Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Shen Yue was passionate yet loyal. When he liked Wei Jinchuan, he was wholehearted in his affection; when he treated Wei Jinchuan well, he did so with genuine care.

But reality proved that all this sincerity was meaningless. What he arrogantly considered his "first time pursuing someone" turned out to be nothing more than a one-sided affair. Wei Jinchuan wasn’t moved in the slightest by his "sincerity." Instead, it wasn’t until Shen Yue was about to give up that Wei Jinchuan had a sudden change of heart, making all his previous efforts to please him seem like a joke.

So what was he crying about now? Wasn’t it Wei Jinchuan himself who pushed away all that "kindness"? What did he have to cry about now?

People really do love to make things hard on themselves.

Although Wei Jinchuan had explained the reasons for his earlier distant attitude, Shen Yue, as the one who experienced it firsthand, still found it absurd.

Did Wei Jinchuan really like him?

He lowered his gaze, looking at the person before him who was crying uncontrollably. Shen Yue should have remained indifferent, just as Wei Jinchuan had been to him before. Yet, a dull, aching pain in his heart made him feel a sense of reluctant pity.

...He really didn’t know what kind of luck Wei Jinchuan had to be favored by the world’s will to this extent.

To make him still unable to bear seeing the other person upset.

The feelings he had buried deep in his heart resurfaced. Shen Yue looked directly at Wei Jinchuan’s tear-streaked face and thought to himself, no wonder he was the heavens' darling—even crying couldn’t hide how good-looking he was.

No wonder he had fallen for him at first sight back then.

Shen Yue’s thoughts were racing. He watched Wei Jinchuan’s crying expressionlessly for a while, his body fighting the urge to reach out. Despite his best efforts to control himself, he was on the verge of losing that control.

A mocking smile tugged at the corner of Shen Yue’s lips.

In the end, he raised his hand, his gentle fingers immediately wiping away the tears at the corner of Wei Jinchuan’s eyes. Shen Yue’s gaze was tender and affectionate, as if he were the ideal lover: "Alright, stop crying. I was wrong, okay?"

His change in attitude was too sudden. Just moments ago, he had been berating him, but now he was smiling so beautifully and coaxing him with kind words.

Wei Jinchuan stared blankly into those captivating peach blossom eyes, his heart racing without him realizing it. He raised his hand to touch his chest, half-convinced he was dreaming.

After a moment of stunned silence, he asked, "You just... what did you say?"

"I was wrong. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. Next time, let’s talk properly, okay?" When Shen Yue wanted to treat someone well, he could practically pamper them rotten. He gently wiped Wei Jinchuan’s tears with the back of his hand, his fingers tracing the other’s sharp jawline with an impossibly soft touch.

Shen Yue said softly, "A grown man crying like this, aren’t you embarrassed?"

Thump-thump-thump!

Wei Jinchuan felt like it wasn’t Shen Yue who had been caught in the rain today, and it shouldn’t be Shen Yue who needed ginger soup—it should be him. He must have gotten sick from standing in the rain; otherwise, why would his face feel so hot?

He took a deep breath, forcing down the rush of self-pity. His eyelashes were still wet, but he didn’t feel like crying as much anymore. Still, when he thought about what Shen Yue had just done to him, he couldn’t help but feel a little sad.

Feigning vulnerability, acting obedient, threatening, issuing ultimatums... he had tried every method, but he couldn’t keep Shen Yue.

Wei Jinchuan blinked, trying to see the Shen Yue before him more clearly: "Are you... concerned about me now?"

Shen Yue thought to himself that this person seemed so fierce when issuing ultimatums, but who knew he’d be so vulnerable? He said, "Yes, I’m concerned about you."

"Why are you concerned about me?" Wei Jinchuan’s own question made him feel wronged again, on the verge of tears. "Shen Yue, you still like me... you still like me, don’t you?"

Shen Yue sighed but didn’t answer directly: "What do you think?"

"Shen Yue, Shen Yue..."

Wei Jinchuan felt like reality was too beautiful to be true. The giddy relief mixed with the immense grievance from earlier made him want to cry again.

But he held it back. He didn’t want Shen Yue to think he was childish, so he swallowed back the lump in his throat with difficulty: "Shen Yue, you still like me, don’t you?"

Seeing that he couldn’t avoid the question, Shen Yue took two tissues and dried the wetness on Wei Jinchuan’s face, admitting helplessly: "Yes, I still like you."

These words were like the most beautiful love confession in the world. The pattering rain outside seemed to vanish into silence, and the air around them suddenly stilled. Wei Jinchuan stared blankly at Shen Yue, feeling as though his heart had stopped beating.

Shen Yue said... he liked him?

Shen Yue said he liked him.

His stilled heart burst into a flurry of fireworks at that moment. Wei Jinchuan’s heartbeat raced, one beat after another, as if it were about to burst out of his chest, leaving his mouth gone dry, his ears ringing, and his vision blurry.

He knew Shen Yue’s secret and suspected he might be saying things he didn’t mean. Wei Jinchuan didn’t dare believe Shen Yue, yet he couldn’t help but want to—after so long, after Shen Yue had repeatedly tried to "break things off" with him, he could still hear a confession of love from him. How could he not believe?

A look of relief finally appeared on Wei Jinchuan’s face. He wanted to ask again and again to confirm Shen Yue’s feelings, but he was afraid that asking too much would annoy him: "Say it again, please? Say you like me, okay?"

Injured people always had many privileges. Shen Yue looked at Wei Jinchuan and, after a few seconds, finally spoke intently under the other’s expectant gaze: "...I like you. Don’t overthink it. Let’s get your wounds treated first, alright?"

Wei Jinchuan felt that all the neglect, all the resentment, and all the unresolved anger he had endured over this time were dissolved by Shen Yue’s offhand "I like you."

He never knew happiness could be so simple—just one sentence, one affirmation from Shen Yue was enough. He suddenly questioned what all his previous actions had been for. He could have had everything so easily, yet now he was anxious about losing him, terrified that Shen Yue’s "like" wasn’t genuine, afraid that Shen Yue’s "sincerity" wasn’t sincere enough.

...He had messed everything up.

With both hands injured, Shen Yue had no choice but to stoop to doing chores, sweeping the pieces of broken china into the trash.

He found the medical kit in the cabinet, checked the expiration dates of the necessary medications, and prepared to treat Wei Jinchuan’s wounds.

"Sit still. Don’t move around."

Shen Yue gave up the sofa he had been resting on earlier, letting Wei Jinchuan sit there while he pulled over a stool and bent down to focus on applying medicine.

Wei Jinchuan’s hands were a mess of mangled flesh. Fresh blood stained his entire palms. Shen Yue used a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to disinfect the wounds while washing away the dried blood.

The medical alcohol was strong. As soon as it touched Wei Jinchuan’s skin, it seeped into the wounds along the lines of his palm. The man hissed in pain, his whole body trembling slightly.

"Now it hurts?" Shen Yue wielded the cotton swab with no sympathy. "Weren’t you having a great time gathering the shards earlier when I told you to stop? I thought you couldn’t feel pain."

Wei Jinchuan could tell he was angry and knew he had gone too far. He lowered his head and mumbled, "...I know I was wrong."

It wasn’t that he knew he was wrong—he just knew it hurt now.

Shen Yue said nothing, only increasing the pressure of his touch, making Wei Jinchuan tense from start to finish.

After enduring what felt like torture, Wei Jinchuan’s hands were wrapped up like dumplings. Shen Yue had never done this for anyone before, and his bandaging skills were amateur. Not only were Wei Jinchuan’s hands bulky, but the bandages were sloppy and full of gaps.

Wei Jinchuan looked at his hands, then struggled to shift his gaze to Shen Yue: "This..."

"I don’t know how to do this properly. It’s too late today. I’ll take you to the hospital tomorrow."

Shen Yue knew what he was going to say. After tormenting him for so long, he finally felt a pang of guilt over his unprofessional technique: "It’s late. Let’s get cleaned up and go to bed."

After saying this, Shen Yue suddenly realized something was off. His eyes lingered on Wei Jinchuan’s mitten-like hands, and he asked, "...Can your hands still move?"

Wei Jinchuan looked at him innocently, staying perfectly still.

Shen Yue began to feel a sinking feeling: "It’s just one day without brushing your teeth or washing your face. It won’t kill you, right?"

Wei Jinchuan held up both his hands: "You think this'll heal by tomorrow?"

"..."

No chance of that happening.

Shen Yue finally truly understood what it meant to leave professional matters to professionals. Although Wei Jinchuan was badly injured, the fingers of his left hand and the palm of his right hand didn’t actually require bandaging. But for one thing, Shen Yue had never done this kind of work before, and for another, there was a hint of intentional payback—he had tightly wrapped both of Wei Jinchuan’s hands together, leaving only the thumbs exposed, rendering him practically helpless for the time being.

...There was no way he’d have to take care of Wei Jinchuan for the next few days, right?

Shen Yue quickly brushed aside that dreadful idea. If it were just a day or two, he wouldn’t mind, since Wei Jinchuan’s injuries were partly his responsibility. But if it dragged on... well, as he’d said before, he wasn’t born to be anyone’s servant. Serving others was something Young Master Shen simply couldn’t do.

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But as soon as the screen lit up, over a dozen missed calls popped up, followed by a barrage of messages from his brother, one after another, like relentless demons.

Shen Yue’s brain processed slowly for a moment before he finally remembered what had happened just before the soup spilled. His face instantly paled, and he hurriedly opened the chat with Shen Cuo, scrambling for a solution.

Seeing how frantic Shen Yue looked, that uneasy feeling returned full force for Wei Jinchuan. He didn’t know who Shen Yue was chatting with to care so much about their mood, being too impatient to wait even a moment.

...Even though he was the one currently injured.

He coughed lightly, trying to make his presence known. "I—"

"Hang tight for a minute. I’ll help you in a bit."

Shen Yue couldn't be bothered with caretaking duties now. His mind was entirely focused on resolving the issue with his brother first. Otherwise, the instant he disembarked in Haicheng, he’d likely be dragged back by his brother on the pretext that his right foot was useless.

Wei Jinchuan felt a twinge of resentment watching him. "Who are you talking to?"

"My brother." Shen Yue’s voice turned several degrees colder. He felt particularly resentful when he remembered that if Wei Jinchuan hadn’t spoken up earlier, his brother wouldn’t have discovered they were together.

When Wei Jinchuan heard it was Shen Cuo, an image of that distant, controlled expression surfaced in his mind, causing discontent, but also bringing a sense of relief.

...At least it was Shen Cuo, not some other guy. He comforted himself with that thought.

Shen Cuo wasn't much of a talker. From the time Shen Yue had last checked his phone until now, he’d only sent a few messages.

[Ten minutes are up. Haven’t figured out how to bluff me yet?]

[Not answering your phone?]

[Or do you want me to come find you?]

[[Image]]

[Flights are grounded, but the high-speed rail isn’t. Jiangcheng isn’t far—just an hour by train. Adding in the travel time, you’d better figure out how to lie to me within the next hour and a half.]

The moment he saw the train ticket, Shen Yue felt his heart clench. His face turned pale as he hurriedly checked the time Shen Cuo had purchased the ticket, then realized he should check the arrival time instead: 11:05.

He quickly glanced at the time at the top of his phone: 11:35.

His brother was already here.

Ice ran through Shen Yue’s veins.

Just then, a new message popped up: [I’m downstairs. Have you figured out what lie to tell?]

"..."

Shen Yue turned to look at Wei Jinchuan, who was sitting there oblivious, waiting for him to make the call, and wondered if it was possible to send him away without running into his brother.

Wei Jinchuan, noticing his gaze, asked puzzledly, "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing." Shen Yue’s voice was steady, though he felt anything but calm inside. He thought to himself: Yeah, nothing—just that I'm done for.

Right at that moment, a knock came from the door, and Shen Yue’s phone rang—it was his brother.

Instinctively, he tried to hang up, but his finger slipped and he accidentally answered.

"Open the door."

A cold, impersonal voice came from the other end of the line: "I’m here."