Chapter 16: “A Du”

Chapter 16: "A Du"

Pei Du was tall with long legs; standing before him, Chu Lanting only came up to his shoulder.

Since there were no clothes at home that fit him, he hadn't had a shirt on these past two days, only gauze wrapped around his wounds.

At noon, Chu Lanting had checked the wound on his chest, which was healing at an incredible pace.

But that didn't mean he was fully healed.

Chu Lanting didn't know Pei Du's past, but he knew Feng Xingyun's build.

He was incredibly strong, with fists like sandbags, and a total troublemaker.

On planet 207, where a lot of folks couldn't get enough to eat, Feng Xingyun had packed on a ton of muscle, and usually nobody dared mess with him.

So when he headed to his place to pick a fight with Pei Du, passersby didn't dare say a word—they just ran to the factory to get him.

As he hurried home, the closer he got to his door, the more anxious Chu Lanting grew at the silence—no sounds of a fight.

Finally, he stopped not far from the courtyard, and when he saw the person inside wearing the same dark blue factory uniform he'd seen that morning, his head started buzzing.

"Feng Xingyun, what are you doing?!"

Chu Lanting wasn't exactly a pushover—especially when someone was bullying him, he'd go from a docile rabbit to a biting one.

Thinking about how Pei Du had gotten bullied because of "him," he clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and strode quickly toward the courtyard.

But just as he pulled open the gate, he saw Feng Xingyun, who'd been facing away, suddenly spin around.

"Feng... What are you..."

The dark blue uniform had been tailored for Feng Xingyun, made a bit bigger on purpose, so it hung loose on him.

But on Pei Du, it looked a little tight.

Seeing his wife come back, Pei Du shifted his arms awkwardly, walked over, and reached out to grab the pale hand in front of him.

"Wife, why are you back?"

Chu Lanting looked at the man in front of him, and seeing no wounds on his face, the tight knot in his chest loosened a bit—only to tighten again the next second.

"Are you hurt? Where's Feng Xingyun? Did he come looking for trouble?"

As he spoke, he lifted the other man's arm, and seeing the dark blue uniform on him, the worry on his face only got worse.

"Why are you wearing his clothes? Where'd he go?"

As he spoke, Chu Lanting turned his head to look to the side.

Pei Du, warmed by his wife's concern, curled his lips into a smile, tugged at the clothes on his body, and said, "Wife, I've got clothes now! I can go out with you!"

"Wife, I missed you. Have you been missing me?"

Pei Du hugged his arm, and Chu Lanting raised a hand to push at the head pressed against his shoulder: "You haven't answered my question yet. Where's the person who came to cause you trouble?"

The words had barely left his mouth when a pained groan suddenly came from the corner of the courtyard.

Hearing the familiar voice, Chu Lanting immediately stood on his tiptoes to look.

Seeing Feng Xingyun curled up in the corner, wearing only a tank top because his jacket had been taken, he felt a little relieved.

At least the guy wasn't dead.

He pushed away the arms clinging to him, furrowed his brow, and walked over to stand in front of Feng Xingyun.

Standing there, Chu Lanting looked down at the injured face in front of him, his lips pressed tightly together in anger.

He wanted to demand why Feng Xingyun had come to mess with Pei Du, but the answer was obvious.

He also wanted to curse Feng Xingyun for attacking someone who was hurt, but the wounds on his own body made it clear who'd won that fight.

With no outlet for his anger, his hands clenched into fists, and it took a long moment before he took a deep breath. Just as he opened his mouth, a warm, dry palm covered his face.

The anger that had been rising instantly died down by half. Chu Lanting turned to look at the young man who'd somehow come to stand beside him.

"What's wrong?"

After the words left his mouth, he remembered Pei Du's injuries—he'd only checked his face and hands, not the wounds on his body.

With that thought, the anger on Chu Lanting's face completely vanished: "Are you hurt somewhere? Where does it hurt? Let's go inside and put some medicine on it, okay?"

Pei Du didn't answer. Instead, he grabbed his arm and pulled him into his arms.

"Does wife like him? You looked at him for so long. He just said wife would be with him. I didn't believe him..."

As he spoke, Chu Lanting, held firmly in his arms, could clearly feel the vibration of his chest against his cheek, and his heartbeat pounding like a drum.

He patted the other man's arm and said softly, trying to soothe him, "You're right not to believe him. He already has a partner. I won't be with him."

"Really? Wife's only going to be with me?!"

Did this guy have a natural talent for twisting words?

Chu Lanting shook his head helplessly, didn't answer, and just asked him to let go first.

Feng Xingyun was, after all, the factory director's partner and a bit of a big shot in town.

Now that Pei Du had hurt him, there was no telling if he'd come looking for trouble again.

He couldn't have Pei Du handling things every time—Pei Du would eventually leave one day once his memories came back, and he didn't want to be a sitting duck after he was gone.

Crouching down in front of Feng Xingyun, Chu Lanting saw that he was still breathing, his fingers still twitching, and spoke to him: "I've said it before—aside from our boss-employee relationship at the factory, there's nothing else between us."

"I don't know what you're thinking, but you definitely don't want what happened today to get out."

"Feng Xingyun, I can forgive your cluelessness and your recklessness, but before I forgive you, there's a condition."

"Of course, you could also choose not to make nice. Someone saw you coming to my house this afternoon. My... my partner A Du is a guy who's lost his memory and is strong as an ox. If you choose not to make nice, it's possible you might get 'accidentally beaten to death' by me and my partner."

He deliberately stressed the words "accidentally beaten to death."

Chu Lanting kept his gaze fixed on Feng Xingyun's face.

Seeing his eyes tightly shut, his brows furrowing at the threat, a slight smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"A Du, go grab the shovel from the house. I think we need to dig a hole first—it'll make burying the body easier later."

Pei Du stood right beside him.

Hearing that, Pei Du instinctively raised his hand and pointed at his own nose.

"Babe, were you calling me?"

In the sunlight, Chu Lanting tilted his head up to meet his eyes. "Yeah, how about I call you A Du from now on?"

Chu Lanting was afraid that calling him by his full name might cause what happened last night to repeat itself.

He lightly rubbed his fingertips against his pants, and when he saw the other man nod in agreement, the smile on Chu Lanting's face deepened.

"A Du."