Passion Raga Novel (Completed) - Chapter 13

Yuri checked the incoming call records that flooded in as soon as he turned on his phone and tilted his head. Several calls from Riegrow, several from contacts and lower-level informants, and among them was one call from Ling Tangyun.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t separately contacted Ling Tangyun about Ling Xinlu’s hospitalization. Of course, since the Ling family had contacted T&R, Ling Tangyun would already know the news, but he probably wanted to hear the detailed circumstances from Yuri.

He was just about to get up, thinking he should call him on the way to the hospital. As if someone had been watching, his phone started ringing just tens of seconds after he turned it on. It was the number of the person he had just thought of calling.

“I was just about to call you, Tangyun.”

“Ah, your phone’s working now. How have you been?”

Ling Tangyun’s voice, greeting him, was subdued, like someone who hadn’t slept for days. He could vividly imagine his face, which must have become gaunt in a single day.

“I’m fine. However, as you already know, Mr. Ling Xinlu was quite seriously injured.”

“Yes, I heard. You went to the hospital with him, didn’t you? Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. …But about Mr. Ling Xinlu’s eyes…”

“Yes, I heard about that too. I contacted the hospital and found out.”

Ling Tangyun’s voice grew heavier. Given Ling Tangyun’s personality, he had probably dug up a realistic prognosis, neither optimistic nor pessimistic. And the result, as James and Yuri had expected, didn’t seem to be good news.

Yuri fell silent. Ling Tangyun also remained silent for a moment before continuing the conversation with a sigh.

“It’s fine. What’s done is done. Riegrow’s family will contact them separately about that matter, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

This was also typical of Ling Tangyun. He didn’t engage in unproductive emotional battles over what had already happened. Whatever conclusion was reached, there would be a corresponding price for the situation, and that price was something to be agreed upon between the two families. It was not Yuri’s fault, nor was it his place to interfere. He was an outsider. “I see,” Yuri said briefly, dropping the subject.

“Is your father doing alright? He must be heartbroken, with his beloved youngest son so seriously injured.”

If it were Ling Huirong, he would be furious and enraged rather than bedridden with grief, but he still asked about the well-being of the old man over seventy. Suddenly, Ling Tangyun sighed as if the ground were collapsing. A groan of anguish mixed with the sigh.

“He doesn’t know yet. He’s just stepped out of the house for a bit right now. Everyone’s reluctant to be the one to tell father the truth, like putting a bell on a cat, so perhaps it’s for the best for now, but the problem is, father is the only one Xinlu even pretends to listen to.”

“Anyway, he doesn’t listen to me, but I also have something I absolutely cannot step away from right now, so I can’t go there,” Ling Tangyun muttered.

“It’s become difficult. Since he suffered from that, with his personality, he’ll surely go wild as soon as he regains consciousness… There’s no one to watch over him to prevent him from doing anything dangerous.”

“……….”

Ah. Something clicked at that moment.

Yuri awkwardly scratched his temple. He was about to say something but glanced at James. James, who had just been tearing open and reading a fax that had come in, felt his gaze and looked back at Yuri.

“So, Yuri. Could you look after him for a bit? It’s a favor. Just for a short while. Say, a month at most…? Just that long. After that, if need be, I’ll go myself.”

“Uh… isn’t there anyone else you can entrust him to besides me?”

“There’s no one as reliable as you. All the guys who are halfway decent are tied up with work they can’t let go of. This side is in an uproar, like a beehive that’s been poked.”

Yuri glanced at James again. James, who had been looking between the fax and Yuri, had turned his body towards him. As if to say, Speak if you have something to say.

“As you know, I’m currently working on something else.”

“Of course, I know. That’s why I’m only asking for a short while, isn’t it? I’m really worried, Yuri. With father’s personality, he’ll be fuming and threatening to sink the entire island just with this situation alone, but what if Xinlu gets hurt more there? Well, it’s unlikely, but there’s always a chance that someone might try to harm him in the meantime. Kidnapping or abduction.”

Harm. At that word, Yuri’s heart dropped.

No, logically speaking, it couldn’t happen. Even now, James had abundantly deployed security personnel around the hospital room, and Ling Xinlu was not the kind of person to be easily harmed by some clumsy criminal.

He knew all that, but recalling Ling Xinlu’s pale face, unconscious from anesthesia, his heart beat uneasily.

He looked at James, who had apparently finished reading the fax and was now watching Yuri with his arms crossed. Being quick-witted, he probably had a rough idea of what was being discussed, even if he didn’t know the exact details.

A month. Having already worked for over a year, that much time wasn’t a big deal—and rushing wouldn’t solve anything anyway—but…

“Besides, this is something the family keeps quiet, but…”

Suddenly, Ling Tangyun’s voice lowered. His dark voice, mixed with a sigh, sounded like he was about to reveal a secret, and Yuri unconsciously pressed the receiver closer to his ear.

“Xinlu, when he’s unstable, he can be a bit dangerous.”

“Dangerous…?”

“Yes. How should I put it, he doesn’t control himself well. When he goes to extremes, he not only harms others but also doesn’t care about harming himself. In fact, he himself is more dangerous than some clumsy assailant.”

Listening to Ling Tangyun sigh deeply, saying that he had even self-harmed when he was particularly sensitive in the past, Yuri couldn’t say anything. What suddenly came to his mind was the scene he had witnessed earlier that day.

Despite suffering such severe eye injuries that he might lose his sight, that pale face bit his lips until they bled and tore, suppressing his screams, unwilling to utter a single sound in front of Riegrow. Those flickering eyes that knew he would get hurt but endured it and raised a gun at the man.

It wasn’t about sacrificing flesh to cut bone. It was about not caring for his own body.

“………”

Yuri scratched his temple.

Ling Tangyun’s words probably contained a slight exaggeration to draw Yuri in. But they weren’t entirely false either. Yuri glanced at James again. This time, he looked at him for a long time, and James gestured for him to speak if he had something to say.

“James, can I stay here a little longer? Up to about a month if it gets prolonged…”

When Yuri asked, James, who had already expected it, shrugged indifferently without much thought, as if it didn’t matter.

“Rick, I’ll talk to him somehow from this side, so if something urgent comes up, do that.”

He said cheerfully, shaking the fax he held between his fingers, and added, “This is it, right?” The fax he held out contained a brief message from the Ling family saying, ‘We regret this has happened. We will discuss the details among relatives and formally contact you later,’ with a postscript requesting protection for Ling Xinlu.

“Yes, that’s right,” Yuri nodded, removing his hand from the mouthpiece. And then he gave his acceptance to Ling Tangyun, who had been patiently waiting for his reply.

Ling Xinlu was still asleep.

He asked the nurse if he had woken up in the middle and then fallen back asleep, but the nurse shook her head and simply said, ‘He still needs more time to wake up,’ before leaving.

Yuri pulled the chair from in front of the table to the bedside and sat down, silently looking down at him.

His complexion was still not very good, but his color had returned much more than before. Earlier, his face had been so pale, like a corpse, and drenched in cold sweat, that it was frightening to look at.

Fortunately, his other injuries, apart from his eyes, were not very serious. His arm was just dislocated at the shoulder, and his ankle fracture was expected to heal in a month or two. While any injury would be painful, none could compare to his critically damaged eyes. Yuri sighed silently.

Although most of his face was covered by the tightly wrapped bandage, his porcelain-doll-like, fair, and beautiful face was breathing evenly as he slept. His lips, covered with ugly dried blood, looked painful, and Yuri unconsciously frowned.

He’s so beautiful.

“……..”

Yuri quietly reached out and very carefully touched the dried blood with his fingertips. He then tried to touch the bandage as well, but remembering his bleeding eyes from earlier, he hesitated, unable to even lightly touch them, and instead gently stroked his cheek a few centimeters below.

The rough wound and the soft skin contrasted sharply, lightly touching his soft, squishy cheek like a baby’s.

Truly, he’s so young and beautiful.

To think these beautiful eyes might never see light again.

Yuri suddenly thought of a younger sibling. He didn’t have one. As an only child, he had envied friends with siblings when he was young, but he hadn’t particularly felt lonely or longed for a sibling.

But he wondered if this was what it would be like if he had a younger sibling. Beautiful, precious, and lovable.

Of course, his heart wouldn’t ache like this just by looking at a sibling.

Gently, silently caressing—actually, poking—his soft, fluffy cheek like freshly baked white bread, Yuri stopped his hand the very next moment. A low, hoarse voice had escaped from his slightly parted lips.

“Don’t touch me. Get away.”

One dark eye, its light extinguished, had been staring at the ceiling for some time.

Yuri withdrew his hand and sat down quietly.

Ling Xinlu, who had remained still as if frozen for a while, slowly blinked a few times and then only his pupils turned to look at Yuri.

He seemed to be momentarily unaware of reality. Confusion flickered in his blinking eyes, as if he was trying to distinguish which of his jumbled memories were real and which were dreams.

But it was only for a very brief moment. Soon, he returned his reason and judgment to this reality he was lying in, and his gaze towards Yuri twisted coldly.

“I should have killed you first.”

He muttered to himself and got up. He lowered his legs as if to get out of bed, then paused when he saw his leg wrapped in a plaster cast. He belatedly looked at his shoulder, which was wrapped in a compression bandage. Finally, he raised his hand and covered one of his eyes, feeling the bandage wrapped around his face.

Grind, he heard the sound of teeth grinding. The muscles in his jaw moved faintly, and a black flame flickered in his eyes. As if recalling the situation where he collapsed, veins bulged on his slowly clenched, trembling fist.

Eventually, Ling Xinlu raised his head and glanced at the dark window.

“What time is it now? What day?”

“It’s a little past 9 PM. The date hasn’t changed.”

Ling Xinlu bent slightly towards the outside of the bed and then stopped. He remained still for a moment without speaking, seemingly dizzy.

“Clothes.”

Yuri, who had been silent for a moment at Ling Xinlu’s abrupt demand, shook his head.

“You can’t go out yet.”

Ling Xinlu’s fierce gaze flew at him. Staring directly at Yuri, who met his gaze, he spoke again in a clearer tone.

“Clothes.”

“No.”

When Yuri answered quietly but firmly, Ling Xinlu got out of bed. He limped slowly towards Yuri, still not completely free of dizziness, and then ruthlessly struck Yuri, who was sitting quietly in the chair, looking up at him. Creak, the chair spun, and Yuri’s head snapped in the same direction.

Yuri was momentarily unable to move. For a moment, it hurt so much he couldn’t breathe. No, for a while after that, he had trouble breathing properly. He really hit him without holding back, even though he had just gotten out of a sickbed and wasn’t fully recovered.

“Yuri Gable. Just because someone smiled at you, do you think you’re something? I have so many people like you around me that I could sweep them away. You’re the kind of person who stares blankly, desperate to touch someone, and then as soon as you get a smile, you get conceited and do presumptuous things, thinking you’re special. It wasn’t just one or two of those human pests that clung to me.”