SCOM - Chapter 60
Chapter 60
It took a while for Ji Yuezhi to emerge from the room. He was radiating dampness, his hair still wet, likely from lingering in the bathroom. His eyes, still slightly red-rimmed, met Zuo Luohuan's gaze. "What's up? I was washing up." Ji Yuezhi always looked like this after spending a long time in the bathroom, so Zuo Luohuan didn't notice anything amiss. She chuckled. "Just some things I wanted to check on. Nothing important."
"What things?" Ji Yuezhi asked.
Zuo Luohuan was unsure if he had seen the video. He must have recognized her at the underground black market when he saw the wanted poster. She had been surprised at the time. The surveillance footage was from a year ago, when she was thinner and had disguised her face. A normal person wouldn't have connected Shui Bai to her, especially since the footage wasn't clear.
A moment of silence hung between them. A service cart rattled past in the hallway. Before Zuo Luohuan could react, Ji Yuezhi murmured, "Come in."
He pulled her inside and firmly shut the door. The passing service staff only saw them embracing, seemingly in a moment of intimacy, and heard nothing. They continued down the hall, pushing their cart.
Loud program advertisements had been playing in Ji Yuezhi's room since he returned. After pulling Zuo Luohuan inside, he released her hand and walked over to the sound system, quietly watching her.
Zuo Luohuan paused for a moment before approaching him. "Did you watch the video?" she asked softly.
Ji Yuezhi's gaze was steady. "...Yes. What drug did he give you?"
Zuo Luohuan's feelings were complex. She hadn't expected the video to leak. It probably wasn't Hong Tongdao's people who released it. Her eyes fell on the sound system. "Just a nerve stimulant. The effects wear off afterward."
"Even if the effects wear off, you still went to Dr. Fang's clinic?" After seeing the video, Ji Yuezhi connected it to information his father had occasionally mentioned. It coincided with the time she returned to the Capital.
Zuo Luohuan faltered, then suddenly relaxed. She reached out and touched Ji Yuezhi's face, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "I'm fine now… Why are you angry?" She still hadn't answered his question.
Ji Yuezhi turned his head away from her touch and asked in a cool, business-like tone, "What did you discover? Why would he do that to you?"
Zuo Luohuan's smile faded slightly. "I didn't discover anything. I was captured. I didn't kill anyone."
"You…" Ji Yuezhi frowned at her, an emotion flickering in his eyes.
Zuo Luohuan wanted to reach out and smooth the furrow in his brow, but she stopped herself. She forced a smile. "I'm not even angry. Why are you so upset?"
Ji Yuezhi closed his eyes briefly, his knuckles white and tense. After a moment, he looked at her and asked softly, "Wouldn't you be angry if you saw a friend hurt?"
…A friend?
Zuo Luohuan went along with it. "Yes, I would be."
They stood facing each other. Finally, Ji Yuezhi asked, "How long were you there?"
"A few days. I don't remember clearly," Zuo Luohuan said casually.
I don't remember clearly. From those vague words, Ji Yuezhi sensed the immense pain she was hiding. She always used this nonchalant attitude to mask her emotions, and every time she did, it was just to brush things aside.
Zuo Luohuan's gaze rested on Ji Yuezhi's face. His lips were tight, clearly unhappy. The redness around his eyes seemed to be intensifying. She spoke earnestly, "After we leave Xijiang, I'll tell you a secret."
"What secret?" Ji Yuezhi was intrigued. "The secret you discovered here before?"
Something flickered in the depths of Zuo Luohuan's eyes. She watched a drop of water fall from Ji Yuezhi's hair onto his elegant, straight collarbone and slide down. She reached out and caught another droplet. "It has nothing to do with that."
Ji Yuezhi was about to say something more, but Zuo Luohuan stopped him, changing the subject. "Where are the condoms?"
"You…" Ji Yuezhi's gaze involuntarily fell to the bedside table. "I flushed them down the toilet."
Zuo Luohuan smiled. "Mm, our Yuezhi is so thoughtful."
The tips of Ji Yuezhi's ears, hidden beneath his hair, flushed a light pink. He tried to maintain his composure. "Someone will clean the room in the morning."
Zuo Luohuan took out the box Zhou Li had given her that morning, opened it in front of him, took one out, and tossed the wrapper in the trash. "Like this?"
Ji Yuezhi pursed his lips, took the condom from her, and went into the bathroom to flush it.
When he came out, his gaze landed on Zuo Luohuan's side. "I want to see your injury."
"It's already healed," Zuo Luohuan explained. "You should have heard of Dr. Fang's reputation."
Ji Yuezhi stared at her silently.
Zuo Luohuan had no choice but to lift the hem of her shirt to prove her words.
The injury on her side was near her ribs. Ji Yuezhi had masochistically watched the video several times, his breath catching with each viewing. The location of her injury was deeply etched in his mind.
Two faint white scars remained on her ribs. Normal injuries wouldn't scar unless the area was repeatedly injured and treatment was delayed.
Ji Yuezhi's breath hitched. His fingers tensed as he slowly reached out, wanting to touch them.
"It's fine," Zuo Luohuan said, grasping his hand and letting go of her shirt. "It's all better now."
Ji Yuezhi kept his head down, as if trying to see the scars through her clothes.
"It's getting late. I'll go back now." Zuo Luohuan lifted his chin, then quickly released him. "What's past is past. We have things to do tomorrow."
Ji Yuezhi softly agreed, watching her turn and leave.
Back in her own room, Zuo Luohuan leaned against the door and pressed her hand to her forehead. She hadn't needed to go to him. Ji Yuezhi finding out was inevitable, and she could have easily told him over her optical computer.
What was she afraid of? It was hard to tell in that moment. She had just instinctively gone out, knocked on his door, and then, when she actually saw him, she didn't know what to say.
Remembering the secret she wanted to tell him, a flicker of tenderness appeared in Zuo Luohuan's eyes.
Meanwhile, in the room across the hall, Ji Yuezhi didn't go to bed as Zuo Luohuan thought he would. He replayed the video over and over, almost feeling the same pain as the person in the chair. His hand clenched, knuckles white. He didn't sleep all night.
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