The understated luxury car drove through the darkness of the early morning.
Jiang Xun propped his elbow on the windowsill and rested his head in his hand, his weary eyelids half lowered.
Beside him, Chu Xingye sat casually with his long legs spread, but he was sneaking cautious glances at Jiang Xun's expression. His lips moved slightly, as though he wanted to say something but thought better of it.
Jiang Xun noticed, but he was too emotionally drained to initiate a conversation.
After a long while, Chu Xingye finally cleared his throat and said awkwardly, "Uh, if you're really upset, you can talk to me. Don't bottle it up."
Jiang Xun glanced at him. Our resident genius is actually pretty kind. He'd be even better if he couldn't talk.
He rallied a little, knitting his brows into an expression of sorrow touched with gratitude, and wrapped his arms around Chu Xingye's arm.
"Xingye, I'm already happy just knowing you care about me."
Chu Xingye's expression twisted for a moment as he resisted the urge to shove Jiang Xun away.
Since Little Black Egg's so upset, I'll put up with it this once.
It's just a hug. My virtue's still intact.
In the driver's seat, Fu Yanli held the steering wheel with one hand and watched the traffic ahead, while keeping an eye on the rearview mirror.
In the mirror, the two younger men sat shoulder to shoulder. Jiang Xun was holding Chu Xingye's arm, his head nearly resting on his nephew's shoulder, while his nephew sat stiffly with quite a spectacular expression.
Fu Yanli's eyelids twitched slightly before he looked away.
After a while, Jiang Xun was the first to let go, leaning back into his corner and lazily propping up his head again.
As the weight beside him disappeared, Chu Xingye suddenly felt uncomfortable. He thought he was being ridiculous. There had to be something wrong with his brain.
Something seemed to occur to Young Master Chu, and his expression soured again. Folding his arms, he scoffed. "You were acting back there, weren't you? You really did look like a lunatic."
Jiang Xun kept his eyes lowered without so much as lifting his eyelids.
"No, I really did hear the puppy talking." He drew out his words, his voice languid and tired, his tone careless. "It also said it saw something unclean clinging to your back."
"Disheveled hair, a long white dress, a dark, bruised face, blood-red eyes streaming bloody tears..."
Chu Xingye had been afraid of ghosts since childhood. The more he listened, the more frightened he became, until he almost felt a cold, heavy weight on his back.
"Enough, shut up. I'm not a three-year-old. Like hell I'd believe you!"
"Jiang Xun, there's seriously something fucking wrong with your head!"
Jiang Xun yawned sleepily, barely able to keep his eyes open.
"I really am mentally unstable. When I'm unhappy, I lose it and always want to hack at something with a knife."
"But I'm much better now. I don't hack at people anymore. After all, that's illegal. It's bad."
Jiang Xun looked at Chu Xingye, who had already huddled into the opposite corner and seemed ready to hide under the car, and said gently, "Don't be scared, Xingye. Whoever else I chop up, I'd never chop you up."
Chu Xingye panicked even more. He should have realized ages ago that this Jiang guy wasn't normal.
"Stay the fuck away from me!"
Jiang Xun sighed inwardly. How did this absolute idiot become the main top? Do fools really have all the luck?
Up front, Fu Yanli seemed to sigh as well, raising a hand to his forehead. He might have been lamenting his nephew's future, or marveling at the sharp tongue of his nephew's young fiancé.
For a while, no one spoke, and silence settled over the car.
Within minutes, the exhausted Jiang Xun could no longer hold out. He leaned his head back against the seat and fell asleep.
Chu Xingye silently inched back over to sit beside him, pretending to glance casually at his sleeping face while actually studying it very deliberately.
A hint of disdain appeared on his handsome face. He wasn't much to look at to begin with, and now he's injured. If he ends up scarred too, he'll be downright unbearable to look at.
Just then, Jiang Xun's sleeping head suddenly tilted, nearly landing on Chu Xingye's shoulder.
Chu Xingye's eyelid twitched. He wondered whether to move farther away or closer, so Little Black Egg could rest against his shoulder.
Whatever. Let him lean on me. It's not like I'll lose my virginity over it.
No, I can't. We're not involved. My shoulder's reserved for my future wife.
No one knew what a struggle Young Master Chu went through inside, but in the end, he gritted his teeth. Fine, let him.
He cautiously moved closer and stiffly lifted his hand, about to place it on Jiang Xun's head, when the car slowly pulled over to the curb.
Chu Xingye immediately lowered his hand like he'd been caught doing something wrong. Acting nonchalant, he rubbed the back of his neck and asked quietly, "Uncle, why did you stop?"
"I'm a little tired. You drive."
Fu Yanli's voice was softer than usual, with a tired rasp, as he watched the person in the rearview mirror.
Chu Xingye thought nothing of it and immediately nodded. "Sure, Uncle. Get some rest."
He had gotten his driver's license shortly after coming of age.
And so uncle and nephew switched seats.
Chu Xingye started the car and continued toward the apartment.
Only belatedly did he notice something odd. Why didn't Uncle take the front passenger seat?
He glanced in the rearview mirror. His uncle was sitting comfortably in the back, neither too close to nor too far from Jiang Xun, his legs crossed and his hands clasped in front of him, resting with his eyes closed.
Eh, it doesn't matter where he sits.
Chu Xingye looked away and concentrated on driving.
Jiang Xun slept deeply. Having lost the hearing in one ear, he wasn't very sensitive to outside sounds. The commotion hadn't woken him, and naturally, he had no idea that the person beside him had changed.
A moment later, Fu Yanli suddenly opened his eyes. His gaze swept over the neon-lit night outside, the brilliant lights streaming through the window into his deep, dark eyes.
His gaze shifted and settled on Jiang Xun beside him.
The young man's head tilted slightly to one side, revealing his tired, peaceful profile. His lashes were long, his nose small with a high bridge, and his lips were neither thin nor full. They looked very soft.
His arms hung loosely at his sides, and his chest rose and fell slowly with his breathing.
He really was docile when he slept. There was no pretending involved.
Suddenly, Jiang Xun's head tilted again. Just as he was about to topple over, Fu Yanli swiftly reached out and caught his head in his palm.
Jiang Xun seemed to notice nothing and continued sleeping peacefully.
Fu Yanli supported his head like that for a while, then silently moved closer before withdrawing his hand.
Without that support, Jiang Xun's head and the weight of his body began tipping again. Naturally, he settled against the man's broad, solid shoulder, even nuzzling it lightly to find a comfortable position.
Fu Yanli uncrossed his long legs and remained perfectly composed, idly tapping his bent left index finger against his knee a few times.
He leaned over on his own.
The man's mature, handsome features slowly relaxed, taking on a brighter air.
Partway through the drive, Chu Xingye happened to see the scene in the rearview mirror. His pupils trembled, and he nearly slammed on the brakes.
Fuck, why is Jiang Xun leaning on my uncle's shoulder?
Even asleep, he doesn't forget to suck up to my uncle?
And more importantly, my uncle hasn't pushed Jiang Xun away. He's actually letting him lean there?
Chu Xingye's head buzzed as he began questioning everything. Once he finally managed to digest the fact, jealousy set in.
Damn it, Uncle's never been this nice to me. Which one of us is his actual nephew?
Young Master Chu scoffed indignantly to himself. What's so great about Jiang Xun?
He glanced in the rearview mirror again and muttered, "Uncle, don't spoil that Little Black Egg. He'll take a mile if you give him an inch."
Fu Yanli met his nephew's eyes in the mirror and replied evenly, "Focus on driving."
Chu Xingye gave a sulky "Okay" and looked away.
I'm not looking anymore. It's too annoying.
Silence fell over the car once more.
Without realizing it, the sleeping Jiang Xun moved again. This time, he wrapped his arms around Fu Yanli's arm and unconsciously nuzzled his shoulder.
Much of the warm breath he exhaled spilled over the man's shoulder and neck.
Fu Yanli leaned against the seat, his eyes half closed. His expression remained unchanged, but his alluring Adam's apple bobbed silently.
His mist-dark eyes concealed the emotions stirring in their depths.
The car continued smoothly for another ten-odd minutes before Chu Xingye suddenly slammed on the brakes at a traffic light ahead.
Inertia sent everyone in the car pitching forward.
The jolt abruptly woke the soundly sleeping Jiang Xun, whose newly opened eyes were full of confusion.
When he saw whose shoulder he was leaning on and whose arm he was holding, his confusion instantly turned to shock.
Fu Yanli, meanwhile, sat calmly with his eyes closed, as though he didn't mind Jiang Xun's actions at all.
As though he'd grabbed something scalding, Jiang Xun abruptly let go and shrank into the corner.
Wasn't Fu Yanli driving? When did he switch places with Chu Xingye?
Up front, Chu Xingye snickered inwardly, unable to hide the satisfaction of a successful prank from his voice. "Sorry, I braked too hard."
Jiang Xun had no time to bother with Chu Xingye. He rubbed his face hard, thinking he must still be half asleep.
But a second later, with his face still squashed under his hands, Jiang Xun met the gaze of Fu Yanli, who had just opened his eyes.
"..."
Jiang Xun slowly lowered his hands and explained in a small, uncertain voice, "Sorry, I was sleeping too deeply. I didn't mean to lean on you..."
Fu Yanli didn't hold it against the younger man and replied generously, "It's fine."
Then he looked at his nephew in the driver's seat and said mildly, "Xingye, drive more smoothly."
Chu Xingye's face fell. "Got it."
The light turned green, and Chu Xingye drove on, seething with resentment.
The car was quiet, the atmosphere briefly steeped in a strange awkwardness. Of course, Jiang Xun was the only one feeling awkward.
The endlessly busy Mr. Fu probably wouldn't care about such a trivial matter.
Jiang Xun huddled in the corner with his back to Fu Yanli, poking the window intermittently with one finger. His head bobbed like a fishing float, but no matter how sleepy he was, he forced himself to stay awake.
Fortunately, the apartment wasn't far away. Ten-odd minutes later, the car stopped in the underground parking garage beneath the building.
The three of them returned to the apartment and went their separate ways to rest.