Deeply Affectionate Male Supporting Character Topped the Protagonist 21

Chapter 21: Mint Hard Candy

The small ward was turned upside down by the two men, but they couldn’t find any trace of the password.

Xi Leng tried all the numbers on the clock and the schedule, but they were all wrong.

Under the pressure of unknown danger, time slipped away second by second, like sand being squeezed through fingers, scattering on the ground. Before they knew it, only ten minutes remained until the ward round.

Only the patient’s bed remained unchecked.

There was nothing unusual about the blankets and pillows on the floor. Xi Leng casually picked them up and tossed them onto the empty bed behind him. The man huddled in the corner felt as if he was being stripped layer by layer, defenseless, watching as the two men aggressively approached.

Xi Leng propped one knee on the occupied bed, unceremoniously pulling at the sheets and flipping the mattress.

He looked like he was robbing the place.

Yet his face remained cold and indifferent, calm and unperturbed, easily deceiving anyone who wasn’t paying attention.

“…Ouch!”

The patient, momentarily lost in thought, was caught off guard and rolled off the bed clumsily.

Xi Leng quickly finished searching the area the patient had occupied, finding nothing, unfortunately. He turned around to see Min Zhi, not even sparing the patient who had just lost his beloved bed, grabbing his arm, his deep, dark eyes scanning him up and down like a high-precision scanner.

The patient nervously gulped, unconsciously clutching the collar of his patient gown.

Xi Leng also looked at him, noticing something odd: “Why doesn’t he have a name tag or number? This is a mental hospital, it would be very troublesome if the staff couldn’t quickly verify the patients’ identities.”

“You’re right.”

Min Zhi nodded slightly. Then the two squatted down, one on each side of the patient, their eyes fixed on his gown.

The back of the blue and white striped patient gown had a large, red embroidered logo, with the words “Ren’ai Mental Hospital.” There were no numerical clues visible directly. Xi Leng thought for a moment, then reached out and tugged at his collar—

On the inside of the back collar, three red embroidered numbers came into view: 872.

Now the patient had a name, Number 872.

“Found it.” After calling Min Zhi over to see the number, Xi Leng let go. “But it’s only three digits.”

“If he set the password…” Min Zhi thought for a moment and said, “then he probably used our numbers?”

Working together, they made progress very quickly.

“Let me see yours first?” Xi Leng asked.

Min Zhi readily turned around, the chain wrapping halfway around his back. Xi Leng took a step forward, the chain clinking rhythmically.

Min Zhi was about the same height as him, the short hair on the back of his neck neatly trimmed. Xi Leng gently pulled down the collar of the sponsored T-shirt, revealing similar red numbers to the ones on the patient gown.

This area was backlit, and the numbers were very small, probably to prevent them from discovering it in advance when changing clothes. Xi Leng squinted to make them out: “888.”

Then, he looked up to confirm the position of the low-wattage ceiling light, standing directly beneath it, his back to Min Zhi: “Look at mine.”

To make it easier for Min Zhi to see, he slightly bent his leg and reached behind him to move his hair out of the way.

A beam of light from above fell along his back, illuminating the skin beneath his shirt.

He worked part-time at the archery range, and painting also involved arm and back movements, so the faint muscle lines on his back were visible, smooth and elegant.

“Is there anything?” Xi Leng wasn’t sure if there was a number on the back of his collar. He asked Min Zhi, who hadn’t responded, then, after a few seconds, used the form of address they had agreed on last night, “…Min Zhi-ge?”

Min Zhi’s eyes darkened, his voice slightly hoarse: “892.”

The collar returned to its place, the exposed skin now chilled by the air conditioning.

Xi Leng didn’t dwell on it and combined the two numbers, already certain that this was the code for the bedside table: “888892, or 892888. The two numbers differ by four. It’s probably because there are five of us. If the numbers are assigned according to the order of admission…”

“It seems you didn’t arrive much earlier than us.” Xi Leng asked Number 872, who was sprawled on the floor, dejected. “Our numbers differ by over twenty, where did those twenty-plus people go?”

“…” The man was silent for a moment, then started giggling again, his thin face backlit, the deep shadows making him look like a terrifying skeleton. “Hehe… hehe… guess, why don’t you guess…”

Unfortunately, the two people in the room hadn’t been scared by him from the beginning, and were now completely immune.

“I’ll try the password.” Min Zhi didn’t waste any time.

He turned the dials on the combination lock, trying “888892” first.

A click, and with a gentle tug, the lock opened in his hand.

“Done.”

Xi Leng immediately squatted down beside him, watching him take something out of the cabinet.

A yellowed and worn notebook, its peeling cover bearing two lines of text: “Feifei and Xiaoya” above, and “Exchange Diary” below.

Exchange diaries were quite popular among students. Many boys and girls who liked each other, or close friends, would use this private form of communication, chatting about everything, sharing secrets.

But unexpectedly, the first page of the diary was an apology letter written by Feifei, explaining the reason for their exchange diary.

The two were the only high school girls in the hospital, and the staff specifically arranged them in the same ward, thinking that people of the same age would have common topics and could heal through interaction with friends. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. An accident happened not long after. Xiaoya’s wrist was cut by a pen, almost life-threatening. Fortunately, Feifei, the culprit, quickly called a nurse, redeeming herself, and in the end, the two were only isolated in a special ward.

The two young girls, learning from their mistakes, decided to start an exchange diary to repair their relationship. At the end of the apology letter were their signatures, along with a large smiley face.

Of course, this incident couldn’t escape the hospital’s attention. This apology letter on the first page was most likely for the hospital to see, or perhaps, a secret clue they left for those who came after them.

The two successors confirmed this and turned to the second page, where the two girls’ exchange diary officially began.

Knock, knock! Knock, knock, knock!

The urgent knocking was like a death knell. The man, who had been quiet for a while, started struggling violently again, letting out ear-piercing screams next to Xi Leng and Min Zhi.

Xi Leng frowned, quickly stuffing the diary under the empty bed, then sitting on it, calmly meeting the gaze of the person who entered.

Just in the nick of time, Min Zhi sat down beside him.

Number 872 was rolling around on the floor, screaming non-stop, covering his ears, his legs kicking wildly in the air.

The medical staff who entered seemed indifferent. The pretty nurse’s face was cold and expressionless, like a robot executing commands: “It’s time for the ward round, Dr. Jia will conduct your diagnosis.”

Dr. Jia again, the familiar face from the bus.

Driven by the vigilance he had developed from struggling in the mire, Xi Leng treated Dr. Jia as a stranger, sitting still and silent, observing the situation.

His face was calm, but his mind was active, not completely giving up on the idea of clocking out early.

After thinking for a moment, he tentatively asked the nurse in front of him: “I have no money to pay for hospitalization, won’t you lose money?”

The nurse smiled, revealing a standard eight teeth, like a beautiful doll whose expression was controlled by strings.

The ward was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

After a moment, the nurse said with a smile: “It’s alright, you have sufficient value.”

Although she was smiling, a chill ran down Xi Leng’s spine. He closed his mouth and didn’t ask any more questions.

This time, Dr. Jia didn’t ask any questions. His silver-rimmed glasses were cold and calm, his eyes behind the lenses undisturbed, silently observing them one by one.

“Number 888 and Number 892’s symptoms have worsened, they need to be taken downstairs for special treatment.”

This long-awaited sentence made their hearts sink.

The nurse beside him immediately picked up a pen and wrote their verdict in the medical record.

Alarm bells rang in Xi Leng’s mind. He reached into his pocket and hurriedly chased after them.

Dr. Jia was at the front, opening the door. The closest to Xi Leng was the nurse holding the medical record.

He casually glanced at the words “special treatment” on the medical record, along with two large red crosses. Combined with the shackles on his feet, this “special treatment” was definitely not a good thing.

Their roommate, Number 872, had already shown them the way out—acting crazy. Number 872 had just escaped by rolling around and screaming. He seemed to have the most severe symptoms, yet he didn’t need special treatment.

Only those who appeared normal would be “punished.”

Xi Leng quickly understood the key. Instead of trying his best to feign madness, it would be easier to play dumb.

So, Xi Leng’s persona upgraded once again. Now, he was a talkative, mentally challenged fan.

He put on an innocent and cheerful smile, the curve of his lips just right, like the first ray of morning sunlight piercing through the fog, clear and flawless.

He extended a hand: “Sister, would you like a candy?”

The nurse’s heart skipped a beat, and she couldn’t help but smile back: “Sure.”

Xi Leng opened his palm, revealing a mint candy he had taken from the makeshift examination station on the bus, he had a whole bunch more in his pocket.

Just as the nurse was about to reach for it, Xi Leng, his smile innocent, flipped his wrist, like a child holding a toy airplane, his long hand slowly circling in the air, then he tore open the plastic wrapper and popped the mint candy into his own mouth.

“It’s very sweet, really.”

With the candy in his mouth, his sharp features seemed to soften, his eyes curving into crescents as he smiled, seemingly just kind-hearted, trying to prove to the nurse how delicious the candy was.

He then extended his hand towards the nurse again, placing something in her palm.

“Here, you have one too, sister.”

The nurse looked down to see a torn candy wrapper. The candy was in Xi Leng’s mouth, leaving her with only a piece of plastic.

“Sister, why aren’t you eating it?”

Xi Leng urged, innocent and expectant.

“Th-this…”

As if facing a real mental patient instead of an actor, the nurse gave a strained smile, unable to figure out how to respond.

“My ge also likes to eat candy.” Xi Leng’s demeanor suddenly changed 180 degrees, from gentle and friendly to furious. “If you don’t want it, then fine! Give it back! I’ll give it to him!”

Even the experienced actor Dr. Jia didn’t know how to continue this scene. The three of them stood there, stunned.

Min Zhi watched the drama unfold with amusement, enjoying his little fan’s dynamic expressions, when suddenly, it was his turn.

Xi Leng shifted his target to him, holding the candy wrapper and offering it to him: “Gege, here.”

“…”

Min Zhi was silent.

Lost in thought, Xi Leng took a step closer and covered his mouth with the candy wrapper.

“Eat it, eat it quickly.”

Min Zhi, unguarded, his eyes widening slightly, his lips parting instinctively.

He actually still had time to refuse.

Xi Leng’s unusual behavior wasn’t hard to guess, acting foolish to avoid the danger of “special treatment,” which was why he was trying to stuff the candy wrapper into Min Zhi’s mouth, making him eat plastic, driving him crazy along with him.

Even after understanding this, Min Zhi couldn’t actually put the plastic in his mouth. He didn’t need this kind of “memorable scene” blessed by the variety show gods, turning him into a laughingstock.

But inexplicably, he didn’t dodge. Xi Leng didn’t force it either, just covering half of his face with his hand.

Those smiling hazel eyes stared at him unblinkingly, their captivating gaze holding his attention. Even a bizarre proposal like “let’s go crazy together,” probably wouldn’t be refused.

Min Zhi felt like he was probably crazy already, he even found this proposal rather romantic.

His tongue, reflecting his changing emotions, darted out, carrying the wet tongue stud.

…So sweet.

Min Zhi froze.

The rich mint sweetness melted with the warmth of his palm. He couldn’t help but extend his tongue a little further, the tip touching the edge of the round hard candy, then moving forward, following the lines of Xi Leng’s palm, hooking the candy.