Lack of Love

Extra 06

The next morning, when Yan Hao woke up, he realized that although he was very thirsty, his throat didn’t have that burning discomfort. He was still groggy from last night and couldn’t remember what had happened. “What happened to me?”

Zhong Qiran noticed that he seemed to have no recollection and felt relieved: “Your wound got infected, and you had a high fever. It has finally subsided a bit.”

He had already put their clothes back on, with no intention of mentioning what happened last night.

Yan Hao’s body was still uncomfortable. His wound kept throbbing, and even getting up was a struggle. He had no energy to think about anything else.

“Don’t move,” Zhong Qiran pressed his shoulder, preventing him from getting up. He then walked to the door and knocked. His voice was hoarse from not having enough water for a long time, not pleasant to hear, but he shouted with great effort, making louder noises by banging on the door.

This time, there was finally a response from outside. They were probably afraid that Yan Hao had actually died. Someone came over and asked, “What’s wrong? You were knocking all night, making a lot of noise.”

Yan Hao hadn’t even heard the knocking last night, so he had no idea what had happened.

Zhong Qiran asked them for food, water, and bandages for the wound. He portrayed Yan Hao’s injury as severe and even threatened, “If he dies, don’t expect to get a single penny.”

The person outside seemed hesitant, remaining silent. Perhaps the mastermind was still angry and intended to leave them hanging for a while.

Seeing that the threat was ineffective, Zhong Qiran softened his tone and pleaded with them.

The kidnapper who was more responsive to persuasion finally relented after Zhong Qiran’s persistent pleas.

After the person left, Yan Hao said, “You didn’t have to do that…”

Zhong Qiran replied, “Nothing is more important than life.”

He had realized this firsthand last night. Perhaps it was the darkness that made people feel emotionally vulnerable. As soon as he realized that Yan Hao might lose his life due to a worsening wound, his suppressed emotions suddenly erupted. Even if it was an unusual feeling arising from going through hardship together, he accepted it. He had no other desires, only hoping that Yan Hao would survive.

The person returned after a while, opened the door, and handed them a lunchbox, a bottle of water, some gauze, and antiseptic solution.

It was clearly not enough, but Zhong Qiran knew he couldn’t ask for more, so he simply thanked them.

As the person left, something fell from their waist, unnoticed by both themselves and Zhong Qiran. However, Yan Hao, with sharp eyes, saw it but said nothing.

“Drink some water first,” Zhong Qiran walked over, helping Yan Hao up, and unscrewed the water bottle cap for him to drink. The water bottle was small, barely 350 milliliters, not enough for one person, let alone two. But Yan Hao was still injured, so he didn’t refuse. Zhong Qiran let him drink half of the water and then opened the lunchbox for him to eat.

Yan Hao saw that Zhong Qiran was sitting there without doing anything and asked, “Aren’t you going to drink water?”

“I’m not very thirsty,” Zhong Qiran replied, realizing that the lie was too obvious. He quickly changed his words, “I just need a little.”

He pretended to take a sip of water, and indeed, it was just a small amount. His mouth wasn’t even filled, just holding it in his mouth and swallowing slowly. In fact, Zhong Qiran thought that clean water should be given to Yan Hao, and he could drink the water seeping through the cracks in the walls. Although it didn’t taste good, as long as he didn’t die of thirst, it was fine.

Yan Hao didn’t know what to say when he saw this. He finished half of the meal, leaving the other half for Zhong Qiran. Zhong Qiran only took a few bites and handed it back, saying, “Eat more. You’re injured and need more nutrition.”

Yan Hao finally spoke, “You don’t have to do this…”

Zhong Qiran shook his head and said, “I just hope we can both make it out alive.”

Yan Hao had no choice but to finish the remaining food.

After eating, Zhong Qiran helped him deal with the wound. The wound had indeed become infected, with the cloth sticking to the flesh, a horrifying sight that was painful even to look at, let alone tear off.

Zhong Qiran was unsure how to proceed. However, Yan Hao said, “It’s alright, go ahead, it has to be done.”

Zhong Qiran thought about it and poured some water, wetting the cloth, and slowly tore it off. He was already being careful, but Yan Hao’s face was filled with pain.

There was only one-third of the water left in the bottle, not enough to clean Yan Hao’s wound. Zhong Qiran had no choice but to pour half of the antiseptic solution directly onto the wound and wrap it with gauze.

“Be gentle, you’re killing me…” Yan Hao joked, enduring the pain. He had always felt that Zhong Qiran was very tense, with poor complexion, as if he were the one injured,  He looked uncomfortable, so Yan Hao felt the need to say something, fearing that Zhong Qiran might do something impulsive.

Zhong Qiran did indeed smile, a shallow and faint smile, probably feeling a bit relieved.

That’s how they had their meal for the day.

That evening, the voices of the kidnappers talking could be heard outside, a bit far away, making it impossible to hear what they were saying, only faint laughter could be heard. Since the mastermind had stabbed Yan Hao, they hadn’t revealed any information about their situation. They had no idea how things were outside, but at least they were still alive, indicating that there was still room for things to turn around.

Yan Hao went to sleep early. Although he had applied medicine, his fever hadn’t completely subsided, and the injured area was still painful, causing him to have a restless sleep.

Zhong Qiran watched over him for a while, thinking he had fallen asleep. He daringly snuggled up to him and reached out to hold him.

Yan Hao  got a bit surprised , but he kept his eyes closed and didn’t wake up. Although he thought  it must have been his imagination, he suddenly felt that the pain in his body had slightly alleviated. Zhong Qiran was soft and cool, and it felt comfortable to be held by him. In this drowsy state, he fell asleep like that.

In the middle of the night, when the pain seemed to be the most intense, coupled with the harsh environment, Yan Hao’s fever flared up again. His throat burned , and even swallowing saliva was painful. He was conscious, but felt weak all over, unable to open his eyelids.

At that moment, he felt a cool liquid flowing down the corner of his mouth. It was Zhong Qiran feeding him water. However, it was difficult to drink water while lying down, so he coughed uncomfortably and coughed out the water.

The action of feeding water immediately stopped.

After a while, he felt something soft touching him. It was Zhong Qiran’s lips, holding water in his mouth and feeding him. Instinctively, he took a sip and gently bit Zhong Qiran’s lips.

Zhong Qiran paused and realized that Yan Hao was just drinking water instinctively. He relaxed and extended his tongue.

Yan Hao suddenly felt that this scene was oddly familiar, as if it had happened before. When he was confused with fever last night, he remembered waking up in the morning with a moist mouth. 

So, it was like this…

Zhong Qiran gave him a sip of water, then took a drink himself. Suppressing the desire to swallow, Yan Hao leaned down and pressed his lips against Zhong Qiran’s, transferring all the water. He didn’t intend to do this, but seeing Yan Hao burning up again and looking very uncomfortable, he took another risk.

But after feeding the second sip of water, Zhong Qiran suddenly felt his lips being firmly bitten. He froze, but before he could pull away, the person’s hand suddenly grabbed his neck, forcing him to continue the kiss.

He  completely panicked, his teeth were knocked open, and even his tongue was sucked and not released.

This time, it wasn’t due to the circumstances but a genuine kiss between them when both were conscious.

Zhong Qiran didn’t know how it turned out like this, but he couldn’t resist the kiss.

Yan Hao held his neck with one hand and stroked his back with the other, his tongue licking the sensitive flesh in his mouth, making Zhong Qiran let out a faint moan. He realized that he had wanted to do this all along, he wanted to kiss him like this. The lingering and affectionate kiss ended, and when their lips separated, Yan Hao’s eyes were open, seeing Zhong Qiran’s expression on the verge of tears.

Zhong Qiran wanted to explain, to say that feeding water was just out of necessity, or that it was a momentary confusion. But before he could say anything, Yan Hao kissed him again, pinching his chin to make him open his mouth, gently sucking his lips, tempting him to extend his tongue. It was just like a kiss between two lovers.

Yan Hao knew what he was doing, and Zhong Qiran knew what he was doing. So his heart softened and gradually responded to the kiss.

This time the kiss didn’t last long. Yan Hao seemed to have exhausted all his strength and lay on the ground gasping for breath. He stared at Zhong Qiran for a while and suddenly said, “While it’s still dark, you should leave quickly.”

Zhong Qiran didn’t understand what Yan Hao meant.

Yan Hao looked towards the door and said, “When the person brought food in the morning, he dropped the key in the door crack.”

Following Yan Hao’s words, Zhong Qiran walked over and felt around the bottom of the door, and indeed found a key.

“I didn’t mention it at the time because I was afraid the person would notice and come back to retrieve it. But he didn’t come back, so he probably didn’t notice. . I thought if no one came during the night, we could escape together. But now I can’t…”

“Why?”

“I’m too weak from the fever, I can’t walk.”

“I can support you.”

“We won’t be able to escape like this,” Yan Hao said calmly. “After you leave, you can find help outside. If we’re both trapped here, we’ll just be waiting to die.”

Zhong Qiran’s hopes were shattered by Yan Hao’s words. He was torn, not knowing why things had turned out this way. He had finally come to accept his feelings for Yan Hao, but before he could even savor the joy, he was forced to face this choice.

Yan Hao urged again, “If you don’t leave now, you won’t have another chance.”

Zhong Qiran stared at the key, then looked at Yan Hao for a while, as if he had finally made up his mind. He leaned in and kissed Yan Hao’s lips, saying, “Wait for me to come back.”

“Mm.”

Yan Hao wasn’t sure if Zhong Qiran would actually come back. Although he was now certain that Zhong Qiran wasn’t sent by the kidnapper, by the time he returned for help, it might be too late. This kidnapping case had started because of him, and Zhong Qiran was innocently implicated. If they were really going to die here, he had no reason to drag another person down with him.

As he recalled the events of the past five days since they had met, Yan Hao found it unbelievable that he had developed feelings for someone so quickly, and that person happened to be a man.

If they could truly survive this ordeal, he hoped to be with him.

To Yan Hao’s surprise, Zhong Qiran returned after only an hour. When Yan Hao saw him, he was utterly astonished. “Why didn’t you leave?”

“I told you I would come back.”

“Then what did you go and do?”

“I saw the guard sleeping, so I took his phone and made a call to the police.”

“Then why didn’t you take the opportunity to escape? Why did you come back?”

Zhong Qiran said, “How could I leave you behind?”

Yan Hao was completely speechless. He couldn’t understand why Zhong Qiran was so foolish, so naive, and so easily deceived, willing to gamble his life for a mere few days of acquaintance. Was it really worth it?

Yan Hao said, “Why are you so foolish? What if I had deceived you?”

Zhong Qiran retorted, “You’re not clever either, you only thought about letting me escape. Have you considered what the kidnappers would do once they found out, and also your injury, which can’t be delayed any longer…”

Both of them were equally matched, and neither could persuade the other.

With the wealth and power of the Yan family, after Zhong Qiran reported the incident to the police, they finally located the location. They launched an assault, and after a confrontation, they finally subdued the kidnappers.

The process wasn’t smooth, but fortunately, nothing unexpected happened.

Yan Hao only remembered that Zhong Qiran was clearly terrified, yet he desperately tried to protect him. He held Zhong Qiran’s hand tightly, realizing that this was the person for him.

He wanted to spend his life with this person.

After they were rescued, they were immediately taken to the hospital. Yan Hao’s injuries were more severe and had to be treated. Yan Hao’s parents rushed over from home, and the police and the media were all waiting at the entrance, eager to report on the kidnapping incident.

Zhong Qiran had minimal injuries and could leave after giving a statement to the police. He looked back and saw that Yan Hao’s hospital bed was already surrounded by a crowd.

He felt a bit lonely in his heart, but still smiled. He thought that once they returned to the real world, it would be over between them.

Only Yan Hao knew that this wasn’t the end, but a beginning.

— End of the kidnapping chapter —