Chapter 34: Folding a Rabbit as a Token of Gratitude

Chapter 34: Folding a Rabbit as a Token of Gratitude

"...Brother Tong?"

Ye Man struggled to pull himself together and listened carefully.

The rain was drumming down loudly.

Bang, bang—

The sound was like countless hands pounding against a thin sheet of metal, producing a dull and eerie noise, as if something was about to burst in.

The room was completely dark, and with no one to divert his attention, the sounds became exceptionally sharp. The rain outside seemed as loud as the pounding of his own heart, making him feel queasy.

Maybe he should go find someone to help him.

The thought crossed Ye Man's sluggish mind.

Even sitting in a store doorway would be better than staying here, feeling like he was trapped in a freezer with no way out.

But he was afraid of troubling others.

He wasn’t entirely sure where he was; he could be on a boat or in a small rented room.

With no one to distract him, even a little fear could quickly spiral out of control in the dark and quiet environment.

Ye Man felt himself getting colder, his body temperature dropping.

Not hearing a reply from the system, it was clear that Brother Tong didn’t want to talk to him.

Maybe Brother Tong was angry because he’d messed up the task again.

Ye Man fell silent.

He pressed his lips together until they turned pale. After a moment, he gathered the courage to ask again, "Brother Tong, can you talk to me?"

This time, his voice was softer, more like a gentle plea.

But still, there was no response.

It seemed Brother Tong was really upset.

Ye Man started to move.

He pulled the thick, heavy quilt that the big shot had draped over him and fumbled around clumsily in the pitch-black room.

He didn’t realize the system was practically shouting itself hoarse.

It even tried using a loudspeaker.

But this only made Ye Man dizzier, to the point of ringing in his ears, making it even harder to hear the system’s voice, to no avail.

The system was so anxious it was pulling its hair out, watching Ye Man wander around the room, finally finding his way to the wardrobe, opening it, and crawling inside, with movements so practiced it seemed he had done it thousands of times.

This move was unexpected for the system. It had thought Ye Man might cry, complain, or perhaps curse a couple of times, but it never expected Ye Man to be quite calm.

He muttered unhappily, but he didn’t cry or complain, instead thinking of a solution on his own.

If it asked Ye Man, Ye Man would probably tell it that crying is meaningless when there's no one around, so he generally doesn’t cry when there’s no audience. With no spectators, what’s there to perform?

——Unless he couldn't help it.

Once Ye Man had skillfully nestled into the closet, the system went completely silent.

It remembered Ye Man's joking words from earlier, saying he was scared to be alone and asked it to stay and keep him company; it recalled Ye Man always pestering it at night to read stories until he fell asleep.

Back then, it thought Ye Man was teasing it, just playing with words.

It was actually true.

A sharp snap echoed.

"Ye Man, wait, I'll read you a story right now..." The system hurriedly opened the 'Ye Man's Special Bedtime Story Collection' folder.

……

A crew member in a raincoat entered through the door.

"Lightning strike, no damage, just a power outage from circuit damage. The backup generator is starting, and the crew is rushing to fix the circuit, expected to be done by dawn," he reported to Secretary Chen, wiping the rain off his face. "Bad luck, we hit the edge of a cyclone."

Secretary Chen nodded. "I'll report to Mr. Xu. Thanks for your hard work. The captain will give everyone a red envelope later; you've been busy all night."

"No worries, no worries!" the other party said cheerfully.

Xu Huaiting received the message, glanced at it casually, and walked back with the medicine.

When he returned, the room was pitch dark.

The moment he stepped in, he knew something was off.

Despite the outage, a faint light through the curtains showed the bed was empty.

The room was completely empty.

Even the most luxurious room on the ship was small, and the absence of a person was obvious.

He instantly recalled Ye Man's plan to drug Meng Yao, his eyes darkening.

Right after assessing the situation, Secretary Chen got a call from his boss.

"Check the surveillance at my door, and send someone to Meng Yao's room, to him..."

Thud. A muffled sound echoed nearby.

Followed by a faint moan.

Secretary Chen: "To him?"

Xu Huaiting: "Never mind, I found him."

Found him? Found what?

Secretary Chen stared at the phone, puzzled.

……

Xu Huaiting opened the closet door.

Just as the backup generator kicked in, the lights in the room flickered back on.

Taking in the scene before him, Xu Huaiting instinctively held his breath.

The boy was curled up in a corner of the wardrobe, his head pressed against the cabinet wall, his body cocooned in a blanket, with soft bangs falling over his face, casting a faint shadow.

He slept soundlessly, his breathing so shallow it was almost imperceptible.

Though he was completely buried under the blanket, he still trembled faintly, as if chilled to the bone. His skin had lost its color, turning pale to the point of transparency, as if the blue veins beneath could be seen.

Xu Huaiting set the medicine aside and gently lifted him out of the wardrobe.

Ye Man felt as light as a feather, barely any weight in his arms.

Xu Huaiting effortlessly hooked his legs and held his shoulders, bent to grab the medicine, then cradled him in his arms and sat by the bed.

Oddly, the boy, who had seemed hesitant and tried to retreat into the wardrobe when Xu Huaiting reached out, instinctively snuggled into his arms once he was lifted.

Xu Huaiting paused, gently adjusted his posture to find the most comfortable angle, and only then did the furrowed brow of the boy in his arms ease.

His mouth stayed silent, but his eyebrows spoke volumes.

With the sound of rain outside, Ye Man's dream was drenched in it too.

He dreamed he was an abandoned cat, huddled in a box, the rain slowly soaking through the cardboard, drenching his fur and leaving him shivering.

Just as he feared he might freeze to death, the air around him inexplicably warmed, a comforting heat wrapping around him.

He leaned into it, nuzzling his face against the warmth, and let out a contented sigh.

But soon, it wasn’t enough.

Xu Huaiting glanced down at the boy in his arms, who had nestled his head against his chest, only to see him grow restless again, tugging at his clothes and whining if stopped, as if he’d been wronged.

Xu Huaiting had to gently hold his hands, soothing him: "Let’s put the medicine on first, then I’ll take it off for you."

After some coaxing, it was hard to tell if he was truly convinced or just too worn out to resist, but he finally settled.

Xu Huaiting applied the medicine to his knees, keeping him still for a moment so the ointment wouldn’t smear.

When it seemed enough, he released the hands he’d been holding.

As soon as he let go, the boy in his arms clung to him like a vine.

He squirmed, let out a couple of whimpers, and mumbled, "This is uncomfortable."

Xu Huaiting’s lips twitched as he brushed the hair from his cheek to behind his ear, murmuring, "Just bear with it."

Who’s to blame for this?

Now he was sleeping soundly.

Ye Man had been a handful all night, seasick and miserable, now asking for water, now sobbing that he felt like throwing up.

But he couldn’t be left alone; the moment someone stepped away, he’d crawl right back into the wardrobe.

Xu Huaiting had no choice but to let him cling to him like a limpet.

Finally, he got the guy to calm down and stay put in bed. It was already morning.

Xu Huaiting propped his head up, occasionally patting the person through the blanket. After watching for a while, he slowly lowered his head.

Taking a little something in return.

...

Ye Man slept like a baby.

When he woke up, it was already bright outside, and the rain had stopped.

He crawled out from under the covers, still groggy and a little lost.

The system chimed in softly, "Host, you slept in Xu Huaiting's room last night."

Bits and pieces of the night started coming back to him.

The system continued, "You dozed off after tucking yourself into the cabinet, and he carried you out. Then you both ended up sleeping like that all night, and you only let go of him in the morning."

"You were clinging to him like a koala," the system added with a hint of resentment.

Ye Man: "Oh no..."

After a while, he asked skeptically, "...Did I really hold on that tight?"

"Really."

"I didn’t know..." Ye Man said dryly, "This is a first for me."

Ye Man didn’t know he would act like that.

Back then, if I hid in a cabinet, no one would even bother to fish me out!

Ye Man was so embarrassed he couldn’t stop squirming on the bed, like he was sitting on hot coals.

He didn’t even want to think about last night.

The mission was a bust, and he’d made a mess of things for the big shot. Would the big shot be mad at him?

He buried his head in his hands and ducked back under the covers to hide.

Once he was back under, he tried to pep-talk the system: "Brother Tong, don’t sweat it, we’ve got another night on the ship, right? We can try again when we return. It’s not like we have to nail it on the first try, right? We’ve got plenty of shots to get it right."

The system: "You... maybe just let it go."

Ye Man, with teary eyes: "Brother Tong, don’t write me off yet, I can still pull this off!"

The system: "..."

Maybe it’s better to just let him sink!

The shower stopped, and Xu Huaiting stepped out, still dripping and cool from the water, only to see a ball of blanket on the bed.

He stood by the bed for a while, then calmly called out, "Ye Man."

After counting a few numbers in his head, the person in the blanket reluctantly emerged.

He hung his head like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Xu Huaiting: "Don’t repeat what happened last night."

Ye Man bit his lip: "I swear I won’t drug Meng Yao again."

Xu Huaiting looked at him: "And don’t do it to anyone else either."

"...Oh." Ye Man was reluctant but didn’t dare push his luck.

Xu Huaiting silently exhaled, "Get ready and grab a bite to eat. We’ll be docking in a couple of hours. Aren’t you excited for the fireworks tonight?"

Ye Man was really looking forward to the fireworks.

When he boarded the ship, he heard people talking about it and had been very excited ever since.

Because the fireworks are so colorful.

It was one of the few joys he had left.

The big shot didn’t blame him for last night and, according to the system, even took care of him all night.

He’s actually a really good guy.

Xu Huaiting was about to grab some clothes for him when he suddenly felt the corner of his clothes being tugged.

The guy on the bed tugged at him, looking a little embarrassed: "Hold on, wait for me."

Ye Man scooted to the edge of the bed, found a sticky note pad on the nightstand, and tore off a piece.

In front of the big shot, his hands fumbled a bit.

His poor eyesight wasn’t the issue; he had folded it many times and could do it with his eyes closed.

But this time, for some reason, he messed up a few times and nearly panicked.

In the end, he successfully folded a rabbit.

He wasn’t sure if it turned out okay.

Ye Man knelt on the bed, cradling the freshly folded paper rabbit, and offered it forward, "Here... for you."

"A thank-you gift."

"Don’t look down on it. It’s not fancy, but it’s pretty cool." Every time someone received it, they would smile happily.

Ye Man couldn’t think of anything to give the big shot, considering the other’s wealth, there was nothing he needed from him.

So he fell back on his old trick.

He said eagerly, "I hope it makes you happy..."

He spoke seriously, his tone earnest, even though his ears uncontrollably turned red, he still held up his rabbit.

Xu Huaiting hesitated for a moment, his heart pounding in his chest.