So Fragrant [QT] – Chapter Fourteen

warnings

mentioned child abuse

Chu Xia left the bedroom and stepped into the quiet, empty corridor. He called Bai Yan’s name twice, causing all the voice-activated lights in the hallway to turn on, without getting any response from Bai Yan.

Bai Yan’s mobile phone was left inside the bedroom, so he should not be too far away from home, but it was hard to say. After all, the average person would not be so idle as to go out at this time of the day.

Chu Xia entered the study and started up the computer. He tapped away at the keys and immediately opened up the manor’s surveillance. He saw that just half an hour ago, Bai Yan gently opened the bedroom door, went downstairs, and walked straight out the door. In his pyjamas. He did not even put on a coat, to say nothing of taking an umbrella with him.

It was raining too heavily outside and the lights were flickering on and off as well, making it impossible for Chu Xia to see through the surveillance where Bai Yan had gone. Considering that he had not seen anyone driving away though, Bai Yan should still be at the manor.

Chu Xia shut the computer off and got up, hurrying downstairs. The weather outside was getting worse and worse, pelting down on the cement as Chu Xia, opening an umbrella, walked outside.

On every other day, Chu Xia had thought it would be pretty nice if their garden was bigger, and today he finally faced retribution. His sight was almost completely blocked by the heavy downpour, but luckily, there was the system who could help him detect whether there was any living being within three metres.

After roaming around like this for a moment, all of Chu Xia’s clothes were already completely soaked through. He called out Bai Yan’s name, but nobody had ever come to respond to him. He soon figured that continuing to shout would only be a waste of time and effort and could only continue to carefully look for him.

He’d covered almost all of the front of the garden in his search without success and returned to the house for a look. Bai Yan had not come back yet. If only he was still at home now ba.

Chu Xia took a deep breath and picked up the umbrella by the door, holding it above his head as he rushed back into the rain. The garden behind the villa was both slightly bigger and slightly more complex than the one at the front. Silver-white lightning split the dark night sky, lighting up the whole world for a mere second before everything was swallowed up in darkness again. Only the flashlight’s white beam persisted in the middle of that darkness.

Tired of searching, Chu Xia leaned against the rockery, his footsteps coming to a stop. Panting heavily, he asked the system: “Do you have anything to help track him?”

“No ah, but this sort of thing should be quite common in this small world ba. If you require one, you can order one online.” The system spoke up to here before remembering that it still had an important question to ask, “Team Leader Chu, why do you want one?”

Chu Xia looked up at the night sky, another lightning streak crossing through it, and replied to the system, “I want to put one on Bai Yan. If I can’t find the person in the future, I can turn on this thing to locate him.”

Obviously Chu Xia knew that there were various tracking devices sold in this small world, but with Bai Yan being such an awesome guy, he’d probably get caught before managing to successfully install the tracking device on his phone or his watch.

Chu Xia was doing pretty good at the moment and he didn’t really feel like seeking his own death.

After this short break, Chu Xia walked along the pebble path in front of him. Raindrops hit the lush grove, producing jumbled noises. No anxiety could be found on Chu Xia’s face. He failed to see Bai Yan when he walked to the end of the path, but his expression stayed the same. He merely turned back in silence to search again on a different path.

After searching back and forth like this for more than half an hour, he had almost wandered all over the garden. Chu Xia even began to consider whether he should call someone to come over when, at last, the system notified him: “Bai Yan should be here, Team Leader Chu, look carefully ba.”

Chu Xia asked doubtfully: “I remember we were here just now.”

The system answered: “He must not have been around just now.”

Okay, this NPC¹ could also move about freely.

It was his fault that he didn’t have a good enough understanding of him before.

Chu Xia searched carefully with his flashlight and finally saw the familiar figure behind the rockery. He walked over and saw Bai Yan sitting on a rock in a daze, motionless, with no expression in his eyes as if this person’s soul had been taken out.

Chu Xia held the umbrella over his head and softly called him twice, but Bai Yan did not respond. His whole person seemed to be in a trance. His pale lips moved a bit, maybe calling Father or Mother.

Chu Xia was a bit worried for a moment. Having witnessed this weak side of Bai Yan, wouldn’t Bai Yan want to kill him tomorrow when he woke up?

He made himself smile. Then, he threw aside the umbrella in his hand, stepped forward and gently embraced Bai Yan, whispering soothing words into his ear: “I’m here, I’m here…”

It suddenly occurred to Chu Xia. Bai Yan’s parents had just died when he was a kid and he got taken back to the Bai family where he suffered merciless torment. On a rainy day, those people crept into his room and threw most of the relics his mother had left him outside. He braved the rain to look for these relics, only to find that they were all destroyed and could never regain their original appearance again.

This was the place.

Later, the only few remaining relics left by his mother were taken by the old man Bai under the guise of helping Bai Yan keep them, but they were later sent into Li Lianxing’s hands. He deliberately let Li Lianxing marry Bai Yan in order to torture him.

Chu Xia thought Bai Yan must have killed the parents of these people in his last life for them to be this angry with him in this life. Where was the villain ah? This was clearly an abused main character ah!

Fortunately, Bai Yan had already become the head of the Bai family and no one could control him anymore.

The rain slid down Bai Yan’s cheeks and the white light from the flashlight shone on them, making him look like a water ghost who had just crawled out of the river.

Chu Xia patted him on the back, humming songs his mother would often hum to lull him so sleep when he was a child, hoping he would wake up soon.

After a long while, Bai Yan finally made a move. He raised his hand, put it on Chu Xia’s back and suddenly pulled Chu Xia closer. The force in his hands was getting stronger and stronger, as if to embed his whole body into his own.

Chu Xia was a little uncomfortable, but he did not struggle. After a while, Bai Yan suddenly stood up and pushed Chu Xia into the wet grass beneath his feet. Chu Xia was caught off-guard, but because the soil was wet and covered by a layer of dense grass, he did not feel any pain.

It was just that he didn’t know what Bai Yan was going to do. Was he going to commit a murder on this rainy night?

Soon, Bai Yan knelt down, one knee between Chu Xia’s legs. He stretched out his hand and began to unbutton Chu Xia’s coat.

Chu Xia blinked, a bit dazed. He didn’t see it wrong ba, Bai Yan was taking off his clothes. Why was he taking them off??

He had a feeling that this situation was gradually developing into an uncontrollable and very strange direction.

He called out Bai Yan’s name twice, but Bai Yan was too immersed in his own world. His fingers were already resting on Chu Xia’s belt.

No way ba, no way ba. You really want to do it at a time like this?

Although it was indeed pretty exciting to do it out in the wild and he had thought about it before, it was still raining!

Isn’t that a bit too much!

But if Bai Yan insisted on trying, it wasn’t impossible.

The system was also shocked upon seeing mosaic suddenly appearing before it. If it remembered right, Team Leader Chu and Bai Yan were still outside in the garden where it was raining heavily.

The two of them did not make it to the final step as Bai Yan could not hold out and fainted. Chu Xia breathed a sigh, got up from the ground, still wearing his pants, and carried Bai Yan piggy-back toward the manor.

Thankfully, the manor had an elevator installed, so Chu Xia did not have to carry him upstairs step by step or else he was sure he’d die of exhaustion tonight.

After placing Bai Yan on the bed, Chu Xia, upholding the principle of sending the Buddha to the west², helped him take off his clothes, wiped him clean and covered him with the quilt. Chu Xia was far less particular himself, numbly falling asleep on top of the carpet.

The next day, Chu Xia woke up feeling muddled. His nose was stuffed and his head was aching. Upon opening his eyes, his gaze fell on Bai Yan who was sitting next to him. He wanted to ask what was up with him, but before he could do so, he sneezed.

A needle was inserted in the back of his left hand, giving him no choice but to sit up with his right hand propping him up on the bed. Listening to the system inform him in the system space that he had caught a cold, he sneezed again.

He looked at Bai Yan, somewhat envious. This guy was totally fine.

Perhaps his look was a bit too unrestrained. Bai Yan asked, “What are you doing looking at me like that?”

“You’re in good health, and I——” Chu Xia had yet to finish talking when he took a deep breath through his nose and sneezed again.

Obviously it was Bai Yan who was out in the rain for longer last night, so why was he the one who got sick?

How does that make any sense?

Bai Yan placed a cup of warm water atop the bedside table, face blank. He glanced at the hanging bottle above, already half-empty, and admonished Chu Xia: “If you had exercised in the fitness room for two more hours, you would not be in this state now.”

Chu Xia lay back down on his pillow, helpless, and muttered, “Forget it, then.”

Bai Yijing learnt that Chu Xia had fallen ill and came over to visit in person the following day. He also brought fruit. Seeing Chu Xia lying on the bed, he wondered, “How did you suddenly catch a cold?”

Chu Xia weakly said: “I went out while it was raining the night before yesterday.”

Bai Yijing frowned and told him: “Li Lianxing, is there something wrong with you ba, why would you go outside on a rainy day ah?”

Chu Xia snickered and said: “Truly. As it happens, I think there’s something wrong with people who go out on rainy days as well.”

As soon as Bai Yijing nodded, he felt that his back was a bit cold. He turned his head and found Bai Yan staring at him. He opened his mouth and asked Bai Yan, “Little uncle, what are you looking at me for?”

Bai Yan coldly said: “It’s getting late. You should head back.”

Bai Yijing’s eyes went wide. What’s going on here? His little uncle would actually kick people out!

Really saw a ghost.

notes:
1. npc: non-player character, referring to bai yan
2. sending the buddha to the west: idiom. to do a good deed to the end.

byj doing all the adulting in this relationship despite not being a part of the relationship o.o

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