"Does it matter that much to you?"
The question stumped Jiang Xun. For a moment, he didn't know how to answer, and he couldn't even look Fu Yanli in the eye.
He averted his gaze and gave a dry laugh. "I was just asking. Of course I hope you and Auntie have a good relationship."
Fu Yanli said nothing, as though he had only asked in passing and didn't care about the answer.
He scooped up a spoonful of porridge and brought it close to blow on it a few times. His lashes lowered slightly, and his cool features seemed to soften with the considerate gesture. Then he held the spoon to Jiang Xun's lips.
Jiang Xun opened his mouth dazedly and ate it.
Wasn't there something odd about this?
But his brain couldn't handle much thinking right now. He was so dizzy and tired.
After finishing a bowl of porridge, Jiang Xun couldn't hold out any longer and drifted off to sleep.
He was still asleep when the IV finished.
Fu Yanli didn't go to the office. He handled some urgent work in his study.
The hands of the wall clock circled around, and noon quietly arrived.
The hourly housekeeper prepared lunch in the kitchen.
Fu Yanli set aside his work and went to Jiang Xun's room.
The boy in bed was still asleep. Medical tape covered the back of his left hand, his slender chin rested against the quilt, and his cheeks were faintly flushed.
Fu Yanli silently sat beside the bed and held the back of his hand to Jiang Xun's forehead for two seconds. It wasn't nearly as hot anymore.
He studied the boy before him for a second, then two... A hint of scrutiny lingered in his calm eyes, like subtle ripples stirring in a bottomless ancient well.
Then he braced his hands on either side of Jiang Xun and leaned down, bringing his thin lips close to the boy's left ear beneath his dark hair to say something.
Jiang Xun didn't react at all.
Fu Yanli moved closer to his right ear and repeated the words.
Half asleep, Jiang Xun's eyelids fluttered slightly. A moment later, he opened his eyes halfway and looked drowsily at the man sitting beside his bed.
"Mm... Uncle, what is it?" His voice was heavily nasal, almost coaxing, and his thin eyelids were tinged pink.
"Nothing. Go back to sleep."
After saying that, Fu Yanli got up and left.
Still groggy, Jiang Xun rolled over and raised a hand to scratch his slightly warm left ear. Why did it feel a little wet?
So sleepy... Before he could think about it, Jiang Xun drifted off again.
As Fu Yanli came out of the room, the housekeeper approached with a smile. "Mr. Fu, lunch is ready. Wash your hands and come eat."
"All right."
The housekeeper went off to clean, while Fu Yanli sat alone at the dining table for lunch.
He seemed distracted. Before long, he put down his chopsticks and returned to his room.
He seemed to have discovered a secret about his nephew's young fiancé.
Jiang Xun didn't fully wake up until three in the afternoon, roused by a bursting bladder.
He hurried out of bed and into the bathroom.
Afterward, he washed his hands at the sink, then looked in the mirror and touched his left ear. It was dry and perfectly normal. Had he been so groggy that he'd imagined it?
Before long, Jiang Xun put it out of his mind. He bent down to wash his face and felt much better.
The moment he came out of the bathroom, Jiang Huaijin called.
"Coming home this afternoon? Want me to pick you up?"
It was Friday.
Jiang Xun took a sip of water and plopped down on the bed, rubbing his itchy nose as he replied in a muffled voice, "Too much trouble. Just send the driver."
It was immediately obvious that something was wrong with his voice.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Huaijin asked. "Not feeling well?"
Jiang Xun collapsed onto the bed and lay there like a limp fish, hugging the quilt as he answered weakly, "Woke up with a fever this morning. I'm dying."
Jiang Huaijin snorted. "If you can still joke around, you're not dying."
Despite saying that, he asked a few concerned questions. "Have you seen a doctor? Taken any medicine? Asked for leave?"
"Yeah..."
As soon as Jiang Huaijin hung up, Deng Shu, who was sitting beside him, asked anxiously, "Is Xun sick?"
"Yeah. He had a fever this morning."
Jiang Shiyuan was there too. Worried about his son, he nevertheless acted casual. "How did he suddenly come down with a fever? Has he seen a doctor and taken medicine?"
"Yes. He said he's mostly better now." Jiang Huaijin stood as he spoke. "I'll go pick him up."
Deng Shu got up with him. "I'll come with you."
Jiang Shiyuan coughed. "If you're both going, I might as well come too."
He was still thinking about Liu Ma deliberately kicking the puppy to death last time. The memory left him uneasy, and he kept wanting to do something to make up for it.
Jiang Zixing had no classes on Friday afternoon. He went out for a meal with his classmates, then browsed the mall for a while before returning to the Jiang Family home.
At five in the afternoon, only the servants were home, busy cleaning. Everyone else was out.
Liu Ma had already been fired.
He asked another servant, "Sister Wu, where did my parents go? They're still not back?"
Sister Wu stopped what she was doing and smiled. "The second young master is sick. Your parents and eldest brother have all gone to pick him up."
Aside from Liu Ma, the other servants had no particular prejudice against Jiang Xun.
Jiang Zixing pressed his lips together, looking worried. "Is my second brother seriously ill?"
"It seems to be an ordinary fever," Sister Wu said. "You don't need to worry, young master."
"That's good." Jiang Zixing seemed distracted, his smile a little strained. "I'll let you get back to work, Sister Wu. I'm going to my room."
"All right."
Jiang Xun's fever hadn't completely subsided. He casually packed a few things to take home and slipped the original owner's diary into his backpack as well.
Fu Yanli wasn't in the common area, and the study was empty too.
Jiang Xun stood outside the master bedroom and knocked.
After quite a while, the door opened from inside.
Fu Yanli appeared in the doorway in loose loungewear. A few stray locks over his forehead were damp, and a languid ease softened his eyes and brows. Droplets clung to the sharply defined back of his hand, slowly rolling down.
Jiang Xun keenly sensed something subtly different about his presence.
He gave an awkward smile. "Uncle, did I interrupt you?"
"No. How are you feeling?" Fu Yanli asked.
His deep, magnetic voice sounded more relaxed and languid too, with an inexplicable huskiness.
It was a voice that could make ears pregnant.
His dark eyes seemed veiled in the misty rain of Jiangnan, hazy and impossible to read.
Jiang Xun was about to speak when the man suddenly raised his hand and held its cool, damp back against his forehead for a moment.
He jolted inwardly. Though the back of the man's hand was cool, his heart seemed to have been scalded, and he instinctively stepped back.
Fu Yanli seemed to think nothing of it. He lowered his hand as though nothing had happened and said mildly, "You're not as hot anymore."
Jiang Xun awkwardly rubbed the tip of his nose. "Thank you for taking care of me. I'm mostly better now. Sorry for making you worry."
"It's only right," Fu Yanli said.
"My brother's here to take me home. I came to say goodbye."
As he spoke, Jiang Xun's gaze slipped past the man and into the bedroom.
The bedrooms in this spacious single-floor apartment all had much the same decor: clean and simple at a glance, mostly in black, white, and gray.
There were no wedding photos by the bed, only signs of one person living there. Nothing seemed to have anything to do with Ye Jing.
Just like the rest of the apartment, there was no sign of a young married couple living there.
Fu Yanli keenly caught Jiang Xun's curious gaze. He stepped aside and considerately offered:
"Curious?"
"Want to take a look inside?"
There was no mistaking the teasing note in his voice.
Jiang Xun hastily looked away, his face turning bright red. "No, no. I'll head downstairs."
"Bye, Uncle!"
Fu Yanli leaned casually against the doorframe, arms folded, watching the boy practically flee. A barely audible chuckle vibrated in his throat, gone almost before it could be caught.
Jiang Huaijin's car was parked downstairs.
Jiang Xun froze when he opened the door. Why were his newly acquired parents here too? Why the whole entourage?
Seated in the back, Deng Shu hurriedly beckoned him in. "Xun, come sit down. Don't stand out in the wind."
"Why did you all come?" Jiang Xun asked as he sat beside Deng Shu, set his backpack aside, and lowered his head to fasten his seat belt.
"You haven't been home for so long. I wanted to see you sooner."
Deng Shu leaned over and touched Jiang Xun's hand, then his face, her delicate brows knitting with concern. "You're still a little hot. Should we go to the hospital first?"
Jiang Xun leaned back against the seat and waved dismissively. "No need. It's really nothing serious."
"You must tell us if you're feeling unwell." Deng Shu sighed softly. "Why didn't you tell us you were sick?"
Jiang Xun suddenly fell silent for a moment, then gave a soft laugh, his tone mild. "I'm used to being on my own."
His words silenced the car.
In the front passenger seat, Jiang Shiyuan coughed lightly. "We're all here. How could we leave you on your own?"
"Right." Jiang Xun seemed to have said it offhandedly and had already put it behind him. "Dad, did you want to see me sooner too?"
Jiang Shiyuan kept a stern face. "I just happened to be free."
"All right. Whatever you say."
"Let's go, Huaijin."
Jiang Huaijin glanced at Jiang Xun in the rearview mirror, then started the car.
Deng Shu peeled an orange and handed it to Jiang Xun. As he pulled it apart and ate the segments, he absentmindedly pondered Fu Yanli and Ye Jing.
The couple's relationship didn't seem as good as the rumors claimed-all that talk of childhood sweethearts, a match made in heaven, and marital bliss.
He really had been misled at first.
How could a loving couple live apart, barely see each other, and not even worry about losing a wedding ring?
But Jiang Xun still couldn't figure out what had made their marriage so distant. What exactly had driven Ye Jing to cheat?
After turning it over in his mind, Jiang Xun still felt that the problem lay with Fu Yanli.
Could Fu Yanli really have some hidden condition?
Surely not...
Jiang Xun ate the last orange segment and scratched his head in frustration.
Discovering someone else's secret wasn't necessarily a good thing.