PBMM CH28

Buying ‘Pipe Dream’ was a waste again. Enduring the itch rising from the bottom of his heart, He Qing gritted his teeth and asked the system:

[What’s the deal with this Ning Feng? Wasn’t he just a background character who only made a cameo in the original world?]

System: [An unknown error has occurred.]

Hearing this irresponsible answer, He Qing almost cursed out loud.

In the original world, the young doctor ultimately couldn’t escape tonight. He was taken by Feng Xinyang and Yan Xizhi together… and right in front of Zhao He. The next day, he became somewhat mentally unstable, and after even more excessive things happened, he ended his own life.

He Qing was supposed to continue following this trajectory, but how could Ning Feng…

“Ugh…” The continuously panting youth suddenly let out a muffled groan. His eyes were tightly shut and his brows were deeply furrowed, clearly enduring an unbearable torment. Sitting beside him and seeing his painful appearance, Ning Feng felt strangely compelled to reach out and smooth out that tightly knitted brow.

Just as he was about to touch his brow, He Qing suddenly opened his eyes. His tear-filled eyes met Ning Feng’s gaze. Ning Feng paused, only to see that those beautiful eyes were full of vigilance and terror, like a frightened little beast—both terrified and trying hard to puff up its fur to scare away the enemy before it. Forcing down his discomfort, the youth spoke intermittently: “Mr. Ning… thank you… for saving me. Just dropping me off ahead is fine…”

Ning Feng looked at how he struggled just to speak yet stubbornly refused to show weakness. After a brief silence, his cold and clear voice replied: “Xinyang entrusted me to take care of you.”

Hearing Feng Xinyang’s name, the youth’s body trembled, seemingly recalling the fact that they were all in this together. His forcefully feigned composure instantly vanished without a trace. He propped up his body tremblingly, “I want… to get out…”

He doesn’t believe me. Ning Feng’s expression remained indifferent, this thought popping into his mind for no reason. He didn’t know why he would harbor inappropriate thoughts toward this young doctor he had only met a few times, but he knew that his inexplicable agonizing pain could only be alleviated—no, precisely speaking, cured—by He Qing’s side.

Seeing the man had no reaction, fear rose in He Qing’s heart. Supporting his body with one hand, he tried to open the car door with the other. Just as his beautiful, slender fingertips landed on the door handle, they were covered by another hand. Startled, the youth tried to pull back, but his hand was grasped tightly. He looked at Ning Feng in near despair, “Mr. Ning…”

Understanding that the young doctor’s mental state was on the verge of collapse, Ning Feng suppressed the urge to pin him down. Lowering his eyes to hide the darkness within, he whispered: “Yan Xizhi wants you.”

“Even if you escaped today, he will still find you,” he said slowly. “In the entire capital, only I can protect you.”

He Qing looked at him in shock and uncertainty, gritting his teeth: “If I don’t consent, could he actually force me? Xinyang, Xinyang he…” He wanted to say Xinyang would protect him, but the moment he opened his mouth, he remembered that it was exactly his lover who allowed Yan Xizhi to…

“He already forced you.” Ning Feng’s eyes were a light amber. As he locked eyes with the youth, a slight confusion hid deep within his gaze. He said flatly, “I protect you, and you stay by my side. We both remain safe.”

Asking the youth to believe his words again was like asking a rabbit to believe a wolf promising to protect it from being eaten by other wolves. He Qing forced out a mocking smile, “How do I know you won’t hand me over?”

After all, they were the ones who were friends, weren’t they?

He had spoken his piece and offered his advice. Ning Feng was never a good person to begin with, and patiently explaining things right now was already his limit. Seeing He Qing still refusing to agree, he lowered his eyes, his voice remaining flat: “If you don’t agree, I’ll have no choice but to hand you over to Yan Xizhi.”

Seeing the youth staring blankly at him, eyes filled with struggle, he thought for a moment and added, “Rest assured, I won’t do anything to you. Your type isn’t my taste anyway.”

The person he liked should be timid and shy… Ning Feng paused. The person he liked… since when did he have someone he liked?

He Qing didn’t know what the man in front of him was thinking. With a deathly pale face, he thought of Xinyang mercilessly pushing him down, of Yan Xizhi’s hands wandering over his body, and of Zhao He sitting high and mighty, looking at him as if he were a joke. Scene after scene flashed rapidly through his mind. Tears slipped from the corners of his eyes, and he said with a trembling voice: “Alright, I agree.”

Even if he was being deceived by Ning Feng, it was better than being humiliated by those people.

————

The first thing Feng Xinyang saw when he opened his tightly furrowed eyes was Yan Xizhi gloomily drinking one glass of alcohol after another. He had a terrible headache. Massaging his temples, he got up from the sofa. As he rubbed, his hand suddenly froze. With a pale face, he looked around. “A-Qing, where is A-Qing!!”

“Last night, I…” The man stretched out his uncontrollably shaking hands, his lips trembling as he muttered, “What did I do to A-Qing…”

His lover’s desperate cries and sorrowful pleas for help seemed to still echo in his ears. As his memories flooded back, Feng Xinyang’s eyes turned red. He stumbled to his feet, searching everywhere: “A-Qing, where is A-Qing!”

The gloomy man walked out from the back and handed him a newspaper. “Here. The news of that bastard brother of yours committing a hit-and-run a year ago.”

Shoving the newspaper into the arms of the man who was glaring at him with bloodshot, hateful eyes, Zhao He said, “Your gift.”

He turned to leave after speaking, but Feng Xinyang’s hoarse voice came from behind. “Zhao He, although I don’t know what happened back then, A-Qing would absolutely never be the kind of person you said he was!”

“You will regret it, you will definitely regret it!”

“I won’t!” The gloomy man spun around abruptly, pulling up a mocking sneer. “I will absolutely never regret it!”

Yan Xizhi, who had been drinking glass after glass, suddenly raised his eyes. Looking at Zhao He with a gaze that seemed both pitying and gleeful, he said softly, “A-He… you will regret it…”

“You guys…” He pointed his index finger at the two of them, revealing a twisted smile. “You guys will both regret it, but, it’s useless… hahaha, it’s useless!!”

If it were anyone else saying these words, Zhao He wouldn’t have thought much of it, but Yan Xizhi…

He turned around stiffly, looking at the exceedingly beautiful man with a malicious smile curling his lips, and asked with a trembling voice, “What did you say?”

Yan Xizhi slouched diagonally in his seat. “Lin Wan, do you still remember her?”

“Oh, wait, no.” He tapped his own head lightly. “There’s no way you don’t remember, after all…”

The malicious smile on Yan Xizhi’s lips widened: “She is your fiancée, after all…”

__

Author’s Note:

Zhao He: I will absolutely never regret it!
He Qing: Oh. Happy Little New Year, cuties! (づ￣3￣)づ╭