Become the Sickly Villain in the Novel - Chapter 57

Li Nuo was being gently led downstairs by Qin Xu. He turned back for one last check. His phone was with him, the backpack was packed, the medicine was inside, and the notebook he had previously used for recording had been destroyed. There shouldn’t be any issues.

“Where are we going?”

Li Nuo looked at Qin Xu ahead of him. Qin Xu continued to pull him forward without any intention of responding.

It wasn’t until they reached the bottom of the stairs that Qin Xu finally released his grip.

Li Nuo took a few steps forward, his face filled with confusion. Returning now wasn’t an option, and going straight to the new residence didn’t seem feasible either. He glanced at Qin Xu, who clearly wasn’t planning to go there.

So where exactly was he taking him?

Walking behind, his head lowered in thought, Li Nuo didn’t notice a small pebble on the road. His foot suddenly caught it, causing him to trip forward. Qin Xu, who was walking slightly ahead, immediately turned around upon hearing Li Nuo’s instinctive cry of alarm and saw him about to fall.

Qin Xu extended one hand to grab his arm and used the other to support his waist to stabilize him.

“Whoa—”

Li Nuo’s eyes widened in shock. He hadn’t expected such a round pebble to appear on the road. His watch conveniently displayed a momentary increase in heart rate.

Fortunately, after the surgery, his heart no longer experienced the previous sharp pain.

“Are you alright?”

“…Thank you.”

He felt a wave of embarrassment—how could a grown adult almost stumble while walking?

What worried him most was that he couldn’t afford to fall right now. If he did and started bleeding, he would definitely need to go to the hospital for a check-up, as his blood clotting function had been slightly impaired since the surgery.

“Have you forgotten how to walk?” Qin Xu teased after seeing him calm down.

” No, it’s just that pebble. I didn’t expect it to be so round,” Li Nuo clutched Qin Xu’s arm tightly, trying to defend himself.

Qin Xu’s gaze shifted to Li Nuo’s pale hands gripping his arm. Possibly due to lingering fear, Li Nuo’s hands were trembling slightly.

Qin Xu didn’t let go. Instead, the arm supporting Li Nuo’s waist pulled him closer, providing greater support.

Qin Xu frowned slightly. The waist under his palm was so slender that he worried he might accidentally break it if he applied too much pressure.

Li Nuo had always been slender, but never to this extent. It seemed the recent surgery had indeed taken a heavy toll on him.

“Where do you want to go?”

Lowering his head, his lips lightly brushed against Li Nuo’s soft hair.

“…I haven’t thought about it.”

“Then just follow me.”

Li Nuo really wanted to complain, Didn’t I ask you this already? And you never answered!

The place Qin Xu had parked wasn’t far. The driver, who had been waiting outside, immediately opened the backseat door upon seeing them.

After helping Li Nuo into the car, Qin Xu turned and exchanged a glance with Fang Che, who had just come down the stairs. Qin Xu gestured subtly with his hands. From the moment they arrived at Li Nuo’s home, Qin Xu had sensed a certain gaze following them.

This feeling hadn’t been present when they departed, but now it was noticeable, meaning that the target wasn’t him but someone else.

Once they caught the person in question, they’d find out.

Fang Che nodded to indicate he understood and then turned away. Qin Xu then got into the car.

“So, where are we going, exactly?”

“……”

Seeing Li Nuo’s frustrated expression, Qin Xu finally smiled. “It’s not anywhere strange. Anyway, the new house hasn’t been fully set up yet, so let’s just spend the day outside.”

Li Nuo thought to himself, Well, I’ve already boarded this pirate ship—oh no, I mean pirate car—so don’t I just have to go along with whatever you decide?

Bored, he gazed out the car window. Suddenly, the phone in his pocket vibrated. The thought that it might be a message from Li Yan made it impossible to ignore.

Pulling it out, he saw that it was an unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar number: Zhang Wanhui.

Given that Qin Xu was beside him, Li Nuo directly hung up and set his phone to silent mode.

“Why didn’t you answer?”

“It’s an unknown number. Probably a misdial,” he replied as he put his phone back into his pocket.

Qin Xu was silent for a while. It was obvious that Li Nuo didn’t want to answer.

Forget it. Liu Ming’s investigation results should be out soon. Since Mo Chuan is abroad, the results will be delivered directly to me, and I’ll know then.

During the silence, the car drove for quite a while, gradually moving away from the city center. Li Nuo stared blankly at the increasingly unfamiliar scenery outside the window.

The car slowly came to a stop outside an open park.

Li Nuo glanced around at the expansive park. He had seen this place in some videos before. It was said to be the largest park in the country.

He had wanted to visit before, but the surgery had delayed his plans.

“Although it’s autumn, the scenery in the park is still quite beautiful, and the weather is nice today. Let’s go in and take a look.”

Qin Xu stood beside him, his expression calm.

Li Nuo glanced at the crowds of people laughing and playing, visible even from outside the park, he then looked up at Qin Xu. If he remembered correctly, Qin Xu usually preferred quiet places. Why, then, had he voluntarily brought him here?

“Are you sure you’re okay with this? There are a lot of people here,” Li Nuo asked sincerely.

“I brought you here. Don’t worry about that.”

Alright, alright. Whatever you say.

The driver stayed outside to wait while Qin Xu and Li Nuo entered the park.

This was a highly commercialized park. A food street was located not far from the entrance.

Feeling a bit thirsty after being out for so long, Li Nuo wanted to get a drink.

“What do you want to drink?”

“Same as you.”

Since he said that, coffee was out of the question. So, he ordered two cups of osmanthus milk tea instead.

The store was quite crowded. After placing his order, Li Nuo returned to their table to wait for his number to be called on the display screen.

A promotional brochure for the park lay on the small table. Li Nuo picked it up and began flipping through it. The brochure was quite up-to-date, highlighting the best autumn viewing spots in the park.

Some of the featured attractions piqued his interest. He took out his phone to snap a picture of the map. Seeing this, Qin Xu asked, “So, have you found a spot you’re interested in?”

“Yeah, let’s check it out after we get the drinks.”

When his number was called, Li Nuo got up to collect the milk tea. Perhaps it was because of the large crowd today, or maybe this shop was just particularly popular, but by the time he returned with the drinks, Qin Xu was already standing, waiting for him.

As Li Nuo took a step forward, someone accidentally bumped into him from behind. He stumbled forward and fell into Qin Xu’s arms.

“Careful.”

“Ouch, my nose hurts,” Li Nuo replied as he raised his head from Qin Xu’s chest, his nose slightly red from the impact. Tears welled up in his eyes involuntarily due to the pain.

Qin Xu took the drinks from him. “Let’s head out first. I should’ve been the one to get the drinks.”

With one hand holding the drinks and the other protectively on Li Nuo, Qin Xu led them out of the shop.

The pain in Li Nuo’s nose quickly subsided. He took one of the drinks back, inserted the straw, and took a big sip.

“This tastes great! No wonder there are so many people,” he remarked, enjoying the sweet but not overly sugary osmanthus flavor.

It had been a long time since he last drank milk tea, and he was thoroughly enjoying it. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Qin Xu’s cup remained untouched.

“Aren’t you going to drink?”

Qin Xu raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you can drink this? You’re still taking medication, aren’t you?”

Li Nuo’s eyes widened in surprise. “How do you know about that?”

But then he relaxed. “This is fine. It’s not on the list of restricted items.”

“Still, you shouldn’t drink too much.”

Qin Xu reached out, almost as if snatching, and took the milk tea from Li Nuo’s hands. “You can drink it later.”

Li Nuo froze for a moment, his expression falling in disappointment.

“I’m not forbidding you from drinking it. Just take it slow.”

Li Nuo nodded, and the two of them fell into silence.

Li Nuo walked toward the scenic spot he had chosen from the map, with Qin Xu following beside him. Qin Xu, who wasn’t naturally talkative, was even quieter now.

Did I make him angry?

Qin Xu glanced at Li Nuo, who was walking distractedly ahead with his head slightly lowered, swiping at his phone absentmindedly.

It wasn’t until they arrived at the first scenic spot that Li Nuo perked up.

“Wow—”

Golden maple leaves, interspersed with shades of crimson, stretched out like a vibrant flame, blazing to the end of the path.

The midday sun bathed everything in warm light, making the scene appear almost perfect, while the gentle autumn breeze softened the atmosphere further.

The breeze rustled the leaves, sending some cascading to the ground, creating a carpet of red and gold.

Li Nuo bent down to pick up a leaf, a perfectly shaped red maple leaf. “I’m going to take this back and keep it as a souvenir.”

“A leaf?”

“It’s a souvenir,” Li Nuo replied with a smile as he looked up at Qin Xu.

Qin Xu felt a faint stirring in his heart. Against the deep colors of the background, Li Nuo’s pale face seemed to radiate an inexplicable beauty.

Perhaps it was because the sunlight was so beautiful, but Li Nuo’s radiant smile made Qin Xu’s heart involuntarily beat a little faster.

Although Qin Xu already knew he had feelings for Li Nuo, this was the first time he had experienced such an uncontrollable reaction from his heart.

He leaned closer to Li Nuo. “If it’s for keepsake, let’s pick out a really nice leaf.”

“Stand up first. Squatting for too long isn’t good for you. Let me help you find one.”

Qin Xu bent down slightly and extended a hand to Li Nuo.

Li Nuo looked up at him. Qin Xu’s expression was so gentle that Li Nuo froze for a moment before reaching out and placing his hand in Qin Xu’s.

With a slight pull, Li Nuo stood up, following the force of Qin Xu’s hand. Qin Xu handed him the milk tea and then crouched down to search through the pile of leaves himself.

Li Nuo stared blankly at his own hand. For some reason, although they had touched several times before, this particular moment of holding hands felt different.

Qin Xu’s expression had softened considerably, and the air around him felt unexpectedly gentle.

Li Nuo had always thought of Qin Xu as a kind of large beast. Although he had become much friendlier now, being near him no longer felt life-threatening.

But at this moment, it felt as if this large beast had chosen to approach him willingly, circling him affectionately under the warm sunlight.

Shaking his head, Li Nuo tried to dispel the thought. What am I thinking? A beast can assume an attack stance at any moment. I can’t let my guard down.

However, as he watched the domineering CEO squat down to look for fallen leaves, Li Nuo thought to himself, Just this once, maybe getting closer wouldn’t hurt.

Li Nuo couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Qin Xu crouch there. Hearing his laughter, Qin Xu looked up.

The beauty, as radiant as white jade, smiled with crescent-shaped eyes, making all other splendors fade in comparison.

Once again, Qin Xu found himself unable to suppress the surge of emotions within him.