Chapter 127

Chapter 127

In the end, Yu He and Fu Yunzhen did not return to their country as originally planned.

Fu Yunzhen had initially thought that Yu He would just re-experience everything he had gone through himself, and the worst outcome would be merely returning empty-handed. However, when the leukemia-stricken boy appeared, the trajectory of events took a turn.

After all, Yu He is not Fu Yunzhen. He does not possess Fu Yunzhen's persistence, and his attention can be easily diverted as always.

For Yu He, the reason for staying in Northern Myanmar had shifted from the pangolins to the little boy.

"The kid is too young; what if he starves to death with no one to care for him?" Facing Fu Yunzhen's concern, Yu He confidently assured, “Once Ah Kun is released from the police station, we will immediately return to our country.”

After several days of hitting walls, Yu He finally became friends with Ah Kun's younger brother.

Very, very good friends.

Although many are reluctant to admit it, attractive people do indeed have a natural advantage in social interactions.

If Yu He sincerely sets out to win someone's favor, from 80-year-olds to 3-year-olds, there is no one he couldn't charm.

Yu He stepped into the dilapidated alley, holding an old wooden box in his hands, and casually knocked on the door of Ah Kun's house.

The little boy hurriedly opened the door, his smile brighter than the afternoon sun, but there was no one at the door.

Not seeing Yu He, the boy's face showed obvious disappointment. As he lowered his head to close the door, he noticed the wooden box on the ground.

His eyes lit up, and he crouched down to open the wooden box, from which colorful candies flowed out.

The candies, too full in the box and now free from the pressure of the lid, spilled out onto the ground in a rush, illuminating the cracked green bricks at the door as well as the boy's smile.

The boy looked up and called out in his not-so-fluent Chinese: “Yu He!”

A white paper airplane came flying through the air, and as the boy followed its trajectory upward, he saw Yu He sitting on the wall.

Yu He was seated on the wall, his smile brighter than the blue sky and white clouds.

“Xiao Shuan!”

The transliteration of Akun's younger brother's name from Burmese was incredibly complex; the boy had to repeat it several times before Yu He could attempt to memorize those awkward syllables.

One of the syllables in the boy’s name sounded similar to 'shuan', so Yu He decided to call him Xiao Shuan, hoping that this name would help to secure the boy's fate.

Yu He called out to the boy and pointed inside the wall, then leaped down from the wall top, jumping into the boy's yard.

The boy used the hem of his shirt to gather the wooden box and the spilled candies before turning around to head home.

The moment Akun's family's front door closed, the boy rushed back out, picking up the paper airplane that Yu He had thrown over.

The bodyguard at the entrance of the alley pressed his earpiece, reporting: "Mr. Fu, Young Master Yu has entered."

Fu Yunzhe responded, “Stay close; Northern Myanmar is not like home.”

After receiving Fu Yunzhe’s instruction to 'stay close,' the bodyguard immediately moved forward but in the instant he lifted his leg, he heard a whistling sound from behind.

The bodyguard bent over and looked back, but it was already too late!

A muffled hit landed hard on the back of the bodyguard's neck.

On the other end, Fu Yunzhe heard a muffled sound, closed his eyes, and calmly accepted the reality that he had already anticipated.

The hanging sword at his heart finally fell.

The Bluetooth headset fell to the ground, emitting a harsh scraping sound.

A man slowly walked over, picked up the Bluetooth headset from the ground.

He placed the headset at his ear, speaking in English, “Mr. Fu, I have a business proposition for you. I wonder if you might be interested?”

Fu Yunzhe responded with a question, "What do you want?"

The man said, “On the day Akun was arrested, his younger brother gave you a wooden box. I want everything inside that box.”

The development of events completely caught Fu Yunzhe off guard. He stood up and walked to his writing desk, saying, “Just a moment.”

After flipping through the contents poured out from the wooden box, Fu Yunzhe did not notice anything unusual.

Fu Yunzhe slightly furrowed his brows, "I don't know what you are looking for, but I can bring you everything from the wooden box."

The man’s voice sounded very young, "Bring the things over first, then we can talk."

Fu Yunzhe slightly lowered his long eyes and uttered two words: “Address.”

The man first stated a location, then added, “There’s no need to rush. Your lover is quite attractive; I don’t mind spending a bit more time with him.”

Fu Yunzhe stated, “Fifteen minutes.”

The man spoke English fluently, with a standard American accent, “Mr. Fu is indeed decisive and efficient. I will be waiting.”

After ending the call, the man casually tossed the Bluetooth headset onto the ground. His black leather shoes gently crushed it, breaking the headset into pieces.

The man then turned and stepped into the back alley.

The blinking indicator light on the headset flickered a few times before finally going out completely.

*

Yu He and Xiao Shuan were playing with paper airplanes in the yard.

Suddenly, there was a rapid knocking at the back door. Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock, knock!

Startled by the urgency of the knocks, Xiao Shuan immediately stood up. He turned to the back door and asked in Burmese, “Who is it?”

A young man’s voice came from outside the door, uttering something.

Xiao Shuan hurriedly went forward to open the door.

Yu He grabbed Xiao Shuan, asking in a low voice, “Who is it?”

Xiao Shuan answered, “It’s a friend of my brother!”

Yu He stood up, “I’ll go open the door.”

Yu He pulled open the worn wooden door.

In the back alley, a young man covered in blood suddenly fell forward into the yard.

Before Yu He could even react, his hands, quicker than his brain, had already caught the man in his arms.

The man’s face was pale, and he widened his eyes the moment he saw Yu He.

"Brother Yu?"

To my surprise, the man spoke Chinese and seemed to recognize Yu He!

Yu He's brow furrowed. "Who are you, and how do you know my surname is Yu?"

The man's eyes quivered, his grip on Yu He's arm tightening. His lips trembled as he said, "Brother Yu, Yu He, don't you remember me? I'm Huang Shaohang. We went to the same private high school; I was your junior."

My junior? Huang Shaohang?

The blurry visage of a cherubic face from his memories gradually overlaid the lean features before him, clarity emerging through the mist of years gone by.

Recognition dawned on Yu He, and he expressed his astonishment: "Little Hang? How did you get so thin? Weren't you the chubby kid back in high school?"

Huang Shaohang: "..."

Taking a deep breath, Huang Shaohang clutched Yu He's arm with his bloodied hands. "Brother Yu, let's get inside first. Someone's trying to kill me."

Yu He was taken aback. "What?"

Xiao Shuan stepped forward to securely close the courtyard gate, his demeanor far calmer than Yu He's.

It was not uncommon for his brother's friends to arrive through the back door, battered and bruised. Xiao Shuan, accustomed to such occurrences, skillfully wiped away the bloodstains before turning to fetch the first aid kit.

The medical box in Akun's home was well-stocked, as if it were often used to treat such injuries at home.

Yu He assisted Huang Shaohang inside, settling him on the couch. "Where are you hurt?" he inquired.

Huang Shaohang turned to his side, unbuttoning his blood-soaked shirt, partially removing his coat to reveal a wound over twenty centimeters long.

The flesh around the wound was turned inside out, with fresh blood continuously pouring out.

Yu He, his hand gripping the gauze, paused, “Shaohang, this wound needs stitches.”

In the short minute from the doorway to inside the house, Huang Shaohang’s lips had visibly paled from blood loss, and even his consciousness was beginning to blur.

Huang Shaohang patted his forehead, shaking his head to force himself to stay awake, “It’s not possible, Brother Yu. I can’t go to the hospital. Their people are waiting at the end of the alley, ready to kill me as soon as I go back.”

Yu He’s mind was filled with questions, but he simply didn’t have the time to ask.

The blood gushing out was tremendously forceful; under such a flow rate, it was as if an invisible countdown timer had appeared above Huang Shaohang’s head.

With each passing second, death drew a step closer.

Yu He had no time to delve into these perplexing thoughts; emotional reasoning was significantly diminished at this moment. In the face of a major crisis, an almost absolute rationality took over his mind.

Save the person first!

At this moment, Yu He’s mind went blank, operating purely on instinct and muscle memory.

The world seemed to momentarily come to a standstill, and nothing could distract Yu He. His eyes saw nothing but the wound demanding immediate attention. Without hesitation, he took out a needle, dipped it in alcohol, and swiftly inserted it at several acupoints on Huang Shaohang's body to stop the bleeding.

Yu He’s concentration peaked at this moment!

By the time he inserted the sixth needle, the flow of blood finally began to subside. Yu He did not let his guard down and proceeded to insert three more needles.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, Yu He used sterile cotton to clean the clotted blood from the wound. The narrow, long wound was neat, deeper at the top and shallower at the bottom.

It was a knife wound, inflicted with a chopping motion, losing force as it went down.

Twisting out a surgical suture needle, its hooked tip pierced through the flesh. Huang Shaohang's entire body shuddered, and his muscles tensed instantly.

This movement momentarily disrupted Yu He’s automated mode.

Yu He was profoundly shaken, and the temporarily detached emotions flooded back. He looked at the rolling wound under his hands, and his needle-holding hand trembled involuntarily.

"Damn, damn, damn, how did I even get the suture needle through?"

With his senses fully returned, Yu He began to notice other things around him.

Like the sweat on his forehead and back, Huang Shaohang’s trembling body, and the old scars on his back.

Huang Shaohang’s body bore many bizarre wounds, including a conspicuous burn scar on the back of his neck.

Feeling Yu He pause in suturing the wound, Huang Shaohang turned his head slightly, “What’s wrong, Brother Yu?”

Yu He steadied himself, “Did you go to northern Myanmar to be a spy? Why do you have so many injuries on your body?”

Huang Shaohang chuckled lightly, “Brother Yu, you’re still so amusing to talk to. I always loved listening to you talk back in the day.”

Yu He threaded the needle and started to suture the wound on Huang Shaohang’s back as if he was mending a pocket, “This will have to do for now, but you must go to the hospital.”

Huang Shaohang lay prone on the armrest of the sofa, his slender back forming a beautiful curve. Every time the suture needle pierced through, his muscles would involuntarily spasm. His fingertips pressed fiercely against the armrest, with so much force that they turned white, trembling slightly.

He told Yu He, “During the summer vacation of my second year in high school, my dad died, and my mom remarried and took me to northern Myanmar.”

Yu He was very surprised, "How come Uncle Huang..."

He attended a charity dinner in Mingdu in early spring. At that time, Huang Shaohang's father was still fine. How could he be gone by the summer vacation?

Isn’t this too sudden?

Huang Shaohang spoke calmly, “It was a car accident.”

Yu He wiped away the blood oozing from the wound, "Have you been in northern Myanmar ever since?"

Huang Shaohang nodded, “Yes, I now help my stepfather manage some business matters. Occasionally, I encounter competitors who play dirty; I've gotten used to it.”

Yu He didn’t ask what kind of business it was.

A Kun is an enforcer for a high-interest loan company. Since Huang Shaohang is friends with A Kun, and since his competitors play so dirty, it’s safe to assume that his business is not exactly respectable.

In high school, Huang Shaohang was a sunny and cheerful chubby boy. His father was the richest man in Mingdu. As he had only one son, he doted on Huang Shaohang immensely. Huang Shaohang was arrogant at home, but outside, he was a pushover. After transferring schools, he didn’t even speak up when he was bullied by senior students.

Yu He really hated bullies and would fight them whenever he saw one. He happened to come across Huang Shaohang being bullied, and he saved him. At that time, Huang Shaohang, with tears in his eyes, said he would follow Brother Yu from then on.

Who would have thought that in just a few years, Huang Shaohang had changed so much?

Not only had he shot up in height, but his chubby baby face had also sunk in to form deep, contoured features, making him look undernourished, and his body was covered in old wounds.

What on earth had he gone through to be standing there with a long, narrow knife wound on his back, casually saying he was used to it?

Although Yu He and Huang Shaohang hadn’t seen each other for five or six years, the memories from long ago came flooding back upon their sudden reunion.

Yu He tightened the bandage and sighed, “I never thought I would run into you here. I didn’t recognize you at first glance.”

Without any anesthesia, Huang Shaohang was sewn up with many stitches, and he lay on the sofa, drained and covered in cold sweat.

Huang Shaohang touched the bandage on his back with one hand and turned to smile at Yu He, “I recognized Brother Yu at first glance. You really can do everything.”

Yu He frowned, “You should still go to the hospital to have your wound checked. If it gets infected and you get a fever, it could be very dangerous.”

Huang Shaohang’s lips were stained with blood from biting himself. He wiped away the blood with his thumb, “Brother Yu, you’ve been in contact with me. They will definitely target you. My people will be here soon. You should come with me. I will arrange for someone to protect you.”

“No need. I’ll go back as soon as your people arrive,” Yu He said, pulling out his phone from his pocket, “I need to call my boyfriend first.”

Hearing Yu He mention his boyfriend, a momentary shadow dimmed the brightness in Huang Shaohang’s eyes.

Yu He did not notice.