Chapter 24: Sleep with Me for a While
Shen Guanchao stubbornly held onto Chen Zhongwen’s hand and asked, “What happened?”
“My boyfriend’s house is on fire, some hooligans causing trouble.” Chen Zhongwen was impatient but still answered his question. “I have to go over there.”
“I’m going too, send me the location.” Knowing the context, the unease in Shen Guanchao’s heart grew even stronger. He fished out his car keys from his pocket and followed.
At this moment, he hoped he had misheard.
On Zhijiang Avenue, a purple supercar sped by, kicking up dust all the way to City Garden.
When Shen Guanchao arrived at the destination, a deafening explosion rang out.
Flames shot into the sky, thick smoke scattered, and the air was filled with a suffocating smell. The scorching flames spread rapidly, dancing tongues of fire licking at the nearest objects.
Residents fled in panic. Without waiting for Chen Zhongwen to arrive, Shen Guanchao got out of the car and ran towards the burning floor.
Moving against the crowd, he saw a familiar figure.
The person was holding a child a few years old in his arms, face covered in ash. His usually beautiful eyelashes and hair were stained with soot, brows locked tight, eyes cold.
Like a fallen god covered in dust, walking out of the firelight, resolutely guarding the conviction in his heart.
“Ugh…” Xie Jingchu’s lower back was injured, his body soaked in sweat, physical strength depleting rapidly, yet he still struggled to protect the person in his arms, dodging the debris flying around step by step.
After running a certain distance, he collapsed on the ground from exhaustion, gasping for fresh air.
The little girl, a few years old, nestled in his arms, tugging at his collar, face full of tears, obviously terrified.
He reached out with a trembling hand, wiped away her tears, and a gentle smile appeared on his dirty face.
As if he had protected his young, helpless self, the knot in his heart from many years ago was untied. He closed his eyes, letting the sweat drip from his temples.
His thoughts drifted back to running away from home that year.
Little Xie Jingchu finally walked out of his cage, running towards the shining big star in his memories.
Even if he wasn’t loved by his parents, it didn’t matter. There would be better people to love him, he knew it.
Opening his eyes again with a heart full of relief, Xie Jingchu once again saw Shen Guanchao from his memories coming against the light.
Is it an illusion?
This time he didn’t know. He only knew his body seemed lighter and lighter, his whole person slowly falling backward.
Like a light crow feather, about to fall into the dust of the world.
Shen Guanchao rushed forward with large strides, catching that tall body in one arm, nervously checking Xie Jingchu.
He somewhat regretted not exercising properly at the base; otherwise, he could have caught Xie Jingchu faster.
Just a bit faster.
He carried the person and walked out of the residential area, nodding back slightly to signal the little girl on the side to follow.
Fire heroes entered the fire scene, police sirens rose and fell behind him. He silently shed a tear.
Mother Wu, who lived on the same floor as Xie Jingchu, had a son who owed millions in gambling debts. To lure away the creditors, he left his home address and fled.
Old Lady Wu was approached by local ruffians who set fire to the house and tried to kidnap her precious granddaughter.
Other residents on the same floor were affected. Xie Jingchu, who first noticed something was wrong, sent Mu Xinyue out and told him to call the police outside, then turned back to save people.
Later, he collapsed from exhaustion. When he woke up again, it was already the next day. Xie Jingchu opened his eyes lying in a strange bedroom. His upper body was bare; the fine scratches on his limbs and the small burn on his lower back had been neatly treated.
Standing by the bed was the Shen family doctor, carefully cleaning up medical waste. Seeing him wake up, he quickly steadied him. “Don’t get up, be careful not to aggravate the wound on your back.”
“Where is this?” Xie Jingchu lay back as told, frowning.
“It’s Mr. Shen’s house,” the doctor explained. “He’s making a call on the balcony; he should be back in a moment.”
“This house was a coming-of-age gift from the Madam to Mr. Shen. It wasn’t convenient for him to take you back to the main house, so he sent you here.”
“The group causing trouble has already been taken care of on Mr. Shen’s orders. You can rest assured. The little girl was also sent to the Chen residence and won’t face trouble again. But the old lady from the Wu family… has passed away.” The young male doctor’s expression dimmed for a moment. Although unrelated to him, his heartstrings were still tugged.
Life and death have always been solemn, but in some people’s eyes, they are just passing clouds.
In City A, the Shen family’s Qingfeng Group and the Chen family’s Yunting Group dominated half the sky, leading industry trends, with influence in both light and dark circles.
That group of ruffians violently collecting debts had provoked two families at once and caused a loss of life; they certainly wouldn’t have a good end.
“…”
“Handle the old lady’s funeral arrangements, charge the expenses directly to my card. As for that unfilial son who owes millions, if caught, send him directly to Chen Zhongwen. Let him enjoy it.”
On the balcony of another room, Shen Guanchao lifted his eyelids lightly, hanging up the phone indifferently, his expression carrying a murderous aura never seen before.
He rubbed his brow and walked out, leaving a room of solitude.
Just as he met the young doctor coming out of Xie Jingchu’s room, he asked coldly, “How is it?”
The doctor comforted him, “He’s awake, nothing serious.”
“Go in and see.”
“En.” Shen Guanchao adjusted his mood and pushed open the door.
The person on the bed was quietly looking out the window. Hearing the noise, he immediately turned his head, lips curving into a smile: “Gege.”
“Don’t move around.” Shen Guanchao approached, placing a set of keys on the bedside table. “Your apartment was burned. Renovation will take time. Stay at my place for the next few months.”
“This is Haoting Huayuan, not very far from City Garden. Usually, no one lives here. When I train at the club, I generally don’t come back for months, so you can rest easy.”
“When NAVA first started, conditions weren’t as good as they are now. Initial training was in this villa. Downstairs, there are quite a few medals and trophies from the team’s early years, as well as photos and such. Aren’t you interested in these? Rest for two days, and when your injuries are healed, you can look around.”
“This place is very close to the middle school I attended. I also threw a lot of my high school photos here.” As he spoke, he sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to smooth Xie Jingchu’s messy hair.
“Thank you.” Xie Jingchu looked up at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t have time to bring out your clothes and scarf…”
Along with the bouquet of eustoma Shen Guanchao bought for him, they vanished into the sea of fire.
That was the first time he received flowers, and the first time he received flowers from the person he liked.
Just burned to nothing like that.
But at this moment, he received something better.
In a sense, the key to his beloved’s home was an item more precious than a diamond ring. It wasn’t just a key, but a trust.
“Idiot. If they’re gone, they’re gone.” Shen Guanchao laughed, his heart, which had been tense all day, calming down.
“Okay.” Xie Jingchu rolled over, boringly grabbing Shen Guanchao’s long hair hanging down his back to play with. “Yesterday, how did you know something happened to me…”
He kind of wanted to bury himself in the arms of the person in front of him.
Wanted to smell the scent on him, wanted to be surrounded by his aura.
But reason told Xie Jingchu to keep the boundaries between friends.
“Those people had been harassing your neighbor’s house for almost half a month, right? Yesterday I happened to hear it while drinking with friends at Queen Bar. Is the little boy in your neighbor’s house dating a boyfriend?” Shen Guanchao let him grab his hair and braid it, speaking gently, “The one dating him is my friend, Chen Zhongwen. A bit of a rascal, but overall decent.”
Xie Jingchu: “Two boys, how can they date?”
Asking this, he really didn’t know how to date.
From middle school until now, Xie Jingchu had only been moved by one person.
He was like a blank sheet of paper, without any ink left on it.
He had even Baidu-ed “What to do if I like boys,” “Will the boy I like like me back,” “How do boys kiss.”
Shen Guanchao smiled, grabbing his restless hand. “You want to learn? Who do you want to date after learning?”
“No one,” Xie Jingchu said nervously. He subconsciously wanted to pull his hand back, but used too much force, directly pulling Shen Guanchao backward onto the bed. The distance between them closed, breaths within reach.
“No one?” The man had been tense all day and was already too tired to move. He didn’t get angry at being pulled down, simply lying on the youth’s thigh, long hair scattered, smiling. “Student Xie, do you know who changed your clothes and wiped your body while you were unconscious?”
“The doctor?”
“Wrong, it was me.” Shen Guanchao closed his eyes, fatigue washing over him, forcing himself to stay awake to comment, “Abs feel pretty good.”
Looks very capable.
He didn’t say the second half of the sentence, changing the subject. “I have training tonight, gonna sleep for a bit first.”
Even during holidays, NAVA required players to play six full high-elo matches daily without missing a beat. There would also be designated personnel checking players’ accounts to supervise their training.
“Okay.” Xie Jingchu quietly let him lie on him. Only when he was fast asleep did he shift his body, trying to get out of bed.
But as soon as he touched the floor, a pair of hands suddenly scooped Xie Jingchu back from behind.
“Don’t run around, accompany me to sleep for a while.”
“…”
Whose hands these were went without saying.
In his drowsy state, Shen Guanchao fished out a cute red envelope printed with “Peace and Joy” from his pocket. “Forgot… to give you this.”
“New Year’s money.” He buried himself, along with the red envelope, lazily into Xie Jingchu’s arms, closing his eyes, murmuring, “Be… safe and sound.”
Xie Jingchu hadn’t received a red envelope in a long time. He looked sluggishly at the person in his arms, feeling the unfamiliar touch, unable to recover for a long time.
“Thank you.”
Thank you for taking me to experience those regained beauties.
When Shen Guanchao fell back into dreamland, Xie Jingchu leaned over to hug him back, stroking the top of his hair, and devoutly placed a gentle kiss on his eyelid.
And in his dream, Shen Guanchao just felt a little ticklish.
In the bustling Shen family mansion.
Mother Shen knew her son didn’t sleep in the middle of the night, running to bars to fool around and running into fires to save people. She didn’t know whether to be angry or laugh, nagging Father Shen for half the day.
Although Father Shen was cold and hard on the outside, he was often soft-hearted. While joining Mother Shen in scolding their son, his hand very consciously called his secretary to arrange for a few aunties to go over and take care of him.
Shen Guanchao’s personality, unknown who he took after, was cavalier and uncontrollable since childhood. So he simply gave his son a nickname “Ting Bai” (Listen in Vain/Listen White/Listen Plainly?), the meaning simple and crude: listen more, mess up less.
Only later, his “Ah Ting” still didn’t follow the life blueprint he designed, willfully running into the then-unclear e-sports industry to develop.
Father Shen was angry for quite a while because of this. Later, seeing his son draped in the national flag receiving an award on the world stage on TV, he suddenly became proudly relieved—a father is the wings for a child’s growth, not a cage.
In the following years, he chose to support silently in many matters, never telling his son.
Many players would split up and leave after winning championships and ascending. Father Shen pulled friends to invest a large sum of money to maintain his son’s club, which led to the current standing giant team, NAVA.
Outsiders laughed at Shen Guanchao for neglecting proper business to play on computers all day, but he knew his son was winning glory for the country.
Just different tracks.
The housekeeping aunties arrived at Haoting Huayuan and tidied up the whole house. The Shen family paid triple wages for the New Year, so they were full of energy, swiftly making dinner for the host.
When Shen Guanchao woke up, he smelled chicken soup as soon as he went downstairs. When he was young, he often followed his mother to live in Lingnan during long holidays. His living habits followed that side, naturally enjoying this mouthful of fresh soup.
Just wondered if Xie Jingchu was used to eating it.
His mood improved. He smiled and took the hot soup handed over by an auntie, asking warmly, “Thank you, Auntie. Did Old Shen send you over?”
“Yes, Mr. Shen even told us not to tell you.” The auntie covered her mouth, pretending to be mysterious to tease him. “The old man is just stubborn; he kept a straight face even when giving us a raise.”
Xie Jingchu came down behind Shen Guanchao. Seeing him, the auntie also served a bowl of soup. “Time to eat, come, sit.”
“Thank you.” The youth awkwardly held the soup served by the housekeeping auntie with both hands. The kind and warm smile on her face reminded him of his grandmother. Once, his grandmother was like this too, coaxing him to drink hot soup he didn’t like, saying it was sweet water, that children grow tall and fast drinking it.
Shen Guanchao couldn’t bear watching them busy on the second day of the New Year. He brought bowls and chopsticks to invite the aunties to sit together. “Aunties, sit. Being busy after eating is the same.”
During the meal.
He received a message from Lu Wuxu.
[Lu: Photo]
[Pretty? A pink lion.]
Lu Wuxu sent him several photos of lion dancing and fireworks.
Shen Guanchao replied casually: [Not as pretty as you, Gege]
[NAVA: Flesh: Chatting with me so late at night, trying to mooch a meal at my house?]
[Lu Wuxu: You want to invite me to your house for dinner?]
At this question, Shen Guanchao inexplicably looked nervously at Xie Jingchu, suddenly feeling the urgency of being caught dating by an elder.
He didn’t know Lu Wuxu’s feelings, only taking it as meticulous care from a senior.
Since entering the industry, this oldest “Lu Ma” (Mama Lu) in the team had been taking care of him.
Lu Wuxu would tell him what to do and what not to do, teach him how to quickly adjust his mindset before matches, and accompany him in his debut madness.
But unrequited love is always a one-man show.
Either pointed out and joyous, or hidden deep until death.
Lu Wuxu first realized he had caught feelings on a rainy night.
He had a high fever that wouldn’t go down, and there was no one at the base.
Shen Guanchao drove over in the middle of the night to take him to the hospital, constantly nagging in his ear: “When will your fever break?” “Aren’t you usually the one paying most attention to health in the base?” “Doctor, my teammate burned silly, what to do…”
The moment their eyes met, Lu Wuxu saw the worry and panic in Shen Guanchao’s eyes. He couldn’t help tugging at the corner of Shen Guanchao’s clothes, laughing softly, “Rest assured, if I turn silly, the club will find you a new partner.”
Shen Guanchao knew he was joking but still said seriously, “I won’t give up on my teammate casually.”
Just like you led me into the industry and taught me back then.
In that moment, Lu Wuxu looked at his gaze, his breathing involuntarily heavied, his mood floating and sinking like a meteor falling into the galaxy.
The preaching forerunner slowly fell in love, waiting by his side, yet the junior remained forever unaware.
This New Year, Lu Wuxu had many words he wanted to say to Shen Guanchao.
The beauty of the motherland’s rivers and mountains, the twilight of the hometown moon—he wanted to share everything he saw and heard…
But he didn’t dare speak. He could only laugh and joke to gloss over the bitterness in his heart, playing the role of elder as usual, asking Shen Guanchao if he wanted to play ranked matches after eating, if he wanted to train together.
Recommended Reads
