CH 35

Xia Xingchi was so frightened that he almost jumped three feet high. If it wasn’t for the force of gravity, he would have already leaped up.

It was like visiting a big white tiger and quietly smooching it while the fluffball was asleep, but suddenly the big cat pretending to be asleep grabbed him by the back of the neck in one bite.

Seeing Li Chengyuan slowly open his eyes, Xia Xingchi’s face became hot and he said awkwardly: “What nonsense are you talking about? What ‘do I not dare to kiss your lips again?’”

“En?”

Li Chengyuan turned his head slightly. His indifferent expression seemed to contain the subtext of “Then prove to me that you dare.”

Finding that the object of this sentence was ambiguous, Xia Xingchi hastily added: “When did I kiss you, in your dream?”

Li Chengyuan didn’t speak, just sizing him up critically.

Under the focus of such a gaze, Xia Xingchi’s mind, which had been at a standstill for two days, suddenly started to function.

It seemed to have been a real kiss – after the CPR was successful, I was so excited that I accidentally let myself go for a kiss.

…..And even more suffocating was that it seemed to have been in front of the camera and thousands of fans?

A slight smile flashed in Li Chengyuan’s eyes, but his face remained expressionless as he just looked at Xia Xingchi calmly.

Xia Xingchi felt more guilty and irritable when he saw this and said loudly: “It was artificial respiration! I, I’m your savior now, what is with your attitude?”

“En.” Li Chengyuan nodded expressionlessly.

Due to just waking up, his voice was lower and hoarser than usual, a little lazy and attractive: “Not a kiss, just artificial respiration. So for the grace of saving my life —”

Xia Xingchi subconsciously added the second half of the sentence, “I’ll devote my life to you.”

But staring at a certain person’s cold, pale face, he quickly shook his head. The big villain dared to allow him, but he didn’t dare to ask for it.

“Aiya, stop looking for trouble, talk about business. Are you in any pain now? Does your heart hurt? Do you have a stomach ache?”

As he spoke, he reached out to touch Li Chengyuan’s hand that contained an IV. It was cooler than usual, with almost no warmth at all.

These days, it was hard to take care of his big cat’s body, but now they had returned overnight to before the communist liberation.[1] Just thinking about it made people gnash their teeth, wishing they could chop up that pair Xia Yu and Li Shengrui.

“There’s something wrong with that box of white sugar, have you reported it to the police?” Li Chengyuan asked abruptly.

The police had come last night to take his statement. Xia Xingchi nodded, and asked in disbelief after some thought: “How did you know?”

It was natural for he himself to make inferences with the original book script in his hand, and he’d had a full day since Li Chengyuan’s poisoning to think the whole thing over.

But this person had been in a coma, and now his physical condition was poor, but he was able to find the key to the problem right away.

As expected of a great villain, he was simply terrifyingly sharp.

Li Chengyuan suddenly asked back: “Then how did you know?”

It was that terrifying astuteness again. Xia Xingchi was taken aback by this question.

He remembered at once that from the perspective of the original owner, not only would he not be aware of the Li family’s complicated past, but he should not even know who Li Shengrui was.

No wonder Xia Yu was simultaneously terrified and surprised. He couldn’t figure out how his crimes were known, because “Xia Xingchi” really shouldn’t know so much.

Their plan had actually been practical enough.

If not for his knowledge and inferences about the original book, faced with Li Chengyuan’s sudden illness and unconsciousness, the original ignorant owner would have inevitably rushed to give him the medicine.

Ordinary people didn’t know how to perform CPR. After Li Chengyuan’s cardiac arrest, he should have died on the spot, and no one would have suspected that the heart attack was induced artificially by poisoning.

As Li Chengyuan’s only “family member” by blood, as long as an autopsy wasn’t requested and no objections were raised, Li Shengrui could have easily concealed everything.

“What, you’re allowed to be smart but I’m not?” Xia Xingchi bit the bullet and lied. “Xia Yu isn’t a good person at first glance, isn’t it easy to come to this conclusion?”

Hearing this, Li Chengyuan’s dark amber eyes, like deep pools in an ancient well, slowly moved as he turned his head like a ghost in a horror movie.

Xia Xingchi became timid at once, and quickly bluffed like a little hedgehog with thorns sticking up all over its body:

“Believe it or don’t believe it! You are questioning my intelligence!”

Li Chengyuan just stared at him quietly and expressionlessly, as if he was watching someone putting on a performance.

Xia Xingchi really couldn’t figure this big villain out. His heart became increasingly uncertain, and he couldn’t help but want to grab a pillow and smother him to death.

But before he could lay a finger on him, Li Chengyuan put on a show of coughing.

The lip color that had just recovered a little bit suddenly faded away, as if Xia Xingchi’s not-so-loud voice had disturbed his heart.

“Where does it hurt?” Frightened by the scene of his life hanging by a thread, Xia Xingchi didn’t dare to argue with him anymore. “Should I call the doctor?”

“No need. You take off your clothes and come warm my bed.”

Li Chengyuan sat up and took a sip of warm water, giving the order naturally.

“Ah?” Xia Xingchi tilted his head. “Why are you so confident that I’ll sleep with you in broad daylight? Sir, that will be an additional price.”

Just as he was about to remind him that his “accompany him to sleep for a month” service had expired, Li Chengyuan smiled faintly: 

“I seem to have heard someone say that if I survived, they would work for free for the rest of their life – was that another lie?”

Xia Xingchi: “…….”

Was it too late to assassinate the benefactor now?

He’d only had one breath left at that time, and it was simply too hateful to remember not only being kissed, but also what promises he had received.

But considering how weak Li Chengyuan’s body was now, entirely cold and not producing heat, he still forgave the vile, exploitative boss and took off his coat, getting into bed.

The beds in the VIP wards were much bigger, and two people could squeeze in together.

Xia Xingchi’s heart, which had been tense all night, relaxed at this moment, and he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

He drowsily felt that Li Chengyuan was holding him in his arms, but didn’t care. Instead, he took the initiative to put his ear against Li Chengyuan’s chest, feeling more at ease as he listened to the sound of his heart beating.

Li Chengyuan lowered his gaze, quietly observing the red and swollen eyes of the person in his arms due to tears, and the bruises under his eyes due to lack of sleep. It was obvious that Xia Xingchi didn’t realize how he looked.

In the end, Li Chengyuan finally touched the ends of his eyes lightly with the hand not connected to the IV. Distressed, but at the same time feeling a sweetness in his heart, he kissed him gently after the other fell asleep.

– – –

At the same time, Xia Yu also stayed up all night in a hotel without sleep, and was making an angry phone call with dark circles around his eyes.

“How did Xia Xingchi come to the conclusion that Li Chengyuan didn’t just have a heart attack?! He actually called the police, and now they’ve taken the box of sugar away!”

No one knew whether Li Chengyuan was dead or alive. After all, this was not the capital, and Xia Yu didn’t have time to find a suitable mole to spy on them, and didn’t dare to make any more suspicious moves.

He was nearly scared out of his wits when the police came last night and took his statement, but fortunately, he had experience in crying on the spot, so the police didn’t suspect much for the time being.

On the other side of the line, Li Shengrui was silent for a moment, and finally offered comfort: “Don’t worry, there will be no evidence to prove that you did it.”

Li Shengrui didn’t have him use a bottle to hold the powdered drugs, but a paper package. He sprinkled the drug into the box of sugar and tossed the paper package into a stream. Even an immortal god wouldn’t be able to find it in these twisting mountains and deep forests.

Li Shengrui analyzed:

“Your fingers never touched the box, so there will be no fingerprints.”

“No one had ever used that box of sugar before yesterday. It was prepared by the program crew and handled by countless individuals.”

“The most important thing is that you have no motive for doing this. His death is of no direct benefit to you, and the police don’t know about our relationship.”

Xia Yu quickly grasped another key point: “You want to dissociate yourself from me? Li Shengrui, you don’t want to marry me, do you?”

After he spoke, there was a long silence on the other end of the line.

Fear and sleepless exhaustion made Xia Yu irritable, and he shouted irately:

“Li Shengrui! I took such a fucking risk to do this and now you want to throw me away once you’ve used me?!”

“Have you forgotten that I still have recordings and other evidence in my hands? If I get caught, don’t even try to run!”

Li Shengrui immediately said: “No, A-Yu, don’t worry. Just wait until the heat dies down and nobody is suspicious about it anymore. I love only you, and will definitely get a certificate with you.”

He appeased him with sweet words for a long time before Xia Yu finally felt relieved, but asked in fear: “But the police are not easy to deal with. What if they find out…..”

“No, you have to believe that they won’t, or else your expression will give something away – before you’re under suspicion, get rid of all the evidence.”

“I’ve already thrown away the paper package the drugs were in.”

“No, also delete all the recordings and videos on your phone. These are all vulnerabilities.”

Xia Yu was taken aback for a moment, and then sneered: “Are you having ideas, ah? Once all our call recordings have been deleted, do you want me to take the blame alone?”

Li Shengrui naturally couldn’t admit that he’d had this idea, and said gently: “A-Yu, I will marry you no matter what. Those things will get you caught by the police, I’m only thinking about your wellbeing.”

Xia Yu, however, had already seen his true intentions. He jumped up and cursed him then and there, then directly hung up the phone.

If the track of the original book was followed, and no one noticed their vicious means of seeking wealth through murder, they would smoothly collect the inheritance and experience the original happy ending.

But now all that could be seen were vivid and comical scenes of self-destruction, and the lively act of dogs biting dogs.

– – –

In the VIP ward on the top floor of the hospital.

The nurse knocked on the door and came inside to deliver the medications. She also brought a little bear pillow and various snacks as gifts for Xia Xingchi.

This was a gift bag that everyone had purchased together. After all, the way he had sat there silently and shed tears yesterday had melted everyone’s hearts.

At the thought that he had to sit there and face his lover’s life-or-death situation alone, and seeing all the rumors and malicious insults on the internet, the nurses bought him gifts to try to cheer him up. At the same time, they spoke out in hopes that everyone could see the truth.

Unexpectedly, upon opening the door, the nurse found that Li Chenyuan had already woken up, and was lowering his head to put a ring on Xia Xingchi’s middle finger while he slept. It was an engagement ring.

After all, there was no one who didn’t know Xia Xingchi’s identity now, so he didn’t need to hang it close to his chest.

There was a faint smile in Li Chengyuan’s eyes. He was obviously very satisfied with this.

Seeing her come in, Li Chengyuan immediately raised a hand and made a gesture for silence, signaling her not to wake Xia Xingchi.

Xia Xingchi’s fingers were a little ticklish from being grabbed. He pulled his hand away and turned over, subconsciously burrowing into Li Chengyuan’s arms and rubbing his face against his body. Then he hummed in contentment and hugged his waist without letting go.

“Li, President Li,” the nurse whispered. “It’s time to take your medicine.”

This person was completely different when awake than he was in a coma. Although the coldness of his face could be seen when he was unconscious, when he woke up, his aura was so strong that it was frightening.

Clearly, this was the aura of a person of high rank who had been in power for a long time.

Except for the trace of warmth when he looked at Xia Xingchi and smiled just now, his face was expressionless and cold.

Li Chengyuan nodded to her to express his gratitude, but saw the person in his arms rubbing his eyes in a daze and murmuring drowsily:

“Hmm…..what time is it, has Auntie Li cooked yet? I want to eat ribs…..”

“Hungry?” Li Chengyuan lowered his gaze and stroked his hair.

“En, I want to eat braised pork,” Xia Xingchi said.

He stared at Li Chengyuan sleepily for a few seconds, wondering, “why do your pajamas look like a hospital gown?” Then he suddenly remembered where they were.

Before he could let go of a certain person, he saw the nurse holding the medicine in her hand and looking at them with a smile reminiscent of a “hee hee hee” emoji.

Xia Xingchi had just woken up, and saw such a weird and terrifying smile first thing. The costume was also very horror movie-esque. He couldn’t help but shiver and quickly hide under the blanket, almost thinking that they were being haunted.

Li Chengyuan was helpless: “Come out and eat when you’re hungry.”

Familiar cold fingers grasped the back of Xia Xingchi’s neck, and only then did he come back to his senses and peep his eyes out of the blanket.

The nurse also found that her smile was a little scary, so she quickly suppressed it, and couldn’t help but whisper eagerly: “I knew Yuanchi CP was real! Oh my god, it’s really sweet, hehehehe!”

It was the first time Xia Xingchi had seen a fan with his own eyes, and it happened to be a CP fan. Hearing this, he glanced at Li Chengyuan with a guilty conscience.

After all, the relationship between them was purely a monetary stand-in and bed-warming-tool relationship. A certain person himself had said that it was because of the cold that he hugged him.

He heard the nurse lady say indignantly: “It’s time for all those rubbish-spewing people on the internet to see clearly! I really want to follow through the network cable and beat them!”

These words reminded Xia Xingchi.

After the nurse left, he decided to take another look at how public opinion had fermented. In the end, it didn’t seem so scary to curl up in Li Chengyuan’s arms and look at his phone.

Opening Weibo to look through it, his eyes caught on his own name again. It seemed that the turmoil had not yet passed.

Unexpectedly, when he took a closer look, he found that the subject was still him, but the content of the entries had been turned upside down:

#Xia Xingchi CPR education#

#Xia Xingchi handsome and lovely, a cool sweet pea#

#The importance of mastering an over-the-shoulder technique#

#Yuanchi CP: This is love#

. . . . . . 

Fans and passers-by who had been working hard to speak out and tell the truth suddenly found that they could speak unimpeded at last. The mighty black marketing and rabble-rousing trolls had all been banned and dealt with. Slander lawsuits were inevitable.

[I am one of the doctors involved in the rescue, and I would like to popularize the science on “why not take the medicine” that everyone is suspicious of. Nitroglycerin is not a panacea for all heart conditions. Mr. Li must not take the medicine when he has severe arrhythmia and hypotension, or it would certainly accelerate the deterioration of his condition]

[I knew it! I knew our Xingchi baby would never harm Mr. Li! Otherwise, what else was he doing CPR for?]

[Wu wu I’m touched. Although justice took its time, it did come. Xingchi suffered]

[OK, I apologize. I just watched the clips and not the full video before following suit and cursing people]

[Even if he made a mistake, who told Xia Xingchi not to explain himself, ah?]

[Upstairs, are you okay? Mr. Li was being saved at that time, how the hell do you think Xingchi would be in the mood to explain?]

[I’m really going to cry, when Xingchi was the most helpless, someone maliciously set off such a huge storm online. I’m so sad]

[This was definitely fucking done maliciously by someone. The truth was in front of our eyes, but we weren’t allowed to do anything. Were our mouths covered to bring the wrong rhythm?]

[@Xia Yu, was it cool to be shoulder-tossed? Don’t you have anything to explain about hindering the rescue time?]

Xia Xingchi’s violent beating of Xia Yu in front of the camera vividly demonstrated what it meant to be fast, ruthless, and precise. The whole action was done in one go, especially the professional, stylish, and capable over-the-shoulder throw at the end, which was simply shocking.

When the before and after sections of the video were released, it was not at all like what Xia Yu’s fans were shouting, that “Xia Xingchi deliberately refused to give Mr. Li medicine, and Xia Yu wanted to stop him in the name of justice but was beaten by him.”

In the video, Xiao Yu deliberately stalled for time when they were racing against death every second, and unreasonably accused Xia Xingchi of wanting to commit murder.

[What’s this about a deliberate delay? Xia Yu is just too kind, ah, he didn’t understand how the medicine worked and thought Xia Xingchi was trying to kill someone]

[Is it a coincidence that he just happened to mistake Li Chengyuan for his fiance? He got addicted to the fame and deceived himself?]

[Thank you for the laugh. Claiming to be Mr. Li’s family member, trying to prevent the real family member from boarding the helicopter, @Xia Yu, what the hell were you doing?]

[I have never seen such a fast and awesome face slap in my life. He was severely “face-slapped” within 20 seconds of finishing his sentence]

[Feigning ignorance in front of others, is he mentally ill?]

[He’s stupid and poisonous, and his behavior is thoughtless and vulgar. What I’m more concerned about is his motive. Did he want Mr. Li to die?]

[I know, I know. If he can’t get it, then he’ll destroy it. It’s just like a few days ago when his fans insisted that Mr. Li was a scumbag]

[So the Yuanchi couple originally came to show their affection, but someone stepped in? God, the sugar these days has been stained with shit by this dead green tea. Damn, I wish Xia Yu would stay 200 yards away]

When Xia Xingchi appeared in front of everyone and his fiance’s identity was exposed, the thing that Xia Yu feared and hated the most really happened.

What he was most proud of was his status as a rich second generation, which had always been something his fans bragged about. And at this time, a group of microscope-wielding netizens comparable to Sherlock Holmes promptly put forward questions:

[I have a question……Xia Yu said “our two families have a marriage contract,” and the invitation is also from the “Xia family,” so could it be Xia Xingchi?]

[Fuck! Thinking about it carefully, could these two be from the same family?]

[Possibly, this surname is quite rare. So could it be a coincidence that they have the same surname?]

[Impossible! Our Xia Yu is the young master of a wealthy family. Even if he doesn’t work in the entertainment industry, he can go back and inherit the family property. Who doesn’t know that your idol came out of a mountain valley?]

[Although, Xia Xingchi is Mr. Li’s lover. He seems to have dozens of times more property than Xia Yu? What are you showing off?]

[So it seems Xia Xingchi is a young master from a wealthy family. Damn. Get on this, detectives, I smell melons!]

[1] Back to before the communist liberation = a loss of progress, back to when life was harder. ⮐