The estate’s doctor had already gone home for the day. Ye Qin was searching the nearby hospitals in frustration when Bai Yun flicked away his cigarette and stood up.
“I should be heading out anyway,” he said. “I’ll take him to the hospital on the way.”
The black Bentley stopped at the entrance of their lodging. A small group of people was already waiting there.
“It’s Brother Yun’s car!”
At the call, several ambiguous, curious gazes turned toward Lu Jiu, pale-faced and weak.
Lu Quning was secretly startled. Is it actually Bai Yun who came to pick him up?
The rear window rolled down. The man inside looked straight at Lu Jiu, then let his gaze sweep lightly over Ye Lin’s hand, the one clenched into a fist, hovering protectively behind Lu Jiu’s back.
Bai Yun smiled, “Got your luggage?”
“Yeah, yeah!” Shen Ke dragged down Lu Jiu’s suitcase, and Bai Yun’s driver got out to help open the trunk. Shen Ke, bold enough to step closer to the car, said anxiously,
“Brother Yun, Jiu-ge’s been feeling sick since yesterday. It’s definitely a bad stomach infection! Please make sure you drag him to the doctor yourself, or he’ll sneak off again!”
Lu Jiu: “……” You little brat.
Bai Yun shot him a teasing glance, “Alright, I’ll make sure he behaves.”
Lu Jiu pursed his lips and started moving toward the front passenger seat, only to hear the man’s low, magnetic voice, “Sit beside me.”
Lu Jiu paused, then walked around to the back seat. Huh,and here I thought this big shot didn’t like people crowding him.
Lu Quning bit his lip as he watched, then suddenly stepped forward a little and called out loudly, “Brother Yun, can I come with you guys? I want to go to the hospital too, I’m really worried about my brother!”
Bai Yun’s smile was gentle and elegant, “Sorry, the car can’t fit four.”
With that, the window slid back up.
Lu Quning froze, his face showing genuine shock.
As the Bentley drove off, laughter slipped out from behind him, someone couldn’t hold it in. His face flushed red.
…He had never been rejected in such a blatant, shameless way before!
Was Bai Yun in a bad mood or what?!
In the car, Lu Jiu was laughing too and so was the supposed “bad mood” Bai Yun.
Still laughing, the man asked knowingly, “What’s so funny?”
“I was just picturing Lu Quning’s face right now.”nLu Jiu leaned comfortably on Bai Yun’s shoulder, glancing at the rearview mirror, the driver was staring straight ahead, expressionless.
“You got something against him?”
“Hm? Of course not.” As always, Bai Yun’s tone was warm and calm, impossible to tell if he was lying or not.
“Then why didn’t you let him come?” Lu Jiu asked in curiosity
“Did you want him to come?” Bai Yun asked back in amusement
“No. Forget it.”
Just teasing, really.
Bai Yun still carried that faint orange-blossom scent, lighter than yesterday’s. Lu Jiu breathed it in quietly, feeling oddly at ease.
Then came Bai Yun’s voice from above, “You ate something bad yesterday?”
“No,” Lu Jiu frowned, rubbing his stomach, “Probably just threw up because I was disgusted.”
He hadn’t expected he’d still be vomiting today. When Ye Lin had approached him earlier, that smoky barbecue smell had made his head spin.
That was why, when Ye Lin had panicked and insisted they go to the hospital, Lu Jiu hadn’t objected. He knew he couldn’t avoid it forever. He did have to get checked.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” 111 comforted him.
“First rule out cancer! The Quick-Travel Bureau has never let a host die of terminal illness before finishing their missions!”
Lu Jiu’s mouth twitched. Not comforted at all, “I just threw up, why is cancer the first thing you think of? What are you, WebMD?”
He shifted a bit, resting more comfortably against Bai Yun’s shoulder, his gaze sliding to the man’s throat, the long, elegant line of it, and that prominent Adam’s apple that kept drawing his attention.
He felt like he had VIP privileges, not only did he get a living shoulder pillow, he also got a front-row seat to a premium view.
Looking a little lower, the open collar revealed a faint glimpse of the collarbone, “Not wearing that necklace today?”
Bai Yun just smiled
“Why did you worn it yesterday?” Lu Jiu muttered, still asking despite himself, “It doesn’t seem like your style.”
He felt the man lower his head slightly. For a moment, Lu Jiu thought he was about to hear something like “Oh? You know my style now?”
But instead, Bai Yun’s answer was completely straight-faced, “Before I left, one of the elders at home shoved it at me and said I should dress nicely to attract ‘young ladies.’”
He paused thoughtfully, then nodded as if in agreement, “I guess it worked pretty well.”
Lu Jiu: “………………”
Who’s the young lady here, huh?!
He stiffened and sat up straight.
Bai Yun couldn’t stop laughing.
Bai Yun clearly had no intention of taking him to a nearby hospital, the car headed straight for the city.
The trip there had taken over two hours before, but now, thanks to the driver’s skilled handling, it was a little faster.
Lu Jiu grew drowsy, his head nodding forward and back, until at some point, it simply tilted sideways, landing back on Bai Yun’s shoulder.
When he woke, Bai Yun’s arm was around him, holding him steady. He’d practically been sleeping in the man’s arms, surrounded by that subtle orange-blossom scent, while Bai Yun scrolled through his phone with his other hand.
“Awake?”
Lu Jiu’s whole body felt boneless, his head foggy and heavy, for a second, he didn’t even want to get up.
But the car had already slowed to a stop. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window, “Where… what hospital is this?”
“A friend’s hospital,” Bai Yun said, ruffling his hair, “Come on, get out.”
It was already late at night. Private hospitals didn’t usually keep their ERs open, the only reason a doctor was here at all was probably because of Bai Yun’s connections.
They went up to the fifth floor. Bai Yun took a call midway and didn’t follow into the exam room.
The middle-aged doctor, about forty or so, examined Lu Jiu’s abdomen carefully and asked about his medical history, “Have you ever had a gastroscopy?”
“No,” Lu Jiu answered instantly. “And I don’t want one. Don’t even think about it, doctor.”
The man chuckled, “If you often have symptoms, it’s better to get one eventually. For now, just do a blood test.”
By the time the results came back, Bai Yun had finished his call.
All of Lu Jiu’s indicators were perfectly normal, completely healthy.
“Alright then, I’ll prescribe you something for your stomach. Take it for a few days and see how you feel. If it doesn’t get better, come back.” Doctor informed them
“Okay.”
They picked up the medicine and left. As Bai Yun walked toward the Bentley, Lu Jiu stopped, “I’m not going home. I’ll go straight back to school.”
Bai Yun turned slightly to look at him. Lu Jiu held his gaze for two seconds, then turned away, “I can get a cab myself.”
The next second, his collar was hooked from behind.
Bai Yun sighed, “What’s with the attitude? I’ll drive you.”
So, another hour later, they stopped in front of Lu Jiu’s university dorm.
“…Thanks for today,” Lu Jiu said stiffly, clearing his throat, “I can go in myself, no need to walk me.”
From behind him, the man suddenly said, “Jiujiu, if you miss home, you can always take it back.”
Lu Jiu froze mid-step. Then, slowly, a small smile curved his lips., “I don’t. What’s there to miss about that house?”
He turned back toward the car, eyes soft but determined, “I’ll have my own home someday. Bye.”
Bai Yun smiled and before Lu Jiu could close the door, he raised his phone and gave it a little wave.After that, there was no further contact.
It was two days later when Lu Mingyang finally learned that Lu Jiu had returned to the city ahead of schedule.
The moment he called, his voice was already thundering through the receiver, “If your brother hadn’t come back, I wouldn’t have even known you’d returned! You didn’t think to tell your father first?”
He made it sound as though he genuinely cared.
Lu Jiu held the phone a little farther from his ear, and sure enough, a second later came the expected roar, “You didn’t trouble Bai Yun, did you? Did you at least thank him properly? What was his attitude like?”
His attitude?
If Bai Yun’s attitude happened to be good, would Lu Mingyang take that as a reason to show up at his door tomorrow pretending to ‘express gratitude’?
Lu Jiu drawled lazily, “Not good. He was very impatient, very annoyed. Said the son of Lu Mingyang is nothing but trouble.”
The other end of the line went dead silent. Then came a furious outburst, louder than before.
Lu Jiu waited until the tirade lost steam, then asked abruptly, “So… have you prepared the money yet?”
“You! what?” Lu Mingyang choked, completely caught off guard.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t care about my mother’s little bit of money? It’s been four days. Still not ready?”
Before he could ask more, Lu Mingyang hung up in a panic. Lu Jiu gave a soft snort of laughter.
On the other side of the call, Lu Quning frowned, puzzled. “Dad, if big brother wants money, can’t you just give it to him?”
Yang Yu patted her son’s hand and said in a delicate, roundabout tone, “Your father’s company has been having some cash flow problems lately.”
Lu Quning’s heart sank a little.
Yang Yu went on, “By the way, quite a few of the society ladies have been approaching me these past few days, trying to subtly ask about Bai Yun. I kept wondering why they were coming to me, our family isn’t even close to the Bais. Could it be because of Jiu Jiu?”
Lu Mingyang frowned, barely restraining his irritation. “Bai Yun isn’t the type to gossip or bad-mouth anyone.”
That young man had a deep, unreadable nature. If people were suddenly coming to Yang Yu to inquire, then there must be something else going on beneath the surface.
Could it actually be a good thing?
Yang Yu’s eyes brightened slightly as she turned to her son. “What about you? How have things been between you and your Brother Yun these past few days?”
Lu Quning froze for a second, then stammered, “It’s… fine?”
Even though he hadn’t managed to get into Bo Yun’s car that day, at least he hadn’t made him angry… right?
Probably not? Bai Yun’s bad mood that day shouldn’t have been because of him… right?
He hadn’t done anything.
Lu Mingyang’s tone immediately softened, but his eyes were sharp. “Really?”
“…Really.” Probably.
Lu Quning tried to keep his expression steady.
He knew exactly what his parents were thinking. To be honest, even he began replaying the scenes of those few interactions with Bai Yun in his head.
Even though Bai Yun had barely paid him any attention, maybe, just maybe, something about his demeanor had left an impression?
Maybe others had noticed the way Bai Yun looked at him, and that gossip had spread to those society wives, prompting their sudden curiosity toward his mother?
Lu Mingyang mulled it over for a moment before speaking. “In about half a month, the Bai family’s little granddaughter, Bai Yun’s elder sister’s daughter is having her birthday banquet. We’ll probably get an invitation. You’ll come with us.”
“Alright.” Lu Quning nodded solemnly.
After the National Day holidays, students returned to their routines, throwing themselves back into study.
Bai Yun sent a message once, a location pin for a hotel. Lu Jiu was in the middle of evening self studying when he saw it. He arched an eyebrow and typed back
[Not going. Not doing that.]
A question mark appeared on the screen almost instantly.
Then came a photo: several plates of beautifully arranged dishes on a table.
Oh. Dinner invitation. He’d thought it was something more dubious.
[Misunderstood you. [Cat-staring-at-sky.jpg]]
Not exactly a misunderstanding. Lu Jiu paused, then burst out laughing.
Another message followed
[But the lake view here is quite nice]
A new photo appeared beneath the words.
Lu Jiu opened it, zoomed in, and replied,
[All dark. Can’t see a thing.]
[So, why not come and see for yourself?]
[Next time.]
[Is your stomach feeling any better?]
This man really was sharp. Lu Jiu poked at the screen with his finger. Much better.
[Let’s hope you’re not just avoiding proper treatment.]
Truth be told, he hadn’t even taken the medicine he’d gotten that night. His body had recovered on its own, and he disliked taking pills anyway.
As for the past few days… He rubbed at his stomach.
On and off, up and down. Maybe it was just the sudden drop in temperature. Not talking anymore. Good students need to study. Shady uncles shouldn’t keep interrupting.
He snapped a picture of his desk, his open textbook covered in notes and scribbles and sent it over.
A few moments later, the reply came.
[Go on then, little obedient one.]
Lu Jiu couldn’t stop the smile that curved his lips.
Maybe, he thought, being in a relationship with this man wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.
✦ ✧ ✦
Cressilia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator sees your coffee button usage. 👀
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (1)Chapter 2 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (2)Chapter 3 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (3)Chapter 4 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (4)Chapter 5 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (5)Chapter 6 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (6)Chapter 7 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (7)Chapter 8 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (8)Chapter 9 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (9)Chapter 10 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (10)Chapter 11 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (11)Chapter 12 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (12)Chapter 13 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (13)Chapter 14 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s room (14)Chapter 15 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (15)Chapter 16 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (16)Chapter 17 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (17)Chapter 18 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (18)Chapter 19 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (19)Chapter 20 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (20)Chapter 21 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (21)Chapter 22 Part 1 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (22)Chapter 22 Part 2 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (22)Chapter 23 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (23)Chapter 24 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (24)Chapter 25 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (25)Chapter 26 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (26)Chapter 27 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (27)Chapter 28 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (28)Chapter 29 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (29)Chapter 30 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (30)Chapter 31 Part 1 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (31)Chapter 31 Part 2 · After Breaking into the Big Boss’s Room (31)Chapter 32 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (1)Chapter 33 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (2)Chapter 34 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (3)Chapter 35 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (4)Chapter 36 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (5)Chapter 37 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (6)Chapter 38 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (7)Chapter 39 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (8)Chapter 40 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (9)Chapter 41 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (10)Chapter 42 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (11)Chapter 43 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (12)Chapter 44 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (13)Chapter 45 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (14)Chapter 46 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (15)Chapter 47 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (16)Chapter 48 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (17)Chapter 49 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (18)Chapter 50 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (19)Chapter 51 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (20)Chapter 52 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (21)Chapter 53 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (22)Chapter 54 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (23)Chapter 55 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (24)Chapter 56 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (25)Chapter 57 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (26)Chapter 58 · The Empire’s Number One Beta Crown Prince (27)Chapter 59 · Hatching Baby Zombies (1)Chapter 60 · Hatching Baby Zombies (2)Chapter 61 · Hatching Baby Zombies (3)Chapter 62 · Hatching Baby Zombies (4)Chapter 63 · Hatching Baby Zombies (5)Chapter 64 · Hatching Baby Zombies (6)Chapter 65 · Hatching Baby Zombies (7)Chapter 66 · Hatching Baby Zombies (8)Chapter 67 · Hatching Baby Zombies (9)Chapter 68 · Hatching Baby Zombies (10)Chapter 69 · Hatching Baby Zombies (11)Chapter 70 · Hatching Baby Zombies (12)Chapter 71 · Hatching Baby Zombies (13)Chapter 72 · Hatching Baby Zombies (14)Chapter 73 · Hatching Baby Zombies (15)Chapter 74 · Hatching Baby Zombies (16)Chapter 75 · Hatching Baby Zombies (17)Chapter 76 · Hatching Baby Zombies (18)Chapter 77 · Hatching Baby Zombies (19)Chapter 78 · Hatching Baby Zombies (20)Chapter 79 · The Mermaid on the Shore (1)Chapter 80 · The Mermaid on the Shore (2)Chapter 81 · The Mermaid on the Shore (3)Chapter 82 · The Mermaid on the Shore (4)Chapter 83 · The Mermaid on the Shore (5)Chapter 84 · The Mermaid on the Shore (6)Chapter 85 · The Mermaid on the Shore (7)Chapter 86 · The Mermaid on the Shore (8)Chapter 87 · The Mermaid on the Shore (9)Chapter 88 · The Mermaid on the Shore (10)Chapter 89 · The Mermaid on the Shore (11)Chapter 90 · The Mermaid on the Shore (12)Chapter 91 · The Mermaid on the Shore (13)Chapter 92 · The Mermaid on the Shore (14)Chapter 93 · The Mermaid on the Shore (15)Chapter 94 · The Mermaid on the Shore (16)Chapter 95 · The Mermaid on the Shore (17)Chapter 96 Part 1 · The Mermaid on the Shore (18)Chapter 96 Part 2 · The Mermaid on the Shore (18)Chapter 97 · The Mermaid on the Shore (19)Chapter 98 · Give me a drop of blood (1)Chapter 99 · Give me a drop of blood (2)Chapter 100 · Give me a drop of blood (3)Chapter 101 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (4)Chapter 102 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (5)Chapter 103 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (6)Chapter 104 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (7)Chapter 105 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (8)Chapter 106 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (9)Chapter 107 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (10)Chapter 108 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (11)Chapter 109 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (12)Chapter 110 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (13)Chapter 111 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (14)Chapter 112 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (15)Chapter 113 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (16)Chapter 114 · Give Me a Drop of Blood (17)Chapter 115 · Extra 1: A Little Conversation After Drinking (1)Chapter 116 · Extra: A Little Conversation After Drinking (2)Chapter 117 · Extra: A Little Conversation After Drinking (3)