Chapter Ten

Tao Ran did not think much about it. He guessed correctly and looked confused as he tilted his head and asked Li Zekun, "I don't know anything, how am I supposed to go to school?" Tao Ran had overheard Li Zekun talking on the phone about the class leader and psychology teacher of Class B. He thought Li Zekun was helping someone else, but he didn't expect Li Zekun to have arranged it for him.

Li Zekun laughed when he saw that he wasn't getting on track and said, "You can't say you're not curious, you're listening more attentively than anyone else."

Tao Ran remained silent and continued to lower his head to drink soy milk.

He's feeling much better now. Just a moment ago, he seemed very drowsy and sluggish in the car, mostly due to staying up all night and being extremely tired. However, now that the bottle of intravenous drip is almost finished and he's had something to eat, he looks much more vibrant.

Tao Ran is very afraid of things like needles. After removing the needle, his legs became weak. He stood beside Li Zekun and finally reached out to gently wrap his arm around Li Zekun's side. "No more IV, alright? Just prescribe some medicine, okay?"

Li Zekun looks at him deeply and says, "You're such an adult, yet you're afraid of getting an injection."

"Brother..." This utterance almost slipped out involuntarily, with a hint of coquetry and pleading, sweeter than honey-glazed osmanthus cake and softer than June spring water.

Before Li Zekun could react, Tao Ran was already at a loss himself. He could not find his true memories, but there was still a powerful, uncontrollable instinct within him. Tao Ran was a little confused. From the moment he first saw Li Zekun, he felt that this man was different, shining among all the noisy crowds. Was it just a coincidence, or were his memories truly connected to Li Zekun?

Li Zekun felt even more shocked, and he truly did not want to constantly compare the person in front of him with Cheng Xia. In the end, he failed. Li Zekun had never seen two people who had never had any intersection in their speech and small habits be so alike. In Li Zekun's heart, even a single strand of Cheng Xia's hair was incomparable to Tao Ran, but he still felt that the two were similar. Even though everyone outside knew that Tao Ran was an unselective male prostitute, Li Zekun could not bear to truly send Tao Ran away because of some inexplicable and secret thoughts.

"Young master Li..." Tao Ran hastily corrected himself.

"In the future, just call me 'Brother.' When you go to school, try not to reveal any weakness and let your classmates bully you." Li Zekun helped Tao Ran up and said, "Go get some medicine. Tomorrow, you won't need to receive an IV anymore. I don't have time to take care of you."

"Thank you.", Tao Ran said with a small smile on his face. He hooked his arms around Li Zekun's and showed his small tiger tooth with a smile. "I also want to go to school."

In Tao Ran's memory, the original owner of this body also always wanted to go to school, but so many terrible things happened, ultimately forcing a once pure and kind young boy to fall into such a miserable situation.

Li Zekun's attention was caught by the person hanging off his arm on one side, distracting him from noticing any peculiarities in Tao Ran's behavior. He struggled for a while but couldn't shake off the person hanging onto his arm. He wasn't concerned whether Tao Ran genuinely wanted to go to school or was just trying to please him, so he didn't think much of it.

Li Zekun didn't take Cheng Xia to any of his own houses, he only arranged a hotel for him. He entertained his clients in the long-term suite he had rented, and directly arranged for Tao Ran to stay there.

When Tao Ran stepped into the hotel elevator holding a small transparent plastic bag of medication, Li Zekun had already let go of his arm. Tao Ran took a step forward to shake his hand, but Li Zekun avoided it.

"Why...didn't you bring me home?" Tao Ran slowly withdrew his hand, unconsciously biting his lip until it turned a pale color. His words seemed to be torn out from between his teeth, "Brother...don't listen to them, I'm not dirty, really. I won't mess with anything, please..."

Tao Ran probably didn't even realize how hard he was crying right now, almost to the point where his tears were connecting like pearls and falling onto the ground from his chin. Tao Ran wasn't someone who cried easily. The original owner of this body didn't cry, and he had always known he was a boy. Cheng Xia also didn't cry, even when he was tormented by illness to that extent, he never shed a tear. All the reddened eyes were just to force Li Zekun to give in. So why was Tao Ran crying now? Was it because he didn't even know who he was? Was it because he could be so sad even when he didn't know anything?

Li Zekun's heart felt like it had been hit with a drill, causing slight pain and panic.

"Why are you crying?" Li Zekun's voice sounded dry even to himself. "I'm not asking you to live in a hotel for the rest of your life."

He used the back of his hand to roughly wipe Tao Ran's face. "The house I gave you is being taken care of by someone else. It won't be ready for you to move in until the start of the school year at the earliest. I'm going on a business trip these next few days, so you'll have to take care of yourself while staying at my place."

Tao Ran shook his head and stepped back half a step. After the elevator stopped, Li Zekun pulled him out and asked, "What do you want to do?"

"I don't even know why..." Tao Ran sobbed with his head down, making Li Zekun feel suffocated in his heart.

"Don't cry!" said Li Zekun, his own confusion, and frustration interpreted as irritation towards Tao Ran, "If you know your own limits, why to bother me with this? If you don't want to stay at a hotel, go back to Tan Shijie's and find a man to take home with you!"