I Snatched the Overbearing President’s Canary [Transmigration] - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Night

They held each other for a long time; the other boy had long since tactfully departed. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the night began to drape over them.

Ning Chen gently took He Shenyu’s hand, wiping away the mud bit by bit before leading him forward. He could see clearly that it wasn’t just the palms that were stained with the dirt from the red string; there was mud packed even under the fingernails. Ning Chen could only imagine He Shenyu digging through the earth with his bare hands.

He had never seen the normally pristine He Shenyu looking so disheveled. Looking closely, even his face was streaked with dust. Ning Chen’s heart grew heavy, leaving him speechless for a long while.

He took a deep breath and said to He Shenyu, “Shenyu, let me take you to get cleaned up.”

“Mhm…” Shenyu struggled to rein in his emotions, gradually ceasing his sobbing. Only then did he notice that Ning Chen was walking with a strange limp.

“What’s wrong with your foot?” Shenyu turned his head sharply to look at him.

Ning Chen smiled and said, “It’s nothing. When I was helping pull people out earlier, a rock slipped and I twisted it. It’s not serious.”

Shenyu nodded, then frowned. “Then why were you running toward me just now?”

Ning Chen blinked, caught off guard. “I was too excited to see you… I didn’t notice.”

“Does it hurt now?” Shenyu looked down, wanting to squat and check the injury, but Ning Chen held him close.

“It doesn’t hurt, Shenyu. Let’s get to the medical station first,” Ning Chen said. He squeezed He Shenyu’s hand to distract him, adding, “When I saw you just now, I honestly thought I was dreaming…”

If he hadn’t seen He Shenyu about to leave with someone else, he wouldn’t have been so desperate that he called out before even confirming it was really him.

“I thought I was hearing things when you called my name, too,” He Shenyu admitted, the lingering fear still palpable.

At the medical station, the doctor cleaned the small cuts in the crevices of He Shenyu’s fingers. Ning Chen sat beside him, using a wet wipe to clean the dust and tear tracks from He Shenyu’s face. He sighed softly, “Shenyu, don’t do something so reckless next time. Your hands are meant for surgery. It would be bad if they got injured.”

“Yeah, I know.” Now that He Shenyu had calmed down, a wave of shame hit him for crying so much. He leaned in and whispered, “Ning Chen, promise me something…”

Seeing how he was avoiding the eyes of the people around them, Ning Chen expected something profound. “Go on.”

Shenyu leaned into his ear. “Forget that I cried just now, okay?”

“What?” Ning Chen was stunned.

Shenyu gave him an exaggeratedly meaningful blink. “You catch my drift?”

“Oh, I see.” Ning Chen felt a bit speechless. “I won’t tell anyone.”

He Shenyu beamed. “I knew it. You’re the smartest, Ning Chen.”

“You really are…” Ning Chen squeezed his hand, helpless against the doctor’s antics.

…

After returning home, He Shenyu rested for two days before going back to work. The cuts on his hands scabbed over quickly. However, Ning Chen’s leg injury was slow to heal—partly because leg injuries are finicky, and partly because Ning Chen kept forgetting he was an “invalid.”

Every afternoon when He Shenyu got off work, Ning Chen would walk out to greet him. Shenyu scolded him several times, but Ning Chen kept doing it.

This time, He Shenyu was genuinely annoyed. He patted Ning Chen’s head firmly. “Didn’t I tell you to rest and stop walking around? What if your foot isn’t healed by the time school starts?”

“I’m just used to it,” Ning Chen said sheepishly. “Isn’t this my job? Greeting the patron when he gets home every day?”

“Ning Chen!” Shenyu was truly angry now. He brushed past him and marched straight to the sofa.

Why did things always devolve back into this? He hadn’t “sponsored” Ning Chen so that he would actually become a perfect little canary. He was trying his best to avoid that dynamic, yet Ning Chen kept sliding back into the role. He knew he couldn’t entirely blame Ning Chen; from Ning Chen’s perspective, these actions seemed like the “correct” ones. But He Shenyu couldn’t exactly explain the truth.

“Why are you so angry, Shenyu?” Ning Chen walked over cautiously and tugged at He Shenyu’s arm.

“Because you won’t listen,” He Shenyu replied, turning to face him.

“I’m sorry,” Ning Chen apologized in a low voice. “I won’t do it tomorrow. I’ll rest properly.”

Shenyu looked at him, feeling a wave of futility. He decided to try a different approach. He looked Ning Chen straight in the eye and asked, “Ning Chen, what exactly do you think I see you as?”

Ning Chen’s heart skipped a beat. Is he going to confess now? He felt a sudden pang of anxiety. This isn’t good… we have a contract. Adding real feelings to a transactional relationship always feels… insincere. He had assumed He Shenyu would wait until the contract ended. But did He Shenyu really like him enough to stay together even after that? Ning Chen wasn’t sure.

“Ning Chen,” He Shenyu nudged him. “Why are you quiet? Is it that hard to answer?”

“I don’t know,” Ning Chen answered truthfully.

Shenyu almost blurted out, I see you as a true friend, but he swallowed it. Instead, he said, “Despite the contract, it’s been a while now. You should be able to feel that I don’t treat you like a ‘sponsored’ object. So, you don’t need to force yourself into that role or feel like you have to serve me. Do you understand?”

Ning Chen was genuinely shocked. Why was He Shenyu being so serious about this? How much of it was real? Before, he wouldn’t have believed a word of it. But now, he had to admit his heart was wavering. He felt like he was becoming one of those “little fools” in Manager Cheng’s stories—the ones who actually believed their patrons were sincere.

The only safety net was that Ning Chen believed he hadn’t “fallen” for He Shenyu yet. He felt gratitude and surprise, but not that kind of love. Or so he told himself. He held onto his baseline: he wouldn’t become the pathetic fool who clings to a patron.

“I understand, Shenyu,” Ning Chen smiled. “I won’t do anything ‘extra’ from now on.”

Shenyu, thinking the message had finally landed, nodded with satisfaction. “Good. Just take care of yourself and heal your foot.”

…

Because of the leg injury, He Shenyu insisted on Ning Chen going to bed early every night. Tonight, after Ning Chen finished a difficult shower, He Shenyu leaned in to check his bandages. Ning Chen’s lips curled up unconsciously. He wasn’t a victim of Stockholm Syndrome, but being cared for so meticulously felt… good. He didn’t resist; he had no choice.

“Ready? I’m turning off the lights,” He Shenyu asked.

Ning Chen nodded. “Okay.”

The lights went out. In the darkness, He Shenyu habitually moved toward Ning Chen and hugged his arm. Since the earthquake, He Shenyu had been terrified by the “Plot God.” He kept having nightmares about Ning Chen getting hurt. Holding Ning Chen was the only way he could find enough security to sleep.

Ning Chen cooperated unconditionally. He didn’t want to see He Shenyu waking up pale and gasping his name anymore. Sometimes, after He Shenyu fell asleep, Ning Chen would pull him closer into a tighter embrace. When He Shenyu shifted restlessly, Ning Chen would pat his back gently. “Shenyu, I’m here. I’m right here. It was just a dream… go back to sleep…”

But tonight, perhaps because He Shenyu had been angry earlier, the nightmares were worse. Even Ning Chen’s voice didn’t help. Ning Chen held him tight, stroking his back and apologizing: “I won’t make you angry again, I promise… sleep now, it’s okay…”

Shenyu was covered in a cold sweat. Ning Chen used a tissue to wipe his forehead. In the faint light, He Shenyu looked fragile—his face was pale, his lips bloodless.

“It’s okay, Shenyu…” Ning Chen murmured, touching his face and wiping the sweat from his neck. He started to get up to lower the AC temperature, but He Shenyu clung to him instinctively, moving with him. Ning Chen had no choice but to lie back down and pull him back into his arms.

He tried to shift his lower body away, as he was starting to sweat too—but for a very different reason. After reading Manager Cheng’s “materials,” Ning Chen finally understood why his body reacted the way it did. He was actually a bit scared of it, so he had stopped trying to kiss He Shenyu. He ignored all the subtle hints unless He Shenyu explicitly asked.

But avoiding kisses didn’t solve the problem of sleeping in the same bed. Shenyu spent every night in his arms, unconsciously rubbing against him. Ning Chen was young, and now that he had “knowledge” he didn’t have before, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering. Especially when He Shenyu looked so vulnerable. The pale skin, the slightly open collar, the red mole on his earlobe… every inch of him felt like a deliberate temptation.

And when he mumbled “Ning Chen, Ning Chen” in his sleep, it felt like a siren song. Ning Chen’s blood ran hot, and he had to use every ounce of logic to keep himself from doing something “extra.” But he couldn’t control his physiological reactions… he was being seduced. Because of this, staying awake and stiff all night, his foot was healing slowly. But he couldn’t tell He Shenyu; it was too embarrassing. And when he saw how pitiable He Shenyu looked when he was lost in a nightmare, he couldn’t bear to push him away.

“Ning Chen…” Shenyu’s voice was barely a whisper.

“I’m here,” Ning Chen murmured. He stroked He Shenyu’s head, his hand uncontrollably sliding down to that red mole on his earlobe, touching it lightly with his thumb.