Chapter 55: You Like Me?

Chapter 55: You Like Me?

Chen Wan's head was pressed tightly against a broad, warm chest, with a strong heartbeat and a familiar scent. It was like a drowning man gasping for air.

Zhao Shengge's Colt Anaconda was faster and more accurate, directly hitting the killer's wrist.

"Bang!"

With one hand pressing Chen Wan, Zhao Shengge aimed his gun at the deputy, who raised both hands: "Mr. Zhao—"

Zhao Shengge didn't listen and immediately shot his left shoulder.

As Hu Ming fell, the remaining enemies closed in from all sides. Zhao Shengge lowered his head and said, "Hold on tight," then quickly picked up Chen Wan and leapt through the porthole, both of them landing beneath the cushion.

Zhao Shengge's arm held Chen Wan tightly, as if trying to press him into his very bones.

Chen Wan could smell the overpowering smell of blood on Zhao Shengge. He reached out to touch Zhao Shengge's back, and his palm became sticky with blood. A surge of murderous rage rushed to Chen Wan's head, and he tightly gripped his Beretta.

Zhao Shengge held the back of his head firmly, his chest vibrating as he said in a deep voice, "Don't move."

The remaining enemies closed in from both sides, trapping them. Chen Wan leaned out from Zhao Shengge's embrace and raised his gun in the direction behind Zhao Shengge.

"Click."

The Beretta and the Colt Anaconda were almost simultaneously loaded, and the next second, rapid gunfire rang out.

On the endless ocean, smoke and flashes of fire filled the air. The Beretta and the Colt covered each other amidst the chaos, supporting and responding to each other.

The Colt Anaconda took the lead in sniping, while the Beretta stayed close, like the most loyal guard and knight. Their firing points followed an unspoken tacit understanding and a defensive rule that no one else could decipher, maintaining order and flawlessness amidst the chaos.

Until the sea bloomed with a splash of blood.

The tree fell, and the monkeys scattered.

The helicopter made an emergency landing.

Li Shenghui personally led his men down, and a crowd of bodyguards filled the lower deck.

Li Shenghui, a burly man in his forties, with Lin Lian, who also had an injured arm, bowed and apologized to Zhao Shengge like a grandson. Zhao Shengge's expression was extremely cold, and he remained silent.

He kept a tight grip on Chen Wan's shoulder, whether Fang Jian emerged from the secret cabin or Li Shenghui spoke to him, he never let go.

Zhao Shengge, covered in blood, with red stains on his black clothes, looked like a grim reaper who had just walked out of a bloody battlefield.

Chen Wan was held or lifted by the grim reaper in front of many people. The large hand pressing on his shoulder used full force, squeezing him painfully, down to the bone.

Chen Wan didn't make a sound.

The grim reaper's fingers occasionally trembled, but Chen Wan thought it might be his imagination, because that hand was very steady, capable of precisely hitting someone's shoulder from five meters away in dim light.

He looked up at Zhao Shengge, who also looked down at him, expressionless, with dark and cold eyes, unfathomable.

"..." Sensing the surging anger beneath the calm, Chen Wan was quite compliant at this moment, quiet as a quail, allowing himself to be controlled.

Suddenly, he broke free from Zhao Shengge's grip, disregarding his bleeding arm, grabbed the Beretta, and fired a shot in front of Zhao Shengge.

The killer, who had already been disarmed, still had a hidden blade and broke free from custody when no one was looking.

He was targeting Zhao Shengge.

The assassins who came were all prepared to die, never intending to return alive. Failing the mission meant their lives were forfeit, but completing it would ensure their relatives received a hefty sum of money, making the risk worthwhile.

Though they were still some distance away, the memory of Zhao Shengge's attack in Italy years ago instantly flooded Chen Wan's mind. He charged over, stomped on the man's hand, and fired a shot, his eyes blazing: "I'll send you to your death."

"Chen Wan!"

Triggered, Chen Wan couldn't stop, his hand shaking slightly. Under Monica's guidance, Chen Wan had almost managed to live a normal life, but in this moment, all progress was undone, and he reverted to his old ways.

"Chen Wan, calm down." Zhao Shengge kicked the man aside, pulling Chen Wan firmly into his arms, soothing him, "It's alright now."

"Chen Wan, I'm fine."

"I'm Zhao Shengge, look at me."

"I'm fine."

Chen Wan was trapped in a nightmare, unable to break free. Zhao Shengge wrapped him up, gently patting his back, comforting him: "Chen Wan, relax, I'm fine."

The man was swiftly dragged off. Chen Wan regained some composure and settled down. Zhao Shengge stopped comforting him and fell silent.

In the cabin, medical staff tended to their wounds. Zhao Shengge had injuries to several joints, while Chen Wan had multiple soft tissue contusions and a head injury.

Zhao Shengge kept discussing with the doctor, asking about precautions. Chen Wan watched him, lips twitching as if he wanted to speak but hesitated, recalling their conversation in the secret cabin, his heart sank like a retreating tide.

After the medical staff left, Zhao Shengge meticulously reviewed the medications and instructions.

There were few external injury meds, but several nerve-calming drugs were prescribed.

Chen Wan waited, but Zhao Shengge kept reading, brow furrowed. Chen Wan called out softly, "Zhao Shengge."

Zhao Shengge finally looked up, expression calm, gaze deep and steady, almost coldly detached, and asked, "What is it?"

Chen Wan asked, "Are you still willing to talk to me?"

"Chen Wan, what I say, I mean. Always." These were Zhao Shengge's exact words in the secret cabin.

Chen Wan paused, nodded, and said softly, "I'll leave first."

Zhao Shengge suddenly stood, blocking his path, looking down at him, and asked, "Do you feel wronged?"

Chen Wan was startled and immediately replied, "No."

This was the truth. He didn't feel wronged at all. On the contrary, he understood Zhao Shengge very well.

Chen Wan was also a manager, albeit on a smaller scale. But if everyone under him acted like he did, "mutinying" and challenging authority, there would be no order or discipline.

Since Chen Wan had made his choice, he was ready to face the consequences. He didn't feel wronged, but there was a bit of regret and reluctance.

He was reluctant to lose the familiarity he had built with Zhao Shengge, to lose the planned trip to Feiling Island, to lose the ability to call or video chat anytime...

These were things Chen Wan had worked hard for, carefully accumulated over time.

They would probably be gone now.

But Zhao Shengge's safety was still more important.

If given the chance to do it again, Chen Wan would still make the same choice.

Some things, no matter how many times you repeat them, never change—that's fate.

Ensuring Zhao Shengge's safety is Chen Wan's fate.

Chen Wan is convinced.

Zhao Shengge steps closer. Chen Wan claims he’s not upset, but Zhao Shengge notices his eyes are dark, almost as if they’re wet. Zhao Shengge replies coolly, "I don’t think so."

"No grievance," Chen Wan insists.

Zhao Shengge frowns, his tone cold and serious, "Chen Wan, do you think you messed up?"

Chen Wan admits he was wrong, his face showing regret but no sign of repentance.

Zhao Shengge cuts him off coldly, "You didn’t."

Zhao Shengge’s presence is commanding, his expressionless face making one’s heart sink.

"Are you wondering how I got out?" Zhao Shengge interrogates him coldly. "You thought you had everything covered, yet here I am."

"Thinking about how you’ll tighten up next time?"

Chen Wan’s back goes rigid.

The password was truly random. Zhao Shengge tried countless methods in the shortest time but couldn’t crack it. He could only be grateful the other side didn’t know that the secret cabin had a self-destruct mode once closed.

This mechanism is designed to prevent the theft of national secrets if a research vessel is hijacked or enters foreign waters.

But this mode allows for a thirty-minute window to reverse the decision.

During those thirty minutes, Zhao Shengge was powerless.

It was the most nerve-wracking and desperate thirty minutes of Zhao Shengge’s otherwise smooth life.

"You don’t think you messed up, so what’s there to talk about?"

Chen Wan opens his mouth but stops, feeling the weight of Zhao Shengge’s disappointed gaze.

He bows his head and mutters, "Sorry."

Zhao Shengge remains silent.

He repeats, "Sorry."

After risking his life, shedding blood, and enduring injuries, Chen Wan still apologizes, and Zhao Shengge’s heart twists.

To punish someone as stubborn as Chen Wan, Zhao Shengge has countless methods, but the most effective isn’t physical punishment—it’s breaking his spirit.

Someone as ruthless as Zhao Shengge, realizing Chen Wan’s devotion, feels like he’s gained ultimate control.

The favored never fear; a few harsh words from Zhao Shengge are enough to leave Chen Wan in agony.

But Zhao Shengge gazes at the right hand that bled for him, and his heart aches once more.

No one might guess that someone as vengeful as Zhao Shengge, after saving Chen Wan from the gunpoint, feels nothing but relief.

After a long silence, so long that Chen Wan feels like he’s suffocating, Zhao Shengge finally says, "Chen Wan."

"Can you be a little better to yourself?"

Chen Wan froze.

Zhuo Zhixuan also asked him, "Can you treat yourself better?"

He didn't know why everyone was asking him this. Chen Wan's mind was slow, but he still answered as he did last time, "I haven't been unkind to myself."

It was true. Chen Wan truly didn't feel that he had been unkind to himself. He had desperately protected what was most important to him, feeling lucky and without regrets.

"Is that so?" Zhao Shengge towered over him, his eyes dark and heavy, questioning him, "If you haven't been unkind to yourself, then why did you leave the secure cabin for me?"

Chen Wan's back went rigid, the blood in his body turned cold, starting from his fingertips.

Zhao Shengge completely dominated him, both physically and in terms of presence. His calm, deep gaze pierced straight into Chen Wan's eyes, warning him word by word, "Don't try to lie to me again."

"If you keep lying now, then there's really nothing left to say between us."

The light in Chen Wan's eyes went out completely.

Zhao Shengge already knew.

Years of careful hiding had come to nothing.

In that brief moment, many things flashed through Chen Wan's mind, and sorrow surged uncontrollably.

Zhao Shengge's voice was less harsh but still insistent, "Speak, answer the question."

Today, he was set on getting an answer.

Zhao Shengge laid out the evidence he had, as if analyzing data, "You left the only way out for me."

Chen Wan remained silent. Zhao Shengge's gaze wandered from his arm to his lips and eyes, every subtle expression of Chen Wan's was laid bare, "You even forced the few bullets you had onto me."

Chen Wan lowered his eyes, his whole being like a bamboo pole swaying dangerously in the wind, exuding a deathly calm. Zhao Shengge's presence was overwhelming, his tone soft yet crushing, "You'd rather accept a breakup than sacrifice yourself to protect me?"

With every question, Chen Wan's heart sank deeper.

Everything was too obvious, so much so that Chen Wan felt foolish and absurd even considering lying.

Zhao Shengge, like a judge sitting high in court, looked at him with calm eyes, righteous and clear in logic, each question probing deep into his soul. Chen Wan was a scheming thief, a criminal who had deliberately approached Zhao Shengge, every crime laid bare.

Zhao Shengge seemed determined to make him confess on the spot, looking deeply into Chen Wan's eyes, his voice soft, "Chen Wan, do you like me?"

Author's note:

Looks very domineering, seems to be showing off (X)

Actually very cautious, really nervous ( )