Chapter 128: Turning an Apology into a Kiss

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Dawn broke over the horizon. The sound of an ambulance grew louder as it approached. There were few casualties among the people on the scene; the most seriously injured was Boyu, guarded by fifteen bodyguards, all of whom were unharmed. Both his body and spirit had taken a severe blow.

“Father-in-law.”

Zhou Yili removed his coat to wrap around Shen Jixing. His long eyes, half-lowered, glistened slightly, and with a sideways glance, he curled his lips into a light, amused smile. “You should have said so earlier.”

“Wait, you two are siblings?”

Boyu was speechless.

He even entertained the thought of killing him.

The medical staff lifted him onto a stretcher, glancing at the scene that resembled a battlefield in Syria. “Were you fighting? Should I call the police?”

The wooden walkway leading downstairs was smashed to pieces, the floor stained with blood-soaked shards.

Such a scene surely warranted a report...

Fu Chen limped forward one step. “Just a minor scuffle, no need to call the police.”

The doctor was confused. The dead take precedence?

Fu Chen had a convincing demeanor—his every movement calm and rational, his gaze sweeping over the two survivors of this life-and-death struggle.

“What do you think?”

As a public figure, Zhou Yili could not afford any negative scandals.

Moreover, they had no evidence that Boyu had kidnapped Shen Jixing, given the history of care and nurturing between them.

Zhou Yili’s eyes coldly flicked over Boyu, then his fingertips were lightly pinched.

Shen Jixing glanced at him calmly. “Speak.”

Zhou Yili clasped his hand in return, their fingers entwined, and with a cool tone said, “Just playing around, Father-in-law.”

The doctor was speechless.

Looking at Boyu, a bloodied and injured man, the doctor thought the blue-haired young man was probably driving his father-in-law to the brink of death with this “play.”

“Sir, please feel free to speak,” the nurse asked gently.

Boyu remained silent.

How could he explain that when he was supposedly kidnapping Shen Jixing to leave, all flights and cruises were grounded, that he had hoped to spend a good evening with Shen Jixing but was slapped twice and still couldn’t keep him, that in despair he tried to drag Zhou Yili down with him to hell, only for Zhou Yili to say he’d go alone because he intended to be a law-abiding citizen for a future with Shen Jixing? And then Shen Jixing exposed the humiliating truth that he was impotent?

Meeting the doctor’s gentle, caring gaze, Boyu coldly spat out one word: “Get lost.”

The doctor was baffled—this was rather ungrateful.

In the end, the ever-resourceful Fu Chen stepped forward to smooth things over. “Everyone, you’re overthinking. This is just a family matter.”

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He lightly dusted off his sleeve, his tone steady and refined. “After all, everyone has heard stories about the beautiful daughters painstakingly raised by their parents…”

Fu Chen caught Shen Jixing’s gaze. “Sons.”

“…”

“Being spiritedly courted away by a yellow-and-blue-haired young man, right?”

The doctors looked around the scene again.

Suddenly, everything made sense.

Boyu’s wounds were simply bandaged, and the doctors lifted him to transport him to the hospital, offering earnest consolation along the way:

“Sir, try to let it go. When kids grow up, you just can’t hold them back.”

“That young man is quite handsome, his hands bleeding as he held onto your son, fussing over him. That concern and anxiety didn’t seem fake.”

“Times have changed. Two young boys being together isn’t impossible. As long as it’s true love, what does it matter?”

“It’s just a pity they can’t carry on the family line. Is that what bothers you?”

“…”

Boyu lay quietly in the vehicle, then coldly asked, “Can I get out?”

“Absolutely not!”

The doctor hurriedly explained, “You’re seriously injured. This is only a temporary bandage; you need a thorough hospital examination.”

Boyu remained expressionless. “Then you get out.”

“…”

Only after leaving the basement did Shen Jixing notice Zhou Yili’s hand was bleeding.

He had held Shen Jixing’s hand with one hand the entire time; the other was hidden behind his back. It wasn’t until the first light of dawn touched him that Shen Jixing saw the trail of blood droplets.

“Are you an idiot?”

Shen Jixing’s usually composed features betrayed rare panic. Without time to find gauze, he pressed his shirt against the wound. “Why didn’t you say earlier?”

Zhou Yili’s gaze fixed unblinkingly on his face, not shifting for a moment.

“I wanted to hold your hand.”

Shen Jixing disliked being affectionate with him in front of others.

If the doctors swarmed in, he wouldn’t be able to touch Shen Jixing.

Shen Jixing’s long lashes fluttered slightly. “I never said you couldn’t hold it. Let’s get to the hospital first.”

He guided them toward the ambulance.

As the doctor was about to close the door with Boyu inside, he asked, “Will you be going together?”

Boyu opened his eyes slowly to look at them.

Shen Jixing said, “No, take another one.”

The doctors brought gauze to stop Zhou Yili’s bleeding. Shen Jixing averted his eyes from Boyu’s gaze and looked instead at the wound in Zhou Yili’s palm.

He heard Boyu’s hoarse voice, “Weren’t you the one who gave him up in the first place?”

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The chilly morning breeze dispersed the lingering tension.

Zhou Yili’s gaze turned cold again as he looked at Boyu.

The doctor anxiously wrapped the bandage tighter. “Hey, don’t apply so much pressure, young man, the blood’s coming out again…”

Shen Jixing looked at Zhou Yili’s tense arm, veins pulsing restlessly beneath the skin.

“Little lion.”

Zhou Yili paused suddenly, turning his head to look at him, his gaze softening. “Hmm?”

Shen Jixing smiled faintly.

He lifted his hand to brush the corner of his lips. “Nothing, just calling you.”

Zhou Yili no longer looked at Boyu, letting the doctor tend to his wound.

Boyu sneered at his reaction. Shen Jixing might not love him, but he didn’t exactly love Zhou Yili either.

As Shen Jixing predicted, he spoke, “Yes.”

He had been the one who gave up on Zhou Yili.

Boyu was an indirect cause; the direct cause was himself.

At that time, Shen Jixing had neither the strength nor the courage to be reborn. Like a tree of albizia flowers frozen in winter, he allowed himself to wither in a bleak world.

“I’ve never said I regretted my decision, but I never said it was the right one.”

Zhou Yili was momentarily stunned.

Boyu suddenly raised his eyes to meet him.

Shen Jixing was overturning his past.

Such a proud man could also feel guilt and jealousy for one person.

Standing in the quiet winter morning, the rare sunlight falling on half his body, Shen Jixing’s clothes disheveled and ragged, yet he was elegant like a proud swan.

“I’ve never believed my decision back then was right.”

He had thought himself a burden in love, but ended up hurting the passionate one deeply.

Shen Jixing looked at the little lion who hated to revisit the past.

Zhou Yili only ever spoiled him because he loved him.

Afraid he would leave, afraid he would vanish, afraid the story would repeat.

Shen Jixing looked into his reddened eyes and suddenly smiled. “Zhou Yili, I’ve actually owed you an apology all along.”

Zhou Yili’s lowered lashes trembled; the emotions in his eyes seemed to melt, a burning warmth scorching his heart.

Shen Jixing’s eyes reddened slightly as he whispered, “I’m sorry…”

Before the words could fall, Zhou Yili’s hand gripped the back of his neck, lifting him fiercely—

Zhou Yili silenced his apology with a tender, lingering kiss.