Thunder rumbled outside, and Nan Qing's heart pounded like a drum.
That sudden remark startled Nan Qing so badly that all his sleepiness vanished.
He lay against Huo Yuzhou's chest, feeling both warm and afraid.
Everything that had happened that afternoon had been too bizarre. So many times, he had thought he was about to die there, but as if in a dream, Huo Yuzhou had saved him.
He had taken such careful care of him, coaxing him so patiently.
Nan Qing's nose stung. He buried his tear-misted eyes against Huo Yuzhou's chest and, through labored breaths, quietly, quietly reassured himself-
It's okay. If Huo Yuzhou really wants to do something to me, I won't struggle.
He had done so many bad things to Huo Yuzhou in this lifetime. He owed him anyway.
If the original mission had gone smoothly, Nan Qing should have been written out long ago under Huo Yuzhou's revenge.
Unfortunately, the mission had gone off course. He had survived by sheer luck, only to find himself on the brink of death again.
Huo Yuzhou had saved him once more.
In such a fierce storm, with mudslides surging and mountainsides collapsing, a single wrong step could send someone over a bottomless cliff, smashing them to pieces beyond recognition.
In this life or the last, no one had ever braved fire and water for him. Only Huo Yuzhou had risked his life to save him. That was already more than enough.
Nan Qing sniffled. His head felt so hot, so he nuzzled his cheek closer into Huo Yuzhou's neck and slowly began,
"All right. I don't blame you anymore."
"But it's really dark outside, and I'm a little scared. If you really want to do something, can you do it here?"
"I'll cooperate. I'll try my best not to scream. I won't let anyone hear, so don't worry."
"No one will know what happened. The storm on the mountain will cover everything up. Once you get out, you can still be Mr. Huo..."
After saying all that, Nan Qing anxiously clenched his fingers.
The next instant, he distinctly felt Huo Yuzhou's gaze settle on his face, sweeping down his skin inch by inch like a searchlight.
Huo Yuzhou sighed, even his breath seeming to curl around Nan Qing's ear. He sounded a little helpless.
"Does it have to be here?"
Nan Qing muttered quietly,
"Can't it be here?"
The man's large hand settled on his forehead, checking his temperature.
"You're still very hot. It doesn't look like you'll get better anytime soon."
"The cave is ventilated, so drafts could blow through at any moment, and there's no telling when the rescue team will arrive. Your husband wants to get you out as soon as possible, then take you home and see a doctor."
Huo Yuzhou paused, seeming a little hesitant.
"It's not that I don't want to. I want you very much too, baby, but this isn't the right situation."
The more Huo Yuzhou spoke, the more bewilderment filled Nan Qing's eyes.
They didn't seem to be talking about the same thing.
The next second, Huo Yuzhou's hesitant voice rang out again. As though afraid of hurting his pride, he even chose his tone carefully.
"Baby, do you have to have it right now?"
Nan Qing's pupils widened, and even his voice trembled.
"What?"
The man's gaze rested on his face, making his cheeks burn.
Huo Yuzhou also felt that his own thoughts were rather beastly, but Qingqing was feverish and acting up. He couldn't indulge him all the time.
Huo Yuzhou's Adam's apple bobbed. He forced his gaze away from the other's face, his voice turning serious.
"No. You're very sick."
"I'd be too much of a beast to still be thinking about doing that at a time like this."
He tightened his hold on the person in his arms, his large hand stroking the youth's cheek. His deep voice was especially firm.
"If you really want it that badly, wait until we're home."
As though this were a decision he had agonized over repeatedly, Huo Yuzhou phrased it very tactfully, keeping his tone somewhere between coaxing him and protecting his pride.
"Once your fever breaks, I'll do my best to cooperate."
"As long as you don't hurt yourself, all right?"
Nan Qing's mouth fell open wide enough to swallow an egg, as though he had been struck by lightning.
He finally understood what Huo Yuzhou was saying.
And in such a solemn tone, too. Does he really think what I just said means I'm desperate for something to happen between us here?
When I'm this sick?
No!
After all these years I've lived, just what kind of character am I in Huo Yuzhou's eyes?
Still thinking about that when I'm about to die, like there's something seriously wrong with me.
Is my characterization that absurd?
Nan Qing was too shocked to speak, his entire face flushing crimson.
Huo Yuzhou's gaze settled on his face. The instant their eyes met, Nan Qing clearly saw restraint and tender affection in the other's eyes.
It was as though he were telling him, I know you're impatient, but don't be impatient just yet.
Hold on a little longer. It'll be all right once we're home.
Nan Qing: "???"
Under Huo Yuzhou's utterly indulgent gaze, Nan Qing's cheeks burned, his ears burned, and his head seemed to be filled with soy milk. He felt like a pervert with nowhere to hide.
Nan Qing pressed his lips together and tried to explain.
"I wasn't thinking..."
With an expression that said he had seen right through him, Huo Yuzhou nodded solemnly.
"Mm. You weren't."
Nan Qing: "..."
That tone only made it sound more incriminating.
Huo Yuzhou really thought he wanted it badly.
Nan Qing's face was as red as a piece of red cloth, and even his fingertips curled with mortification.
He thought there was something wrong with Huo Yuzhou's head.
Of course, Huo Yuzhou also thought there was something wrong with his head.
But Huo Yuzhou was clearly a better person than he was.
Because even though there was something wrong with him, Huo Yuzhou still held him and coaxed him.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuzhou's deranged thoughts left him nowhere to hide. If he hadn't still been sick and it hadn't still been raining outside, Nan Qing would have dug a hole on the spot and left long ago.
The instant their eyes met, Nan Qing hastily looked away.
No, I'm still the one with something wrong with my head.
He had developed auditory hallucinations as an aftereffect of the failed mission in the first place.
Yet he had taken those hallucinations seriously and earnestly discussed with Huo Yuzhou how to dispose of him. That was what had caused Huo Yuzhou's misunderstanding.
In a flash, Nan Qing lowered his gaze to Huo Yuzhou's shirt and brazened it out, pretending nothing had happened as he tried hard to address the matter.
"All right, my head was muddled. Anyway, I can't explain it clearly in a hurry. Don't take it seriously. I really didn't mean anything else."
Huo Yuzhou gently patted his back and said, "All right."
Nan Qing thought for a moment, then took the initiative to change the subject.
"When will the rescue team get here? It's so scary here. I want to go home with you."
"Soon. I've already sent them our location."
Huo Yuzhou looked down at him, a smile in his phoenix eyes.
"Your husband will carry you home, baby."
Nan Qing nodded with a flushed face and buried his cheek in Huo Yuzhou's embrace again.
The next instant, his auditory hallucinations grew worse again, and he heard another hesitant voice.
[He's always looking for such thrills. Has he stumbled into some kind of scene?]
[I don't understand. I'll look it up when we get home.]