Blinded by Lust chapter 30

Wengda Port was poor, and its neighboring town, San Lorenzo, wasn’t any better. When Wu Bie arrived in San Lorenzo on an old, worn-out bus that should have been scrapped long ago, it was already 8 p.m. He had to find a hotel near the airport to spend the night.

If it weren’t for his years of traveling, which gave him some adaptability, it would have been tough for anyone unfamiliar with the area and unable to speak the language to handle the situation. After much gesturing and guessing, he finally found a barely acceptable hotel to stay in.

Outside his window was a street lined with lively bars. Wu Bie, exhausted from a day of travel, was beyond tired. But the thought of soon seeing Zhanyan made him feel that the fatigue was worth it.

Just as he was about to drift off to sleep, he heard some suggestive noises coming from the next room. It was a hotel, so this was normal, he tried to comfort himself. But the noise got louder and more frequent, and the more he listened, the stranger it felt.

They were two men!

In the darkness, Wu Bie’s eyes snapped open, and he cursed into the empty, dark room.

He was almost grinding his teeth. It was like gay people haunted him!

The ruckus next door went on for most of the night, only quieting down in the early hours. Wu Bie nearly missed his alarm the next morning. As he was leaving, he ran into the two men from next door. It turned out he had a stereotypical image of gay people — these two were muscular and strong, and Wu Bie still couldn’t figure out which one had been making all the noise.

He rolled his eyes internally, yawned, and left the nightmare of a hotel, dragging his luggage behind him.

San Lorenzo didn’t have direct flights to his home country, so he had to go to Tico Airport to catch a connecting flight. Before boarding, he checked his video account and left a message on his old account from a new one.

“Zhanyan, I lost my phone, don’t worry.” Whether Zhanyan saw it or not, this was all Wu Bie could do.

After more than six hours of flying, Wu Bie woke up, and the plane had already landed on home soil. He squinted through the window at the blue sky and white clouds. It felt like home.

Though still groggy from sleep, his energy surged. After leaving the airport, he headed straight for the nearby telecom service station.

“Excuse me, I lost my SIM card. Can I replace it?”

The staff member shook their head. “Sorry, we only issue new SIM cards here. To replace a lost one, you’ll need to go to the main office with your ID.”

“That’s a hassle.” Wu Bie glanced at the nearest main office. It was a 40-minute drive away, farther than his home.

With no other choice, he postponed the SIM card replacement and bought a new card from the station.

The foreign SIM card he had been using had very little data left. He had been afraid to use too much of it last night in San Lorenzo, fearing he’d lose connection to the world. Looking at the data-packed new card, he couldn’t help but sigh — it was good to be home.

Without further delay, he flagged down a taxi and headed home. Fortunately, he had some cash left, so he could at least pay the fare.

The taxi stopped in front of a residential complex. Wu Bie, excited, carried his luggage into the community. He hadn’t informed Chen Xian that he was back.

Ever since Chen Xian got together with Shen Jixue, he shared every little detail with him, leaving no secrets between the two friends. If Shen Jixue found out that he had returned from afar to meet his online lover, he would surely gossip about it behind his back. Wu Bie planned to meet Zhanyan first, settle everything, and only then would he tell them, leaving them nothing to criticize.

When they bought their apartments, Wu Bie and Chen Xian had purposely chosen units on the same floor for convenience. Wu Bie wasn’t worried about running into the two of them today. Based on his understanding of their work schedules, they would still be at work at this hour.

The elevator stopped on the seventh floor, a floor that Chen Xian had chosen for Shen Jixue because of its good luck — a Chinese superstition about the number seven. Chen Xian, the disgrace of the shipping company, even bent to superstition to please Shen Jixue.

Wu Bie got off the elevator and quietly tiptoed to Chen Xian’s door. He pressed his ear against the security door and listened for a while. It was quiet, just as he expected — no one was home.

Since no one was around, Wu Bie allowed himself to be a little more carefree. He barged into his apartment, quickly turning on the water, gas, and electricity, threw his luggage to the side, and rushed into the bathroom.

During the recent typhoon, things had been chaotic, and he hadn’t had time for personal hygiene. The hotel conditions had been mediocre at best, and he hadn’t had a proper shower in a long time. He needed to be clean when meeting Zhanyan.

The bathroom mirror fogged up from the steam. Wu Bie wiped it with his hand, revealing his handsome face.

“My hair’s a bit long,” he muttered to himself. He hadn’t even had time for a proper shower, let alone a haircut. “I should find a barbershop and get it cut.”

Men look better when they’re neat and tidy. First impressions are important, and his long hair made him look like a wild man.

Wu Bie grabbed a towel and carefully dried himself off. He ran naked into his room, rummaging through his belongings until he found the outfit he liked best. He took the gifts he had bought for Zhanyan, grabbed his bank card, and headed downstairs to the barbershop.

Since moving here, Wu Bie hadn’t spent much time at home, so he wasn’t familiar with the shops outside the complex. The barbershops were all luxuriously decorated now, and when he entered, he felt a bit lost. The shampoo guy introduced him to a bunch of prices, and Wu Bie didn’t know what to make of it.

“Our boss is the best. Naturally, his services are the most expensive.”

As soon as he heard “best,” Wu Bie didn’t care about the price. “I’ll go with him.”

A simple haircut cost him 150 yuan, and he happily paid for it. The boss, seeing that Wu Bie was both clueless and rich, asked, “Are you going on a date?”

“Meeting my girlfriend,” Wu Bie replied proudly, his voice rising a few octaves. Looking at himself in the mirror, he saw a sharp and dashing man. Zhanyan was sure to like him.

Leaving the barbershop, his fresh haircut made him feel like his whole world had opened up. Wu Bie figured that a first meeting with Zhanyan deserved more than just some cheap trinkets. He decided to head to the mall.

Wu Bie was still undecided about what to buy. As soon as he entered the mall, the first floor was filled with major gold jewelry stores. “Why not buy a necklace? Little girls definitely like jewelry.”

A sales assistant saw Wu Bie’s hesitation and approached him. “Sir, is there anything I can help you with?”

The wide array of jewelry on display dazzled Wu Bie, and he wasn’t familiar with any of it. Wiping his mouth, he asked, “Do you have necklaces for young girls here?”

The display cases were filled with shining gold, almost too dazzling to look at. Wu Bie hesitated, feeling that gold might not suit Zhanyan’s age. Eventually, his gaze fell on a display case to the right.

The sales assistant, quick to notice, immediately took out the necklace Wu Bie had been eyeing. “This one is platinum, and the pendant is a seagull.”

A seagull? Wu Bie had been fretting over which design to choose, and Zhanyan’s profile picture was of a seagull.

Seeing Wu Bie’s interest, the sales assistant added, “This is a designer piece, so it’s a bit more expensive than gold of the same weight. Gold holds its value better, though.”

Wu Bie understood. In such brand-name jewelry stores, there’s often a premium for design. But right now, he didn’t care about value; as long as Zhanyan liked it, that was enough.

“No need, I’ll take this one. Please wrap it up nicely.”

Wu Bie’s decisiveness took the sales assistant by surprise, but she simply asked, “Is this for your girlfriend?”

Girlfriend?

Hearing that word made Wu Bie smile. “Yes.”

“Then your girlfriend will definitely like it.” The sales assistant pointed to a flower shop across the way. “How about buying a bouquet of flowers too?”

You had to give her credit—the sales assistant was good at her job. With just a few words, she had Wu Bie happily heading to the flower shop, where he not only bought a large bouquet of fresh flowers but also a box of expensive imported chocolates. Wu Bie, who had just returned from abroad and previously had no interest in such things, now found himself unable to resist.

Having bought everything he needed, he left the mall satisfied. Back in the underground parking lot, he sat in his car and pulled up the address for the hospital.

Wu Bie felt there was something fateful between him and Zhanyan. She must have sent him many messages, but this was the only one he’d received—surely destiny was at play? Even though he’d lost his phone, he could still find her. If that wasn’t a match made in heaven, what was?

The private hospital was a bit out of the way, in a different district, and located halfway up a mountain. The moment Wu Bie saw the hospital building, a wave of nervousness washed over him, making his hands and feet tremble. If it weren’t for the nearly empty parking lot, he might not have been able to park at all.

After turning off the engine, he didn’t immediately get out. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, took several deep breaths, and tried to calm himself.

“Get a grip. You’re about to see her. You can’t lose your cool now, especially since you’ve seen her before—video called many times. There’s nothing to be nervous about.”

Letting out a long exhale, Wu Bie grabbed Zhanyan’s gift and, feigning calmness, got out of the car.

The private hospital was quiet, with few patients, giving it a slightly cold atmosphere. After entering, Wu Bie had a hard time finding any staff. Relying on the signs, he finally located the orthopedics floor.

“Fifth floor.” He mumbled to himself as he entered the elevator alone. While no one else was around, he used the metal walls to check his appearance. “Looking sharp, looking sharp. Breathe…”

The elevator dinged as it stopped on the fifth floor. Unlike the first floor, there was a nurse station here. Strangely, Wu Bie’s voice, usually loud, softened when he spoke.

“Excuse me, which room is Zhanyan in?”

The nurse blinked. “Zhanyan?”

Afraid she might not remember, Wu Bie explained, “She hurt her leg in a car accident and came here for recovery.”

“Oh! You mean Huo Zhanyan, right?”

“Huo?” Wu Bie was the one stunned this time.

The nurse pointed to the end of the corridor. “Room 0511. May I ask how you’re related?”

Wu Bie was too flustered to worry about the name mix-up and shyly replied, “Friend.”

“Then please sign in.”

After signing, Wu Bie slowly made his way to Room 0511. The closer he got, the slower his steps became. In the quiet hallway, he could even hear his own heartbeat.

Thump… thump…

It was deafening, as if his restless heart would leap out of his chest.

When he finally reached the door, he felt his heartbeat racing, his breath quickening. He repeatedly gave himself pep talks.

He had played this scene out in his mind countless times. What expression should he wear when he saw Zhanyan? What should he say? But just as he raised his hand to knock, his wildly pounding heart seemed to jump into his throat, and a wave of suffocation hit him. His mind went completely blank, unable to think.