Rui Ye's lips parted without a sound, utterly caught off guard by such an intense and passionate declaration coming from the other person. The fair earlobes peeking out of his black hair were now tinged in a crimson hue.
But then as though recalling something, gloom settled over his features. He gripped the wrapping cloth so tightly that his knuckles turned white, delicate brows creasing into deep lines. He opened his mouth, only to close it again. This repeated a few times over before he managed through his tightening throat, "Aren't you… afraid?"
"Of what?" Song Zhuyu asked despite already knowing the answer. Reaching out, he gently thumbed away a single grain of rice stuck on Rui Ye's cheek, his laughter as smooth and velvety as dark chocolate, "I don't think I can ever be afraid of a messy eater like you."
Rui Ye jumped, startled by the sudden touch that was as gentle and fleeting as a dragonfly skimming across water. He didn't even realize that he still had rice stuck on his cheek. He only thought that this person was up to no good again!
"You…" he clutched his cheek where the skin was burning and tingling, and lashed out at Song Zhuyu. "Stop doing that!"
Song Zhuyu was once again taken aback by the intensity of the other person's reaction. "Huh? Doing what?" he asked, genuinely perplexed. He had been on his best behavior today. Was it still too much to extend a helping hand?
A noise of frustration escaped Rui Ye's throat. "Touching me… saying my name… talking to me with such a voice…" his slender frame quivered with each word he spat out. "From the start, you've been doing whatever you please… also dropping formalities with me. How rude!"
Rude? Did this little guy just accuse him of being rude?
Song Zhuyu's lips twitched in amusement and he almost laughed out loud if not for the fact that he would incense the other person further. Leaning back in his seat, he crossed his arms over his chest and said defiantly, "Let's set the record straight, kiddo. I am twenty-five. I am much older—"
"And I– I am thirty… two!"
Song Zhuyu almost choked on the rest of his sentence. "Wait, what??"
He whipped his head toward Rui Ye so quickly that he could almost hear his bones creak. His jaw hung open in shock as he scrutinized the person in front of him from head to toe, still grappling in disbelief. This young man whom he had thought was barely twenty in age turned out to be… in his thirties? Older than him by seven years?!
What in the world—?!
Song Zhuyu's surprised exclamation and the subsequent silence that followed must have pleased Rui Ye greatly because for the first time ever, his lips curved into a triumphant smile that, albeit faint, still made him look extremely smug.
"So, what do you say?" he asked with a challenging raise of his brow.
"You…" Song Zhuyu struggled to find his voice, still speechless. "You're not messing with me, aren't you?"
"Hey!" Rui Ye's tone instantly shifted to anger. "Why would I… forget it. You can believe what you want!"
With an indignant harrumph, he leaped to his feet and intended to retreat to his bedroom, but then a searing hot palm abruptly seized his wrist, halting him before he could take more than two steps away. This sequence of events had become all too familiar. Anger rose to the top of Rui Ye's head as he attempted to wrestle free from Song Zhuyu's grasp. "Let go! You—"
"You're injured," Song Zhuyu cut him off somberly, causing him to freeze in surprise.
Song Zhuyu furrowed his brows, his gaze fixed on the area around Rui Ye's chest and stomach. He had not noticed it due to the crimson glow of his spirit artifact and how Rui Ye was hunching over the table to eat his meal, but once the blind man stood upright, his damp and partially translucent white shirt stuck to his skin, revealing the telltale red marks on the pale and milky surface.
They were blisters formed from the accident last night.
"You didn't even treat it?" Song Zhuyu clicked his tongue and began to drag Rui Ye toward the couch. "Come here. Let me take a look at it before it gets infected."
"Y–You—"
"Mr. Rui, Rui-Ge, Rui-Gege," Song Zhuyu rattled off in one breath and seamlessly switched to a formal tone as though he had not been treating the other person like a child all this time. His skin was just this thick. "Would you grant me the honor to examine your injury? You wouldn't want them to grow out pus and mucus, would you? And you even got yourself soaked in the rain? Tsk, who can blame me for treating you like a child?"
Rui Ye gaped at him as though shocked by how shameless he was, and this time the crimson color spread from his ears to his cheeks, making him look like a boiled lobster.
Seizing the moment when the blind man was distracted, Song Zhuyu swiftly pushed his shoulders down and forced him to settle on the couch before taking a seat beside him. "Now, do you want to undress yourself, or do you want me to take it off for you?" he asked, his fingers hovering at the top buttons of Rui Ye's shirt.
Apparently, that was more than enough to jolt Rui Ye out of his stupor. He jerked away from the touch and clutched the collar of his shirt, stuttering, "I– I can do it myself!"
With a helpless huff, Song Zhuyu withdrew his hand, "Suit yourself."
It was a good thing that Song Zhuyu had brought Chen Ru's burn ointment with him, intending to give it to the blind man in the first place. He watched as Rui Ye unbuttoned his shirt with trembling fingers, tension palpable on his features.
If Song Zhuyu hadn't known that Rui Ye was much older than him, he would have continued to mock the man for being clumsy. Come to think of it, he had thought it was strange how Rui Ye and Rui Shuren's age seemed too close to be uncle and niece. As it turned out, this guy was simply baby-faced! What a deceitful appearance!
Biting down on his lower lip, Rui Ye allowed the white shirt to slide off his shoulders and hang over his elbows, a faint tremor in his barely audible whisper, "I–I'm done."
The body that was exposed before Song Zhuyu's eyes was extremely pale and slender, with clearly defined collarbones and faintly visible ribs. On the milky white chest, the twin nubs were an adorable peachy color, slightly perked up both from the gentle caress of the air and tense nerves.
Goosebumps rose along Rui Ye's arms, and his breath grew slightly ragged under the intense gaze he could feel bearing down on him. It felt so heavy and tangible, almost like an invisible caress on his skin.
Song Zhuyu frowned as he observed the blisters that were more severe than he expected. "Stay still," was the only warning he gave before he pressed a large dollop of ointment on the tip of his finger, applying it to the red patch on Rui Ye's chest.
"Ah!" Rui Ye let out a sharp yelp at the first contact, his body subconsciously jerked backward, "I–It's so cold…!"
Caught off guard by the soft cry, Song Zhuyu paused with his hand in midair.