Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The injury was far more severe than An Nuo had imagined.

He hadn't rolled up his pant leg to look earlier, enduring the pain while pretending nothing was wrong.

When he finally rolled it up and saw clearly, even An Nuo himself was startled.

A massive purple bruise, terrifyingly swollen, almost covering his entire knee.

Moreover, in places he thought shouldn't be injured at all—above the knee and on his lower leg—there were also two sizable bruises.

An Nuo had fair skin, was thin-built, with straight long legs and prominent kneecaps. Against such a large bruise, it looked as if he had been savagely beaten.

No wonder it hurt even to bend his knee; he walked with a limp.

He had actually endured it all the way until now. Distractedly, An Nuo felt a sense of admiration for himself—he was really too tough and impressive.

Seeing such an injury, Lu Yunyan's frown didn't ease. "...How did it get this bad?"

Meeting Lu Yunyan's worried eyes, An Nuo felt the bruise throb even more.

Although Shi Yu had protected him well earlier, it would have been even better if Lu Yunyan had been there.

"Ran into two big assholes. I'll tell you later... Can you get me a medicated patch first?"

Thanks to the continuous advancements in technology and medicine, although the injury looked frightening, the pain-relieving and swelling-reducing medicated patches worked very well. After a few hours, the pain and swelling would subside, and the remaining bruising would fade within two or three days.

"Alright, sit down. I'll go get it."

"Mm."

Lu Yunyan stood up, about to message Shi Yu for details, when Shi Yu's message came through first.

Shi Yu: "Yunyan, remember to check An Nuo's knee. He got hurt today. I think it's pretty serious, but he never showed me, just said he was fine."

Shi Yu: "He encountered some bad characters tonight. Sounded like there might have been some history, but I didn't think it was appropriate to ask. You should ask him—he'll probably open up more to you."

Lu Yunyan: "Okay, got it."

Lu Yunyan: "Just checked his knee. The bruising is severe. I'll take care of it first."

Shi Yu: "Alright."

Shi Yu: "We can talk details tomorrow. Take care of him for now and rest early tonight."

Lu Yunyan: "Okay."

Two minutes later, Lu Yunyan returned to An Nuo with the medical kit, kneeled before the sofa to apply the pain-relief patch.

But the injury was in an awkward spot. The knee patch was large and not easy to apply.

The opening of An Nuo’s pants was too narrow, bunched up just above the bruise, leaving not enough room.

They couldn’t just cut up An Nuo’s perfectly fine pants.

Lu Yunyan said, "Take off your pants. Otherwise, the patch is too big, and it won't adhere properly."

"..."

An Nuo was still struggling to pull his pant leg up. Hearing this, he immediately objected.

"How can I take them off? Underneath, I only have—"

Lu Yunyan interrupted: "Just shorts. I know. I've seen them."

"…………"

"What are you shy about? Is there any part of you I haven't seen?"

"…………"

"Haven't touched?"

"…………"

"Haven't kissed?"

"…………"

His shoes and socks were off, the injured foot bare. Hearing Lu Yunyan teasing suggestively again, An Nuo didn't hesitate. Despite the sharp pain, he lifted his foot and pressed it firmly on Lu Yunyan’s face.

"...Shut up! Can you stop talking nonsense?!"

How could he take advantage of every opening, find every opportunity, even creating chances where there were none?

"Ouch... It hurts, it hurts..."

But before Lu Yunyan could react, An Nuo couldn't bear the pain from bending his knee and quickly put his foot down.

Again, it was an unconscious act of coquettishness.

In front of Shi Yu, no matter how much it hurt, he could bear it silently. But the moment he was with Lu Yunyan, even a slight pain made him want to complain.

Because he knew Lu Yunyan would soothe him.

And Lu Yunyan, even after being kicked in the face, wasn’t angry. He just laughed softly. "Even this foot of yours—I've kissed it too."

He actually sounded pleased with himself?

While being coquettish was one thing, dependency was another.

But An Nuo still believed Lu Yunyan’s mouth should be locked up.

"If you’re really shy, I can take my pants off too. Then we’ll both be naked, and you won’t have to be shy."

"..."

Hold on—

Dude, do you hear what you're saying?

"After all, you've seen all of me too."

"..."

"And touched everything there is to touch."

"..."

An Nuo just wanted to kick Lu Yunyan in the face again.

"Alright, are you going to take your pants off yourself, or should I do it for you?"

An Nuo clutched his waistband: "...I'll take them off myself, I'll do it!"

"Need any help?"

"...No!"

Like what kind of help could he possibly need to take off his pants?

But when Lu Yunyan’s gaze fixed directly on him, An Nuo couldn’t make himself do it.

"...On second thought, there is something I need your help with."

Lu Yunyan immediately raised an eyebrow: "What is it? Just say it."

"Could you please turn around? Thanks... Stop staring at me, I’m too embarrassed to take them off."

"..."

Not expecting An Nuo to say that, Lu Yunyan smiled helplessly and actually turned around.

It only took a few seconds to take off his pants. Blushing, An Nuo said softly, "Okay... I think I can apply the patch myself, no need to trouble you..."

Trying to shoo Lu Yunyan away.

But there was no way he could get rid of him. Lu Yunyan turned back and knelt down, looking serious as he picked up the medicated patch.

"Let me do it. Sit still and don’t move around."

An Nuo obediently sat still.

His legs were bare, and so was his sense of security.

Facing Lu Yunyan like this, he became very compliant, not daring to say much, afraid that Lu Yunyan might suddenly pounce on him.

But just like him, Lu Yunyan also didn’t dare to show his ulterior thoughts.

Outwardly acting proper, he had actually already scanned An Nuo’s legs several times.

Slender, straight, fair, and flawless.

Truly a textbook Omega physique.

No matter how many times he saw it, his Alpha instincts always triggered urges in Lu Yunyan.

Now, with one of those legs being moved and adjusted by him, and given their significant size difference, Lu Yunyan felt like he was handling a small figurine.

"You still haven’t told me how you got so badly hurt. What happened tonight?"

An Nuo then recounted his weird run-in: "Ah, I just ran into two big idiots who targeted me for no reason."

When retelling it to Lu Yunyan, An Nuo omitted the part where he fought back, glossing over it with a simple sentence. Instead, he emphasized the other party’s outrageous behavior and his own unfortunate mishap while escaping.

"I had no idea stepping on clothes would be so slippery. There was even a pretty thick carpet there, but it was completely useless—made me take a nasty fall."

Lu Yunyan asked, "Did you have any past conflicts with them? Are they your enemies?"

"...Not really my enemies. At most, he's the only one with a grudge."

"Why? Did something happen before?"

An Nuo paused, not answering right away.

Because it was hard to explain.

The things Andrew had done to him still felt humiliating and infuriating to recall, and he didn’t want Lu Yunyan to know.

But strangely, part of him also wanted Lu Yunyan to know.

If Lu Yunyan found out someone had bullied him like that before, how would he react?

If he knew...

What would Lu Yunyan’s reaction be if he realized others might still be after him?

An Nuo understood that these little thoughts were rather melodramatic, like those of an insecure person in love using such tests to seek validation from their partner.

They weren’t some loving married couple—they weren’t even lovers. All these feelings were just influenced and driven by pheromones.

But the influence had happened nonetheless.

His feelings had changed, and An Nuo just had to test Lu Yunyan, even if it meant being this dramatic.

"You really want to know?"

"Yeah, of course I want to know," Lu Yunyan said seriously. "If anyone dares to bully you, I’ll make sure they pay."

An Nuo thought to himself, maybe the change in feelings wasn’t entirely his fault. Any Omega living with an Alpha like Lu Yunyan, enjoying his affection and care, would start developing different hopes, right?

The medicated patch was already applied to his knee, but Lu Yunyan remained crouched in front of him, waiting for him to continue.

So An Nuo went on, still dangling his bare feet on Lu Yunyan’s legs.

"Because he used to want to pursue me, but I didn’t agree."

"..."

Lu Yunyan didn’t say anything, but his expression instantly tightened.

"But he wasn’t really into me—he just wanted to play with me. I could tell, so I never considered saying yes."

Worried that Lu Yunyan might misunderstand, An Nuo quickly added an explanation.

"He’s a friend of my third brother. He was over often during that time, and whenever he saw me, he’d get handsy. Things turned really sour because of that one time—"

An Nuo deliberately dragged out the last part, waiting for Lu Yunyan to ask before continuing.

Lu Yunyan asked, "What happened that time?"

Hearing the seriousness in Lu Yunyan’s tone, obviously bothered, An Nuo felt pleased enough to go on.

Even though talking about this part made him frown and feel upset again.

"That time, he tried to kiss me. When I dodged, he tried to force himself on me."

As he spoke, he studied Lu Yunyan’s reaction.

"But I refused, and there happened to be a glass water pitcher nearby... so I grabbed it and smashed it hard against his forehead."

Lu Yunyan showed a somewhat surprised expression.

"That incident turned really ugly... but my father in name actually sided with me for once and even told my third brother to cut ties with him. Since then, he’s held a grudge against me."

"Your father in name really sided with you?"

"...Yeah, for once—just that one time."

An Nuo didn’t want to tell Lu Yunyan the real reason An’s father had stood up for him.

"After that, I never saw that person at home again. Occasionally at school, I avoided him as much as possible since I couldn’t handle him alone... Running into him tonight was just bad luck. I was busy picking out clothes, and when I turned around, there were these two assholes standing behind me."

Lu Yunyan paused, then said in a serious tone: "I see."

He added: "Next time, I’ll reserve the store for you to shop. I guarantee you won’t run into any assholes again."

An Nuo laughed: "It’s not like there are that many assholes around me, and I probably won’t run into him again... Even if I did, I doubt he’d dare mess with me now."

Remembering the slap Andrew’s father gave him tonight, An Nuo still felt a sense of satisfaction.

"His dad slapped him tonight—so hard it sounded like a gunshot. Call it Uncle Shi’s belated payback for me."

Lu Yunyan squeezed An Nuo’s ankle: "If anyone dares bully you, I’ll make them pay a thousand—no, ten thousand times over."

What happened in the past could now be summarized in just a few words.

But could the grievances and unease An Nuo suffered back then really be captured in words?

What status did he have in the An family? If he hadn’t been pushed to the brink, how would he have dared to resist so fiercely?

Luckily, An’s father stood up for him that one time—who knows what might have happened to An Nuo otherwise?

An Nuo didn’t know what Lu Yunyan was thinking, but he was fairly satisfied with his reaction.

Leaning forward slightly, he rested both arms on Lu Yunyan’s shoulders and said softly, "...Why couldn’t you have shown up a few years earlier?"

"If you’d appeared sooner, I wouldn’t have had to put up with that asshole’s bullying."

Lu Yunyan’s heart tightened. How could he mention that they had actually met two years ago, and he had already noticed An Nuo back then?

"If we’d met earlier, would you have agreed to marry me?"

"Of course. I’d agree now, and I would’ve agreed even more back then."

An Nuo’s reply was quick and decisive, without a moment’s hesitation.

"Besides, I would’ve been easier to fool back then. You probably could’ve sweet-talked me with just a few words, without even needing so many terms in the agreement."

An Nuo laughed, his legs still propped on Lu Yunyan’s lap and his arms resting on Lu Yunyan’s shoulders. He was deliberately testing him, initiating physical contact, flirting with him, whether on purpose or not.

But when he realized Lu Yunyan was actually leaning in to kiss him at such close range, he dodged away swiftly, faster than a cat.

Changing the subject, he said: "You’ll have to carry me to the room later. My knee hurts too much to put weight on it."

"Okay."

But Lu Yunyan wasn’t easily fooled.

As he agreed, he pulled An Nuo back toward him.

"It’s no trouble at all," he said. "I can even help you bathe, undress you, dry you off, and then carry you to bed."

"..."

What’s wrong with this picture, bro?

What about getting dressed?

How did you sneakily skip that step?

But before An Nuo could reply, Lu Yunyan kissed him, pressing him down onto the couch while sealing his lips.

The kiss was intense and urgent.

Caught off guard, An Nuo’s breath hitched. He parted his lips slightly, and Lu Yunyan immediately invaded with an overpowering force.

This was far from just a kiss.

It was the first time An Nuo had experienced such overwhelming dominance—a pressure that brooked no resistance. Lu Yunyan seemed intent on devouring him whole.

His large hands gripped An Nuo’s wrists with surprising strength, pinning them above his head.

With his hands immobilized and his legs bare, An Nuo felt forced wide open, which left him extremely insecure.

Even during Lu Yunyan’s rut, An Nuo had never felt this panicked.

"Mmph, wait... w-wait... what are you doing?"

Unprepared, An Nuo’s heart raced like a drum, beating loudly and rapidly. Struggling to break free, he finally found a chance to gasp out a few words.

"Kissing you."

Lu Yunyan answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Baby, weren’t you testing me? What would I be like if some other blind fool dared to covet you?"

"..."

An Nuo’s eyes widened.

Now it wasn’t just his heart pounding—his entire body felt like it was burning, his cheeks hottest of all.

So the subtle little thoughts he thought were hidden were completely transparent in Lu Yunyan’s eyes.

"This is my answer: I’ll make them pay a thousandfold, and I’ll make sure you never dare to test me like this again."

"..."

"Don’t develop such a bad habit, baby. There are things I don’t like either."

Lu Yunyan’s free hand grazed An Nuo’s gland.

"Right now, I can’t stimulate you, or else I’d definitely bite you till you weep tonight."