Heavy rain poured down the following morning.
After finishing the breakfast prepared by Wang Baobao, Zhao Yisen massaged his temples and stepped out, waiting at the mansion entrance as usual for the black Rolls-Royce to take him to work.
Instead, a black Audi pulled up, blocking the Rolls-Royce’s path.
Zhao Yisen: ?
The window rolled down, and Lu Ming greeted him with a warm smile.
“…”
The memory of last night’s drunken agreement suddenly resurfaced in Zhao Yisen’s mind. During the corporate welcome dinner, he had actually consumed quite a bit of alcohol. He thought he was sober, but in reality, he was still half-drunk; upon waking this morning, less than 10% of the memory cache remained.
Zhao Yisen finally remembered that because Lu Ming had been so persistent, he ultimately failed to refuse the youth’s request. Unsure of the exact dynamics between the original owner and Lu Ming, Zhao Yisen closed his umbrella and climbed into the passenger seat. Looking at Lu Ming’s profile, he thought to himself that this friend was truly as passionate as fire.
Come to think of it, he had essentially hijacked the company Lu Ming founded, yet the youth harbored zero resentment or thoughts of revenge, even working tirelessly to help him. He really was a good person.
So… why does Gu Jia detest him so much?
As he mused, Lu Ming suddenly leaned across the space between them, bending over to help him fasten his seatbelt. The youth carried a crisp, refreshing fragrance that was entirely pleasant.
Zhao Yisen suddenly realized something was off the distance between them was entirely too close. He instinctively recoiled deep into his seat.
Lu Ming froze, an awkward tension instantly flooding the car. Seeing this, Zhao Yisen quickly offered an excuse: “I’ve caught a cold recently and was worried I might pass it to you.”
Lu Ming’s gaze darkened slightly, but before he could speak, Zhao Yisen’s phone rang. He answered immediately.
“Hello? Young Master Yi?”
Assistant Jiang’s voice came from the other end, sounding rather panicked. Framed by the awkward atmosphere inside the car, Zhao Yisen also grew a bit tense.
“What’s wrong?”
But before the assistant could answer, an invisible hand in Zhao Yisen’s mind seemed to flip a switch. In the next instant, the events that had occurred at the hospital last night replayed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.
The hospitalization, Dr. Jiang, the handcuffs…
His expression gradually turned to one of sheer terror as he realized a specific issue he had overlooked all night long.
At the same time, Jiang Mingze’s stuttering voice echoed from the receiver: “Well… the key to unlocking the item on President Gu’s wrist… I couldn’t find it…”
“Are you certain you placed it beneath the flowerpot outside the ward door?” Assistant Jiang sounded as if he were having trouble breathing. “Why don’t… why don’t you come over and check in person?”
“…” Zhao Yisen went entirely numb.
Talk about digging a hole and jumping right into it.
The rain showed no signs of letting up. Stepping out of the black Audi, Zhao Yisen offered Lu Ming a piteous, apologetic smile. Lu Ming was left completely baffled by the look, though his face maintained its gentle, refined mask.
Once the black car drove away, Zhao Yisen took a deep breath and walked into the hospital. The moment he stepped off the elevator, he felt the oxygen in the corridor was exceptionally thin.
How could the key not be found? Zhao Yisen simply couldn’t comprehend it.
Jiang Mingze stood outside the ward door. Seeing the youth approach, tears practically welled up in his eyes. Zhao Yisen raised a single finger, gesturing for him to remain absolutely silent. Then, he crept toward the green plant, kneeling down to search beneath the flowerpot.
His pale fingers sifted through the loose soil, and Zhao Yisen soon brushed against a hard piece of metal.
Hmm?
He raised an eyebrow in confusion, lifting the key and shaking off the dirt. The key was exactly where he had left it last night.
However, before he could say a word, Assistant Jiang filled his lungs and announced in a booming voice: “President Gu, Young Master Yi found the key! He’s coming in to unlock it for you right away!”
Following that, he deliberately threw open the ward door.
Zhao Yisen: “…?”
Faced with this act of throwing someone directly into a furnace, his eyes registered three parts disbelief, three parts furious amusement, and three parts self-mockery. Jiang Mingze offered a bitter smile that clearly read: ‘I’m sorry, Young Master Yi, but I’m also just following orders. Please have some consideration for my plight.’
Zhao Yisen fell silent. He should have known. How could the Big Boss let him off so easily?
Rising despondently from the side of the flowerpot, Zhao Yisen floated into the ward, turning back with every step.
Inside the VIP ward, the curtains were half-drawn.
Gu Jia lay on the bed with his eyes shut, his black bangs falling loosely over his eyelashes, adding a touch of softness to his features. His left wrist rested against the guardrail, the silver handcuffs locking his pale wrist tightly to the metal. The blood flowing through his veins looked transparent and fragile; the balance of his usual cutthroat authority had utterly collapsed.
However invincible he had seemed before, he looked just as fragile now.
“…”
The mastermind behind this scene, Zhao Yisen, felt the little deer in his chest hammer itself to death.
He stopped slowly by the bedside. Before he could make a move, the person on the bed opened his eyes. Looking down, he met Gu Jia’s dark gold pupils directly.
Zhao Yisen’s expression froze.
Gu Jia propped himself up with his right elbow and sat up in bed. As he moved, his left hand was jerked along with the motion, and a faint red mark instantly appeared beneath the silver cuff.
The rising star of the business world, the CEO of the Gu Group, was currently “imprisoned” on a hospital bed by his marriage partner. If this news ever leaked out, it would undoubtedly blow up the front page headlines.
Zhao Yisen swallowed hard, attempting to clear his name: “…Dr. Jiang Wen told me I had to keep you here for the night.”
Even though it was Gu Jia who was cuffed, Zhao Yisen felt an intense sensation of being the criminal, completely unsettled beneath the man’s gaze.
Ignoring the comment, Gu Jia raised his left wrist, the handcuffs rattling sharply against the railing. He cast a frigid look over him. “Come here.”
Under the heavy pressure of the atmosphere, Zhao Yisen moved forward step by step.
Obedient. Exceptionally obedient.
Gu Jia finally realized that the person before him was far more compliant than before. The scene from his dream flashed through his mind; the red-eyed youth merging with his expressionless ex-husband left him still feeling somewhat entranced. All those subtle anomalies that had accumulated until now finally felt real.
A glint appeared in Gu Jia’s narrowed eyes. The negative emotions that had festered from his previous life had reshaped him, and the dream had unconsciously affected his mindset. If Yi Sen was bound to betray him sooner or later, why shouldn’t he enjoy his rights as a husband ahead of time?
With that thought, Gu Jia expressionlessly raised his left hand. No words were needed.
Though the sharp edge of his features was softened by the hospital gown, the natural air of nobility the man radiated left one with an irresistible urge to obey.
With his heart drumming like a war-gong, Zhao Yisen lifted Gu Jia’s wrist. The fingers holding the key were slightly damp with sweat; the more anxious he grew, the harder it became to align it with the keyhole.
Gu Jia silently watched Zhao Yisen’s guilty, frantic movements. Suddenly, he reached up and pinched the youth’s cheek.
Zhao Yisen: ?
A sudden noise at the door shattered the quiet tension.
“I’m here to remove the patient’s indwelling IV needle.”
“It’s a bit inconvenient right now, perhaps you could come back in a moment?”
“But the patient is about to be discharged—”
Disregarding Jiang Mingze’s attempts to stop her, the nurse pushed open the door and entered, coming face-to-face with the scene of Gu Jia pinching Zhao Yisen’s cheek while the youth held a key, all while Gu Jia’s left hand remained handcuffed to the bed.
The nurse: O.o
A death-row-bound Jiang Mingze: “…”
After removing the needle, the nurse bolted from the room like a streak of lightning.
Once the handcuffs were finally undone, Gu Jia raised his left hand, rubbing his wrist with his right. Holding the cuffs, Zhao Yisen retreated guiltily.
Gu Jia let out a cold laugh. “I didn’t know you possessed such items.”
Zhao Yisen was still a bit dazed from the residual alcohol, unsure of how to respond. Yet feeling that he couldn’t leave it unanswered, his brain short-circuited, and he extended the handcuffs forward: “If President Gu likes them, I’ll give them to you as a gift.”
“…”
“Heh.” A cold sneer drifted through the silent ward.
Gu Jia’s eyes carried a dark, brooding look that Zhao Yisen couldn’t quite decipher. He spoke slowly.
“Alright.”
The man hooked his finger through the cuffs, a slow smile spreading across his face as he stared at Zhao Yisen. If Assistant Jiang had been present, he would have instantly recognized that this smile contained a purely wicked intent designed to make someone suffer.
“Just as well. They’ll come in handy in the future.”