Xuan Chiyi considered himself a proud and arrogant person, but he had broken his rules for Gu Yansheng time and time again. Especially after hearing and seeing Gu Yansheng claim to have a boyfriend, he felt a mixture of anger and annoyance, suddenly giving in to the impulse to snatch him away and lock him up at home.
However, the moment he saw Gu Yansheng’s eyes, he violently suppressed that urge.
He simply could not bear to see Gu Yansheng suffer even the slightest bit of harm, even if this person did not like him, and even if this person already had a boyfriend.
Moreover, he noticed that Gu Yansheng showed no fear in his eyes toward the man beside him.
Xuan Chiyi had never understood why Gu Yansheng was afraid of him. Before finding him, he had desperately wanted to ask this question, but now that he had found him, caught in this exact scenario, he no longer had the standing to ask.
If Gu Yansheng had someone he loved, and if someone was already taking care of him, then he should let go.
Xuan Chiyi suddenly felt that every single word Yang Ao had said previously hit right at the painful truth.
After taking a few steps, Xuan Chiyi remembered that he was still holding something. He had bought it for Gu Yansheng; he should at least give the gift to Gu Yansheng before leaving.
It could serve as a sad closing period for this romance of his.
Then Xuan Chiyi felt extremely grateful that he had turned back.
In the hallway, he overheard the conversation between Gu Yansheng and the guy named Hui Ge. It turned out they had no relationship whatsoever; that Hui Ge was merely Gu Yansheng’s landlord.
Watching the two of them return to their respective rooms, Xuan Chiyi steadied his mind and knocked on Gu Yansheng’s door.
Gu Yansheng was stunned to see Xuan Chiyi return; hadn’t he already left?
Gu Yansheng asked, “Do you? Do you still need something?”
For some reason, Gu Yansheng actually felt a sense of guilt.
The look in Gu Yansheng’s eyes made Xuan Chiyi understand everything; it proved his guess was correct. He tried his best to make his voice sound gentle, “Gu Yansheng, let me in. Let’s talk.”
Gu Yansheng stood by the doorway without speaking, merely looking at Xuan Chiyi. He had no idea what the other man intended to do, but he knew that if Xuan Chiyi really decided to force his way in, he wouldn’t be able to stop him at all.
Yet Xuan Chiyi just stood quietly at the doorway, waiting for his reply, as if he wouldn’t step inside unless given permission.
He really didn’t seem as terrifying as characters in novels.
Xuan Chiyi waited quietly for Gu Yansheng like that.
A few minutes later, Gu Yansheng let him in.
He figured that it was better to clear everything up at once. Constantly hiding didn’t seem to be a solution; he had come all the way to Jiangcheng, only to run into Xuan Chiyi and be found by him anyway.
Although Gu Yansheng’s apartment was small, it looked very cozy.
Just like Gu Yansheng himself, warm and clean.
Xuan Chiyi made a move to change into slippers, but Gu Yansheng told him not to bother since there were no extra slippers in the house.
Before he even spoke, Xuan Chiyi had already noticed. With a quick glance around, he saw that everything in the home came in single quantities.
Gu Yansheng clearly lived all by himself.
Besides, if Gu Yansheng really had a boyfriend that night, he wouldn’t have asked for his help, nor would he have asked him to call his coworker to lend a hand.
If a wave of panic had surged through Xuan Chiyi upon hearing that Gu Yansheng had a boyfriend earlier, now, after connecting all the dots, Xuan Chiyi felt completely at ease.
As the saying goes, a guest is a guest. Gu Yansheng poured Xuan Chiyi a glass of water, sat down, and asked, “Mr. Xuan, let’s get everything out in the open today. I hope that after today, Mr. Xuan won’t come looking for me anymore.”
Gu Yansheng deliberately said, “Or maybe the two hundred yuan I left you that day wasn’t enough? Tell me how much you want, and I’ll pay it, but please don’t come looking for me again.”
Now that he was in his own home with Li Hui living right downstairs, he believed Xuan Chiyi wouldn’t dare pull anything reckless. Furthermore, Gu Yansheng discovered that actually facing Xuan Chiyi wasn’t as terrifying as he had imagined.
His goal now was to settle things with Xuan Chiyi once and for all, resolving their matters in a single stroke.
Xuan Chiyi didn’t speak; his gaze occasionally drifted toward Gu Yansheng’s stomach.
Gu Yansheng grew increasingly guilty. Could he possibly know something? No, that was impossible.
The original book didn’t have any pregnancy plotlines.
Gu Yansheng gave a light cough and said, “What are you looking at? Just name your price.”
Xuan Chiyi smiled. “Gu Yansheng, I went to the hospital.”
Gu Yansheng uttered an “oh,” then asked, “And? Did Mr. Xuan come to see me today just to inform me that you visited a hospital?”
Xuan Chiyi sighed and went straight to the point, “Gu Yansheng, don’t be afraid. I will definitely take responsibility. Won’t you keep this child?”
Gu Yansheng stared at him abruptly, “You? How do you know?”
He suddenly realized Xuan Chiyi was much more formidable than he had imagined; he really seemed to know.
Xuan Chiyi said calmly, “I’ve been looking for you all this time, Gu Yansheng.”
Gu Yansheng retorted, “Even if I’m having a child, this child has nothing to do with you.”
This was practically a self-incriminating admission.
Xuan Chiyi looked at him steadily. “Gu Yansheng, look into my eyes and say it again: this child has nothing to do with me.”
“I?” Meeting Xuan Chiyi’s gaze, Gu Yansheng froze in place.
Xuan Chiyi possessed a tall and handsome figure with sharp, deep-set facial features that gave off a solid sense of security.
Because his features were deep-set, whenever his eyes fixed on something, they always carried a profound, affectionate intensity.
No one had ever looked at Gu Yansheng with such a gaze. The words Gu Yansheng originally intended to say got stuck in his throat; he couldn’t get them out.
Gu Yansheng cast his eyes aside, avoiding Xuan Chiyi’s face, and muttered softly, “It just has nothing to do with you.”
To an ordinary person, these words might sound like anger, but paired with Gu Yansheng’s gorgeous face and sweet voice, it sounded much more like acting spoiled.
Xuan Chiyi let out a chuckle, “Gu Yansheng, I will definitely take good care of you and our child. Come away with me.”
Answering Xuan Chiyi was the loud rumbling sound coming from Gu Yansheng’s stomach.
Having worked all day, Gu Yansheng was hungry. To have his stomach rumble so loudly right in front of Xuan Chiyi caused a sudden flush of red across Gu Yansheng’s face.
Xuan Chiyi stopped talking and immediately stood up to cook.
“Sit tight and don’t move. I’ll make dinner. We can talk about everything else after we eat.”
Because of the pregnancy, Gu Yansheng felt listless day in and day out. If it weren’t for earning money to support the baby, he would have loved to stay in bed all day long. Now that someone else was cooking, he didn’t put up much resistance.
Sitting on the sofa, he expressed his doubts, “Can you even cook?”
Xuan Chiyi quickly put on an apron.
After a flurry of clattering noises from the kitchen, a dinner was served on the table.
Gu Yansheng stared at the dishes on the table, remaining silent for a long time.
Before this, he hadn’t held any expectations for Xuan Chiyi’s culinary skills, but he never imagined that food made by someone like him could smell this appetizing.
Using the exact same ingredients, after being processed by Xuan Chiyi’s hands, they turned out vibrant in color, rich in aroma, and appealing in flavor.
They looked better and smelled richer than what he cooked himself, and even the rice looked tastier than usual.
It was truly much better than instant noodles.
Gu Yansheng ate this meal with immense satisfaction, polishing off two full bowls of rice and clearing all the dishes.
Xuan Chiyi seized the opportunity to bring up the idea of Gu Yansheng leaving with him again.
Gu Yansheng covered his mouth and dashed to the bathroom to throw up.
No matter how delicious the food was, Gu Yansheng still wanted to vomit after eating.
This was morning sickness; there was no helping it.
Watching Gu Yansheng vomit so miserably, Xuan Chiyi stood right beside him, gently patting his back while frowning.
He wasn’t frowning out of disgust toward Gu Yansheng, but rather out of worry.
Living in such a crude apartment and eating poorly, no wonder the doctor said he had mild hypoglycemia and a weak constitution. Gu Yansheng was simply far too thin.
Xuan Chiyi’s resolves to take Gu Yansheng away grew even firmer.
“Gu Yansheng, come home with me.”
After vomiting for nearly ten minutes, Gu Yansheng finally felt a bit better. Every time he ate, he had to mentally prepare himself for a long time because he knew he would definitely throw up afterward.
However, the food Xuan Chiyi cooked was too delicious, and coupled with genuine hunger, he had eaten a little extra, never expecting that he would still end up vomiting.
It was just such a waste of a good meal.
Once he finished throwing up, Gu Yansheng felt a bit hungry again, but at home, there was only instant noodles, aside from the cherries Xuan Chiyi had brought.
Those cherries looked imported, costing over a hundred pesos a pound, and they looked quite delicious.
Noticing Gu Yansheng’s gaze, Xuan Chiyi washed the entire bag of cherries.
Gu Yansheng swallowed hard and ended up eating the fruit brought by Xuan Chiyi.
Xuan Chiyi brought up his proposal once more, “Gu Yansheng, come home with me. I want to take good care of you.”
Gu Yansheng ate a plump, juicy cherry and replied, “I have a boyfriend. He’ll take care of me.”
Xuan Chiyi chuckled, “Are you talking about your landlord, Li Hui?”
Gu Yansheng thought to himself, Oh no. I didn’t expect Xuan Chiyi to find out so fast.
Gu Yansheng said softly, “I don’t need anyone’s care. I can take care of myself.”
Xuan Chiyi hadn’t expected this young man to be so stubborn.
He tried his best to use a gentle tone, afraid of scaring Gu Yansheng, “Gu Yansheng, this is my child too. I have a responsibility to take care of both of you.”
Xuan Chiyi added, “If you won’t come home with me, that’s fine. I’ll stay here and take care of you.”
Having finally found him after such a hard search, Xuan Chiyi wasn’t going to leave no matter what.
Clearly, Gu Yansheng didn’t take his words seriously; Xuan Chiyi couldn’t possibly abandon all his business affairs in Jincheng.
Full and drowsy, Gu Yansheng gave a yawn and said, “Think what you want, but I’m not leaving this place.”
“Mr. Xuan, please leave. I need to get ready for bed.” Gu Yansheng was starting to feel sleepy, and he had to go to work tomorrow.
Xuan Chiyi replied, “Then I’ll sleep right here.”
Gu Yansheng thought to himself, I should have known better than to let him in. He is pushing his luck, eating a meal at my place and now sleeping here too.
Gu Yansheng said, “Suit yourself.”
The sofa in the living room was very small. He didn’t believe that a tall guy like Xuan Chiyi could sleep there for the night; he would surely leave by the middle of the night.
So Gu Yansheng didn’t say anything more.
Perhaps also because Xuan Chiyi was the father of the child, he didn’t truly have the heart to kick him out.
When Xuan Chiyi finished his shower, he asked him for pajamas, saying he needed to shower and sleep as well.
Gu Yansheng had just finished showering himself, and his body was enveloped in the scent of body wash, which reminded Xuan Chiyi of that night’s scent, refreshing and sweet.
Gu Yansheng answered, “I don’t have any.”
Xuan Chiyi wasn’t upset. “Oh, in that case, I’ll just wander around naked. Don’t be startled when you come out.”
Gu Yansheng glared at him with puffed-up cheeks; wasn’t this acting like a hooligan?
Gu Yansheng demanded, “Why do you insist on staying here? Can’t you go stay at a hotel?”
Xuan Chiyi answered, “If you won’t come with me, I’ll follow you until you do.”
With that, Gu Yansheng tossed a set of pajamas at Xuan Chiyi.
Xuan Chiyi walked into the bathroom with a smile and took a shower. When he came out, Gu Yansheng had already locked his bedroom door. A quilt and a pillow had been placed on the sofa.
He really was a soft-hearted person after all.
Xuan Chiyi spoke to the closed bedroom door, “Thank you, Gu Yansheng. Good night.”
There was no response from inside the room.
Lying on the sofa, Xuan Chiyi tossed and turned until midnight before finally falling asleep. On one hand, the sofa was indeed quite uncomfortable to sleep on.
On the other hand, he was trying to figure out how to get Gu Yansheng to come home with him.
If Gu Yansheng refused to leave this place, he could also settle down here, but that meant he would need to buy a house as soon as possible.
The matter of buying a house could be handed over to Yang Ao; he knew which residential area in Jiangcheng had the best location and feng shui, making it comfortable and convenient to live in.
Before Gu Yansheng woke up, Xuan Chiyi was already awake, spending his time thinking about buying a house.
While Gu Yansheng was washing up in the bathroom, his doorbell rang.
Xuan Chiyi frowned and checked the time; it was only a little past seven in the morning. Who would come looking for Gu Yansheng this early?
Looking displeased, Xuan Chiyi opened the door, and standing at the threshold was indeed that landlord, Li Hui.
Carrying breakfast, Li Hui froze the moment he saw the person who opened the door.
Wasn’t this the man who came looking for Gu Yansheng yesterday? Didn’t he already leave?
Why was he suddenly showing up at Gu Yansheng’s home at this early hour?
And why was he wearing Gu Yansheng’s pajamas?
Gu Yansheng’s pajamas looked somewhat small on Xuan Chiyi. Pants that were originally cropped length were forced by Xuan Chiyi into capris.
The top looked extremely short as well; with the slightest movement, Xuan Chiyi’s abdominal muscles were faintly revealed.
Li Hui wore a look of utter shock. “Why are you here?”
Xuan Chiyi replied with a smile, “I slept right here last night.”
Just as those words fell, Gu Yansheng stepped out from the bathroom.
And right at the doorway, he saw Xuan Chiyi and Li Hui standing face to face.