*Runze's POV*
Not even ten minutes pass before the handle turns again.
The door opens slowly this time, a stark contrast to how I expected him to enter. Ling Yue steps across the threshold and stops dead in his tracks.
He simply stands there by the wall.
Hearing that someone survived a crash is one thing, but seeing them alive in a hospital bed is entirely different. His eyes move over me with a slow, cautious intensity. He takes in my pale skin, the blue hospital gown, the clear plastic tube running into the back of my hand, and the dark bruises on my arms that are only now beginning to turn a faint yellow.
Everything he must have imagined over the past week seems to settle into reality right in front of him. The usual loud, bright energy he carries in his shoulders is gone, replaced by a tight, fragile stillness.
I look at his wide eyes and find myself smiling first.
