Chapter 106

Chapter 106

Wu Yin wasn't surprised by Grape's response. In fact, he wouldn't have been surprised regardless of her answer. Whether she went along with it or denied it as firmly as she did now, Wu Yin could understand.

What Wu Yin didn't expect was Hui Lan's reaction upon hearing this. The werewolf seemed to have anticipated the man's real identity lying on the bed and showed no excessive surprise, merely closing his eyes tightly.

Soon, unmistakable anger appeared on his face. Hui Lan, with a suppressed voice, asked in a harsher tone than ever before:

"Grape, why are you always like this? Time and again, haven't the past lessons been enough? You promised me you'd change!"

Wu Yin didn't understand; he turned his head to look at Jie Linyuan, who also appeared puzzled.

"It's not like that, Hui Lan, this time is different," Grape hurriedly defended herself, "This time it's truly different. We genuinely love each other. He treats me well, and I love him deeply."

"What you have isn't love; it's your inferiority complex, your aversion to your own beastly genes, and your limitless appeasement towards ordinary people," Hui Lan said angrily, his nostrils flaring and his chest heaving, "Back when we were students, an ordinary man you had never met before confessed to you, and you accepted without hesitation, obeying him in everything, thinking yourself lucky that someone could like you despite your obvious beast form, degrading yourself to a state neither human nor ghost. I thought I had woken you up with my scolding, but what about now? You're still the same, belittling yourself, ready to respond to any ordinary person who gives you the slightest attention..."

"Hui Lan!" Grape interrupted him sharply, "I told you, Tan Mao is not like those ordinary people who wanted to use me. He truly loves me. We've supported each other all the way to today since the apocalypse. If it weren't for him, I would've died in a zombie horde long ago."

Hui Lan coldly rebutted, "You've said the same thing before, 'He really likes me, he just doesn't know how to express it properly,' 'He didn't mean to hurt me.'"

"Tan Mao is truly a good person," Grape turned her face away, "If you had any interaction with him, you would understand. I've never met a man as outstanding and sincere as him."

"Why do you always trust a stranger but refuse to believe me!" Hui Lan's emotions almost collapsed, painfully grabbing the tops of his ears, "We were isolated and ostracized as children because of our beast forms, leading to severe flaws in your character, a lack of love, self-sacrifice, and boundless adoration for ordinary people. Being with ordinary people will always disadvantage you, I've told you this, and you said you remembered. I never forced you to be with me, but you clearly promised me, you would never be with a human... Grape, why break your word?"

"Emotions are uncontrollable. I did reject him at first, but he moved me with his actions... Hui Lan, please trust my judgment this time?" Even as Hui Lan grew more agitated, raising his voice, Grape maintained a steady demeanor, speaking softly and slowly, earnestly defending herself and Tan Mao, "Now that you're here, once Tan Mao's illness turns from critical to stable, you can see how we interact. Through your eyes, recognize what kind of person he really is."

"...," Hui Lan's breath hitched, his eyes fixated on Grape, not immediately countering her argument. Seeing her logic resonate, Grape hurriedly tried to persuade her longtime friend to help find the medicine again. Just then, the black-haired man beside her, wearing sunglasses, suddenly spoke with a smile, "Good person."

He articulated each word as if savoring the term, imbuing it with profound significance.

Wu Yin's smile deepened, "A good person, who loves you very much? Then how about this..."

Jie Lin Yuan knew it was time to cover his mouth; otherwise, Wu Yin was bound to propose something shockingly outrageous. But truth be told, he was also curious about what other "mad" ideas Wu Yin, whose thoughts often diverged from the norm, could have. So, he pretended to be puzzled and remained silent.

"Let's wake him up now and ask the husband lying in bed, who deeply loves you. Now that he has lost a leg and his ability to provide, would he prefer his wife to continue living a miserable life with him, begging for his treatment, or would he let her go, to pursue a better and easier path? If he truly is the good person you claim, who loves you to the bone, he would rather suffer himself to ensure you have a better life, right?"

The suggestion was so blatantly manipulative that even Hui Lan was left speechless, turning to look at Wu Yin with wide eyes. Even in his fury, he dared not make such an absolute statement.

Grape stared at the dark-haired man in astonishment, her fox ears pressed back and her tail instinctively tucked between her legs. This man made her feel extremely uncomfortable, his words too radical, yet they were hard to refute.

Seeing Grape with her eyes reddened, embarrassed and silent, Hui Lan felt a pang of guilt, not wanting to push her so hard. However, he understood that Wu Yin's harsh words were meant to help him, and to oppose him would only disappoint Wu Yin.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, Hui Lan could only seek help from Jie Lin Yuan, naively turning to this semi-mechanical being, who was only slightly less cunning than Wu Yin.

Jie Lin Yuan was cunning, his schemes more intricate than Wu Yin's. Seizing the opportunity, he stepped forward to win people over, chastising Wu Yin with a righteous tone, “Enough, let's dial it down. I know you mean no harm, but your demands are too much, especially since Mr. Tan is still battling a fever. At the very least, let's wait for him to recover before making any plans.”

Wu Yin, amused by Jie Lin Yuan's intervention, decided to back off, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes, leaving the stage to the adept Jie Lin Yuan.

Soon, Jie Lin Yuan won Grape's grateful gaze in just a few words, pulling Hui Lan aside and promising to think of a way to help with the medicine, even assuring her that they would send some alcohol as a start.

Grape was profusely thankful, escorting them to the door and even attempting to see them out to the downstairs.

Unseen by her, as she stood thanking them repeatedly at the door, behind the curtain, the man on the bed weakly opened his eyes. His cheeks flushed from the fever, Tan Mao gazed deeply at Grape's fading silhouette, only to close his eyes again from exhaustion a few seconds later.

……

On the way back to "Dragon Mansion," Hui Lan was visibly distressed, repeatedly starting and stopping in his conversation with Wu Yin until Wu Yin, impatient, urged him to speak his mind. Hui Lan then said, “Wu Yin, do you dislike Grape? Please, don't dislike her because of me. She's a really good girl who had a tough time with a jerk in the past and even considered suicide over him. I care about her deeply and want to protect her. When I said we've been in love since childhood, I was beautifying my own story... In reality, I took advantage of her vulnerability during her breakup to take care of her, which led her to agree that if she was still single after graduation, she would marry me...”

“I don't dislike her,” said Wu Yin. “I actually admire her. She's a strong, principled woman, and not bad looking either. You have good taste.”

Hui Lan was shocked: “Then why were you... so harsh to her?”

“Harsh?” Wu Yin asked in surprise.

Hui Lan remained silent.

“You haven't seen anything yet,” Jie Lin Yuan chimed in, sharing his experience, “You should have seen how he treated me back in the day, with threats and deceit, playing mind games, and even using my weaknesses to force me into submission.”

“Really? That wild?”

Wu Yin glanced at Jie Lin Yuan disdainfully, then turned to Hui Lan, “What's your plan moving forward?”

“I...”

“I can offer you two suggestions, depending on how kind-hearted you are,” Wu Yin raised two fingers, “First, do nothing. Sit in your room and wait, claiming you're powerless and don't know any Mr. Dragon. Given the man's bleeding, plus the fever and the risk of infection, he'll be dead in three days. Then you can repeat your tactic, taking advantage while she's vulnerable.”

"Second, threaten Grape. Tell her you'll only provide medicine and ensure no one else helps if she leaves her Tan-whatever and marries you. Don't forget to keep some leverage over her to prevent any future betrayal after enduring humiliation."

Hui Lan: "..." Which one is the kind option? They're both twisted and terrifying!

Initially lost in thought, Hui Lan was startled by Wu Yin's words, pushing aside all sorrow and depression. Now, he just wanted to find a rope to tie up this sociopath before he scared anyone else.

"Let me think it over..." Hui Lan said, troubled.

……

Wu Yin, having left early and returned to Dragon Mansion by nine in the morning, sat leisurely on the living room sofa, sipping warm water, planning to find a couple of books to pass the time. To his surprise, all his novels had mysteriously vanished, leaving only poetry, essays, travel notes, and English dictionaries.

Immediately suspecting the culprit, Wu Yin searched the mansion, eventually finding Jie Lin Yuan at the well, sitting on a stool, head bowed, washing clothes with an old-fashioned washboard and soap nuts.

In that moment, his anger dissipated, and for a brief second, Wu Yin even felt an unusual sense of "shame" and "pity."

In the romance novels he had read, themes often revolved around housewives' thankless toil being undervalued. Wu Yin didn't quite understand but realized that household chores like laundry and cooking should be shared by both partners, even though he and Jie Lin Yuan weren't exactly a couple yet. Since he was considering a relationship, he couldn't keep dumping all the menial tasks on Jie Lin Yuan as he used to.

Thinking this, Wu Yin quietly approached Jie Lin Yuan from behind.

He saw Jie Lin Yuan slightly bowing his head, holding a piece of black fabric, staring blankly at it.

Wu Yin took a closer look...

Wasn't that his underwear?