Now, while he was still playing with Bryan Klaus acting like naive and well-behaved Julian, he could not be more ... bored.

Eight months had passed since the attack on the Kriston mansion and Julian's body had already recovered relatively well and without sequelae. At that time he did his best to pretend to cooperate with Bryan not to be found by Alec and his men, while in fact he was taking time to set up a real spider web to catch his target.

However, living with Bryan had become more complicated than he had anticipated. The other man ended up appearing on his radar, and as much as Zhang Yuan was doing his best not to get involved on a large scale, that person seemed to be practically running toward him and preventing him from taking any further steps in his mission. At first, using Bryan's gentleness and protection while he was still hurt and vulnerable with a small child was the smartest and safest thing to do; but over time Zhang Yuan really did not think he would cling so much to this protective role.

"You should not try so hard. Your arm is not yet fully healed. " Bryan spoke gently as he placed a hand on his shoulder to try to stop Zhang Yuan's movements from clearing the table.

" I'm already fine. The wound has already closed and I no longer feel any more pain. Please do not treat me like an invalid. " Yuan patiently replied as he continued the service. "To tell you the truth, I think it's time for me to go out and find work. "

Zhang Yuan said this casually without looking at the face of the other man who immediately paralyzed.

"But ... this is still very risky. The men who attacked them are still looking for you and Lila. " Bryan counter argued, showing a truly worried face. The problem, however, is that this simple concern was rendering Zhang Yuan an incalculable waste of time. He had carefully hidden Julian and Lila in his house and did his best to keep the boy from ever having to step outside.

To the little girl, Bryan became like a gentleman in shining armor -exactly as it originally ought to be- but to a person like Zhang Yuan who never had a leash or chains, it was just stifling and boring.

"I understand, but I can not continue the way things are. Otherwise, will I have to spend the rest of my days hiding in your house? That does not make sense ... I need to get back in control of my life. "

Not to mention that he wanted to get off that damn mission right away and leave the world that did not even have a television or wi-fi, but those complaints were only in the hidden thoughts of Zhang Yuan.

However, Bryan did not seem comfortable with this idea. On the other hand ... What relationship did he really have with Zhang Yuan to stop him from anything? In the months that had passed, perhaps a friendship had formed between the two men, but beyond that ... there was nothing. The young man was always very guarded on any subject of this kind, and Bryan never encouraged himself to take a step further.

"Maybe you should wait a little longer until the city forgets about the incident ..." Bryan tried to persuade the youth, but Zhang Yuan did not even roll his eyes.

"No one really knows I worked for the Kriston family. There is nothing to worry about. Next Friday I'll go find some place to work. "Zhang Yuan did not open the loopholes for refutation. It was not a negotiation, it was a decision.

He had a reason to be so eager to get himself out of Bryan's sight, and that was the reason for Alec's return.

 Zhang Yuan has been consulting the system in recent months to monitor exactly when Alec would step foot in person again in the city. Nevertheless, thanks to the great aim of Zhang Yuan, he discovered that the other man spent the last months trying to recover perfectly the movements of the arm reached and because of this he had to postpone all his plans. And if that was worth anything, he was after Zhang Yuan as much as Zhang Yuan was from him.

[ What does the host have in mind? ]

The system can not stop questioning. He has been following Zhang Yuan's every step of the way in recent months while assisting in everything he coordinated, but that did not prevent the system itself from being in any doubt about its host's future plans.

"At the moment, I plan to prepare for a kidnapping." Zhang Yuan responded calmly to the system as soon as he returned to the room.

[ Does the host intend to kidnap the target? ]

" No, no. Of course not. Where could I keep a hostage? "Yuan laughed at the ingenuity of the system. "I'm saying I'm getting ready to be kidnapped by Alec. "

The system had no eyes, but if it had been blinking to Zhang Yuan completely confused.

[ Why would the host wish to be abducted voluntarily? ]

The smile on Zhang Yuan's face grew: "Because the easiest way to get into a house is being invited by her owner. I will not get close to Alec Syed, he's coming to me. Exactly how he originally lured Julian to his side, I will lure him. "

Zhang Yuan knew that Alec's custody of him would probably be much higher than last time. Certainly he would not treat Julian as incapable and harmless again and would not approach hastyly. However, this was not a real problem for Zhang Yuan, as he did not intend to use actual physical damage to attack Alec this time around.

Zhang Yuan chuckled as he still outlined the plan in his head.

Meanwhile, outside, Bryan heard the melodic laughter coming from inside the young man's room and can not help but be surprised. In all those months, he had never seen the youth smile so openly. The boy was always looking down or avoiding his eyes. What could make the boy laugh so happily that way, was what Bryan felt sincerely curious to find out. But before that question was actually answered, as soon as the laughter began, it was extinguished, and the door was opened and eyes bright and questioning.

The system notified Zhang Yuan of Bryan's presence shortly before. But even so he put a surprised expression on his face.

"Doctor Klaus ... What are you doing here? "

"I ... um ... I came to call you to dinner. "Bryan hastened to explain. "You were laughing. "

Zhang Yuan winked at Bryan and gave a shy smile.

"Mn." He nodded. "I'm happy to finally get back to a normal life. By the way, I'm happy just to be alive. "

It was not entirely a lie, considering that Zhang Yuan really thought that her terrible night would never end, or not with him alive.

"Me too." It was Bryan's response, and for the first time Zhang Yuan showed a truly stunned expression.

"Are you glad you're alive too? "

"I am. "He answered truthfully. "To tell you the truth, to know that someone will be home when I arrive ... It's comforting. I really really like having you and Lila with me. "

Zhang Yuan unconsciously closed his expression to Bryan's words. He knows from experience that people like Bryan were the easiest victims of people like him. And the end of these people was never anything but pitiful.

Zhang Yuan began to realize that, just as Alec broke the heart of the lovable Julian, he would probably also break that person. And who the gentle Bryan Klaus would become after Zhang Yuan was something he himself would not want to discover.

He then decided that this would be the last time he would take advantage of Bryan Klaus's good feelings. The last time, and then he would finish this damn mission soon and leave.

"I ... Uh ... Did you say something wrong? "Bryan questioned as he stared at Zhang Yuan's cold face.

The boy recovered immediately, putting on a neutral expression and shaking his head.

" There's nothing wrong. I feel flattered, actually. " He smiled. "Doctor Klaus ... Could I go to your office later? "

This sudden invitation caught the other man by surprise.

"Um ... Of course!"

.....

 After dinner, Zhang Yuan followed the same routine that followed every day. He washed the dishes and organized the kitchen. Then he climbed up and put little Lila in his bed, stroking the little girl's golden hair.

However, instead of reading a children's book, what came out of the mouth of Zhang Yuan was a questioning:

"Miss, you like Dr. Klaus, right? "

The little girl nodded immediately without hesitation.

"I like Mr. Klaus. "She said sincerely. "He takes good care of us. "  

Zhang Yuan smiled with his eyes and agreed to Lila's words, already waiting for it.

And it was not a lie. From the outset, Bryan's role was to raise the protagonist in some formidable person in the future and Zhang Yuan does not doubt that he would do it in a fantastic way.

 Stopping to think, the characters of Zhang Yuan and Bryan Klaus have always been completely opposite from the start. One was responsible for the decline and the other for the rise of the protagonist. No wonder these two people should never have known each other before.

Giving an ironic smile to himself, Zhang Yuan tidied up Lila's covers.

"So in the future, even if I'm not here anymore, you still have to stand by him and obey him properly, okay? "His tone was slight, but there was still a tone of warning.

Lila blinked seriously at the man in front of her. He's not stupid. She knew these types of words could not come to naught.

"Brother, are you going somewhere? "She questioned feeling a bad feeling. " Please, do not go! Mr. Klaus says it's dangerous yet, I do not want anything to happen to you. "

 "Nothing will happen to me. "Yuan calmed her down. "I'm just ... Saying I'm going out to look for work. I will not really leave. It's all right. "

Lila's panicked face calmed down again.

" You promise? "

"Mn! I promise. "

Later, when Lila had finally fallen asleep, Zhang Yuan climbed into Bryan's office, banging on his door twice before being allowed to enter.

On the other side, Bryan's tone was grave and anxious:

"What would you like to talk about? "

Zhang Yuan walked to the side of the table where Bryan was leaning and stopped a few inches from where the other man was.

"I'd like to talk about Lila, actually." Zhang Yuan did not procrastinate in saying.

A light of expectations subtly extinguished himself from Bryan's eyes, but he was too quick to disguise, putting a concerned expression on his face.

"Is there something wrong with her? "

 "Oh, no, no. "Zhang was quick to deny. "There's nothing wrong with her or something ..."

Zhang Yuan took a seemingly careless step, bumping into one of the glass jars that Bryan often forgot about the table. The object rolled immediately to the ground in a loud noise of scattered sparks.

Zhang Yuan immediately bent down to join the broken pieces, in a convincing state of surprise and mourning.

"I ... I'm sorry. I did not really pay attention. "

"No need to do that ..." Bryan also knelt in front of the other man to prevent Zhang Yuan from injuring himself with the broken glass.

But it was too late. Before he could reach for Julian's hand, Zhang Yuan had already purposely stuck his fingers against one of the fragments.

Bryan's pupils cringed and he grabbed Zhang Yuan's hand immediately, pulling the other man up so he could stand up.

" It was my fault. I usually forget to save some medications. " He blamed himself as he sat Julian in a chair and went to the closet to get a first aid quit.

Zhang Yuan remained calm as he watched the other man's footsteps. He saw Bryan kneel down and open the briefcase, placing it on the table next to his head, calmly taking Yuan's injured hand and wiping the blood.

" Hmm... thanks. I'm so sorry. "

"You're always saying that. " Bryan watched, without raising his eyes from the hands of Zhang Yuan.

The boy just winked at the doctor in front of him.

"Doctor, will you take care of Lila? " He asked.

This caught the attention of Bryan, who even confused, just gave Julian a restrained smile.

"I always take care of both of you. Is not that what I'm doing now? "

"Would you take care of her even if I was not here? "

Zhang Yuan feared that Bryan's compassion towards Lila had not been developed in the correct way as in the original plot by his interference, and he can not help but worry about those details.

But instead, it only made the other man's face darken.

"What is there with this questioning? Do you intend to go somewhere? "

Seeing the same expression as Lila's, Zhang Yuan can not help laughing.

"No. It's just a doubt ..."

Bryan did not seem pleased with that answer, but he just lowered his eyes and turned his focus to the pale fingers in front of him.

"In that case, there is no need for such questioning. I've said that before. As long as you are by my side, I will do everything to protect you. "

Zhang Yuan sighed in his heart, not too quiet with this answer. But he kept a neutral expression.

With his free hand, he touched the side of Bryan's face, rubbing the tips of his fingers over the other man's cheeks.

"Mn. Thank you. "

This seemed to stun Bryan for a few seconds, which he did not even notice when his cold fingers left his skin, immediately and skillfully reaching for the briefcase by reaching for a small glass of chloroform that Bryan commonly used as an anesthetic.

The whole action was so fast that before Bryan's glazed look completely returned to normal, Zhang Yuan's hands were already on his lap. The medicine glass carefully hidden between her blouse and her coat. For someone who was so accustomed to stealing wallets and other belongings, it meant nothing to Zhang Yuan.

Despite a still stunned expression, Bryan returned to finish the bandage on Zhang Yuan's fingers. But before the young man could remove his fingers from the big, warm hands of the other, Bryan took his palm and stared at him.

"Whenever you have an accident .... Do not hesitate to ask for my help. "He said simply as he stared into Zhang Yuan's eyes. " And if there's anything you need to tell me, do not hesitate. Everything will be fine as long as you trust me. "

Zhang Yuan blinked his eyes and immediately nodded without understanding the sudden instruction.

But Bryan still did not look pleased, not moving the focus of his gaze for a second.

"I'd like you to remember that. Because I know that just like me, you know how much the betrayal of a close person can become unforgivable and bitter. "

As soon as those words left Bryan's mouth Zhang Yuan's gaze darkened. But he did not even have time to digest it before he felt Bryan's hot lips touch the tips of his fingers that grew even colder.