The Missing Husband Returns (04)

The footsteps grew fainter as they moved away. Xue Ci went over and locked the window, then hid by the wall.

He clutched the hem of his clothes nervously, his breathing growing shallow.

He had plenty of questions, but the danger left Xue Ci no time to think.

He held his breath until his face turned red.

Fortunately, the people outside had only stopped for a little while.

Only when he could no longer hear their footsteps did Xue Ci breathe a sigh of relief. He opened the wardrobe to check on Zhao Ying.

"How are you-" Xue Ci broke off halfway through his question. The man was holding his underwear between his fingers, with his nose pressed close to it.

What is he doing?

Why is he sniffing that...

Xue Ci was bewildered and embarrassed, heat rushing to his face, but this was hardly the time to make an issue of it. Enduring his embarrassment, he reached out and snatched the underwear back from Zhao Ying.

It was only when a section of pinkish-white arm appeared before him that Lu Xiunan came to his senses. He glanced at its owner, whose palm-sized face wore an indignant, embarrassed expression.

His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he was biting his lip.

As if he had been terribly bullied.

His voice sounded a little pitiful, a little aggrieved.

"How... are you?"

His lips parted slightly, revealing a distinct bite mark, still wet and glistening in the dim yellow light.

The bow of his upper lip was small but pronounced, well suited to being held between someone's lips and sucked and bitten.

His eyes were an unusual light color, his hair silky, and the tip of his nose small.

His skin was smooth and luminous. Even under the yellowish light of the bulb, it was clearly very fair.

His cheeks were pink and fair, as if he had been pampered all his life.

Lu Xiunan had grown up in the city and later gone abroad, rarely visiting the countryside. His impression of country people was that they were coarse and unsophisticated.

The person before him wore shabby clothes, but his looks... were passable.

When the man remained silent for a long time, Xue Ci assumed he was too frightened to react. He glanced at the man's forehead, concern showing on his face.

"Husband, your wound is bleeding..."

At the word "husband," Lu Xiunan's eyelid twitched and his limbs went stiff. Then he quickly climbed out of the wardrobe.

He put away his complicated expression and walked to the window to check outside.

"Don't worry, they've all gone." Xue Ci followed him over. "You can talk now."

Lu Xiunan drew the curtains and turned to stare at Xue Ci. When he spoke, his voice was icy. "Where is this?"

Xue Ci's eyes widened.

What...

Not only had the plot gone off course, but the protagonist had hit his head and damaged his brain too!

He looked at Lu Xiunan's wrist. Sure enough, the red cloth strip had vanished along with his luck.

Xue Ci probed cautiously. "This is Zhou Family Village, my home. Do you remember?"

When the man didn't respond, he asked, "Then do you remember me? My name is Song Xueci."

There was more blood on the man's face than before. His expression was grave, his brows tightly knitted, and he gave off a cold air that warned strangers away.

Like an injured lion, he paid no attention to his wound, his whole body on guard.

This is bad. Xue Ci looked at him sympathetically. "Don't think about that for now. I'll take you to the doctor."

Lu Xiunan was breathing heavily. The pain had only belatedly registered, and his voice was strained as he said, "I can't go out right now."

Xue Ci realized that he still seemed to be on the run from people trying to kill him. He really couldn't go out so easily.

But the amount of blood was alarming, and the wound needed prompt treatment.

Xue Ci moved close to the man and stood on tiptoe to examine the wound on his forehead.

A faint fragrance reached Lu Xiunan's nose. His body stiffened, and he stepped straight back.

The young man froze for a moment, then looked displeased. "Don't move around."

Lu Xiunan's temples throbbed, and his breath caught.

What is he doing? Ordering me around or acting coquettish?

With his cheeks puffed up like that, he has to be acting coquettish.

...How can he act coquettish with a strange man so casually?

"I'll get some medicine and gauze. Sit in the chair." Unaware of what Lu Xiunan was thinking, Xue Ci left the room after saying that.

He wore shorts that exposed his two slender, fair legs to the air. They were straight, and the flesh at the tops of his thighs jiggled slightly as he walked.

Lu Xiunan looked away. After a few seconds of silence, he sat down.

His body ached terribly, but his mind was exceptionally clear, and he quickly worked out the situation.

Song Xueci must have a husband, or at least he once had one. His husband had died in an accident. Lu Xiunan happened to bear some resemblance to him, and Song Xueci, missing his husband too much, had mistaken Lu Xiunan for him.

No wonder he thought Lu Xiunan had lost his memory.

Lu Xiunan's expression grew even graver.

He had been set up by an enemy from the business world and fled all the way to the village. Completely exhausted and out of options, he had picked a window at random and climbed through.

As it turned out, he had happened to climb into a young widower's home.

Lu Xiunan had long ago sworn off romance and devoted all his energy to his career. He certainly wasn't going to start a family.

Even if he did, he wouldn't choose someone like Song Xueci, who clung to him all day calling him husband.

He would take things one step at a time.

Once he regained his strength, he would give Song Xueci money in return for his help.

Zhao Ying was the one who organized everything in the house, so Xue Ci spent five minutes searching the main room before finding disinfectant and gauze.

When he entered the bedroom, the man was indeed sitting obediently in the chair.

Xue Ci put down the disinfectant and gauze and instructed him, "I'm going to get some clean water to wipe your face. Don't worry, and don't move around."

His voice was sweet and clingy.

Lu Xiunan said nothing, using his expression to indicate that he understood. But the person across from him seemed not to understand. He stayed where he was, tilting his head and staring at Lu Xiunan with round eyes.

He has to hear an answer to everything, doesn't he?

Lu Xiunan understood. This was probably a little game between Song Xueci and his real husband.

He had been spoiled by his husband for a long time, liked acting coquettish, depended on others, and spoke in a soft, gentle voice.

Song Xueci's stare made Lu Xiunan's limbs go numb and stiff. Finally, he said stiffly, "Got it."

Xue Ci nodded, went out to get a basin of clean water, and soaked a towel in it.

After he carried it inside, Zhao Ying immediately stood up. "I'll do it myself."

Zhao Ying never needed help, so Xue Ci said, "Oh," and watched him walk over to the basin.

The man was rough with himself. He picked up the towel, wrung it out slightly, and rubbed it back and forth over his face. Xue Ci watched in alarm. "Doesn't that hurt?"

"It's fine."

Lu Xiunan enjoyed riding motorcycles, so he was used to getting injured.

Xue Ci pursed his lips and said nothing.

The blood was gradually wiped away, exposing the wound. Fortunately, it looked superficial.

But he had lost too much blood, and his face was even paler than before.

Xue Ci pushed the disinfectant and gauze toward Zhao Ying and began worrying about the plot.

According to the original plot, the protagonist would recover his childhood memories after a car accident. Now, not only had he failed to recover them, but he also seemed to have lost his memory.

Had the wound been caused by a car? Had the Lu family acknowledged him and taken him back?

He didn't know whether the plot could continue.

Xue Ci lowered his eyes.

Lu Xiunan caught sight of the redness at the corner of his eye.

...Why does he look like he's about to cry?

What have I done now to make Song Xueci feel aggrieved?

Lu Xiunan couldn't think of anything. He applied the medicine irritably while watching Xue Ci's face.

[Host, I'm back!]

11, who had been silent until now, finally appeared.

[Host, I found out there's still an invading virus in this small world, but 11 isn't strong enough to pinpoint its location right now, boo-hoo. It caused this deviation from the plot.]

Have we run into it again?

Thinking of the noisy fragments in the space, Xue Ci felt that the invading virus wasn't so scary anymore. [It probably won't hurt me, right?]

But it was a huge pervert!

11: [But 11 will definitely protect you, Host. I won't let anyone harass you again.]

[A ten percent plot deviation isn't a problem. Our progress bar is at thirty-five percent and hasn't gone backward. As long as the protagonist is alive, losing his memory is fine. Just have him go to the city and get hit by a car again, and the plot can continue.]

"..."

He was already injured. If he got hit again, his brain really might not hold up.

Xue Ci thought it would be better to let the protagonist recuperate for a while first.

He saw that Zhao Ying had finished treating his wound, but his clothes were so damaged that their original appearance was no longer recognizable, and there were also minor scrapes on his exposed arms.

He took the initiative to ask, "Do you want to take a bath first?"

Lu Xiunan froze and leaned toward Xue Ci. "...What did you say?"

Their eyes met.

For some reason, Xue Ci felt that Zhao Ying was different after losing his memory. He always wore a cold expression, looking as though he looked down on everyone equally.

"Your clothes are dirty. You won't be able to get into bed later."

Of course, Xue Ci wouldn't make a patient sleep on the floor. His bed was wide enough for two people.

But to Lu Xiunan's ears, those words were blatant seduction.

Even if Song Xueci had mistaken him for his husband, was he going to do those things on the very first day he came back?

Or had they done it every day before?

Lu Xiu's expression grew colder, his breathing unsteady, and he glanced at Song Xueci.

His cheeks still had baby fat, the soft flesh looking easy to pinch. His lips were a deep red, and the way he tilted his face up to stare at him was enticing and a little pitiful.

He wouldn't resist, inviting a man to bully him.

A few coaxing words would be enough to make him give up anything.

His husband probably did it every day, in different ways.

"I'll bathe," Lu Xiunan said in a low voice.

Xue Ci wasn't used to how sparingly the man spoke. He said, "Oh," and took some clean clothes from the wardrobe and handed them over.

Lu Xiunan's mouth had started twitching the moment he saw the bathhouse.

He knew conditions in the village were poor, but they were far worse than he had imagined.

A light so dim he couldn't see his skin clearly, a room thrown together haphazardly, and dingy, rough walls.

He even had to heat the water himself and mix it with cold water before washing.

Are they cavemen?

Outside the room, Xue Ci told him to be careful.

Remembering that this delicate little wife needed his husband to respond at all times, Lu Xiunan hesitated for two seconds. Afraid the other man would push the door open and offer to help, he compromised. "Got it."

After Xue Ci finished washing in another small room, Zhao Ying still hadn't come out. There were many mosquitoes and other bugs outside, and after waiting by the door for a little while, he quickly got two bites.

Unable to stand there any longer, he told the person inside and returned to the bedroom to wait.

Lu Xiunan rinsed the basin several times before taking off his clothes.

The muscles of his abdomen were clearly defined.

The man had broad shoulders, with smooth, well-defined muscles that weren't overly large, and veins faintly visible on his arms.

The facilities were so crude that by the time Lu Xiunan finished rinsing himself off, his patience had reached its limit.

The young master, who had received an elite education since childhood, was extremely picky even about his clothes. He turned his nose up at the two yellowed garments fit for a rough village man and would rather put his old clothes back on.

The bedroom door opened, and Xue Ci glanced at the man in surprise.

*?*

The protagonist seemed to have been knocked silly, losing even basic common sense.

He had actually put his dirty clothes back on after bathing.

Lu Xiunan hadn't planned to get into bed. He intended to spread the sleeping mat leaning in the corner on the floor and make do for the night.

But then he saw Song Xueci looking at him as if he were an idiot.

What does that mean?

After bathing in a place like that and now being given a strange look, Lu Xiunan couldn't hold back. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Xue Ci hesitated. "How did you get that wound?"

Lu Xiunan said, "A car accident."

Sure enough, he had damaged his brain in the collision.

Xue Ci looked at him sympathetically and said kindly, "You need to change into clean clothes after a bath. Did you know that?"

Lu Xiunan said coldly, "I know."

Xue Ci thought he understood. "There are three pieces of clothing. The smallest one goes underneath."

"..."

When Lu Xiunan stood there without moving, Xue Ci asked in confusion, "Do you need me to help you put them on?"

Lu Xiunan kept a straight face and left the bedroom without a word.

He felt that if he didn't go and change, Song Xueci would hold up his fingers and ask him, "How many is this?"

Lu Xiunan put on the shirt and outer pants, but he refused to wear someone else's underwear. Besides, it might not fit.

He walked in to find Xue Ci already asleep this time.

A light blanket covered his belly, and the soft flesh of his legs was smooth and lustrous.

He wasn't afraid at all, falling asleep in front of a strange man.

Lu Xiunan looked away and glanced at the sleeping mat.

A few seconds later, he gave up on sleeping on the mat and lay down on the other side of the bed, close to the edge.

Everything around him fell quiet. Once he relaxed, the pain in his wound burned like fire.

Lu Xiunan heard soft, even breathing, soothing like a lullaby.

Before he closed his eyes, he was still wondering whether this person bathed in flower petals. He smelled so damn fragrant.

When Xue Ci woke the next day, Zhao Ying was gone.

There were signs that someone had slept on the other half of the bed. He reached out to touch it, but there was no warmth left.

It seemed he had been up for a while. Xue Ci got out of bed at once, but after searching every room in the house, he still couldn't find Zhao Ying.

Where did he go?

Xue Ci was genuinely worried.

He was worried Zhao Ying would pick up random things off the ground and eat them.

11 reassured him: [Don't worry, host. He found his way home even with amnesia. An old horse knows the way!]

"..."

Was that so?

Xue Ci relaxed a little and washed up at home while he waited for him.

But Zhao Ying still hadn't returned by the time he finished.

Although the progress bar hadn't gone down, Xue Ci was still a little worried. He pulled on a coat and searched around the village.

He didn't find him and returned home dejectedly, only to see someone at the door.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Zhao Ying.

Xue Ci walked closer and saw that it was Zhou Qize, who had given him the bear-shaped biscuits that day.

Zhou Qize soon spotted him too.

"Can I help you?"

Xue Ci's cheeks had turned pink in the sun, and he looked as though he might melt.

Zhou Qize caught a whiff of his light, delicate scent. Heat rushed uncontrollably to his face, and he immediately took a step back.

His tone was awkward. "Oh... I came to ask if Master Zhao had come home."

According to the original plot, Zhao Ying should still have been unconscious in the hospital at this point. After thinking it over, Xue Ci decided he couldn't let any more people get involved in the plotline that had already gone off course, so he didn't intend to tell him.

The OOC warning had reminded him that an honest person couldn't lie. Xue Ci lowered his eyes and gave a vague answer. "He hasn't come back yet."

Naturally, Zhou Qize thought Xue Ci meant there was still no news of Zhao Ying.

"I got in touch with a classmate in the provincial capital. Do you have a photo of Master Zhao? I'm going into town today anyway. I can give him the photo and ask him to help look."

"Thank you," Xue Ci said. After a moment's thought, he added, "There's a photo on our marriage certificate."

Young men ran hot, and a short walk early in the morning had left Zhou Qize sweating all over.

"Do you want to come inside?" Xue Ci looked at him. "The sun's strong out here."

Zhou Qize paused. "...Okay."

He followed close behind Xue Ci, who was a head shorter than him. His black hair looked soft and nice to touch.

His clothes hung loosely on him, and his waist was so slender it could be encircled with one arm.

Zhou Qize stared, transfixed. By the time he came to his senses, he realized he had already walked into the bedroom.

There was a very large bed, a light yellow fleece blanket bunched into a ball, and a set of discarded pajamas tossed carelessly at the foot of the bed.

A row of books was neatly arranged on the table.

The fragrance lingered everywhere.

It was the same scent as Song Xueci's.

When Zhou Qize realized he was in a married person's bedroom, he didn't know where to look. Heat flooded his face unchecked, his breathing quickened, and his throat went dry in an instant.

He looked uncomfortable no matter how one looked at him.

Meanwhile, Xue Ci was still fretting over where the marriage certificate might be.

He hadn't seen the document since he and Zhao Ying had registered their marriage, nor had he asked Zhao Ying where he had put it.

He searched every drawer in the room. In the end, only the locked wooden chest remained.

It was a wedding gift from Song Liu. Zhao Ying had bought a lock for it and used it to store valuables. Perhaps the marriage certificate was in there.

But Xue Ci hadn't seen the key while searching just now. He glanced at Zhou Qize and found him looking down, as though he had done something wrong.

"Zhou Qize?" he called softly.

The young man's shoulders stiffened. "...What is it?"

"You seem very hot." Xue Ci saw a layer of sweat on his forehead. "Do you want to take off your jacket?"

Zhou Qize had planned to take a bus into town as soon as he got the photo from Xue Ci, so he had put on a light jacket. His eyelids twitched uncontrollably, and he swallowed before answering stiffly, "...Okay."

Xue Ci searched the drawers carefully once more, his voice dejected. "I don't think I can find it."

Seeing how upset he was, Zhou Qize comforted him. "...It's okay. He registered at the village committee, didn't he? They should have a photo of him there."

"And my dad and I asked about the renovation shops he often visited. If I ask the owners of those shops, I'm bound to find a lead."

"Thank you," Xue Ci said sincerely. "You're really kind."

The praise left Zhou Qize walking on air. He scratched his hair and left at once.

Five minutes after he left, Xue Ci realized he had forgotten his jacket. He went outside to look, but Zhou Qize was already nowhere in sight.

Instead, he saw A Hui standing near his window, staring at something.

Xue Ci walked over and patted A Hui's arm.

There was no telling what he had eaten growing up, but his body was as hard as iron.

The impact made Xue Ci's palm go numb.

He tilted his face up. "What are you doing?"

The tall man pointed to the scratches on the window.

Zhao Ying had left them when he climbed in through the window last night. Xue Ci shook his head. "It's all right. The window isn't broken, so there's no need to trouble you to fix it."

But just as he finished speaking, his stomach growled.

Xue Ci: "..."

A Hui mimed eating.

Xue Ci's cheeks turned slightly red.

Since getting married, his body clock had become regular, and he got hungry at mealtimes.

He hadn't eaten breakfast today.

A Hui knocked on the window, making some noise. Xue Ci looked up, and A Hui pointed to a house not far away.

Xue Ci asked, "Are you inviting me to your house for breakfast?"

A Hui nodded.

Thinking of A Hui's cooking, Xue Ci smiled at him.

It had been a long time since Xue Ci had come over.

The tall man's breathing grew heavier, and he became visibly excited.

After receiving the message on his pager, Fu Yun drove to a restaurant before dawn and waited anxiously outside.

When a man finally climbed into the back seat, he immediately turned around. "It's a miracle you survived. Were you hurt anywhere? Did you hit your head?"

"Just superficial wounds," Lu Xiunan said in a low voice.

Fu Yun breathed a sigh of relief, then cursed. "Fuck, they were ruthless. Tampering with your motorcycle wasn't enough; they actually wanted to finish you off. Who the hell was it? Do you have any idea?"

Lu Xiunan gave a cold laugh. Half his cold, sharply featured face was hidden in shadow, and a ruthless decisiveness showed between his brows.

He had been in business since his teens and had too many enemies. Too many people were also opposed to the Lu family, so he really couldn't tell who had tried to have him killed.

"Are you going back now, then, or what?" Only then did Fu Yun get a clear look at what Lu Xiunan was wearing. He exclaimed, "Which village clothesline did you swipe those off?"

Lu Xiunan gave him an expressionless look. "There's no rush to go back. I'll lie low for a while. Once he thinks I'm dead, he'll show himself sooner or later."

"Fine."

When it came to keeping everything under control, Fu Yun trusted Lu Xiunan completely. "Then I'll find you a place to hide out for now."

"No need," Lu Xiunan said coolly.

Sensing something was off, Fu Yun thought for a moment. "Don't tell me you secretly found yourself a lover behind my back!"

Lu Xiunan's eyelid twitched, and Song Xueci's face suddenly came to mind. "Give me some money first."

Fu Yun raised his voice. "You fucking really do have a lover! When did that happen? Didn't we agree we'd stay single and build our careers together, as brothers? Now you've got someone and you don't care about anything else. You're even handing over money just like that."

Lu Xiunan pressed his temples, his face full of impatience. "I don't have a lover."

He had just been called someone's husband.

After giving him the money, Fu Yun was sent into the restaurant to pack up a dozen or so dishes. He knew Lu Xiunan couldn't possibly finish all that by himself.

Something wasn't normal.

Definitely not normal.

The way Lu Xiunan was acting, he had to be smitten.

To keep a low profile, Fu Yun found Lu Xiunan an old pickup truck.

Lu Xiunan drove to Song Xueci's house, near the eastern end of the village, where there weren't many people around.

He carried three or four bags to the door, only to find it locked.

Where did he go? Did he go looking for me?

Lu Xiunan had been worried that Song Xueci would think the husband he had waited for had run off again, so he had made a point of telling him he was going out before leaving.

So he was answering me in his sleep.

Lu Xiunan found a window and easily climbed in.

He set the food on the table. The remaining bags contained new clothes.

Inside, the fleece blanket was bunched up and unfolded, and the dirty clothes hadn't been washed.

Song Xueci was a little spouse who could only rely on his husband.

Lu Xiunan stared at the basin beside the bed. It probably held the clothes Song Xueci had taken off last night. The underwear on top was the pair he had hooked out of the wardrobe the night before.

Lu Xiunan leaned closer. There were still a few gray fingerprints on it.

He had gotten the other man's underwear dirty.

Lu Xiunan stared at it for a long time. In the end, he still got up from the chair with an irritated look and carried the basin over to the tap.

Never in his life had he imagined he would be in this rundown house, washing the underwear of a country bumpkin he had known for less than a day.

This underwear is way too small.

Is his waist even as thick as my thigh?

Can he handle his husband doing those things to him?

After absentmindedly washing the whole basin of clothes, Lu Xiunan turned and flicked the cheap laundry detergent suds off his hands with distaste.

Before he had shaken them all off, he caught sight of a figure out of the corner of his eye.

Some distance away, Song Xueci was walking back side by side with a tall, muscular man.

The corner of Lu Xiunan's mouth curved into a faint, cold smile.

Very good.

He had thought Song Xueci was such a pure little widower.

He had only called him husband yesterday, and today he had gone to find another husband?

Author's note:

He's already started seeing himself as the husband, has he?

Heh, men.