Wenzhi woke to the sharp, repetitive beeping drilling straight into his skull. It grated, persistent and annoying enough to pull him fully out of the darkness.

Broken flashes of everything that had just happened flickered through his mind as his grey eyes slowly opened.

He stared up at the ceiling, then around the room.

"Bloody hell." He exhaled faintly, dragging himself upright, fingers pressing hard against his temples as the lingering dizziness clung to him.

The beeping continued.

Wenzhi’s gaze shifted and landed on Shao Xinyuan.

He was standing near the door, repeatedly pressing a small control panel, clearly agitated.

"Come on... come on, come on... why aren’t they coming?" Shao Xinyuan muttered under his breath, voice tight with frustration. "He needs help."

Wenzhi scoffed.

He did need help. His body felt drained, but the blackout had felt like actual rest.

Annoyingly so.

Shao Xinyuan turned, and the second he saw Wenzhi was awake, his whole face changed. He looked... relieved.

"You’re awake!" He moved quickly, closing the distance without hesitation, his hand lifting toward Wenzhi’s forehead.

Wenzhi slapped it away.

Shao Xinyuan didn’t even react or slow down.

"It seems they intend to keep you here with me all day," he continued, his words coming so fast they almost overlapped. "I’ve been trying to reach them for over three hours, but no one is responding, and you clearly need medical attention."

Wenzhi stared at him, his expression flat and tired. It was the kind of look that screamed coffee first, existence later.

"...Those bastards really want me dead," He finally let out a slow, heavy exhale.

Shao Xinyuan froze for a second at that. A moment later, his expression softened as guilt crept in. "I apologise for everything that has..."

"Apology not accepted." Wenzhi cut him off immediately.

Xinyuan blinked.

Wenzhi leaned back slightly, running a hand through his hair, irritation surfacing fast now that his mind was catching up.

"You had a guide," he continued, voice sharper now. "A perfect one. And from what I’ve heard, you’ve tried to kill him multiple times."

His eyes narrowed. "That S-rank was supposed to be yours. Everything was lined up perfectly. But no. You had to latch onto me."

Shao Xinyuan stood up straight. His expression shifted, looking more thoughtful than defensive.

"It wasn’t intentional," he said.

He sounded like he meant it, too.

Wenzhi scoffed. "Oh, fuck you."

Shao Xinyuan blinked again, clearly not expecting that level of bluntness.

"...Do you always speak like this?" he asked, genuinely curious.

That earned him a glare.

Shao Xinyuan raised both hands in a small shrug of surrender. "Alright. Sorry. Noted."

Wenzhi eyed him for a long moment before exhaling. "...Why don’t you just accept him and leave me alone, if you’re really that sorry?"

His tone was flat and unmoved. "Back in Jia’ang City, that was a one-time thing. Didn’t anyone tell you that?"

Shao Xinyuan didn’t answer immediately. He sat down on the bed instead, leaving a deliberate space between them. He took off his glasses, folding them carefully in his hands, with his eyes down to avoid Wenzhi entirely.

"It’s always loud." His fingers tightened around the glasses. "Since I awakened as an Esper... It’s like there’s a thousand screams in my head. Constant. Just... endless."

Wenzhi blinked at him.

"The guides... their deaths were never intentional." Xinyuan’s jaw tightened. "I lose control because they can’t give me what I need."

He let out a sharp exhale.

"I tell them to stay away when I am unstable," he said, pausing for a moment. "But they don’t listen. And I’m the one who gets blamed when they die."

He looked up and met Wenzhi’s eyes.

"But you," he said. "That day... it went quiet."

His voice dropped lower, sounding almost disbelieving. "Completely quiet."

Shao Xinyuan’s gaze lingered, as if he wanted to reach out, but he didn’t. Wenzhi looked like he’d bite, so he held himself back. "...Please stay."

Wenzhi’s expression didn’t change. "I’m not falling for your boring sob story."

Shao Xinyuan pressed his lips together, thinking.

"If you don’t stay," he said after a moment, his voice more calm now. "They’ll force me back into induced sleep. I don’t know how long this time. And if that fails..."

He let his words hang there for a second. "They’ll kill me."

That might be better than you destroying everything.

Wenzhi didn’t say it out loud.

Shao Xinyuan exhaled quietly, his composure returning as he slipped his glasses back on. "And besides... I don’t think they intend to let you go either."

Wenzhi’s gaze hardened.

"I’m their weapon," Shao Xinyuan said simply. "And you’re the only thing that keeps me from going off."

A faint smile played on his lips. "People like us don’t get freedom, freckles."

Wenzhi narrowed his eyes. "Don’t call me that."

Shao Xinyuan looked amused, his eyes twinkling with mischief and confidence behind his glasses.

"You haven’t died yet, freckles," he said, tilting his head. "That alone proves it."

Wenzhi didn’t like where this was going.

"Dr. Bai said we’re 107% compatible," Shao Xinyuan gave a subtle, dangerous smile. "Which basically means we’re married."

Wenzhi’s face went blank.

"...Married my foot," he deadpanned. "Just say you want to see me in a maid dress every day."

Shao Xinyuan’s eyes lit up.

"...Yes, I’d really love that," he said without hesitation. "And so much more than your cock between my lips."

Wenzhi stared at him for a long, hard moment, trying to ignore the way his heart skipped a beat. "...You’re actually insane, sleeping beauty. Very insane."