Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Su Tinghe had been lying on the bed chatting with Bai Hua, but upon seeing Bai Hua's analytical messages, he leapt up from the bed in excitement.

Shang Huoyong emerged from the bathroom just in time to witness this scene and asked, "What's going on?"

Su Tinghe didn't speak, only gazed at Shang Huoyong with a mournful expression.

Shang Huoyong, puzzled, walked over, raising his hand to pinch Su Tinghe's chin, asking again, "What's wrong?"

Su Tinghe shook his head slightly, gently pushing Shang Huoyong's hand away from his chin, and then opened his arms to hug Shang Huoyong.

Shang Huoyong's body tensed, and he grabbed Su Tinghe's arms that were wrapped around his neck, trying to push Su Tinghe away. However, Su Tinghe hugged him even tighter, whispering in a soft, breathy voice, "Husband."

Shang Huoyong's body tensed again, but Su Tinghe let go of him on his own, gazing at Shang Huoyong with a pitying and sympathetic look, "Husband, I won't hold it against you."

Shang Huoyong: "..."

Su Tinghe's thought process was sometimes bizarrely peculiar, and Shang Huoyong had no idea what Su Tinghe was thinking. His lips twitched a couple of times, and he couldn't help but ask, "Although this might sound a bit narcissistic, I really can't think of anything about myself that's worth looking down on."

Su Tinghe cautiously asked, "Husband, have you been feeling unwell lately?"

"I'm perfectly fine," Shang Huoyong glanced at Su Tinghe, speaking very cautiously, "You shouldn't have to worry about becoming a widow."

However, living as a widow might not be any better than being widowed. Su Tinghe was deeply worried and changed his approach, "Husband, have you heard of the idiom 'hiding one's illness and avoiding treatment'?"

"Have you heard of the idiom 'unfounded worry'?" Shang Huoyong touched Su Tinghe's forehead, "No fever, so why are you talking nonsense? It's you who should be worried. I heard you went to the hospital yesterday."

"Yes," Su Tinghe nodded, "I ran into Shang Yizhi while eating, and he suggested I go to the hospital for a check-up. I thought it made sense, so I went. But the doctor said my right wrist is healing very well. If you don't believe me, take a look."

As soon as he finished speaking, a pale wrist was thrust in front of Shang Huoyong's eyes. Shang Huoyong, annoyed, casually squeezed Su Tinghe's wrist a couple of times, perfunctorily saying, "It does look good."

Su Tinghe glanced at Shang Huoyong, sighing meaningfully, "Sometimes, you shouldn't tough it out when you're ill. Going to the hospital can make things much clearer for you. Don't you think so, husband?"

Shang Huoyong tapped Su Tinghe's forehead twice with his knuckles, "I think you should skip the surgical department and head straight to the psychiatric department. You're always so fanciful."

Su Tinghe frowned, blinking his watery eyes to silently accuse Shang Huoyong, but what came out of his mouth was, "You haven't dried your hair yet."

Shang Huoyong: "Instead of overthinking so much, why don't you come down and dry my hair for me."

"Okay." Su Tinghe agreed with a nod, got off the bed, put on his slippers, and like a dutiful spouse, dried Shang Huoyong's hair.

That night, Shang Huoyong was once again exasperated by Su Tinghe. After drying his hair, he went to the study to find a copy of "The Art of War," planning to read a bit before bed to calm his mind.

Su Tinghe snuggled up to Shang Huoyong, leaning against him to read along. Shang Huoyong simply closed the book, wrapped himself in the blanket, and went to sleep.

Su Tinghe hesitated but still snuggled into Shang Huoyong's arms. Shang Huoyong loosely held Su Tinghe, but their lower bodies were far apart under the blanket.

Thinking of the failed probing plan tonight, Su Tinghe decided to make one last desperate attempt, wriggling around in Shang Huoyong's arms.

Shang Huoyong groaned, pressing close to Su Tinghe's ear and saying in a deep voice, "Stop moving, be still."

Su Tinghe instantly stopped moving and reluctantly fell asleep.

The next day, Su Tinghe went to Jiusong Academy for calligraphy class, deliberately arriving early to find Bai Hua. Words were unnecessary; everything was understood without a word.

Bai Hua was startled and, taking advantage of the time before class officially started, took Su Tinghe to an empty small meeting room. Holding Su Tinghe's hand, he asked with difficulty, "Was I right?"

Su Tinghe nodded pitifully, "It's probably about 80-90% accurate."

Bai Hua didn't know how to comfort Su Tinghe and stammered, trying to find a reason: "There's still a slim chance, right?"

Su Tinghe seemed to grasp at straws, gripping Bai Hua's hand a bit tighter: "Really?"

"Well..." Bai Hua hesitated, not daring to give Su Tinghe a definite answer, and could only vaguely say, "It's uncertain."

Su Tinghe struggled: "So there's still a line of possibility, right?"

Bai Hua stated factually: "In theory, yes."

Su Tinghe couldn't help but recall the day he had transmigrated, when the previous occupant of the body was so opposed to marrying Shang Huoyong that he considered eloping. Could it be that the original soul already knew Shang Huoyong was incapable? Otherwise, he really couldn't understand why the previous occupant was unwilling to marry, given Shang Huoyong's high status.

After marriage, Shang Huoyong's unwillingness to share a bedroom with him might also be due to this reason.

And a few days ago, when Shang Huoyong was on a business trip, someone came to the door, and Shang Huoyong didn't even glance at them properly. Excluding the reason that he happened to call at that time, could there also be a physical reason?

Looking at it this way, everything has its traces, but Su Tinghe had previously overlooked all of them.

Seeing Su Tinghe's worried and distracted appearance, Bai Hua couldn't help but comfort him: "Don't worry, your husband looks tall and strong, exceptionally endowed, not at all like someone who is physically weak."

Su Tinghe came back to his senses, seemingly having accepted the reality that Shang Huoyong was incapable, and said bitterly: "But I'm afraid he's all bark and no bite."

"Such things are not completely without solutions," Bai Hua chose to whisper advice into Su Tinghe's ear, giving him ideas, even though there was no one around.

Su Tinghe widened his eyes, "Will this work?"

Bai Hua: "You'll only know if you try."

With the plan set, during the following calligraphy class, Su Tinghe was frequently distracted. Shang Yizhi tried to talk to him, and Su Tinghe responded verbally, but in reality, he wasn't listening at all.

Shang Yizhi found Su Tinghe increasingly baffling. Just two days ago, Su Tinghe's younger brother, Su Qingyue, had told him that Su Tinghe liked him so much that he considered eloping, but he felt that since Su Tinghe married Shang Huoyong, he had become more and more distant from him.

The Su Tinghe who used to follow him around, prioritizing him in everything, was no longer there.

Given this, Shang Yizhi temporarily didn't want to spend too much effort on Su Tinghe. Instead, the current Bai Hua was much harder to deal with than the previous Su Tinghe. He had been trying to win him over for so long, but Bai Hua hadn't budged at all, always rejecting him.

To be honest, Shang Yizhi didn't really like Bai Hua that much, but pursuing someone without success was truly embarrassing.

After the calligraphy class ended, Shang Yizhi wanted to send Bai Hua back, but Bai Hua said he had something to do and it wasn't convenient. Shang Yizhi thought it was an excuse, but Bai Hua turned around and left with Su Tinghe.

Shang Yizhi was shocked. He now felt that whenever he encountered Su Tinghe, things would go awry, and many anticipated events would always turn out the opposite of what he expected.

Shang Yizhi watched the two figures walking away, guessing in his heart that Su Tinghe was either under Shang Huoyong's spell or had someone else inside him, otherwise how could he have changed so much.

When Su Tinghe followed Bai Hua to the market, he felt momentarily nervous. In both lifetimes, he had never set foot in such a place, but Bai Hua was very familiar with it, leading him through different vendors.

Soon, they had purchased oysters, sea cucumbers, lamb, leeks, okra, goji berries, and other foods. After buying the ingredients, Bai Hua took Su Tinghe to the pharmacy to prepare a health tea to nourish the kidneys.

Carrying large and small bags full of items, Bai Hua said to Su Tinghe: "You can see the results tonight."

Su Tinghe hesitated, showing a conflicted expression on his face, "But if I hand these ingredients to the chef, won't it be exposed?"

Bai Hua scratched his head: "I forgot you don't cook, but this is already the most discreet method. Taking medicine directly or going to the hospital would require your husband's active cooperation."

That's true, Su Tinghe nodded along. To keep it completely under wraps, as of now, there is no way.

Su Tinghe thanked Bai Hua profusely. Before parting, Su Tinghe thought for a long time and finally asked: "Are you going to work again?"

Bai Hua didn't hide it from him and answered yes. Su Tinghe inquired: "Since you're going to work anyway, why not come to my house as my private tutor, okay?"

Bai Hua smiled, thanking Su Tinghe for his kindness. "Your calligraphy is actually very good; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to enter it in a competition. There's really no need for you to come to the academy to learn; there's nothing I can teach you."

"You clearly know a lot of things; you don't necessarily have to teach me calligraphy," Su Tinghe said to Bai Hua.

Bai Hua firmly refused, "I know you mean well, but I can't accept it."

Su Tinghe expressed understanding and stopped persuading Bai Hua, instead saying, "At least let me give you a ride."

This time, Bai Hua did not refuse and let the driver following Su Tinghe take him to the café they had met before. Before getting out of the car, Bai Hua winked at Su Tinghe and said, "Good luck."

The driver was baffled the whole afternoon, unable to understand why Su Tinghe needed to buy things personally. The villa had dedicated staff for purchasing ingredients, so why would Su Tinghe need to do it himself?

Su Tinghe entered the house guiltily, carrying several large bags. Aunt Qin, seeing Su Tinghe, quickly came forward to take the heavy items from his hands.

"Oh my, that's heavy. What did you buy? Why didn't you let the driver help you carry them in? Your wrist just recovered a few days ago; you shouldn't be carrying such heavy things."

Su Tinghe pretended to be calm, handed all the bags to Aunt Qin, and looked around, not daring to meet her eyes. "I bought these things; have the kitchen prepare them all for dinner tonight."

"What are all these things? Is tonight a special occasion?" Aunt Qin smiled as she opened the bags, but her smile froze upon opening the first bag and became even more rigid upon opening the second. After opening all the bags, she couldn't smile anymore.

With trembling hands, Aunt Qin gathered all the items and casually asked Su Tinghe, "What made you buy these things? Do you know what these foods do?"

Su Tinghe evaded the question, "I just felt like buying them. I saw them at the market and really wanted to try them."

Aunt Qin took a deep breath, pulled Su Tinghe aside, held his hand, and said, "Tell me, is this about Mr. Shang? Be honest; I can handle it."

Su Tinghe glanced at Aunt Qin, then guiltily avoided her gaze, saying, "Aunt Qin, you're overthinking it. I really just bought them on a whim."

"Then why haven't you dared to look at me since you came in?" Aunt Qin pointed out sharply, "I've been through it all; I can handle anything. Tell me quickly."

Seeing that he couldn't hide it anymore, Su Tinghe stammered, "It's just my speculation; it might not be true. I just suspect."

Aunt Qin covered her chest, looking hurt, then hugged Su Tinghe and patted his back, "Good child, you've been through a lot."

Aunt Qin let go of Su Tinghe, putting on a calm expression, "Don't worry; I'll make sure tonight's dinner is prepared carefully. What you need to do is persuade Mr. Shang to eat more."

Aunt Qin's emotional changes surprised Su Tinghe, but having someone to help him made him feel much more at ease.

When Shang Huoyong returned, he first saw Su Tinghe being very enthusiastic, then saw Aunt Qin being overly enthusiastic. Even the chef serving the dishes gave him a mysterious smile.

Shang Huoyong thought he was hallucinating from overwork, suppressed the strange feeling in his heart, and ate with Su Tinghe.

But looking at the dishes on the table, he felt something was off, especially the pork bone soup in the center, which had a medicinal taste.

Shang Huoyong took a few sips but didn't like it much, so he put it down. Su Tinghe noticed and urged, "This is a tonic soup Aunt Qin specially made for you because you've been working so hard. If you only drink this much, it would really upset her."

Shang Huoyong took back the pushed-away soup bowl, and Su Tinghe stopped him, refilling his bowl with soup. "It's been sitting for a while and should be cold by now. Let me add some more so it's warm when you drink it."

Under Su Tinghe's watchful gaze, Shang Huoyong reluctantly drank a bowl. While Shang Huoyong was lowering his head to drink the soup, Su Tinghe secretly smiled and added blanched okra and garlic oysters to Shang Huoyong's bowl.

Shang Huoyong didn't think much of it and ate everything Su Tinghe had put in his bowl.

But after the meal, Shang Huoyong felt extremely hot, thinking the air conditioning was set too high, so he turned it down a few degrees. After a while, still feeling hot, he simply turned off the air conditioning.

At that moment, Su Tinghe came over with a cup of brewed health tea. After drinking it, Shang Huoyong felt even more uncomfortable, restless whether sitting or standing.

Shang Huoyong finally realized the source of the anomaly, just as Su Tinghe leaned in closer, reaching out to touch his shoulder, asking what was wrong.

As soon as Su Tinghe's hand touched his shoulder, Shang Huoyong firmly grasped Su Tinghe's hand, pulling his arm and pinning him down on the chaise lounge by the window.

Shang Huoyong held Su Tinghe's hand high above his head with one hand and gripped Su Tinghe's face with the other, his eyes burning with intense anger and □□. He asked in a hoarse voice, "Did you have someone prepare this?"

Shang Huoyong's grip was strong, and Su Tinghe felt a bit of pain, twisting his body in an attempt to break free but failing. His mind was in a daze: "What?"

"Stop moving!" Shang Huoyong tightened his grip, kneeling on the daybed with one knee to pin down Su Tinghe's restless legs. His hoarse voice carried a cold edge, "Tell me, was it you who had tonight's dinner and the tea just now prepared?"

Su Tinghe shrunk back, trembling with innocent eyes, and whispered, "It was me."

Shang Huoyong's chest heaved violently as he struggled to suppress the fire raging within him. He snapped, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

The Shang Huoyong before him seemed like a completely different person, his once gentle demeanor entirely gone. Su Tinghe instinctively felt a bit scared, and a few tears streamed down his cheeks as he explained in a pleading voice, "I was worried about your health."

"I think you should be more worried about your own brain." Shang Huoyong viciously spat out these words, feeling the fire inside him almost impossible to suppress. Seeing Su Tinghe's tear-streaked face only added to his irritation, and he involuntarily tightened his grip.

Su Tinghe struggled harder, his faint voice crying out, "It hurts."

Shang Huoyong loosened his grip slightly, and Su Tinghe pleaded softly, "Shang Huoyong, can you let me go first?"

A surge of heat rushed to Shang Huoyong's groin, and the veins on his forehead throbbed. He couldn't help but lean in and kiss Su Tinghe's lips.

Su Tinghe's eyes widened in shock, momentarily forgetting to resist.

Shang Huoyong kissed Su Tinghe's lips, his hand that had been gripping Su Tinghe's cheek now sliding down to cup the back of Su Tinghe's head.

Shang Huoyong's tongue first explored Su Tinghe's lips, then, feeling it wasn't enough, slipped through the seam of Su Tinghe's lips into his mouth, entwining with Su Tinghe's tongue in a passionate dance.

Su Tinghe passively followed Shang Huoyong's lead, their saliva mingling and dripping from the corners of their mouths, indistinguishable from each other.

Shang Huoyong's hand, which had been cupping Su Tinghe's head, began to move downward, tracing over his shoulders and collarbone, unbuttoning the first button, then the second.

Shang Huoyong lifted his head slightly, gritting his teeth and whispering, "As you wish." He then continued downward, leaving faint red marks on Su Tinghe's chest.

Su Tinghe's body went limp, completely forgetting to struggle. Shang Huoyong released the hand that had been pinning Su Tinghe's arm, and Su Tinghe's hand, which had been forced above his head, fell down, instinctively wrapping around Shang Huoyong's neck.

Shang Huoyong's hand found Su Tinghe's slender waist, drawing him closer.

Both of them were breathing heavily, and Su Tinghe felt a tingling sensation spreading through him, instantly realizing that Shang Huoyong was far from incapable.

Su Tinghe's body trembled uncontrollably, a tingling sensation spreading through him. He was both anticipating and fearing what would come next, but Shang Huoyong suddenly stopped, releasing Su Tinghe and stepping away from the daybed.

"My body is fine. Now you can rest assured."

Shang Huoyong's voice was hoarse. After saying this, he turned to leave, but Su Tinghe reached out and grabbed his hand, looking up and asking, "Why?"

Shang Huoyong looked down at Su Tinghe, who was disheveled, his fair skin largely exposed, with red marks on his cheeks and wrists from Shang Huoyong's tight grip, and faint pink marks on his chest.

Su Tinghe looked like a delectable little cake, and Shang Huoyong was a hungry diner. But Shang Huoyong removed Su Tinghe's hand from his own, lowered his eyelids, and replied, "Now is not the time."

Su Tinghe watched as Shang Huoyong walked step by step out of the room, recalling how it had been the same on their wedding day—Shang Huoyong leaving him alone. A wave of panic washed over Su Tinghe for no reason.