——Try me again.
This thought, brimming with suggestive and ambiguous undertones, had initially just flickered obscurely in Yan Xun’s mind. However, he hadn’t expected himself to actually voice it out.
“Try again?”
Chu Tingyun acted as if he hadn’t understood. With a smile, he slightly tilted his head, like a gentle elder brother.
“What do you want me to try?”
“……”
Yan Xun vaguely sensed a bit of mischief in Chu Tingyun. This person didn’t seem as gentle and modest, a paragon of virtue, as Yan Xun had first thought.
“I mean… try getting along.”
Yan Xun’s fevered brain suddenly cooled down, and he started backtracking.
“The doctor said I’m very healthy, so I’d like to ask if you could try getting along with me for a while longer?”
Yan Xun suspected that his body wasn’t the problem; perhaps it was just that the cooperation process had been less than harmonious. However, he felt there might be more significant reasons for their divorce that Chu Tingyun simply didn’t want to reveal.
“Try getting along?”
Chu Tingyun repeated.
He knew that wasn’t what Yan Xun meant, but he didn’t refute it. Instead, he asked with a hint of interest:
“How do we get along?”
“Like a normal married couple, I suppose. Specifically… we’ll figure it out as we go.”
Yan Xun could only give a vague answer because he had no idea how he and Chu Tingyun had interacted in the past.
Chu Tingyun rubbed the wedding ring on his ring finger, his tone indecipherable:
“So you’re saying you’ve changed your mind? You don’t want a divorce anymore?”
“……”
Yan Xun didn’t answer immediately.
In fact, after meeting Zhou Ze yesterday, he had seriously considered this issue.
In the years since he lost his memory, his family had been abroad, Zhou Ze had severed contact with him, and only Chu Tingyun had lived with him. So, if Yan Xun wanted to know about his past, Chu Tingyun was the one person he couldn’t avoid.
Taking a step back, if they truly weren’t compatible, they could still divorce later. Destroying a relationship is easy, but restoring it to what it once was is incredibly difficult.
Before understanding what had happened, he didn’t want to easily give up on the marriage and family he had once worked hard to achieve…
So Yan Xun made his final decision.
“Yes, I don’t want to divorce you now.”
He said seriously,
“Chu Tingyun, can we try again for a while?”
“……”
The man was silent, seemingly weighing his options.
But he seemed reluctant about this suggestion, as Yan Xun noticed that the smile that had been tugging at the corners of Chu Tingyun’s mouth gradually flattened, revealing a hint of resistance and coldness.
It was like a silent refusal.
At that moment, Yan Xun had mentally prepared himself to be rejected.
“……Alright.”
——But the other man unexpectedly agreed, albeit in a way that felt like a compromise.
Seeing Chu Tingyun nod, Yan Xun’s heart beat unusually fast, and it took him a moment to react.
“……You agreed?”
“Why, are you having second thoughts?”
Chu Tingyun stared at him, flashing a smile devoid of warmth.
“No.”
Yan Xun shook his head.
“I just feel a bit surprised.”
He hadn’t expected Chu Tingyun to agree so easily.
After all, this man had been so adamant before—so adamant that he had insisted on dragging the newly awakened Yan Xun to the gates of the Civil Affairs Bureau to discuss a divorce, waiting stubbornly for over four hours without leaving.
Yet, in the end, it was this same person who compromised so easily.
This left Yan Xun a bit bewildered.
Buzz—Buzz—
Chu Tingyun’s phone vibrated.
Even though he had it on Do Not Disturb mode, there were always one or two people on the exception list.
“Hello?”
Yan Xun couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end, but he noticed a slight change in Chu Tingyun’s expression.
“I got it.”
The man hung up the phone.
Yan Xun asked, “Did something happen?”
“Yeah, a bit.”
Chu Tingyun nodded.
Yan Xun understood, “It’s fine; you can go ahead.”
After all, he had left Chu Tingyun hanging for over four hours yesterday. Now that Chu Tingyun had something urgent, Yan Xun couldn’t possibly hold him back. But then, the man handed him his crutch.
“Here, I’ll take you back to the hospital first.”
Yan Xun was stunned. “……Take me?”
At this point, Chu Tingyun had already picked up the report from the table, clearly not intending to let Yan Xun put it back.
“What else? Don’t tell me you’re planning to hop back on one leg.”
“……”
Yan Xun knew it would be difficult to hail a cab in such heavy rain, let alone the fact that he was on crutches. Even getting to the bus stop would be hard.
“Then… sorry for the trouble.”
He took his crutch from Chu Tingyun’s hand.
A few minutes later—
Yan Xun was sitting in the back seat of the Maybach, with Chu Tingyun beside him, wiping his hands with a towel.
This man seemed to have a slight touch of OCD. He had been wiping his hands for quite a while, perhaps because of those few small raindrops or because he had just helped Yan Xun.
As Yan Xun pondered, Chu Tingyun suddenly spoke:
“Surprised?”
“Hmm?”
Yan Xun didn’t catch on.
The man put down the towel and glanced sideways at him:
“——You said earlier that you were surprised.”
Yan Xun realized that he was referring to how surprised he was that Chu Tingyun had so easily agreed not to divorce.
He nodded. “A little.”
Chu Tingyun gave a slight nod in return: “That’s because there was one item in the divorce agreement that we hadn’t yet settled.”
He took out a folder from the car and pulled out the divorce agreement to show Yan Xun.
Sure enough, at the end of the two agreements, only Yan Xun’s name was signed, while Chu Tingyun had not signed it.
Yan Xun was curious. “Which item?”
Most divorcing couples have disagreements over property division, so it’s common for a divorce to be delayed.
Some even end up in physical fights or become bitter enemies. Others choose to muddle through, holding on to more assets or so-called face, continuing a marriage that’s falling apart.
But Yan Xun had guessed wrong. The item they disagreed on wasn’t about money, assets, face, or connections.
“——The custody of Baobao (Baby).”
Baobao?!
They’re both men, so where would a baby come from?!
Could it be adopted?
So now not only was he married, but he was also a father?!
The shock in Yan Xun’s eyes was too obvious, so much so that Chu Tingyun took a moment to enjoy it with interest.
“Relax; I’m not giving birth to any children.”
The man explained slowly,
“’Baobao’ is a cat, a tabby cat, one year and five months old.”
A cat?
Yan Xun’s expression clearly froze for a few seconds.
“Oh, I see…”
He liked cats, but he couldn’t keep one at home.
Because his foster mother said, “I’m sorry, Xiao Xun, but Mom doesn’t have the energy to take care of it. Plus, keeping a cat every month costs a lot. You know our family’s situation…”
Of course, the most important reason was that the kitten was too lively and would disturb the sensitive nerves of Lin Ran.
But now, Chu Tingyun was telling Yan Xun that they were raising a small cat named “Baobao” together, and that the two of them had even argued over the cat’s custody.
It sounded… just like parents fighting over a child.
This kind of relationship description felt much more real to Yan Xun than the ridiculous scenario Zhou Ze had described.
He suddenly felt very curious—
He was curious about this new family of his that he had no memory of, but that was entirely his own.
Unconsciously, Yan Xun leaned a little closer to Chu Tingyun and asked:
“Do we really have a cat at our home?”
… Our home?
These two words made Chu Tingyun pause, and he suddenly turned his head to look at Yan Xun.
This unexpected action brought them so close that the distance could almost be described as intimate.
At the same moment, Yan Xun also realized something, but by then, Chu Tingyun had already turned his head back to look out the window, as if he had felt nothing from that brief moment of closeness.
“Mhm, we do.”
The Maybach’s soundproofing was excellent, and the enclosed space shut out the noise of the heavy rain outside. Yan Xun felt as if the whole world was just Chu Tingyun’s voice.
“You brought it home. At the time, you insisted on keeping it and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“……”
Insisted on keeping it and wouldn’t take no for an answer.
Yan Xun was stunned, suddenly feeling a little unfamiliar with the version of himself that Chu Tingyun was describing.
He couldn’t quite believe that he would do something… something so willful. In his memories, Yan Xun had always been the most sensible and obedient child in the family.
But in Chu Tingyun’s account, he was the exact opposite.
Yan Xun struggled to process the fact that he had apparently grown more willful as he got older.
“So… you agreed?”
Chu Tingyun countered with a question: “What else could I do?”
His tone was somewhat displeased but also carried a hint of helplessness.
For someone like Mr. Chu, who had mild OCD, keeping a cat was very challenging to his limits and hard to tolerate.
——But in the end, they kept it.
Because Yan Xun said he absolutely had to.
“……”
After a long pause, the young man asked again:
“What about the name?”
Most people’s first reaction would probably be to assume he was asking what the name was, but Chu Tingyun had no trouble understanding the answer he was really looking for.
The man told Yan Xun, “——Of course, you named it.”
“You named it, and it’s called Baobao.”
“……”
Yan Xun was stunned.
A few seconds later, he slowly blinked, unconsciously leaning back, and his entire body began to relax, eventually settling into a very relaxed posture against the backrest.
Yan Xun turned his head to look at the scenery speeding past outside the window—
Tall buildings, heavy traffic, and in the pouring rain, the bright neon lights remained colorful and dazzling, fantastical.
After waking up, time had passed, and everything had changed.
He was now in a bustling first-tier city, far removed from the small hometown that was once thousands of miles away in his memories.
But gradually, the initial unfamiliarity and confusion that had made Yan Xun feel lost began to give way to a faint sense of anticipation.
“I named it…”
He silently repeated.
I brought it home, I named it, and we raised a small cat together…
Although he had only learned a few trivial details, Yan Xun suddenly felt that the version of himself seven years later seemed to be… living a good life.
At least, he had found some traces of happiness. And all those traces pointed to the man sitting beside him.
They pointed to the marriage and family that he had once been happy with but was now about to come to an end…
Yan Xun suddenly had a strong urge to look at Chu Tingyun.
But just as he acted on that impulse, his gaze collided with the man’s eyes. At some point, Chu Tingyun had turned back, and it was unclear how long he had been watching him.
“What are you thinking about?”
“About… being discharged.”
In a flash, Yan Xun found an excuse to cover up. He lowered his gaze and said calmly:
“Today’s test results were all good. The doctor said I’m recovering well and can be discharged in a few days.”
Yan Xun had always disliked hospitals, even to the point of having a bit of a physical aversion. Additionally, the cost of a private hospital was really high, so he was eager to be discharged as soon as possible.
“When?”
Chu Tingyun asked casually,
“If I’m free, I can pick you up when you leave the hospital.”
“No need.”
Yan Xun refused without thinking; his tone thus came across as somewhat cold. He had always been used to not troubling others.
Besides, Chu Tingyun seemed really busy.
“Aren’t you going on a business trip next week? Just give me my ID card. I’ll need it to complete the discharge procedures.”
Chu Tingyun: “……Fine.”
For the next half hour, the man rested with his eyes closed, not saying another word to him.
Yan Xun originally wanted to ask a few things, like whether he could see a photo of the cat or about their past from when they first met to when they got married.
However, Chu Tingyun kept his eyes closed and his brows slightly furrowed as if he weren’t feeling well, so Yan Xun ultimately chose to stay quiet.
Not long after, the Maybach pulled into the hospital’s underground parking lot.
From there, they could take the elevator straight up to the inpatient building. If they had stopped at the entrance, they would have had to walk a few meters in the rain.
After getting out of the car, Yan Xun didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he walked up to the front and knocked on the car window, thoughtfully reminding the driver—
“Sir, the roads are slippery when it rains; please drive carefully.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Yan.”
The driver uncle seemed to know him and responded in a familiar tone. Before leaving, Yan Xun didn’t forget to say goodbye to Chu Tingyun:
“Goodbye, drive safe.”
“……”
The person inside didn’t respond.
After walking a good distance away, Yan Xun suddenly remembered something and turned back on his crutches.
Unexpectedly, the car was still in the same spot.
As Yan Xun approached, the rear window silently rolled down, revealing the upper half of Mr. Chu’s exquisite and handsome face.
He wasn’t looking at Yan Xun, staring straight ahead, his tone cold:
“Anything else?”
Yan Xun bent down, leaning against the window, his tone filled with concern.
“Chu Tingyun, are you feeling a bit carsick?”
Mr. Chu turned his expressionless face: “?”
“You kept your eyes closed in the car just now, looking like you weren’t feeling well. Do you feel like throwing up?”
The young man on crutches thoughtfully pointed to the side,
“I just saw a really big trash can over there, and it looks new. How about I help you drag it over?”
“……”
President Chu stared at Yan Xun for a few seconds, then slowly curled his lips.
“Sure.”
The man’s eyes, behind his glasses, curved into a smile as he gave Yan Xun a gentle smile.
“Go ahead.”
Yan Xun was slightly stunned, then quickly lowered his eyes, speaking rapidly—
“Then wait for me a moment.”
To speed things up, he really started hopping on one foot.
Even though his left leg was still in a cast, Yan Xun moved so nimbly that he didn’t look like an injured person at all, more like a young athlete doing leg exercises.
But when the young man on crutches struggled to drag the oversized trash can back, the black Maybach directly turned around and drove off.
Yan Xun: “……?”
He stood there with the half-human-sized trash can, completely dumbfounded.
Before he could recover, the security uncle not far away was already storming over, waving his baton angrily:
“Hey, you bastard——!”
“Stealing the trash can again, huh?!”
“I’ve been watching you for days!”
Yan Xun: “……..”
