His slender figure and thin shoulders made the ill-fitting prison uniform evoke an indescribable sense of pity. He was a beauty that should not exist in this prison, a fallen little creature of misfortune.
“Mr. Leo,” the little beauty said, cradling the uniform jacket in front of him, his voice clear and bright, “Are you the guard who took me to Doctor Navi two days ago…?”
Uncertain, his long eyelashes fluttered slightly, as if he were carefully scrutinizing the man in front of him. The handsome man with brown eyes nodded.
“I am Leo,” the man replied with a low, magnetic voice that sounded gentle. “I took you there.”
The Eastern beauty pressed his lips together slightly, revealing a hint of a shy smile. With a delicate curve on his light rose-pink lips, he looked a bit bashful.
Encouraged, he handed over the neatly folded jacket to Leo.
“When you left,” the Eastern beauty politely expressed his gratitude, “you forgot to take this with you. I took the liberty of washing it and wanted to find a chance to return it…”
A slender arm, pale like lotus root, reached out, with dainty wrists and long fingers, even the fingertips were tinged with a light pink.
He was like a delicate porcelain figure.
Leo’s nose twitched slightly, sensing a faint, elusive fragrance. It wasn’t strong enough to identify as either floral or fruity; it lingered softly in the air, fleeting and barely perceptible.
Unfortunately, Leo’s sense of smell was extraordinary. He clearly detected a hint of something deliciously sweet.
“Thank you.” The tall, handsome man accepted the item from the Eastern beauty with a smile.
The loose uniform seemed to carry a hint of that faint fragrance as well.
“That’s great,” the little beauty with black hair appeared relieved, his eyes sparkling. “I thought you wouldn’t be here, and I wasn’t sure when I would get to come again…”
His words suddenly halted, and the slightly shy Eastern beauty seemed to think he’d spoken out of turn, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink as he apologized, “Sorry to bother you, I’ll go back now.”
As the delicate figure was about to turn away, a hand landed on his shoulder.
Turning his head, the tall and handsome man smiled at him, his brown eyes filled with warmth.
“Why don’t you sit down and rest for a while?” Leo suggested to the eager-to-leave Eastern beauty. “You look a bit tired. Where did you come from?”
The words of invitation caused the black-haired beauty to pause; hesitatingly, he was pulled into a chair by the tall man.
The office was relatively spacious, with chairs in the corner and a neat stack of documents on the desk.
Yan Chuan hesitated before sitting down opposite Leo.
“From the lobby, sir,” Yan Chuan answered Leo’s question. “I occasionally come by to deliver clothes, so I knew where your office was.”
He wasn’t speaking nonsense. Most of the time when he delivered clothes with a trolley, someone was there to handle the exchange, but occasionally he needed to bring them himself, delivering them to guards still on their break.
“I also asked other guards,” Yan Chuan glanced cautiously at the man’s expression, adding, “They said it was okay to come now. I hope I’m not disturbing you…?”
Perhaps it was his shy nature or simply timidity, but the black-haired beauty kept his eyes lowered, speaking with care as if afraid to provoke the man before him.
His posture was straight, knees together, wrists resting atop them, a bit stiff.
The oversized and ill-fitting outer jacket made him look even more delicate.
“Of course not,” the brown-eyed guard smiled gently. “My schedule is quite free right now.”
As if oblivious to the identity of the person before him, he served Yan Chuan a glass of water, and then produced a tray of candies from his drawer, like a magic trick.
They were the same as those from Doctor Navi’s place—glass-wrapped, shiny little candies.
Yan Chuan accepted the glass of water, glanced at the tray, then at Leo.
Does he really like sweets?
“Would you like to have some?” Leo asked gently, as if coaxing a disobedient child, his voice soft and focused on him. “You might enjoy this.”
The glass wrap reflected colorful lights under the lamplight, looking sweet and delightful.
Yan Chuan hesitated before choosing one.
“Thank you…” He wanted to explain to Leo that he wasn’t particularly fond of sweets, but he heard the other say, “After all, you look like you’re not over twenty.”
Yan Chuan felt that if the setting of the story weren’t in a prison, Leo would probably say to him, “You don’t seem to be of legal age yet.”
Well, compared to the mature looks of Westerners, the black-haired, black-eyed Eastern features certainly appeared youthful.
He had a natural advantage when it came to appearing pitiful.
Though that wasn’t the point, Yan Chuan felt compelled to argue slightly.
“I’m already over twenty,” his eyelashes trembled slightly. “I’ve outgrown the age for liking candies.”
The brown-eyed guard merely shrugged in response.
“Alright,” he continued to smile, being considerate of Yan Chuan’s feelings. “I shouldn’t have assumed, my mistake.”
Leo readily took the tray away, leaving just a few documents on the table.
The opened candy wrapper remained on the desk, casting a soft color reflection.
“I remember your name… Yan Chuan,” Leo suddenly pronounced his name clearly in proper Mandarin, his tone calm. “Is that these two characters?”
Suddenly called out, Yan Chuan reflexively nodded.
“Yes…” It had been a long time since someone called his name directly, and he was a bit disoriented; once he came to, he gently nodded.
“A beautiful name,” Leo commented, adding, “To be honest, I didn’t expect to see someone as lovely as you from the East in this prison.”