Chapter 54: Recovery
After pinpointing Huo Beixing’s location through his phone, the police and Huo Zhanlin drove there at once.
An Yi sat in the police car without saying a word. His originally bright black grape-like eyes were now bloodshot from worry and agitation.
It felt as though he were trapped inside some violently stimulating ride, his heart flung endlessly high into the air yet unable to fall back down. He took deep breaths to force himself to calm down, but the inside of the car still felt stuffy and suffocating. His breathing was as heavy as if iron weights had been tied to it, and his hands clenched tightly into fists on his lap.
The moment he closed his eyes, all he could see was the photo the kidnappers had sent him of Huo Beixing unconscious.
His mental age was only eight. How could he not be terrified after going through something like this?
An Yi was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Crushing guilt wrapped around him so completely that even though Huo Zhanlin had told him immediately, when he first found him, that none of this was his fault, the guilt and fear still held him tightly in their grip, and he could not break free.
An Yi had always thought of himself as someone brave and optimistic, someone slow when it came to matters of emotion. But Huo Beixing had been kidnapped because of him, and that fact pressed mercilessly against his nerves.
He raised a hand to cover his face, unable to speak. In his eyes, Huo Beixing had gone in an instant from being a one-meter-ninety hunk who could kill a man with one punch to being an eight-year-old brat who still dropped food while eating.
Noticing the changes in his emotional state, the officer beside him tried to comfort him. “Sir, don’t worry. We’ve already confirmed the location. Rescue operations will begin very soon, and we will do everything possible to ensure the hostage’s safety.”
An Yi’s face was pale. “Those kidnappers…”
He stopped there, as though what he wanted to say next was too cruel to utter.
The officer understood perfectly well. Kidnappers were vicious criminals. For profit and money, there was nothing they wouldn’t do. A hostage in their hands had a high chance of being abused, and even after rescue, there could be all sorts of aftereffects and psychological trauma.
The officer tried to reassure him. “Maybe not.”
An Yi looked at him like someone asking for help. “Really?”
The officer was just about to say some kind lie when he suddenly heard An Yi continue, “Will those kidnappers really give him three bowls of rice?”
Officer: ……
Good lord. Quite the appetite.
The officer gave An Yi a few examining looks. There was something indescribably rustic about him. It was the kind of rustic simplicity one saw in warm, straightforward country relatives with no guile.
When the officer didn’t answer, An Yi grew even more anxious, his voice nearly collapsing. “What if they don’t feed him?”
The officer tested the waters. “Does the hostage have some kind of pre-existing condition that means he needs to eat on schedule?”
An Yi shook his head. “No. He’s very healthy.”
“Then if the hostage doesn’t get three bowls of rice, what will happen?”
Solemnly, An Yi answered in two words: “He’ll be hungry.”
Officer: ……
This was the first time he had ever heard such a uniquely angled concern. Most families of hostages worried first and foremost about whether their loved one might come back missing limbs or otherwise maimed. This one, meanwhile, was worrying about the absolute basics.
Clearly, this really was his first time dealing with a kidnapping.
And from what he was saying, it was obvious that in his mind, the hostage was the type who would die if he missed a single meal.
Very soon, the vehicles drove into the abandoned district in the outskirts. Police sirens, accompanied by flashing red and blue lights, sounded outside the pitch-black abandoned factory.
The officer told An Yi not to get out of the car for now, then opened the door himself and stepped down to take part in the rescue operation.
Huo Zhanlin sat in his own car, his gaze fixed on the abandoned factory as it was gradually surrounded by the police. His expression was just as grim—not much better than An Yi’s.
Other than An Yi and himself, he had told no one else in the Huo family or the old master about this. He had instructed the household staff and the butler who knew of the matter to keep their mouths shut. Even the old residence would only learn about it after Huo Beixing had been rescued.
One of the officers, holding a loudspeaker, spoke a series of lines designed to break down the kidnappers’ psychological defenses and persuade them to surrender, ending with the demand that they release the hostage.
Several armed officers approached the factory entrance, listening to the sounds inside and preparing to storm it at any moment.
Seeing that the criminals gave no response for a long while, the police moved on to the classic line: “You are surrounded! Drop your weapons immediately. Surrender is your only way out.”
Looking at the kidnappers playing dead on the floor, Huo Beixing casually kicked the nearest one. “Go answer them.”
His sharp brows drew together. The loudspeaker was so noisy it hurt his ears.
That kidnapper only felt as if he had just been beaten by more than ten people in a gang attack, but after getting kicked, he didn’t dare refuse. Dragging one dislocated arm, he scrambled to his feet and hurried to respond.
At that moment, he genuinely wanted to cry.
His heart overflowed with resentment toward the police.
So now you finally decide to come?!
If you’d come any later, we would’ve been beaten to death!!
Never before had he wanted so badly to be arrested.
When they kidnapped him, who knew this guy was trained? He hit like he was trying to kill them for real. The police weren’t here to arrest them—they were here to save them.
The kidnapper walked toward the door, walking straight toward his bright future.
Standing in the middle of the warehouse, Huo Beixing looked at the men sprawled across the ground. “Which one of you has a cigarette? Give me one.”
“I-I do.”
The man hurriedly handed over the whole pack and a lighter.
Huo Beixing glanced at the cigarette brand with some distaste, but he hadn’t smoked in a long time, and the craving had come on hard enough to make him irritable. So he didn’t bother nitpicking. He took one out, placed it between his lips, lit it, and then removed it from his mouth and tilted his head back to exhale a cloud of smoke.
Normally, after boxing or exercising, he’d smoke. Over time, it had turned into a habit he couldn’t quit. He had just used these men to work out his hands, so naturally the craving rose as well.
Then he bent down, grabbed a kidnapper by the hair, and hauled him upright, his expression casual. “Who sent you to kidnap me?”
And why send such a bunch of weaklings?
Blood stained Huo Beixing’s face, making him look like an evil ghost crawling straight out of hell. Just as the kidnapper, wincing in pain, was about to answer, the police burst through the doors in a surprise raid.
At that moment, the kidnapper felt the salvation of the people’s police.
“I’m over here! I’m he—ow!!”
Huo Beixing found him too noisy and flung him aside in one motion.
The police rushed to Huo Beixing’s side. “Comrade, don’t be afraid. We’ve come to rescue you.”
The kidnapper lying on the floor stared at them with shining eyes. “Mm-hmm!”
Police: ……
At least pretend to act like a proper kidnapper.
The raid succeeded. Huo Zhanlin entered the factory in large strides with An Yi at his side. The interior was dim and thick with dust; the moment light shone through, one could see particles drifting everywhere in the air. Almost at first glance, An Yi spotted Huo Beixing with blood all over his head and face.
His eyes widened instantly. He froze so completely that he nearly tripped over a piece of scrap metal and fell.
Huo Beixing was injured!
Seeing the blood on Huo Beixing’s face, Huo Zhanlin’s brows drew so tightly together they could have pinched a fly to death, but very quickly he noticed the small glowing red point between Huo Beixing’s fingers.
A cigarette.
An officer quickly applied white gauze to Huo Beixing’s wound for simple first aid, stopping the bleeding, then signaled to the ambulance that had just arrived to prepare to take him to the hospital.
An Yi stayed at the very outer edge of the crowd the entire time, never stepping forward.
Huo Zhanlin noticed his state. “This is not your fault. You don’t need to blame yourself.”
Because of his guilt, An Yi didn’t know how to face an injured Huo Beixing. He could only keep looking at him from a distance. “But…”
Huo Zhanlin cut in, “It’s fine. Just count this one on Beixing’s head.”
An Yi didn’t understand. “Count what?”
Huo Zhanlin said, “Count it as that brat having bad luck.”
An Yi: ……
Was that really his biological older brother……
After exchanging a few words with the police, Huo Zhanlin turned back. “I’m taking you to the hospital to see him now. There has to be a mastermind behind these kidnappers. You probably already have someone in mind, since I heard this has something to do with you entering the competition. Once the police finish the initial investigation, they’ll take you in for a statement.”
An Yi nodded and followed him into the car heading to the hospital.
Although the wound on Huo Beixing’s head looked frightening, it actually wasn’t very serious. It was just that he had bled so much that it gave the impression he was about to die.
After letting the medical staff clean and medicate the wound, Huo Beixing swung his long legs like nothing was wrong and was about to walk out of the treatment room. If not for the injury on his head, no one would’ve guessed he was a patient at all.
A nurse pushed over a wheelchair.
Huo Beixing stared at it for two seconds. “For me?”
The nurse nodded.
“You can take it back. I don’t need it.”
The nurse replied, “Your family already paid for it.”
Huo Beixing: ……
Someone seeing this without context would think his legs were broken.
In the end, he didn’t sit in it. Instead, he pushed the empty wheelchair all the way to the ward.
It was a single VIP room—clean and tidy, though the scent of disinfectant still clung stubbornly to the air, impossible to disperse. One could only get used to smelling it.
He had just come out of that warehouse full of dust, and Huo Beixing was considering whether to ask if there were patient clothes he could change into after showering. He was about to press the call button when the room door opened before he could.
An Yi walked in with his head lowered guiltily. The moment he saw the bandages on Huo Beixing’s head, his emotions instantly broke apart in a major collapse. Guilt crawled out from inside him and spread through his entire body.
He came in, sat on the sofa, and lowered his head without saying a word.
He had wanted to speak, but he felt so miserable he couldn’t make a sound. It was all his fault that Huo Beixing had ended up like this.
Huo Beixing’s gaze landed on him.
After thinking carefully, he remembered that the other man ought to be the male wife he had married during the period when he’d been foolish. He had merely recovered; it wasn’t as though he had amnesia. Of course his memories from before were still there—though now there was a strange sense of unfamiliarity attached to them.
As for this male wife, his feelings were naturally rather subtle, because before this, he had never had any plans to get married at all.
Seeing the other man sitting there with his head lowered like a little quail, Huo Beixing didn’t know what to say. Perhaps because of habits formed before, he unconsciously went over and sat beside him.
He found this sort of feeling of being led by ingrained instincts very unpleasant.
Tilting his head slightly, he observed the other man, his peach blossom eyes narrowing.
An Yi kept his head lowered, exposing a section of the back of his neck. His hair was neatly arranged.
His skin was very fair, and he looked young.
His ears were soft and white with just a hint of pink.
“Huo Beixing…”
Feeling him sit down beside him, An Yi forced out a line from his throat, but his voice sounded as though it had been slammed in a door—like he was dragging it out while desperately inhaling, making it sound somewhat ridiculous.
Huo Beixing was almost amused.
The sound of his voice was simply too strange.
He waited for what would come next, only to see the other man remain silent for a long while.
Leaning back against the sofa, Huo Beixing stared idly up at the ceiling. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
At that, An Yi turned his head toward him in a dispirited way. There was a faint sheen of tears in his eyes, his red lips pressed together tightly, and the guilt on his face made that already androgynously delicate little face look all the more pitiful.
Huo Beixing cast him a sideways glance for a few seconds.
And inside, he gave a long wolf whistle.
Author’s Note:
Huo Er: I have never intended to get married.
I saw a little frog.
Huo Er: Hello, let’s get married.
