After Transmigrating, I Saved the Saintly Male Lead
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However, Gu Hanzhou wasn’t afraid of ghosts. These ghost stories weren’t even a fraction as terrifying as the scenes in his dreams.
Gu Hanzhou lowered his gaze, his eyes greedily tracing the slender wrist bones in his palm.
His long index finger lightly brushed over the prominent knuckles of Ji Anche’s hand, letting go just before Ji Anche could notice.
"Ge, you told it so well."
His eyelashes fluttered slightly as he shivered.
"I’m scared."
Ji Anche didn’t sense anything unusual and rubbed his tingling wrist against his pants.
Truthfully, he was also a little scared, but he was too embarrassed to admit it.
As a tough guy, how could he be afraid of ghosts?
How shameful.
Ji Anche suppressed his fear and pretended to be calm as he comforted.
"There’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s all fake."
"Gege, can I hold your hand?"
Gu Hanzhou looked up at him, his gaze clear and filled with affection. "If I hold your hand, I won’t be scared anymore."
Every time the male lead called him 'gege' in that soft voice, Ji Anche couldn’t resist the overwhelming surge of paternal love in his chest.
Was this what it felt like to raise a son?
It felt amazing.
He took the initiative to hold the male lead’s hand, their fingers interlocking.
The warmth from Gu Hanzhou’s palm spread through Ji Anche’s skin, and the chill on his back seemed to dissipate a little.
Ji Anche’s tense nerves gradually relaxed, and he finally felt less scared.
"Ge, keep going. I want to hear more."
Seeing the hidden anticipation in the male lead’s eyes, Ji Anche decided to go all out to heal the male lead’s fragile heart and help him sleep well.
Paternal love truly was the greatest thing in the world.
Ji Anche steeled himself and continued:
["Little Red trembled as she asked, 'Where are you?'
The voice on the other end of the phone was sharp and piercing, giggling, 'I’m right behind you, heeheehee.'
Little Red crouched down and lifted the wooden mat, only to see her best friend’s corpse beneath the bed. The body was so decayed it was almost unrecognizable, emitting a strong, putrid stench. The flesh had been cruelly cut open and stitched back together with thread. The hollow, white eyes of the corpse stared eerily at her.
It turned out she had been sleeping back-to-back, intimately close, with her best friend’s corpse all these nights."]
Telling stories was just a pretense. Gu Hanzhou didn’t actually expect to fall asleep; it was merely a way to pass the time.
After experiencing death, he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a long time.
Not to mention, he wasn’t entirely sure if Ji Anche had ulterior motives.
Yet, Ji Anche’s clear and gentle voice inexplicably had a hypnotic effect.
The bloody scenes in his dreams slowly faded away, and even the grotesque corpses seemed oddly endearing because of the boy.
The cicadas of midsummer chirped alongside the evening breeze as the boy’s voice flowed soothingly.
Ji Anche continued:
["Strangely, Little Red didn’t show a trace of fear on her face. Instead, a strange smile slowly spread across her lips as she dipped her fingers in blood and smeared it on her white skirt.
'I really like red dresses, but I don’t have any to wear anymore. You’re my best friend, shouldn’t you fulfill my wish? Your blood is the most beautiful paint.'
Little Red’s face showed an innocent, pure smile. 'Besides, wouldn’t it be nice if you became a beautiful doll and stayed with me forever?'
'I already have a whole room of pretty dolls! They’re in the walls, the fridge, the floor, and under the bed. So happy, heeheehee.'
'You’ll stay with me forever, right?'
Little Red, wearing a bright red dress, smiled radiantly. 'Heehee, we’ll be together forever.'"]
By the end, Ji Anche had scared himself with his own imagination.
He looked down and saw that the male lead, who had claimed to be scared, was already asleep.
??? Weren’t you scared? Why did you fall asleep so fast!
The hospital room was quiet, the pale white light spilling onto the floor, the air carrying the scent of disinfectant.
Suddenly, the lights flickered, plunging the room into complete darkness. In the distance, the glass door was suddenly bathed in an eerie red glow.
Ji Anche’s arms broke out in goosebumps, and cold sweat soaked his back.
A chill ran up his spine to the top of his head, making his scalp tingle.
Ji Anche couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching him from behind.
As soon as he closed his eyes, the image of the little girl in the red dress appeared, blood tears streaming from her hollow eyes as she stared at him with a sinister grin.
Help!
Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony!!!
Why did he have to come up with the idea of telling ghost stories in the middle of the night?
Now, while the male lead was sleeping so soundly, he was the one left wide awake, trembling with fear.
Ji Anche tried to distract himself by doing something else.
He poked the male lead’s cheek. It was smooth and fair, quite pleasant to pinch.
Ji Anche vented his frustration by pinching the male lead’s cheeks a few more times.
Ugh.
It’s all your fault!
The hospital bed was quite large, more than enough for two people.
Ji Anche had an idea. He pretended to be concerned and asked, "Isn’t it a bit cold for you to sleep alone in such a big bed?"
"Uh, maybe I could reluctantly keep you company."
"If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as a yes."
"Alright then, I’ll sleep with you. Who told me to be so kind-hearted? No need to thank me."
Ji Anche climbed onto the bed, carefully wrapping his arms around the male lead.
The warm skin pressed against him, and the familiar, crisp scent of pine filled his nostrils. The lively, human warmth in the air made Ji Anche exhale deeply, finally feeling like he was alive again.
He actually had a slight case of mysophobia and didn’t like close contact with others. Something like lying in bed and hugging someone so intimately had never happened before.
But when it came to the male lead, his mysophobia seemed to inexplicably disappear.
There was no psychological discomfort at all.
For the first time, Ji Anche realized that the feeling of skin touching skin was quite pleasant, even more comfortable than hugging a fluffy cat.
He held Gu Hanzhou, noticing how thin the boy was. There wasn’t much flesh on him, and hugging him felt a bit bony.
Sigh, how pitiful.
It seemed he’d have to make sure to nourish the male lead properly and fatten him up a bit.
After all,
pork prices have gone up.
If he gets fat, he could be sold by the pound.
Ji Anche’s thoughts wandered as he drifted off into a deep sleep.
Hearing the steady breathing of the boy in his arms, Gu Hanzhou opened his eyes, still slightly drowsy.
All the things Ji Anche had muttered to himself earlier had reached his ears.
A soft chuckle escaped his throat.
"Such a scaredy-cat."
Seeing the peaceful sleeping face of the boy in his arms, an uncontrollable instinct seeped into his bones and flesh.
His fingers twitched restlessly as Gu Hanzhou leaned in, burying his face in the boy’s neck.
His nostrils flared slightly, catching the faint, sweet scent of fruit candy on the boy’s skin.
Because of the disgusting things from his past life, he had always hated being touched by others. Even the slightest contact made him nauseous.
But holding Ji Anche felt unexpectedly nice. The boy in his arms was warm and soft, a pleasant sensation to the touch.
Ji Anche always put on a fierce, aggressive front, but when held, he felt surprisingly soft, like a beast with its claws removed, exposing its tender belly for him to touch freely.
Once asleep, the fierce aura around him completely vanished. The boy’s features were handsome and gentle, a face that was easy to like.
Gu Hanzhou reached out a finger, tracing the outline of Ji Anche’s brows and eyes in the air.
It felt as if a feather had brushed against his heart, bringing a faint itch. Gu Hanzhou couldn’t help but gently pinch the soft flesh on Ji Anche’s cheek.
His touch was light, almost like the intimate teasing between lovers. He leaned in, his nose brushing against the boy’s, playfully pressing and lingering.
Ji Anche’s lips were rosy, with just the right amount of fullness.
Would sweet juice spill out if he bit into them?
Gu Hanzhou propped himself up on the edge of the bed, leaning closer, almost as if bewitched, about to kiss him.
Then, snapping back to reality, he froze.
He had been avoiding and hiding it, but his buried emotions were becoming more and more obvious.
Beneath the thin layer of ice, undercurrents were swirling, ready to crack the surface with spiderweb-like fractures.
Falling into it would mean no return.
Was this love?
After a long pause,
a hint of self-mockery flashed in Gu Hanzhou’s eyes.
It couldn’t be called love. At most, it was an indescribable delusion.
o0o