Thrive in Catastrophe - Chap 34

Heine looked at the men with scorn, his lips barely moved and his voice was quiet, but the power infusing his tone was paralyzing. Every word that slipped from his mouth scraped against the nerves like a razorblade.

“Tell Major Denzel, that Heine Burton is waiting for him to take care of me.”

Sure enough the three men stood with their mouths dumbly agape. They would have been better off offending god than Heine Burton.

They quickly gathered themselves and fled. The situation made Xiao Yan feel quite awkward.

“……Thank you.”

Xiao Yan went to smile but the movement pulled at his swollen mouth. The pain shot through him and his beaten body began to ache, his expression twisted and tightened in response.

“Dirty.”

Heine raised his brows and only then did Xiao Yan realize that blood was freely flowing down his face.
Without thinking Xiao Yan rubs at his nose with the back of his hand. Heine’s fingers reach up and lightly wipe his face.

His body jerked and he stumbled back, surprised at the gesture. Heine’s eyes clouded instantly.

Was he angry because he was dirty?

For a guy that manages to stay spotless, even when slaughtering zombies, Xiao Yan’s blood covered face must look disgusting to him right now.

“I will do it myself……” Xiao Yan gripped his wrist and then immediately regretted his hasty action.

Will Heine twist off his arm and dislocate it again?

But Heine does nothing more than release his hand.

Xiao Yan watches as Heine removes his military Sweep Edge. It is a wiping cloth made of a special nano fiber that fills the cracks in the blades when they wipe them down, serving as both a way of cleaning and sharpening military cold weapons. Of course the cost of such material is astronomical.

Right now, Heine is using this to wipe the blood from Xiao Yan’s face.

“Tilt your head up.” Heine’s command is clipped and cold. His familiar glacial tone passes through Xiao’s ears, creating an inexplicable and contradictory heat to build and spread along his body.

Xiao Yan lifted his chin, his nose aching at the movement. The angle eased the pain slightly, his nose is getting more swollen by the minute. He hasn’t even passed through the door of his dorm and already this happened. He had agreed to meet some students out at the bar, now he was concerned he wouldn’t be able to shake the future mockery of his ‘Rudolph’ nose.

Holding his head at such an odd angle made his neck ache so he lowered his head. Suddenly his nose began to bleed heavily again. Heine quickly pressed the sweep edge against his face. Meeting Heine’s gaze, Xiao Yan felt his heart tremble.

He did not expect Heine to still be in the Shire and he doesn’t know what to say at the moment.

Heine’s eyes narrow slightly, his emotions carefully shielded behind an icy coating. As Xiao Yan looked closely, it seemed thought that Heine’s typical sharpness and indifference blurred into something else. He didn’t know if it was because his swollen eyes were not working properly, or if he really did see a disturbance ripple across his face.

Heine reached over and Xiao Yan again had the urge to step back. His fingers swept his hair behind his ear and tilted his head. He gently raised his chin, this time he didn’t feel so uncomfortable, with his head at this angle he couldn’t see Heine’s eyes anymore. He could only feel as his fingers traced down to brush against his lower lip.

At his touch, Xiao Yan instinctively jerked, his lips tightened and his breath stilled in his throat. He was confused as to what was going through Heine’s mind.

Suddenly he felt the humidity of Heine’s breath dance along his lips and enter his mouth. His organs shifted and heated, Heine’s air seemed to diffuse through his whole body. His nerves trembled and Xiao Yan realized that Heine was leaning into him.