Still Frame Chapter 53

Chapter 53 But It Doesn’t Matter If There Is Love

Three years ago, they attended a joint conference in another state. They were unlucky and ran into smugglers in the countryside. The two groups started a gunfight. Zhang Liuxin and Wen Jin were tightly protected by bodyguards, but there was a child crying in the building next door, so Wen Jin took a gun and went over.

Zhang Liuxin remembered it clearly. He was surrounded by many people, and people kept asking him, “Mr. Zhang, are you hurt?” and comforting him, “Mr. Zhang, don’t worry, nothing will happen.” He couldn’t hear any of those words. With every gunshot, he would involuntarily tremble, looking fearfully at the crowd, and then, like a madman, push the bodyguards away, urging them to protect Wen Jin.

Wen Jin’s figure reappeared in front of him. Zhang Liuxin saw bloodstains on his light-colored shirt, and he stumbled, almost collapsing to the ground, until Wen Jin walked closer and said to him, “Liuxin, don’t be afraid. This isn’t my blood; the child was shot.”

Only after hearing that sentence did Zhang Liuxin fully snap out of it, but the lingering fear was hard to forget. For a month afterward, he was plagued by nightmares. Every time, he would dream of Wen Jin appearing bloody, and the moment he reached out, the figure would vanish.

Now, Wen Jin was telling him that the emotion he saw in Zhang Liuxin’s eyes was the same as his own back then.

“How could that be…” Zhang Liuxin stared at his legs. In reality, he couldn’t see clearly at all, so he had to reach out and touch them. When he touched the wound that had just been treated with ointment, he gasped.

“Why wouldn’t it be? You just told me to trust you, so don’t make that expression again.”

Wen Jin touched his face and spoke to him. His tone, besides being earnest, actually held a plea—an emotion Zhang Liuxin had never felt before.

They nestled quietly in the darkness, Zhang Liuxin’s head resting on Wen Jin’s shoulder. His heart was calmer than ever before. After a long while, he gently nodded: “Okay.”

The door was suddenly pushed open. Zhang Liuxin instinctively straightened up, his eyes stung by the sudden light.

“Come out, my colleague has left,” Tu Yi’er said to them from the doorway.

“Mhm.” Wen Jin stood up first and offered a hand to Zhang Liuxin.

Zhang Liuxin placed his hand on it and slowly stood up, inching his way outside step by step, trying to regain control over his body.

Finally sitting down at the dining table, Zhang Liuxin felt a thin layer of sweat on his back, and the palm holding Wen Jin’s hand was completely damp. He secretly glanced at Wen Jin, watching him clean up the basin on the coffee table, wring out a towel, and hand it to him. The expression on his face was incredibly gentle, almost transporting Zhang Liuxin back to the day they did charity work together, holding children. Wen Jin’s expression in the newspaper clipping he had cut out was identical to the one he wore now.

“Wipe your hands.” Wen Jin’s voice was still cold, but his actions were unexpectedly considerate.

Zhang Liuxin was starting to feel confused. It had been a long time since they had appeared in front of cameras or the public. In Bernlin State, there wouldn’t be people who knew or paid attention to them, yet he felt closer to Wen Jin. Wen Jin’s thoughtfulness, care, and the occasional flash of affection in his eyes felt more genuine than they had in Yin State, making him believe… this was Wen Jin’s truest self, and this was how they truly looked when they were loving and deeply devoted.

“Chen, my colleague just said that the leadership will send people to check the town. I’ll call Xiao Hui later to ask. If the checks are strict, you might have to stay here for a couple more days.”

Tu Yi’er’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Zhang Liuxin nodded: “Okay, Brother Tu, are you going up the mountain again tomorrow?”

“We just have a little bit of finishing work left,” Tu Yi’er noticed his concern and proactively said, “Don’t worry, they fired guns yesterday, so those illegal miners won’t be so bold. Plus, we won’t go too far tomorrow.”

Zhang Liuxin really wanted to say he would go with them, but he knew his current condition made it impossible to walk the mountain paths, so he reluctantly gave up and turned to Wen Jin: “Be extra careful tomorrow.”

Wen Jin was struggling with a piece of fish in his bowl, meticulously picking out all the bones, but then he couldn’t bring himself to eat the meat. Hearing Zhang Liuxin, he nodded: “Okay, don’t worry.”

Zhang Liuxin rescued the piece of fish from under his chopsticks and said to Tu Yi’er, “Then I’ll do the cooking. In my current state, I can’t go out anyway.”

He smiled helplessly. Tu Yi’er didn’t know what they had talked about in the room just now, but he felt that the person in front of him was like a dying plant that had been watered, regaining its vitality.

After dinner, Tu Yi’er sat in the room organizing his report. Wen Jin asked Zhang Liuxin if he wanted to take a walk in the yard.

Zhang Liuxin understood his meaning. He looked at the hand the other man extended to him and firmly grasped it.

He had always strongly resisted walking without his exoskeleton in front of Wen Jin because he had looked in the mirror and knew that the way he walked wasn’t very graceful. Although others knew it was due to his leg injury, he still couldn’t overcome this mental hurdle.

But just now, he suddenly understood. Wen Jin wouldn’t actually mock him. On the contrary, Wen Jin was very worried about him. Just as he worried about Wen Jin, Wen Jin also felt distressed seeing his leg injury.

The two walked outside. The evening jungle was very quiet. The sky was a hazy blue-black, blurring the outlines, which was why Zhang Liuxin noticed that Wen Jin’s expression was very gentle.

“You don’t have to hold me,” Zhang Liuxin said, picking up the hiking pole.

“Alright.”

Wen Jin nodded, standing a little further away from him, and said, “Slow down, no rush.”

He could keenly feel Wen Jin watching him. This gaze made him feel a little nervous, similar to when he first met Wen Jin at their engagement party. At that time, he had to use a wheelchair and couldn’t even stand up to greet Wen Jin. Wen Jin had looked at him the same way then, from a condescending angle.

But soon, Wen Jin spoke again. Unlike seven years ago, he gently bent down a little, looking at him at eye level, his voice full of encouragement: “Trust me, I’m by your side. You won’t fall.”

“Mhm.”

Zhang Liuxin was easily encouraged by him. He supported himself with the hiking pole and slowly moved. He lifted his left foot high, a movement that made his ankle stiff. When landing, he habitually touched the ground with the outside of his sole first, then slowly flattened it. With every step, he would pause slightly to ensure his center of gravity was stable. Because his eyes were fixed on the ground, he didn’t realize how far he had walked. What he could confirm was that although his movements were sluggish, his rhythm was decent; at least he wasn’t swaying and staggering like he had in the afternoon.

“That’s enough.”

Only when Wen Jin’s voice came from behind did he realize he had walked quite far.

Wen Jin walked over and naturally took his hand: “Very impressive. That’s enough for today. Let’s walk back.”

Since the exoskeleton malfunctioned, in just one short day, Zhang Liuxin found that he had completely adapted to holding hands with Wen Jin. At this moment, he let the other man lead him, slowly walking back.

Even for such a short distance, Wen Jin walked very slowly, holding his hand tightly. Zhang Liuxin suddenly had the thought, “If only we could walk like this forever,” and then realized this was simply wishful thinking. In reality, this was only temporary tenderness.

After returning to Yin State, would they still have such opportunities? Would Wen Jin still be his husband? Would he still hold his hand and walk slowly with him like this?

Back inside the house, Tu Yi’er had already gone to his room to rest. Zhang Liuxin remembered Wen Jin’s arm and brought it up: “Does your arm still hurt? Let’s change the dressing again.”

They sat down on the sofa. Zhang Liuxin said in a tone of melancholy he didn’t even notice himself, “We’ve only been here for less than ten days in total, and you’ve already been seriously injured twice.”

Wen Jin leaned back against the sofa, looking a little tired, and pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand, comforting him: “This isn’t a serious injury.”

Zhang Liuxin countered, “How is it not? You usually stay in the lab and rarely get hurt.”

Seeing the gruesome wound, Zhang Liuxin frowned anxiously: “It won’t leave a scar, will it…”

Wen Jin chuckled lightly, looking at him composedly: “What if it leaves a scar?”

Zhang Liuxin carefully poured some hemostatic powder, subconsciously answering, “If it leaves a scar, it won’t look good. Thankfully, your face is fine.”

After finishing the bandaging, he looked up and met Wen Jin’s deep gaze. The phrase “thankfully, your face is fine” popped into his mind again. He felt that if these wounds appeared on Wen Jin’s face, it would be a loss to the entire world.

Wen Jin should always be flawless and perfect, like a beautiful diamond sculpture.

Then Wen Jin found the jar of ointment, rolled up his pant leg, and his tone was slightly cooler than before: “Zhang Liuxin, mind your own business.”

Zhang Liuxin looked at his legs. The bruises from the previous days hadn’t faded, and now he had new injuries. His fair skin was covered in either bruises or red marks, looking quite shocking at first glance.

Sensing the change in Wen Jin’s demeanor, Zhang Liuxin didn’t dare to speak, watching Wen Jin meticulously treat each wound, his movements deliberately gentle and his expression focused.

It wasn’t until Wen Jin held his left calf that he reacted, instinctively curling up slightly. When the other man’s gaze swept over him, he offered a clumsy excuse: “It tickles.”

“Don’t move,” Wen Jin used a little force to hold him down, his fingertips sinking into the soft, weak skin.

Wen Jin’s palm was large, and his forearm was strong and muscular, forming a stark contrast with his own calf. Zhang Liuxin felt a little disappointed, a surge of indescribable bitterness welling up in his heart. He asked blankly, “Senior, is it very ugly?”

Wen Jin paused his movements, then put down the things and looked over. Zhang Liuxin shook his head: “I didn’t mean anything…”

The next second, his breath hitched, because Wen Jin lowered his head. Warm breath brushed against his skin, bringing a slight tickle, and then those two beautifully shaped lips slowly descended, touching his skin with a feather-like sensation, gently kissing him just below the knee.

Wen Jin looked up at him, his phoenix eyes dark, his gaze very focused. He rubbed the spot of the kiss with his thumb and told him, word by word: “It’s not ugly. It’s beautiful.”

(The chapter titles of these two chapters are connected. Did you notice?)