Zuo Feiqi received a call from Yu Tan and rushed over. Upon arriving, he saw Yu Tan holding someone in his arms, sitting in a pool of blood. His heart sank.
Something huge had happened!
He charged forward, but before he could get close, he was pushed back by Yu Tan's fierce gaze.
"Boss..." Zuo Feiqi instinctively lowered his head, noticing that he had stepped into the blood on the floor. A gut feeling made him cautiously take a step back.
Unlike Ajiu, who had a deep bond with Yu Tan since their time abroad, Zuo Feiqi, although in charge of security, mainly worked on the outer perimeter of the villa or the company, with a lot more fear and respect for Yu Tan than anything else.
"Nobody in the villa is to be let out." Yu Tan's voice was calm and low, seemingly to avoid startling the boy in his arms. But the danger hidden in the slowness of his words made everyone nearby feel a chill run down their spines.
Zuo Feiqi's team, all elite operatives, quickly apprehended Yu Wenhe and his group.
As for Uncle Hong... He was found muttering in a dazed state, sitting on the terrace, saying, "How did this happen... I didn't want this..." Zuo Feiqi, not wanting to leave any loose ends, gritted his teeth and had him captured, locking him away in a separate room.
After that, Zuo Feiqi contacted a trusted doctor to help Ajiu with the poison.
Yu Tan picked Hu Xiaoyu up and took him upstairs.
His room was on the second floor, and it had a bathroom... Xiaoyu liked to stay clean, so he needed to wash up.
Ajiu, after about half an hour of recovery, immediately rushed upstairs.
He had seen Yu Tan carrying Xiaoyu upstairs earlier, both of them covered in blood...
He pushed the door open and saw that Xiaoyu had already changed into fresh clothes. The clothes were slightly oversized, making the quiet, sitting boy seem even more fragile.
The bandage on his head was still there, his eyes closed. If it weren't for the clearly abnormal way his neck was hanging, he could easily be mistaken for just sleeping.
Yu Tan was kneeling, carefully putting socks on Hu Xiaoyu. He was still wearing the same clothes as before, soaked through with water, and water droplets were dripping from his pants.
Ajiu stood frozen at the door, not daring to move. His vision blurred, so he wiped his face, but tears quickly welled up again.
It was just the second floor... how could...?
He watched as Yu Tan finished putting one sock on Xiaoyu's foot and then reached for the other one.
When he adjusted his movements, Hu Xiaoyu's head, which had been hanging slightly, suddenly tilted to the side, and his body lurched forward.
Yu Tan quickly steadied him, adjusting his posture so that Xiaoyu's back was now resting against the sofa, slightly tilted backward. It was a more stable position than before.
Yu Tan leaned down and kissed the back of Xiaoyu's hand gently, speaking in an apologetic tone: "It'll be fine soon. You can't go without socks, you'll catch a cold."
Ajiu couldn't hold back any longer: "Boss, Xiaoyu..."
Xiaoyu... was already...
He couldn't say the rest of the words, nor could he bring himself to. The moment he opened his mouth, Yu Tan snapped his head around.
His eyes, once bright with anticipation when picking out a ring, were now as cold and indifferent as black marbles, devoid of any life. They didn't resemble human eyes anymore.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment, before Yu Tan turned back to continue his task.
He finished putting the socks on Xiaoyu, then put on his slippers, and finally went to find a blanket to cover Xiaoyu's legs.
Everything was done methodically, as if there were no hurries at all.
Standing up, Yu Tan turned to Ajiu and spoke calmly: "Stay with Xiaoyu for a while. I'll go change clothes."
He went to find a new outfit and headed to the bathroom.
As he passed by the sofa where the boy was sitting, he kissed his forehead, just like he had done so many times before. "I'll be back soon, wait for me."
Ajiu quickly came in to check Xiaoyu's breathing the moment Yu Tan went into the bathroom. Not giving up, he felt his pulse.
Then, his knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.
Yu Tan came out of the bathroom shortly after, dressed in his usual black custom suit, understated but immensely dignified.
But now, there was a strange, heavy aura surrounding him.
He walked out, carrying the little fox cake from the terrace.
Dipping his finger with some frosting, he gently touched Xiaoyu's lips, then bent down to lick it off, softly speaking: "We'll eat together. Happy Birthday."
His voice was hoarse, but it had an innate charm, deep and smooth. He continued, "I made the cake myself. It took all night to make. This is the eleventh one... although it's still not quite perfect... Eleven... one life, one world... sounds nice, doesn't it?"
The person before him didn't respond, and Yu Tan didn't get angry. It was as if a lifetime's worth of patience was contained at this moment.
He took the ring box from inside the fox cake's belly, wiped his hands, and knelt down, opening the box. Inside were a pair of intertwined silver rings.
"Xiaoyu... Little Fox, I want to be with you for life. Will you marry me?"
"I love you. Marry me."
"I'll do everything you ask, never get angry with you, never lie to you, cook for you. You always seem short on money... My money is yours. I've done some wrong things in the past... I was just... I was just jealous... I'll change, please look at me, look at me, and I'll change everything..."
"Please..."
He spoke all the words he knew, his proposal full of pleading.
There was no response. He turned to Ajiu, "Can you urge him?"
Ajiu turned his head, covering his face and sobbing quietly. After a few moments, he composed himself and turned back to the silent boy on the sofa. "Xiaoyu, please agree. He loves you so much. You two... you two are meant to be together..."
The silence was deafening, as if the entire air had frozen.
Yu Tan smiled. He remembered that Xiaoyu had once said that his smile was beautiful.
He tried to make himself smile more beautifully than ever before, holding the boy's hand and gently kissing it. "If you don't speak, I'll take it as a yes."