Chapter 33 Entering the House

Chapter 33: Entering the Home

Chu Yan had already placed the order for ingredients online while in the car, and they would be delivered straight to his home within half an hour.

Before heading upstairs, Chu Yan knocked on the security window of the lobby. "Hello, could you set up a face scan for me?"

Chi Suiyong, following behind him, looked confused. "What's the matter?"

"I figured Dr. Chi would probably be coming over often soon, so getting your face registered would make it easier for you to get in and out."

"No need to go to all that trouble. I wouldn't come to your place on my own anyway."

"Why not? He'an and Yitai are far from each other. Sometimes when I have to work overtime, I won't have time to pick you up."

"If you're busy, then don't come."

"I need to come. Until Dr. Chi's hand recovers, I'll take care of dinner."

Chi Suiyong didn't know how a simple dinner to express apology had turned into a long-term commitment. Chu Yan's behavior was both structured and unpredictable—quietly domineering, yet so soft that refusing him felt like a crime.

In the time spent with him, the other person had become the one who dictated the rules.

He had nothing to do but simply enjoy it all, and this became the most harmonious and comfortable dynamic in their relationship.

The face registration took less than three minutes. Chu Yan, carrying the just-delivered ingredients, passed through the security gate first. Chi Suiyong followed, standing in front of the face-scanning gate, marking his very first entry into this home.

On the twenty-second floor, Chu Yan didn't open the door right away. Instead, he guided Chi Suiyong in front of the electronic door lock.

The camera focused on his face, and with a beep, a mechanical female voice announced, "Face recognition successful. Welcome home."

Chu Yan nodded with satisfaction. "Pretty efficient. It's all synced."

The electronic door swung open automatically, and the lighting system inside the apartment came on. Chu Yan stepped inside first, bent down, and set the only pair of fuzzy slippers from the shoe cabinet at Chi Suiyong's feet. "They might be a bit big. I don't have any other slippers at home."

The shoe cabinet was open, and sure enough, there was only one pair of slippers, now right under Chi Suiyong's feet.

"You should keep a spare pair. There'll always be people coming over."

"The cleaner comes once every three days, but they bring their own shoe covers."

"I meant other people—friends, for example."

Chu Yan thought for a moment, then answered frankly, "Then that would only be Yunshang. She's brought things over a few times. No one else. Dr. Chi, you're the first friend I've brought home. Even my older brother has almost never been here."

"You and Yunshang..."

"What is Dr. Chi trying to ask?"

Chi Suiyong swallowed the question that had barely formed in his throat—a question he felt was ignoble. "Nothing."

Chu Yan first went to the kitchen to put away the ingredients, soaking the pork spine in warm water to draw out the blood. The unresolved suspicion from the memo he had written that morning at Lishan Hotel surfaced, prompted by Chi Suiyong's trail-off sentence. In that brief moment, Chu Yan felt that his relationship with Yunshang needed to be clarified again in front of Chi Suiyong.

He made his way back to the living room where Dr. Chi was. "Dr. Chi, you were about to ask what exactly my relationship with Yunshang is, weren't you?"

Chi Suiyong was taken aback for a moment. "I'm being nosy. That's your private business. I shouldn't have pried."

"Dr. Chi's memory isn't great. Last time at that tea house, I thought I was very clear."

Chi Suiyong's eyes darted away. "Mm, so you don't need to say it again so seriously."

"I have to. She and I are in a contractual relationship, and it can be dissolved at any time. I suspect that this approach of mine—using a pretense of a romantic relationship to bind someone to achieve my goal—made Dr. Chi uncomfortable."

"Chu Yan, you're overthinking."

"Let's say I am. But Dr. Chi, there is nothing more between Yunshang and me than the ties of being former classmates and now subordinate. As for the romantic relationship..." Chu Yan's explanation seemed to spill out unstoppably, becoming more and more blunt. "She and I have never had any feelings for each other—no hugging, no kissing with each other, and certainly no sleeping together. With this explanation, Dr. Chi should understand, right?"

Chi Suiyong was speechless.

All the doubts that had troubled him, that he hadn't dared to ask directly, had been spilled out by Chu Yan like beans from a sack.

Feeling thoroughly seen by someone else, Chi Suiyong, flustered, couldn't explore the other's motives. "I understand perfectly."

"Then is there anything else Dr. Chi wants to ask?"

"No."

"Really no?"

"Go and cook."

Chi Suiyong just wanted some peace and quiet.

Chu Yan indeed dove back into the kitchen. The sounds of utensils clinking were smooth and unhurried—he hadn't lied about being able to cook.

Chi Suiyong's mind raced. He thought, if he was so easily read, then those budding feelings, violently entangled by the other's unintentional closeness—would they be detected when they slipped out without his knowledge?

If Chu Yan had really noticed, given his tendency to get to the bottom of things, he would have brought it up yesterday while they were in the hot spring.

But Chi Suiyong hoped deep down that he had noticed. He wanted to interpret Chu Yan's attitude as a kind of unwitting reciprocation.

This had become a daunting obstacle for someone who had never been the initiator before.

In his past relationships, he had never been the one in charge. While he was still observing, others were already eager to cross the line. Chi Suiyong was honest about his feelings—if he liked someone, he would gladly accept them; if not, they wouldn't even get a chance to come close. But that didn't mean he had the courage to forge ahead.

Every relationship had stopped at the last stage. Sometimes he felt he was being ridiculous, judging the other's commitment by who would be dominant and who submissive. Perhaps his criteria had offended the other party, or perhaps neither had truly been committed to starting a serious relationship.

Chi Suiyong stood in Chu Yan's spacious living room, berating himself.

His thoughts wandered further and further, until the aroma of food snapped him back.

Cradling his left hand, he walked over to the kitchen area. Chu Yan had already changed into loungewear and was busy with his back to him. Even his silhouette exuded concentration.

He'd given his slippers to Chi Suiyong and was standing barefoot on the floor.

Chi Suiyong bent down and felt the floor.

Luckily, the floor had underfloor heating.

"How did you learn to cook?"

The range hood was quiet, so Dr. Chi's voice was sudden. Chu Yan hadn't even noticed when he came over.

Dr. Chi stopped beside him, leaving enough space not to get in his way. Chu Yan's fingers paused, and the slices of yam became uneven. "Very young."

"How young?"

Chu Yan recalled, "Less than ten. Back then, I was living with my dad's place—there was a cook, so I didn't have to make anything myself. But when I got bored, I'd watch from the sidelines. After watching enough, I just picked it up naturally."

"There must be a process from theory to practice, right?"

"Yes, I often went to see my dad. Although my older brother always had someone taking care of him back then, he was so lost in his creative work that he often forgot to eat. That time I went to see him, the cook had been driven away by his temper, so I grabbed the ingredients and tried cooking something."

"How did it taste?"

"It should have been okay. If it tasted that bad, Qi Qinghe would definitely have flipped the table."

"Qi Qinghe?"

"Yeah, that's my dad's name. He does scrap metal art, pretty well-known in the industry." Then, remembering something, Chu Yan grabbed a paper towel to dry his hands and said, "The soup still needs to simmer for a while. Let me show you something real quick."

Chi Suiyong followed him all the way to the dressing room and watched as he took out a box from a closed cabinet.

"This is my dad's work, Dr. Chi. You can take a look."

Chi Suiyong watched as he opened the box. The first thing that caught his eye was a rusty human head. As the entire iron sculpture was lifted out, Chi Suiyong couldn't help frowning when he saw the whole thing.

Chu Yan held the sculpture, watching Chi Suiyong's micro-expressions. "From what I remember, Dr. Chi used to like handmade stuff like this. What do you think of this one?"

"Too gloomy, and a bit eerie."

"See? So that means you don't like it."

Chi Suiyong withdrew his gaze from the iron sculpture. "Why 'see'?"

Chu Yan replied sincerely, "Because I don't like it either. This is just a random piece I brought back. At the time, I thought Dr. Chi probably wouldn't like it either."

Chi Suiyong's heart suddenly started pounding. "When was 'at the time'? And why did you think of me?"

"Just a few days after I was discharged."

Chi Suiyong stared into his eyes and asked, slow and deliberate, "Why did you think of me?"

Why?

Chu Yan's eyes went blank instantly. His memories were intact, but he just couldn't recall the feeling from back then.

Just like how he looked back at his clingy behavior after being discharged—what state of mind had turned him into that clingy kid? It was all veiled, hazy and distant. Chu Yan even felt that person wasn't really him.

Because back then, he was on the verge of insomnia, and naturally, Chi Suiyong, who hadn't yet proven to be his Lovey, came to mind—that was the reason.

But Chu Yan couldn't say that.

"It must have been a habit I developed at the hospital." Chu Yan put on a serious expression. "After spending so much time together day and night with Dr. Chi, there's bound to be some kind of habitual awareness."

Chi Suiyong didn't get the answer he wanted. His gaze flickered, and he sighed long.

If it was just habitual awareness, then Chi Suiyong's condition was even worse than Chu Yan's.

No matter who, after someone had been so purely devoted to him, the withdrawal from suddenly having that taken away would be intense. What's more, at the most critical point, Chi Suiyong had silently admitted that he had let down his guard. With no buffer, he could only go through the forced withdrawal.

He really had been in a bad state during that time. "I see..."

"I'll put this away. Come over here." Chu Yan also breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and led Chi Suiyong to a perfume cabinet. "Dr. Chi, take a look at these. If anything catches your eye, you can take it."

The cabinet was filled with a dazzling array of perfume bottles. As the door opened, a mix of scents hit him, not pungent but carrying a vast, unpredictable heaviness.

"Your collection?"

"Not really. After all, perfumes have a limited shelf life. Generally, after three to five years, I replace the whole batch. Dr. Chi, look at the second shelf—these are all the ones I replaced after being discharged."

Chu Yan acted like he wanted to give Chi Suiyong his whole house.

Chi Suiyong smiled and asked, "Chu Yan, do you know what giving someone perfume means?"

"Author's Note: By now, dear readers should be able to tell that Yan Bao has something wrong with him, but he doesn't know it himself."