Blank Charge

Almost instinctively, Jin Zhou pressed his hand down on the other person’s wrist.

But everything happened too suddenly and unexpectedly. His action failed to stop the person, and the dagger that was swiftly approaching still stabbed his abdomen.

His nerves were highly tense, and he couldn’t feel any pain.

Or rather, he had no spare mental capacity to feel the pain.

After the dagger was pulled back, it stabbed at him again.

This time, Jin Zhou quickly grabbed the person’s arm with both hands, but the person exerted all their strength to charge forward, and Jin Zhou could only step back.

Furrowing his brow, he raised his gaze and glanced at the person attacking him. The person’s face was filled with murderous intent, clearly someone who had blood on their hands.

“Brother Wei?” Jin Zhou tried calling out.

Yang Shiyu had warned him earlier that morning, and Brother Wei was the only person he could think of.

Without saying a word,  Wei stabbed him, truly “crooked” indeed.

Jin Zhou clearly hit the mark when he called him,as  Wei lifted his gaze and met Jin Zhou’s eyes, his murderous intent growing stronger.

Jin Zhou didn’t call out to identify the person, but rather intended to distract him and seize the opportunity to snatch the dagger away.

Little did he know that as soon as he spoke, his back hit the wall , and the dagger almost stabbed his stomach again. Fortunately, he used all his strength in his hands and forcefully pushed Wei’s hand back.

Being constantly on the defensive wasn’t a solution either. Jin Zhou planned to sidestep and let  Wei collide with the wall. However, at that moment, a black figure rushed over from somewhere, leaped high into the air a few steps away from the two, and delivered a powerful flying kick that sent Wei flying several meters away.

Jin Zhou was stunned. The black figure didn’t pause for a moment and rushed forward, kicking away the dagger in  Wei’s hand.

Brother Wei retreated, crawled up from the ground, looked at Jin Zhou, then at the black figure. He must have realized that the situation was unfavorable for him and wisely escaped into the darkness of the night.

The black figure didn’t chase after him and approached Jin Zhou in three or four steps, anxiously asking, “Are you okay?”

Although there were no streetlights on the small road, Jin Zhou could still see the person who saved him under the dim moonlight—a young and handsome guy.

“I…” His nerves suddenly relaxed, and Jin Zhou had only said one word when he felt a tearing pain in his lower left abdomen. He lowered his head and saw that his clothes had been stained a blood-red color without him realizing it.

“I’m fine.” He couldn’t utter the two words, and a severe dizziness engulfed his brain, causing him to lose consciousness .

When he opened his eyes again, he saw a white car roof. The sound of an ambulance siren echoed in his ears.

Someone was tightly holding his hand, and warmth flowed through his palm.

Jin Zhou turned his head and saw the reassuring figure beside his bed. Subconsciously, he formed a faint smile. “Yang Shiyu…”

“I’m here.” Yang Shiyu hurriedly leaned over. “Don’t talk.”

It hurts…

Jin Zhou wanted to say.

However, he glanced at the situation inside the ambulance and asked, “What about the handsome guy who saved me?”

Yang Shiyu flared up, “How can you still think about handsome guys at a time like this?”

His consciousness blurred once again, and when Jin Zhou fully regained consciousness, the sun outside the window had risen high. The memory of being stabbed felt like a dream, as if he had just had an ordinary sleep.

But looking at the person lying beside his bed, Jin Zhou knew he wasn’t dreaming.

Sunlight poured into the ward through the window frame, shining on Yang Shiyu’s hair. Jin Zhou couldn’t help but touch the shiny ends of his hair with his fingertips. Before he could mischievously play with it a few times, Yang Shiyu suddenly raised his head and held his wandering hand.

“Awake?” Yang Shiyu asked in a hoarse voice.

His eyes were bloodshot, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

In all the years Jin Zhou had known Yang Shiyu, he had never seen him looking so exhausted.

“Weren’t you sleeping?” Jin Zhou asked.

Yang Shiyu didn’t answer, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. Then he picked up his glasses from the side and put them on. “What do you want for breakfast?”

Jin Zhou had a moment of confusion, feeling the pain in his left abdomen, and asked strangely, “Can I eat?”

In his imagination, perhaps a part of his intestines had been removed, so how could he eat in that situation?

“You can.” Yang Shiyu said, “The blade only went in 2.5 centimeters, without injuring any vital organs.”

“What?” Jin Zhou abruptly raised his upper body, wanting to see the wound on his left abdomen, but the sudden intense pain made him lie back down.

It seemed that the external injury shouldn’t be underestimated either.

“Don’t move.” Yang Shiyu frowned and held down Jin Zhou’s shoulder, as if he wanted to tie Jin Zhou to the bed.

“I thought it was no big deal.” Jin Zhou thought that if he couldn’t take care of himself anymore, he could rely on Yang Shiyu for the rest of his life.

“Do you still think this is a small matter?” Yang Shiyu’s face turned serious. “Do you know how dangerous it was last night?”

Speaking of that, Jin Zhou found it strange and turned his head to look at Yang Shiyu. “If I remember correctly, you were with me in the ambulance last night, right?”

Yang Shiyu lowered his gaze, glanced at his wristwatch, and stood up. “I’ll go buy breakfast.”

What’s going on? Can he be any more obvious in avoiding the topic?

But Jin Zhou didn’t feel like asking anymore. He had a good idea planned in his heart, faintly smiling, and went back to sleep.

About ten minutes later, Yang Shiyu returned to the ward with a bowl of lean meat and preserved egg congee.

Following behind him was Ren Wenli, whom Jin Zhou hadn’t seen for a while.

“How do you feel?” Ren Wenli came to the end of Jin Zhou’s bed and helped him adjust the position of the headrest.

“It’s okay.” Jin Zhou took the breakfast from Yang Shiyu’s hand and placed it on the tray in front of him. “Just a little painful.”

 Ren Wenli said to Jin Zhou, , “Don’t worry, we are doing our best to apprehend Wei Jie.”

“I see.” Jin Zhou thought Wei Jie really managed to escape quickly. He looked at Ren Wenli and asked, “You didn’t catch him yesterday?”

Ren Wenli glanced at Yang Shiyu, knowing that Jin Zhou was well-informed, and decided to explain everything from the beginning, starting with Wang Darong’s murder.

“So,  the Twisted Brother didn’t know he had been exposed and was still leading a normal life. But he’s very cautious. As soon as the police appeared around him, he prepared to run.”

Jin Zhou intermittently finished all the congee, wiped his mouth with the tissue Yang Shiyu handed him.

“He probably also wanted to frame you for suicide.” Ren Wenli said, then spoke in a solemn tone. “Jin Zhou, you shouldn’t have gotten involved in this. We have been protecting Wang Chunxia, never expecting that he would target you next.”

Jin Zhou himself hadn’t expected that a thug under Wang Hetai’s command would be so vicious.

It was fortunate that Jin Zhou was lucky enough to receive help from a young handsome man.

“I will be careful in the future,” Jin Zhou said.

Ren Wenli sighed, showing a helpless expression to Yang Shiyu, as if saying, “You handle it yourself.”

After Ren Wenli left, only Jin Zhou and Yang Shiyu were left in the single-person ward.

A nurse came to hang a bottle of water for Jin Zhou, gave a few instructions, and said there were no other issues. He could be discharged as early as that afternoon.

“Why don’t you go back and rest for a while?” Yang Shiyu obviously hadn’t slept the whole night, which made Jin Zhou a bit worried, but what he said was, “Look at what you’ve turned yourself into, a wrecked beauty.”

Veins appeared on Yang Shiyu’s forehead. “Have you ever thought about who made me this way?”

“I know it’s  me,” Jin Zhou said, “I’m really fine. Didn’t that twisted guy flee to another province?”

“Let’s talk about it after you finish the infusion,” Yang Shiyu clearly didn’t want to discuss the matter further.

“Tiger and the others will come later, so don’t worry. Go home and rest”

As soon as Jin Zhou finished speaking, the ward was filled with the noisy sound of footsteps from outside. The next second, the ward door was pushed open, and Liu Yongchang walked in with a dozen henchmen.

“Who the hell did it?” Liu Yongchang shouted angrily as soon as he entered the room.

“Liu Yongchang, it’s just a minor injury,” Jin Zhou tried to calm him down, “why did you bring so many people here, you’re making it seem like a funeral?”

“Don’t say such unlucky words!” Liu Yongchang looked Jin Zhou up and down, “Where are you injured?”

“A minor injury.” Jin Zhou lifted the blanket and raised the hem of his hospital gown, revealing his abs and toned tummy. He pointed to the area covered by the white gauze cloth and said, “Here, it’s two centimeters.”

“He’s fine,” Yang Shiyu stood on the other side of the hospital bed, casually grabbing a corner of the blanket and gently covering Jin Zhou.

“That’s good.” Liu Yongchang finally calmed down, “Who did it? Tell me.”

Jin Zhou omitted some unnecessary details and provided the name of the twisted guy.

“Okay, I’ll have my friends find out too and see where that bastard is hiding.”

“Hey, Liu Yongchang,” Jin Zhou glanced at Yang Shiyu beside him inexplicably guilty, “if there’s really any news, you should tell the police and avoid trouble for yourself.”

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” Liu Yongchang said, then turned to Yang Shiyu and said, “Take care of your man here. If you have any problems, find me anytime.”

He spoke as if he was instructing a sworn brother.

Jin Zhou wanted to laugh a little, but seeing Yang Shiyu’s expressionless face, he held it in.

Hu Zi and Xiao Wu stayed behind to take care of Jin Zhou, giving Yang Shiyu a reason to go back and rest.

However, before leaving, Yang Shiyu signaled for the two to wait outside, then took out a bunch of keys from the drawer where personal belongings were kept and said to Jin Zhou, “I’m going to your place.”

“Why, are you going to install surveillance cameras in my house?” Jin Zhou teased, “You’re really twisted, judge.”

“I’m going to pack things,” Yang Shiyu said with a stern face, “starting today, you’re moving in with me.”

Jin Zhou was slightly surprised. Could this be the legendary blessing in disguise?

He only suffered a minor injury, and in return, he got to live together with Yang Shiyu. Wasn’t that good news on his part?

“But,” Yang Shiyu suddenly changed the direction of the conversation, “during this time, you’re not allowed to go out.”

Jin Zhou was stunned. “What?”

“I said,” Yang Shiyu slowed down his speech and repeated, “until Wei Jie is caught, you have to stay at my place and not go out.”

“But what about my repair shop?” Jin Zhou asked, “I still have work, Big Brother.”

“Do you even work seriously on normal days?” Yang Shiyu countered.

“Well, I…” Jin Zhou was momentarily speechless, and immediately switched to another job, “Am I a good lawyer?”

“No discussion,” Yang Shiyu said, “you’re not allowed to go out, period.”

“Judge Yang,” Jin Zhou looked at Yang Shiyu in disbelief, “are you—”

“You want to say it’s unlawful detention?” Yang Shiyu preemptively interrupted.

However, his words failed to cut Jin Zhou off.

“—This is forced love,” Jin Zhou clicked his tongue twice, “you’re such a pervert.”

1Yang Shiyu: Damn it…

 

1Yang Shiyu: Damn it…