The next morning, Jiang Xun woke up.
His throat was dry and itchy, his nose was blocked, and his head ached faintly.
He scratched his bird's nest of hair, struggled out from under the covers, and drained the half glass of water on the bedside table.
Only then did the burning in his throat ease.
Jiang Xun set the empty glass aside, sneezed, and rubbed his nose in discomfort.
Wait... something wasn't right.
Jiang Xun slowly lowered his head to look at the black watch that had suddenly appeared on his left wrist. Three question marks slowly formed above his head.
???
Where did this watch come from?
Jiang Xun examined it carefully. Another Patek Philippe, worth at least several million.
His scalp prickled. Don't tell me I swiped this from Fu Yanli too?
All he remembered was getting drunk last night, then running into Ye Jing hugging and kissing another man outside the club.
Then Fu Yanli had called and picked him up...
And that was where it ended.
He had blacked out after getting drunk.
Jiang Xun sneezed again and rubbed his faintly burning cheeks. Then, with trembling hands, he removed the expensive watch and carefully set it on the bedside table, looking around in utter bewilderment.
Ten minutes later, after hastily brushing his teeth and washing up, he silently opened the door and poked half his head out to check the situation outside.
"What are you sneaking around for?"
Chu Xingye came out of the room next door with his backpack slung over one shoulder. The two stared at each other.
Jiang Xun looked left and right. Seeing no sign of Fu Yanli, he hurriedly pulled Chu Xingye aside.
"Xingye, how did I get back last night?"
With both hands in his pockets, Chu Xingye gave him a very strange look, then snorted.
That look made Jiang Xun uneasy.
"You really outdid yourself last night." Chu Xingye poked Jiang Xun's chest twice with his index finger, then pronounced each syllable distinctly: "Genius."
Jiang Xun caught his finger and tilted his head up slightly, gazing imploringly at him with those round eyes.
Chu Xingye awkwardly withdrew his hand and coughed. "My uncle carried you back last night. You even said you wanted to play the piano."
Jiang Xun's heart lurched. Inside, mountains crumbled and the earth split amid thunder and lightning. He turned to stone on the spot.
He swallowed nervously. "So? Did I play?"
Chu Xingye said, "You did. Really well, too. You could even play at double speed."
Jiang Xun said, "..."
Chu Xingye patted his shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up. "A musical prodigy."
With that, he abandoned his petrified fiancé and headed out the door. He had an eight a.m. class to make.
What a pain.
Jiang Xun's facial muscles twitched twice. Then he raised his hand and gave himself a hard slap, bitterly regretting everything.
I really deserve to die.
Fu Yanli, who had just come out of the gym, paused at the sight and fell silent for a moment.
After slapping himself, Jiang Xun looked up and fell silent too.
Another round of staring ensued, this time with the uncle instead of the nephew.
Fu Yanli must have just finished working out. He wore loose casual clothes, and a thin sheen of sweat covered his handsome, mature face. His fringe hung loosely over his forehead, the strands damp with sweat, making him look less impeccably composed and more relaxed.
Simply standing there, his height and build exuded an imposing presence, masculine energy radiating all around him.
Jiang Xun was in no mood to appreciate it. He forced a smile and spoke first. "Uncle, sorry for the trouble of bringing me back last night."
He was not particularly worried about Chu Xingye discovering how well he played the piano. That brain of his would never think to look any deeper.
Fu Yanli was different. Whenever Jiang Xun stood before him, he felt as though he had been stripped bare, with nowhere to hide.
"It was nothing." Fu Yanli wiped the sweat from his face with a towel and asked casually, "Did you sleep well last night?"
"Pretty..." Jiang Xun had barely spoken when another uncontrollable sneeze escaped him. He sniffled and continued in a muffled voice, "Pretty well."
Fu Yanli stepped closer and suddenly touched the back of his hand to Jiang Xun's forehead and cheeks.
Jiang Xun was slightly dazed. Only when the man lowered his hand did he hear him say, his brow faintly furrowed, "You have a slight fever."
He had most likely caught a chill in the wind last night.
Jiang Xun stepped back half a pace and waved dismissively. "It's fine. I'll just drink more hot water."
A little illness like this was nothing.
An hour later, Jiang Xun lay propped up in bed under the covers, looking half-dead, his lips pouting, his eyes red, and the tip of his nose red too.
This was absolutely miserable.
Fu Yanli stood beside the bed, checking the thermometer held between his long fingers. "Thirty-nine degrees."
He poured a glass of water and handed it over. "Drink more hot water."
Jiang Xun said, "..."
Fu Yanli said, "Don't go to school. I'll have the doctor come over right now."
Jiang Xun sniffled. "Okay..."
Fu Yanli walked over to the window and called his private doctor. After a few brief instructions, he hung up.
When he turned around, Jiang Xun had collapsed onto the bed and was struggling to roll over, speaking to his student advisor in a hoarse, feeble voice.
"Bro, my corpse isn't feeling well. I'd like to take a day off."
The advisor, whose name was Li Juntie, said, "..."
Had livor mortis set in?
Fu Yanli set down his phone, pinched the bridge of his nose, then walked over to the bed.
"The doctor will be here soon. What would you like for breakfast?"
"I don't want anything." Having secured his day off, Jiang Xun tossed his phone aside and looked at the black mechanical watch on the bedside table. "Uncle, that's your watch, isn't it?"
His expression calm, Fu Yanli looked down at the patient, who had his head bowed and was nervously squeezing his own fingers, and murmured an affirmative.
Jiang Xun immediately felt even guiltier. Not daring to look at his face, he asked in a tiny voice, "May I ask how it ended up on my wrist?"
"You grabbed it," Fu Yanli replied nonchalantly.
Brief and to the point.
The corners of Jiang Xun's mouth twitched. He thought he was really something, turning into a robber whenever he got drunk-and choosing Fu Yanli of all people to rob.
He knelt on the bed and presented the watch to the man with both hands, sincerely repentant. "Uncle, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"I just go crazy when I'm drunk."
But Fu Yanli did not reach for it. "It's fine. You can have it."
His casual tone made it sound as though he were giving away red apples that cost a few yuan a pound, rather than a watch worth several million.
After a pause, he added, "Now you have a matching pair. Pray to them every day so they'll bless you with riches."
His pointed tone carried a deeper meaning.
Jiang Xun said, "..."
The big boss held grudges.
He really had stopped praying to it. He had even put the previous watch away.
"Then I'll keep it safe for you for now."
Jiang Xun knew Fu Yanli did not care about a few watches and genuinely meant to give it to him.
But he could not take advantage of him for nothing. Once he moved out someday, he would secretly return the watches.
"Then, other than the watch..." Jiang Xun licked his dry lips and asked with difficulty, "I didn't do anything else, did I?"
Fu Yanli gazed at him with his beautifully shaped eyes, his thin lips closed, saying nothing.
His stare chilled Jiang Xun to the core, while the fever burned through his body. Caught between ice and fire, he was tormented.
How could a country bumpkin who had grown up in a rural village suddenly play the piano so fluently? How was he supposed to explain that?
A skill unlocked by getting drunk? That might fool Chu Xingye.
In those few brief moments, all sorts of thoughts flashed through Jiang Xun's fever-muddled mind, his heart lodged in his throat.
Just then, Fu Yanli spoke. "No."
Jiang Xun froze for a long moment before nodding woodenly and wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "That's good..."
They both knew, but neither brought it up.
"Lie down for a while. I'll make you some congee."
"Okay."
A little over ten minutes later, the private doctor arrived.
He was not the young, handsome doctor friend every domineering CEO had to have, but a man in his forties with a short beard and a white coat. He was quite charming, though. Plenty of aunties must have liked him.
"Here, little buddy. Have a lollipop first. I'll put you on an IV. It won't hurt."
Jiang Xun's mouth twitched. He accepted the lollipop the doctor offered and put it in his mouth. It did help wash away the bitterness.
Half an hour later, Jiang Xun was staring listlessly at the medicine dripping down from the IV bottle, growing drowsy.
Fu Yanli came in carrying the freshly cooked congee, and Jiang Xun's sleepiness instantly vanished.
"Have some congee first."
Fu Yanli sat beside the bed, lowered his eyes slightly, and scooped up some congee with a porcelain spoon...
It looked as though he intended to feed him himself. That would never do. Jiang Xun hurriedly said, "Uncle, I can eat it myself. I couldn't possibly trouble you!"
Fu Yanli's gaze swept over his left hand, where the IV needle was still inserted. "That would be awkward for you right now."
With that, he brought the cooled spoonful of congee to Jiang Xun's lips.
Jiang Xun hesitated, keeping his mouth closed.
Fu Yanli held the spoon in place and said only, "Xun."
The affectionate address seared Jiang Xun. It was perfectly ordinary, yet coming from Fu Yanli, it felt strange.
He stiffly opened his mouth and ate the congee.
It was mushroom and shredded chicken congee, light with a hint of sweetness, made by Fu Yanli himself.
Jiang Xun nearly bit the tip of his tongue.
He only called Fu Yanli "Uncle." They were not actually related; he merely held the position of the man's nephew's fiancé.
Yet Fu Yanli took such good care of him. He had picked him up last night and was looking after him while he was sick today.
Maybe he should find a chance to tell Fu Yanli about Ye Jing. He couldn't just watch him be cheated on without knowing it.
Jiang Xun opened his mouth for the congee offered to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the man's clean, slender left hand. There was no wedding ring on his ring finger.
He remembered Fu Yanli saying last time that his wedding ring had accidentally fallen down the sink and he needed to buy another.
He had even asked Jiang Xun to keep it a secret from Ye Jing.
But since then, Jiang Xun did not seem to have seen him wear a wedding ring again.
Jiang Xun swallowed the congee. "Uncle, haven't you bought your wedding ring yet?"
Fu Yanli leisurely scooped up another spoonful and brought it to his lips. Only after Jiang Xun opened his mouth and ate it did he reply evenly, "I forgot."
He could forget that too?
"Speaking of which, Auntie hasn't come home in ages. Is she really busy?"
Fu Yanli said, "Yes."
Dazed by his fever, Jiang Xun asked, "You're both so busy. You probably don't see each other much, do you? Is your relationship still good?"
Fu Yanli's hand paused. Then he lifted his eyes and looked straight into those listless puppy-dog eyes.
After a long moment, a few words rumbled from his throat. "Does it matter that much to you?"