Gu Jia’s warm breath brushed against Zhao Yisen’s earlobe.
Zhao Yisen felt a tingle shoot through his ear, and he froze on the spot. Though his face was lean, it was very soft; where Gu Jia’s rough fingertips lightly brushed against it, the skin quickly turned red.
Outside the window, the moonlight was as tranquil as still water.
As he watched Zhao Yisen’s reaction, Gu Jia’s expression grew complex. Contrary to what he had just claimed, in their previous life, Yi Sen had hated being touched like this most of all.
Yet the person before him did not resist.
Days of relentless fatigue had dulled Gu Jia’s thinking. He recalled his various attempts to test Zhao Yisen it always felt as if he were just a hair’s breadth away from the truth. With a dark glint in his eyes, he suddenly leaned down, his striking features closing in on Zhao Yisen’s lips with an irresistible intensity.
“……!!!”
Anyone faced with such overwhelming, vampire-like beauty would have stopped breathing.
The flush spread from Zhao Yisen’s neck to the tips of his ears. He snapped out of his trance, not daring to meet Gu Jia’s gaze, and stared at the edge of the bed like a defeated ostrich.
In those light purple eyes, Gu Jia read a fledgling’s bashfulness, mixed with piteousness and a plea for mercy. Seeing these emotions on Yi Sen was so absurd it almost made him want to laugh.
“…”
Under Gu Jia’s piercing gaze, Zhao Yisen found it difficult to breathe. After a long moment, the large hand gripping his chin suddenly let go.
A soft chuckle drifted down from above. “Heh.”
Gu Jia knelt by the bed, swept his gaze over Zhao Yisen, and reached up to unbutton his white shirt.
Zhao Yisen: ……!?!?!
The next second, Gu Jia turned and walked toward the master bedroom’s ensuite bathroom. After a rustle of movement, the sound of the shower filled the room. Through the frosted glass, a tall, well-defined silhouette was faintly visible sharp contours, smooth lines, from top to bottom…
Zhao Yisen didn’t dare look any further. He silently pulled his small blanket tight, feeling dazed by the succession of shocks. To be fair, Gu Jia’s physique and looks were exactly his type. But if it came down to the real thing, Zhao Yisen, the professional “backing out” artist, truly couldn’t handle it.
His previous bold talk had mostly been based on a fluke mentality; he simply found it novel and interesting…
Zhao Yisen squeezed his eyes shut. I was wrong! I know I was wrong now!!!
Soon, the shower stopped, and the figure behind the glass donned a bathrobe. Gu Jia walked out with damp hair, turned off the bathroom light, and approached in his slippers.
“…” Is he still going?! Zhao Yisen’s soul practically drifted out of his mouth.
The mattress beside him sank. Zhao Yisen’s heart hammered with nervous intensity, but after waiting for an eternity, nothing happened. He opened one eye to peek and saw that Gu Jia had turned his back to him, making no further move.
Zhao Yisen let out a sigh of relief. It took a long time for him to finally drift into a deep sleep amidst his tangled, complex thoughts.
Hearing the even breathing of the person behind him, Gu Jia turned around to quietly observe Zhao Yisen. The moonlight plated the youth in a silver glow; his thick, long eyelashes and slightly parted pink lips looked like an invitation.
Gu Jia watched him expressionlessly for a long time. Eventually, he got out of bed, grabbed his clothes, and left the room.
Wang Baobao, crouching behind the door in the shadows, covered his mouth with his hands, his eyes wide as saucers.
When he realized President Gu had returned, he had followed him like a spy. Seeing the man enter the master bedroom had made him gasp. Things aren’t as bad as I thought President Gu still has feelings for the Young Master!
But to his shock, after only a short while at the door, President Gu had emerged in his bathrobe. Crouched on the floor, Wang Baobao’s pupils shook.
…T-this… isn’t this a bit too fast?
Lu Real Estate Office Building
Zhao Yisen appeared in the lecture hall with massive dark circles under his eyes, his head down as he read the speech Lu Ming had prepared for him.
“Didn’t sleep well? You don’t have to work this hard.”
Lu Ming approached with two coffees, handing one to Zhao Yisen. His face showed a mix of tenderness and surprise. Yi Sen had never been one to care about such things; though the young master was brilliant, his innate capriciousness usually won out. In university, he would only give his all to courses that interested him, failing the rest.
Lu Ming had habitually prepared two versions of the speech, assuming Yi Sen would flake out again. He hadn’t expected him to prepare so seriously.
“I’m fine.”
Zhao Yisen gave a bitter smile and took a few sips of the coffee. Ever since the direct hit from Gu Jia’s “beauty attack,” he had become a shrinking, rule-abiding quail. This morning, he hadn’t even had a proper breakfast, heading out while chewing a sandwich under Wang Baobao’s sympathetic gaze.
Zhao Yisen didn’t even know why he felt so guilty. He returned his focus to the paper in front of him, trying to distract himself.
The managers and representatives of Lu Real Estate soon arrived. The meeting was primarily to announce the change in shares and the official renaming of Lu Real Estate to Shanhe Real Estate.
Standing on the stage under everyone’s gaze, Zhao Yisen silently cheered for himself. Gu Jia wasn’t there, which actually made him feel more relaxed.
In these situations, Zhao Yisen usually didn’t suffer from stage fright. Glancing at Qian Zheng’s sour face in the audience, he successfully completed his speech. The high-level executives, who had been skeptical of this “airdropped” rich kid, looked at each other in surprise after his fluent delivery.
Since the welcome ceremony fell on a Friday, the company organized a dinner at a large restaurant nearby. Lu Ming and Qian Zheng sat on either side of Zhao Yisen one looking pleasant, the other grim.
A parade of sycophantic subordinates came to toast him: “Young Master Yi is truly a man of talent! A rising dragon, your future is limitless!”
A slightly flushed Zhao Yisen engaged in some corporate flattery: “You all are also destined for fortune! Full of spirit and high ambitions!”
“…” Lu Ming’s hand holding the wine glass wobbled slightly.
Beside him, Qian Zheng’s expression remained off. After returning to the office, he had re-screened the villa project’s financial reports and actually found a problem. After the raw materials resumed, the previous prices and reports didn’t match up. He had contacted the supplier, but the person in charge insisted the price had never changed.
He then hurried to find the subordinate previously in charge of the accounts, only to find the man had lined his own pockets and vanished. If it were just the price difference, it would be fine, but Qian Zheng had just received a call: the guy had made off with the final payments as well…
If the man wasn’t found, the cash flow would break. Not only would his position as Vice President be in jeopardy, but half of his life savings invested in the project would go down the drain. Qian Zheng ate the meal with a pale, distracted face.
As the toasts continued, Zhao Yisen’s phone suddenly rang. Leaving the private room, he stepped into the relatively quiet corridor to answer. “Hello?”
Assistant Jiang’s voice sounded frantic: “Young Master Yi, are you near the office right now?”
It was nearly 10:00 PM, and the Gu Group headquarters was lit with only a few sparse lights.
The elevator rose to the 17th floor. As Zhao Yisen rounded the corner, he came face-to-face with the person he had been avoiding all day.
At the end of the corridor, Assistant Jiang was crouching by the wall, looking helpless. Beside him, Gu Jia was leaning against the wall with his eyes shut, his brow tightly furrowed. His left hand, with blue veins bulging at the wrist, was clutching his abdomen. He looked exhausted from the pain, making Zhao Yisen’s heart jump.
“Young Master Yi!” Jiang Mingze looked like he was about to cry. “President Gu’s stomach condition flared up suddenly. He half-fainted here. The bodyguards are still on their way, so I could only call you…”
Zhao Yisen didn’t even know what to say. A stomach condition truly a standard accessory for every Big Boss.
However, he wasn’t in the mood for jokes. He took a deep breath, stepped forward, and draped Gu Jia’s arm over his shoulder. “Let’s get him to the hospital first.”
Though Zhao Yisen was tall, he looked a size smaller than Gu Jia. The scene was somewhat comical: the slender young master supporting the tall, handsome CEO through the dim corridor, moving toward the only light at the elevator’s end. Their silhouettes looked unexpectedly well-matched.
Jiang Mingze dithered for a second before immediately following. The black Rolls-Royce sped from the underground garage and soon reached the Central Hospital.
While the assistant went to register for emergency care, Gu Jia was taken to a VIP ward by the nurses. Zhao Yisen sat in the hallway waiting, feeling the effects of the wine wear off. His phone buzzed; Lu Ming had sent a message asking if there was an emergency. Before he could reply, he saw Assistant Jiang return from the nurse’s station looking disheveled.
He tucked his phone away and stood to ask: “Your President Gu… why did he suddenly fall ill?”
Adjusting his glasses, Jiang Mingze looked miserable. “President Gu’s stomach has always been poor. Recently, he suddenly dismissed many members of the management team. With the workload skyrocketing, he’s been working past midnight every day and only eating one meal…”
Zhao Yisen: ……? Is the Big Boss trying to see if he’s made of iron?
Zhao Yisen gave Jiang Mingze a complex look. “…And you didn’t think to stop him?”
Jiang Mingze looked down bitterly, thinking to himself that it was only after marrying you that the President started working this manically. He couldn’t have stopped him even if he tried!
Before they could finish, a doctor in a white coat stepped off the elevator. Zhao Yisen immediately recognized him as Dr. Jiang, the one who had checked his head before. Seeing Zhao Yisen at the door, for some reason, Jiang Wen looked surprised.
After brief greetings, the doctor pushed the door and entered the ward. Zhao Yisen was puzzled by the “surprise” look, but then Jiang Mingze remarked: “Come to think of it, besides me and Dr. Jiang, you’re the first person to ever visit President Gu in the hospital.”
Zhao Yisen was shocked. “What about his family? Or company subordinates?”
Jiang Mingze hesitated. “President Gu cut ties with his family long ago, and he doesn’t have any subordinates he’s close to personally.”
“Then… he doesn’t have an ex-girlfriend or an ex-boyfriend or something?”
“Cough, cough, cough!” Jiang Mingze choked on the air and waved his hands frantically. “President Gu is entirely devoted to his work. You are, quite literally, his first love…”
“No, no, no…” Zhao Yisen felt awkward; that wasn’t what he meant.
Before he could finish, the ward door suddenly opened. Jiang Wen stepped out, his expression looking rather grim.
“Young Master Yi, come with me to my office for a moment.”
Following Dr. Jiang into the office, Zhao Yisen closed the door, his heart fluttering with a mix of awkwardness and worry. He stood by the door while Jiang Wen stood with his hands in his pockets, wearing a strange expression.
The doctor paced in front of the desk for a while, inhaling and exhaling as his face shifted through various expressions. Finally, with a look of “pitying the unfortunate but angry at their lack of discipline,” he blurted out:
“You two… isn’t this a bit too much overindulgence?!”