Chapter 2973: You Are My Fashion Darling 32

The rain showed no sign of weakening; instead, it poured harder and harder, as if it would flood the entire island jungle.

Jin Chen's black T-shirt and pants were soaked halfway, his damp black hair sticking to his pale forehead, making him look somewhat disheveled.

A sharp-eyed staff member spotted Chenshu Zong pulling Jin Chen the athlete into the exclusive tent from afar; the low pressure around them and Chenshu's visibly unpleasant expression made everyone fall silent out of tact, no one daring to approach and disturb them.

The assistant was the most perceptive; seeing Chenshu pull Jin Chen into the tent, he turned and fetched the medical kit, stood outside the tent flap hesitating for a second, then lifted the curtain and slipped inside.

Upon entering, she lowered her head, eyes fixed on the ground, afraid to see anything she shouldn't.

But the tent was strangely quiet, prompting the assistant to quickly glance up; all he saw was Chenshu, who usually frowned and worried whenever Jin Chen the athlete caught a bit more sea breeze, now staring at the bleeding wound on Jin Chen's arm without uttering a word.

Meanwhile, Jin Chen the athlete sat quietly in the chair, head slightly tilted, letting his arm hang, his facial expression…… somewhat awkwardly indescribable.

This atmosphere…… hiss.

"Chenshu Zong, the medical kit is here." The assistant gently set the box on the nearby folding table, "Do you…… want me to call the team's professional doctor over to handle it?"

"No need." Chenshu's voice lacked inflection, and he didn't even turn to look at the assistant, "I'll do it myself; you keep watch outside and don't let anyone approach."

"Yes." The assistant complied, giving Jin Chen a sympathetic glance before leaving, fleeing as if from the tense atmosphere, and before departing he made sure to lower the curtain again.

Only the two of them remained in the tent.

Jin Chen: "……"

He brushed back the wet hair stuck to his forehead, letting out an almost inaudible click of his tongue—how did he still bring this up for settlement? Just earlier in the rain, he had thought Chenshu was no longer angry.

It's only natural for a boyfriend to be angry out of concern; he needs to be placated.

But soothing others is, for this certain Jin, truly a technical blind spot.

He had lived over twenty years, spending most of that time alone and withdrawn, finding even normal socializing a hassle, let alone pondering and soothing others' emotions; he was accustomed to handling everything himself, and also to others' indifference or neglect toward him.

This certain Jin was also used to not playing by the rules.

Even Chenshu, who knew his temperament well, upon seeing him lower his lashes with a dazed look, assumed he would resort to his old trick again, using a pitiful gaze to bluff his way through.

But the first sentence Jin Chen spoke caused Chenshu's cotton swab, poised to dip into disinfectant iodine, to freeze midair.

Jin Chen pressed his lips slightly, curled up in the chair, lowered his gaze to look at him; his clear, light tone fell amidst the noisy background rain, sounding somewhat blurred, yet inexplicably carrying a faint, indescribable resonance, making him appear even colder than Chenshu and genuinely puzzled.

"Why are you still angry."

At that moment in the jungle, with dim lighting and tense emotions, Chenshu only caught a fleeting glimpse of Jin Chen's arm bleeding, thinking it was just a ordinary scrape; only later did he see clearly that the wound, while not particularly deep, covered a considerable area, its edges roughed up by the bark and turned white from soaking in rain.

When he saw that wound, his chest felt a momentary suffocation; to say it was heartache would be too mild, insufficient to describe that feeling.

Just as in Chenshu's memory, across countless worlds, whenever Jin Chen saw him injured for various reasons he would feel resentful and heartbroken; he does not like Jin Chen getting hurt.

That wound was right there, on Jin Chen's body, and he had failed to protect him.

Chenshu picked up a disinfectant wipe, clearing the muddy water mixed with blood around Jin Chen's forearm wound, and only after a long while did he respond.

"He doesn't deserve to hurt you, Jin Chen." Chenshu carefully cleaned the wound, wiping away the rain-soaked dead skin around it and swapping in a fresh cotton swab, "You clearly know Min Heng tampered with things, his intentions are impure, so why did you still go see him alone?"

He emphasized the word "alone."

This meant that Jin Chen, fully aware of the danger, nevertheless chose to place himself in a situation with no witnesses and no one able to render timely aid.

This is precisely what angers Chenshu the most and what he fears the most in the end.

If it were merely an outsider, he wouldn't think he could gain any advantage from Jin Chen's hands, but Min Heng enjoys the plot's favor in this little world.

Jin Chen lowered his eyes, listening quietly to his words, his gaze on the treated forearm; the stinging from the disinfectant came in waves, but his face showed little expression.

"To verify something." Jin Chen said very softly.

Chenshu's cleaning motion paused for a moment, he lifted his gaze to look at him, but Jin Chen didn't continue, pressed his lips, and lowered his lashes again.

Chenshu waited a few seconds, receiving no further words, then lowered his head again, swapped in a clean gauze, dampened it with warm water, and wiped the rain-soaked snake makeup from Jin Chen's cheeks and forehead; the black scale patch beneath his left eye had been half-smudged by the rain, the mossy green iridescence spreading out.

Jin Chen unusually cooperated, slightly tilting his face up to facilitate the action; when the wipe reached the corner of his eye, Chenshu's thumb pressed there for a second, and Jin Chen's lashes twitched.

Blood loss made Jin Chen's fingertips a bit cold; he raised his hand, his icy fingertip pad pressing against Chenshu's wrist, rubbing lightly twice, grazing the protruding wrist bone.

Yet before he could speak, Chenshu, in a situation Jin Chen had not anticipated at all, pressed the corner of his lips against the edge of the wound on Jin Chen's arm where the bleeding had just stopped; there remained a small uncovered abrasion there, reddish and slightly swollen.

The warm, soft lips pressed against the fresh, fragile wound, mingling pain with tenderness into a strange sensation, like being branded by the gentlest fire; an unprecedented shudder burst from the kissed wound, racing with astonishing speed up the entire arm, making even his soul seem to tremble.

After even his sole uncle passed away, Jin Chen struggled his way up, from trainee to signed model, and then to participating in this show.

Along the way, there were bumps and falls, open and covert attacks; the injuries he sustained were not few—scrapes, bruises, and even more serious ones.

But a wound is just a wound; once it hurts, it scabs, the scab falls off leaving a scar, and then it becomes merely part of the body—not worth a second glance.

This was the first time anyone had kissed his wound.

"You got hurt here; I saw it; I feel heartbroken."

Jin Chen's Adam's apple rolled once, and he called him by his full name, "Chenshu."