Chapter 28: Injured and Bleeding
Fu Xingchen felt his bones practically melting at her soft, sweet voice. Grasping Shao Leyan’s delicate chin, he said with a half-smile, half-teasing expression, “Who told him not to respect you? Just a little punishment.”
Shao Leyan knew that Fu Xingchen had held back when striking Fu Xingyan, but still…
She anxiously glanced at Fu Xingyan, and, by coincidence, he was looking at her too.
Even though sweat streamed down his forehead and his brows were tightly furrowed, his eyes were filled with deep tenderness. He playfully blinked at Shao Leyan, the corners of his lips curling into a reassuring smile.
Shao Leyan finally relaxed and nestled safely in Fu Xingchen’s embrace.
Fu Xingchen, meanwhile, was glowering at Lin Ying, who was staring intently at Shao Leyan. The sense of crisis that had just subsided surged back.
He knew Lin Ying had never held back between men and women. As long as someone caught her eye and suited her taste, whether an empowered individual or an ordinary person, they would become her prey.
Realizing this, he knew it wasn’t just his own brother he had to watch out for.
Fu Xingchen’s face darkened, and he spoke to Lin Ying in a low, stern voice:
“You’ve already seen my wife. You shouldn’t be bothering me anymore, right?”
Lin Ying gave a perfunctory response, careful not to disturb the fragile, enchanting beauty before her, and cautiously started a conversation with Shao Leyan.
“I’m Lin Ying, an enhanced empowered individual. And you?”
Shao Leyan smiled gently at the pretty girl with a friendly expression.
Unexpectedly, Lin Ying’s pupils trembled violently, her mouth couldn’t close, and suddenly two lines of blood ran from her nose. The sudden change startled all three of them.
Shao Leyan watched Lin Ying frozen in shock and, concerned, pointed to the blood running from her philtrum.
“Lin… Miss Lin, you’re having a nosebleed.”
Lin Ying hadn’t realized it yet. She wiped her nose, but only smudged her small face further.
Shao Leyan quickly took a folded handkerchief from Fu Xingchen’s suit pocket and went over to wipe Lin Ying’s nose.
One hand cupped Lin Ying’s small face, while the other carefully dabbed at her nose, all the while speaking in concern:
“Have you been overworking recently? Missions are important, but your health is even more important. Miss Lin, you must take care of yourself.”
Lin Ying, staring at the stunningly beautiful face so close to hers, felt her mind go fuzzy. Even though her nose was full of blood, she couldn’t help but notice a sweet fragrance emanating from the beauty.
Seeing Lin Ying half-closing her eyes and not speaking, Shao Leyan became more worried and called over Fu Xingyan, who had accompanied Lin Ying.
“Xingyan, Miss Lin isn’t in good condition. Take her for treatment. And your hand—check it properly, too. You still have experiments to conduct tomorrow!”
Fu Xingyan smiled at this, hiding the redness on his hand behind his back. The more he concealed it, the more suspicious it appeared, making Fu Xingchen clench his fists in frustration.
“Don’t worry. Even if I lose this hand, tomorrow’s experiments will proceed as planned. But Yang Ying’s condition isn’t something healing abilities can fix. I think it’s best to let her recover naturally.”
Having said this, Fu Xingyan shot a teasing glance at the slightly enraged Fu Xingchen, then reached out to gently ruffle Shao Leyan’s hair, his tone soft as water as he said goodbye:
“I’m heading back to the lab. See you tomorrow.”
Shao Leyan, focused on stopping Lin Ying’s bleeding, only gave a polite, shallow smile in reply.
“Mm, see you tomorrow.”
Shao Leyan felt she had done her best to help Lin Ying. Hearing Fu Xingyan say that Lin Ying wasn’t in serious condition also eased her mind.
But for some reason, Lin Ying’s nosebleed worsened, eventually soaking the entire handkerchief red. Shao Leyan worried she might become anemic from all the blood loss. Only then did Fu Xingchen call a secretary to carry Lin Ying to the Empowered Individuals’ Hospital.
Only then did Shao Leyan finally step back from the flurry of panic and busyness. Though rare, she had a moment of calm—but didn’t fully relax.
“Xingchen, is the dungeon work really this busy? I saw Xingyan doing experiments for more than ten hours straight. And Lin Ying, her nose keeps bleeding—if empowered individuals are this exhausted, how much harder must it be for ordinary people?”
Fu Xingchen held Shao Leyan’s waist, his fingers tracing circles along her side. Looking down at her with a smile in his eyes, he teased:
“What? You think I’m overworking them?”
Shao Leyan shook her head frantically, her large, bright eyes full of protest.
“No! That’s not what I mean.”
Fu Xingchen didn’t wait for her to explain. He lowered his eyelids, his nose brushing gently against the soft flesh of her left cheek. The warm breath from his words swept across her chin; his voice was so low she could barely hear.
“If you care so much about them, worried about their hard work and exhaustion, why don’t you care about me?”
Shao Leyan was momentarily speechless. Then she remembered—this man had immediately pulled her into intimacy upon returning. If she didn’t remind herself he was the city lord, she would have almost forgotten how burdened he was with daily duties.
When they first started working in the dungeon hand-in-hand, Shao Leyan had seen just how busy he was.
The mountain of tasks he had to handle each day never seemed to waver him. She had never heard a single complaint, nor had she ever seen him break down.
Even when Fu Xingyan fell asleep in the lab chair, Fu Xingchen never showed any sign of fatigue.
Shao Leyan felt her heart ache. She traced her fingers along his brow, as if trying to smooth away all the tension. Her thumb gently massaged the space between his brows.
“I know you’re tired, too. It shows that as a city lord, you’re responsible and dedicated. The dungeon is lucky to have a leader like you.”
Fu Xingchen gazed at her deeply, then took her hand, burying his face in her shoulder, occasionally letting out muffled laughs. His breath brushed her collarbone, tickling slightly.
“But all my luck is spent on you, my lady. Yan Yan, meeting you is the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Empowered Individuals’ Hospital
Fu Yue rarely saw Fu Xingyan at the hospital. After all, there were very few beings or zombies capable of harming such a high-level empowered individual.
But when she saw him sitting coldly across from her, extending his electrified, reddened right hand, she couldn’t help but be startled.
“The city lord hit you? Why?”
Fu Xingyan curved his lips into a smile, speaking as casually as if discussing the cloudy weather today.
“He was angry at me.”
Fu Yue raised her brows, even more confused.
In her impression, the city lord was mature, composed, and uncompetitive. He was especially tolerant of his twin brother, who had a completely opposite personality.
Though they weren’t as intimately close as normal siblings due to their status, they would never fight or fall out completely.
“There must be some misunderstanding. The city lord has never laid hands on any good citizen.”
Fu Xingyan raised his eyebrows nonchalantly, a subtle hint of excitement and agitation in his tone.
“Looks like I’m not exactly a ‘good citizen,’ since I coveted the woman he set his eyes on.”
