Chapter 46 Wipe Hands

Chapter 46: Wiping Hands Clean

Chu Jin, remaining in the lounge, indeed did not open the door for strangers.

He had left the room himself.

By the time Xu Jingshan knocked and re-entered, only a neatly arranged tea set and a square velvet box remained on the lounge table.

The sapphire cufflinks inside the box appeared dull beneath the gloomy sky outside the window.

The sky was overcast and thick with dark clouds, and a light rain had begun to fall. Knowing that the original owner had no special connection to the Jiang family, Chu Jin naturally had no intention of lingering.

He took a shortcut, braving the rain, intending to retrieve his umbrella from the entrance and leave.

Passing by a resting pavilion, Chu Jin paused.

The plants around the pavilion seemed long neglected, with overgrown weeds nearly obscuring the cross-path leading to it. In the thicket, Chu Jin thought he saw something moving—not from the wind—but rather, like a person.

After a two-second hesitation, Chu Jin tiptoed closer.

Pushing aside the weeds, he saw a small, round, dark-clad figure crouching on the ground, digging in the mud and muttering to himself.

The child’s self-talk was too soft for Chu Jin to hear clearly, but he recognized the little boy crouching there.

“Hey, what are you doing here?”

Chu Jin’s sudden voice startled the crouching child, who nearly toppled backward. Seeing him about to fall, Chu Jin quickly reached out, catching him just in time to prevent him from landing on his back.

“I’m not ‘hey,’ my name is Jiang Yiche!” The boy abruptly turned his head, and upon seeing Chu Jin, his previously sulky face instantly broke into a wide smile. “Brother!”

Chu Jin corrected him, “Not brother. I’m much older than you. You should call me uncle.”

“No way! My brother is so old, and even Grandpa tells me to call him brother. You clearly look younger than my brother!”

The little tyke, though young, had his own peculiar logic.

Alright, why was he arguing with a child?

“What are you doing here alone?” Chu Jin asked.

Fei Fei replied, “I’m giving Grandpa a gift.”

Chu Jin glanced behind him and noticed a bird-shaped wooden carving placed on the flattened weeds.

The rain began to intensify. Most guests were gathered at the front, leaving the backyard deserted. Chu Jin picked up the carving, wiped the rainwater from the child’s face, and led him into the pavilion for shelter.

Chu Jin placed the item on the stone table inside the pavilion. “You said your name was Jiang Yiche?”

“Mm,” the little boy replied, standing ramrod straight and speaking earnestly. “Brother, you can also call me Fei Fei. Only Grandpa calls me that at home.”

Chu Jin: “Fei Fei?”

“Yes! Like the ‘fei’ for flying birds.”

“Alright, Fei Fei.” Chu Jin held Fei Fei’s right hand, smiling as he brushed aside the wet hair clinging to his forehead.

There was no towel in the pavilion, so Chu Jin could only use the tissues he carried to wipe away the rain from the child’s hair and face. When he reached Fei Fei’s palm, Chu Jin noticed that the gaps between the fingers of his left hand were caked with mud.

Chu Jin paused. The little hand was filthy, and a few tissues wouldn’t be enough to clean it.

Sensing Chu Jin’s hesitation, Fei Fei quickly retracted his left hand, hiding it behind his back. The swift movement startled Chu Jin.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want me to wipe it?” Chu Jin picked him up and sat him on a stone stool, then crouched in front of him, asking softly.

Fei Fei blushed, lowered his head, and shook it, avoiding Chu Jin’s gaze and remaining silent.

Although Chu Jin had spent some time in pediatric rotations earlier, he still wasn’t very adept at dealing with children.

Chu Jin thought he might have unintentionally upset the child, so he patiently asked, “Why are you hiding your hand, Fei Fei? How can I clean it if you hide it?”

“You… you’re still willing to clean it for me?” Fei Fei slowly looked up, his reddened eyes brimming with grievance.

“Of course I am.”

Fei Fei’s voice trembled with tears. He stared at Chu Jin for a long moment before suddenly breaking down, sobbing loudly.

Between sniffles, he said, “But… but everyone else dislikes me. I… I thought you… you also disliked me… thought my hands were dirty… didn’t want… didn’t want to wipe them for me…”

Tears as big as raindrops fell like the rain outside the pavilion. The tissues in Chu Jin’s hands weren’t enough to wipe both his hands and tears, so he focused on drying Fei Fei’s face. Fei Fei cried uncontrollably, tears and snot mixing as he tried to speak, though his words became unintelligible through the sobs.

Chu Jin felt a bit helpless. He wasn’t good at comforting children, but Fei Fei seemed to have been holding this in for a long time. Chu Jin decided to let him cry for a while.

But Fei Fei cried for nearly ten minutes without any sign of stopping.

Chu Jin realized he had underestimated Fei Fei’s stamina. If this continued, the child would likely cry himself hoarse.

He tried to soothe him but to no avail.

Just as Chu Jin was at his wit’s end, a pair of hands suddenly appeared from nowhere, lifting Fei Fei from the stone stool.

The crying stopped abruptly. Chu Jin looked up, startled, and met a pair of gloomy eyes.

Jin Zexu lifted Fei Fei and held him in his arms. The two—one large, one small—stared at each other in surprise. The child, taken aback by Jin Zexu’s stern expression, pouted, too scared to cry aloud. His shoulders shook, and he started hiccupping from fright!

It was both exasperating and amusing.

Chu Jin suppressed a smile, pushed himself up from the stool, and subtly rubbed his lower back. As he straightened, he heard Jin Zexu scolding the child.

“Hey, you…”

Fei Fei stiffened his neck, trying desperately to put distance between himself and Jin Zexu, but the disparity in strength was too great. He had no choice but to resign himself to his fate.

But even in resignation, he did so with dignity!

“I’m not ‘hey,’ I’m Fei Fei!”

“Oh, your name is Fei Fei.” Jin Zexu raised an eyebrow. “Well then, little brat Fei Fei, have you cried enough?”

Fei Fei widened his eyes. “You—hic! I’m not a little brat! Put me down! Hic!”

“Why? Hic!” Fei Fei’s gaze was stubborn.

“Brother Chu Jin isn’t feeling well, and he knelt on the ground comforting you for so long that his legs went numb. Don’t you think you should apologize?” Jin Zexu said sternly. “A polite child knows how to respect others, right?”

Chu Jin was taken aback. Hearing such words from Jin Zexu was unexpected.

Fei Fei lowered his head, deep in thought. “Grandpa did say children should be polite.”

Jin Zexu quietly observed Fei Fei in his arms and, seeing the child seemed to have come to a realization, set him down gently.

As soon as Fei Fei’s feet touched the ground, he dashed into Chu Jin’s embrace.

“Brother, I’m sorry,” Fei Fei said apologetically, his ears reddening as if he had done something wrong, avoiding eye contact. “Brother, are you still feeling unwell?”

Just as Chu Jin was about to squat down, an icy tone drifted into his ears from beside him.

“Still squatting down? Do you not know your own physical state?” Jin Zexu helped Chu Jin sit down, sighed softly, and quietly began rubbing his lower back.

Fei Fei also climbed onto the stool beside them. “Brother, are you in pain? I can help massage your back. I used to massage Grandpa’s back all the time.”

“It’s fine,” Chu Jin said, shifting away from the hands resting on his lower back. He then said to Fei Fei, “Brother is fine. Come here, let me wipe your hands.”

Fei Fei held out his hands. Now, not only were his hands muddy, but his face was streaked with mud too.

Even Chu Jin ended up with mud all over his hands from Fei Fei.

“Looks like I can’t massage your back anymore,” Fei Fei said dejectedly, looking at his dirty hands. “Brother, can you clean them?”

Wiping wouldn't work, but they could wash them.

Chu Jin led Fei Fei to the pavilion's edge. The rain was falling harder now, perfect for washing up.

Holding Fei Fei’s hand, Chu Jin extended it into the rain. Soon, a small puddle collected in the child’s palm. Chu Jin carefully cleaned between Fei Fei’s fingers, as if giving a small pet a bath, then dried them with the last remaining tissue.

“Wow, they’re all clean!” Fei Fei spread his hands, turning them over and over, utterly satisfied.

Jin Zexu stood arms crossed, leaning lazily against a pillar. After a glance at the wooden carvings on the table, his gaze lingered on Chu Jin’s back.

He’s lost weight.

Jin Zexu knew Chu Jin was purposely ignoring him. Watching the intimate interaction between the two—one tall, one small—he unconsciously let a faint smile curl at the corners of his lips.

He couldn’t stop his eyes from drifting to Chu Jin’s abdomen. Even though there was no sign yet, he thought happily, *The child Chu Jin and I will have will surely be adorable too… After all, Chu Jin’s smile is so gentle and beautiful.*

Being a doctor with germaphobe tendencies, Chu Jin didn’t want to wipe his damp hands on his clothes. He figured they would dry on their own soon enough.

Suddenly, his wrist was grasped.

Chu Jin startled. Jin Zexu had somehow come over and was now quietly drying his hands.

He was using the neatly folded handkerchief from his chest pocket.

Jin Zexu didn’t ask why Chu Jin was here. Instead, he dried his hands meticulously, the soft, smooth fabric gently brushing over every line of his palm. Chu Jin looked up and saw Jin Zexu’s lowered gaze. “Your other hand.”

Chu Jin paused for a moment, then instinctively held out his other hand.

Jin Zexu glanced at Fei Fei and asked, “How did this little one end up here?”

“He was playing in the bushes, and I found him,” Chu Jin replied, concern evident in his voice. “Are the Jiang family looking for him?”

“No, they’ve already left.”

“Left?” They just left without the child?

Jin Zexu nodded. “Yeah, they all went to the cemetery.”

Chu Jin hesitated, wanting to ask why Jin Zexu had stayed behind instead of leaving. But he decided against saying it. He let out a deep sigh. Jin Zexu’s fingers brushed against his palm, sending a tingling sensation that made him instinctively pull back.

Jin Zexu maintained a firm grip on Chu Jin’s wrist, leaving him no chance to pull away.

Fei Fei was completely absorbed in admiring his clean, soft little hands, completely unaware of what his brother was doing. The rain pattered noisily against the dense leaves around the pavilion.

Jin Zexu’s fingertips occasionally brushed against Chu Jin’s palm—whether by accident or on purpose, it was hard to tell.

“Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t feeling well?”

Chu Jin lowered his gaze, watching Jin Zexu’s extremely gentle movements, and raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one ignoring me? Why would I tell you?”

Jin Zexu paused, looking up in surprise. “When did I ever ignore you?”

“Didn’t you?”