Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Bian Han listened to the story, which was mostly about Jiang Jining feeling bad for Fu Yuze picking up horse manure and sweeping the courtyard. After getting off the elevator, she was still laughing. "So you came back as soon as you had the chance?"

"Mhm, there's a hot spring pool behind the Jiang residence." Jiang Jining laid out the reasons: "I chose a rainy day, bade farewell to my parents early, and Fu Yuze met me halfway up the mountain. We sat by the spring under a tree waiting for the rain to stop, and I made sure he saw me return with his own eyes."

Bian Han nodded thoughtfully.

Jiang Jining pushed open the door and found the bedroom still pitch-dark and utterly silent. Uneasy, he immediately looked at Bian Han as she was about to leave. "Why hasn't he come back yet?"

Bian Han glanced inside and said, "I've already removed everything. You just need to draw the curtains to let in the light, then shake him awake forcefully. That should do it."

It was that simple.

The real soul-switching ritual requires seven days and seven nights without interruption, otherwise it fails outright. This absolute need for safety was also why she had chosen to test it on herself first.

Jiang Jining immediately breathed a sigh of relief, popping his head out to look at Bian Han with a hint of embarrassment. "...I'm going to shut the door now."

Bian Han had no desire to disturb the couple who hadn't been intimate for a month. "I'm off."

Jiang Jining, blushing, gently closed the door. Out of trust, he didn't lock it. He reached for Ya'er, who was seeking his attention, soothed the baby for a while, then hit a button to open the curtains.

Instantly, the room was flooded with light.

Jiang Jining took off his shoes and climbed onto the bed. Sitting beside Fu Yuze, he noticed he felt chilly all over. He shook his shoulders and arms, then gave him a firm kiss on the corner of his mouth.

The surroundings were so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Jiang Jining thought maybe he wasn't being as "forceful" as Bian Han had said. He gave Fu Yuze another push, took his hand and kept shaking it, placing it on his own round belly so he could feel Dou Ya'er.

Fu Yuze probably wouldn't stay at the Jiang residence for long, right?

Jiang Jining had a strange realization. He couldn't help but carefully hold his belly and examine it closely. Even though he'd been well cared for at home for over a month and eating so well, Ya'er didn't seem to have grown much.

Wait.

What's the date today?

Just as Jiang Jining was about to check the date, he let out a soft groan. Ya'er's kick was a bit painful, and he could feel his belly quiver, causing him to let go of Fu Yuze's hand.

Little troublemaker.

Jiang Jining was about to complain to his daughter.

A hand gently covered his lower abdomen.

Fu Yuze was kicked awake by the not-yet-born Dou Ya'er baby. He slowly opened his eyes, his complexion ashen and lips pale, as his senses gradually returned.

He was himself.

"...Has she been bothering you like this all along?"

Fu Yuze used just one sentence to confirm his identity was correct: "Back at the residence, when you asked me to feel Ya'er, was it like this too?"

In that instant, Jiang Jining forgot the discomfort from the baby's kick, overjoyed as he helped the man sit up.

Fu Yuze withdrew his hand from the belly and gently grasped Jiang Jining's wrist, which was helping him, afraid he couldn't bear his weight. He sat up on his own.

Dizzy, lightheaded, chest tight, short of breath.

It felt as if his body had been hollowed out.

There was also a constant, oppressive feeling of some unknown heavy weight pressing on his head.

Fu Yuze took a few seconds to gather himself completely. He pulled Jiang Jining to lie on top of him, buried his face in his hair, and whispered, "Let me hold you properly."

Jiang Jining offered himself willingly.

Fu Yuze, afraid of squishing the little one, changed position to embrace his soft, real body from behind, feeling Jiang Jining's warmth.

Both of them noticed the clock.

They had been gone for less than a day.

"Don't do this kind of thing again in the future." Jiang Jining always felt his complexion looked somewhat poor. He caressed Fu Yuze's face with concern. "You and A-Han seem different from me. I used this method and was fine... Are you and A-Han both going to get sick?"

Jiang Jining remembered the time he didn't go home.

During that period, Bian Han repeatedly warned him to go out less and move around less.

But occasionally he forgot and went to Shishu alone for several days in a row to have meals with Fu Yuze. After going out, no dangerous incidents occurred, and he realized this strange talisman didn't work on him.

Fu Yuze's focus was completely different.

He knew he was doomed to be utterly devoted to Jiang Jining for the rest of his life. From now on, even speaking would require careful consideration. Might as well start negotiating now: "When you're alone, can you not go swimming?"

Jiang Jining didn't understand at first. "What?"

"I want to build a new door in the backyard," Fu Yuze started and then couldn't stop, running his hand from Jiang Jining's hair to his shoulder. "Let's make a deal. Whatever you want to do, I'll agree to it. But can you please not go home without a word?"

This was the first time Jiang Jining had seen him like this.

"Okay."

"Agreeing to build the door, or agreeing not to go home casually?" Fu Yuze was determined to get a clear answer this time.

Jiang Jining: "..."

He smiled and leaned his head on Fu Yuze's shoulder. "Both are fine."

If this could make Fu Yuze feel a bit more secure, then it was just a trivial, ordinary matter. He was willing to agree wholeheartedly.

"I miss you and Ya'er every single day." Seeing Fu Yuze wasn't in great condition, Jiang Jining said, "Fu Yuze, did you know Ya'er didn't grow at all this whole month at the Jiang residence?"

What?

Fu Yuze immediately placed his hand on his belly.

"Ya'er is the baby from here." Speaking of this, Jiang Jining still felt a bit regretful. "If I can't take her back to the residence in the future, I can only tell Father and Mother about things after she's born."

This was also said for Fu Yuze's sake.

Jiang Jining didn't want him to live in constant fear that he and their daughter might disappear at any moment. He fully revealed his vulnerability, wrapped his arms around Fu Yuze's neck, and told him, "I'm not going anywhere. Don't be afraid."

"Okay." Fu Yuze's voice was low and hoarse.

Jiang Jining actively offered a kiss, lingering intimately with him. After parting, he breathed lightly. "Days like this won't happen often."

Besides, Ya'er is about to be born soon.

After the baby was born, he didn't have a chance to go for a swim for a long time.

"If you want to go home, I'll accompany you." Fu Yuze held his hand, stating his final condition: "It just doesn't sit right with me to always face your parents through others. They would never feel okay about leaving you with me."

"Don't you go there again."

Jiang Jining noticed that as they spoke, he was getting weaker.

He took Fu Yuze's phone from the bedside, managed to find the family doctor's number and called.

Fu Yuze was forcibly pressed onto the bed by his kitten, refusing to let go the whole time, feeling him all over and then feeling Dou Ya'er.

Jiang Jining knew these days in the Jiang residence had been hard on him, so he actively let him touch all over, getting himself all worked up until only Fu Yuze could personally extinguish it.

"The physician said... we can be intimate."

Jiang Jining also understood he had been suffering these days. Afraid he wouldn't believe it, he even blushed and pulled Fu Yuze's hand to check himself, "Isn't it similar to my heat?"

Fu Yuze knew Jiang Jining's body all too well, understanding this was the sensitive time right after his release. His body was damp, and in the late stage of pregnancy, Fu Yuze really didn't dare get up to any mischief. He started carefully helping him put on his pants, "What if we hurt Ya'er?"

Jiang Jining: "..."

Why phrase it like that?

He was comfortable now, but Fu Yuze was still in that state. After cooperating to put on his sleep pants, he gently draped his feet over the man's thighs.

Fu Yuze glanced at the clock, "There's not enough time."

Being interrupted midway is really hard on the body.

Remembering his red ankles last time, Jiang Jining blurted out, "The doctor shouldn't be here for another ten minutes."

Fu Yuze: "..."

You can't judge based on one time. This was something he had to stress: "Not enough, A Ning."

Last time was completely an accident.

It's just that every change in Jiang Jining seemed tailor-made for his tastes.

*

Jiang Jining's return home this time was particularly coincidental. Due to the vastly different flow of time, he encountered his own birthday. The entire Jiang residence was secretly busy preparing for his coming-of-age ceremony and birthday banquet.

He even attended it together with Dou Ya'er and Fu Yuze.

Of course, the latter was only able to steal loving glances with Jiang Jining, who was showered with affection, when he was sent back by the steward to work, with the risk of being discovered if they looked for more than two seconds.

All in all, life in the Jiang residence was quite good.

Case in point:

After returning, Jiang Jining celebrated his birthday again in June, which happened to correspond to the lunar calendar's April 19th. Since he was heavily pregnant, not wanting the fuss, they held a simple birthday dinner at Xie Ting.

Today, the head chef was Fu Yuze alone.

Perhaps it was due to Jiang Jining's auspicious fortune shining upon him, for this past month, aside from the occasional minor health issue, Fu Yuze hadn't had any major problems.

Bian Han was very relieved to hear this.

She had originally thought of having Bian Jiacheng return early from abroad to stay at Xie Ting for a while, after all, he was the one with real non-stop luck. But now it seemed it wasn't really needed.

Jiang Jining, their little lucky charm, was now turning twenty.

When Xi Wang arrived, he gave his gift to Uncle Lu, rolled up his sleeves and was about to join the kitchen.

The next second, he was pulled down by Bian Jiacheng as if being zipped into thermal underwear, his wrist firmly gripped and sat on the sofa with a warning: "You just had major surgery and recuperated for a month, and now you want to work? Go home and tell your dad."

Xi Wang could only shut up.

"Jiacheng, who is this..."

When Fu Yuze's cousin came over, she saw Xi Wang and inquired warmly.

"Auntie, this is my partner." Bian Jiacheng said with full confidence, leaning close to tell Xi Wang, "You address her the same as I do."

"Auntie, hello."

Xi Wang stood up to greet her.

"Good child, good child." After satisfying her curiosity, the cousin waved for him to sit down, then turned to take Jiang Jining's hand, "Come here, Guai Guai, Auntie has another new thingamajig for you, really interesting!"

Jiang Jining knew his little treasure trove was about to overflow again.

Unexpectedly, there were several aunts and cousins over there looking for him, as if he had entered a mountain of gifts.

When Jiang Jining gracefully appeared at the window outside the kitchen, he was adorned with several beautiful pieces of jewelry.

Fu Yuze noticed him as soon as he arrived. He cranked the vent to max, washed and dried his hands, opened the window, and stroked the smooth hair beneath his hairpin, "Little butterfly."

Jiang Jining habitually nuzzled his palm, "Auntie and the others insisted on putting these on me."

"Because you're beautiful."

Fu Yuze smiled and kissed the corner of his lips.

Looking up, he happened to meet Bian Jiacheng and Xi Wang walking over. He said, "Why are you all secretly visiting my kitchen?"

"Need any help, Chef!" Xi Wang couldn't help but ask.

"No need."

"He can handle it alone!"

Fu Yuze and Bian Jiacheng spoke in unison.

Jiang Jining found this quite amusing. After getting the latest reset password from Fu Yuze, he took Xi Wang to the backyard to chat. The act of entering the password to open the door made Xi Wang very curious: "A Ning, why is there an extra door set up here?"

I don't remember seeing it before.

Does Xie Ting have a pet that needs its movement restricted or something?