This dream lasted a long time, and Chu Tingyun even fell back asleep in the dream, so he didn’t wake up until almost nine.
Yan Xun called Chu Tingyun several times on his way back, telling him to wake up and get ready for work. To his surprise, Chu Tingyun didn’t answer any of them. Yan Xun immediately felt anxious and ran back, only to find the man still asleep in bed.
He was sleeping soundly, not even waking up when Yan Xun opened the door.
Seeing the slight bulge on the bed, Yan Xun, for some reason, suddenly felt a sigh of relief.
Yan Xun went over, knelt by the bed, and gently brushed aside Chu Tingyun’s messy bangs. Only then did he notice that Chu Tingyun seemed to be sleeping poorly, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, his cheeks very hot, flushed with a faint redness.
The man’s brows were slightly furrowed, his fingers clenched, as if he was having a bad dream.
“…Chu Tingyun?”
Yan Xun gently shook the man’s shoulder, trying to wake him,
“Wake up, Chu Tingyun?”
“Hmm…”
Chu Tingyun squeezed his eyes tightly shut, then slowly woke up. His gaze was unfocused for a while before he finally focused on Yan Xun’s face.
After waking up, Chu Tingyun just stared at him in silence.
“Do you feel unwell?”
Yan Xun leaned in to touch his forehead, “It doesn’t seem like you have a fever.”
“……”
At the moment Yan Xun touched him, Chu Tingyun finally distinguished between dream and reality. He looked around again, confirming that he was in his home, not in the office.
It turned out he had been dreaming, dreaming about the time a few months ago when Yan Xun came to his company to discuss divorce.
“I’m fine. I just woke up from a deep sleep.”
Chu Tingyun eased back and quickly returned to normal. Having just woken from a big dream, he felt a bit lethargic and didn’t get up, lying lazily.
He grasped Yan Xun’s wrist and leisurely rubbed the soft skin on the inside of his arm, asking,
“Didn’t you go to learn how to drive?”
Yan Xun said, “I called you, but you didn’t answer, so I came back to check.”
“Hmm…”
Chu Tingyun was pleased with this answer and smiled with squinted eyes. Yan Xun confirmed that he wasn’t ill, hesitated for a moment, and suddenly said,
“Chu Tingyun, I want to ask you a question.”
“Hmm?”
He waited for Yan Xun to continue.
“If I did something bad one day and hurt you, would you divorce me?”
“……”
Chu Tingyun’s previously relaxed expression suddenly became serious.
“Why the sudden question?”
At this moment, Yan Xun seemed very eager to get an answer to this question.
“Just answer me first.”
“No.”
Chu Tingyun answered quickly.
Because this question had already been practically answered.
Three years ago, when Yan Xun and Jiang Jingshu ran off to Sochi, it was like a deep stab in his heart. But in the end, Chu Tingyun’s choice was to lock Yan Xun up for more than two months, even forcing him into a five-day hunger strike.
Later, when they returned to the country, he took advantage of the situation and made Yan Xun marry him.
That was the answer.
But Chu Tingyun couldn’t tell him this.
At this moment, he was scrutinizing Yan Xun, trying to understand why he would ask such a question.
At the moment he received this answer, Chu Tingyun clearly felt Yan Xun’s previously tense body relax suddenly.
“Why are you asking this?”
Chu Tingyun tentatively joked, “Are you cheating?”
“Stop making jokes about this! How could I possibly…”
Yan Xun suddenly hugged him tightly.
This made Chu Tingyun slightly short of breath, but only for a few seconds. Yan Xun then relaxed his grip, straightened up, and gently rubbed Chu Tingyun’s waist.
“I just met a friend from middle school today and talked about these things. I suddenly wanted to come back and ask you.”
Friend?
Chu Tingyun raised an eyebrow: “What exactly did you talk about?”
“……”
Yan Xun guessed that he might have shamelessly used Chu Tingyun, but he couldn’t remember the specifics. So, Yan Xun didn’t want to tell him now but also didn’t want to lie.
“Can I not say for now? Because I forgot something very important. I’ll tell you once I remember or figure it out.”
After a pause, Yan Xun added, “It won’t take long.”
“Alright.”
Chu Tingyun reluctantly agreed.
After all, he could investigate it himself.
Now that their relationship with Yan Xun had become so good, Chu Tingyun didn’t want to argue with him again.
He reached out to caress Yan Xun’s face, carefully observing him, as if trying to see into this person’s heart.
After losing his memory, Yan Xun, despite being somewhat more naive, was essentially still the same person as before. But his attitude towards Chu Tingyun had completely changed.
The old Yan Xun hated him, wishing to escape as far as possible, but now Yan Xun liked him, willing to hug and kiss him.
So many times, Chu Tingyun wondered—
If it were someone else.
If he used the same method to tell the amnesiac Yan Xun that they were married partners, once deeply in love, with various details as evidence, would Yan Xun also come to like him?
Even though he had already obtained what he had once dreamed of, human greed seemed endless.
This thought lingered in Chu Tingyun’s mind for a long time, so at this moment, he finally couldn’t help but ask,
“Someone else?”
Yan Xun frowned, not understanding why Chu Tingyun was asking this, but he thought for a moment and said,
“Objects and words can be fabricated, but feelings cannot.”
If he hadn’t already liked Chu Tingyun, Yan Xun felt he wouldn’t have so quickly accepted the reality of this marriage, knowing that the other person was hiding something.
“……Is that so?”
Chu Tingyun seemed to have understood, or perhaps not. But he didn’t plan to question Yan Xun further. He was afraid of getting an answer that didn’t match his inner expectations.
“Alright, get up quickly.”
Yan Xun ruffled Chu Tingyun’s soft, messy hair,
“Mr. Chu, it’s already your work time now.”
“……”
Chu Tingyun was startled, turned his head to look at the alarm clock on the bedside, and saw that it was already past nine.
“Not in a hurry.”
Mr. Chu wasn’t anxious at all; instead, he pulled Yan Xun’s arm over as a pillow, speaking as if he were a child who didn’t want to go to school.
“It’s not that busy now; I can skip the morning.”
Previously, Jiang Shenghai had transferred all of Hongyuan Corporation’s projects to Vice President Liu, which had eased the pressure on Chu Tingyun from the board of directors.
Now, he focused more on the Star Pattern’s listing and didn’t have to work from morning till night and stay late anymore like before.
Yan Xun thought for a moment and didn’t push him, nodding instead,
“It’s good to rest. But you should get up to eat something; I bought you a small cake.”
“Okay.”
Mr. Chu was pleased, letting go of Yan Xun’s arm and intending to get up. But at that moment, he seemed to suddenly notice something wrong with his body, and his movement abruptly froze.
This sudden stiffness was so noticeable that Yan Xun couldn’t pretend he didn’t see it. He thought Chu Tingyun might be feeling unwell.
“What’s wrong?”
“……You go out first, I need to take a shower.”
“Mm?”
Yan Xun found it strange. Chu Tingyun usually showered before bed; why was it different this morning?
“Just go, I won’t peek.”
The statement seemed to be urging him. Chu Tingyun pressed his lips together, turned his head, and after a while, continued:
“…… Anyway, just go out first. I need to change clothes.”
“?”
Previously, Chu Tingyun would practically change clothes in Yan Xun’s face, afraid he wouldn’t look.
Why was he behaving differently today?
Yan Xun eyed him suspiciously for a few seconds, his gaze landing on the blanket that Chu Tingyun was tightly clutching.
“Chu Tingyun, you didn’t…”
Chu Tingyun tried to stay calm: “Didn’t what?”
Yan Xun hinted at the blanket Chu Tingyun was holding tightly and teased,
“You didn’t wet the bed, did you?”
Yan Xun recalled a time in middle school when Zhou Ze stayed over at his house and insisted on sneaking beer. Yan Xun didn’t drink much, but Zhou Ze downed three big bottles and ended up wetting the bed that night.
The next morning, Zhou Ze was embarrassingly reluctant to get up and kept the blanket tightly wrapped around himself. He pretended to be calm and told Yan Xun to go out, saying he needed to change clothes.
Yan Xun didn’t say much, just lifted the blanket, thus learning his friend’s greatest lifetime embarrassment.
“What… what wet the bed!”
This guess clearly hit Chu Tingyun’s sore spot. He was extremely embarrassed and immediately rebutted with gritted teeth.
“How could I possibly wet the bed?!”
“Not at all?”
Yan Xun didn’t argue with him and just asked,
“Chu Tingyun, dare you lift the blanket and show me?”
“……”
Chu Tingyun froze instantly.
Seeing his expression, Yan Xun became even more certain of his guess and stopped pressuring him, instead showing understanding for “President Chu.”
“It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone.”
He patted Chu Tingyun’s shoulder, offering a comforting note.
“I’ll go out first. You clean up yourself.”
Chu Tingyun: “……”
Just as Yan Xun was about to get up, he was pulled by Chu Tingyun’s wrist. His hand was then dragged into the blanket. Yan Xun touched it and felt a familiar texture, slightly damp and sticky.
“……”
The entire room fell into a dead silence.
Yan Xun remained silent for a long time. The mischievous smile on his face gradually faded, and his clean ears quickly turned red.
“How is it? Have you confirmed it?”
After the dam had burst, Chu Tingyun became rather frank.
“Is it wetting the bed?”
Yan Xun: “……”
He stopped looking at him, tried to withdraw his hand but was firmly held, so finally, Yan Xun said, “Chu Tingyun… you actually had such a dream this morning.”
The man didn’t answer but smiled: “What, haven’t you had it?”
Such dreamy fantasies almost happen to everyone; it’s a normal physiological phenomenon.
Of course, Yan Xun had them too, but he couldn’t remember from puberty, and as for later…
Realizing what he was thinking, Yan Xun immediately stopped his thoughts, turned his head, and skipped the topic, “Alright, you didn’t wet the bed. I’ll go out first.”
“Where are you running off to?”
Chu Tingyun held onto him and even threw back accusations,
“Yan Xun, this is your fault.”
“……”
The young man looked up, a question mark appearing above his head.
Chu Tingyun slightly lifted his chin, “Before, you said something about once every three days for health; your stamina isn’t very good.”
Yan Xun: “……”
He was silent for a while, then simply said, “Chu Tingyun, using the same trick too many times loses its effect. And your provocation is too obvious.”
“……Is that so?”
Chu Tingyun was momentarily stunned, thinking that Yan Xun would be angry.
However, the next second, Yan Xun’s hand suddenly broke free from his hold, and along with it, the slightly damp fabric was removed. Chu Tingyun let out a muffled groan, his body instinctively curling up like a shrimp and then involuntarily arching his back. He gripped Yan Xun’s forearm tightly, clearly feeling the tightening muscles. His other hand clutched Yan Xun’s shirt at his chest, holding it so tightly that his knuckles turned white and the fabric wrinkled.
The entire space quieted down, only the faint sound of the duvet fabric rubbing. The man’s breathing was rapid, occasionally emitting short, indistinct sounds. He felt like a doll or one of Yan Xun’s favorite cats, caught and then turned over to have its belly rubbed casually.
After a while, Chu Tingyun let out a muffled groan, his body suddenly tensing like a tightly pulled bowstring, then went limp and collapsed onto the bed. Yan Xun withdrew his hand and wiped it on Chu Tingyun’s face. The latter let out a soft hum, seemingly expecting this and not getting angry.
Because this little husband, whether before or after amnesia, had always had the habit of dirtying Chu Tingyun’s face.
But the next second, Chu Tingyun became angry, as Yan Xun looked at him thoughtfully and said.
“From now on, drink less coffee in the morning. I’ll make you some wolfberry tea.”
“……”
Chu Tingyun realized that Yan Xun was mocking him for the short duration, in retaliation for Chu Tingyun saying his stamina was lacking.
Holding a grudge.
Being petty.
“I don’t want wolfberry tea! I want coffee!”
Chu Tingyun said angrily and kicked Yan Xun, but the next second, his ankle was grabbed by Yan Xun.
“Alright, coffee.”
Yan Xun said while effortlessly dragging him out of the blanket and picking him up.
“First, let’s get you cleaned up.”
“……”
This time, it wasn’t from behind. Chu Tingyun certainly wouldn’t be weak in the legs; instead, he had plenty of energy. He was happy to enjoy it, considering it free labor.
Half an hour later…
Mr. Chu sat on the single sofa on the balcony, blowing on the heat in his cup, and took a big gulp of wolfberry tea with frustration.
