Chapter 24: When I See Him, I Want to Kiss Him
Thank you Lin for the kofi
The rain poured down. Aside from the sound of raindrops hitting his umbrella and the ground, all Xiao Yuanmu could hear was the sound of the wind howling.
He felt that the congee in his hands still had remnants of warmth inside. His tightly pursed lips loosened a bit. A strong gust of wind blew against his umbrella, blowing it backwards. He subconsciously pulled it back but couldn’t help but pause when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
He had already steadied his umbrella. Through the curtain of rain, Xiao Yuanmu stared down the road he had just walked up. A lone person stood at the four-way intersection, grey windbreaker billowing in the wind. Probably because of the gust just now, the other’s umbrella had inverted, and he was not fighting against the wind. His white t-shirt beneath his windbreaker and his grey sweats were exposed to the storm. Shortly after, they were soaked by the rain. The articles stuck tightly against that person’s skin, making him look rather lonely and pitiful.
He didn’t need a clear view—just by looking at this fuzzy silhouette, he knew for certain that this person was Song Xuanhe.
He was about to head over in his direction when he saw Song Xuanhe steady his umbrella. In a flash, the other hid behind some shrubbery. Not even the tip of the umbrella was exposed.
Xiao Yuanmu paused. A few seconds later, his lips curved into a smile. There was no one else here, so he didn’t bother covering up the upward tilt of his lips. His chuckle was full of indulgence.
From their interactions, he had long since come to understand Song Xuanhe’s temperament. He was proud, carefree, did as he wished but also had a deeply hidden softness and awkwardness to him.
At this time, if he were to expose Song Xuanhe, with the other’s personality, he would never admit it. He would probably even hold onto these grievances and purposely annoy him or say things to provoke Xiao Yuanmu. Most likely, the other would just ignore him while flying into a rage in shame.
If the former happened, Xiao Yuanmu wouldn’t care. But if the latter happened, he’d find it really difficult to bear.
Xiao Yuanmu turned around. The smile in his eyes had not yet disappeared when he heard an indistinct call. He subconsciously turned to look, but when he looked up, he was blinded by a distant light. His vision became blurry for a moment.
A black sports car came close and closer. After Xiao Yuanmu regained his vision, he was about to dodge. However, the voice he had heard came closer and closer. His mind whirled, and his steps paused. The driver of the sports car stepped on their breaks but still ended up hitting him.
Song Xuanhe ran over halfway and then paused. He didn’t know where his umbrella had gone. He could only watch helplessly as Xiao Yuanmu fell to the ground. The rain pattered onto the ground as well as the other’s unconscious body. Song Xuanhe felt like his legs were glued to the ground. He couldn’t lift them no matter what he did.
【Xiao Yuanmu is fine. He was just grazed.】
The System’s voice sounded in his head, causing Song Xuanhe to come back to himself in an instant. He rushed over to Xiao Yuanmu’s side.
The driver of the SUV had also gotten out of their car. He was squatting near Xiao Yuanmu and examining his condition. He had his phone out and was just about to call for an ambulance. Before the call went through, he saw a handsome young man sprint over. The other’s wet hair was stuck to his forehead. He looked pitiful.
He reminded Wei Chen of a little puppy he had picked up when he was young. It had also been a stormy day that time. The puppy had looked quite like this young man in the rain.
However, as soon as the young man spoke, he knew that this comparison was wrong. “Call the ambulance! What are you spacing out for?!”
Right at this moment, he heard a voice on the other end of the phone. Wei Chen coughed and repeated what had just occurred into the phone in front of the young man. After clarifying the situation, he hung up.
Wei Chen turned to look at the young man. He saw that the other was squatting down, looking like he was at a loss over what to do. He didn’t dare touch the unconscious man. He only repeatedly called out that person’s name, “Xiao Yuanmu, Xiao Yuanmu, are you OK?”
Seeing that the unconscious man was not responding, the young man frowned even more anxiously. He wiped the rain off his face and then turned to look at Wei Chen. He asked, “Do you have an umbrella?”
Wei Chen was startled. He grabbed an umbrella from his car, and the young man seized it from him. He held the umbrella over the unconscious man. There was a hint of stubbornness in his tightly pressed lips. If you looked carefully, you could see many indecipherable emotions hidden in the other’s face. Wei Chen couldn’t help but ask, “What’s your relationship to him?”
After the System had guaranteed that Xiao Yuanmu was fine over and over again, Song Xuanhe finally relaxed a bit. Now that he heard Wei Chen’s voice, he turned to look at him. He couldn’t help but size the other up.
After inspecting him, Song Xiao Shaoye
turned his head back around, not even bothering to give the other another glance. With a chilly voice, he said, “None of your business.”Wei Chen choked. He suddenly found this rather funny. He couldn’t help but laugh. He said, “I’m the offender. He’s the victim. You ran over here. Of course I’m going to ask you what your relationship to the victim is. The other is unconscious. It’s not like I can ask him.”
Song Xuanhe snorted. What Wei Chen had said was just short of directly accusing him of being a scammer.
“You’ll know when he wakes up.”
Song Xuanhe couldn’t be bothered to talk to him anymore. His expression and voice were both terribly cold.
Wei Chen wasn’t annoyed by this attitude. He was a medical student. When he had examined the other earlier, he had found no issues. That’s why he was chatting so calmly right now. He asked with a smile, “What’s your name?”
Song Xiao Shaoye rolled his eyes. This time, he didn’t even bother replying. Five words seemed to be written on his face: None of your goddamn business.
The hospital was very close to their location. The ambulance rushed over in no time at all. The paramedics brought a stretcher down, and Song Xuanhe sat in the ambulance. Wei Chen followed behind them in his own car.
The doctor gave Xiao Yuanmu an examination and told Song Xuanhe, “He’s fine. He’s just got some scrapes on his body and legs. They’re all superficial wounds. The primary reason he fainted was because of his fever. We’ve already given him a fever reducer. When the fever subsides, he’ll be fine.”
Only then was Song Xuanhe reassured. He politely thanked the doctor and then turned to head into Xiao Yuanmu’s room to see him. At this moment, Wei Chen had also finished reporting to an officer. He had caught sight of Song Xuanhe’s gentle way of speaking to the doctor and couldn’t help but quirk a brow. He said, “So, you do know how to speak properly.”
Song Xuanhe had just relaxed and resumed his usual noble and haughty Song Xiao Shaoye persona. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms, raising his chin up as he looked at the other. “You hit someone of mine with your car. What did you expect?”
When Wei Chen heard this, he looked startled. A few seconds later, he hesitatingly said, “Someone of yours? Your boyfriend?”
Song Xuanhe’s eyes curved, and he beckoned the other over with a finger. When he saw the other bring his head close, he smiled and said, “Does he look like my girlfriend?”
Wei Chen grew stiff. He realized that he was being played. However, he didn’t feel angry. He stood up, a smile still on his face. “Since he’s your boyfriend, I’ll leave you my contact information. I’ll pay for his medical expenses and any costs that occur from time off work. This is my business card.”
Song Xuanhe didn’t take it. He glanced at the words on the card and couldn’t help but laugh. “You students also have business cards? How impressive.”
Wei Chen shrugged. His smile was confident. “They say that school is like a small community in itself. Thank you for your praise.”
Wei Chen was a glib talker and had no sense of shame. He was pretty similar to Song Xuanhe. Normally, if he encountered an even match like this, Song Xuanhe would have had a back-and-forth with the other. However, under these circumstances, he couldn’t be bothered to continue speaking to the other. He perfunctorily said a few things, accepted the card, and then shut the door to Xiao Yuanmu’s room, expressing that his patience had run out.
When he noticed that Wei Chen had left instead of continuing to pester him, Song Xuanhe stepped away from the door and went further into the sickroom.
This was a specially arranged single room. It was decorated in a simple but elegant way and was clean. There was a bit of a comforting feeling to it. Song Xuanhe didn’t look around much. His gaze fell on the person lying on the bed.
His look of slight impatience gradually rescinded. He lowered his gaze and stood in place. A bag of cotton swabs was crumpled in his tightly clenched hands, occasionally emitting crinkling noises. The sounds were very noticeable in the silence of the sickroom.
When he recalled the nurse’s reminder, he pulled open a bag of cotton swabs and walked over to the sick bed. He looked at Xiao Yuanmu’s flushed cheeks and pale, chapped lips. The fingers clenching the cotton swabs couldn’t help but tighten their grip. Regardless of whether or not this had been a foreordained scene, it did not lessen his guilt when he had seen it happen before his eyes.
The hand lying beside Xiao Yuanmu was slender. The back of Xiao Yuanmu’s hand had an IV needle inserted through it. Stretching from the pinkie to the wrist was a red scrape, causing the pallor of the other’s skin to appear more striking. Although the nurse had treated it, stopping the blood, this kind of large wound still looked horrible. He didn’t know if it was because of the pain, but the other’s injured fingers would twitch.
Song Xuanhe found himself staring at Xiao Yuanmu unwittingly. When he saw that the other was still asleep, he sighed in relief. He suddenly recalled the way his mother would gently but effectively deal with his injuries when he was young. He bent his head down and blew on Xiao Yuanmu’s arm. Even though he knew Xiao Yuanmu couldn’t hear him, Song Xuanhe still whispered, “I’m sorry.”
【It’s not your fault. The plot is just like that. Even if you hadn’t made Xiao Yuanmu go out to buy congee, he would have still ended up being hit by a car on a rainy day. You don’t need to blame yourself.】
Song Xuanhe didn’t respond to the System. He looked down and clumsily dabbed at Xiao Yuanmu’s lips with wet cotton swabs. Looking at them now, they were pale and dry. The feeling of being stifled by the other’s wantonly probing tongue and lips suddenly arose. Song Xuanhe’s movements paused. He tossed the used cotton swabs into the trash.
Looking at the sleeping Xiao Yuanmu, Song Xuanhe placed the remaining cotton swabs to the side and replied dully:【I knew that he would get into a car accident, but I still pushed him to go. Even if it’s part of the story, as someone who knew what would happen, I cannot avoid taking responsibility.】
When it heard this, the System was going to respond but suddenly perceived an unfamiliar fluctuation. It didn’t have time to investigate it though when it saw Song Xuanhe had gotten up and was heading out. It asked:【Aren’t you going to take care of Xiao Yuanmu?】
【I’m going to change my clothes.】Song Xuanhe stared at the empty corridor, pursing his lips slightly. He needed to calm down. Only then would he be able to face Xiao Yuanmu normally when he woke up.
The door was closed gently. The room regained its stillness.
The person lying on the bed slowly opened his eyes. He turned his head and stared in the direction Song Xuanhe had gone. His eyes were deep and quiet; no discernible emotions could be seen. The usual coldness on his face had disappeared as if he had peeled off his shell. All that was left was tranquility and calm. He looked innocent.
A few seconds later, he shut his eyes, the corner of his lips rising.
He hadn’t expected to be reborn once again.
Eve: And there you have it folks, here’s the rebirth you’ve all been waiting for. Just not the one you’ve probably expecting. (Or maybe you guys did predict this, in which case, high five!) Also both of them were so cute this chapter??? XYM thinking SXH is a cute tsundere. SXH acting like a child who doesn’t know what to do SO HE BLOWS ON XYM’S WOUNDS AS IF HE’S ABOUT TO SAY “Pain pain go away”. asfshhjkfshahk
Kara: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! HE’S BEEN REBORN!!!!!!!!!! Also, they really were so cute this chapter!?! Ah, my teeth hurt from all this sweetness. But omg, Mumu’s been reborn–he’s no longer our pure Mumu. I can’t wait to see how their dynamic and interactions change! (੭ु˙꒳˙)੭ु⁾⁾