Ji Mian’s figure was cold and unfeeling as he turned away. Chu Shiye stared at him for a few seconds before slowly lowering his head.
He murmured, “Brother.”
“Brother.”
“Brother…”
Ji Mian: “…”
The voice sounded somewhat aggrieved.
A little pitiful.
…Wait, how could it even feign being aggrieved!
Had this Alpha learned to misbehave?
“Bro…”
When Chu Shiye uttered “brother” for who knew the umpteenth time, Ji Mian turned around expressionlessly and covered his mouth with precision.
Chu Shiye: “Mmm mmm.”
Ji Mian released his hand. “What do you want to say?”
Chu Shiye: “Do you want maple-glazed ribs?”
Ji Mian: “No.”
Chu Shiye picked up a piece with his chopsticks. “Ah.”
Ji Mian took a small bite.
“Not as good as before.”
“They changed the restaurant,” Chu Shiye replied. “I won’t buy from them next time.”
He picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork.
Ji Mian said, “I can eat by myself. Just put it in my bowl.”
Chu Shiye paused for a second and replied, “There’s no extra bowl.”
Ji Mian: “?”
Chu Shiye: “The restaurant’s stingy—they only gave one bowl.”
Ji Mian: “…What a stingy restaurant.”
The pork was fried to a crisp, tender texture, coated with a tangy and sweet sauce. It was delicious.
Ji Mian appeared thoughtful.
Chu Shiye refused to tell him the truth about the mine, which meant something must have happened.
As for what exactly, perhaps he would need to find the answer elsewhere.
Chu Shiye: “Try this.”
Ji Mian took a small bite and then asked, “Do you have extra chopsticks?”
Chu Shiye: “No.”
Ji Mian: “Looks like we really need to switch restaurants next time.”
Chu Shiye: “Hmm. Try this one too.”
Due to his health, Ji Mian didn’t eat much before soon expressing that he didn’t want any more.
Chu Shiye cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks while Ji Mian lifted the blanket slightly.
Chu Shiye immediately pressed him back down, his face full of concern.
Noticing his emotions, Ji Mian gently said, “I just want to go for a walk outside.”
“Rest,” Chu Shiye replied. “It’s cold outside. Don’t wander around.”
Ji Mian: “Then just in the hallway…”
Chu Shiye: “There are a lot of people. You might bump into someone.”
Ji Mian: “So I can only stay here?”
Chu Shiye: “Hmm.”
He pulled the blanket back up, covering Ji Mian’s waist, and fluffed the pillow behind his back until it was soft. Everything was arranged properly.
Ji Mian tilted his head to look at him.
Chu Shiye: “What’s wrong?”
Ji Mian: “I’m only temporarily blind, landlord.”
With that, he pulled up the blanket and lay back down.
Chu Shiye: “…”
He caught the meaning behind Ji Mian’s words and froze in place. For a moment, he didn’t know where to place his raised hand.
He didn’t want to confine Su Lan; it was just… Su Lan had been injured because of him.
He was afraid Su Lan would get hurt again, that he’d bump into something or injure himself further. He just wanted Su Lan to stay in a safe place, within his line of sight, and never suffer harm again.
He wanted… Su Lan to listen to him.
Entirely and completely, listen only to him.
Chu Shiye suddenly loosened his hand.
How could he have such vile thoughts?
What kind of person was he?
Chu Shiye abruptly stood up, the movement so forceful that he knocked into the chair behind him.
Ji Mian looked up in confusion. “Hmm?”
“…Nothing,” Chu Shiye muttered gloomily, turning his head away to avoid eye contact. “I’m going out for a walk.”
Ji Mian didn’t say anything, only nodded.
Chu Shiye almost fled the hospital room. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Kane hurrying down the hallway toward him. “Did you also receive…?”
Chu Shiye immediately lowered his voice. “Let’s talk outside.”
He closed the door to the hospital room, and the two of them moved to a corner of the hallway.
Kane studied his expression. “What’s wrong with you? Did you lose an argument with Mr. Su and get scolded by him?”
Chu Shiye: “…No.”
Kane: “Oh.”
“Anyway, you’ve received the message, right?” Kane continued, “The security force wants to investigate everyone related to the mine. Anyone who knows anything will be questioned.”
Chu Shiye: “Yeah.”
Kane: “But it was clearly just an accident—”
Chu Shiye: “It wasn’t an accident.”
Kane froze. “What?”
“That’s right, it wasn’t an accident.”
A calm male voice interrupted their conversation. Chu Shiye’s eyes flicked toward the source.
At the end of the hallway stood a middle-aged man in a neatly pressed suit, smiling at them. Two bodyguards stood behind him.
Kane: “Who are you?”
“I’m the person in charge of this city,” the middle-aged man replied. “You should have heard of my name.”
“Fu… Mr. Fu?!”
Kane, who had been slouching, immediately straightened up, his face full of surprise.
Fu Zeren clasped his hands behind his back. “That’s right, it’s me.”
Kane: “Mr. Fu, are you here for us? We’re law-abiding citizens—we haven’t done anything wrong!”
“That’s irrelevant. I’m here for one thing only.”
Fu Zeren’s gaze fell on Chu Shiye.
“The two other C-rank ability users who entered the mine with you are dead.”
Kane was shocked. Chu Shiye’s expression remained unchanged. “It has nothing to do with me.”
“It’s true, you didn’t kill them,” Fu Zeren said. “They were attacked by beasts and left dead just a few meters from the mine’s exit. One of them was even half-eaten. Tsk, tsk, how pitiful.”
“With such a threat present, as the person in charge, I can’t stand idly by. So, I’ve decided to organize the ability users on this planet to eliminate the beasts in the mine.”
Chu Shiye: “No one here can handle those beasts. You should seal off the entrance immediately.”
Fu Zeren: “You’re just an E-rank ability user, so of course you’d say that. This time, we’ve invited Black Snake to assist us. With him involved, I doubt there’ll be any issues.”
Black Snake was the most powerful figure in the local underworld, as well as the strongest B-rank ability user.
Kane shivered at the mention of the name. “I-I don’t have to go, right?”
Fu Zeren: “You don’t.”
From beginning to end, his gaze never left Chu Shiye. “You’re the only survivor, so it’s your responsibility to guide us.”
Kane: “But Mr. Fu, he just recovered from surgery. Look at him—his face is as pale as paper, and he looks so weak!”
Fu Zeren smiled. “I heard there’s a Mr. Su who healed you. If I have the chance, I’d like to meet him.”
Chu Shiye’s eyes instantly turned cold. He understood the implication in Fu Zeren’s words.
Fu Zeren continued, “I wonder where that Mr. Su might be right now…”
“I’ll go,” Chu Shiye interrupted. “Just tell me the time.”
Fu Zeren smiled. “Four days from now, 9 a.m., at the mine entrance.”
Chu Shiye: “It’s dangerous there. You need to send more people for support.”
Fu Zeren: “Don’t worry. These minor details don’t need an E-rank like you to concern yourself with.”
He wiped his hands with a handkerchief and turned to leave.
“If he really cared about the city’s safety, that’d be one thing,” Kane muttered after Fu Zeren was gone. “But judging by his attitude, he clearly has other motives…”
Chu Shiye: “If even you can tell, it means he’s not even trying to hide it.”
Kane: “Damn.”
Kane: “But with Black Snake involved, nothing should go wrong, right?”
Chu Shiye said nothing.
Kane: “Don’t tell me even Black Snake can’t handle it? That’s impossible. No beast could be that strong!”
Chu Shiye still said nothing, and Kane started to panic. “Maybe we should ask Mr. Su for help…”
Chu Shiye interrupted, “This has nothing to do with him.”
After parting ways with Kane, Chu Shiye returned to Ji Mian’s hospital room.
Standing outside the door, Chu Shiye hesitated for a moment before carefully pushing it open a crack.
Ji Mian was sitting on the bed, with light Goddess Butterfly fluttering around him.
“You’re back?”
Hearing Ji Mian’s voice, Chu Shiye nodded and stopped two steps away from the bed. “Did you… hear anything just now?”
Ji Mian: “Was there a couple arguing outside? They were really loud.”
Chu Shiye exhaled quietly. “Yes.”
He quietly sat on the edge of the bed, keeping his gaze fixed on the foot of the bed.
Ji Mian: “I plan to be discharged.”
Chu Shiye looked up. “Your eyes…”
Ji Mian: “They can’t treat my eyes here, and staying is boring.”
Seeing Chu Shiye’s silence, he added, “Don’t worry. Once my mental strength recovers, my eyesight will return too.”
Chu Shiye: “Alright.”
He called the doctor, handled the discharge procedures, and returned to Ji Mian’s side. “I’ll take you out.”
Ji Mian raised his hand.
Chu Shiye stared at his pale fingertips for a few seconds before carefully placing his hand on Ji Mian’s wrist.
After a moment’s thought, he shifted his hand higher, lightly holding Ji Mian’s arm over his sleeve.
Still uneasy, he ended up just gripping Ji Mian’s sleeve, making sure not to touch him directly.
Ji Mian asked curiously, “Is this position more comfortable for you?”
Chu Shiye, guiding him cautiously, replied, “…It seems so.”
Ji Mian: “Oh.”
At the hospital entrance, Chu Shiye hired a car and helped Ji Mian into the back seat.
Initially planning to sit beside him, Chu Shiye hesitated, then silently moved over, leaving a seat between them.
Ji Mian: “?”
Soon, the car arrived at its destination.
Using the same cautious method, Chu Shiye guided Ji Mian back into the house.
Once seated, Ji Mian poked Chu Shiye.
Chu Shiye seemed startled and quickly pulled away.
Ji Mian: “…”
Something wasn’t right.
Ji Mian pondered.
Although Chu Shiye had always been cautious around him, now it felt like he was being overly cautious.
This Alpha seemed to avoid touching him, even avoiding normal, everyday physical contact.
In other words… it felt like he was deliberately avoiding him?
Ji Mian said nothing, sitting on the edge of the bed and listening to Chu Shiye’s footsteps as he paced back and forth.
Tap.
Something was placed in front of Ji Mian, and Chu Shiye spoke softly, “Candy and fruit.”
Ji Mian: “Where?”
Chu Shiye pointed. “Here—”
Ji Mian suddenly grabbed his wrist.
Chu Shiye: “!”
Ji Mian: “Sit down.”
Chu Shiye: “…”
Chu Shiye sat down.
He kept his head lowered, staying completely silent.
Although Ji Mian couldn’t see, he felt as if a little dark cloud was floating over the Alpha’s head.
He looked so aggrieved.
*I didn’t even bully you,* Ji Mian thought.
If this counts as bullying…
Ji Mian patted Chu Shiye’s head.
Chu Shiye: “!”
Ji Mian ruffled his hair.
Chu Shiye: “!”
Ji Mian pinched his cheeks.
Chu Shiye: “…”
After thoroughly messing with him, Ji Mian let go, satisfied. “Alright, you can go now.”
Chu Shiye: “…………”
Chu Shiye sat there in a daze.
…Even more aggrieved.
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