The next second, He Qian let out a soft hiss of pain.
Zhou Xuying was applying medicine to him. After finishing, Zhou Xuying wiped his hands with a wet wipe. “I had someone handle your leave of absence. We are going to the hospital today.”
He Qian remained silent for three seconds. “The, the andrology department?”
“Hmm?”
He Qian suddenly had his answer. “I do not want to go.”
Zhou Xuying’s gaze swept over He Qian’s waist, and he let out a meaningful laugh.
“Hmm?”
“?”
He Qian looked down, his pupils shaking with shock. He immediately grabbed the clothes from the nightstand and pulled them on. It was a physiological phenomenon. He was nineteen years old and full of vigor; it was perfectly normal. However, presenting himself this way in front of Zhou Xuying in such a state made He Qian feel beyond embarrassed.
His face flushed as he explained, “I was not trying to seduce you.”
“Mhm.”
Zhou Xuying’s tone was indifferent. He Qian felt that the man had not listened at all!
Upon arriving at the hospital, He Qian was registered at the fever clinic. Only after his temperature was taken did he realize he had a fever of 39°C. He lay weakly in a lounge, receiving an intravenous drip. Zhou Xuying sat with his legs spread apart, a posture of extreme self-confidence.
He Qian looked at Zhou Xuying, wanting to speak but hesitating. Zhou Xuying noticed He Qian’s gaze through his peripheral vision. “Something on your mind?”
He crossed his legs, his long, straight limbs creating a smooth silhouette.
“Nothing!” He Qian looked away.
By the time the IV bag was half empty, He Qian’s mind was filled with the image of Zhou Xuying’s exceptionally well-built physique. He could not shake it.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Zhou Xuying rose with a cigarette in his mouth. His gaze fell below He Qian’s waist, and just as he was about to say something, his eyes flickered.
He Qian wondered what he was looking at. His own eyes followed Zhou Xuying’s gaze.
In an instant, He Qian felt utterly mortified and quickly turned over. His body turned first, while his arm connected to the IV followed slowly. Zhou Xuying stepped out with the cigarette between his teeth. The sound of the door closing and the click of a lighter echoed together. A voice drifted back inside: “I will feed you tonight.”
“?”
Feed? Feed what!
He Qian suddenly found a surge of strength and sat up. Only after the door was firmly shut did he lean back weakly. He realized his entire back was drenched in sweat. In the large lounge, He Qian could not penetrate that heavy door. He had anger but nowhere to vent it.
Not long after Zhou Xuying left, the door was pushed open. Lin Xu entered the room and looked toward the hospital bed. He Qian lay there peacefully. His pallid face looked terrible, yet he possessed a sense of resilience. As the sunlight spilled over him, his collarbone moved rhythmically with his breathing.
“Mr. He,” Lin Xu said as he sat down. “How are you feeling?”
“I am alright.”
“I will take your temperature.”
Lin Xu used a thermometer gun. Throughout the process, He Qian kept his eyes closed. Lin Xu looked at the device. “It has come down a little.”
“Mhm.”
Lin Xu sat there, staring at the red mole on He Qian’s neck for a moment. “Mr. He, what do you think of Mr. Zhou?”
He Qian opened his eyes. He looked at Lin Xu, moving his gaze from the man’s neat, short hair to the ID badge on his chest. His eyes turned cold as he said, “I loathe him to the extreme.”
“He,”
“Do not say anything about him treating me well,” He Qian interrupted. “That is moral kidnapping.”
Lin Xu found He Qian to be sharper than he had imagined.
“You are his friend, right?”
At this Beijing hospital, Zhou Xuying had donated expensive medical equipment. Everyone kept their distance from him out of respect and fear. No one would be brave enough to ask He Qian for his opinion on Zhou Xuying unless they knew him personally.
“I am,” Lin Xu said.
He Qian gave a raspy laugh.
“He kept me locked up for a month. In the mornings, he would choke me and shout my name, demanding that I respond. At noon, he would lock me by the sofa and have his way with me. At night, he would say eerie and strange things.”
“I spend every day living in fear. Tell me, in what way is he good to me?”
He Qian gave a faint, mocking smile. “Oh, he does not choke me anymore because he does not like sleeping with his lovers. He leaves early in the morning. Does that count as good?”
He Qian arched an eyebrow at Lin Xu. Lin Xu was momentarily speechless, unable to defend his friend. He simply looked into He Qian’s eyes with a deep frown and said sincerely, “Please give him some time.”
“Give him time to drive me insane?” He Qian’s eyes grew watery.
“He is ill.”
“Why should I wait for a madman to be cured?”
Lin Xu was Zhou Xuying’s friend. Even though Zhou Xuying was forcing him, Lin Xu still spoke up for him, completely disregarding He Qian’s feelings. In this world, He Qian had no friends, no family, and was entirely alone. He had no umbrella to shield him and no one to back him up. There were cliffs both in front of and behind him. One wrong move would result in him being shattered to pieces.
Lin Xu remained silent.
Half an hour later, He Qian finished his IV drip. Zhou Xuying took him back to the hotel. Zhou Xuying worked while He Qian slept. Neither disturbed the other, and it was relatively peaceful. He Qian enjoyed this tranquility. To find peace with Zhou Xuying was a rare occurrence.
In the evening, Zhou Xuying put away his computer and went to the bathroom to shower. When he came out, he walked toward He Qian with his chest bare. He Qian looked up at his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and clearly defined abdominal muscles. The lines of his body were beautiful.
He Qian stared at Zhou Xuying’s chest for a long time. There was a red, swollen circular scar there. It looked like a gunshot wound.
A gunshot wound.
He Qian’s mind raced. Private gun ownership was prohibited domestically. Zhou Xuying must have sustained the injury abroad. Was it from when he went overseas half a month ago? He Qian did not ask. He would not let his kindness overflow into caring for Zhou Xuying. If something truly happened to Zhou Xuying, he would be free.
As He Qian was lost in thought, Zhou Xuying suddenly pulled back the covers and lifted his leg. He Qian flinched in fear.
“Afraid?”
“No, I am not!”
He Qian’s foot went rigid and tense. Zhou Xuying gave his sole a morbid kiss to soothe him. He Qian broke out in goosebumps, feeling even more terrified. He was so frightened that he did not even realize when Zhou Xuying had finished applying the medicine.
Only when Zhou Xuying let go to wash his hands did He Qian slowly come back to his senses. His eyes focused on Zhou Xuying’s broad back, where he saw a row of small characters within a coffin tattoo. He could not see them clearly, but they looked like a date or a birth chart.
“Zhou Xuying!” He Qian suddenly called out, his lips trembling.
Although He Qian did not understand tattoos, he knew that one should not tattoo a woman with open eyes on their body. It was said to lead to being haunted by female ghosts who would drain one’s life force.
“Hmm?”
Zhou Xuying turned around. The light fell on his sharp features, creating a play of light and shadow. His face looked as cold and hard as a sculpture.
“Does your tattoo have any special meaning?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
Zhou Xuying’s tattoo looked as if it had been there for a while, likely done when he was younger. He Qian did not ask further. He had never truly understood Zhou Xuying. In the other world, he had only met him once at a charity gala. He had accidentally bumped into him, and Zhou Xuying had caught him. That was all.
Most of what he knew about Zhou Xuying was through hearsay, such as how he sent his brother to prison to seize power or his religious beliefs. He knew nothing else. Therefore, when Zhou Xuying kicked down his door to force this relationship, He Qian was confused.
Why him?
During this month of forced love, He Qian had a terrifying theory. He did not belong to this world, and the current Zhou Xuying did not know him. The reason Zhou Xuying was forcing him was likely love at first sight. This meant that back at the gala, when Zhou Xuying had helped him, he was already thinking about pinning him down.
He Qian gasped.
When Zhou Xuying returned, He Qian lay in bed with stiff limbs. Zhou Xuying turned off the light and pulled He Qian into his arms. He Qian turned his back to him. Zhou Xuying’s calloused hand reached toward He Qian’s waist, preparing to do something.
He Qian grabbed his hand, trembling slightly.
“Zhou Xuying, do you love me?”