Chapter 2889: Small Town Infrastructure Construction Proceeds Happily 09

The two of them just lay like that in the morning light, holding each other in an extremely intimate pose, staring at each other.

Huo Zhaoye felt his scalp go numb from being stared at, hot air rushing straight to his head; he almost sprang upright, his back hitting the wall without even noticing.

"I..."

He spoke, his voice hoarse as hell, clearing his throat before managing to say, "Last night... you..."

Huo Zhaoye didn't know where to begin—whether to say that Jin Chen's wrist hurt from a nightmare, or to say how he'd somehow ended up in bed and spent the night holding someone.

Damn, no matter how you say it, it sounds really weird!

Jin Chen also slowly sat up, the thin blanket slipping off, and rubbed his forehead.

"Last night, I caused trouble for Lord Huo."

Huo Zhaoye collected himself, his gaze falling on Jin Chen's left hand, recalling last night's terrifying heat and Jin Chen's painful expression, his tone turning concerned.

"What exactly happened to your hand? Does it still hurt?"

Jin Chen lowered his head to look, didn't immediately explain, but instead leaned his body slightly forward, moving closer to Huo Zhaoye.

They were already sitting on a not-so-wide bed, the distance between them extremely close.

As Jin Chen leaned in, his aura instantly enveloped Huo Zhaoye.

Huo Zhaoye involuntarily leaned back, watching Jin Chen's face draw near, his heartbeat skipping uncontrollably several beats.

Jin Chen's face loomed large before his eyes, skin cold and pale, light-colored pupils like amber soaked in clear water.

Huo Zhaoye's breath caught; at his age of vigorous youth, and it being early morning, some bodily reactions were beyond his control, so he could only press his back tightly against the wall, with nowhere to retreat.

Their breaths almost intertwined.

Jin Chen, however, seemed not to notice his discomfort, his gaze sweeping past his shoulder to look at the bedside cabinet behind him.

Then he reached his arm out from Huo Zhaoye's side, opened the small drawer of the bedside cabinet, and took out a small packet.

It turned out he was just fetching something.

Huo Zhaoye let out a breath of relief, yet inexplicably felt a bit empty.

Jin Chen sat upright; inside the oil-paper wrap was a medicinal patch soaked in herbal liquid.

He handed the medicinal patch to Huo Zhaoye, lifted his eyes, and softly asked, "Please apply it for me."

Huo Zhaoye: "... Oh."

His mind hadn't fully recovered from the earlier shock and turmoil as he held the medicinal patch, gazing at Jin Chen's extended wrist—thin, pale, with faint blue veins beneath the skin, intertwined with a dark red tattoo, giving off a fragile, mysterious beauty.

Huo Zhaoye collected himself, carefully aligned the medicinal patch, gently applied it, and pressed the edges with his fingers.

After the patch was applied, Huo Zhaoye was about to pull his hand back when Jin Chen leaned toward him again, lightly resting his chin on Huo Zhaoye's shoulder.

Huo Zhaoye's whole body tensed, his fingers freezing midair.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

"Mm." Jin Chen replied softly.

Recalling Jin Chen's painful, pallid appearance from last night, Huo Zhaoye placed his palm over the wrist where the patch was applied, lightly gripping it, his fingertip, through the rough fabric of the patch, ever so gently rubbing that spot of skin.

Jin Chen quietly leaned on his shoulder, allowing him to hold and rub.

"How did this happen?"

After a while, Jin Chen spoke softly, "It's a scratch from an aberrant monster."

Huo Zhaoye turned his head in surprise; because they were so close, the turn almost brushed his cheek.

Aberrant monsters come in many varieties.

Some monsters are not only deadly; their scratches, bites, or even mere contact can leave extremely malignant aftereffects.

North Town has seen such cases before—someone got clawed on the arm by a monster, the wound healed quickly, but the burning sensation beneath the skin persisted day and night; eventually the person couldn't bear the pain and chopped off his own arm.

Others have suffered frostbite-like injuries—though the wound healed, they felt ice in their marrow, excruciating pain that could torture a person to madness.

Those are all examples of people being tortured to death while alive.

And the mark on Jin Chen's wrist obviously had existed for a long time, meaning this torment had persisted for a long time as well.

"It's just a slight scratch; the tattoo... I drew it myself." Jin Chen said, pressing against his shoulder.

Huo Zhaoye looked at the wrist covered by the medicinal patch, then at Jin Chen's calm profile; an uncontrollable feeling of heartache grew stronger, and he carefully rubbed the tattoo through the patch.

Jin Chen's chin rested on his shoulder, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.

【Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total 22!】

"Time to get up." Jin Chen stepped back first and got off the bed.

As if the brief closeness and reliance had never happened.

Huo Zhaoye's arms suddenly felt empty, the sandalwood scent fading away, leaving only the warmth of another person on his shoulder.

He sat on the bed, watching Jin Chen walk to the window, push it open, and let the morning light pour in, as if that fragile, trembling person from last night had merely been his illusion.

Huo Zhaoye shook his head, suppressing the inexplicable melancholy welling up in his heart, and also got up and left the bed.

That morning, Jin Chen had Huo Zhaoye stay for breakfast, and also gave him an extra packet of candied tomatoes.