Rebirth: Different Way

In an inconspicuous clinic by the road, Shen Xi sat quietly, seemingly playing with his mobile phone, but his eyes always returned to Li Mingxuan who was being examined by the doctor in front of him.

Without the thugs around and without the need to worry about Fang Luowei’s safety, the recent scenes flashed in Shen Xi’s mind. Shen Xi squeezed his mobile phone unconsciously; his expression didn’t seem to have changed much but a closer look would reveal that his gaze turned at Li Mingxuan was complicated.

The figure that suddenly rushed over, the reassurance he felt when he was protected and the momentary throbbing of his heart when he saw Li Mingxuan, all these thoughts that he had deliberately suppressed before were tumbling in his mind endlessly. Shen Xi intuitively felt irritated; he couldn’t understand why Li Mingxuan had jumped out to protect him at that moment.

Shen Xi tried his best to convince himself that Li Mingxuan’s behaviour must have been calculated, or Li Mingxuan wanted to win his favour so that he could help Shen Ji test him. Or was it?…

Shen Xi couldn’t think any further. He squeezed his phone hard, and Li Mingxuan’s painful expression came to his mind once again. Shen Xi sighed in annoyance. Although he didn’t want to admit it,  from his past experience in fights, Li Mingxuan’s previous actions could only be instinctive and not calculated. But because of this, the feeling of annoyance in Shen Xi’s heart was even greater.

The clinic was very quiet, and only the slightest noise could be heard during the doctor’s examination. Perhaps Shen Xi’s emotions were too obvious; Li Mingxuan suddenly turned his head with a concerned look, “What’s wrong with Xiao Xi? Are you uncomfortable?”

Li Mingxuan’s expression was sincere and the worry in his eyes was unmistakable. Shen Xi lowered his eyes and shook his head slightly.

The doctor soon finished the examination; Li Mingxuan’s injuries were not serious, except that he had received a heavy blow from a blunt object and his muscles would be a little sore for a few days. Compared to the injuries on Li Mingxuan’s back, the colourful bruises on Shen Xi’s face and body were nothing. The doctor did not prescribe any medicine but only gave them a few bottles of medicine oil, instructing them to use the oil to rub the bruises on their bodies, especially Li Mingxuan. After a few days, the bruises would dissipate and there would be no major problems.

Li Mingxuan politely accepted the doctor’s medicine oil and reached out to pick up the jacket he had taken off. Instead of wearing it, he put it on Shen Xi. Shen Xi stiffened for a moment, and then slowly relaxed again.

Standing at the entrance of the clinic, Shen Xi looked at the thinly dressed Li Mingxuan and the irritable feeling in his heart surfaced once again.

Noticing Shen Xi’s gaze, Li Mingxuan turned to smile at him, and Shen Xi unconsciously lowered his head.

Hanging up the phone, Li Mingxuan walked towards Shen Xi. “I’ve already called my friend, he will come and take the car away tomorrow.”

Shen Xi nodded, “Where are you going? I’ll drop you off.”

Li Mingxuan’s back was injured and his shoulders were affected, so he was hardly able to drive. Shen Xi had noticed it and stopped Li Mingxuan from driving. The two took one car, and the other was left behind.

Hearing Shen Xi’s inquiry, Li Mingxuan thought for a moment, “Let’s go to the hotel.”

This answer made Shen Xi frown, and he took the initiative to say, “The hotel is not convenient, let’s go to my place.”

This was an era without privacy. If Li Mingxuan stayed in a hotel today, who knows what the reporters would write tomorrow. To avoid reporters, the two of them did not even go to the hospital but casually found a roadside clinic. Shen Xi did not want to share the limelight with another scandal at this critical moment of the Yunrou cancer incident. After all, “Cousins getting into a late night brawl” or whatever also sounded very interesting.

Shen Xi’s proposal made Li Mingxuan struggle inwardly. Emotionally, he wanted to say yes immediately, but his reason was desperately trying to stop him.

He was not a hapless seventeen or eighteen year old, nor was he a young infatuated man, and no one knew better than him what it meant to fall for Shen Xi.

The blood tie between Shen Xi and him was a barrier he could never cross. Not to mention whether Shen Xi liked men or not, how many people could accept such an incestuous relationship? Li Mingxuan thought bitterly. He could not imagine how Shen Xi would react when he found out about his feelings. He would rather Shen Xi treat him as a distant cousin forever than to see Shen Xi look at him with disgust one day.

Li Mingxuan smiled bitterly. If he and Shen Xi were simply related by blood, it would be fine, but there were too many complex interests behind Shen Xi, too many uncontrollable things, and he could not imagine the attitude his family would take towards this.

Rationally he should have stayed away from Shen Xi, but emotionally he wanted to get closer uncontrollably. Li Mingxuan was torn inside, struggling hard.

“Get in the car, cousin, why don’t you?” Shen Xi walked to the front of the car only to find Li Mingxuan still standing in the same place.

Li Mingxuan subconsciously followed Shen Xi and took a few steps before realising that his body was once again out of control. Rubbing his forehead in frustration, Li Mingxuan got in the car under Shen Xi’s urging eyes.

Shen Xi drove the car very smoothly, with a serious and focused look, completely devoid of the kind of crazy energy Li Mingxuan had seen before. The lights on the sides of the road were bright, illuminating Shen Xi’s softened expression. Li Mingxuan sat quietly, feeling the calm atmosphere inside the car, sincerely hoping that the road would never end.

Half an hour later, the two stood in front of Shen Xi’s apartment.

The apartment didn’t look big, just a simple one-bedroom, but the decoration was quite good. Shen Xi did not have many things, and the whole apartment looked a little empty. Li Mingxuan took a quick glance. Like in the hotel, Shen Xi’s things were all organised in an unusually neat manner.

“Does cousin want to take a shower first?” Shen Xi was thinking about rubbing the medicine without delay.

Li Mingxuan shook his head, “You go first.”

Shen Xi looked down at his clothes and did not refuse Li Mingxuan’s kind offer.

Li Mingxuan watched Shen Xi walk into the bathroom and his eyes couldn’t help but darken. A similar conversation had taken place between them not too long ago, except that at that time Shen Xi was still just a cousin in his eyes and he could listen to the sound of the water in the bathroom with a calm heart. But this time Li Mingxuan smiled bitterly looking at the already impatiently excited Xiao Mingxuan and let out a deep sigh.

No matter how much Li Mingxuan meditated, there was no sign of Xiao Mingxuan softening. Li Mingxuan had no choice but to find the kitchen and drink a large glass of icy water in one gulp, so Xiao Mingxuan had no choice but to soften.

But when he thought about rubbing Shen Xi with the medicine oil later, Li Mingxuan could not help but hold his forehead fighting a headache. Just by imagining that scene, the newly softened Xiao Mingxuan began to stir again.

Li Mingxuan had to think of something else to divert his attention.

Deliberately, he recalled the reports about the Yunrou cancer incident and tried to put himself in the Shen family’s shoes to look at the issue. If he were his uncle, how would he have handled the matter? If he were a director of Shen Group, how would he view this matter?

Although the Shen family and the Li family had many entangled interests, they were not without competition in certain areas. However, the two sides were accustomed to cooperation. Under such circumstances, Li Mingxuan would be concerned about the progress of the Yunrou affair, but would not ask Shen Ji about the specific way he was handling it, just as Shen Ji would not take the initiative to pry into the operations of the Li family.

Li Mingxuan was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice when Shen Xi came out until Shen Xi stood in front of him, “Cousin?”

Li Mingxuan snapped back to his senses and a momentary flash of amazement passed through his eyes.

At this moment, Shen Xi had just taken a bath; his fair complexion was flushed pink from the heat. Perhaps because he had returned to a place he was familiar with, Shen Xi’s eyes were much softer, damp from the water, his hair hanging softly on both sides of his face that looked gentle and harmless.

Li Mingxuan’s mind flashed back to Shen Xi’s calm and ruthless appearance in the afternoon, and the huge contrast made him uncontrollably excited.

Shen Xi gave Li Mingxuan a puzzled look, his eyes indicating the direction of the bathroom. Li Mingxuan nodded but did not move.

Only when Shen Xi’s figure disappeared into the kitchen did Li Mingxuan stand up awkwardly. Just a moment ago, Xiao Mingxuan once again raised its head indisputably, saluting Shen Xi. Li Mingxuan smiled bitterly and darted into the bathroom before Shen Xi returned.

After a cold shower, Xiao Mingxuan wilted completely, and Li Mingxuan finally came out relieved.

The medicine oil on the table had already been opened and Shen Xi was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, watching the TV and laughing at something.

Li Mingxuan looked at the smile on Shen Xi’s face and couldn’t help but smile too.

Noticing that Li Mingxuan had come out, Shen Xi naturally took off his shirt. If Li Mingxuan had any thoughts before, then after seeing the bruises on Shen Xi’s body, there were no other feelings in his heart except for distress.

Sitting opposite Shen Xi, Li Mingxuan carefully poured the oil into his hands but couldn’t touch Shen Xi’s body. The doctor had specifically instructed that the bruises needed to be rubbed vigorously, and Li Mingxuan knew how painful it would be.

Shen Xi was puzzled, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s going to hurt a lot. If you can’t help it, cry.” Li Mingxuan said in a low voice.

Shen Xi was taken aback for a moment, and suddenly didn’t know how to answer this sentence. No one had spoken to him in this tone for a long time. Even when he and Fang Luowei had been beaten black and blue in prison, they had only gritted their teeth and encouraged each other to persevere, as if they had forgotten that they could still have the right to cry out in pain.

The self-deprecating look on Shen Xi’s face made Li Mingxuan’s heart throb hard. Without even thinking, Li Mingxuan reached out and swept Shen Xi up into his arms, his hand gently placed on Shen Xi’s back and patting, just like he had done when Shen Xi was sick before.

Shen Xi’s body stiffened as he was held in Li Mingxuan’s arms. He felt he should have pushed him away ruthlessly, but Li Mingxuan’s embrace was too warm, the kind of warmth that Shen Xi coveted in his heart, and he was a bit reluctant to part with it.

Shen Xi could not remember how many years it had been since anyone had hugged him like this. He had always been alone since his grandfather died. When he thought of his grandfather, Shen Xi could not help but remember the last time he had a fever. He was also in this warm embrace in his sleep.

Shen Xi’s body gradually softened and Li Mingxuan tightened his arms, their skin pressed together, warm.

Shen Xi unconsciously squeezed closer, imagining that Li Mingxuan in front of him was his grandfather. Shen Xi silently said to himself: look, Grandpa still holds you in his arms as tightly as he did when you occasionally hurt yourself as a child, you are so happy!