Who Said He Could Take the Blame?

Shen Yu couldn't make a sound, so he could only look around. As he did, he realized what state he was in, and a huge question mark appeared in his mind.

His right arm was tied to the bed rail with a restraint, unable to move at all. His left arm was loosely bound, since he still had an IV drip and needed the fluids.

Waves of soreness swept through his body, the kind that came from suddenly exercising strenuously after a long period of inactivity.

Lu Yanjin saw his confusion and understood that Shen Yu was truly awake now. Shen Yu waking up seemed to have lifted the weight that had been pressing on his heart, and for once he cracked a joke. "Looks like you're really awake. You didn't suddenly jump up and hurt anyone."

Shen Yu blinked, looking innocent, as if to say, What are you talking about? How come I don't understand a word?

Lu Yanjin smiled and undid the restraints. Just then, the door to the ward opened, and Xie Shuyang walked in with a medical chart in hand. He pushed up his glasses, a bruise still visible at the corner of his mouth. To tell the truth, this was the first time he'd encountered a patient who was discharged in the morning, returned for a second stay that same night, and then spent another three days in the hospital after making his condition even worse. And his brother was no better, swaggering in with a corpse in hand. Was he insane?! Did he think putting a hat on the corpse would stop Xie Shuyang from recognizing it?

Still grumbling inwardly, Xie Shuyang looked up and saw Lu Yanjin undoing the restraints on the "major menace" they had recently been keeping under close observation.

Clatter.

The chart fell from his hand onto the floor.

"Lu Yanjin!"

Xie Shuyang's head buzzed with anger. He'd never seen anyone like this: Shen Yu had "woken up" seven or eight times in three days, but each time only his body had woken up. He hadn't been aware of anything and had beaten up whoever was nearby. The bruise on Xie Shuyang's mouth was thanks to him.

"Didn't I say to wait for me to assess his condition before deciding whether to take them off?!"

Actually, Xie Shuyang had been on guard from the second time onward.

But he couldn't handle a pig teammate like Lu Yanjin. Whenever Shen Yu failed to break free, quieted down, and looked at him silently, Lu Yanjin assumed he had come to his senses. He'd undo the restraints, get beaten up, and Shen Yu would be tied up again... Then he'd undo them again, get beaten up again, and Shen Yu would be tied up once more.

Xie Shuyang closed his eyes, bracing himself to hear Lu Yanjin grunt, and stepped back twice to call for help. Then he noticed how quiet the ward was. It was strange.

He opened one eye and saw the blue-haired young man still lying weakly in bed, all four limbs resting obediently at his sides. He showed no sign of punching Lu Yanjin when he wasn't looking, and his gaze fell on Xie Shuyang with a trace of confusion and puzzlement.

Xie Shuyang said, "You're really awake?"

When Shen Yu didn't answer, Xie Shuyang noticed the breathing mask he was wearing and slapped his forehead.

Lu Yanjin had been smiling all along. "He's awake."

After going through the steps of checking all of Shen Yu's vital signs, Xie Shuyang touched the bruise on his mouth and clicked his tongue in displeasure. "You little ingrate. I spent the whole night saving your life, and you sure hit hard."

Shen Yu pressed his lips together and lowered his eyes.

"If I don't make your brother treat me to three meals, my name isn't Xie." Xie Shuyang ruffled his hair, only stopping when it stood up in a tangled mess. "All right, now that you're awake, stop thinking about all that nonsense and focus on getting better. Next time we meet, let's make it somewhere outside the hospital, okay?"

Shen Yu gave a small nod.

After ruffling the bristling kitten's hair a couple more times, Xie Shuyang turned to Lu Yanjin and instructed him, "If there aren't any major changes tomorrow, he can be transferred to a regular ward."

Before leaving, he added, "If you really can't spare anyone over there, I can come check on him after my day shift. Now that he's awake, you can put your mind at ease and get some rest. Otherwise you'll collapse before he's even better."

Lu Yanjin gave no indication of whether he'd listened. Xie Shuyang shook his head and left the ward.

Shen Yu was still thinking over what Xie Shuyang had said. His memory had cut out when he was on the verge of suffocating. The next thing he remembered was Bai Xiaofan lying in a pool of blood, while he licked the blood from the web between his thumb and forefinger. After that...

The gloom between Shen Yu's brows was impossible to hide.

I've already done it anyway. I might as well finish the job and kill him.

Later, he seemed to have been pulled into a familiar, warm embrace. When he woke up, he was here.

Fingers touched Shen Yu's brow, gently and patiently smoothing out his deep frown bit by bit.

Lu Yanjin wasn't the fair-skinned, delicate type. On the contrary, he had trained at the police academy and endured wind, rain, and direct sunlight. His skin was closer to a healthy wheat color, and one look at him gave a gentle, soothing impression. But he didn't like to talk, and the cold air around him clashed with that impression, giving him a distinctive charm.

"Sleep. I'm here."

Lu Yanjin tucked in the corner of the blanket.

Shen Yu had lain in bed for three days and wasn't very sleepy now. He kept feeling that something was missing.

Why was Lu Yanjin the only one there when there was someone he saw every time he opened his eyes?

Where was Luo Ningsang?

It belatedly dawned on Shen Yu.

Putting that together with what Xie Shuyang had said...

He's run into trouble... Is it because of me? Because I killed the Bai Family's youngest son? I suppose so. A life was lost. No matter what he did to me, in the end I didn't die, but Bai Xiaofan did.

Lu Yanjin noticed that the brow he'd just smoothed out had furrowed again. He asked, "What are you thinking about, Xiao Yu?"

He placed his palm beneath Shen Yu's fingertips. Shen Yu moved them, the touch light and ticklish, but Lu Yanjin could feel him writing the word "brother."

Lu Yanjin wasn't good at lying.

Especially when it came to people important to him.

He chose his words carefully. "Boss... has run into a little trouble. He's being held at the Police Bureau for now. Sister Luoluo and the others are working things out, so don't worry too much. It's nothing serious. Once you can get out of bed, I'll take you to see him."

They're holding Luo Ningsang?

He wouldn't take the blame for killing Bai Xiaofan, would he?!

The thought made Shen Yu want to get up and see him immediately. What the hell? Does he really think that just because I call him brother, he can take responsibility for what I did against my wishes?

Who said he could take the blame?

Shen Yu's breathing involuntarily quickened, his heartbeat grew louder and louder, and his hand tightened around the bedsheet. The monitor sounded an alarm, instantly connecting to Xie Shuyang's office. Xie Shuyang had just returned there to rest for a while. He didn't even have time to put his white coat back on, hurrying over with it in his hand.

He found Lu Yanjin standing there at a loss.

The tall man seemed to realize he'd said the wrong thing and looked to Xie Shuyang for help as he pushed the door open.

Xie Shuyang had no time to deal with him.

"Shen Yu! Take a deep breath! I don't care what you're thinking about! If you still want to see him, calm down right now!"

"Room 1217, give him 5 mg of diazepam intravenously!"

Xie Shuyang pressed the call button.

Shen Yu was clearly still somewhat conscious. His mouth was wide open, his breath fogging the breathing mask. As a dose of sedative was injected into his vein, he finally calmed down completely. His tear-filled eyes slowly closed, squeezing tears down his cheeks.

His face dark, Xie Shuyang began shooing Lu Yanjin away. "Go, go, go. I'll stay with him. Hurry back and get some sleep. I think you've really muddled your brain sitting here. Don't you know what you can and can't say? You'd better come up with a reasonable explanation before you come back, or you can stand outside the door and watch."

Lu Yanjin was practically dragged and thrown out the door, but his gaze never left the young man on the bed, who had calmed down and turned his head to one side.

Only when Xie Shuyang impatiently shut the ward door, completely blocking his view, did Lu Yanjin reply stiffly.

"I understand."

On the other side of the door, Xie Shuyang lowered his voice and rubbed the space between his brows. "If you understand, then go!"