Jiang Yu’s reasoning was actually quite sound. Lin Shuang was already stretched too thin and couldn’t spare more energy. Yu Shiqing originally hadn’t planned on telling her about his injury, but since she was staying at home during his heat period, it was only a matter of time before she found out. Plus, moving took a lot of time and effort; rushing to do it now would just be an added burden.
Thinking this over, Yu Shiqing looked at Jiang Yu and asked, “Do you have any schedules coming up?”
“I do,” Jiang Yu said. These were arrangements made in advance and couldn’t be canceled. “You can tell Auntie not to worry. I’ll be out during the day this week, but I’ll try to come back at night.”
In reality, not coming back at night would reduce the chances of being affected, but Yu Shiqing knew his temperament and didn’t try to persuade him. “Okay.”
Only after hearing that did Jiang Yu set down his glass. “So, you’re not moving?”
“Mm,” Yu Shiqing replied. He also set his own cup on the counter. “You head back to your room. I’ll go talk to her.”
Jiang Yu knew he was going to explain things to Lin Shuang, so he only said, “Come back early.”
Yu Shiqing paused slightly and glanced at him.
Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow. “Doctor’s orders. You need to rest.”
Yu Shiqing smiled. “Okay.”
After speaking, he left the pantry and went to Lin Shuang’s door, knocking three times. “It’s me.”
Lin Shuang looked a little distracted when she opened the door. Upon seeing Yu Shiqing, she finally snapped out of it. “So? Jiang Yu isn’t mad at me, right? It’s really my fault I forgot something so important. I nearly caused him trouble.”
“No,” Yu Shiqing said. “He suggested you stay.”
Lin Shuang blinked. “Stay?”
“Mm,” Yu Shiqing said. “He won’t be home during the day, only at night. It shouldn’t affect him.”
Lin Shuang still seemed hesitant. “Is he really okay with it? I’m just worried I’ll inconvenience him.”
“If he minded, he wouldn’t have let you stay,” Yu Shiqing said.
Lin Shuang finally let out a breath. “Then help put him at ease. While he’s home, I’ll just stay in my room if there’s nothing urgent. I won’t run into him.”
“Okay,” Yu Shiqing agreed.
With that settled, he was about to leave when Lin Shuang spoke again.
“By the way…” she hesitated for a second but decided to tell Yu Shiqing, “I haven’t heard from Gao Fan since you went to film that variety show. Just now he suddenly called me. His tone was strange. He said something like ‘if I beg for mercy now, it’s still not too late, or else we’ll all suffer soon.’ I didn’t think much of it at first, thought he was just bluffing again, so I hung up. But thinking about it now, I wonder if he really has something on us. Should I call him back?”
Lin Shuang hadn’t changed her number only her phone. And whenever she took Gao Fan’s calls before, she always made sure Ren Bai was around. Ren Bai was a master of words and could easily outtalk Gao Fan, which made her less resistant to taking those calls. But this one, even if it sounded like an empty threat, was stated with such certainty that she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Something was off.
Hearing this, Yu Shiqing’s eyes darkened, though he didn’t show it. “Don’t worry about it. There’s security at the hospital, and this place won’t just let strangers in. He won’t be able to find you.”
“That’s good…” Lin Shuang’s biggest fear was that Gao Yuan would be taken away. As long as the hospital was safe, she had no more demands. Thinking this, she felt relieved. Then she glanced at the time and quickly said, “It’s late. You should go to bed.”
“Mm.” After saying goodbye, Yu Shiqing returned to his room and called Ren Bai, briefly relaying Lin Shuang’s words and asking him to look into Gao Fan’s activities.
Upon hearing this, Ren Bai grew concerned. “Alright. I’ll take care of it.”
After dealing with Du Han and Huaze’s contract fraud, and then being framed by Qi Taihua for saving someone, Ren Bai no longer dared to be careless with Yu Shiqing’s affairs.
He had previously tangled with Gao Fan over the phone and quickly sized the man up. For Gao Fan to suddenly make such threats now, regardless of whether they were real, they needed to find out what he was relying on.
After ending the call, Yu Shiqing had just set his phone down when he turned and saw Jiang Yu walking toward the bed.
“Finished?” Jiang Yu held a pillow and, seeing Yu Shiqing look over, lifted the blanket. “Come on, lie down.”
He carefully helped prop up Yu Shiqing’s arm, then went to the bathroom.
Yu Shiqing watched his back. He wanted to say Jiang Yu didn’t need to wait for him every night, but he knew he wouldn’t listen so he stayed quiet, closed his eyes to the sound of running water, and soon fell asleep without even realizing when Jiang Yu came out.
The next morning, he woke up to his internal clock, turned, and saw Jiang Yu sleeping quietly beside him.
Looking at his peaceful sleeping face, Yu Shiqing’s gaze unknowingly softened.
Suddenly, Jiang Yu’s eyelids twitched.
He opened his eyes and locked eyes with Yu Shiqing. Instinctively, he almost looked down but managed to restrain that guilty reflex. Instead, he calmly moved his hand under the blanket no contact, no awkwardness.
His voice regained its usual confidence. “What are you looking at?”
Yu Shiqing chuckled; his voice still raspy from just waking. “Looking at you.”
Jiang Yu met those smiling eyes and froze at the breathy words brushing past his ear.
Yu Shiqing had already looked away. He glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Want to sleep a bit more?”
Jiang Yu came back to his senses, belatedly pressing a hand over his chest to steady his slightly erratic heartbeat. Then he turned his back to Yu Shiqing, suppressing the corners of his lips from curling too high, and flipped off the blanket to get up answering with action.
Yu Shiqing also lifted his blanket and stood, supporting his right arm.
Seeing this, Jiang Yu headed to the bathroom, squeezed toothpaste for him, and stayed nearby to wash up together.
Partway through, Lin Shuang knocked on the door from outside.
“Jiang Yu, I made breakfast and left it on the table. Shiqing doesn’t seem to be up yet. If you see him before you leave, can you let him know?”
Jiang Yu looked at Yu Shiqing through the mirror.
Yu Shiqing paused and went to open the door.
Lin Shuang was still waiting for Jiang Yu’s reply. When she saw Yu Shiqing, she froze. “Shiqing, why are you here?”
Living under the same roof, Yu Shiqing didn’t hide it. “I’m staying with Jiang Yu these days.”
Lin Shuang fell silent.
Yu Shiqing thought she’d ask more, but to his surprise, she just said, “Then… be careful.”
Be careful?
Yu Shiqing didn’t quite understand her meaning.
But Lin Shuang glanced past him to Jiang Yu, worried something might happen, and quickly turned back to her room.
Yu Shiqing looked at Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu avoided his gaze and returned to washing up.
After they finished brushing their teeth, the two headed to the dining room. On the way, Yu Shiqing got a call from Ren Bai.
As soon as the call connected, Ren Bai said, “Check WeChat.”
Yu Shiqing put the call on speaker and opened the message.
It was several photos.
Ren Bai asked, “Do any of the people in the photos look familiar?”
Yu Shiqing tapped to enlarge them.
There were two men sitting on a park bench talking. One was Gao Fan. When he swiped to the next photo and saw the other man’s full face, he found it familiar.
He said, “Huaze’s employee?”
“Exactly!” Ren Bai said. “That’s the guy named Le Yang. We saw him twice he was the one who guided you on the day you canceled the contract.”
Yu Shiqing asked, “When were these taken?”
“This morning,” Ren Bai said angrily. “A Huaze employee meeting with Gao Fan? That’s definitely not innocent. No wonder Gao Fan said we’d all be in trouble Huaze must be behind this again!”
Yu Shiqing asked, “Any moves from Huaze?”
“I told Luo Shaoyuan right after I saw the photos. The company is investigating,” Ren Bai replied. “We should go to the company today. I’m on my way and will be there in half an hour.”
After a few more words, he hung up.
Yu Shiqing and Jiang Yu finished breakfast in the next 30 minutes. While they were changing, Ren Bai arrived and even grabbed a quick bite himself.
