Chapter 3 : Apology

Albert had been abroad on business these days. When he received the report of Adrian''s reckless actions, his pent-up anger was like a volcano ready to erupt. The belt came down with a fierce wind, and Adrian bit back his groans, swallowing them down.

Sensing something was off with his lover, Albert stopped after the last strike and put the belt away.

In the past year, Albert hadn''t laid a hand on Adrian many times. Most of the time, it was because Adrian neglected his health despite repeated warnings, ending up in the hospital, which finally made Albert lose his temper and discipline him.

Adrian was probably the only one who dared to treat Albert''s words as "background noise." Ultimately, it was because Albert couldn''t bring himself to truly punish him.

Adrian stopped struggling, which made Albert frown. He didn''t let go of the belt but knelt down, brushing aside Adrian''s sweat-drenched, messy bangs.

"What happened? Tell me, hmm?"

Albert asked, looking him in the eye. Adrian''s Adam''s apple moved slightly, but the events of sixteen years ago were a deeply buried secret, a sin, a mistake, a red mist he couldn''t unravel. He couldn''t face the irreversible consequences of running away from home sixteen years ago, let alone tell Albert about it.

After a while, seeing that Adrian still wouldn''t speak, the impatient Albert stood up. He took off his wristwatch and placed it on the coffee table, seemingly unwilling to use the belt again, preparing to try another method to get Adrian to talk.

Adrian saw his actions out of the corner of his eye and panicked. He struggled to sit up.

"Move again, and I''ll use the belt."

Albert said coldly. Adrian had no choice. The pain in his back, which had paused, now flared up like burning hot oil. In his desperation, Adrian suddenly said:

"...Did you ever consider me?"

"...Hmm?"

Albert paused, raising an eyebrow.

"...Albert, did you ever consider me?" Adrian repeated slowly, his dark eyes downcast, turning his head away from Albert.

"For a whole month, you disappeared without a word. Where did you go? What were you doing? You know everything about my schedule, but what about me? You vanished like you never existed. Did you ever think that I might worry about you?"

Adrian''s voice was incredibly fragile, his pristine white neck connecting to his slender back, covered in a fine layer of sweat from the pain.

"...Just because of this?"

Behind him, Albert''s expression showed a rare mix of complexity and confusion.

"Didn''t I tell you before I left? I had to take care of some things, I wasn''t in the country."

Adrian turned his head slightly.

"...You know that''s not what I''m talking about..."

Recalling the scene when they first met, Albert''s words got stuck in his throat. That day was probably one of the few times in Albert''s life when he was truly "embarrassed."

After a moment, Adrian heard Albert sigh helplessly behind him, followed by the sound of a belt being thrown onto the carpet.

"My God... you''re mad at me for this?"

Adrian''s eyelashes suddenly trembled as Albert''s hand slid up his back and under his knees, lifting his exhausted body with a warmth completely different from the earlier harshness.

"I promised you, that won''t happen again."

In fact, a year and a half ago, what seemed like a "messy" hunt in the abandoned factory was actually a carefully planned trap. It was Mr. Brown''s unexpected intrusion that led to the ensuing gunfight.

Adrian said, "...I don''t trust you."

"If you don''t trust me, who will you trust?"

Albert really thought that if he had said this earlier, they could have avoided the latter half of the argument. He gently placed Adrian on the bed.

"Lie down, I''ll get you some medicine. We''ll talk about work later."

It had been an exhausting tug-of-war. By the time Albert returned with the medicine, Adrian had already fallen asleep on the bed.

The three months of high-intensity work had pushed his body to its limits. Albert shook his head, carefully applying medicine to Adrian''s wounds and covering him with a thin blanket. The cool ointment soothed the pain, seemingly also comforting old scars.

Adrian slept fitfully. When he was about to wake up from discomfort, warm water was gently fed into his throat, and Albert patted his back soothingly.

When he finally woke up, it was nearly four in the afternoon. Albert was holding him, and he woke up as soon as Adrian moved.

"Does it hurt?... Be good."

Albert tried to get up to check his wounds, but Adrian pressed down on his wrist.

"...No need to check."

"Be good, listen."

Albert patiently coaxed him, but Adrian wouldn''t let go. After a long silence, seeing Albert about to frown, Adrian buried his face in the pillow and muttered, "...It''s too late!"

"Too late for what?" Albert was puzzled.

Adrian lifted his head, gritting his teeth in frustration. "I said, the fight''s over! It''s too late for Mr. Jones to feel sorry now...!!"

"Alright, alright, I hit you too hard, okay? I really do feel terrible about it."

Albert chuckled, leaning in to kiss his lover''s cheek, but Adrian turned his head away. Albert then wrapped his arm around Adrian''s neck and kissed him, his hand running through Adrian''s soft, fine hair.

Adrian usually had a cold, unapproachable demeanor, but his hair was very soft. When it wasn''t styled, it obediently fell behind his ears. Albert suddenly found it... irresistible.

Albert''s heart softened, and he couldn''t help but stroke Adrian''s hair a few more times. "I didn''t contact you to disappear or because I didn''t care. On the contrary, knowing you were working yourself to death and not eating properly, I wanted to come and drag you back..."

Adrian shot him a cold, sideways glance.

"Who''s reflecting now?"

"...Alright, alright, I''m reflecting."

Albert said, "Last month, I went from Luminous City to Cambodia, then turned around to Pyralis to handle Cosmos Corporation''s IPO. I wasn''t in the country, and my mood was off while dealing with those things. I didn''t want it to affect you."

Adrian remembered the first time he met Albert, he had a vague feeling that Albert was more than just a straightforward businessman. Of course, at that time, he didn''t know that this uneasy feeling was because Albert would throw traitors overboard to feed the sharks.

Albert always appeared as a gentle lover in front of him, hugging him from behind and saying, "Baby... forgive me, please?"

Albert always coaxed him, yet Adrian could never catch Albert''s flaws. Adrian didn''t want to respond, and after a while, he noticed that his lover behind him was unusually quiet, which was not like Albert at all.

Just as Adrian was about to speak, he turned around and was shocked by what he saw.

"Are you crazy?! Albert!!" Adrian was horrified.

At that moment, Albert was holding a short knife in his right hand, the blade pressed against the palm of his left hand, a deep red gash running across his entire palm, with blood dripping down his wrist onto the floor.

This knife was part of Adrian''s collection, kept in the bedside drawer because it resembled his favorite MT-L.C.CDA folding knife in both appearance and performance. He knew how sharp this military knife was.

And now, Albert was pressing this sharp blade into his unprotected palm. Adrian could almost see the blade easily slicing through the soft, fragile flesh, revealing a bloody wound.

"You''re insane! What are you doing?!"

Adrian ignored his own injuries and tried to grab the knife, but Albert pulled him down.

Despite the deep wound, Albert''s face remained unchanged. In fact, seeing his lover''s panic, a slight smile appeared in Albert''s handsome amber eyes.

"See, you do care about me."

Adrian cursed, "Are you out of your mind?! We need to go to the hospital! You need stitches!"

Adrian got up from the bed, but as soon as his feet touched the ground, Albert pulled him back into his arms.

Albert was a few inches taller than him, and now he bent down slightly, resting his chin on Adrian''s shoulder, his tone unusually serious and gentle.

"Let''s not talk about work. No matter what, it''s my fault that you couldn''t reach me. But baby... I really didn''t expect you to be so upset about this... When you''re busy, you often don''t answer my calls either... Okay, okay, it''s all my fault. I hit too hard. I''ll take the punishment. I promise I won''t make you worry again..."

Adrian watched as blood dripped from Albert''s palm, down his fingers.

"Albert! We can talk later, let''s go to the hospital first...!"

But Albert''s strong arms held him tightly, blocking his way.

"Baby, can you forgive me?"

Adrian gritted his teeth, "Grab the car keys, let''s go!"

But Albert still didn''t move, looking like he was about to say something else. Adrian, having no patience for his "nonsense" at this critical moment, kicked him in the shin.

"Get the car keys! Are you going or not?!"

"Alright, alright, I''m going," Albert, caught off guard, stumbled back a step. Seeing his lover''s eyes turning red with urgency, Albert quickly hid his injured hand behind his back, trying to soothe him, "The wound isn''t deep, really, I''m fine."

Adrian looked at the blood on the floor, thinking, "Hiding it won''t stop the bleeding?!" He finally lost his composure and cursed, "You''re full of shit!! We''re going to the hospital!"

Adrian tried to drag Albert out, but Albert grabbed a clean T-shirt to stop the bleeding, as if the wound only needed a band-aid.

Albert wrapped his other arm around Adrian''s waist, trying to pull him back to the bed. Adrian, exhausted and off-balance, was pushed onto the bed, pressing against his injured hand, causing him to wince in pain.

Albert''s hand slid over Adrian''s butt through his pajama pants, "Let me rub it, it won''t hurt."

Adrian threw him a "Get lost," and struggled to get up to take him to the hospital.

Albert, finding it difficult to restrain Adrian with one hand, finally wrapped his entire body around him like an octopus, speaking quickly before his lover could explode.

"It''s really nothing, let me hold you for a bit until Austin Garcia gets here to stitch it up."

Half an hour later.

The young and promising Mr. Garcia walked into Adrian''s living room carrying a medical kit.

"Hiss—!"

Austin gasped. This wound was clearly on a whole different level than the casual "I accidentally cut my hand" that Brother Jones had mentioned over the phone. And it seemed like Brother Jones hadn''t been injured in a long time...

"Brother Jones, your ''accident'' seems a bit too serious, don''t you think?"

Albert didn''t comment, urging, "Stop talking and hurry up—hiss—!"

This time it was the man who gasped, as a slender, fair hand with distinct knuckles smacked his head without mercy.

"Can you shut up for a bit? If you think you can do better, go ahead."

Adrian''s tone was cold and unkind. Austin watched as Albert, who had just been hit, only smiled.

Austin was dumbfounded! Was this really his Brother Jones? Was this some kind of alternate dimension?

After the stitching was done, Albert remained silent, but Adrian, who had been by his side the whole time, asked Austin a few questions about precautions and restrictions. While talking, Austin secretly observed the young man in front of him.

Only five words kept floating through his mind: So fair! So handsome!

This young man spoke politely, yet there was a hint of coldness and aloofness. With such a fair and strikingly defined face, Austin suddenly felt that the type of abstinent male gods described on social media finally had a name!

"I''m Austin, Albert''s personal doctor. How should I address you, Mr. Handsome?"

Mr. Garcia accidentally spoke his mind.

Adrian paused, thinking this kid was quite forward, but still polite: "Adrian, police officer."

What?? A police officer?!

So, with his Brother Jones, that means...

Austin shrank his head in a mysterious manner.

But as a die-hard fan of good looks, Mr. Garcia always had his principles!

He said obsequiously, "Then I''ll call you Brother Brown from now on! Here''s my card, I''m a general surgeon. If you ever have any injuries or illnesses, you can find me. I''m especially good with gunshot wounds and penetrating injuries, I guarantee my stitches are as good as factory originals. Remember to add me on WeChat, I''m available 24/7!"

Adrian: "…Okay."

Albert, noticing Adrian''s discomfort in talking to others, got up and wrapped his arm around Adrian''s neck, leading him into the room. He took a moment to glance at Austin, who was still standing in the living room.

Austin, still shocked by the sight of the arm, felt a chill run down his spine from Brother Jones'' glance. He quickly wiped his mouth, grabbed his kit, and dashed out.

Once the door was closed, Adrian, feeling a bit awkward with someone else around, struggled a bit, but Albert''s arm felt like it was made of iron. Albert pushed him into the bedroom.

"What, you really dare to add him on WeChat, or do you want him to check you out too?"

"You...!"

Albert chuckled twice, suddenly leaning in close and whispering in a tone only the two of them could hear, "Of course not, you''re not allowed to add him... and also..."

Albert''s hand covered the still red and tender flesh under Adrian''s pajama pants, "...and also, only I can see this."

How could this person be so shameless when he was being a rogue?

Adrian''s "Don''t" hadn''t even come out when Albert captured his lips, pressing him against the wall for a deep kiss.

A domineering and passionate kiss, Albert''s kisses were always like him, carrying an undisguised aggressiveness, invading Adrian''s mouth, ravaging every soft and warm inch, as if he wanted to mark every part as his own.

When the kiss ended, Adrian was nearly suffocating.

Albert let go of him. The usually indifferent face in front of him was now flushed from the brief lack of oxygen, and his usually cold eyes were dazed and wet from the kiss.

A sudden slap landed on his already bruised buttocks.

Adrian, who hadn''t yet recovered, almost cried out in pain.

"Hiss—! Are you crazy, Albert?!"

Albert leaned over him, his hot breath brushing against Adrian''s sensitive earlobe and neck.

"Baby, how about I lock you up and only let you treat me?"