The doctor was still examining Ji Yucheng when Ning Sui’s phone began to ring, it was his roommate.
He glanced at the screen. It was Fang Dacheng calling, and judging by the string of urgent messages on WeChat, something must have happened. Ning Sui excused himself with the butler, then stepped out into the hallway to answer the call.
“Your phone got stolen?”
Ning Sui was a little surprised. S University was well-known across the country; the students there were usually well-behaved and thefts or missing belongings were extremely rare.
Even if someone lost something, it usually found its way back to the lost-and-found office.
“How come it’s been several days and you still haven’t gotten it back?”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “You two really have been unlucky lately.”
The voice on the other end wasn’t Fang Dacheng’s but Cao Nuo’s, sounding miserable. “It cost several thousand… my dad’s got to work an entire month just to earn that much.”
The teasing smile on Ning Sui’s face faded. He was lucky, he had a system that could help him earn money but Cao Nuo came from an ordinary working class family; losing a phone worth several thousand yuan must have been a real blow.
And the fact that he hadn’t mentioned it for days probably meant he hadn’t wanted to bother anyone for help, maybe he’d even been scrimping on just plain steamed buns these past few days.
Ning Sui understood that feeling. It was like the time when he’d been at the orphanage and finally got a small slice of cake, only to drop it by accident, the kind of regret that made your chest ache.
“Can you report it to the police?” Ning Sui asked seriously as he reached the stairwell landing, trying to come up with ideas for him.
Fang Dacheng’s voice lowered. “That won’t work. After all, the phone isn’t worth enough to file a case.”
“Then can you check the security footage?”
“We tried,” Cao Nuo said dejectedly. “But the office people won’t let us see it.”
The office was often unattended, run mostly by student union members filling in and both Ning Yuanming and Yang Yanhua were part of that same student union, the kind who’d help out their own friends’ dorms but never lift a finger for anyone else.
Actually, Ji Zhilin was quite popular at school, capable, confident, and respected. If he went to the student union to ask, he could easily get the surveillance footage.
But now Ning Sui was no longer Ji Zhilin’s boyfriend, he was his sister-in-law.
Would Ji Zhilin still be willing to help?
The two roommates sensed his hesitation and tactfully didn’t bring it up.
“How about this,” Ning Sui finally said. “You two head to the First Hospital and wait for me there. I’ll give you my old phone to use for now, and I’ll figure out the surveillance problem.”
“A’Sui, I’ve got to treat you to dinner for this!” Cao Nuo said gratefully.
Among their roommates, Ning Sui was the youngest and the one with the hardest background but somehow, he always came through for people. Having him as a friend really felt like a blessing.
They couldn’t help but think, what a pity for Ji Zhilin to have lost him!
Although the family doctor said Ji Yucheng’s injury was just a fracture, nothing too serious, the old master was extremely cautious.
He ordered the butler to take Ji Yucheng to their private VIP hospital for a full examination, to check for any nutritional deficiencies and prescribe supplements if needed.
Ning Sui was in his third year of university now, with few classes to attend, so he naturally went along.
In the car, he held his “vegetative husband” in his arms, looking down at the casted foot wrapped in a thick layer of plaster and the pale, handsome face resting quietly against the seat. Guilt gnawed at him.
Could it be that he had accidentally rolled over in his sleep and crushed Ji Yucheng’s toes?
Ji Yucheng, though motionless, could sense his little wife’s guilt, evident in the way he kept tugging at his pant leg every few minutes, as if compelled to check the injured foot again and again.
Of course, Ji Yucheng didn’t want Ning Sui feeling guilty for something he hadn’t done. But he couldn’t move or speak, and communicating was impossible.
Besides… The truth of it was far too embarrassing. It hardly suited the dignity of the Ji family’s eldest young master.
All he could do was pretend to be dead.
Cao Nuo and Fang Dacheng were already waiting outside the hospital when they arrived.
While Ning Sui and the butler wheeled Ji Yucheng into the examination room, the two roommates got their first glimpse of him and were instantly struck dumb.
Even confined to a wheelchair, his complexion slightly pale from long illness, Ji Yucheng’s closed eyes and chiseled features were still stunning, so beautiful he looked like a work of art, completely on another level from ordinary mortals.
By the time Ning Sui came back out, the two of them had nearly forgotten about the phone altogether. They pulled him aside, wide-eyed with realization.
“No wonder you haven’t been moping lately…”
After living together for three years, they both knew Ning Sui was a total face connoisseur. So that was it, he’d been utterly bewitched by his vegetative husband!
Ning Sui couldn’t help feeling a little smug when others approved of his taste.
Whether Ji Yucheng ever woke up or not, whether he’d still want a divorce someday…
For now, he was his husband. Complimenting Ji Yucheng was the same as complimenting himself.
He looked proudly toward the ward. “Handsome, right? Let me introduce him, Ji Yucheng, my husband.”
The door hadn’t been fully closed, and Ji Yucheng heard everything clearly.
He had thought that Ning Sui wouldn’t bother introducing him to his friends, after all, being married to a man who’d been in a coma for two years was not exactly something people boasted about.
But Ning Sui had said it so openly, so naturally, even with a note of pride in his voice, as if he were truly proud to be Ji Yucheng’s wife.
The word husband landed in Ji Yucheng’s ears like a piece of candy pressed against his lips, warm and sticky-sweet, sending a rush of heat through his veins.
If he were awake and normal now, he’d have immediately arranged for someone to drive Ning Sui’s friends home or invite them to a luxurious dinner, that was what a good husband should do, after all.
A man ought to make sure his wife never lost face in front of others but he was still motionless, with no sign of waking anytime soon.
Ji Yucheng’s gaze flicked to the upper corner of his vision, only two percent battery left and he sank into another wave of frustration.
Ever since meeting Ning Sui, his desire to wake up had grown stronger by the day.
He wanted to touch his little wife’s soft hair with his own hands, and when winter came, to stand outside their home in a long coat, waiting with open arms as Ning Sui ran into his embrace…
By the time Ji Yucheng’s thoughts returned, the voices outside were talking about dinner plans. The two roommates, who had just been praising his good looks, were now trying to drag Ning Sui off to KTV.
“Come on, ever since you got married, all you do is go to class and then straight home. We haven’t hung out properly in ages. Fang Dacheng’s treating this time, let’s go and blow off some steam! You’ve got to come, A’Sui!”
It was true, back when he’d still been dating Ji Zhilin, Ning Sui would sometimes join them for hikes or workouts on weekends. But lately, with his comatose husband at home, he’d turned into a complete money-making machine, worried his golden goose might slip away.
Every day after class, he went straight home to keep watch over Ji Yucheng, leaving his roommates lonely and bored.
“I’m really bad at singing,” Ning Sui said awkwardly.
How bad?
Ji Yucheng, listening from his hospital bed, suddenly felt curious. He silently added a note to the mental list of “One Hundred Things To Do After Waking Up”: Have my wife sing just for me.
Cao Nuo threw an arm around his shoulders. “Who cares? It’s just us, no need to be embarrassed!”
Ning Sui hesitated, then smiled. “Alright, give me a minute. Go wait downstairs, I’ll tell the butler first.”
Inside the ward, Ji Yucheng froze. He’d agreed that easily?
Would he be out late?
Would he still come home to sleep tonight?
He knew, of course, that his little wife deserved to have his own life. But still, it had been one of those rare days when Ning Sui didn’t have class, and Ji Yucheng had been quietly expecting to spend the entire day nestled together under the same blanket.
The mood in the room dimmed instantly.
Not long after the two roommates left, the butler came back with the medical report. “Fortunately, nothing serious,” he said. “Otherwise, the old master would’ve been worried sick. But he does need more calcium.”
Ning Sui finally relaxed. “Good. I’ll be going out for a bit later. Please take Mr. Ji home first, it’s cold today, so keep the car warm on the way back.”
The butler nodded. “There are still two tests left. We’ll head back once they’re done. Don’t worry.”
They entered the ward again. Ji Yucheng lay quietly on the bed, his dark lashes casting faint shadows on his pale skin, his beauty calm and unshaken, as if nothing in the world could touch him.
Ning Sui walked over and fetched another pillow, propping him up a little higher.
Even if a vegetative person couldn’t feel anything, seeing him lying so still and helpless made Ning Sui’s heart ache. He just wanted his husband to be a little more comfortable.
Then something occurred to him. “Oh, by the way, Uncle Butler, what about Mr. Ji’s parents?”
He’d only seen them once, briefly, at their wedding banquet more than a month ago. Since then, not a single visit, not even a phone call, not even during Ji Yucheng’s recent overseas treatment.
Ji Zhilin, of course, was another story; he and his brother had never gotten along but it seemed the entire Ji family, except for the old master, had little interest in Ji Yucheng’s condition.
“They’re busy with their own careers,” the butler replied. “They hardly come back, maybe once or twice a year.”
Ning Sui frowned slightly. That might have been understandable before but now their son was lying in a hospital bed, kept alive by machines and medication. How could they not visit?
At the very least, they could make a phone call, couldn’t they?
It seemed their feelings for their son were not particularly deep.
Ning Sui thought of his own first year living with the Nings, not a single call from his adoptive mother or brother back then and a strange sense of empathy stirred in his chest.
He sat down by the bed and gently took Ji Yucheng’s hand in his own.
“…It’s a good thing you don’t have any awareness,” he murmured softly. “If you knew your parents didn’t care at all, it would hurt, wouldn’t it?”
The young man lying there, despite his composed and mature reputation, the one who’d taken over the Ji Corporation so decisively, was only twenty-five years old.
When the accident happened, he’d been just twenty-three.
Ji Yucheng almost wanted to laugh. Normally, who would ever stop to think about how a vegetative person might feel?
After all, how could someone without consciousness feel anything at all?
How ironic. Yet, beneath that wry amusement, something inside him softened, as if someone had quietly tucked a piece of warm cheese into his chest, melting its edges and spreading gentle heat through his heart.
Of course, only his little wife would think about things like this.
Ning Sui suddenly spoke up, his tone light but curious, “Uncle Butler, tell me about what Mr. Ji was like when he was a child.”
He had read plenty of information on Ji Yucheng from the company’s official website before, but all of it focused on his achievements, his awards, his leadership, his empire. In truth, Ning Sui knew almost nothing about his own vegetative husband as a person.
The butler, hearing that the young madam was actually showing interest, nearly lit up with joy. When would he ever miss a chance like this?
Who knew, if he told a few tragic childhood stories, perhaps the young madam’s tender heart would overflow and he’d take the initiative to personally help the young master bathe tonight.
For the sake of passing on the nightly bath duty, the butler decided to… embellish.
He sighed, putting on an expression of deep sorrow, “I came to the Ji household rather late, so I didn’t see much of the young master when he was very little but I do know that he was sent abroad at a young age. His parents never paid him much mind, and you know how the old master is, strict to the point of mercilessness.
He poured everything into molding the young master into a perfect heir. Even when the young master fell ill, the old master refused to let him rest.”
Ji Yucheng, lying silently on the bed, could almost feel a vein throbbing in his temple.
…Really? “Sent abroad,” “at a young age”, did it have to sound that pitiful?
Yes, those things were technically true, but the way the butler spun them, he made Ji Yucheng sound like some abandoned child shipped off to a foreign land to fend for himself.
Ji Yucheng had never been someone who liked to show weakness.
But the butler, sensing the young madam’s attention fixed firmly on him, was now speaking with even greater passion, his voice low and tragic, painting every memory with the tone of a sorrowful biography.
In truth, the Ji family heir had been born with a golden spoon in his mouth, the kind of life most people could only dream of. A single car of his was worth tens of millions. Yet the butler’s story made him sound like a poor stray dog, cast out by uncaring parents, wandering a foreign land with no one to love him.
The elegant, composed young master could only listen, veins jumping in quiet fury. If this went on any longer, his tall, cold, dignified image would be utterly destroyed in his little wife’s heart!
Unfortunately, Ning Sui seemed to believe every word. As the story went on, his grip on Ji Yucheng’s hand unconsciously tightened.
Ji Yucheng: “……”
He clearly had no idea that some people could betray their master’s dignity so easily, and all for the sake of dodging a few nights of bath duty.
Ning Sui, on the other hand, believed it all. He listened with growing distress.
So Ji Yucheng’s childhood… had really been so tragic? His parents so heartless that even when he was sick or alone on his birthday, He had to handle everything himself?
And he, Ning Sui, had been taking advantage of him all this time, treating him like a walking ATM, married for over a month before even bothering to ask about his health.
Wasn’t that far too cruel?
He looked again at Ji Yucheng lying on the bed. Even unconscious, that face was still proud and distant, with sharp brows and an air of frost that felt untouchable.
But that must be just a mask, right?
Underneath, he must be fragile, a beautiful, delicate flower clinging to the cliff’s edge, needing protection.
Otherwise, why would he have loved fairytales so much?
Soon, Ning Sui would be heading out to sing and laugh with his roommates, while Ji Yucheng could only lie here, silent and alone.
The butler wasn’t particularly attentive; he probably hadn’t even noticed whether the pillow was too low. And if the window accidentally blew open and the cold wind crept in, he wouldn’t be able to move, wouldn’t be able to call for help.
A lonely man, shut out from the noise of the world, with only an old man and a servant who truly cared for him.
The more Ning Sui thought, the heavier his heart grew and to make matters worse, he’d even broken the poor man’s toe!
After a long pause, Ning Sui spoke softly, “…I’ll stay with him a bit longer, then. Once the tests are done, I’ll go home with him tonight.”
He wasn’t going to KTV anymore.
He didn’t even like loud, crowded places and honestly, his singing voice was awful, better to stay by his husband’s side, where he could at least earn a little money.
He took out his phone and quickly texted Fang Dacheng, telling them to go ahead without him.
The butler’s eyes curved in satisfaction, “Of course, Young Madam. Once the young master wakes up, you can go together next time.”
It looked like the nightly bathing duty would soon be taken care of.
Ji Yucheng: “……”
He was… not pleased with how pathetically the butler had just portrayed him but if this little performance could make his wife care for him more, then perhaps, just this once, he could tolerate the slander.
As Ning Sui held his hand, no more than a minute or two passed. He hadn’t even touched him for five hours total that day and yet, the little digital power indicator in the corner quietly jumped up by 3%.
Adding last night’s increase, it now totaled 5%.
Ji Yucheng blinked in disbelief and summoned 009.
“What’s going on?” he asked flatly.
009 pondered for a moment before answering,
“Maybe… his feelings for you deepened? When emotions run high, physical contact might amplify the recharge effect. Honestly, I think your little wife is… feeling sorry for you.”
Feeling sorry for him?
Ji Yucheng froze.
That was a feeling so foreign, so unfamiliar, no one had ever pitied him before but strangely enough, the sensation was not unpleasant.
In fact, it was… rather sweet.
Author’s Note:
Ji Yucheng: When will my wife come home? Will he still remember me? Still love me?
✦ ✧ ✦
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
⚠️ TRANSLATOR COFFEE LEVELS CRITICALLY LOW ⚠️
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · The WeddingChapter 2 · New Target!Chapter 3 · Moved OnChapter 4 · Personal Information of Ji YuchengChapter 5 · Liked Ji Yucheng for 3 Years?!Chapter 6 · Love Rival?!Chapter 7 · Domineering PossessivenessChapter 8 · Obviously Very CuteChapter 9 Part 1 · Can’t be SeperatedChapter 9 Part 2 · Can’t be SeperatedChapter 10 · A blonde Guy…Chapter 11 · Dangerously Close to love?Chapter 12 · Confrontation with Ji ZhilinChapter 13 · Accidental DiscoveryChapter 14 · System 009 upgradedChapter 15 · Battery charging!Chapter 16 · Young Master was MiserableChapter 17 · Did Ning Sui treat you like this before?Chapter 18 · Was this what happened last night before you went to bed?Chapter 19 · He really got to the bottom of thisChapter 20 Part 1 · Don’t look at him, he was shocked too!Chapter 20 Part 2 · Don’t look at him, he was shocked too!Chapter 21 · Because I like it so muchChapter 22 Part 1 · Pull up your pantsChapter 22 Part 2 · Pull up your pantsChapter 23 · Why does it sound like he’s jealousChapter 24 Part 1 · I will protect himChapter 24 Part 2 · I will protect himChapter 25 · He’s quite gentleChapter 26 · Young Master Ji suddenly started to stutterChapter 27 · Ning Sui’s timeChapter 28 Part 1 · They ran away as soon as they were scaredChapter 28 Part 2 · They ran away as soon as they were scaredChapter 29 Part 1 · Are you looking for death?Chapter 29 Part 2 · Are you looking for death?Chapter 30 · Hurry up and say your last wordsChapter 31 · Ji Yucheng collapsed into his armsChapter 32 · Mr. Ji, I never expected you to be such a good person.Chapter 33 · He’s so well-behaved when He sleeps…Chapter 34 · His expression was incredibly varied in an instantChapter 35 · How could it be Ning Sui?Chapter 36 · Does the young wife only like people in a vegetative state?Chapter 37 · State-based controlChapter 38 · The young master was so happy he dropped his phoneChapter 39 · You were 37 minutes lateChapter 40 · I don’t plan to get a divorce.Chapter 41 · Otherwise, would it be your turn?Chapter 42 · Both perverted and cuteChapter 43 · If they sneak away again, I’ll hold them even tighterChapter 44 · I sprained my ankle tooChapter 45 · A cat jumping on a lion’s head to play with fire.Chapter 46 · Your young master has fainted!Chapter 47 · Sui Sui, come downChapter 48 · Are you going to lock me in there?Chapter 49 Part 1 · I love you, Ning SuiChapter 49 Part 2 · I love you, Ning SuiChapter 50 · Give the snowman a heartChapter 51 · Miss you.Chapter 52 · To hold in one’s mouthChapter 53 · You are in the cloudsChapter 54 · Ning Sui hugged him for the first timeChapter 55 · Can you sit on my lap?Chapter 56 · It’s either you or it’s not.Chapter 57 · From this moment on, I am your vegetableChapter 58 · Young Ji YuchengChapter 59 · They kiss tirelessly.Chapter 60 · RipplingChapter 61 · You want to compare this?!Chapter 62 · It’s 001!Chapter 63 · I like everything about it.Chapter 64 · It seems to have been filled up a little more.Chapter 65 · Wedding rings should be exchanged between the couple.Chapter 66 · Love-struckChapter 67 · Why can’t we even be apart for a day?Chapter 68 · PerfectChapter 69 · A lifelong contract was madeChapter 70 · Extra 1Chapter 71 · Extra 2Chapter 72 · Extra 3Chapter 73 · Extra 4Chapter 74 · Extra 5Chapter 75 · Extra 6Chapter 76 · Extra 7Chapter 77 · Extra 8Chapter 78 · Extra 9Chapter 79 · Extra 10Chapter 80 · Extra 11Chapter 81 · Extra 12Chapter 82 · Extra 13Chapter 83 · Extra 14