Chapter 34

“Morning? Senior Ren came by,” Bai Wei said.

Recently, Ren Junyao had been making daily visits to Bai Wei’s hospital room, almost like clockwork. He would sit on the nearby chair, ask about Bai Wei’s condition, express some concern, then talk about their college days and his work experiences in recent years. When there was nothing else to do, Ren Junyao would even peel an apple for him.

Bai Wei knew very well why Ren Junyao was making these trips, and it certainly wasn’t for the little bit of care he was showing. After staying in the hospital for these past few days, Bai Wei also understood that although Xueshan Town wasn’t small, with good universities and all kinds of facilities, it was by no means large.

Most of the residents of Xueshan Town were born and raised there. The furthest they would ever leave the town was to go to a neighboring city for university (and that was only a small number). After that, the vast majority of them would return to their hometowns to continue their peaceful, leisurely lives.

Most of them weren’t interested in the outside world. Instead of focusing on distant places, they preferred to arrange flowers and plants in their yards or go skiing and hiking on weekends. In a place like this, everything Ren Junyao had seen and experienced from the outside world had no place. He wanted to talk about concerts, literature, or world events, but no one was willing to engage in those discussions.

Any attempt to boast was like punching cotton.

—-

So, Bai Wei became the only good subject for Ren Junyao to show off to. Realizing his intentions, Bai Wei coldly observed him and found him somewhat amusing.

However, Lu Sen’s expression became a bit unpleasant. Holding his own apple, the knife in his fingers danced like a butterfly: “That Ren…”

“Ren Junyao,” Bai Wei said with some exasperation, “You still haven’t remembered his name?”

“Oh, Ren Junyao,” Lu Sen said with a frosty tone, as if saying the name of a mere task target. “Did you eat the apple he peeled for you?”

“No,” Bai Wei replied.

There was no way Bai Wei would eat an apple peeled by Ren Junyao. He had a cleanliness obsession, and just seeing that apple touch Ren Junyao’s palm had already made him lose his appetite.

Lu Sen’s expression softened slightly, but then became displeased: “Doesn’t he have his own apple? Why did he come to eat yours?”

“Not really,” Bai Wei replied. “His wife makes him lunch every day.”

“I bring you lunch every day…” Lu Sen said, cutting his apple in his palm, “But what about the apple he peeled?”

Neither Ren Junyao nor Bai Wei ate the apple, and it wasn’t in the trash. So where did it go?

“…It’s hidden in the vase,” Bai Wei said, pointing to the roses by his bed. “You can throw both the apple and the roses away. Clean the vase.”

“Those roses were a gift I gave you!” Lu Sen stared, cutting his palm deep, and blood shot out.

“Your hand…” Bai Wei stared in shock.

Lu Sen set down the knife and casually wiped his palm, the deep cut instantly vanishing. Then he looked at Bai Wei, a confused expression on his face: “My hand? There’s nothing wrong with my hand.”

Bai Wei: …

Okay, fine! He shouldn’t have said anything about Lu Sen being a monster. What does it matter if he’s injured? The most important thing is that Lu Sen healed his wound and made the blood disappear, but the apple was still in Lu Sen’s hand! The blood only disappeared from his sight, not from the real world!

—-

After a brief moment of turning his head away, Bai Wei returned his gaze to Lu Sen. If Lu Sen dared to make him eat that apple, he would stab Lu Sen’s heart with the fruit knife right now.

“It’s not a matter of hands, but how could you put his apple in the vase I gave you roses in?” Lu Sen said.

“I hid it there because it would be impolite to just throw it away in front of a visiting guest,” Bai Wei replied. “Do you want to argue with me?”

…Argue? How could I argue with you? Lu Sen was somewhat sulking. He said, “Alright, I’ll throw away the flowers later and bring a new bouquet. Darling, you can eat the apple I peeled for you.”

He handed over a piece of apple with a flattering smile.

At that moment, Bai Wei accidentally knocked the fruit knife with his elbow, and it fell with free-fall force, stabbing into Lu Sen’s thigh.

“Ah, hubby,” Bai Wei’s voice was both concerned and a bit coquettish. “Did I stab an artery?”

“…”

Lu Sen took the bouquet of roses and the two unwanted apples into the trash room. After disposing of them, he raised his expressionless face, which was darker than a sandstorm.

He felt that he had to take care of Ren Junyao.

Ren Junyao was not only bothering his wife, but he was also showing off in front of both him and Bai Wei. Lu Sen had even learned that, because both Ren Junyao and Bai Wei were high achievers who had returned from big cities, the two of them had been compared as a pair of role models in the town, from their personal lives to their careers, from their families to their current situations. Ren Junyao, a dentist with a stable job and a wife who was the daughter of a former local rich man, was compared with Lu Sen, the outsider, and came out on top in every way.

What could be endured, must be endured no more! Leaning against the wall, Lu Sen played with the fruit knife that had just made a hole in him.

—-

In the past, he would have directly dealt with Ren Junyao. He had a thousand ways to make him disappear quietly.

But this time was different.

This time, it involved Bai Wei. In order to quickly catch up on human social knowledge, Lu Sen had been reading books and watching television every day. From that, he learned one thing: the living are always outshined by the dead. If Ren Junyao were to die, he would become the perfect figure in Xueshan Town’s eyes—a perfect family, a young man gone too soon. Bai Wei and his family would be described as “just as happy as Ren Junyao’s family was in the past.”

Lu Sen would never allow such a thing to happen. His competitive spirit had been triggered, and he had made up his mind. He was determined to defeat Ren Junyao honorably on the battlefield, forcing him to flee with his tail between his legs and never dare to disturb Bai Wei again!

To engage in a fair battle, intelligence is very important. Lu Sen was thinking of finding someone to gather information about his opponent when he heard a bright voice from a young woman.

“Hey! Lu Sen!”

Qiao Min, wearing a floral dress, was standing next to Wei Lian and greeting him.

—-

“Bai Wei is asleep, you must be here to visit him, right? If he knew, he would be very happy,” Lu Sen said calmly, lying without a change in expression.

To gather information about Ren Junyao behind Bai Wei’s back, he needed to send these two people away and have a private conversation with them. As expected, Qiao Min and Wei Lian immediately believed his lie.

“Really? We came at an inconvenient time. But it’s good for him to sleep more, he’ll recover faster,” Qiao Min stretched her neck to look at the hospital room, saying regretfully, “By the way, do you know? Everyone in the town now knows that Bai Wei got injured saving a child in the hospital. Everyone who has dealt with your family says you’re good people. Those rumors before were just misunderstandings fabricated by city reporters to grab attention.”

“She played quite a role in this,” Wei Lian pointed at Qiao Min, “She, the clothing store owner, the antique shop owner, and the motorcycle guy… Oh, even that accountant’s wife from your neighborhood has been going around talking about this, praising you guys endlessly. Surprising, right?”

“Thank you,” Lu Sen said happily.

Lu Sen led them to a bench to sit. Qiao Min handed him a box: “We just found out about Bai Wei’s accident, so we made a cake for him. It’s honey-flavored, hope he likes it.”

“Lu Sen, I suggest you just appreciate her intentions, no need to eat the cake,” Wei Lian said from the side, “I’m afraid you’ll start washing your stomach again, given your old injuries.”

Qiao Min almost slammed the cake on Wei Lian’s head. She looked at Lu Sen with an apologetic expression: “Actually, we should’ve come earlier, but we’ve both been so busy. I’ve been occupied with the students’ school start, and he’s been busy with things in Black Port City…”

“Black Port City?”

“He has a younger brother studying in Black Port City, always talking about becoming a detective or something. There have been a lot of weird people in Black Port City recently. This kid’s not focusing on his studies, he’s just running around with them every day,” Qiao Min gritted her teeth, “I told Wei Lian to talk to his brother. After a few phone calls, not only has he started collecting news from Black Port City every day, but he’s also been gossiping on the phone with his brother. I really can’t stand it! He’s always interested in those mystical, violent things.”

“It’s my fault, I give up!” Wei Lian raised both hands.

Qiao Min was about to continue but noticed the nurse entering to change Bai Wei’s bandages. She happily followed her inside with the cake.

Only Lu Sen and Wei Lian were left on the bench. Lu Sen looked at her cheerful figure and asked Wei Lian, “Do you think Bai Wei will be okay?”

“Compared to him, I’m more surprised that you’re the one lying here,” Wei Lian saw that there weren’t many people around, so he lowered his voice and whispered, “Lu Sen, your relationship with Bai Wei… is it really better now?”

“It’s real,” Lu Sen smiled.

Bai Wei had only been angry in those two days after returning from Black Port City because he was impulsive and had wanted to kill him twice. Recently, Lu Sen had learned through reading various books that keeping his wife in bed for ten days was an extremely excessive and hard-to-bear thing. And after returning home, Lu Sen’s frequency had increased, and Bai Wei, with his traditional character, was very normal to be angry and want to kill him.

Once Bai Wei was discharged, he would control his frequency—once on weekdays and twice on weekends. Lu Sen thought.

“…Alright! Seeing you alive here, I guess your relationship has really improved,” Wei Lian hesitated but decided not to bring it up again. Perhaps, after seeing many serial killer cases in Black Port City, he felt that Bai Wei and Lu Sen’s relationship might be quite normal.

As they say, you know the warmth and cold of water only when you drink it. Wei Lian didn’t want to become the casualty between the couple.

“However, there’s something bothering me lately,” Lu Sen began the topic he wanted to talk about, “Do you know Ren Junyao?”

“Of course, he’s the son-in-law of the Long family, the best dentist in the town, and a top graduate from a prestigious school,” Wei Lian listed his three titles, “What happened? What’s going on?”

“Ren Junyao graduated from Beidu University, and Bai Wei did too. They were classmates,” Lu Sen said, “Recently, Ren Junyao has been coming to find Bai Wei alone every day. I feel it’s inappropriate… Do you know Ren Junyao’s wife?”

He didn’t expect that Wei Lian would look at him with a more surprised expression than his own.

“You mean… how have you never met his wife?”