Warning: There is..kind of?? NSFW content in this chapter. Not a lot and not in detail.
By the time Luo Yu brought Su Jiawen to the island of country U, none of the marks Jiang Qi had left on Su Jiawen"s body remained.
Su Jiawen pulled out a pa.s.sport from his backpack; it was blank. Luo Yu grabbed it from him and flipped through, then asked, "You"ve never left the country?"
"I was originally going to be an exchange student during second semester of my third year," Su Jiawen said. He crawled next to Luo Yu to look.
Luo Yu avoided the topic. He said, "Don"t worry. We"ll get the visa when we land in country U."
Su Jiawen obediently nodded.
Su Jiawen stayed with Luo Yu for several days. Luo Yu spent the entire time working from home to accompany him. He never left the house for more than half the day. Su Jiawen wasn"t as slow to react as he had been when he first got home, but the situation still wasn"t ideal. Luo Yu thought that the only way to fix this was to take Su Jiawen out on vacation.
Su Jiawen could have been considered introverted in the past. Now, he was completely antisocial. He didn"t even like walking Abel anymore. If you said ten sentences to him, he would only reply with one. Had this occurred in the past, Luo Yu would have kicked him out of his house long ago, but he couldn"t do that now.
Su Jiawen didn"t even seem excited after hearing that they would be going on vacation to a tropical island. Luo Yu was nervous, because he had arranged for this trip in an attempt to cheer Su Jiawen up.
The airport Shen Qiyin"s plane was parked at was close to Luo Yu"s home. Luo Yu took his time bringing Su Jiawen over. He had previously warned Shen Qiyin against teasing Su Jiawen in any way. Shen Qiyin felt that Luo Yu"s tone was extremely serious; upon seeing Su Jiawen, he didn"t dare to say anything.
He thought Su Jiawen looked a lot frailer than before, and a lot less happy.
On the plane, Luo Yu was so attentive that Shen Qiyin couldn"t bear to open his eyes. When Luo Yu went to wash his hands after peeling an orange for Su Jiawen, Shen Qiyin called him to a stop. He whispered, "What"s up with you?"
The girl beside him was clutching onto his arm and looking over in curiosity too.
Luo Yu didn"t know how to peel oranges. He got a handful of orange juice on Shen Qiyin"s hair. Shen Qiyin started screaming, complaining about how Luo Yu was suddenly acting like a high school boy, not knowing when to stop.
But the girl next to him laughed so hard that she couldn"t get up from where she was sprawled across his lap.
When they got to the hotel, it was twelve noon in country U. Luo Yu brought Su Jiawen to his personal mizuya.
There were mountains on the north side of the island. The hotel was located in the mountains; it took up the entire northern coast. Luo Yu"s mizuya was in the west wing of the hotel and was quiet and undisturbed. Su Jiawen yawned and sat on the couch, daydreaming. Luo Yu caressed his face and inquired, "Sleepy?"
"A little," Su Jiawen yawned after speaking. His eyes were shiny with tears. "I"m dizzy."
Luo Yu stuffed him into the bed. A moment later, he fell asleep.
Luo Yu walked into the living room. He was just about to contact Xing Licheng when Shen Qiyin"s call came in.
As soon as Luo Yu picked up, Shen Qiyin said, "Let"s chat?"
He asked to meet Luo Yu at the infinity pool set in the heart of the hotel. His little girlfriend was in the middle of playing with water. Upon noticing Luo Yu, Shen Qiyin lit a cigarette for him.
The two smoked in silence for a bit. Shen Qiyin asked him, "Don"t you think my way of life is nice?"
Luo Yu didn"t want to bother with Shen Qiyin. He pointed at the letters by the pool and said, "I remember I told them to remove this?"
"Why did you tell the hotel manager to prepare that?" Shen Qiyin continued. "Something wrong with your head?"
Luo Yu finally glanced at Shen Qiyin. "For the reason you"re thinking."
"……You"re settling down?" Shen Qiyin still couldn"t believe that Luo Yu was changing his ways, just like that. He also thought Su Jiawen was pretty great, but not great enough for him to give up his lifestyle. "What about Su Jiawen attracts you so much?"
Luo Yu thought about it and answered, "He"s not like those little girlfriends and boyfriends you have."
Shen Qiyin couldn"t help laughing. "Then tell me how he"s not like them?"
"He likes me." Luo Yu didn"t laugh. His answer was deceptively casual.
Shen Qiyin originally wanted to ask which one of your dates hasn"t liked you, but when he saw Luo Yu"s side profile, he suddenly became silent. He realized that Luo Yu was actually serious. So serious that it didn"t seem like it was in his place to comment.
Shen Qiyin laughed dryly. "I really couldn"t tell. Even your temper has gotten better."
Luo Yu shrugged, then left after bidding farewell to the other two people present.
After dinner, Su Jiawen wanted to take a walk along the beach. Luo Yu dragged him to the other side of the coast, saying he had planned a different activity.
Su Jiawen asked Luo Yu what it was. Luo Yu spun around to look at him and said, "Parachuting."
The resistance he felt from tugging at Su Jiawen suddenly got stronger. Su Jiawen was very defiant. "I"m not going!"
"Why not?" Luo turned his head and glared at Su Jiawen, expression severe.
Su Jiawen"s voice instantly got softer. "I"m scared."
Luo Yu forced him into a changing room and tossed the parachuting suit at him. Su Jiawen reluctantly put it on.
After getting dressed, Luo Yu dragged Su Jiawen over to the helicopter that was parked nearby. The helicopter was preparing for takeoff and was so noisy that nothing else could be heard in its vicinity. Su Jiawen gave up on resisting. Luo Yu took this chance to herd him onboard.
They put on their seatbelts and the helicopter took off shortly after. It headed toward the sea; Su Jiawen was terrified. Luo Yu calmly helped connect them together with the safety harnesses. He held Su Jiawen close, but Su Jiawen still yelled at him, "Mr. Luo, can I not jump!"
He was much louder than Luo Yu had ever heard before. Luo Yu cruelly rejected him, "No."
The helicopter kept rising until it was at the proper alt.i.tude. The pilot made an ok gesture at Luo Yu, then opened the door. Luo Yu didn"t even hesitate. He jumped off with Su Jiawen.
They free-fell for sixty seconds. He could tell that the person in his arms was so scared he had almost stopped breathing. Luo Yu squeezed Su Jiawen close and kissed the back of his neck before releasing the parachute.
Suddenly, the lights in the entire north half of the island turned off. The world beneath their feet was a patch of darkness. Shortly after, flickers of light started shining on the sea. Three giant words appeared on the vast ocean surface.
Su Jiawen could only hear the roar of the wind in his ears. The enormous air resistance from behind kept them up. They floated in the air, almost as if they were walking on the clouds.
They looked at the ocean from high above, observing the world below through protective goggles. Su Jiawen stared for a long time before realizing that upon adding the shimmering letters together, they read, "breathe for me".
Slowly, they approached the surface of the sea. As if he were one with the candles floating in the water, Luo Yu grabbed onto Su Jiawen, and comforted him, telling him not to be scared, that they were about to enter the water.
They became submerged under the ocean together. The parachutes were painted with luminescent paint, which allowed the rescue boats to follow the light and sail towards them.
Luo Yu didn"t ask Su Jiawen if he liked it or if he was willing. He secretly placed a ring onto Su Jiawen"s ring finger under the water and called out Su Jiawen"s name.
Su Jiawen still felt some residual fear. His entire body was soaked in the smelly and salty ocean water; he was both cold and scared. Suddenly, he felt that something had been put onto his hand. He lifted his head to look at Luo Yu. The hotel lights behind him turned on again. Su Jiawen"s face was backlit, but Luo Yu"s wasn"t.
Luo Yu"s features were very deep-set. He was fierce and handsome. His lips were thin, but were stretched in a gentle smile. He joked with Su Jiawen, "From now on, you"ll be Mrs. Luo."
Su Jiawen realized what he meant and froze in place. His expression was impossible to decipher.
Luo Yu a.s.sumed that he was so ecstatic he forgot to react. He undid the straps of the parachute and pushed him onto the rescue boat. "Get on the boat first."
Su Jiawen was halfway up the ladder when he turned around and smiled sweetly. He gently called, "Mr. Luo?"
One of the straps on Luo Yu got stuck. His head was lowered as he tried to untie it. The engine of the rescue boat was too loud, so he didn"t hear Su Jiawen. When he lifted his head, Su Jiawen had long since climbed onto the boat already.
The next day, the two didn"t wake up until noon. Luo Yu took Su Jiawen to a shooting range.
He taught Su Jiawen how to shoot. Su Jiawen was pretty terrible, so Luo Yu personally went through things step by step with him. Su Jiawen held the gun and flipped it over and over in observation. He fired, but missed the target completely.
Su Jiawen took the earm.u.f.fs off and threw the gun on the table.
"And here I thought someone with calluses on their fingers would be able to aim better," Luo Yu teased as he listened to them announce what ring Su Jiawen had hit.
Su Jiawen lowered his head to rub at his wrist that was now aching from the recoil. He retorted, "I told you they"re from flipping books."
Luo Yu squeezed his soft hands and asked, "Really?"
Su Jiawen confidently answered, "What else?"
"Keep practicing. Let me get some stuff for you." Luo Yu turned around and walked away. Su Jiawen squeezed the gun and lowered his head to examine it.
A while later, Luo Yu returned. He handed the box he had prepared beforehand to Su Jiawen. "Take this gun."
Su Jiawen opened it. Inside was a custom-made Glock 17, the magazine and bullets separately placed in two little indentations at the edge of the box. Luo Yu showed Su Jiawen how to load the bullets; he loaded two then handed the gun to Su Jiawen. "Try."
Su Jiawen took it from him and clumsily stuck a bullet in. Luo Yu laughed, "Not like that."
He covered Su Jiawen"s hands with his own and guided him through the steps of loading the gun. Su Jiawen"s fingers itched with how Luo Yu were squeezing them. He shifted away and smiled, then asked, "Mr. Luo, why are you giving me a gun?"
Luo Yu put the magazine in the gun. He lifted Su Jiawen"s hand. "Hold the trigger down first."
Su Jiawen held the trigger down how Luo Yu taught him.
"And then……" Luo Yu"s index finger pressed against the first joint of Su Jiawen"s index finger. "Do it one more time."
There was a silencer on the pistol, so the sound of the bullet whizzing through the air was very soft——Luo Yu helped Su Jiawen hit the bullseye.
"I"m giving you a gun so you can protect yourself," Luo Yu said right by his ear. "Learn how to use it well."
Su Jiawen turned around to look at Luo Yu. He started learning more diligently.
They had to head back after three days on the island. Luo Yu"s business waited for no one.
Su Jiawen had a lot of fun. His previous gloomy countenance disappeared completely. That night, he expressed his unwillingness to leave while packing. Luo Yu walked over and stroked down his smooth back. "If you like it so much, I"ll bring you here more often."
Su Jiawen had gone snorkeling all afternoon without putting on sunscreen. Yet, he didn"t get sunburned at all, and also wasn"t noticeably tanner. The girls who had gone with them all declared that Su Jiawen wasn"t a real human.
They stopped for afternoon tea at a little island near where they went snorkeling. Su Jiawen was wrapped in a towel as he happily drank his mango juice. He pursed his lips and laughed at them. The girl Shen Qiyin had brought along had a very playful personality. She reached out and stroked Su Jiawen"s chest, which caused Luo Yu"s face to turn dark off to the side. He dragged Su Jiawen closer and bought a T-shirt with a flowery design from a local vendor for him to wear.
As they made their way back, Shen Qiyin couldn"t help but say, "It looks like he"s not wearing pants, which is even stranger."
Luo Yu looked down and realized he was right. Su Jiawen said, "Maybe I should just take this off."
Luo Yu stopped him. He went back and bought a large pair of red shorts and forced Su Jiawen to put them on. Everyone around them laughed so hard they couldn"t stand up straight.
Su Jiawen obediently carried the shorts into the bathroom, then carried them out again. He said, "Mr. Luo, the waistband is too big."
Their entire group of people couldn"t stop laughing. In the end, it was Zhou Zihao who smoothed the matter over by saying, "I think we should head back."
Back in their hotel room, Su Jiawen straddled Luo Yu in only his flowery T-shirt. He wrapped his arms around Luo Yu and pressed his forehead against the other"s forehead. He smelled of the healthy ocean breeze. The metal band on his right ring finger touched Luo Yu"s shoulder. He used his left hand to lift up Luo Yu"s right hand, then kissed at his fingertips.
Luo Yu stared at him but didn"t say anything. Su Jiawen scooted closer and licked his lips.
"Are honeymoons like this?" Su Jiawen asked Luo Yu.
Luo Yu pulled at his T-shirt. Su Jiawen obediently took it off. Luo Yu kissed Su Jiawen and answered, "Honeymoons are better."
He picked Su Jiawen up and pinned him onto the bed. They made love pa.s.sionately, like normal newlyweds.
Actually, Su Jiawen didn"t seem different because he liked Luo Yu.
Luo Yu felt that he was different, because he liked Su Jiawen too.
When they woke up in the morning, the car was already waiting outside. They had to head to the island"s airport and depart.
Su Jiawen sat in the car and looked outside. He said that he wanted to come back next year; he didn"t want to go anywhere else. Luo Yu diligently listened to him speak and agreed half-sincerely.
Who knew that at the airport, they ran into an unexpected person after pa.s.sing through the security check.
Jiang Qi approached them from not far away. Su Jiawen saw him first. Luo Yu discovered that the person next to him had suddenly frozen, so followed his gaze and saw that the one man he really wanted to kill was not even ten steps away from them.
But Jiang Qi didn"t look at him. He met Su Jiawen"s gaze and appeared as if he wanted to say something. He glanced at the security checkpoint, then hurriedly walked to stand beside Luo Yu and Su Jiawen. He was just about to speak when an enormous sound erupted from the airport"s entrance; the entrance had exploded. The whole steel wall burst into pieces as gla.s.s rained from above. There were a lot of people at the airport in the morning, so screams and pained breathing could be heard throughout the entire lobby.
The crowd started running around the airport in panic, searching for the emergency exits. Luo Yu had reacted quickly and protected Su Jiawen by tackling him to the ground in the moment of the explosion. They weren"t far from the entrance, so the heavy smoke made it difficult to even open one"s eyes.
Luo Yu cussed under his breath. He couldn"t hear anything, but grabbed Su Jiawen"s arm and pulled him up. Su Jiawen was surprisingly calm. He held onto Luo Yu and asked him, "Are you okay?"
Luo Yu could only tell what Su Jiawen was saying by reading his lips. He smiled placatingly at Su Jiawen, then grabbed him and headed towards the emergency exit.
The closest one was behind the entrance to customs. Luo Yu ran somewhat slowly. Su Jiawen looked down and saw that the leg of his suit was wet with blood. He had probably gotten hit by a shard of gla.s.s during the explosion.
"f.u.c.k, wait for me!" Jiang Qi charged over from somewhere close by. He helped Luo Yu up. "They"re here for you, right?"
Luo Yu ignored him, directly pa.s.sing under his arm. He shot at a shadow holding a gun in the smoke. The shadow got hit in the abdomen and fell onto the ground. He pressed against his ear piece, trying to ask for backup from his comrades, but pa.s.sed out after Jiang Qi kicked him.
Luo Yu finally took a good look at Jiang Qi. Su Jiawen had opened the door to the emergency escape pa.s.sageway and helped Luo Yu walk inside. Jiang Qi squeezed his way in too, then locked the door from the interior.
"What are you doing here?" Luo Yu could hear again. He coldly interrogated Jiang Qi as they walked.
Jiang Qi said, "Would you believe me if I told you I"m on vacation?"
Luo Yu glanced at him, then turned to look at Su Jiawen whose face was pale with fright. He kissed his brow bone. "Don"t be scared."
Jiang Qi"s expression off to the side made it look like someone had forced him to eat a pile of s.h.i.t. At the corner, Luo Yu suddenly yanked Su Jiawen back. Jiang Qi didn"t stop in time, so almost walked right into a man dressed in all black, wearing a helmet, and carrying a submachine gun.
Jiang Qi cussed again. The man in black directly lifted his gun and fired a round of shots. Jiang Qi was quick to get out of the way, but was still hit in his right arm. He clenched his teeth and groaned, then hid behind the corner once more. Luo Yu kicked him. Jiang Qi only managed to avoid getting kicked out of his hiding place because Su Jiawen hauled him back in the nick of time.
Jiang Qi switched the gun into his left hand, then popped open the mirror in his watch to check on what the man in black was doing. He held up the gun and slowly turned the corner. Jiang Qi shot several rounds at the man in black. The last round hit home; the sound of the bullet pa.s.sing through flesh was clear and solid.
His magazine was empty but he didn"t have time to change it. The three of them kept moving forward until they reached the entryway into the stairwell. They walked downstairs to the airport"s emergency exit. The door of the exit had been chained shut.
Jiang Qi pushed at the chain. He turned around to ask Luo Yu, "Do you still have bullets?"
Luo Yu pressed the muzzle of his gun to Jiang Qi"s head. He said, "Quite a few."
Jiang Qi went f.u.c.k. Luo Yu was just about to pull the trigger when he felt something hard against the back of his head.
He didn"t even need to turn, already knowing that it was the Glock 17 he had gifted Su Jiawen.
Luo Yu wanted to look at Su Jiawen. The added pressure against his head was indication enough that Su Jiawen didn"t want him to move.
"Jiawen, what are you doing?" Luo Yu didn"t get angry at Su Jiawen. Instead, he asked him this question with calm composure.
"Mr. Luo," Su Jiawen"s voice was still light, but Luo Yu could tell that something about it was different from before. He seemed to take the time to carefully pick out what words he wanted to use, before saying, "Aren"t you being a bit too impulsive?"
s.h.i.t"s about to get real!!
LOL My friend walked up next to me while I was translating this and asked what I was doing… awkward… Thankfully it wasn"t a super s.m.u.tty chapter.