Chapter 98

The team leader, the name “Shang Mingbao” was only heard by Essie and the guide beside Oshio.

Shang Mingbao frowned and glared at him, looking troubled, as if reminding him to act like a stranger.

Essie hadn’t quite figured it out yet when she heard a crisp and decisive command: “Take her to the back to have a look.”

According to the guide, they would be out of the rainforest in fifteen minutes. Shang Mingbao was not pleased to be this sightseeing spot and lowered her gaze, saying, “Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine.”

After all, it was just a few leeches sucking blood; it wasn’t worth getting so worked up over.

“You—” Xiang Feiran was choked by her response, staring at her for a while, his expression and voice growing cold: “I’m not asking you.”

Before she could react, Shang Mingbao felt the skyline in her vision blur—she was turned around by Xiang Feiran gripping her shoulders and then given a slight push on her spine.

“Take your boss to be checked.” This was directed at Essie.

Shang Mingbao stumbled forward, her face already turning red.

Again like this.

This person is always like this… treating people like spinning tops.

Essie didn’t dare to breathe heavily, nor did she dare to steal another glance at Xiang Feiran’s expression. She obediently accompanied Shang Mingbao to the back of the hillside.

In the quiet, faint voices of conversation were heard, one was Xiang Feiran’s, and the other was Huiwen’s and the director’s. Soon, the noise increased as the lead guide shouted for everyone to move ahead.

Essie focused and clarified, “They’ve gone ahead.”

Shang Mingbao, already feeling awkward and uncomfortable, sighed with relief when she heard the team had left, and her movements relaxed.

Essie guessed, “It must be Xiang Bo who drove them away.”

Shang Mingbao responded with a brief “Mm” and silently started to remove her gear.

He was just more of a gentleman; if it was misinterpreted, it was her fault.

Shang Mingbao was lightly equipped today, with everything packed into an outdoor vest. She removed the camera mount strapped to her waist, then took off the camera, and unfastened the nylon woven belt from her quick-dry pants.

Essie grabbed at her pant leg, her face suddenly changing color: “Your pants are wet…”

“Sweat.”

“No…” Essie trembled as she pointed out, “It’s blood, sister.”

Shang Mingbao froze, still feeling dazed, and took off her long pants—

A sharp scream pierced the rainforest, startling countless birds and the man half-leaning against the hillside waiting.

Xiang Feiran immediately rushed forward, but was held back by Fu Yu: “Xiang Bo, there’s a difference between men and women. I’ll go check, leave it to me.”

He then told Huiwen, “Come with me.”

By the time they arrived, Essie was already sitting on the ground, unable to stop dry heaving.

The issue was at the line of her hips and back of her legs, which Shang Mingbao couldn’t see. She instinctively reached out to try and pry them off, but Essie screamed in panic: “Don’t, don’t, don’t! Don’t touch them! Ah, ah, ah, don’t touch them!”

Shang Mingbao’s body stiffened. “What’s going on?”

Huiwen, not much braver, let Fu Yu take over. Fu Yu composed herself and said, “I’ll handle it.”

Going around to Shang Mingbao’s back and taking a glance, Fu Yu’s scalp tingled, and her breathing became unsteady: “How are there so many? Didn’t you notice?”

Shang Mingbao looked down and saw her knees covered in red streaks of blood. She had felt some pain, but given the soft organic layer and soil, she didn’t expect any abrasions…

From the moment she took the first step onto that path, the creatures went wild, scrambling out of their grass nests and onto her. Due to the limited conditions, she only had time to check from her ankles to her calves and waist.

By the end of the long journey, these bugs were already full, but the anticoagulant toxins secreted by their mouthparts kept the blood flowing.

Fu Yu, enduring a tingling scalp, first tried to soothe her: “It’s okay, it’s okay. It looks scary, but it’s not even as much as a day’s period… Don’t be nervous.”

Essie was close to tears: “What do we do?”

Fu Yu swallowed: “We can’t pull them out forcefully, as the mouthparts may break off inside and cause infection. This is the rainforest, a place where microorganisms thrive. I… I should find Xiang Bo. I’m not good with this.”

She tried to leave, but was pulled back by Shang Mingbao.

Shang Mingbao looked into her eyes, her determination mixed with pleading: “You do it.”

Although none of them wanted to tell her exactly how many bugs there were, a little imagination was enough to guess the scene would be extremely disgusting.

She didn’t want Xiang Feiran to see such a disgusting side of her.

“He’s a man,” Shang Mingbao calmly said, “It’s not convenient.”

Fu Yu took a deep breath, met her gaze for a long moment, and nodded: “Okay, I’ll do it.”

She pulled out a lighter from her pocket: “The salt is used up. I’ll burn them off. Don’t move…”

The sensation of the heat source close to her skin was extremely vivid. Shang Mingbao dared not move, holding onto the tree trunk, feeling cold sweat breaking out.

The leeches, full of blood, were not that difficult to deal with. With the fire, they curled up and fell off on their own.

One, two, three, four…

Essie, suppressing her urge to vomit, felt dizzy and watched as her hands and Huiwen’s hands twisted together like claws.

The creatures, swollen from the blood, no longer moved on the ground and were crushed one by one by Fu Yu. Blood splattered, mixing with the mud and grass, completely breaking Essie down: “I want to go home… Mom, I want to go home…”

Once the burning was done, Fu Yu was drenched in sweat and let out a long breath: “Okay, let’s take off the clothes and have a look?”

Shang Mingbao decisively took off her quick-dry T-shirt, leaving only an outdoor bra, allowing the three of them to inspect her.

Essie and Huiwen both felt itchy on their own bodies, and after checking Shang Mingbao, they also took off and examined their clothes and pants.

After a busy time, over twenty minutes had passed. Shang Mingbao slowly put on her vest again and thanked Fu Yu: “Thanks to you.”

Fu Yu pressed her lips together in response.

Returning to where the original team was, only Xiang Feiran and the guide remained, with smoke lingering in the evening mist among the trees.

He had lost count of how many cigarettes he had smoked.

Seeing people, he straightened up, his gaze directly falling on Shang Mingbao: “How is it?”

“Fu Teacher burned them off,” Shang Mingbao said politely, “Thanks to you and Fu Teacher, otherwise Essie and I really wouldn’t know what to do.”

Hearing her words, Xiang Feiran tightened his grip on the cigarette pipe, his expression unreadable.

Huiwen laughed: “I thought you knew each other, seeing how anxious Xiang Bo was.”

“No, we don’t.” Shang Mingbao shook her head gently, her pale face calm and natural, “Xiang Teacher has a lot of outdoor experience and is very responsible.”

Xiang Feiran gave her a deep look, saying nothing.

As they exited the forest and walked into the village, branching paths led to different inns, and they naturally parted ways.

When everyone else had left, Essie finally asked, “How did Xiang Bo know your name?”

“Because…” Shang Mingbao hadn’t come up with an explanation yet.

“And your name is the same as his ‘one true love.'”

Shang Mingbao: “…”

Turning her face away expressionlessly, she saw Essie biting her lip and grinning like a fool.

“He’s super nervous about you,” Essie made an OK gesture, “I get it, ‘one true love.'”

Shang Mingbao’s thin skin reddened: “… You’ve calmed down now, right? You were completely useless a moment ago.”

Essie placed her hands over her heart: “My legs are still weak, but my heart beats fervently for ‘one true love.'”

It was endless.

Shang Mingbao, uninterested, clenched her fists and walked forward.

At the inn, she sat on the edge of the bed, took off her heavy hiking boots, and rolled down her socks—

She was horrified to find a leech on her foot. It was almost transparent, swollen, and striped.

“Ah! Ah! Ah!”

With a thud, the shoe was flung back against the door panel.

“Get it off! Get it off!” Essie jumped two meters away from her boss.

Shang Mingbao stretched out her leg, closing her eyes and screaming. If she had an axe nearby, she would have chopped off her own foot.

The commotion was interrupted by two urgent knocks on the door: “Shang Mingbao?”

Shang Mingbao: “Ah ah ah ah ah, get it off!”

Essie: “I don’t know ah ah ah, is someone knocking?”

Shang Mingbao: “Ah ah ah ah ah ah, hurry and find someone! Find someone! Get this foot off! Get it off!”

Essie: “No way, it’s attached to you!”

Her phone vibrated messily, and Shang Mingbao swiped it open to reveal: “Ah ah ah ah ah ah!”

Xiang Feiran: “…”

“Open the door, I’m outside.”

As soon as her toes touched the ground, Shang Mingbao felt a tremor in her heart and hands, crying out, “I can’t do it, I can’t, Brother Feiran, there’s something on my foot, I can’t use it anymore!!!”

Xiang Feiran took a deep breath and said slowly, “Then let Essie open it.”

Essie quickly appeared, unlocked the door, and saw that Xiang Feiran was still dressed in the same outfit, obviously having come straight here without returning to his room.

Xiang Feiran didn’t bother looking at her. Once inside, he went straight to Shang Mingbao: “What’s going on?”

Despite the air conditioning blowing fiercely, Shang Mingbao was sweating profusely and tears welled up in her eyes: “Leech… leech…”

Xiang Feiran caught a glimpse and visibly relaxed: “It’s okay, leave it to me.”

Shang Mingbao clutched the snowy white bedsheet with both hands, watching as he crouched down and struck a match.

“How disgusting, can’t you not look?” She cried and wailed, unsure if it was the leech’s bloodsucking or the embarrassment of having him see the leech on her skin.

Xiang Feiran didn’t lift his gaze: “Not looking might burn you.”

He held Shang Mingbao’s high arch foot. It was pale white, with thin red streaks of blood.

He steadied himself, and the flame from his fingertips gently scorched the leech. A moment later, a plop sound was heard on the floor.

Xiang Feiran calmly picked it up, causing another round of screams in the room.

Shang Mingbao wore one shoe and kept one foot bare, limping behind him as she watched him toss the leech into the toilet and flush it.

“Why leave it here? Will it crawl out at night?” She gulped nervously, her pale face flushed, black hair sticking to her temples.

Xiang Feiran stopped his leisurely hand-washing motion, “So, what, should I get it out and throw it somewhere else?”

Shang Mingbao: “…”

Essie pointed to her other shoe: “This, this, this one isn’t off yet.”

Shang Mingbao’s fingers flailed empty, shaking her head vigorously: “No, no, I don’t want it, I’ll just sleep like this!”

Xiang Feiran frowned skeptically: “You were quite bold in the forest earlier, I only heard your assistant.”

Shang Mingbao’s brows were even more furrowed than his: “I didn’t see it… How would I know it would be so disgusting.”

“How many were there?” Xiang Feiran asked Essie.

“Ten…”

“Ah!” Essie was cut off by Shang Mingbao’s head-in-hands scream before she could finish.

Xiang Feiran kept his face expressionless, trying not to let his concern show in his eyes.

Then he tilted his chin: “Sit down, I’ll help you take it off.”

Shang Mingbao wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Xiang Feiran: “I still need to take you to the community health station, don’t waste time.”

She had no choice but to sit down at the end of the bed obediently.

Xiang Feiran gave a calm command: “Close your eyes.”

Shang Mingbao indeed shut her eyes tightly.

With sight removed, her sense of touch became extraordinarily vivid, every movement Xiang Feiran made on her body and skin was felt intensely.

He untied her shoelaces.

He took off her hiking boots.

He carefully rolled down her stained long socks, removing them from her toes.

Her body felt like it was covered in the rainforest’s vines, blooming with large leaves and flowers.

The hot sweat on her skin was replaced by a more subtle warmth, and Shang Mingbao’s face turned red, asking, “Is it gone?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“Don’t shiver.”

Shang Mingbao couldn’t tell if she was hot or cold, but Essie felt quite warm and awkwardly looked away.

Only when the toilet was flushed again did Shang Mingbao dare to open her eyes, hearing Xiang Feiran’s calm voice over the running water: “Change into another pair of shoes, I’ll take you to the health station.”

“No need,” Shang Mingbao pressed her bare foot against the inn’s composite floor, which was pleasantly cool, just as her feelings were.

“To be disinfected, you also need a tetanus shot.” Xiang Feiran dried his hands and walked to the entrance: “You have three minutes.”

The door was gently closed after he left, and Shang Mingbao looked at Essie for a moment. Essie gently urged, “Hurry up, what are you waiting for?”

Shang Mingbao licked her lips and, almost instinctively, raised her foot and sniffed with her nose close to the ground.

Essie: “…”

Please.

The careful and cautious flaring of her nostrils concluded after a while: “It’s okay…”

It was worth the most expensive hiking boots, the most expensive socks, the most expensive food, and the most expensive spa, all nourished for this moment of not feeling awkward.

Essie: “Xiang hasn’t even taken a shower and came to take you for a shot.”

Shang Mingbao rinsed her feet and put on clean socks: “I have eyes.”

Although she tried hard not to think too much, the corners of her lips still curled slightly.

She wanted to hum a song.

Just as she finished putting on her socks, she received a call from Xiang Feiran. She thought he was hurrying her, so she answered the phone while preparing to open the door. On the other end, his voice said, “Sorry, I have something urgent. I’ve asked Huiwen to take you.”

Shang Mingbao paused with her hand on the doorknob, said “oh,” and didn’t know what to say, so she said, “No trouble, I can go myself.”

“You can have Essie accompany you if you like,” Xiang Feiran said with an emotionless tone, “But it must be dealt with.”

Shang Mingbao gently leaned against the coat rack at the entrance, making a jingling sound.

“Okay.” She replied, “Then you get busy.”

After hanging up, Essie watched her and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Not in a hurry now. He has something to do. I’ll take a shower and go later.” Shang Mingbao smiled and walked toward the room.

Her supposedly calm back was actually so dejected that even Essie could see through it.

“Well…” Essie nodded and comforted, “Xiang Feiran does seem very busy. I heard his room’s light was still on until 2 AM last night.”

Shang Mingbao forced a smile, as if nothing was wrong, stretched out in a large lazy stretch, and cheerfully said, “Then I’ll go take a shower first.”

After undressing and waiting for the water to warm up, the smile on her face faded, and she gently pressed her back against the white tiles.

Her shoulder blades were too thin and felt uncomfortably sharp.

Xiang Feiran’s actions towards her were like a qualified ex—he wouldn’t ignore your difficulties, but once the crisis is over, that’s it.

Because he knew her well, he dealt with matters related to her with more attention, more thoughtfulness, and more impartiality, but those were just superficial gestures. How decent.

The water warmed up, and Shang Mingbao stood under the shower to wash away the sticky, mottled blood on her legs.

The places where leeches had been had tiny cuts, some of which were quite deep, and there was a burning sensation when the soap touched her skin.

After carefully cleaning up, she went out, and Essie had already returned to her own room. Shang Mingbao plugged in the hair dryer and started drying her hair, feeling inexplicably patient, as if finding something to do for herself in idleness.

She suddenly remembered she still needed to sort out photos and specimens, which lifted her spirits.

Xiang Feiran called for the third time.

“Why haven’t you gone to the health station?” He asked straightforwardly, and there was wind noise on the line, indicating he was outdoors.

Shang Mingbao was startled: “How did you know?”

Xiang Feiran replied calmly, “I’m here.”

After reviewing several previews in the photographer’s room and responding succinctly to Director Yang’s suggestions and needs, he walked past his own room in the corridor and went straight to the village health station.

“…” Shang Mingbao blinked, confused: “You’re there? Aren’t you busy?”

“Finished dealing with the matter, came to find you, but you weren’t there.”

“Oh, I…” Shang Mingbao cleared her throat, weakly: “I just took a shower…”

Xiang Feiran was silent on the other end, obviously holding back a deep breath: “Shang Mingbao, can you tell the difference between urgency and triviality?”

“The bleeding has stopped.”

“Then you should prepare to deal with infection and scars.”

“I’m coming!”

She rolled out of bed, slipped into half-dragged slippers, and said, “Coming right away, coming right away.”

“Do you know the way?”

“…”

Good question.

Shang Mingbao, after a moment of confusion, said firmly, “I’ll ask for directions!”

The villagers’ Mandarin was not standard, and she had to spend quite a bit of effort finding the way. When she saw the green sign of the health station from afar, her heartbeat inexplicably quickened, and the more she ran, the more intense it became.

Arriving at the place, panting, her freshly washed long hair flowed smoothly down from her shoulders like a waterfall.

She was dressed simply, in a black sleeveless top with built-in padding and a pair of very simple denim shorts.

It was already seven o’clock, the sun had set on the island, but it was still light. The wind through the coconut trees now brushed her arms and then Xiang Feiran’s nose.

“Sorry, I took a wrong path just now.” Shang Mingbao pressed her lips together.

Xiang Feiran put away the partially read email, “It’s okay, let’s go.”

The village’s community health station was next to the big auditorium and village committee, providing basic medical care to villagers. Once inside, it felt dim, with a disorganized medicine cabinet. The rural doctor had just finished examining a child.

After Xiang Feiran described the symptoms, the doctor indeed prescribed a tetanus shot and asked Shang Mingbao to sit down so he could examine the wound.

The wound was in a sensitive spot, and Shang Mingbao had some psychological barriers, but the doctor was straightforward: “If you’re embarrassed, have your boyfriend take a photo and send it to me. The leeches here are very aggressive! It’ll swell up in the next two days, and you’ll be in pain, young lady!”

“He’s not—” Shang Mingbao instinctively tried to deny.

“Where is it convenient?” Xiang Feiran interrupted her, asking coldly.

The doctor pointed to a small room nearby. “There, it has a latch.”

Once inside, Shang Mingbao realized it was a storage room for medicine, with no windows. The narrow, rectangular room contained two old aluminum cabinets and a wooden three-step ladder in the middle. The cabinets were filled to the brim with various medicine boxes and bottles, and the air was thick with a mixture of dust and medicinal smell, which wasn’t unpleasant.

After Xiang Feiran entered, he turned on the light, closed the door, and latched it.

“Turn around.” He said, casually and without preamble.

“…”

Shang Mingbao complied, placing her hands on the cabinet. She tried to make small talk, “Do you want me to stand here?”

It felt awkward…

Xiang Feiran cleared his throat for no apparent reason. “You can sit if you want.”

Shang Mingbao, trying to be serious and fearing eavesdroppers, spoke very softly, “Sitting might make it clearer; otherwise, you’ll have to…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence. Under the flickering fluorescent light, her eyelashes drooped, and her lips were tightly pressed.

Xiang Feiran: “…”

Shang Mingbao, lowering her head, tried to walk towards the door. “I won’t look. If there are scars, then so be it.”

Xiang Feiran’s hand briefly touched her shoulder, halting her. “Don’t be willful. An infection will be troublesome.”

He hadn’t had a chance to shower, still wearing his rain forest shirt. He took a step back. “I haven’t showered, so don’t stand too close.”

Shang Mingbao felt a pang in her heart, a hidden voice whispering inside her.

You don’t know how much I want to hug you.

It was clear that there were no chairs in the room, only that wooden ladder, which was a bit dirty.

After searching around, she found a stack of old newspapers to use as a cushion.

Shang Mingbao took off her sheepskin slippers and sat on the top step of the ladder, with her heels resting on the second and third steps.

She had nowhere to put her gaze, her fine eyebrows furrowed tightly. Suddenly, in a moment of resignation, she said for the second time, “I won’t look. It’s not a big deal.”

Xiang Feiran, with a cold expression, said, “Sit still.”

Shang Mingbao clenched her fists, meeting his gaze from below, and confirmed once again, “You’re not dating anyone, right?”

“Don’t be neurotic.”

She bit her crimson lower lip, “Then… then go ahead and look. Quickly.”

Xiang Feiran held her slender ankle. No matter how calm his face was, the movement of his Adam’s apple was impossible to hide.