By the time they finally reached the hospital, Ji Yuzhou was drenched in a thin layer of sweat from urgency.  

He carried Jiang Xunyu out of the car, where doctors were already waiting.  

Jiang Xunyu lay quietly on the hospital bed as he was pushed into the emergency room, his faint breathing the only sign he was still alive.  

The red light above the emergency room lit up, glaringly bright.  

Ji Yuzhou sighed, sitting down on a nearby bench. At that moment, his fighter guards finally arrived.  

The squad leader of the guards turned pale when he saw Ji Yuzhou covered in bloodstains. Ji Yuzhou, however, spoke steadily: “I’m fine.”  

He gave a calm command: “Go after that car.”  

The squad leader hesitated, glancing at Ji Yuzhou. “Do you want to change your clothes first, sir?”  

Ji Yuzhou froze, only now realizing the blood-soaked state of his clothes. He raised his gaze to the glaring red light above the emergency room and replied in a low voice, “Alright.” Yet, he remained seated.  

The guards looked uncertain but ultimately disappeared down the hospital corridor. Ji Yuzhou lowered his gaze and returned his focus to the red glow.  

The hospital, being in a remote area, had few patients. Though its medical resources were sufficient, the entire floor was eerily quiet, with only the occasional sound of automatic restroom flushing breaking the silence.  

At that moment, time seemed to freeze, each second thick and dragging. Ji Yuzhou had no idea how long he had been waiting, watching as the night outside the window grew darker and stars gradually filled the sky.  

Finally, the red light extinguished.  

The doctor emerged from the emergency room, his fatigue visible. “General Ji, rest assured. After our best efforts, the patient’s life has been saved. However, his injuries are severe, and his immune system is weak. He will need time to recover before waking up.”  

The cold and frosty expression on Ji Yuzhou’s face softened a bit. He thanked the doctor, then finally left to change his bloodstained clothes.  

…..

The guards, selected with strict standards, were highly efficient. With advanced equipment, the escaped vehicle had no chance of hiding.  

The car had two occupants—a driver and a sniper. The driver was killed during the pursuit, while the sniper was captured alive and detained in a nearby underground prison.  

Half a day was enough to piece together the entire plot and the identities of the attackers.  

This had been a meticulously planned operation by a pirate faction. Their scouts had recognized Ji Yuzhou at the fireworks festival, leading to the artificial rainfall that delayed Ji Yuzhou and created an opportunity for the assassination attempt.  

…..

After changing his clothes, Ji Yuzhou headed to the underground prison. The moment he entered, the bearded man shackled by chains glared at him with wide eyes, scanning him up and down. The man struggled, making the chains clatter loudly.  

“You! You’re alive?!”

Ji Yuzhou’s smile was calm. “Yes.”  

“I clearly saw the blood spray before leaving!”  

That was because someone else took the bullet for him. 

A sharp pang shot through Ji Yuzhou’s heart, though his face remained composed, devoid of any emotion, not even sparing the man a glance.  

His voice turned cold as he asked, “Who sent you?”  

The man sneered and turned his head away, refusing to answer.  

Ji Yuzhou didn’t get angry. He took two steps forward, lifted his gaze, and spoke with a calm tone: “Huang Xiuyong, 32 years old, a native of City C, nicknamed Yong Ge. Your marksmanship is impeccable. At the age of fourteen, after losing both parents, you joined the interstellar pirate gang.”  

The man’s breathing grew heavier, his thick beard trembling as he sneered. “Since you know everything, why ask me?”  

Ignoring the retort, Ji Yuzhou asked another question. “What did they offer you to make you risk your life for them?”  

The man spat on the ground. “People like you, pretending to be righteous, wouldn’t understand. My parents were murdered, and your government did nothing. Only they took me in. Without them, I wouldn’t be alive.”  

Ji Yuzhou remained silent for a moment, then said, “Not only do I know who you are, but during the investigation, I discovered something you don’t know.”  

When Ji Yuzhou raised his eyes again, a hint of pity lingered in his usually icy gaze. “Your parents were killed by the very people you call your benefactors. They went to great lengths to secure you as a sniper.”  

The man laughed coldly. “Do you think I’d believe that? Don’t try to drive a wedge between us!”  

Ji Yuzhou’s expression remained indifferent as he accepted a thick stack of documents from a nearby guard. “The evidence is all here. Take it—”  

“No!” The man interrupted quickly, his tone sharp and defensive, as if trying to convince both Ji Yuzhou and himself. “I won’t believe your fabricated evidence! Besides, do you think you’re clean yourself? Your hands are just as dirty!”  

Ji Yuzhou said nothing more. The man’s indoctrination was too deep, and further conversation was pointless. He instructed the guards to keep the prisoner under close watch and try to extract the pirate faction’s base location, then turned and left without looking back.  

…..

Ji Yuzhou returned to the hospital.  

By then, Jiang Xunyu had been transferred to the ICU, visible only through a glass door.  

The young man lay motionless in the hospital bed, tubes and a ventilator attached to his body. He looked just as peaceful as when he had been brought in, but Ji Yuzhou’s heart was far from calm.  

Standing outside, his eyes never left Jiang Xunyu’s faint, rhythmic breaths, his thoughts chaotic and uneasy.

The words of the scruffy man with the beard earlier, “Besides, do you think you’re clean yourself? Your hands are just as dirty!” still lingered in his mind.

His senses were sharp, particularly his ability to perceive people’s emotions.

The moment the photon gun fired, Jiang Xunyu instinctively leapt toward him. In that life-and-death instant, as fleeting as a flash of lightning, Ji Yuzhou had clearly seen the emotions in Jiang Xunyu’s eyes.

In those ocean-like blue eyes, shimmering with faint starlight, there was more than just reverence for a guardian or gratitude for a benefactor—there was also… an infatuation like someone in love.

He liked him.