Chapter 147

Chapter 147

Yu Chuang finally held back a bit. Pulling an all-nighter wasn’t the best idea, and with the thought of letting Ji Mian sleep for a while, he stopped at the break of dawn. After helping Ji Mian freshen up, he left him an hour to sleep.

He couldn’t fall asleep himself, so he held Ji Mian and dozed for half an hour. He lay beside Ji Mian, sharing the same pillow, in a very intimate position.

Even though he hadn’t slept all night, Yu Chuang didn’t feel sleepy; in fact, he was more energetic than usual.

He stared at Ji Mian’s sleeping face, his eyes tracing every detail from his brows to his lips. Even though they were already close enough to feel each other’s breath, he couldn’t help but lean in and gently kiss the corner of Ji Mian’s mouth.

Ji Mian’s steady breathing suddenly became slower, his thick lashes fluttered, and his brows furrowed as if he was waking up.

Yu Chuang quickly held his breath, waiting a few seconds until Ji Mian’s furrowed brows gradually relaxed.

Yu Chuang: "..."

When he’d been kissing and nibbling Ji Mian’s shoulder earlier, wasn’t he sleeping deeply? How come now, with just a light touch, he seemed about to wake up?

He could only kiss Ji Mian’s exhale. Ji Mian’s light breathing brushed against Yu Chuang’s lips, tickling and stirring his heart.

Yu Chuang licked his lips, feeling even more awake.

He didn’t want to head to the bathroom right now, so he consciously leaned his head back, distancing himself from the source of temptation, forcing himself to think of something else.

But as long as he remained in this space, Yu Chuang’s thoughts were all about Ji Mian.

He carefully slipped his arm out from around Ji Mian’s waist, quietly getting out of bed and heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.

The household chefs didn’t start until seven. When they arrived in the kitchen after six, they were surprised to see their employer already busy and greeted him awkwardly.

Yu Chuang had already made breakfast for the two of them.

When he returned to the bedroom after seven and saw Ji Mian still asleep, his heart softened, and he went to wake him.

Ji Mian had only slept an hour all night and, when woken, barely opened his eyes, looking drained.

Yu Chuang expected Ji Mian to be grumpy when woken, but instead, he was surprisingly docile, prompting Yu Chuang to reach out and rub his ears.

After the night, the excitement in his heart hadn’t faded; it was like being thrown into a honey jar, everything felt sweet.

Seeing Ji Mian struggling to keep his eyes open, he said gently, "If you’re too tired, take the day off."

Ji Mian, still half-asleep, only caught the last part and mumbled, "You’re taking the day off?"

"I can’t," Yu Chuang said regretfully.

The past two days hadn’t been busy, but today couldn’t be skipped.

Ji Mian woke up a bit more, slowly sitting up in bed, his gaze still hazy.

He was too tired, his body completely worn out.

Neither home nor the office offered any relaxation.

"I have to go too."

Both sighed at the same time, though silently.

Ji Mian was exhausted, while Yu Chuang was full of energy, but he couldn’t bear the thought of being apart from Ji Mian for the entire day.

Counting down the days, there were still three left before leaving Ning City next Monday.

Yu Chuang quietly wondered when he could take a long vacation with Ji Mian.

He reached out, drew Ji Mian into his arms, and began to unbutton Ji Mian's pajamas.

Before Ji Mian could speak, he explained first, "Time to change clothes."

Ji Mian: "...I can do it myself." I’m not a kid.

"Hold still... let me take a look." Yu Chuang examined the marks on Ji Mian's skin.

He had controlled himself last night not to touch Ji Mian's neck, so it was clean.

But from the collarbone down, it was a disaster.

Yu Chuang gulped, staying silent.

Ji Mian, seeing the marks on his body, was stunned for a moment, then broke free from Yu Chuang's embrace and climbed out of bed to look in the mirror.

After seeing it, his vision blurred, shutting them to escape the sight.

Although there was nothing visible on his neck, the area around his eyes was red, and his eyelids were slightly swollen from crying last night.

Ji Mian didn’t bother blaming Yu Chuang. After washing up, he went to the fridge to get some ice. Seeing him with the ice, Yu Chuang took it from Ji Mian without a word and applied it around his eyes.

After more than ten minutes, although the swelling didn't completely go down, it at least helped a little.

Ji Mian stood in front of the full-length mirror, straightening his clothes.

Yu Chuang watched him tie his tie, admiring Ji Mian’s skill. Once in a suit, he looked completely different, so Yu Chuang stared for a long time.

He asked, "How did you get to the Ji Group yesterday?"

Before last night, he had always thought Ji Mian wasn’t working. They had rushed into marriage, and Yu Chuang had to leave Ning City and return to Mingsheng the day after the wedding. He had only hired Li Song back but hadn't had time to find a driver. When he left, he left Ji Mian a savings card, but he had never seen any spending records from Ji Mian.

Ji Mian said, "I took a cab."

"...Didn’t you hate the smell before?"

Ji Mian paused for a moment, not answering.

Yu Chuang hugged him, silently kissing Ji Mian's cheek, deep in thought.

Ji Mian could probably guess what Yu Chuang was thinking. He must have thought that after the Ji Family went bankrupt, Ji Mian had it rough.

During that period, Ji Mian did cut back on spending, and everything around him was gone.

But in his eyes, life after bankruptcy was no different from before. For him, a lavish life wasn’t necessary. The toughest time for him in this world was when Yu Chuang left Ning City.

But Ji Mian also knew that the person who suffered more than him was Yu Chuang. He had experienced many separations and knew he would eventually meet the other person again, but Yu Chuang was different. Ji Mian often felt that his brother was tagging along on his missions, almost as if he was here to suffer.

"I'll take you to the company."

Ji Mian turned to look at him, "It's far from Ji Group. You’ll be late if you drop me off."

"You're concerned about whether I'll be late?"

Ji Mian: "..."

"Relax, no one will mind if I’m late." Yu Chuang comes across as too serious and upright at work. Early on, he worked tirelessly, often staying at the office until 2 or 3 AM. Over time, everyone just assumed Yu Chuang was late because he had bigger things to handle.

Ji Mian, though, is a different story. Though everyone knows he turned the Ji Group around in just a year, his playboy past still sticks in people’s minds. If he’s late, everyone just assumes he overslept. If he’s late too often, the team will start fretting during morning meetings, and the whole room will tense up, worried he’s slipping back into his old ways.

"Why don’t you have a driver?" Yu Chuang asked.

From what he saw at the Ji Group yesterday, Ji Mian clearly isn’t strapped for cash.

"I have a driver..." I just haven’t had him pick me up since you’ve been around. Besides, yesterday was tight, so a taxi was faster.

"Where were you living before?"

Ji Mian figured there was no point hiding it now and admitted, "I bought a place near the office."

"Oh..." Yu Chuang considered moving there himself so Ji Mian could sleep in.

"Crash at your place tonight?"

Ji Mian glanced at him. "Your call."

After that, Yu Chuang fell silent, still holding onto his biggest question.

"Boss."

"Hmm?"

"You said you liked me—when did that start?"

Ji Mian froze. He knew this was coming, but he still didn’t have a good answer. To Yu Chuang, he’d been obsessed with Pei Qing for years—how could he just switch gears?

When Ji Mian stayed quiet, Yu Chuang pushed: "When?"

—Lifetimes ago.

Ji Mian said, "Hard to say."

"Seven years ago... was that it?"

Ji Mian hesitated, then nodded.

Yu Chuang’s arms tightened around him, then he frowned, as if remembering something.

"Affection Points increased by 40, contributor Yu Chuang."

"Why say seven years ago..." the system popped up, disapprovingly. A simple lie could have covered it up, as long as it was said by its host, this person would believe it. By admitting this, the Affection Points were much less.

"What about Pei Qing?" Mentioning Pei Qing, Yu Chuang's tone turned somewhat cold, "Seven years ago, weren't you still... quite infatuated with him?"

"..." Ji Mian didn't know how to explain, so he simply nodded again: "...Yeah."

Yu Chuang felt a pang in his heart and took a deep breath.

"Affection Points increased by 150, contributor Yu Chuang."

System: ... Conclusion was premature.

Yu Chuang touched the wedding ring on Ji Mian's left hand, unsure whether to feel relieved or irritated.

This guy is really something, being in love with two people at the same time?

If Ji Mian had admitted back then that there was a place for him in his heart, Yu Chuang might have really stayed in Ningcheng.

But with the other's wishy-washy attitude, he would probably have gone crazy.

Yu Chuang wanted to ask what Ji Mian's feelings for Pei Qing were now, but he was afraid the answer would only upset him.

Clearly, when he married Ji Mian, he never expected anything more.

Now that he had Ji Mian's affection, he still wasn't satisfied, wishing Ji Mian's heart belonged only to him. Desire is a bottomless pit; human greed never ends.

"Affection Points increased by 110, contributor Yu Chuang."

"Affection Points increased by 90, contributor Yu Chuang."

Ji Mian received a series of notifications and kept looking up at Yu Chuang.

Yu Chuang: "...What?"

Suddenly, his lips felt warm, and someone's arm wrapped around his neck. Ji Mian tilted his head up and kissed him.

Yu Chuang forgot everything in an instant, completely swept away by Ji Mian's initiative.

After kissing for a bit, his hand naturally slid down from Ji Mian's lower back. Ji Mian's pants weren't tightly belted, and Yu Chuang's hand slipped into the slight gap, giving a firm squeeze. With his other arm, he embraced Ji Mian, leading him toward the bed.

"..."

Ji Mian was pressed against the quilt, kissing back while raising his left hand to check his watch.

Yu Chuang asked him, "What are you looking at?"

"My watch."

Yu Chuang didn't really want to face reality, but after a few seconds, he paused and asked, "What time is it?"

"Thirty."

Ji Mian had to be there by eight-thirty, and with forty minutes of travel time, Yu Chuang still wanted him to have a decent breakfast.

Finally, he got up from Ji Mian, reaching out to smooth out the wrinkles on his shirt.