PD Chapter 40: Liking You

Because of this annoying incident, Wen Xunchuan didn’t even make it to his meeting. He decided to take the day off and drive home with this “superhero” who now had a cast on his arm.

After parking the car in the underground garage of the apartment, He Linzhou was the first to open the door and get out. He walked a few steps toward the elevator, then suddenly stopped as if he’d thought of something. He hunched over a little, using his cast-covered arm to hold his waist, while his other hand stretched out behind him. His face looked pained. “Hiss—ouch, ouch! Hurry up and give me a hand.”

Wen Xunchuan stood a little way behind him, arms crossed, watching his little performance with no intention of helping.

Maybe it’s true that intelligence can be contagious. Wen Xunchuan only realized on the drive back that this guy, who’d been hanging onto him as if he had no bones since the hospital, had injured his arm, not his leg. His “kindness” in supporting him all this time had been completely unnecessary.

He Linzhou held his hand out for a long time, but no one came to help, so he had to awkwardly pull it back.

Just as he straightened up, an arm slipped around his waist. He turned his head. “You…”

Wen Xunchuan reached up to take off his gold-rimmed glasses and put them in his chest pocket, casually asking, “Did you feed the dog before you left this morning?”

With the glasses off, his beautiful eyes looked much clearer. He Linzhou stared at his long, thick eyelashes for a moment, only snapping back to reality when Wen Xunchuan glanced at him. “Oh, I didn’t get a chance. I thought I’d be back soon…”

“Then why are you still standing around?”

“Huh?” Caught staring, He Linzhou rubbed his nose, feeling a bit awkward. He tried to play it cool. “Not standing around at all.”

Wen Xunchuan nodded toward the elevator. “Come on, let’s go. Gotta go home and feed the dog.”

He Linzhou lay on the sofa, holding his phone with his one good hand and scrolling through food delivery options. After looking around and not finding anything he really wanted, he called out toward the slightly open bedroom door, “What do you feel like eating?”

Wen Xunchuan’s voice came from inside, “Something light.”

He Linzhou flicked through the app again. “How about porridge?”

“Sure.” Wen Xunchuan came out of the bedroom in casual clothes, holding a bottle of safflower oil.

When he walked over and lifted He Linzhou’s shirt, He Linzhou, who’d been focused on his phone, got a fright and looked over, a bit guarded. “What are you doing?”

Seeing Wen Xunchuan’s hand reaching for the waistband of his pants, he quickly tried to grab his own pants, his cast-covered arm flailing in the air. “Hey, hey, hey, I’m still an injured patient…”

Wen Xunchuan patted the frighteningly large bruise on He Linzhou’s waist and said, “Hold still.”

“Hiss—” He Linzhou squirmed on the sofa, frowning. “Don’t bully the injured like this!”

Wen Xunchuan sighed, ruffling He Linzhou’s hair. “Didn’t you say your waist hurt? Lie down. I’ll put some medicine on it.”

He Linzhou pushed his hand away, looking slightly uncomfortable, and muttered, “…Alright.”

Wen Xunchuan pushed He Linzhou’s shirt further up his back, opened the bottle, poured the oil into his palm to warm it up, then placed his hand on the swollen, bruised area on the left side of He Linzhou’s lower back. After a few rubs, He Linzhou hissed softly.

Wen Xunchuan’s hand paused, and he looked up. “Does it hurt?”

He Linzhou shook his head, biting his lip against the pain as he lay on the sofa. “It’s fine.”

Wen Xunchuan gave him a glance. “Even if it hurts, bear with it. Rubbing it will help it heal faster.”

With that, he lowered his gaze and gently placed his hand on the bruised area again, this time much softer. His warm, slightly moist palm pressed gently against the swollen skin, almost tenderly massaging the injured spot.

At first, He Linzhou let out a few muffled hums, but he soon quieted down.

After a while, he suddenly spoke. “Hey, Wen Xunchuan.”

“Hmm?” Wen Xunchuan’s hand didn’t stop. He looked up at him with a quick glance.

He Linzhou stayed in his position, lying on his stomach with his chin resting on a pillow, eyes still fixed on his phone. “I think I actually kinda like you.”

Wen Xunchuan’s hands paused mid-movement. He opened his mouth, then closed it, and finally patted He Linzhou’s cast-covered arm that was resting on the sofa armrest. “Don’t hold your arm up so high. Your blood flow will get cut off.”

“…Oh.” He Linzhou responded softly, lowering his arm next to the pillow, while his other hand aimlessly scrolled on his phone screen.

After a while, he noticed Wen Xunchuan didn’t seem to have any plans to respond. Growing a bit impatient, he turned his head to look at Wen Xunchuan. “Hey, can you at least give me a reaction?”

“Mm.” Wen Xunchuan didn’t even lift his head, his face showing no change in expression.

He Linzhou, feeling let down, turned his head back to the pillow, muttering, “What kind of ‘mm’ is that…”