Lop-eared Guard ( Official Translation)

81

Lop-Eared Guard – 81

27th Apr 2023

Edited and Proofread by: Jie

The carved mermaid and waves on the body of the piano were improvised masterpieces by Italian artists. When played, the rich timbre was ethereal and clear, like waves washing away the beautiful scales of the mermaid’s tail. Ye Wan had prepared this five years in advance for Lu Shangjin’s birthday, carving a bouquet of lilies and tulips nestled together at the foot of the piano as his signature as the sender. 

Yan Yi sat and watched silently without a word. When he met Lu Shangjin, he refused to touch it after many years, but today, he gently stroked the ivory keys and occasionally pressed down to listen to the pitch.

He only stared at Lu Shangjin’s hands, thinking that when he first saw them, they were still as warm and fair as jade, and they later became more and more scarred.

Yan Yi silently counted the scars on his hands, confident that he knew the origin of each wound. The slightly deeper one was cut by the dagger of the drug traffickers’ leader when they were discussing the arms business in Southeast Asia. Those people couldn’t do business without using reckless means and had intentions to kill if they didn’t achieve anything. Unfortunately, they injured Lu Shangjin’s hand and were then slaughtered by Yan Yi. 

There were also several traces of shrapnel wounds, all from protecting Yan Yi. After being wounded by a deep scar, Lu Shangjin no longer cared about his own hands and cared more about Yan Yi’s tofu-like little face. He used both hands to shield him from all the gunfire and smoke, unhappily saying that no alpha liked ugly little rabbits. 

There were four to five cigarette scars of the same age hidden in the layers of scars which Yan Yi couldn’t recognize. He also didn’t get to the bottom of it because he was destined to achieve no results.

This piano piece was also one of Yan Yi’s favourites. In the middle of playing, Lu Shangjin suddenly pressed an off-key note, and the sound of the piano stopped abruptly. 

The pitch wasn’t accurate anymore after being untuned for such a long time. Yan Yi stood up to help him tune it, but he saw Lu Shangjin wave his hand and said that it was okay, before he hurriedly ran into the bathroom. 

Lu Shangjin hid in the bathroom, his face already turning pale as fine cold sweat trickled down along his forehead. He clenched his right hand with difficulty, his fingers stiff and trembling.

He took off his shirt in front of the mirror to reveal his right shoulder; the three deep blackened wounds had become pus again. His injury had actually been worsening these days. As the medication was suitable, the rate of it worsening was slower. Lu Shangjin simply acted like he had healed to let Yan Yi focus on taking care of the baby instead of worrying about his alpha’s health. 

He was also afraid that Yan Yi would be suspicious. The reason he could only conceal the truth from Yan Yi was because he hadn’t been thinking about his own glands. Lu Shangjin liked to see how Yan Yi felt sorry for him because of this injury, but he didn’t need to know more beyond that. 

It would be too hard for Yan Yi to be hospitalized until the baby was born and not receive any comfort from soothing pheromones while he was carrying the baby. 

Lu Shangjin pulled out a new gauze to pad the wound with to avoid smearing his clothes. As he was putting it under his sleeve, Yan Yi pushed the bathroom door open.

He was holding his phone and had already contacted the hospital. He supported himself against the door frame with one hand like he was trapping a good student at the school gate and asking for money, raising his chin slightly as he said, “Go have your arm checked at the hospital this afternoon.”