CH 17

Luo Qin pushed the plate of hibiscus crab towards Lin Zhixia’s side.

Although they had never shared meals together when they were married, Luo Qin knew that Lin Zhixia loved crab. Once, when he came home after work, he walked in to see Luo Yao and Lin Zhixia eating together. Luo Yao was complaining loudly that the way Lin Zhixia ate the crab was disgusting and messy. 

Lin Zhixia curled his lips down, “I’m allergic to crab.”

He was very allergic to crab in his original world so he still didn’t like to eat them now. Even though he had a different body, the psychological shadow had followed with his mind. 

Luo Qin stared at Lin Zhixia, his eyes narrowed. 

While they were eating, it had begun to snow outside. When they emerged from the restaurant, there was a light layer of white on the ground already.  

Lin Keai ran ahead of them on his short little legs and when he ran out the door, he suddenly slipped and fell. They all froze as Lin Keai sat on the ground, staring up at Lin Zhixia blankly. 

After his initial distress, Lin Zhixia’s next reaction at seeing the little one sitting on the ground with his legs akimbo was to snort out a laugh. As soon as he smiled, Lin Keai started to cry loudly. 

Luo Qin knelt down, wanting to comfort Xiao Ai but he didn’t know what to do. He awkwardly wiped away the little guy’s tears but they just kept leaking out of his squinted eyes. Luo Qin turned to look at Lin Zhixia helplessly. 

Lin Zhixia reached down and picked up Xiao Ai into his arms, rubbing his back as he cried and hiccuped. Lin Zhixia suppressed his amusement and softly coaxed the child. 

Lin Keai’s tears finally stopped but he was still pouting, “Dad, you laughed at me!”

“I know. Dad was wrong and he should be punished.”

Lin Zhixia reached out and grabbed Luo Qin’s hand, tugging it over to lightly hit against his own body. 

“See? Uncle Luo has punished Dad for laughing at you. Forgive me?”

Lin Keai was still pouting, unconvinced. Lin Zhixia thought for a while and then said, “How about tomorrow I take you out to make a snowman?”

Lin Keai sniffed loudly and then buried his little face into Lin Zhixia’s neck. After a moment, he hummed in agreement. 

After successfully coaxing Xiao Ai, Lin Zhixia looked up at Luo Qin, his eyes shining in triumph. It seemed like he was showing off. See? I can still do things that you can’t.

The night air was very cold. Lin Zhixia’s pale skin became even more white and the tip of his nose was red. The snowflakes that fell from the sky landed softly on his hair and eyelashes. But with Xiao Ai in his arms, he didn’t feel cold at all. His heart was full of warmth. 

He smiled crookedly at Luo Qin and his eyes were pure, his face glowing with beauty. 

Luo Qin’s heart moved at the sight. 

*

A young woman walked out of the same restaurant and looked at the tall man standing near the doorway. She rolled her eyes at his back, her heart full of complaints. 

Her brother was to blame for her horrible mood. He had originally promised to have dinner together with their dad but then abandoned her to visit with the old man alone. 

Every minute of the meal had felt like torture. They had barely spoken two words to each other and she could feel his judgmental gaze the whole time. 

What a waste of her weekend. 

While Luo Yao went to the bathroom after the meal, Luo Zhengyan went to the door to wait for her. 

Luo Yao walked to Luo Zhengyan’s side and saw him staring straight ahead, very focused on something. She followed his line of sight but only saw a few fuzzy figures walking away in the blowing snow.

She asked, “Dad, what are you looking at?”

“Nothing,” Luo Zhengyan paused and then asked, “Why didn’t your brother come today?”

Luo Yao scoffed helplessly, “Didn’t I tell you that earlier? He said he had an appointment.”

Luo Zhengyan retracted his thoughtful gaze and turned to look at his daughter, his scornful eyes looking her up and down. He had always hated the way she dressed and would complain about it every time they met. 

Feeling like her ears were ringing already, Luo Yao spoke before her dad could and started walking away. 

“I already called a taxi so I could go home alone. Don’t worry about me, Dad! Have a safe trip home. Goodbye!”

*

A few more days passed. 

One afternoon, the restaurant was idle and Luo Qin came to visit again. The cashier girl was sitting, watching a video on her phone and almost threw the device across the room when she saw him walk in.

Luo Qin looked around the room slowly, then walked up to her and said in a low voice, “Where is your boss?”

!! 

He looked so handsome and his voice was so magnetic!! 

The girl blushed and stammered, “The boss just burned his hand and had to go to the hospital.”

“He got hurt?”

After a few moments, the girl adjusted to Luo Qin’s beauty and was able to speak more normally, “Just now, the little boss was serving food to a table and wasn’t paying close enough attention. He dropped a bowl of hot soup and it poured all over his hand. Mister Qin came quickly and rushed him to the hospital.”

Luo Qin asked for the address of the hospital and left in a hurry. 

The cashier looked at Luo Qin’s back as he rushed away, picturing his concerned face as he learned that boss had been hurt. 

She sighed deeply. 

It seemed like the boss wasn’t far from becoming a rich young wife…

Wait…does that mean she would have to look for another job?!

*

Lin Zhixia was sitting in the lobby of the hospital, waiting to be called by the doctor. Qin Zhe sat next to him and kept glancing at his burned hand. He stood once or twice to check on the wait time. 

Even though the burn looked red and scary, the pain wasn’t too bad. It was only shocking because the skin around it was naturally so white. His hand was sore and it hurt to move too much. 

Qin Zhe came with him to speak to the doctor and hovered, looking concerned and nervous. The doctor eyed him and then gave Lin Zhixia a tight smile. He prescribed some ointment and Lin Zhixia hurriedly dragged Qin Zhe out of the room. 

“The doctor said the burn wasn’t serious. There isn’t even any blistering.” Lin Zhixia said with a smile, “Brother Qin, I’m really okay. If it wasn’t for you rushing me here, I would have just run some cold water over it. You being so nervous made me nervous.”

Qin Zhe disagreed, “Your hand is so red! It’s better to get the burn looked at by a professional.”

After buying the burn ointment, Qin Zhe brought Lin Zhixia home and insisted that he treat the burn himself. Feeling helpless in the face of his concern, Lin Zhixia just went along with it. 

Qin Zhe was very gentle, holding his red and swollen hand carefully, “Zhixia, tell me if it hurts, okay?”

Lin Zhixia sighed, “It really doesn’t hurt.”

Lin Zhixia suddenly recalled one summer at the orphanage when he accidentally broke the old water heater. The hot water scalded his leg and there was a nasty blister on it. 

It hurt so bad but he didn’t dare tell the aunty at the orphanage. She was very angry at him and forced him to stand in the hallway for hours as a punishment. He bore the pain and took his punishment in silence. 

At that time, Lin Zhixia was only six years old. How could this little burn on his hand compare?

When Luo Qin came, Qin Zhe was still gently holding Lin Zhixia’s hand. Lin Zhixia’s expression looked a little helpless and amused. It was obvious that he didn’t despise Qin Zhe’s care. 

Luo Qin walked over quickly and bumped his shoulder into Qin Zhe, making the man take a few stumbling steps back. He then turned his head and pretended to have just noticed Qin Zhe’s presence.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.”

He was speaking to Qin Zhe but he didn’t once look at him. His eyes landed solely on Lin Zhixia. 

He asked in a low, intimate voice, “Are your hands okay?”

“I’m okay,” Lin Zhixia subconsciously hid his hands behind his back, “I just accidentally burned myself.”

Qin Zhe walked forward again and said bluntly, “Mister Luo, why are you here?”

Luo Qin finally turned his gaze to Qin Zhe. They looked at each other for a long moment with sour expressions. 

Both men were the same height. Luo Qin’s cold aura was particularly strong and Qin Zhe was not acting like his usual affable self, glaring intently at the other man. Lin Zhixia imagined that he could hear the crackle of electricity as they stared each other down. 

Luo Qin narrowed his eyes, “I heard that Lin Zhixia had been burned. Why shouldn’t I be concerned and come to check on him?”

Qin Zhe gave a sarcastic look of surprise, “Oh? I didn’t expect the great Mister Luo to care about Zhixia this much!”

Luo Qin tilted his head and gave him a menacing smile, “I’m really not surprised that you’re here again Mister Qin, taking advantage of Lin Zhixia’s vulnerability to hover around.”

After that, the fake smiles on their faces melted away to angry snarls. 

Lin Zhixia was silent, sitting and watching their display in shock. 

These two had only met each other twice and barely spoke each time. How was their relationship so hostile? Their words were so harsh that Lin Zhixia expected they would start physically fighting each other at any second. 

Lin Zhixia reached out to tug at Qin Zhe’s sleeve, “Brother Qin, what’s the matter with you?”

This immediately ended the stalemate between the two. 

Qin Zhe gave Luo Qin another smile, this one looking more provocative. As if to say, Look! Lin Zhixia reached out to me first! He cares more about me than you! I win.

Luo Qin scolded the man for being stupid in his head but a sense of frustration rose in his heart. 

He had rushed over in a hurry after hearing that Lin Zhixia had been injured. Now he was seeing Lin Zhixia, who always acted so brave and strong in front of Luo Qin, was acting so dependent in front of Qin Zhe. He let the man tend to his wounds and comfort him with no complaints. 

Lin Zhixia trusted Qin Zhe more. Their relationship seemed very close.