Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Hu Chengyu quickened his pace towards Shen Yan, yet the unease in his heart grew stronger.

He wished he could hold Shen Yan tightly in his arms to ease his restlessness.

"Ah!"

Bai Yu suddenly let out a scream. Shen Yan instinctively looked back, only to see Bai Yu falling backwards.

In an instant, Shen Yan reached out to pull her up.

Bai Yu, being petite, was easily pulled over even by Shen Yan, who wasn’t in the best of health.

Unbeknownst to Shen Yan, this was all part of Bai Yu’s scheme.

Bai Yu took the opportunity to entangle Shen Yan, causing him to lunge forward with force.

Bai Yu could barely contain her triumphant smile.

But what about Hu Chengyu?

Bai Yu had already prepared her excuse. It would be Shen Yan who tried to save her, but the heavy rain and slippery mud caused the accident.

Why should she care if Shen Yan fell?

But she hadn’t anticipated that, at the crucial moment, Hu Chengyu would actually catch Shen Yan.

However, at this point, most of their bodies were hanging in mid-air, relying solely on Hu Chengyu holding onto a rock.

Hu Chengyu glanced at Bai Yu.

That single glance was enough to make Bai Yu stagger back, stepping into a puddle and falling down.

Bai Yu stumbled to her feet, her mind reeling.

Unfortunately, accidents often happen in the blink of an eye. Just as she regained her balance, the rock Hu Chengyu was holding onto gave way in the mud.

With no support, both of them fell down together.

Everything happened so fast that none of them had time to react or speak.

Bai Yu froze, her eyes wide with terror, her heart constricted as if squeezed by an invisible hand, sending a sharp pain through her chest.

But after the panic, what surged in her heart was wild joy.

It was all an accident.

Yes! It was an accident.

Bai Yu’s face was filled with ruthless determination.

Meanwhile, after the others gathered, they immediately sensed something was wrong when they realized three people were missing.

Even though He Qing had warned Zhen’er to keep her distance from Bai Yu before they left, with the heavy rain and Bai Yu missing, they had no choice but to call her.

"The number you’re calling is out of service..."

Zhen’er’s face fell. "Why would she turn off her phone now?"

The acting team leader had exchanged contact info with Shen Yan before they left, but when he called, Shen Yan’s phone was off, just like Bai Yu’s.

As for Hu Chengyu, with his don't-come-near-me demeanor, no one present had his contact information.

The acting team leader had a good relationship with Fang Jin, and in a situation like this, he thought of contacting Fang Jin.

But before he could even dial the number, someone noticed a figure appearing in the rain-covered distance.

Zhen'er immediately recognized Bai Yu.

Ignoring the rain, she rushed over, and the others quickly followed.

Zhen'er: “Ah Yu? What’s wrong?”

Bai Yu’s steps were unsteady, and she looked like she was in rough shape.

The others, who also knew Bai Yu, asked worriedly.

“I, I’m fine.”

Although the acting leader felt a sense of relief seeing Bai Yu, he was also tense. He quickly asked, “Did you see Junior Brother Shen and his friend?”

Bai Yu had initially enjoyed the attention, but upon hearing 'Junior Brother Shen,' it felt particularly jarring.

However, she hid her emotions well.

“I saw them, they were at, at…” Before Bai Yu could finish her sentence, she passed out.

The group was taken aback but quickly got her into the car.

The remaining guys were discussing, and one of them suggested, “Do you think Shen Yan and the others might have found a place to take shelter from the rain?”

“I doubt it. Look at how messy Bai Yu is. From what she implied, they must have encountered something. In this situation, the fact that the three of them didn’t come back together probably means something happened.”

“Junior Brother Jia, your reasoning doesn’t quite add up. If they were in danger, Bai Yu would have asked us to help them right away.”

The group agreed that this made sense.

*

Meanwhile, Shen Yan slowly regained consciousness, feeling dazed for a moment.

It took him a few seconds to recall what had happened.

He immediately sat up and shouted, “Hu Chengyu!”

Hu Chengyu, who was wringing out his clothes, gave him a puzzled look.

Shen Yan was relieved to see that Hu Chengyu was unharmed.

Hu Chengyu asked, “Is there any place where you feel uncomfortable?”

The spot wasn’t high, but after they fell, it was a steep slope, and they rolled for a bit.

Prompted by Hu Chengyu, Shen Yan realized that many parts of his body were stinging from the fall, probably scratched by rocks and branches.

He moved a little, and apart from the stinging pain from the scratches, he seemed okay.

He shook his head.

“Are you okay?”

He tried to get up to take a closer look at Hu Chengyu, but let out a yelp as soon as he stood up.

Hu Chengyu wanted to check on him but forgot about the cut on his leg. As he stood up, he stumbled, but fortunately, he managed to steady himself against the rock wall and avoid falling.

Otherwise, that would truly have been adding insult to injury.

This wasn’t a cave. It’s not like caves are easy to come by in modern times, especially not in a place like this.

It was just a small indentation in the rock face.

The rain was pouring outside, and this small spot could only barely shelter them from the rain.

Even without the wind, the rain still seeped through.

Shen Yan: “My waist!”

Hu Chengyu walked over to him and placed his hand on Shen Yan’s lower back. “When you passed out, you hit your lower back on a rock, but it shouldn’t have damaged any bones.”

He lifted the hem of Shen Yan’s shirt to check, although he had already inspected it before Shen Yan woke up.

The first time, all he could think about was making sure Shen Yan wasn’t seriously hurt.

Now that Shen Yan was awake and his voice sounded steady, he felt relieved.

But now, his eyes were drawn to Shen Yan’s pale, slender waist, especially the bruises that had started to show due to the impact.

Hu Chengyu’s eyes felt hot.

In this situation, how could he still be thinking of these things?

Isn’t this exactly the kind of situation where such thoughts would naturally arise?

Hu Chengyu, you’ve always been cold-hearted. You’re not some gentleman.

What’s wrong with having desires for someone you care about?

Seeing the bruises on Shen Yan’s waist, feeling more excited and wanting to ‘bully’ him?

This was indeed a good opportunity.

Even if Shen Yan wanted to refuse or cry out, no one would hear him.

For a moment, Hu Chengyu felt his heartbeat thundering in his ears, almost painful.

His blood seemed to race through his veins, restless and wild.

“Hu Chengyu.”

His voice pulled Hu Chengyu back from the haze of his thoughts.

“Are you sick? Your body feels so hot,” Shen Yan asked, his voice filled with concern.

Hu Chengyu quickly let go of Shen Yan’s shirt, cutting off his own view and hiding the desire in his eyes.

“Yes, I’m sick,” he replied, his voice low.

Shen Yan’s worry deepened. “Don’t tell me you’re delirious from the fever.”

Hu Chengyu's body was really hot.

"Is your phone still working?" Shen Yan asked.

Although he asked, he didn’t hold much hope in his heart.

If it were still working, you would have already called for help.

Moreover, when the rain first started, he had been calling Hu Chengyu, but it was always switched off.

Eventually, his phone short-circuited from all the calls...

Hu Chengyu didn’t answer, just staring at him with an intense gaze.

Shen Yan felt uneasy under his gaze and could even feel his heartbeat quickening.

"W-why are you looking at me like that?"

No one knew that when Hu Chengyu saw Shen Yan fall, his heart felt like it had stopped.

He knew he liked Shen Yan.

He hadn’t told Shen Yan, not only because he feared Shen Yan would avoid him, but also for another reason he had never spoken of.

That reason was his mother, Zhu Yao.

Sometimes he thought Shen Yan reminded him of Zhu Yao—pure and clear, like a flawless crystal.

He had helplessly watched as Hu Tianhong, through deceit and manipulation, slowly tainted the crystal-like purity of Zhu Yao, turning her into something dark and heavy, like the clouds on a stormy day.

When Zhu Yao took her own life, he believed that she hadn’t died—she was just trying to cleanse the crystal of its impurities.

If Shen Yan was like Zhu Yao, then someone like him, sharing the same blood as Hu Tianhong, would only worsen things.

But in that moment of panic, fearing he had lost Shen Yan, he set aside all his doubts.

Shen Yan was taken aback; he had never seen Hu Chengyu this intense before.

Instinctively, he tried to pull away.

Hu Chengyu noticed his movement and reached out to hold the back of his neck.

His breath also drew closer.

When Shen Yan realized what Hu Chengyu was about to do, he froze, then panicked, and instinctively tried to pull away...

A myriad of emotions flashed across his face.

"Hu... Hu Chengyu, please calm down."

But Hu Chengyu’s eyes were like those of a predator watching its prey, a dangerous glint in them.

Fear appeared in Shen Yan’s clear eyes.

Hu Chengyu felt as if his heart was being squeezed, a breath caught in his chest.

The hand resting at his side clenched into a fist, as he desperately tried to restrain himself: Shen Yan.

He closed his eyes and silently repeated Shen Yan’s name; it was a method he had discovered to control himself.

Just thinking of Shen Yan's name in his mind, he felt much calmer.

Sure enough, when he opened his eyes again, he was back to his usual aloof demeanor.

Shen Yan let out a quiet breath of relief; he had truly been frightened by Hu Chengyu's appearance just now.

Shen Yan wanted to sit a little farther away from Hu Chengyu.

This time, there was no other meaning behind it; he was genuinely worried that Hu Chengyu might actually hurt him. What could he do? With just one move, his lower back ached unbearably.

Even if his lower back were fine, where could he go in this small, rain-sheltered space?

After that, Hu Chengyu remained silent, leaning against the stone wall with his eyes closed, resting his eyes.

Shen Yan was fiddling with his phone, but no matter what he did, it wouldn't turn on.

What should he do? He didn't know if the people outside were aware that he and Hu Chengyu were missing.

His concerns weren't baseless; he hadn't forgotten how he ended up falling in the first place.

Bai Yu had clearly set him up on purpose.

He hadn't expected Hu Chengyu to get involved.

"I'm sorry."

Hu Chengyu's eyelashes flickered, and the next moment he opened his eyes, he saw Shen Yan looking at him with deep apology.

Hu Chengyu couldn't shake the image of Shen Yan's frightened expression from his mind.

He was the first to shift his gaze away.

Shen Yan: ?!

He double-checked that what he had just said was 'I'm sorry' and not something else nonsensical.

Hu Chengyu's face had already turned cold enough to freeze over.

"Achoo!"

Hu Chengyu: "Cold?"

Although the temperature in Zhu City was high, with the rain outside, Shen Yan was only wearing a T-shirt and had gotten wet, so naturally, he felt the chill.

But in front of Hu Chengyu, he instinctively wanted to say 'not cold.'

Because he was afraid of Hu Chengyu's kindness, knowing it might make him waver again.

Shen Yan suddenly raised his eyes to look at Hu Chengyu, his gaze landing in shock on their intertwined hands.

He instinctively tried to pull back, but Hu Chengyu held on tightly.

Normally, wouldn't he just drape a jacket over him and leave it at that?

His eyes flicked to the ground, where both their jackets lay, torn and discarded.

Shen Yan remembered how Hu Chengyu had been wringing out water when he first woke up.

Lost in thought, Shen Yan didn't notice Hu Chengyu's growing tension.

"Shen Yan, I..." Hu Chengyu paused for a moment, this time his tone was resolute, "I like you."

Shen Yan: "It's okay, just... keeping each other warm, right?"

He froze mid-sentence, his body tensing. "What did you just say?"