Chapter 30 Part 1

After returning to the dormitory, Zhong Nian still vividly remembered The Man’s reaction when he spotted the book’s title.

The other man had blushed almost instantly.

Although he had wheat-colored skin and no other expressions, the unnatural flush spread from his neck to his ears and across his entire face. Anyone could tell he was embarrassed.

Zhong Nian considerately said nothing, pretending he knew nothing about it. He shoved the book back into the sofa seam and took the clothes from The Man’s hands.

“Then I’ll head back.”

The Man didn’t try to keep him and walked him to the elevator.

As soon as Zhong Nian entered the dormitory door, cradling the clothes stained with Cream Cake, he couldn’t hold back his laughter.

It was a pity that only he had seen the Kidnapper Boss so embarrassed that his head nearly smoked.

No, there were also the viewers in the Live Stream Room.

【Talk about embarrassing yourself—in front of your wife, no less.】

【Looks like that book didn’t help much. His moves are like a lovesick elementary schooler.】

【I laughed so hard. Is he really the kidnapper boss?】

“What happened?”

In the dormitory, as soon as Ke Zhengchu heard the door open, he turned his head and saw the young man’s amused expression. He couldn’t help but feel curious.

“Nothing.” Zhong Nian didn’t want to reveal the Kidnapper Boss’s secret. After suppressing his laughter, the amusement lingered in his eyes. “Today’s doughnuts are on the table, but I already ate one.”

Zhan Lu had looked so pitiful when he delivered them that Zhong Nian had eaten one to spare him from showing up every day with that resentful, dutiful husband face.

“Mm.” Ke Zhengchu had guessed it when he saw the Kraft Paper Bag, but hearing Zhong Nian say it himself still made the corners of his mouth twitch upward slightly.

He opened the Kraft Paper Bag. The doughnuts inside showed that their maker had put a lot of thought into them.

They had blueberry chunks inside the dough, vibrant blueberry sauce drizzled on top, chocolate stripes, and decorations of sugar needles and dried fruit. Their shape wasn’t the usual round Original Form but heart-shaped.

He took a bite. It was sweet and tart, very fragrant, and not cloying.

“Delicious,” he told Zhong Nian.

Zhong Nian, who was about to go take a shower, smiled. “Tasty, right? I’ll get more for you tomorrow.”

Ke Zhengchu asked, “Does the person who gave them to you know you passed them to me?”

Zhong Nian nodded. Remembering that Ke Zhengchu had seen Zhan Lu, he said, “You’ve met him. That night the Cruise Ship stopped, when I went out in the middle of the night, the one who forcibly brought me back was him.”

Ke Zhengchu acknowledged, “I know.”

“You know?” Zhong Nian was a bit surprised. He had never mentioned that the doughnuts were from Zhan Lu.

“I guessed. Because he’s a chef.”

Zhong Nian shrugged. “Not anymore, though.”

Now he was a stinking kidnapper.

After showering, he applied medicine to Ke Zhengchu’s wounds, but his mind was on the fact that he couldn’t sleep right away—he still had to wash the clothes.

He couldn’t move around freely at night anymore, and the Laundry Room was off-limits, so he had to hand-wash them. Fortunately, it was just one shirt.

It was a bit of a shame; he had only eaten two bites of the Cream Cake before it was gone. In the end, he drank all the Flower Tea to honor The Man’s intentions.

When The Man had walked him to the elevator, he had even told him he would prepare a fresh cake for him tomorrow.

Zhong Nian felt both surprised and puzzled. He couldn’t quite pin down The Man’s attitude toward him.

At first, The Man had picked up his Bow Tie, pretended to return it but secretly kept it on him, read that… book, and didn’t get mad even when scalding hot congee spilled on him—he just made him wash the clothes.

If what Charles said about Hope Island was true, what had The Man gone through before?

Unknowingly, Zhong Nian zoned out. His hand lost its delicacy, and the cotton swab missed the spots entirely.

Ke Zhengchu didn’t make a sound, just watched him.

Zhong Nian realized he had applied the medicine all wrong and froze for a moment. His first reaction was to retort, “Why didn’t you remind me?”

Ke Zhengchu said, “I… I didn’t notice.”

“You don’t pay attention to your own injury, staring at me instead—what’s the point? Look at your wound more.” Zhong Nian felt a bit apologetic. He carefully finished applying it quickly, then checked the old wound on Ke Zhengchu’s wrist again.

It was completely healed, perfectly so, without even a trace left.

The skin on the inner wrist was pristine, as if those crisscrossing, hideous knife wounds had never existed.

“Not even a scar.” Zhong Nian marveled at Ke Zhengchu’s body’s regenerative ability. It wasn’t a no-scar constitution, so how had it healed so fast?

He showed his own wrist. “Look at mine—the marks from last time are still faintly there.”

Ke Zhengchu reached out and touched the light cherry-colored ring of red on Zhong Nian’s wrist. “The one who tied you up was too much.”

The inner wrist was one of the more intimate parts of the body, with sensitive skin connected to the heart. Touching it could reveal the owner’s heartbeat.

There was something indescribably odd about the way Ke Zhengchu stroked it. His thumb pad gently rubbed back and forth over the not-yet-fully-healed red mark.