Chapter 46: Handshake

Chapter 46: Hands Entwined

Lu Yuan’s words were aggressive, almost accusatory.

Those around them also cast curious, even strange, glances at Yu Lanzhao.

Lin Shenshi instinctively stepped in front of the young man, about to retort, when his sleeve was gently tugged.

"It’s alright, Xiao Shi," Yu Lanzhao said, shaking his head. His deer-like eyes shimmered with an innocent, docile compliance. "What Advisor Lu said makes sense. I’ll just go along with them."

"But I’m worried about you."

Yu Lanzhao offered a light, teasing smile. "I’m going to the police station, not some pyramid scheme den. What could possibly happen?"

Lin Shenshi: "..."

Ah Zhao, you have no idea. In the original story, you trusted those officers just as naively, but what did you get in return?

Lin Shenshi was genuinely terrified that if Yu Lanzhao went, he might never return.

But he couldn't voice any of these fears.

As the stalemate lingered, a senior staff member stepped in to mediate, patting his chest reassuringly. "Xiao Lin, don’t you worry. I’ll be with them every step of the way. I promise to bring Xiao Yu back in one piece."

The police officer checked his watch, urging, "No more delays. If you’ve decided, let’s go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we return."

Yu Lanzhao reassured him to wait calmly for his return, and Lin Shenshi could only watch helplessly as they departed.

He hoped... his current anxieties were merely his own overthinking.

Only after watching the three figures vanish around the corner did Lin Shenshi, deep in thought, withdraw his gaze. Turning around, he found himself caught in Lu Yuan’s intense, unwavering stare.

Lin Shenshi’s heart skipped a beat.

The man’s eyes were inscrutable, yet seemed to hold a faint, fractured sorrow.

Though Lu Yuan had been less than friendly, even harboring murderous intent towards Yu Lanzhao, the fact remained that he had selflessly saved Lin Shenshi’s life. Recalling his own earlier attitude, Lin Shenshi felt he might have been a bit hurtful. He opened his mouth, about to express his gratitude, but Lu Yuan had already turned away, walking alone towards the roadside, a solitary figure.

Under the dim streetlights, his silhouette appeared isolated and desolate.

A wave of guilt instantly washed over Lin Shenshi.

*

By the roadside, a taxi had been waiting for some time.

It was originally called to take them to the hotpot restaurant. The driver, having waited longer than expected, was about to call and inquire about the situation when he saw a man with a sharp knife still embedded in his arm walking directly towards him.

As the man walked, bright red blood dripped steadily from his wound.

His face was grim, almost murderous.

The driver, startled, immediately gripped the steering wheel, ready to hit the gas and flee, when a young man jogged up from behind.

"Driver! Wait, don’t go!"

The young man had a refined face and a kind, approachable smile, which made the driver pause his foot on the accelerator and hesitantly lean out.

"Did you call this car?"

"Yes, yes, that was me." Lin Shenshi quickly rattled off the last digits of his phone number. "There’s been a bit of a special situation. Could you please change the destination to the nearest hospital?"

The driver glanced warily at the grim-faced man behind him, then at the friendly young man in front. Noticing another person following, who looked timid and not at all like a maniac, he mused:

Two normal people with one who seems a bit off… all things considered, they should all be normal, right?

"Alright then, hop in," the driver said, hesitantly unlocking the car doors. He added, "Let… let the injured one sit in the back, okay?"

"Absolutely, no problem."

Lin Shenshi opened the rear door, and Lu Yuan got in without even a glance at him.

The staff member, still on the phone with Tang Sen reporting the situation, directly took the front passenger seat. Lin Shenshi had no choice but to sit in the back.

The taxi was an old-model sedan with a cramped interior, far less spacious than a private car. For the slender Lin Shenshi, it was already a bit tight, but for Lu Yuan, who stood at 190 cm, it was exceptionally confining.

Simply sitting, Lu Yuan’s head nearly touched the roof, and his long legs had nowhere to go, so he could only prop them up awkwardly. His arm rested on his knees, blood trickling down his distinct knuckles, leaving crimson trails on the pale skin of his hand.

The driver, seeing through the rearview mirror that blood was staining the floor mat, winced with a pained expression. Lin Shenshi quickly said, "Driver, I apologize for the mess. I’ll pay you an extra 500 yuan to cover the cleaning and your lost work time."

Hearing that someone would pay, the driver instantly brightened, unable to resist asking curiously, "What happened?"

Lin Shenshi briefly explained the recent encounter. The driver slapped his thigh. "Just now? Ah! I wish I’d come out to see! What a rare spectacle!"

As the conversation flowed, the car grew lively with chatter, but Lu Yuan remained silent since getting in, his face stormy as if someone owed him a fortune.

While chatting, Lin Shenshi couldn’t help but glance at him.

The blade had pierced his right forearm, yet Lu Yuan hadn’t uttered a single groan of pain since being injured. Only the cold sweat beading on his forehead revealed how intensely he was enduring it.

Lin Shenshi’s guilt deepened further.

He instinctively reached out.

It wasn’t until his fingertips brushed the blood-stained hand that Lu Yuan turned his head, gazing at him intensely, making Lin Shenshi suddenly realize what he had done.

Panic flashed in his amber eyes, and Lin Shenshi quickly tried to withdraw his hand. But Lu Yuan was faster, flipping his palm and easily catching Lin Shenshi’s retreating hand in his own.

Lin Shenshi tried to pull away, but Lu Yuan’s deep voice cut through him: "Do you want me to bleed to death on the way to the hospital?"

"……"

With every struggle, the knife tip dangerously shifted a few millimeters. Not to mention the already torn and bleeding wound.

Lin Shenshi instantly froze.

The stickiness of the blood and the warmth of Lu Yuan’s palm overwhelmed his senses. Lin Shenshi lightly bit his lower lip and glanced uneasily towards the front seats.

The driver and the staff member were chatting animatedly. Upon hearing they were from a nearby film crew, the driver eagerly brought up entertainment news he’d seen online.

Engrossed in their discussion of bizarre stories, they didn’t notice the unusual intimacy in the back seat.

Lin Shenshi let out a sigh of relief.

Just then, Lu Yuan’s fingers shifted, forcefully lacing with his. In an instant, their hands were intertwined, fingers laced together.

Lin Shenshi: "!?"

If earlier he could have explained it as catching his balance due to the car’s movement, this—if seen, no excuse would make this look innocent!

Lin Shenshi lowered his voice, hissing urgently so only the two of them could hear: "Y-You let go of me!"

Yet Lu Yuan paid no heed, instead tightening his grip even more, making it impossible for Lin Shenshi to break free even if he tried.

Just then, the two in the front seat brought up something, and the staff member asked for Lin Shenshi’s opinion, turning around as if to look back.

"Watch out, there’s someone ahead!" Lin Shenshi, thinking quickly, pointed at a pedestrian to divert attention.

"It’s fine, they’re still quite a distance away," the staff member said after checking the road ahead, then turned back to continue the conversation. "...Huh? Xiao Lin, why did you change seats?"

The young man who had been sitting directly behind the passenger seat had somehow shifted to the middle, leaning halfway into the front. When the staff member glanced back, all they could see were his and Lu Yuan’s upper bodies.

Their clasped hands were perfectly hidden behind the driver’s seat.

Lin Shenshi forced a strained smile. "Haha, the view is better here. I’m keeping an eye on the road so I don’t give wrong directions again."

The driver waved it off confidently. "Don’t worry, young man. Just sit tight. I’m a seasoned driver—I guarantee I’ll get you to the hospital safely."

"Mm-hmm, thank you for your trouble."

With the crisis averted, Lin Shenshi breathed an inward sigh of relief. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lu Yuan lower his gaze to their intertwined fingers, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile finally appeared on his grim face.

Lin Shenshi was furious.

What? Was it amusing to watch him desperately try to conceal this?

...No, wait.

Why was he trying so hard to hide it? Even if someone saw and rumors spread, shouldn’t Lu Yuan be the one feeling embarrassed?

Even if Lu Yuan didn’t care much about his reputation, he’d still be the one humiliated. Lin Shenshi had nothing to lose—why should he be afraid of someone who had everything to lose?

As these thoughts crossed his mind, the taxi slowly pulled up to the hospital entrance.

The staff member got out and headed towards the back seat. Just as Lin Shenshi was considering how to make Lu Yuan look bad, Lu Yuan had already released his hand and, with the staff member’s support, stepped out of the car.

Lin Shenshi: "???"

Wait—

He just let go?

So you’re not as indifferent to your reputation as you claimed, huh?

Lin Shenshi fumed silently as he followed them into the hospital.

The ER doctor quickly attended to Lu Yuan, ushering him into the examination room, while Lin Shenshi and the staff member waited on benches outside.

The staff member remarked, "Xiao Lin, I heard you’re Advisor Lu’s student. You must be his prized student, right?"

Lin Shenshi shook his head. "No."

"Really? You’re not?" The staff member looked surprised. "Advisor Lu treats you so well—I thought you two must be close. You know, Director Tang was originally going to drive Advisor Lu to the hotpot restaurant, but Advisor Lu insisted on staying behind to wait for you."

Lin Shenshi: "You mean... Lu Yuan was waiting for me?"

"Yes, otherwise why would Advisor Lu, who left the set first, end up being the last to go?" The staff member added, "Actually, I’d heard Director Tang mention you before. Do you remember the in-person audition for the crew a month ago?"

Lin Shenshi nodded. Back then, he’d lied to Lu Yuan about going to audition for the sixth male lead so he could take time off to go shopping with Ah Zhao.

"Our whole team waited over two hours for you that day. I thought, this person must be incredibly arrogant. But after getting to know you, I realized that wasn’t the case at all." The staff member mused, half musing, half gossiping, "So, what really happened that day?"

"Waited for me? But I..." Lin Shenshi looked bewildered. "...I never even signed up that day."

"Huh? That can’t be. I heard Director Tang say Advisor Lu personally put in a word for you. Are you sure you didn’t misremember?"

Lin Shenshi’s mind went blank.

...Lu Yuan put in a word for him?

"I also heard Advisor Lu specifically told them to let you audition normally—probably worried that being pre-selected might hurt you as a newcomer. If he didn’t genuinely care about you, there’d be no need to go into every little detail."

"It’s just a shame you didn’t show up that day. Afterward..."

By then, Lin Shenshi had stopped listening.

Fragments of memories involving Lu Yuan replayed in his mind, interspersed with the man’s sinister and ruthless ways from the original book. For a moment, Lin Shenshi couldn’t tell which version was the real Lu Yuan.

Another BUG? But if it was just a BUG, weren’t there far too many BUGs surrounding Lu Yuan?

For the first time, Lin Shenshi began to wonder: was this world he’d transmigrated into really the N.P. restricted-level novel he thought it was?