He did not know how long he had been asleep, but in his hazy state, Gu Yansheng seemed to catch the scent of disinfectant.
He had always disliked this smell, but smelling it now made him feel a lot more at ease, as it meant he had already escaped the fire scene.
He still felt extremely sleepy, his eyelids heavy and impossible to open.
Yet he could hear the sounds around him.
Gu Yansheng heard a doctor speaking: “The patient is fine. He only inhaled a small amount of smoke, which has already been expelled, so there is no danger to his life. The fetus in his womb is also developing well. Please rest assured, Mr. Xuan, both the adult and the child are very healthy.”
Xuan Chiyi’s voice still sounded anxious: “Then why hasn’t he woken up yet?”
The doctor replied: “It might be due to shock and fainting. Let the patient rest a little longer, and he will wake up.”
Hearing the doctor say this, Xuan Chiyi finally relaxed a little. Thankfully, Gu Yansheng was safe.
The doctor looked at the burn on Xuan Chiyi’s arm, which was quite severe with a large patch of angry red. Yet, from the very beginning, Xuan Chiyi hadn’t bothered with his own injuries: “Mr. Xuan, you are injured too. Let me clean and bandage it for you to prevent infection.”
Xuan Chiyi looked down at his wound and said: “Bandage it right here.” He refused to let Gu Yansheng out of his sight for even a second.
The doctor deftly treated the burn on Xuan Chiyi’s arm, wrapped it up securely, and stepped outside.
The room grew quiet, and Gu Yansheng felt his hand being gently held.
That hand was slightly rough and quite large, completely enveloping his own. Yet Gu Yansheng felt no aversion at all; instead, he found it remarkably comforting.
The person stroked his hair and gently touched his cheek.
Softly, the person murmured right beside his ear: “Gu Yansheng, don’t be afraid. It’s all over now. You’re safe.” Although the voice was very quiet, it offered an absolute sense of security.
Gu Yansheng remembered: before he lost consciousness, the person who had rushed in to rescue him was Xuan Chiyi.
He had also heard someone shouting from outside at that time: “The fire is too big, rushing in there is too dangerous.”
Yet Xuan Chiyi had charged in regardless of the danger, found him amidst the roaring flames, and carried him out.
He even vaguely remembered Xuan Chiyi holding him the entire time.
Gu Yansheng opened his eyes and saw Xuan Chiyi with his face blackened by soot. Unable to hold back a nose-tingling amusement, he smiled and said: “Xuan Chiyi, why do you look like a little smeared kitten?”
Gu Yansheng stayed in the hospital for several days.
He had asked Xuan Chiyi about the cause of the fire. Xuan Chiyi’s hand, which was feeding him, paused slightly before replying: “It wasn’t your fault. At the time, someone accidentally let a spark fly into the room, which is how the fire started. With the weather being so dry and crisp, it was just an accident.”
Gu Yansheng was still puzzled: “Then why did the front door seem like it was locked from the outside?” If he had been able to push the door open back then, he wouldn’t have been trapped inside.
Xuan Chiyi explained: “That’s not it. The door lock might have been broken and wouldn’t open, which is why you were trapped inside. Everything is fine now, don’t think about it too much.”
Gu Yansheng let out an oh. So the fire really had been an accident. Just as he thought, he had no enemies with anyone, so who would ever want to harm him? He really had been overthinking things.
Watching Gu Yansheng fall fast asleep, Xuan Chiyi quietly slipped out of the ward. There was still one more matter waiting for him to handle.
Song Ming was already waiting in the car. After Xuan Chiyi got in, Song Ming drove him to a specific location.
“Mr. Xuan, we’ve found the person behind it.”
That fire was no accident; it was arson. Although the two actual arsonists were caught quickly, the mastermind behind them had initially slipped away.
In Jiangcheng, Yang Ao still wielded considerable influence. Under his coordination, the mastermind pulling the strings behind those two men was soon tracked down.
Song Ming had already apprehended the mastermind, locking him up in a warehouse while waiting for Xuan Chiyi to deal with him.
He knew Mr. Xuan would not easily let this person go.
Xuan Chiyi finally laid eyes on the mastermind who had ordered the arson: it was none other than that lecherous old man who had tried to prey on Gu Yansheng at the bar that day.
At this moment, the lecherous old man was bound hand and foot and tossed into a corner.
He no longer retained any of his usual arrogance; he now looked as wretched and pathetic as a frightened old man. He scanned his unfamiliar surroundings in panic. He still possessed some clout in Jiangcheng, so who on earth was bold enough to move against him and drag him here?
Upon catching sight of Xuan Chiyi, the old man suddenly felt a freezing chill sweep over his entire body. That man’s gaze was terrifying.
“What do you want? Let me tell you, you better ask around to find out who I am. If you dare offend me in Jiangcheng, you won’t live to regret it.”
Xuan Chiyi delivered a vicious kick straight between the lecherous old man’s legs.
The old man let out a miserable shriek, seeing stars as the blinding pain forced him to curl up tightly on the floor.
Xuan Chiyi grabbed a nearby wooden stick and rained blow after blow upon the lecherous old man’s body. The echoes of wood striking flesh reverberated through the warehouse as Xuan Chiyi’s voice rang out, cold and merciless: “You dared to set your sights on him, you dared to lay a hand on him, and today I am going to make sure you can never do anything ever again.”
With that, Xuan Chiyi delivered another ruthless kick right between the old man’s legs.
The beaten old man wailed continuously, the sound echoing miserably through the spacious warehouse. Blood covered the man’s nose and mouth.
Yet Song Ming looked at the old man with utter contempt. He deserved every bit of it.
This lecherous old man was the very person who had masterminded the fire.
He had been a local hoodlum in his youth, and now in his old age, his nature remained unchanged. At the bar, whenever he took a fancy to someone, he would slip ingredients into their drink, tail his chosen prey, wait for the drugs to take effect, and then drag them away to brutally violate them.
Gu Yansheng had been the prey he had set his sights on, only for Gu Yansheng to encounter Xuan Chiyi that night and beg Xuan Chiyi to take him away, thereby escaping the old man’s clutches.
How could the lecherous old man possibly reconcile himself to having his prey slip through his fingers the first time? When he went back to the bar the next day looking for Gu Yansheng, he discovered that Gu Yansheng was no longer there.
Even though Gu Yansheng had resigned, the old man simply couldn’t swallow his anger. He had dominated the bar scene for so many years without ever failing, so he decided to teach Gu Yansheng a lesson.
After finding out where Gu Yansheng lived, the lecherous old man instructed his underlings to go and teach him a harsh lesson.
Consequently, those two men had set fire to Gu Yansheng’s home.
If Xuan Chiyi hadn’t suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of unease that day, rushing back ahead of schedule to rescue Gu Yansheng just in time.
For the past several days, Xuan Chiyi hadn’t dared to imagine what the consequences would have been if he had arrived even a moment later.
He vented all his rage upon this primary culprit, striking harder and heavier with each blow. In less than a moment, the lecherous old man lay crumpled on the ground, whimpering with barely a breath left in him. Only then did Xuan Chiyi stop, delivering one final, vicious kick between the old man’s legs.
The lecherous old man rolled his eyes and passed out completely.
From this day onward, a certain function of the lecherous old man’s body would never work again.
Xuan Chiyi tossed the stick aside and instructed Song Ming: “Handle the rest.”
Song Ming replied: “Don’t worry, Mr. Xuan, I know what to do.”
Xuan Chiyi nodded and hurried back to the hospital.
Through this incident, he resolved that he had to take Gu Yansheng away. He could never allow him to stay in Jiangcheng again; only by personally looking after him would he feel at ease.
Having lived to this age, it was the first time Xuan Chiyi cared so deeply for someone, and feared losing someone so profoundly.
Even if this person didn’t love him back in his heart, it didn’t matter. He could wait, waiting slowly until Gu Yansheng grew to love him.
Outside the hospital room door, Xuan Chiyi paused his steps. Li Hui was inside the room.
When Li Hui had come to visit Gu Yansheng, he learned that Gu Yansheng intended to leave with Xuan Chiyi.
Li Hui asked: “Sheng-sheng, are you really going to leave with him?”
Gu Yansheng murmured an affirmative response.
Li Hui still felt a lingering reluctance: “I can take care of you just as well. Won’t you reconsider? My mother likes you a lot too.”
Of course Gu Yansheng knew that Li Hui and his mother had treated him very well, but some matters were simply not as simple as they sounded: “I’m sorry.”
“I know, you don’t need to say it. This is already the second time you’ve apologized to me.”
Gu Yansheng said: “Brother Hui, that apartment was burned down, but I will definitely compensate you for it.”
Although it had been an accident, someone else’s property had been ruined after all.
Compensation was only right.
Li Hui replied: “No need. That, um, friend of yours has already compensated me.”
Gu Yansheng paused for a few seconds before realizing that Li Hui must be referring to Xuan Chiyi.
At that moment, Xuan Chiyi walked in: “Sheng-sheng, why did you get out of bed? Are you still feeling uncomfortable?”
Seeing Xuan Chiyi return, Li Hui stayed a little longer before taking his leave.
Gu Yansheng looked at Xuan Chiyi: “Where did you go?”
Xuan Chiyi set down the bags he was carrying: “I went out to buy some things.”
Gu Yansheng let out an oh, then asked: “When can I be discharged?”
The doctor had already said that both he and the baby in his belly were completely fine, but Xuan Chiyi refused to let down his guard and insisted on keeping him under observation in the hospital for two more days.
Gu Yansheng disliked staying in the hospital; everything was inconvenient.
Xuan Chiyi smiled and said: “We’ll check out tomorrow.”
A wave of relief washed over Gu Yansheng.
Xuan Chiyi continued: “Tomorrow, I’m taking you back to Jincheng.”
Gu Yansheng fell silent for a moment. Although he had already agreed to return with Xuan Chiyi, hearing it actually said aloud still stirred up an indescribable feeling.
When Gu Yansheng once again set foot on the soil of Jincheng, it felt as though he had lived through a dream.
Half a year ago, he had fled Jincheng in a rush, yet half a year later, he had returned here after all.
Before he could indulge in his emotions for long, Gu Yansheng bolted straight for the airport restroom the moment he stepped off the plane and threw up.
Xuan Chiyi followed closely by his side, gently patting his back.
In his hand, he held a cup of warm water.
Once Gu Yansheng finished vomiting, Xuan Chiyi handed him the cup of warm water to rinse his mouth, tending to him with meticulous care.
Having endured a two-hour flight followed by a bout of vomiting, Gu Yansheng lacked even an ounce of strength.
He leaned against the sink, just about to ask Xuan Chiyi if he could rest for a while before moving on.
Without a word, Xuan Chiyi scooped him up right into his arms.
Gu Yansheng thought nothing as silence filled the moment.
Remembering that Xuan Chiyi still had an injured arm, Gu Yansheng panicked and tried to get down: “Xuan Chiyi, your arm is still hurt.”
Xuan Chiyi replied: “It healed long ago.”
Gu Yansheng protested: “Xuan Chiyi, this is the airport, there are so many people.”
“So what? Stop squirming.” Xuan Chiyi threatened him: “If you drop, I’m not catching you.”
Gu Yansheng tightly wrapped his arms around Xuan Chiyi’s neck.
Amidst the bustling crowds of the airport, Xuan Chiyi carried Gu Yansheng all the way out. Since it was the first time anyone had ever carried him like this, Gu Yansheng felt thin-skinned and deeply embarrassed, burying his face directly into Xuan Chiyi’s chest.
Xuan Chiyi paused for a second, then chuckled: “No one is looking, you can come out now. Doing that makes it hard for you to breathe.”
Believing him, Gu Yansheng raised his head, only to find people everywhere, with quite a few staring right at them.
Gu Yansheng felt utterly speechless.
Xuan Chiyi was tricking him. He immediately buried his face back into Xuan Chiyi’s chest, resolving that no matter what Xuan Chiyi said this time, he was not lifting his head back up. What a liar.
Xuan Chiyi let out a low chuckle, and from his broad chest, Gu Yansheng felt the deep, resonant vibration that made his ears tingle slightly.
Xuan Chiyi carried him all the way to the car.
Perhaps because being held felt too comfortable, coupled with the fact that he had been prone to sleepiness ever since becoming pregnant, Gu Yansheng slowly drifted off to sleep in Xuan Chiyi’s arms.
Song Ming, who usually drove smoothly, drove with even greater care.
The vehicle came to a halt in front of Xuan Chiyi’s villa.
“Mr. Xuan.” Song Ming turned around to call out to Xuan Chiyi, who was gesturing for him to keep his voice down.
Gu Yansheng was fast asleep in his arms. Although the weather outside was chilly, the temperature inside the car was pleasantly warm, and Gu Yansheng’s cheeks were flushed pink, making him look even younger than his actual age.
Song Ming promptly clamped his mouth shut. Xuan Chiyi took off his own coat, draped it over Gu Yansheng, and then carried him out of the car.
Gu Yansheng was sleeping so soundly that he didn’t wake up at all along the way. Xuan Chiyi laid him gently onto his own bed, tucked the blanket around him, and quietly slipped out of the room.
Song Ming was still waiting in the living room. Xuan Chiyi handed him a grocery list, instructing him to buy the items listed and making sure they were of the highest quality and freshest availability.
When Gu Yansheng woke up, he stared blankly at the unfamiliar room and unfamiliar bed for a long time. Where was he?
Being in an unfamiliar environment still gave Gu Yansheng a slight sense of unease, so he quickly got out of bed and walked out of the room.
Only then did he realize he was inside a luxurious villa.
He seemed to catch the aroma of food drifting up from downstairs.
Following the scent down the stairs, he reached the kitchen and spotted Xuan Chiyi wearing an apron and cooking.
A pot of soup was simmering on the gas stove, and Xuan Chiyi was holding a ladle, scooping out a bit of broth to taste-test.
Sensing someone at the kitchen entrance, Xuan Chiyi looked back and saw Gu Yansheng standing there, peering inside with curious eyes.
Seeing a familiar face, Gu Yansheng finally let out a sigh of relief.
Yet Xuan Chiyi frowned, turned off the stove, and walked over.
Gu Yansheng stared at him blankly, failing to understand why this man seemed displeased again.
Xuan Chiyi walked right up, scooped him up into his arms, and asked: “Why aren’t you wearing shoes?”
He carried Gu Yansheng over to the sofa, went to fetch a pair of slippers, and slipped them onto Gu Yansheng’s feet, only to find the slippers were too big.
Xuan Chiyi had forgotten to buy a pair of slippers specifically for Gu Yansheng.