Love

“The patient’s wound has just been stitched. Remember to maintain a light diet for the next few days, avoid strenuous exercise, and call us at any time if anything happens.”

It was the middle of the night, and the VIP hospital room was exceptionally quiet. The nurse on her rounds gave some instructions and then left. The door closed, leaving only Chen Shu and Zhuang Yihan inside. One was lying on the hospital bed receiving an IV drip, while the other sat by the bedside keeping watch. Neither of them took the initiative to speak.

This place was near the sea, and the gentle sound of the sea breeze could often be heard outside the window. The glass reflected the swaying shadows of the trees. The beautiful and tranquil night scene finally diluted some of the pale bleakness of the hospital room.

Chen Shu lay on the hospital bed with his eyes closed, receiving an anti-inflammatory shot. His face was a little pale from excessive blood loss. When he went into the sea, his arm was accidentally cut by a reef, requiring a full six stitches. However, he hadn't said a single word since the wound debridement began, appearing a bit too silent.

...Actually, there was nothing to say. After all, he wasn't a three-year-old child who would cry for his parents after getting a shot.

Just as Chen Shu was feeling a bit drowsy from the medication and was about to fall asleep, the hand he had placed by his side was suddenly and silently held. Zhuang Yihan's low, hoarse voice sounded by his ear:

“Chen Shu, when you jumped in today, were you afraid?”

Not long after Zhuang Yihan and Chen Shu were rescued today, Jiang Xi was also found by lifeguards in a nearby sea area and pulled out. Although he was unconscious, his life was not in danger. He was still lying in a hospital room downstairs.

In this sudden accident, it seemed only Chen Shu was injured.

An innocent person who, in others' impressions, was afraid of water, couldn't go near it, and shouldn't have been involved in this turmoil...

Zhuang Yihan closed his eyes and lowered his head, his forehead pressed against Chen Shu's slightly cold, hypothermic fingertips. His profile appeared somewhat dim in the shadows.

Too many unexpected things happened today. He didn't expect the sea to get so rough, he didn't expect to almost die in the sea, and he certainly didn't expect that Chen Shu would actually jump in to save him. If he had known in advance that Chen Shu would be injured, he would never have jumped in to save Jiang Xi.

The impact of this incident on Zhuang Yihan was far from as calm as it appeared on the surface. Shock, bewilderment, complexity—countless emotions churned in his heart, unable to subside even now.

Admittedly, Zhuang Yihan had liked Chen Shu before. He liked him even without today's incident.

He liked him enough to spend a fortune for him, liked him enough to bring him to all sorts of public occasions, liked him so much that even the former Jiang Xi couldn't compare. He even planned to give Chen Shu an official status as his partner by the end of the year—

Chen Shu might not care, but this was the most sincere thing a person of Zhuang Yihan's status could offer, and it was something Chen Shu had yearned for but never obtained in his past life.

However, no matter how sincere, it was only 'like'. It was rare enough that he might only meet one person like this in his entire life in this city, but also common enough that he could find hundreds among the 1.4 billion people in the country. It was completely different from the love that had been through life and death.

'Like' and 'love'—Zhuang Yihan had always distinguished them very clearly, drawing a distinct line between them. But Chen Shu's act of jumping into the sea to save him today shattered this invisible barrier.

...The person in front of him was willing to risk his life to save him. He must love me, right? Zhuang Yihan thought in a daze.

This thought gave rise to a bittersweet and indescribable warmth that slowly flowed through his heart, nourishing the void deep inside him that he had always longed to fill but never could.

“Are you trying to ask me if I was afraid of dying when I jumped in?”

Chen Shu's calm voice pulled Zhuang Yihan back to reality. He looked at the ceiling above the hospital bed and faintly saw the corpses of a few black insects in the incandescent light. They coveted that little bit of warmth and light, clinging on, unwilling to leave.

“I'm not afraid of death, Zhuang Yihan.”

The pain he experienced while living was far more torturous than the pain of the moment of death, and most of it was inflicted by Zhuang Yihan's own hands.

Chen Shu raised his hand and slowly caressed Zhuang Yihan's thin cheek. A closer look revealed that his eyes were icy cold. He thought to himself, 'Why didn't this person in front of me drown at the bottom of the sea with Jiang Xi? I was also a fool for jumping in to save such an idiot who was blinded by Jiang Xi.'

Though he thought this in his heart, his expression became increasingly gentle:

“As long as you are okay.”

At this moment, Chen Shu suddenly felt that the mission Black Snake had given him was probably about to succeed.

He had never been one to give without expecting something in return. Every injury he suffered, every drop of blood he shed, every bit of love he gave had to be repaid in equal, or even double, measure to soothe the heart that was restless and agitated with hatred.

Feeling the touch on his cheek, Zhuang Yihan couldn't help but close his eyes. Under the light, his eyes were faintly red, but he was forcing himself to hold back his emotions. “I'm fine...”

Zhuang Yihan forced a smile for Chen Shu and proactively pressed his face against his palm. His damp eyelashes lowered, and the tip of his nose was a little red, like a beautiful, untamable cat that was finally willing to retract its sharp claws and fangs and lower its proud head before its most beloved person. “Chen Shu, from now on, let's be together properly, and not care about anyone else.”

“As long as the two of us are together...”

He didn't know if he was saying it for Chen Shu or for himself. Right now, Zhuang Yihan only wanted to present the best things in the world to Chen Shu and never be separated from him again. No one and nothing could change that.

By the time Jiang Xi woke up, it was the next morning. In the vast VIP hospital room, only Min Rou was with him. She sat on the sofa against the opposite wall, peeling fruit unhurriedly with her head down. The blade of the knife reflected a pair of lifeless eyes, making the scene somewhat eerie.

Jiang Xi struggled to sit up from the bed and quickly realized he was in a hospital room. However, waves of dull pain throbbed in his brain, making it difficult for him to think. He frowned through the pain and asked, “Where is Zhuang Yihan? Where is he? Was he rescued?”

The Host bound to a Parasite was for life. Unless the other party died, the target could not be changed. If Zhuang Yihan had drowned in the sea, not only would he have to forcibly change his binding target, but he would also lose a great deal of life force.

“Zhuang Yihan?”

Hearing this, Min Rou's apple-peeling motion paused. She spoke faintly, “Of course he's with Chen Shu, just like I'm with you.”

Her attire used to be very elegant, but today she was uncharacteristically wearing a dark-colored lipstick that had a faint, rust-like tint, like blood. Paired with her long black dress, her smile sent a chill down one's spine, yet her tone was incredibly gentle and intimate. “Hubby, I'm so happy you came back to me alive. If you had accidentally drowned in the sea, I really don't know what I would have done.”

Hearing her mention falling into the water, Jiang Xi's expression became uncertain. At that time, he was standing on the deck thinking about what to do next and didn't notice anyone behind him at all. He only felt someone shove him hard from behind, and he lost his balance and fell into the water.

In his last glance before falling, he vaguely saw a flash of a light blue corner of clothing rush past on the deck, and Min Rou happened to be wearing a blue resort dress that day—

Was it this woman who pushed him?!

This thought made Jiang Xi feel shocked and furious.

He stared at Min Rou motionlessly, his eyes cold and grim. Then, he slowly lifted the covers, got out of bed, walked over to Min Rou, and bent down to ask her softly, “Was it you who pushed me that day?”

Min Rou smiled faintly. “How could that be, hubby? I just saw you were unsteady and wanted to reach out and pull you back. Didn't I fall in myself too?”

Jiang Xi suddenly reached out and grabbed Min Rou without any warning, veins popping on his forehead. With a furious expression, he roared, “I asked if you were the one who pushed me that day?! Answer me!! Do you think I don't know you did it on purpose?! You know how to swim!!”

This woman was handpicked by him to provoke Zhuang Yihan. She was beautiful, tactful, and interesting, with no influential family background, and was obedient to his every word. Even if he kicked her to the curb after using her, it wouldn't cause any trouble. But what had Min Rou done?! She actually tried to drown him?!!

Jiang Xi suspected for a moment that Min Rou had been possessed by a ghost. Otherwise, how could that docile woman who was so obedient to him do something so rebellious?!

However, the more furious and hysterical he became, the happier Min Rou was. She let Jiang Xi grab her by the neck and shake her crazily, completely unconcerned about the approaching suffocation, laughing like a madwoman. “That's right, it was me who pushed you. I know you can't swim, so I pushed you in on purpose, hahahahahahaha...”

Jiang Xi wanted nothing more than to strangle her to death. “Why?!!”

Min Rou's expression was provocative and mocking. She sneered, word by word, “There's no why. I just think you deserve to die. Jiang Xi, you deserve to die, you know that?!”

Jiang Xi's facial nerves twitched for a moment due to extreme anger. He threatened through gritted teeth, “Aren't you afraid that I'll break off our engagement and send you to jail?!”

“I don't care. You never planned to marry me in the first place, and I don't plan on marrying you now either.”

Min Rou was even more reckless than Jiang Xi had imagined. After speaking, she directly pressed the apple-peeling knife against Jiang Xi's neck. The cold, sharp tip of the blade made his heart jump, and the force with which he was choking her uncontrollably slackened a little.

“However, you're going to give me money. Enough money for me to live without a care for the rest of my life, understand? Otherwise, I'll release the evidence of you having people monitor and follow Zhuang Yihan all these years. I'll go to jail, and you can forget about being a person in high society. Let's see who's more ruthless!”

Jiang Xi was startled. “How did you know?”

Min Rou patted his face with the tip of the knife, her tone scornful. “How did I know? I share the same bed with you every day, so why do you think I know? Jiang Xi, I've never seen someone as despicable as you. You clearly don't like Zhuang Yihan, yet you insist on having people watch his every move, then stringing him along and using him. Did you think I was a fool who didn't know anything?”

Jiang Xi was furious and embarrassed. “You!”

Min Rou pressed the knife deeper against him and coldly berated, “You what?! Was I wrong to call you despicable?! Did you think I didn't hear you talking to Zhuang Yihan on the deck? What, you thought that just because I have no money and no background, you could play with me as you please and then kick me away after you're done using me! Let me tell you, it's not that easy!!”

“You figure out what to do with the surveillance footage on the yacht. You make up your own reason for falling into the water. In short, if I go to jail, I'll drag you down with me and ruin your reputation. Whether we part on good terms or we both go down in flames, you'd better think about it carefully!”

After she finished speaking, Min Rou stood up, violently pushed the weakened Jiang Xi to the ground, and then turned and left on her high heels. The door slammed shut with a loud bang, but because the soundproofing was too good, people passing by in the hallway couldn't hear the sounds of Jiang Xi angrily smashing things inside.