S.C.I Mystery Series Volume 1 Chapter 118

Shadow Murderer 26 – Warmth

---

Zhan Zhao fell into a daze and slept for a while longer before he was woken up by a loud commotion, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw a room full of shifting figures.

"Cat, you're awake? Get up and drink the congee!" Bai Yutang was standing by the bedside drinking congee, and when he saw that Zhan Zhao was awake, he opened the thermos and served him a bowl as well. Zhan Zhao's sensitive nose immediately identified that this was his favourite seafood congee, and his stomach immediately growled uncontrollably.

When he sat up propping himself up with his arms, he found that there was nothing uncomfortable in his body other than the lack of strength. Someone placed a pillow behind him, and when he looked down, he saw a concerned Luo Yang.

Zhan Zhao had just reached out to touch Luo Yang's head when two people jumped up and hugged him, "Baby, you scared Mother to death."

"Cough cough ..." Bai Yutang, who was drinking his congee on the side, almost choked out the congee in his mouth and reached out to tug on the sleeve of one of the mothers, "Mom, you're calling the wrong person."

Mother Bai pushed Bai Yutang to the side, telling him to stay out of the way, and continued to hug and nuzzle Zhan Zhao together with Mother Zhan.

Zhan Zhao raised his eyes and saw his father, Bao Zheng and Bai Jintang standing not far away while he was being hugged by the two mothers and his face was covered in drool, he really wanted to find a crack in the ground.

"Be gentle with your hugging, Cat is dying of suffocation." Bai Yutang drank the congee with a disgusted look on his face. He had been scolded by the old men who had arrived in the morning, saying that he hadn't watched over Zhan Zhao carefully. He complained that he had been injured too, but the old men said that scars were a man's medal, and that there was nothing wrong with a little injury if you were thick-skinned. He was furious!

Bai Jintang looked at Bai Yutang and suddenly said in a not too quiet voice: "Yutang, I heard that you were crying?"

"Cough..." Bai Yutang coughed violently, raised his eyes, and saw Zhan Zhao was looking at him with a surprised face. The two men's eyes met and they both froze.

"Uh... I'll go wash the dishes!" Bai Yutang grabbed his dishes and ran away in a flash. Zhan Zhao saw his rare flushed face, even his ears were red.

Running out of the ward like a refugee, Bai Yutang thought to himself that this time the cat had caught hold of him, he would not be able to escape in the future, Brother really killed him. He was shaking his head as he walked forward, and as he turned the corner, he saw that Luo Yang had left Zhan Zhao's room at some point and was sitting alone on a chair in the corridor, his head lowered, as if he was a bit depressed. Bai Yutang knew that Luo Yang had been blaming himself ever since Zhan Zhao was rescued, and was just about to walk over to comfort him, when he saw Luo Tian walking from the other side to sit beside Luo Yang.

Bai Yutang was in a bit of a dilemma. It was rare for them to reunite as father and son, so he should not get involved, but now he had no face to go back, so he froze in place with his dish.

From around the corner, Luo Tian's voice came through loud and clear.

"Why are you so dejected?" Luo Tian sat next to Luo Yang and reached out to stroke his hair, "Uncle Zhan is fine, shouldn't you be happy?"

Luo Yang looked up at Luo Tian, rubbed his shoulder against his side, and sighed, "Uncle Zhan almost died, and Uncle Bai was injured too... I'm to blame for not listening, they told me not to run around."

Luo Tian smiled, "You're afraid they won't like you anymore?"

Luo Yang tilted his face up to look at Luo Tian and nodded honestly.

"They won't." Luo Tian wrapped Luo Yang up and put him on his lap, laughing, "If you were Zhan Zhao and Zhan Zhao was Yang Yang, would you blame him?"

Luo Yang blinked, thought for a moment and shook his head, "No."

"Then do you think Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang are better people than you?" Luo Tian continued to ask.

"En." Luo Yang nodded.

"Since they are better than you," Luo Tian pinched Luo Yang's cheek, "if you don't blame them, they naturally won't blame you either, it's called putting yourself in other's shoes."

Luo Yang seemed to understand, nodding his head and smiling as if he was relieved, then the two of them chatted very intimately while laughing.

Bai Yutang stood at the corner with a smile on his face, and decided not to walk over and disturb the father and son's chat, so he bit the bullet and went back to Zhan Zhao's room.

———

Zhao Zhen woke up, opened the door and came out to get the newspaper, but saw Bai Chi sitting by the flower bed in front of his house.

"Chi Chi? Why didn't you come in?" Zhao Zhen walked out and sat down next to him. He reached out and touched his hand, which felt a little cold, and frowned, "How long have you been waiting? Didn't you bring the key? Why didn't you knock?"

Bai Chi still didn't say anything, and only after a long time did he raise his head to look at Zhao Zhen, his voice a little muted, "This time, thank you."

Zhao Zhen stared at Bai Chi for a moment, then smiled weakly and reached out to pinch his cheek, "What's wrong? You're not in the hospital with your two brothers at this hour, but you're here with me to talk about nonsense?"

Bai Chi lowered his head, resting his chin on his hands, and said sullenly, "I couldn't do anything to help yesterday, I could only cry."

"Heh..." Zhao Zhen was amused by him and asked, "Then what did you want to do to help? Rush into the fire to save them?"

Bai Chi bit his lip, "I know I'm useless."

Zhao Zhen sighed and reached out to lift Bai Chi's chin so that he was looking at him, and asked in a low voice, "Do you know why I showed up at the police station yesterday?"

Bai Chi shook his head and asked foolishly, "Didn't you go abroad? "

"I just came back yesterday." Zhao Zhen was helpless, "I bought you some gifts, so I went to the police station to look for you."

"En..." Bai Chi nodded and listened as Zhao Zhen continued.

"If I hadn't gone to look for you yesterday, I wouldn't have ran into that incident." Zhao Zhen said, "In other words, using that digital brain of yours, what are the chances that Zhan Zhao would have been saved if you hadn't been there?"

Bai Chi stared blankly at Zhao Zhen, somewhat unsure of how to react.

"Those two brothers of yours are understanding people." Zhao Zhen smiled and leaned forward to give Bai Chi a kiss on his forehead, "Apart from thanking me for coming just in time, they should be more thankful to have you as their younger brother."

Bai Chi was completely stunned and his face slowly reddened, and when he finally realised that Zhao Zhen had just kissed him, his face became even redder.

Zhao Zhen couldn't help but laugh, then put on a ruffian expression and asked, "Ah, you said you were here to thank me, haven't you brought a single thank you gift?"

"You... what kind of thank you gift do you want?" Bai Chi said seriously, "Whatever you want, I'll buy it for you, you were really a big help this time!" After saying that, Bai Chi added, "It better be something I can afford, I don't have a lot of money."

Zhao Zhen raised his eyebrows and leaned closer to ask, "You'll give me whatever I want?"

"En!" Bai Chi nodded.

"Then..." Zhao Zhen leaned in closer and asked in a low voice, "come and live with me."

Bai Chi blinked, "Live together? You want me to be a housekeeper for you? But I don't have a lot of time."

"No, you don't have to do anything." Zhao Zhen smiled gently, "You just need to stay so I can see you every day, I can pick you up when you get off work, and I can send you to work... that's all."

"That's it?" Bai Chi was a little puzzled.

"That's it!" Zhao Zhen nodded his head.

... Bai Chi thought about it and nodded, "Okay."

"Wait for me!" Zhao Zhen turned around and went back, and ran back out not a minute later, holding the car keys.

"What are you doing?" Bai Chi was puzzled as Zhao Zhen pulled him into the car.

"Moving!" Zhao Zhen started the car and said bluntly, "Right now!"

"Now? In such a hurry?"

"How can we not be in a hurry?" Zhao Zhen laughed, "I'll be at a loss if you regret it. By the way, return your original house!" After saying that, he stepped on the gas and drove towards Bai Chi's apartment.

———

Bao Zheng and Zhan Zhao's family stayed until late afternoon and left, leaving Bai Yutang and Zhan Zhao in the room again, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward and uncomfortable.

After finishing the congee, Bai Yutang wiped Zhan Zhao's mouth and went to wash it with the thermos. Zhan Zhao was amused, he had just heard Bai Jintang say that Bai Yutang had cried, this was a phenomenon that happened once in a thousand years. After thinking about it, he really didn't know what Bai Yutang was like when he cried, Zhan Zhao regretted that he didn't wake up at that time.

Bai Yutang had just gone out when someone knocked on the door and walked in.

When Zhan Zhao looked over, he found that it was Ma Xin.

"How are you feeling?" Ma Xin walked over and looked at Zhan Zhao's medical records, "Luckily the amount of succinine wasn't too much, you'll be fine in two or three days."

Zhan Zhao smiled, and seeing that Ma Xin seemed to have something to say, he asked, "What's wrong? Something to say?"

Ma Xin glanced towards the door, moved closer and whispered, "Can you do me a favour?"

"What kind of favour?" Zhan Zhao asked with great interest.

"Captain Bai!" Ma Xin said with difficulty, "He refuses to take painkillers!"

Zhan Zhao was stunned and quickly understood that Bai Yutang had extremely strong self-control, including his cleanliness addiction, which was a manifestation of a slight obsessive compulsion and was actually an occupational disease that had developed from his long years of high stress work. For Bai Yutang, nothing is more unbearable than not being able to control himself, which is why he refuses to take painkillers, which for burns are usually given in such heavy portions that they can make a person confused after taking them.

"He didn't sleep last night!" Ma Xin continued, "He doesn't take painkillers, and although it doesn't affect the healing process, the pain will keep him awake, and the lack of sleep will affect the recovery and health of his wounds!"

"I understand!" Zhan Zhao nodded, "What do you want me to do?"

"Trick him into taking the medicine!" Ma Xin took out a small paper packet from her pocket and handed it to Zhan Zhao, "There are four pills inside, take them for two days in a row!"

"Leave it to me!" Zhan Zhao took the pills, and Ma Xin ran away happily.

Zhan Zhao sat on his bed staring at the painkillers in a daze, how could he get Bai Yutang to eat them? As he thought about it, his eyes fell on the fruit bowl on the cabinet, and his eyes twinkled as a plan came to mind.

When Bai Yutang returned with the washed thermos, he saw Zhan Zhao sitting on the bed peeling grapes. Putting down the thermos, he was trying to figure out what to say when he saw Zhan Zhao waving to him, saying, "Come here!"

He walked over to the bed and sat down, "Cat, do you want to eat grapes?" Bai Yutang had nothing to say.

Zhan Zhao peeled a grape, raised his hand and stuffed it into Bai Yutang's mouth.

Bai Yutang was stunned, and before he could taste whether the grapes were sour or sweet, Zhan Zhao moved up and kissed him on the lips...

With his eyes wide open, Bai Yutang was a bit overwhelmed by his sudden reaction, why was this cat so bold today? As he was thinking, Zhan Zhao's tongue poked out, and Bai Yutang was so shocked that he swallowed the grape whole.

Bai Yutang choked and looked at Zhan Zhao, who was smiling a bit slyly, with a puzzled face, and the man stuck out his pink tongue to lick his lips.

Since Zhan Zhao was so proactive, Bai Yutang naturally had no reason to be polite, so he moved in and held the man down on the bed and kissed him fiercely.

Feeling dizzy from the kiss, Zhan Zhao helplessly thought, for the sake of Xiao Bai's health, forget it, I'll suffer a little.

———

The sky was gradually getting darker and through the floor-to-ceiling window of the private room, one could see the night view of S City in the distance.

Luo Yang and Luo Tian were asleep in the room next door, the door was guarded by a special police officer, and Ma Han and others also took shifts to keep watch over Zhan Zhao and the others. Bai Yutang turned off the lights in the room and sat on the balcony with Zhan Zhao, enjoying the slightly cool breeze and watching the night scene outside.

"Does your hand hurt?" Zhan Zhao asked Bai Yutang who was beside him.

"Hmm?" Bai Yutang seemed a little confused. Zhan Zhao counted the time, the painkillers should have already taken effect, and since Bai Yutang was overly anxious yesterday and hadn't slept all night, he should have been completely conquered by the painkillers by now.

"Xiao Bai?" Zhan Zhao gently reached out and poked Bai Yutang's cheek.

"Cat~" Bai Yutang hummed twice, leaned over and wrapped his arms around Zhan Zhao's waist, leaning his head into Zhan Zhao's arms and rubbing it twice.

Zhan Zhao couldn't help but laugh. When had he ever seen such a cute Bai Yutang? Gently stroking his hair, he asked in a low voice, "Xiao Bai, does your hand hurt?"

Bai Yutang shook his head, "No, it doesn't hurt all of a sudden."

"How do you feel?" Seeing that his eyes were slightly closed, Zhan Zhao chose a more comfortable angle to lean against the floor-to-ceiling window, allowing Bai Yutang to lie comfortably in his arms.

"Feel... good..." Bai Yutang smiled and called out again, "Cat~~"

Zhan Zhao thought for a moment, then took his phone out of his pocket, pressed the record button and asked Bai Yutang in a soft voice, "Xiao Bai, did you really cry?"

The current Bai Yutang was not at all defensive. Hearing Zhan Zhao's question, the hands that wrapped around his waist tightened and he replied, "En..."

"Why were you crying?" Zhan Zhao continued to ask.

"... I was afraid..." Bai Yutang said brokenly, "I have never been so afraid before..."

"What were you afraid of?" Zhan Zhao put the phone on his lap and reached out to wrap his arms around Bai Yutang's head, gently touching his ear.

"I was afraid that you were gone..." Bai Yutang said in a daze, "Luckily you're okay."

"Then... will you do whatever I want from now on?" Zhan Zhao moved closer to his ear and asked, "Take me with you when you go out in the field no matter how dangerous it is, and cook me whatever I want to eat?"

"En!" Bai Yutang nodded, "I regret it to death. From now on, I will take you with me wherever I go, and I will make you whatever you want to eat, and I will not give you the moon if you want the stars..."

Zhan Zhao was amused and laughed, "Then I want to eat something spicy!"

Bai Yutang nodded, hummed twice, and suddenly said, "You can't eat spicy food!" Then, he adjusted his posture, nuzzled him twice, and fell into a deep sleep.

"Damn mouse, stingy!" Zhan Zhao closed his phone and pressed the play button, Bai Yutang's sleepy words just now were recorded clearly.

Satisfied, Zhan Zhao put away his phone and looked down at Bai Yutang's quiet sleeping face – God knows, he felt so tired and heavy at that moment, it felt like he was slowly sinking into the deep sea. It was only the repeated "Cat" in his ears that made him fight his way back to the surface... only this one person, he would not let go.

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

Previous Chapter | TOC | Next Chapter

Translator Notes

Translated: February 9, 2023 by Angel

Edited: March 11, 2023 by Angel