Lu Shiying raised a hand toward the amusement park. “Xiao Ci, I’m leaving first. Brother has something to take care of outside.”
Jiang Ci poked half his head out of the little car and waved his tiny hand at him. “Got it! Bye bye!”
Lu Shiying turned around and left.
Behind him, the child’s crisp laughter mingled with the electric buzzing of the bumper cars. The little one was having the time of his life, completely absorbed in his play and thoroughly enjoying himself.
Before leaving, Lu Shiying had changed into a different set of clothes. He wore a black casual jacket and a pair of straight cut trousers. At fifteen, the boy was already tall and straight backed, his figure lean and upright. Standing at the doorway with his calm, composed gaze, he carried an air of authority that was more commanding than that of many adults.
Old Zhang had already prepared the car and was waiting outside. When he saw Lu Shiying come out, he opened the rear passenger door for him.
Lu Shiying stepped inside with his long legs and sat down. Then he asked, “The domestic branches in nineteen regions are opening next week. Aren’t they coming back?”
Old Zhang naturally knew exactly who he meant by “they” Mr and Mrs. Lu.
The couple had been stationed at the company’s overseas headquarters for years. With industries and business operations spread across both domestic and international markets, there was simply too much to handle and they could not divide themselves between the two sides.
“Master said that when the time comes, you only need to go and take charge of the situation. You are the sole heir of Zhuoyu Group. No one below you will have anything to say about it.”
As he drove, Old Zhang continued, “There’s one more matter. Regarding last month’s flood stricken areas, the group has planned to provide one hundred million in aid. We need your signature and approval. The Lu family has always been involved in charitable work. Master wants you to gradually become familiar with these matters. In the future, when you take over the company, you’ll coordinate with him on the overseas business and work together to expand the enterprise.”
Lu Shiying leaned back against the seat, his gaze resting on the streetscape outside the car window as it rapidly slipped past.
Then, without warning, he said, “What’s the point of making so much money? You couldn’t spend it all even if you died.”
Old Zhang: “…”
The young master really had been saying the strangest things lately. He had even started making jokes like this.
Who in this world would ever complain about having too much money?
….
Jiang Ci played from one in the afternoon until five without taking a break.
Auntie Chen stayed with him the entire time, while two other servants took turns looking after him as well, bringing him water and snacks whenever he needed them.
At the water park, the little boy sat on a yellow duck shaped swimming float. His two short legs kicked and splashed in the water as he chased after the colorful balls drifting across the surface. By the time he had been playing for a while, his entire head and face were covered in sparkling droplets of water.
“Auntie, can you come down and play with me too~?” Jiang Ci lay across the duck’s head, lifted his little face and called toward the shore.
Auntie Chen stood beside the pool and smiled. “I’m already getting old. It wouldn’t look right for me to get in and swim with you. If the Young Master is bored, I can put Xiao Mi in with you. He gets bathed regularly, so he isn’t afraid of water anymore.”
“Okay!”
Xiao Mi was carried over.
The Maine Coon flicked its tail, then plunged straight into the water and paddled over before throwing itself into Jiang Ci’s arms.
One child and one cat splashed and swam around together in the water. The cat’s paws moved rapidly as it paddled, sending sprays of water flying directly into Jiang Ci’s face.
The cat had been with him for three years already. It had long since stopped being merely a pet.
It was family.
Jiang Ci wrapped his arms around the cat’s neck, laughing so happily that his eyes curved into crescent moons.
“Meow~ Meow~”
Jiang Ci rubbed his face back and forth against the top of its head. “Xiao Mi, the two of us are both good babies.”
Auntie Chen’s phone rang.
She glanced at the little boy happily playing in the pool, then stepped aside to answer the call.
Jiang Ci continued swimming around with Xiao Mi.
Then, without warning, Xiao Mi suddenly kicked off with its hind legs.
Splash, splash, splash!
Water flew everywhere, soaking Jiang Ci from head to toe.
He stood up from the water and imitated the cat, shaking the water off his little bottom. Giggling happily, he stepped barefoot onto the inflatable mat beside the pool and ran toward the huge, colorful inflatable ball on the other side.
The two servants hurried after him, carrying his shoes.
After running around for a while, Jiang Ci grew tired. He carried the still dripping wet Xiao Mi down from the inflatable mat.
The servant beside him immediately crouched down and held out his clean little shoes by his feet. “Young Master, you need to put your shoes on.”
“Thank you, Big Sister.”
Jiang Ci stepped into the shoes, even curling his toes a little as he settled his feet inside and made sure they were snug.
The Maine Coon wriggled free from his arms and stretched out in an especially long, languid stretch. Then, all of a sudden, it raised its tail and sprinted toward the courtyard.
“Xiao Mi!”
Jiang Ci immediately took off after it.
At this age, children were like that. If they saw something running, they chased after it; if they saw something jumping, they wanted to jump after it too.
Xiao Mi raced ahead, its paws moving rapidly. When it reached the little gravel path, however, it suddenly slammed on the brakes.
Jiang Ci could not stop himself in time.
His entire body pitched forward. His knee struck the ground and when he instinctively used his elbow to brace himself, it landed directly against a sharp stone.
The edge of the stone was jagged and sharp. It was probably something the workers had left behind during the renovations a while ago and simply failed to clean up.
Jiang Ci sat on the ground and lowered his head to look at his arm. At first, he did not even feel that it hurt very much.
The cat hurried over and nudged his hand with its head, anxiously letting out a worried “Meow.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay… It’s not Xiao Mi’s fault,” he said softly.
The servants who had been following behind finally caught up. The moment they saw the blood on his arm, their faces instantly went pale. One of them hurriedly scooped him up.
“Oh my goodness, Young Master! Where did you fall?”
Jiang Ci shook his head, desperately holding back the tears gathering in his eyes. “I hit a stone… It only hurts a little.”
The sleeve of his little white T shirt was already soaked through over a large area with blood and blood was steadily dripping down his forearm.
Only then did Jiang Ci belatedly realize,
It hurt so much.
The two servants were completely thrown into a panic.
They had been following a little farther behind just now because they had thought the child was only running a few steps back toward the house. The courtyard was normally inspected regularly as well, so there should not have been anything sharp left lying around.
Who could have known that such a coincidence would happen?
Auntie Chen had been on the phone for a little longer because a child in her family was sick and she had exchanged a few more words with the person on the other end.
When she finally looked up, she saw, from a distance, the two servants carrying the child and sprinting desperately toward the villa. Their footsteps were so hurried and frantic that her heart immediately shot up into her throat.
On the sofa, Jiang Ci was set down.
The wound on his arm was still slowly bleeding, drops of blood falling onto the floor tiles. His little face had gone pale and his two little feet kicked restlessly.
Several servants frantically rummaged through the cabinets, scattering medicine boxes across the table.
“Use some anti inflammatory medicine and stop the bleeding first. Why isn’t it working even when we press on it?”
“The Young Master specifically instructed us that Xiao Ci has a blood clotting disorder. He had special medicine prepared for him… What does the medicine look like again?” one of the servants asked, his hands trembling with panic.
“Call the private doctor, quickly!”
“Th then… are we going to get fired…?”
Auntie Chen snatched up the phone, her voice steady despite the trembling of her hands. “A human life is what matters! Who cares about the job right now!”
As the call connected, Jiang Ci lowered his head and looked at his arm. Only then did he realize that the blood had been steadily seeping out all along.
Someone had pressed down on the wound earlier and managed to stop the bleeding for a short while but the moment they loosened their hand, the blood began flowing out again. It was not coming quickly but it simply would not stop.
The cut was longer than they had initially imagined, though fortunately, it was not deep. It stretched from the bend of his elbow to the middle of his forearm and the skin surrounding it had already swollen into a bluish purple bump.
The numb, aching pain finally began to set in belatedly, like countless tiny needles pricking densely into his skin.
His lips trembled.
At last, he could not hold it in anymore and he suddenly burst into loud sobs.
The private doctor arrived fairly quickly and administered thrombin but Jiang Ci was too young and his body was too weak, so the clotting factor did not have an obvious effect.
They also discovered that he was allergic to one of the medications. Somehow, in the confusion, someone had accidentally given him the wrong medicine, causing him to have a reaction.
The child cried until his voice became hoarse, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. By the time he was carried into the car and taken to the hospital, he was already close to losing consciousness.
When Lu Shiying arrived at the hospital, a whole line of people was standing at the end of the corridor.
Old Zhang had summoned every member of the villa staff. One by one, they stood with their heads lowered, their bodies straight and rigid, both hands clasped together in front of them, not one of them daring to make a sound.
Lu Shiying’s face was so pale that it was almost translucent. His thin lips were pressed tightly together and his cold gaze swept over the entire line of people.
His footsteps never stopped.
He walked straight toward the ward.
The moment he pushed the door open, a heart wrenching cry came crashing out.
Jiang Ci had already been brought out of the operating room.
The wound itself was not large but cleaning and treating it had taken a great deal of effort. The scab that had formed over the wound was too thin and even the slightest movement caused it to start bleeding again.
On the hospital bed, two doctors were holding him down while giving him an injection, while another nurse supported his injured arm.
Jiang Ci’s face was bright red from crying. His short little legs kicked and thrashed wildly beneath him as he sobbed and cried out, “No, no, I don’t want an injection… Sob… Daddy, Mommy… Bro-”
The moment the needle pierced his skin, his entire body jerked violently.
He struggled with all his strength and the two nurses had to press down firmly to keep the needle from slipping.
The child cried even harder.
Lu Shiying felt as though someone had suddenly grabbed hold of his heart and squeezed it tightly.
He crossed the few steps to the bedside in an instant, his voice low and hoarse. “Let go of him. I’ll hold him.”
The doctors immediately released their grip and stepped aside.
In a low voice, one of them said, “He still needs another injection of tranexamic acid.”
Lu Shiying sat down on the edge of the bed and gathered the struggling little boy completely into his arms. One hand held his back securely, while the other carefully protected the injured arm.
He lowered his head and kissed Jiang Ci’s damp forehead.
“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. Brother is here.”
Jiang Ci leaned against him, sobbing in broken, uneven breaths. His little hands clutched tightly at Lu Shiying’s collar and refused to let go, his shoulders trembling faintly.
“Brother… Brother… Xiao Ci…”
Lu Shiying pressed the little boy’s head against his chest, his cheek resting against the top of Jiang Ci’s hair. His voice became even lower and gentler.
“Be good and let them give you the injection. Once it’s done, it won’t hurt anymore. Brother is holding you. Don’t be afraid.”
“Brother…”
Lu Shiying kissed his forehead again.
Listening to the little boy in his arms call his name over and over again, countless times, each cry soft and pitiful, made his heart ache as though it were being shattered.
At some point, without either of them realizing it, whenever Jiang Ci became frightened, the first person he thought of had already become him.
Jiang Ci’s blood clotting function had become worse than before, progressing from mild to moderate impairment. The doctor gave him two injections and then redressed the wound. Several very obvious bluish purple needle marks were visible on his fair, delicate little arm.
The second injection went smoothly. As the medication slowly entered his body, the child’s crying gradually weakened. Perhaps because he was feeling dizzy, his little head tilted against Lu Shiying’s chest, his eyelashes still carrying tiny beads of tears and just like that, he fell asleep.
Lu Shiying gently patted his back over and over again. He lowered his head and kissed the little boy’s cheek, his gaze falling on that bruised little arm. The heartache in his eyes was almost impossible to conceal, practically overflowing from them.
His brows slowly drew together, his eyelids lowering as his gaze turned toward the doorway. His eyes were cold and dark.
Sitting there, his entire presence seemed to make the air around him gradually grow colder. Several nurses could not help taking a few steps backward.
That look in his eyes was practically murderous.
Fortunately, they were living in a society governed by the rule of law.
The doctor quietly reported from the side, “Young Master Lu, his condition is stable now… He was brought here a little late, so the effect of the clotting factors was limited. On top of that, there was the allergic reaction to erythromycin… The child may need to remain hospitalized for observation for two days but he is already out of danger.”
Lu Shiying did not look up.
His eyes remained fixed on the long scrape running across Jiang Ci’s arm.
The cut was not deep. If it had happened to someone else, perhaps it would not have caused any real trouble at all.
But Xiao Ci’s constitution was different.
Even the sleeve of his clothes had been torn open by the sharp stone, exposing the section of pale, tender skin underneath, which was now bruised and swollen.
His skin reddened even when he accidentally rubbed against something with slightly too much force. How could it possibly withstand something like this?
Just at noon, when they had parted, the little boy had still been lively and full of energy. He had been leaning over the door of the bumper car, waving at him with a bright smile and happily saying, “Bye bye.”
And now…
He was lying on a hospital bed with his little face pale, his eyelashes clumped together with tears, even his breathing so soft and light that it could barely be heard.
Lu Shiying did not dare let himself think any further.
Life had finally begun to hold a little hope for him. He had finally gained a younger brother to have by his side.
If something happened to him…
How was he supposed to come to terms with these memories of the time they had spent together?
Lu Shiying pulled the blanket higher, covering the injured arm. His fingers gently gathered the loose strands of hair across the child’s forehead.
For a long while, he said nothing.
Then Lu Shiying lowered his head and kissed the little boy’s hand.
In a low voice, he murmured, “Was it really right or wrong to bring you into my life in the first place…? I knew there were dangers all around you yet I still made such a reckless decision.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Fleurveil
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
(╯°□°）╯︵ ☕ — deploy caffeine!
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · Even He, an outsider, couldn’t stand itChapter 2 · DaddyChapter 3 · Thank you for the gift!Chapter 4 · Do You want to sleep with your brother?Chapter 5 · Smart BabyChapter 6 · Life in a Wealthy FamilyChapter 7 · Genius BrotherChapter 8 · Brother’s giftChapter 9 · Xiao Ci was injured.Chapter 10 · ThoughtfulChapter 11 · Treat as treasureChapter 12 · Only recognized oneChapter 13 · Lu family coupleChapter 14 · A closed heartChapter 15 · Understanding my brotherChapter 16 · Reluctant to hitChapter 17 · UneasyChapter 18 · PossessiveChapter 19 · Teenage RebelChapter 20 Part 1 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 2 · The car accidentChapter 20 Part 3 · The car accidentChapter 21 · My heart is racingChapter 22 · Physiological Knowledge