Xue Lan hurriedly shook his head like a rattle and backed away secretly: "No, no need."
"Why are you running?" Duan Wenzheng grabbed the person who was trying to escape while concentrating on reading the instruction manual: "You're not doing anything, look how scared you are."
“… I can do it myself.”
Xue Lan reached out to grab the ointment in his hand, but Duan Wenzheng dodged it easily.
"No." Duan Wenzheng refused without hesitation: "Hurry up."
As he spoke, he brought Xue Lan to the bedside, motioned him to lie down with a serious look, and then lowered his head and kissed his eyelids under his aggrieved and hesitant gaze: "Be good."
"Really... No, it's okay. In fact, you don't need to take any medicine." Xue Lan said with a struggling look.
Duan Wenzheng coaxed for a long time, and only after his repeated assurances did he let Xue Lan lie down properly, and then raised the position with a pillow. He raised his head slightly, and saw Xue Lan burying her face in the pillow. Duan Wenzheng's heart was warmed by her shy but defenseless appearance towards him.
"You are so easy to coax, what should I do if I get bullied?"
Xue Lan turned his head and looked at him in confusion.
"Raise it a little higher." Duan Wenzheng's voice was hoarse.
Hearing this, Xue Lan buried his face in the pillow in embarrassment, and for a moment he forgot what he had just said.
Seeing that he refused to move, Duan Wenzheng stretched out his hand and patted the white area.
Xue Lan then stood up like an unsteady deer, trembling as he raised his body according to his instructions.
It was almost the end of summer, and Xue Lan had just taken a shower and was wearing only a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.
Duan Wen Zheng pulled down the troublesome cloth, and his eyes darkened again.
But it was only for a moment, he then applied the ointment on his fingertips and began to apply the medicine calmly.
Just half a finger was enough to make him unable to move.
"Relax." Although he said this, Duan Wenzheng's voice was unusually hoarse: "I can't give you medicine like this."
Xue Lan hurriedly tried to sit up after hearing this: "Then, then there is no need..."
"Don't move, relax." Duan Wenzheng held back his movements, leaned over and gave the tip of his ear a delicate kiss: "Don't bite so hard."
Xue Lan was now completely certain that this guy was not here to give him medicine! But at this moment, he was being held down by Duan Wenzheng without realizing it, and his fingers had completely penetrated under the force.
“Liar… liar!!”
"Hmm?" Duan Wenzheng's voice was filled with a deep smile: "Where did I lie to you?"
"You said it was just... just applying medicine." Xue Lan sobbed, "... I said it was okay."
Duan Wenzheng bit his earlobe and said innocently, "Aren't you applying medicine?"
Xue Lan buried his head in the pillow and didn't want to pay any more attention to this person.
But who knew that not long after, he suddenly heard sparse noises behind him.
"You, you don't..." Xue Lan turned back in shock, but it was too late: "You lied again..."
Duan Wen Zheng knew that he was in the wrong but he had no sense of guilt at all. He just lightly kissed his tearful eyelids and pink ear tips, as if he was patiently eating a delicious dessert bite by bite.
Xue Lan's soft accusation gradually turned into a soft moan. As if she was afraid that the noise would be heard by the neighbors, she quietly bit the back of her hand.
"What's wrong with you always biting yourself?" Such a small action was still noticed by Duan Wenzheng. He pulled the back of his hand away and replaced the back of his hand with his fingertips amid Xue Lan's protest.
Xue Lan's already flushed face instantly turned redder than ever before, almost bleeding.
Duan Wen Zheng might have been moved by heartache at first, but when he felt the tenderness of her lips with her fingertips, his eyes darkened again. He cursed under his breath and quickened his movements.
…
After everything was over, Xue Lan slept in the room from day to the next morning, and then he realized belatedly that they had gone out to stay in a hotel in order to avoid being discovered, so why did they come back and...? !
After that, Xue Lan ignored Duan Wenzheng for three days.
He even wanted to just ignore him all the time, especially every time Zhou Kanqing asked about Xue Lan's foot with concern.
"Lu You, go play basketball!"
There was no lunch break that day, so Zhou Kanqing asked everyone to play basketball. Since everyone had nothing to do, they all stood up.
Xue Lan hadn't touched basketball for a long time and was actually looking forward to playing with everyone.
But as soon as he stood up, he was held down by Zhou Kanqing.
Zhou Kanqing stared at his feet in panic: "Lanlan, your feet are not healed yet, you can't play basketball!"
Xue Lan was choked: "... I'm fine, I'm fine."
"No, no, it takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone! Have you used the medicine I bought for you a few days ago? That one should be sprayed on time..."
"..." Xue Lan fell into a daze after being embarrassed again and again: "It's really okay."
"No, you didn't." Zhou Kanqing said firmly.
"… "
then…
That day, a few people played basketball, and Xue Lan sat aside to help everyone look after their backpacks, water and towels.
…
The days passed as Xue Lan was forced to pretend to be lame. Everyone trained intensively for the international competition every day, and there were laughter and joy amidst the seriousness.
After hearing that Xue Lan had sprained his ankle, Xue Yuanshan came over to see and ask, but Xue Lan's foot was not injured at all, so he could only awkwardly decline Xue Yuanshan's kindness.
Xue Yuanshan went to buy some supplements for muscles and bones, and asked Xie Zhinian to take good care of Xue Lan's diet before leaving with some concerns.
So much so that later, wherever Xue Yuanshan went on business trips, he would send some things back to Xue Lan.
"Your boss is so good to you." Once when they were having a practice match with Team Glory, Xie Zhinian just happened to deliver something, and Team Glory's teammates couldn't help but sigh.
Zhou Kanqing also looked eagerly: "Brother Nian, is there anything?"
Xie Zhinian handed the things to Xue Lan one by one as instructed, turned around and said coldly: "No, you are not injured!"
"… "
Xue Lan filled his arms with the things and distributed them to everyone with a smile. Zhou Kanqing then happily prepared to start training.
Time always passes quickly.
Xue Lan even felt that he had only played a few games with the Glory Team, the Phantom Team that advanced together, and other foreign teams, and the weather had passed through the hot summer and late autumn, and the international competition was about to begin.
Before the game, Xue Lan was called to Xue Yuanshan's office again.
"How are the preparations going?" Xue Yuanshan asked with concern.
Xue Lan nodded: "Everyone has been training very hard during this period. With you all here, I am confident that LGW can win the world championship."
"I have confidence in you too." Xue Yuanshan nodded, his hands unconsciously clenched, as if with a little nervousness: "Pay attention to rest, your health is the most important."
Xue Lan saw Xue Yuanshan's unnatural expression, but felt warm in his heart.
He knew that Xue Yuanshan had his own persistence and responsibilities, and he could also feel Xue Yuanshan's awkward and unexpressive concern, and Xue Lan felt warm in his heart.
"Got it, you too."
Xue Yuanshan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't seem to know how to get along with Xue Lan, so he changed the subject and said, "Xie Zhinian is almost ready for that matter. If you can win the world championship, that will be the time when your fans will be most tolerant of you."
Seeing Xue Lan nod to indicate that he understood, he continued, "Of course, no matter how well prepared we are, there will be fans who react strongly or even leave in large numbers. You have to be mentally prepared for this."
Xue Lan naturally understood what Xue Yuanshan meant.
After all, "I" have deceived the public for so many years. No matter how much public relations or formal apologies are done now, a large number of people will not be able to accept the announcement of their gender.
But he couldn't just keep telling lies one after another just because most people couldn't accept his actions.
Even if he didn't do some things, he still has to handle them properly and give everyone an explanation.
"I understand." Xue Lan replied seriously.
After he said that, he nodded slightly to Xue Yuanshan and walked out of the office.
"Lanlan."
However, Xue Yuanshan called him again after hesitating. Seeing Xue Lan standing outside the door in confusion, Xue Yuanshan quickly chased him out.
"This matter will affect your mood to some extent, so we will announce it after the game. After you finish the finals, we will give you a few days off to rest."
As he spoke, he put his arm around Xue Lan's shoulders, his movements were unfamiliar and awkward, as if he wanted to give him an encouraging hug, but he didn't know how to close the distance between them: "You've worked hard during this period."
Xue Lan heard the nervous heartbeat coming from his chest, distant yet familiar.
This seems to not belong to him, but comes from the original owner "Xue Lan".
Xue Lan sighed slightly.
He was about to say something when he suddenly caught a glimpse of Duan Wenzhen, whose face was ashen, standing at the corner of the corridor.
It looked like it would rush over in the next second.
Xue Lan hurriedly distanced himself from Xue Yuanshan, and ran towards Duan Wenzheng: "The training has begun, I'm leaving first!!"
After he said that, he ran to Duan Wenzheng, grabbed him and left quickly.
The two of them went down the stairs, but Xue Lan was still holding Duan Wenzheng with great effort, but he pulled her hand away with a stern look on his face.
"Why is he hugging your shoulders?"
"No, no..." Duan Wenzheng's expression made Xue Lan blush. Fearing that Xue Yuanshan or the passing team members would see him, he quickly pulled Duan Wenzheng back and whispered, "Let's talk about it when we get back."
"I can't go back and tell you." Duan Wenzheng refused sternly. The more he thought about what happened the last few times, the more he felt something was wrong: "He brought you things the last few times. Was that because you were injured? Not to mention that you sprained your ankle, even if Zhou Kanqing broke both legs, he might not bring gifts back every time, right? He is simply... How else did he touch you?"
Duan Wen Zheng said as he was about to check it himself.
Xue Lan blushed and slapped Duan Wenzheng's hand away. Suddenly, she felt that Duan Wenzheng's jealous look was very cute, but this was really not the place to talk about it. Xue Lan listened to the conversation coming from not far away and said hurriedly: "No, I'll explain to you when you get back later..."
"No, this is not a trivial matter. He is sexually harassing you in the workplace. Where else did he touch you? If he touches you again, at worst we can just leave LGW together."
Xue Lan then realized that Duan Wenzheng was not jealous, but had misunderstood Xue Yuanshan's attitude towards him.
He had no choice but to explain seriously: "Actually, he is me..."
Before Xue Lan could finish his words, he was interrupted by a cold voice behind him: "Xue Lan is my son."
Xue Lan and Duan Wenzheng were both shocked and turned their heads stiffly to look at the people behind them.