Xuan Chiyi stayed in Jiangcheng for three days, but still failed to find Gu Yansheng.
He couldn’t believe he couldn’t find a single person, and he didn’t know why he was being so persistent. Perhaps it was because of that night when Gu Yansheng softly threw himself into his arms, looking up at him with those eyes and whispering for help.
Or perhaps it was because the sweet scent on Gu Yansheng’s body had left him utterly spellbound.
However, after three days, he still had nothing to show for it.
Faced with yet another disappointment, Xuan Chiyi was already starting to get used to coming up empty-handed. He thought that next weekend he would come back and start searching the surrounding areas of Jiangcheng.
They had been looking for nearly a month when Yang Ao began to persuade him, “Old Xuan, he might have really left Jiangcheng, which is why we can’t find him. Let’s just forget it, Chiyi. There are so many people in this world; why do you have to fixate on finding just one?”
Xuan Chiyi paused for a moment in silence. “Yang Ao, you know what? I have a lot of flaws. I don’t like people getting close to me, and I’ve never fallen for anyone. Gu Yansheng is the first.”
Yang Ao fell silent for a long time before saying, “Alright, let’s keep looking.”
Having been friends with Xuan Chiyi for so many years, he understood him. Xuan Chiyi had never liked anyone before, nor had he ever been this serious and persistent about someone.
To help Xuan Chiyi mentally prepare, Yang Ao couldn’t help asking, “What if you find him, but he doesn’t like you? What will you do?” Since Gu Yansheng had run away, it proved that he didn’t like Xuan Chiyi. He didn’t want Xuan Chiyi to be crushed when that happened, so he wanted to give him a preemptive warning.
Sitting in first class, Xuan Chiyi thought about Yang Ao’s question. He hadn’t considered that scenario. Right now, he just wanted to find the person first; as for what would happen after that, he hadn’t thought it through.
Just as the plane was about to take off, Xuan Chiyi received an unfamiliar call.
Someone on the other end said, “Hello, Mr. Xuan. May I ask if what you said last time still stands? I know where Gu Yansheng is.”
Xuan Chiyi immediately sat up straight.
“What did you just say?”
Zhang Fang said from the other end of the line, “Mr. Xuan, do you remember me? I’m the one who gave you Gu Yansheng’s number at the bar last time.”
How could Xuan Chiyi not remember? He couldn’t suppress his racing heartbeat. “Did you just say you know where Gu Yansheng is?”
Zhang Fang hurriedly replied, “I know, I know! I saw Gu Yansheng just yesterday! I really know where he is, but wait a second.”
Xuan Chiyi had already gotten off the plane. “How much?”
Half an hour later, Xuan Chiyi met with Zhang Fang. “You really saw him?”
Xuan Chiyi didn’t even realize how emotional his tone was.
Zhang Fang: “I really saw him. He was working part-time at a milk tea shop.”
Xuan Chiyi: “Take me there.”
Zhang Fang: “Mr. Xuan, what we just agreed on…”
Xuan Chiyi took out his phone and immediately transferred 500,000 to Zhang Fang.
Zhang Fang pointed the way immediately: “Mr. Xuan, Gu Yansheng is right at the milk tea shop on that street.”
When the two of them rushed to the milk tea shop, they found a different scene.
“Gu Yansheng? He quit yesterday.”
Zhang Fang: “But wasn’t he still here yesterday? Why did he suddenly quit?”
He was starting to panic, afraid that Xuan Chiyi would think he was lying and take back the money. “He was definitely here yesterday.”
The store clerk still had some impression of Zhang Fang because Gu Yansheng had been chatting with him yesterday, and only after asking did he realize the two knew each other. “I remember you. You came here to buy milk tea yesterday and even talked to Gu Yansheng.”
Zhang Fang looked at Xuan Chiyi, meaning to say that he wasn’t lying and really knew Gu Yansheng was here. Who could have guessed that Gu Yansheng would quit so suddenly?
Xuan Chiyi hadn’t spoken the entire time; he just gave a faint smile.
Thinking Xuan Chiyi was angry, Zhang Fang said, “Mr. Xuan, I didn’t lie, so this money…”
Xuan Chiyi didn’t care about the amount at all. He never took back what he said.
Right now, he felt a sliver of happiness: it proved that Gu Yansheng was still in Jiangcheng and hadn’t left. As long as he was still in Jiangcheng, he would be able to find him.
After seeing Zhang Fang yesterday, the more Gu Yansheng thought about it, the more wrong it felt.
He remembered a certain theory, which roughly stated that you could find anyone you wanted to know through six degrees of separation.
Perhaps harboring an instinctive fear of Xuan Chiyi deep down, Gu Yansheng suddenly realized after Zhang Fang left that Zhang Fang had met Xuan Chiyi, and Zhang Fang had met him.
Moreover, he learned from Zhang Fang that Xuan Chiyi was indeed looking for him.
Although he didn’t know why Xuan Chiyi was looking for him, aside from that single night, they had no other ties whatsoever.
For some reason, Gu Yansheng just had a strong intuition that he had to leave the milk tea shop immediately, or else Xuan Chiyi would track him down here.
Therefore, right after Zhang Fang left, Gu Yansheng quit the milk tea shop.
Gu Yansheng was still a few days short of working a full month at the shop, but the boss still paid him a full month’s salary. To be fair, because of Gu Yansheng, their sales this month had been several times higher than before.
The milk tea shop owner tried repeatedly to make him stay, but Gu Yansheng’s determination to leave was firm. In the end, the owner told him that he was welcome to come back anytime.
Lately, Gu Yansheng had been feeling a bit weak all over, though he neither had a fever nor a cold; he just constantly felt drowsy and lacked energy.
Gu Yansheng figured it was probably because winter was setting in.
Over the past few days, Gu Yansheng hadn’t gone out to look for a job. He still had some savings left from before, so he wasn’t in a rush.
He was already considering moving to another city to live.
A less developed small town with a lower cost of living would work too, so that he wouldn’t run into Xuan Chiyi again.
He refused to believe he couldn’t escape this person.
Gu Yansheng sat on the sofa, searching for a suitable city to live in.
Tap, tap, tap. Someone knocked on his door.
Looking through the peephole, it was his landlord, Brother Hui.
Li Hui had noticed yesterday that Gu Yansheng’s complexion looked completely wrong, quite pale, so he came up to check on him after getting off work.
It wasn’t easy for Gu Yansheng being out here alone. Seeing that he looked like he had caught a cold, Li Hui even brought cold medicine, fever reducers, and other supplies.
“Brother Hui, I’m fine. I’m just a little drowsy. It’s probably because winter is coming, so I just love to sleep and have no energy. Thanks for caring, Brother Hui.”
Gu Yansheng’s voice was soft and lacked spirit.
At home, Gu Yansheng was wearing a light blue tracksuit. With his big eyes, the light blue outfit made his skin look even fairer, making him appear even younger than he was.
When Gu Yansheng first came to rent the apartment, Li Hui thought he was a runaway child. It wasn’t until he saw Gu Yansheng’s ID card that he realized he was already an adult.
It was also then that he found out Gu Yansheng was an orphan, which made Li Hui feel even more protective of the kid, prompting him to secretly charge only half the rent.
Facts proved that his judgment of character was correct.
Gu Yansheng was a clean person who never trashed the apartment. In the half-year he had rented the place, the room remained spotless, and Li Hui had never once seen Gu Yansheng bring anyone else home, as he was a very quiet person.
Gu Yansheng had decorated the room very warmly, giving it a true home-like feel.
Li Hui glanced over and accidentally caught a glimpse of Gu Yansheng’s computer. On the desktop was an introduction to another city, detailing its cost of living and rent prices.
Li Hui stared at the screen in silence.
“Sese, are you leaving this place?”
Gu Yansheng followed Li Hui’s gaze to his computer screen, which still had the browser open to the city he had been researching.
Gu Yansheng gave a soft hum. “I want to go see other places.”
The main reason was to hide from Xuan Chiyi. He had a hunch that Xuan Chiyi would track him down.
Li Hui fell silent. Was Gu Yansheng going to leave?
Yet he hadn’t even told Gu Yansheng about his feelings yet. If he didn’t speak up now, would Gu Yansheng just leave, leaving him with no chance at all?
Li Hui sat down beside Gu Yansheng. “Sese, there’s something I want to tell you.”
“Yeah.” Gu Yansheng let out a yawn, still feeling very sleepy. He hugged a pillow and sat obediently, waiting to hear what Li Hui had to say.
Just like this, he was irresistibly endearing, making people want to take good care of him.
Li Hui looked at him intently. “Sese, what do you think of me?”
Gu Yansheng thought about it. “Pretty good. Good personality, nice temper, speaks very gently. Like an older brother.”
Gu Yansheng had no family since childhood, so in his heart, he treated Li Hui like an older brother.
He was truly grateful for Li Hui’s care over the past half-year, which was why he hadn’t hidden his plans to leave from him, as he would have to tell him eventually.
For some reason, hearing Gu Yansheng say that didn’t make Li Hui happy at all. It felt like being handed a nice guy card, rejected before he even confessed.
Li Hui took a deep breath. “Sese, I like you. Will you stay? I will definitely treat you well.”
Suddenly and unexpectedly confessed to, Gu Yansheng’s first reaction was disbelief. His eyes widened as if doubting whether he had heard correctly.
“Brother Hui…”
Li Hui quickly said, “Sese, I’m serious. From the first moment I saw you, I liked you. I never dared to tell you my feelings because I was afraid of scaring you. I thought I would take it slow and that you would eventually see my good points. But now it seems there’s no time left, so I have to tell you now: I like you.”
Li Hui left in dejection.
Gu Yansheng rejected him very clearly: “I’m sorry, Brother Hui, I don’t like you.”
For Gu Yansheng, not liking someone meant just that.
He figured it was time to leave this place as soon as possible.
As soon as he lay down on the bed, a wave of nausea suddenly washed over him.
Gu Yansheng rushed to the bathroom, vomiting violently and throwing up everything he had just eaten.
Hugging the toilet bowl and vomiting for nearly ten minutes, Gu Yansheng rinsed his mouth weakly. What on earth was wrong with him lately? Why was he suddenly feeling nauseous and constantly drowsy?
Uneasy, Gu Yansheng looked up his symptoms online. A few minutes later, Gu Yansheng closed the browser.
Internet diagnoses were indeed unreliable. After searching these symptoms, he had already contracted several terminal illnesses and felt like his days were numbered. Even more outrageously, some articles claimed this meant he was pregnant!
Gu Yansheng didn’t take it to heart, figuring such a condition would pass in a couple of days.
Several days later, Gu Yansheng was cooking instant noodles one day when he smelled the seasoning packet boiling in the water, and the nausea suddenly surged up again.
To save money, Gu Yansheng often had a single pack of instant noodles for a meal, and he usually enjoyed them. But today, he suddenly felt nauseous at the sight of instant noodles, and Gu Yansheng finally felt that something might be genuinely wrong. Could he really have caught some illness?
The next day, Gu Yansheng went to the hospital to register for an appointment.
The doctor who saw him was an elderly traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. After taking Gu Yansheng’s pulse, the doctor looked at him with a serious expression and said, “Young man, you’re pregnant.”
Gu Yansheng stared blankly in utter shock.
Didn’t he transmigrate into a dog-blood angsty novel? How did it turn into a mpreg novel?
Gu Yansheng asked carefully, “Doctor, um, would you mind checking again? Could it be a mistake? I’m a man.”
Usually, people would be very unhappy if a patient questioned their medical skills, but this TCM doctor remained very gentle. “Young man, I’ve been practicing traditional Chinese medicine for decades, and I won’t make a mistake. You are already over a month pregnant. If you don’t believe me, I can write you an order to go get an ultrasound and you’ll see.”
Gu Yansheng didn’t know how he left the hospital.
His mind was a complete mess right now.
He was actually pregnant? When he saw articles online suggesting his symptoms indicated pregnancy, he hadn’t believed it, but now…
Gu Yansheng still couldn’t believe it. He touched his flat stomach. Was there really a life growing in here?
Over a month.
That was precisely when Gu Yansheng met Xuan Chiyi.
Aside from Xuan Chiyi, Gu Yansheng had never slept with anyone else. Why on earth did he hit the jackpot on a single try?
Gu Yansheng was at a loss regarding what to do with the child in his belly.
He was pregnant with Xuan Chiyi’s child. The father of the child in his belly was Xuan Chiyi.
A person he had been running away from all this time.
Gu Yansheng suffered his first bout of insomnia. On one hand, he didn’t want to keep this child; on the other hand, he felt that this child was also a life.
Back at the hospital, that elderly TCM doctor had told him that his pregnancy was quite a special case. If he chose to have an abortion, the physical trauma would be severe and could even be life-threatening.
The doctor had advised him to think it over carefully.
On the other side, Xuan Chiyi finally managed to track down another lead on Gu Yansheng.
Yang Ao found out that Gu Yansheng had visited a hospital just yesterday.
Xuan Chiyi rushed to Jiangcheng that very day.
Song Ming had lost count of how many times he had followed Xuan Chiyi to Jiangcheng. Whenever there was news of Gu Yansheng, Xuan Chiyi would rush over. As his assistant, this was also his first time seeing Xuan Chiyi care so deeply about someone.
Following the clues provided by Yang Ao, Xuan Chiyi found the TCM doctor who had examined Gu Yansheng.
At first, the doctor said nothing until Xuan Chiyi took out a photo of Gu Yansheng on his phone, leading the doctor to assume Xuan Chiyi was Gu Yansheng’s boyfriend.
He sighed. “As his boyfriend, you should take good care of him and persuade him properly.”
Xuan Chiyi’s heart tightened. “What’s wrong with him? Is he sick?” So that was why Gu Yansheng was avoiding him, and it wasn’t because he hated him.
The doctor gave the man an annoyed glance. “Your boyfriend is pregnant.”