HL 42

Just as Dr. Mao had said, by evening, Xu Nanxiao really did wake up.

Aside from the troublesome headache and a fractured finger, his body only had some scrapes and bruises, nothing serious. Within a few days, he was able to get out of bed and move around. Even Dr. Mao muttered to himself that he really lives up to his title as a professional boxer—the man can take a hit.

What truly counted as a problem, in fact, was the nourishing tonic soup that Ying Yusheng brought him every day.

On the first day, it was angelica, ginger, and mutton soup; the second day, ginseng and chicken soup; the third day, the Complete Tonic Decoction; the fourth day, fish maw, conch, and pork rib soup; the fifth day, astragalus, wolfberry, and pigeon soup…

Xu Nanxiao drank so much that his whole body burned with excess internal heat, to the point of nearly getting nosebleeds.

The young nurse who gave him his IV couldn’t help teasing him: “My own husband isn’t even that good to me.”

Xu Nanxiao immediately exploded: “What are you saying?” But his face was flushed bright red, which carried absolutely no intimidation, and instead only invited more teasing and laughter from the nurses.

When Ying Yusheng once again walked into the ward with a bowl of soup, beaming, Xu Nanxiao absolutely refused to go along with it anymore.

“Even if I were impotent, you couldn’t force-feed me like this.”

“I just want you to get more protein,” Ying Yusheng said with a smile. “Come on, have a bite of this beef.”

Xu Nanxiao was silent for two seconds, but still opened his mouth and took the chopsticks Ying Yusheng offered.

These past few days, Ying Yusheng had been practically inseparable from him. According to Ying Yusheng himself, he had taken leave from the school to care for the injured.

Xu Nanxiao thought the other was making a big deal out of nothing. He himself wasn’t seriously hurt and could have been discharged already, but Ying Yusheng insisted on keeping him there for a full month.

Yet Ying Yusheng said stubbornly, “This isn’t a small matter. You nearly lost your life. Do you know how worried I was?”

Only then did Xu Nanxiao realize belatedly—yes, he had nearly lost his life.

If the timing or the angle had been even slightly off, after pushing Ying Yusheng’s car out of the way, he himself would have crashed straight into the freight truck. Although fortune had favored him enough, he still scraped against the truck’s bumper, which caused his vehicle to spin out of control and finally slam into a large tree by the roadside.

Did that mean, in his heart, Ying Yusheng’s life mattered more than his own?

No. Nothing mattered more than his own life. When a person dies, it’s like a candle being snuffed out—once dead, everything becomes meaningless.

So for his own impulsiveness, Xu Nanxiao felt an inexplicable anger at himself. Sulking, he refused to drink the soup and pushed Ying Yusheng’s hand away.

Ying Yusheng put down the white porcelain bowl and reached out to touch Xu Nanxiao’s neck instead.

The wound on his neck had already had its gauze removed, leaving only a deep scar behind. A little deeper, and it would have cut his throat.

“It’s going to leave a scar,” Ying Yusheng murmured to himself.

Xu Nanxiao gave a cold snort: “I’m not a woman. So what if it leaves a scar? I’ve gotten scars before in boxing matches.”

“But back then, I didn’t know you.”

Ying Yusheng traced from one end of the scar to the other, his fingertips brushing over the pink new flesh and the scabs that hadn’t yet fallen off. The touch made Xu Nanxiao feel a little ticklish, and he instinctively shrank his neck.

“After I came to know you, I shouldn’t have let you get another scar.”

Ying Yusheng leaned in, his gaze fixed on the scar with an intensity and depth that was too focused. Xu Nanxiao looked at the crown of his head, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly, at a loss for what to say.

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

“Come in,” Ying Yusheng said, sitting up straight.

It was a young nurse, who said to Ying Yusheng: “Mr. Ying, your mother is here. She’s waiting in the reception room right now.”

“You told your mother about my injury?” Xu Nanxiao’s eyes widened, his whole body tensing up from embarrassment.

“Don’t be nervous,” Ying Yusheng said with a reassuring smile. “She’s probably just here to see me. She won’t come into the ward. You rest well—I’ll be right back.”

With that, he was led out of the room by the nurse.

When he arrived at the reception room, Ying Baiying was indeed seated inside.

In front of her was a pot of freshly picked Fuding white tea, and the receptionist had even poured her a cup. But she hadn’t touched a single drop—clearly not in the mood.

Seeing Ying Yusheng arrive, Ying Baiying rose abruptly, and her first words were: “Was it you?”

Ying Yusheng did not evade the question. He smiled frankly and said, “Yes, it was me.”

Not long ago, Ying Yusheng, in his capacity as a shareholder “concerned about the company’s development,” had submitted a whistleblower letter to the regulatory authorities through a third party. The contents involved financial fraud, related-party transactions, insider trading, and other issues at Qing’an Financial Group.

At the same time, Ying Yusheng had skillfully leaked this information to certain well-known financial investigative journalists, fueling public outcry. The CSRC and the stock exchange subsequently launched an investigation, causing the company’s stock price to plummet, financing to be obstructed, and a recently ongoing acquisition to be suspended.

And Ying Yusheng, when the stock price was high, had borrowed shares from brokers and sold them short. After the scandal broke and the stock price collapsed, he bought back the shares at a low price to return them—not only extricating himself completely but also making a substantial profit.

“Your grandfather gave you those shares so you could do things like this?!” Ying Baiying snapped sternly.

“I warned you,” Ying Yusheng said, frowning and letting out a helpless sigh. “I told you not to make any moves against Xu Nanxiao.”

Ying Baiying’s face went pale as her eyes widened.

So Ying Yusheng had already realized that she was the one who had sent someone to tamper with Xu Nanxiao’s car.

But soon, anger overwhelmed her shock once more, and she snarled in a low voice: “So what?! You would do this to your own mother, to your own family’s company, all for a murderer?!”

And what about you?

Ying Yusheng thought. This time, I nearly died too, yet the very first thing you ask when you see me—what is it?

“My family’s company? No, it’s yours, your husband’s, and your son’s company, isn’t it?” Ying Yusheng smiled dismissively, then walked up to his mother and looked down at her. “Mom, to be honest, I am very angry right now. If there’s a next time, I won’t be so easy to talk to.”

Ying Yusheng’s lips curled, but there was no emotion in his eyes.

“If you have nothing more to say, then go. I won’t see you out.”

A week later, Xu Nanxiao was finally discharged.

By then, matters at the club had piled up like a mountain. He barely rested before rushing over to handle the work.

The insurance claims and the automaker’s compensation were basically left to Ying Yusheng to manage. Before long, Ying Yusheng brought him a substantial sum of money.

Xu Nanxiao looked at the incoming funds in his bank account, then suddenly lifted his eyelids and asked Ying Yusheng suspiciously: “All of this is compensation from the automaker?”

Ying Yusheng answered with a smile: “Yes.”

This didn’t match Xu Nanxiao’s understanding of those capitalists—he hadn’t expected them to readily pay out such a large sum. He had assumed the other side would drag out investigations and negotiations for a long time and had already braced himself for a protracted battle.

Since the money had been paid and he was still alive, Xu Nanxiao didn’t dwell on the matter any further and simply let it pass. After all, someone who boxes is used to living on the edge—he wasn’t that clingy to life.

But this incident had a profound effect on Ying Yusheng.

His possessiveness over Xu Nanxiao grew stronger than ever before—he couldn’t even allow the other to leave his sight for a moment. He needed Xu Nanxiao almost like an infant needs its mother.

Sometimes, when Xu Nanxiao was halfway through urinating, he’d suddenly find Ying Yusheng poking half his head through the door, startling him.

“Damn it, what are you doing?”

Ying Yusheng said nonchalantly: “You were quiet for so long—I was curious where you’d gone.”

“I’m at home. Where else would I go?”

“True. Then I’ll get back to writing my paper.” Ying Yusheng smiled and left the bathroom, leaving Xu Nanxiao completely baffled.

Sometimes, when Xu Nanxiao got off work late and just entered the neighborhood, he’d see Ying Yusheng already standing downstairs waiting for him.

Xu Nanxiao got out of the car, locked it, and walked straight over. “It’s so hot out. Why aren’t you staying inside?”

“You were so late coming home—I was worried about your safety.”

A chill ran up Xu Nanxiao’s spine. “Ying Yusheng, do you remember I used to be a boxer?”

“Of course I know.” Ying Yusheng didn’t explain further. He guided Xu Nanxiao by the back onto the elevator. “I had the auntie make some sweet soup. It’s chilled in the fridge—go have some when we get upstairs.”

…

Instances like this were too numerous to count.

Xu Nanxiao felt extremely uncomfortable about it all, but then he thought—Ying Yusheng had hit his head in the crash too, hadn’t he? Maybe this was just the aftereffects not having healed properly yet.

So he let it be.

One day, the two went grocery shopping together. While Ying Yusheng waited for the store clerk to split and pack the durian they were buying, Xu Nanxiao suddenly wanted some yogurt, so he went over to the dairy section by himself.

It happened that there were still a few cans of the Oreo yogurt he usually drank left. He reached out to grab one, but his hand touched a woman’s hand at the same time.

Xu Nanxiao was about to reach for the one next to it instead when he heard the woman suddenly call out his name: “Xu Nanxiao?”

Xu Nanxiao turned his head and found that the woman before him had long, straight black hair down to her waist and a striking, beautiful face. She seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn’t quite recall where he’d seen her before.

“Who are you?”

“The hell—you don’t even recognize your own ex-girlfriend?”

Xu Nanxiao didn’t have any ex-girlfriends—only bed partners. But with that cue, he started to remember.

“…Shi Qi?”

“At least you’ve still got a shred of conscience,” the woman said with a cold snort.

Xu Nanxiao ignored her and continued putting the yogurt he wanted into his shopping cart. This displeased Shi Qi greatly, so she reached out and tugged at his shoulder.

“I’m talking to you. What’s the matter—feeling guilty and playing mute?”

Xu Nanxiao turned back helplessly, ready to say a couple of words to get her off his back. Then he suddenly noticed something flash on Shi Qi’s ring finger. He narrowed his eyes slightly and saw it was a diamond ring.

“You got married?” Xu Nanxiao finally showed some surprise.

Shi Qi proudly displayed her slender, fair fingers from front to back. “Yep. The wedding was a month ago. My husband’s in the heavy machinery business—makes a few million a year. Way out of your league.”

Xu Nanxiao was merely a little surprised; he wasn’t actually interested in whether Shi Qi got married or not. Hearing her words, he said calmly, “Oh, congratulations.”

Seeing that Xu Nanxiao wasn’t the least bit bothered, Shi Qi grew even more displeased. Of course, it wasn’t that she still had feelings for him—it was that she felt he had never liked her, and that had left a quiet resentment festering inside her.

Seeing Xu Nanxiao about to leave, Shi Qi grabbed his forearm: “Wait, you—”

“Nan Xiao.”

Suddenly, Ying Yusheng’s light, gentle voice sounded from behind them.

Almost by reflex, Xu Nanxiao immediately shook off Shi Qi’s hand.

Shi Qi paused for a moment, then looked up at Xu Nanxiao and saw that his expression was flustered, his eyes darting about uneasily. She found it strange.

When Ying Yusheng stepped up in front of them, she realized he was an exceptionally handsome young man with an extraordinary bearing. He looked like some sort of social elite, an intellectual—in any case, completely different from Xu Nanxiao’s usual crowd of friends.

Ying Yusheng didn’t even glance at Shi Qi. He took Xu Nanxiao’s hand firmly. “I turned around and you were gone. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

With Shi Qi standing right there, Xu Nanxiao felt awkward and tried to pull free from Ying Yusheng, but the other held on tightly and wouldn’t budge.

“I just went to buy a yogurt. I’m a grown adult—how could I get lost?”

“You can wait for me to come with you next time. Don’t go wandering off by yourself.” As he spoke, his hand slid naturally to Xu Nanxiao’s waist, gently drawing him closer.

At that, Xu Nanxiao could no longer tolerate it and forcibly pried Ying Yusheng’s fingers open. Only then did Ying Yusheng notice that there was a petite, beautiful woman standing behind Xu Nanxiao.

“Sorry, and this is?”

“A stranger…” But after being shot a harsh glare by Shi Qi, Xu Nanxiao changed his words. “An ex-girlfriend.”

“Hello,” Shi Qi greeted him politely as well.

She vaguely sensed an ambiguous atmosphere between the two men. But she was certain that Xu Nanxiao was as straight as they came, so in the end, she didn’t let her thoughts go in that direction.

“I’m a friend of Xu Nanxiao’s… Hey, are you going to introduce this person or not?”

It wasn’t that Xu Nanxiao didn’t want to introduce him—it was that at that moment he hesitated, unsure how to describe the relationship between himself and Ying Yusheng. No matter what he said, it didn’t seem right.

In the end, Xu Nanxiao feigned nonchalance and said: “Ying Yusheng, my roommate.”

“…”

Shi Qi watched as Ying Yusheng froze for a moment, then slowly curved the corners of his mouth into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

That smile did not reach the depths of his gaze. His glasses might have concealed some of the coldness, but they could not block the sudden chill that dropped in his eyes.

He blinked slowly, nodded politely at Shi Qi, and said with a gentle smile and an easy tone: “That’s right, we’re roommates.”

He placed an almost imperceptible emphasis on the word “roommates”—but it sent a chill down Xu Nanxiao’s spine in an instant.