Chapter 279: Open To Suggestions
It was the pain that dragged Lingyun awake before the rest of his body was ready to follow.
His skull felt as if someone had split it open and filled the space with broken glass, while his stomach rolled hard enough that he had to swallow back whatever was trying to climb into his throat. Every muscle in his body felt heavy, but the worst of it came from his shoulder, where a deep, pulsing ache spread down his arm and across his chest.
He slowly opened his eyes without moving.
The last thing he remembered was a zombie hitting him hard enough to drive him into the lumber. There had been teeth in his shoulder, fire tearing itself out of him without permission, and Chenghai shouting somewhere nearby before the entire store disappeared.
Which meant he had no idea where he was now. And that wasn’t a comfortable position to be in. This could be a safe place, but it could also be a new type of hell. One thing was clear, though. The only way to figure it out was to actually assess the threat.
Looking through his lashes, Lingyun kept his breathing shallow and listened.
Hammering came from somewhere below him, followed by the uneven buzz of a drill and several unfamiliar voices arguing over something that had apparently been installed backwards. Footsteps moved through the building. They weren’t in the same room, so the only reasonable explanation was that they were just outside of it. Some of the footsteps were heavy and some quick, while another crash echoed through the walls and inspired a creative amount of swearing.
Wherever he was, there were way too many people here.
He tried to flex his right hand beneath the blanket, calling enough fire to his fingers to defend himself if the door opened. A weak spark crawled over his skin before dying in a very defeated puff. The effort sent another wave of nausea through him and made him instantly regret ever thinking that it was a good idea in the first place.
Wonderful.
He was injured, surrounded by strangers, and his power had decided to take the day off.
But hating the situation wasn’t going to do him any good. Instead, Lingyun shifted his eyes around the room. There was medical equipment crowding the bed, an IV line disappeared into his arm, and boxes of supplies had been stacked against the walls wherever there was room.
On one of the opposite walls, a window was covered with dark grey blackout curtains, the door was closed, and a familiar little vine had wrapped itself around the nearest bedpost, its triangle head staring directly at him.
The tension in his chest eased slightly.
But only slightly.
The baby vine would not have allowed anyone to keep him alive unless Rouxi wanted him alive. That narrowed down the possibilities of where he was considerably, but there was no guarantee that Rouxi was in a good place, either. Not with all the people around.
Then he felt the warmth against his hand.
Rouxi was asleep beside the bed with one elbow resting near his hip and her cheek balanced against her fist. Her right pinky finger was intertwined with his left one, though the loose way she held it made it seem like she was ready to scream plausible deniability at any given moment.
That was so her that it was adorable.
Lingyun stared at her for several seconds, his eyes drinking in the sight of her disheveled appearance.
There were dark circles beneath her eyes deep enough to make him wonder how long he had been unconscious. Her hair had started slipping loose around her face, and even in sleep, her eyebrows were pulled together like she was still angry enough to hurt someone.
It looked like someone had told Rouxi that he had been bitten by a zombie.
Fucking snitches.
Clearly they didn’t know that that meant he could give them all stitches now.
And he would take great pleasure in it.
He had specifically suggested that they avoid doing that. He might not remember much after the bite, but he remembered enough to know that his final request had been perfectly reasonable.
If Rouxi had seen it, then she would have freaked out. Case in point.... her pinky finger holding his own.
Okay, so maybe they had done him a favor if it meant that he could see this completely unguarded side of her.
Lingyun tried to move his fingers beneath hers, but Rouxi’s eyes opened instantly.
There was no sleepy confusion or slow return to the world. One moment she was asleep, and the next she was staring directly at him while the baby vine lifted from the bedpost and opened its mouth to reveal black slime covered teeth.
For one uncomfortable second, Lingyun wondered whether the vine had been ordered to stop him from moving.
Judging by Rouxi’s expression, that seemed likely.
"You’re awake," she announced. Her voice came out flat, which was always more dangerous than yelling.
Lingyun let his head sink deeper into the pillow. "Maybe?" he started, a half smile dancing over his lips. "Or maybe I am just dreaming. If you are here, then I am definitely in heaven. Come on, sweetness, give me a kiss and have your princess wake up."
Rouxi raised an eyebrow and snorted at his joke. "How about I knock you out and see if my kiss can really wake you up. Don’t worry, it will only hurt a lot for a little time."
His eyes went wide. "I’m good," he assured her. "Very awake, very healthy, not wanting to go back to sleep any time soon."
Humming in contentment, Rouxi leaned over him and pressed the back of her fingers against his forehead before checking the monitor, the IV, and the bandage wrapped around his shoulder. She did not ask how he felt, probably because she could already see the answer and did not trust him to tell the truth anyway.
Lingyun studied her face while she worked, her face inches away from his own. "You look terrible," he said before wishing that someone had sewn his mouth shut when they were sewing up his shoulder.
No girl wants to be told that they look terrible. It was a horrible, terrible plan.
He cringed and smiled tentatively as Rouxi’s eyes lifted slowly.
Right. He needed to do some damage control. "Not terrible," he corrected very quickly. He tried to raise his hands in defense, but the pain that screamed through his shoulder told him that that was yet another horrible idea. "Tired," he started again, the panic that he was feeling coming out in his voice. "You look tired. Still beautiful, obviously. Extremely terrifying. Very healthy. But maybe just a smidgen... tired."
"I should have let the fever finish cooking your brain," grumbled Rouxi as she went back to tucking him in and checking him out all at the same time.
"So I had a fever," nodded Lingyun as much as he could, desperate to change the subject.
"There was," agreed Rouxi, poking his shoulder just a little too hard. But that didn’t bother him. She was touching him. Even if it meant more pain, he would never ask her to stop touching him.
"Ah!" he nodded again. "But now I am fever-free, pain-free, and awake. You must love that. I bet you missed my winning sense of humor."
Once again, Rouxi narrowed her eyes. "Now you are awake enough to annoy me," she agreed. She dipped her head, but it wasn’t done fast enough for Lingyun not to see the blush dancing over her cheeks. "But you aren’t entirely wrong."
Well, that was new.
"I like the sound of that." What else could he say? It was a little soon to start singing about his eternal devotion and his renewed decision to never leave her side.
That sounded a bit stalkerish, so he would definitely have to make sure not to mention those impulsive needs in the immediate future.
Maybe for the next ten minutes of this conversation.
Maybe the next five.
Ah crap, that was going to be too hard.
Chicks dug eternal devotion and tattooing their names all over the guy’s body right?
He studied Rouxi from the corner of his eye as she sat back down in the chair and tried to suppress a tired yawn.
Maybe just her name on his forehead? A ’property of Rouxi’ on his dick? He was open to suggestions.
