Chapter 12

Chapter 12

As they approached the highway exit, the driver reported, “Mr. Fu, the road is clear at this time. We should arrive at our destination, Jinse Tai, in about two hours.”

Fu Yunzhe instructed him to drive safely, then turned to Yu He and said, “If you get car sick easily, you might want to take a nap.”

Yu He is extremely careful with his body, treating it as if it were borrowed. He uses it sparingly, opting to rest whenever possible.

Upon hearing Fu Yunzhe say this, Yu He immediately leaned his head on Fu Yunzhe's shoulder, his stiff hair carelessly brushing against Fu Yunzhe’s face.

He caught the scent of Fu Yunzhe’s shower gel again, a light and pleasant fragrance.

Fu Yunzhe parted Yu He’s hair with his hand.

“Your hair is quite prickly on the face.” After speaking, Fu Yunzhe lifted the cashmere blanket from his legs, patted his thigh, and made a space for Yu He to lounge. “Lie down here.”

The driver saw this scene through the rearview mirror and couldn’t help but turn around to steal a glance, momentarily forgetting to drive.

Fu Yunzhe shot the driver a cold look, prompting him to quickly turn back around and raise the partition.

With the buzzing sound of the partition rising, the back seat became a relatively secluded space.

Yu He’s head, which had been resting on Fu Yunzhe’s shoulder, lifted slightly. From this angle, he couldn’t see Fu Yunzhe's expression; he could only see a stunningly photogenic jawline.

He placed his hand on Fu Yunzhe’s leg, pressing down twice. “Is this okay?”

“Mmm,” Fu Yunzhe responded. “It’s not like it’s of any use to me anyway; you might as well use it as a pillow.”

Fu Yunzhe appeared to be at ease, but Yu He knew that Fu Yunzhe’s inner feelings were certainly not as relaxed as he made them seem. He wanted to ask what exactly was wrong with Fu Yunzhe’s leg, but he knew that even if Fu Yunzhe explained, he wouldn’t understand, and it would just be irritating.

Broad and vague concern for others’ misfortunes can seem very insincere.

Fu Yunzhe doesn’t need sympathy. He is a tall and mature man, and even with a disability, he maintains his independence and has his own habits and lifestyle. He never needs anyone to intentionally take care of his life or his feelings.

Thus, Yu He happily accepted Fu Yunzhe’s offer, turned on his side, and lay down, resting his head on Fu Yunzhe’s thigh.

Fu Yunzhe covered Yu He’s shoulders with the blanket, his fingers running through Yu He’s coarse hair, unconsciously smoothing down the unruly strands.

“Is my head heavy?” Yu He shifted his position, lying flat on his back on the seat, looking up at Fu Yunzhe’s chin.

Fu Yunzhe looked down and locked eyes with Yu He, his handsome brows and eyes devoid of any particular emotion as he calmly stated, “My legs have no sensation.”

Yu He was taken aback, at a loss for words for a moment.

All too often, the finest things are not durable; like a cloud that easily dissipates, colored glass is fragile.

Even a person like Fu Yunzheong couldn’t escape the tribulations of life, finding himself bound to a wheelchair during his prime years.

Yu He’s lofty brows unconsciously furrowed, his eyes filled with complex emotions, resembling both compassion and regret.

When Fu Yunzheong received his diagnostic results, he had already seen similar expressions on the faces of many others.

Strangely, when others showed such expressions, Fu Yunzheong felt irritated and annoyed; but when Yu He did, he found it quite adorable.

Little Crane cares for him deeply.

Fu Yunzheong’s broad palm covered Yu He’s eyes as he intentionally said, "You needn't pity me."

Little Crane has a tender heart and certainly can’t bear to hear such words.

As expected, Yu He immediately reached out to grasp Fu Yunzheong’s hand, pulled it down to kiss it, wrapped his arms around Fu Yunzheong’s waist, and buried his face in Fu Yunzheong’s abdomen, awkwardly changing the subject: "I feel car sick."

Fu Yunzheong’s lips slightly pursed, hiding a faint smile in his eyes, as he tucked the cashmere blanket around Yu He, "Go to sleep."

Yu He already had difficulty falling asleep, and the carriage was too quiet. He should have been tossing and turning, especially after lying down all morning.

Yet, as he lay in Fu Yunzheong’s arms, all he could breathe in was the pleasant scent of Fu Yunzheong.

Apart from the scent of soap, there was also a faint bitterness, like old ginseng in pigeon soup or some other precious Chinese medicine.

Fu Yunzheong always swallowed a mix of pills — red, green, and white — in one go, which made Yu He quite alarmed.

Could all these medicines cause any strange chemical reactions inside the body?

Besides Western medicine, Fu Yunzheong also had to drink a bowl of thick Chinese medicine every night before going to bed.

Oh, that's right, it became a nightly routine ever since Yu He started staying at Fu's residence.

The night Yu He shared a room with Fu Yunzheong, the latter did not drink his medicine. After being discovered by Uncle Zhang, the task of bringing Fu Yunzheong his medicine every night fell to Yu He.

“Young people don’t like the taste of medicine, right?”

Uncle Zhang was quite helpless; even though he was an old servant of the Fu family, his status had its limits, and he couldn’t control Fu Yunzheong. He could only ask Yu He to persuade him: "But you must drink the Chinese medicine on time, or it won't be as effective."

The Chinese medicine was very bitter, but Yu He didn’t mind it.

He loved the scent of Fu Yunzheong.

With his mind as unrestrained as a wild horse, Yu He actually managed to fall asleep in no time.

This was a different sensation compared to dozing off at a dining table; Yu He slipped into a deep sleep, and upon waking up, his entire state of mind had significantly improved.

*

Wang Wuchuan swiped his card at the elevator and took Yu He upstairs, saying, “How did you get so tired? I waited for you to wake up as soon as I arrived in Yun Su, and then you slept all the way back in the car.”

Rubbing his eyes, Yu He responded, “I can’t sleep without my headphones at night, so I came back to get them, didn’t I?”

Jinse Tai only opens at 5:30 in the evening, making 2:00 in the afternoon the quietest time of the day. The elevator smoothly took them directly to the guest rooms without any stops.

Knowing that Yu He wouldn’t be staying at Jinse Tai for long, Wang Wuchuan didn’t arrange a dormitory for him. Instead, he found a suite in the guest room area for him to stay in.

Arriving at the door of the suite, Wang Wuchuan knocked first, preventing any possibility of other guests, perhaps intoxicated, from entering the wrong room. Seeing that no one responded after a while, he swiped his card to open the door.

Yu He didn’t have many belongings. He brought almost nothing when he moved into Jinse Tai, buying essentials like headphones and chargers after his arrival.

Yu He’s return to Jinse Tai wasn’t really for these items.

He came back to retrieve an old photo. His foster father, Yu Shiqin, told him that the young couple in the photo were his biological parents.

The real young master, Yu Qingyan, had been taken back by the Yu family, but Yu He had no idea where his biological parents were, and no one had told him.

Yu He reached into the pocket of his old clothes, found the photo, but didn’t take it out to look at it. Instead, he simply rolled up the clothes and packed them along with various other odds and ends.

Seeing Yu He carrying a pile of stuff out, Wang Wuchuan offered, “Let me find you a bag.” He pressed the intercom button in the room, “Front desk, can you send a bag to room 1203?”

From the intercom: “Received.”

Half a minute later, a cleaning lady delivered a black plastic bag.

Wang Wuchuan: “......”

Yu He, unbothered, shook open the plastic bag, put all his things inside, and carried it out with one hand, saying, “Thanks, Manager Wang.”

Wang Wuchuan had never seen a wealthier kid who was as easygoing as Yu He.

Carrying his belongings in a trash-bag-like pouch, would Yu He really not be kicked out of the car by Fu Yunzheong?

Wang Wuchuan said, “Hold on a moment, I’ll find you a better bag.”

Before Yu He could decline, Wang Wuchuan had already hurried off, leaving Yu He no choice but to let him be.

It seemed Wang Wuchuan was worried that carrying such an item would tarnish the reputation of Jinse Tai. Yu He called out behind him, “Then, I’ll go find Xiao En at the staff dormitory.”

Wang Wuchuan waved his hand and instructed the cleaning lady, “Please help him with the card swipe.”

The staff dormitory was just downstairs from the guest rooms. Yu He could take the stairs even without the cleaning lady’s help, so he told her it wasn’t necessary.

The cleaning lady said, “Oh dear, the lights in the stairwell are still out of order!”

Yu He figured it was just one floor, so he could just use his phone’s flashlight.

Pushing open the fire door, he started descending the stairs, phone in hand. Just then, he heard a man’s voice.

The man was saying, “You’ve been selling on the side, so why can’t you deal with me?”

Wow, this sounds like gossip.

A sense of excitement surged within Yu He. He pocketed his phone, tiptoed down the stairs, and pricked up his ears near the corner of the wall.

“You think this is funny?”

A youthful voice responded. This teenager’s voice was exceptionally tender—a timbre Yu He could never achieve, no matter how he pitched his voice. It echoed through the stairwell, ethereal and vulnerable, yet the words spoken were anything but soft: “Because you don’t pay.”

Damn, Yu He cursed internally. How could he not pay? That’s just outrageous.

Completely unacceptable.

After a rustling noise, there was silence. Yu He thought to himself, don’t you dare start doing anything inappropriate for children here in the stairwell—I’m still a minor and don’t want to see any of that!

He descended two more steps.

The stairwell was exceptionally dark; it seemed like the sound-activated lights were broken. They hadn’t come on when the two were talking earlier, otherwise, Yu He wouldn’t have dared to openly eavesdrop around the corner.

In such dark conditions, most people’s eyes would adapt and they would be able to roughly make out shapes.

However, Yu He was different. Perhaps because he didn't like eating carrots, he suffered from severe night blindness. Even though he couldn’t see, he still squinted his eyes, trying to discern how many more steps were left in the staircase.

Based on Yu He’s past experiences, this was a sign that trouble was brewing.

He had taken a fall today, and he was sure that more misfortunes were awaiting him; he definitely did not want to end up tumbling down the stairs.

The fall at noon had left his pelvis in pain even now.

It seemed like the heavens had noticed Yu He's dilemma and generously decided to solve it for him.

'Slap.' A loud sound of a slap echoed through the area.

It was loud enough.

Even the sound-activated light turned on.

Yu He stood on the stairs, staring face to face with the two people around the corner.

The situation was awkward for a moment, but Yu He kept his composure and calmly said, "Sorry to interrupt."

He gracefully stepped down the stairs, passing through the two people, "Excuse me."

"Yu He!" one of the men grabbed Yu He's arm, "What are you doing here?!"

The young man in uniform beside him tugged at the man, "Chen Biao!"

Chen Biao?

Hearing this familiar name, Yu He turned to look at the man.

It was indeed the same man from Yu He’s first day at Jinse Tower, who had intentionally caused trouble.

“Boss Chen,” Yu He spoke slowly, “What a coincidence. Did you compensate for the tablet?”

The uniformed young man pulled Chen Biao’s hand away and gently pushed Yu He, offering a way out, "Young Master Yu, were you looking for Xiao En? I can take you to him."

Seeing that the young man had no intention of arguing with Chen Biao, Yu He nodded and, following the young man's guidance, walked out. After descending a few steps, he looked back to find Chen Biao grabbing the young man again.

Yu He’s eyebrows slightly furrowed as he turned back and stood beside the young man, “Boss Chen, you support...” Yu He glanced at the work badge on the young man's chest, “...the Lanqi scene, don't make a scene in the stairwell. It doesn’t suit your status.”

Chen Biao’s face turned red in an instant, pointing at Yu He, he said, “I heard you've been kept by someone, I didn’t believe it at first, but looking at you walking with a limp, that’s a look of kidney deficiency if I ever saw one. Still got the energy to stand up for others when you’re like this? Better take care of yourself first.”

Chen Biao turned his head and spat, "Loser, you pissed me off that night. If Lanqi hadn’t stopped me, I would have beaten you to death."