Chapter 47: No Need for the Watch

Chapter 47: No Need for the Watch

As soon as this thought crossed his mind, Xu Huaiting's gaze broke into countless fragments before the other person's eyes could.

He did his best to hold back, but his breath still shook uncontrollably.

Where the fingers brushed against him, it brought a slight pain, not sharp, but lingering, sinking deeper slowly.

He gazed at him intently, observing Ye Man's focused expression as he touched him, without blinking once.

He took in his reddened eyes, his blood-tinted lips, etching all of this deeply in his memory.

Xu Huaiting's hands shook as he unbuttoned his coat.

Ye Man's watch had slipped off on the mountain trail, swept away by the downpour, nudged by passersby, maybe even helped along by wildlife, and eventually tumbled into a deeper gully. Xu Huaiting was agile and strong, so even if the watch had fallen in a difficult spot, fetching it wasn't much of a hassle for him.

After a quick look, he picked a gentle incline to slide down, then scaled back up by gripping tree roots. The rain had turned the ground soft and slick, and after a few tries, he made it up, snapping a few roots along the way. At last, he found a solid one that let him climb back up. Because of this, and the time he spent searching in the dark, he was delayed and came back later than planned.

Climbing up and down, he got covered in mud. His coat, shoes, and pants were a total mess, looking so ragged that anyone who saw him would be stunned.

He didn't mind it much himself, his hair soaked by the rain, he just casually brushed it back on the way.

Now he really regretted it.

Ye Man, after touching his face, reached out to touch his hair.

This hairstyle wasn't handsome at all, and he didn't want his first impression to be such a disheveled one.

"Xiao Man."

Ye Man heard the person in front of him call out hoarsely, and the next second, he was enveloped in a warm embrace.

Xu Huaiting opened his coat and wrapped him inside.

Although the outside was wet and dirty, the inside was still warm and clean.

Ye Man's rain-soaked body pressed tightly against his chest, his stiff and shivering body slowly softening in his arms. Xu Huaiting tightened the coat, encircling him through the outer layer.

The sound of wind and rain suddenly disappeared.

Ye Man was isolated in a small space, with only the sound of a heartbeat in his ears.

Only then did he seem to relax from that tense state, his fingers on Xu Huaiting's chest tightening, gripping his clothes tightly.

Ye Man's mind couldn't think too much, unable to judge if this was crossing a line, nor could he think about what the other person's actions meant, he only knew to bury himself in his embrace.

After a moment, suppressed sobs came from Xu Huaiting's chest.

He held him, patting his back gently: "Didn't I get your watch back? Why are you still crying?"

He asked this, but Ye Man couldn't answer.

So the head buried in his chest just shook randomly, not knowing what to express. Xu Huaiting wasn't really asking for an answer, just softly comforting.

The person in his arms was fine if he didn't move, but once he moved, it made his heart itch.

With a thought, he whispered: "If you keep crying, I'll—"

A series of chaotic footsteps, accompanied by shouting voices from the direction of the mountain, interrupted his words.

"Hurry, hurry! We've got him up!"

A few backpackers worked together to carry the guy who fell into the ditch down the mountain. An ambulance showed up just in time, and they rushed to get him onto the stretcher and send him to the hospital.

As he was being placed on the stretcher, the man wailed in pain, grabbing at someone and saying, "Thank you all for saving my life, and thanks to the guy who helped earlier too. Oh, it hurts so much!"

With the ambulance taking him away, everyone finally relaxed.

One of the hikers turned around and spotted someone familiar standing at the entrance of the supermarket.

"Hey, thanks for helping out earlier. Without you, Lao Liu and I would’ve been pulled down. Did a branch scratch your neck? Are you okay?"

As he got closer, the light from the supermarket revealed the man's light hair, and when he turned his head, his features were sharp and defined, with deep-set features.

Suddenly, it clicked. The hiker slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Wait, aren’t you Xu something Ting, that mixed-race guy?"

"Go find your friend, quick! He was just here earlier! You wouldn't believe it, but when we came down, we ran into this young guy who couldn’t reach you. He was freaking out more than I did when I lost my wife—"

The guy in Xu Huaiting’s arms moved, emerging from his chest and peeking over his shoulder.

"Me?"

The hiker cut himself off.

He rubbed his eyes vigorously, scratching his head awkwardly. "Sorry, my mistake."

He took a couple of steps away, then turned back and said to Xu Huaiting, "Keep it brief, alright? Save the rest for later. And take care of that wound, don’t let it get infected."

Ye Man finally caught on, his face flushing. "No, it’s not like that—"

Xu Huaiting pressed Ye Man back against his chest and calmly replied, "Thanks for the reminder, we know."

The hiker, unfazed, just waved, hoisted his backpack, and walked away.

...

With the matter settled, the helpful hikers went about their business—some heading into the supermarket to restock supplies, others driving home, each dispersing to attend to their own affairs.

The supermarket staff also did their best to assist the group who’d been through a lot.

Ye Man and Xu Huaiting sat on the bench near the entrance, a first-aid kit open on the table.

"Here, have something hot to drink," said the cashier girl as she brought out two cups of hot tea. Xu Huaiting took them and thanked her.

Ye Man was holding a cotton swab dipped in antiseptic, leaning in close to Xu Huaiting, who guided his hand to the scratch on his neck.

Before even touching the wound, Ye Man's fingers flinched as if afraid, and Xu Huaiting instinctively tightened his grip.

Seeing Ye Man purse his lips and look at him helplessly, Xu Huaiting seemed to read his thoughts and reassured him, "It's just a scratch, not serious, and it doesn't hurt."

The boy's eyelashes fluttered rapidly.

The tension in his grip gradually eased, and his fingers finally touched the skin on Xu Huaiting's neck with the lightest of touches.

Ye Man carefully felt around the area, and when he touched the edge of the wound, he recoiled as if burned, biting his lip before continuing to search, his expression focused and serious as he leaned in to apply the medicine.

The sight made Xu Huaiting want to laugh.

Was all that fuss really needed for such a small scratch?

Even though he got a scrape, he was used to getting banged up, having suffered much worse injuries before, so he didn’t think much of it.

But looking at Ye Man’s expression, he suddenly didn’t want to say these words, letting him fumble through tending to the wound with tears welling up in his eyes.

Fingers fluttered lightly around his neck. It didn’t hurt, just tickled a little.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.

Xu Huaiting suddenly grabbed his hand, "That’s good, I’ll take it from here."

When it came to himself, he just slapped on some medicine real quick. If he dawdled, the cut might heal on its own.

Turning his head, he noticed the split at the corner of Ye Man’s lip and couldn’t help but reach out to touch it.

Ye Man was holding the watch he had finally found, lost in thought, and hissed in a sharp breath at the touch.

He tried to pull away, but Xu Huaiting caught his chin.

"Don’t move, tilt your head back, let’s get some medicine on it. Cuts on your lip take forever to heal, and if it hurts, you’ll skip meals for days." The cotton swab dabbed gently at the raw corner of his mouth. He knew Ye Man would just skip meals if his mouth hurt.

Ye Man tightened his grip, lowered his eyelids, didn’t dodge, and cooperated with Xu Huaiting’s actions, letting him apply the medicine.

After applying the medicine, he went quiet again.

Compared to his cheerful demeanor when he arrived, he was clearly down in the dumps.

Ye Man seemed lively, but those very sincere words were never straightforwardly spoken to others.

He cried often—beautifully, vulnerably, movingly.

But when he was truly sad, he refused to cry out loud.

He just held back the tears, silent, staring at people without a sound.

Xu Huaiting glanced at him from the corner of his eye: "The band’s busted, but the watch is fine, just go change the strap." He’d brought him out in good spirits and didn’t want him going home all heartbroken, wondering if he was upset about the broken watch.

Ye Man held the watch he valued, head down, silent, lost in thought.

Xu Huaiting smirked to himself, unfazed by the silence. After all, he had plenty of patience to slowly wait him out.

If not today, not tomorrow, eventually, he’d spill everything he was holding back.

Stretching, he was about to say he would drive him home.

"I don’t care about the watch anymore."

Xu Huaiting paused, slowly turning his head to look at the person sitting on the stool with his head down.

Ye Man lifted his head, looking in his direction, repeating earnestly, "I don’t care about the watch anymore."

"Next time..." He gripped the watch tighter and tighter, "Next time, don’t go."

"I..."

He struggled, not knowing how to say it, actually forcing himself into a sobbing tone.

"Just don’t get hurt, okay?"