Chapter 151 : Chapter 151
Chapter 151
Bai Xuechao's frank and generous admission made Yuan Lan disbelieving instead.
He no longer looked through the mirror, but turned his head to eye Bai Xuechao suspiciously. Then, smiling, he casually tossed the comb back onto the bedside table with a backhand motion, and looked at Bai Xuechao, saying half-jokingly, "You're not going to tell me right away that you were just tricking me, are you?"
"Oh, then just assume I was tricking you." Bai Xuechao said as he started walking, intending to go back to bed and lie down.
"So you weren't tricking me then." Yuan Lan caught the logic in his words, and quickly took two steps forward to wrap an arm around Bai Xuechao's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. In a manner like they were good buddies, he said, "It's rare to hear a nice word from you, I was so happy that I couldn't believe it. I was afraid I'd be sad if I found out it was fake!"
This statement made Bai Xuechao fall silent for two seconds.
At the same time, Bai Xuechao thought to himself: ...Do you even believe the words you're saying?
Sadness was impossible.
The possibility of killing Yuan Lan was higher than the possibility of making Yuan Lan sad.
"Is that so?" Bai Xuechao turned his head to look at Yuan Lan, who had an arm around his shoulder and was close to him. Since they were of similar height, it was easy to meet the other's gaze with just a turn of the head. He said, "It seems I should just not say anything in the future, to save you from being so suspicious."
Hearing this, Yuan Lan wrapped his other arm around him as well, as if encircling Bai Xuechao's neck from the side.
"No~ you~ can't!" He shook Bai Xuechao by the neck. For such a tall person to act coquettishly, he was surprisingly not awkward at all. His already gentle and sweet voice now sounded as if a full jar of nectar had been poured into it, which could only be described as both sweet and coy. It was so much that Bai Xuechao felt a headache coming on. "Little Xuechao has to say it more often. If you say it more, I'll get used to it~"
Bai Xuechao's scalp tingled.
He had never met a man who could act so coquettishly.
Needless to say, Duan Xingzhi probably didn't even have a concept of acting coquettishly; not only would Su Zhao not act coquettishly, but because he was good at taking care of people, he was the type to be on the receiving end of it; Jiang Yunyi was even more impossible, he could probably do the "green tea" act, being an old master of passive-aggressiveness after all; as for Ji Chuanze, for that guy, it would probably be better to just stab him than to make him act coquettishly.
On the contrary, the male lead of this comic, Zhou Chenhao, sometimes had a coquettish tone, but it fit his cheerful and naturally black-bellied character design, and he wasn't as uninhibited as Yuan Lan.
Oh right, Yuan Lan wouldn't feel awkward, he might even be able to let loose even more.
"...It depends on my mood." Bai Xuechao didn't refuse directly. He gripped the arm Yuan Lan had placed in front of his neck and pulled down, trying to get it off.
Not refusing meant there was still a chance, that he might agree.
Yuan Lan chose to quit while he was ahead, and following the force of Bai Xuechao pulling his arm, he let go. He said thoughtfully, "So you like this kind of thing, you didn't refuse."
Bai Xuechao instantly had a bad feeling: "What kind of thing are you talking about?"
He didn't refuse because he wanted to stick to the persona of "being well-behaved when sick." Yuan Lan couldn't have gotten the wrong idea, right?
"Double the coquettishness." Yuan Lan tilted his head to look at Bai Xuechao, his golden eyes like molten gold, with a hint of inquiry and thought. "If it were the old Little Xuechao, it would be useless even if I acted coquettishly, you would have rejected me directly. But you didn't just now, it seems to be the power of double coquettishness."
Bai Xuechao immediately said: "You're overthinking it!"
He had to nip that "dangerous" idea of Yuan Lan's in the bud!
He couldn't stand Yuan Lan acting so coquettishly every day. This guy already acted coquettishly from time to time; if he doubled it, he would have to apply for a work injury with Bai Guzi.
"Eh? Was I wrong?" Being denied by Bai Xuechao made Yuan Lan even more curious. He stared at Bai Xuechao, bringing his face closer to the other's, as if just by being closer he could understand, comprehend, and remember every subtle expression of Bai Xuechao's. "Then why didn't Little Xuechao reject me directly?"
Before Bai Xuechao could speak, he heard Yuan Lan ask while staring into his eyes: "Is it because I saved Little Xuechao yesterday?"
He was talking about the stomach bleeding Bai Xuechao had last night.
"A little bit, I guess." Bai Xuechao looked into Yuan Lan's eyes.
Yuan Lan's golden pupils moved slightly, obviously observing his facial expressions. His gaze seemed to want to scan his face inch by inch, then penetrate his skin to see his muscles and bones clearly, and even carefully examine his soul.
For the first time, Bai Xuechao experienced the feeling of being stared at so intently that he felt uncomfortable all over.
Yuan Lan was truly a "brilliant" person.
He turned his head slightly, avoiding Yuan Lan's gaze that seemed capable of seeing right through him, and said, "Besides, the one who saved me was Mu Xinyue, right?"
Before Bai Xuechao's words had even faded, Yuan Lan's two large hands cupped his face.
Then, he turned his head back.
Bai Xuechao once again met Yuan Lan's eyes, which were like molten gold at sunset, a rare trace of astonishment in them.
This person's actions were just too ridiculous! Generally, if the person you were talking to just slightly turned their face and gaze away, who would do something like this and wrench their head back? Were they out of their mind?
...Right, they were indeed not normal.
"What's wrong?" Yuan Lan curved his lips into a gentle smile, and then said, "But stomach bleeding can be life-threatening if not treated in time. With the amount of blood you lost then, if I hadn't immediately sent you to Mu Xinyue, you would have died."
It might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but it could also be the truth.
Bai Xuechao's body wasn't as good as an ordinary special ability user's. That level of stomach bleeding could already endanger his life.
However, he had caused that stomach bleeding on purpose. Didn't he go knock on the next door to "ask for help"? Even if, taking a million steps back, Yuan Lan didn't save him, Lin Changqing would have.
"What are you trying to do?" Bai Xuechao pointed at Yuan Lan's hands, which were still on his cheeks.
Yuan Lan said with a smile: "Because I want to see Little Xuechao's face clearly~"
He didn't mention that what he really wanted to see was Bai Xuechao's expression, but Bai Xuechao was well aware of this.
Bai Xuechao said sarcastically: "What, did you suddenly become nearsighted within a minute? Do you have to be this close to me to see clearly?"
"No, but I just want to see you up close." Yuan Lan's tone was like he was acting coquettishly, or rather, he was acting coquettishly.
Bai Xuechao said: "Let go."
"No, if I let go, Little Xuechao will turn his head away." Yuan Lan refused childishly and even rubbed Bai Xuechao's cheeks. The skin under his palms was still very hot, but the temperature had dropped a little compared to the morning, clearly showing he was getting better.
Bai Xuechao said: "You let go, stand half a meter away from me, and I'll tell you something."
"Isn't half a meter a bit too far?" Yuan Lan asked.
Half a meter is too far? He might as well just grow onto him.
Bai Xuechao said with a deadpan expression: "This is already very close for a friends' distance. If you say any more, you'll have to maintain a social distance with me, starting from one point two meters."
Perhaps it was because the phrase "friends' distance" satisfied Yuan Lan, or perhaps it was because he was curious about the "something" Bai Xuechao mentioned, Yuan Lan obediently let go, took a small step back, and then waited with a smile for Bai Xuechao to speak.
Bai Xuechao didn't have anything to say; he was just tricking Yuan Lan.
He could only continue the previous topic now: "I know you saved me, that's why I said 'thank you' to you."
"Is that what you wanted to say?" Yuan Lan's expression couldn't be described as disappointed or not disappointed. If one had to probe the meaning of his expression, it was probably a bit of confusion and curiosity. He was confused as to why Bai Xuechao would specifically mention this, and curious about what was so special about it.
"Yes." Perhaps because he was still running a fever, Bai Xuechao had become a bit perfunctory, too lazy to bother his brain thinking of something to fool Yuan Lan. He continued walking towards the bed, "You can figure it out for yourself."
After he finished speaking, he had reached the side of the bed and flopped onto it.
He wasn't worried at all that Yuan Lan wouldn't think about it. As for the result of his thoughts, Yuan Lan's actions later would tell him the answer.
And Yuan Lan actually did start to think.
He took the incident of Bai Xuechao's stomach bleeding as a watershed moment. Before that, Bai Xuechao showed no closeness to him at all. No matter what he did, Bai Xuechao seemed to have an invisible defense, shutting him out.
After that, Bai Xuechao started to change. He said "thank you" to him for the first time that night, and today's performance was not only a bit well-behaved, but he also said things that showed concern for him. Although it was a very subtle concern, it was a huge difference from before.
Combining that with what happened just now, when he asked Bai Xuechao why he didn't reject him directly, was it because he saved him, Bai Xuechao said it was a little bit.
So, Bai Xuechao's indirect admission of liking people who could take care of him was one hundred percent true?
Yuan Lan had always only half-believed Bai Xuechao's words. He thought that at most, Bai Xuechao would develop some favorable impression of people who could take care of him, but wouldn't improve his relationship with them because of it.
But now it seemed that wasn't the case?
Yuan Lan seemed to have found a good way to break through Bai Xuechao's defenses——
Wouldn't it be fine to just keep Bai Xuechao in a weak or sick state, needing someone to take care of him, and then he would be the one to do it?
It was truly a case of searching high and low for something only to find it effortlessly. Just yesterday he was telling Lin Changqing how difficult it was to break through Bai Xuechao's defenses, and then a turn of events happened that very night, and today he had figured out a method.
But, why did Bai Xuechao have to remind him?
Yuan Lan saw Bai Xuechao lying on his side on the bed, seemingly preparing to rest, but he was facing him. His beautiful, ruby-like eyes were looking at him, as if watching for his reaction.
He met that pair of crimson eyes and revealed a meaningful smile.
It seemed that he wasn't the only one playing this "friendship game." It all depended on who would actually fall for it.
If he won, Bai Xuechao would become his tool.
As for Bai Xuechao winning? He had never considered that possibility. Even if Bai Xuechao really wanted to run off with the information on the black bracelet, he wouldn't let him escape so easily.
However, at this moment, Yuan Lan had one more question he wanted to ask Bai Xuechao.
He walked to the bedside. Bai Xuechao seemed to have guessed that he wanted to ask something and sat up on his own initiative: "What's wrong."
Yuan Lan bent down and leaned closer to Bai Xuechao, his gaze meeting Bai Xuechao's who looked up at him. At first, there was no expression on Yuan Lan's face. When a person who often smiled suddenly stopped smiling, it created a sense of serious and cold pressure that was intimidating. Bai Xuechao, however, looked at him calmly, quietly waiting for him to speak.
Suddenly, a brilliant smile bloomed on Yuan Lan's face, his eyes curving into crescent moon-like arcs.
He asked: "Would you be like this with Little Yu too?"
If it was really about "taking care," then Yu Ruolan was the first person to take care of Bai Xuechao.