The darkness swallowed the light, and his pupils gradually became hollow, losing focus. As he was about to collapse to the ground, his stiff body suddenly surged with energy. Xie Jinning flipped over and fell heavily onto the wooden bed. The sharp pain from the wound on his back felt like a hot iron plate, twisting his face in agony, but it also cleared his muddled mind.
It was as if he had just woken from a dream. Xie Jinning’s face was pale as he quickly moved his fingers away from his throat, gasping for air, and touched his neck in shock. What had just happened to him?
“Knock, knock, knock.” A knocking sound came from the door. “Are you asleep?” Two more knocks followed. “It’s Yan Yi. I’m here to check on your injury. Are you okay?”
Still trapped in the fear of near-death, Xie Jinning opened his lips, whimpering weakly, “I…” His voice was softer than a kitten’s.
Yan Yi, with his keen senses, noticed the change in Xie Jinning’s voice. Without waiting for a response, he pushed the door open and entered. He saw the young man lying on the bed, looking listless, clutching his neck with tear-streaked cheeks, as fragile and pitiful as shattered jade, completely devoid of the defiant arrogance he had when he told people to leave.
He had only been gone for an hour, so how did Xie Jinning end up like this?
The moment Xie Jinning saw Yan Yi, his heart settled. His soft lips pouted unconsciously, and his voice trembled as he let out a sobbing breath, “I’m not okay, not okay at all. I feel terrible.”
Yan Yi immediately stepped forward. “Where does it hurt?”
Xie Jinning released his hand, revealing a red mark across his smooth, jade-white neck. Yan Yi was about to examine it closely when Xie Jinning grabbed his clothes and pulled him down, closing the distance between them.
In the deep pupils reflected in Yan Yi’s eyes, the young man’s brows furrowed pitifully, trembling like a flower about to fall from a branch. He said anxiously, “I-I almost strangled myself just now!”
Xie Jinning shook his head in terror, his knuckles turning pale from the force. “I didn’t mean to. I don’t know what happened. I felt so cold and wanted to call you, but I couldn’t say anything. I—”
His voice broke, and his words were jumbled and incoherent. Suddenly, his arms were lifted, his waist suspended in the air, and a warm hand supported his back, helping him sit up straight, half-kneeling on the bed.
His hair fluttered in the air before slowly falling back down. Xie Jinning was embraced.
“It’s okay now, don’t be afraid.” The man’s embrace was warm and comforting, like the sun, even though it carried the unpleasant smell of oil and smoke. Yet, Xie Jinning felt at ease.
Burying his face in Yan Yi’s broad shoulder, Xie Jinning clutched his clothes tightly, muttering, “Why didn’t you come sooner…”
Tears of grievance soaked Yan Yi’s shoulder, and he didn’t know what to say. He awkwardly patted Xie Jinning’s thin back, simply saying, “I’m here.”
His voice wasn’t gentle, but its deep, resonant tone was like a mountain, greatly soothing Xie Jinning’s fragile heart at that moment.
The two of them quietly embraced, their strong, steady heartbeats and warmth passing through their tightly pressed chests, like a torch gradually dispelling the bone-chilling cold.
Xie Jinning choked back his sobs, clinging tightly to the man’s neck like a young beast expressing dependence and intimacy. Wrapped in safety and warmth, his whimpering gradually ceased, and he instinctively nuzzled his head.
It wasn’t until he felt the rough fabric rubbing against his cheek, causing a fine itch, that Xie Jinning slowly opened his eyes, belatedly realizing that this posture was too intimate for someone he had just met.
Moreover, in just one day, this was already the second time he had cried in front of this person.
How embarrassing. He wasn’t usually this prone to tears.
It’s all Yan Yi’s fault.
The young master’s thin-skinned ears turned red, and a surge of shame and annoyance welled up like a hidden tide. He punched Yan Yi’s back with force, complaining, “You stink! Let go of me quickly, and who gave you the courage to hug me!”
His nasal-sounding complaint was more like a pout.
Though he was beautiful in his vulnerability, Yan Yi preferred to see him regain his vitality, proud and radiant.
He wondered what Xie Jinning was like in the capital city.
Yan Yi obediently released his hold, stepping back a few paces to create some distance. The hand that had been around Xie Jinning’s waist loosely clenched into a fist behind his back. He asked, “Are you feeling better?”
“Better? Not at all!”
His eyelids, swollen from crying, added a touch of comical cuteness. The blush on his cheeks from rubbing against Yan Yi’s shoulder was like a tender cherry blossom. Xie Jinning pointed at his neck, emphasizing, “Didn’t you see? Here, I almost strangled myself, just before you knocked on the door!”
He tilted his head closer, exposing his vulnerable spot without reservation to the hunter, completely unaware of the danger.
Slender, pale, and straight like a jade lotus root.
Just a little squeeze, a slight twist of the arm, and you could hear the crisp sound of bones breaking, ignoring any struggle.
Yan Yi’s palm felt hot, as if he had taken lives in this manner countless times, so familiar it was ingrained in his bones.
Yan Yi inexplicably recalled the time when he first arrived in Hetian Village, when he was on edge, alert to every sound, waking up at the slightest rustle in the night.
Once, when his wound became inflamed, a doctor came to check his pulse, and in his sleep, he almost attacked the doctor.
Now, compared to then, he had restrained himself a lot.
“Please help me take a look. I really almost died just now, really!”
The soft voice brought him back to reality. Yan Yi’s gaze fell on the red mark on Xie Jinning’s neck, like a cinnabar necklace. It wasn’t deep, just a thin line, about the width of a finger.
This young master’s skin was extremely delicate, leaving a mark with just a light pinch. If he had really used force, it wouldn’t have been so shallow.
As for the near-death experience he mentioned, judging by the location, it was just a hallucination caused by accidentally pressing on his lungs, making it hard to breathe.
After listening to Yan Yi’s explanation, Xie Jinning touched his neck in relief, indeed not feeling any pain. Still worried, he confirmed again and again, “Are you sure it’s okay?”
“Really.”
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, lowering his head and angrily punching the bed.
So it wasn’t strangling, just almost scaring himself to death. Xie Jinning, how did you become so timid?
“However, excessive worry will harm your health.” Staring at the dark hair on his head, Yan Yi spoke bluntly, “Life here may not be as good as before, but it’s not as bad as you imagine. Besides, you’re still young, and you have…”
“Stop, stop, I don’t want to hear it. You’re so nagging.”
Xie Jinning covered his ears, muttering to himself: If this isn’t bad, then what is? The battlefield?
That has nothing to do with him at all.
“Is there anywhere else that hurts?” Yan Yi changed the subject, asking, “The wound on your back was just pressed. Has it worsened?”
For some reason, without waiting for a response, he reached down to check, only to have his hand slapped away by Xie Jinning, who had reacted in time.
Xie Jinning grabbed his half-pulled-down waistband, glaring angrily, “What are you doing!”
Yan Yi paused. Realizing his actions were indeed inappropriate, if it were a woman, he would have been scolded as a scoundrel and given a good beating.
No, even if it’s a man, he shouldn’t be so casual about pulling at someone’s clothes.
Silently chastising himself, he apologized, “Sorry, that was rude of me.”
Seeing his sincere attitude, Xie Jinning didn’t pursue the matter further. After the mental exhaustion faded, the physical discomfort hit him like a tidal wave, quickly overwhelming him.
Sticky, swollen, painful.
His teeth bit into his lower lip, leaving an indentation. He quickly said, “I need a bath, I need to change clothes.”
Xie Jinning had never had the habit of wearing the same clothes for two days, and as for bathing, at the Xie family, except in the hot summer, he was used to bathing every other day.
And now, he was on the verge of not having changed clothes or bathed for four days. After crying and sweating, he felt sticky and unbearable. He was about to be disgusted by his own smell!
Xie Jinning raised his arm, rolling up his sleeve to his elbow and sniffing it, pretending to be disgusted. He deliberately tried to gross out Yan Yi by shoving his arm under his nose, “If you don’t believe me, smell it. It really stinks.”
The dazzlingly white arm, carrying a rich fragrance, invaded Yan Yi’s senses. He froze for a moment, then held his breath, but it was too late.
The sweet scent, like flowers and honey, seized the moment, slipping into his lungs, entwining, spreading, and filling his entire being.
Yan Yi carefully touched the arm in front of him, intending to push it away. Before he could exert any force, his fingers sank into the skin, feeling cool and slippery.
How could a man be so… fragrant and soft?
So easily hurt, not good.
He didn’t dare to use more force, so he simply turned his head away, avoiding it, and said tightly, “I’ll go boil some water.”
“Wait, don’t go yet.”
Xie Jinning twisted his fingers, “The wound still hurts. I need to apply medicine, and I also want to…”
His voice grew softer, almost like a mosquito’s buzz, perhaps not even spoken aloud.
Yan Yi didn’t catch it, so he asked, “What else do you need?”
Xie Jinning: “I said I need to use the toilet, the toilet! Didn’t you hear?”
Unable to control his volume, the roof tiles almost lifted off. The echo in his ears made Xie Jinning’s face flush with embarrassment, his ears and neck turning a light pink.
He had been lying in bed all day without much movement. When he was about to relieve himself, he was interrupted, almost causing an accident. But once the urge passed, it subsided.
Then he kept delaying, until now…
He really couldn’t hold it anymore.
Death wasn’t as scary as this!
Inside his robe, his slightly swollen belly twitched and cramped. Xie Jinning’s fingers curled, tears welling up in his eyes, and he urgently said, “Hurry and take me.”
But as soon as his knees, which had been kneeling for too long, touched the ground, they gave way. When Yan Yi caught him by the waist, his hand happened to rest on his belly. “Careful.”
Xie Jinning almost bit through his lip.
Afraid that Yan Yi might accidentally press down and cause a disaster, Xie Jinning didn’t make a sound, maintaining this posture as Yan Yi half-supported, half-carried him out of the room.
The heat continued to bake his swollen belly, gradually turning into another kind of discomfort. As they moved, the fabric rubbed against him, and Xie Jinning’s breathing quickened, his weight almost entirely relying on Yan Yi.
It was truly torturous.
When they reached the threshold, he froze, his fingers gripping Yan Yi’s clothes tightly, his back arching, refusing to take another step.
“What’s wrong?”
“I… I can’t walk anymore.”
Xie Jinning couldn’t say it, feeling so uncomfortable that tears welled up in his eyes, his long lashes trembling violently, like a butterfly struggling to maintain balance in a storm.
Yan Yi’s gaze shifted to the area he was holding, and the legs unconsciously pressed together. Then, he wrapped his arm around Xie Jinning’s shoulders and back, lifting him up with a surprised cry.
“We’ll be there soon.”