Chapter 38: What’s Wrong, Why is Your Face So Red?
The kiss was incredibly gentle, completely stripped of any hostility.
Like a breath of fresh breeze, it caressed Qin Wan’s lips tenderly.
Gu Xinglan positioned himself carefully, not daring to press his body down too tightly. He hovered slightly above, his hands propped on either side of Qin Wan’s shoulders.
For the first time, Qin Wan learned that this man could actually kiss so gently, so cautiously.
In the past, hadn’t he always been kissed until he was practically gasping for his last breath!
His heart relaxed slightly.
His tense body slowly loosened up.
Gu Xinglan’s burning lips slowly traced and lightly sketched the contours of his lips, bringing him a sensation he had never experienced before.
It was indescribable, beyond words.
Qin Wan’s small face grew redder and hotter.
His breathing also became increasingly rapid.
Sensing the changes in the person beneath him, Gu Xinglan paused slightly, a beautiful arc curling at the corner of his lips.
“Qin Wan, what’s wrong? Why is your face so red?” He stared intently into the boy’s somewhat dazed black eyes.
“I wasn’t kissing you that urgently. You shouldn’t be out of breath, right?” he asked intentionally.
Qin Wan’s long eyelashes drooped down, because he truly didn’t want Gu Xinglan to read the emotions he was feeling at this moment.
He himself didn’t even understand how those emotions had blossomed.
He thought about it and reasoned that it was nothing more than a normal person’s instinctual physical reaction.
With this thought, his heart felt a bit more at ease.
“I…” he stammered. “I might just be a little nervous…”
Gu Xinglan chuckled lightly. “Qin Wan, your lying skills have regressed. You’re nowhere near as good as you were back then.”
Qin Wan: …
His heart fluttering with panic, he slightly turned his head away.
Gu Xinglan’s gaze fell on the dark red scar on the side of his face.
An involuntary pang of pain tugged at his heart.
“Does it still hurt here?” He reached out and gently touched his cheek, right next to the scar.
Qin Wan shook his head. “It’s fine.”
Gu Xinglan said softly, “Such a well-behaved face. I won’t let it leave a scar.”
Qin Wan didn’t make a sound.
Gu Xinglan felt the boy’s mood dip down again.
He pulled back and slightly lowered his head.
“Gu Xinglin—I won’t let him have it easy,” he muttered to himself.
Qin Wan let out an “Mn”.
Gu Xinglan wanted to kiss him some more, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.
He was a little worried he might lose control, and if his movements got too rough, he would agitate the boy’s wounds.
“You ate a whole cake. Do you still have an appetite for dinner?” he asked.
Qin Wan quickly nodded. “I do.”
He felt that the act of eating could effectively diffuse the currently awkward and dangerous atmosphere.
Gu Xinglan nodded and had someone bring in dinner.
It was a special nutritional meal specifically prepared by the hospital’s small cafeteria for the injured Qin Wan, under the Dean’s strict orders.
Since Qin Wan had an IV needle in his hand and couldn’t move easily, Gu Xinglan began another feeding session.
The meal went by quite peacefully.
Around 9 PM, Gu Xinglan lowered the hospital bed flat, telling Qin Wan to sleep.
“You should go home. You don’t need to stay with me tonight, really! You have to go to work tomorrow…”
Qin Wan hesitated for a long time before finally speaking up.
He asked cautiously.
Simultaneously, he observed Gu Xinglan’s expression.
Gu Xinglan let out a scoffing laugh.
“I’m not going back. I’m too lazy to move. I’ll just stay here for the night.”
As he spoke, he sat down in the chair right next to the bed.
Qin Wan: …
“Then you should sleep on that bed over there.” He gestured with his chin toward the companion bed a short distance away.
Gu Xinglan shook his head. Propping his elbow on the edge of the bed, he lowered his eyes to look at him: “I can’t sleep. I want to hear you tell a story.”
The corner of Qin Wan’s mouth twitched slightly.
He was an injured patient!
Exploiting an injured patient like this—he truly was a completely evil capitalist.
Qin Wan was also a bit worried. Did this guy actually want to hear a story, or did he have other wicked intentions?
“You can lie down on the bed and still listen to the story. How about it, Gege?” he coaxed gently.
Hoping this man would move further away from him, and then further still.
Gu Xinglan let out a muffled hum.
“A bedtime story has to be told right next to the ear, extremely softly and quietly. From that far away, it would sound like a street performer telling tales under an overpass. How am I supposed to sleep?”
Qin Wan was actually left speechless.
“Then… alright,” he answered helplessly.
“I’ll tell it, but you have to try your best to go to sleep…”
With one hand propping up his chin, Gu Xinglan stared at Qin Wan’s small face, a half-smile on his lips.
Qin Wan felt that given his posture and current level of energy, he might have to narrate an entire book tonight.
“Once upon a time, there was a little mermaid…”
Given his injuries, before Qin Wan could even finish one story, he ended up putting himself to sleep.
Gu Xinglan watched as the boy slowly closed his eyes, his long eyelashes fluttering gently with his breathing. It felt as if his own heart was trembling softly right along with them.
He stared at the deeply asleep little person, his gaze reluctant to pull away for a long time.
After a long while, he stood up.
He carefully tucked the thin blanket around him, then leaned down and pressed a light kiss to his forehead.
“Goodnight, Qin Wan.”
After saying that, he turned and left the hospital room with light footsteps.
He still had an important matter to handle tonight.
He slid into his supercar and sped all the way down the road, quickly arriving at the Beijiang Pier.
His personal bodyguard, Xiao Han, and his special assistant, Tan Feng, were already waiting there.
Alongside them were a few of Xiao Han’s capable subordinates.
“Gu Zong,” the group greeted him.
Gu Xinglan nodded.
“The speedboat is waiting over there,” Tan Feng said.
“Let’s go.” Gu Xinglan took large strides toward the pontoon bridge.
At this moment, his speedboat was moored by the pier.
The captain stood at the bow, politely nodding in greeting.
The men boarded the vessel, the engine roared to life, and the speedboat pulled away from the shore.
On the pitch-black sea, a bright, full moon overhead cast its reflection onto the water.
The speedboat tore through the waves, sending ripples outward and shattering the moon’s reflection into specks of silver light.
Gu Xinglan was wearing a long black trench coat; sharply tailored and perfectly fitted, it outlined his tall, flawless figure perfectly.
He stood at the bow, the cold night wind blowing over him.
His slightly curly, flaxen hair was bathed in the moonlight, emitting a soft glow.
As the sea breeze blew, the loose strands of hair on his forehead fluttered gently.
His entire being was shrouded in an aura of handsome, almost demonic coldness.
The speedboat was extremely fast. In less than an hour, they had reached international waters.
Gu Xinglan gave Tan Feng a nod.
Tan Feng walked into the cockpit and instructed the captain to bring the boat to a steady halt.
Immediately afterward, Xiao Han hauled a man onto the deck. His hands were bound, and he was shackled in leg irons.
“Gu Xinglan!” the thoroughly disheveled Gu Xinglin screamed.
“What right do you have to detain me privately?! This is illegal! Hurry up and release me!”
Ever since he had been cornered in the warehouse by Gu Xinglan’s men that morning, Gu Xinglin had lost his freedom.
First, he was knocked unconscious. When he woke up, he found himself bound and stuffed into a cramped, unknown space.
It had been over ten hours without a drop of water or a grain of rice.
The next time he saw the light of day was right now.
In the midst of the pitch-black night sea, shoved by Gu Xinglan’s men until he was standing right in front of him.
At this moment, Gu Xinglin had completely lost the demeanor of a high-ranking Gu Corporation executive and a promising young talent.
His hair was a rat’s nest, his face smeared with grime; he looked just like a stray dog.
Gu Xinglan sat in a chair, picking up a cocktail glass from the small table.
His expression was perfectly placid.
He took a sip of his drink.
He raised his eyes slightly, shooting Xiao Han a glance.
Xiao Han understood instantly and delivered a vicious kick to the back of Gu Xinglin’s knees.
Gu Xinglin’s legs gave out, and with a heavy thud, he fell to his knees at Gu Xinglan’s feet.
He tried to struggle, but with his hands tied behind his back and his ankles shackled, he simply couldn’t stand up.
“Gu Xinglan, you…”
Gu Xinglan crossed his long legs. The tip of his polished black leather shoe was less than an inch from Gu Xinglin’s face.
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