Chapter 53: Wound Infection
Lin Huaizhi didn’t speak.
In this lifetime, he had liked many things. For instance, food he could never finish eating, or money he could never finish spending.
But rather than liking them, it was more accurate to say he needed them.
With his success and fame came both of these things. He had even gone through a phase of “revenge consumption,” spending money like water on luxury goods worth tens or hundreds of thousands.
Cars, watches, and houses.
He bought them all, one by one.
Later, people started giving him these things.
To be honest, Lin Huaizhi didn’t feel particularly happy about it. Instead, through this process, he witnessed the true nature of the vanity fair even more profoundly. From then on, his material desires receded to the absolute minimum.
Matters of the heart were even less worth mentioning.
In the past, those who approached him were all misfits and rejects—hardly anything good. After seeing too much of the human heart’s calculations, he naturally lost any desire for love or marriage.
Until he met Huo Chen.
To say “met” isn’t quite accurate; strictly speaking, it was a premeditated encounter on his part.
The initial cause was simply to see this person, to figure out a way to keep him from getting involved with Fang Mo, and to keep him hooked in his own hands. But Lin Huaizhi truly hadn’t calculated that just by seeing Huo Chen appear on his phone screen, he would find the man incredibly sexy.
He really did fall in love with Huo Chen at first sight.
The pursuit that followed had nothing to do with Fang Mo or Chu Xiaoran; it was simply because he liked him.
He was indeed motivated by lust, that much was true.
But he had never liked anyone in his entire life. He had originally planned to just muddle through his days, and then suddenly, a Huo Chen appeared.
Whether it was his face or his body, Huo Chen grew exactly according to Lin Huaizhi’s aesthetics.
Lin Huaizhi believed in carpe diem. If he wanted something, he had to have it, using every means necessary.
So, since he had set his sights on Huo Chen, he didn’t care if Huo Chen was a villain or an ordinary mortal. In short, he wanted him, so he would chase him. It was just that as the chase went on, it wasn’t clear how moved Huo Chen was, but Lin Huaizhi found himself falling deeper and deeper.
There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world; Lin Huaizhi knew this principle well. To chase Huo Chen, he had to endure Huo Chen’s coldness and bad temper.
Lin Huaizhi smiled at the camera. “Uncle Hua, I really love him.”
The moment the word “love” appeared, Li Jianhua knew that this junior he valued so highly had walked down a path of no return. So, he smiled too. “Then do you want to promote him?”
“I have a palace intrigue drama in the second half of next year. It’s missing an Emperor who is decisive in killing and majestic without being angry. I think he fits the role quite well.”
Lin Huaizhi touched his earlobe. “Doesn’t the Emperor have a harem of three thousand beauties? Right now, if just a random person hits on him, I get insanely jealous. If I really let him play the Emperor, he’s the one enjoying the blessings, but I’m the one suffering the torture.”
Li Jianhua laughed heartily. “You kid, you really are something. You don’t open your heart for ten thousand years, but once you do, you fall hard!”
The two chatted for a while longer.
When he took off his headphones, it was already pouring rain outside. Lin Huaizhi was preparing to take a shower and go to bed when he thought he heard the doorbell ring.
He assumed it was Zhou Ning. When he opened the door, however, he found Huo Chen, soaked like a drowned rat.
A drowned rat holding a bouquet of roses.
Even though bubbles of joy started popping in his heart, Lin Huaizhi suppressed the corners of his mouth. All that talk about having to endure Huo Chen’s coldness and bad temper was thrown to the nine heavens. He chose to be stubborn and tough: “Didn’t you leave? What did you come back for?”
His hair was still dripping water, but Huo Chen didn’t care. Instead, he held out the roses.
Lin Huaizhi didn’t take them. “What does this mean?”
Surprisingly, Huo Chen didn’t say anything to kill the mood. He simply said, “For you.”
Lin Huaizhi didn’t like playing coy. Since Huo Chen said they were a gift, he reached out and took them.
It was a very large bouquet.
Lin Huaizhi counted them; there were roughly ninety-nine. There were quite a few water droplets on the petals, though he didn’t know if they were naturally there or from the rain.
Of course, Lin Huaizhi leaned toward the latter.
He turned to enter the house, not looking at Huo Chen again, but his words offered a concession. “It’s cold outside. Come in and take a hot shower.”
Huo Chen didn’t go to shower immediately.
After entering, he first took out the food from the bag. Afraid it would get cold, Huo Chen had specifically bought a thermal container on his way. Even though he got caught in the rain while retrieving things, when he opened the lid, the food inside was still piping hot.
Besides the food, there was also soup.
Huo Chen washed a glass in the kitchen and poured half a cup for Lin Huaizhi. “Drink this first.”
As soon as the dark brown liquid poured out, Lin Huaizhi smelled that it wasn’t soup, but ginger tea. The spicy scent wasn’t very strong, and it carried a sweetness; brown sugar must have been added.
Lin Huaizhi took two sips. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Huo Chen’s hand. Suddenly, as if realizing something, he put down the cup, grabbed the man’s wrist, pulled the hand before his eyes, and pried open the fingers.
A terrifying scar was shockingly revealed.
The scar didn’t look fully healed yet. It was red, with some scabs formed on it.
“What happened here?”
Huo Chen tried to pull his hand back nonchalantly, but since Lin Huaizhi was holding tight, he didn’t succeed. Not wanting to use more force, he simply stopped moving.
“Cut by a knife.”
Lin Huaizhi frowned, the distress in his eyes no longer concealable. “When was it cut?”
Huo Chen didn’t hide it from him. “Before, when making the silver hat in Jinzhai Village, I accidentally cut it.”
“It hasn’t healed after so long?” Lin Huaizhi’s face looked even darker. “What kind of quack doctor did Dai Keqing hire? Can’t even treat a cut properly.”
“I didn’t see the program team’s doctor,” Huo Chen said, not intending to let others take the blame. “At the time, I sprinkled some wood ash to stop the bleeding, and it got infected later.”
Just like Su Rui had said.
Wood ash indeed had a hemostatic effect, but it also carried bacteria. Huo Chen wouldn’t say he was pampered, but he indeed had never used wood ash to treat a wound before. If he had sought a doctor to treat it promptly afterward, the infection wouldn’t have happened.
But Huo Chen didn’t see a doctor.
It was a small wound; he didn’t take it to heart.
Later, when looking for Sister-in-law Caiju and Lin Huaizhi, he got caught in a heavy rain. That night, the wound got infected. After getting home, Zheng Xiuang called the family doctor to clean the wound and apply medicine again.
It was just that later, after fooling around with Lin Huaizhi, the treated wound tore and bled again. It was treated once more, and after finally settling down for a few days, he got caught in the rain again today.
Fortunately, the wound had mostly healed and scabbed over. Even if it got a little wet, it wasn’t a big deal.
Huo Chen spoke lightly, glossing over the details. Lin Huaizhi didn’t hear the specifics, only assuming the infection was caused by the wood ash.
“If you get cut, go find a doctor honestly. Why sprinkle wood ash? That stuff isn’t clean.”
Clearly, it was something commonly used, but when applied to Huo Chen, it became “unclean.” Of course, Lin Huaizhi didn’t really think it was dirty; he simply felt that wood ash could be used on anyone—even more so on himself—but not on Huo Chen.
Huo Chen responded, “I did.”
Lin Huaizhi gently stroked the scar and asked, “What did the doctor say?”
Huo Chen looked at him. “Didn’t say anything. It’s mostly healed.”
“Healed my ass.” Lin Huaizhi couldn’t help cursing. “The doctor must have told you not to get it wet. It’s in this state, yet you still bought flowers and food in a rainstorm. Look at how capable you are. Looking at this situation, nine out of ten it will leave a scar!”
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