Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"011"

Xiao Lancui used the front entrance this time.

Last time he'd observed that the security cameras in the psych ward were all for show, but to avoid bumping into anyone, he still put on a mask and a cap.

At night, only two nurses were on duty in the office, and every other door was locked tight. After 5:30 PM, all patients were locked back in their rooms.

But the strangely long hallway wasn't quiet.

Pale white light mixed with the smell of disinfectant. Songs, laughter, muttering, cursing, crying, and the scratch of fingernails on doors all leaked out from every sealed room.

Every meter down the hallway, there was a heavy iron door. Xiao Lancui pulled his cap lower and walked deeper, the sounds fading into dead silence.

These rooms held patients who'd been forcibly sedated—they couldn't make a sound.

Xiao Lancui walked to the last room. The door was brand new, recently swapped out, with a bowl-sized square of bulletproof glass set in the middle, so clear he could see everything inside at a glance.

On the mattress, the same scene as last time.

The youngest son of the Lu family lay tied up and still, apparently sedated again and out cold. The blanket was bunched at his feet, not even covering him.

A row of latch locks secured the door from the outside—openable from outside, but not from inside. Xiao Lancui removed the locks and pushed the door open.

The sealed room had no airflow. Even through his mask, the disinfectant smell was overpowering. Xiao Lancui hurried over and shoved the window open.

The cold wind instantly seeped through the steel bars, bringing a biting chill but at least a hint of crisp, fresh air. Xiao Lancui had nowhere to put the Brown Sugar Rice Cake Sticks, so he carried them over to the mattress.

On the mattress, the youngest son of the Lu family still had his whole head wrapped up tight in bandages.

The mattress was low, so Xiao Lancui dropped to one knee. His gaze swept over the thick gauze, and he set the Brown Sugar Rice Cake Sticks gently on the floor. He found the man's left hand, flipped open the loose hospital gown to take his pulse—then his eyes went cold.

The man's arm was covered in crisscrossing red marks.

Some dark, some light—dark meant fresh, light meant old.

He'd seen wounds like these before—on the Lu Ao he knew.

Lu Ao's mother died shortly after he was born. He lived alone in a cold, remote corner of the palace. Though born a prince, he was the lowest of the low, a discarded pawn no one cared about—the perfect target for eunuchs and maids to take out their anger on.

As long as they didn't kill him, leaving marks on Lu Ao was just routine. As Lu Ao got older and started fighting back, the wounds became fewer.

But in their place came a quieter kind of abuse.

Three meals became one a day, sometimes one every couple of days. The charcoal for winter heat vanished. His blanket and clothes went years without being replaced—filthy, tattered, ignored by everyone.

The first time Xiao Lancui cut Lu Ao's hair, it was full of lice. When he stripped the boy's clothes off, there wasn't a single patch of unbroken skin on his body. Several bones from his growing years had been broken and never set right, healing into twisted shapes.

They'd been broken when the eunuch who served Lu Ao's older brother kicked him down the stairs.

Lu Ao killed that eunuch and tossed him into the lotus pond in the cold palace. The deep palace never lacked for restless spirits, and no one ever found out.

That year, Lu Ao was ten years old.

The first time he killed, Lu Ao felt no fear. He knelt in front of Xiao Lancui and smiled: "He called me a bastard. He deserved to die."

Xiao Lancui said nothing. The next time he went, he brought Lu Ao a bundle of soap pods. Stuck in a wheelchair and unable to move around easily, it was the first time he'd helped wash Lu Ao's hair and bathe him, and he also re-set Lu Ao's broken bones and applied medicine.

Through the whole bone-setting process, Lu Ao never made a sound. He just watched Xiao Lancui. When the medicine was done, he knelt on both knees, carefully cupped Xiao Lancui's hands in his own, and pressed them gently against his smiling face. "Teacher, your hands are really warm."

Thinking of Lu Ao again, Xiao Lancui looked at the bandaged head. Could it be him?

Xiao Lancui couldn't know the answer yet. The burns hadn't healed, and if he unwrapped the bandages now, he'd probably see a face beyond recognition.

He looked away, his fingertips avoiding the man's wounds as he pressed them to his pulse.

To his surprise—steady.

Even steadier and stronger than Xiao Lancui's own pulse, more like a healthy person's.

Xiao Lancui was lost in thought, about to pull his hand away. Suddenly, the hand moved without warning, grabbing his in a rush.

Xiao Lancui jumped. He quickly looked at the bandaged head, but there was no movement—the man still lay still, no sign of waking.

Xiao Lancui froze. A muscle reflex? He tried to pull his hand free again, but the hand gripping his didn't budge—it squeezed harder, long slender fingers wrapping around his like vines, tangling all five of his fingers, swallowing his whole hand.

Xiao Lancui noticed the man's hand was huge. Despite chronic malnutrition and illness, it was nearly skin and bone, yet the frame was still two sizes bigger than his own.

Xiao Lancui called out tentatively, "Your Majesty?"

Still no response—he was still asleep.

Xiao Lancui lowered his eyes. After a moment, he brought his other hand over and pried the man's fingers apart one by one, finally freeing himself. His skin was fair and delicate, and the grip had left his hand and palm covered in overlapping red marks.

He put the man's hand back on the bed, pulled the blanket up over him, glanced at the Brown Sugar Rice Cake Sticks, and left with them anyway.

The door locked, footsteps fading away. Beneath the blanket, that hand moved again—throwing off the covers in a panic, reaching desperately into empty air.

At the same time, from between lips pressed beneath the gauze, a broken, whisper-thin plea escaped: "Teacher... don't leave me..."

*

Xiao Lancui got back to the Xiao residence at nine in the evening.

The moment he walked in, he heard the unmistakable sound of an argument.

"An Feng is your son too! If he makes a good match, it won't affect your precious son either—what exactly are you objecting to!"

It was Xie Jingfang, crying.

This came from another minor subplot in the original story. Xie Jingfang had a close friend who'd come to the Xiao residence today with her daughter. They happened to run into Xiao Anfeng coming home from school, and the friend's daughter fell for him at first sight.

The two families were well-matched, and the daughter's age and looks suited Xiao Anfeng perfectly. Xie Jingfang casually brought up Xiao Anfeng's love life over dinner—but before Xiao Anfeng could even speak, Xiao Jingli and Xiao Liqin both objected at once.

It seemed his arrival hadn't changed this minor subplot—it had played out exactly as before.

Xiao Lancui changed his shoes slowly, listening to the argument in the living room escalate.

Xiao Jingli said in a low voice, "He's only 21—way too young to be dating!"

Xie Jingfang wiped her tears. "Other boys his age have dated countless times. I know what you're thinking—you're afraid that if An Feng gets a good father-in-law, he'll have the leverage to compete with your precious son for the company!"

Xiao Jingli's face went dark. "I can't be bothered to argue with you. The answer is no, and that's final!"

Xiao Jingli strode quickly to the elevator and went upstairs.

Only the sound of sobbing was left in the living room. Xie Jingfang collapsed onto the sofa, sobbing into the armrest. Suddenly, someone patted her gently on the back. Thinking it was Xiao Anfeng, she stopped crying and looked up, saying, "Don't worry, I'm fine... What are you doing here!"

Tears still clinging to her lashes, Xie Jingfang stared at Xiao Lancui with pure hatred in her eyes.

Xiao Lancui handed her a tissue, and she swatted it away. "Like a cat crying over a mouse—what a phony act of kindness!"

The tissue fell onto the carpet. Xiao Lancui picked it up and placed it on the coffee table, smiling as he said, "I'm not crying, and you're no mouse, either."

Xie Jingfang was momentarily stunned, then managed to force out a few words, "What exactly do you want?"

She couldn't figure out Xiao Lancui's intentions, this time or the last.

"I've told you, I care about you." Xiao Lancui pulled out another tissue, and this time he placed it directly into Xie Jingfang's hand. "Getting angry all the time is bad for your health."

A hint of sadness crossed his face. "Actually, when I was in the hospital this time, they diagnosed me with hemophilia A. I hope you, Dad, and everyone else stay in good health."

Xie Jingfang's expression changed slightly when she heard "hemophilia A." She was a carrier with a very mild form of it herself, so she was extremely careful about it. When she had her three kids, she had them tested right away, and only relaxed once she confirmed they hadn't inherited it.

This was the first time she learned that Xiao Lancui also had hemophilia A, and she felt instantly vindicated.

So that awful woman was a carrier too! Karma! It had all landed on that bastard child she gave birth to!

But when her gaze fell on Xiao Lancui's face, she suddenly went still.

It was the first time she'd seen Xiao Lancui's features this clearly, up close, and she felt a strange jolt. She suddenly realized it wasn't just the illness—Xiao Lancui's eyes and brow looked a bit like hers.

But Xiao Lancui stood up then, saying, "Good night, Mom."

Xiao Lancui left, heading up the stairs while Xie Jingfang watched. He skipped the elevator and took the stairs, so Xie Jingfang could watch him a little longer.

The original owner of this body had indeed inherited Xie Jingfang's hemophilia A, though with mild symptoms. He'd found out during a check-up but hadn't told Xiao Jingli, not wanting to worry his dad.

And so, no one ever knew the original had been sick until he died.

Xiao Lancui's room was on the third floor. Xiao Anfeng and Xie Jingfang were on the second, while Xiao Liqin and Xiao Mian were also on the third.

Tonight, Xiao Liqin wasn't feeling well and had taken Xiao Anfeng out for a drive; they wouldn't be back until morning.

As he reached the third floor, he saw neatly stacked paper bags outside his door.

Those were his custom-made clothes, handkerchiefs, and shoes.

They had been delivered today.

Xiao Lancui went to open his door and grabbed two bags to carry in when the door diagonally across suddenly swung open.

That was Xiao Mian's room; Xiao Liqin's was on the other side.

Xiao Mian, in a bathrobe with his arms crossed, leaned against the doorframe and let out a "Hmph" at Xiao Lancui. "Pretty flashy, huh? Hundreds of clothes, hundreds of shoes—why don't you just buy the whole mall?" He added sarcastically, "And how precious are you that you need three boxes of custom handkerchiefs too?"

Xiao Lancui looked up. The hallway was bathed in warm orange light, casting a soft glow over his face and adding a warm, velvety sheen to his usually pale complexion. He looked Xiao Mian up and down—healthy, full of vitality.

This was the vigor an 18-year-old should have.

Xiao Mian instinctively straightened up, his face stiff as he glared at Xiao Lancui. "What?!"

But Xiao Lancui said nothing, simply carrying the paper bags and walking inside.

Xiao Mian was furious. This bastard was becoming more and more arrogant and insufferable!

He lunged forward in a single stride and grabbed Xiao Lancui's arm, nearly shouting, "Do you know I've been waiting for you all night?" But the words caught in his throat, too embarrassing to say, so he forced out in a gruff tone, "I'm asking you—what are you looking at me for!"

Xiao Lancui turned his head, his gaze sweeping indifferently over Xiao Mian's hand gripping him. Xiao Mian grew uneasy, subtly loosening his grip, his fingers releasing until they only loosely encircled Xiao Lancui's arm.

Xiao Lancui said flatly, "You look cute."

The next second, Xiao Mian's face, usually dark, flushed a deep, vivid red.