Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was a gaze that carried a hint of scrutiny.

The man, holding a suit in his right hand, wore only a white shirt, his posture upright, exuding elegance and handsomeness.

But his demeanor was exceptionally cold, radiating an aura that kept strangers at a distance.

Especially his narrow, deep-set eyes, which gazed at people with a cold, noble air, as if he were inherently superior.

Su Xingyao did not recognize this exceptionally handsome man.

He had never encountered him before.

But at first glance, a name instantly came to mind—

Lu Jiuxu.

A man described as a ruthless and unhinged tycoon.

The sole major antagonist in the novel, one of the few men who did not cater to Shen Huaixi.

Later, after his death, he suddenly launched indiscriminate attacks on the protagonist group centered around Shen Huaixi, nearly annihilating them—a business tycoon.

Su Xingyao recalled that in the book, Lu Jiuxu was most often described as cold, violent, sinister, and vicious.

So he had preconceived notions that the other would be someone who appeared very intimidating, someone whose mere gaze could exert immense pressure.

But now, the man stood not far from him, and when their eyes met, the first feeling that arose in his heart was one of familiarity and warmth.

As if they had known each other before, there was an immediate sense of goodwill.

Su Xingyao found it somewhat puzzling.

But then he thought, perhaps it was because both of them were victims of the plot, set up as mere stepping stones and cannon fodder on the protagonist's path to success without any justification.

Moreover, Lu Jiuxu had saved him, making him his undeniable savior.

Thinking of this, Su Xingyao met the man's gaze and offered a subtle smile.

Upon seeing this smile, a flicker of surprise crossed Lu Jiuxu's eyes.

But there was no noticeable change on his face. He gave a slight nod to Su Xingyao and spoke in a neutral tone, "You're awake."

"Yes, I just woke up a little while ago."

Su Xingyao responded naturally, without the awkwardness or distance typically felt with a stranger.

Seeing Lu Jiuxu return suddenly, Aunt Zhang called out "Mr. Lu" and promptly got up to pour him a glass of water.

"Xiao Yao woke up about half an hour ago, and Dr. Lin should be here soon."

Lu Jiuxu acknowledged with a hum, handed his suit to Aunt Zhang, and then sat down in the chair across from Su Xingyao.

"Does the wound still hurt?" he inquired of Su Xingyao.

Su Xingyao shook his head gently, "It no longer hurts."

"You..."

"Arf arf, arf arf!!"

Lu Jiuxu's words were cut off by a series of excited barks from a dog.

The little dog that had earlier burst through the door, noticing that Su Xingyao hadn't paid it any attention, crawled out from under the bed, placed its little paws on the bedside, scratched a bit, and then ran around under the bed, making all sorts of noises in an attempt to get Su Xingyao's attention.

Lu Jiuxu didn't mind the interruption; instead, he took the initiative to introduce the dog to Su Xingyao.

"His name is Sunset."

Auntie Zhang, noticing the little dog's eager, pitch-black eyes fixed on Su Xingyao, chimed in to explain, "Sunset has been coming to watch over you every day for the past month. Seeing you awake today, it's probably a bit excited."

Auntie Zhang's explanation thoroughly piqued Su Xingyao's curiosity.

The little dog had been watching over him every day?

What kind of angelic, empathetic little dog is this?

So he leaned slightly outward, smiling as he looked down at the little dog scratching the floor under the bed.

Sunset seemed to sense Su Xingyao's gaze, stopped its constant pawing, and looked up at him.

Earlier, the dog had moved too quickly for Su Xingyao to see clearly, only vaguely remembering it was a yellow-furred puppy.

Now, as the dog quietly gazed at him, he finally got a good look at Sunset's appearance.

And then his smile faded instantly.

Shiny black eyes, orange-yellow short fur, a round and stubby little tail, a small notch on the right ear...

For a moment, Su Xingyao thought he was hallucinating.

Had Egg Yolk come back to life just to see him?

Seeing Su Xingyao staring intently at it, Sunset obediently stood up on its short legs, lay back down by his bedside, squinting its eyes as if inviting him to pet it.

Su Xingyao understood the invitation, and his fingers twitched instinctively.

His natural affection for small animals made him want to reach out and pet Sunset's head.

But the terrible memories from the past cast too deep a shadow over his mind.

After a long hesitation, he still couldn't bring himself to reach out.

Lu Jiuxu noticed this subtle change.

His gaze dropped to the hand tightly gripping the sheet.

"Feeling unwell?"

Su Xingyao quickly shook his head. "No."

He reluctantly shifted his gaze from Sunset, trying to look into Lu Jiuxu's eyes before speaking again, "Sunset reminds me of a little dog I used to have. They look really alike."

Really, really alike.

Except for Sunset's hind legs not being disabled, even the small notch on its right ear was almost identical to Egg Yolk's.

He had never seen two dogs so similar before.

After explaining, Su Xingyao's heart was still not at peace, so he didn’t speak further.

There wasn’t much to say about the topic, so he didn’t expect Lu Jiuxu to respond.

But the next second, he heard Lu Jiuxu patiently explain, "I picked it up last year."

Su Xingyao instantly understood the underlying meaning in Lu Jiuxu's words.

He was subtly asking if there was a possibility that the dog was the one he had once raised.

Judging by his tone and intent, if it were his dog, Lu Jiuxu would return it.

Su Xingyao looked at him with gratitude for his thoughtfulness.

But he didn’t take him up on the offer.

"It’s probably not the same one."

As he spoke, his eyes darkened slightly.

"Because Egg Yolk... it passed away six years ago."

His long eyelashes trembled as Su Xingyao concealed the sadness in his eyes.

"Because of an accident... on a rainy day... it was hit by a car."

After struggling to explain, Su Xingyao couldn’t help but recall that day.

Egg Yolk’s body lying in the heavy rain, Shen Huaixi’s insincere apology...

And...

The accusations from everyone in the family.

—"It's just a crippled dog, dead is dead, Huai Xi didn't mean it, who are you putting on this act for?"

—"I told you ages ago that Xiao Xi is allergic to dog hair, yet you still brought that dog home."

—"Don’t look at Xiao Xi like that; your dog scared him half to death, and I still haven’t scolded you..."

His dog died due to Shen Huaixi’s actions, yet he was still the one even being blamed.

...

"Sorry."

A deep voice pulled Su Xingyao out of the cacophony of blame in his memories.

He looked at the person in front of him and suddenly realized it was Lu Jiuxu apologizing.

Realizing his moment of vulnerability, Su Xingyao quickly smiled, "It's okay, it's my fault for being careless."

He shouldn’t have blindly trusted his family back then, leaving Egg Yolk, who depended on him, alone at home.

Lu Jiuxu didn’t respond; he simply stared at Su Xingyao.

He could clearly sense Su Xingyao’s low mood just now.

But for some reason, he, who was usually detached, felt a bit of compassion for this stranger.

In just a few seconds, Su Xingyao composed himself.

He smiled again and waved at Sunset.

"Hello, Sunset."

Seeing that Su Xingyao was finally willing to get close, Sunset whimpered softly, as if complaining about being ignored earlier.

But Su Xingyao's smile was so captivating that Sunset couldn't stay aloof for long. It quickly took advantage of the moment, resting its head on Su Xingyao's hand and gently nuzzling his skin, starting to act all cute.

No one could resist a cute dog's charm, and Su Xingyao was no exception.

Finally, he couldn't help but move his fingers slightly, gently responding to Sunset's affection.

Sunset closed its eyes in bliss, but before it could enjoy the moment for long, someone interrupted.

"Sleeping Beauty, you're finally up."

The cheerful voice cut through the air.

Several medical staff in white coats followed a doctor who strode confidently into the room.

The one who spoke was the doctor at the front, with slightly curved peach blossom eyes that radiated charm and ease.

"Oh, look who's here today—our boss Lu~" He turned to the nurse beside him and asked, "Check what lucky day it is today."

The nurses giggled at his teasing of Lu Jiuxu.

Lu Jiuxu's usually cold face softened with the laughter, and he shot back with a casual "Get lost."

Lin Chengyi brushed off the scolding and kept joking, "You came back just to wake up Sleeping Beauty, huh?"

Su Xingyao heard "Sleeping Beauty" again and finally realized it was directed at him.

The rebuttal caught in his throat, and before he could speak, he realized there was some truth to it.

He really had been asleep for too long.

Still, after a moment, he corrected him seriously, "Dr. Lin, my name is Su Xingyao."

He smiled faintly, his eyes crinkling, "Not Sleeping Beauty."

Lin Chengyi was taken aback.

The nurses around them were also struck by Su Xingyao's radiant smile.

After Su Xingyao's words, Lu Jiuxu shot Lin Chengyi a look and warned, "Cut the nonsense."

Lin Chengyi chuckled awkwardly and finally got it, "Got it, Su Xingyao, right?"

Before Su Xingyao could reply, Lu Jiuxu answered for him, "Yes."

With that, Lu Jiuxu left.

Lin Chengyi also put on gloves and began to examine Su Xingyao.

Though he joked around with Su Xingyao, he was all business when it came to his work.

Despite his playful banter, the examination he conducted was thorough and lasted for over an hour.

*

Perhaps because of his rebirth, Su Xingyao's body recovered quite quickly.

Following Dr. Lin Chengyi's advice, he had been taking walks downstairs during this time.

During these walks, he discovered that Lu Jiuxu's villa was truly massive.

Not only was it large in area, but the landscaping was also exceptionally beautiful.

The villa was filled with a variety of flowers, plants, and trees.

Especially the multi-headed roses and peonies, which the gardener had cultivated in abundance in the yard, each plant meticulously cared for.

Su Xingyao found it quite intriguing.

Given Lu Jiuxu's aloof personality, one would assume he had no interest in flowers and plants.

Yet, he had gone to great lengths to plant many roses and peonies in the villa.

For someone with such a cold demeanor to engage in such a harmonious activity was truly surprising to Su Xingyao.

Of course, there were other things that seemed out of place to him.

For instance, despite Lu Jiuxu's apparent fondness for these flowers, he rarely stayed at the villa.

Another example was how he never mentioned rescuing Su Xingyao, nor did he ask him to leave after he woke up, instead allowing him to stay and recuperate.

Lu Jiuxu, the big boss villain, was indeed quite fascinating.

While walking, Su Xingyao's gaze was suddenly caught by a patch of watermelon-red peonies.

A few days ago, when he passed by, the peonies were still tight buds, but now they had already blossomed.

He stopped in front of the peonies and asked the nearby gardener, "Master, what is the name of this flower?"

The gardener told him, "This is 'Sunset Coral,' a Dutch variety."

Su Xingyao nodded and knelt down to take a closer look at the flowers.

After getting lost as a child, he was adopted by a family. Although he didn't want to recall the painful experiences of that time, the peonies planted there had left a lasting impression on his memory.

Back then, there was a wealthy family near his school.

As a child, every day on his way to and from school, his gaze would always be caught by the color-changing peonies in their yard.

These peonies were particularly magical, their petals gradually changing from watermelon red to salmon pink.

Each peony bloomed like a frozen sunset, poetic and romantic, embodying the beauty of life.

As a young child, he didn't know what variety they were, only that every April and May, he would go to that family's gate to look.

But he never expected that years later, he would see these peonies again in Lu Jiuxu's villa because of an accident.

And now, he finally knew their name.

Sunset Coral.

A name as beautiful as the flower's colors.

Su Xingyao was about to quietly admire the peony flowers when Auntie Zhang handed him something.

"I've been keeping this for you and forgot to return it."

She handed him the phone that had fallen with him off the cliff.

Seeing Su Xingyao staring at his phone, Auntie Zhang apologized, "My memory isn't as good as it used to be. I noticed you haven't been using your phone, so I completely forgot about it."

"It's fine."

Su Xingyao smiled.

Auntie Zhang didn't need to apologize.

He really didn't need the phone.

During his recovery here, being away from his phone had made him feel more at ease.

In his free time, he would take walks, read books, bask in the sun, enjoy the sunset, and learn gardening from the gardener.

It was the only rare and leisurely time he had had in many years.

Not wanting to check his phone just yet, Su Xingyao casually placed it on the table to charge.

After discussing the cultivation and care of the 'Sunset Coral' peonies with the gardener, he finally turned on his phone.

As expected.

There were very few messages on his phone.

Even though he had been missing for over a month, no one seemed to care about what had happened to him.

Looking through his phone, Su Xingyao saw that aside from various advertisements and spam, most of the messages were from his manager on the afternoon he fell off the cliff.

The messages were mostly scolding.

However, after a certain point that night, the messages stopped.

It seemed someone had intervened, allowing his disappearance to go unnoticed.

Su Xingyao cleaned up his phone's content, not bothering to read in detail what his manager had scolded him about.

He could live without his phone, but he couldn't avoid it forever.

So he looked down at the screen, carefully searching through his contacts, and one by one, he blocked all the unimportant people's phone numbers and WeChat accounts.

But it seemed like his phone was deliberately opposing him.

Just as Su Xingyao was about to block Wen Ningshu, a message suddenly popped up on WeChat, which had been silent for over a month.

Qin Mingchuan: Had enough of this drama?