, the siren could be heard from a distance away.

Ting Shuang suddenly said, “I’m worried that.. There’s something wrong with me.”

Bai Changyi said, “What’s wrong with you?”

Ting Shuang bit his lip, “.. I don’t know.”

“You don’t know again? Don’t be scared about things you don’t know.” Bai Changyi kissed Ting Shuang and walked towards the paramedics who got out of the ambulance.

The paramedics were a man and a woman, with tall and large frames and wearing dark uniforms. At first glance, they looked a bit like police officers.

Ting Shuang was prepared to be questioned and reprimanded. He had just finished writing a full German essay in his mind, but unexpectedly, the two paramedics didn’t ask him anything. They diagnosed the girl’s condition after a single glance.

“Epilepsis.” The female paramedic briefly explained to Bai Changyi and Ting Shuang.

The male paramedic supported the girl who was still holding onto the table and turned her over to lie on her side. At that moment, Ting Shuang realized that the girl was not shaking the table or shivering, but spasming.

It was just that the magnitude of her spasms was so small that he couldn’t see it before.

It didn’t take long for the girl to stop spasming. Gradually, she regained consciousness and started to react to external stimuli.

“.. What happened?” She couldn’t remember what happened just now.

Bai Changyi briefly described what happened before the paramedics came, then led Ting Shuang out to make room in the cafe for further conversation to take place.

Ting Shuang stood at the entrance of the cafe and subconsciously felt around in his pocket for cigarettes.

The cigarettes and lighters were in the lockers in the staff lounge.

Bai Changyi noticed his small movements, “Wait for me here.”

One minute later, Bai Changyi bought back a box of lollipops.

Ting Shuang unwrapped one, but as soon as he was about to put it in his mouth, he saw a child under six years old on the other side of the road eating a lollipop.

“This is for children,” Ting Shuang held the lollipop up to Bai Changyi’s nose.

Bai Changyi opened his mouth.

Ting Shuang put the lollipop into Bai Changyi’s mouth, then couldn’t help but lower his head, chuckling.

“Not scared anymore?” Bai Changyi watched as Ting Shuang laughed, a trace of a smile in his eyes.

“.. Mm, I’m not scared anymore.” Ting Shuang lowered his head and unwrapped a second lollipop. “Epilepsis.. does that mean epilepsis?”

“Mm.”

“At first, I couldn’t tell at all..” Ting Shuang put the lollipop into his mouth, “It’s completely different from the epilepsy symptoms I’ve seen before..”

“I couldn’t tell either,” Bai Changyi said, “I suspected drug abuse at first, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Mm..” Ting Shuang thought for a while, “I realised that.. It’s exactly because I don’t know what’s going on that I worry.. Once I know what’s going on, I’m not worried at all.. Actually, with that reaction, everyone would be sure it’s not food poisoning.. Besides, she ate the same thing as you..”

As he talked, he asked Bai Changyi, “Just now, was I.. especially stupid?”

Bai Changyi smiled and said, “It’s fine.”

It’s fine???

What does ‘it’s fine’ mean?

You’re just so tolerant, aren’t you?

Just as Ting Shuang was about to raise his hackles, one of the paramedics opened the door and came out.

Bai Changyi took out the lollipop in his mouth, turned around gracefully, and regained his usual class, “Do you need any help?”

“Everything is fine. The situation isn’t serious and there’s no need to go to the hospital.” The paramedic stretched out his right hand, “Thank you for calling just now.”

Bai Changyi very naturally transferred the lollipop from his right hand to his left hand, and then shook hands with the paramedic, “No problem.”

The paramedic glanced at the lollipops in the hands of Bai Changyi and Ting Shuang, and joked, “They look delicious.”

Bai Changyi played along, “We need to recover from the shock. Candy helps with? that.”

Ting Shuang opened the lollipop box very generously, “Would you like one?”

The paramedic smiled and shook his head, “Thank you, but I can’t rely on candy to recover from my shock, or this profession would have already cost me all my teeth.”

Then, the other paramedic and the girl came out together.

The two paramedics left in the ambulance. After thanking them, the girl gave Ting Shuang her name and phone number so that the cafe could send her a compensation bill.

The emergency had been settled.

The sign on the cafe door indicating the suspension of business was not removed yet.

“How about.. I take it down a little later? I can’t leave it there for too long though..” Ting Shuang looked at Bai Changyi, his eyes bright, “How about ten minutes? For the next ten minutes, it’ll only be the two of us in the cafe.. “

“Mm, ten minutes.” Bai Changyi thought seriously, “What should we do.”

Ting Shuang suddenly felt like ten minutes was a lot of time, and didn’t know what to do. Then in the next moment, he felt like ten minutes was too short. Ten minutes had passed before he even thought about what to do.

“Quick, think of something,” Ting Shuang urged as he sat on the counter.

Bai Changyi lowered his head and kissed Ting Shuang’s lips.

Cherry flavored.

“Mm..” Ting Shuang’s leg was wrapped around Bai Changyi’s.

He really liked it, that familiar clean scent.

It smelled of unfinished business.

The moment they broke off the kiss, Ting Shuang glanced at the clock on the wall, panting, “.. You can’t do it, there’s only two minutes left.”(1)

No matter how you thought of it, that sentence just sounded wrong.

You can’t do it, there’s only two minutes left.

Bai Changyi grabbed Ting Shuang’s chin and kissed him again.

Strong. Powerful. Irresistible.

“Mm.. Mm..” Ting Shuang couldn’t take being kissed any longer. “.. That’s enough.. Not now.. Mm.. Wait until I get home after work..”

Until he got home after work.

Going home..

Ting Shuang’s hands and legs were still wrapped around Bai Changyi, but he himself had quieted down, saying nothing.

Bai Changyi also stopped his motions.

The second hand of the clock on the wall ticked away. The sunlight trickled in slowly from the windows. Pedestrians walking past left shadows on the floor.

""

Ting Shuang leaned his head against Bai Changyi’s neck.

The next five minutes were spent in silence.

“Ting, are you scared.” Bai Changyi broke the silence.