CH 200

If it weren’t for Duan Yang’s constant reminders about the dangerous period, Lin Chen would have felt like he was on a cruise on vacation.

After all, his journey to Dana was due to being kidnapped.

He was riding a helicopter that was about to fall apart with a high fever, so he didn’t have time to appreciate the vast primeval forest.

Although many places in the Dana Forest had been destroyed to some extent, as the light ferry boat went deeper, he was still amazed by the magical power of nature.

At that time, the words that Mrs. Jiang had told him would always come to mind from time to time. However, the reality was much more exaggerated than what she said. As a person who had never seen the world, he saw real trees and blue waves. In short, he had experienced all the beautiful words used to describe the forest.

Of course, the most amazing thing in this process was still a Dana python.

It was by chance.

The reason was that the light ferry he was on would rely on fishing to obtain food supplements during their escape. The Dana python crashed into the net while it was lowered. Although ordinary fishing nets couldn’t catch such a big thing, the python that crashed into the net couldn’t get out. The net and python became entangled, and the python tumbled around, arousing crazy water sounds.

Lin Chen was half-lying in the cabin, and Xing Conglian was sitting by his bedside, peeling a banana.

Although Lin Chen didn’t know why Xing Conglian insisted on doing such a simple task as peeling bananas, Lin Chen wasn’t the stubborn type, and it felt good watching Xing Conglian do these things for him.

Suddenly, he heard the excited and terrified shouts of the Gaomeng people from the side of the ship, followed by the voices of Wang Chao and Xing Conglian’s subordinates calling “Boss”.

There was the sound of rapid pattering footsteps, followed by the hatch slamming open. Wang Chao poked his head in and said excitedly, “Boss, Boss, there are really giant pythons in the Dana River!”

This was the first time he had seen Wang Chao since he woke up from his coma. After Wang Chao opened the door, he blinked at him, looking extremely alert.

Lin Chen didn’t quite understand why Xing Conglian excluded everyone from the cabin. Except for Dr. Duan Yang, even Wang Chao wasn’t allowed in. Xing Conglian’s reason was that too many people would affect his rest. After hearing this reason, Lin Chen probably had a little personal experience of what Wang Chao called “controlling desire.” In fact, he could probably guess why Xing Conglian did this. As long as he lay in this cabin, on this hospital bed, everything outside the room had nothing to do with them.

They didn’t need to pay attention to how many people Zaratul sent to hunt them down, nor did they need to worry about what was behind all this. Even the aftermath didn’t concern them, and of course, it wasn’t his job to worry about it in the first place.

Before Xing Conglian could react, Wang Chao had already snuck to his bedside and taken his hand nervously; his eyes were red.

“Get out!” Xing Conglian glared at Wang Chao as he spoke coldly.

“Boss, if you do this, my A’Chen Gege will get sick!”

“First of all, correction. He is mine. And secondly, he will only get sick when he sees you!”

Wang Chao’s face suddenly flushed. “Boss, aren’t you shameless?!”

“How?” Xing Conglian took a bite of the peeled banana, then handed it to Lin Chen.

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian’s burning gaze as if he were trying to force him to show affection or something. He had no choice but to bite the spot where Xing Conglian had just bitten.

Wang Chao was stunned again. Before the teenager could yell out any astonishing remarks, Lin Chen asked, “What happened outside?”

Wang Chao was easily distracted. He said excitedly, “Python! Python! Python! A’Chen Gege, do you want to come see the python?! It’s a python!”

Xing Conglian glared at him again. “Do you think my A’Chen’s body is suitable for going out to get some fresh air?”

Wang Chao dug into his ear as if he hadn’t heard clearly what his boss had just spat out. “You—what did you just say?”

Xing Conglian crossed his legs and shook them, as if he had finally found an advantageous position in their usual bickering. He happily said, “Let me deepen your impression of my A’Chen!”

Wang Chao blushed. Lin Chen had no choice but to interrupt the two of them again and ask Wang Chao, “Is the python big?”

“It’s really big. Its body is quite thick. Did you feel our boat shaking as if it were being dragged?”

“Stop exaggerating. It depends on your own perspective. Now, get out!”

Wang Chao sat down on the side of the bed and said, “But the Gaomeng’s elder—whether he’s a high priest or a fake—with terrifying big earlobes said it was a thousand-year-old golden python with special spirituality. You can make a wish in front of it, and it will come true. A’Chen Gege should do it since he’s sick.”

“Can wishing make water flood the mountain with gold? How old are you? Do you believe in this kind of African stuff?” Xing Conglian said incredulously.

At this time, Duan Yang, probably seeing that the cabin door was open, also walked in. The doctor was probably going to give him an IV. Now, looking at the appearance of Xing Conglian, Duan Yang said, “It’s okay to get some air. It’s been stuffy in the ward, which isn’t conducive to recovery.”

“He hasn’t been bored for three days!” Xing Conglian said dissatisfied.

Duan Yang looked at Xing Conglian and just crossed his arms without speaking.

Lin Chen reluctantly opened the thin blanket and stepped out of the bed with one foot. “Just endure it, and it’ll be fine. I want to go and have a look since it’s a rare opportunity.”

“What’s so rare about this!”

“You have to buy a ticket if you go to the safari park,” Lin Chen said.

“And the safari park isn’t as big!” Wang Chao added.

Just before Lin Chen got off the bed, Xing Conglian gave Wang Chao a smack in dissatisfaction.

Then he turned his head and said to Lin Chen, “Do you need me to hug you?”

Seeing the two of them in the sickroom crossing their arms and watching, Lin Chen could only grab Xing Conglian’s shirt collar and whisper softly in his ear, “Not now. I’ll hold you tonight.”

Hearing this, Xing Conglian nodded contentedly and waved his hand. “Then let’s go!”

In fact, Wang Chao’s words weren’t exaggerated. Lin Chen did feel the slight shaking of the ship during the short distance from the medical room to the second deck.

Looking down, Lin Chen saw many dark-skinned, scantily-clad Gaomeng people gathered on the first level to watch the golden python. Most of them were already kneeling on the ground and beginning to recite prayers about similar things. This was also the first time he had truly seen these Gaomeng people who had been saved by Dr. Duan since he regained consciousness.

Actually, he had only been able to read about these primitive tribes in travel magazines before and didn’t have a very tangible feeling about them, but now that these living people appeared in front of him, he suddenly had a deeper appreciation for the diversity of human life forms. This appreciation was something that he couldn’t experience when sitting at home flipping through a magazine.

Of course, this small emotion only lasted for a short period of time. Xing Conglian pressed his neck with his hand and gently turned his head toward the river further away. “Look at the python, not the people.”

Lin Chen didn’t refute. He leaned on the railing and looked over. The giant python on the water’s surface was still churning, splashing waves several meters high. The captain directed the men, who were probably Xing Conglian’s subordinates, to try to loosen the fishing net, but because the python struggled so fiercely, it became more entangled in the net.

The Gaomeng people let out exclamations as the boat was pulled further, slightly tilting it.

Xing Conglian grew tired of watching and shouted downstairs. “Kang An, cut the fishing net.”

“Boss, I was just about to catch it to show it to you, and now I have to let it go!” The young man below, who was pulling the fishing net, turned his head and responded.

Lin Chen looked down and nodded to the young man, but the moment the other party saw him, he was stunned and stopped talking.

At that moment, a foot wearing black leather boots suddenly stretched from behind Kang An and violently kicked him in the calf.

“Zhang Long, are you crazy?!” Kang An turned his head and scolded angrily.

“Keep looking, and I’ll pluck your eyeballs out to feed to the crocodiles,” a rather arrogant voice responded.

Lin Chen saw another black-clothed man with a slightly cool hairstyle come out from behind. He took off his sunglasses, bent over, and bowed in their direction, showing great courtesy.

“Your friend?” Lin Chen asked Xing Conglian with a smile.

Before he finished speaking, as if playing some kind of whack-a-mole game, another young Chinese man emerged from behind and looked up at them, then waved.

At that time, Xing Conglian’s face was as black as the bottom of a pot, even darker than the night sky, to the point where it couldn’t get any darker.

“How interesting,” Lin Chen said.

Finally, looking at him and then at the few people below who were curious to the extreme, Xing Cong Lian said, “Cut the rope and come up.”

……

Lin Chen received these individual “friends” in his ward.

He leaned on the hospital bed while Xing Conglian sat at the head of the bed with legs crossed, remaining silent. Wang Chao squatted on the ground at the end of the bed.

A group of six people stood in a row beside the bed. This was the first time he saw Xing Conglian’s former subordinates. Regarding the team that had taken down Zaratul’s drug factory in front of him, other than being low-key and restrained, he couldn’t think of better adjectives to describe them.

He glanced at the grumpy man next to him and introduced himself to the people standing in front of his bed. “Lin Chen. I’m currently a consultant majoring in psychology.”

As if counting, as soon as his voice fell, the six people in front of the hospital bed shouted in turn.

“Kang An!”

“Ye Zhu!”

“Xiao Wu!”

“Xiao Liu!”

“Zhang Long!”

“Zhao Hu!”

As each of them reported their name, Lin Chen found it more amusing. Finally, the teenager weakly said from the end of his bed.

“Wang Chao!”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian helplessly. “What kind of sadistic humor is this?”

“Hey, hey. It’s not my business.” Xing Conglian kicked Wang Chao. “Explained to A’Chen Gege. Your father’s surname is Wang.”

“A’Chen Gege, my father’s surname is Wang!”

Lin Chen raised his brows and glanced at Xing Conglian.

“Seniority is determined by Wang Chao,” Xing Conglian said. “Seriously.”

After Xing Conglian finished speaking, he hurriedly shouted to the six people standing in rows in front of him. “Okay, enough. You can get out now!”

At this time, to Lin Chen’s great surprise, Kang An, who was standing at the front of the team, suddenly knelt down and said to him loudly, “Consultant Lin, I’m sorry!”

Lin Chen was taken aback.

Kang An’s face was full of sorrow. “I… I really didn’t know it would be like this…. If I had known that the Boss leaving would put you in danger of being kidnapped and almost killed, I… I wouldn’t have invited the Boss in the first place!”

“Get out. Do you hear me?!” Xing Conglian said coldly.

Xiao Wu pressed on Kang An’s shoulder and knelt down.

Lin Chen roughly knew the story, but quietly watching them kneel side by side in front of him, he couldn’t help but say, “Is this some feudal patriarchal system? Why are you kneeling at every turn?”

“They’re not good in the head. Just ignore them.”

Lin Chen nodded, turned to look at the two people kneeling on the ground, and said lightly, “If you kneel like this, it’s just making things embarrassing.”

A look of bewilderment flashed across Kang An’s and Xiao Wu’s faces. They wanted to stand up, but they didn’t know what to do.

“The reason why I’m embarrassed is because, by doing this, you have turned me into the type of person who needs protection and can only cling to others,” Lin Chen said slowly. “But in terms of my self-awareness, I don’t seem to be so useless yet.”

“I… I didn’t mean that, Consultant Lin.”

“Since that’s not what you meant, then your logic just now isn’t valid. For example, if you had invited your boss to leave, it wouldn’t have caused me to be kidnapped and almost killed. His departure was just an accident, and my kidnapping was also an accident. It was a matter of bad luck, and the real culprit has already paid the price. So it’s inappropriate for you to blame yourselves for it.”

“But… But I still think I was too selfish,” Kang An replied as he scratched his head. “I… I can’t explain it well. It’s my fault for not handling this matter properly!”

“It’s me who’s useless,” the thin young man named Xiao Wu said solemnly.

“That’s right,” Lin Chen said softly.

As he spoke, he felt Xiao Wu look up at him. There was no resentment in his gaze, only a strong sense of self-reproach.

Lin Chen felt Xing Conglian put his hand on his wrist. He looked at him, then said, “This is the meaning of his existence.”

Upon hearing this, Xing Conglian leaned over to his ear and whispered softly, “I’ve said the same thing before. Pretty cool, huh?”

Lin Chen couldn’t help but laugh, then he turned to the two people on the ground and said, “I’ve also encountered the kind of situation that you both encountered, which is completely impossible to solve. Fortunately, we have your boss to lend a helping hand, which makes many impossible things possible. That’s probably the meaning of his existence. At least with him around, we know that even if the sky falls, there will always be someone taller to hold it up, and even the most difficult things give people a glimmer of hope.”

Xiao Wu’s tears were about to flow.

After experiencing too many life-and-death situations, Lin Chen felt that his ability to inspire people had improved. “Therefore, I hope that you will not be afraid of things that you think are right, no matter how difficult or impossible they may seem. If all else fails, there will always be someone to support you. And if that person is not there, then strive to become that person.”

Kang An was so straightforward that he immediately nodded hard and said, “I will really try my best to handle it myself next time!”

“Then please, get up, you two,” Lin Chen said.

Kang An and Xiao Wu quickly stood up, and as if unable to hold back any longer, Xing Conglian chased them away like shooing flies. “I knew you guys were up to something. Get out of here. You’re annoying the hell out of laozi!”

The two were immediately expelled from the room. Xing Conglian looked at the four people still standing at the bedside and said, “What are you staring at? Are you waiting for me to invite you to dinner?”

“Not you, Boss. I think what Consultant Lin said was really good. Consultant Lin, you’re so professional. Can you take a look at me?” Mr. Zhang Long, very arrogantly, approached the hospital bed and said to him, “They keep saying that I have bipolar disorder*. Do you think I’m really sick? Should I take some medication?”

*A mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that each last from days to weeks. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with psychosis, it is called mania; if it is less severe, it is called hypomania.

At this point, Xing Conglian picked up the medicine bottle from the bedside and was about to throw it. “Scram!”

Zhang Long hurriedly rushed to the door. “I may not be the only one with mania!” Zhang Long said while scowling at them. “I’ll come and visit you again!”

Probably seeing that Xing Conglian’s face had reached its patience limit, the group of people left in a hurry. In the end, Xing Conglian threw his slipper at Wang Chao’s ass. The teenager left with a look of being exposed and embarrassed, scurrying out the door.

The hatch finally closed again, and everything calmed down.

“What’s the matter? They were just saying a few words…”

Before Lin Chen could finish, he was pressed by the back of his neck and pressed down as Xing Conglian kissed him hard.

Xing Conglian’s movements were slightly impatient, and Lin Chen didn’t react for a while. He couldn’t breathe after being kissed.

He gently stroked the man’s back, but he couldn’t stop Xing Conglian from making further aggressive movements.

Xing Conglian stuck close to him, sucking his lips hard while prying open his teeth without hesitation and teasing his tongue.

After the kiss, Lin Chen found that his hospital gown was almost completely unbuttoned, and most of his skin was exposed. He gasped and looked at Xing Conglian, trying to calm himself down.

“Consultant Lin.”

“Hm?”

“Why are you so good…”

Lin Chen touched Xing Conglian’s ear and felt that the atmosphere was good, so he didn’t respond.

Xing Conglian lightly nibbled on his collarbone and finally looked up and said, “You need to get better soon. I’m getting older, and my endurance may not be as good as it used to be.”

“As long as your endurance is good,” Lin Chen kissed his forehead and said with a smile.