Right there in front of everyone, Gu Yan had somehow become the target of an elderly woman’s blatant extortion scheme.
He anxiously searched the crowd ahead, but no matter how hard he looked, he could no longer find any trace of the man he had been chasing.
“Ma’am, please look carefully. I’m not the one who bumped into you.”
Watching the elderly woman complain to passersby who had no idea what had actually happened, Gu Yan felt his frustration building in his chest with nowhere to release it.
The moment she heard his words, the old woman raised her voice even louder, as though she wanted the entire world to know she had been knocked down.
“If you weren’t the one who hit me, why did you rush over to help me? Feeling guilty, were you? And now that you’ve injured my leg, you’re trying to avoid responsibility?”
Gu Yan had never encountered such shameless logic before.
Already irritated, he finally ran out of patience.
Using a little force, he pulled his arm free from the woman’s grasp.
“Don’t you dare run away! You broke my leg, so you have to take me to the hospital! Otherwise, I’m calling the police!”
The elderly woman sat on the ground and pulled out her phone, pretending that she was about to report him.
Gu Yan looked around.
When he spotted a surveillance camera installed above the entrance of a nearby shop, his fingers tightened.
“Go ahead and call them. That way, the police can check the surveillance footage and see exactly who knocked you over.”
The elderly woman pursed her lips.
“The police officers are busy enough every day. I’d feel terrible bothering them over such a small matter.”
“I suggest you stop wasting everyone’s time and hurry up and take me to the hospital to have my leg examined. If I miss the best time for treatment, I’ll sue you!”
Amid the commotion, Wang Zhiliang finally arrived.
There was still grease from his barbecue skewers around his mouth.
Seeing his best friend confronting an elderly woman, he looked utterly bewildered.
“Uh… what’s going on here? Wasn’t it a man? How did he suddenly turn into…”
Wang Zhiliang trailed off, completely confused.
However, after listening to their conversation, he gradually pieced together what had happened.
Standing beside Gu Yan with his hands on his hips, Wang Zhiliang raised his voice even louder than the old woman’s.
“Ma’am, you keep insisting that my friend knocked you down. Do you have any evidence?”
“If you don’t have proof, you shouldn’t go around making accusations!”
“And when we suggest calling the police, you refuse. Could it be that you’ve got something to hide?”
“Do you know it’s illegal to extort money from people?”
The elderly woman’s wailing noticeably faltered.
She glared furiously at Wang Zhiliang.
“Young man, what exactly are you implying?”
“I’m already this old! Why on earth would I need to extort money from you?”
“If you don’t have enough money to take me to the hospital, just say so! Stop beating around the bush and slandering me!”
At that moment, one of the onlookers couldn’t stand it any longer and spoke up.
The man knew his luxury brands and recognized the labels on Gu Yan and Wang Zhiliang’s clothes.
A single watch worn by either of them was worth more than half a year’s salary for an ordinary person.
“Ma’am, if you ask me, even if everyone standing here pooled their money together, we might still not be as wealthy as these two young men.”
“Besides, they’re not exactly slandering you, are they? If you feel you’ve been wronged, why not just let the police settle it?”
“Exactly. There’s no need to be so aggressive.”
“Honestly, making such a huge scene over something like this… aren’t you embarrassed?”
Despite the surrounding criticism, the elderly woman showed no intention of getting up.
Instead, she had picked up on one very important detail.
These two young men were rich!
That made her even less willing to let them go so easily.
After all, eighty or a hundred thousand yuan was probably nothing to wealthy people.
If she kept pestering them, perhaps they would eventually get annoyed enough to give in.
She was still calculating her next move.
Should she simply lie flat on the ground?
Or perhaps call her son over to demand justice on her behalf?
Just then, the young man who had helped her earlier spoke.
“There’s no point arguing any further. The police will be here in five minutes.”
Gu Yan’s phone screen was brightly lit, showing that he had called the police.
The elderly woman’s entire body stiffened, and her expression changed dramatically.
She muttered under her breath,
“Young people these days, honestly! All I asked was for him to take me to the hospital, and he wouldn’t even do that…”
As she complained, she grabbed the trunk of a nearby tree and slowly pulled herself to her feet.
The surrounding crowd had just witnessed a genuine “medical miracle.”
Everyone immediately began shouting and commenting.
Wang Zhiliang grabbed the elderly woman, his face lighting up with exaggerated enthusiasm.
“Hey, don’t leave! We were just about to compensate you!”
The elderly woman violently shook off his arm.
She was so strong that Wang Zhiliang nearly lost his grip.
“Fine! Have it your way! I don’t need your compensation anymore! All you people know how to do is bully an old woman like me!”
She tried to find an opportunity to escape.
But her words had clearly provoked public outrage.
The onlookers formed a circle around her, leaving her with nowhere to go.
In the end, the police retrieved the surveillance footage and determined that the elderly woman had deliberately staged the incident, making her suspected of attempted extortion.
Instead of receiving the compensation she had hoped for, she ended up receiving an official penalty notice.
On the way back to the gaming café, Wang Zhiliang was still completely bewildered.
“Yan Zi, who was that guy wearing the cap? Why did you suddenly chase after him?”
Gu Yan frowned in frustration.
His shoes crunched against the dried leaves beneath his feet as he explained what had happened.
The moment Wang Zhiliang heard that someone had been secretly photographing Gu Yan, he exploded.
“Holy shit! Who the hell is that bastard? Is he some kind of pervert?”
“Wait a second… Could it be one of those fish you broke up with before? Maybe they can’t stand seeing you doing well and hired someone to get revenge on you!”
Gu Yan: “… Who knows?”
Once again, Yi Heng’s warning came to mind.
Gu Yan blinked, concealing the complicated emotions in his eyes.
After what happened that night, Gu Yan stopped going out altogether.
Until he knew who was behind the surveillance, it was better to be cautious.
He stayed at his grandparents’ house for three consecutive days.
Later, because he needed to attend classes at the university, he returned to Yi Heng’s home.
That evening, the housekeeper was preparing dinner in the kitchen.
Gu Yan quietly slipped inside, hoping to learn a few cooking skills from her.
After all, she had been taking care of Yi Heng’s meals and daily needs for so long that she must know his preferences inside and out.
Holding a small notebook, Gu Yan lowered his head and diligently took notes.
When he finished writing, he looked over the notebook with surprise.
“So he doesn’t like sweet food…”
Then why didn’t Yi Heng say anything when I brought him milk tea before?
The housekeeper smiled kindly.
“President Yi’s tastes are actually quite different from yours. He prefers lighter dishes, such as pork rib soup or steamed sea bass.”
“But… you’ve always been making the dishes I like…”
“Those were President Yi’s instructions.”
Gu Yan pressed his thumb against the top of his pen.
Apart from the gentle bubbling of the pot on the stove, the only sound in the kitchen was the rhythmic clicking of the pen’s spring as he repeatedly pressed it up and down.
After a moment, Gu Yan raised his head and looked at the housekeeper.
“Could you teach me how to make the dishes I’ve written down in this notebook?”
The housekeeper’s eyes curved into a knowing smile.
“Of course I can.”
Warm steam rose throughout the kitchen.
Gu Yan followed closely behind the housekeeper, carefully learning every step with the kind of concentration usually reserved for studying for an important exam.
Unfortunately, he genuinely had no talent for cooking.
He could never quite control the heat properly, and the pork rib soup he eventually made tasted rather strange.
Then again, perhaps he’d simply added too much salt.
Gu Yan took a small taste.
The peculiar flavor spread across his tongue, making him involuntarily purse his lips.
Click.
The sound of someone entering a passcode came from the front door.
The housekeeper was busy pan-searing a steak.
Gu Yan wiped his hands and curiously poked his head out of the kitchen.
Who would be messing with the smart lock at this hour?
Even the boldest thief wouldn’t dare break into a residential complex like this, would they?
Countless possibilities flashed through Gu Yan’s mind as he considered the situation.
Just as he was preparing to defend himself if necessary, an electronic voice suddenly announced,
“Welcome home!”
The door opened.
Gu Yan froze on the spot.
The man standing outside was tall and imposing.
His gray overcoat hung slightly open, while a black scarf rested loosely around his neck.
The hallway lights illuminated the top of his hair.
When he lowered his gaze, a hint of gentleness softened his usually distant expression.
Gu Yan stared in astonishment, his neck practically frozen.
It took him quite a while to recover his senses.
“Yi Heng? Why are you here?”
He distinctly remembered Yi Heng saying he wouldn’t return until the day after tomorrow!
Yi Heng’s gaze settled on the apron tied around Gu Yan’s waist.
A faint glimmer seemed to flicker in his eyes.
“Didn’t you say you were feeling a little unwell a few days ago? I was worried, so I came back early.”
Whoosh!
Fireworks seemed to explode inside Gu Yan’s head.
His poor heart, which had just been battered into a miserable mess by his disastrous cooking attempt, suddenly sprang back to life and began pounding wildly.
“I thought you’d still be staying with your grandparents today.”
Yi Heng closed the door behind him.
Gu Yan touched his ear.
“They like peace and quiet. I don’t want to keep disturbing them. Besides, I still have classes to attend.”
Suddenly, Gu Yan caught sight of the bowl of pork rib soup he had just placed on the dining table.
Oh no!
He immediately rushed over, desperate to destroy the evidence of his culinary failure.
Unfortunately, Yi Heng had already seen it.
“Did you make this?”
The housekeeper approached carrying the freshly cooked steak, looking delighted and proud.
“Yes, he did! Mr. Gu made it himself.”
“When he heard that you prefer lighter dishes, he specially asked me to teach him how to make several of your favorites!”
Gu Yan: “…”
Yi Heng had only been home for a few minutes, and the housekeeper had already exposed everything about him.
She hadn’t even left him his underwear!
“Is that so?”
Yi Heng’s tone seemed to grow a little lighter, though the change was barely perceptible.
He took off his coat, picked up a spoon, and tasted a small mouthful of soup.
Gu Yan was horrified.
He wanted nothing more than to snatch the spoon straight out of Yi Heng’s hand.
“Don’t!”
He’s actually eating it?!
Isn’t he afraid of food poisoning?!
Gu Yan’s back unconsciously stiffened.
He pressed his lips tightly together, occasionally licking them as he nervously watched every change in Yi Heng’s expression.
Yi Heng drank one spoonful.
He seemed to be carefully distinguishing the different flavors.
After two seconds, he took another spoonful.
Only after finishing the entire bowl of pork rib soup did he finally speak.
“It’s quite good.”
Gu Yan was even more shocked.
“???”
No way…
He quietly picked up the bowl and tasted the soup again.
It tasted exactly the same as before.
Salty enough to make someone choke!
“For a first attempt, this level of cooking already shows talent.”
Yi Heng delivered his assessment without the slightest change in expression.
The housekeeper smiled as she arranged the tableware, her words carrying a deeper meaning.
“See? I told you your cooking was already very good. President Yi would definitely like it.”
Although both of them said so, Gu Yan still had enough self-awareness to know the truth.
He understood that they simply didn’t want to discourage him.
Even if his cooking were absolutely terrible, they would probably still encourage him.
Yet that only served to awaken Gu Yan’s determination to improve.
He had been feeling somewhat defeated earlier, but now he was even more convinced that he couldn’t let their encouragement go to waste.
The apron strings tied around Gu Yan’s waist had pulled the fabric of his shirt into small wrinkles at his lower back.
Yi Heng glanced at them twice before saying,
“Come and eat.”
*
After dinner and washing up, Gu Yan stepped out of the bathroom just as Yi Heng was taking a phone call.
Yi Heng stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, his back turned toward him.
Through the faint reflection in the glass, Gu Yan could vaguely make out that Yi Heng’s expression was rather serious.
Gu Yan assumed Yi Heng was discussing work, so he didn’t want to disturb him.
He quietly slipped into the bedroom.
When Yi Heng finished his call and returned, he found Gu Yan curled up beneath the covers, leaning against the headboard with a book in his hands.
The warm yellow glow of the bedside lamp enveloped him, adding a touch of tenderness to the peaceful scene.
Something stirred in Yi Heng’s heart.
But then he remembered what had been said during the phone call.
His heart felt as though it had been wrapped in twisting vines, tightening little by little with every breath.
Yi Heng slowly approached Gu Yan and looked down at the young man.
“Why didn’t you ask for contact therapy today?”
He had been waiting for quite some time.
He had expected Gu Yan to mention it during dinner.
Yet even now, with bedtime approaching, Gu Yan hadn’t brought it up.
Gu Yan tightened his grip on the pages of his book.
“I forgot…”
In truth, he had hesitated at the very last moment.
Yi Heng had traveled all the way back ahead of schedule because he was worried about Gu Yan’s illness.
Yet Gu Yan had deceived him.
Even as he enjoyed Yi Heng’s concern and affection, he couldn’t stop feeling guilty and uneasy.
He knew what he was doing was selfish.
But everyone had selfish desires, didn’t they?
Yi Heng possessed such extraordinary status and influence.
If he hadn’t needed someone to shield him from his family’s pressure to marry and the endless stream of romantic admirers, he probably wouldn’t have agreed to help Gu Yan with his treatment in the first place.
Their relationship had begun with nothing more than a written agreement.
And now, the boundaries between them had become increasingly blurred.
Afraid of breaking through the thin, fragile barrier neither of them had dared to acknowledge, Gu Yan kept his mouth shut and pretended not to understand.
“You even forgot something like that?”
Yi Heng’s voice rose slightly.
There was no suspicion in his tone.
Instead, it carried a hint of reproach, as though he were scolding a child who wasn’t taking his own health seriously.
Gu Yan closed his eyes.
Inside his head, he frantically tried to convince himself.
Yi Heng was the one who asked first.
That doesn’t count as lying.
It doesn’t, it doesn’t, it definitely doesn’t…
Just as he was enthusiastically hypnotizing himself, a shadow suddenly fell across his vision.
Yi Heng leaned down.
Taking advantage of Gu Yan’s upturned face, he gently pressed a kiss to his lips.
Gu Yan’s lips parted slightly.
The book slipped from his hands and slid down the blanket.
The softness of that touch felt so real in the stillness of the night, sending waves of emotion surging through his heart.
No one could have imagined the storm raging inside him at that moment.
This kiss was different from all the others.
There was no forceful advance, no overwhelming urgency, no immediate attempt to claim his lips completely.
Instead, it was as light as a dragonfly skimming the surface of water.
A tender, lingering kiss brushed the corner of his mouth.
The familiar scent of pheromones surrounded Gu Yan like a pair of warm, strong arms, drawing him into an ocean of fir fragrance.
He could almost hear the soft crunch of footsteps across fresh snow.
The gentle rustling of leaves as the wind passed through the treetops.
Yi Heng’s thumb brushed over the spot he had just kissed.
His eyes darkened.
“Don’t forget again.”
With that, he turned around, picked up a towel, and walked into the bathroom.
Gu Yan remained sitting on the bed, still somewhat dazed.
In the past, Yi Heng had always allowed him to choose the method of treatment himself.
But today, he had…
Without saying a word, Gu Yan gently rubbed his burning lips.
It felt as though a small fire had been lit inside his chest, leaving his mouth and throat unbearably dry.
*
Late that night, Gu Yan fell peacefully asleep, surrounded by the familiar scent of pheromones.
His sleeping habits had never been particularly good.
He had tried countless times to correct them, but nothing seemed to work.
And because Yi Heng always indulged him, Gu Yan had gradually become even bolder in his sleep.
Before falling asleep, he would lie neatly on his back, looking perfectly well-behaved.
But it never lasted long.
Soon, his arms and legs would begin wandering restlessly.
Instinctively, he would move toward wherever the concentration of pheromones was strongest.
More often than not, he ended up clinging to Yi Heng like an octopus.
Yi Heng was a light sleeper.
The slightest movement from Gu Yan was enough to wake him.
Seeing Gu Yan’s pale arm sticking out from beneath the covers, Yi Heng helplessly pulled his own blanket over him.
The temperature had been dropping rapidly lately, falling several degrees each day.
If Gu Yan didn’t stay properly covered, he would surely catch a cold by morning.
At some point, Yi Heng had grown accustomed to having this person in his life.
He had also become used to occasionally waking in the middle of the night to take care of him.
Perhaps Yi Heng’s movements had been a little too noticeable.
Gu Yan, still fast asleep, shifted slightly.
As he obediently lowered his leg from Yi Heng’s body, he unconsciously mumbled,
“Mm… Sorry… I’ll definitely fix it next time…”
Then he turned over, sleeping with his back toward Yi Heng.
Somewhere in his subconscious, he seemed to believe that facing away would prevent him from unconsciously draping his legs over Yi Heng again.
But his back was pressed tightly against Yi Heng’s chest.
His fair, slender nape was completely exposed.
Below it lay his narrow waist.
And farther down, the softly rounded curve of his…
Gu Yan settled into a more comfortable position and continued sleeping soundly, completely unaware that his waist and hips had pressed against a rather sensitive spot.
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