Transmigrated as the Villain and Driven Crazy by the Vengeful Male Lead - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Vomiting Blood. You Drank That Medicine?!

The group burst in together. At the front, Su Xun scanned the empty medicine bowl, then stepped closer to see the residue still lingering on Su Cheyue’s lips. His expression softened significantly. “As expected, A-Yao has his ways.”

Lu Shuyao leaned against the doorframe, smiling without a word.

Su Cheyue sat up. “Uncle, Aunt.”

“No need for formalities,” Su Xun helped him back down, staring into his eyes. “I heard from Li An that Che’er can see?”

Su Cheyue didn’t respond.

Lu Shuyao cooperated with perfect chemistry: “Uncle, the Second Young Master can neither hear nor see today; he can only speak occasionally.”

“Mhm, I know,” Su Xun said. “If his five senses can recover even occasionally, there is hope for a full recovery in the future.”

He raised his hand, intending to cast a Transmission Seal to ask for clarification, but Lu Shuyao knit his brows. “Uncle, let me do it.”

Su Xun nodded. “Very well.” He couldn’t always be the villain in his role as Sect Leader.

To his surprise, Lu Shuyao didn’t cast a spell. He simply walked over and scribbled in Su Cheyue’s palm for a moment. Su Cheyue then nodded.

When the Second Young Master looked up, his eyes were rimmed with red. Su Xun and Yang Yuan were momentarily stunned. He said, “Uncle, yesterday my vision was a vast white light, and I thought I could see. Only later did I realize… it wasn’t a recovery, it was… it was…”

Lu Shuyao chimed in helpfully: “It’s a cataract.”

Yang Yuan was bewildered. “A what?”

Lu Shuyao made it up on the fly: “To put it simply, because the Second Young Master has been blind for so long, his visual nerves ‘hallucinated’ that they were healed. It was just a brief flicker, not a sign of recovery.”

Su Xun and Yang Yuan were half-convinced and half-doubtful. Su Cheyue suddenly slammed his fist against the bedframe, saying with resentment: “It’s my body that is useless. Since returning from the Ghost Purgatory, I haven’t been able to share the burdens of my Uncle or the Su family; instead, I’ve become a liability! I…” He slammed his hand again, turning his pale knuckles red.

“The Second Young Master is truly so pitiful…” “Yes, my heart aches for him. He was the Number One Gentleman of the immortal world, a figure like a banished immortal…”

The maids in the back couldn’t help but whisper, and some even sobbed quietly.

Su Xun hurried to soothe him. Seeing the tears shimmering in Che’er’s eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to pressure him further. “It’s not your fault. This cannot be rushed. Rest well, take your medicine on time, and you will surely recover.”

Lu Shuyao sighed inwardly. The protagonist was indeed no simpleton; he knew Su Xun and Yang Yuan’s intentions were impure. They say a man only needs to act “three parts drunk” to make you cry, but the Second Young Master’s acting was a gift from the gods—he didn’t need a drop of wine to break hearts.

As Su Xun and Yang Yuan rose to leave, they noticed the windchime by the bed. “What is this?”

Lu Shuyao didn’t lie, explaining it was a communication spiritual tool from a treasure shop. He asked Su Xun and Li An to infuse their spiritual energy into it so it would be convenient if Su Cheyue ever needed them.

As the crowd left, Yang Yuan gave Lu Shuyao a disgusted warning: “Regarding the Second Young Master… don’t go too far with ‘those’ things! Your most important task is to care for him; his health is the priority!” She shot a strange look at Su Cheyue as she spoke.

Lu Shuyao agreed without protest, saying obediently, “I’ll do as you say.”

…

Once everyone was gone, Lu Shuyao sprawled out on his sofa, propping his head up with one hand to look at Su Cheyue.

Su Cheyue had returned to his cold, detached self, the tears vanished. After a while, Lu Shuyao called out: “Second Young Master?” “…” “Brother Su?” “…” “Su Cheyue?”

Lu Shuyao mimicked how Che’er had referred to himself earlier: “Che-yue?”

“…” Su Cheyue reacted slightly. “Who gave you permission to call me that?”

“Che-yue sounds lovely. Why can’t I?” Lu Shuyao’s voice was full of amusement; he was delighted by their seamless acting performance. “I didn’t expect the Second Young Master to be such a good actor.”

“You weren’t bad either.”

“Oh? I’ll take that as a compliment.” Lu Shuyao’s eyes curved with laughter. “I also—”

“Don’t spread rumors next time.”

“What rumors?” Lu Shuyao realized. “Oh, that.” He leaned forward as if Su Cheyue could see his smile. “I’m not afraid of losing face, so what are you afraid of? After all, to the outside world, you’re the one ‘on top’.”

Su Cheyue sneered. “Not only do I not like men, but even if I did, I would never touch you.” He raised his voice intentionally. “You fill me with disgust.”

“Then what do you like?” Lu Shuyao asked. “Do you like Lu Qingcheng?”

The moment the question left his mouth, even thick-skinned Lu Shuyao felt it was abrupt. Fortunately, he was an expert at diffusing awkwardness. He rubbed his nose and covered for himself: “That was a stupid question. If you didn’t like her, you wouldn’t have agreed to marry her.”

The book never explicitly described Su Cheyue’s internal romantic feelings; Lu Shuyao only knew that by the end, he had a harem of confidantes he couldn’t count on one hand.

After answering his own question, Lu Shuyao suddenly didn’t want to lie down anymore. He got up to find something to do. Asking such an awkward question made him feel restless…

Before he could stand, Su Cheyue said: “No.”

“Eh?” No what?

The Second Young Master ignored him. Lu Shuyao treated it as a hallucination and changed the subject: “Second Young Master, what do you want to eat today?”

Usually, Su Cheyue wouldn’t answer. But today, Su Cheyue was in a good mood—especially since he could hear and speak and didn’t have to drink that wretched medicine. Though his taste hadn’t returned, he suddenly craved something sweet.

When the reply came, Lu Shuyao was surprised.

“Cassava soup,” Su Cheyue said.

…

Because the Second Young Master had a great appetite today and finished everything Chef Lu made, Lu Shuyao felt incredibly proud. At night, as they slept in their respective beds, Lu Shuyao resumed his seductive reclining pose and called toward the bed: “Che-yue, Che-yue.”

“Second Young Master.”

“Don’t be so distant! We’re partners in drama now! As the ancients say, ‘three minutes on stage takes ten years of practice.’ Our chemistry is so good, we must have practiced for over a decade in our past lives!”

“…”

“The ancients also say, ‘the husband sings and the wife follows’…”

“The ancients say ‘trouble comes from the mouth’.” Su Cheyue turned his face away impatiently.

“You’re so mean to me, always wanting to kill me,” Lu Shuyao said pitifully. “Wasn’t it said the Second Young Master is as warm as a breeze and elegant as mist…”

“You aren’t human.”

“Well said,” Lu Shuyao’s skin was thicker than city walls. “I’m not human; I’m the roundworm in your stomach.”

Su Cheyue: “…” Su Cheyue: “Then do you know what I’m thinking right now?”

Lu Shuyao’s tone turned serious: “You want me to shut up.”

Su Cheyue: “…………”

“One last question—no, two,” Lu Shuyao bargained. “Are you angry that I sent Li An to the Stalactite Terrace?”

Su Cheyue was silent for a moment before speaking slowly: “He was sent by my uncle to serve me because he made a mistake. He is too young; being too close to me isn’t good for him. He has witnessed my great glory and my great shame. It was too stimulating for him, causing him to become desperate for shortcuts while projecting his shame for my failure onto me.”

“So what if he projects? He throws fits, and I can too,” Su Cheyue said indifferently. “The Stalactite Terrace is where I once achieved success. For him, it will be grueling—exactly the kind of character tempering he needs to kill his unconscious, irritable arrogance. However, the way you ‘lost’ to him on purpose was very clumsy.”

This was the first time Lu Shuyao had heard him speak so much. It turned out that when the Second Young Master was normal, he was quite insightful and fair.

“I’d like to ask you—how did you know about the Stalactite Terrace?”

Lu Shuyao said, “I told you, I’m the roundworm in your stomach.”

“…” Bullshit.

“We’re of the same mind, Second Young Master. But why are you so articulate when evaluating others, yet so stingy with words for me? My heart is broken.”

“Is an evaluation even necessary?” Su Cheyue scoffed. “You only have one ‘aura’ about you.”

“What aura?”

“The aura of someone who wants to die.”

Lu Shuyao: “…”

“Any other questions?”

Lu Shuyao paused, then asked: “Why didn’t you tell the Sect Leader about your real condition today? Do you know that they…”

Su Cheyue interrupted: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Hah, the Second Young Master is acting again.

“I’m sleeping,” Su Cheyue said.

Lu Shuyao extinguished the candles and said brightly: “Goodnight, Second Young Master.”

The night breeze rustled the shadows, and a faint fragrance drifted. Su Cheyue fell asleep quickly tonight, a rare dreamless rest. He thought he could sleep until dawn, but in the middle of the night, he was jolted awake by a fit of violent coughing.

The coughing was intermittent; the owner was clearly trying to suppress it. In the gaps between fits, heavy, labored breathing could be heard.

When he opened his eyes, Su Cheyue was confused. Realizing only one other person was in the room, he held his breath and listened for a while before tentatively calling out: “…Lu Shuyao.”

In the darkness, he heard a light chuckle, but the voice was trembling: “…Dammit. Didn’t Li An… say this medicine was useless…”

“You drank that medicine?!” Su Cheyue sat up abruptly.

“Cough, cough… If I didn’t drink it… how could I fool him… cough—pfft.”

Su Cheyue’s heart leaped. “You vomited blood?”

“Minor thing,” Lu Shuyao adjusted his breathing. “Go back to sleep.”

Su Cheyue had taken that medicine a few times—how could it be a minor thing? Vomiting blood was the least of it; at its worst, it felt like a hundred insects boring through your lungs, a pain so agonizing it made you wish for death.

He fumbled to light the bedside lamp. In the flickering shadows, he saw Lu Shuyao curled up on the sofa, clutching his stomach, his head half-buried in the pillow, his entire body shivering.

Looking down, the dark blood on the floor was startling.

Su Cheyue opened his mouth, and after a long moment, found his voice: “Lu Shuyao, I…”

Lu Shuyao, sensing the light, looked up. He froze for a second upon seeing Su Cheyue, then actually smiled: “You can see?”

Su Cheyue realized that upon waking, his ears and eyes were sharp, and his speech clear. But he had no mind for that; he braced himself to reach for the wheelchair handles.

But Lu Shuyao said: “Don’t. No need.”

Usually, it was Su Cheyue who said “no” to Lu Shuyao. In this moment, the roles were reversed; he was the one being rejected.

The difference was that Su Cheyue wouldn’t listen. He sat in the wheelchair as fast as he could and moved to the sofa.

“Lu Shuyao, who gave you permission to act on your own?” Su Cheyue looked down, his voice ice-cold.

From this angle, he could see sweat on Lu Shuyao’s long lashes and blood staining the corner of his mouth. When Lu Shuyao looked up to meet his gaze, his eyes tilted upward, full of smiles.

He was exceptionally bewitching—tempting one to lose their focus.

Two words popped into Su Cheyue’s mind: Enchantment. Should be killed.

He raised his palm and pressed it against Lu Shuyao’s abdomen.

Lu Shuyao rarely cried out in pain—not to his parents, nor his friends. So now, even though he was so nauseous and in pain that he wanted to retch, he made no sound.

The moment Su Cheyue’s palm touched him, he thought: It’s over. Is Young Master Su taking this chance to get revenge for that “push”?

…

Not long after, Lu Shuyao’s clenched jaw relaxed. The pain began to recede. Drenched in sweat, Lu Shuyao relaxed his body and lay limply on the sofa, looking at Su Cheyue and smiling.

Su Cheyue… was actually using his few remaining bits of spiritual energy to regulate Lu Shuyao’s breathing and soothe the pain.

“I thought… the Second Young Master was going to murder his husband.”

As Su Cheyue transferred energy, his face grew a shade paler. “You aren’t worthy.”

“Yes, yes, I’m not worthy,” Lu Shuyao whispered weakly, his voice carrying an unintended tenderness. “If I didn’t ‘act on my own’, how would I know… that the Second Young Master is actually so good to me?”

[Ding!] The system announced cheerfully: [Congratulations to the visitor. Male lead Su Cheyue’s Hatred Value has decreased by 5. Current Hatred Value: 2990. Keep up the good work!]