Do Not Regret It

The sound of the study door closing still vibrated in the air.

Lin Xingmian held his phone, his fingertips freezing cold.

Lu Shiyan’s message was still lit up on the screen, and that photo of the Emerald Lake Bay main entrance felt like a silent urge.

He stood in the middle of the living room, caught in a dilemma.

—Going down meant seeing Lu Shiyan, while not going down meant staying in this man’s home.

Either option made his heart beat way too fast.

The door to the study suddenly opened again.

Gu Hanzhou leaned against the doorframe, still holding that glass of water, with one button of his shirt collar undone.

He looked at the phone in Lin Xingmian’s hand, the light from the screen reflecting on the youth’s pale face, making those eyes look exceptionally bright.

“Is he still downstairs?” Gu Hanzhou asked.

His voice was very faint, as if he were asking about the weather.

“…Yes.” Lin Xingmian hid the phone behind his back subconsciously, only realizing how obvious and revealing this action was after doing it.

Gu Hanzhou looked at him and did not expose him, but simply started walking over.

He walked very slowly, his leather shoes stepping on the wooden floor one sound at a time, like some sort of countdown.

Lin Xingmian backed away involuntarily, and after taking two steps back, his back pressed against the living room wall.

There was no way left to retreat.

Gu Hanzhou stopped in front of him, with less than half an arm’s width of distance between them.

He was half a head taller than Lin Xingmian, and when he looked down at him, his eyelashes cast a small shadow under his eyelids.

“Want to go down?”

Lin Xingmian pressed his lips tightly.

He should go down, as Lu Shiyan was his childhood friend, they grew up together, and Lu Shiyan had never done anything to hurt him.

On the other hand, the man right in front of him was someone he had only known for two days, who had taken him from one home to another completely unfamiliar place.

Yet he did not move.

Gu Hanzhou seemed to see through his hesitation and tilted his head slightly.

Then he raised his hand, his fingertips landing on Lin Xingmian’s chin with a light pressure that carried an unrejectable sense of control, slowly raising his face up.

“Look at me and speak.”

Lin Xingmian was forced to lock eyes with him.

Those eyes were so close that he could see his own reflection inside them clearly.

“…I am not going down,” he said, his voice much softer than expected.

Gu Hanzhou’s thumb moved, shifting from the chin to the lower lip, his thumb pad lightly pressing on that soft skin.

Lin Xingmian’s body froze instantly.

That thumb stroked across his lips without any rush, the rough touch of light calluses forming a sharp contrast with his delicate lips.

The movement was very slow, as if outlining some shape, or measuring some territory.

“This mouth,” Gu Hanzhou’s voice lowered, as if he were talking to himself.

“Have they touched it?”

Lin Xingmian’s brain was already unable to function, so he could only shake his head instinctively.

His lips rubbed past Gu Hanzhou’s thumb pad during the shaking motion, acting like a kind of inadvertent response.

Gu Hanzhou’s gaze darkened for an instant.

He withdrew his thumb, but replaced it with his entire hand—his palm cradled the back of Lin Xingmian’s head, his fingers sliding into the soft hair and tightening slightly.

It did not hurt, but it was absolutely impossible to break free.

“Very good,” he said.

“Then what about here?”

He leaned down, his forehead almost touching Lin Xingmian’s forehead, with only a line of distance left between their noses.

Their breaths tangled together, and there was a faint mint scent in his breath that felt cool, yet it made Lin Xingmian’s whole body burn up.

“Has he touched you here?”

This sentence was spoken almost right against his lips, the airflow sweeping over the sensitive skin and bringing a small wave of trembling.

Lin Xingmian’s legs felt a bit weak, his back was pressed tightly against the wall, and his fingers scratched the wallpaper behind him unconsciously.

“No…” His voice already carried a nasal tone, looking incredibly soft.

Gu Hanzhou’s lips moved a little, the arc very shallow, yet it made Lin Xingmian’s heart skip a beat.

That was a smile.

So this was what he looked like when he smiled—his cold brows and eyes would curve up a little, and the corners of his mouth would rise, yet there was not a single bit of gentleness, only a more intense type of possessiveness.

“Good child.”

He stepped back.

His fingers pulled out from Lin Xingmian’s hair, his fingertips lightly scratching behind the ear as they left, like some secret mark.

Lin Xingmian leaned against the wall with weak legs, panting heavily, as if the time he was deprived of breath just now was not a few seconds, but a few centuries.

Gu Hanzhou had already turned around to walk toward the study, unbuttoning his shirt cuffs as he walked, his tone returning to his usual coldness.

“The bathroom hot water should be enough, go to sleep after washing up, and come out with me tomorrow.”

Lin Xingmian’s brain rebooted for several seconds before he understood the meaning of this sentence.

“…Go out?”

“Yes.” Gu Hanzhou pushed open the door to the study and looked at him sideways, the light and shadow cutting a cold and hard profile on his face.

“To Lu Shiyan’s hospital.”

Lin Xingmian froze.

“Didn’t you not want to see him here? Then we will go see him on his territory.”

Gu Hanzhou’s tone was casual.

“Let him see clearly—”

He paused, his gaze as sharp as a knife blade.

“That you came with me.”

The study door closed, and this time it did not open again.

Lin Xingmian slowly slid down to sit on the floor, his back resting against the cold wall while he clutched his chest which was still beating wildly.

The touch of that thumb still lingered on his lips, rough and warm, like a mark left by a branding iron.

He raised his hand to touch his own lips, his fingertips trembling slightly when they came into contact with that patch of skin.

It was over.

He closed his eyes.

Outside the window were the city lights, and beneath his feet was the vast mortal world.

While that man named Gu Hanzhou was pulling him step by step into some abyss with no exit.

His phone vibrated again.

But he did not look at it.

He did not dare to look.

At six o’clock in the morning, Lin Xingmian was awakened by a knock on the door.

He had barely slept all night, lying on the unfamiliar bed and staring at the ceiling with open eyes, his mind repeatedly replaying the scene of Gu Hanzhou’s thumb pressing on his lips.

He tossed and turned, only drifting off to sleep in a daze when the sky was just breaking.

“Three minutes to wash up, five minutes to change clothes,” Gu Hanzhou’s voice came from outside the door, crisp yet unquestionable.

“I will wait for you at the door in eight minutes.”

Lin Xingmian sprang up from the bed and rushed into the bathroom with two dark circles under his eyes.

In the mirror, his lips looked a bit swollen—he had bitten them unconsciously all night, as if wanting to cover up some touch that did not belong to him.

But it was useless, the memory of that warm, rough thumb pad with light calluses pressing on his skin was more stubborn than a brand.

He changed into the shirt and trousers prepared by Gu Hanzhou, the sizes completely accurate and fitting as if they were custom-made.

This made his heart feel uneasy—when did this person measure his size?

Without his knowledge?

Or even earlier?

Eight minutes later, he appeared at the entrance on time.

Gu Hanzhou was already waiting, dressed in a sharp suit with his hair combed immaculately, looking like a different person compared to yesterday.

The cold profile became even more distinct in the morning light, like an unsheathed blade.

“Get in the car.”

Lu Shiyan’s hospital was in the north of the city, and it took forty minutes to drive there.

Along the way, Gu Hanzhou did not speak, only occasionally looking at Lin Xingmian in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

That gaze was not heavy, yet it made Lin Xingmian not dare to look out of the window the entire time—always feeling that the gaze was like an invisible thread tied to him, tightening by a fraction every time it swept over.

When the car stopped at the hospital entrance, Lin Xingmian saw Lu Shiyan through the car window.

He was wearing a white coat, standing at the entrance of the outpatient department, talking to a nurse.

The sunlight fell on his profile, and his gold-rimmed glasses reflected a soft glow.

He kept his head lowered slightly while speaking, listening to the nurse patiently, and then revealed a gentle smile.

An angel, that was how every patient described him.

But Lin Xingmian knew that this person was never some angel.

Sure enough, when Lu Shiyan raised his head and his gaze crossed the crowd to land on the slowly approaching Maybach, that gentle smile did not disappear.

It just stopped on his face without reaching his eyes.

The car stopped.

Gu Hanzhou did not get out of the car immediately, but turned back to look at Lin Xingmian.

“Today you came to accompany me for a physical examination,” he said.

“Remembered?”

Lin Xingmian nodded.

Gu Hanzhou reached out his hand to adjust his collar, his fingertips brushing past the skin above his collarbone and bringing a small wave of goosebumps.

The movement looked as natural as if it had been done a hundred times.

“Good.”

He pushed open the car door.

Lu Shiyan had already come forward to welcome them.

He first looked at Lin Xingmian—from head to toe, confirming he was completely unharmed, his gaze lingering on his collarbone area for an extremely brief instant before turning to Gu Hanzhou.

“Mr. Gu,” he extended his hand, his smile proper.

“Welcome.”

Gu Hanzhou gripped his hand, and the two shared a brief handshake.

Both of their faces carried polite smiles, but Lin Xingmian clearly saw that when their hands separated, Lu Shiyan’s knuckles turned an unnatural shade of white.

“Dr. Lu, I have heard much about you,” Gu Hanzhou retracted his hand and smoothly wrapped his arm around Lin Xingmian’s waist, his grip not heavy yet absolutely unyielding.

“Sorry for the trouble today.”

Lu Shiyan’s gaze landed on Gu Hanzhou’s hand around Lin Xingmian’s waist, lingering for two seconds.

Then he pushed his glasses, his smile unchanging.

“No trouble at all, Xingmian’s friend is my friend.”

He turned to lead the way, a corner of his white coat hem blown up by the wind.

After taking two steps, he looked back, his gaze passing over Gu Hanzhou to land directly on Lin Xingmian, speaking in a volume that only the three of them could hear.

“Xingxing, we need to draw blood today, if you are afraid of the pain, you can hold my hand.”

He paused, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting light so his expression could not be seen clearly.

“—Just like before.”

Gu Hanzhou’s hand around Lin Xingmian’s waist tightened.