Chapter 88#
Care#
After that day, Ning Feng inexplicably became busy.
It wasn’t that there was a lot of work, but suddenly many urgent documents needed Yin Beichen’s confirmation, especially from Yan Zhengsheng and Qu Jingshan. Actually, none of them were important matters, but they were time-sensitive and couldn’t be delayed, which meant he had to run back and forth between the office and the medical room all day.
Ning Feng felt something was off, but every time he met Yan Zhengsheng’s fair and selfless face, that faint suspicion was forcibly suppressed.
Qu Jingshan liked gossip, but Yan Zhengsheng… that shouldn’t be the case, right?
Ning Feng was thinking about this as he hurried to the research department’s office. He saw Qu Yan standing at the office door with his arms crossed, a cigarette between his fingers.
“Mr. Radish, you’re right on time—only an hour late.” Qu Yan blew out a smoke ring, looking exhausted.
“Ah, I’ve been busy lately.” Ning Feng chuckled twice.
“With two jobs, how could you not be?” Qu Yan scoffed, tossing over a disk the size of a fingernail. “Insect venom gene analysis.”
Ning Feng raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you actually got it done? Not bad, Professor Qu!”
“Don’t get too excited.” Qu Yan flicked his ash. “I don’t have enough samples; this is just a rough analysis. The conclusions could easily be overturned later, so you’d better not take it too seriously.”
“I know, just for reference.” Ning Feng carefully put away the disk. “By the way, how’s your progress on the other front?”
Qu Yan ran his fingers through his curly hair. “Not ideal. Stuck.”
The materials he’d received earlier solved a big problem, but there were still several key ingredients missing. It wasn’t that there were no substitutes, but they would increase development costs, and there were plenty of difficulties to overcome.
“Research never goes smoothly in one step; take your time.” Ning Feng patted his shoulder. “I’m off to work.”
Hearing that, Qu Yan frowned. “You’re going to see him again?”
Ning Feng immediately understood who he meant. He shrugged. “He’s the commander. Military matters have to go through him.”
Every time he went to see Yin Beichen, he felt like he was visiting a grave.
It wasn’t that Yin Beichen treated him badly, but lately the other man’s gaze had been heavy and deep, and with all the base’s military affairs, there was a lot of handover work they had to handle. He couldn’t just ignore it.
Going was wrong; not going was also wrong.
Ning Feng felt even more troubled than before.
Qu Yan narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of scrutiny in them. “Did you talk to him?”
“Yeah, cleared things up.” Ning Feng didn’t want to say much; it was old history, nothing to discuss. “What’s up?”
Qu Yan didn’t answer. He stared at him silently until Ning Feng looked away, then he twitched the corner of his mouth.
“Nothing. I just suddenly felt that what you said makes a lot of sense.” He tapped his cigarette, took a slow drag. “The antidote really can’t be rushed. It needs to be studied slowly.”
He smiled at him. “Go ahead, get to work.”
Ning Feng found it strange but couldn’t put his finger on why. He made a few more jokes and then hurried off.
Qu Yan, left alone, silently smoked and stared at the insect venom structure diagram, saying nothing for a long time.
**
When Ning Feng arrived at the hospital room, Yin Beichen was sitting up in bed, browsing information.
Since his hands couldn’t move, he had placed the tablet on a stand and was slowly swiping his finger across the virtual interface. Compared to the first time they met, his complexion looked much better—at least there was some color—but his arms were still limp and weak.
“Commander, these need your confirmation in person.” Ning Feng stood by the bed, avoiding looking at the other man’s face. “Also, Qu Yan just submitted an insect venom gene analysis report. Do you want to see it now?”
Yin Beichen’s face showed little expression. He stared fixedly for a moment, then averted his gaze. “Go ahead.”
Ning Feng opened the disk and projected it onto the tablet.
The screen was small, making it hard for both of them to see. Yin Beichen deliberately made some room. Ning Feng eyed the narrow space at the head of the bed, didn’t sit down, and instead operated the tablet in a very awkward posture. As a result, he twisted his neck until the joints creaked, and he still hadn’t finished reading the second page.
“Let me do it.” Yin Beichen gritted his teeth and reached for the interface.
Ning Feng frowned deeply, thought for a moment, then finally sat sideways beside him. “I’ll do it.”
Two grown men squeezed together at the head of the bed; there was never enough room, so they had to sit one in front of the other, staggered.
Yin Beichen leaned back comfortably, his hand resting behind Ning Feng, fingertips occasionally twitching, brushing against the skin on his waist. Even though Ning Feng was now a robot, this body was a high-end simulation shell with basic tactile sensation. The ticklish feeling at his waist from time to time made him lean closer to Yin Beichen.
This time, Qu Yan had made a major discovery in the insect venom research.
Through comparative analysis, he found that the structure of high-level insect venom had been mixed with an unusual organic tissue. Although its composition was still unclear, it was certain that it could influence chemicals in the brain without contaminating the infected body itself.
In short, high-level insect venom could evade genetic testing.
“Evade?” Ning Feng frowned. “You mean if someone is infected with high-level insect venom, even already under control, a genetic test won’t detect it?”
“Yes.” Yin Beichen nodded.
That meant, even though the base had conducted a full genetic test earlier, the insect queen might still be hiding in the base.
Ning Feng thought for a long moment, then slowly spoke. “Who do you think is the most suspicious?”
“What do you think?” Yin Beichen countered.
“Qiao Xi.” Ning Feng answered without hesitation.
Although he’d been busy with other things lately, his suspicion of this man had never stopped. But strangely, that guy seemed to have some ability to perfectly extricate himself from every incident, and background checks had turned up nothing, so they could never catch solid evidence.
Yin Beichen’s fingertip brushed his chin, a layer of coldness emerging in his eyes. “Arrange for someone to keep an eye on him.”
“How about we lure him out proactively?”
“How would you lure him?”
“Create some incidents, make him think there’s an opportunity. If that doesn’t work, add some bait.” Ning Feng shrugged, tapping the tablet idly. “I think he’s pretty interested in me. Maybe I could sacrifice my charm—”
“No.” Before he could finish, Yin Beichen cut him off directly.
“Ah, I promise this time I’ll follow all your orders.”
“My order is to stay away from him.”
“…”
Seeing that he still wanted to argue, Yin Beichen’s expression gradually cooled. “If he really is the insect queen, maybe he won’t attack you in the base, but he’ll definitely target your body. This approach of yours is no different from walking to your death.”
Suddenly, Ning Feng felt the hand on his waist tighten abruptly.
He glanced at Yin Beichen and realized there was less than a fist’s distance between them. He could even smell the cool, clean scent from Yin Beichen. The engine let out a clank, and he immediately pulled away. “Understood, Commander.”
Yin Beichen pressed his lips together, a flicker of darkness passing through his eyes. He let out a soft breath, laboriously withdrew his hand. “Let’s stop here for today. You can go back.”
Ning Feng was taken aback, sensing something off. “What’s wrong? We haven’t finished the official business yet.”
“It’s nothing. I’m a bit tired and want to rest.”
“Can’t we finish talking first and then rest?”
Yin Beichen didn’t look up. “Since you’re so averse to me, there’s no need to stay here and suffer.”
Ning Feng’s heart tightened. “Which eye of yours sees me being averse to you?”
Finally, Yin Beichen raised his eyes to look at him, his face as calm as if he were wearing a mask. “You’ve been avoiding me ever since you walked in.”
“Avoiding?” Ning Feng almost laughed. “Yin Beichen, are you delirious from a fever? Was I talking to the wall just now? Who’s the one being unreasonable here? If I really didn’t want to see you, I wouldn’t have come at all.”
“Of course, it’s all for military affairs.” Yin Beichen showed a mocking smile. “You came to have documents signed, right? Hand them over, or else you’ll have made a wasted trip.”
Hearing this, Ning Feng was on the verge of losing his temper.
“Commander, you really want to sign that badly?” Suddenly, he let out a laugh. “Fine, then sign.”
He spread the documents out one by one and stuffed a pen into the other man’s hand.
Yin Beichen grabbed the pen expressionlessly, laboriously lifted his right hand, supported his elbow with the other hand, and slowly moved it to the spot where he needed to sign. He carefully aligned it with the signature line on the document, his fingertips trembling slightly as he held the pen. Just as he was about to write, the pen was snatched away.
“What’s wrong with your hand?” Ning Feng frowned deeply.
Earlier, Yin Beichen had said he had no strength, and Ning Feng had thought it was just ordinary muscle fatigue. He hadn’t realized it was this serious. So many days had passed, and there was no improvement. What was going on?
He hadn’t heard of hypothermia causing such a sequela, had he?
“Nothing.” Yin Beichen’s voice was cold.
“What did the doctor say exactly?”
“Not going to die.”
Hearing that, Ning Feng narrowed his eyes. “Yin Beichen, what do you mean?”
Yin Beichen didn’t answer immediately. He just silently looked at him.
In the brief silence, a heavy atmosphere surged. They stared at each other, neither speaking, like two beasts waiting for an opportunity. The entire space seemed strung together by a taut bowstring.
Click!
Just then, the door slowly opened, and the air seemed to tear apart as the pressure decreased. A nursing robot moved in slowly, carrying a tray full of food and medicine. It pressed a button, and a small square table rose from the bed. After placing the tray on the table, it withdrew from the room the same way it had come.
Ning Feng’s peripheral vision caught the box of colorful pills, reminding him of Yin Beichen’s injuries. Suppressing his anger with difficulty, he tensed his face and arranged the bowls and plates one by one.
“Eat first. We’ll talk after you eat.”
“I don’t want to.” Yin Beichen said coldly.
Normally, Ning Feng would have said something like “Eat or starve” and walked away. But seeing Yin Beichen’s tired expression and those powerless hands, he really couldn’t do that.
“Hurry up and eat.”
“I don’t need your pity.”
At that, Ning Feng’s gaze instantly sharpened like a blade.
“Pity? Hah, who has time to pity you?” He grabbed the other man’s collar roughly, his voice slow but dangerous. “Yin Beichen, let me remind you: you are a major general, the commander of the Sixth Military District. Your safety is not just your own concern; it affects the morale of the entire military district. If you have the energy to throw a tantrum at me, then please get to work and stop pretending in front of me.”
“Of course I know.” Yin Beichen coughed painfully a few times. “You came to see me only because you feel guilty, thinking that my injury was your fault. So you want me to recover quickly so you can leave here.”
He barely twitched the corner of his mouth, a hint of sorrow in his eyes. “Am I right?”
Ning Feng opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say. His hand unconsciously let go.
How had he never noticed before that this guy could be so petty?
Yin Beichen panted, lowering his voice. “I don’t need your pity. This isn’t your fault. You don’t need to bear any psychological burden.” He lowered his eyelids, his lashes fluttering. “Go back to the patrol team. You don’t need to come here from now on. I’ll talk to Captain Qu. Keep these documents. I’ll sign them later and—”
“Are you done?”
Ning Feng stood by the bed, looking down at him.
His face was taut, his gaze flickering between Yin Beichen’s hands and face. Suddenly, he let out a long breath, sat back down on the edge of the bed, picked up the bowl, scooped a small mouthful of rice, dipped it in sauce, and held it up to Yin Beichen’s lips.
“Hurry up and eat.”
Yin Beichen stared at his eyes. “You don’t need to—Mmph!”
Taking advantage of the moment he spoke, Ning Feng quickly shoved the rice in, then began scooping a second spoonful, his voice softening.
“Just eat when I tell you to.”
Yin Beichen gazed deeply at the man, lowered his lashes slightly, and finally chewed slowly twice.
Outside the window, tree branches swayed gently. The afternoon sunlight streamed in, warming the sheets. In the room, one man pursed his lips and fed; the other obediently opened his mouth. Both were quiet, saying nothing.
Looking at the handsome face so close, Yin Beichen lowered his eyelids to conceal the light in his eyes.