Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"014"

In the dim office, a doctor lay on the floor, eyes shut tight, completely still and unconscious.

A tall, gaunt figure, all skin and bone, still bore faint traces of dark purple bruises. He reached up and pulled the desk lamp's cord, and the white light instantly flooded the desktop.

It also lit up the discharge summary in the man's hand.

"Xiao Lancui, male, 20 years old, height 182 cm, weight: 106 at admission, 114 at discharge. Address..."

"Lan... cui." The man murmured the two syllables with endless tenderness, a faint smile finally curling at the corners of his thin lips.

Just saying that person's name was enough to fill him with overwhelming joy.

But only for a moment. His fingers suddenly clenched, crushing the discharge summary into a ball, and the smile on his lips turned into cold, murderous intent.

The face he'd seen when he woke up a month ago flashed before his eyes.

How dare he have a face so similar to Xiao Lancui's? Damn him! He'd kill him—tear him limb from limb!

And he dared to use his name, too.

Lu Ao's fingertip instantly tore through the three characters "Xiao Lancui" on the paper.

Lu Ao had been in a fog this whole time. Those people had injected a liquid called a sedative into his body—no, into this body—similar to the anesthetic he'd used, which kept knocking him unconscious.

Lu Ao didn't get how he'd ended up here. He'd taken poison to kill himself in the mausoleum, and when he opened his eyes, he was in this strange place.

He needed to die again.

The mausoleum was empty; Xiao Lancui would be lonely sleeping there alone.

Just as he was about to jump out the window, he saw that damned face.

It had eyebrows like Xiao Lancui's, a nose like his, lips like his—even the height matched his Chief Grand Secretary's.

Unacceptable.

Goddammit!

Lu Ao crushed the discharge summary into shreds. His gaze swept the room and finally landed on what he needed in the pen holder.

A triangular metal blade gleamed cold and sharp under the white light—a No. 11 scalpel blade.

Lu Ao toyed with the blade, then stopped. His right index finger slid across the razor-sharp edge, instantly drawing a paper-thin cut, and beads of crimson blood welled up like raindrops.

He then put the blade away and stood up. Lu Ao glanced down at the hospital gown and the slippers stamped with "Sen Mountain Psychiatric Hospital," then stripped off the doctor's white coat, sweater, and slippers, changed, and left.

"You good?" In the car, Fu Chen vaguely overheard Xiao Lancui's phone call about something going missing. He pressed the gas. "That's not gonna work, Little Lanzi—we're already on the highway, can't turn back."

Xiao Lancui put his phone away. He hadn't planned on going anyway; there were more pressing matters at hand. He said flatly, "Don't call me that."

Fu Chen went "Huh?" and Xiao Lancui added four words: "It's cringe-worthy."

Fu Chen was speechless. He almost cursed out loud. He already knew from Lu Siye that Xiao Lancui had lost his memory—the timid, cowardly mess he used to be was gone; now he acted like a damn king.

Fu Chen held his tongue. Once they got up the mountain, he'd make Xiao Lancui pay! He gritted his teeth and forced a tight smile. "Fine, what do you want me to call you then?"

"Don't call me anything. We're not that close."

Fu Chen was speechless again. His mouth twitched as he forced out a dry laugh. "Right, you lost your memory, so let's start over. Friends—you make friends by making friends, and we'll get close again, right?"

Xiao Lancui didn't reply, just closed his eyes to rest.

Fu Chen gripped the steering wheel, telling himself to endure—patience would pay off. Let Xiao Lancui have his fun!

The car went quiet. After a while, he glanced over at Xiao Lancui. Only a small reading light was on, casting a soft glow over Xiao Lancui's sleeping face. Fu Chen's heart skipped a beat—so Xiao Lancui had always been this hot?

He'd never really looked at Xiao Lancui properly before. No interest, plus Xiao Lancui always kept his head down, his long bangs hiding even his eyes. The occasional glance only caught his thin lips pressed tightly together.

A pathetic little loser!

That had always been Fu Chen's take on Xiao Lancui.

Now he realized Xiao Lancui's eyelashes were stupidly long—thick, dense, curled, and black, like fake lashes.

Were they fake??

As Fu Chen wondered, a series of engine roars that seemed to tear the air itself swept past outside.

"Damn!" Fu Chen knew it was Lu Siye passing him. He cursed with a laugh. "Show-off bastard!"

Fu Chen sped up too.

The car slowly rolled to a stop at the foot of Panling Mountain—a desolate mountain over sixty kilometers from the city. It was called Panling because its mountain roads twisted and turned like a coiled intestine. Their crew of car enthusiasts often came here to race; it was a real thrill.

By now, the night sky over this area was already painted in a riot of colors by the dense, blinking headlights ahead.

Some cars hadn't turned off their engines, their roars creating a chaotic cacophony.

The night was thick, making it hard to see where Lu Siye's car was parked, but wherever people gathered, he was sure to be at the center.

Fu Chen tilted his head to call Xiao Lancui, but Xiao Lancui had already opened his eyes—and pulled something out of his bag—

Fu Chen nearly bit his tongue. "Holy shit, Little—Classmate Xiao, how old are you? You use a sippy cup?"

He momentarily forgot what that kind of cup was called.

Xiao Lancui ignored him, uncapping the straw lid and finishing the remaining herbal medicine, then asked flatly, "What are the rules for racing?"

Fu Chen stared at Xiao Lancui's lips. After drinking, they glistened faintly as if coated with lip gloss. He also noticed for the first time that Xiao Lancui's lips were quite beautiful—red and thin—but the things he said were infuriating.

Even more arrogant than him.

Fu Chen coughed and said with a grin, "I'm not the kind of cheap person who answers anyone who asks. You said yourself we're not close, so you—"

Xiao Lancui opened the door and got out, leaving "beg me" stuck in Fu Chen's throat. Fu Chen's face turned green. Damn it! Xiao Lancui, just you wait!

Xiao Lancui got out of the car. There was only a short distance to where the cars were parked up ahead—close enough for him to observe.

Just then, a loud roar sounded as a sports car slowly pulled up beside him. The window rolled down, and Xiao Anfeng's face and voice appeared at the same time. "Xiao Lancui?"

Xiao Lancui's eyelid twitched.

Xiao Anfeng had shown up after all.

It proved that the world line couldn't be changed—what was destined to happen would still happen.

Let's just see how this plays out.

Who's gonna be the unlucky bastard who ends up in the hospital.

He glanced into the car—Xiao Anfeng was riding shotgun, and the driver was some stranger, a guy around twenty with a baby face and a mole right by his left brow.

He raised an eyebrow and asked, "An Feng, a friend of yours?"

Xiao Anfeng hesitated for a second, then said, "My younger brother, Xiao Lancui."

Xiao Lancui just put a face to the name.

Tonight's big supporting player—Sun Mai, the scheming side character who's got a thing for Lu Siye.

Xiao Lancui gave a faint smile. "Second brother, a friend of yours?"

This was the first time Xiao Lancui had called him that proactively since losing his memory, and Xiao Anfeng let out a quiet sigh of relief. He'd honestly been worried Xiao Lancui would ice him out in public and make him look bad in front of his new friend.

Xiao Anfeng nodded. "Mm, Sun Mai." He'd been about to mention they'd only just met today, but one look at Xiao Lancui made him shut his mouth. Not worth it.

Xiao Lancui's eyes flickered. Xiao Anfeng and Sun Mai had become friends? Now that was an unexpected twist.

In the original story, Sun Mai was jealous of Xiao Anfeng. But now they're friends, so the one Sun Mai would be jealous of and the reason the bet changed—

His eyelid twitched.

Could it be him?

Xiao Lancui frowned.

The next second, a loud, flashy cologne hit his nose, confirming his suspicion. Lu Siye strolled over, ready to throw an arm around his shoulder all buddy-buddy, but Xiao Lancui had already crouched down to tie his boots.

Xiao Lancui was wearing brown combat boots today.

Lu Siye's hand grabbed air, and his gaze happened to sweep into the car, locking onto Xiao Anfeng's stare.

Lu Siye's brow twitched, and he smiled, ducking his head and reaching out with his left hand to ruffle Xiao Lancui's hair. "A Lan—"

Xiao Lancui straightened up, his shoulder brushing right past Lu Siye's palm. His gaze swept over Sun Mai, whose face had already changed, and he made a split-second decision.

He'd just wait and see.

Lu Siye struck out again. He pinched his fingers twice, and when he looked up, the smile was back on his lips. He finally got a good look at Xiao Lancui.

The noise around them was deafening, and the multicolored headlights swept across Xiao Lancui's aloof features. His dark eyes stared back, calm and flat as boiled water, completely empty.

Lu Siye was baffled.

What the hell made Xiao Lancui so unafraid of him?

He lost his memory, not his damn mind.

Lu Siye ducked his head and let out a low chuckle. "Buddy, what'd I do to piss you off this time? I don't stink today, do I?"

He'd switched to a subtle woody scent today.

Before Xiao Lancui could say anything, a car door slammed up ahead, and Sun Mai sauntered over.

In the freezing mountain air at minus ten, Sun Mai was rocking a white deep-V tee under an open black leather jacket. His eyes slid past Lu Siye, then he leaned in close to Xiao Lancui, breathing hot and suggestive as he said, "Pretty boy, I've got my eye on you. How about we date?"

Xiao Anfeng and Lu Siye's faces changed at the same time. Fu Chen, who'd just walked up, also felt his brow twitch and froze, staring at Xiao Lancui.

Xiao Lancui, though, wasn't surprised. This was word for word what Sun Mai had said to Xiao Anfeng in the original story.

Still, he couldn't stop himself from frowning.

As for male beauty, it was all the rage in Dali. A few of his classmates had brought male attendants to the academy—supposedly as study buddies, but really for gay stuff.

But his real understanding of that kind of thing started with Lu Ao.

Lu Ao had no harem. Not while he was alive, and not from his death until Lu Ao's own passing, either.

According to the *Records of the Dali Dynasty*, Lu Ao was the first and only emperor in history to have neither a harem nor an imperial tomb.

As for the unofficial histories claiming Lu Ao conquered an enemy nation on campaign and slept with all its princesses and noblewomen—yeah, that was pure fabrication, just something for later generations to fantasize about this short-lived tyrant.

Lu Ao couldn't get it up for women.

Half a year after Lu Ao's personal eunuch died, Xiao Lancui once again handed over the consort selection list from the Ministry of Rites and the Directorate of Ceremonial.

The emperor's heirs were a matter of national importance, and the young new ruler's grip on power was still shaky. Xiao Lancui knew Lu Ao was into men, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Most people couldn't live life on their own terms, and emperors were no different. Spreading the imperial bloodline was a duty and a responsibility.

Lu Ao flipped through the memorial without arguing. He read it carefully, closed it, and set it back on the dragon desk. Only then did he walk over to Xiao Lancui, crouch down in front of him like he used to when they were younger, gently take his right hand in both of his, look up at him, and smile softly.

"Teacher, I want to do what you say, but—"

He let out a soft sigh.

"I really can't get it up for women."