Chapter 73
Suffocating in the soft blankets, his brain instinctively resisted, causing his limbs to struggle frantically. But everything depended on Pei Huai's will. If he didn't let go, Danduo would have no chance of surviving.
"I want someone." He laid out his conditions slowly. Dan Duo, however, disagreed. He would rather Pei Huai spoke quickly and finished his words in one go. "Duan Heng, the one you brought to PBL. I want him alive."
"——Otherwise, I won't let go until you die."
Under the threat of death, the head buried in the pillow moved up and down. Pei Huai kept his word and let go of his hand, allowing him to breathe deeply.
"Well, I really didn't expect that. You only have one arm left to move, so I still have to be more cautious." Dan Duo stood up, rubbing his throat and laughing bitterly. After being ignored, he waved angrily, signaling the doctor to come over and check Pei Huai's wound again.
At this moment, Xiang Mingqi had already cried out, "Brother, so handsome!" and passed out after being injected with a sedative by the doctor. His hands and feet went limp. Judging from the small dosage, he would probably wake up in ten minutes.
The bone injury was handled well and in a standard way. He must have learned it somewhere. The old doctor, called Uncle Chen, came over and examined him from his chest to his back, circling around for a while, unable to help but praise him. He noticed that the doctor just sat there without talking. He adjusted his glasses, squinted, and was stunned before he could focus. Pei Huai saw from the corner of his eye that his mouth was open, as if he was about to say something. He put his index finger on his lips in time to signal him to be silent.
Uncle Chen nodded immediately and pretended to check again.
"Oh, it's just not tied very well here. I think we need to take it apart first and then reinforce it. It will take some time."
"Three minutes." Dando smiled politely at them both. "Don't worry, I'm watching. I'll have my men bring the person you want here. Also, don't attack Uncle Chen. You'll need him eventually."
Chen Boxu was experienced. Under the pretext of examining the wound, he untied a bandage and brought his ear closer. The upper body and head formed a blind spot. Pei Huai leaned his shoulder to the left and asked if he had his cell phone. Chen Boyue leaned behind his shoulder and whispered, "These things are confiscated when you come in. You're not allowed to bring them, but the boss must have them on him."
Glancing at Dando in the boss chair, Pei Huai noticed several times that Dando was still interested in him, and he felt helpless. The bandages quickly returned to their original shape. Uncle Chen wanted to ask more questions, but was stopped by his lowered gaze. Pei Huai stood up and walked towards the owner of the room.
The man smiled and asked him, "What's wrong?"
"Restroom." He said stiffly, "Lead the way."
To be frank, Dando really liked his temperament. He was capable, not timid, and would do whatever he wanted. He had clear thinking and a clear purpose. That was what made him so likable.
For the future leaders of the black boxing arena, a tame animal should not be considered. But those manic, unruly beasts are the most desirable.
Now, the one flying in front of him is the one he has always dreamed of.
If he agreed to join the PBL, Dando was sure he would indulge him greatly, more than any other brother. As for Sanlun, he didn't care what his brother thought. He was just an idiot with a brain full of muscle. Even if that broken hand was reattached, it wouldn't be able to return to its original state, greatly reducing his value.
So he was happy to see Pei Huai, who had come to him. Of course, if he refused, he would use some tricks in this airtight villa to find his weakness.
"Do you need help?" He asked kindly as he saw Pei Huai pushing the door open, but as expected, he got no response.
The door slammed shut with a thud. Meanwhile, Uncle Chen, looking around, came to the corridor and gave him numerous instructions, asking him to be careful about this and that while Pei Huai was recovering. Unfortunately, Danduo's mind was elsewhere. He sent a text message, ordering Duan Heng to be transferred to the villa as soon as possible.
Soon the door opened a crack, and Pei Huai, neatly dressed, stared at him and said, "Come in."
Dando was curious: "Do you need anything?"
"...Belt. Help me." He turned back, his index finger hooked around the strap of Dando's corset, tugging, forcing him to refuse. In the clean, dry bathroom, the man knelt down to help unbuckle the belt. But as his nose approached, a faint, refreshing fragrance filled his throat from his airways.
He put his hands around Pei Huai's waist, somewhat surprised at how docile he was when he needed help. He wanted to enjoy the process, but he didn't want to see his patience falter. The moment the belt unhooked, Pei Huai's left arm also moved away from his side.
"Call me if you need anything."
"Thank you." After the standard thank you, Pei Huai returned to his usual indifferent demeanor. Unexpectedly, he adopted a cold, aloof tone towards everyone. Dan Duo, laughing, complained about his temper, then tactfully shook his head and left.
Pei Huai listened to the footsteps fading away through the door and dialed a number he had memorized.
He waited for the call to ring.
[Hello.] The caller's attitude towards this unknown number was unfriendly. There was a hint of anger in his tone. Suddenly, he removed the receiver and launched into a barrage of abuse. "I don't care about the tax bureau! This is a mistake in your accounts! Now someone's harassing me. What do you say? If you can't explain this, go kneel in front of Director Zheng until he's willing to see you." He grabbed the line and said to Pei Huai on the other end, "I'll give you ten seconds. Don't waste my time."
"Zhu Zhiyang."
There was a rare moment of silence on the other end of the line. She didn't hang up, as if waiting for him to clarify his intentions.
"Help me," he said.
After a long, long time, so long that Pei Huai thought he should hang up at the fifteenth second, a tired sigh finally came from the receiver. The voice was a little hoarse.
【Where are you. 】
-
There was no need to use any tricks to put the phone back where it belonged. He could just delete the call logs, ask him to help him fasten the belt again, and then repeat the same trick. Pei Huai was very bold, and Uncle Chen, who had come to delay time, was frightened.
Uncle Chen is a veteran of the PBL. Three years ago, he had the good fortune of fixing the young man's bones after a match, and that's how they became inseparable. On the day the young man was assigned to him, his former boss specifically instructed him to perform a thorough, inside-and-out examination, ensuring that nothing was amiss. Uncle Chen reviewed the young man's report two or three times without finding anything wrong, so he went to massage his lumbar spine.
When he massaged his shoulders and looked at him from the front, he noticed his face was fresh and youthful. He asked his age, and it turned out to be college graduation age. Naturally, he treated him with more care than he did others. As time went by, Chen Bo became increasingly biased. Regardless of whether people called him Gyrfalcon or Champion, he would always nag him in his elder-like way.
Even after he withdrew from the competition, Uncle Chen kept muttering about the Gyrfalcon that left without saying goodbye.
"How did you end up messing with this devil? I'm telling you, I'm about to retire, and he calls me out every night to fix this guy's bones and give that guy an IV drip. It's either his brother's fault, or him, or these two are doing it together." While Dando was being sent away by his men, Uncle Chen lowered his voice at the back of the team, "You weren't the kid who started trouble before. If you're stuck here, you're going to get your skin peeled off."
"Won't."
"Not yet. How would you, a little kid, know? I don't know what grudge Dando had against you in the past. He brought back a few people before, and they seemed to be wearing your masks. Later, simply because he was dissatisfied, he chopped off their heads on the spot. Oh, the blood, it makes my chest tight when I think about it now..."
"Uncle Chen."
"You kid. I've known you for so long, why are you still calling me by my last name? I feel strange."
"You'd better leave as soon as possible. The farther the better." Pei Huai showed no expression, but his eyes were serious. "It will be very dangerous next."
"and you……"
"Don't worry about me."
"Listen to me, kid. You think I'm too old to care about you, right? No, I won't. You're twenty-four, a great age. You can't afford to let anything go wrong. Remember, if something goes wrong, run away."
Seeing that his attitude was firm and he couldn't be dissuaded, Uncle Chen knew he couldn't persuade him, so he kept on nagging him as they walked: "The guy who was beaten just now was your boyfriend, right? Speaking of which, listen carefully, don't be picky about your face when looking for a boyfriend. I know that young people like you who are good-looking care about these things the most, but if you have bad character, how can you live your life?"
"Remember this. Your boyfriend may seem like he's good to you, but don't let your guard down. If his true colors show after marriage, cut your losses and break up. You said you can find anyone with your exacting requirements, right?"
Pei Huai nodded repeatedly as he finally escorted the man out the door. He returned to the bedroom and probed Xiang Mingqi's arteries to ensure he wasn't too weak to die from the sedation. Fortunately, his eyelids opened soon, and Xiang Mingqi weakly but pleasantly called him "Brother." Then, they waited for Danduo.
"He won't die. Neither will the person you want... What's wrong? You look like you don't want to talk to me again."
He looked him straight in the eye and asked, "Why are you obsessed with the Gyrfalcon?"
Dando had never expected the person before him to ask such a question. His facial muscles were obviously stiff, but also obviously surprised. "Why did you suddenly think of asking this?"
The unnecessary question didn't get an unnecessary answer, so he could only continue with Pei Huai's previous sentence: "You came for someone, fine. And you happened to be wearing that mask, which also makes sense. But when Sang Lun reminded you, what was your reaction? You didn't care. So, do I need to explain myself?"
He got the inquiring glance.
"You're not afraid of me. Let's get straight to the point. I want my own Gyrfalcon. And you're perfect for it. The mask's original owner was a recognized genius, but unfortunately he's been away from the PBL for too long. I've suffered greatly because of his talent, and even when I was pushed into the game at short notice, the audience wasn't optimistic about me. They were sighing, believing that Gyrfalcon was irreplaceable."
"I don't like getting hit, I don't like being frustrated. So I found a professional fighting teacher and suffered under their guidance for four years. But they still think I can't compare to him. Four years ago, he won his first match with great momentum. As a newcomer, no one was optimistic about him, let alone betting on him. Only me."
Danduo bent his index finger, lifted a few strands of hair from Pei Huai's cheek and hung them behind his ear, his movements gentle and patient.
"He could be twenty, or nineteen, but he was a charming age. But I could only watch from afar. In the days before I was even a registered boxer, I watched him and admired him. I was willing to live in his shadow for the rest of my life. His spinning back-kick at the end of that promotional match was so spectacular, I'll never forget it."
"...That's not a whip kick." He corrected word by word, "It's a high sweep kick."
Dando's pupils suddenly shrank to the size of a needle tip.
"I've played ten games, all of them unremarkable. I only played because the PBL gave me a good share. After helping my second uncle pay off his gambling debts, there was nothing there to attract me anymore."
"you……"
"If you want to kill me, Dando Leka." He raised his chin. "Go ahead and try. I never took you seriously before, and I still don't." His lips slowly moved closer, touching up and down provocatively. "Foolish man, you've been guarding something that others don't want for so many years. Do you like it that much?"
What he didn't expect was that the provocation had the opposite effect: a blazing fire rose in Dando's gray-brown pupils, and without thinking, he held Pei Huai's face with both hands and was about to kiss him.
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