Chapter 7: Want to see what I look like

"He's from my hometown, Cheng Tieniu! He just saved us!" Fang Che quickly explained, trying to prove he was useful and harmless. "If it weren't for Tiezi, we would have been captured by the Dongsheng Society!"

Cheng Tieniu felt uneasy under Li Hanzhou's gaze, but he still straightened his chest and tried to appear reliable: "Boss Li! Don't worry about recovering! It's safe here!"

Li Hanzhou stared at Cheng Tieniu in silence for a few seconds, as if trying to determine whether what he said was true or false.

Ultimately, perhaps due to the severity of his injuries, or perhaps because Fang Che's cowardly expression posed no real threat, he slowly released Fang Che's hand, collapsed back down, and closed his eyes.

His furrowed brows, however, indicated that he was not truly relaxed.

Fang Che rubbed his wrist, which had been pinched red, feeling extremely wronged.

This guy, even though he's injured like this, he's still so vigilant! Is he a hedgehog?!

Cheng Tieniu leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Che, you're quite the big shot... you have a really strong presence..."

Fang Che nodded vigorously and whispered, "Absolutely! You need a strong heart to be with him!"

Cheng Tieniu felt the same way and then clumsily went to treat Li Hanzhou's injuries.

When he cut open the vest that was stuck together with blood and revealed the wound, even this dockworker couldn't help but gasp.

Fang Che's face turned pale, and his stomach churned.

He's a young man raised in a society governed by the rule of law; he's never seen anything like this before.

"I need to...remove the bullet..." Cheng Tieniu's forehead was covered in sweat. "I've never done this before..."

Fang Che panicked too.

Removing a bullet? This isn't a movie shoot!

Just as the two were at a loss, Li Hanzhou opened his eyes again at some point and said to Cheng Tieniu in a weak but clear voice, "There is a small iron box in the left trouser pocket... take it out."

Cheng Tieniu was taken aback, and quickly pulled out a flat metal box.

"Open it...use the smallest knife and tweezers..." Li Hanzhou instructed, his tone as calm as if he were speaking to someone else, "Alcohol...disinfect it."

Cheng Tieniu's hands were trembling slightly.

Inside the iron box were several specially made tools that gleamed with a cold light.

Fang Che was stunned.

The big shot actually carries miniature surgical tools with him?

That's so professional!

Li Hanzhou looked at Fang Che, whose face had turned pale, and frowned: "You, turn your head away."

"Huh? Oh..." Fang Che subconsciously turned his head, then immediately turned back.

He dared not look at his wound, but stared intently at Li Hanzhou's face, his voice trembling: "I'm right here! Brother Li, just tell me what you need! I promise I won't faint!"

Li Hanzhou glanced at him, then didn't insist further, only nodding to Cheng Tieniu.

Cheng Tieniu gritted his teeth, took a swig of strong Erguotou liquor, sprayed it on the tools to disinfect them, and then stuffed a piece of cloth into Li Hanzhou's mouth.

Fang Che listened to the rest of the process with his eyes almost closed.

Suppressed groans, the clanging of metal, the heavy stench of blood... every second was agonizing.

He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, more nervous than if he were injured himself.

All that could be seen were the bulging veins on Li Hanzhou's forehead, the constant stream of cold sweat, and his jaw twitching slightly from exertion.

I don't know how much time passed, it felt like an eternity.

A soft clang.

Cheng Tieniu let out a long breath, almost collapsing: "It's...it's out..."

Fang Che suddenly opened his eyes and saw Cheng Tieniu holding a blood-stained bullet.

Li Hanzhou was soaked to the bone and fainted from exhaustion, but his breathing seemed to have calmed down a bit.

Cheng Tieniu quickly sprinkled hemostatic powder on the wound and wrapped it with layers of gauze.

After finishing everything, the two collapsed to the ground, speechless, only feeling the relief of surviving a disaster.

After a while, Fang Che remembered his ankle and gasped in pain.

Cheng Tieniu deftly treated Fang Che's swollen ankle, muttering, "My goodness, Che, how can your body withstand this? It's swollen like a risen bun, and blisters come out when you pinch it..."

Fang Che winced in pain, sighing inwardly, "Don't even mention it! Back in the day, brother... Ah, a hero doesn't dwell on past glories!"

He swallowed the history of "carrying two bags of rice up to the sixth floor without any effort" and silently reminisced about his 188cm tall, muscular body from Northeast China.

“But speaking of which,” Cheng Tieniu lowered his voice and gestured toward Li Hanzhou, “you’re really something! You took the bullet out yourself without uttering a sound! You’re a real man!”

Fang Che puffed out his thin chest with pride: "Absolutely! The older brother I've set my sights on... no, the one I've chosen, could he be an ordinary person?"

He almost blurted out "the man I've got my eye on," which startled him so much that he quickly slammed on the brakes, silently repeating three times in his mind: He's a brother! He's a buddy!

As the two were talking in hushed tones, a soft groan came from the "seafood box bed."

Fang Che jolted awake, ignoring the pain in his feet, and crawled over on all fours to Li Hanzhou: "Brother Li? You're awake? How are you feeling? Are you thirsty? Hungry? Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

Li Hanzhou slowly opened his eyes. His face was still pale, but his eyes had regained their sharpness and carried a hint of helplessness.

He frowned slightly at Fang Che's series of concerned questions, which were delivered with a strong Northeastern accent.

"Shut up." The voice was hoarse, but its intimidating power remained undiminished.

Fang Che immediately shut his mouth, leaving only his beautiful peach blossom eyes blinking, conveying the message, "I'm very well-behaved, but I'm very worried about you."

Li Hanzhou glanced at Cheng Tieniu, nodded slightly, and finally looked back at Fang Che. He paused for a few seconds before closing his eyes again, as if gathering his strength.

The warehouse fell silent, with only the sound of the three people breathing.

Fang Che felt like he was being scratched by a cat.

Since transmigrating, he has been focused on staying alive and clinging to powerful figures, and hasn't had a chance to really look at this new face.

It felt pretty good to the touch before, but what exactly was it like?

Does he still possess his original masculine energy?

Even if it's been downsized, it should at least have some masculine charm, right?

The more he thought about it, the more it itched. He nudged Cheng Tieniu with his uninjured foot and whispered, "Tiezi, can you do me a favor and find a mirror?"

"A mirror?" Cheng Tieniu was taken aback. He looked at Fang Che's face, which was still exquisite despite being covered in dust, and then at the messy warehouse. His expression was subtle. Then he gave a knowing smile and teased, "What's wrong, Che? You just went through a life-or-death ordeal and you want to check if your handsome face is injured? Don't worry, you look great! You're prettier than all the girls at my dock!"

Fang Che blushed and stubbornly retorted, "Who's being vain! I just wanted to see what I look like now! I've been sick all this time, my brain's a bit foggy, I need to make sure all my parts are in place!"

He himself felt that this reason was untenable.

Cheng Tieniu chuckled, disbelieving, but still turned around and started rummaging through the pile of junk: "Okay, okay, I'll find it for you! You handsome guys are always so fussy!"

A moment later, he actually pulled out a small, palm-sized mirror with rusty edges from under a piece of waste paper and handed it to Fang Che: "Here, make do with this."

Fang Che eagerly took the mirror, took a deep breath, and nervously turned the mirror towards himself.

The next second—

"Holy shit!!!"

The exclamation echoed through the warehouse, startling Cheng Tieniu. Even Li Hanzhou immediately opened his eyes, his sharp gaze locking onto Fang Che.