Chapter 24

Chapter 24

A few days later, Ruan Yunchu’s leg still hadn’t improved much, though the numbness and ache had become noticeably stronger. But he was still a long way from being able to get up and walk around freely.

That day, Yan Zhuo took him to a circus. They were already at the entrance, but Yan Zhuo insisted on dragging him home to change into warmer clothes, using the cold as an excuse. Then, in the cloakroom, he wrapped his arms around Ruan Yunchu, kissing and nibbling at him, which took up a good chunk of time.

By the time they finally got there, they were almost late.

Ruan Yunchu kept a cold expression, his scarf pulled up a little to hide his swollen-looking lips, and he never once looked at Yan Zhuo.

Yan Zhuo felt hurt and wanted to act whiny, but once they got to the door, he had to look around, searching for someone.

Knowing exactly who Yan Zhuo was looking for, Ruan Yunchu ignored him and wheeled himself right in.

They had called ahead, so a special path was cleared, and a staffer guided him to the front row.

“Young master, I’ve got something to handle. I’ll be outside for a couple of minutes. You just sit here and watch the circus,” Yan Zhuo said, setting him up and then glancing around suspiciously.

Ruan Yunchu gave a cold “Mm,” and when Yan Zhuo tried to lean in, he raised a hand to stop his mouth.

“Get out of here.”

Yan Zhuo felt cheated but turned and left reluctantly.

Once Yan Zhuo disappeared through the entrance, Ruan Yunchu turned toward the door, raised his wrist terminal, and sent a message.

Not long after Yan Zhuo left, the circus officially began. Ruan Yunchu looked at the grand spectacle before him but couldn’t seem to focus on it. He stared off into the distance for ages, but the terminal never made a sound.

Luckily, Yan Zhuo soon ran back in with a huge bouquet, shoving it into Ruan Yunchu’s arms without a word, grinning ear to ear.

“Young master, these are for you.”

Ruan Yunchu froze for a second, cradling the heavy bouquet, but he still couldn’t manage to concentrate on the stage.

“You just went to get a bouquet of flowers?”

“Yeah, I specially prepared it as a surprise. Pretty, right?” Yan Zhuo was very pleased.

He kept stealing glances at the flowers, clearly waiting for praise, which almost made Ruan Yunchu crack a smile.

“It’s ugly.”

“Huh?”

Ruan Yunchu dropped his gaze and said nothing, just quietly watching the stage as his mind wandered.

Yan Zhuo, on the other hand, threw himself into the show. Knowing that Ruan Yunchu had never seen one before, he kept explaining everything, so it wasn't too boring of a time.

But, as usual, Ruan Yunchu’s face stayed totally blank, as if he couldn’t care less whether it was a circus or a ballet in front of him.

The loneliness felt like a dream. When the curtain came down, Ruan Yunchu calmly looked away and turned to Yan Zhuo.

“Let’s go.”

“Nothing to say about it?” Yan Zhuo clicked his tongue. “But I did notice one thing—there wasn’t much audience interaction in this circus. When I was a kid, I always wished they’d pick me to go up and join in. Too bad I didn’t get picked every time.”

“You’re too greedy.”

“Yeah, I guess. But it doesn’t hurt to think about it, right?”

Yan Zhuo pushed him out, couldn’t help whistling, looking totally relaxed.

Ruan Yunchu leaned back in his wheelchair, staring blankly, until they got outside. Then he slowly snapped out of it and looked in one direction.

“What are they selling over there?”

Yan Zhuo glanced over and saw a crowd gathered, which annoyed him. “Looks like candied hawthorns. The kids are fighting over them.”

He initially thought Ruan Yunchu was just asking casually, but instead, the other man stared in that direction and didn’t move, his meaning all too clear.

Seeing his expression, Yan Zhuo clicked his tongue to himself and said, “Should I go buy a few sticks?”

“Mm.”

He rarely asked for anything, so Yan Zhuo happily went over, glancing back every few steps as if uneasy.

Ruan Yunchu sat still and calm, watching as Yan Zhuo squeezed into the crowd. Only then did his gaze slowly fall on his surroundings.

At that signal, figures suddenly emerged from all around, weaving through the crowd toward him, their eyes filled with menace.

The wheelchair began to move slowly. As the first person approached, Ruan Yunchu twisted aside and retrieved a shock gun from under the wheelchair. He fired a shot—electricity crackled—and before the rigid body of the assailant could fall, another man rushed at him.

By then, Yan Zhuo had just bought the candied hawthorns and pushed his way out of the crowd. A smile was still on his face, but the moment he saw what was happening nearby, his expression instantly turned cold.

He dashed over and delivered a flying kick that knocked away the man trying to snatch the gun from Ruan Yunchu, plunging the area into chaos.

“Find a safe place. Leave these people to me.”

Yan Zhuo’s face was icy, with no hesitation.

Ruan Yunchu paused for a second, then unhesitatingly guided his wheelchair away. Amid the stampeding crowd, he accurately found a small side street. After a long while, the sounds behind him faded. A person leaped down from a wall in front of him.

“Young master.”

“What happened?” Ruan Yunchu asked.

The man thought quite seriously for a moment before answering: “He really did just go to pick up a bouquet. But he seemed a bit dissatisfied—argued with the florist for a bit, plucked off some wilted leaves from the bouquet before carrying it inside. Apart from that, he did nothing else.”

Ruan Yunchu nodded and asked no further. “And the thing I asked for?”

At this, the man hesitated again. “Young master, that stuff is too dangerous. Using it directly would be impossible—it would be life-threatening. But simulating the same effect is also difficult. I searched everywhere and found something similar. It causes an allergic reaction, and the symptoms are close, but you can’t use too much.”

“Stop your nonsense. He might come up any second.”

Ruan Yunchu’s face showed impatience. Though the man was reluctant, he finally handed the item to him.

“Please be careful, it’s very dangerous.”

“Mm.”

Before long, footsteps sounded at the mouth of the alley. The man who had been speaking got up and left. Ruan Yunchu took out a pocket knife, smeared it with the agent, and made a cut on his wrist.

A faint sting of pain came. He frowned slightly as the footsteps behind him grew louder, rushing past him and instantly engaging in a fight with the man.

To make the show convincing, that man also fought with full effort. Only after a few minutes did he retreat in defeat, disappearing.

Yan Zhuo was slightly out of breath, not from exhaustion but from worry.

In all this time, he had never let the young master fall into such danger. Being out of his sight always made him uneasy.

"Young master, are you alright?"

Ruan Yunchu lifted his eyes to glance at him, then slowly extended his injured wrist.

Yan Zhuo's eyes widened. He gently rolled up the torn sleeve, revealing the purple bruising and swelling around the cut.

"Poisoned?"

Ruan Yunchu had a low pain tolerance; he said flatly, his face slightly pale, "A potent toxin. Don't touch it."

"I think I've seen something like this before, but I can't remember what it was..." Yan Zhuo furrowed his brow, then suddenly remembered, "No, the toxicity is too strong. I'll suck out the poisoned blood first."

As he spoke, he grasped the slender white wrist and rolled up the surrounding fabric, bringing it to his lips, when he heard a clear and cold voice above him.

"You'll die."

Yan Zhuo looked up in confusion.

"I know what this is. If it's not treated within ten minutes of the injury, the toxin will spread through your body, and you'd have a few months, maybe. But if it enters through the mouth, you might drop dead on the spot."

Ruan Yunchu said this but didn't pull his hand back.

"Yan Zhuo, I really want to live, but I can't deceive you. You can just take me to the hospital; there might be another way."

"..."

Yan Zhuo's dark eyes stared at him for a few seconds, clear and without any complicated emotions.

Just as Ruan Yunchu was trying to figure out what he was thinking, he saw the man lower his head without hesitation and gently press his lips to the wound.

He spat out a few mouthfuls of black blood. Yan Zhuo's brows were furrowed. Only when he saw bright red blood did he take out clean drinking water, gently rinsed the wound, and rinsed his own mouth.

"It's fine. I'm just a nobody. Besides, I already said I won't let anything happen to you on my watch."

Yan Zhuo's lips were still stained with blood, his eyes dark but burning like a flame, making Ruan Yunchu freeze in shock.

Before long, Yan Zhuo helped him into the car, told the self-driving car the destination, and then leaned back in his seat, his breathing becoming rapid and shallow, his face growing pale.

Ruan Yunchu sat quietly, after being dazed for a while, before his fingers slowly touched Yan Zhuo's cheek and stroked it once.

"Is it worth it?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhuo just smiled. "I don't care if it's worth it. As long as I see the young master safe now, I'm happy."

"..."

His voice trailed off. Yan Zhuo lifted his head with difficulty, his voice barely a whisper.

"Young master, I love you."

Ruan Yunchu let out a long sigh, feeling his breathing become light and even. His hand moved to Yan Zhuo's shoulder.

A weight fell on his shoulder—someone leaned against him. Yan Zhuo lost consciousness.

Ruan Yunchu looked out the window with a complex expression, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

What a fool.

-

Yan Zhuo slept for a long time. When he opened his eyes and saw the pure white ceiling, he thought he was having a deathbed hallucination.

But before he could even blink in his confusion, he heard the door open. Someone strode over and called his name.

"Mr. Yan, are you okay?"

Yan Zhuo was puzzled. He looked up and saw a man in a white coat standing over him, smiling warmly.

"Who are you?"

"I'm a doctor from the Second Hospital. You've been unconscious for five hours. Mr. Ruan said that once you wake up, I should take you for a full checkup."

Yan Zhuo stared at him for a long time, then couldn't help but ask, "What poison did I get?"

"Poison?" The doctor said with a smile. "Just some irritating stuff. Nothing serious."

Yan Zhuo fell silent.

He settled back on the bed, remembering that cold, complicated look of the young man just before he himself passed out. He couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.

The Master really... always gives him such surprises.

He wondered if his little stunt today had been fun enough for him.

After resting a bit more, he refused the physical exam, got dressed, checked out, and left. He thought he would have to take a taxi back to the Ruan residence, but when he came downstairs, he saw a car waiting below.

The license plate wasn't familiar, but after a moment's hesitation, he had a feeling and walked over, pulling open the door.

Seeing Ruan Yunchu busy with work, he was stunned for a second, whistled, and sat down. Then he couldn't help but grab the other's wrist to look at the bandaged wound.

"Young master, you're ruthless to others, and you're not exactly kind to yourself either."

Ruan Yunchu slowly withdrew his hand, glancing at him coolly. "Anything else hurt?"

"I feel great everywhere, especially knowing that the young master waited for me here half a day. It warms my heart." Yan Zhuo said pointedly.

Ruan Yunchu let out a cold laugh and shut his terminal screen.

"When did you see through it?"

"See through what?" Yan Zhuo looked puzzled, as if he wasn't faking it at all.

Ruan Yunchu stared at him for a long moment. "You really didn't guess?"

"I only realized after I woke up. The room had white walls on all sides. I thought I'd gone to heaven." Yan Zhuo said in a plaintive tone.

Ruan Yunchu didn't find any trace of pretense in his eyes and couldn't help but smile. "You think you're going to heaven?"

"Why not? I've been doing good deeds all my life, fighting bad guys and helping the good, and taking care of the young master. I have to go to heaven with you—we need to be together even after we die."

Seeing that he was about to get sappy again, Ruan Yunchu shook his head, turned to look out the window, and gradually let out a breath.

He had been too guarded.

The car drove slowly toward home. Yan Zhuo suddenly remembered something and felt his empty coat pocket. "Damn, my tanghulu is gone. I hid them in my pocket. Those psychos didn't steal them, did they?"

"..."

Ruan Yunchu sighed. "I took them. They tasted pretty good."

Yan Zhuo was pleasantly surprised and felt completely content now.

The scenery outside the window rolled by, and he was in a great mood, not mad at all about being tricked.

After who knows how long, he caught sight of the outline of the Ruan estate and instinctively sat up.

"Yan Zhuo." Ruan Yunchu suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?"

Yan Zhuo looked at him calmly, waiting naturally, his gaze sincere and clear, as if no matter what Ruan Yunchu said at that moment, he would agree without hesitation.

Ruan Yunchu looked at him for a while, then slowly lowered his eyes. "From today on, let's redefine our relationship."

Yan Zhuo was slightly taken aback, which was rare; he didn't quite understand.

"What relationship? This time you're not going to banish me to be a gardener, are you? Though I'd love for you to open the window every morning and be in a great mood, I'm afraid I don't have the skills."

He talked way too much. Ruan Yunchu, lacking patience, simply turned and grabbed his face.

Yan Zhuo, like an inexperienced guy being flirted with, followed his lead and lowered his head, his deep black eyes fixed on him, half-smiling.

Ruan Yunchu didn't hesitate. He lifted his head slightly and kissed him on the lips, a very serious act.

"You've entered your probation period."

Yan Zhuo's eyes lit up, and he used immense willpower to stop himself from leaning in.

"Probation for what?"

"What do you want to do?" Ruan Yunchu asked with a faint smile, showing rare indulgence.

Yan Zhuo's lips parted slightly, and he hesitated for a long time, too embarrassed to say it out loud, completely unlike his usual self.

"Anyway, I don't want to be a fuck buddy."

Ruan Yunchu smirked slightly. "Then as you wish—try being a boyfriend on probation."

"..."