translator: Eve
editor: kara
The car that had hit Xiao Shenglin backed up quickly. It stopped at a spot not too far away from the man before it revved its engine and headed back in his direction as if the car intended on hitting him again. Screams erupted all around. Song Xuanhe broke out into a sprint but was quickly restrained by the driver who had been restraining the man who had had his head down earlier. “You can’t go over there! It’s dangerous!”
Zhou Nan stared at Xiao Shenglin, who was lying on the ground, with great alarm. He belatedly looked up after hearing the screams. His pupils constricted. His body was slower than his mind. Subconsciously though, he moved to stand in front of Xiao Shenglin. However, Xiao Shenglin was still awake. He used all of his remaining strength to push Zhou Nan away.
“Lin zi—”
Zhou Nan’s voice dripped with despair. Meanwhile, Song Xuanhe was struggling with all his might against the person restraining him.
“Piss off!”
“Song shaoye, you cannot go over there.”
Song Xuanhe had some training in combat. The person holding him down could not restrain him on his own now that Song Xuanhe was worked up. Several other people immediately jumped out of the car behind them to assist. It took three large men to hold him down.
At the same time, the sirens of an ambulance and police cars blared through the air. They sounded like cracks of thunder striking through the air as they covered everyone’s panicked screams. Nevertheless, none of those vehicles would be able to stop the car that was currently hurtling towards Xiao Shenglin again.
The screaming people also realized that the car had a target. They stopped panicking. Instead, they all focused on one spot. Some people had faces full of fear while others covered their eyes.
Those two or three seconds felt like they were countless slow-motion angles of the same shot converging towards one spot—that spot being Xiao Shenglin, who was lying in a pool of blood, and the car that was getting increasingly closer to him.
Bang—
Screech—
The sounds of an intense collision and tires streaking against the ground echoed through the air. Most people had closed their eyes, unwilling to witness the tragic scene.
This group didn’t include Song Xuanhe and Zhou Nan. They had both seen another car speed over from the side. It had crashed into the car that had been racing towards Xiao Shenglin and pushed it into the greenery beside the road, causing it to hit a tall tree. The driver of the car that had tried to kill Xiao Shenglin seemed to be heavily injured. He had fainted.
Everything was silent for two seconds. Song Xuanhe broke free of the people holding onto him and charged towards Xiao Shenglin. The ambulance also just arrived, and the nurses and doctor rushed out. They followed after Song Xuanhe with a stretcher.
Zhou Nan walked over to the car that had crashed into a tree and pulled the driver out. With bloodshot eyes, he rained down a flurry of fists onto the driver’s body.
Song Xuanhe heaved a sigh of relief when the doctor had told him that Xiao Shenglin was not in life-threatening danger. He then pursed his lips upon seeing Zhou Nan’s actions. He walked over and pulled on the other man.
“Let go of me. I’m going to f*cking beat this b*stard to death!”
“The ambulance is about to leave,” Song Xuanhe said in a quiet, heavy voice, “I promise I won’t let him get away. Leave with the ambulance. I’ll head over later.”
Zhou Nan froze. Finally, he regained his calm. He clenched his fists and lowered his head. There was a sobbing quality to his voice. “I’ll leave it to you then.”
“Don’t worry.”
The ambulance whizzed them away after that. Song Xuanhe regarded the driver still on the ground coldly. He had just raised his left leg when another medical professional rushed over to him. Song Xuanhe sucked in a deep breath and addressed the police officer who had tagged along with the medical professional. “This is an international criminal. Their goal today was murder. Keep your eyes on him.”
The police officer had just been about to ask about Zhou Nan beating this person up. He was taken aback upon hearing Song Xuanhe’s words though. “How do you know that?”
Song Xuanhe said, “You can look into the traffic accident earlier. He had an accomplice as well, but his accomplice already made a run for it.”
After saying this, Song Xuanhe walked over to the SUV that had crashed into the other car to stop it. There was a bit of a dent in its hood, but the owner of the car seemed fine. He was holding a bag of ice that the doctor had given him to his head. He watched as Song Xuanhe came over while leaning against his car.
“Hey, hey, buddy!” The police officer had chased after Song Xuanhe. “This was a really bad car accident. We’ll need your cooperation for the investigation.”
Song Xuanhe paused. When the owner of the SUV saw that Song Xuanhe was being pestered, he walked over to him.
“I’m busy,” Song Xuanhe glanced at the people who had restrained him earlier and said, “Those people were the ones who had crashed into the original perpetrator’s car. Just ask them if you need to take down a testimony.”
“I can’t do that.” The young police officer had on an upright expression. He was very persistent. “You have to come along as well. The person who had crashed into that car has to come make a statement as well.”
The person the young police officer was talking about walked over. Another police officer, who had been busy with managing the situation, also rushed over. The new officer swept a gaze over the group and then smiled at the owner of the car. “Mr. Wei, I’ve already spoken to the bureau chief. There is no need for you to busy yourself with the investigation as a victim. You can go home and rest.”
Wei Chen lowered the bag of ice from his head. There was an unruly smile on his face. He spoke to the police officer, but his eyes were on Song Xuanhe. “My friend here is injured. I think he’s in dire need of treatment. I was wondering if we could postpone having him make his statement until he’s better.”
When the young officer had heard this, he paused before chiming in: “There aren’t any wounds on him….”
“Of course, of course!” The young officer’s superior officer glared at him as he interrupted his words. “There’s no hurry. This gentleman can come in any time. Take your time in recuperating.”
The young officer was dragged away by his superior. Despite the distance, Song Xuanhe could hear him getting chastised.
Song Xuanhe then turned to look at Wei Chen. His taut expression finally relaxed. In a wholeheartedly earnest voice, he said, “Thank you.”
Wei Chen threw his bag of ice into the other’s hands. “Xiao Shenglin’s also my friend. What are you thanking me for?”
Song Xuanhe just looked at him, a hint of a mocking smile on his lips.
Wei Chen was silent for a moment. He then pointed at the bag of ice. “Fine. Only you and Zhou Nan are his friends, okay? Are you happy now? You don’t distinguish between your enemy and yourself when fighting, do you? You had even managed to hit yourself in the face.”
Song Xuanhe handed the bag of ice back to him, a serious expression on his face. “I don’t need it. In any case, I really am grateful to you.”
Wei Chen pondered over this for a second before responding, “Then, treat me to a meal.”
When he saw Song Xuanhe looking at him, Wei Chen raised a brow. “What, were you planning on dropping it with a verbal thanks?”
Song Xuanhe’s pursed lips relaxed. A smile finally appeared in his eyes, which had been chilly all this time. “You choose the place.”
“Let’s go.” Wei Chen pointed to his car. “You probably want to go to the hospital now, right? We can still drive my car. I’ll take you there.”
Song Xuanhe was indeed in a hurry to head to the hospital, so he didn’t shirk away the offer. He did glance at the car that had just gotten into a bad crash with hesitation. The SUV didn’t seem to be badly damaged though. “Are you sure I won’t end up injured for a second time?”
Wei Chen clicked his tongue and smiled. “A second time? Was there even a first?”
Song Xuanhe opened the passenger side door and looked over at him coolly. “Weren’t you the one to say it?”
Wei Chen looked at the man who had already taken a seat in his car. He licked his chapped lips and suddenly chuckled. He stood there in place for a few seconds before walking over.
As soon as Song Xuanhe had sat down in Wei Chen’s car, he noticed that it was different from normal cars. He examined the interior and asked, “Where did you get your car modded?”
“I did it myself.” Wei Chen turned the car on. “How is it?”
“Not bad.” When he recalled how badly the cars had crashed into each other, Song Xuanhe suddenly felt tempted to get his modded too. But, he knew that he wouldn’t have the time to use it as he would be leaving this world soon. Therefore, he just said, “You must have changed the entire body of this car, right? How much time did it take?”
“Half a year,” Wei Chen replied with a smile, “My dad thought that I was slacking off because of this and dragged me into the medical robots business. If it hadn’t been for that, I would still be at the garage. He won’t let me do it for a living, even though it’s my dream job, so I can only do it as a hobby. Even so, it’s not bad.”
Song Xuanhe said, “You’ve got good skills.”
Wei Chen raised a brow. “It’s rare to hear you compliment me. And, here I thought you’d never be able to find a single good point about me.”
Song Xuanhe smiled silently.
“I still remember the first time you saw me. You had been extraordinarily dissatisfied with me,” Wei Chen continued, “You didn’t even want me to compensate you. I had been wondering whether I had offended you in the past. But, nothing ever came to mind. Song Er, have I ever offended you?”
“No.”
Song Xuanhe replied very definitively.
“Then, why did you dislike me at first glance? I still remember how you looked yelling at me to call the ambulance amid the torrential rain.”
Song Xuanhe glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. “Would you act kindly to the person who just ran over your boyfriend?”
As soon as his words had slipped out of his mouth, both Song Xuanhe and Wei Chen were taken aback.
After a moment of silence, Wei Chen asked, “What’s going on between you and Xiao Yuanmu?”
Song Xuanhe’s nerves had become taut from the entire sequence of events just now. The words he had blurted out threw his mind into an even bigger mess. He shut his eyes while trying to calm himself down. “Don’t you know?”
“What would I know?” Wei Chen acted dumb. “We’ve barely seen each other since Xiao Yuanmu had left. You had even paid back my kindness from the banquet last time by avoiding me. Same thing with the Zhou Rong matter later. You’d never thanked me until today after I saved Xiao Shenglin. I’m even less likely to learn about anything from Xiao Yuanmu. We don’t really know each other. Now that we’re halfway across the ocean from each other, it’s even less likely we’d be in contact.”
Song Xuanhe laughed. “Shouldn’t you be in contact with him considering you’re working on the medical robots project together?”
Despite hearing Song Xuanhe’s certain tone, Wei Chen still acted unperturbed. His tone was that of utter innocence. “My business partners are all listed on my company’s Baike page. Xiao Yuanmu isn’t one of them.”
A derisive smile graced Song Xuanhe’s lips when he had heard this. He didn’t comment any further.
They drove in silence for some time. Wei Chen’s smile gradually faded. “I heard that you’re taking a long vacation.”
Song Xuanhe exhaled through his nose, making something that sounded like a sound of acknowledgement.
“Have you thought about where you’re going to go?”
“No.”
“I heard that you had plans.”
Song Xuanhe opened his eyes. In a tone of impatience, he said, “Sounds like you’ve looked into a lot of things. What, did you grow a few more ears, or are the people around you wagging their tongues too much?”
Wei Chen paused and then broke out into laughter.
Song Xuanhe narrowed his eyes at him. Wei Chen said, “I’ve noticed that your temper’s particularly worse when it comes to me.”
“And, that makes you happy?”
“Yeah.” Wei Chen’s smile was unrestrained, making him look a bit like a ruffian. “It means that I’m special to you, in a way.”
Song Xuanhe’s gaze paused on his smile for a few seconds. It made him think of the first time he had met Wei Chen. The other’s skin had always been thick.
Upon reaching the hospital, Song Xuanhe quickly went to find Xiao Shenglin’s operation room. He sighed in relief when he saw Zhou Nan, who was covered in bandages. The fact that Zhou Nan had agreed to be treated and looked calm meant that Xiao Shenglin’s injuries weren’t that bad.
As soon as they walked over, Zhou Nan called out to them. His voice sounded hoarse. He told Song Xuanhe, “The doctor said that Lin zi will be fine. Although he’s broken some bones, his organs are fine.”
Song Xuanhe’s heart finally relaxed. With a calm expression, he said, “That driver’s injuries are probably worse than Lin zi’s. I don’t know how he’s doing right now. His accomplice already ran away. The probability of tracking him down is slim. But, Lin zi will probably be safe now considering how big this accident has become.”
Anger appeared on Zhou Nan’s face when he heard about those two drivers. Teeth gnashed, he said, “I want to kill Xiao Baicong.”
Shock flitted through Wei Chen’s eyes, but he tactfully chose to remain silent. Song Xuanhe patted Zhou Nan’s shoulder and said, “He’s definitely going to pay for this.”
After Zhou Nan had finished venting his anger, he looked at Wei Chen. “Hey, thanks for today. I know you don’t need any formalities. In the future, if you ever need anything, we will do anything we can to help you.”
Wei Chen looked at Song Xuanhe, his gaze pregnant with meaning. “Anything? Does that include you, Xuanhe?”
Song Xuanhe smiled. “Of course. How do you want me to repay you?”
Wei Chen smiled upon seeing Song Xuanhe agree so easily. He then turned to Zhou Nan: “Xuanhe and I have already discussed this. He’ll be treating me to a meal. That will be enough.”
Zhou Nan frowned. “How could that be enough? A single meal….?”
“Even if it had been someone else, I would have done the same thing. Besides, although Xiao Shenglin and I aren’t close friends, I couldn’t watch him get run over and not do anything about it.” Wei Chen knocked his fist against Zhou Nan’s shoulder. “It’s fine. There’s no need to think so much between friends.”
Zhou Nan nodded. His eyes were still red. “I can’t let Song Er treat you on his own. When Lin zi recovers, the three of us will treat you together.”
Wei Chen’s smile froze. His voice was very stiff. “There’s no need to go to so much trouble.”
“It’s only right!” Zhou Nan persisted. “The one you saved is Lin zi. Even if Song Er and I don’t treat you, Lin zi should.”
“The three of you can treat me to a meal separately,” Wei Chen said, “Separately.”
Zhou Nan was perplexed. He was going to ask why when he realized that what Wei Chen said made sense. Three separate meals did sound more sincere than one.
He had always thought that Wei Chen was like those young masters from the innermost circles of the compounds, the ones who looked amiable but were actually distant and arrogant. After speaking to him just now though, he realized that he had misunderstood the other.
Song Xuanhe asked, “Did the doctor say how long the operation will last?”
“No,” Zhou Nan replied, “But, the doctor had said that it wasn’t anything serious when he had come out earlier.”
Song Xuanhe nodded. He had been about to ask something else when his phone started to ring.
The caller ID and the memory of the people who had restrained him earlier caused him to shove his phone back into his pocket with pursed lips.
However, because he didn’t pick up, his phone continued to ring incessantly. The caller kept calling, again and again. Zhou Nan couldn’t keep quiet anymore: “Who is it?”
Song Xuanhe’s lips were pulled into a straight line. In a flat voice, he said, “My father.”
Zhou Nan nodded and didn’t ask anything else upon hearing this. It was normal for Song Xuanhe to ignore Song Guochao’s calls.
He then turned to continue his conversation with Wei Chen. “If we think about it, Lin zi isn’t the only person you’ve saved. You also saved Song Er during that episode with Zhou Rong. I had been stuck in traffic. If it hadn’t been because you had managed to get there in time, Song Er might not have been able to stand here today. You’ve saved two of us. We can be considered brothers now.”
Wei Chen raised his brow at Zhou Nan as he listened to Song Xuanhe’s endless ringtone. “I’ve always considered us friends.”
“We’re not just friends.” Zhou Nan wrapped an arm around Wei Chen’s shoulder. “We’re brethren now.”
Song Xuanhe’s phone was still going on. Zhou Nan turned to face him. “Your dad’s persistent. His patience is really something. My dad usually gives up after two tries.”
Wei Chen also looked at Song Xuanhe, his lips curling up. “It’s bad to make noise inside a hospital. How about turning your phone off?”
Song Xuanhe glanced at him before telling Zhou Nan: “I’m going to take this call.”
He then walked away with his cell phone in hand.
Zhou Nan was a bit taken aback. Staring at Song Xuanhe’s back, he said, “That’s weird. This is the first time I’ve seen Song Er answer his dad’s call. Looks like the reason he didn’t pick up my calls in the past was because I didn’t call him enough times.”
Wei Chen’s smile had faded a lot. His voice was now flat. “It doesn’t matter how many times you call if he doesn’t want to answer your call.”
……
After walking over to a quiet corner, Song Xuanhe accepted the call. Voice cool, he asked, “What do you want?”
“Are you okay?”
Song Xuanhe guffawed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
This time, Xiao Yuanmu didn’t play along. His chilly voice was tense. If you listened carefully, you could hear a sliver of anger and worry in his voice. “You couldn’t do anything to help under such circumstances. In that case, shouldn’t you try and protect yourself instead?”
Song Xuanhe raised a brow. He had a good control over his tone. “I hadn’t expected for the Xiao Family’s eldest young master to have such speedy information channels. You’re tens of thousands of miles away, and yet, you are able to find out about the car accident that had just happened here less than two hours ago. Even if it’s real-time reporting, there should still be some kind of delay. Moreover, I didn’t notice any reporters earlier. And yet, Eldest Young Master Xiao somehow knows about this already. It’s clear to see how concerned you are with my safety.”
Song Xuanhe had emphasized that last sentence heavily. None of the sarcasm was lost as it transferred over to Xiao Yuanmu’s ears.
“Song Xuanhe.” Xiao Yuanmu’s fists tightened. “I don’t think my men did anything wrong.”
“Of course not.” Song Xuanhe’s eyes were full of ice as he chuckled. “How could your subordinates be in the wrong? They weren’t in the wrong when you had planted them by my side to watch my every move. They weren’t in the wrong when they are reporting to you at all times. How could they be wrong when they had stopped me from saving my friend in the name of protecting me?”
Xiao Yuanmu’s gaze fell onto the ground. The dark, heavy, oppressive aura around him caused Louis, who had just walked into the room to usher him back into the meeting he had adjourned, to be taken aback. Louis took a step back and asked Yang Jie, “What’s wrong with him?”
Yang Jie had also just arrived, but he knew more than Louis did. This was because the people in China had reported to him before he had made the decision to interrupt the meeting and inform Xiao Yuanmu of the news.
It was just that he had thought that Xiao Yuanmu was only worried. That was why he had called Louis over. He had thought that his and Louis’s presence would help Xiao Yuanmu relax. Needless to say, things were unfolding differently from what he had imagined.
Yang Jie had not seen Xiao Yuanmu reveal his emotions like this in a long time.
“Let’s leave,” Yang Jie whispered to Louis, “We should wait outside.”
Louis also knew that it wouldn’t be appropriate to stay here any longer. He followed Yang Jie out of the room as quietly as they had entered it and closed the door to Xiao Yuanmu’s office.
After hearing nothing but silence for a long while, Song Xuanhe sucked in a deep breath. Fury and an extremely complicated emotion he had suppressed for a long time rumbled in his chest. Cool-headed, he said, “I don’t want to talk to you right now. I’ll be—”
“My stomach hurts….”
Song Xuanhe paused, mind blanking. He parted his lips, but no words came out.
“I don’t know when it started,” Xiao Yuanmu said in a mild voice, “But, whenever I get nervous, disgusted, or reject something, my stomach will start to hurt. I’ve always been able to bear with it. But just now, between the time I had heard the news to the moment I heard your voice, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bear it.”
Song Xuanhe’s fingers slowly tightened around his phone. He didn’t know why, but his eyes started to sting. It was baffling.
“The pain went away as soon as I had heard your voice.” Xiao Yuanmu lowered his head slightly and looked at the hand that was laid over his stomach. “But when I heard what you had said just now, it started to hurt again.”
“Song Xuanhe.” Xiao Yuanmu pursed his pale lips, hand pressing down harder on his stomach that was churning with pain. It was the first time he had found his stomach cramps to be unbearable. “I’m afraid of something happening to you.”
When he had heard the word “afraid” spoken in Xiao Yuanmu’s hoarse voice, Song Xuanhe’s grip tightened so hard that his veins began to bulge out from his skin. His eyes that had only stung a bit now turned red. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he sucked in a deep breath. “Nothing will happen to me.”
Xiao Yuanmu’s lips curled upwards. “But, I don’t want to take any chances, no matter how slim they are.”
“I always have a feeling…” Xiao Yuanmu’s hand continued to press down tighter on his stomach. His waist bent slightly, but one could not pick up anything from his voice, aside from the hoarseness. “…That you’ll disappear from my life at any time. Song Xuanhe, can you promise me that you’ll never leave me?”
Song Xuanhe opened his mouth, the corner of his lips pulling up slightly into a smile. He gazed off towards an arbitrary point in the distance. “We were talking about you sending people to follow me. Xiao Yuanmu, your ability to change the topic keeps improving.”
“Do you love me?”
Song Xuanhe could no longer hear any of the chilly tones Xiao Yuanmu’s voice originally had had. His voice was now extremely quiet and raspy.
Song Xuanhe said, “Where are you right now? Are you in excruciating pain? Where’s Yang Jie?”
“The company.” A flicker of disappointment flashed through Xiao Yuanmu’s eyes. His slightly bent waist straightened up as he answered Song Xuanhe’s questions one after another. “It doesn’t hurt anymore. Yang Jie’s in a meeting.”
“Tell your secretary to bring you medicine immediately or to take you to a hospital.”
“There’s no point.” The pain in his stomach had already subsided greatly. It was to a level that he was used to now. Xiao Yuanmu walked over to the window and looked far into the distance. His voice was still hoarse. “Don’t be angry anymore, okay?”
—“Don’t be angry anymore, okay?”
These words circled in Song Xuanhe’s head. The chilly, younger version and the older, hoarse version merged together. One version was a young, inexperienced Xiao Yuanmu who pretended to be cold. The other version was a more mature version who tended to feign calmness. Both their voices and faces fused so that the first Xiao Yuanmu he had met and the current one overlapped. Song Xuanhe felt like he could see the image of Xiao Yuanmu looking down with pursed lips.
He leaned against the wall. His voice was light but earnest. “Okay.”
He didn’t know if he was replying to the man on the other end or the young man from a long time ago.
Eve: One: Zhou Nan cockblocking Wei Chen and Wei Chen’s reaction cracked me up. Two, the tense conversation between SXH and XYM broke my heart and then warmed it up.
Kara: Excuse me as I cry over my two babies being so sweet even when they’re technically arguing. ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` ) I just love them so much! (ノД`)・゜・。
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