Chapter 78 Hug

Chapter 78: Embrace

Shen Ci tossed and turned all night. Besides the fan at his shoulder, the other fans kept dying on him, and Shen Shiyan had to go out and buy a dozen more to swap in.

By early morning, Shen Ci was fully awake. Shen Shiyan gave him some warm water and plain congee.

The curtains were drawn, and the lights were off. Shen Ci calmly took stock of the wounds on his body. His skin was naturally pale, and the blisters—pale yellow and dark green with reddened edges—stood out like crazy on him.

Two on his leg... then his arm, shoulder, ankle...

Shen Ci did a rough count. Aside from the big red patches from mild burns, there were six blisters, though thankfully none were too large.

"Will they leave scars?" Shen Ci asked, his voice subdued. "That'd be kinda ugly, wouldn't it?"

Shen Shiyan paused mid-peel on a sweet orange, then continued. "The doctor said if we take good care of it, there won't be scars."

Shen Ci's eyes softened into a gentle smile. "Really?"

Shen Shiyan even picked off the white strings from the orange slices before bringing them to Shen Ci's lips. He nodded and said, "Really."

Shen Ci ate the orange right out of his hand, his soft lips brushing against Shen Shiyan's fingertips. For some reason, Shen Ci felt a little awkward.

"Can't you pop the blisters?" Shen Ci took the rest of the orange from Shen Shiyan's hand. "They look so gross."

Shen Shiyan grabbed a wet wipe and cleaned his hands. "A nurse came by last night and said they can't be popped—it could cause an infection."

Shen Ci pouted a little.

After he finished the whole sweet orange, Shen Shiyan went to the bathroom, soaked a fresh towel and wrung it out, then returned to the bedside. He took Shen Ci's hand, carefully wiped it clean, then set it back down.

The pain now was nothing like last night's agony; Shen Ci could bear it. He told Shen Shiyan to turn off all the little fans in the room.

Just as Shen Shiyan got up, the door swung open. Song Qiuchi and Chen Bufan led the way, with the three sisters behind them, all pouring into the room.

Everyone was carrying something. Song Qiuchi set a bouquet on the cabinet, walked to the bedside, and used the curtain tie to pull the drapes open. "We wanted to come see you yesterday, but we were worried you needed rest."

One corner of the room was quickly piled high with supplements and gifts.

"You guys setting up a shop in here?" Song Xianghan sat by Shen Ci's bed, looking at his wounds. "Your d-ddy is such a workaholic."

Shen Shiyan, who was collecting the fans, stayed quiet.

Shen Ci laughed at that. "Sister Xianghan, d-ddy bought those to help with the pain."

Song Xianghan knew that, of course; she was just messing with him.

"Holy crap, burned this bad." Chen Bufan could already feel phantom pain. "How'd the fire start?"

His question hit the nail on the head, and the room went quiet for a second.

Assistant Qi and Assistant Gao, both super efficient, had barely gotten any sleep either. They traced the surveillance from the surrounding area all the way to the burned-down house in the remote part of the Shen estate.

"The bedroom was probably the last thing to catch fire, so it was still in decent shape. We found a small piece of incense that didn't burn up inside. The lab results showed the incense was made from an extract of a rainforest plant containing an unknown alkaloid. This plant is mostly found in the Karensia rainforest north of Etheris, and you can't get it in the country."

Qi Zizhu explained in detail to the group.

"The surveillance cameras near the Shen residence were destroyed," Gao Mengying continued. "The camera on the street corner was too far away and at a bad angle, so it didn't capture anyone. We could only see a black car that stopped there for about ten minutes yesterday evening. I cleaned up the image, but the license plate was fake."

Shen Shiyan turned off the last fan and stuffed it in the bag.

"The Shen estate's security system is top-notch in Cloud City. No outsider can get in without someone on the inside letting them," Shen Shiyan said, his voice flat but his brow heavy with anger.

In truth, everyone could guess who was behind this without investigation. Digging deeper was just trying to find some clue that pointed to him.

Though Shen Ci's wounds weren't large, they were still shocking. Song Xianghan looked away, unable to stand it.

She turned to Shen Shiyan. "There wasn't a single fingerprint in the whole room. Luckily, the source of the incense is clear, so we can trace it, barely. Shen Sicheng's already headed to Karensia to check it out. That country's not big."

That was the theory, but everyone knew that with just this one clue, searching for someone abroad was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

For now, it would have to be left unresolved.

Chen Bufan opened his mouth several times as if to speak, but finally couldn't hold back. "This is attempted murder! It's too dangerous. Shen Ci escaped this time, but what about the second or third time? What happens then?"

As Shen Ci's close friend, he was agitated, his voice rising.

"Calm down," Song Qiuchi tugged at his clothes.

But in truth, no one present could stay calm. If Shen Shiyan hadn't received that call because he had no signal at sea, Shen Ci lying on the hospital bed now might have been a charred corpse.

Everyone except Shen Ci, who was unusually composed.

"I'm fine now, aren't I?" His tone carried a note of reassurance for the group. "If we really can't find the person, there's nothing to be done. I'll just be more careful from now on. Besides, I have all of you, right? It's okay."

Shen Shiyan's throat tightened, and his eyelid twitched.

Shen Ci didn't like this atmosphere. He briefly comforted Chen Bufan and changed the subject, livening up the room.

The doctor came by once, giving some instructions on precautions.

Shen Shiyan listened intently. He had a good memory, but he still took out his phone and jotted down each point in the memo.

Work couldn't be abandoned, and Shen Ci needed rest. The group left on their own before lunch. Not long after, Shen Shiyan received a call.

"I'll be back in at most two hours. Call me immediately if anything happens." He put on his jacket, dark circles clearly visible under his eyes.

Shen Ci nodded. "I know."

Before leaving, Shen Shiyan quietly looked at Shen Ci for a while, saying nothing, just watching.

The room was left with only Shen Ci. His curved lips gradually straightened, and the smile faded from his half-lidded eyes.

Through the window on the door, he could see two figures outside the room. He knew they were bodyguards Shen Shiyan had arranged.

He had been lying flat for too long and wanted to turn over. The blisters on his leg scraped against the bedsheet, making him curl his entire leg in pain.

The calm he had shown to comfort others faded, replaced by obvious agitation. He reached out and touched his singed hair ends.

Why won't Shen Wenzhou just die! And Shen Siyu and his idiot son—why can't they just go to hell.

He hated them so much. If not for Shen Shiyan, if not for the reason that allowed him to swallow his grievances, he would rush back to the Shen estate right now and set fire to Shen Siyu's villa too.

Shen Ci never claimed to be a good person. In the past, to survive, he had stolen and robbed. To get revenge, he had hurt others. But he had never actively wished harm on anyone. Why did others' malice have to come at him without reason, aimed at him and at Shen Shiyan, who cherished him most?

At least only he was hurt.

Beneath the hatred was relief.

Relief that Shen Shiyan wasn't home. Relief that Shen Shiyan was unharmed. Relief that Shen Shiyan was still willing to take care of him, despite the trouble he brought.

Half of the ceiling was bathed in sunlight, the other half in shadow, with a clear dividing line.

He kept staring at that line, watching it slowly shift as the sun moved westward.

Shen Shiyan kept his word, appearing before Shen Ci in less than two hours.

"D-dad." The complex emotions in Shen Ci's peach blossom eyes were hidden again. "You should rest for a while."

Shen Ci didn't ask where he had gone; he didn't have the energy to think about those things. He just knew Shen Shiyan hadn't slept in almost two days.

Shen Shiyan paused, then reached out and ruffled his hair. "I'm not tired. Be careful when you get up; your hair needs a cut."

"Okay." Shen Ci nodded obediently and sat down in the chair. "It's much shorter now. Actually, I've just been used to having long hair since I was a kid. Maybe I should just cut it all off; short hair is fine too."

Shen Shiyan took out the barber cape he'd just bought and gently wrapped it around Shen Ci's neck.

"Let it grow out." Shen Shiyan ran his fingers through his hair, just like when he was a child.

Shen Ci faced the window, where he could see the blue sky and towering commercial buildings outside. The sunlight fell not only on the ceiling but also on him, making his light-colored eyes shine brightly.

The floor was gradually covered with scattered, dry strands of cut hair.

The long hair now only reached his neck. Shen Shiyan gently squeezed the back of his neck, half-hidden by hair, then bent down and gave Shen Ci a very light hug from behind.