Chapter 20: Duplicity
At this moment, in the corridor outside Chen Bai’s ward.
Fu Yue finished that delicious dinner. He leaned against the window at the end of the corridor, watching the city lights outside transition from brilliant to sparse. He was waiting. Waiting for Pei Luomian to appear. Waiting for him to walk into Chen Bai’s ward.
However, he waited until past midnight, and there was no one in the corridor except the duty nurses who passed by on schedule. Fu Yue was starting to lose his patience.
The shirt that was originally damp on his body had long been dried by his body heat. Perhaps the effect of the painkillers had worn off. The areas where he had been beaten on his back rubbed against his clothes, sending waves of burning pain through him.
He stood up, walked to the nurse’s station, and asked, “Hello, could you tell me which floor Deputy Dean Pei’s office is on?”
Fu Yue thought that if the man really wouldn’t come out, he would find a way to “lure” him out. The young nurse caught sight of Fu Yue’s beautiful face, and her ears turned red. “Deputy Dean Pei? He’s on the 14th floor.”
“Thanks.”
Hearing this, Fu Yue rushed toward the elevator. He already had a “saucy” idea—no, a bad idea—in his head. For instance, he could falsely report that Chen Bai was feeling unwell; he didn’t believe this guy named Pei could just stand by and watch.
But—
When the elevator doors slid open on the 14th floor, what greeted him was darkness and silence. The expression on Fu Yue’s face froze. Refusing to give up, he walked to the door of the deputy dean’s office, only to find it tightly locked. On the electronic status board beside the door, two red characters were brightly lit—”Off Duty.”
What happened to the plot? The protagonist has been delivered to his doorstep, so how could it just vanish?
Fu Yue felt speechless for a while, but he quickly adjusted. It didn’t matter; the monk can run, but the temple can’t. There was still tomorrow. He dragged his weary steps back into the elevator and pressed the number “8” for Chen Bai’s ward floor.
The elevator descended smoothly.
Ding—
The moment the elevator doors opened on the 8th floor, another upward-bound elevator beside him made a crisp notification sound at almost the same time.
Ding—
Fu Yue had already stepped out. The other elevator doors slid open. A tall and cold figure walked out from inside. The man wore a well-tailored black cashmere coat, radiating a powerful aura that warned others not to approach.
Fu Yue turned to take a look. The man also stopped his footsteps, looking at Fu Yue. One was descending, one was ascending. One was in a wretched state, the other was in full power mode. The gaze that fell on Fu Yue wasn’t very friendly.
The newcomer was Ji Linyue.
He walked over, carrying an icy chill, but only gave Fu Yue a perfunctory nod before heading straight for Chen Bai’s ward. Once inside the room, Ji Linyue’s gaze locked firmly onto Chen Bai.
“The doctor said it’s acute gastric bleeding. There’s no danger now, but he needs rest,” Fu Yue explained to Ji Linyue.
Ji Linyue nodded and leaned over to carefully examine Chen Bai’s complexion, his movements carrying worry and anxiety. Chen Bai, who had woken from a light sleep, was still a bit dazed, staring blankly at the person before him, his eyes turning red again.
“Young Master Fu, thank you for sending him to the hospital.” Ji Linyue’s voice was very flat, revealing no emotion. He paused before continuing, “However, you should be aware that the two of you are currently involved in a scandal. So, for his sake and yours, please make sure to stay away from him.”
After saying this, Ji Linyue reached down and directly picked Chen Bai up—bedding and all—in a princess carry!
The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, domineering and practiced. Carrying the person in his arms, he strode out of the ward without looking back, leaving only his back to Fu Yue.
The sound of footsteps faded at the end of the corridor. The world returned to silence. Fu Yue stood where he was, facing an empty hospital bed.
He was completely speechless. Ji Linyue… just took Chen Bai away like that? He didn’t even spare the hospital’s blanket.
Then what about the plot between Chen Bai and Pei Luomian? Before the drama of Pei Luomian’s love at first sight and Ji Linyue’s jealous “shura field” could even begin, one of the male leads was carried away by the other?!
“System, what’s going on? The plotline is a mess!”
The system’s tone was very calm:
[Host, side plots between the protagonist and important supporting characters are not mandatory. As long as it doesn’t affect the emotional development of the main CP, it’s fine.]
“So you mean Pei Luomian’s sub-plot is optional?”
[Host, you can understand it that way. Your priority is to repair and escalate the feelings between the main CP as soon as possible.]
“Fine…” Fu Yue rubbed his temples and accepted the fact.
He couldn’t help but remember that just a few days ago, Ji Linyue was still having a great conversation with him. But just now, that man didn’t spare him even a single extra glance; his attention was entirely on Chen Bai—but that was a good thing, showing that Ji Linyue cared enough about his little boyfriend.
Now, he faced a more severe and practical problem.
He was penniless. His balance in the mobile payment app was zero, he didn’t have a cent in his wallet, his body was covered in injuries, and he still owed Chen Bai’s landlord eighty yuan.
His original plan was to spend the night on the escort bed in the hospital. Tomorrow, when Chen Bai woke up, he would shamelessly discuss staying at his place for a few days. Once Chen Bai repaid his medical fees, he would go and rent a place.
But now, the person was gone, and the room was empty. His “lifeline” had been uprooted and carried away by Ji Linyue. Fu Yue stood in the empty ward, feeling the deep malice the novel world held for him.
“System, let’s discuss something.”
[Host, please speak.]
“Can you let me use the invisibility and teleportation functions once? I’ll go to a bank vault and grab a couple of gold bricks for an emergency.”
The system was silent for two seconds.
[Apologies, Host. All special abilities of this system can only be used to advance the main CP plot and do not support any form of abuse.]
“…”
Less than half an hour after Chen Bai was taken away, staff came to tidy up the ward. Fu Yue hurried out. It would be very awkward if the hospital asked him to pay for that blanket Ji Linyue had made off with.
Walking out of Mary Hospital’s main gate, the rain had lessened, becoming a dense drizzle. Fu Yue had nowhere to go, so he instinctively crossed the road and sat under a bus stop shelter. The injuries on his back were becoming more and more painful. The early winter wind was very cold; he wrapped his arms tightly, but the chill still seeped into his bones from every limb.
At this moment, a black Rolls-Royce silently cut through the rain, driving from a distance. In the backseat, Ji Hanmo’s face was dark. Today was supposed to be the dinner between the Ji Group and the European investment bank, Lionheart Capital. Yet Ji Linyue, who was supposed to represent the Ji Group, had simply vanished.
Ji Hanmo could only end another meeting early and rush over to save the situation himself. He naturally knew why Ji Linyue had done it. Since this afternoon, that news had been causing a stir. Ji Linyue’s little boyfriend named Chen Bai had been involved in an unseemly scandal with Fu Yue.
“Hmph.” A very light cold snort was exceptionally clear in the quiet cabin.
The luxury car slowly drove past that lonely bus stop. The expensive tinted privacy windows divided the inside and outside of the car into two worlds. One was a warm, dry, temperature-controlled space, where Ji Hanmo leaned against the leather seat with an unreadable expression. Outside the car was the cold, desperate rain.
Fu Yue sat on the metal bench, rainwater dripping from his pale jawline, his entire figure blurred into a wretched shadow.
Buzz—buzz—
Ji Hanmo’s phone screen lit up. His gaze moved slightly as he glanced at the screen. It was a call from his assistant, Monica.
“Boss, I’ve just confirmed that Master Linyue went to Mary Hospital. He took Mr. Chen Bai home.”
“Mmh.” Ji Hanmo gave a faint response.
“In addition,” Monica paused and added, “Mr. Chen Bai was sent to the hospital by Mr. Fu Yue. No media captured any photos.”
“When he picked him up, were there any conflicts?” Ji Hanmo’s voice was low as he asked a question with no context.
But Monica had followed him for so many years, so she naturally knew who her boss was asking about.
“Master Linyue picked up Chen Bai and left directly. He was very polite to Young Master Fu; there was no conflict.” Monica’s voice was efficient and professional.
The call ended, and Ji Hanmo’s fingertip traced a circle on his knee. He looked up and out the window. The car was near Mary Hospital. Through the window, he could see the light and shadow of the red cross on that building through the blurry rain.
“Turn around.” Ji Hanmo suddenly spoke. “Go to Mary Hospital.”
The driver in the front row was stunned. He carefully looked at his boss’s expression in the rearview mirror and asked hesitantly, “Boss, are you feeling unwell?”
Ji Hanmo didn’t answer; he just looked out the window at the misty streets with those bottomless eyes. The driver felt a chill on the back of his neck, knowing he had spoken too much. He immediately shut his mouth and steadily turned the steering wheel, making a U-turn at the intersection.
When the car passed the bus stop again, there was a curled-up “vagrant” whose face couldn’t be seen. That vagrant seemed to have exhausted all his strength; his body swayed, and then he slowly and silently slid off the bench and fell into the cold puddle.
The Rolls-Royce stopped in front of Mary Hospital’s emergency building. Immediately, a staff member with an umbrella came forward to open the car door. Ji Hanmo walked into the brightly lit emergency hall with an icy aura, heading toward the triage desk.
“I’m looking for Fu Yue.”
The triage nurse was intimidated by his powerful aura and took a moment to react. “Are you looking for Young Master Fu? He seemed quite seriously injured; he might have gone to surgical emergency.”
Seriously injured? Surgical emergency?
Ji Hanmo loosened his tie and strode toward the surgical emergency area. The area wasn’t large, and there were only two rooms. Upon inquiry, they hadn’t received anyone named Fu Yue.
Ji Hanmo stood in the busy corridor, and a sense of absurdity seized him. What was he doing?
Sitting back in the car, he sank into the soft backseat. The low pressure around him made the driver tremble with fear. “Boss, are we going home?”
Ji Hanmo didn’t answer immediately. He closed his eyes, trying to calm that inexplicable irritation in his chest. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze had returned to its usual calm and indifference. He tapped the car window with his knuckles. “Back to the company.”
The Rolls-Royce’s engine started, and the black luxury car drove out of the hospital gates through the rain. Ji Hanmo hesitated for a while before unlocking his phone. But just as he unlocked it, a call from an unknown number suddenly lit up. It was a landline.
Without thinking, Ji Hanmo reached out to swipe away the call. However, less than two seconds after the screen went dark, the call screen lit up again persistently. It was the same number.
A trace of impatience rarely appeared in Ji Hanmo’s eyes. He reached out his finger to press the red decline button but accidentally swiped on the screen. He hit the green call button and connected.
A faint static sound came from the other end. Following that, a voice so weak it seemed it could be blown away by the wind came through:
“Chairman Ji…”
the voice was as thin as a thread, yet exceptionally familiar. It was Fu Yue.
“Fu Yue, where are you?” Ji Hanmo asked in a deep voice, his brow furrowing.
“Chairman Ji,” the person on the other end seemed to be gathering strength, every breath sounding like a tremor, “do you need someone… to work for you?”
Recommended Reads
![The League’s Hei Yueguang Has Fought His Way Back [E-sports]](https://beereads.space/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/hei-214x300.jpg)
