Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Xie Manor.

Sensor Activation

The system recognized the registered license plate, and the black iron gate slowly opened. The orchid-purple Porsche smoothly drove into the front grounds, parking side by side with the black Maybach still outside the garage.

Bian Jiacheng squinted.

Whose car was this?

Fu Yuze was a loner by nature, set in his ways, disliked hired drivers, and never drove flashy or corporate-looking cars… Was there a guest at the house today?

“Don’t look around while driving.”

Bian Han was checking in remotely in real time: “Or have you arrived already?”

Bian Jiacheng had come on his own auspicious errand. He turned the camera toward the safe and sound Jiang Jining and reported on the call: “He’s sleeping.”

He hadn’t slept deeply, his early morning sleep filled with dreams. After fully relaxing, Jiang Jining was worn out from keeping odd hours. He had dozed off briefly in the car and woke when called, taking in the familiar yard.

“We’re here?”

Jiang Jining unbuckled his seatbelt.

Before getting out, he reached up to tidy his hair and adjust his hairpin.

“You look absolutely stunning; just let him get a glimpse at the door.” Knowing Jiang Jining had let go of the idea of going home, Bian Jiacheng felt his sympathy for his brother evaporate. He then asked, “Aren’t you afraid he might try something?”

“I am afraid.”

Jiang Jining hurriedly opened the car door.

Bian Jiacheng: “…”

Just look at how perfunctory that was.

“Have you forgotten? You can’t trust men too much. Fu Yuze isn’t some immortal cultivating a path of detachment.”

A man who’s been starving for that many years is even more someone you shouldn’t provoke.

But Bian Jiacheng didn’t say that.

Good heavens, he wasn’t even sure Jiang Jining would understand!

Jiang Jining leaned down by the car window and said, “A-Han has a headache from drinking last night. Take good care of her. If I can make it back tonight, I will.”

“You’re even considering not coming back??” Bian Jiacheng’s seniority instantly kicked in, his eyes filled with absurdity as he stared at Jiang Jining like a strict father: “Don’t even think about it. I’ll come pick you up tonight.”

Jiang Jining softly replied, “Oh.”

“Go quickly if you’re going.” Bian Jiacheng finally let him go. “It’s weirdly hot. Ring the bell and ask Uncle Lu to open the door for you.”

“No need.”

With that, Jiang Jining left.

Bian Jiacheng was puzzled for a moment, watching as Jiang Jining walked to the door, placed his hand on the fingerprint scanner, the system simultaneously scanning his face. Two seconds later, the lock rotated with a whirr.

“Welcome home.”

Jiang Jining boldly ran into the courtyard.

Bian Jiacheng: “…” Did you two really break up?

Within minutes of the car entering the grounds, a warning bell sounded.

Jiang Jining appeared in the corridor. Uncle Lu’s first reaction was that his eyes were playing tricks on him. He hurried forward: “Xiao Ning?!”

“Uncle Lu.”

Jiang Jining greeted him.

The breakup drama had lasted over a month, and he was the one who had ended it. Now he was unsure how to face everyone. Uncle Lu’s expression showed only wary concern: “Did you come alone?”

Jiang Jining mustered his courage instantly: “Is Fu Yuze at home?”

“Yes, yes, he is.”

Uncle Lu’s eyes flicked unconsciously toward the kitchen.

Jiang Jining immediately understood, “I’ll go to the kitchen to find him.”

Uncle Lu urgently reached out to stop him.

The gravity on his face was unusual.

That left Jiang Jining somewhat at a loss, “…I have something to say to him.”

“Sir is resting in the bedroom.” Uncle Lu’s heart ached to see him like this, afraid of scaring away this long-awaited visitor. He switched to his most ordinary, gentle tone: “I’ll take you upstairs. Come.”

It was already past ten…

Having been disconnected from the outside world for over a month, Jiang Jining didn’t know Fu Yuze had become so withdrawn after the breakup.

“There’s also a distinguished guest at home.”

Uncle Lu stopped at the second-floor staircase landing, every word implying this guest was not to be slighted. He added, “You just focus on keeping Sir company. Your presence is better than any medicine. Leave everything else to me and Aunt Tao.”

…Medicine?

Has Fu Yuze been sick during this time?

With a guest at home, the host was still asleep.

Many answers surged in Jiang Jining’s mind, but he couldn’t dwell on them. He gently knocked on the door before him.

No response.

Jiang Jining pressed down the door handle and walked in. The gray-and-brown-toned room was slightly cool, with a hazy dimness. Light and shadow shifted beneath the white gauze curtains, quiet and soundless.

Such a large room…

His feet made no sound on the thick carpet.

Jiang Jining slowly walked toward the center of the bedroom, crouched down beside the bed with its gray-ink textured pattern, and placed his hand over Fu Yuze’s, which lay outside the covers.

Even this didn’t wake him.

He must have been exhausted after going out to search for him in the middle of the night.

Right...

Jiang Jining glanced around, his eyes immediately landing on the water glass and pills on the nightstand. The cup he touched was already cold, so he slowly took out the blister pack of medication.

Oxazepam...

Seeing the unfamiliar modern Chinese characters, Jiang Jining flipped it over to read the description on the back, which bore the same drug name. Unable to make sense of it, he made to withdraw his hand from Fu Yuze's and reach for the drawer—

Just then, his wrist was gently grasped.

In a daze, he was pulled by the waist to the other side of the bed, the movement so forceful it dislodged the blue-and-white hairpin. His waist-length hair cascaded over his shoulders, a few strands hanging between them.

Jiang Jining was startled, his long, delicate lashes fluttering several times.

Up close, Fu Yuze's eyebrows were thick and dense, his eyelashes lush and full, extending all the way to the outer corners of his eyes as if naturally lined. His dark pupils held a calm, unruffled emotion, veiled by a faint mist.

Yet beneath his eyes were faint dark circles.

"I'm sorry."

"You were asleep and didn't hear the knock, so I came in."

Jiang Jining's fingers unconsciously reached up to touch them, frowning as he said, "...Could you sleep a little longer?"

Fu Yuze gave a soft hum of agreement.

Jiang Jining slowly slid off of him, his hand still firmly held, and he allowed it without resistance.

Fu Yuze kept his gaze fixed on him, pulling his jade-like forearm close to his ear. "Come a little closer."

"Okay."

Jiang Jining pressed himself tightly against him.

Resting his chin on Fu Yuze's shoulder, he freed one hand to gently pat him. After doing all this, his cheeks flushed slightly as he hid from Fu Yuze's intense gaze. "It's dark now."

Still unsatisfied, Fu Yuze swept him into the blanket with a sudden, storm-like motion, burying his face in Jiang Jining's neck to take a deep breath as if savoring the finest treasure in the world. Then, he lightly left a bite mark on Jiang Jining's soft, snow-white neck.

Jiang Jining flushed red from head to toe.

He had no idea such intimate closeness was possible and shrank down in fear.

Fu Yuze paused, holding him close while smoothing his hair. After gazing at the face he had longed for day and night, he kissed below Jiang Jining's ear. "Will you stay with me a little longer?"

Jiang Jining hugged him tightly. "I'm not leaving."

Hearing this, Fu Yuze seemed to have his dream come true, tightening his grip around Jiang Jining's waist.

The air conditioning was still on in the room due to the changing seasons, making it somewhat chilly. Yet Fu Yuze's body was so warm, his familiar temperature and scent filling Jiang Jining with nostalgia and addiction...

Before he knew it, he too fell into a deep sleep.

...

...

Fu Yuze hadn't had such a beautiful dream in a long time.

For over half a month, he hadn't dreamed at all. The abrupt emotional detachment had shattered and reshaped his daily routine, leaving him to numb himself with high-intensity work. Emotions accumulated over time, inevitably affecting his sleep.

Lately,

he had rarely slept a full night.

Just one glimpse of Jiang Jining was more effective than any medication.

It started right after the breakup.

Fu Yuze still held onto hope—

Jiang Jining had been in a car accident and fallen ill, his tearful appearance heartbreaking. Fu Yuze believed there was still room for reconciliation once things calmed down.

Jiang Jining had never eaten much to begin with.

Afraid he would blame himself after the breakup, Fu Yuze arranged for food to be delivered daily through Bian Han's housekeeper, counting on Bian Han's own concern for Jiang Jining. As expected, she turned a blind eye.

Soon, Jiang Jining caught on and simply stopped eating altogether.

Fu Yuze took another step back.

Up to this point, his emotions were still within normal fluctuations.

But then Jiang Jining quietly moved to a villa in the outskirts of Beijing, disappearing for an entire week.

For three consecutive days, Fu Yuze parked his car outside Bian Han's home, staring at the dark, empty courtyard from afar, mistakenly believing Jiang Jining had already left the country to start a new life.

From then on, his emotions rebounded, and physical symptoms emerged.

Insomnia, nightmares... Over these months, Jiang Jining had appeared and vanished in his life, real yet illusory, fading toward oblivion.

Fu Yuze resigned himself to an inescapable predicament.

He had been briefly rescued.

Bian Jiacheng, drunk and careless, revealed the change in Jiang Jining's temporary residence.

Seeing Jiang Jining again eased the longing that had built up over days. Their brief, ten-minute encounter became a cure, granting him several nights of restful sleep.

But even that proved far from enough.

During several visits home,

even his parents noticed something was off.

After privately learning the details from Bian Jiacheng, Fu Huaisheng forced Fu Yuze into psychological intervention. While not yet at the level of anxiety disorder, small doses of medication provided good control without overly impacting his life.

Yet the psychologist's assessment was gravely mistaken—

He began experiencing hallucinations.

Relying on medication, Fu Yuze fell asleep smoothly. When he awoke on his own, he had been sitting against the headboard for some time, looking down to stroke Jiang Jining, who lay asleep across his waist—warm and real.

He didn't want to wake up.

As the door knocked twice and was pushed open from outside,

even knowing it was a dream, Fu Yuze still chose to cover Jiang Jining's ear, looking up to call out, "Mom."

"How was your sleep?" The elegant woman placed a small bowl of soup on the bedside table. Dressed in a blue gown, the lustrous South Sea pearls around her neck shone as gracefully as she did. Zhou Yeying's gaze drifted down to another beautiful face. "A guest is here, and you're still not decent?"

Fu Yuze smiled faintly.

"Why is everyone standing at the door?"

"Ma'am, your apron..."

"That's right, Madam already brought it in herself."

Hearing his mother's tone—deliberately soft yet still tolerant—Fu Yuze glanced at Jiang Jining, who showed faint signs of waking in his arms, and said, "I'd like some time alone."

If he had paid attention, he would have realized.

Zhou Yeying tilted her head, watching Jiang Jining for a long time.

Upon hearing this, she looked back at her dazed and absent-minded son—none of the elation or the feeling of having regained something precious.

Zhou Yeying cut right to the chase. "You think you're dreaming, don't you?"

Fu Yuze remained still, his eyes fixed on Jiang Jining.

After learning that her son needed psychological intervention, Zhou Yeying let go of any lingering estrangement. Now, she gave his cheek a good, hard pinch before turning to leave. With a series of opening and closing doors, she led everyone at the door away with her.

"Everyone, go downstairs—"

Finally, Fu Yuze sensed something was amiss.

Jiang Jining stirred awake from their hushed conversation, his long lashes fluttering as he opened his eyes. He propped himself up, his clear, beautiful eyes—dark and bright—darting around as he checked on Fu Yuze's state.

"A Ning?"

Fu Yuze seemed to be confirming something.

Still drowsy from his deep sleep, Jiang Jining acted on impulse and threw himself into Fu Yuze's arms, straddling his lap. His smooth, dark hair brushed against Fu Yuze's palm as he whispered softly, "You're awake."