Jiang Chiyan stiffened, then asked again, "What did he say to you?"
Xiao Cheng's lips moved, and he casually lied. "Uncle Jiang didn't say anything. I was worried when you got arrested, so I went to beg Uncle Jiang to get you out."
Xiao Cheng said nothing about Jiang Yun urging him to recognize the difficulties and back off.
Jiang Yun's way of disciplining his son might have been extreme...
But at least Jiang Yun cared deeply about his son.
Xiao Cheng envied the affection between parents and children.
Jiang Chiyan didn't ask any more questions. In any case, he would investigate it himself, and could even uncover more.
Thinking of everything that had happened last night, Jiang Chiyan asked Xiao Cheng, "Do you... like drinking blood?"
Xiao Cheng's face instantly turned deathly pale, all the color draining from it. His lips trembled. "I..."
Jiang Chiyan pressed his index finger against Xiao Cheng's lips. "If you don't want to talk about it, I won't force you."
Xiao Cheng froze.
Jiang Chiyan smiled and rubbed his head with his large hand. "Have these symptoms ever acted up in front of other people?"
Xiao Cheng firmly shook his head, his long lashes lowering as he said in a subdued voice, "...No."
The smile on Jiang Chiyan's lips grew even more delighted. "You only like mine?"
Xiao Cheng thought about it, then nodded very earnestly and said solemnly, "I only like yours."
Jiang Chiyan took his hand, interlacing their fingers. "Then I'll keep letting you drink my blood. You're not allowed to like anyone else. Be good and only like me, hmm?"
Xiao Cheng's heart quivered. "Will you think... I'm a freak?"
Jiang Chiyan said, "You be my vampire, and I'll be your hunter. In the eyes of the world, we're freaks, but in my eyes, you're one of my own, someone I treasure."
At that moment, Xiao Cheng's heart pounded like a drum.
Countless emotions rose and fell inside his chest, surging until they were about to burst.
Chiyan...
I don't want to let go anymore.
I don't want to let go for the rest of my life.
Xiao Cheng was so moved that his eyes stung a little. He wanted to say something more, but when he turned his head, he found that Jiang Chiyan was already leaning against him, fast asleep.
After two full days and nights without sleep or rest, Jiang Chiyan was utterly exhausted.
Xiao Cheng carefully reached for the blanket and covered him, then sat motionless with his back straight so Jiang Chiyan could lean against him more comfortably.
Three hours later.
Jiang Chiyan opened his eyes.
Xiao Cheng rubbed his shoulder and neck, feeling stiff all over. "You're awake?"
Jiang Chiyan smiled and massaged Xiao Cheng's sore shoulder. "You just sat there obediently and let me lean on you? Aren't you silly?"
Xiao Cheng answered quite seriously, "A vampire has to obey his hunter."
Jiang Chiyan tilted his head, lifting Xiao Cheng's chin with his fair fingers. "Then tonight... will Best Actor Xiao be a little more obedient?"
Xiao Cheng's eyes widened.
Afraid he would feel uncomfortable, Jiang Chiyan quickly added, "I'm teasing."
Xiao Cheng's gaze instantly darkened, a trace of something morbid and obsessive surfacing in his eyes.
I want to tie Yanyan up and take him to get married...
Xiao Cheng really did put that idea into practice later.
But that was a story for another time.
Jiang Chiyan didn't notice anything amiss with Xiao Cheng. That afternoon, he gathered his things and went to the hospital to visit Su Jing.
Xiao Cheng had originally wanted to follow his husband's lead and go along, but he didn't get his way.
As a top star in the entertainment industry, his schedule was packed. Lu Ting called him twenty-three times in a row and summoned him away.
At the hospital.
When Su Jing heard Jiang Chiyan was coming, she went downstairs in her hospital gown to wait for him.
Her injuries weren't serious, but Lu Ting had insisted on forcing her to stay under observation, leaving her no choice but to be hospitalized.
As soon as Su Jing went downstairs, she saw someone right in front of her.
...Chu Luo.
Enemies really did cross paths all too easily.
Chu Luo was also staying at this hospital. The swelling from the more than two thousand mosquito bites on his body had only just subsided. The instant he saw Su Jing's pretty face, he couldn't take another step.
Chu Luo gave Su Jing a loud whistle. "Hey, beautiful. Can I add you on WeChat?"
Su Jing stopped and got a clear look at Chu Luo's face. The moment she thought of what Jiang Chiyan had suffered during his two days in detention, fury flared.
She seized Chu Luo's wrist and viciously bent and twisted it.
Crack-
Chu Luo's face contorted with pain, and he flew into a rage. "You fucking dare hit me?"
Su Jing pulled out a tissue and wiped her hands, rolling her neck as she said, "Watch your filthy mouth, or... I won't mind cutting out your tongue and giving it a good soak in toilet cleaner to wash it clean."
"Don't go anywhere if you've got the guts!" Chu Luo immediately pulled out his phone and called his father. As soon as the call connected, he said loudly, "Dad, someone broke my hand!"
Only after he gave his location did the other end hang up.
Soon, Minister Chu, whose belly had grown somewhat paunchy, walked in through the hospital's main entrance.
"What happened?" Minister Chu looked at his son Chu Luo with concern.
As it happened, he had been coming to the hospital to visit his son that afternoon. As for whether someone had secretly orchestrated that coincidence, only Jiang Chiyan knew.
"Dad! It was that woman! She hit me!"
Su Jing rolled her eyes at Chu Luo, her gaze passing over the father and son and settling on Jiang Chiyan, who was approaching from a short distance away. "Brother!"
Jiang Chiyan walked over at an unhurried pace.
The mere sight of Jiang Chiyan brought back Chu Luo's trauma, as though he had returned to that night, when swarms of black mosquitoes had bitten him relentlessly. He could neither hide nor escape.
Jiang Chiyan raised his hand slightly.
Chu Luo screamed in fright and fell onto his backside. "You-you stay away..."
But Jiang Chiyan had merely raised his hand to adjust his cufflink. He smiled. "It's not as if I eat people. What are you scared of? A guilty conscience?"
Minister Chu's face was thunderous. Shielding Chu Luo behind him, he stared at Jiang Chiyan and said, "A child with no father to raise him and no mother to teach him really has no manners!"
Minister Chu had investigated Jiang Chiyan. He was the only person listed in his household register, and his parents had died early.
But with his standing and influence, he still couldn't uncover the name Jiang Yuan.
Jiang Chiyan turned his head, saw his father Jiang Yun appear a short distance away, and smiled.
He pursed his lips at Jiang Yun and said indifferently, "Mr. Vice President, this Minister Chu says your son has no manners."