Chapter 89

Chapter 89

The motorcycle sped down the highway, the city's night lights cast evenly across the howling wind, reflected in Xie Yunshen's cold eyes.

The doctor's words kept echoing in his mind.

"Maintaining such intense passion for a character in a novel, fantasizing about saving them, even feeling as if you've personally experienced daily life with them—it's very clear you've fallen in love with a fictional character. Moreover, your delusions have severely impacted your life and require medication to control... If left unchecked, it could develop into bipolar affective disorder..."

Impossible—he refused to believe it was all a dream, and he refused to believe Mr. Yan was merely a fictional character.

He had such warm palms and steadfast eyes, jet-black hair and severe insomnia, and eyelashes that stood out clearly whenever he closed his eyes in resignation.

He spoke with such confidence and calm, filled with a deep-seated reverence for both the future and the past. He carried a lingering, refreshing scent that Xie Yunshen adored; he seemed to glow from within.

His gaze held a quiet authority, yet he was willing to tease him with small jokes.

Xie Yunshen was certain the novel never mentioned these details. How could he possibly have fabricated them?

He knew what kind of person he was—someone so straightforward that seeing 1+1 would never lead him to think of 2. How could he conjure up a living, breathing person out of thin air?

Xie Yunshen gunned the throttle, speeding past cars and trucks. He entered the address for City A into the navigation system, but it showed no results.

He just kept driving forward on this road. Perhaps if he kept going, he would find the way back to the Yan residence. Maybe Mr. Yan was waiting for him in that pitch-dark study.

In his excitement, he even forgot to wear his helmet, letting the fierce wind lash at his face.

"Old Xie, you're crazy! If you keep this up, your eyes won't be able to handle it!" His colleague, sitting in a car, rolled down the window and shouted, his voice swallowed by the gale.

Xie Yunshen remained unmoved.

Soon, his colleague's car was left in the dust.

Xie Yunshen drove until the fuel tank was empty, stopping by a beach of gray and blue.

Without hesitation, he jumped into the sea, swimming against the waves. City A was a coastal city, also by the sea. Would he find the Yan family's harbor?

"Mr. Yan... wait for me..."

He swam for an unknown length of time, but saw no port, no oil tankers, no familiar figure.

All that met his eyes were the cerulean sea and a melancholy sky.

Could it really all be a dream?

Xie Yunshen felt his resolve crumbling. He closed his eyes, letting the waves slowly push him toward the seabed.

Seawater flooded his ears, carrying the world's low, mournful sob.

"A Shen, don't fall asleep..."

It was Mr. Yan's voice.

Xie Yunshen opened his eyes, seeing the color of the sky through the water.

Mr. Yan...

When he had been shot, Mr. Yan had held him so tightly, praying. Those eyes of his—how could they possibly be fake?

Xie Yunshen parted the water and swam back to shore.

Returning home, he opened the novel and began reading the final chapters.

As he read word by word, Xie Yunshen's brow unconsciously furrowed tightly.

How could this be...

Xie Yunshen closed the book, not daring to glance at the chapter describing Mr. Yan's death.

He lowered his head onto the desk and closed his eyes.

He told himself these were just ink-printed characters, devoid of any real meaning.

Mr. Yan was definitely alive and well in that world.

Thinking this, the suffocation in his heart finally let up a bit.

His head bowed, the black, painted table reflected a vaguely distorted face. Mr. Yan's resolute eyes flashed through his mind, making his heart leap.

Have I really fallen in love with Mr. Yan?

He took out pen and paper, attempting to draw Mr. Yan's likeness. Dreams grow increasingly fuzzy, memories gradually fade, but once drawn, it would seem to prove Mr. Yan existed in this world.

Twenty minutes later, Xie Yunshen looked at the drawing—a barely recognizable face—and fell silent: "..."

He was about to cry from guilt. "Mr. Yan, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to." He crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it on the floor.

Forget it. Better to let Mr. Yan remain uniquely beautiful in his memory.

His phone rang.

Xie Yunshen glanced at the caller ID—it was his vampire boss. He tossed the phone onto the desk, lay down on the bed motionless, and let it ring and ring.

"Old Xie! Quick! Why are you still spacing out here!" His colleague burst in from outside, looking terrified. "That perverted old Crown Prince went to see the boss!"

"Let him be." Xie Yunshen just frowned. In the past, he probably would have jumped off the bed in panic and fled. But now, he felt a part of his spirit had died along with that other body.

The perverted Crown Prince he mentioned—Xie Yunshen had once worked as his bodyguard for a period. Near the end of the contract, the Crown Prince drugged him. If not for Xie Yunshen's own strong will and desperate escape, he truly would have met his end in the palace.

This Crown Prince's level of depravity surpassed even Bai Le Bai's.

To some extent, Xie Yunshen had PTSD regarding this Crown Prince.

It was also then that Xie Yunshen learned there was no bottom to depravity.

Afterward, the Crown Prince kept trying to negotiate with the Bodyguard Association, demanding to work with Xie Yunshen again. The Association president had some conscience, but his vampire boss wasn't so kind-hearted.

For the right price, the boss would sell him out anytime.

His colleague pointed at the vibrating phone on the desk. "See, the boss is definitely calling to trick you into going back."

"I'm retired."

"You only retired from the Association. Your contract with the boss hasn't expired yet. I heard that perverted Crown Prince dropped fifty million to buy you for two months."

"Huh?" Why did that sound like he was a male model?

Just then, the sound of a car door closing came from downstairs.

His colleague walked to the window and looked out. "Old Xie, it's over. You can't escape."

Xie Yunshen stood up and glanced out the window. A dozen or so black sedans were parked outside the courtyard. A man with a handlebar mustache—his vampire boss—was opening the rear door, ushering out a man dressed in exotic Eastern attire.

“It’s the deviant Crown Prince, holy shit! He actually chased you here!” his colleague muttered in amazement. “Given the situation, maybe you should just give in.”

Turning around, he found Xie Yunshen already gone, leaving only a dashed silhouette where he had stood.

This house was Xie Yunshen’s own design. Lifting a floor panel in the room revealed a secret slide chute, allowing him to slide from the second floor to the basement in three seconds, then exit outside.

Pushing open the iron cover overgrown with grass and soil, Xie Yunshen poked his head out and saw starlight stretching across the wilderness.

If only Mr. Yan were here—he would look up at this beautiful night sky with me.

Would it be okay to kiss him?

“Filthy!” Xie Yunshen jolted, startled by his own thoughts, and harshly berated himself.

————

Meanwhile, at the distant end of the Starry Night Courtyard.

In the hospital.

“General Manager, the bills from Xinjin Hui are being urgently demanded—they’re for the Second Young Master’s expenses. They’re threatening to make a fuss at the company if we don’t pay. Should we transfer the funds?”

The man on the hospital bed forced his eyes open, his face pale. The heart monitor beside the bed beeped weakly.

“General Manager? How are you feeling?” The secretary looked worriedly at the man in the bed.

His fading eyes indicated that his vitality was ebbing away bit by bit.

He glanced at the exorbitant amount on the bill and sighed. The Yan family was just a small business started with home appliances—how could it handle the Second Young Master’s reckless spending?

Over the past two years, the company’s revenue had been declining, barely sustained by the General Manager’s efforts. Yet the Second Young Master spent every day carousing and causing trouble with his unsavory friends.

Two days ago, the General Manager had suddenly collapsed. Although surgery was performed, the doctor’s prognosis was not optimistic.

Even about his illness, the General Manager couldn’t bear to tell the Second Young Master.

In the entire Yan family, only he, an outsider, remained by the sickbed. Sometimes he thought the General Manager had ended up in this state largely because he was too indulgent and doting on his younger brother.

Beeeeep—

The heart monitor let out a piercing alarm.

“General Manager!!”

The hurried footsteps of doctors and nurses, the sound of hospital bed wheels rolling…

The secretary’s anxious voice on the phone: “The General Manager’s condition has taken a turn for the worse.”

Then the doctor’s voice announcing the patient’s death with regret…

A moment of silence…

————

Yan Shiqi opened his eyes.

The doctor, looking tense, examined the patient. His heartbeat was steady and strong, his gaze clear and composed. “Strange…”

He didn’t seem like a patient at all.

Yan Shiqi sat up and extended his hand. The secretary looked at him in surprise. “What?”

“The bill in your hand.”

The secretary hesitated, worried that seeing this huge bill might shock the General Manager’s newly recovered mind back into unconsciousness.

Yet, for some reason, the General Manager’s current gaze made it impossible to refuse—even hesitating for a second felt like a grave offense.

Yan Shiqi took the bill. It was for several auction items, totaling five million.

Though he didn’t understand the current situation, he could infer from the secretary’s expression that the total value of their assets was likely just over a few hundred million—a modest enterprise. How could they casually spend five million?

“Return the bill and freeze all of the Second Young Master’s cards.”

The secretary was stunned. “We’re not paying the bill?”

This was truly odd. Usually, no matter how tight finances were, the General Manager would cover all of the Second Young Master’s expenses.

Yan Shiqi frowned at him. “That’s right.”

The secretary quickly replied, “Understood.”

Come to think of it, the General Manager seemed like a different person today.

But that was good—finally, no more cleaning up after the Second Young Master.

“Wait.”

The secretary froze. Oh no, was the General Manager going to soften? It wouldn’t be surprising.

“Do you know about the Bodyguard Association?”

The secretary turned. “You mean that famous international Bodyguard Association?”

“I want to find a bodyguard named Xie Yunshen.”

“Xie Yunshen…” The secretary thought the General Manager wanted to hire him and felt awkward. “General Manager, that’s a Golden Bodyguard. There are only three in the world right now. Our company’s monthly profits aren’t even enough to cover his salary.”

Hearing this, a flicker of excitement shone in Yan Shiqi’s eyes. His calm expression could no longer maintain its composure, and his voice trembled slightly. “Where can I find him?”

The secretary was hesitant. “I don’t know. Should I call and ask?”

Yan Shiqi got out of bed. “I’ll go myself.”

The secretary tried to support him but was refused.

“General Manager, the Association says they can’t disclose the whereabouts of Golden Bodyguards. There’s no way.”

“Not even a phone number?”

The secretary shook his head.

“How can I meet him?”

“The only way is to sign an employment contract with the Association. That might give you a chance to work with him, but it also depends on whether he’s willing.”

“Then sign it,” Yan Shiqi said decisively.

"Er..." The secretary replied with a sigh. "The deposit alone is ten million."

"We don't?" Yan Shiqi was a bit surprised.

"If you intend to embezzle company funds..."

Yan Shiqi closed his eyes, never thinking he'd one day worry about money.

Three years later.

"The first batch of intelligent medical robots developed by Cloud Banner Group will begin trial use today at First Hospital. Yan Shiqi, the founder of Cloud Banner, has topped the rich lists multiple times over the past two years and is also the youngest on the Hundred Richest List. Cloud Banner's stock has also become the most promising stock this year..."

The hospital corridor was airing the news. Inside the psychology department, Xie Yunshen sat in a chair, in a therapy session with a psychologist.

To escape the harassment of a perverted crown prince, Xie Yunshen had gone into hiding abroad under a false identity with the help of the bodyguard association for the past three years.

It could be said he had been largely isolated from the world for three years.

But over the last two months, he had been hearing Mr. Yan's voice and realized he'd lose it if this continued.

That's why he had made an appointment with a psychologist.

After listening to his account, the psychologist gave a helpless smile. "Actually, a lot of people have been having this same problem lately."

"What?"

"Fantasizing about all sorts of romantic scenarios with a business tycoon, as if they're actually there. Usually, after a while, these fantasies fade as they get old."

"I'm serious. I still often hear that person's voice, as if he's right beside me."

"That person's surname is Yan, isn't it?"

"How did you know?" Xie Yunshen was completely taken aback. True to his reputation as a leading authority—he even knew that.

The psychologist motioned for him to look out the window. On the city's large screen, an interview with the president of Cloud Banner Group happened to be flashing by.

But from Xie Yunshen's angle, it was blocked by a potted plant by the window.

"Recently, I've seen several cases like yours, both men and women. In my opinion, it's nothing serious. Just interact more with people around you, relax, find someone to date, and it'll be fine," the doctor said.

Xie Yunshen didn't quite understand what he meant. Was he saying many people had fallen in love with Mr. Yan like him? Or that he was delusional?

The psychologist prescribed him two boxes of medication and sent him on his way.

Xie Yunshen hopped on his motorcycle. While waiting at a red light, he caught a glimpse of a luxury car passing by out of the corner of his eye.

The car seemed really familiar. His mind wandered back to the days when he would commute to and from work with Mr. Yan.

When his gaze swept past the car's back seat through his visor, Xie Yunshen's heart suddenly began pounding wildly.

That was... Mr. Yan.

Xie Yunshen froze for a moment, and the car had already driven away.

At that moment, Xie Yunshen even wondered if his mental illness was getting worse.

But as the car was about to disappear from his sight, he instinctively twisted the throttle and followed.

The motorcycle climbed onto the elevated bridge in the fierce wind, keeping up with the car, the wind whipping his black windbreaker.

The motorcycle drew closer to the car. At that moment, the sun's glare made it impossible to see inside through the windows.

"Mr. Yan!"

He lifted the visor of his helmet and tried to shout, but his voice was lost in the wind.

Finally, as the car drove under a large building, Xie Yunshen caught a glimpse of the person inside through the light and shadows.

It really was Mr. Yan.

There was no mistake. That profile, those eyes and brows—it was the Mr. Yan who had made him doubt and save himself repeatedly over the past three years.

But the car's windows were tightly shut. Mr. Yan was looking down, talking on the phone, with no sign of turning to look outside.

In his panic, Xie Yunshen swerved almost into the wrong lane, nearly crashing into the rear of a large truck. Fortunately, he leaned sharply to avoid it, but the front wheel lost balance. The motorcycle spun twice on the road to dissipate force before finally falling over, scraping sparks on the ground and throwing him off.

As a bodyguard, Xie Yunshen was experienced with falls. At such times, it was crucial to protect all joints and the heart.

The helmet protected his head. Aside from an injured leg, he was relatively lucky.

A passerby was about to call an ambulance, but Xie Yunshen, ignoring his bleeding leg, stood up, grabbed the handlebars, mounted the bike, twisted the throttle, and chased after the car.

Mr. Yan, wait for me.

"Hey, is this guy crazy?!" the passerby stared in disbelief.

-----------------------

Author's note: I originally wanted to write until they meet, but it's almost midnight, so I'll post this first [covering face and peeking].