Only after getting into the car did Mu Yao return fully to himself.
Ning Zheng took out a medicine box from the boot. “Quickly help him wrap the wounds up.” Then he put Yu Cang in the passenger seat, gently pushed his hair behind his ears before getting into the driver’s seat himself.
Mu Yao looked down at his bloodstained hands. Self-hatred welled up inside him, pushing him down a muddy pool.
He sank deeper and deeper, unable to cry for help.
Suddenly, a pair of cool hands grabbed his, making him flinch.
Mu Yao turned his head to see Xu Qichen’s pale face smiling gently at him.
“Wrap it up for me ah.” His breath was weak, making his voice sound hollow.
Mu Yao frowned. With trembling hands, he slowly unbuttoned Xu Qichen’s shirt, all the while fighting to suppress the complicated emotions rising in him. He treated the wounds in silence.
Perhaps it was the aftereffects of the drug – for every gash he saw, he felt ten slashes on his own heart.
Slash after slash, threatening to gouge his heart out alive.
But when he saw his left shoulder, the pair of trembling hands stilled.
The tears he had been suppressing finally broke past his control.
Mu Yao lowered his head and clenched his jaw. A vein bulged at his temple.
He did not want anyone to see.
This was the first time Xu Qichen saw him cry.
Frankly, this job was too torturous for Mu Yao.
Xu Qichen managed to reach out a hand and grabbed the cotton gauze pad and used it to apply pressure on his left hand.
Then he collapsed into Mu Yao’s arms.
He felt tears fall onto his face.
He could not stop a light chuckle escape.
“… Something funny?”
Xu Qichen wrapped his right arm around Mu Yao.
“No.”
“Then why are you so happy?”
“No reason.”
Mu Yao made a dull sound of dissatisfaction.
Xu Qichen could hear the hint of tears in his voice.
He softly said, “Hug me.”
In his embrace, there was both familiarity and warmth. Xu Qichen instantly felt very satisfied.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Ning Zheng calmly replied, “I know better than you, mad dog.”
The two of them…
Suddenly, they heard a soft sound.
“Xiao Cang?”
Ning Zheng immediately stopped arguing with Mu Yao and turned his attention to Yu Cang.
The moment Xiao Cang woke up with a start, he panicked. He curled up against the window and mumbled constantly, “Stay away, stay away!”
“Xiao Cang, Xiao Cang, it’s Ning Zheng…”
Hearing this name, Xiao Cang stilled and his eyes that were darting around finally focused.
It’s Ning Zheng’s face.
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
Then he threw his arms around Ning Zheng’s neck and sobbed.
“There, there, you’re fine now.” Ning Zheng patted Xiao Cang’s back gently, “Let’s see if you still dare to follow strangers in the future.”
Xiao Cang’s cries became louder, “I won’t, I won’t dare to again.”
Holding his left shoulder, Xu Qichen laughed.
Xiao Cang, who was crying messily, finally realised that there were others in the car. He immediately let go of Ning Zheng and looked at the backseat and found a red-eyed Mu Yao and injury-riddled Xu Qichen.
“Ah Yao… Senior…”
Xiao Cang looked like he was choking. He rubbed the back of his neck and hid in the front seat, pretending that nothing had happened.
Xu Qichen asked gently, “Xiao Cang, are you okay?”
Xiao Cang put his feet up on the seat and buried his head in his knees. “I’m fine…”
“That’s good.”
The sun outside shone through the glass window and painted everything in the beautiful palette of shades of autumn gold.
He suddenly felt a sense of calm steal over him.
Xu Qichen reached out silently and held Mu Yao’s hands, interlacing their fingers.
This time, he finally stopped hiding.
Ning Zheng parked his car by their apartment. Fortunately, there were not many people around. Otherwise, the state of their injuries would surely attract a lot of attention.
“I’ll take him to the hospital,” Ning Zheng stood beside the car.
Xiao Cang poked a head out and emphasised, “To Doctor Zhang.”
“I know.”
“Senior, be careful.”
Xu Qichen nodded at him with a smile.
They walked home in silence.
All the intense summer heat seemed to be stored in the fallen golden leaves. As they stepped on them, with a crisp sound, the rustled warmth spread through their body.
The person walking in front suddenly squatted down.
“Let me carry you.”
Xu Qichen wanted to ask, ‘Why?’ But then he simply complied.
Mu Yao’s back was broad and warm. As he walked it rocked slightly, making Xu Qichen sleepy.
He habitually nuzzled into his neck and found a comfortable position.
“The osmanthus plants have blossomed.”
Xu Qichen’s voice, mixed with the fresh and sweet wind, was as soft as the face buried in the side of Mu Yao’s neck.
“It’s so sweet, can you smell them?”
“… en.”
After returning home, Xu Qichen finally felt safe. Sitting on the sofa, Xu Qichen worried about whether to take a bath or not, afraid it would be very painful. In the midst of his dilemma, he was hugged by Mu Yao, who was kneeling on the ground in front of him.
Like a child, he buried his head in his lap.
His voice was hesitant, making Xu Qichen think of a scene from before.
A leaf, that was neither green nor yellow, was unwilling to wither just like that. It held on for a long time, battling the chasing wind, and stubbornly refusing to fall.
“I… when I lost control, did you say something to me?”
Xu Qichen jerked.
Did he…
“Did you hear it?”
Mu Yao sounded upset, “Bits and pieces, like it was from far away. I thought I heard your voice, but I also thought it was my imagination.”
“What did you hear?”
Mu Yao raised his head but did not speak. A trace of imperceptible pain flashed on his face where the demon mark had not yet completely subsided.
After a while, he chose to answer. “I heard ‘regret’, and ‘like’.”
He lowered his eyes and his eyelashes fluttered.
“You’ve known for a while that I like you, right?”
Xu Qichen nodded.
His voice was hoarse, he took a deep breath before saying the next sentence, like a little puppy who knew he was about to be abandoned by his master. “Did you say, you regretted being liked by someone like me?”
Suddenly he found that the art of sentence formation is really one full of ambiguity.
Regret.
Like.
The two seemingly unrelated words can be endowed with a very different relationship by the subconscious buried in the cerebral cortex.
A sudden flash of evil made Xu Qichen choose to confirm the statement.
“Yes, I regret it so much.”
He felt the last wisp of flame behind his eyes extinguish.
“Because being liked by you was so terrible, I made a decision.”
“That I would be the one in charge of liking you in the future.”
Mu Yao thought he had heard wrong. He instantly looked up with a stunned expression.
Xu Qichen’s lips curled upwards and he lowered his head to kiss him again.
How can I make you understand?
You did not hurt me.
You deserve everything I have.
It was more difficult than the most convoluted math problem. No language could completely dispel the uneasiness between lovers. All he could think of was a kiss.
Xu Qichen’s kiss was shallow and light, a mutually comforting soft touch. But it acted like a spark that ignited the whole barren field again.
Mu Yao stood up without breaking the kiss and gently lowered Xu Qichen down on the sofa.
Xu Qichen was caught off guard by how quickly he flipped their roles. Mu Yao’s scarred palm gently rubbed his face, stroking his clavicle, following the throbbing pulse to the side of his neck.
He was so engrossed in the sensations that he did not notice that the gap between his teeth was being gently rubbed by the tip of another tongue.
The moment he relaxed his vigilance, it was broken through and occupied without warning. Under the moist entanglement, his breath and heartbeat were swiftly taken away.
The smell of blood from the wound, blended in the provocative kiss, like a gradually dispersing ring of smoke.
Even though I know the ending, in that moment of danger, what was on my mind was not how to be saved, instead, it was that if I could die with you, then it wouldn’t be so bad.
But now, I can live with you. We can live an ordinary life together, and watch the end of this summer together, sleep together, eat together.
On a cold winter night, you can give me the warmest place to snuggle under the quilt.
I can eat all the green peppers that you do not like, for you.
Thinking of all this, I can feel that it’s great to be alive.
PFFT I’m sorry I was reading the mini romantic monologue and spat out my nonexistent tea xD
What do you mean bell peppers?! Was that necessary?? It ruined the whole vibe lol
(´∇｀) thanks to your comment, I remembered my cold tea hahahahshahaha
Because mu yao don’t eat it la~
I mean doesn’t
So sweet! But, ah yes, we cannot forget about the green peppers!
Thank you for the chapter!
FINALLY!! This is so sweet, so cute, so AGh- but like, was the last part necessary? HAHAHAHAHA
Ah so sweet(｡>﹏<｡)
So kissing IS the language of love…. who wants to start a conversation with me? 🥰😂
Bell peppers. I love this so much
ESTE AUTOR- NO PUEDO EXPLICARLO, me hace sentir que el amor no es tan malo
thanks for the chapter!
+1 !! I didn’t find it out of place haha, its so cute