Chapter 74: Devouring — Isn’t the punishment enough?
Jiang Yunian’s experiences over the past two months were full of ups and downs. In such a short time, it felt like he had lived through half a lifetime. He had smelled the hospital disinfectant more than once; coming and going, he felt somewhat numb.
Everything seemed to have returned to the starting point.
The ward door was pushed open from the outside. Jiang Yan came in carrying a bowl of porridge. He sat by the bed, skillfully scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and held it to Jiang Yunian’s lips.
Jiang Yunian turned his uninjured cheek toward him, remaining silent.
“Why are you throwing a tantrum again?” Jiang Yan held the spoon, somewhat helpless. “Weren’t you fine yesterday?”
Jiang Yunian lowered his eyes, his fingers picking at the snow-white sheets. “Zhang Hao… what do you plan to do with him?”
The indulgent smile on Jiang Yan’s face faded. He hooked the spoon, stirring slowly in the bowl, as if he hadn’t heard the question.
Jiang Yunian knew he was doing it on purpose, but he couldn’t pretend not to know anything. He just wanted closure, a guarantee. This messy grudge between him and Zhang Hao—he didn’t want it to continue. He just wanted peace.
“Don’t look for him anymore,” Jiang Yunian’s voice lowered. “Let it go.”
“Let it go?” Jiang Yan’s hand paused, the porcelain bowl clinking lightly against the bedside table. His eyes darkened. He reached out to touch Jiang Yunian’s cheek, which had reduced swelling but still held some bruising, a shadow passing through his gaze. “He hurt Ge like this, and we just let it go?”
“I should have crippled him last time.”
Jiang Yunian was startled by his undisguised ruthlessness and shrank back, covering his face.
Seeing his frightened appearance, Jiang Yan’s expression softened. He withdrew his hand. Then, avoiding the injuries, he gently circled the person, enclosing him in his territory. His chin rested on the top of Jiang Yunian’s soft hair, rubbing comfortingly. His voice was muffled, thick with self-blame. “I’m sorry… blame me for coming too late.”
Jiang Yunian pressed against his warm chest, hearing the steady yet rapid heartbeat inside. Listening to Jiang Yan whisper apologies over and over, the remorse in that voice didn’t seem faked. A corner of his heart softened unconsciously, and his heartbeat began to lose its rhythm. in all fairness, he had no reason to blame Jiang Yan this time; on the contrary, Jiang Yan had saved him. This man, whom he had pushed away and tried to draw a line with, had once again forcibly barged into his world, making his painstakingly built defenses crumble. He wanted to hate but couldn’t hate thoroughly, nor could he treat him like a stranger anymore.
Jiang Yan was terrifyingly stubborn in some aspects. When it came to matters concerning him, once a decision was made, it was impossible to turn the page easily. No one could persuade him otherwise, not even Jiang Yunian himself. Jiang Yunian looked at the porridge offered to his lips again, showing obvious resistance on his face, having no appetite.
Jiang Yan held the spoon and waited for a while. Seeing his mouth remained tight, he didn’t persuade him further. “Does Ge not want to eat, or do you want me to feed you another way?”
Before Jiang Yunian could fully understand the meaning of his words, he saw Jiang Yan tilt his head to take a mouthful of porridge, then lean down, accurately capturing his lips.
“Mmph!”
The thick porridge was passed into his mouth, accompanied by a tongue that forcibly intruded, stirring inside, brooking no refusal.
“No… mm… stop…” Jiang Yunian whimpered and struggled. He had injuries on his hands and didn’t dare push hard. Instead, because of his lack of cooperation, his lower lip was bitten.
The meal was a stumbling affair. Jiang Yunian couldn’t tell if he was eating or being eaten. His lips were sucked until they were numb and slightly stinging. Finally, when the bowl of porridge bottomed out, Jiang Yan let him go, unsatisfied. Jiang Yunian’s originally pale face was flushed red, the corners of his eyes moist, panting softly, looking like he had been bullied hard.
Looking at him like this, Jiang Yan’s Adam’s apple rolled. Heaven knew how much he wanted to hold him properly, touch him, feel his temperature. Every day of longing felt like it was gnawing at his rationality, so much so that just a kiss made his excitement hard to suppress.
Flustered by his scorching gaze, Jiang Yunian was frightened into shrinking under the quilt immediately. He turned his back, wrapping himself tightly, exposing only a pair of wet eyes, terrified of his mouth being eaten again.
Only when he heard the door open and close did he poke his head out. Jiang Yan had indeed gone out, but a young girl in a nurse’s uniform came in. She looked like she had just started her internship. While adjusting the IV tube, she couldn’t help sneaking peeks at Jiang Yunian’s still red and swollen lips, curiosity and envy on her face. “That was your boyfriend, right? He looks so handsome.”
Jiang Yunian: “…”
Thinking he was shy, the little nurse blinked, her tone even more cheerful. “When you weren’t awake, he was the one guarding you. He held your hand the whole time, guarded you all night. Your relationship is really good.”
Jiang Yunian blinked dryly, ripples rising in his heart because of the nurse’s words. He remembered when he first woke up, what caught his eye were Jiang Yan’s bloodshot eyes, filled with exhaustion, and the light that instantly lit up when he saw him open his eyes. That joy of surviving a disaster didn’t seem fake. That complicated, indescribable feeling surged up again.
It was two days later when Lu Yuanbai learned of Jiang Yunian’s hospitalization.
On the day of discharge, the sky was overcast with clouds, drifting with fine rain.
Jiang Yan went to the garage to get the car first. Jiang Yunian stood alone under the eaves of the hospital entrance waiting. A familiar car slowly stopped in front of him. The window rolled down, revealing Lu Yuanbai’s face.
“Sorry, I only just found out,” Lu Yuanbai said worriedly, looking at the bruises visible on his skin. “What happened?”
Half of Jiang Yunian’s face had completely healed; it didn’t look too serious unless one looked closely. He omitted the kidnapping and Zhang Hao parts, saying only that it was an accident and nothing serious.
Lu Yuanbai hugged him and apologized again, seeming to blame himself for not protecting him well, even though this had nothing to do with him.
“Get in, I’ll take you back.”
Looking at Lu Yuanbai’s attentive attitude, Jiang Yunian felt both grateful and pressured. Jiang Yan was coming soon. If he saw the Senior, it would likely cause unnecessary trouble again.
“No need to trouble you, it’s not on your way.”
Whatever one fears comes to pass.
A sleek black Ferrari slid silently up close. The window fell, revealing Jiang Yan’s cold brows and eyes. He pushed the door open and got out, holding a large black umbrella, striding toward him with long legs.
He walked to Jiang Yunian’s side, naturally tilting the umbrella over his head to block the falling rain. “Ge, let’s go home.”
Jiang Yunian looked at the two men standing side by side in front of him—one gentle and elegant with eager eyes, the other cold, domineering, and irresistible. A deep sense of powerlessness drowned him. Every time they clashed, he was always the one caught in the middle in a dilemma.
He closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, a thought of giving up on everything suddenly arose in his heart.
“Neither,” his voice was calm, tinged with exhaustion. “It’s not far. I’ll just walk.”
This unexpected answer stunned both men.
Jiang Yunian didn’t look at either of them again. He took the black umbrella from Jiang Yan’s hand and walked alone into the continuous curtain of rain.
The rain wasn’t heavy, but it was dense and lingering, as if endless. Holding the umbrella, he walked slowly along the wet sidewalk, listening to the ticking of rain on the umbrella surface, his mind a mess.
He hadn’t walked far when the sound of footsteps splashing on water came from behind. A figure squeezed in, staying very close to him. Jiang Yan silently took the umbrella handle from his hand, tilting most of the umbrella surface toward him.
The two walked side by side in the rain, speechless for a moment.
After walking for a while, Jiang Yan glanced at his Ge’s quiet profile. Seeing no intention of turning, his Adam’s apple moved. “Is Ge still angry with me?”
Jiang Yunian didn’t make a sound.
Jiang Yan interpreted something from his silence, or perhaps he was brainwashing himself. “He has a car, but Ge still chose to go with me… It proves Ge’s heart still leans toward me.”
“Don’t talk.”
Jiang Yan went silent immediately.
Rainwater slid down the edge of the umbrella, splashing tiny blossoms on the ground. When they reached the riverside, Jiang Yan suddenly stopped walking.
“Ge, do you remember this place?” he asked softly, looking at the misty river surface.
Jiang Yunian looked at the familiar scenery before him, his expression loosening slightly. How could he not remember? It was here that he picked up the dying Jiang Yan. At that time, he couldn’t have imagined that what he casually picked up and brought home wasn’t a pitiful loyal dog, but a paranoid and dangerous wolf.
Memories were soaked by the rain, becoming heavier with the dampness. Jiang Yan held his slightly cool hand and asked him, “Do you regret it?”
Regret picking me up.
Jiang Yunian remained silent. The river wind blew the broken hair on his forehead. After a long while, he said in a low voice, “It would have been the same if it were anyone else.”
Jiang Yan: “If it were someone else, would Ge also fall in love with him and go to bed with him?”
Jiang Yunian: “…”
Seeing his evasive eyes, Jiang Yan hooked his lips. He exerted a little force on the shoulder he was holding, forcing him to turn toward himself. “So I am different from others. Ge is destined to be with me.”
Jiang Yunian couldn’t find words to refute, so he simply closed his eyes to avoid those scorching hot eyes. The next second, his lips were ambushed. This kiss was very shallow, devoid of lust, and distance was pulled back quickly.
“Since you picked me up, you can’t throw me away.” Jiang Yan looked deeply into Jiang Yunian’s slightly bewildered eyes, his voice low and raspy, carrying a near-religious plea. “Ge, I only have you.”
A wave of sourness rose in Jiang Yunian. Once upon a time, in this cold world, weren’t they each other’s only reliance? But now…
Jiang Yan keenly caught that flash of compassion. His tone dropped lower, revealing pitifulness. “I haven’t touched Ge for a long time. I only dare to secretly follow… watch Ge, living in fear every day that Ge will be snatched away. Isn’t such punishment enough?”
Jiang Yunian looked up at this handsome face written with insecurity, seeing his own reflection in the red-rimmed eyes. His heart was blank. If only he were just angry, perhaps the choice wouldn’t be so difficult. His heart told him he still occasionally throbbed for this person who had hurt him, but reason questioned: Can I really trust Jiang Yan again? Will I not repeat the same mistakes?
He hesitated.
The rain unknowingly became heavier. Bean-sized water droplets smashed onto the umbrella, blooming flowers in his ears. Jiang Yan tilted the umbrella more toward Jiang Yunian, carefully protecting his wounds, letting the rain soak his own shoulders.
The dense rain isolated the outside world. The whole world was reduced to the square inch under the umbrella, oblivious to everything else.
Jiang Yunian lowered his head, hesitating for a long time. His lips moved slightly, seeming to want to say something.
“I…”
Before the words fell, a car suddenly rushed out from the corner. The engine let out a piercing roar, flying straight toward them uncontrollably!
“Careful!”
Jiang Yunian only felt a huge force knock him violently to the ground. Amidst the spinning world, a deafening loud noise came to his ears.
Bang…
The car narrowly missed them, smashing the streetlight beside them. The side of the car dented deeply, but the person inside didn’t care at all.
This was completely unforeseen. Jiang Yunian was pinned firmly under Jiang Yan, his heart beating wildly. He looked up instinctively. Through the windshield, he saw the ferocious face in the driver’s seat at a glance. At this moment, it was filled with insane hatred—it was clearly Zhang Hao, who had been missing for several days!
Zhang Hao slammed the steering wheel with one hand, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at them, letting out a hysterical roar.
“All of you, go to hell!”
Author’s Note: Someone is switching to their main account soon [Lop-eared Rabbit Head] Happy Mid-Autumn Festival [Fireworks]
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