Blinded by Lust chapter 7
If you were to criticize Wu Bie, he could come up with eight hundred reasons to refute you. But when someone like Zhanyan praised him in so many ways, he was so dazed he even forgot his own surname.
“Oh, you… you really…”
Zhanyan was very sincere. “I’m telling the truth. Don’t you believe me, Ge?”
“Well, if you say so, how could I not believe you?” He was just average-looking, and the sun at sea had tanned him a bit. Being manly and attracting young girls was normal. “No one has ever praised me like this before.”
“Didn’t your previous girlfriends ever praise you? You must have had some, right?”
He had had girlfriends, but none as flattering as Zhanyan. “None of them were as sweet-talking as you.”
The phone went silent for a moment, and Wu Bie looked at the screen, puzzled. The call wasn’t disconnected, so why was Zhanyan silent?
“What’s wrong? Why did you stop talking?” Wu Bie wondered why Zhanyan had gone quiet.
He, being a straightforward guy, didn’t realize that Zhanyan was just testing him.
After a moment, Zhanyan’s voice finally came through, sounding a bit aggrieved. “Ge, have you ever been in a relationship?”
Wu Bie, being quite blunt and lacking in emotional intelligence, didn’t realize that a smooth-talking man would have skillfully avoided such questions. Instead, he answered honestly, revealing his emotional naivety.
Wu Bie was still immersed in Zhanyan’s sweet compliments, not fully processing everything, and responded naturally, “Of course. I’m thirty now, it would be strange not to have had a relationship.”
However, long-distance relationships seemed cursed, often ending in separation and leaving a mark of having wasted someone’s youth.
Unexpectedly, Zhanyan replied angrily, “I’ve never been in a relationship.”
If he were a less principled man, he might have taken advantage of Zhanyan’s comment, steering the conversation towards dating her. But Wu Bie, who felt it was improper to flirt with someone so young, found it inappropriate.
Not knowing Zhanyan’s exact age, Wu Bie asked, “Zhanyan, how old are you?”
Zhanyan candidly replied, “Eighteen.”
Wu Bie had guessed she was young but didn’t expect her to be so young. Eighteen was an age where he was a whole generation older.
Even if nothing had been said or done, it felt inappropriate to chat so intimately with such a young girl.
“Ge?” Zhanyan seemed to sense his discomfort and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Wu Bie, who was usually thoughtful, struggled with his words. “You’re only eighteen. Do you realize that I’m a whole generation older than you?”
The implication was clear: their closeness might not be suitable.
“But I’m an adult now.”
Being an adult doesn’t mean one can act without restraint. Even if Zhanyan said she was an adult and free to interact with anyone, Wu Bie, being in his thirties, felt it was not right to flirt with such a young girl.
He fell silent several times, clearly losing the initial excitement. Zhanyan could sense this change.
“Ge, do you think I’m too young and don’t want to talk to me anymore? I’m alone in the hospital, my parents are busy, my classmates are far away. No one talks to me. Don’t you want to talk to me either?”
Zhanyan’s repeated “Ge” made Wu Bie’s heart feel disordered. Even though it might be inappropriate to have such thoughts, he could consider her as a younger sister and talk to her a bit to cheer her up. He thought it wouldn’t hurt to do so.
“Why are you saying things like that again? I promised you, I’ll talk with you and take photos for you. I’m not the kind of person who breaks promises.”
Despite Wu Bie’s reassurance, the once flirtatious atmosphere became quite serious. At least he wasn’t laughing foolishly anymore.
The awkward atmosphere made both of them uncomfortable. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Wu Bie quickly said, “Someone’s knocking.”
He thought Zhanyan would hang up, but the call didn’t end, indicating she was waiting for him. He had no choice but to brace himself and go open the door.
When he opened the door, Tan Yi was outside with a plate of salt-baked lobster. He smiled and said to Wu Bie, “Wu Ge, we were so focused on drinking earlier at the tavern, and then I got busy again. Everyone’s hungry. Mr. Zhang made some salt-baked lobster, and since I saw you weren’t in the dining hall, I brought it over before it’s all gone.”
Wu Bie was currently overwhelmed by the situation with the “female college student,” and Tan Yi’s appearance was a much-needed relief.
“Thank you, that’s very thoughtful of you.”
After sending Tan Yi off, Wu Bie had to face the “female college student” who was both a source of comfort and frustration. As he picked up the phone, Zhanyan, who had likely heard his movement, grumbled, “Ge, do you still think there’s something to talk about with the people on your ship?”
Wu Bie could clearly sense the jealousy in Zhanyan’s words and, somewhat irrationally, explained, “He’s just a boy. He was being nice, bringing me something to eat.”
Explaining was Wu Bie’s instinct, but after doing so, he felt it was unnecessary.
The call was abruptly cut off due to a doctor’s examination, and the two who had started off happily ended up quite unhappy.
Wu Bie stared at the seagull avatar on his phone, sighed, and wondered how he was going to face Zhanyan in the future. To be shamelessly honest, the moment they started a voice call, he had already imagined where their future children would go to school.
Now, with everything turned upside down, he shoved a lobster into his mouth, feeling frustrated!
“How are you feeling?” The doctor routinely asked about Huo Zhanyan’s condition.
Huo Zhanyan turned his head away, gazing out the window with some impatience, “I’m not going to die.”
Private hospitals not only offered a better environment than public hospitals but also provided top-notch service. The doctor, unfazed by Huo Zhanyan’s arrogant attitude, conducted the examination with a smile and kindness.
“Make sure to rest. If you need anything, just ring the bell. The on-duty nurse is always available.”
After the hospital room door closed, Huo Zhanyan pulled out his phone from under the pillow. His stiff expression gradually softened, changing from impatience to frustration.
Now, Wu Bie clearly treated him like a child, being overly cautious. Huo Zhanyan regretted not having told Wu Bie he was twenty.
And who was that on the phone just now? Based on Huo Zhanyan’s knowledge and research on Wu Bie, besides Chen Xian, who frequently appeared in his videos, he hadn’t noticed anyone else close to Wu Bie. Chen Xian had already disembarked, and now someone else was getting close to Wu Bie in such a short time?
He wasn’t worried about Wu Bie liking women; after all, there weren’t any women on the boat. Being gay himself, he naturally felt hostile towards other men, especially with the ship being full of men.
Soon, Huo Zhanyan clearly noticed Wu Bie speaking to him with more restraint, often using a tone like that of an elder educating a younger one, telling him to be obedient and cooperate with the treatment.
Huo Zhanyan’s heart ached. He felt this approach wasn’t going to work.
….
“This batch of goods is almost sold out. We need to prepare to sail to the next port.” The captain was arranging the next schedule.
Wu Bie, as an investor without a formal position on the ship, was involved in various tasks and was listening attentively when his phone vibrated a few times. He guessed it was from Zhanyan and, after a moment of hesitation, took out his phone to take a look.
A photo and several text messages.
“Ge, it hurts so much.”
The photo showed Zhanyan’s hand with distinct bone structure and fair skin. The veins under the skin were clearly visible, and several needle marks on the back of the hand were particularly noticeable and bruised.
“What happened?” Wu Bie frowned and quickly replied to Zhanyan’s message.
“The nurse is new and said my veins are too thin, so she keeps missing the needle.”
This was quite a distressing situation. Wu Bie, feeling sorry for Zhanyan, was annoyed, “Even in a private hospital, how can such an inexperienced nurse be allowed to work?”
He hurriedly searched online for solutions, “I saw online that you should do a hot compress after twenty-four hours. Ask the doctor if it’s okay to do that, and if so, have the caregiver help you with it tonight.”
Even in a private hospital, if parents aren’t around, one might still be mistreated.
Wu Bie was still worried when suddenly a 60-second long voice message popped up. He stared at the message, feeling anxious. He was in a meeting and didn’t have headphones, but not knowing what Zhanyan said made him uncomfortable.
He remembered there was a voice-to-text function, but as he clicked on it, his finger slipped, and the voice message started playing.
“I thought you were ignoring me. These days, you keep lecturing me no matter what I say, and you don’t care about how I’m doing in the hospital. My hand is killing me. Last night, there was a heavy rain and a long thunderstorm here. I didn’t dare to call you because I was afraid you’d be impatient…”
More than a dozen pairs of eyes in the meeting room turned towards Wu Bie. He fumbled to turn off his phone, but it was too late; everyone had heard a sultry voice complaining to him.
“Who’s that, Wu Ge?”
“Are you in a relationship?”
“Who is the girl? Do we know her? How come you never mentioned her before?”
Wu Bie sprang up, trying to escape the scene, but a few sailors were faster and blocked him at the office door.
Hearing a woman’s voice on the ship was extremely rare. The burly men, curious and eager, were all ears, even if they weren’t involved themselves.
Wu Bie, feeling embarrassed, said, “What are you talking about? Don’t make things up. She’s just a college student.”
“College student!” The crowd exclaimed in unison, their lecherous gazes suggesting they imagined Wu Bie and the college student doing something naughty.
Wu Bie felt goosebumps all over under their stares, struggled to free himself, and fled in a hurry.