Chapter 72: Taking Him In — Ge saved me again, I belong to Ge…
Jiang Yan’s eyelids trembled a few times, slowly lifting as his consciousness returned. His blurry vision gradually focused, revealing the familiar ceiling, the familiar curtain patterns, even the long-lost scent of home in the air—exactly the same as in his memories.
For a trance-like moment, it felt both real and like an illusion, as if nothing had happened. His Ge hadn’t kicked him out, there was no resistance or rejection, everything remained at the beginning, in those daily lives surrounded by love.
However, the dizziness in his head and the sensation of a damp towel on his forehead pulled him back to reality. He turned his head; on the bedside table sat a cup of water and a few white pills.
It wasn’t an illusion. His Ge had brought him home and was taking care of him.
An indescribable sourness mixed with a touch of joy surged in his heart, almost making his eyes burn. His Ge was willing to do this… did it mean… did it mean he didn’t hate him that much? Did he still have a chance?
He propped up his weak body, trying to sit up, his movements carrying a trace of urgent need for confirmation. At the same time, the light at the bedroom door was blocked by a slender figure.
Jiang Yunian stood there wearing soft home loungewear, his expression flat, reflecting no ripples of emotion. The weak flame Jiang Yan had just kindled was silently extinguished by half.
Jiang Yunian didn’t enter. His pale knuckles pointed through the air at the bedside table. “Take the medicine and leave.”
Jiang Yan’s body, half sat up, went rigid. The joy that had unconsciously surfaced on his sickly face gradually dimmed until it vanished without a trace. He lowered his eyelashes, his dry throat carrying a self-mocking rasp. “Why save me?”
He lifted his eyes, looking straight at that soft figure in his memory, red blood vessels surfacing in the depths of his eyes. “Doesn’t Ge hate me the most?”
Jiang Yunian avoided his gaze, his tone even, trying his best to look calm. “Don’t think too much. I just didn’t want you dying on my doorstep.”
Putting everything else aside, that was a fact. Neighbors lived all around; he couldn’t really let him freeze to death at his door, or how would others see him? Moreover, even if it were a stranger, he couldn’t just stand by and watch them die.
Jiang Yunian suddenly thought that his meeting with Jiang Yan was destined. If he did it over again, he would still save him. It was an unsolvable proposition.
This tone, equating him to a stranger, cut off Jiang Yan’s last shred of hope. He lay back on the bed as if deflated, pulling at his discomfort and letting out a few coughs. Then, he grandly occupied the bed, his pale face revealing a stubbornness of “smashing the broken jar” (giving up/recklessness).
“I’m not leaving,” he said. “Ge saved me again. I belong to Ge. Except for here, I’m not going anywhere.”
Jiang Yunian hadn’t expected this. He was truly shocked by his thick skin. A wave of embarrassed anger rose in his chest. His personality was soft; he wasn’t good at arguing with people, let alone facing Jiang Yan’s almost rogue behavior. His fair little face turned redder and redder, yet he couldn’t come up with a retort immediately.
Jiang Yan peeked at his expression, afraid of provoking the rabbit too much, and used his killer move. “Ge, I’m sick… cough… no strength, can’t walk either. Ge chasing me away now is no different from telling me to go die directly…”
As he spoke, he watched the other’s reaction, suppressing a couple of coughs at the right moment—acting the part quite well.
“You…” Jiang Yunian was blocked by these words until his chest felt tight, as if he really had become some unpardonable villain. He turned away angrily, not wanting to share a room with this unreasonable person. “If you won’t leave, I will.”
Seeing his Ge really about to leave, Jiang Yan’s heart tightened violently, thinking he was going down to find Lu Yuanbai. In his desperation, he got out of bed regardless of everything to try and stop him. But he was still running a fever; even a body of copper and iron couldn’t withstand his tossing. Added to his rushed movements, he stumbled after only a few steps and fell to the ground, rarely looking so wretched.
The noise indeed stopped Jiang Yunian at the door. He turned back to see Jiang Yan’s nearly 1.9-meter frame collapsed on the floor like a towering building crashing down. He was startled. Disregarding everything else, he almost trotted back, squatting down to nervously support his arm. “You… what are you doing?”
Jiang Yan was pleased by the undisguised nervousness on his face. Although the fall hurt all over, he still pulled a smile. He lifted his eyes, weak but with a hint of success, looking at Jiang Yunian. “Ge is so nervous about me… can you really bear to chase me away?”
Jiang Yunian looked at him holding on, his lips bloodless. The rejection that had reached his lips couldn’t be spoken no matter what. He pursed his lips tightly, struggling to help the person up from the floor and settle him back on the bed. Then he picked up the medicine and water from the bedside table and stuffed them into Jiang Yan’s hands, his tone stiff. “Take the medicine.”
Jiang Yan accepted it obediently, but his gaze seemed glued to Jiang Yunian, unblinking, greedily tracing his brows and eyes as if every second looking was a second gained. He didn’t even look at the things in his hand. Even if it were poison, as long as it was given by his Ge, he would drink it willingly. He stuffed the pills into his mouth indiscriminately and guzzled a large mouthful of water. Because he drank too fast, water spilled from the corner of his mouth, sliding down his jawline, but he didn’t care at all.
Jiang Yunian looked away and stood up.
“Ge,” Jiang Yan called out to him, afraid he would leave again.
Jiang Yunian didn’t look back. His steps paused, and after a silence of a few seconds, he left a low sentence: “Once you’re better, leave immediately.”
Hearing this, it was tantamount to a pardon for Jiang Yan. His eyes lit up, revealing a “childishness” rare for him at this age. He looked at his Ge’s back, hoping this illness would heal a little slower, and slower still—best if it never healed, so his Ge would have no reason to chase him away.
However, even though he obtained temporary residence rights, Jiang Yunian didn’t give him any chance to get close. Over the next few days, he stayed at school almost all day—library, study room, anywhere without Jiang Yan was fine. He came back very late at night, turning a blind eye to the attentive Jiang Yan. He wouldn’t touch a bite of the food on the table prepared for him, preferring to cook a bowl of plain noodles for himself. The only communication between the two was Jiang Yunian’s daily routine inquiry: “Are you better?”
Usually, at this time, the topic would be ended by a series of deliberately produced coughs.
Despite this, Jiang Yan wasn’t discouraged; instead, he saw a glimmer of hope. Being able to stay, to breathe the same air, to see his Ge every day—this was already huge progress. His Ge was soft-hearted; he had plenty of patience to grind slowly. He would eventually wait for the day his Ge truly accepted him again.
He was certain.
When school let out, fine snow began to fall from the sky again. Lu Yuanbai waited at the entrance of the teaching building with an umbrella. Seeing Jiang Yunian come out, he walked slowly to meet him.
“The snow is getting heavier. Shall I take you back?”
Jiang Yunian looked at the Senior who had come specially and felt troubled. With a certain guy occupying his home who refused to leave, how could he dare bring the Senior back? The two had never gotten along; who knew what kind of unmanageable scene would erupt then?
“Better not, Senior. I… still have something to do. I’ll go back myself later.” As he spoke, he didn’t even dare look at Lu Yuanbai’s face too much. Dropping this sentence, he lowered his head, wrapped his coat tighter, and hurriedly merged into the swirling curtain of snow.
Lu Yuanbai stood in place, watching his almost fleeing back. The hand holding the umbrella lowered slightly, a helpless, bitter smile playing on his lips. Jiang Yunian was even harder to chase than he imagined. It seemed the mission of wooing him had a long way to go…
Jiang Yunian walked alone on the way home. The snow fell heavier and heavier; pedestrians on the street were few, making it exceptionally bleak. He shrank his neck, trying to bury half his face in his warm scarf to resist the biting cold wind. Suddenly, two men wearing black down jackets and masks appeared at the intersection ahead, blocking his path directly. They were burly with cold eyes—obviously not ordinary people.
Jiang Yunian’s heart skipped a beat. He turned to go back, only to find two similarly dressed men standing behind him as well. He was instantly surrounded in the middle. His heart began to pound violently uncontrollably, his fingers turning ice cold. He shrank his shoulders timidly, his voice trembling, “W-what do you want?”
One of them spoke, his voice flat. “Our Chairman wants to see you.”
“Ch… Chairman?”
“Did you find the wrong person… I don’t know any Chairman…”
Jiang Yunian was forced into a black car. The interior was spacious and luxuriously decorated, making him even more uneasy. The car sped all the way, finally stopping in front of a villa in the suburbs.
The bodyguards withdrew, replaced by a handsome man in a suit leading him through retro, ornate gates and down a corridor paved with thick carpet, into a room that looked like a parlor. The room was elegantly furnished; every detail displayed understated luxury.
“Mr. Jiang, please wait here a moment. Our Chairman will be here shortly.”
Jiang Yunian was surprised that they knew his identity so clearly. “Wait, you know me? Who are you people? Why bring me here?”
The other party replied in a business-like manner, telling him not to worry. “Our Chairman is a shareholder of the Nan University Charity Foundation. He simply wishes to check on the students he sponsors. You just need to wait here.”
The man in the suit nodded respectfully, turned, and left, gently closing the door.
Nan University Charity Foundation?
If he remembered correctly, the Nan University Charity Foundation was mainly used for building construction and sponsoring poor students. His scholarship came from this source, so it made sense. But “checking in” using this method was truly bizarre. Perhaps this was how tycoons operated; they always had to have some pomp.
Jiang Yunian stood uneasily in the center of the room, looking at the decorations that appeared expensive. He didn’t dare sit, nor did he dare drink the tea that had been poured.
After waiting for nearly ten minutes, just as his palms began to sweat, the door was finally pushed open again. The man in the suit from before pushed a wheelchair in. In the wheelchair sat an elderly man. He wore a finely textured Chinese-style jacket. Although his face carried a sickly pallor and his temples were gray, those eyes were unusually sharp, carrying the authority of someone long in power.
Jiang Yunian looked at the old man’s face. First, he felt it was somewhat familiar, then his eyes widened abruptly, and his breath hitched.
“Qi… Qi…” He almost couldn’t believe his eyes.
The Chairman of Qi Sheng Group—Qi Nanshan!
Jiang Yunian was completely stunned, his mind blank. He couldn’t imagine why such a big shot would personally see him.
Qi Nanshan was pushed to the rosewood tea table. He scrutinized the obviously nervous and uneasy young man across from him without leaving a trace. Jiang Yunian stood there, two fingers twisting together helplessly, head slightly lowered, his eyes timid.
Aside from his looks, he seemed… like someone who knew his place. Hopefully, he wasn’t a troublemaker.
The sternness on Qi Nanshan’s face softened, revealing a smile that could be called amiable. He pointed to the chair opposite. “Sit.”
Jiang Yunian was overwhelmed by the favor. He hadn’t expected a figure like this to know his name. He nodded, started to say “Grandpa,” then felt it was inappropriate and immediately corrected himself, “H-Hello, Chairman Qi.”
“No need to be so formal.” Qi Nanshan appeared very easygoing. Then, just as his assistant had said earlier, he chatted with him like an elder concerned about a junior. He asked how his studies were going, if he had any difficulties in life, and if the scholarship was enough. Jiang Yunian answered everything one by one. Qi Nanshan listened, nodding occasionally. “A motivated good child.”
The topic shifted unknowingly. Qi Nanshan seemed to ask casually, “Have you got a girlfriend at school?”
Was this… also a form of checking in?
Jiang Yunian shook his head a bit shyly. “No.”
Qi Nanshan lifted his teacup and took a sip, narrowing his eyes slightly, sweeping a glance across seemingly unintentionally. “Then… what about a boyfriend?”
Recommended Reads
