Max Level Return—I'll Protect That Fragile One

Ye Mingluo also understood, ”Don’t worry, I’m here.”

Xu Xingguang stood under the eaves, clearly hearing the sound of struggle from Huo Wen’an inside the room.

With a thud, Huo Wen’an fell from the bed to the floor.

”A Zui! Don’t torture yourself!” This was Ye Mingluo’s worried exclamation.

Xu Xingguang could guess what Huo Wen’an was doing.

He was likely in unbearable pain and couldn’t help but find something to harm himself.

However long Huo Wen’an suffered inside, Xu Xingguang stood outside for just as long. Until the full moon hung in the sky, and the person inside finally lay helplessly on the bed, exhausted and silent.

Just because Huo Wen’an wasn’t making a fuss didn’t mean he was no longer in pain.

...

Three days later.

Huo Wen’an finally came back to life.

He lay motionless in bed, and the whole room exuded a difficult scent; his body was covered with a layer of light brown secretion.

That was the toxins expelled from his body.

Ye Mingluo saw he was awake, having successfully passed the crisis, then slowly stood up from the wooden chair.

”Brother only focused on taking care of you, didn’t close his eyes these past few days. Now you’re alive, I’m going to sleep.”

Ye Mingluo got up and walked to the rest area outside, immediately falling asleep on the recliner.

Three days and three nights of torment had drastically changed Huo Wen’an.

He supported himself on the bedhead, struggling to move off the bed, and staggered to the mirror on the wardrobe.

The person appearing in the mirror, though tall, had become thin like a stick. His face had no flesh left, only skin hanging on, giving a shocking sense of fear.

Calling him a ghost would be insulting to ghosts.

Huo Wen’an was too weak; he fell back into bed and slept again.

When he awoke again, it was the next morning.

Huo Wen’an found he had bathed, changed clothes, and had been moved to the recliner under the eaves.

Morning light filtered through Xu Xingguang’s courtyard, falling onto Huo Wen’an’s face.

Squinting his eyes, Huo Wen’an barely adapted to the glaring sunlight and noticed something licking his fingers.

Huo Wen’an turned his head to see a little pig.

In two months, Huo Wuyi had gained more than twenty pounds and wasn’t as cute as he had been.

But its gaze remained purely foolish.

”Fearless.” Huo Wen’an rubbed Huo Wuyi’s head, saying: ”Did you miss Dad?”

Huo Wuyi responded to his longing by licking Huo Wen’an’s fingers.

”Good son.” Huo Wen’an patted Huo Wuyi again, then reflected: ”The feeling of rebirth is wonderful indeed.”

He hadn’t felt such comfort in a long time.

In this moment, his body was indeed weak, but his spirit was clearer than ever.

The morning light seemed particularly beautiful.

However, even more appealing than the morning sun was Xu Xingguang coming through its glow, carrying some cornstalks.

”You look quite spirited, boyfriend.” Xu Xingguang threw the cornstalks to the ground, broke a cob off, and handed it to Huo Wuyi.

Huo Wuyi held the corn, lying on the ground, chewing slowly.

Huo Wen’an looked at Xu Xingguang, his eyes somewhat inattentive.

During this time, he’d been ill and couldn’t distinguish if their kiss in the No-man District was hallucination or reality.

Huo Wen’an asked Xu Xingguang, ”Did we kiss in the No-man District?”

Unperturbed, Xu Xingguang said: ”We did more.”

Huo Wen’an was stunned.

Xu Xingguang, seeing his utterly shocked expression, frowned, ”What, don’t you believe it?”

Instinctively, Huo Wen’an said: ”I was ill then, and you just happened to be on your period, so I...” He shouldn’t have been so beastly!

Hearing this, Xu Xingguang looked saddened.

Her eyes accusingly fixed on Huo Wen’an, she said aggrievedly: ”Huo Wen’an, you even praised how soft my lips were then, coerced me into calling you Brother A Zui. Did you forget?”

Xu Xingguang’s words exactly matched some fragments of Huo Wen’an’s dreams.

So, did they really do it in the No-man District?

Otherwise, how could Xu Xingguang’s words match his dream dialogue?

Huo Wen’an’s expression changed several times.

He suddenly cursed: ”Huo Wen’an, you’re such a bastard!” How could he have done such a thing to Xu Xingguang during her period?

Huo Wen’an rubbed his face forcefully, suddenly looking down at Xu Xingguang, asking her: ”Do you have a favorite wedding dress designer? What kind of wedding ring do you like? Diamond? Gold? Or antique gemstone?”

He continued: ”What about the wedding? Do you prefer a lively grand one, or another style?”

”By the way, you’ve moved your account out of the Xu Family, so I suppose I don’t need to visit any of your relatives there?”

Huo Wen’an had already started preparing for their wedding.

Xu Xingguang listened with amusement, ”You’re thinking of marriage before proposing?”

Hearing this, Huo Wen’an looked embarrassed, explaining with shame: ”This came too suddenly, I hadn’t had a chance yet.”

”Is that so?” Xu Xingguang looked at Huo Wen’an, half-smiling; she suddenly said: ”Since you weren’t ready, how about I propose?”

Huo Wen’an was a bit bewildered, ”What?”

Xu Xingguang suddenly stepped down the stairs to stand under the eaves, in front of Huo Wen’an.

Huo Wen’an watched her, feeling awkward, suspecting Xu Xingguang was teasing him with those words.

But when he saw Xu Xingguang pull a sapphire-encrusted men’s ring from her trousers pocket, his breath hitched, and his hands instinctively gripped the recliner’s armrests.

”Xingguang, take it back!”

Huo Wen’an hadn’t expected Xu Xingguang to beat him to proposing.

Xu Xingguang knelt on one knee before Huo Wen’an.

She raised the sapphire men’s ring, saying, ”Do you see the sapphire on it?”

Huo Wen’an stared at the ring with its glowing blue sapphire, complexly nodding.

”It’s called Luo Fei Stone, a very rare black meteorite; it’s harmless to the body but has a magical effect.” Xu Xingguang looked up at Huo Wen’an, saying, ”It captures emotions, and when someone expresses love towards it, it emits a deep blue glow.”

”So, some people use it as a token of affection to express love.”

”Words can lie, but Luo Fei Stone won’t.”

This Luo Fei Stone was discovered by Xu Xingguang when she reincarnated in the interstellar age, during her exploration for energy sources in hazardous star territories, on an uninhabited rare metal.

Later, she reported the existence of this rare metal planet to the interstellar alliance, yet kept the Luo Fei Stone.

But until her death, she kept the Luo Fei Stone, never giving it away.

”Huo Wen’an. Today, I give it to you, I will protect you for life.” Xu Xingguang asked Huo Wen’an: ”Will you take it or not?”

As a man being proposed to by his girlfriend, Huo Wen’an felt both embarrassed and uneasy.

Yet, facing Xu Xingguang’s gesture, Huo Wen’an found it hard to refuse.

”I accept.” He snatched the ring, placing it on his left middle finger.

Huo Wen’an had fair skin and looked good adorned with jewelry. But apart from wearing the Ancient Python Pattern Ring symbolizing the Huo Family’s power, he never wore anything else.

The Luo Fei Stone Ring encircled Huo Wen’an’s middle finger, adding a hint of deep blue to the cold white skin. Xu Xingguang praised Huo Wen’an: ”It suits you well.”

Huo Wen’an’s heart floated somewhat. ”You custom-made it for me, of course it fits.”