BDBE 27

Chapter 27 Leg Injury

At the start of the race, Zhou Hui was able to keep pace with Shen Wanchao. However, he had a surgical wound on his leg. During his recovery, he only regained his daily functions and didn’t continue training. He could walk, run, and jump normally, but it wasn’t enough to compete with Shen Wanchao, a semi-professional athlete. 

Before the halfway point, he had already fallen behind. 

When Shen Wanchao reached the finish line, he took a breath and turned around, only to see Zhou Hui had just crossed the finish line. 

Shen Wanchao immediately sensed something was wrong and wanted to ask Zhou Hui if he had let him win, but he quickly noticed that his walking posture was a little unnatural. 

As he got closer, Shen Wanchao noticed the faint scar left by the stitches on Zhou Hui’s leg. 

“What happened to your leg?” he frowned. 

However, before Zhou Hui could answer, Zhou Mingchen and Han Zhen had already jogged over. Zhou Mingchen supported his father, and Han Zhen also looked worried. 

Only Shen Wanchao, completely unaware of the situation, was rooted to the spot, looking completely lost. 

Zhou Hui patted Zhou Mingchen’s hand, indicating he didn’t need help, then looked at Shen Wanchao and said, “Last ​visit our site​autumn, I fell from a high platform, fracturing my leg. I had surgery, and I’m all better now.” 

Shen Wanchao did not understand. He blanky stared at Zhou Hui from where he stood.

The wind seemed to sense something amiss; it ruffled Shen Wanchao’s hair before disappearing without a trace. 

Zhou Hui instructed Han Zhen to take Zhou Mingchen back to the car first; he had something to say to Shen Wanchao. 

In those two seconds of silence, Shen Wanchao thought he had transmigrated. 

He must have transmigrated to some unknown future timeline, or some parallel world with a slightly different trajectory from his original world; otherwise, how could he have no recollection of Zhou Hui’s injury? 

Or perhaps he had amnesia. 

In short… it couldn’t be that he was mentally sound and yet didn’t know about his legal partner’s injury and surgery. 

Last autumn? Last autumn, he was on set. 

He was supposed to be filming an interview with a very eccentric person, and his team had gone to great lengths, even promising the interviewee a high fee, to secure their consent. They couldn’t just stop filming halfway through and make the interviewee wait a few days. 

To finish the shoot on time, he barely contacted his family during that period. 

But if he had known Zhou Hui was injured, and so seriously, he wouldn’t have cared about that fussy interviewee; he would have stopped filming on the spot… no, he would have had the assistant director cover for him and gone to the hospital to take care of Zhou Hui. 

“You…” 

Shen Wanchao found his voice choked up. He cleared his throat before continuing. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Zhou Hui admitted he was being awful; he had done it on purpose today. 

He deliberately wanted Shen Wanchao to know about his injury under these circumstances, to make him feel guilty, and to punish him for the disappointment he had caused him. 

But seeing Shen Wanchao genuinely trembling with pain, Zhou Hui damnably softened again. 

He sighed, his voice softening considerably. He changed his prepared prepared statement, and said, “It’s all in the past. You were out of town then, and I didn’t want you to worry, so I didn’t let them tell you.” 

But Shen Wanchao was a smart man with a good memory. He quickly recalled a phone call he received on set one day. Zhou Hui acted strangely on the phone, as if something had happened, but hesitated to speak. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time; the subject of the filming was throwing a tantrum, and he was in a hurry to negotiate, so he quickly hung up. 

In the following days, his parents and Zhou Hui’s two fathers called, all acting strange, and their words ​stolen content​were limited to small talk. 

Suddenly, Shen Wanchao guessed the truth: 

“You called. You were going to tell me… I hung up on you.” 

Zhou Hui didn’t speak, tacitly agreeing. 

Guilt overwhelmed Shen Wanchao like a high wave.

Zhou Hui took two steps forward, and let him rest his forehead on his shoulder as support.

The Alpha’s body temperature was high; Shen Wanchao could even faintly hear his heartbeat and feel the burning blood coursing through the veins beneath his skin. 

“I’m sorry.” 

Besides this, Shen Wanchao couldn’t think of anything else, because any words seemed inefficient and powerless; any further explanation would be like making excuses. 

It was his fault, a terrible one. He admitted his mistake; he was sorry. 

Zhou Hui looked down at the person leaning against him, and sighed inwardly. 

The moment he saw Shen Wanchao’s sadness, he regretted his actions. 

He raised his hand; he wanted to hug Shen Wanchao to comfort him and tell him not to blame himself so much. But he saw Shen Wanchao raise his head, a pair of clear and sincere eyes looking at him,

“I didn’t fulfill my obligations, it’s all my fault. Is there anything I can do to make amends?” 

Zhou Hui’s raised hand froze in mid-air, and he asked incredulously, “You feel you’ve neglected your duty, so you want to make amends?” 

Shen Wanchao felt he had already made himself clear, nodded, and said, “A gift as compensation? Or do you want me to do something, help you take care of your leg? Or do you have other requests? Don’t worry, I’ll agree to anything.” 

Zhou Hui stared into the eyes in front of him, which were full of sincerity and remorse, yet also made him particularly angry. He almost wanted to sneer out loud. 

“Shen Wanchao.” 

For the first time in so many days, Zhou Hui called Shen Wanchao by his full name. 

Shen Wanchao had a bad feeling; Zhou Hui’s reaction was too strange, he couldn’t understand it. 

And what Zhou Hui said next made it even more incomprehensible. 

Zhou Hui took a step back, his expression serious, and asked him, word by word, “Do you still love me?” 

Shen Wanchao’s eyes widened. He thought that Zhou Hui must be in excruciating pain from his leg, and he answered without hesitation, “Of course I love you! If I didn’t love you, how could I have been with you for so long?” 

“Perhaps,” Zhou Hui stepped back again, “but I can’t feel it anymore.” 

“What?” 

Shen Wanchao found Zhou Hui’s retreat glaringly obvious and wanted to chase after him, but Zhou Hui’s words forced him to stay put. 

“Zhou Hui, what are you talking about?” Shen Wanchao felt wronged and unjustly accused. “Why would you doubt that I don’t love you anymore? I told you, your injury was indeed my negligence. I didn’t fulfill my responsibilities as a spouse, and I’m willing to make amends, no matter what conditions you set…” 

“Enough,” Zhou Hui coldly interrupted him; he shook his head slightly, wanting to say something, but then remaining silent. 

In the end, Zhou Hui simply regained his composure, and suppressed all his overflowing emotions, “You must be tired from the sports meet. I’ll go change first, and you… go wash your face too. Let’s meet in the car; it’s parked right at the school gate. I’ve booked a restaurant for lunch; we’ll go with Xiao Chen.” 

“Zhou Hui, Zhou Hui!” Shen Wanchao couldn’t stop him. “Can’t you just say what’s on your mind? Guessing only leads to misunderstandings! Zhou Hui!”

Zhou Hui didn’t look back. 

Shen Wanchao was left alone, his heart pounding erratically. He felt a growing anxiety that things were spiraling out of control, a feeling he hated. His initial guilt had vanished completely thanks to Zhou Hui’s abrupt and impulsive action, replaced by irritation.

“Zhou bastard, why didn’t you just explain yourself?” 

… 

After parting ways with Shen Wanchao, Zhou Hui went to the nearest restroom to change. 

Although there were six different categories based on the first and second genders, restrooms were still categorized according to the first gender, with only two main categories: men and women. 

According to national standards, restrooms must have individual stalls to protect the privacy of different gender groups. Even the urinals in the men’s restroom must be located within the stalls, preventing the awkward situation of people of different genders urinating side-by-side. 

Zhou Hui changed and came out of the stall, straightening his clothes in front of the sink mirror. He inadvertently glanced at the student next to him. 

The student was diligently washing his hands, his white wristbands removed and placed on the counter. 

Zhou Hui saw the boy’s face in the mirror. 

It looked somewhat familiar. 

After a moment of thought, he remembered. 

“Lin…Anyi, is that right?” Zhou Hui hesitantly called out the name. 

Lin Anyi stiffened; he let out a quiet sigh, thinking that he had been found out. He then turned off the tap, and nodded to Zhou Hui in greeting, “Hello, Uncle Zhou.” 

Zhou Hui nodded in response. 

After the simple greeting, Zhou Hui continued to fix his hair. Lin Anyi stood to the side, unsure whether to leave or stay, caught in a dilemma. 

Just as Lin Anyi mustered all his courage to say goodbye, Zhou Hui spoke again: 

“Is your living expenses enough? If not, don’t feel bad, just contact me.” 

At the family dinner last summer, Shen Wanchao had brought Lin An Yi without informing anyone, announcing that he wanted to adopt the child. The sudden attack caught the family off guard, and Zhou Mingchen stormed off, ending the dinner on a sour note. 

Afterwards, Zhou Hui mediated between the family and Shen Wanchao, eventually reaching a compromise: the adoption issue was temporarily dropped, and Lin Anyi would only receive financial support to continue his education. As for accommodation, he was to stay in a small apartment Shen Wanchao had previously purchased. 

Initially, Shen Wanchao frequently visited Lin Anyi at the apartment, but his vacation ended quickly, and he went on a filming trip. After he left, Zhou Hui took on the task of providing visit our siteLin Anyi with living expenses each month. 

He didn’t delegate this task to others; instead, he would choose a workday at the beginning of each month, set aside an hour, and personally go to Lin Anyi’s apartment. He would leave an envelope containing the living expenses, then briefly check the appliances, gas, and pipes to confirm that Lin Anyi was indeed living comfortably in the house before quietly leaving. 

Providing cash was for Lin Anyi’s convenience and also to give him a reason to visit; simply transferring money coldly seemed impersonal. 

Although Zhou Hui deliberately chose to visit Lin Anyi when he wasn’t home to avoid an awkward encounter, he always left an envelope with his own hand, just to let the child know that he and Shen Wanchao still cared about him. 

Unexpectedly, they bumped into each other today, and Zhou Hui, who wasn’t very good at interacting with this child, brought up the less-than-ideal topic of living expenses. 

Lin Anyi was stunned for a long time after hearing Zhou Hui’s question. He stared at Zhou Hui in surprise. After a while, he lowered his gaze, and said, “It’s enough. I haven’t spent it recklessly. I’ve saved any leftover money. Thank you, Uncle…” 

Seeing his troubled expression, Zhou Hui assumed he genuinely didn’t have enough but was too embarrassed to ask. 

Since that was the case, there was no need to pressure him . 

He would increase it next month. With this in mind, Zhou Hui said goodbye, “That’s good. You’re a good child. I’ll go now. Contact me if you need anything.” 

“Ah, okay.” Lin Anyi was a little reserved. “Goodbye, Uncle.” 

Zhou Hui turned to leave. 

After hesitating several times, Lin Anyi finally called out to him, “Uncle Zhou!” 

Zhou Hui turned around with a questioning look, “Is there anything else?” 

Lin Anyi bit his lower lip and asked, “Those envelopes containing living expenses…did you leave them at home?” 

“Yes,” Zhou Hui replied. 

“Then Uncle Shen…Uncle Shen, he…” Lin Anyi looked at the person opposite him, a simple question, yet he spoke with great difficulty, “Has he come?” 

Zhou Hui fell silent. 

The child’s anticipation was written on his face. He hoped for a definite answer, so that he could at least comfort himself by saying that the person who saved him hadn’t forgotten him. 

Zhou Hui also hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to lie, but ultimately, he chose to tell the truth: “Your Uncle Shen is very busy with work.” 

He left it at that; there was no need to spell it out. The child was almost an adult; he understood. 

“Ah…is that so? I’m sorry…” 

Lin Anyi’s gaze instantly dimmed, then he bowed solemnly. 

“I apologize for being so talkative and taking up your time!”