They had split-pot hot pot for dinner. The broth was delicious, and the ingredients were fresh.
Jiang Xun liked the spicy side, but he could barely handle the heat. In short, he was hopeless at it but kept coming back for more.
By the end of the meal, his lips and eyes were red. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and he kept sucking in air through his mouth, yet his chopsticks never stopped moving.
Jiang Huaijin barely ate anything. He spent the evening watching Jiang Xun eat beside him, marveling at the sight.
He poured a glass of milk and pushed it over. "If you can't handle the spice, stop eating it. Look how much you're suffering."
Jiang Xun tipped his head back and gulped down some milk. Once the heat had eased a little, he popped a hand-pounded beef ball into his mouth and mumbled, "You don't understand. This is pleasure mixed with pain."
"I think you're just greedy."
As he spoke, Jiang Huaijin picked up a plate of sliced beef and tipped it into the pot. Once it was cooked, he scooped all of it onto the plate in front of Jiang Xun.
Still hissing through his teeth, Jiang Xun didn't forget to flash his newfound brother a grin. "Thanks, bro. You should eat more too." He put some meat into Jiang Huaijin's bowl as he spoke.
Laying it on thick, aren't you... Jiang Huaijin sighed inwardly, but he felt relaxed and cheerful.
His gaze lingered on Jiang Xun. The scar from when he had fallen and hit his head after the car accident was no longer visible.
They hadn't seen each other for only a little while, yet his younger brother had changed again, in a way that made people sit up and take notice.
He really had changed, inside and out.
Just then, his phone rang. It was Jiang Zixing. Jiang Huaijin set down his chopsticks, swiped a slender finger across the screen, and answered.
"Zixing, what's up?"
"Where did you go, bro? Aren't you coming home for dinner?"
Jiang Huaijin glanced at Jiang Xun, who was focused on eating meat, and made no attempt to hide it. "No. I'm with Jiang Xun. We're having hot pot."
He had barely finished speaking when a violent coughing fit broke out.
Jiang Xun had choked. Tears sprang to his eyes as he doubled over, coughing until his face turned scarlet.
Jiang Huaijin hurriedly handed him some water. "I told you to eat slowly. What's the rush? Have some water first..."
"Zixing, I have to go. I'll bring you something nice to eat when I get home. Hanging up now."
"Okay..."
Jiang Zixing had barely uttered that one word before the call ended.
He bit his lip and gripped his phone tightly, staring blankly at the screen for a long time, his eyes filled with conflicting emotions.
Only now did Jiang Zixing truly feel that the older brother who had once been his alone had to be shared with someone else.
Not just his brother, but his parents too.
Jiang Zixing's eyes silently reddened, but what could he do? From the very beginning, all of this had been taken from Jiang Xun.
But he was a victim too. Why did Jiang Xun blame everything on him? Why did he keep targeting him?
Shouldn't the blame lie with Jiang Xun's dead adoptive mother?
Jiang Xun's adoptive mother was Jiang Zixing's biological mother, but he would never acknowledge a mother like her.
Deng Shu was the only mother he recognized.
After dinner, Jiang Huaijin drove Jiang Xun back to his apartment building.
"It's been cold lately. Remember to wear more layers."
"I know, I know." Jiang Xun unbuckled his seat belt and was about to get out when Jiang Huaijin produced a gift bag from somewhere and casually handed it to him. "For you."
Jiang Xun looked up at him, raising his eyebrows slightly, then opened the bag. Inside was a bottle of hand cream.
He glanced at his hands. "Useful."
Jiang Huaijin instinctively followed his gaze. Jiang Xun's hands were clean and slender. Although he had been consistently using skincare products lately and his skin had improved considerably, it was still a little rough. These clearly weren't hands that had known a pampered life, and faint little scars marked their backs.
Jiang Huaijin knew that, even though Jiang Xun had long since said his adoptive parents hadn't mistreated him, he must have done plenty of work and endured plenty of hardship before returning to the Jiang Family.
He couldn't quite describe what he felt. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing, merely reaching out to pat Jiang Xun's head.
"Go on."
Jiang Xun said nothing more either. He got out with the bag, waved at him through the window, then turned and left.
No one knew that the true owner of this body was already gone.
His eyes had grown damp without his noticing. Jiang Xun raised a hand to wipe them. These were the lingering emotions of the body's original owner.
The next day, at a private hospital.
Holding a bouquet of carnations, Fu Yanli walked into a VIP ward with Ye Jing.
Fu Yanli gave the middle-aged man who came to meet them a slight nod and greeted him warmly and politely. "Father."
Ye Jing's father answered, accepting the flowers and smiling kindly at Fu Yanli. "You're here, Yanli."
"Your mother-in-law keeps thinking about you."
Ye Jing smiled. "Yanli's busy with work. You know that."
The middle-aged woman lying weak and listless in the hospital bed, barely clinging to life, was Ye Jing's mother.
Her health had been poor ever since she gave birth to Ye Jing. Recently, she had suffered another serious illness, and no one knew how much longer she could hold on.
Fu Yanli helped his mother-in-law sit up, allowing her bony hands to clasp his tightly.
"Yanli, as long as you and Ye Jing stay happy together, I'll be able to go in peace."
She gently patted the back of her son-in-law's hand, her voice frail and weak. "It's just a shame. You've been married for three years now, so why haven't you had a child? If only I could see my grandchild before I die..."
Ye Jing looked at her mother helplessly. "Mom, stop talking nonsense all day. All this talk about dying is so unlucky."
"All right, all right. I won't say it..."
Facing his gravely ill elder, Fu Yanli's expression and voice were gentle. "Focus on getting better. Whenever I have time, I'll come visit you with Ye Jing."
The two stayed in the ward and chatted with her. Less than half an hour later, she told them to leave.
Young people were busy with work.
After saying goodbye, Ye Jing took Fu Yanli's arm, and they left.
A little while later, her father quietly walked to the door and watched his daughter and son-in-law's affectionate figures disappear around the corner of the hallway.
He returned to the ward and told his gravely ill wife, mixed emotions in his voice, "They're doing fine. She was even holding Yanli's arm as they walked. You're worrying over nothing."
Ye Jing's mother sighed softly and murmured, "That's good..."
Once inside the elevator, Ye Jing let go of his arm and stepped aside. "Sorry for the trouble today."
"It's fine." Fu Yanli watched the floor numbers steadily count down in front of him, some of the warmth fading from his expression. "Let me know if you need me again."
Ye Jing glanced sideways at Fu Yanli, her eyes brimming with seductive charm, and gave a delicate smile. "Then I won't stand on ceremony, hubby."
She drew out the last word slightly, her voice lilting upward.
The corner of Fu Yanli's mouth seemed to twitch. He had nothing to say.
Ye Jing continued, "Hubby, what are our plans for later? A movie?"
Fu Yanli said, "Work."
After leaving the hospital, Fu Yanli drove Ye Jing home, then returned to the office to work overtime.
He worked until the afternoon before stopping and walking over to the floor-to-ceiling windows. From there, he could take in all the bustling streets and buildings of City A.
Fu Yanli opened WeChat on his phone, found the contact saved as "Little Coal Ball," and opened the chat.
His fingertip lingered on the cold screen for a moment.
At that moment, Jiang Xun had just changed out of his work uniform and was getting ready to leave.
Although he had promised Jiang Huaijin yesterday that he would stop working part-time, the shop hadn't found a replacement yet, so Jiang Xun was still working there.
His phone screen suddenly lit up. A message had arrived from the contact saved as "His Maternal Uncle."
-Finished work?
Jiang Xun's scalp prickled. Fu Yanli's message really was perfectly timed, but he had no intention of hitching a ride home with him.
-Yep, I've already taken a cab home. Don't work too late either, Uncle. Go home early and get some rest.
After a moment's thought, he sent a cat sticker too. A chat always felt as though something was missing without stickers, even if the other person was a serious, straitlaced big shot.
After sending the message, Jiang Xun scanned the code on a little yellow shared electric bike and rode home.
Meanwhile, by the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor of the office tower, Fu Yanli lowered his gaze to the cute, winking cat sticker on his screen and lightly tapped it.
Although it was Sunday, the roads were still packed with cars at the end of the workday.
Traffic had backed up at a set of lights.
A long line of cars stretched ahead, with drivers honking and swearing angrily.
A silver-gray Aston Martin sat among the traffic. The ordinary private car behind it kept well back, not daring to get too close.
Fu Yanli sat in the driver's seat with one hand resting on the steering wheel, watching the traffic ahead. His handsome face remained calm, without a trace of irritation at the jam.
A yellow electric bike traveling along the edge of the road suddenly entered his field of vision and caught his attention.
Of course, it wasn't the bike that drew his attention, but its rider.
The slim, slight figure wore a pale yellow jacket and a yellow helmet that matched the bike, with two cartoon ears on top.
The rider was cruising along slowly, apparently humming a tune. His head swayed gently to the rhythm, making the cartoon ears on his helmet bob along too.
Fu Yanli's expression shifted slightly. His gaze followed Jiang Xun on the bike until he disappeared from view.
The person who had claimed on WeChat not long ago that he had already taken a cab home was now riding past on a shared electric bike.
Dishonest.
His nephew's young fiancé was avoiding him.
As Jiang Xun rode along, he suddenly felt someone watching him from behind. He turned to look but found nothing.
I'm imagining it. I must be.
Yet over the next few days, the feeling of being watched only grew stronger.
Jiang Xun's sixth sense told him someone was following him.
A University.
After classes that afternoon, Jiang Xun had just left the teaching building with Lin Jian when that feeling of being watched returned.
"Jiang Xun, I'm heading back to the dorm. See you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow."
After waving goodbye to Lin Jian, Jiang Xun had an idea. He kept walking with the crowd, making his way toward a quieter area.
The passing students gradually thinned out, but Jiang Xun kept walking without slowing.
Suddenly, he whipped around.