Chapter 27

Chapter 27

His earlobe was being sucked on like a pacifier, making Lin Ze tremble as a crimson flush spread across his skin.

If he hadn't been injured, Lin Ze would agree to anything he wanted. But now, Lin Ze was afraid of making his injury worse.

"Let me help you wash up, okay?" Lin Ze said softly.

"Mm." Seeing the worried look on Lin Ze's face, Li Xiujin decided not to push things further.

There was a bathtub in the bathroom. Lin Ze crouched down and ran the hot water.

Li Xiujin gazed down at him.

His dark hair was soft and smooth, his face pale with a hint of red.

Suddenly, he lifted his eyelashes, dark as crow feathers, and looked at him shyly, his eyes filled with nothing but him.

Li Xiujin cupped the back of his head, captured his lips, and slid his tongue inside. Lin Ze trembled but obediently parted his lips, allowing his tongue to delve deeper.

The sound of wet, sticky kisses filled the bathroom.

It wasn't until over ten minutes later that he finally withdrew from Lin Ze's mouth, trailing strands of silver.

Li Xiujin pressed his forehead against Lin Ze's, looking at his dazed, vacant expression, and deliberately asked, "Did it feel good?"

Lin Ze's cheeks flushed a deep red.

"Mm."

Suddenly, his legs were lifted into the air. Li Xiujin had picked him up with one arm. Lin Ze was extremely worried: "Xiu Jin, your wound might reopen like this. Let me walk on my own, okay?"

Li Xiujin ignored him, placing him on the hospital bed before lying down himself. His warm head burrowed into Lin Ze's embrace, inhaling his scent, and he closed his eyes wearily.

Lin Ze was afraid that lying together might accidentally disturb his wound and whispered, "I can sit in a chair..."

Li Xiujin frowned and tightened his grip around Lin Ze's waist.

Lin Ze didn't dare say another word, even his breathing became lighter, as he quietly watched Li Xiujin's sleeping face.

His overly steady personality made him seem like a mature man in his thirties, but his handsome face still held a trace of youthfulness and innocence.

Lin Ze reached out to stroke his cheek, then blushed with shyness upon realizing what he was doing.

Originally, Lin Ze intended to stay awake and watch over him, but he had stayed up too long and eventually fell asleep. When he opened his eyes, he found his position had changed—he was now being held from behind by Li Xiujin, who seemed to be treating the nape of his neck like a pacifier, sucking and nibbling on it. The hot breath made Lin Ze's entire body tremble with a tingling numbness.

He really loved taking advantage while Lin Ze was asleep. If he weren't injured, Lin Ze would pretend not to notice and continue sleeping. But now, Lin Ze was worried that going too far might cause the wound to reopen.

"Xiu Jin..." Lin Ze spoke up to stop him, "Are you hungry? The servants brought food. Would you like to eat something?"

Li Xiujin ignored him, still sucking on the flesh of his nape. If this continued, Lin Ze felt his glands might be stimulated into heat.

Blushing with shame again, Lin Ze said, "Once your wound heals, you can do whatever you want. But for now, let's eat first, okay?"

Li Xiujin finally released the flesh of his nape with a soft 'pop'. The numb, swollen area exposed to the air made Lin Ze shiver slightly. Afraid Li Xiujin might change his mind, Lin Ze quickly adjusted his clothes and got out of bed, bringing the food over for Li Xiujin to eat.

After eating, Lin Ze helped him to the bathroom, and then, in a daze, ended up helping him with his mouth.

The doctor came to check on Li Xiujin's recovery. "Have you been engaging in any strenuous activity? The recovery is a bit slow. You need to be more careful in the future."

Li Xiujin wasn't particularly concerned.

Lin Ze, standing nearby, was utterly ashamed.

Fortunately, it was time for Lin Ze to return to work. He had only taken two days off, so he went to class during the day and to the hospital at night. This way, Lin Ze finally had a chance to meet with Lu Mo and the others.

"I originally wanted to get some clues from Su Jingyuan, but he's still detained. I don't know when he'll be released. I'll see if there's a chance to meet him or find other leads," Lin Ze said. He never expected that one day the target would be himself. Although there was no concrete evidence that Su Jingyuan was behind it, given Li Xiujin's personality, it would be difficult for him to get out before the real mastermind was found.

What Lu Mo was concerned about now wasn't this, but asked instead, "I heard Li Xiujin was shot?"

Lin Ze nodded, his voice somewhat strained. "Yes. I was the target. He took a bullet for me."

Ji Ran was temporarily out of work. Apart from taking his sister to school every day, he spent his time with Lu Mo. After hearing what Lin Ze said, his eyebrows shot up in shock. "He took a bullet for you?!"

Lu Mo was also very shocked. Apart from Lin Ze, who couldn't see how much Li Xiujin cared for him, both he and Ji Ran could tell. But they never expected Li Xiujin's care for Lin Ze had reached the extent of taking a bullet—meaning he was willing to risk his life.

"This General Li is really something else," Ji Ran said, giving a thumbs-up. "He must love you to death."

Lin Ze smiled distractedly. Sometimes, he couldn't understand what kind of feelings Li Xiujin had for him, to protect him without regard for his own life.

If it was just for a child, wasn't the price paid too high?

*

The Li Family Old Residence.

Li Tingyuan's health had improved slightly. Coincidentally, Su Wang came to visit him, so the two sat in the study playing chess.

"A few days ago, I met with Xiujin, hoping to ease the tension between us. But I don't know if I said something wrong that upset him. That same day, he had my useless younger brother detained."

Li Tingyuan's face darkened. "That beast! He truly doesn't know what's good for him!" After cursing, Li Tingyuan sighed. "But I'm old now, I can't discipline him anymore. Otherwise..."

"You're not old at all. It's just that Xiujin is too young, his temper too overbearing. He doesn't understand the effort you've put into him. If it weren't for your careful nurturing, could he have become what he is today?"

After hearing this, Li Tingyuan laughed twice. "Only you understand my thoughts best. I was strict with him when he was young because I was afraid he wouldn't amount to anything. But instead, the boy ended up resenting me."

"That's the heartache of being a parent," Su Wang agreed.

Suddenly, the study door was knocked. Meng Yang's voice came through. "Dad, something's happened."

"What is it?" Li Tingyuan coughed.

"Li Xiujin has been shot."

"What!" Li Tingyuan stood up shakily, leaning on his cane.

Li Tingyuan had a car prepared immediately to visit Li Xiujin.

Su Wang was left alone sitting before the chessboard. He wasn't in a hurry to leave. He finished the game by himself, then lit a cigarette.

This Li Tingyuan did have feelings for Li Xiujin.

This wasn't unexpected to him. After all, Li Tingyuan greatly admired strength. When Li Xiujin's parents first died, Li Xiujin was so weak that his uncles could have easily devoured him. Now that Li Xiujin had become strong, Li Tingyuan naturally showed affection.

What surprised him was that Li Xiujin would take a bullet for Lin Ze.

It seemed Lin Ze held a very significant weight in Li Xiujin's heart.

*

Li Xiujin returned home to recuperate, and his work gradually resumed.

Fu Zhi reported to him in the study: "We found the hospital where Lin Ze was subjected to research, but it has already shut down."

Li Xiujin wore his jacket loosely, his expression darkening. A person can't lose their memory for no reason. Li Xiujin suspected that during Lin Ze's differentiation, a doctor had performed some experiment on him, leading to his memory loss at critical moments. He was determined to find out the cause as soon as possible.

Beyond that, he also wanted to know who had conducted the experiments on Lin Ze, so he could pay them a visit, one by one, and give them a taste of what it's like to lie on an operating table.

“We’ll go check it out tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“There are still no leads on the mastermind behind the shooting. We previously suspected Su Jingyuan, but he’s still locked up, so it doesn’t seem like his doing.” Fu Zhi pondered, “Could Su Wang be behind it? But if it were Su Wang, it would be too obvious—he’d easily leave clues for us to find…”

“Keep investigating,” Li Xiujin said darkly. If not for his sharp intuition, that bullet would have struck Lin Ze’s heart directly. How dare they do something like this right under his nose.

His tone sent a shiver down Fu Zhi’s spine. “Yes, General.”

Fu Zhi remembered there was one more thing he needed to report, but it suddenly slipped his mind. It probably wasn’t important anyway, so he left.

Li Xiujin sat alone for a while before stepping out. A servant said to him, “Your grandfather is outside and wishes to see you.”

“I won’t see him.”

“Understood. I’ll inform them right away.” The servant hurried off to carry out the order.

“No?! That beast!” Li Tingyuan hadn’t expected to drag his frail body all the way here only to be dismissed. He cursed out the servant for several minutes before angrily letting Meng Yang help him leave.

Just then, they happened to run into Lin Ze, who was returning.

“Dad, this man must be Li Xiujin’s spouse.”

Meng Yang studied Lin Ze from inside the car. He had a handsome, gentle appearance, with kind eyes and a friendly demeanor—a young man who seemed approachable and warm, nothing like the seductive vixen she had imagined. It was hard to guess what he had used to bewitch Li Xiujin.

Lin Ze frowned slightly at the woman and elderly man blocking his path. “Who are you?”

“You’re married to Li Xiujin, and you don’t know who we are?” Li Tingyuan said coldly.

Lin Ze could roughly guess who he was.

Images of Li Xiujin’s bruised and swollen face flashed through his mind, and his friendly expression vanished.

“Xiu Jin never mentioned you to us,” Lin Ze replied.

Li Tingyuan had hoped Li Xiujin would marry an omega of equal standing, not some ordinary alpha like this. He snorted heavily. “I don’t know what tricks you used to bewitch Li Xiujin, but I will never acknowledge you as part of the Li family.”

Lin Ze replied calmly, “You don’t need to worry about that. Our marriage is just a contract. Once I fulfill his conditions, we’ll go our separate ways.”

“That’s for the best.”

Li Tingyuan was helped into the car.

Lin Ze stood in place, staring blankly at the back of the car.

He was right—once the child was born, the two of them would part ways. Yet, his heart felt strangely heavy.

*

The gate of the abandoned research institute was peeling and worn. Fu Zhi pushed it open, stirring up a cloud of dust. He covered his nose and coughed twice before returning to the car to lead the way for Li Xiujin.

Once inside, Li Xiujin paused and surveyed the surroundings.

The layout resembled that of an ordinary hospital, with all the medical equipment removed, leaving only a few old beds and chairs.

“Where’s the records room?”

Fu Zhi quickly led him there. The key no longer worked, so Fu Zhi forced the door open.

Inside stood a row of metal filing cabinets as tall as a person, unlocked. Fu Zhi opened them and began pulling out the patient records stored inside.

Li Xiujin skimmed through them briefly but found nothing related to Lin Ze. He instructed Fu Zhi, “Take them all back.”

As they prepared to return to the corporate office, Fu Zhi suddenly received a call. After hanging up, he said, “General, it’s your grandfather. He collapsed suddenly yesterday and is now in the hospital.”

“Hmm,” Li Xiujin replied indifferently.

“Should we go see him?”

Li Xiujin sneered, “Might as well take a look.”

The car changed course and headed to the nursing home Li Tingyuan frequented.

Whispers could be heard from inside the hospital room.

“Yesterday, Dad went to see him out of kindness, but he just refused to meet him. On the way back, we ran into the man he married. You have no idea how coldly he treated Dad—he even said Li Xiujin never mentioned Dad at all. After that, Dad came back and…”

Fu Zhi glanced at Li Xiujin’s expression and realized that if he let the woman inside continue speaking, it could lead to dangerous consequences. He quickly knocked on the door.

Meng Yang turned pale when she saw Li Xiujin standing outside. “Y-you’re here…”

Li Xiujin stared down at her coldly.

Meng Yang shuddered. “I’ll go ask the doctor about Dad’s condition. You stay here with him for now…” With that, she fled as if escaping.

Whether he was truly ill or pretending, Li Tingyuan opened his eyes upon hearing Li Xiujin’s voice, his breath weak. “At least you still have some conscience.”

“I’m just here to see when you’ll die,” Li Xiujin said calmly as he walked over and looked down at him.

Li Tingyuan coughed angrily, but upon seeing the bandage still wrapped around Li Xiujin’s shoulder, he retorted, “You took a bullet for such an ordinary alpha. You must really like him. But he told me himself yesterday that once he fulfills your conditions, he’ll leave you.”

“I thought someone like you had finally found a partner who loved you. Who would’ve thought… you had to resort to money and power to force them…”

After all, he had watched Li Xiujin grow up. He understood all too well what Li Xiujin yearned for.

“How pathetic…”

Before Li Xiujin could grab his neck, Fu Zhi quickly interjected, “General, Colonel Lin just sent me a message. He asked when you’d be back—he’s waiting for you at home…”

On the way back, Fu Zhi drove while anxiously observing Li Xiujin, whose expression remained dark and brooding. Suddenly, it dawned on him—he remembered the thing he had forgotten to report.

“General, before Colonel Lin went to the underground trading market, he actually called you. He probably wanted to tell you about it, but it’s my fault—I didn’t inform you in time because you were busy.”

“Even though there might not have been feelings before, Colonel Lin must feel differently about you now. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have proactively told you where he was going. And ever since you left, he’s been texting me nonstop, asking about your wound and when you’d return…”

Li Xiujin’s expression softened slightly, but only a little.

It was already dark, and Li Xiujin still hadn’t returned. Lin Ze grew worried. Only after receiving Fu Zhi’s reply that Li Xiujin was fine did he feel slightly relieved.

Once relieved, drowsiness washed over him.

He hadn’t slept well this entire time while taking care of Li Xiujin. He didn’t even realize when he had dozed off.

He woke to a tingling, slightly painful sensation. Instead of seeing Li Xiujin’s face, he felt himself being fiercely licked, sucked, and nipped. Lin Ze shivered lightly.

After the initial shame, worry set in. “Xiu Jin, your injury hasn’t healed yet. Don’t do this…”

“Why not?”

Li Xiujin suddenly straightened up and pulled him closer.

“Getting pregnant sooner so you can leave me sooner—isn’t that what you want?”