The thick coat belonged to Gu Yan, but because it had been hanging in Yi Heng’s wardrobe for so long, it had also absorbed Yi Heng’s scent.
The chill of the night gradually faded, and warmth slowly returned to Gu Yan’s palms.
Only after confirming that Gu Yan was completely unharmed did Yi Heng finally feel reassured.
He lowered his gaze, glanced at the things Gu Yan was holding, and asked,
“What happened?”
Gu Yan gazed steadily at Yi Heng.
Perhaps because Yi Heng’s concern was so direct and unmistakable, a little color finally returned to his pale face.
He told Yi Heng everything that had happened that afternoon.
When Yi Heng heard about the elderly woman’s heart condition, his expression changed almost imperceptibly, though he quickly regained his composure.
“How is she doing now?”
Yi Heng accompanied Gu Yan upstairs.
Both men possessed such striking appearances and distinguished bearing that people in the lobby repeatedly turned to look at them.
Gu Yan pushed open the hospital room door.
“She’s out of danger now. They’re still keeping her under observation, but her condition should stabilize soon.”
Inside the ordinary private room, Gu Yan’s grandfather sat beside the hospital bed, holding his wife’s hand.
His walking cane had been set aside.
Hearing the door open, the elderly man looked up.
He first saw Gu Yan, then noticed Yi Heng standing behind him.
Surprise immediately crossed his face.
The old man rose shakily to his feet.
“Xiao Heng?”
Several years had passed since they last met.
Back then, Yi Heng had still been a student.
Even at such a young age, he had liked wearing a serious expression, following behind his father with an air of dignity and composure far beyond his years.
Neither of them had ever imagined that their next meeting would take place under circumstances like these.
Yi Heng bowed slightly with impeccable manners.
“Elder Zhao.”
“Elder Zhao” was the respectful title people had used for Gu Yan’s grandfather during the years when he had been an influential figure in the business world.
Ever since his retirement, hardly anyone had addressed him that way.
Hearing the title again after so many years made him feel a little embarrassed.
“Don’t call me Elder Zhao anymore. You’re a few years older than Yanyan, so just call me Grandpa like he does.”
The elderly man paused before continuing.
“If this unexpected incident hadn’t happened, we probably would have met at home in a few days.”
Gu Yan immediately understood the implication behind his grandfather’s words.
He turned his head away, trying to conceal his wandering, embarrassed gaze.
Yi Heng exchanged a few polite words with the old man.
When he learned that none of them had eaten dinner yet, he personally went downstairs to buy food.
Gu Yan had just finished arranging the daily necessities he’d purchased from the convenience store when his phone received a message.
The person he’d assigned to monitor Du Ting reported that they had finally discovered who was receiving the desserts Du Ting frequently purchased.
Gu Yan stared at the name on the screen.
A sudden realization flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning.
He quietly stepped outside the hospital room, leaned against the cold wall, and began typing.
“Don’t investigate the nature of their relationship any further. We don’t want to alert them.”
“But report to me every time Du Ting goes to meet that person.”
Gu Yan rubbed his fingertips together.
He was about to send another message when he noticed someone approaching from the far end of the corridor.
Yi Heng had returned with dinner.
“Aren’t you cold standing out here? The air conditioning is on inside.”
Runtong Hospital was an extremely expensive private medical facility.
It didn’t receive many patients, so the inpatient corridors were exceptionally quiet at night.
Occasionally, a nurse would hurry past carrying a work log.
“I’m wearing a coat. I’m not cold.”
Gu Yan put away his phone and lightly touched his ear.
He glanced back into the hospital room a couple of times.
After making sure everyone’s attention was focused on his grandmother and nobody was looking toward the hallway, he finally relaxed.
The next moment, Gu Yan walked straight up to Yi Heng and gave him a hug.
The movement was quick and somewhat clumsy.
The embrace itself was so brief that it barely lasted a moment.
Yet even so, Gu Yan’s ears still burned red.
Yi Heng’s brows shifted slightly.
Both his hands were occupied with bags of takeaway food.
To keep the soup and other liquids from spilling, he couldn’t raise his arms to return the embrace.
As a result, he could only stand there and let Gu Yan do as he pleased.
The sharp instincts Yi Heng had developed through countless business negotiations suggested that Gu Yan might have deliberately chosen this moment.
But before he could think about it further, Gu Yan hurriedly offered a muffled explanation.
“This counts as today’s contact therapy.”
It was such a perfunctory treatment session that neither of them had even had time to release any pheromones.
Their clothes had merely brushed against each other, without any other physical contact.
The gesture was awkward and innocent, like fruit that had yet to ripen.
It seemed Gu Yan was still too embarrassed to let the elders inside the room see them being affectionate.
Yet deep inside, Gu Yan felt a secret sense of satisfaction rising within him, sending little sparks of excitement through his nerves.
He was like a child who had done something naughty and was terrified of being caught, convinced that he was hiding it perfectly.
Little did he know that every single thought in his heart had already been betrayed by the bright red tips of his ears.
Thanks to the attentive care of the professional caregivers, Gu Yan’s grandmother finally regained full consciousness a few days later.
After checking all her vital signs and medical indicators, the doctor slipped both hands into the pockets of his white coat and offered some advice.
“Once you’re home, please avoid overexerting yourself. I hear you enjoy gardening, so you can still water your flowers, but make sure a family member accompanies you to prevent another accident.”
“When the weather improves, try going outside for walks more often. Breathing fresh air and spending time outdoors will help your recovery.”
“Of course, of course!”
Gu Yan’s grandfather readily agreed.
A smile finally returned to his face as he turned toward his wife.
“When we have some free time, let’s go on an outing with the neighbors. We can take Mengmeng along for a picnic.”
Gu Yan’s grandmother had only recently awakened and was still rather weak.
She couldn’t manage to say anything, but her eyes curved into happy crescents, shining with the light of someone who had been given a second chance at life.
Gu Yan supported his grandmother as she was discharged from the hospital.
He accompanied his grandparents all the way to the car that would take them home.
Only after watching them leave did he finally let out a breath of genuine relief.
Over the past few days, even though professional caregivers and his grandfather had been at the hospital looking after his unconscious grandmother, Gu Yan had never been able to completely put his mind at ease.
He had already come to regard the elderly couple as his own family.
It felt as though a heavy stone had been pressing against his chest the entire time.
Now, the string that had been stretched taut inside his mind finally loosened.
Only then did he belatedly realize how exhausted he was.
When Gu Yan returned to Yi Heng’s home, his ears perked up slightly.
He could hear the sound of documents being turned over in the study.
“You’re back?”
Yi Heng emerged holding a cup of coffee.
The final syllable of his greeting fell slowly into a deep, steady tone, making it sound almost like a simple statement of fact.
Gu Yan was hungry.
With a piece of bread held between his lips, he was making his way toward the bedroom.
“Mm.”
Yi Heng casually set his coffee cup on the marble countertop beside him.
Seeing Yi Heng approach, Gu Yan instinctively stopped walking.
In the blink of an eye, less than half a meter separated them.
At such close range, Gu Yan noticed the slight crease between Yi Heng’s brows.
He unconsciously held his breath.
“I’m reminding you for the last time. Stop walking around barefoot.”
Yi Heng’s tone was serious, but there wasn’t the slightest trace of reproach or impatience in it.
As a result, the warning carried almost no intimidation at all.
Unfortunately, Gu Yan had miscalculated this time.
Yi Heng didn’t scoop him into his arms as he’d expected.
Instead, he bent down, lifted Gu Yan with one arm, and hoisted him over his shoulder.
“Mmph!”
The sudden reversal of heaven and earth caught Gu Yan completely off guard.
He let out a short cry of surprise, but with the bread still between his lips, the sound remained muffled in his throat.
His eyes widened as he desperately grabbed the fabric at the back of Yi Heng’s shirt.
He was terrified that if his grip loosened even slightly, he’d tumble headfirst onto the floor.
Yi Heng placed Gu Yan on the spacious countertop.
Then he went to the entrance and brought back his slippers.
“We’re practically going to bed already. It’s only a few steps from the entrance to the bedroom, so there’s really no need to…”
Gu Yan still wanted to struggle and argue his case.
But the moment his gaze met Yi Heng’s deep, steady eyes, the rest of his words became hopelessly stuck in his throat.
Yi Heng crouched down.
Gently holding Gu Yan’s ankle, he helped him slip his feet into the slippers.
Then he said warmly,
“You need to make it a habit.”
Gu Yan turned his head away and secretly pressed the back of his hand against his mouth.
But no matter how he tried to hide it, he couldn’t conceal the heat spreading across his face.
Yi Heng was simply too good to him.
So good that Gu Yan felt as though he were drowning in that tenderness.
He could no longer tell whether Yi Heng treated him this way out of obligation or because of some deeper emotion.
For once, Gu Yan decided to take the liberty of being a little presumptuous.
He would allow himself to believe that perhaps he was someone special to Yi Heng, too.
The words I like you seemed so simple.
Yet when the time came to actually say them aloud, they became impossibly difficult.
Every minute and every second seemed to stretch endlessly, turning time itself into a kind of torment.
Sitting on the countertop, Gu Yan looked down at Yi Heng as he carefully put the slippers on his feet.
A sudden rush of warmth surged from his heart straight to his head.
He was just about to blurt out the words.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
A sharp, urgent ringtone suddenly broke the silence.
Yi Heng said,
“All done. Finish eating and get some rest early.”
With that, he stood up and went into the study to answer the call.
Gu Yan remained sitting on the countertop, watching the study door close gently.
The surge of courage he’d felt moments earlier vanished instantly.
He could only swallow the bread in his mouth stiffly, barely registering its taste.
The study door had excellent soundproofing.
No one outside could hear what was happening within.
Yi Heng answered the phone.
“What is it?”
From the other end came the puzzled voice of his youngest uncle, Yi Cen.
“Xiao Heng, have you run into some kind of problem? Why did you suddenly suspend your work?”
Some time ago, Yi Heng had begun a major internal restructuring of the company, dismissing numerous corrupt employees who had been abusing their positions and damaging the group’s interests.
As Yi Heng’s trusted right-hand man, Yi Cen had been responsible for supervising the progress of the entire operation.
The company was on the verge of undergoing a complete transformation under their decisive, uncompromising measures.
Yet just when everything seemed to be progressing smoothly, Yi Heng suddenly instructed him to suspend the operation.
It was completely unlike Yi Heng’s usual way of doing things, leaving Yi Cen thoroughly confused.
Yi Heng ran his fingers over the raised carvings on the wall and replied calmly,
“There aren’t any difficulties. We’re simply putting the operation on hold for now.”
“Huh? Explain yourself. Why?”
“A cornered dog will bite. We can’t push too hard.”
Yi Cen began to understand.
“Are you saying there’s someone on our board of directors with ulterior motives, and if we keep investigating, we’ll eventually uncover that person?”
“Yes.”
Yi Cen cursed angrily on the other end of the phone.
“That lunatic! His greed knows no bounds! He’s already climbed to such a high position in our group, yet he’s still betraying the very people who gave him everything!”
“Just wait until I catch him. I’ll…”
Yi Heng interrupted him.
“Don’t worry. He won’t get away.”
Yi Heng’s eyes were like a deep pool concealed beneath layers of thick mist, unfathomable and impossible to read.
“Let him grow complacent and lose his sense of caution. That way, it’ll be easier to eliminate the problem at its roots.”
Yi Cen immediately understood and chuckled knowingly.
“You little rascal. Sigh… I was being too impatient. All right, we’ll do it your way.”
As Halloween approached, a cold front sweeping in from Siberia brought a dramatic temperature drop of nearly fifteen degrees to Kyoto, owing to the region’s latitude and terrain.
It also brought a heavy snowfall, announcing the arrival of winter.
Ever since the previous incident involving someone secretly photographing him, Gu Yan had become extremely cautious whenever he went outside.
He always wore either a face mask or a hat to conceal his appearance.
He wasn’t sure whether these precautions actually worked, but at least he hadn’t seen that man again for quite some time.
Most of the snow on the roads had already melted, though patches of ice remained in certain places.
Every now and then, someone would unintentionally put on a spectacular performance of falling flat on their face.
Gu Yan was walking toward the library when Wang Zhiliang suddenly grabbed the hood of his jacket from behind.
“Hey, don’t…”
Gu Yan was about to tell him to stop pulling on his hood.
But the moment he turned around and saw Wang Zhiliang’s enormous face, he froze.
“Why is your face all bruised and swollen? Did someone beat you up?”
Wang Zhiliang awkwardly brushed the snow off his clothes.
“No. I slipped and fell twice on the way here.”
“Fuck… I nearly ruined this handsome face of mine!”
The moment Wang Zhiliang finished speaking, Yi Feng appeared from up ahead with a backpack slung over one shoulder.
He hadn’t attended classes for quite some time, having instead gone out into the working world to receive a thorough beating from reality.
Hearing Wang Zhiliang’s words, he instinctively let out a derisive snort.
“Even an old woman praising her own melons couldn’t brag as shamelessly as you.”
“Hey! What the fuck? It’s only been a few days, so how have you gotten even more annoying? Didn’t your brother teach you how to behave?”
Wang Zhiliang wanted nothing more than to rush over and punch Yi Feng.
But after slipping twice on the icy pavement, he’d developed a healthy fear of falling.
He could only remain where he was and attack with words instead.
Wang Zhiliang really had a talent for bringing up exactly the wrong subject.
The moment company matters were mentioned, Yi Feng couldn’t help wanting to roll his eyes.
Although he was afraid of his older brother, if he truly had to choose someone to mentor him, he’d much rather have Yi Heng.
Anything was better than being instructed by an arrogant manager who acted superior just because he possessed a little professional ability.
Over the past few days, Yi Feng had become aware of quite a few things.
He simply couldn’t be bothered to say them aloud.
After all, that would cut into his gaming time.
The manager always treated him with exaggerated respect to his face.
But behind his back, the man didn’t take Yi Feng seriously at all.
Sometimes, when carrying out decisions issued by upper management, he even openly expressed opposition or questioned their validity.
And the person making those final decisions was none other than Yi Feng’s older brother.
To Yi Feng, questioning those decisions was practically the same as questioning Yi Heng himself.
That irritated him immensely.
During his time at the company, Yi Feng hadn’t learned very much.
But he had certainly made life difficult for that manager on more than a few occasions.
Seeing the gloomy expression on Yi Feng’s face, Wang Zhiliang realized he’d brought up something he shouldn’t have.
He hurriedly pulled four complimentary movie tickets from his pocket and changed the subject.
“Halloween’s coming up soon, and the cinemas have been releasing loads of horror movies lately. Want to find some time to go watch one together?”
Yi Feng’s expression softened slightly.
“As long as it doesn’t involve studying, I’m up for anything.”
Wang Zhiliang turned toward Gu Yan.
“What about you?”
“Sure, why not?”
Gu Yan wasn’t afraid of horror movies anyway.
He could simply treat it as a bit of entertainment.
“Then let’s go tomorrow night. Tomorrow’s Friday, after all.”
Wang Zhiliang slung an arm around Yi Feng’s shoulders.
He was just about to do the same to Gu Yan when he suddenly remembered that his friend was now a taken man.
The image of Yi Heng’s icy expression immediately flashed through his mind.
Wang Zhiliang hastily withdrew his hand.
That was close!
My hand was exactly 0.01 centimeters away from being chopped off!
Yi Feng put an earbud in one ear and started listening to music.
Then he glanced at the tickets in Wang Zhiliang’s hand.
“Don’t you have four tickets? Who’s the extra one for?”
“Haven’t decided yet.”
Wang Zhiliang rubbed his chin, pretending to think deeply.
A moment later, inspiration suddenly struck.
“Yanzi! Why don’t you ask your boyfriend to come watch the movie with us?”
Gu Yan stumbled, nearly slipping on the icy ground.
Wang Zhiliang really was the kind of person who stayed quiet until he suddenly said something astonishing.
When he’d first learned about Gu Yan and Yi Heng’s relationship, he’d acted as though the world were ending.
Yet now, he’d accepted the situation faster than anyone else.
Even Yi Feng, who had learned about it at least a month earlier, had only just finished coming to terms with the news.
“Forget it. My brother won’t come.”
Yi Feng sounded absolutely certain.
“He doesn’t like watching movies, and he doesn’t like crowded places like cinemas.”
“And he especially hates horror movies because he thinks they’re stupid and a complete waste of time.”
Wang Zhiliang wasn’t convinced.
“Seriously? Yanzi, call him and ask whether he wants to come.”
Gu Yan pulled up his face mask, covering half his face.
“He’s probably busy right now. I’ll ask him when I get home tonight…”
He abruptly stopped himself and hurriedly corrected his words.
“I mean, I’ll ask him after he gets off work tonight.”
Gu Yan had already grown accustomed to calling Yi Heng’s place home.
He’d also become used to taking a car every day in the opposite direction from his own apartment.
So much so that he’d nearly let it slip that the two of them were living together.
Fortunately, the other two were too busy making a bet to notice.
Yi Feng declared confidently to Wang Zhiliang,
“My brother definitely won’t go!”
“If he actually agrees, I’ll crawl forward backward just to prove it!”
Leave a Reply