Part 2
He paused, searching for the right word.
“âAnd yet, you had a resilience that couldn’t be crushed.”
After leaving the underground boxing ring, the beautiful Beta had vanished without a trace. Years later, Bai Yu met the “vanished” Jiang Zhaosheng once more.
But it was by no means a pleasant reunion.
In the middle of the night, his door was pounded on with a frantic, piercing frequency. Bai Yu frowned as he opened the door. Outside, the night rain was torrential, and a damp, freezing chill rushed in.
Then, he saw Jiang Zhaosheng.
The young man was soaked to the bone, his thin clothes clinging to his body. He looked exhausted. His long hairâthen at an awkward shoulder lengthâwas matted with rain, several strands stuck to his cheeks and neck. He looked a mess.
And yet, that very messiness was transformed into a heart-stopping, fragile beauty because of that face. Rainwater rolled down his jawline, sliding over his pale skin; it was impossible to tell if it was sweat, rain, or tears.
Those blue-green eyes, currently filled with terror and helplessness, shimmered under the streetlights of the rainy night.
On his back, he carried a girl wrapped in a large coat. She didn’t look very old, but her face was flushed red; she was clearly suffering from a high fever and was semi-conscious.
“You…” Bai Yu had just started to speak.
Jiang Zhaosheng snapped his head up, rain dripping from his lashes. He asked with a choked voice:
“Doctor Bai, I beg you… can you help? Please save her…”
The Beta looked as if he had just crawled out of some hell, finally seeing the light of day. His whole body carried a lingering fear and despair, yet he was forced to cling to this final straw for the sake of the person on his back. That intense sense of brokenness combined with resilience formed a magnetism that was impossible to look away from.
As if possessed, Bai Yu froze on the spot. He looked at Jiang Zhaoshengâs excessively stunning looks; even in such a plight, his body still bore the traces and aura of having been meticulously “kept” by someone.
He had a rough guess. The spirited youth from before had likely gone missing because he became the “canary” of some powerful figure, and he had been stupid enough to drag a burden along during his escape.
“…My medical fees aren’t cheap,” he heard himself say in his usual cold voice.
“Anything! Any amount!”
Jiang Zhaosheng answered urgently, his shoulders trembling from the cold and exhaustion as he carefully shielded the girl on his back.
Taking him in meant the risks could be a hundred or a thousand times higher, which went against his principles. But Bai Yu looked at him once more and silently moved aside to let them in.
“Back then, your hair was about this long,” Bai Yu made a scissor gesture with his fingers, measuring at Jiang Zhaoshengâs shoulder. His tone was light. “It was at that awkward stageânot long, not shortâlike a little stray cat that no one looked after.”
“You were carrying that little girl back then, looking like the two of you were all that was left in the world.”
He leaned in slightly, getting closer to Jiang Zhaosheng.
“Tell me, is it your past experiences? Did someone use some kind of experiment on you?”
“…What is it that makes you so afraid?”
…
Pain and blood loss dragged Qin Yichuan into a deep slumber, but it also opened a door to a dream. In that kaleidoscopic dream, time turned back gently, giving everything a chance to start over.
It was still that summer afternoon filled with the sound of cicadas and thick air. The slide in the abandoned kindergarten was baking hot from the sun.
He was still that restless “king of the kids” with a popsicle stick in his mouth.
This time, the version of him in the dream wasn’t stupidâhe didn’t pull out a ridiculous bow, and he certainly didn’t go looking for that damned plastic rope.
While the little lackeys around him were itching to move, he threw away the popsicle stick, wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, and stepped forward. Ignoring the gaze of the adult under Shen Qimingâs command, he grabbed the small Jiang Zhaoshengâs fair hand.
In the dream, the young Jiang Zhaosheng seemed startled, his blue-green eyes widening in surprise, but he didn’t pull away immediately.
He led him by the hand, refusing to push him toward anyone. Instead, he personally took him to see every corner, stuffing the best marbles and cards into his hands, even though the other person might not be interested.
They no longer played the stupid game of the prince saving the princess. Instead, he simply kept holding the “Young Miss’s” hand.
In the dream, he and Jiang Zhaosheng weren’t bitter rivals, but… a clumsy yet sweet first love.
He would allow Qin Yichuan to clumsily hold his hand. When he was tired from training, he would naturally lean his forehead against Qin’s shoulder to rest.
In the dream, Qin Yichuan was cautious yet immensely satisfied as he doted on Jiang Zhaosheng, making him his own “Young Miss.”
Yes, “Young Miss.” This titleâhalf-teasing, half-possessiveâbecame legitimate in the dream.
He would work like a dog for his “Young Miss,” solving every trouble for him, only to receive a playful glare or a light “Stupid dog” in returnâ
He even dreamed of Jiang Zhaosheng losing his temper occasionally, hitting and scolding him with those beautiful hands. Yet he enjoyed it, thinking that even when the other was angry, he looked incredibly beautiful. He would just grin foolishly, letting himself be hit and scolded, before leaning in to coax him… a sweet life of being at someone’s beck and call that was known only to them.
A tearing pain suddenly shot from his gland, violently dragging Qin Yichuan out of that overly beautiful illusion!
“Ugh…” He groaned in pain, his muddled consciousness not yet fully awake as his heavy eyelids cracked open.
In his blurred vision, a stunning face with an impatient expression was close at hand.
That person was slightly frowning, focused on treating the wound on his neck. Those cool fingers occasionally, inevitably, brushed against the surrounding skin, sending a shiver through him.
It was Jiang Zhaosheng. His “Young Miss” was taking care of him…
At this moment, dream and reality overlapped, leaving Qin Yichuanâs brain in a mess. He acted almost entirely on instinct.
The Alpha on the bed suddenly reached out, grabbing the slender yet resilient waist of the person before him. With a forceful rollâ
“Ugh!”
Jiang Zhaosheng hadn’t expected the sudden attack. Caught off guard, he was dragged down onto the bed, his body pinned firmly beneath Qin Yichuanâs heavy frame. The thick, blood-tinged scent of lemon pheromones instantly enveloped him.
“Qin Yichuan… are you insane?” Jiang Zhaosheng struggled in surprise and anger.
Qin Yichuan was still trapped in that beautiful dream. His gaze was scattered yet burning as he lowered his head, his kisses falling like a rainstorm across Jiang Zhaoshengâs forehead, cheeks, and nose. He murmured incoherently:
“Young Miss… Wife, don’t move… let me kiss you…”
The hot breath and the kisses filled with pain made Jiang Zhaoshengâs hair stand on end. He snapped his head to the side, avoiding the over-the-line intimacy as he struggled with both hands and feet:
“Get off! What is wrong with you!”
His struggle kicked the knife wound on Qin Yichuanâs side. Qin Yichuan stiffened and let out a muffled groan.
Jiang Zhaosheng seized the opportunity, using all his strength to kick him away!
With a “thud,” Qin Yichuan clutched his abdomen and neck, curling up in pain as he fell back onto the bed. The pain finally woke him up completely. The pink bubbles of the dream popped instantly, leaving only the cold reality of the mess… and Jiang Zhaoshengâs eyes, which were nearly spitting fire with rage and disgust.
“…Jiang Zhaosheng?” Qin Yichuan looked at him in disbelief, trying to explain in a panic, “I… I just…”
Jiang Zhaosheng scrambled off the bed and stood beside it, straightening his messy clothes. His face was iron-blue and his lips were tightly pursed; he was clearly fuming.
He took several deep breaths, barely suppressing his rage as he looked at the horrific wound on Qin Yichuanâs neck.
He didn’t pursue the matter of that ridiculous kiss. Instead, he pointed at the Alphaâs neck and asked:
“Why?”
Qin Yichuan was stunned, not understanding his meaning.
“Why use such a stupid method to dig it out?” Jiang Zhaoshengâs tone was filled with frustration. “Digging out a gland with your bare hands? Qin Yichuan, I think your brain really was fried by Shen Qimingâs pheromones.”
Qin Yichuan endured the pain and rubbed his head to explain:
“It was for you, obviously. That thing was emitting Shen Qimingâs pheromones… I couldn’t let it keep affecting you… I…”
His words were interrupted by Jiang Zhaoshengâs heartless sneer.
“For me?” Jiang Zhaosheng looked at him with that familiar pity he used for idiots. “You clearly had a thousand better ways to handle this.”
“You could have told me. You could have let me find a way to safely remove it for youâwe could have even studied that damned device to see if we could reverse-track it or figure out what it was.”
“Even if you didn’t take it out, there were plenty of ways. You could have gone back with it, pretended the mission failed, and naturally become a double agent to pass me information in secret.”
“Isn’t that a far more valuable choice?”
“But you,” Jiang Zhaosheng hit him on the shoulder in anger, “you chose the most psychotic, mindless, and idiotic way.”
“Digging it out with your hands! Destroying it! Aside from losing half your life and alerting the enemy, what use was it?”
Qin Yichuan was completely stunned. He sat there with his mouth open, looking at Jiang Zhaoshengâs slightly flushed face and those eyes that were shining with startling brightness.
In an instant, his self-sacrifice and tragic sentimentality shattered into pieces.
That’s right…
It could have been handled that way…
How had he… only thought of the most tragic method?
Qin Yichuan blinked. Between the massive pain and the blow to his ego, he could only open his mouth and dumbly reply:
“…Oh, right?”
Jiang Zhaosheng grew angry just looking at his stupid expression. He kicked him twice, gave him a fierce glare, grabbed the remaining bandages and medicine, and turned to leave.
Qin Yichuan lay alone in the room, falling back down and clutching his throbbing wounds. He stared at the ceiling as Jiang Zhaoshengâs words and that final “look for an idiot” echoed in his mind…
He closed his eyes in despair, wishing he had just died in that beautiful dream earlier.
…It was over. Not only had he nearly killed himself, but he had also used pheromones to harass and even try to force a kiss on Jiang Zhaoshengâand finally, his intelligence and competence had been thoroughly looked down upon.
Just then, the guest room door was pushed open slightly.
Bai Yu was leaning against the doorframe with a glass of water, having no idea how long he had been eavesdropping. His gaze behind his gold-rimmed glasses swept coldly over the pathetic, life-is-meaningless Qin Yichuan on the bed before glancing in the direction Jiang Zhaosheng had gone.
He pushed his glasses up and mocked in a leisurely tone:
“‘Young Miss’? Quite the intimate title. Isn’t it a bit rude to give people random nicknames?”
“However, compared to a title,” his tone shifted to a biting sarcasm, “isn’t using self-mutilation and sexual harassment to get attention a bit too low-class?”
“I think I need to check Jiang Zhaoshengâfor instance, to see if a stray dog has infected him with some foul disease?” Bai Yuâs smile widened, though it held no warmth. “I feel like people like you don’t really have a ‘bottom line’ when it comes to missions, do you?”
Qin Yichuan: “!!!”
In the living room, Jiang Zhaosheng was drinking water when he was startled by a sudden thud from the bedroom.
Immediately following was Qin Yichuanâs nearly voice-cracking roar, piercing through the door:
“Jiang Zhaosheng! Your ‘simp’ has gone crazy! Heâs out of his damn mind!!!”
Authorâs Note: Qin Yichuan: I beg the heavens to grant me Jiang Zhaosheng as a wife. Hehe, Iâve wanted to write what the young mommy looked like in Bai Yuâs eyes for a long time. So satisfying…
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