Chapter 139

Chapter 139

Tian Ruan was helped into the limousine and took off his shoes.

"Mr. Yu, be gentle..." Tian Ruan's ankle was aching and swollen.

Yu Jingmo glanced at him, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I'm being gentle enough."

The driver discreetly put up the partition to avoid seeing anything inappropriate. Assistant Xu stayed behind at Deyin to handle official business and didn’t come along.

Tian Ruan’s foot rested on Yu Jingmo’s crisp suit pants. Beneath them were firm, long thighs brimming with strength—enough to keep Tian Ruan riding for hours...

At the thought of something he shouldn't be thinking, Tian Ruan’s ears turned slightly red as he obediently let Yu Jingmo apply medicinal liniment.

Yu Jingmo dipped a cotton swab into the liniment and gently dabbed it on the young man’s once-slender ankle, now swollen like a bun. "How did it get this bad? Did you go running around?"

Tian Ruan: "No, I used the wheelchair whenever I could. It gets me around easily—it even outpaces Lu Qiuyan."

"We should get it X-rayed."

"Mr. Yu, have you eaten yet?"

"No."

"Then let’s eat first."

"Mhm." Yu Jingmo waited for the liniment to dry before pulling Tian Ruan’s socks back on and slipping his feet into small leather shoes, only to take them off again. "These shoes are a bit tight. They’re squeezing your feet."

Tian Ruan perked up. "Does that mean my feet have grown a little? Last year’s shoes don’t fit anymore?"

Yu Jingmo: "It means your feet are swollen."

"…"

Yu Jingmo would measure Tian Ruan's feet nightly, able to spot even millimeter changes. "Feet grow with your height. Since you’ve gotten taller, yours naturally got bigger."

Tian Ruan glanced at Yu Jingmo’s pointed leather shoes. "But I don’t want feet as big as yours."

Yu Jingmo raised an eyebrow. "Big feet mean a wide footprint, and the Yu family holdings are vast."

Tian Ruan couldn’t argue. Heaven had given Yu Jingmo remarkable height, intelligence, and large feet—perhaps they really were connected.

They went to a nearby Cantonese restaurant for dinner.

The moment they entered, Tian Ruan made eye contact with a youthful-looking young man.

Tian Ruan: "...Nan Huaiju, you eating here too?"

Nan Huaiju glanced at Tian Ruan’s hand on Yu Jingmo’s arm, his mouth quirking. "Yeah, what a coincidence."

Tian Ruan, limping, needed Yu Jingmo’s support to walk steadily but now felt embarrassed and pulled away.

Yu Jingmo, however, took his arm and led him to their reserved seat. "We’ll have Buddha Jumps Over the Wall again."

"Mhm." For the sake of that dish, Tian Ruan composed himself and said casually, "My brother’s husband is treating me to dinner."

Nan Huaiju, sitting at the next table, looked uncomfortable. "The 'brother' you're talking about—isn't that yourself?"

"…" "Hah, the couple I saw at Gold Coast—that was definitely you too."

"......"

"Relax, your secret’s safe with me. I just didn’t expect you to be so much older than me. No wonder you seemed like an old man—guess we *do* have a generation gap."

Tian Ruan was used to the "uncle" nickname, but he was only nineteen this year, hadn't even celebrated his birthday yet. Since when was he some old-timer with a generation gap??

Nan Huaiju’s voice sounded distant, like it was underwater. Tian Ruan barely registered it until Hai Chao placed Buddha Jumps Over the Wall on the table and said, "Enjoy your meal, sir."

It clicked for Tian Ruan. "Nan Huaiju, you came here for Hai Chao, didn’t you?"

Nan Huaiju flushed instantly. "I did not! I just came to eat!"

Teens his age were so easy to sidetrack. Tian Ruan stopped worrying about one more person knowing about his marriage. As long as the whole class stayed clueless, he could keep flying under the radar.

Still, Tian Ruan was curious. "How did you even figure it out?"

Nan Huaiju: "Unless you’re legally blind, a quick Google search of your wedding pics would do it."

Tian Ruan searched—they were so pixelated, not even 24k titanium eyes could ID him. Only the silhouette kinda matched, which was why no one doubted they were brothers.

Only Nan Huaiju had doubted—and confirmed it was Tian Ruan.

Tian Ruan stared at the innocent-looking Nan Huaiju, his expression complicated. "Damn, you’ve got eagle eyes."

Nan Huaiju: "I *so* wish I hadn’t..." Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dreamed of Yu Jingmo sending people to hunt him down. He still didn’t dare look Yu Jingmo in the eye!

Hai Chao brought Nan Huaiju’s order. "Enjoy your meal, sir."

Nan Huaiju clenched his jaw and slammed the plate down, shattering it. "What the hell? You *dropped* my food?"

Hai Chao’s face was blank, giving nothing away as he stared down at Nan Huaiju.

Tian Ruan whipped his head around, staring in shock.

"What's the matter?" Nan Huaiju tilted his chin up, glaring back defiantly.

The manager scurried over, bowing and scraping. "Our deepest apologies, sir! We’ll remake your dish immediately. Hai Chao, clean this mess up now."

Hai Chao: "Mm."

Nan Huaiju pressed on. "Seriously? I waited forever, and now *this*?"

The manager: "We’ll dock his wages, of course. This meal will be free as compensation. Is that acceptable?"

Nan Huaiju eyed Hai Chao wordlessly cleaning the shards, his frown still deep. "Fine."

Tian Ruan: "......"

Yu Jingmo cut a glance their way.

Tian Ruan bit back a groan. "Nan Huaiju, what’s wrong with you?"

Nan Huaiju retorted, "*Me*? *He’s* the one who screwed up—he deserves this."

Tian Ruan couldn’t stand it. Hai Chao *was* family, technically. Just as he was about to call the manager to clarify, Hai Chao spoke flatly, "Whatever. Used to it by now."

That shut Tian Ruan up.

Nan Huaiju balled his fists, huffed, and ignored his meal.

The air was thick with tension, the standoff unbroken.

Tian Ruan knew Hai Chao had a proud temperament. That he could take this setback so calmly meant he must have endured many such injustices before.

"Nan Huaiju, I was wrong about you," Tian Ruan said.

Nan Huaiju's face stiffened, his eyes down, defiant. He had come specifically to pick a fight with Hai Chao—after all, revenge was a dish best served cold, and he would never forget the pain of getting punched in the nose!

Hai Chao finished cleaning up the mess, stood up, and shot Nan Huaiju a cold look before silently walking into the kitchen.

Nan Huaiju opened his mouth but couldn’t get any words out.

Tian Ruan glared at him indignantly, only to notice tears welling up in the rich kid’s eyes. "...Nan Huaiju, are you actually gonna cry?"

Nan Huaiju’s lips trembled before he roared, "I’m not crying! I hate all of you! Waaah!"

Pushing his chair back, Nan Huaiju ran off bawling his eyes out.

Tian Ruan: "..."

Tian Ruan was bewildered. "What’s wrong with him?"

Yu Jingmo handed him a rice noodle roll. "Regret."

"?"

"All tough talk but soft inside—the opposite of you."

"..." Tian Ruan protested, "How am I hard-hearted?"

Yu Jingmo pondered briefly. "You're toughest when money's on the line."

Tian Ruan conceded, "Okay, I like money. But I love you more. Can’t you see how sweet I am to you?"

Yu Jingmo smiled faintly. "I've noticed, and I've enjoyed it."

Every time Tian Ruan said no, if Yu Jingmo pushed just a bit, Tian Ruan would give in completely.

That pliant body, that tenderness like water, those deepest, most secret pleasures—Tian Ruan always gave himself fully to Yu Jingmo.

In the heat of passion, no matter what Yu Jingmo did to him, Tian Ruan obeyed, complied, and cooperated.

It was then, lost in desire, that the young man was at his most docile.

The thought made the dragon within him tremble, ache.

It yearned to have him again.

But Yu Jingmo kept his cool, calmly continuing his meal.

Hai Chao came over to serve the next table, only to find it empty. "Where’d they go?"

Tian Ruan: "Nan Huaiju took off crying."

Hai Chao remained indifferent. "Oh." He left the dish there—it wasn’t his problem whether anyone ate it or not.

Tian Ruan wanted to say something but didn’t know what. In the end, he decided Nan Huaiju was Hai Chao’s issue—he wasn’t going to get involved.

When they finished eating, Yu Jingmo took Tian Ruan to the hospital to get an X-ray.

The ankle just looked bad, but there was no bone injury. It’ll heal in a few days. After a quick explanation, the doctor called for the next patient. Tian Ruan could tell that the doctor probably thought it was overkill to come to the hospital for such a minor injury, and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"See? I told you it was nothing," Tian Ruan pouted. "We’re wasting public resources. Not cool."

Yu Jingmo: "Then we’ll go to the family doctor next time."

"Mhm."

As soon as they stepped out of the outpatient building, they ran into his frugal big brother and He Lansi.

Tian Ruan said excitedly, "Big bro, you here for an X-ray too?"

Du Henbie: "...Uh, yeah."

"What kind of X-ray?" Tian Ruan looked them over. "Where’d you sprain?"

He Lansi: "Your big bro’s ancient back got wrecked when I sat on it."

Tian Ruan: "..."

His brother and his… whatever (He Lansi) were both savages.