Become the Sickly Villain in the Novel - Chapter 58

When staying with Li Nuo, time seemed to pass without notice. It wasn’t until their stomachs growled with hunger that they remembered it was time to eat.

After they finished eating, Li Yan called.

“Brother, aren’t you back yet?”

“Ah, I’m here at the park with Brother Qin right now.”

“……”

“Why are you over there, Brother? Isn’t that place pretty far from the city?”

Li Nuo felt a bit guilty. “Ahem, the weather’s quite nice today, so I came out here to enjoy the scenery.”

“Alright then. Brother, since you’re with the director, you should come back and rest. The new house here has already been tidied up.”

Qin Xu poured a glass of water and placed it nearby for Li Nuo to use when taking his medication.

Hearing the faint voice coming from the phone, Qin Xu asked, “Do you want to head back now?”

Li Nuo looked out at the beautiful weather and hesitated. Having stayed cooped up in one small space for so many days, he wanted to make the most of this rare outing.

“I’d like to stay a bit longer. Li Yan, don’t worry about me. I brought my medicine along, and the director will definitely take me back home safely.”

Qin Xu curled his lips into a smile, reached over, and took Li Nuo’s phone. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he gets home safely. As for you, Secretary Li, finish your tasks. You must’ve sneaked out of the office, didn’t you?”

Li Yan was momentarily at a loss for words.

“The company only has Secretary Yang there right now. I imagine he’s overwhelmed, so go and help him.”

With that, Qin Xu hung up the call.

Li Nuo widened his eyes. “Why did you suddenly hang up? Li Yan is genuinely worried.”

“He still has work to do. I’m paying him a salary, not for him to slack off. Besides, I already said I’ll send you back properly. What’s there to worry about?”

Qin Xu pushed the glass of water toward him. “Take your medicine. After you rest for a while, we’ll visit the next spot.”

Li Nuo pouted. Clearly, it was Qin Xu who had suddenly decided to move house, prompting Li Yan to rush back from the office.

Nonetheless, Li Nuo sent Li Yan a message to reassure him.

【 You’ve got work to do, so it can’t be helped. Eat well, and I’ll be back before you finish work. 】

In no time, there was a reply from the other side, 【 Alright, I will. Brother, you should also take care to rest while you’re out. 】

Li Nuo felt comforted by his brother’s understanding, unaware that on the other end, Li Yan was gritting his teeth in frustration.

No matter how unwilling he was, there was nothing he could do. Secretary Yang kept calling, and Fang Che also reminded him it was time to return to the company.

With a gloomy expression, Li Yan reluctantly put away his phone and returned to the office with Fang Che.

On the other side, Li Nuo finished taking his medicine and lounged on a chair, playing with his phone.

Qin Xu couldn’t stand it anymore and reached out a scarred hand to block the screen.

“?”

Li Nuo looked at him in confusion.

“You’re here with me.”

“……”

“I mean, we should focus our attention on each other.”

Qin Xu’s eyes were deep and dark, and the way he stared at Li Nuo was like an abyss. If one kept staring, it felt like they would involuntarily fall into their depths.

“Staring at your phone the whole time is a bit disrespectful to me, don’t you think?”

Embarrassed, Li Nuo put away his phone, his gaze drifting downward to avoid Qin Xu’s intense stare.

Is he scared?

Qin Xu reflected on his recent actions.

I thought he was rather naive, but it seems he understands more than I assumed, at least when it comes to this kind of gaze.

Last time, when they were at the izakaya and sitting so close, he didn’t react, so Qin Xu thought Li Nuo was inexperienced and wouldn’t understand. But now, it seemed Li Nuo had some awareness after all.

On the other hand, Li Nuo lowered his head and fiddled with his fingers, his thoughts in disarray.

Why is he suddenly looking at me with that kind of gaze?

Under the influence of the novel, Li Nuo had always assumed Qin Xu liked Li Yan, so he had never considered this kind of scenario. But now, his feelings seemed to be shifting slightly.

The phrase “focus our attention on each other” couldn’t be misunderstood, no matter the context it was placed in.

But this wasn’t something Qin Xu should be saying to him. Reflecting on how Qin Xu had treated him, it indeed differed from the descriptions in the novel.

After all, the novel was an adult-rated work, and Qin Xu wasn’t supposed to gaze at him with that devouring look. Yet, he had paid for his medical expenses, didn’t mind being in crowded places with him during outings, even helped him move houses and sat close to him at the izakaya despite having mild germaphobia.

And now, it was just the two of them at the park, spending time together.

Could this… be a date?

Li Nuo was startled by his own thoughts, shivering slightly before shaking his head to dispel the idea. He quickly tried to find a more appropriate word to describe it. Yes, this was merely a casual outing.

But then again, Qin Xu had specifically come to this crowded park…

The more Li Nuo thought about it, the more his head throbbed.

He still hadn’t made sense of that kiss from Mo Chuan, and now Qin Xu was here too.

This was ridiculous. Li Nuo almost burst out laughing at his own thoughts.

When he looked up, his eyes met Qin Xu’s, who had been watching him.

Human emotions can change and this is a complete world. They were no longer characters being controlled by the author but individuals with their own thoughts. Both Mo Chuan and Qin Xu had proven that.

But… what about Li Yan?

Li Nuo wished for Li Yan to have a perfect ending, one where he wouldn’t be hurt by Qin Xu or Mo Chuan. That was why he didn’t want Li Yan to get entangled with either of them romantically.

In the end, Li Yan didn’t become involved with them. But Li Nuo never imagined that their focus would shift onto himself instead!

Will I experience what Li Yan went through?

Just thinking about it gave Li Nuo a headache.

It felt as though he had fallen into a whirlpool. He had tried so hard to avoid following the novel’s trajectory, only for things to veer in this unexpected direction.

So, when exactly did these two start to change their minds?

Even now, it’s uncertain whether he will stay here for the rest of his life. What if the original owner of the body comes back halfway through?

If that happened, the original owner—who used to bully Li Yan relentlessly—would never let this situation slide.

If these feelings were destined to become a knife stabbing into Li Yan’s vulnerable heart, then it would’ve been better if they had never existed in the first place.

Li Nuo felt that the situation was becoming increasingly troublesome and let out a silent sigh in his heart.

He bit down hard on his lower lip, so much so that he didn’t even notice when it started bleeding.

“What are you doing?”

Qin Xu, who rarely spoke so loudly, frowned and quickly grabbed Li Nuo’s chin. He pulled a handkerchief out of his suit pocket to clean the blood off his lip.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Qin Xu looked worried. Since earlier, Li Nuo’s complexion had been pale, and his eyes had wandered restlessly.

“Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Li Nuo quickly waved his hand. “No need.”

Although the handkerchief was covering his mouth, making his words a bit muffled, his refusal was still clear.

He slowly pried Qin Xu’s hand away, cautiously sticking out his tongue to lick his lips, tasting a faint metallic tang.

“It’s just a small cut. It’s not bleeding anymore, right?”

He raised his face toward Qin Xu.

Qin Xu took a deep breath, suppressing a certain desire. After carefully examining him, he finally felt relieved and said, “It’s no longer bleeding.”

Even though he knew the person in front of him was an adult in his twenties, feeling any sort of desire made him feel as though he were committing a crime.

“We should head back now. We’ve seen enough of the sights this morning, and it’s already close to 3 PM after lunch.”

Li Nuo had been wanting to return to sort out his thoughts. Hearing Qin Xu’s suggestion, he nodded in agreement.

When the two of them exited the park, the driver, who had been smiling as he played on his phone, immediately straightened his expression and opened the car door.

This wasn’t the car that Li Yan usually drove. Instead, it was a larger SUV with an armrest console separating the back seats.

Li Nuo leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes to rest, while Qin Xu turned his head to look at him.

The face that had finally regained some color under the sun was now pale again.

“Ha… You really are someone that needs to be carefully protected.”

In the past, Li Yan had always treated him this way. Back then, he didn’t like it, but now he could understand.

Because now, he felt the same way.

……………

Qin Xu drove to a high-end apartment building, located at a distance neither too far nor too close to the company. It was clear that this was the new home Qin Xu had chosen for the two brothers.

Li Nuo tilted his head up to look at the modern apartment complex, mentally calculating the approximate rent for a place like this.

Based on what he’d seen on rental apps, he concluded that this was far beyond what he and Li Yan could afford.

Seeing his hesitation, Qin Xu reassured him, “Don’t worry about it. The most important thing right now is taking care of your health. Anyway, I’ve got Li Yan working for me.”

Li Nuo couldn’t help but laugh, feeling like all his worrying was a waste of time. He already knew that the plot had already deviated far from the original story, yet here he was, still fretting over whether he would face the kind of torment described in the novel.

Judging from Mo Chuan’s and Qin Xu’s current attitudes toward him, it seemed they were both opting for gentler tactics.

From now on, as long as he could dispel their thoughts and reject them, it should be fine, right?

They took the elevator up and stopped on the 10th floor.

“The door has a password lock. Just memorize the code.”

It was obvious that this password had been set by Qin Xu earlier, and he didn’t seem to have any intention of changing it.

Li Nuo glanced at him and silently made a sarcastic comment in his mind.

After opening the door and stepping inside, he saw a two-bedroom, one-living room setup. At the moment, it looked very empty since both his and Li Yan’s belongings were sparse.

“This is how it is for now. If anything’s missing, I’ll have Fang Che deliver it tomorrow.”

“What’s missing?” Li Nuo wasn’t sure himself.

“You mentioned before that you wanted to cook a variety of dishes, but the old kitchen and dining table were too small, and there weren’t enough kitchen tools.”

Li Nuo’s eyes widened. This was something he’d mentioned to Li Yan shortly after arriving here. How did Qin Xu know?

“Secretary Yang told me. I guess it must’ve come up when he was chatting with Li Yan.”

Secretary Yang, you big mouth.

You’ve let down Li Yan’s trust in you.

Li Nuo pursed his lips, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Qin Xu glanced at his watch. “Li Yan should be getting off work soon. Get comfortable here for now and check out your room. I’ll stop by to see you tomorrow.”

Li Nuo followed him to the door. “Thank you, Brother Qin, for taking me out today. I had a great time.”

Not thanking me for the new residence but for taking him out to play?

Qin Xu found Li Nuo’s thought process genuinely amusing. Under the glow of the light, Li Nuo’s pale-colored pupils shimmered like glass beads. The word “cute” involuntarily crossed Qin Xu’s mind.

He immediately mocked himself for having such a thought.

A man in his thirties, losing composure like this—how ridiculous…

But when his gaze met Li Nuo’s clear eyes, his expression quickly softened.

“Rest well.”