CH 25.1

si di quickly pulled back his hand, and xiao zhenyun casually placed his left hand in front of his knee, placing the water glass back on the bedside table. he moved away from the bed before others crowded in.

“you go back first,” xiao jingfeng whispered in his ear, “i’ll take it from here.”

xiao zhenyun nodded and, after a brief conversation with the arriving guide doctor, severed the mental link and handed it over.

being able to wake si di from his pseudo-eternal sleep was xiao zhenyun’s biggest bargaining chip. xiao jingfeng had already figured out how to maximize its use in negotiating with si qiaorong, especially since the si family head has shown a hint of resistance to the taboo love between uncle and nephew.

there was a hesitant figure passing by him, and xiao zhenyun turned his head to see ye feiran, who looked slightly dazed.

instead of approaching immediately, ye feiran stood near the door and observed si di from the gaps between the figures near the bed. si di was indeed awake, and after four days of futile efforts by countless doctors, professors, and even two s-class guides, there was only one last option left before him. he had completely given up.

he had wondered countless times why the deer guide refused to appear and even felt a bit resentful, even though he knew it made no sense to have such feelings.

until now, he understood the other’s concerns.

si chu was bending over, concerned about his brother’s condition when he suddenly felt something, a burning gaze fell on him. slowly raising his head, he met ye feiran’s eyes.

in just a moment of eye contact, ye feiran quickly averted his gaze and turned around hastily, rushing out of the room. the next second, si chu also rushed out and saw xiao zhenyun’s figure waiting for the elevator. the two of them ran side by side. “little uncle!” “chairman!”

before they could speak, xiao nian quickly whispered to xiao zhenyun’s ear, “according to the plot progression in the original novel, they should have held the engagement ceremony at the end of last month.”

“…” what’s this supposed to mean? if you keep pushing me, i might just quit this mess.

xiao zhenyun glanced at the administrator with a smile, turned his wheelchair, and showed a warm smile to the two young men. his eyes were a bit tired but still indulgent to the juniors who disturbed him. his eyes were like the misty blue waters after the rain, just getting closer made people instinctively lower their voices, afraid of disturbing this fragile and precious patient.

without waiting for them to speak, xiao zhenyun smiled without speaking and spread his hands in front of the two. ye feiran, not understanding, looked at his palm without daring to move. xiao zhenyun’s fingers were slender, his nails neatly trimmed. despite the constant temperature in the hospital building, his nail caps were slightly purple, which did not represent a healthy body.

si chu also reacted after a while, tentatively placing one of his hands on xiao zhenyun’s palm. “uncle, your hands are so cold, wear more…”

seeing that xiao zhenyun still smiled gently without any action, ye feiran also dared to imitate. after their hands were placed, xiao zhenyun gently brought their hands together, with si chu’s palm against ye feiran’s hand back, and xiao zhenyun holding both of them.

“you’re still young, you don’t need to be so sensible, and you don’t need to worry so much. you can be more willful, disregard the consequences, and do what you want.” xiao zhenyun squeezed their hands.

“even if the sky falls, there will be someone to hold it up for you.”

he was really tired. after persuading them, the elevator arrived at the floor. he didn’t say anything more, turned around and entered the elevator.

“i guess si chu would cry,” xiao zhenyun whispered to xiao nian.

sure enough, just as the elevator doors were about to close, he heard a sob. as the elevator began to descend, si chu cried loudly, and ye feiran seemed moved, hoarsely calling his name.

simultaneously both si chu and ye feiran hugged each other, expressing their feelings and love.

xiao zhenyun, satisfied with his virtuous efforts, returned to the hospital room to rest, while another member of the xiao family, xiao jingfeng, began his earnest endeavors.

not long after si di woke up from his pseudo-sleep, he fell asleep again, despite knowing that this time it was perfectly normal rest. even though his mother knew this, she repeatedly called the doctor to check on him, afraid he might slip into eternal sleep.

during this period, the ye family bid their farewells and left. xiao jingfeng pulled si qiaorong aside and handed him a cigarette on the rooftop.

si qiaorong didn’t refuse. these past few days, he had been deeply troubled by si di’s condition, and when he returns to the company, he will find a mountain of work waiting for him. even though si di had awakened, it seemed like the problems had not lessened, and he was now faced with an unexpected huge challenge.

both knew what they were about to discuss, but neither spoke immediately. they quietly leaned against the rooftop railing, smoking the entire cigarette. after extinguishing it, xiao jingfeng finally spoke in a calm tone, “i remember si feng is your second uncle, right? how has he been treating you?”

si feng, xiao zhenyun’s father.

si qiaorong nodded. “…quite well,” he said and then decided to be honest, “he’s been really good to me.”

“it seems like you have a good impression of him?”

“yes,” si qiaorong found it tricky to start the conversation with si feng as the opening topic. he couldn’t deny the truth, though. “there shouldn’t be anyone who wouldn’t like him.”

“as for me,” xiao jingfeng began, his gaze cast downward as the setting sun elongated his silhouette, eventually fading into the wall’s shadow, “i didn’t like him at all. not liking him is an understatement; i hated him.”

si qiaorong was a little surprised: “why? he is…”

“he is a very good person. i know that he was known as a good guy when he was in the tower. after he left the tower and joined the union, his reputation for integrity and kindness became even bigger… but is there any contradiction between this and my hating him?”

xiao jingfeng laughed softly and continued, “i’ve thought about the reasons. first, i didn’t like how he diverted my sister’s attention. it’s not that i’m in love with my sister, but mainly because i lost my mother at a young age, and my father became a martyr not long after. we depended on each other and grew up together. suddenly, in the middle of our inseparable bond, a third party was inserted, making anyone uncomfortable, right?”

“…”

“the second reason is probably because his personality is somewhat like my father’s… my sister probably lacked paternal love since she lost her father at a young age. when she saw si feng, she fell head over heels. our father, a police officer, always prioritized the public interest. he would tell stories to a nine-year-old orphan at work to put him to sleep, but he’d forget there were still two children, a nine-year-old and a seven-year-old, at home. my sister cooked noodles, and i washed the dishes. then we locked the door together and went to sleep.”

“i hate these ‘selfless’ people. it’s as if they’re the greatest in the world, and without them, the world can’t turn. only strangers outside are pitiful, and as his children, we’re destined to be unlucky. having a father is worse than not having one. without a father, i could have gone with my sister to find an adoptive family.”

“but my sister deeply admired our father, understood him, and aspired to become someone like him. then, there was si feng, who was cut from the same mold as our father…” xiao jingfeng chuckled, “after zhenyun was born, i always urged my sister to focus on her family, to remember the hardships we went through in our childhood, not to let her own children follow the same path. i thought she had listened…”

“zhenyun did indeed grow up well back then, with clear signs of an awakened guide. my sister and si feng were a double s-rank team. one was the union chairman, the other the chief guide. their child, as long as he was a special individual, would have high spiritual power, no doubt…”

“when that incident happened, zhenyun was fourteen or was it thirteen? to be honest, i don’t like to recall that time. to force my sister and si feng to abandon the innocent civilians in the concentration camp, terrorists broke zhenyun’s legs, and in the dead of winter, they hung him over freezing seawater, freezing him for the entire night. they tortured him endlessly, suffocating him, electrocuting him, beating him. when i rescued him… his spiritual power was already gone, his legs crippled, his parents sacrificed. he shut himself off from the world for years.”

si qiaorong remained silent; he knew all of this, and he also felt for xiao zhenyun’s past suffering.

xiao jingfeng took a prepared small water bottle from his pants pocket, took a sip to moisten his throat, and continued, “it was precisely because of these experiences that even though xiao zhenyun had no trace of spiritual power, not even a complete guide, he still became the vice chairman of the union, unanimously approved without opposition. because he symbolizes the selflessness, fearlessness, and unwavering dedication of our country’s special individuals. when people from other countries see him, it’s as if they’ve met countless brave special individuals from our country.”

“he regained his spiritual power this time, probably because even heaven couldn’t bear to see him suffer anymore and granted a belated miracle.” xiao jingfeng had been setting the stage for a while, and seeing that the emotions were properly stirred, he finally revealed what si qiaorong cared about the most, “of course, it also brought another miracle. zhenyun and xiao di have a compatibility rating of 90%, which is what special individuals call soulmates.”

si qiaorong had guessed this already, but hearing it confirmed in person, he couldn’t help but grip the railing tightly, his breathing heavy. he hesitated for a moment, then took a cigarette from his pocket and habitually handed one to xiao jingfeng before lighting his own.

xiao jingfeng held the cigarette but didn’t smoke it. he sighed, “i’m not worthy of being his uncle. back then, i even had the audacity to blame my sister for not taking care of her son, but in the end, what about me? the only relative in the world, the aircraft crash, life and death uncertain, and the culprit was an intern i had high hopes for.”

“chairman, i also have my faults in this matter; i didn’t check…”

“qiaorong, i’m not here to assign blame.” xiao jingfeng interrupted, “fortunately, when they were stranded on that island, xiao di and he supported each other and made it through together… zhenyun has always been competitive since he was young, never asked me for anything. but yesterday, lying in that hospital bed, his face lacking color, the first thing he asked when he woke up was about xiao di’s condition. he asked if xiao di’s injuries were severe. he thanked xiao di for saving him.”

“he knows about their identities. even with a 90% compatibility, he still dares not reveal himself. only when xiao di was on the brink of death, in a state of mental frenzy, or in a state of pseudo-eternal sleep, would he reluctantly appear to save xiao di from the brink of life and death several times.”

“this is the first time he told me that he likes someone, that he’s deeply in love with xiao di. he’s tormented by it, and he asked me for help…”

first talk about the kindness between the fathers. si qiaorong owed xiao zhenyun’s father a favor from the beginning. then, considering xiao zhenyun’s ‘c’ class rank, which is known to everyone, we can only start from other aspects. this means that even though si di is an s-class sentinel, it’s not an insult for xiao zhenyun to be compared to him. next, xiao zhenyun’s contributions come into play. without him, si di would have died 800 times earlier. now, it’s time to discuss seniority and disagreements. lastly, we should mention xiao zhenyun’s sincere and bitter love, playing the emotional card.

xiao jingfeng had finally finished his narrative, and he patted si qiaorong’s shoulder with great satisfaction, summarizing with his last sentence, “qiaorong, what do you think?”

hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). i hope you enjoyed the story! if you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ