Inside the bedroom, it was utterly silent, the only sound being the faint electrical hum of the vital-sign monitor.
On the large bed in the center lay a young man. His thick black hair spilled across his forehead, and his finely sculpted features looked as though carved from jade.
It was clear the Ji family had spent enormous sums to maintain the eldest young master’s health.
Apart from a sickly pallor, his complexion looked no different from a normal person’s, he appeared merely to be in a deep sleep.
Ning Sui was a face-connoisseur, and the moment he saw the young master Ji, he immediately liked his appearance. He couldn’t resist leaning closer for a better look…
What a beautiful face.
As expected of someone born to rule, though lying unconscious, there was still an aura of cold aloofness between his brows, a warning for strangers to keep their distance.
Even the system glanced at him and couldn’t help but remark, “I understand now why the old master was willing to do whatever it took to save Ji Yucheng. Even though there hasn’t been the slightest sign of recovery, he still waited for two whole years. He knew Ji Corporation would only grow more unstable, yet still refused to hand it over to Ji Zhilin.”
Ji Zhilin was famously a favored son of heaven, handsome and exceptionally capable in every way. But compared with his elder brother… he truly paled somewhat in comparison.
“Yes, A’Tong,” Ning Sui replied, increasingly delighted as he gazed at Ji Yucheng. “This marriage isn’t a loss.”
Ji Yucheng was covered with a quilt, only his head and neck exposed. But to Ning Sui, even that was fatally attractive. He couldn’t help reaching toward those perfect lips.
“Restrain yourself, A’Sui,” the system quickly warned. “They only let you in to take a look at Ji Yucheng, and they’re waiting for you to come down to dinner.”
“Just one touch,” Ning Sui said with glee.
People always said wealth was just an external thing, not worth chasing too hard. But for Ning Sui, who had grown up cold and hungry, money was the one thing he loved.
If he’d had money as a child, little Yu wouldn’t have died untreated. If he’d had money five years ago, he wouldn’t have failed to buy his grandmother even a decent grave.
Now that he finally had money, the people he cared about were already gone.
All that remained was a regret carved into his very soul.
Who doesn’t love money?
“You’d better not wake up too soon,” he murmured.
He had heard Ji Yucheng was a career-obsessed man, pure-hearted and abstinent for twenty-five years. Even if he did have a preferred type, it certainly wouldn’t be someone like Ning Sui.
If he ever woke up, divorce would be inevitable. Where would Ning Sui cry then?
Ji Yucheng had lain in bed for two years, yet none of his organs had failed.
Everyone else believed it was thanks to the hospital and the tens of millions spent on medical equipment. But only Ji Yucheng knew the truth: on the brink of death, he had bound himself to a system.
This system, called 009, was something of a failure, an obsolete version that was unstable, often disconnecting. It couldn’t help him wake.
But because of 009, Ji Yucheng, though paralyzed like a vegetable, remained conscious of the outside world.
It sounded better than total coma, perhaps. But in reality, it was just another form of torture.
It was like being locked in a pitch-black sealed room, aware, able to feel, able to hear, yet utterly unable to move, not even a single finger or an eyelid.
And with no sign of recovery, he was trapped in this endless darkness, day after day, cut off from all communication with the world outside. A life sentence in solitary confinement.
His grandfather cherished him as the most capable of his grandsons, not allowing anyone but doctors and nurses to visit.
As a result, Ji Yucheng’s only interaction with the world these past two years was daily care and feeding, he couldn’t even glean scraps of information.
Under such circumstances, an ordinary person would have gone mad or at least close.
Ji Yucheng was no ordinary person, but even his will to live had begun to wane after two years of such confinement.
Half a month ago, the old master, desperate for a miracle, proposed “冲喜” (a marriage to bring fortune and drive away misfortune).
This was discussed right at Ji Yucheng’s bedside.
Having studied abroad, Ji Yucheng had always been an atheist. He didn’t believe in such things. But as a vegetable, even if he objected, no one would know.
And so, Ning Sui unilaterally became his spouse.
Young Master Ji was deeply resistant.
Before his accident, he had only met Ning Sui once at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a subsidiary company.
At that time, Ning Sui had been his younger brother Ji Zhilin’s lover. How things later turned out? How did Ning Sui end up chosen? He had no way of knowing.
But one thing was certain: Ning Sui hadn’t married him out of love.
Who would willingly marry a man who couldn’t move, who might never wake, and whose days were numbered?
The only thing worth coveting was the Ji family’s wealth.
Such a person might put on a show of dutiful care before others, but behind closed doors, they’d surely find even looking at a vegetable bothersome.
And then, just as he had guessed, not long after Ning Sui entered the room, Ji Yucheng heard it..
“You’d better not wake up too soon…”
Ji Yucheng almost thought he’d misheard.
Was that something a human being should say?
It was exactly as venomous as he had imagined.
If he had only felt irritated before, now his loathing surged to the extreme.
He coldly waited for Ning Sui to finish his token visit and leave to report back to the old master.
But the next second, something landed on his lips…
Cool, soft, gently rubbing against his mouth.
What was that?
Ji Yucheng desperately wished he could frown.
Then it was his cheek, nose, brows. When he realized in shock that it was Ning Sui’s fingers, the quilt had already been lifted. His right hand was seized.
Ning Sui clasped it between both palms, rubbing it repeatedly.
If Ning Sui had only held his hand with one of his own, the scene wouldn’t have seemed so strange.
But with two hands enfolding his, carefully caressing from thumb to wrist, from back to palm, inch by inch, it was utterly bizarre.
After two years without human touch, Ji Yucheng’s body had grown hypersensitive.
Wherever Ning Sui rubbed his palm, tingling sparks spread, jolting through his whole body. His trapped soul trembled inside him.
Ji Yucheng: “What is he doing?”
His face darkened.
009 popped up, thoughtful: “He’s touching you.”
Ji Yucheng: “…”
Was that worthless system just here to state the obvious?
Then a knock came at the door. A servant calling Ning Sui down to dinner.
Reluctantly, Ning Sui released his hand, tucking the quilt neatly around him again.
When he had been with Ji Zhilin, he had never dared be so bold. At most he would hold hands, any more would have seemed perverse.
But now, lying here unconscious, Ji Yucheng wouldn’t feel anything no matter what he did. It was so convenient.
The more Ning Sui looked at his comatose husband, the more he liked him or rather, liked the sound of money entering his bank account.
Ji Yucheng truly was capable. Just a short while near him, and Ning Sui had gained more than he would from a whole month with Ji Zhilin.
The man’s handsome face was pale, unchanged since Ning Sui had entered.
So young… what a pity.
With a sigh, Ning Sui turned and left the room.
Dinner was a family affair. Ji Yucheng and Ji Zhilin’s parents, busy with business abroad, had already left after attending the noon banquet. At the table now were only the old master and Ji Zhilin.
The dishes were light and homely, just to Ning Sui’s taste.
The old master, domineering but not unreasonable, had brought Ning Sui into the family for the sake of the marriage ritual. But he hadn’t forced him to share a room with Ji Yucheng.
After all, his grandson was a vegetable, there was no need to make the younger generation go through empty motions.
As Ning Sui sat down, the old man tapped his knuckles against the marble tabletop.
“I had Aunt Zhou prepare a room for you. It’s right next to Yucheng’s, everything’s already set up, you don’t need to worry about a thing.”
Ji Zhilin lowered his head to eat, but he was tense all along, waiting for the old master to speak. When he finally heard those words, he shut his eyes briefly, at last letting out a breath of relief. The heavy stone in his heart finally dropped.
He was a bit of a clean freak. Although he had personally delivered Ning Sui into his elder brother’s hands, whether Ji Yucheng would ever wake was still uncertain. And when the day came that Ji Yucheng could no longer hold on, Ning Sui would still be his.
Until then, he didn’t want Ning Sui to have any contact with his brother.
What’s more, Ning Sui had been forced into this marriage. Surely he felt miserable inside, he couldn’t possibly want to truly look after a man who couldn’t eat or dress without help.
Giving him a separate room was essentially making him Ji Yucheng’s wife in name only, without any real relationship involved. That should ease Ning Sui’s heart a little.
Thinking this, Ji Zhilin raised his head, looking tenderly at his former lover.
When Ning Sui heard the old master’s arrangement, he froze.
Why was he just staring? Too happy?
A’Sui always wore his feelings on his face.
That thought flickered across Ji Zhilin’s mind, and for a moment he felt dazed. During those three years together, it hadn’t been only Ning Sui’s feelings running deep, he himself had unknowingly given Ning Sui a great deal of space in his heart.
Feigning casualness, he began, “Since Grandpa says so, then you”
Before he could finish, Ning Sui interjected, “Ah? But I’ve already married in. It’s better to sleep in the same room, isn’t it?”
Ji Zhilin: ???
Ning Sui said brightly, “Besides, if something happens at night, I’ll be right there to take care of him. Nurses aren’t always convenient. Don’t worry, Grandpa! though I’m not very practiced yet, I’ll do my best to fulfill my duties.”
As if he would let separate rooms get in the way of cuddling with his comatose husband.
The words were so pleasing that the old master couldn’t help giving Ning Sui an approving look.
Ning Sui… what is he saying?
Ji Zhilin was stunned.
Remembering his grandfather’s presence, he gave Ning Sui a sharp, subtle glare. Was Ning Sui still sulking?
But was there really a need to punish himself over what had happened between them?
Hadn’t Ji Zhilin already explained clearly at the café that day? That he would never abandon him, and that letting him marry his elder brother had only been a temporary measure?
Unable to resist, Ji Zhilin stretched his leg under the table and nudged Ning Sui.
But Ning Sui only pulled back his foot as though unconsciously, avoiding him.
If he kept pushing, the old master would notice. Ji Zhilin’s heart was burning with anxiety, but on the surface he could only drop it.
For the rest of dinner, Ning Sui said nothing more. He concentrated on chewing his food, while Ji Zhilin’s gaze nearly burned a hole into his face, yet still failed to earn so much as a glance.
This was nothing like the Ning Sui of before, who had once looked at him with eyes full of fire.
A strange unease rose in Ji Zhilin’s chest, as if something was slipping out of his control.
But he told himself Ning Sui was doing it on purpose. This was revenge. He probably wanted Ji Zhilin to lose his composure, to act rashly.
Ning Sui had grown thinner these days. Clearly, ever since that day at the café, he hadn’t eaten or slept well, his heart broken. Acting this way now was perfectly normal. Ji Zhilin just needed to be patient.
Besides… if Ning Sui insisted on sharing a room with his brother, it didn’t matter. He could always have the servants move in an extra bed.
After dinner, Ning Sui spoke with the old master, answering a few questions.
Being Ji Yucheng’s “wife” was actually simple. Officially, he had to take care of him, but most of the real duties were handled by doctors and nurses. All he had to do was give the old master occasional updates.
Ning Sui disliked attending banquets, and the old master didn’t insist on it either.
In addition, the old master assigned him an assistant, who would take him to and from school.
Ning Sui could clearly feel how much the old master treasured Ji Yucheng. To the point where, for his grandson’s sake, he even extended his kindness to Ning Sui.
Never having known family warmth as a child, Ning Sui suddenly felt a little envious of the man lying in bed upstairs.
While the old master spoke with Ning Sui, Ji Zhilin hadn’t left. Normally he didn’t live at the old residence, but tonight he’d stayed only because Ning Sui had come back.
As Ning Sui went upstairs, Ji Zhilin pretended to fumble for keys at the door, as though about to leave.
But Ning Sui walked right past him without a glance, brushing shoulders with him on the stairs.
…
Only when the servants wheeled the old master back to his study did Ji Zhilin hurry upstairs after him.
Ning Sui had just entered Ji Yucheng’s lounge and was about to step into the bedroom when Ji Zhilin grabbed his wrist.
As a player on S University’s basketball team, Ji Zhilin was strong. With a tug, Ning Sui lost his balance, his elbow striking the door with a loud “thud.”
Ji Zhilin hadn’t meant to be rough, and quickly reached to steady him. “Are you okay?”
But Ning Sui clutched his wrist, retreating a step as if disgusted to be touched.
Ji Zhilin: There was no such perfect bargain in this world.
Ning Sui’s system had restrictions.
Once he chose a fixed target, any close contact with others whose magnetic field clashed with that target or competitors for that target would bring him a jolt like lightning, and cost him experience points.
This was why he always avoided touching his dorm mates. Not because he was truly a neat freak.
Now that his target was Ji Yucheng, Ji Zhilin naturally triggered the penalty.
A glance at his stats confirmed it: everything he’d gained from Ji Yucheng before dinner had been wiped clean by this damned Ji Zhilin.
Ning Sui: Heartache.
But in Ji Zhilin’s eyes, Ning Sui couldn’t even bear a single touch from him anymore.
Before, Ning Sui had loved him so deeply that even brushing shoulders with another man in a crowd would make him recoil.
And now he was recoiling from him the same way?
Ji Zhilin’s face darkened, “You’re avoiding me?”
Ning Sui shrank back, wary, “What do you want? The second floor isn’t your place to be, is it?”
For fear of affecting Ji Yucheng’s recovery, no one but doctors was allowed upstairs, not even Ji Zhilin.
Ji Zhilin froze at his reaction.
Frowning, he asked, “At dinner just now, why didn’t you accept Grandpa’s suggestion? Did you move into my brother’s room just to spite me?”
Ning Sui fell silent.
So that’s what he’d been talking about. That’s why he’d been kicking him under the table. Ning Sui had thought his toe was just itchy.
Seeing Ning Sui’s lowered lashes, looking pitiful, Ji Zhilin felt a pang of guilt. His voice softened. “A’Sui, don’t punish yourself because of my mistake.”
Mistake?
How could it be called a mistake?
He still remembered that day in the café, when Ji Zhilin handed him over to Ji Yucheng. He’d nearly lost control and let his heartbreak show right then and there.
He ought to thank him.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Ning Sui said meaningfully.
…Was that forgiveness? But his expression didn’t quite match.
Ji Zhilin couldn’t tell what Ning Sui meant, and before he could puzzle it out, Ning Sui had already slipped inside.
Through the bedroom door, Ji Yucheng had heard their entire conversation.
When Ning Sui entered, his husband lay there as still as ever. He turned on the light, casting shadows across the room. Nothing had changed since the afternoon.
Another bed had been moved in, no doubt at Ji Zhilin’s request.
Ning Sui didn’t linger. He hung his clothes neatly in Ji Yucheng’s wardrobe, then went into the bathroom.
Listening to the sound of running water, Ji Yucheng’s chest tightened.
So that was it. Now he understood why his “little wife” had behaved the way he did earlier. Was the hand-holding and feigned tenderness at his bedside only for show because Ji Zhilin had been outside the door?
If so, he had been used. Turned into a prop to make Ji Zhilin jealous.
The great Ji Yucheng, born brilliant and always standing above others when had he ever been reduced to someone’s tool?
A suffocating frustration weighed on his chest, souring his mood further.
Still… maybe it was for the best. If Ning Sui’s heart was fixed only on Ji Zhilin, then he would have no interest in bothering with Ji Yucheng. That meant fewer troubles.
But Ning Sui didn’t come out.
Ji Yucheng’s gaze shifted to the extra bed.
The room was spacious. The bed had been placed six or seven meters away from his own, clearly Ji Zhilin had told the servants to keep it far.
Ji Yucheng had always been possessive about his space. Before his accident, no one was allowed into his study or bedroom.
If he could get up now, he’d have kicked his brother out the moment that bed crossed the threshold.
Still, having it there might at least mean more peace and quiet.
The bathroom door opened, a faint mist spilling into the room.
Ji Yucheng wasn’t used to this. For two years, every night he had lain silently awake, unable to sleep, watching the sky lighten little by little.
Seven hundred and thirty days and nights, so dull, so monotonous, that he even knew when the dew fell or when the insects began to sing each season.
But this unfamiliarity wasn’t unpleasant. After all, with his attention on his “little wife,” time didn’t feel quite so unbearable.
After drying off, Ning Sui walked straight to the extra bed, without even glancing at him.
Ji Yucheng’s mood turned stormy. As expected, when no one was watching, he didn’t even bother to pretend.
He listened to Ning Sui blow-drying his hair, changing into pajamas. His irritation churned.
And then suddenly, Ji Yucheng’s thoughts screeched to a halt.
The quilt beside him lifted. A warm body in cotton pajamas pressed up against him.
Ning Sui’s arm wrapped around his chest, slipping under his nightclothes, cheek burrowing into his neck, hand roaming across his chest.
Then he felt Ning Sui take in a deep, blissful breath and even sling a leg across him with excitement.
Ji Yucheng: “?”
_______________
😶🌫️ Behind The Scene ( ๑‾̀◡‾́)✨
Ji Yucheng is really wishing to know what’s wrong with this husband of his?! One moment he’s all touchy and next wishing him not to wake up! And then there’s Ji Zhilin!
MC loves money… ML thinks it’s love, while only we know the truth 😏
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[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator sacrificed sleep for this chapter. A coffee offering seems reasonable.
☕ 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