Four-Faced Buddha [To My Shore] - Chap 94
Chapter 94 The Last Time
2024-10-13 07:36 Category: Four-Faced BuddhaTurn off the lights
“Shulang, what’s wrong?!”
The large black umbrella hurriedly blocked the rain, and Fan Xiao, disregarding all propriety, directly grabbed You Shulang’s wrist.
The hands, which were usually warm, were now colder than the night rain. Fan Xiao was startled and quickly took off his trench coat to wrap the person up tightly.
“Why did you turn off your phone?” As if he hadn’t spoken for a long time, You Shulang’s voice was extremely hoarse. He stared at Fan Xiao, seemingly lost in thought.
Fan Xiao, who was buttoning You Shulang’s shirt, suddenly looked up: “You called me?”
“Didn’t you say you’d be available anytime? Why is your phone off?”
“I…” Fan Xiao was afraid that You Shulang would worry, but he didn’t want to lie to him. After thinking for a moment, he told the truth, “Bai Sanmiao keeps calling me, which is very annoying, so I turned off my phone for a while.”
You Shulang was clearly not in good spirits. Fan Xiao wondered if it was related to the missed call. Frustrated, he asked urgently, “Why did you call me?”
It turns out I didn’t need to meddle. How could someone like Fan Xiao possibly suffer a loss? You Shulang chuckled self-deprecatingly, brushed Fan Xiao’s hand away, and pushed the umbrella handle: “It’s nothing, I just accidentally bumped into my phone.”
He turned and walked back into the rain. The darkness left only a hazy oval shadow from the streetlights, and the clear lines of rain under the light enveloped the man, forming a lonely and desolate silhouette.
The next moment, Fan Xiao burst into the light and suddenly grabbed You Shulang: “You haven’t called me for over a year, how could we have bumped into each other by accident? What happened?”
With his eyes fixed on You Shulang, he naturally noticed the fleeting look of pain on You’s face: “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
“No.” You Shulang’s whole body ached, his legs felt weak and he could barely support himself. He wanted to end his entanglement with Fan Xiao as soon as possible and hide his ridiculousness and embarrassment. “I came back from the lab, I’m very tired, and I want to rest as soon as possible, is that okay, Fan Xiao?”
Wei Yin’er had suppressed her anger, but You Shulang’s face was extremely pale. He turned to leave again, but was unable to break free from Fan Xiao’s grasp.
A strong arm appeared around his waist, and Fan Xiao, holding an umbrella, leaned down and pinned him against the wall.
The large umbrella sheltered a small, private space from the rain, with only long legs intertwined outside.
“The rain came so suddenly, I was worried you didn’t have an umbrella, so I went to the research institute, but they said you had already left work.” Fan Xiao’s voice was muffled by the umbrella, slow and deep. “Your house was dark all night, I was worried about you, so I came to the roadside to keep watch. Shulang, what happened?”
“Fan Xiao, you keep track of my every move. Is this what you mean by not disturbing my life?” You Shulang’s handsome face revealed a contemptuous smile, but his fingertips were pressed against his sleeve as he endured the continuous pain in his body. “Just because I’m not at the research institute, does that mean I have to be at home? Can’t I have other things to do, like going on a date or something?”
Fan Xiao frowned, then slowly smoothed his brows: “A date? You made me travel back alone in the rain? What kind of person would do that? You think Director You would even be interested in me?”
Exhausted and aching, You Shulang’s restlessness surged. He placed his fingers on Fan Xiao’s face and shoved him hard: “Any man has more class than you, Fan Xiao. I don’t want to bring up old grievances. You’d better disappear before my patience runs out!”
Thinking of his past despicable actions, Fan Xiao’s expression gradually darkened. He handed the umbrella to You Shulang, his dejected voice like a well that had been sealed for many years, covered with a thick layer of dust: “Even if you didn’t tell me, I would have found out myself.” He paused, lowered his eyes, “If it really is a date, this kind of person is not suitable.”
You Shulang glanced at Fan Xiao, took the umbrella, and brushed past him.
Just as he took a step, he heard the phone ring, its sharp sound particularly jarring in the quiet, rainy night. In a moment of complex and agitated mood, and wanting to ignore the burning gaze behind him, You Shulang answered the phone without a second thought. Before he could even put it to his ear, Xue Baotian’s boisterous voice rang out.
“Director You, are you alright? I heard Bai Sanmiao attacked you?! I didn’t mean to miss your call, I just got kidnapped by that bastard Zhang Chi…”
A gust of wind blew behind him, and by the time You Shulang realized what was happening, the phone in his hand had already been taken over. Fan Xiao, his eyes filled with malice, gripped the phone and cut off Xue Baotian’s incessant chatter: “Say it again, who did Bai Sanmiao mess with?”
Less than half a minute later, Fan Xiao hung up the phone. By this time, he had lost his initial fierceness, and everything was normal, except that his eyes had deepened a bit.
He pulled out a stick of rouge and bit it between his teeth, freeing his hands to tighten You Shulang’s clothes: “Are your injuries serious?”
You Shulang was silent for a while, then answered irrelevantly: “Bai Yupeng is planning to teach you a lesson. I’m just here to watch the show. I want to see how a devil like you gets played and bullied. It’ll be very exciting, and just thinking about it makes me feel better.”
“I know you’re just here to watch the excitement.” Fan Xiao nodded gently. “Go back and take a hot bath, don’t catch a cold.”
He held up the umbrella, bent down to light a cigarette, took a deep drag, tucked the umbrella into You Shulang’s arms, and then waved his hand: “I’m going back now. You should get some rest.”
“Fan Xiao.” You Shulang’s expression changed, and he grabbed the man in the rain. “Bai Yupeng didn’t get any advantage from me either, so don’t go looking for him.”
Fan Xiao broke free from You Shulang’s hand for the first time and said slowly, “I shouldn’t have turned off my phone today, nor should I have thought it was better to avoid trouble, and I shouldn’t have let him off the hook for the sake of immediate peace, which led me to let this clown get away with it.”
The embers of his cigarette had been extinguished by the rain. In the night rain, Fan Xiao curled his lips into a handsome yet chilling smile: “Is this what they call being bullied for being kind?” He threw away his cigarette and wiped a raindrop from You Shulang’s face. “Don’t worry, I will get everything back with interest.”
The umbrella fell to the ground, and as Fan Xiao was about to leave, You Shulang grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall. His glassy eyes turned blood red, and You Shulang’s eyes seemed to be filled with all his hatred: “Fan Xiao, I’m not some bodhisattva. I’ve thought about taking revenge on you more than once, about trampling you under my feet and watching you suffer unbearable pain! But the one who should take revenge on you shouldn’t be Bai Yupeng. He doesn’t have the right, because you’re cut from the same cloth!”
Suddenly, You Shulang forcefully grabbed Fan Xiao’s hair, forcing him to raise his chin. Twisting the strands of hair in his hand, You Shulang looked down at him: “You know what? When Bai Yupeng called me cheap, I actually agreed with him. Fan Xiao, I’m cheap enough already, I’m already a laughing stock. Can you please just shut up and stop causing trouble!”
Fan Xiao didn’t struggle, quietly letting You Shulang press down on him. He stretched out his arms and wrapped them around the strong waist in front of him, holding him tightly.
Ignoring the tingling sensation on his scalp, he leaned down and rested his head on You Shulang’s shoulder, suppressing a trembling voice: “No one has the right to take revenge on me, only you can. Shulang, please take revenge on me, whatever you want, I will accept it.”
Feeling a temperature different from the night rain on his neck, You Shulang loosened his grip on his hair, a sharp pain shooting through his heart. Fan Xiao pulled him closer, almost melding him into his own body: “You’re not someone else’s laughingstock, nor…”
Even that one word was too much for Fan Xiao to utter; just thinking about it between his teeth felt like a desecration to You Shulang: “I’ll listen to you on everything, except this one. If he dares to touch you, he’ll have to bear the consequences.”
Slowly straightening up, Fan Xiao looked at You Shulang with his scarlet eyes and said solemnly, “But I won’t use extreme methods, nor will I break the law, so don’t worry.”
“I…” You Shulang pursed his lips, pushed Fan Xiao away and walked into the residential area, a voice drifting in with the rain, “Why would I worry about you?”
Fan Xiao picked up the umbrella from the ground and handed it to the man, but the man didn’t take it. So Fan Xiao held the umbrella and followed closely behind.
The distance was only about a hundred meters, but You Shulang’s steps became heavier and heavier. Fan Xiao was worried and followed him straight to the door of the room.
“I want to check your injury, apply some medicine for you, and then I’ll leave without lingering.”
You Shulang was in great pain and too lazy to say anything. He only closed the door a moment later, letting Fan Xiao slip in.
He lay down on the sofa and watched Fan Xiao bustling around, boiling hot ginger tea, running a bath, and taking out clean clothes from the closet before squatting down in front of him: “Take a hot bath first. You got caught in the rain, and I’m afraid you’ll catch a cold.”
You Shulang glanced at Fan Xiao, who was also soaking wet, and gave a faint “hmm”.
As they approached the bathroom, Fan Xiao followed, while You Shulang glanced at him sideways.
“I…I’ll go in and check on your injury. It’s warm in the bathroom, you won’t catch a cold.”
His wet clothes were stripped off piece by piece, leaving him only in his underwear. You Shulang openly displayed his body: “Look, you see? If you see, then get out.”
His tall and muscular body was covered in scars, with bruises and purple marks on his shoulders, back, and waist. You Shulang’s fair skin made the overlapping marks even more shocking!
Fan Xiao stood in front of You Shulang, his eyes deep and silent. His trembling fingertips were clenched into fists, his jaw slightly twitched, and the veins behind his ears throbbed.
“Does it hurt?” A hoarse voice resonated in the misty steam as fingers slowly reached out, touching the wound little by little.
Skin to skin, cold to cold, You Shulang gritted his teeth.
“It’s alright,” he said.
He stroked her with his palm, as if afraid of hurting her, without any force, his touch distant: “I always hurt you, I really am a bastard.”
“I’m sorry.” Fan Xiao’s words seemed stuck in his throat, neither coming out nor coming out, as if he were choking.
From shoulder to back, his hand finally caressed the curve of her waist. Fan Xiao finally raised her eyes and looked directly at You Shulang through a layer of mist: “If I stay away from you, I won’t let you get hurt again.”
He looked at You Shulang’s already bulging underwear, hesitated for a long time, and asked, “Do you need my help?”
After a long pause, he finally spoke: “The last time.”
You Shulang brushed his hand away, walked to the bathtub, turned his back, took off the last piece of clothing, and stepped into the water.
Fan Xiao stood there for a while, until a layer of mist covered the mirror, gradually concealing his sorrow.
With a soft sigh, Fan Xiao turned and walked towards the door. He grasped the doorknob and pressed down, but then heard You Shulang’s cold voice coming from behind him.
“Didn’t you say you’d help me?” Warm steam clung to You Shulang’s eyelashes, making the row of brushes seem unusually heavy. “Isn’t this the last time?”
The hand gripping the doorknob slowly loosened its hold after a long time…
