Song Wangzhuo had been given anesthesia and didn’t wake up until after sunset.
When he came to, his thoughts were still hazy, but his body instinctively struggled to sit up.
“Don’t move. If you move now, all the effort will be wasted.”
A familiar voice sounded from his left, making Song Wangzhuo stop his attempt to rise. Weakly, he turned his head to look Shen Yuqing was sitting on the sofa, munching on an apple.
Noticing his gaze, Shen Yuqing swallowed the bite in his mouth and stood up, walking over to the bedside. “How are you feeling?”
Song Wangzhuo’s eyes fell on Shen Yuqing’s arm, which hung at his side, wrapped in bandages that completely concealed the wound.
His lips, devoid of color, parted as he rasped, “Are you okay? The injury is it bad?”
Shen Yuqing glanced down. “It’s nothing. It’ll heal in a couple of days. The doctor was just being overly cautious insisted on wrapping it twice.”
He stretched his arm out in front of Song Wangzhuo, rotating it slightly as if to prove it really wasn’t a big deal.
Song Wangzhuo closed his eyes, as though gathering his strength.
Shen Yuqing tossed the apple core into the trash. “The professor has hired bodyguards, and the hospital is investigating the incident. Don’t worry they’ll get to the bottom of it.”
Song Wangzhuo licked his dry lips and replied hoarsely, “There won’t be any results.”
Just like before. There would never be any answers.
He knew someone wanted him dead, but he couldn’t understand why. Even if this attempt failed, there would be another, and another yet nothing would ever come of it.
Just how much did that noble figure hate him? Enough to keep trying to erase him from this world, over and over?
And even if he did disappear.
No one would care, would they?
He walked this earth alone. What did it matter if he had top-tier psychic abilities?
He was still living in utter confusion.
He didn’t even know who to hate.
Shen Yuqing watched the desolation flicker across Song Wangzhuo’s face and opened his mouth to speak only for the system to blare a warning:
[Alert! Alert! Detected critical risk of Song Wangzhuo’s corruption value spiking! Warning! Warning! Host must take immediate action! Host must take immediate action!]
Hadn’t his corruption value almost dropped to zero?
Shen Yuqing wanted to do something, but he realized he had no words of comfort to offer.
Even though he knew who wanted Song Wangzhuo dead, and who had hurt him he couldn’t say it.
At this moment, Song Wangzhuo felt as though something inside him was burning violently, hatred threatening to overflow.
Why?
What had he done to deserve this?
He had been so careful, so cautious couldn’t this world show him even a shred of mercy?
Fragmented images flashed through his mind, and a dull ache pulsed in his skull. But when he tried to focus on them, they dissolved like mist, impossible to grasp.
Just as his emotions reached their breaking point a dry, warm hand closed over his.
The warmth of another person seeped into his skin, spreading through his flesh and blood, reaching every corner of his body.
He looked up. It was Shen Yuqing.
Shen Yuqing faltered slightly under that gaze, but his grip on Song Wangzhuo’s hand tightened unconsciously.
Song Wangzhuo whispered again, barely audible, “There won’t be any results.”
This time, his voice was weaker. His eyes were red, the bitterness and helplessness inside him with nowhere to go.
“There will be.” Shen Yuqing replied softly.
Song Wangzhuo looked at him, and Shen Yuqing felt his hand being tightly gripped in return. He continued, “Song Wangzhuo, there will definitely be an outcome it might just take some time.”
“The day I die?” Song Wangzhuo said. “When the other party takes pity and tells me, letting me die with hatred in my heart.”
“You won’t die,” Shen Yuqing said. “Believe me, it won’t be long before all of this comes to an end.”
Song Wangzhuo simply lifted his gaze to meet Shen Yuqing’s eyes.
This time, there was no answer, yet it felt like an answer all the same.
Could he still believe?
Shen Yuqing said, “Don’t worry. Just focus on recovering. Even if death comes, make sure the other side knows you’re not so easy to kill. The one who’ll end up furious and broken will be them.”
He tried to pull his hand back, but Song Wangzhuo held on as if clinging to a lifeline. After a glance, Shen Yuqing lightly patted Song Wangzhuo’s shoulder with his free hand. “You need to get better quickly so we can track that person down together.”
Song Wangzhuo’s throat moved, and after a long pause, he finally let out a soft “Mm.”
He believed Shen Yuqing.
Believed in his good friend.
Though the anesthesia had worn off, it still left him drowsy.
Song Wangzhuo’s emotions had been running high, and before long, he succumbed to exhaustion, slipping into a hazy sleep.
Yet even in sleep, his grip on Shen Yuqing’s hand remained unyielding.
It took considerable effort for Shen Yuqing to finally free himself.
He adjusted the blankets over Song Wangzhuo before gathering his things and stepping out of the hospital room.
Outside, the caregiver stood watch, along with bodyguards hired by their teacher and hospital security personnel seated nearby.
Song Wangzhuo’s room was now under top-level surveillance likely until he was safely discharged.
But if the first attempt failed, there would surely be a second.
Shen Yuqing wasn’t afraid of another attack. What worried him more was how to catch the culprit.
After all, the system had been tracking for so long without finding any trace.
Could there be a second system?
But he’d asked before no unusual data fluctuations had been detected.
Taking a deep breath, he gave the caregiver a few instructions at the door before turning back for one last look inside.
Song Wangzhuo’s sleep was restless.
Shen Yuqing withdrew his gaze and finally left the hospital.
When he got home, Pei Yiyan hadn’t returned yet.
Xiao Zhao was about to say something but froze upon seeing the bandages wrapped around Shen Yuqing’s arm. “Young Master, what happened?”
“Oh, it’s nothing,” Shen Yuqing said. “Just a scratch while assembling a mech this afternoon. The school nurse already patched me up.”
“Wrapped like this? It must be serious. Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”
“It’s a minor injury. They overreacted. It’ll heal in a couple of days.” He added, “Don’t tell my brother, or he’ll call and scold me again.”
Xiao Zhao agreed, and Shen Yuqing asked, “By the way, isn’t Pei Yiyan back yet?”
“Wu Yi called to say they’re on the way. They should be home soon.”
Shen Yuqing glanced down at the white bandages on his arm. “Don’t mention the injury to Pei Yiyan either. I’m going to shower.”
Just then, his stomach growled twice.
In his rush to handle Song Wangzhuo’s situation, he still hadn’t eaten.
He added, “Go make me a bowl of noodles. I’ll eat it after my shower.”
Xiao Zhao glanced at his arm. “Young Master, will your arm be alright while showering?”
“Don’t worry about me. Start cooking the noodles in fifteen minutes,” Shen Yuqing instructed before heading into the bedroom, leaving Xiao Zhao no choice but to swallow his words.
However, shortly after Shen Yuqing entered the bedroom, Pei Yiyan also returned home.
As usual, Wu Yi dropped him off at the entrance before leaving.
Xiao Zhao handed Pei Yiyan his slippers. Pei Yiyan asked, “Has Yuqing come back yet?”
“Young Master just returned and asked me to make noodles. Young Master Pei, would you like a bowl too?” Xiao Zhao inquired.
Pei Yiyan had only eaten a sandwich earlier to stave off hunger during his busy evening. His appetite wasn’t particularly strong, and he wasn’t hungry now. But after a moment’s thought, he said, “I’ll have a small portion.”
With his busy work schedule, the number of meals he shared with Shen Yuqing had decreased. An occasional late-night supper like this wouldn’t be bad.
Pei Yiyan walked toward the bedroom, knowing Shen Yuqing must be there.
But as he reached the middle of the living room, why did he suddenly smell blood?
