Vicious Cannon Fodder? No, He’s a Darling Wife! - Chapter 15

Mai Tuo had finished work late into the night. He had just dragged his exhausted body home and collapsed into bed when a massive crash jolted him awake. The source of the noise was the apartment next door the home of the late Guild Chairman, Qin Zhao.

Thinking of Yuan Su, the Chairman’s partner who was now a wanted fugitive, Mai Tuo didn’t hesitate. His first instinct was to call the City Defense Department.

Ten minutes later, a fully equipped elite squad arrived at the door.

Meng Yi, the captain of the squad, issued the order: “You knock. Act natural. Say you were woken up by the noise and look like you’re ready to pick a fight. Do whatever you have to do to get them to open that door.”

Seeing how serious the soldiers were, Mai Tuo’s nerves spiked. “Right… okay.”

He walked to the door, surrounded by soldiers hugging the walls, weapons at the ready. Mai Tuo took a deep breath and knocked. “Um… is anyone home?”

Realizing he sounded too timid, he cranked up the volume. “What the hell are you doing in there?! It’s the middle of the night! Some of us are trying to sleep! Get out here and explain yourself!!”

The apartment remained deathly silent. At a sharp nod from Meng Yi, Mai Tuo leaned into the role, pounding on the door and cursing. “Don’t play dead! Have some goddamn respect for your neighbors! If you don’t come out, I’m calling management!”

Still no response. But suddenly, a volley of gunfire erupted from the other side of the building!

Meng Yi reacted instantly, snatching the master key from the property manager. He threw the door open, but all they found was an empty room with wide-open windows and a screen fluttering in the wind.

The soldiers rushed to the ledge. Below, two figures were locked together, using the air conditioning units as stepping stones to leap down the side of the building.

“They jumped!” someone snarled.

Meng Yi remained cold. “It’s fine. We have men deployed on the perimeter.”

By the time they reached the fourth floor, Yuan Su and Qu Zhilan had realized the same thing.

Yuan Su’s fingers tightened instinctively on the man’s sleeve, his voice trembling. “There are people down there!”

Almost the moment he spoke, several gunshots cracked through the night, shattering the silence. As a law-abiding youth from a modern society, Yuan Su’s body went rigid at the sound.

“Why does it look like two people?” “Does he have an accomplice?!”

Yuan Su felt the iron-grip of the arm around him tighten. Then, a low, powerful voice rumbled from above his head, grounding him.

“Don’t be afraid.”

Driven by the sheer terror of the situation, Yuan Su buried his face into the crook of the man’s neck. He could feel the vibration of Qu Zhilan’s vocal cords and the steady thrum of his pulse against his skin.

“Hold on tight.”

Qu Zhilan glanced at the soldiers below screaming for them to surrender and let out a cold scoff.

Keeping one arm firmly around the youth’s waist, he eyed a neighboring window. He tucked his elbow in and smashed through the glass, using their combined momentum to crash into the room.

Amidst the high-pitched screams of the residents, Qu Zhilan scrambled up, shielding a perfectly unharmed Yuan Su. They sprinted out of the flat and dove into the stairwell.

Yuan Su tried to ask to be put down, but the vibration of heavy boots echoing through the stairs changed his mind. “We can’t stay in the stairs! they’ll corner us!”

Qu Zhilan’s dark, narrow eyes lingered for a moment on the youth’s face, which was flushed red with panic. He reached up and absentmindedly wiped a smear of blood from his cheek where a shard of glass had grazed him, the red staining his skin.

He was panting, his body radiating heat.

He couldn’t tell if it was the lack of oxygen from the exertion, the dangerously intimate weight of the boy in his arms, or both. But he was exhilarated.

“It’s fine.”

Fine? Yuan Su pressed against him, feeling the man’s heart hammering as if it were trying to break out of his chest. Could you stop being so stubborn for one second?!

Qu Zhilan used the stair railing to vault them both onto a window ledge. He shoved the glass aside and leaped out into the open air.

This is the third floor! We’re just jumping?!

Yuan Su’s mind went blank. He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his head into his “human cushion’s” neck.

Qu Zhilan felt the boy’s desperate search for safety. The wind whipped through his messy black hair, revealing a rare, wild grin. He took the impact with practiced ease and didn’t stop until his stride was steady again.

Yuan Su finally opened his eyes. They were on the ground.

He looked up at Qu Zhilan, his eyes filled with genuine gratitude. “Are you… are you okay?”

Qu Zhilan stepped aside slightly, allowing Yuan Su to see what was behind them. “I’m fine.”

Yuan Su looked back and realized they had landed on an aluminum shed used for parking scooters. The metal was completely caved in from their weight.

Amidst the frantic beep-beep-whirr of triggered scooter alarms, Yuan Su spotted the soldiers leaning out of the third-floor window. “There they are!”

Again?! He patted Qu Zhilan’s shoulder urgently. “Go, go! They’re coming back!”

The parking lot was right ahead. Qu Zhilan tossed him into a vehicle and sped toward the outskirts of the base, the soldiers pouring out of the building in hot pursuit.

Meng Yi watched the taillights disappear into the distance, his face turning a bruised shade of purple. “Catch them! I don’t care what it takes!!”

Qu Zhilan’s driving was wild. He drifted through corners and wove through lanes with reckless abandon. Since the base had a soft curfew, the roads were mostly empty, allowing him to floor it toward the perimeter. Yuan Su gripped his seatbelt so hard his soul felt like it was vibrating out of his body.

He didn’t dare tell the man to slow down; getting caught was a far worse fate. However, the military had numbers on their side, making it impossible to find a gap to slip away.

As Yuan Su scrambled for a plan, a large, calloused hand suddenly grabbed his and pressed it onto the steering wheel.

“Huh?”

Qu Zhilan kept his eyes on the rearview mirror, his brow furrowed. “The road ahead is straight. Hold the wheel steady.”

Before a panicked Yuan Su could protest, Qu Zhilan rolled down the window and leaned half his body out of the car. He leveled his gun and aimed for the tires of the lead pursuit vehicle.

The driver of the chasing car blinked, stunned to see someone hanging out of the driver’s side of the car ahead. Then he saw the barrel of the gun. “Oh, you son of a—!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Qu Zhilan slid back into the seat and took the wheel. “Good job.”

Yuan Su was still leaning toward the driver’s side, his hand still pinned under the man’s. At the praise, he forgot to pull away, staring at the sharp, handsome profile of Qu Zhilan’s face.

Behind them, a thunderous symphony of screeching metal and crashing glass erupted. A sudden fireball lit up the night, reflecting in their sweat-streaked, disheveled faces.

Qu Zhilan didn’t look at him, but his grip on Yuan Su’s hand tightened, holding him fast.

The lead car had flipped, causing a chain reaction that blocked the remaining police cars. Qu Zhilan took the opportunity to break line-of-sight, eventually abandoning the car in an alleyway. He led Yuan Su into a maze of dilapidated, chaotic streets where cameras didn’t reach.

In a labyrinth like this, they were ghosts.

Qu Zhilan clearly knew the area well. As the adrenaline of the chase began to fade, Yuan Su finally regained his senses and struggled to pull his hand back from the man’s warm grip.

Two grown men holding hands? A bit gay, isn’t it?

The man didn’t resist. He simply said softly, “We’re almost there. Just up ahead.”

A few minutes later, Qu Zhilan led him into a house that was half-buried underground. Due to the building’s subsidence, the windows sat level with the dirt outside.

“This is my place. It’s safe.”

The air was damp, and the faint, acidic smell of the slums lingered even in the flickering yellow light, but the place was clean and sparsely furnished.

Yuan Su was confused. He remembered Qu Zhilan being quite wealthy—why would he live here?

As if reading his mind, Qu Zhilan explained, “It’s quiet. I come here to crash after missions when I don’t want to be found.”

“Oh. I see.”

The apartment was a simple one-bedroom. Qu Zhilan opened the door. “You take the bed. Get some rest.”

Yuan Su looked down at his dust-covered clothes. “But I’m covered in sweat. I won’t be able to sleep like this. And I’m still hungry…”

It sounded spoiled, but in his voice, it came across more like a soft plea. I just escaped with my life and I can’t even sleep…

Qu Zhilan stared at the disheveled youth. His pajamas were messy, and his bare feet were stained with dust.

He looked heart-wrenchingly pathetic. At the same time, a warmth bubbled up in Qu Zhilan’s chest like a natural spring. “The facilities are limited, but go ahead. Wash up.”

“Thank you.”

The bathroom was basic, and the water heater was temperamental. Qu Zhilan had to boil water and mix it for him. Yuan Su made do with the lukewarm rinse.

When he emerged, Qu Zhilan had cleaned himself up as well. The man had discarded his shirt, revealing a torso of lean, hard muscle tight, sexy, and powerful. He was sitting on the living room rug, preparing to tend to his wounds.

When he saw Yuan Su, Qu Zhilan’s breath hitched.

Yuan Su was wearing the man’s clothes they were far too big, but they revealed a pair of long, pale, perfectly shaped legs beneath the hem.

How can a man have legs like that?

The towel draped around the youth’s neck was his, too. Qu Zhilan exhaled a shaky breath and looked away, his legs shifting awkwardly under him as he tried to find a comfortable position.

Yuan Su, feeling a debt of gratitude, noticed the first-aid kit on the cabinet. “Let me help.”

“No need,” Qu Zhilan grunted.

Yuan Su ignored him and opened the kit. “Is this iodine still good?”

Qu Zhilan was silent for a beat before relenting. “There’s a new bottle. Use that one.”

Yuan Su smirked, victorious. “I’d feel too guilty if I just went to sleep after everything you did.”

He was starting to really like Qu Zhilan. The man was incredibly reliable he’d helped him escape the military and the Institute without asking a single question.

“I’ll clean your wounds. If you have questions, you can ask them now.”

Yuan Su decided it was time to tell him about Qin Zhao. Since they were destined to be together, telling the “Lead” about the “Love Interest” was the right move. Plus, if he helped them get together and then betrayed them later, he’d be the perfect villainous cannon fodder.

Qu Zhilan didn’t hold back. “You say you aren’t infected. But they’re hunting you like dogs. There has to be more to it than just ‘being near a variant.'”

Qu Zhilan had plenty of superficial cuts. Up close, Yuan Su noticed a map of small scars across his skin. His touch was light as he systematically disinfected the man’s injuries.

Finally, he reached the cuts on Qu Zhilan’s face. Yuan Su cupped the man’s jaw with one hand, using a damp cotton swab to clean the blood from his brow before gently dabbing it with iodine.

“You’re right. There is… one more thing.”

Yuan Su chewed his lip, trying to figure out how to explain Qin Zhao without sounding insane.

Qu Zhilan watched the movement of those lips from twenty centimeters away. His pupils shivered.

“I’m trying to think of how to tell you…”

Yuan Su was so close. He smelled of the lingering sweetness of the body wash—a scent that seemed much more intoxicating on the youth than it ever had on himself.

As Yuan Su spoke, his warm breath brushed against Qu Zhilan’s cheek and nose like steam. The man’s dark lashes trembled; his breathing turned shallow and erratic.

“It’s complicated. Please don’t think I’m crazy. Every word I’m about to say is the truth.”

The youth’s lips were a deep, tantalizing red plump, moist, and naturally inviting.

They looked like fruit that had ripened past its peak, practically bursting with a heavy, sweet fragrance that could drive a man mad. If that skin breaks, the juice will spill everywhere… it will fill the room… it will fill my mouth.

The string of restraint in Qu Zhilan’s mind finally snapped.

Yuan Su was oblivious. Having finished his preamble, he took a breath. “The reason I could escape is actually because of Qin mmph?!”

A hot, heavy hand suddenly gripped his chin. Before Yuan Su could even process what was happening, a pair of cool, thin lips crashed against his.

He was shoved back, pinned firmly against the sofa.

Support