TPW Chapter 5

The breeze on the rooftop felt a bit soft and strange.

Ye Ning did not take the water impulsively; he just stared at the person in front of him.

He didn’t recognize this person, and he had no memories of him in his mind.

But the sudden tension in his body told Ye Ning that something was wrong.

In popular novels, anyone who stood out like this was definitely not ordinary, especially someone as ‘bright’ as this person.

Anyone this attractive surely has something to hide.

Ye Ning raised his guard fully, choosing wisely to remain silent and not ask, “Who are you?”

After a long moment, he looked away, took the already opened bottle of water with his unbandaged left hand, and said, “Thank you.”

The person did not reply.

When people feel awkward, they tend to look for something to keep themselves busy.

Ye Ning turned to the side, the water bottle making a crisp sound in his grip.

He tilted his head back to drink, his eyelashes trembling unnaturally.

Does this person know him?

Why isn’t he leaving?

Eventually, it was Ye Ning who couldn’t hold on any longer. He set the water down and finally turned to face the person, saying, “I…”

“Lu Sihuai.”

Ye Ning heard a light laugh and then the person repeated his name, even slower and in a lower tone, as if he knew what Ye Ning was thinking. 

“Lu Sihuai.”

Ye Ning: “…………”

Ye Ning froze in place.

Who?

Who did he say he was?

The scenery in front of him seemed to darken for a moment, the world swayed, and Ye Ning didn’t even process why the long-standing Lu Sihuai would introduce himself.

The bottle was squeezed tightly, a few drops of water leaking out and splattering onto Ye Ning’s chin, like rain.

For a moment, Ye Ning thought he had returned to that alley yesterday.

… He would rather go back to that alley.

“Not drinking anymore?” The person observed him leisurely, then naturally took the deformed water bottle from Ye Ning’s hand.

Just a moment ago, he had seemed like a stranger, but now they were chatting easily, as if they were close friends.

Ye Ning felt the scenery around him breaking apart and sinking.

He wanted to run.

Ye Ning’s heart plunged.

But the current situation clearly didn’t give him much chance to react.

He took a step back to steady himself.

He couldn’t slip up; he was ‘Ye Ning.’

Ye Ning finally got back to his character. “Why are you here…?”

Lu Sihuai spoke casually, “Someone is hospitalized, and came to check on them.”

Hospitalized?

Ye Ning’s mind quickly stormed through the events.

“Luo Guang?” Ye Ning instantly asked.

Lu Sihuai seemed surprised by that answer; he didn’t deny it but didn’t confirm it either.

However, Ye Ning had already unilaterally confirmed this fact.

After going in circles, the plot returned to the right track.

Luo Guang broke a leg; he was hospitalized, and Lu Sihuai had come to settle scores. Next, wouldn’t Lu Sihuai be heading back to Beijing?

It was unclear if it was the thought of ‘Lu Sihuai going back to Beijing’ that gave him reassurance or if it was the familiar sense of safety from the story returning to normal that made Ye Ning suddenly less anxious.

“Luo Guang has a broken leg.” He slowly leaned back, supporting himself on the railing, looking up at the male lead in front of him. “So you came looking for me.”

Since he couldn’t avoid it, he might as well confront it, Ye Ning thought.

Fortunately, they were in a hospital.

If he got too close, he could be admitted to the hospital in a second once more.

However, Lu Sihuai only smiled, his gaze casually scanning Ye Ning’s hand gripping the railing, then slowly turned away.

He leaned against the railing as well, standing side by side with Ye Ning.

From a distance, they looked like close friends.

“You hit him?” Lu Sihuai finally responded.

Ye Ning: “.”

The problem was, he didn’t even know whether he ‘did it himself.’

“If I say I did?” Ye Ning replied, his face pale after a long pause.

“If I said yes, would you also want a leg from me?”

The absurdity of the situation made Ye Ning completely relax, and he didn’t notice the glance from Lu Sihuai; he was just silently looking at his ankle wrapped in a bandage.

He didn’t know if he could negotiate with the male lead and ask to change the place where he received a beating.

Lu Sihuai looked at Ye Ning.

His face had some scrapes, a small bruise on his mouth, and a wide white bandage on his forehead. His wrists and ankles were wrapped in bandages, and he wore loose hospital clothes, looking delicate as he bent to get the water.

In two days, he had seen this person twice.

Both times he appeared pitiful.

Lu Sihuai recalled the scene he had seen yesterday afternoon in the alley.

A noble house cat caught in the rain, stuck in a dark, damp alley.

Like a stray animal.

How rare.

“Ye Ning.”

Just as Ye Ning was thinking about where the male lead would hit him, he suddenly heard someone calling him, and he instinctively replied, “Mhm?”

After answering, he remembered that the only person who could call him was Lu Sihuai, so he turned his head towards the voice.

Ye Ning bumped straight into Lu Sihuai’s gaze.

He was looking at him.

“……What’s wrong?” Ye Ning had tensed up again, his back feeling stiff. His hands instinctively tightened around the railing, and just as he was about to speak, in the next moment…

A crack of thunder exploded beside his ear.

—“You like me, right?” 

Lu Sihuai’s voice was teasing, slow and deliberate, and very soft.

The wind stopped.

A couple of raindrops fell from above, hitting the milky-white wall of the rooftop.

Ye Ning’s heart raced violently, completely out of control. It felt as if his heart was plunging like the rain from a height, with nowhere to hide.

What did he just hear?

Why would Lu Sihuai… didn’t he agree with Zhao Haonan not to mention the matter to Lu Sihuai?

It had only been one day; were the people in this world so heedless of their morals?

After a long time…

Ye Ning held the hand behind his back very tightly, forcing himself to speak through gritted teeth, “If I say… yes?”

Lu Sihuai observed all of Ye Ning’s tiny movements, looking at the pale back of his hand where the veins stood out from straining too much, and he almost imperceptibly raised an eyebrow.

His gaze slowly moved up, sweeping over Ye Ning’s lips and nose, finally settling on Ye Ning’s eyes, which were glimmering with unshed tears.

A mouth speaks love.

A pair of… lying eyes.

A liar.

“Is that so?” Lu Sihuai replied.

Ye Ning felt his breath stop.

Lu Sihuai chuckled.

Although it was light, he swore he really heard Lu Sihuai chuckle.

Ye Ning fell silent, dazedly turning his head to look at the wall of the rooftop that was only a few meters away.

If he crashed into it, he—

“It’s raining; you have injuries. Let’s go back to the ward.”

The voice that rang in his ear brought Ye Ning back to reality.

Lu Sihuai suddenly called off the attack without any warning, as abruptly as when he casually said, “You like me, right?”

Ye Ning could no longer discern why Lu Sihuai’s topic changed so quickly; he just felt saved.

The humidity that had accumulated for a night was finally released in these few drops of heavy rain, pouring down without any restraint.

Ye Ning’s mind was completely blank as he leaned on the railing and walked forward step by step.

The same few steps felt magnified compared to his journey here, each one treacherous.

Ye Ning’s pace quickened as though a ghost were chasing him from behind.

… Right, he had Lu Sihuai behind him, Ye Ning thought mechanically.*

The one who says, “You like me, right?” is far scarier than a ghost.

Lu Sihuai watched as Ye Ning stumbled, struggling not to lose his balance.

The next second—

Ye Ning’s vision suddenly spun.

He fell into an embrace that still held a trace of fragrance.

The scent was quite familiar.

Like the kind of sandalwood incense found in temples.

Lu Sihuai picked him up effortlessly.

“Do you still want the water?”

“……Yes.”

“Take it yourself.”

“…Oh.”

Ye Ning lost all ability to think, functioning like a robot that obeyed commands; he did exactly as Lu Sihuai instructed.

The person in his arms went from being completely stiff to finally realizing that this was indeed more comfortable than moving step by step. Gradually, he relaxed fully into Lu Sihuai’s embrace over the course of two minutes.

It was a kind of ‘instinct’ that was very accustomed to being cared for.

Even if he was being held.

Lu Sihuai looked down at the person quietly holding the water bottle in his arms.

Indeed, he looked like a young master raised with care.

Ye Ning seemed calm, but in fact, he had already been in Lu Sihuai’s embrace for a while.

He didn’t speak or look up, and when he regained his senses, the glaring lights in the hospital corridor were already shining down on him.

“That’s enough, put me…”

“Huai-ge!”

Two voices rang out simultaneously.

Ye Ning: “……?”

This voice…

Zhao Haonan finally found him; he dashed over, not bothering to look at the person in Lu Sihuai’s arms, and instantly said, “Finally found you, Huai-ge! Lezhou called you, and you didn’t pick up at all!”

“Oh right, let’s not talk about that for now. Huai-ge, did the young master of the Ye Family come looking for you? Did he say that Old Luo’s leg was his fault? Oh! This is truly a misunderstanding; Old Luo’s leg was broken because he slipped and fell on his own. It has nothing to do with Ye…”

Zhao Haonan spoke in one breath, and as he was overwhelmed by the light, his gaze inadvertently slipped down, and then he locked eyes with the person in Lu Sihuai’s arms.

Zhao Haonan: “???”

Ye Ning: “???”

Ye Ning swore that if he weren’t being held by Lu Sihuai, he might have grabbed Zhao Haonan by the collar at the words ‘slipped and fell’ and demanded he repeat it.

He fell on his own?

Then why did he make such a big fuss telling Lu Sihuai about it on the rooftop?

“Ye… Ye…” Zhao Haonan stammered, his mouth trembling. “Huai… Huai-ge, what’s going on with you two…”

What kind of bizarre position is this?!

How did he end up being carried like this?!

At the same time, another voice came from behind.

“Ancestor, where did you run off to?” The assistant’s voice was laced with hurried breaths as he rushed over, pushing past Zhao Haonan to scan his precious little master from top to bottom.

“What happened? Did you fall again?” 

“Didn’t fall, rooftop,” Ye Ning gave up trying to think, his voice dazed. “I left a note on the pillow.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” The assistant let out a sigh of relief and then finally directed his energy to look at the person holding Ye Ning.

He seemed somewhat familiar; he felt like he had seen him somewhere.

A flash of thought crossed his mind, and memory rushed back.

It was Mr. Lu from Yunxiang Technology, a rising star who had been in the spotlight in recent years.

The assistant nodded in greeting, though he didn’t know how his young master had run into him. However, it didn’t matter; he took a step forward, reaching out his hand to Lu Sihuai, “Thank you for taking care of him, Mr. Lu; please let me take him.”

Lu Sihuai looked down at the person in his arms.

Ye Ning was still dazed.

“It’s only a few steps; let’s go.”

Saying that, Lu Sihuai carried Ye Ning and directly headed toward his hospital ward.

The assistant was about to say something when his hand was suddenly pressed down by the person beside him.

The assistant turned to meet a rather fierce-looking face.

“Let Huai-ge carry him.” The person spoke in a uniquely weary tone.

“You don’t understand your young master… sigh,” Zhao Haonan shook his head, looking at Lu Sihuai’s back as he carried Ye Ning. “Compared to you, he surely prefers being carried by Huai-ge. Just don’t disturb them.”

The assistant: “???”

Lu Sihuai brought Ye Ning back to the ward.

For the first time, Ye Ning realized that when encountered with a situation that couldn’t get any worse, one could maintain a sense of calm.

Otherwise, how could he still say ‘thank you’ with dignity when Lu Sihuai placed him on the hospital bed?

Still, the same thought returned. 

If he thinks positively, he might just die tomorrow.

As Ye Ning pondered this, hurried footsteps sounded again from outside the door.

Ye Ning thought it was the assistant coming back.

The next second, with a bang, the hospital room door was pulled open.

A figure dressed in a light blue outfit rushed straight in from the entrance of the private ward. “Ye Ning, you—Ge?”

Qin Lezhou suddenly came to a halt.

Ge?

Ye Ning frowned.

He wasn’t on those terms with his ‘fellow patient,’ was he?

The ‘fellow patient’ stepped forward once more, this time seeming much more composed. He turned to the person standing by the bed and spoke slowly, “Ge, how… How come you’re here? I was just looking for you.”

Oh.

This ‘Ge’ wasn’t referring to him, Ye Ning thought.

It turned out this person was Lu Sihuai’s younger brother.

The situation could actually get worse.