Possessive Madman Coaxes Him With a Hand on His Waist! The Cold-Hearted Host Starts to Feel Something - Chapter 38

“What’s wrong with you?”

Yan Xun frowned at Li Cheng, puzzled. Seeing how furious he looked, he roughly guessed that the ring must have been something Li Cheng had given to Yan Jin.

He remembered tossing it away casually earlier that day because it looked annoying.

Yan Xun had never seen Li Cheng this angry before.

Seeing his dark expression, Yan Xun swallowed nervously.

He rubbed his nose guiltily. “So that ring was yours, huh?”

“I thought it was Yan Jin’s. It was in the way, so I… tossed it.”

The fury in Li Cheng’s chest could no longer be contained.

His voice suddenly rose, sharp and trembling with rage. “Go find it!”

Yan Xun was startled by his intensity, fingers twitching uneasily. For some reason, panic crept into his chest.

“It’s just a ring, right? It didn’t look expensive. I’ll pay you back.”

Not expensive.

He’ll pay me back.

Li Cheng’s fists clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked. For a moment, he completely forgot that his mission was to win Yan Xun over. His gaze turned cold and vicious.

“I said, go find it!”

Yan Xun froze, shaken by the roar. For the first time, the proud young master who had never believed he could be wrong felt a deep, instinctive guilt.

“It’s my fault. I’m sorry.”

He pressed his lips together, his tone softening. “I’ll go find it later, alright?”

He turned to leave, but Li Cheng grabbed him again, harder this time.

[Fox Host, it’s not advisable to fall out with your target. Doing so will only increase the difficulty of the mission. Why don’t we look for the ring ourselves instead?]

Ah Keng’s voice echoed in his mind, nervous and coaxing. Then it invoked the one name guaranteed to stop him.

[For Yan Jin’s sake, Fox Host, please calm down.]

Li Cheng’s hand slackened slightly. He fixed his gaze on Yan Xun, his tone grave. “Where did you throw it?”

Yan Xun’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I don’t know.”

He hesitated, then changed his answer. “Shangjiang Road.”

Hearing that, Li Cheng shoved him aside and ran out of the house.

Yan Xun staggered back from the force of it. Watching him rush out into the storm, his chest tightened inexplicably.

A strange question surfaced in his mind.

If I’d known that ring was from Li Cheng, would I still have thrown it away?

The answer came before he could stop it.

No.

He wouldn’t have.

Yan Xun rubbed his head, frustrated. Just as he was about to go upstairs, the television in the living room began replaying the news:

[At dawn today, our city will be struck by the powerful typhoon “Qinghe.” A yellow alert has been issued citywide. The typhoon will bring heavy wind and rain. Please remain indoors and take proper precautions.]

Yan Xun clicked his tongue.

“Damn it!”

“He’s the one who ran out there. What’s it got to do with me?”

He stared at the repeated warnings flashing on the screen.

After a long internal struggle, he finally cursed under his breath and headed for the door.

The moment he opened it, a violent gust of wind nearly blinded him.

“It’s blowing like hell out here, and he still ran off!”

One glance told him Li Cheng was already gone.

Yan Xun grabbed an umbrella and dashed into the storm.

“What a pain in the ass!”

Li Cheng ran down the street, his soaked feet slapping against the pavement. Shangjiang Road wasn’t far from the villa—Yan Xun must have tossed the ring barely two minutes after leaving.

[Fox Host, there’s a strong typhoon today—accompanied by torrential rain.]

Li Cheng didn’t care. The streets were deserted, wind howling, thin sheets of rain already sweeping across.

He scanned his surroundings. “Can you sense where the ring is? Can you locate it?”

[Host, I can only detect living things with heartbeats. A ring has no life force; I can’t locate it.]

The trees lining the road thrashed wildly in the wind, branches cracking and leaves scattering everywhere.

Li Cheng closed his eyes, trying to sense it.

Without a bearer as a conduit, he could only pick up a faint trace—a vague area near a row of camphor trees along the curb.

But finding a single ring in that chaos was nearly impossible.

Leaves and branches blanketed the ground, piled several inches thick.

The rain grew heavier, blurring his vision.

[Fox Host, maybe we should come back tomorrow…]

No.

Without a medium, I’ll lose the connection to the Heart-Locking Ring. Tomorrow it might vanish entirely.

I have to find it.

It’s important to me.

He didn’t even know if it was obsession at this point.

He’d given the ring to Yan Jin easily because he had felt Yan Jin’s love—so pure it made him want to give something precious in return.

But the ring itself was far more than an ornament.

It wasn’t just old.

It was carved by his fox mother. The last thing he had of her.

It wasn’t something that could be replaced—or discarded.

Li Cheng crouched by the roadside, sifting through the thick carpet of wet leaves one handful at a time.

Only the sound of rain and the wind’s wild howls filled the night.

In less than half a minute, he was drenched. Rain ran down his hair and sleeves, his fingers trembling as they combed through the muck.

Mud stuck to his palms, washed clean by the relentless downpour.

The wind was icy; within minutes, his fingers were flushed red.

Frustration rose in his chest—then a faint, inexplicable ache.

Even the raindrops striking his face began to sting.

He searched faster and faster, combing through every inch of the area he could sense—still no ring.

Ah Keng couldn’t bear to watch anymore. [Host, please, let’s take shelter for now.]

Li Cheng didn’t answer. He stayed crouched under the camphor tree, still searching.

The rain blurred his vision—so when it suddenly stopped, he instinctively looked up.

Yan Xun was standing over him, holding an umbrella above his head.

His expression was unreadable.

In Li Cheng’s memory, only Yan Jin had ever shielded him like this.

In that instant, every bit of suppressed grievance flooded out.

“Yan Jin…”

His voice was faint, the rain still dripping from his lashes as he murmured it.

The moment Yan Xun heard that name, irritation flared inside him.

“I’m not Yan Jin. Don’t look at me like that. I’m not going to pity you like he does.”

The more he said it, the more irritated he became.

He’s not Yan Jin.

He told himself that over and over, yet by the end of the sentence, the umbrella had unconsciously shifted closer to Li Cheng’s side again.

Li Cheng lowered his head, not meeting his gaze.

Yan Xun grew impatient. “Is that stupid ring really that important? Can’t you see how hard it’s raining? Are you out of your mind?”

Li Cheng didn’t reply.

Yan Xun reached down to pull him up, but Li Cheng jerked away violently.

“Get lost.”

His eyes glinted with raw hostility.

Yan Xun clicked his tongue, anger surging. He flung the umbrella aside.

“I’ve really spoiled you, huh?”

He grabbed Li Cheng by the wrist, dragging him up roughly.

“You’re coming with me.”

The road ahead seemed endless, strewn with broken branches and drenched leaves, the wind howling around them.

Li Cheng felt suddenly, deeply tired.

And cold.

He stared blankly at Yan Xun, his voice soft and slurred, almost childlike.

“I don’t want you…”

He took a step back, his voice weakening further.

“I want Yan Jin…”

If it were Yan Jin, he never would have thrown away my ring.

Yan Xun’s fist clenched, a strange, stinging ache spreading through his chest—as if a needle had pierced his heart.

He shouldn’t have come.

He’d come out of goodwill, to bring him back—only to hear this.

“I don’t give a damn about you!”

“Drama queen!”

Crack—

Just as he turned to storm off, a tree branch above snapped under the wind’s force, falling straight toward Li Cheng’s head.

Before Li Cheng could react, Yan Xun lunged forward, yanking him into his arms and shielding him completely.

One arm wrapped around Li Cheng’s waist, the other covering his head protectively.

The heavy branch struck the ground beside them, its jagged edge slicing a thin, bloody line across Yan Xun’s neck.

“Tch…” He frowned, glancing down to check if Li Cheng was hurt.

Finding him safe, he let out a shaky breath.

He didn’t even know why he’d done it.

It must’ve been Yan Jin’s damn subconscious bleeding through.

That was the only explanation that made sense.

Li Cheng heard the crash inches away. Looking up, he saw the blood streak on Yan Xun’s throat, rain washing it crimson.

Why would he do that?

He’d said he hated him.

The rain hit his face again, blurring his vision.

Li Cheng pushed him away and kept walking.

He had to find that ring. Tomorrow, the trail would fade.

Yan Xun watched him crouch again, combing through mud and leaves, his irritation flaring back to life.

“Are you crazy, Li Cheng?!”

The longer it went on, the more frantic Li Cheng became. Desperation twisted in his chest.

When Yan Xun tried to pull him up again, Li Cheng shoved him away.

If only Yan Jin were here…

But they were the same person—and that thought only made it worse.

Yan Xun lost his temper completely. The wind screamed, rain poured, and this idiot was still crouched under a tree.

He didn’t think twice. One arm went around Li Cheng’s waist, the other under his knees, lifting him clean off the ground.

“Put me down!” Li Cheng struggled, his soaked clothes plastering against Yan Xun’s chest.

Yan Xun let out a heavy sigh. “Stop moving, will you? Fine—I was wrong, okay?”