Chapter 16 Waiting for you
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Tick, tick, tick.
Chu Feng cautiously descended the stairs.
He was wearing a white shirt, buttoned all the way to the top by Dr. Xie, with black trousers impeccably straight, giving him a dignified and restrained appearance.
—-No one knew what was inside his black trousers.
The staircase went from 3 to 2, and then to 1.
Chu Feng’s nerves were stretched tight as he stood on the staircase and immediately saw X waiting for him.
Standing over six feet tall, leaning against the hallway wall, his silver gun removed from his back and held in one hand. His head slightly lowered, eyes closed as if resting. His long iron-gray coat, illuminated by the cold light of the hospital corridor, emitted a pale hue, like misty glass in the rain.
This person is really a bit crazy, Chu Feng thought. Normal people wouldn’t wait for him downstairs for four hours without saying a word.
—-Except for Xie Shiyu.
Chu Feng remembered a day when he was twenty-four years old, standing on the steps just like this, and immediately saw Xie Shiyu waiting for him with flowers for four hours in the rainy night.
That day, Chu Feng was working overtime, dealing with some issues with the project. A group of people worked until ten o’clock at night before leaving the company. The cold night wind blew into his neck, Chu Feng held an umbrella alone, exhausted from overtime, and hadn’t eaten dinner. He seemed too tired to eat.
Raindrops tapped on the umbrella surface, cold and lonely.
The street where the company was located had a slope. At the end of it, around the corner, he could see the subway entrance to catch the late-night train home.
The dim streetlights cast a fine diagonal rain, and Chu Feng wearily descended the steps.
When he reached the bottom of the steps, someone familiar suddenly appeared at the corner!
“I’ll walk you home.”
A bunch of flowers was handed to Chu Feng.
Xie Shiyu was wearing a casual white jacket, holding a bunch of light purple delphiniums, standing in front of Chu Feng with slightly damp hair in the drizzling night, waiting for him at the corner of the steps.
“You…”
Chu Feng was speechless, immediately pulling the damp Xie Shiyu under his umbrella:
“How long have you been waiting? When did you arrive?”
“Um… around six o’clock.”
“Are you crazy? You stood here silly for four hours! Why didn’t you call me?”
“There wasn’t anything urgent. Calling you wouldn’t have been romantic anyway.” Xie Shiyu smiled, reached for Chu Feng’s umbrella, opened it up, and with his other hand, held Chu Feng’s hand and put it in his coat pocket.
Inside was warmth.
Seeing Chu Feng remain silent, Xie Shiyu asked, “Don’t you like it?”
Chu Feng lowered his head, watching raindrops fall into puddles at his feet, causing small ripples. He held Xie Shiyu’s hand, feeling the warm temperature in his palm.
Outside the umbrella was the cold, rainy world, inside was him and Dr. Xie, the flowers, and their intertwined hands.
Chu Feng’s cheeks blushed slightly, he leaned closer to Xie Shiyu, whispered softly, “I like it.”
They walked home together.
***
“You’re here.”
X looked up and saw Chu Feng.
The hospital corridor’s glaring white light, like a sharp blade, pierced through memories of rainy nights under dim streetlights. Chu Feng quickly averted his gaze.
Perhaps due to their similar height, he often saw shades of Xie Shiyu in X. Chu Feng took a breath, quickly and naturally feigning surprise at X:
“Hey? You’ve been here all along?”
X: “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Why?”
“Your cousin was worried, asked me to escort you home.”
X glanced at his watch, suddenly saying:
“You’ve been billed for four hours.”
“…”
Chu Feng froze all over.
The regulator’s sharp gaze felt like a detective scrutinizing a suspect.
“Is something wrong?” X asked sharply.
—Answering poorly would only raise more suspicion from X. Chu Feng’s nerves were taut.
Especially after he just felt a sense of déjà vu with Xie Shiyu in X’s presence, his cheeks began to flush, and he felt tense all over…
The more nervous he became, the tighter he clamped down, the more he felt that flowing presence.
Chu Feng cursed the perverted Dr. Xie in his heart! If it were to happen in front of X, it flowing down…
—Just thinking about it made him want to die!
Shifting his weight to his right foot, he subtly adjusted his posture to appear very relaxed and natural, casually adding:
“Just tended to a wound.”
During the fire rescue, Chu Feng’s thigh was scratched, and X knew about it too. They walked towards the hospital gate, X’s expression unchanged, while Chu Feng forced himself to walk.
The hospital’s white light was cast behind them as they entered a pool of darkness. The summer night’s darkness was like diluted ink, transparently dyeing the sky, treetops, shrubs, earth, and stone steps. Insects chirped by the roadside.
To X, this atmosphere seemed tranquil and beautiful.
He spoke up, asking, “Is your leg injury okay?”
“It’s fine, not serious.”
Chu Feng’s tone was flat, showing no interest in taking a leisurely stroll together. He quickened his pace, eager to get going. The key to Dream City had always been kept by Lin Lan, and without the key, he couldn’t teleport out of the city directly from where he was. Now that X was escorting him back, they would have to walk all the way to the city gate!
X intentionally slowed down, wanting to prolong the tranquility of the summer night. Chu Feng took a step ahead…
His waist and legs were exposed to X’s gaze from behind.
—Chu Feng instantly had a bad feeling.
X’s eyes carried warmth as he examined him like a detective, as if he had found conclusive evidence.
Chu Feng immediately slowed his pace, walking side by side with X, who asked again:
“Is your leg injury… really okay?”
“Yeah.” Chu Feng turned his head slightly, smiling. “Why do you ask?”
“Your walking posture is a bit strange,” X said softly.
…!!
Chu Feng quickly improvised:
“Sutured stitches, the doctor administered local anesthesia, I’m feeling a bit uncomfortable.”
X nodded understandingly.
Chu Feng felt relieved.
Suddenly…
Swoosh—
His right foot slipped!
There was a short flight of steps at the end of this flat ground. Chu Feng was focused on dealing with X and that flowing sensation, not noticing the steps ahead.
He stepped into empty air!
“Be careful.”
X quickly reached out to grab him, pulling him close. Because he was behind Chu Feng, the movement almost seemed like he was embracing Chu Feng from behind.
Chu Feng lowered his head tightly in X’s embrace, his shoulders trembling slightly, even his hands shaking.
—It’s… it’s coming out!
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