Chapter 86: “Next, I Will Punish You.”
The sudden gunshot was like a clap of thunder.
Xie Shibai’s heart shuddered. He was tightly protected by Lu Ciheng. The hand gripping his shoulder suddenly tightened, making Xie Shibai’s heart leap.
Amid the gasps of the crowd, Xie Shibai suddenly came to his senses. His heart was pounding with a groundless panic. He looked at Lu Ciheng to confirm if he was injured.
Ye Yingpu’s final, desperate struggle had poor aim.
An officer kicked Ye Yingpu’s gun away and cursed under his breath.
The other staff members hadn’t dared to approach before, but once the gun was kicked away, they breathed a sigh of relief. They stepped forward to help handcuff the man. Out of humanitarianism, Ye Yingpu’s wound still needed brief stanching.
Lu Ciheng checked Xie Shibai over from top to bottom. After confirming he was fine, he let out a sigh of relief. After the tension passed, a pain in his abdomen gradually appeared.
Xie Shibai’s fingers gripped Lu Ciheng’s clothes. His gaze landed on Lu Ciheng’s side, which was gradually being stained red with blood. His mind went blank with a ‘buzz.’ His fingertips trembled, his breathing grew shallow, and his tone lost its usual steady cool. “Doctor!”
He reached out frantically to cover the spot where Lu Ciheng was bleeding, his fingers trembling uncontrollably.
Lu Ciheng could feel the state of his own wound. He looked at Xie Shibai’s panicked expression and said, “Don’t worry, Xie-laoshi. I’m fine.”
Xie Shibai’s eyes turned slightly red. Seeing his own hands stained with fresh blood, he felt the emotion called regret for the first time.
The ship’s doctor looked at Lu Ciheng with surprise. As he wiped the wound with a disinfecting cotton ball, he noticed that the man didn’t flinch or even knit his brows. Following Lu Ciheng’s gaze, he noticed Xie Shibai outside the door and asked, “That person is your…?”
Lu Ciheng’s lips curled slightly. “My partner.”
The doctor’s gaze turned knowing, and he couldn’t help but tease, “You’re quite lucky.”
It was unclear if he was teasing about the wound or the fact that he had found such a partner.
He had heard about Lu Ciheng from the officers. The injury was caused by shielding his partner. In a life-threatening moment, he had suppressed his survival instinct and reflexes to protect his loved one.
Lu Ciheng gave a neutral “Mm.”
Ye Yingpu’s shot had gone wide. The bullet had grazed Lu Ciheng’s waist. Although there was a lot of bleeding, the wound was shallow. After the bleeding was stopped, it didn’t even require stitches.
The ship’s doctor had extensive experience dealing with gunshot wounds. Seeing this, he still couldn’t help but feel emotional. If the angle had been off by just a bit, the wound would have been very serious. Moreover, they were at sea; even with experience, a real gunshot wound could easily lead to complications. If it were delayed by a day, it could turn fatal. It was the grace of the god of luck.
He looked at Lu Ciheng’s face, which remained unchanged as the cotton ball was pressed down, and couldn’t help asking, “Doesn’t it hurt?”
Lu Ciheng: “It’s alright. Doctor, can you describe the wound as a bit more serious later?”
The doctor immediately looked at Xie Shibai outside and understood Lu Ciheng’s meaning with a smile. “Of course.”
When the production team found out, they were so scared they almost screamed. They asked several times and were told that only one person had a gunshot wound.
The entire team, still in their pajamas, rushed to the medical room. Seeing an unharmed Xie Shibai, they breathed a sigh of relief, only for their hearts to leap again. One by one, they peered through the window at Lu Ciheng as his wound was treated.
“It’s good that people are okay,” the production team comforted each other.
“He’s still in one piece,” one person said with relief. “That’s great. He didn’t lose an arm or a leg.”
“…Could you make your descriptions less terrifying?”
Xu Zhengyu from the production team went to the officers to find out the general situation. He didn’t ask Xie Shibai or Lu Ciheng what had happened. Meanwhile, he arranged for the other directors to figure out how to handle tomorrow’s livestream and the trending searches.
A shooting on a cruise ship couldn’t be hidden. The fact that a gun could be brought on board meant there were internal issues with the ship. Everything would have to be thoroughly investigated, and the news would report it. The fans would naturally find out.
Lu Ciheng, being watched like a rare animal, began to show signs of impatience.
They were blocking his view of Xie Shibai.
The production team: “…”
Why did it feel like this kid was looking down on them?
After confirming the problem wasn’t serious, the production team went off to work overtime. Xie Shibai was busy taking notes on the doctor’s precautions. His long eyelashes were lowered, and his heartbeat had yet to settle.
The blood on his hands belonging to Lu Ciheng had been washed away, but the sensation of that hot, sticky blood against his skin was deeply etched in his mind. It felt as if it were still stuck to his skin, impossible to ever wash clean. The scalding heat had reached into his very marrow.
He had to stay in the medical ward for observation the first night. Although the wound wasn’t deep, it was a gunshot wound, and they were worried about complications.
When only the two of them were left in the ward, Lu Ciheng said softly, “Xie-laoshi, it hurts so much.”
Xie Shibai looked at Lu Ciheng, his eyes filled with tension. “Does it hurt that much? I’ll call the doctor.”
Lu Ciheng paused for a second. As Xie Shibai was about to get up, he grabbed his hand and said honestly, “Suddenly, it doesn’t seem to hurt as much.”
Xie Shibai didn’t believe him. “I’d better have the doctor come check.”
Lu Ciheng wouldn’t let go of Xie Shibai’s hand, his eyes looking innocent. “Actually, if Xie-laoshi just kisses me once, it might not hurt anymore.”
Xie Shibai: “…”
His tense expression finally relaxed slightly under Lu Ciheng’s joke. It felt as though his emotions were being pulled back from that gunshot, his feet finally touching solid ground. At the same time, he faced reality: the blood on his hands was gone, but it still felt hot. The panic of his heart skipping beats was real.
It was because of him that Lu Ciheng got hurt.
Even though the situation was urgent and infuriating, Lu Ciheng hadn’t forgotten the injuries on Ye Yingpu’s face and the unnatural posture of his arm. It wasn’t hard to guess what had happened.
Lu Ciheng thought: It’s good that the one injured wasn’t Xie Shibai.
He could feel it; Xie Shibai didn’t care about his own safety or life. Beneath that calm, cold face was a self-destructive urge he hadn’t even noticed.
The injury being on him was better. It would make the other realize the severity.
But that didn’t mean Lu Ciheng wasn’t angry. He was angry that Xie Shibai didn’t take his own life seriously.
If one fell into the sea from a cruise ship, unless discovered immediately, the survival rate was very low. Not to mention, Ye Yingpu had a gun.
The bad cat who gambled with his own life had to be taught a harsh lesson. Otherwise, how would he remember his mistake?
Lu Ciheng’s thumb ground against Xie Shibai’s fingers as he asked in a low voice, “Xie-laoshi, did you feel disgusted when your hand touched Ye Yingpu?”
Xie Shibai froze for a few seconds, realizing Lu Ciheng knew everything. He lowered his lashes. “Yes.”
Lu Ciheng’s expression turned deep. He touched Xie Shibai’s hand and asked, “Does your hand hurt?”
Xie Shibai was stunned for a moment. He looked up at Lu Ciheng, his lips parting and then closing again.
Lu Ciheng looked at the reddened knuckles on the pale fingers and said to himself, “The hand is all red.”
Xie Shibai thought: That was from scrubbing your blood off.
Lu Ciheng grabbed Xie Shibai’s hand and kissed it.
Xie Shibai’s hand felt as if it had been burned. He instinctively tried to pull it back, but Lu Ciheng held it firmly. The next second, Lu Ciheng bit his hand, neither too hard nor too light.
Xie Shibai frowned. “You…”
He wanted to pull his hand away forcefully, but he was mindful of the wound on Lu Ciheng’s waist.
Lu Ciheng’s eyes were dark, a smile tugging at his lips. He said unhurriedly, “Xie-laoshi, next, I will punish you.”
Translator’s Note:
- Medical Ward Observation: Standard procedure for any trauma on a ship, as they are far from major hospitals.
- Punishment: In this context, it’s flirty/romantic tension rather than something sinister. Lu Ciheng is using his injury to emotionally manipulate Xie Shibai into being more affectionate.
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