Chapter 19

Chapter 19

As soon as he heard the knocking and the voice, Li Yanchuan was taken aback, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

He pushed his wheelchair to the door, and when he reached out to open it, his movement held a hint of anticipation he didn't even realize.

As the door slowly swung open, Song Nian's figure came into view.

The young man stood there, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, his eyes crinkling into a smile. When he saw the man, his puppy-dog eyes crinkled even more, gazing gently at him.

That smile was like a spring breeze or summer rain—wherever it appeared, it would spread boundless warmth.

Gazing at the other man's face, Li Yanchuan's eyes glimmered; for a moment he was dazed, and his furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

"If you really feel sorry about it, you have to apologize in person, you know? It doesn't make sense to do it over a screen, does it?"

Song Nian spoke with a hint of amusement in his tone, making his intent clear.

In fact, he himself was surprised when he received Li Yanchuan's message downstairs just now.

Even though it was just an abrupt "sorry" with no context, it was obvious what it referred to.

He hadn't expected that besides buying medicine, Li Yanchuan would actually apologize for what happened yesterday.

Even if the way he expressed it was a little awkward.

But given Li Yanchuan's status and his cold, brooding nature, doing this much was already progress.

When he saw the message, Song Nian almost replied right away that he forgave him.

But then he thought about it and felt that handling it through a phone conversation would be too boring.

So he put down his phone, briefly slipped out of the camera's view, and the next moment he appeared at the door of the master bedroom.

He wanted to see how far Li Yanchuan would go.

Even if he never got a verbal apology in the end, it would still be fine.

Because in his heart, just receiving an apology—even one through a screen—was enough to turn the page on this matter.

Besides, he had already forgiven him long ago. He just wanted to playfully tease him a little.

Song Nian blinked, quietly waiting for the other man's response.

Hearing this, Li Yanchuan paused, a bewildered look appearing on his face.

After hesitating for a moment, he parted his tight lips, moved them slightly, trying hard to speak, but in the end, no sound came out.

He had never apologized to anyone before. The word "sorry" stuck in his throat but simply wouldn't come out.

After all, it's hard for someone who always holds his head high and back straight to humble himself.

Seeing Li Yanchuan's expression, Song Nian raised an eyebrow, guessing that the man was trying to say it.

He decided to give him a nudge and started messing with him.

"Not saying it? Then I'll just have to leave."

With that, he turned around and pretended to walk away.

But his steps were extremely slow, and he even opened one eye while keeping the other shut, secretly watching the reaction of the person behind him.

Sure enough, seeing him about to leave, a flash of panic crossed Li Yanchuan's face, and he instinctively reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

Song Nian, who was only bluffing, stopped in his tracks, let out a soft hum, and made a questioning sound.

Still intentionally facing away from the man.

"Song Nian..."

"What is it?"

"I..."

"Hmm?"

Li Yanchuan lowered his head, his bangs falling over his eyes, making it impossible to read his thoughts.

But the strength of his grip made his knuckles go white as he tightly held onto Song Nian's sleeve, as if he would never let go, even wrinkling the fabric.

He struggled to overcome his own discomfort, his throat bobbing as he swallowed, as he finally forced the apology to his lips.

The young man opposite him was extremely patient, not urging him at all, but instead looking at him with a tender smile in his eyes, patiently and quietly waiting for the next words.

"About yesterday, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you... I'm sorry..."

Finally, he finally got the apology out.

"I forgive you!"

As if he had been waiting for those words, the moment they were spoken, Song Nian immediately broke into a bright grin at the man.

He crouched down, cupped the man's face in both hands, and said earnestly:

"Husband, from now on we need to communicate well. If there's a problem, we have to talk about it. Stop blowing up like that, okay?"

The warm palm suddenly pressed against his cheek, warming the skin it touched, like the sun rising over the horizon, driving away the cold of the night and bringing warmth.

That feeling was magical and captivating. Li Yanchuan felt dazed for a moment, then lowered his eyes and answered softly:

"...Mm."

"So we're all good now. What do you want for lunch? I'll make you something."

"Anything."

"If you say that, I'm going to make crucian carp, y'know."

"...Too many bones. No."

Under the man's narrowed gaze, Li Yanchuan rubbed his nose and mumbled awkwardly:

"Wagyu."

"Coming right up!"

————

The brief quarrel soon passed, and the earlier rift between them seemed to vanish, and they were surprisingly harmonious.

Ever since that heart-to-heart conversation, Li Yanchuan occasionally found himself doubting his own judgment.

He began to question whether his perception of Song Nian had been wrong.

He had always assumed Song Nian was putting on an act, but after experiencing so much, if all of it were fake, Song Nian would have to be the greatest actor in the world.

As the saying goes, the eyes never lie.

Whenever he recalled those bright, clear eyes, a strange calm would settle over him.

It was as if an invisible hand soothed the restlessness and gloom within him.

What if—however slim the chance—Song Nian was actually sincere?

Just as he said, he wanted to stay by Li Yanchuan's side with no bad intentions.

Thinking this, Li Yanchuan looked down at the USB drive on the desk, his eyes dark and unfathomable, as a thought came to him.

————

"Li Yanchuan: Come to the study."

When Song Nian received this message, he was lying in bed.

Seeing the word "study," he squinted, almost thinking he had misread it.

Hadn't he been told not to enter the study before? Why was he being called there now?

Unsure, he double-checked:

"Song Nian: The study?"

And soon, a "yes" came.

Though puzzled, Song Nian still went to the third floor as instructed.

He politely knocked on the slightly ajar door, and after receiving a response, pushed it open a crack to peek inside.

His movements were sneaky and cautious.

"What are you doing at the door? Just come in."

Seeing this, Li Yanchuan cast a casual glance at the figure peeking from the doorway.

But Song Nian didn't do as he said. Instead, he blinked and asked uncertainly.

"But didn't you say I wasn't allowed in the study before?"

Hearing this, Li Yanchuan paused, recalling what he had said on the first day after Song Nian moved in with him.

—"The third floor is my study. Normally, don't come near it."

He didn't expect Song Nian to still remember that remark, which had originally been just bait to test him.

He felt conflicted as he lowered his head to feign nonchalance.

"It's fine now. Come in."

For real?

Hearing that, Song Nian blinked quickly, weighing whether to believe him.

Was it a test to see if he would take the bait, or had he really didn't care anymore?

Instead of striding in, he hesitantly edged out from behind the door, moving sideways one step at a time.

With each step, he would glance at the man at the desk, and only when he saw no reaction would he continue.

In this way, he sidled into the room, little by little, like a little crab.

Only when he was completely inside the study did he cover his O-shaped mouth in surprise, hardly believing he had actually made it in.

It was his first time entering the study. Like a curious child, Song Nian looked around, taking in the decor.

The study's design, true to Li Yanchuan's personality, was solid wood Chinese-style furniture—heavy walnut desks and bookcases, with a leather sofa in the corner, giving it a serious, solemn air.

It was clearly a serious office, the kind where people decided multi-million-dollar deals in minutes.

"Why are you standing at the door? Come here."

Seeing him still looking around, amused by his curiosity, Li Yanchuan lifted an eyebrow and said gently.

Hearing this, Song Nian immediately withdrew his gaze, gave a bright grin, and like an eager bird, skipped over to him with cheerful steps.

"What is it, hubby?"

"Here, do you remember this?"

Saying this, Li Yanchuan pushed something toward him. Song Nian recognized it as the USB drive.

"Give this to Li Wenguang. It has what he wants."

What he wants? That must be company secrets!

How can you? That's too risky!

Hearing this, Song Nian turned into an angry cat, fur on end, protesting frantically:

"How can you give him something so important! He'll definitely use it to harm you!"

Though strictly speaking, it wasn't his business, he couldn't stand the thought of Li Yanchuan getting hurt.

Seeing his flustered and ruffled look, a rare softness appeared in Li Yanchuan's eyes.

He curved his lips almost imperceptibly and said calmly to reassure him:

"Hold on. I never said the info on it was real."

Could it be... a trap?

Realizing this, Song Nian realized in a flash.

And that was exactly Li Yanchuan's plan.

But it wasn't just targeted at Li Wenguang; it was also targeted at Song Nian.

He wanted to use Song Nian to pass on this fake intel to Li Wenguang.

If Song Nian followed through and made Li Wenguang fall for it, then it would prove he was trustworthy, and everything he said before was true.

Conversely, if Song Nian did not comply, Li Wenguang's true nature could be fully revealed.

"I want you to take this to Li Wenguang."

However, Song Nian, who was wholeheartedly on Li Yanchuan's side, did not think about that at all and immediately thumped his chest and agreed:

"Don't worry, I'll get it done."

With that, he took out his phone, ready to message Li Wenguang.

It was only then that he realized that in the two weeks since the wedding, Li Wenguang had sent him countless messages, to the point that the chat window even froze for a second when he opened it.

There were also numerous missed calls mixed in.

Because he had set the contact to Do Not Disturb earlier and hadn't been checking his phone much during this time, Song Nian only found out about this now.

Probably after taking that punch at the wedding, Li Wenguang thought Song Nian was about to slip out of his control, so on WeChat he would sometimes try to guilt-trip him, sometimes threaten, trying to keep a tight grip on the fish in his pond.

Unfortunately, the current Song Nian was no longer the easily swayed person he used to be.

He immediately turned around and, all fawning, held out his phone with both hands to Li Yanchuan:

"Honey, I swear to God, I really haven't responded to him at all; it's all him harassing me, one-sided."

"If you don't believe me, look at the chat history."