24

 Song Yu felt so embarrassed that his scalp tingled, and he pursed his lips tightly.

His body, wrapped in a fleece blanket, curled up and slowly lowered his head, trying to hide his face.

Then he felt his eyelashes being touched by cool fingers.

Song Yu was so frightened that he let out a soft cry and immediately turned his face away.

He heard a low, hoarse laugh in his ear.

"Your eyelashes are so long, but you're so timid."

Song Yu was afraid that Lu Xing would do something else, so he simply stopped pretending to be asleep and turned around, covering his entire face with the blanket.

Then, he felt that Lu Xing's voice was a little further away.

"Don't worry, I'm not that kind of beast."

After a few minutes of anxious stalemate, and seeing that the other party had indeed done nothing, Song Yu put his heart at ease, leaned against the heater, and fell asleep in a daze.

There were still sounds around him, so he didn't sleep soundly. He woke up several times in the middle of the night, his eyes closed, his head tilting to the side little by little.

Lu Xing leaned his shoulder against him at the right time.

The moment Song Yu leaned against him, she was very light, her breathing shallow, yet her fragrance lingered in his nostrils.

Like being clung to by a small animal, Lu Xing felt an indescribable sensation—his heart pounded, his limbs tingled.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, utterly bewildered as to why someone could look so beautiful even sleeping with their head tilted to one side.

Time passed slowly.

Song Yu was awakened by the surrounding noise. When she opened her eyes, it was just beginning to lighten, and everyone was getting up and looking outside.

"The road should be clear now," Lu Xing said. His voice was hoarse, and his face looked tired, indicating he hadn't had much rest.

Song Yu turned off the heater, folded the blanket, returned it to the shopkeeper, and followed the crowd down the mountain.

Most of the area that had collapsed yesterday had been cleared. Outside the yellow warning line, a large group of people had gathered—family and friends of the trapped victims. Upon seeing each other, some became emotional, hugging and crying.

"Don't block the road! If you've picked up your family, hurry down the mountain!" a rescue worker shouted through a megaphone.

As the crowd gradually dispersed, Song Yu, who had been stuck at the back, finally had a chance to move forward. He walked on, but unexpectedly saw a familiar figure.

Song Xu was standing on the right side of the road, dressed very lightly, the morning chill billowing his shirt.

His assistant stood beside him.

Wasn't he on a business trip…? Regardless, after being trapped all night, Song Yu's gloom vanished upon seeing Song Xu. He relaxed, quickening his pace towards Song Xu.

However, as he got closer, he noticed something was wrong.

When Song Xu looked this way, his eyes were unfocused.

Song Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he asked 009: [Did Song Xu's eyes break at this time?]

009: [Host, there's no information about this.]

Song Yu pursed his lips and handed one of the amulets from his bag to Lu Xing beside him: "This is for Zhou Yanming, thank you."

Lu Xing took it, standing still, watching Song Yu walk towards the man.

"Brother."

The boy's voice was soft, but Song Xu caught it immediately. However, the surroundings were chaotic, and he couldn't pinpoint the source of the sound.

The next second,

his palm was grasped by a warm, soft hand.

A familiar scent surrounded him, and Song Xu's voice was hoarse and disordered: "Xiao Yu."

Song Yu then noticed that the man's hand was cold, and he didn't know how long the other had been there. Looking down, he saw that the usually elegant and slender hands were covered in dirt, with tiny bloodstains on the fingertips, as if scratched by branches or rocks.

Upon closer inspection, the cuffs of his shirt were also dirty.

Song Yu had never seen Song Xu like this before.

Even at home, the man maintained an elegant and neat appearance.

Song Yu suddenly felt a pang of sadness.

"Brother, I'm fine," he said proactively.

After confirming with his assistant that Song Yu was unharmed, Song Xu subtly withdrew his hand, had Song Yu taken back to his car, and changed his clothes and washed his hands in another car before getting into the same car as Song Yu.

*

That night, Song Xu fell ill.

Song Yu then learned that Song Xu hadn't been on a business trip recently, but had suddenly lost his sight. The doctors didn't know the specific cause either.

Suddenly blinded, and after spending the night in the cold wind, Song Xu's fever spiked to 39 degrees Celsius.

Song Yu was terrified and immediately had Song Xu's assistant call a doctor.

The doctor arrived at the villa quickly.

The doctor was a very young man with his hair tied back; he looked familiar. After being reminded by the man, Song Yu remembered seeing him at the resort, only this time he was wearing black-rimmed glasses and looked much more composed and quiet. The man's name was Li Zhou, a longtime friend of Song Xu. He carried a medical kit and followed Song Yu upstairs, telling Song Yu to wait outside.

"Your brother is most afraid of people seeing him like this," Li Zhou winked at him. "Don't worry, trust my medical skills."

Song Yu nodded uneasily and obediently sat in the living room to wait.

Song Xu's room was dark; although the other man couldn't see, Li Zhou still adjusted the lighting to a warm, non-glaring tone.

“Your brother must be worried sick about you.” He opened the first-aid kit, touched Song Xu’s forehead, and teased, “It’s alright, you won’t die from the fever.”

Song Xu finally sat up in bed. He had lost a lot of weight recently, and his silk pajamas looked loose. The abnormal flush on his cheeks made his usually cold face look a little vulnerable.

He glanced towards the door.

Li Zhou immediately understood: “Your brother is downstairs.”

Song Xu’s expression relaxed.

It was just a common fever. Li Zhou gave him an IV drip and prescribed some medicine: “It should be down by tonight.”

Song Xu lay in bed, his eyes closed, his lips dry, looking sickly.

The fever was just a minor illness, but Song Xu’s eye condition was very troublesome. Li Zhou had helped him find many famous doctors during this time, but the cause was difficult to determine, and there were no case studies.

“I found you a private doctor abroad. He’s very authoritative in ophthalmology. Once you’re better, go abroad as soon as possible. Don’t delay and go blind.”

Song Xu remained silent.

Li Zhou had known Song Xu for years, and he knew exactly what the other was thinking: "I'm telling you, if you really like her, just go for it openly. You're independent now, not like we're brothers. If you don't like her, let someone else pursue her. Why are you putting on this act?"

After saying this, Li Zhou ignored him, threw down the medicine, and left.

The room fell silent again.

Song Xu was delirious with fever. He slowly got up, his gaze falling on the wardrobe.

—At the very bottom of the wardrobe were all of Song Yu's light blue clothes.

He didn't know when it started, but his possessiveness towards Song Yu had grown stronger and stronger, almost to the point of being uncontrollable. Perhaps

, blindness was the punishment for his self-indulgence.

Song Yu had just asked the housekeeper to prepare a light meal when he saw Li Zhou come downstairs. He immediately rushed over, asking, "Doctor, how is my brother?"

The boy looked anxious, his eyes drooping like a puppy. Li Zhou glanced at him and suddenly realized why Song Xu was so possessive. He shook his head, "He's beyond saving."

Song Yu froze for two seconds, his face turning pale, his eyes welling up with tears. He looked

like he was about to cry at any moment.

Seeing this, Li Zhou immediately coaxed him gently, "I was just kidding. It's just a common fever. Keep an eye on your brother, make sure he gets his IV drip and takes his medicine properly, and he'll be fine once the fever goes down."

Song Yu was relieved.

After everyone left, Song Yu brought the food to the room. Song Xu was already awake.

Because he couldn't see, Song Yu fed the man porridge spoonful by spoonful. He and his assistant took turns watching over him, and the fever finally broke overnight.

Afraid that he might have a relapse, Song Yu prepared the medicine with hot water, but Song Xu frowned after taking a sip and lay back down.

Song Yu held up the spoon, "...Brother?"

Song Xu turned over, looking like he refused to drink the medicine.

Song Yu: "..."

Who would have thought that such a stern and tall man would act like a child, refusing to take his medicine because it tasted bitter?

Perhaps feeling ashamed himself, Song Xu suddenly stood up, took the bowl from Song Yu's hand, and swallowed it all in one gulp.

Seeing Song Xu's furrowed brows, Song Yu took two milk candies from his room, unwrapped them, and put them in the man's mouth.

After that day, Song Yu regained his freedom.

But he didn't go back to school.

After losing his sight, Song Xu became extremely dependent on him, almost never letting anyone else near him. But Song Yu didn't take care of him much. The man didn't give up and hide in his room; instead, he quickly adapted to the darkness.

Most of the time, Song Yu simply stayed by Song Xu's side, making a little noise to prevent the villa from becoming eerily quiet.

Finally, on a winter night with the first snow, the last task arrived.

Knowing that Song Yu had final exams that day, Song Xu had the driver take him back to school. He only told Song Yu to be careful before leaving.

Song Yu nodded.

During this time, Zhou Yanming and Lu Xing kept sending messages, while Xie Zhiyan remained silent.

Perhaps he had come to his senses after being warned by Song Xu.

In any case, this was a good opportunity to salvage the situation.

Song Yu didn't reply to a single message. This time, when he returned to school, he only placed the photos he had secretly taken in the dormitory in the team's locker room. After completing this task, he would leave the school, not intending to let anyone see them.

Song Yu booked a hotel near the school. Only after 009 confirmed that no one was in the dormitory or on the team did he put on his scarf and go out.

It was exam week, and everyone was in classrooms or libraries; there weren't many people on the streets.

There was no one on the court either.

Song Yu knew the locker room's password. After opening the door, it was pitch black inside.

Afraid of attracting attention, he didn't dare turn on the light. After his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he went to the locker by the moonlight streaming in from the window.

Taking the photos out of his pocket, Song Yu placed them in the communal locker and then shuffled them.

009: ["Accidentally leaving the secretly taken photos in the team's locker room" Mission complete. Congratulations, host, you have earned 1200 points.]

This can be considered doing something naughty.

Song Yu's cheeks burned uncontrollably. He was pulling off his scarf when footsteps suddenly came from the doorway.

Song Yu's breath hitched, and he turned around to see a tall figure standing directly opposite him.

Soft moonlight shone on the boy's face. After Song Yu recognized him, he said, "Zhou Yanming...it's you—"

A familiar scent assaulted him. Zhou Yanming didn't say a word, directly carrying the boy into the wardrobe, and then grabbed the boy's nape with one hand.

Without giving the other a chance to breathe, he kissed him fiercely.

Song Yu sat in the wardrobe, his body instinctively leaning back, but the back of his neck was held tightly, and he could only tremble and arch his back.

The kiss was too fierce... Song Yu was so agitated that he couldn't open his eyes, tears kept falling, and he couldn't help but sob softly.

He tried to turn his face to the side: "Zhou Yanming..."

Finally, he was released.

For some reason, Song Yu felt that Zhou Yanming was different from usual.

He sensed danger and tried to appease him, saying in a coquettish tone, "My tongue is so sore..."

He had barely finished speaking when he felt the other man's breathing become heavier.

In the moonlight, Zhou Yanming's eyes were frighteningly dark.

Song Yu tried to pull away in fear, but the next moment, his cheek was forcefully pinched.

The other man's breath was hot and erratic, spraying all over Song Yu's face.

"Good boy."

"Open your mouth a little wider."

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