Mr. Moneybags

What was that supposed to mean? He hadn't known the man was sick and hospitalized before now.

Cheng Yue felt there was a hidden meaning in his words and didn't want to take the bait. His gaze wandered until he noticed the insulated food container that had been sitting neglected on the table.

"I'm returning your lunch box."

Ji Huaijin interlaced his fingers over his lap and raised an eyebrow.

Cheng Yue shifted into a position that better conveyed his attitude and lifted his chin slightly. "I never keep anything that doesn't belong to me."

That should also stop certain people from showing up at his place in the middle of the night and using the return of their clothes as an excuse to do something indecent!

Ji Huaijin couldn't hold back a soft chuckle. He pulled the insulated container over, and the instant he opened the lid, an enticing aroma wafted out.

He laid out the food containers one layer at a time, then looked up at Cheng Yue with a knowing half smile, as though asking what the food inside was supposed to mean.

Cheng Yue looked away, cleared his throat, and declared righteously, "You know I've never liked taking advantage of people."

So, however you gave it to me, I naturally had to return it exactly the same way.

The contents might be different, but it was all food. There wasn't much difference.

Ji Huaijin lowered his eyes to the appetizing dishes, all plainly mild food prepared for a patient, and a tender smile crept into the corners of his eyes.

The steamed sea bass was the tastiest cut from the belly, the broccoli had been cut into perfectly sized, bite-sized pieces, and the bottom container held pork rib soup with red dates and Chinese yam.

Ji Huaijin took a sip of the clear broth. His brow relaxed and his face lit up with a smile. "It's delicious."

Cheng Yue averted his eyes and said casually, "I just threw something together."

He said it with a perfectly straight face, never mentioning that he had genuinely spent the entire morning working on this meal.

Ji Huaijin ignored his stubborn denial and gave every dish its fair share of attention.

Noon passed in a slow, subdued rhythm. Perhaps because it was lunchtime, faint footsteps sounded outside the door.

Seeing how much he enjoyed the food, Cheng Yue took out his phone and tapped at random, concealing his satisfaction.

The soup had simmered long enough that the meat slipped off the bone with the gentlest bite.

Someone tapped the coffee table twice, and Cheng Yue looked over in confusion.

Ji Huaijin held a bone between his pale pink lips and gave him a pointed look.

"?"

Two seconds later, Cheng Yue laughed in exasperation.

Did he really think he was some pampered lord?

Cheng Yue slapped two tissues down on the table and gritted his teeth. "Here! Your Lordship Ji!"

Ji Huaijin spat the bone onto the tissues, his lips curving slightly as he pushed his luck. "I thought you'd catch it in your hand."

Was he sure he hadn't been hospitalized because something was wrong with his brain?

Cheng Yue held up his palm and narrowed his eyes. "Come on, bring your face over. Let me check its size."

Having successfully riled him up, Ji Huaijin stopped making trouble and contentedly settled down to eat.

Cheng Yue glared at him resentfully until his eyes began to ache, then turned away. Out of sight, out of mind.

Neither of them spoke for the rest of the meal. Just as it was coming to an end, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

Apparently not expecting anyone else to be in the room, the nurse paused when she saw Cheng Yue.

"Mr. Ji, you have two more bags of IV fluids this afternoon. We'll start in half an hour."

After informing him, the nurse also explained which medications he would be receiving and why.

Cheng Yue listened in amazement. Mr. Moneybags, indeed. He'd never been treated like royalty in his life.

The gentlest anyone had ever been with him was probably the customer service representative at 10086.

"Since a family member is here, Mr. Ji's IV contains a sedative, so he may fall asleep. We'll need you to help keep an eye on it."

Of course, the nurses would also monitor him regularly. Having a family member present would reduce avoidable mishaps, such as blood flowing back into the tubing if they were late checking on him.

Cheng Yue had been about to stand up and leave. He hadn't expected to get roped into this.

He wanted to say he wasn't family, but the nurse smiled at him, turned briskly, and left.

Cheng Yue: "..."

He glanced at the man calmly packing away the food containers and felt his temper flare. "Now that you actually ought to say something, you go quiet."

When he ought to keep quiet, that mouth of his just kept running with all kinds of nonsense.

Ji Huaijin pulled out a tissue, wiped his mouth, and gave him a brilliant smile. "Thanks for your trouble."

By the time the nurse returned with a tray, both men were already in position.

Cheng Yue leaned against the windowsill with his arms folded, watching her deftly insert the needle and adjust the drip rate. Once everything was ready, she told him, "The first bag will probably run a little slower. Once it's finished, press the call button by the bed, and we'll come change to the next bag."

The care was thoroughly attentive. She even explained all the possible complications clearly, leaving nothing out.

A gastric hemorrhage could be serious or relatively minor. Fortunately, he had been treated in time, before his condition could worsen.

Ji Huaijin was a classic workaholic. Once he got busy, he forgot everything else, and by the time he remembered to eat, mealtime was usually long past.

With his chronically irregular meals, it had only been a matter of time before acute gastritis caught up with him.

He had always been strong-willed, even as a child. Never mind his assistant or doctors-even his family's repeated reminders had failed to make him take it seriously.

The flight back from M Country took twelve hours. He had barely eaten since the previous day and had rushed the whole way, intending to eat once he got home.

The outcome was obvious. He never did get that meal, and the prolonged lack of food, compounded by inadequate rest, had nearly cost him his life in the middle of the night.

God knew Lin Shuyang had been hugging his older sister and wheedling affection from her when he answered the video call, only to see Ji Huaijin, deathly pale and with blood at the corner of his mouth, telling him to take him to the hospital.

Every hair on Lin Shuyang's body stood on end.

After a frantic scramble, he finally heard the doctor say that the situation was under control. He wiped away his sweat, feeling as though he had narrowly escaped disaster.

"Bro, I seriously can't take another scare like that!"

Ji Huaijin smiled weakly. "Bring me the documents and computer from my study."

Lin Shuyang was utterly speechless.

"No one deserves Employee of the Year more than you."

He'd stand right here and see who dared try to take that title!

The IV fluid slowly entered his veins. The man in the hospital bed breathed shallowly, his face pale. If not for the visible rise and fall of his chest, it would have been hard not to wonder whether he was still alive.

Cheng Yue walked silently to the bedside and carefully reached out to remove his glasses.

It was the first time he had seen Ji Huaijin so fragile. Every other time they had met, the man had seemed poised and in complete control, upright and composed.

Even in certain intimate moments, he always retained the calm assurance of someone who held every winning card. Only the dark currents surging in his eyes betrayed a little of his inner abandon.

There was no question that Ji Huaijin was handsome, but his appeal wasn't merely skin-deep. It was the refinement and learning he had accumulated, tempered by time, that surrounded him with an almost unattainable divinity.

As elegant as an orchid, as graceful as a jade tree, radiant in his splendor.