The Fake Son Wants to Live [BL]

Chapter 160: Chapter 160 - Travel companion

Dican blinked slowly, eyes fixed on the young man standing in front of him. The human looked barely older than a teen, awkward in his posture, hands wringing nervously in front of him. His features were soft, unsure—yet unmistakably kind.

But Dican didn’t have time for this.

He couldn’t afford to stand here, not when Bian could still be out there... waiting.

And yet—

His leg throbbed beneath him. The golden liquid dripped steadily into the hay, pooling slightly around his foot. His muscles felt like lead and every breath came heavier than the last. Even he didn’t understand why his body was reacting like this.

The wound wasn’t supposed to be this deep. Or this persistent.

It didn’t make sense.

With a frustrated sigh, Dican raised a hand to his forehead and pressed his palm against the sweat-dampened skin.

”I can’t let him wait for so long...” he muttered under his breath. ”I need to get to him.”

Without another word, he began hobbling toward the barn door, his gait stubborn and uneven. The boards creaked beneath his bare footfalls.

”W–what if you collapse again?” the voice behind him called out, laced with concern.

Dican paused, hand grazing the barn door’s edge.

He turned his head slightly, and that’s when he caught it—really saw it.

The young man, standing near the haystack now, with the faintest flush still on his cheeks, his soft blond hair streaked with messy black roots. His eyes... those wide, worried eyes followed Dican like he truly feared for him.

”I can handle it,” he said after a moment, voice lower now, less cold.

It wasn’t entirely true. His legs felt like they might give in at any second. His body still hadn’t healed right. And his memory... remained a foggy mess. But the urgency gnawed at him worse than the pain.

He was already starting to feel dizzy. Gripping the barn door he kept himself upright. ’ I have to be strong... I have to get back to bian... I cant afford to leave him all alone in that rubble.. I have to get to him quickly.. the spaceship... It must be close right... if I can get to it..’ he started to hobble out the barn

”Wait,” the young man said suddenly, taking a step closer to him. ”I... I’ll come with you. It’s better to go together.”

Dican blinked utterly confused by this. ”No,” he said firmly, shaking his head, ignoring the way his balance wavered when he did. ”You don’t need to. I can handle it.”

But the human gave him a skeptical look, one brow raised.

”Do you know how I found you?” the boy asked, his voice rising slightly, the frustration surfacing now. ”You were face down in the mud. Your face was all caked up with dirt. Your wound was bleeding that weird golden thing...I thought you were already—”

He swallowed.

”If I had left you out there, you would’ve been eaten by that alien. You were that close to being dead.”

Dican’s jaw tightened.

”What if you collapse again?” the boy continued, stepping forward. ”What if they find you when you’re at your weakest? You’d be gone, and you wouldn’t even know it. Worse what if other bad people found you. You are not human and this wound clearly proved that. They will hurt you and you would not even be able to fought back....”

Before Dican could argue, the boy turned and marched back to the haystack, bending over to grab something. He returned holding a small makeshift bag—nothing more than an old shirt tied up at the sleeves. He stuffed into it a nearly full bottle of milk and another bottle that looked like homemade jam.

”Let’s go,” he said with quiet determination. ”I’ll make sure you get there safe.”

Dican stared at him. His first instinct was still to refuse.

”I don’t have time to take care of another human,” he muttered, more to himself than to the boy. ”... he’s already waiting for me. He’s alone. I need to get to him. I can’t waste time.”

But even as he said it, the pain in his leg pulsed again—sharp, deep. The golden blood continued to seep through the cloth wrapped haphazardly around the wound. He couldn’t ignore it. And now, he was caught in a dilemma.

His mind warred with itself. He couldn’t leave Bian waiting. But if he collapsed again out there, he’d never reach him at all.

As if sensing his struggle, the young man walked up to him without another word. His smaller hand gently reached out, lifting Dican’s arm and looping it around his own shoulders.

Dican stiffened immediately. The contact made his skin burn in a way he wasn’t expecting. Not from pain. Something else entirely.

He could feel the warmth of the boy’s body, feel the subtle rise and fall of his breathing. His heartbeat—steady and calm. And weirdly, his own heartbeat skipped a little in response.

Dican tried to pull away. ”Don’t—”

”Don’t be stupid,” the boy interrupted. ”You’ll pull us both down if you try to act all macho alien man.”

Dican blinked. ”Macho... what?”

”You need to know when to ask for help,” the human added as if that explained everything. ”Besides... I’m also going to the city.”

He glanced at Dican with a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. ”I have to get to my grandpa’s orchard. I might need company too.”

Then he gave Dican a full smile.

It was bright. Dazzling, even.

It caught Dican completely off guard, and for a brief moment, something inside his chest skipped again. Something tightened. His breath caught.

Why... why did that smile make his heart stutter like this?

The boy tilted his head, still supporting him.

”Will you be my travel companion?” he asked with an innocent grin.

Dican stared at him, heart still thudding strangely in his chest.

He didn’t understand what this feeling was. He didn’t know who this boy really was, and why he was being so kind. He didn’t even know his name.

But for some reason, he didn’t want to say no.