Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Gramu’s father ran behind him. The villagers all watched Yan Molun in disbelief, as though they were seeing God.
Duoyao watched blankly as he walked closer. Her heart which was hanging by a thread felt like it was finally lowered gently.
She always felt that Yan Molun was filled with strength. He was strong, masculine, and dangerous. However, she never thought he could be this powerful. The villagers never thought this was possible, but it was a piece of cake to him. She really didn’t dare to believe that she would find such an impressive boyfriend.
“Mr. Yan, you actually… came back,” the village chief said with disbelief. “Gramu…”
“He was bitten by a snake. Yan Molun sounded solemn in his calm tone. “I washed his wounds but he still has to be taken to a hospital.”
“The nearest hospital is a five-hour drive away.” Gramu’s mother staggered two steps back in despair.
“Let’s find a doctor in Yongge Town before we think of a way to take him,” Yan Molun said. “I have a car—I’ll take him. Gramu’s dad can follow me.”
“Let me go with you,” Duoyao quickly said.
Yan Molun looked at her and shook his head. “It’s been a while since he was bitten by the snake and we can’t afford to delay anymore. I’ll have to run down the mountain later and you won’t be able to take it. Stay on the mountain.”
After saying that, he passed the torch to Gramu’s father and started sprinting down the mountain.
“I hope Gramu will be fine.” Gramu’s mother choked as she prayed with her hands clasped together.
The village chief walked over to Duoyao and said gratefully, “Teacher Jiang, your man is really incredible. The villagers all grew up on this mountain but everyone’s still very afraid of that cliff. It’s already difficult to make it out alive during the day, much less at night. He’s really admirable.”
Duoyao felt a slight sense of pride because of his words. After all, Yan Molun was her boyfriend right now. She felt very proud of her boyfriend who was worshipped by others. She snuck a peek at Sang Hua who was standing at one side, staring and smitten in the direction of where Yan Molun left. She wasn’t jealous. She just couldn’t help but straighten her back a little more. Was Sang Hua very envious of her right now?
—————-
1 am. The villagers dispersed and Duoyao and Xiling returned to the school dormitory. The two of them lay down but they didn’t feel sleepy. Xiling sighed. “What kind of a weird person is Yan Molun? Didn’t the villagers say it’s very scary down there? What did he experience there? Do you think there really were snakes as thick as humans and also wolves?”
Duoyao shook her head.
Xiling kicked her jealously. “What kind of luck did you have in your previous life for such a strong man to set his eyes on you?”
Duoyao nodded and immediately shook her head. “I’m very impressive too—I’m a popular actress.”
“You’re almost forgotten.” Xiling waved her hand impolitely. “You’re currently struggling to return to the entertainment industry and whether you can make it back is still unknown. However, I think you should stop saying he’s an old man. I also want such an impressive old man.”
“Apologies, there’s only one such old man and he’s mine.” Duoyao covered herself with the blanket proudly and snorted in delight as she flipped over.
Xiling watched her back and wanted to give her another kick.
…
After Yan Molun and Gramu’s father left, there was no news from them for two consecutive days. However, to the villagers, no news was good news. If Gramu was dead, they would’ve long returned. Now, they should be at the hospital.
Indeed. On the afternoon of the third day, Uncle Ah Si received news when he was in town, saying that Gramu’s father had called. Gramu was sent to a hospital in the province and was already out of danger but he still needed to be hospitalized and be under observation. For villagers in such a poor and remote village, hospitalization was a huge sum of money they couldn’t afford. Yan Molun helped Gramu’s father with the hospital bills and on that night, Gramu’s entire family came over to thank Duoyao.
After a week, they returned to the village. When they came back, Duoyao was in class. Upon hearing the school bell signaling the end of class, she walked out and saw Yan Molun wearing a grey shirt, jeans and black boots, sitting on the table tennis table as usual. He had a cigarette between his fingers and the sun cast a masculine glow on his handsome face.
Duoyao’s heart skipped a beat. Not seeing him this week actually felt longer than the one-month wait.
She walked over slowly. He had a light scar on his face previously and this time, he got new injuries, but they only brought out his manly charms, making him seem wilder.
He watched her intently. When she stopped in front of him, he smiled slightly. “Did you miss me?”
Duoyao blushed. She tiptoed and sat on the table too. “How’s Gramu?”
“He’s back but he’s still out of sorts. I think it was from the fright.” Yan Molun leaned on her back and the smell of tobacco assailed her nose.
Duoyao felt sympathetic. “I’ll go take a look at him later.”
“Mm. You’re only thinking about taking a look at him and not me?” Yan Molun turned his handsome face to the side slightly. One corner of his lips curled upwards. “I’ve been gone for so long. Have you thought about my reward?”
Duoyao rubbed the tip of her ear as her cheeks heated up. She had thought about the reward the past few days but the more she thought, the more embarrassed she got. She felt annoyed for a while so she snorted. “You still want a reward? I haven’t even blamed you for causing me to… worry. If I had a heart problem, I definitely would’ve fainted from the shock.”
“You were so concerned about me?” Yan Molun turned over completely. The depths of his eyes glimmered with tenderness.
Duoyao glared at him. Wasn’t that nonsense? Of course she would be concerned about him. “Seriously, was the bottom of the cliff really that horrifying? Were there gigantic snakes and wolves?”
Yan Molun shook his head. “There were wolves but I didn’t see any of them. I only saw their footprints but there were a lot of snakes. I also saw a snake that was as thick as a human that the villagers referred to, but there’s no need to be afraid. I killed it.”
“Really?” Duoyao stared at him like she was looking at a freak. “How did you do that?”
“I just killed it.” Yan Molun took a puff. He looked as though he was discussing the weather today. “It was just a little smelly.”
“You’re really… very… impressive,” Duoyao said from the bottom of her heart. “You said you were in the Amazon forest for a month. Was it scarier than this?”
“This was nothing compared to that.” Yan Molun appeared as though he heard a very good joke and laughed softly. “That was a real place of horror. You have to be careful of many animals and plants and you might just die from a single touch. Half of my batchmates died in there.”
Duoyao didn’t dare to believe what kind of world that was. She took a deep breath. “Why did you want to do such a dangerous job? There are so many things you can do. Where is your family?”
“I have no family.” Yan Molun shook his head apathetically. “I wasn’t born in China. When I was born, I was already in the slums. After that, there was a war over there and many people died. The younger ones like us were chosen by a group of mercenaries, but it was also incredibly difficult to survive there. They weren’t some charitable organization aimed to save poor children.”
Duoyao stared at his profile masked by the smoke, and for the first time, she felt her heart aching for this person. She never knew that a person’s life could be like this without parents. If it were her, she would’ve probably died.
Compared to him, she had such a blissful life.
“Don’t pity me,” Yan Molun suddenly said. “There was nothing bad about my life. It’s different from a normal person, isn’t it? You don’t have to worry about my past implicating you either. Our group dissolved several years ago in Africa and the people who survived went our own ways. I was just lucky to have met Song Chuyi and was saved by him.”
Duoyao asked softly, “So that’s why you came to China?”
“I guess so.” Yan Molun stood up slowly. He caressed her hair. “Go take a look at Gramu. I’m going to take a bath. You think hard about what to reward me with—I still want my reward. If you really can’t think of something, come and help me scrub my back later.”
“Dream on.” Duoyao rolled her eyes but she imagined Yan Molun without his shirt. Mm. She felt a little hot.
“If you don’t think about it, I’ll go get it myself later.” He smiled and walked towards his room.
Duoyao looked at his shadow which was elongated by the sun. It seemed to be a little lonely and desolate. For some reason, she suddenly had the thought to give this person some warmth.
…
After that, she went to Gramu’s house. Gramu’s parents were feeling better than before. When Duoyao was chatting with Gramu, she could see that he was always out of sorts and wasn’t as lively as before. She let out a pitiful sigh inside.
When Gramu’s mother saw Duoyao out, she sighed. “This child has been having nightmares after coming back, saying he saw a huge snake.”
“Don’t worry; he’ll forget it in time. Boys recover very quickly,” Duoyao consoled her.
Back at school, Yan Molun came out after his shower and had changed into a clean, black long-sleeved shirt. Duoyao was bewildered. “Why did you finish so quickly? Don’t you use hot water?”
“I took a cold bath,” Yan Molun said.
Duoyao’s eyes stared widely again. “Don’t tell me you’ve always been taking cold showers?”
“Yeah.”