The Scum Gong Villain Returns to Work - Chapter 8

The kiss was as fleeting as a butterfly pausing briefly among flowers, yet Yu Baihua froze, his grip loosening in a daze. The dagger was drawn outward from Yu Sui’s chest as fresh crimson stains spread across his shirt, leaving him momentarily at a loss for words.

As though entirely insensible to pain, Yu Sui gently cradled Yu Baihua’s face with his hand, feeling the icy chill beneath his fingertips, before coaxing him in a low murmur: “A-Yu, be a good boy. Let him go; don’t bring unnecessary trouble upon yourself.”

Hearing that endearment finally stirred a reaction in Yu Baihua. The boy who had moments ago resembled an exquisitely evil yet soulless doll finally regained color within his eyes. A pair of massive tears welled up and spilled from his striking eyes, splashing straight onto Yu Sui’s fingertips.

“Yu Sui…” Whether driven by fury or surging emotion, a vivid crimson flush climbed the outer corners of his eyes. With a mix of utter disbelief and absolute conviction, Yu Baihua repeated: “It’s you. You’ve come back.”

The two remained locked in a tense standoff until Yu Baihua abruptly doubled over in laughter. His laughter sounded manic and desolate, continuing until a fit of coughing seized his throat so violently that speech became agonizingly painful. Turning his head away, he spat out a harsh “Get lost” toward his waiting subordinates and Tang Jue.

In an instant, the vast warehouse was left with only the two of them Yu Sui and Yu Baihua. Raising his head, Yu Baihua looked at Yu Sui, the corners of his eyes curved into crescents.

“I was wondering why you suddenly started treating me so well,” Yu Baihua reached out to grab the lapel of Yu Sui’s collar, the bulging veins across the back of his hand betraying the fury raging within him.

“Yu Sui, are you pitying me?”

“Pitying me for turning into this ghost-like creature, pitying me for turning into a madman?”

“I don’t need it, Yu Sui. I don’t need your soft-hearted charity.”

Yu Sui let out a sigh, bending down to bring his face close to Yu Baihua’s until their noses brushed lightly together. “Yu Baihua, nobody in this world displays pity toward another person by kissing them.”

Reaching out, he scooped Yu Baihua up from the floor, settling him squarely upon his lap while looping an arm securely around his waist. Yu Baihua’s formal attire was tailored to perfection, outlining a fluid, slender waistline as though he were naturally meant to be encircled by Yu Sui’s arms.

Yu Sui leaned in closer, peppering his lips with a flurry of gentle kisses entirely devoid of carnal lust. It felt akin to an injured, damp little animal fiercely locking itself away in a corner, yet secretly longing for someone to come and take it home.

Yu Sui’s lips, palms, and embrace were all freezing cold resembling a ceaseless, year-round blizzard that blanketed away all of Yu Baihua’s anger and agony, leaving behind only the quiet, lingering scent of winter pine floating faintly through an empty, unresponding valley.

Yu Baihua’s chest rose and fell once before he gradually allowed his emotions to settle. When the final kiss parted, the two stared fixedly into each other’s eyes without uttering a word.

Why are Yu Sui’s hands so cold? Is it because he’s injured? I’m the one who hurt him… Thinking along those lines, Yu Baihua inexplicably felt a faint surge of satisfaction. Leaning his head forward against Yu Sui’s chest, he lowered his gaze and extended the tip of his tongue to lick across Yu Sui’s wound.

Yu Sui’s gaze darkened for a fraction of a second as he reached out to press his hand down upon Yu Baihua’s head.

“Yu Baihua, who’s the little puppy here?”

Yu Sui chuckled softly with weary amusement.

Burying his face against Yu Sui’s chest while clutching the hem of his shirt, Yu Baihua asked with muffled grievance, uncertain what tone to adopt:

“Yu Sui, are you lying to me? Because I genuinely wanted to kill you.”

I genuinely wanted to kill you, yet I was terrified of the agony it would bring myself.

Yu Baihua had endured an overwhelming amount of bitterness all at once, tasting just a tiny morsel of sweetness only to find that even after peeling away the candy wrapper, it tasted bitter underneath.

He couldn’t bring himself to deceive his own heart, nor could he bear to let go of even a microscopic trace of sweetness lingering upon his tongue.

In truth, he still felt rather aggrieved.

Why couldn’t you just lie to me for a lifetime, Yu Sui?

At that thought, a scarlet crimson flared once more within his eyes. He ground his teeth, and the dagger concealed within his sleeve began to itch with restless temptation.

Before he could put the action into motion, his face was once again forcibly lifted by Yu Sui. Inspecting his condition with meticulous care, Yu Sui finally asked:

“Did you take your medicine before leaving today?”

Yu Baihua’s gaze flickered and darted away.

“No wonder you woke up bright and early just to torment me…” Yu Sui accused him with a comically wronged expression. “My throat was hurting all morning.”

To make his point more convincing, he tilted his neck upward to display it to Yu Baihua. In truth, the red marks from earlier had long since faded; the blush currently resting upon his Adam’s apple was simply from where Yu Baihua had unceremoniously pressed kisses against him while restlessly shifting in his embrace. Yet with his mind currently in a hazy fog, Yu Baihua actually froze upon seeing it.

“And right here.” Yu Sui directed his gaze to the bloodstain across his chest. Though the dagger hadn’t plunged in deeply, it had undeniably punctured his flesh, thankfully missing any vital organs.

This injury was genuinely painful, which was why the moment he finished speaking, Yu Sui immediately moved to divert Yu Baihua’s attention. “Yet why do I feel better the moment I kiss you? Yu Baihua, were you deliberately trying to trick me into kissing you?”

During a flare-up of his condition, Yu Baihua lacked his usual shrewd calculation; in Yu Sui’s eyes, he resembled a foolish cat eager to bare its claws easy to coax and easy to deceive, save for a slight tendency to scratch people. Hearing those words, Yu Baihua began to argue earnestly in his own defense:

“That’s not it, it’s because…”

“Because…” Yu Baihua paused, unable to finish the rest of his sentence. Intuition warned him that something was amiss, though he failed to track down any evidence to refute it.

“If you want me to trust you, be a good boy and take your medicine on time,” Yu Sui murmured softly. “From now on, I’ll only kiss you after you’ve taken your pills.”

At that, a flicker of wariness sparked in Yu Baihua. Nestling against Yu Sui’s chest, he wrestled with the dilemma for a long while before finally offering a reluctant, grumbling nod under the honeyed persuasion of Yu Sui’s sweet words.

A Yu Baihua like this possessed a peculiar, endearing charm. Yu Sui genuinely wanted to tease him a bit longer, but his wound was starting to throb with a dull ache.

Resting his head upon Yu Baihua’s shoulder, he tilted his face to press a kiss against the side of his neck, then murmured a soft, spoiled complaint: “What are we going to do, Yu Baihua? I’m not feeling very well.”

With that, he drifted off to sleep with absolute peace of mind against Yu Baihua’s shoulder, knowing full well that no harm would come to him.

When he woke up, he was in a hospital room. The comfortable interior decor spared his waking eyes from staring at a cold, sterile ceiling, replacing it instead with cozy fabric patterns, while the doctors and nurses entering and exiting moved with utmost caution, terrified of disturbing the occupant.

Strictly speaking, they weren’t so much afraid of disturbing Yu Sui as they were terrified of disturbing the man sitting cross-legged in the sofa nearby, handling official work. With his laptop resting across his knees and his shirt cuffs rolled up to reveal refined, elegant wrists, his expression remained entirely detached and indifferent until he noticed Yu Sui waking up, whereupon he casually tossed a cool, languid glance in his direction.

A single look told Yu Sui that the high-and-mighty President Yu was back in full effect. Smiling genially, he asked: “How long have you been sitting there?”

“Not long.” Yu Baihua snapped his laptop shut, crossing his arms with an amused, half-smiling expression as he fixed his gaze on Yu Sui. “I suppose we ought to have a proper chat about your little schemes.”

“Knowing you couldn’t defeat me this time around, you resorted to this method to get close to me? I honestly never took you for that type, Yu Sui. I never would’ve guessed.”

Yu Sui let out a sigh. “Like hell it wasn’t long. President Yu, didn’t even bother to change your shirt didn’t you notice?”

“……”

“Yu… Sui.” Yu Baihua narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you dare try to change the subject.”

“I’m not changing the subject, President Yu. The very first thing I asked when I woke up was about this.” Fishing an orange from the fruit basket on the bedside table, Yu Sui began peeling it with leisurely grace.

His hands were inherently striking, making even this mundane task a pleasing sight to behold. “I think we should also talk about your problem.”

“Yu Baihua, why on earth do you refuse to take your medicine when you’re sick?”

At that inquiry, memories of the incident at the abandoned warehouse involuntarily flashed through Yu Baihua’s mind. He currently despised his former, hopelessly foolish self above all else, yet he had allowed himself to be so easily coaxed and pacified by Yu Sui that day a reality that left Yu Baihua with a profound sense of mortification.

“What gives you the right to lecture me?” Yu Baihua raised an eyebrow. “Yu Sui, have you still not figured out your proper place?”

“I’ve figured it out, of course I have.” Leisurely picking the white pith off the orange segments, Yu Sui separated a piece and extended it right toward Yu Baihua’s lips.

Because the movement was a fraction too wide, it tugged at his wound, causing him to let out a tiny hiss of pain. Hearing it, Yu Baihua frowned, reached out to take the orange segment from his fingers, and popped it into his mouth.

“My proper place is serving you,” Yu Sui replied with an amiable smile, before asking earnestly: “President Yu, you promised me back then that you’d let me kiss you once you took your medicine you wouldn’t go back on your word now, would you?”