Chapter 43

Chapter 43

"043"

The photos confirmed Xiao Lancui's suspicions.

Xiao Anfeng had truly misunderstood that he was interested in Lu Siye, and had taken action, desperately trying to take Lu Siye away.

The opponents he crossed swords with were mostly politicians and schemers; someone like Xiao Anfeng was a first.

He found Xiao Anfeng's way of thinking hard to comprehend. He didn't waste time analyzing it—how Xiao Anfeng thought didn't matter; his actions were enough to be used.

Xiao Lancui pondered his next plan as he walked out of the cafeteria with breakfast. A familiar face approached, but Xiao Lancui ignored him and headed to the elevator lobby by himself.

Huo Shenan had just raised his hand when he watched Xiao Lancui walk past him coldly. He let out a habitual sigh and turned to chase after him, his steps still a bit unsteady.

"Wait, there's me too!" The elevator door was about to close, and at the last possible second he wedged his foot into the gap, forcing the doors back open.

Xiao Lancui was the only one in the elevator. Huo Shenan flashed a warm smile. "Oh, bright and early—what brings our great ace driver Xiao to the hospital?"

He glanced at the floor Xiao Lancui pressed.

11th floor.

Huo Shenan had been wandering around the hospital lately and knew that floor was the VIP inpatient ward.

Xiao Lancui wasn't here for an eye checkup, and of course he wasn't here to visit him or Fu Chen—Huo Shenan knew that much, though he was a little annoyed. He kept smiling. "Visiting someone?"

Xiao Lancui didn't respond, which only made Huo Shenan want to push more. He was just like that—a glutton for punishment, the more he was ignored, the more he pushed. He suddenly pressed the door-open button, and the elevator stopped at the 3rd floor with the doors opening.

No one was outside. Huo Shenan released the button, leaned sideways against one elevator door, and propped his leg against the other.

The elevator was now temporarily stopped at the 3rd floor.

Huo Shenan cocked his head and smiled at Xiao Lancui. "You're not going to explain—"

His eyes went wide, and all he could do was yelp, "Hey, hey, don't, don't—my leg's just barely healed—"

Before he could finish, Xiao Lancui kicked the leg he was bracing himself on, and Huo Shenan toppled out and hit the floor with a loud thud. He teared up instantly from the pain. Through his blurred vision, he saw Xiao Lancui's cold face not even sparing him a glance before disappearing behind the closing doors.

No one called the elevator along the way, and without Huo Shenan's interference, it quickly reached the 11th floor.

Xiao Lancui returned to the ward. The door was left ajar, but he still knocked twice before entering.

The door opened from inside, revealing Yungu's face. She smiled at Xiao Lancui. "Young Master Lan, you're back. I brought some breakfast—come have some."

Yungu had gone back to the Xiao residence to pick up daily necessities and brought some food along with her.

Inside the ward, Xie Jingfang heard Xiao Lancui return and was about to throw off the blanket to get up and eat when she heard Xiao Lancui say: "I've already eaten. Since you're here, I'll go check on eldest brother and then leave. Please tell Mother I'll come by again after school. I won't go in and disturb her rest."

Yungu quickly acknowledged.

Xie Jingfang gripped the blanket, then leaned back against the headboard after a moment. When Yungu came back with the bird's nest porridge, she waved her hand and said with her eyes closed, "I don't have an appetite. Just leave it for now."

Yungu saw her haggard expression and still said, "Take it easy. Don't think too much. The eldest young master is fine. The youngest young master went to find the second young master, and he'll be back soon. Everything will be alright."

When Xiao Anfeng was mentioned again, Xie Jingfang lifted her eyelids and unconsciously glanced at the sofa—the spot where Xiao Lancui had been lying for a few hours.

Why did it have to be Xiao Lancui?

At her lowest moment.

Xie Jingfang released the blanket she was clutching and suddenly thought of something. She asked Yungu, "Can you still find pictures of that dead woman?"

The "dead woman" she meant was Xiao Lancui's birth mother.

Back then, when Xiao Jingli had an affair and had a child, she only got the news after the woman had already died of illness. She couldn't be bothered to upset herself, so she never looked into the woman's background.

All she knew was that the woman's name was Fang Qiao, she lived in the neighboring city, was a flight attendant, and had met Xiao Jingli on a plane.

Yungu said, "Not sure, but I can try. The hospital where she spent her last days may not have kept records."

Xie Jingfang was burning with anxiety. "Have someone look into it now. Report back as soon as you find anything."

Xiao Lancui was born in the neighboring city. Fang Qiao died from complications during childbirth, and a few months later, Xiao Jingli brought Xiao Lancui back under the pretense of adoption.

Yungu nodded, then asked, "Should I contact the chairman again about the eldest young master?"

The chairman was Xiao Jingli.

Xie Jingfang let out a self-deprecating laugh. "I told him last night. He didn't come. Calling him a hundred more times won't help. No need."

Yungu said nothing more.

Outside the door, Xiao Lancui had heard it clearly enough. He turned and went next door.

Xiao Liqin lay in the hospital bed, his face looked like dough that had been soaked in water for too long—his entire face swollen into a round shape, his skin had turned an uneven, dull purple.

His mouth was almost completely covered in gauze, and the edges of fine stitches were faintly visible on his upper lip.

An IV line was in his right wrist, still dripping anti-inflammatory medication.

Xiao Lancui set the breakfast on the bedside table and studied Xiao Liqin, wondering what might have happened to him yesterday.

Given how cautious Xiao Liqin was, after getting beaten by Lu Ao yesterday, he wouldn't have gone to a hospital. He probably went home, called a private doctor to treat him, and then had an accident at home.

According to the property manager, the whole building lost power right before the incident, and Xiao Liqin was injured shortly after—clearly a targeted attack on him.

Maybe someone had been casing the place, but more likely it was one of Xiao Liqin's enemies.

In the original story, Xiao Liqin's career was barely touched on, with no mention of his business rivals. The only people he had conflicts with were Xiao Anfeng's bunch of followers and Lu Siye.

Right now, the most suspicious person was Lu Siye.

If it was a conflict over their romantic feelings, then it had nothing to do with Lu Ao.

Xiao Lancui analyzed it but still couldn't make a judgment. He had seen Lu Ao's strength with his own eyes—there was no way he could have beaten Xiao Liqin into the emergency room.

Unless it was a different Lu Ao.

Forget one hand being immobilized—even with both hands free, killing a healthy Xiao Liqin wouldn't take more than a second.

But if it were that wolf, there would be no reason for him to beat Xiao Liqin.

If Xiao Liqin caused him trouble, the wolf would clap his hands in delight. Only the puppy would charge into battle for him.

Even if the puppy only had tiny, inexperienced claws.

Thinking of Lu Ao, Xiao Lancui took out his phone. It was exactly eight o'clock, and Lu Ao had sent him a message: "Good morning, big brother. Can I call you now? Auntie's cooking isn't good, so I told her she doesn't need to come anymore. She left some food from yesterday—can I cook breakfast and wait for you?"

He even added a cute smiley face.

Xiao Lancui texted back, "I'll be there in half an hour."

Xiao Lancui still ruled out Lu Ao.

Since it wasn't Lu Ao who did it, he left, leaving the breakfast behind—something had to take his place there.

Xiao Lancui went downstairs. As the elevator doors opened on the first floor, Huo Shenan, looking rough on one side of his face, was waiting outside.

Huo Shenan knew calling Xiao Lancui was useless—he wouldn't pick up anyway—so he chose the simplest, most direct method: camping out on the first floor to catch him.

Xiao Lancui had to leave eventually. Huo Shenan held down the first floor and had his driver watch the underground parking lot on the basement level.

"Xiao Lancui, you're way too violent!" Huo Shenan pointed at his face. "With a face this handsome, if I get scarred and can't find a wife, are you gonna take responsibility?"

The last four words made Huo Shenan freeze mid-sentence.

He usually just shot off a few slick lines when flirting, but asking someone to take responsibility was a first for him.

It made it sound like he was begging Xiao Lancui to take responsibility.

He awkwardly rubbed the corner of his mouth, but Xiao Lancui hadn't even caught his last line. He glanced at him, expressionless, and said, "Barely looks human."

Huo Shenan blinked. "Huh?"

"Your face." Xiao Lancui walked past him. "No need to worry about scars—there's nothing left to scar anyway."

Huo Shenan, "..."

He couldn't believe it. He was totally stunned. He spun around and chased after Xiao Lancui's retreating back. "Don't leave! Come back and take another look—where's there nothing left to scar? My face is a top-tier male model's face! Hey, hey, Xiao Lancui!"

Xiao Lancui got in the car, shutting out Huo Shenan's yelling. Jiang Xing texted again—there was a quantum mechanics class this morning—but Xiao Lancui scrolled back to Lu Ao's text and decided to head back to the neighborhood first.

When the puppy was recovering, he had to be fed on time.

The cab ride to the neighborhood took 25 minutes. Xiao Lancui grabbed a bag of fresh fruit, getting there two minutes late.

He rounded the corner on the second floor and saw the third-floor door open. Lu Ao was squatting at the doorway, staring down the stairs. The second he spotted Xiao Lancui, his dull dark eyes lit right up. He jumped up and bolted down in one swift motion. "Brother!"

The stitches on Lu Ao's face were fading a bit. A faint greenish stubble had sprouted above his lips—he'd tried to shave, but it was obvious he wasn't good at it—or maybe his hand was still hurt—so the job was a mess.

One corner of his pajama top was bunched up around his neck. Xiao Lancui reached over, pulled it out, and flattened it, saying, "Let's go home."

"Mm-hmm." Lu Ao took the fruit and obediently followed Xiao Lancui home.

Then, with a nervous little sound, he suddenly leaned in close to Xiao Lancui's earlobe, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed at him. The young man's minty breath hit Xiao Lancui's face up close, and every now and then, his warm nose tip grazed Xiao Lancui's skin.

Xiao Lancui froze for a second, then heard Lu Ao ask anxiously, "Brother, are you sick again? You smell like a hospital."

The minty breath pulled back, and Xiao Lancui realized—he'd picked up the smell.

He ducked his head and sniffed his collar, but didn't smell anything.

He really did have a dog's nose.

Xiao Lancui stepped in to change his shoes, explaining, "No, it's someone else." His long lashes fluttered, and he added one more thing, "I spent the night at the hospital."

Then he heard a big sigh of relief. Lu Ao didn't ask who "someone else" was. He shut the door cheerfully and walked past him, saying, "Then let's eat, bro! I made breakfast!"

He ran into the kitchen and came back out a moment later with—

Xiao Lancui stared at two bowls of dumplings where the skins had come off the filling—the skins boiled to mush and the meat filling falling apart. He said nothing.

Seeing Xiao Lancui staring at the dumplings, Lu Ao hurried to say, "Sorry, bro, it's my first time cooking, so it doesn't look great. But I tried it—it tastes good!"

Xiao Lancui passed. "I'll cook instead."

Ten minutes later, when Xiao Lancui still hadn't come out, Lu Ao went in to check. On the counter sat two bowls of drained dumplings.

They weren't any different from the first two—same separated skins and filling, even worse. They'd been boiled way too long—the skins and meat had almost completely dissolved. Totally inedible.

Everyone's got their own strengths. Xiao Lancui didn't bother explaining. He was about to toss the dumplings and said, "Let's order takeout—"

"Don't throw them out! I'll eat them!" Lu Ao grabbed the bowl and bent his head to drink.

Before his lips hit the rim, the bowl was taken away. Lu Ao looked up and met Xiao Lancui's gentle, warm eyes.

"Don't eat that. Wait for the delivery. Let me shave you first."

Xiao Lancui's free hand brushed the greenish, prickly stubble. "You didn't shave properly."

Lu Ao, "..."

For a second, he wanted to wreck this body. He muttered, "Brother, why are you so good to me?"

Xiao Lancui tossed the ruined dumplings and smiled softly. "Because you're the only person on this planet I care about."