When Gu Xichao woke the next morning, still hazy with sleep, the faint aroma of food was already drifting through the room. Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains and spread gently across the floor, making him instinctively recall everything that had happened the night before.
After washing up, he headed downstairs.
From a distance, he saw Yu Yan wearing oven mitts and carrying a steaming plate of seafood pasta. Hearing his footsteps, Yu Yan looked up and smiled.
“I was just about to ask Amity to wake you.”
Gu Xichao gave a faint, indifferent acknowledgment before calmly taking a seat and beginning his breakfast.
He had barely touched the seafood pasta the other day, yet today, he ultimately found himself eating the same dish again.
As he picked up his fork, he suddenly felt as though everything had returned to the way it used to be—back when Yu Yan had always cared for him with such thoughtfulness.
Out of habit, Gu Xichao quietly accepted all that care as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Standing beside them, Amity asked sweetly:
“Would you like to listen to some music, Mr. Gu?”
Gu Xichao nodded. Once it received his permission, Amity began playing a cheerful, soothing melody.
Although Gu Xichao was being confined here, Yu Yan did not seem to have any intention of hurting him. On the contrary, he treated him remarkably well.
That only left Gu Xichao more confused. He could not help wondering whether his actions the day before had been a little too extreme.
For once, Yu Yan did not try to start a conversation. He merely lowered his head and ate breakfast in silence.
Gu Xichao noticed that he looked unusually pale today. Remembering what Amity had said yesterday, he asked sternly:
“Yesterday, you said your illness was because of me. What exactly did you mean? Explain it clearly.”
Yu Yan rested his chin on one hand and beamed at him.
“While you were pretending to be dead, I was afraid you might turn into a ghost and come back to claim my life.”
He laughed twice. Only when he noticed Gu Xichao’s serious expression did he make an effort to suppress his amusement.
“Don’t worry. Now that you’re here beside me, I definitely won’t see any more ghosts. Besides, a terrible person like me is bound to live to a ripe old age.”
Gu Xichao considered his words for a moment, lightly tapping one finger against the table as suspicion entered his voice.
“So you locked me in here because you’re using me to treat your illness?”
Yu Yan froze for a moment, as though Gu Xichao had found an angle that even he had never considered.
Those words made him suddenly realize that perhaps his inability to let go of Gu Xichao was merely a psychological dependence born from trauma.
An illness was not always something a person could control.
“It’s nothing serious.”
Guiltily, Yu Yan looked away.
“You’re overthinking it. Even if I really am ill, it has nothing to do with you.”
“Is that so?”
Gu Xichao gave a faint, cold smile. Turning toward Yu Yan, he issued an order to the robot standing beside them:
“Amity, retrieve every record of Yu Yan’s physical and psychological evaluations, along with his complete medication history from the past two years.”
“Yes. I will compile everything for you immediately.”
Yu Yan raised a hand to stop Amity.
“What are you doing?”
Gu Xichao countered:
“You’re using your supposed mental illness as an excuse to keep me imprisoned here. Am I not even allowed to find out what actually happened to you?”
The corner of Yu Yan’s lips lifted into a teasing smile.
“Don’t worry. I’m perfectly healthy. You don’t need to concern yourself with me.”
“You locked me in here because you want me to stay with you willingly, then offered me a few benefits in return. Is that all your so-called attempt to win me over amounts to?”
Ever since Gu Xichao had built his life from nothing, he had never suffered such humiliation.
His words pierced straight into Yu Yan’s heart like a needle.
Yu Yan turned away and sat across from him at the dining table.
Gu Xichao did not trust him. Nor would he soften merely because Yu Yan was ill.
But that was all right.
Yu Yan still had enough patience to wait for him, however long it took.
“Xichao, are you finished eating? If you are, come upstairs to the study with me. There’s something I want to show you.”
With that, Yu Yan set down his bowl and utensils. His expression turned indifferent as he rose and walked away.
As he rounded the dining table, however, he accidentally struck his side against its corner.
“You…”
Watching how distracted and absent-minded Yu Yan seemed today, Gu Xichao could not decide whether this was merely the retribution he deserved or why a trace of bitterness had begun to rise in his own heart.
Yu Yan’s hand trembled slightly as he unconsciously pressed it against the dull ache in his side.
“I’m fine.”
The side effects of his medication had recently become increasingly severe.
Had he known they would affect him this badly, perhaps he would never have taken the pills in the first place.
They truly made him feel miserable.
Yu Yan quietly drew a deep breath. Unwilling to let Gu Xichao notice anything, he continued forcing himself to eat every meal on time.
Once Gu Xichao had finished breakfast, Yu Yan headed to the second floor.
The study was located at the far end of the hallway. He pushed open the door and walked inside.
Yu Yan had often handled his work here in the past. Whenever his eyes grew tired, he would look out the window at the garden.
The room was furnished with understated elegance.
Yu Yan settled into the genuine leather swivel chair behind the desk. The large walnut desk before him was still the same design Gu Xichao had once chosen for him. Its lines were dignified and restrained, its craftsmanship exquisite.
Back then, Yu Yan had complained that it looked too old-fashioned and had secretly mocked Gu Xichao’s taste countless times.
Gu Xichao sat down on the leather sofa nearby, leaning back and crossing his legs.
His posture appeared relaxed and at ease, but the distance and resistance in his eyes were unmistakable.
Yu Yan handed him a folder.
Gu Xichao opened it and found a share transfer agreement for Yu Group, drafted two years ago.
Yu Yan’s signature was already on the document.
“The night you were drugged and I brought you back here, I never had the chance to show you this.”
Yu Yan laced his fingers together, trying to maintain a serious expression.
“Whether it was what happened two years ago or everything that has happened recently, I never had the chance to speak to you properly.”
After taking his medication, Yu Yan felt as though his heart had become as still as undisturbed water.
His mind was so calm that he felt almost no different from Amity. The complex emotions that had once tormented him now seemed separated from him by a thin barrier, no longer powerful enough to affect him.
Gu Xichao appeared somewhat surprised and lowered his gaze slightly.
“This represents half of the shares I hold in Yu Group. I originally intended to give them to you as compensation. But I never expected you to leave so decisively, without giving me even the slightest chance.”
A trace of regret flickered in Yu Yan’s eyes.
“But this offer still stands. All we need to do is revise the date and formally sign the agreement. You’ll become one of Yu Group’s largest shareholders, with voting and decision-making rights equal to mine.”
“I know it’s late, but I still want to place it in your hands myself.”
After saying those words, Yu Yan felt as though the enormous weight that had been pressing against his chest for so long had finally lightened.
His gaze never left the man before him as he sincerely waited for Gu Xichao’s answer.
Time seemed to come to a standstill.
Gu Xichao stared at the share transfer agreement with a complicated expression. His Adam’s apple shifted slightly, and only after a long silence did he speak in a low voice.
“Yu Yan, the time I gave you has already run out. The pain you caused me has already reached its conclusion. As for whatever compensation you want to offer me now… I no longer need it.”
His words were cold as a blade, mercilessly cutting through the faint hope that had just begun to appear in Yu Yan’s eyes.
“That’s all right. This is only meant to prove my sincerity.”
Yu Yan’s expression stiffened for a moment. He forced a smile and continued earnestly:
“Of course, you can still listen to my other proposals for compensation, including Shen Jizhou’s investment fund. I’ve had people negotiate everything over the past two days. I can return the money to you.”
“But there is one condition. You must end your partnership with him and work with me instead.”
Gu Xichao paused.
He fixed Yu Yan with the sharp gaze of a predator.
Yu Yan was trying to make himself appear trustworthy, yet the corner of Gu Xichao’s lips lifted unconsciously as he leaned back against the sofa.
“Work with you? Yu Yan, what exactly are you trying to get from me? My money? My body? Or are you hoping… that I still love you?”
Yu Yan braced both hands against the walnut desk. The agreement in his grasp had already been crushed into a wrinkled mess.
He did not know how to answer. All he could do was pretend not to care and smile.
“There’s nothing left to discuss.”
Gu Xichao refused without hesitation.
He would never allow himself to make the same mistake twice.
Yu Yan knew Gu Xichao would not trust him so easily. Helplessly, he said:
“Then let’s make this a simple transaction, Xichao.”
“What kind of transaction?”
“Just as you’ve already seen, there truly is something wrong with me.”
Yu Yan decided to follow Gu Xichao’s line of reasoning and fabricate a lie.
“You guessed correctly. My doctor said I need post-traumatic desensitization therapy. During the treatment, it would be best if you remained beside me. Your presence would help with my recovery.”
Gu Xichao frowned.
“What symptoms do you usually have?”
Yu Yan sighed, walked over to the coffee table, and sat down across from him. A helpless smile appeared on his face.
“There’s no fixed pattern. Sometimes I suffer from insomnia and nightmares. Other times, I lose control and attack people. When I have nothing better to do, I even run to the cemetery in the middle of the night and wail like a ghost.”
“Wait. I’m not a doctor, am I? You imprisoned me here simply so I could cooperate with your treatment?”
Gu Xichao raised an eyebrow.
“If even your psychiatrist can’t help you, what exactly do you expect me to do?”
Guiltily, Yu Yan looked away.
He could not stop himself from recalling the nightmare he had experienced the night before.
In the dream, time had reversed.
He had once wished for the Gu Xichao of those years to appear and rescue him from everything.
If Gu Xichao had truly come back then, could the two of them have avoided ending up like this?
Unfortunately, it was nothing more than a hypothetical.
Back then, the boy who had desperately clung to one final lifeline had only been in his teens.
At the thought, Yu Yan’s heart suddenly went numb, and a hint of sincerity unconsciously entered his voice.
“That has nothing to do with you. You only need to stay obediently in this house. If you can eat with me, watch movies with me, and sleep beside me… that would be even better.”
“Sleep beside you?”
Gu Xichao’s gaze instantly turned cold.
“I fail to see how a moment of physical desire would benefit your condition.”
“Ha ha ha…”
Yu Yan burst into laughter.
He suddenly dropped to one knee and lightly rubbed his cheek against Gu Xichao’s crossed leg, his voice turning suggestive.
“Xichao, I won’t force you. But if you’re willing to make the first move… I’ll always be ready to indulge you.”
Yu Yan lifted his head and gazed at him, his eyes overflowing with seductive charm.
Heat rushed uncontrollably into Gu Xichao’s cheeks. Mortified and furious, he gritted his teeth and cursed:
“Get lost.”
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