Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"Try lifting it a little... It's normal if you can't do it yet, but for an organ that's completely lost sensation, having this kind of feeling is already a major breakthrough. You just need to keep up with the rehabilitation, and it will definitely get better."

"Okay."

Ruan Yunchu sat in his wheelchair, having already come to terms with the initial surprise.

Yan Zhuo crouched beside him, unable to hide his amazement. "Wow, I can already see you standing up, young master."

Chen Quan looked relieved. "It seems the persistence paid off after all. Young master, don't overwork yourself with other things from now on—just focus on rehabilitation."

Ruan Yunchu's expression remained cool, his mind a whirl of complex thoughts, but he showed nothing.

Throughout his life, almost nothing had ever been an obstacle for him—except for the battle to control his own legs, which had become an unprecedented challenge.

From then on, he raised no objections during any rehabilitation session or check-up. But after every session, he would secretly practice for a long time in his room.

It took Yan Zhuo a while to notice this. Every time he suddenly entered the room, he would see a fine sheen of sweat on the young master's brow. At first, he thought the young master was up to some mischief, but after the doctor's report indicated mild swelling in the legs due to overexertion, he realized what Ruan Yunchu was really doing in his room all day.

After that, Yan Zhuo made a big production of moving his stuff into the master bedroom of the small courtyard, completely ignoring Ruan Yunchu's protests.

Ruan Yunchu hated this arrangement, but Yan Zhuo had already made up his mind and moved in anyway. Then, without any shame, he turned around and started acting all spoiled, leaving Ruan Yunchu defenseless.

"Recovery has to be gradual—it's not about how long you practice. You don't want to hurt your legs again, do you?"

Yan Zhuo sat on the carpet, wrapped his arms around Ruan Yunchu's legs, and rested his head on them, gently swaying.

Ruan Yunchu was annoyed by him and tried to push his head away, but his palm got pricked by Yan Zhuo's freshly cut hair.

"Get lost."

"Say that again, and I'll really be heartbroken. Every day it's 'get lost' or 'scram'—am I that annoying?"

Yan Zhuo looked up at him, faking a pout.

Ruan Yunchu couldn't bear to look at him.

Seeing he wasn't giving in, Yan Zhuo changed the subject. "I heard a circus is coming to District A soon. Do you like circuses, young master? How about asking Uncle Chen to buy a few tickets, and we go check it out together?"

Ruan Yunchu shot him a cold glance. "Are you going to perform on stage?"

Still joking—he must be giving in.

Yan Zhuo grinned. "If you want to see it, I could go learn too. But I heard that circus is pretty popular—not sure if they're taking on apprentices. I could learn a few tricks and do magic for you."

"Can you beam yourself into outer space?"

"You're such a joker, young master. If I left District A, who would take care of you?"

Ruan Yunchu couldn't stand his shamelessness, gave a cold snort, and turned to look out the window.

The tension from their earlier argument had eased considerably. Yan Zhuo leaned against his legs, his fingers instinctively cradling the slender calf, secretly a bit sorry.

Sure, it was good his legs had regained feeling, but... he couldn't be as reckless as before. Before, he could sneak kisses and touches when the young master wasn't paying attention, but now he had to hold back so he wouldn't get caught.

As he let out a sigh, Ruan Yunchu was thinking about serious matters.

Ruan Jing had been admitted successfully to the military hospital, but Peng Zhongying hadn't come looking for him again. The hospital matter seemed to have ended with a brief interrogation, without making a ripple in his life.

During his recovery break, Chen Quan had vetted everyone thoroughly but found nothing suspicious. The only one whose background was a mystery was Yan Zhuo.

Ruan Yunchu slowly lowered his gaze, seeing the man leaning against his legs, one hand inappropriately caressing his bare ankle. Yan Zhuo's sharp brows were slightly knit, as if he were unhappy.

Suddenly, an idea came to Ruan Yunchu. He asked, "Are front row circus tickets easy to come by?"

Yan Zhuo lifted his head in surprise. "I'll get them, no problem."

"Alright, let's go." Ruan Yunchu looked away coolly.

But this time, Yan Zhuo was puzzled. "Why the sudden change of heart? You were just making a face at it."

"..."

Ruan Yunchu was too lazy to come up with a lie, so he told the truth straight. "I've never seen one."

Yan Zhuo stared at him in astonishment, then broke into a smile. "Alright, leave it to me."

That night, Yan Zhuo did sleep in his room. To prevent Ruan Yunchu from secretly practicing, he forced him to wash up and get into bed early before finally heading to the bathroom with satisfaction.

He didn't like baths—he just had a quick shower each day.

Hearing the sound of water from the bathroom, Ruan Yunchu slowly sat up and reached for the wrist terminal on the bedside table, which still carried the faint warmth of the man's body heat.

Yan Zhuo never hid his password when entering it, so Ruan Yunchu had no trouble unlocking it. The interface was simple—aside from a few essential apps, it was filled with all sorts of flashy mini-games.

Ruan Yunchu didn't know much about these and instinctively opened two of them. The screens were bright, colorful, and meticulously designed, with progress reaching over a thousand levels—clearly indicating frequent play.

He frowned and exited, then opened Yan Zhuo's messaging app. Spotting the topmost pinned conversation, his face grew even darker.

"Baby Chu"

Without even looking at it, he scrolled down and saw Uncle Chen and Wu Ming, along with a few vaguely familiar names that seemed to belong to the gardeners who came weekly.

"..."

He found no useful information and was about to exit when his finger slipped, and his gaze caught a line at the very bottom.

"Never let him find out"

His heart began to race. He reopened the app and tapped on the conversation with the blank name.

It started with Yan Zhuo initiating the contact, sending a few photos of flowers.

"I want these—more of the pink ones."

"Are you sure? They might not look very good together."

"What do you know? All these flowers symbolize confession. I'm going to use them to confess my feelings. Don't worry about it."

"Alright..."

"..."

After reading through these meaningless messages, Ruan Yunchu fell silent.

Scrolling further down, he saw that today Yan Zhuo had ordered a bouquet from the same person—detailing everything from the main flower to the accompanying leaves and the material and length of the wrapping paper. The delivery address was set for Sunday evening at 8 p.m., outside the temporary circus theater.

"Call me when you arrive—don't bring it inside."

"Okay."

"That day, my partner will be there too. I want to give him a surprise."

"Hmm..."

"Don't let him find out."

Ruan Yunchu squeezed his eyes shut and didn't open them for a long while, then coldly closed the page.

The water in the bathroom had stopped running. He skimmed through the other apps quickly and found nothing suspicious. Just as he was clearing the history, a thought struck him, and he opened the StarNet. The homepage showed nothing but food and fun stuff, mixed in with a few trending novels from Planet A.

He tapped the search bar and looked at the search history.

"Leg massage chart"

"Complete collection of cold jokes"

"What to do if all the planted flowers suddenly die?"

A vein throbbed faintly on his forehead. Growing impatient, he swiped down rapidly, skimming past the nonsense.

"Ruan family cemetery dug up—culprit is—"

"Stunning face gallery of the Ruan heir"

"Search engine is dumb—why aren't there any pictures of me?"

"Ruan Yunchu and his bodyguard are a perfect match"

"Who is the black-clad bodyguard beside Ruan Yunchu?"

"The Ruan family heir's bodyguard"

"Where are the ashes generally buried in a cemetery? How to dig them out fastest?"

Ruan Yunchu finally lost his composure. He closed the page, cleared the history, and put the terminal back on the nightstand just as Yan Zhuo opened the door.

"The water was so hot today, my skin is all red."

Yan Zhuo had a towel wrapped around his waist, his upper body bare. He used another towel to dry his hair, water droplets from his collarbone rolling down his chiseled abs and into the waistband of the towel.

His arm muscles bulged with visible veins, exuding a sense of raw power. Leaning in, he carried a faint fragrance—the same kind Ruan Yunchu usually used.

He was clearly putting on a show, but Ruan Yunchu, after being completely shocked by the meaningless content on his terminal, couldn't care less about the man in front of him. He'd just wasted twenty minutes.

Yan Zhuo, however, stood beside him and pointed to a patch of skin on his waist.

"It really hurts. I didn't realize my skin was this delicate."

Ruan Yunchu couldn't even be bothered to roll his eyes. "The guest room is ready. You'll sleep there tonight."

"No way. I still have to tell you a bedtime story, young master." Yan Zhuo sat stubbornly on the edge of the bed, his gaze fixed on the empty expanse of the mattress. "And I haven't given you your massage tonight. Besides, you'll get cold sleeping alone."

"Don't bother. Lin Qing already gave me one this afternoon."

As soon as he said it, Yan Zhuo's expression turned murderous. Ruan Yunchu wasn't intimidated in the slightest.

"It's not cold tonight, the bed's warm. I don't need you."

Yan Zhuo tossed the towel casually onto the carpet, then leaned in, staring him straight in the eye.

"No. I'm sleeping here."

Ruan Yunchu gave him a cold glare, but Yan Zhuo had no idea why he was so angry.

"I don't care. You've done this before, so I won't trust you. Otherwise, I'll hear you knocking over stools again while doing your rehab at night."

"I won't—"

Before Ruan Yunchu could finish, his cheek was suddenly pinched, making his lips pout involuntarily. His eyes went wide, and he raised a hand to hit Yan Zhuo, but the other man moved swiftly, leaning in and giving him a firm kiss.

"Young master, you're being too naughty. Are you really going to use me and throw me away?"

Yan Zhuo had taken advantage of him, yet he acted like the wronged party.

"..."

After a long stalemate, Yan Zhuo took the chance to take liberties with him, stealing plenty of touches.

Ruan Yunchu had no choice but to give in and let him into bed, though he placed two long pillows between them.

Yan Zhuo lay there like a spurned concubine, pitifully telling him stories from his side. His whiny tone somehow made Ruan Yunchu even sleepier. Ruan Yunchu closed his eyes, but the corner of his mouth unconsciously lifted.