Become the Sickly Villain in the Novel - Chapter 54

Mo Chuan gazed at Li Nuo, who was complaining, and thought to himself that this lively appearance of his was still the best. The image of him being pushed out of the operating room covered in blood was truly heartbreaking to see.

He reached out and held Li Nuo’s small hand, murmuring with concern, “You’ve lost weight again, even though you’d just managed to put on a little.”

He rarely initiated physical contact with Li Nuo because Li Yan would always stop him from getting too close. Fortunately, Li Nuo himself wasn’t particularly mindful of physical touch.

But this quality of his was both a blessing and a curse, as it wasn’t just Mo Chuan—Li Nuo wouldn’t reject others either.

As soon as he thought of the possibility that someone else might hold Li Nuo’s hand like this, Mo Chuan’s originally pleasant mood plummeted. Lowering his head, he began fiddling with Li Nuo’s hand.

Li Nuo didn’t struggle and let Mo Chuan play with his hand. With his head lowered, his eyelashes were clearly visible.

Although Li Nuo had been physically close to Mo Chuan before, he had never observed him from this angle, likely due to their height difference.

Now, Li Nuo carefully scrutinized Mo Chuan’s face. Indeed, Mo Chuan was a different kind of handsome—a warm, gentle kind. Rather than calling him “beautiful,” “handsome” was undoubtedly the more appropriate descriptor.

Li Nuo examined him carefully, from his forehead to his chin. Unfortunately, from this angle, he couldn’t see his eyes. He especially liked Mo Chuan’s emerald-green eyes.

“Have you really never thought about continuing to be a secretary?”

Mo Chuan’s sudden question interrupted Li Nuo’s thoughts, pulling him out of his daze. Li Nuo let out a soft “Hmm?” in confusion.

“I told you before, I only have one secretary. So, what do you think about staying by my side?”

Li Nuo raised his eyebrows. Reflecting on his three weeks of idleness at the company, he thought, You still haven’t given up on this idea?

“If you need more secretaries, then hurry and hire someone. I’m not suitable for this job,” Li Nuo said, shaking his head and rejecting the offer.

His own health couldn’t handle the busy demands of a secretary’s work. Hiring him would be the same as not hiring anyone, as all the work would still fall on Mr. Liu Ming, the secretary he had yet to meet. That would be far too unreasonable.

Mo Chuan sighed, lifting his head to meet Li Nuo’s gaze. Li Nuo’s moist eyes stared at him directly, and at that moment, all his worries vanished.

Mo Chuan wanted to reach out and embrace Li Nuo tightly, but considering Li Nuo’s current health, he couldn’t do so.

All he could do was sigh in regret. He had come today to bid farewell to Li Nuo, as he was about to leave on another business trip.

When he had first agreed to Qin Xu’s arrangement, it had been presented as a simple, idle position. Yet now, here he was being overworked. In the past few months alone, he’d gone on numerous business trips.

If this had been in the past, he wouldn’t have minded—he would have simply treated it as a way to combine work and leisure while traveling. But now…

Now, all he wanted was to stay by Li Nuo’s side, or for Li Nuo to stay by his.

Although he wasn’t sure when he had fallen for him, since his feelings were already clear, he figured he should take action.

He would do whatever it took to get what he wanted.

Mo Chuan smiled. “The reason I haven’t hired anyone yet… is probably because of you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, I’ve already told you. I want you to be my secretary.”

Li Nuo raised an eyebrow. “Don’t push the blame onto me. I’ve already told you I’m not suitable. I only have a high school diploma, my health is poor, and if I start working, I might even need others to take care of me.”

“That’s fine. Liu Ming is very capable.”

“…Spare your all-capable secretary.”

Li Nuo sighed. With this kind of boss, Mr. Liu Ming was truly unlucky.

Mo Chuan looked disappointed. Holding Li Nuo’s hand, he said somewhat dejectedly, “I’ll be leaving for a business trip tomorrow. This time, I’ll be gone for a long time. Even if I work hard, it’ll take at least a month.”

“Hm, that long?”

“Yes. It seems like Director Qin doesn’t like me very much. He keeps sending me on business trips.”

“Oh, come on, it’s probably just for work.”

“What? Are you siding with Director Qin in front of me? I’m going to cry now,” Mo Chuan said, pretending to be pitiful.

It was probably because Qin Xu was such a serious person that even Li Yan wasn’t particularly guarded against him.

However, when he glanced at Li Nuo, there was no discernible expression on that delicate face of his.

There wasn’t even a trace of sympathy for Mo Chuan.

“…Ha.”

Mo Chuan now truly felt like crying. It seemed Li Nuo had absolutely no other feelings toward him. Perhaps even considering him a friend was already the best-case scenario.

Please don’t let it be a troublesome old man.

For once, Mo Chuan experienced a rare sense of helplessness. Even though he had already made up his mind, the age gap between him and Li Nuo couldn’t be ignored. Li Nuo was still very young and hadn’t met many people yet. If, in the future, Li Nuo encountered someone he truly liked, it wasn’t impossible for Mo Chuan to be left behind.

Before something like that happened, Mo Chuan knew he had to secure a place in Li Nuo’s heart.

Hearing Mo Chuan sigh, Li Nuo was thoroughly confused. Why had the conversation suddenly turned into a question of favoritism? He didn’t understand at all.

“Don’t cheat on me while I’m gone.”

“?”

“Don’t meet with other people.”

“??”

“What’s your answer?”

“…I’m just trying to figure out how to respond.”

Mo Chuan’s attitude remained the same—was he still playing out this emotional drama? From that day at the café until now, it had already been more than two months.

Though Li Nuo didn’t feel angry about it, he worried that others who saw their interactions might misunderstand. If, in the future, he met someone he truly liked and that person misinterpreted things, what would he do? After all, Mo Chuan was his lifesaver; if he ended up heartbroken because of Li Nuo, it would feel like an unfair way to repay his kindness.

Mo Chuan gently brushed Li Nuo’s fair cheek with his other hand. “Wouldn’t just saying ‘I know’ be enough?”

“Wouldn’t answering that way sound even weirder?”

Mo Chuan wanted to sigh again. Although Li Nuo usually acted so obedient, he would resolutely refuse anything he didn’t want to agree to, without the slightest consideration for Mo Chuan’s feelings.

He probably thought Mo Chuan was joking again.

One could say, at this moment, there was a certain degree of similarity in their mindsets.

After a moment of silence, Mo Chuan asked softly, “Has your memory come back?”

“…No. Does that still matter to you?”

Li Nuo lowered his head. He could still vaguely recall some of the dreams he’d had while unconscious, but… those were probably “the original me’s” memories. There was no need to tell anyone about them.

“Not really, I just think it’s a bit of a shame.”

“Do you want me to regain my memories?”

“No, it’s not necessary. I care more about the current you, although the you back then was still you.”

No, that wasn’t me.

Li Nuo silently replied in his heart.

But Mo Chuan’s words did remind him that he needed to update his memo.

“If you change your mind in the future, I’ll help you. As long as you don’t bring back the feelings from that time.”

Li Nuo paused slightly, then realized what Mo Chuan meant by “feelings.”

He was referring to the fixation on Qin Xu.

Yes, it was a fixation, not love.

After analyzing it multiple times, he concluded that the original owner simply wanted to divert Qin Xu’s attention away from Li Yan.

Since he didn’t have the original owner’s memories, he didn’t understand the reason behind these actions. Did he dislike Li Yan that much? That was his own younger brother, after all.

Seeing the change in his expression, Mo Chuan couldn’t possibly miss it.

“Did you remember something?”

Li Nuo shook his head. “I’ve already told Li Yan that I want to start accumulating beautiful new memories and stop dwelling on the past.”

Mo Chuan’s eyes lit up. Not dwelling on the past—did that mean all feelings toward Qin Xu had been completely let go?

This was fantastic.

He was worried that some inexplicable emotions might still linger in Li Nuo’s heart.

Li Nuo, seeing Mo Chuan suddenly become inexplicably excited again, was utterly baffled.

Unable to figure it out, he decided to let it go. As long as Mo Chuan didn’t continue asking about his memories, that was enough.

Mo Chuan held onto his hand, unwilling to let go. But time would not stop for anyone’s desires. He had already spent enough time here, he still needed to go back and prepare the materials for his upcoming business trip.

“Don’t get too absorbed in using the laptop. It’s bad for your eyes and rest.”

“Then why did you buy it for me?”

“Looking at your phone all the time is even worse. Anyway, you need to rest well. By the time I get back, you should be fully recovered, right?”

“Hmm, probably.”

Mo Chuan got up, ready to leave. However, before leaving, there was still one thing he wanted to do.

Facing Li Nuo, he spread his arms wide.

“Send me off like this.”

“Like what? By letting you hug me?”

“Mhm.”

“…Brother Mo, you do realize that this is really strange, right?”

“It’s not like I’ve never hugged you before,” Mo Chuan said aggrievedly. “I’m going away for a month, can’t you at least see me off?”

Li Nuo felt that this person’s behavior was really strange, but he didn’t think about it in terms of romantic feelings. He didn’t believe that someone like Mo Chuan, a flirtatious and wealthy young master, would take a liking to someone like him, a young and ordinary guy. There were plenty of attractive people out there, and it wasn’t as if Mo Chuan hadn’t seen his fair share of them.

But then again, Mo Chuan was inherently eccentric, so it was better not to overanalyze his behavior.

Take now, for instance. Watching Mo Chuan, who still had his arms outstretched, Li Nuo sighed. Fine, just consider it a request from his lifesaver.

He slowly moved his body. Since he was sitting on the hospital bed, he could only reach out and wrap his arms around Mo Chuan’s waist, pressing his face into his chest.

Mo Chuan eagerly hugged Li Nuo back, though he was careful to use a very gentle strength.

Leaning against Mo Chuan’s chest, Li Nuo’s ear was positioned right over Mo Chuan’s heart. For some reason—maybe it was just his imagination—Li Nuo felt that Mo Chuan’s heartbeat was a bit fast.

After holding each other for a while, Li Nuo mumbled, “Aren’t you leaving yet?”

“Before I go…”

Mo Chuan lifted Li Nuo’s face. For some reason, despite Li Nuo still being in a post-surgery state, his lips were still rosy, as if all the color in his face had concentrated there.

Mo Chuan subconsciously swallowed.

He wanted to kiss him but now wasn’t the time.

Suppressing the impulse, he lowered his head slightly and briefly kissed the side of Li Nuo’s white, delicate face.

Mo Chuan’s sudden action startled Li Nuo, whose eyes widened in shock. He immediately raised his hand to cover the spot where Mo Chuan had just kissed him and stared blankly at him, unable to say a word.

In contrast, Mo Chuan gazed at him with a gentle smile. ” I’ll use this to endure for a month.”

……………

After leaving the hospital room, Mo Chuan headed down to the parking garage. As soon as he got into the car, he called Liu Ming.

“It’s me.”

“There’s something I need you to do.”

With one hand tapping lightly on the steering wheel, Mo Chuan continued, “Li Nuo and Li Yan. Investigate them further, beyond the basic information.”

“Yes, the hidden details that no one knows about. Thank you for your hard work.”

After hanging up, Mo Chuan tossed his phone aside. He already knew the basic information about them. What he wanted now was to uncover deeper, hidden truths.

“What could it be?”

His murmured question drifted into the air and faded away.