Chapter 13: A Misunderstood Rescue

The air was freezing, yet I dared not move, fearing a swift punch to my nose if I dared to stir. I was still astride Dragon Brother, gripping her wrists, and we held that awkward position. Dragon Brother, panting, glared at me, her face flushed with a sickly red.

We remained in that stance, breathing heavily, for a full minute. As I caught my breath, a thought struck me: ‘This can’t go on. If anyone walks by, they’ll wonder what exactly is happening. Are we having some illicit encounter in an alley?’

A sharp shriek suddenly echoed from the alley’s entrance, jolting me. I whipped my head around to see a young girl, clutching a grocery bag, staring at me in terror.

Perched atop Dragon Brother’s petite frame, my grip tight on her wrists, I lifted my head. I met the girl’s gaze, panting heavily, and the realization dawned on me in an instant. “You, you wait a minute…!” I called out.

The girl screamed even louder, “Something’s happened! Help! It’s rape!”

I immediately released Dragon Brother and scrambled to my feet. The girl continued to shriek, and I frantically waved my hands. “Wait, you’ve misunderstood, little sister! You might not believe me, but this girl attacked first. No, not ‘girl’… This is a matter between men…”

“Ah!” The moment I stood, the girl let out another ear-piercing scream. I approached her with a bitter expression, but she was on the verge of tears. She hurled her grocery bag at me, then spun around and fled, weeping.

I was showered with cabbage leaves, utterly disgraced.

Following her scream, I heard an excited shout from an older woman: “Where? Where is it? In broad daylight, has the law lost all meaning?”

‘To hell with this,’ I thought. Panicked, I spun around and rushed to pull Dragon Brother up. If we were caught, even leaping into the Yellow River wouldn’t cleanse my name. But Dragon Brother lay limply on the ground; no matter how I tugged, she couldn’t stand. I looked down to see her face crimson, her teeth gritted as she glared at me.

The alley entrance was already growing noisy. The girl’s shouts still echoed: “Over here! Over here!”

‘What the hell was she doing?!’ I quickly scooped up her legs, lifting Dragon Brother into a princess carry, and sprinted away down the alley behind us.

I knew this area well. Turning down a small path, it led directly to my building. I burst out of the alley, carrying her, and glanced left and right. It was early morning, with no cars in sight, so I quickly dashed across the road.

Dragon Brother remained quiet, limp in my arms.

Once we reached the building, I painstakingly nudged open the anti-theft door downstairs with my foot, then climbed the stairs two steps at a time. Finally, at my doorstep, I knelt, still half-holding Dragon Brother, fumbled for my keys, and unlocked the door.

Dragon Brother lay motionless in my arms. I slammed the anti-theft door shut, letting out a sigh. ‘Finally, we’re home. What a day this had been…’

I gently lowered Dragon Brother against the wall, sliding down the door to sit, my back pressed against it. At this point, I didn’t care about the dirt. Though Dragon Brother was quite light, carrying a person while running frantically had truly exhausted me.

Dragon Brother leaned against the wall, struggling to sit upright. Her fair, delicate face still bore that sickly flush, and she clutched her chest, panting incessantly.

I simply assumed she had overexerted herself during our fight, striking with such abandon that she was now drained. I didn’t think much of it and stood up after catching my breath. Only then did I glance at the entryway and notice that there were no shoes by the door.

The mala tang trip had indeed taken too long. When I left, thinking it wasn’t far, I hadn’t brought my phone. Old Han must have returned with her sister, and after waiting for me for ages, the three of them, starving, had probably gone out to eat with Ming Hai and the others.

It was then that I remembered: Dragon Brother and I hadn’t even eaten breakfast, spending the entire morning fighting tooth and nail outside—though, truthfully, I had been the one consistently taking the blows.

I glanced at Dragon Brother, exasperated. “Still sitting there? Don’t you want to play? Go inside and play your Dungeon Fighter Online, then.”

Dragon Brother sat slumped on the floor, her white socks soiled. With a flushed face, she looked at me, then braced herself against the wall, attempting to stand. But as soon as she straightened her back, she limply slid back down, repeating the motion two or three times without success.

I watched her from the side, unsure what scheme she was concocting. “What are you doing?” I asked.

Dragon Brother breathed heavily, clutching her chest. Since she couldn’t stand anyway, she simply gave up. Leaning against the wall, her face flushed, she stared at the ceiling.

Seeing her clutch her chest, my own face flushed with embarrassment—earlier, during our fight, I had maintained my grip on her chest the entire time. Though it felt a bit shameless, I suspected that if I had let go, we wouldn’t have made it home safely.

More likely, an ambulance would have arrived, a team of paramedics would have carried me away on a stretcher, and I’d be looking at a one-day tour of the provincial hospital’s ICU.

The silence descended once more, broken only by Dragon Brother’s labored breathing. I scratched my head. “Can you stand up?” I asked.

Dragon Brother’s red eyes were moist. She weakly tilted her head to look at me, then closed her eyes and nodded. She tried to exert herself to stand again, but once more struggled against the wall.

After two more attempts, Dragon Brother sat by the wall, panting for a while. Perhaps realizing that sitting wasn’t helping, she eventually lay down directly, intending to crawl towards the room.

I couldn’t help but laugh aloud. This was truly pathetic. I stepped forward, helped Dragon Brother turn over, then scooped her up by her legs, carrying her once more.

Dragon Brother lay in my arms, disoriented for a long time.

I carried Dragon Brother towards her room. Her body was so soft, trembling slightly now and then. I placed her on the bed, and she sat on the edge, her feet dangling, staring blankly at me.

During our fight, Dragon Brother’s torn sneakers had been lost. Now, her white socks were filthy. I put my hands on my hips and sighed. “Did you bring socks… Never mind, wait for me.”

I rummaged through my room and found a pair of clean socks, which I brought to Dragon Brother. For some reason, she kept her head down, not daring to look at me. Taking my socks, she curled her legs, put them on, then took them off again, glancing away. “They’re too big.”

I looked at Dragon Brother’s slender feet, and the memory of her indiscernible whip-like kicks made me involuntarily shiver.

Dragon Brother continued to clutch her feet. After a moment, she looked up at me, but as soon as I met her gaze, she lowered her eyes again.

I sighed, then considered. “Let’s wait until tomorrow. We caused too much of a commotion outside today; that girl is probably still looking for me everywhere. Tomorrow, I’ll buy you a new outfit and some better shoes… We’ll go together, so you don’t have trouble getting around again.”

Dragon Brother’s gaze flickered away. “No need. This tracksuit is quite comfortable…”

Feeling a little helpless, I raised my voice. “Listen to me!”

Dragon Brother flinched, then gritted her teeth. “I don’t like shopping!”

‘As if I do,’ I thought.

I was rather speechless. “Then I’ll go by myself tomorrow. I’ll just buy whatever looks good. What size do you wear?”

Dragon Brother paused. “Whatever. Save some money. Just buy a tracksuit that looks decent.”

“Haven’t you ever measured?” I asked.

Dragon Brother glanced at me, then lowered her head, still clutching her feet.

Seeing her remain silent, holding her feet, I sat beside her and gently moved her hands away. I discovered a large bruise on her foot, several abrasions near her sole, and a small, bleeding cut on her instep.

I sighed, suddenly remembering her standing barefoot on the icy ground. Regardless of the cold, she was bound to get injured.

Dragon Brother lowered her eyes, staring at the wounds on her feet, uttering not a sound.

I watched her. When she sat quietly, she was actually quite endearing—

Pfft, endearing my foot. This was my Dragon Brother, ever the street-smart one.

I gently lifted her pale, delicate leg and rested it on my lap, assessing the depth of the wounds. They seemed minor, easily treatable. I stood up. “Wait for me,” I said.

Dragon Brother nodded blankly.

Returning to my room, I pulled a first-aid kit from under my bed. Back when Dragon Brother was still a man, he used to come over every day to hang out. Although we always planned to go to the internet cafe, he invariably stumbled into all sorts of chaotic situations, dragging me along with him. As a result, we’d gotten into countless fights, big and small. Over time, I’d simply kept a first-aid kit in my room, complete with bandages, cotton swabs, painkillers, hydrogen peroxide… a full assortment to treat various injuries. Damn it.

I carried the kit into Dragon Brother’s room. She was still sitting on the bed, looking a little self-conscious, hugging her legs. I knelt down, straightened her leg, and said, “The disinfectant might sting a little. Bear with it.”

Dragon Brother didn’t respond, her eyes cast down, fixed on my bruised and swollen face.

I saturated a cotton swab with disinfectant and pressed it onto an abrasion on Dragon Brother’s foot. Dragon Brother shivered, her pale, tender toes curling tightly. I rotated the swab twice, thoroughly applying the disinfectant to one abrasion, and then moved on to the next.

Dragon Brother silently watched me. I held the cotton swab, cradling her fair, delicate foot. A crisscrossing network of reddish-brown, congealed blood marred her instep. From the medicine box, I took out some absorbent cotton, soaked it in alcohol, and carefully wiped away the dried blood.

After cleaning away all the blood, I tore a tuft of cotton from the kit, soaked it in alcohol, then took a breath and pressed it against Dragon Brother’s congealed wound.

This time, it was clearly more painful. Dragon Brother’s leg trembled noticeably, and suddenly, she grabbed my sleeve. I instinctively looked up. Dragon Brother, enduring the pain in her foot, no longer looked at her injury, but met my gaze.

Her eyes were a moist, ruby red, her eyelashes damp with fine tears. She stared at me blankly.

Somehow, a sudden tremor went through my heart. I maintained a poker face, however, and reached into the first-aid kit for a bandage. I pressed it against Dragon Brother’s sole, expertly wrapping it several times, circling her delicate toes, then tying a knot on her instep.

I clapped my hands, then painstakingly stood up and walked straight out of the room. “Don’t get the wound wet. And you should cut back on smoking…” I said.

“Lu, don’t go. Stay with me for a while,” Dragon Brother suddenly said.

I turned and looked at her. She was staring at the edge of the bed, not at me.

I watched her for a moment, then plopped down on the bed. “What for?” I asked.

Dragon Brother stared blankly at the bed’s edge. Only then did I realize something was clearly amiss with her. Her face was still flushed with a sickly red, and she was still breathing faintly.

I eyed her suspiciously. She gazed at the bed’s edge for a bewildered moment, then, after a while, she began to shed her tracksuit, seemingly oblivious to my presence.

I watched, somewhat dazed, as she drowsily took off her clothes. Once undressed, she sat heavily on the bed, looking groggy.

I stared at her pristine white underwear for a moment, stunned, and a warmth began to spread through me. I felt something rush up my nose. I clamped a hand over my nose, sensing trouble. “What are you doing?” I asked.

Dragon Brother’s face was red, her petite body swaying. She stared at the bedding, then, after a long pause, slowly slumped onto the pillow. I saw that she seemed to be in great discomfort. She lay collapsed on the bed, taking several deep breaths, then extended a slender hand and pulled the blanket over herself.

“What’s wrong? Speak up,” I urged.

Dragon Brother took a few more breaths, glanced at me, then laboriously extended a hand from under the covers and lightly patted the edge of the bed. “My head hurts terribly… It’s unbearable. Come sit here, stay with me for a while.”

I hesitated for a moment, then shifted my backside, inching closer to her.

“Come here,” Dragon Brother said.

Unsure what scheme she was concocting, I leaned my head closer. She slowly extended her two pale, tender arms, wrapped them around my neck, and pressed me down onto the bed. I immediately struggled. “What are you doing?” I asked.

Dragon Brother took several ragged breaths, then suddenly coughed, weakly saying, “Come on, it’s not like I’m going to eat you…”

Pulled by Dragon Brother, I slowly fell onto the bed.

I noticed Dragon Brother’s arms wrapped around me were burning hot. Her face drew closer and closer to mine, glowing with a sickly red hue, her ruby-red eyes watery, reflecting my image. That inexplicable heat surged through me once more. Dragon Brother and I were very close, looking at each other, and I could even feel her breath. Sensing the atmosphere was growing too intimate, I instinctively leaned back slightly, trying to maintain some distance from Dragon Brother.

Dragon Brother silently watched me, then reached out again, wrapping her arms around my neck, gradually pulling me closer. My mind went blank, and by the time I registered what was happening, I was already lying in her embrace.

Her chest was incredibly soft. I heard her heart beating slowly. Her body carried the scent of my laundry detergent, mixed with a faint hint of smoke. For a moment, I didn’t know how to react. Dragon Brother closed her eyes, reached out, tugged the quilt, and covered me with it.

In the dim light, I noticed the loose neckline of Dragon Brother’s white T-shirt, revealing a vast expanse of fair skin and the partial curve of two rounded forms. One of the two ‘bunnies’ on her chest bore a dark, bruised mark. She lay quietly, eyes closed, her arms around my neck, her eyelashes trembling slightly, her expression utterly defenceless.

I stared blankly at the bruise on her chest, then, after a moment, the realization hit me: ‘Damn, how much must that hurt?’

I did a quick mental calculation: if someone were to yank *my manhood* and send me tumbling like that, I’d probably just collapse right then and there.

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