November arrived in the blink of an eye. The weather grew colder and colder, and pedestrians on the streets had all switched to heavier clothes.
The wound on Jiang Xun's forehead had healed. He had diligently applied ointment every day, and it hadn't left a scar.
He had also kept up his daily use of brightening body lotion, face masks, and other skincare products. His skin had indeed improved a little and was no longer as rough as before.
As for his complexion, if it had started out a dark wheat color, it had now gradually lightened to a pale wheat tone. He still had some way to go before his skin became as smooth and fair as milk, but Jiang Xun was already very satisfied.
It was Saturday, and he had to go to his part-time job at the café.
After spending ages looking in the mirror, he was nearly late for work. Jiang Xun hurriedly changed and had just stepped out of his room when he remembered something and doubled back.
He took two chocolates from his pocket and placed them on the cabinet, then pressed his palms together. With a reverent gaze, he bowed to the expensive watch Fu Yanli had given him, which sat beside them.
Please bless me again today, big shot, so I can finish my mission soon.
Done.
Jiang Xun let out a breath, picked up the chocolates, and tore open a wrapper, popping one into his mouth as he headed out.
But the moment he turned around, his eyes met Fu Yanli's. He had no idea when the man had appeared in his doorway.
"..."
Jiang Xun's heart lurched, and the chocolate nearly fell out of his mouth.
Had the big shot seen all that?
A deathly silence spread between them.
Fu Yanli stood with both hands in his pockets, his mist-shrouded eyes fixed intently on the person opposite him. His thin lips slowly parted. "My eyesight is poor."
Jiang Xun: "..."
How considerate. He might as well have said nothing.
Wonderful. Another day of wanting to die.
Jiang Xun gave an awkward smile and shakily offered him the other chocolate, his voice lacking all confidence. "Uncle... would you like one?"
Fu Yanli reached out and accepted it, his resonant voice carrying a meaningful undertone. "It was meant for me. Of course I'll eat it."
Jiang Xun could only laugh awkwardly twice and avert his eyes. Then he hurried out and closed his bedroom door.
He knew he shouldn't get too close to Fu Yanli. In front of this man, he always felt as though even his underwear had been seen through.
That was why Jiang Xun had done his best to avoid him lately. One went to school, the other went to work, and the working man had a thousand things to deal with every day. With Jiang Xun deliberately avoiding him, they rarely had a chance to meet.
Who would have thought he would slip up this time and forget to close the door?
"Uncle, did you need something?"
Jiang Xun changed the subject, and Fu Yanli went along with him. "I'm working overtime today. I can drop you off at work on the way."
Without time to think, Jiang Xun agreed instantly. "Sure! Then let's hurry. I'm almost late."
They left together. As for Chu Xingye, he was still sleeping in under his covers.
In the elevator down to the underground parking garage, Jiang Xun clasped his hands in front of him and secretly studied the expression of the man beside him, keeping his lips firmly shut.
Fu Yanli wore a long black wool coat today. One hand was tucked into his pocket, while the other held the chocolate, idly turning it between his long fingers.
"Do you like the watch I gave you that much?"
Jiang Xun had been staring distractedly at the chocolate when the man's calm voice suddenly sounded beside him, his emotions impossible to discern.
Naturally, he couldn't say he disliked it. Jiang Xun steeled himself. "Yes, of course I do... you're so impressive, Uncle, so your watch must be special too. I'm hoping it'll bless me with a fortune."
Fu Yanli stopped fiddling with the chocolate and slipped it into his pocket, casually uttering, "Is that so?"
He cast a sidelong glance at Jiang Xun. His thin lips suddenly curved, and an almost inaudible chuckle rose from his throat.
It passed so quickly that Jiang Xun thought he had imagined it.
Then he heard Fu Yanli say meaningfully, "Why not come and bow to me every day instead? It might work better."
The corner of Jiang Xun's mouth twitched. Since when did the big shot make jokes? Despite his inward grumbling, he lowered his head like a child who had done something wrong and said meekly, "I wouldn't dare."
What he didn't know was that Fu Yanli had long since discovered his habit of bowing to the watch every day.
Was there anything this little fellow wouldn't dare do?
With a ding, the elevator stopped on the first basement level.
Fu Yanli withdrew his gaze from the boy. "Let's go."
With that, he stepped out of the elevator first.
Since he showed no intention of blaming him, Jiang Xun breathed a sigh of relief and hurried after him.
Every conversation with Fu Yanli left him on edge.
He couldn't read him. Not in the slightest.
Fu Yanli was driving a black Maybach today. They got into the car from opposite sides.
As the car slowly pulled out of the underground garage, Jiang Xun pretended to concentrate on a game on his phone. In truth, his mind was elsewhere. Within two minutes, the character he controlled fell off a cliff and died.
He raised his eyes and stole a glance to the side. His gaze swept over the man's left hand on the steering wheel, a hand that could have been a work of art, then abruptly paused.
Why wasn't Fu Yanli wearing his wedding ring today? He usually wore it almost every day.
Jiang Xun blurted out, "Uncle, why aren't you wearing your ring today?"
As soon as he said it, he felt the question was a little intrusive. He simply couldn't keep his mouth under control.
Fu Yanli didn't mind. He glanced at Jiang Xun's face out of the corner of his eye and replied, "It accidentally fell down the drain while I was washing my hands."
His tone was flat, as though he had lost not a wedding ring but a cheap plastic toy bought by the roadside.
A flicker of surprise crossed Jiang Xun's eyes, and he grew worried for him. "What will you do? Can you get it back? How will you explain it to Aunt?"
Losing a wedding ring was no small matter.
Fu Yanli kept his eyes ahead as the car merged onto the main road. "Buy another one."
Jiang Xun: "..."
Was it really that simple?
Fu Yanli's tone was gentle. "You'll keep my secret, won't you, Xiao Xun?"
Jiang Xun nodded hesitantly. "I... I suppose."
Wait, what had Fu Yanli just called him? Xiao Xun?
Recalling the name that had just left the man's lips, Jiang Xun felt something strange stir inside him, as though an electric current had shot through him.
He went numb.
When he looked at the speaker again, the man was still driving with his eyes straight ahead, his expression calm.
He must have misheard. His ears weren't that reliable anyway.
The drive from the apartment to the café took less than ten minutes. Fu Yanli stopped outside and watched Jiang Xun lower his head to unfasten his seat belt. "Message me when you finish work."
Jiang Xun's hands paused briefly. That meant he planned to pick him up on his way home too.
Fu Yanli really was surprisingly nice.
What could he do? It wasn't as though he could refuse.
Jiang Xun sighed inwardly but showed no sign of it. He smiled and nodded. "Okay, thank you, Uncle. I'll head in to work now."
The passenger door closed, and Fu Yanli started the car and slowly drove away.
In the rearview mirror, Jiang Xun was still standing outside the café, watching him leave.
The youth wore a white hoodie beneath a black baseball jacket, loose black trousers, and white sneakers.
He had all the youthful vitality of someone his age.
The warm morning sunlight spilled over him. With both hands in his pockets, he watched the car head away, then raised a hand and waved again.
As the car turned the corner and drove farther away, Fu Yanli withdrew his gaze from the rearview mirror and headed toward the company nearby.
Jiang Xun made it into the café with two minutes to spare before his shift.
Nothing happened all morning, and it passed peacefully.
Ji Yuntian had come by again a few days earlier, looking for Lin Jian.
Behind his back, Jiang Xun had said plenty of bad things about Ji Yuntian to Lin Jian, and his brainwashing had been very successful.
In Lin Jian's mind, Ji Yuntian had long since gone from a kind, fragile, gentle little thing worthy of pity to a twisted, utterly depraved creep.
Lin Jian didn't dare speak to him at all. He hid behind Jiang Xun and stayed far away from Ji Yuntian.
Jiang Xun was actually scared too. He feared that the walking crime show might suddenly pull a snake from his sleeve and throw it at him. Fortunately, Ji Yuntian hadn't brought Little Black Snake that time.
Although Lin Jian avoided him, Ji Yuntian refused to leave.
He sat in a corner of the café all afternoon, sipping coffee as he watched the busy staff, an unreadable emotion flickering in his pale eyes.
At noon, before Jiang Xun had a chance to eat lunch, the café received another delivery order from Zhongyu Group.
"Jiang Xun, let me come with you."
"No need. I can manage on my own. Eat first. I'll be back soon."
By the time Jiang Xun finished his last word, he was already out the door with two bags in hand.
Lin Jian smiled and went back to eating.
A cold wind howled outside. Jiang Xun pulled up his hood and jogged all the way to the group's sleek, high-tech office tower.
Standing at the entrance to the ground-floor lobby, Jiang Xun called the person who had placed the order and asked her to come down for the coffee.
"I'm sorry, I'm a little busy and can't come down." A young woman's gentle voice came through the phone. "Could you take the elevator up instead? The president's office, on the top floor."
Without giving it much thought, Jiang Xun readily agreed.
He had been here several times before, always to deliver coffee, but this was his first time going upstairs.
The president's office...
Jiang Xun stood in the elevator with coffee in both hands, watching the floor numbers steadily climb. Surely he wouldn't happen to run into Fu Yanli?
The elevator stopped, and Jiang Xun stepped out, looking around curiously.
This floor housed the president's offices. It was spacious and very quiet.
The secretaries were indeed busy. Jiang Xun handed over the delivery and was about to leave when someone called him back.
"Hey, handsome, could you please take this coffee to the president's office over there?"
Jiang Xun felt torn, but when he met the secretary's expectant gaze, he instinctively reached out and took the coffee.
The door to the president's office was closed. Jiang Xun stood there agonizing for a moment before hesitantly raising his hand to knock.
Immediately afterward, the door opened automatically.
Jiang Xun tentatively stepped inside, taking in the whole room at a glance.
An entire wall of floor-to-ceiling windows stood opposite him. The office was bright and spotless, and its owner sat at a large desk in front of those windows.
With the heating on, the temperature was comfortable. Fu Yanli had taken off his coat and was wearing a dark turtleneck sweater. His eyes were fixed on the computer screen in front of him, and he seemed to still be busy.