Unexpectedly, Wu Suowei suddenly grabbed Jiang Xiaoshuai and hugged him tightly.
“Xiaoshuai, when I was at my lowest, you were the one who stayed by my side and encouraged me. Now that you’re in trouble, how could I just leave you alone? Say no more—your buddy’s with you to the end!”
Guo Chengyu had stepped out for a moment, and when he came back, he walked right into this scene.
Two handsome young men clinging to each other, Wu Suowei’s hand still rubbing aimlessly at the back of Jiang Xiaoshuai’s head.
“Thanks for keeping him for me. You can give him back now.”
Guo stretched out his arm toward Wu, clearly gesturing for him to return Jiang to his rightful place — in Guo’s arms.
Wu eyed Guo warily.
“I really don’t feel comfortable handing him over to you.”
“No matter how uncomfortable you are, I’m more reliable than you.”
Guo tilted his chin toward him, signaling him to hurry up and let go.
—-
The door closed in his face.
What else could it mean? It was obvious! In broad daylight, what the hell was this third wheel flashing around for?
Once the door was shut, Jiang Xiaoshuai tried to wriggle out of Guo Chengyu’s embrace — but failed.
Guo looked at him with mock anger. “When he hugs you, you just stay put. But when I hug you, it’s not okay?”
“Not okay!”
Guo neither got angry nor let go. Instead, he hooked up one corner of his mouth and said, “From now on, I’m moving in here.”
Jiang glared at him. “You…”
Guo leaned in and kissed him on the cheek and was promptly rewarded with a slap.
140
The next morning, not long after Guo Chengyu got out of bed, he received a call from Li Wang.
“Guozi, that guy bolted!”
Guo deliberately used a very grave tone to ask:
“What? He ran?”
Jiang Xiaoshuai was sitting right across from him, and his heart instinctively tightened.
Guo put on an act, cursing theatrically:
“What the hell are you even good for? Can’t even keep an eye on one patient! Yesterday he was carried out of here looking half-dead, and now you let him just disappear?”
Li Wang spoke as if it were completely true:
“I just nodded off for a bit, he said he was going to the bathroom, and by the time I went in, he was gone — must’ve climbed out the window.”
In reality, this was exactly what Guo had told Li Wang to do — to let the guy escape on purpose.
The goal was simple:
First, to make Jiang anxious so he’d rely more on Guo.
Second, to let the guy go, then catch him again later and keep him hidden away to torment him as much as possible.
And it worked. Jiang’s heart really was hanging in suspense now.
As for the second goal, Guo was nearly certain it would work out too — the guy was probably already caught again. But for effect, he still yelled into the phone like he was furious:
“Well what the hell are you waiting for? Go after him!”
Just as he was about to hang up, Li Wang shouted loud enough for Jiang to hear:
“Guozi! Wait, don’t hang up yet! I’m not done!”
Guo put the phone back to his ear and asked:
“What now?”
Li Wang said:
“We couldn’t catch him!”
Guo snorted coldly to himself. Not too bright, but at least he’s good at playing the part.
“Then send more guys after him. I don’t believe a bunch of able-bodied men can’t catch one patient.”
But Li Wang added:
“He’s already vanished — we don’t even know where to start looking!”
Jiang’s face went even paler.
Guo started to feel that something was off. He got up and stepped outside, saying to Li Wang in a low voice:
“You’re overdoing it, aren’t you? That’s enough already, don’t drag it out — you’ve scared Xiaoshuai’s face white.”
“I didn’t scare him!” Li Wang stomped his foot in frustration.
“Meng Tao really did bolt!”
Guo’s tone turned sharp.
“What did you say?”
“I must’ve dozed off too long. By the time I realized, he was already gone!”
Guo was so angry his expression darkened.
“You really know how to screw things up! And you’re still not looking?”
“I am looking!”
Guo forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down.
“Listen — he’s still in a hospital gown, he’s an obvious target, and it’s not easy to grab a cab outside the hospital. He couldn’t have gotten far. Don’t drive all over like an idiot — just search the area around the hospital. He’s definitely hiding somewhere nearby.”
“Got it,” Li Wang said.