Chapter 6: Hou Yizhen

(˚0˚)!!!

The steps of the group halted, and everyone’s faces showed varying expressions of surprise, shock, and trepidation, as if they had accidentally heard something they were not allowed to hear.

They would not be silenced, would they?

Hou Yizhen’s already gloomy face became even more terrifying.

He sharply turned his head.

Behind him, the people instinctively turned their heads away in a snap, looking in different directions.

Oh, shit.

We were too obvious.

"T-the air conditioning is a bit too loud. Can you lower it down a little..."

"The fan, the fan is so noisy..."

As if they possessed the same brain cell, the men in black suits tried to casually make up excuses.

The hospital director instinctively retorted, "It’s currently the best season of spring, so to save power, we’re not using air conditioning or fans in the in-patient rooms..."

After receiving a glare from the tall, thug-looking group of men, the hospital director cowered and coughed. "Oh, well, it must have been the wind blowing from the mountains."

Hou Yizhen coldly snapped, "What’s going on with his head? You said he didn’t have amnesia."

The hospital director bowed his head. "Well, he clearly remembered the past based on our diagnosis..."

"There’s something wrong with his head," Hou Yizhen snapped. "Where’s your psychologist?"

"They’re in the psych ward. Do you want to transfer the patient there?"

Hou Yizhen had never met such a clueless hospital director. "Forget it. We’ll bring him with us anyway."

"Right, yes, yes," the hospital director agreed profusely, but inwardly, he was thinking:

I’ll pretend I have no idea you’re just covering up your embarrassment at your relationship being discovered, so please don’t drop your donation plans, benefactor...

Unaware that she had been branded as mentally unstable, Madam Lin was still covering her mouth, touched by the mercy of the heavens that was bestowed upon her at this unfortunate time of travel to a modern male.

Unable to help herself, she murmured longingly again, "Lord Husband, I’ve truly missed you..."

Clang!

Bang!

Thud!

Loud noises filled the air as the men following behind rushed to do different things all at once, like messing with the things on the table, closing the door, and slamming their bodies against the wall, pretending they had accidentally run into it.

Hou Yizhen closed his eyes and uttered one short sentence. "Get out, now."

"Yes, boss!" The underlings said this in a loud voice in unison, jolting the crying boy to finally notice the others’ existence.

The boy flushed red in embarrassment, covering his face in shame.

I actually showed my crying face to other people, who are also men!

Madam Lin momentarily forgot that she was already in a different era with a different set of rules, and that she herself was already a man.

After hearing the door close, Hou Yizhen finally opened his eyes. Glancing at the mentally unstable patient, he turned his head towards the hospital staff and asked, "Before we take him away, you..."

His voice trailed off.

There was no one else remaining behind him. Even the hospital director and the doctors had gone out.

A bulging vein popped on Hou Yizhen’s temples. Taking another breath, the man who always had a short and volatile temper was on the verge of exploding, but still held back.

There was still a fragile little cub in front of him.

Although this little cub was really painful to look at with that annoyingly coquettish demeanor.

"Lord Husband..."

Hearing these two words, Hou Yizhen could not help but glare in the end. "Shut your mouth and speak properly, boy. Who the hell are you calling your husband?"

The boy looked taken aback. "Y-you, I’m talking about you, dear—"

"I’m your uncle, damn it! Call me Uncle!"

His eyes widening, the slender boy trembled in shock after hearing his loud voice. His face became pale, and then tears welled up in his eyes again.

"You’re actually acting fierce toward me. How can you be so fierce?" the boy wept.

Hou Yizhen lifted his head and gazed blankly at the ceiling, unexpectedly calming down.

Right, this brat’s head was broken. Why bother arguing with him?

The tall man waited for a long time with a blank expression until the other person’s sobs gradually subsided.

What he did not know was that the reason why the sobs subsided was because the boy could not help but stare up at him, slowly becoming captivated by him.

Madam Lin stared up at the tall man in front of her, hiccuping unconsciously.

Her husband had been one of the tallest men in the capital, but in this world, he was even taller than before, over six feet in height, perhaps seven feet. He was also much more muscular. The muscles on his arms and broad chest were tight against his clothes, but his waist was very slim and taut.

Because he was looking up, his throat was stretched out, showcasing the very prominent knot on his throat. There was a black ink tattoo peeking out from the shirt he was wearing, only the head of a serpentine dragon visible on his throat, dangerously bristling at whoever looked at it.

The lines of his jaw were very fine and sharp, like they were chiseled by a sculpting knife. The exposed skin showed that his skin was not fair like in the previous life. In this life, he was darker, with a healthy and masculine tan.

Madam Lin was starstruck.

Oh my, my husband in modern attire and bearing was actually so dashing and... and... sensual.

The boy’s face reddened again. This time, it was so red that steam seemed to come out from the top of his head.

Hou Yizhen finally looked down. "Have you already calmed down your head?"

The boy nodded with a blushing face.

Crazy, Hou Yizhen inwardly criticized.

If not for his sworn sister, Mother Lin, who was the mother of this brat, Hou Yizhen would usually stay far away from people who showed such obvious interest in him.

"Now, say it. Call me Uncle."

"But you are my—"

"Call me Uncle," the tall and sturdy man ordered coldly.

Madam Lin felt a little hurt. Her husband had never spoken to her in such a way. Even when people outside had told her that her husband was a little too cold and indifferent, Madam Lin never thought of him that way.

Her Lord Husband was clearly a family-oriented man, very caring and thoughtful in his quiet manner, but quite passionate in a certain aspect...

The boy blushed again.

If this was another person, Hou Yizhen would really want to let that constantly blushing face taste a little of his fist.

He crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head.

"The doctors said you remembered everything before your coma," Hou Yizhen started. "So you know nothing at all of what happened in the mountains?"

Madam Lin recognized the authoritative tone that commanded obedience. This was a serious conversation, so Madam Lin tried her best to compose herself and finally was able to answer in a calm manner.

"Yes, I truly have no memories of what happened in the mountains, except a few glimpses of when my consciousness faded in and out, but they are all not very helpful." Madam Lin tried to recall the memories she had gathered from the previous host of this body.

Although she was unsure if the owner of the host was truly her reincarnation or if she had replaced the soul, everything was vivid to her, as if she had seen them herself. But she could not immerse herself in them, not because she was against it, but because she just could not. Madam Lin had spent several decades of a lifetime as a woman in her previous life; she could not see herself as a man.

That was why whenever Madam Lin looked back on the original body’s memories, she felt a little distance, as if she was telling another person’s story.

"Tell me about each piece in detail."

Hou Yizhen listened thoughtfully as the boy recounted the little pictures he remembered in his hazy moments of wakefulness inside the mountains.

At one time, the boy had woken up briefly. He saw a silhouette of a mountain covered in fog and clouds, and at the foot of the mountain were countless trees. He seemed to be inside a car running fast.

Another picture was of the back of someone. The boy was held upside down, so the world was chaotic in his vision, but there seemed to be trees and tall wild bushes everywhere. He could not see the sky, just a loud rushing noise that filled the air.

The last picture was of a bonfire at night, at least that was what Madam Lin thought it was, because in the memories, the boy was inside a tent, and he could see a firelight from the opening flap of the tent, and a group of men were sitting around while roasting lamb...

"How can you see the group of men if you’re inside the tent?"

The boy explained, "Their shadows were cast on the tent. I could see their outlines. They wore thick furry hoods, and their voices were not that low either."

"Then why did you think they were roasting lamb?"

Madam Lin was taken aback. "Because it’s clearly lamb. Roasting lamb, beef, and pork produces different smells. Roasted lamb smells very musky and grassy, quite gamey. Roasted beef is very savory and distinct, while roasted pork is milder."

As a woman of virtue known for her abilities in housework, she had tasted various cuisines and had picky and discerning tastes when it came to food.

Hou Yizhen raised a thick eyebrow, his face calm. "What if it’s venison or mutton? They’re gamey too."

The boy shook his head gently and smiled at the tall man, who clearly was not familiar with kitchen work. "Venison, mutton, and lamb are all different. You cannot mistake them at all. Venison has an earthy flavor, a bit like the scent of moss, while mutton is much stronger than lamb meat."

The boy paused, then continued. "You must be referring to the two kinds of mutton, lamb mutton and goat mutton. They’re different too, just as lamb meat is different from lamb mutton. If you rank the strength of the gameyness, lamb mutton is the strongest, goat mutton is the middle ground, while lamb meat is mild—"

"Alright, stop it. Lamb mutton it is."

"No, Lord Husband, they were roasting lamb meat," Madam Lin softly chided, forgetting that she was not supposed to call him that.

Hou Yizhen stretched out his hand, pinched the boy’s small chin, and lifted the latter’s face. He lowered his head with a cold and intimidating gaze, threatening the boy.

"I said. Call me. Uncle."

Seeing the handsome face so close at hand and smelling the masculine hormonal scent of a mature man, the boy’s face flushed red again.

Hou Yizhen resisted the urge to hit this face, because after his stay in jail for a couple of years, he did not want to go back there again.