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Afraid of getting found and caught by kidnappers who were searching nearby, the two cats again stumbled a bit further out towards the empty wilderness. The two of them continued to hide in the underbrush until Xiao Wu finally hurried over with a change of clothes, after which they then found a relatively safer place to change into them, now ready to go to the hospital.
Having been in such a hurry, all the clothes that Xiao Wu had brought were Su Chi, so it was inevitable that some of the sizes would be a bit larger than what Xia Rong would usually wear. For example, the shirt that was handed to him; Xia Rong had to roll up the cuffs and tuck the loose hem into the trousers before barely managing to make it seem fitting.
Though it wasn’t as if he hadn’t carelessly and casually changed in front of Su Ci before because of the special circumstances, perhaps because his frame of mind had changed since then, even though the two of them were facing back to back, where there was also a good distance between them, he still felt a rather difficult-to-describe sense of… bashfulness.
However, when he finally turned back around after he finished changing into the clothes and could clearly see Su Chi’s situation, all those messy thoughts instantly evaporated一 He quickly rushed over to support the about-to-collapse Su Chi. “Don’t move, don’t move anymore, I’ll help you put it on!”
The paw pads that had been still continuously bleeding, after Su Chi turned back into a human, directly became a horrifying state of bloody traces on all his hands and feet. So his changing speed, when compared to the practically unscathed Xia Rong, had been far slower. He had just put on his underwear and was struggling to drag over the other pieces of clothing with his bleeding hand when Xia Rong stopped him.
Borrowing the moonlight, Xia Rong could see all the blood that now stained the formerly clean clothes. Feeling as if his heart had been locked in a grip, he quickly forced Su Chi to sit down and knelt down next to him to help him to pull on the bloodied trousers.
Su Chi listened to the other’s words very obediently, doing whatever the other asked of him, and watched as the other busied himself(XR) for his(SC) own sake with his(SC) lashes lowered.
Xia Rong could feel the other’s gaze on himself. On the one hand, he could feel the tips of his ears warming up, while on the other, he could feel his fingertips that were in contact with the other’s skin grow hot. But no matter how embarrassed he was, he still insisted on helping until all of Su Chi’s clothes were worn.
By the time all that was left was buttoning the other’s shirt, he simply sat down next to Su Chi, then buttoned them up one by one from top to bottom for the other.
Su Chi looked at him, then softly laughed. “If getting injured means there would be this kind of welfare, I really want to try it a few more times.”
“What nonsense are you saying?” Xia Rong raised his eyes and gave him a short glare. Yet once he met the other’s gaze, he quickly took the initiative to turn away his eyes again. “…how could there be someone like you who doesn’t even treat themselves seriously.”
“I’m just kidding with you. Not like it will happen anyway,” Su Chi said very matter-of-factly. “I’m trying to comfort you, I’m afraid you’ll cry.”
“Who’s crying…! That was because a cat’s tear ducts are just too overactive for me to control!” Xia Rong tried defending himself a bit with false bravado. However, after seeing how Su Chi wasn’t speaking but just looked at himself with a smile, he too simply stopped speaking and just continued to button the other’s shirt with all seriousness with his head lowered.
From amidst the trees and shrubs, the consistent buzzing of cicadas could be heard as the early summer breeze silently blew through.
When Xia Rong finished fastening the last button for Su Chi, he suddenly asked in a whisper, “Then can you tell me, why…”
“一Chi-ge, Mr. Xia, the hospital has been contacted, are you two ready to leave now?”
Xiao Wu pompously walked over while holding his cell phone, not at all aware that he had destroyed the atmosphere.
Su Chi was grinding his teeth inside his heart but still beamed Xia Rong a gentle smile. “What did you want to ask just now?”
Xia Rong drifted a glance towards Xiao Wu, then replied, “…Nothing. Let’s hurry to the hospital!”
Su Chi: “…”
The next heart-to-heart chat (bout of teasing), I must be sure to choose a place where we won’t be disturbed!
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After all this, it was already early in the morning when the group arrived at the hospital. An emergency room doctor performed Su Chi’s examination and found that the situation with his hand was fine – mainly bruises and abrasion – meanwhile, the most serious was his right leg, which had a minor fracture and would require repositioning and casting, along with hospitalization for further conservative treatment.
The three of them had stayed up the entire night. It was only after all the examinations were finished and Su Chi was laying in the hospital bed after his leg was set in a cast that Xia Rong felt he could finally exhale a short sigh of relief. He then recalled that Xiao Wu had been abruptly called and forced awake from his sleep, so he turned to the other person and said, “Why don’t you go back and sleep for a bit first, it’ll be fine with just me staying here to take care of him.”
Xiao Wu looked at Su Chi with some hesitation. After all, he was Su Chi’s assistant. “…Chi-ge?”
His “Chi-ge” seemed to have given a reserved nod. “En, you can leave first. Just Xia Rong here would be enough.”
Xiao Wu could certainly recognize Xia Rong, this super popular celebrity, but the reason he hesitated was also this. “…Do you two not have work lined up today? Would you two need me to help you find a caretaker?”
“No worries, we were going to have a break today anyway.” Xia Rong then asked, “Oh right, then can you wait a bit longer, I’ll go and buy some breakfast back一 What do you want to eat?”
The last sentence was what Xia Rong asked Su Chi after turning his head back. Xiao Wu had already followed Su Chi for such a long time, so he knew how the other was easygoing and wasn’t much of a fuss about this. He was just about to say “Chi-ge’s okay with everything” when he heard his Chi-ge slowly and casually answer, “I want to eat chicken and mushroom congee and pork soup dumplings. Remember to ask for pork and not beef. Also a cup of black rice and barley soya milk, no red beans or dates, it’ll be too cloying if it’s too sweet. It would also be best if there are a few five-spice tea eggs…”
Xiao Wu: “…”
Is the boss trying to act spoiled with someone here??
But what surprised him most was that this big star and young master, Xia Rong, who was purported to be incompatible with his boss, hadn’t gotten angry at all after listening to this long list of items. Instead, the other just pointed a finger at the boss while saying, “You sure have a lot of fuss.”
The other even used Su Chi’s cell phone’s notes to write down all the requirements, then show them for Su Chi to see. “Is there anything missing?”
Su Chi carefully thought for a moment. “If there isn’t any chicken and mushroom congee, it’s fine to change it to preserved egg and lean pork congee. Add that.”
“Have you forgotten that the doctor said you shouldn’t eat anything too salty or heavy? What preserved egg, you want to die? ” Xia Rong took the phone back and reviewed everything again. “You can’t eat anything greasy, you should also forget about the soup dumplings.”
“It’s not even that serious, the doctor said I can be discharged in less than three weeks.”
“No. Do you want to leave the hospital earlier or not? Not going to make money anymore? I’ll go buy you something light, something that can supplement you with some calcium.” With this said, Xia Rong put on the baseball cap that was on the bedside table – tugging on the brim a few times to make sure it was secure – and picked up the cell phone (Su Chi’s) and money to go out to buy breakfast.
Xiao Wu was first shocked by his Chi-ge‘s once-in-a-century coquettishness, then proceeded to be shocked by Xia Rong’s familiarity with Su Chi that was evident from their interactions一 Xia Rong had even been able to just pick up the boss’s phone and without needing to ask, just swipe and enter the passcode! What kind of a notion is this?! He has followed Su Chi for nearly three years, no one had ever been able to get this sort of beneficial treatment!
“That, Chi-ge, Mr. Xia, he…” After he was positive that Xia Rong had already gone a good enough distance, Xiao Wu couldn’t help but test the waters with his family’s Chi-ge to see what was going on.
“No need to call him ‘Mr. Xia’, calling him just like how you call me would be fine,” Su Chi said very lightly. “You two are the same age. If you’re willing, you can also call him ‘Rong-ge’.”
“…Oh, then, um…?” Xiao Wu winked and made eye with Su Chi. “Will there be a chance in the future to change to calling ‘Sister-in-law’?”
“…En.” Su Chi smiled as soon as he heard the question. “That’s the intention, I’m still working hard on it. But don’t let him hear you say these words, he’ll definitely beat you up. Moreover, I also don’t like such a feminine way of addressing.”
As Su Chi’s personal assistant, it was normal for Xiao Wu to be a bit more aware of Su Chi’s sexuality than his agent, and so because he has been psychologically prepared for quite some time already, he wasn’t overly surprised after confirming the truth一 Aside from the fact that this object of affection really was a bit thrilling一 He could even fawningly start to butter the other up with a smile, “Then I wish Chi-ge success in bringing the beauty home!”
“En, you’ve worked hard today. When we get back, I’ll add to your bonus.” Su Chi smiled, but then looked towards the door and faintly sighed.
Xiao Wu heard the other recite a portion of a poem. “The road extends long into the distance, I will search for what I seek from beginning to end1…”
It seems that the road is still long in the boss’s pursuit of his husband…
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