Chapter 177

Chapter 177

Shen Que realized he was crying and quickly raised a hand, feigning to brush away stray hairs from his forehead. His injured hand swept heavily across the corner of his eye, wiping away the moisture.

He couldn’t cry.

He couldn’t afford to be weak. As everyone's pillar of strength, he had to be tougher and calmer than anyone else.

He always remembered his mother’s words before she succumbed to her illness.

"Xiao Que," his mother had said, "let my passing be your final chance to weep. From this moment on, you must never shed another tear. No matter when, where, or what situation you face, never forget that everyone is watching you, depending on you. So you must be stronger than anyone."

"I’m sorry, Xiao Que," she continued, "for burdening you with such a heavy responsibility. But I believe you can handle it. I only wish I could have held on longer, so you could have had a little more time to be free and happy…"

In that moment, Shen Que saw his mother’s tears for the first time—tears born of guilt, reluctance, and profound love for her child.

Shen Que lowered his hand, which had been wiping his tears, and met the worried gazes of those around him.

Once again, he profoundly understood the truth of his mother’s words.

Pulling himself from Chen Zui’s embrace, he forced a smile and playfully punched Chen Zui’s chest. "Treating me, your boss, like a kid, huh? Haha—but I’ll gladly accept Doctor Chen’s promise."

His demeanor was hearty, seemingly no different from usual. He turned to everyone in the infirmary: "With Doctor Chen’s assurance, you’ll all be fine. All of you, heal up properly. Get strong and healthy. I’m counting on you to work the harvest. Haha—"

Their expressions softened slightly, and they murmured, "Don’t worry, boss."

Chen Zui observed Shen Que. He had never been this kind of leader. Though he had led mercenary squads, this was an entirely different dynamic.

The burden Shen Que carried was one Chen Zui had never known.

In truth, Shen Que was only 25 years old.

In a normal world, he would be a recent college graduate, just starting out in society.

Seeing Shen Que like this, Chen Zui couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy. This feeling surprised him. Aside from rescuing the wolf cub and developing an attachment, feeling pity for the small, thin creature, Chen Zui had never felt such empathy for any other living being.

He knew himself to be a rather detached person.

So this unfamiliar feeling of heartache caught him off guard. He had thought his interest in Shen Que was purely mission-related, or simply because Shen Que’s face appealed to him.

Nothing more.

But this current ache suggested otherwise.

"Brother Shen."

"Let me tend to your wounds."

"Thank you."

Shen Que hadn’t sustained any severe injuries, but he had many minor ones. The most serious was a deep knife cut on his shoulder; the rest were mostly bullet grazes.

As Chen Zui treated his wounds, Shen Que studied him intently. He had witnessed Chen Zui’s skills last night and was certain he couldn’t defeat him. In their town—no, in both towns—no one could best Chen Zui in a one-on-one fight.

High combat prowess, skilled with firearms, and such excellent medical expertise.

There was no logical reason for him to be stuck in their small town.

Chen Zui, head lowered as he bandaged the wound, spoke softly, "Brother Shen, if you keep staring at me, I’ll blush."

*You won’t,* Shen Que thought. *You little liar, always spouting nonsense.*

"Brother Chen, dinner’s here." Song Luo entered with two large basins of food, followed by Qiu Tong carrying two more.

Shen Que: "You haven’t eaten yet?"

Qiu Tong replied, "The doctor hasn’t eaten at all, boss. Please, make him eat."

Just as Shen Que was about to scold Chen Zui, the other spoke faster: "Has Brother Shen eaten yet?"

Shen Que swallowed his words. He, too, had been busy until now, having only a few sips of water.

Chen Zui smiled knowingly—he had expected this. "Qiu Tong, could you please bring another set of bowls and chopsticks?"

Qiu Tong agreed and scurried off.

To reward everyone, today’s meal was lavish: a butchered pig, chickens, ducks, and fish.

Chen Zui and Shen Que finally sat down to eat.

During the meal, Shen Que habitually deboned the fish, placing the meat into Chen Zui’s bowl.

"Thank you, Brother Shen."

"Eat more."

Shen Que lowered his voice, fixing him with a stare: "There’s an interrogation waiting for you tonight."

Chen Zui laughed, replying, "How terrifying."

Shen Que snorted and placed a chicken drumstick into Chen Zui’s bowl.

The night watch was heavily reinforced. Since they hadn’t eliminated all their enemies, a return attack was highly probable. Everyone remained vigilant, as Shen Que had instructed.

After washing up, Shen Que and Chen Zui, both looking refreshed, began their "interrogation."

Chen Zui sat with his legs crossed on a chair.

Shen Que stood before him, arms crossed: "Confess and you’ll receive leniency; resist and you’ll face severe consequences."

"How severe?"

Shen Que’s gaze drifted downward. Chen Zui was only wrapped in a towel, and with his legs crossed…

"Severe enough to paddle your ass till it’s swollen."

This was the funniest thing Chen Zui had ever heard. Shen Que’s imagination was truly wild, yet endearing.

"Brother Shen."

He called Shen Que in his usual gentle tone, then slowly said, "I’m sorry, but you can’t beat me."

As he spoke, he shifted his crossed legs, and in the movement, Shen Que caught a more revealing glimpse.

Shen Que was both captivated by the sight and annoyed by Chen Zui’s brazen confidence.

He clenched his fist and rotated his wrist.

"Oh yeah?"

"Want to test that?"

A true man never backs down.

Shen Que advanced on Chen Zui, fist raised. As he neared, his punch cut through the air, but Chen Zui easily dodged it with a slight tilt of his head. After all, Shen Que wasn’t truly trying to hit him; the stance was grand, but the speed was slow.

At the same time, Chen Zui extended a long arm and pulled Shen Que, also clad only in a towel, into his embrace.

Shen Que found himself with one knee pressed against the chair, half-bent over, pinching Chen Zui’s chin.

"Why did you lie?"

Chen Zui’s hand disappeared beneath the towel. "Because I didn’t want to fight."

He answered Shen Que’s question, his hand idly tracing patterns.

"If I said I was good at fighting, I was afraid Brother Shen would send me to fight. But I don’t want to fight—I’d get hurt."

He raised his other hand, his arm wrapped in bandages.

"Brother Shen, did you forget? I told you I have a bleeding disorder. Getting injured would be troublesome."

Shen Que looked at his arm.

"Even with medication, it took a whole day for the wound to barely stop bleeding."

Noticing the concern in Shen Que’s eyes, his finger found the right spot.

"Brother Shen, don't be angry with me."

His finger slowly moved forward.

"That would make me sad."

Shen Que’s jawline gradually tightened. In truth, if Chen Zui had told him this reason from the start, he wouldn’t have made things difficult. Moreover, he had never intended to send a doctor into a fight; doctors were priority protected personnel. But Chen Zui didn’t know what he might think; he was new and unfamiliar, so it was natural for him to be reserved.

As for the rest, it might have been hard to explain, so he kept it hidden. Yet last night, he still risked exposure and even injury for the sake of the town.

Shen Que didn’t blame him at all; he just wanted to know the real Chen Zui.

"Do you have any other secrets?"

As he asked, his words ended in a muffled groan. Unconsciously, he lifted his other leg onto the armchair, kneeling fully over Chen Zui.

Chen Zui stared at the cooperative Shen Que.

His finger slowly withdrew with a circular motion.

"There is one."

Shen Que raised an eyebrow—he actually had another secret!

"What secret?"

His mind entirely focused on what other secrets Chen Zui hadn’t confessed, he didn’t notice Chen Zui’s subtle actions.

Chen Zui leaned closer to Shen Que, pressing against his ear, and whispered while watching Shen Que’s face, "What’s pressing against Brother Shen right now is my…"

He used two crude words that instantly made Shen Que’s face flush.

In shock.

*

He suddenly clenched tightly, as if squeezing something.

Shock turned to fright. His body instinctively tried to pull away, but in his panic, his knee slipped from the chair.

And so, he ended up sitting right on it.

Shen Que’s toes dug into the floor, not daring to move recklessly. One hand gripped Chen Zui’s shoulder to steady himself. From what he could feel, it seemed like the tip had already gone in.

Shen Que was completely bewildered, unable to understand how things had suddenly turned out like this!

He was supposed to be the one doing this to Chen Zui!

He pushed against Chen Zui’s shoulders, trying to stand up, but Chen Zui pressed him down, preventing him from rising.

He finally realized just how strong Chen Zui was.

"Brother Shen."

"This is part of the massage therapy."

This time, Shen Que wasn't buying it. "Stop kidding around. Therapy can clearly be done with just hands."

He still wanted to get up, but under Chen Zui’s pressure, he couldn’t.

"Brother Shen, we’ve been using hand massage therapy for a long time. Haven’t you noticed your condition hasn’t been steadily improving? It’s always been like this."

Chen Zui’s tone was very calm, sounding professional.

This made Shen Que calm down a little as well, and he stopped struggling as hard.

What Chen Zui said was true—relying solely on finger massage therapy wasn't really working anymore.

"See, Brother Shen, you’ve noticed it too."

"This means we need to switch to another treatment method. After looking through the books, this is the best alternative to using fingers."

Chen Zui persuaded patiently, "Brother Shen, don’t worry about my feelings. Everything is to cure your illness. And besides..."

Shen Que: "And what?"

Chen Zui guided Shen Que’s hand to feel. Shen Que felt a slippery, rubbery coating covering most of what was exposed.

"Brother Shen, I’m wearing a condom. So my dick isn’t actually touching you. That means it doesn’t count as the real thing..."

"The important thing is that this is just for treatment. We’re doing this with the intention of healing."

Chen Zui said righteously.

Shen Que’s expression contorted as he fell into thought. He wanted so badly to cure his illness—only then could he have his way with Chen Zui and have the confidence to pursue him!

It was only right to make some sacrifices for the sake of treatment. And with the protection, it was practically like using a tool.

It was no big deal.

He also remembered the sudden attack last night. No one knew whether an accident or tomorrow would come first. He didn’t want to die with this illness still not cured.

Besides, Chen Zui, a straight man, had gone this far to treat him. What would that say about him if he kept hesitating and being shy?

Also...

Fuck!

This feels... pretty damn good!

*

He'd already been sucking away repeatedly.

"Brother Shen."

"I just want to cure your illness. If you really dislike it and can't accept me, then forget it..."

Chen Zui let go of Shen Que's hand, looking somewhat hurt by the apparent rejection, even the corners of his eyes drooping.

Seeing this, Shen Que panicked: "No, I don't dislike it."

Realizing words alone weren't enough to convince Chen Zui, Shen Que remained silent for a beat before gritting his teeth.

And plunged down fully.

Thanks to the nightly massage therapy, Chen Zui's medication, and the lube, it went very smoothly.

Shen Que wasn't hurt.

Two muffled groans echoed simultaneously in the room.

After regaining his breath, Shen Que continued coaxing Chen Zui: "I don't dislike it, don't be upset. Give Brother Shen a smile."