…The nickname is Yanyan?
Ye Lekui was suddenly stunned.
In most people’s eyes, losing a child is an unspeakable scar on every parent’s heart. Even though the Ye couple had never explicitly said that the topic should be avoided, relatives were very considerate and avoided bringing it up.
So, growing up, Ye Lekui knew more about her cousin from her parents’ words. She knew her cousin’s name was Ye Chengyi but didn’t know that he also had the nickname “Yanyan.”
[My name is Yan Xun.]
[Yan as in the banquet.]
The cold voice of the young man echoed in her mind, and Ye Lekui felt as though her brain suddenly buzzed.
She clenched her chopsticks tightly, her heart pounding.
“Auntie, which ‘Yan’ is it?”
“The ‘Yan’ from ‘Spring Banquet.’”
Xie Fengjun answered her softly.
Actually, there are many characters pronounced as “Yan.”
But even though it was just their son’s nickname, the couple chose it after much deliberation. They finally picked a character from a poem that they both liked.
When she mentioned this, Xie Fengjun seemed to recall a pleasant memory, and a trace of a very faint smile appeared in her moist eyes.
“This ‘Yan’ character implies gathering, and when split up, it forms 家 (family), 日 (sun), 安 (peace), which has a good meaning. That’s why we chose it.”
Ye Lekui didn’t really listen to the part about the meanings. Her mind was occupied with the incredible coincidence.
The lost cousin’s nickname was “Yanyan.”
And today, she had met a young man who resembled her uncle and aunt, and his surname was also Yan.
—The two are exactly the same character!
Was it just a simple coincidence?
No.
It felt like a voice inside her was shouting. A coincidence is a coincidence, but a series of coincidences definitely isn’t!
Just without 70-80% certainty, Ye Lekui didn’t dare to say anything yet. She had only met Yan Xun today and had felt disappointed because of the mismatch in age. If her uncle and aunt truly thought they had found their son, only to find out through a DNA test that they had found the wrong person, it would surely be a hundred times more painful for them than it was for her.
“Auntie, if Chengyi also has dimples, does he look very much like you?”
“Somewhat, but not very much. How should I put it? Chengyi’s brows and eyes are very much like his father’s, looking cold when he doesn’t smile. His mouth and face shape are like mine, but he was much cuter than his father when he was young.”
As she spoke, she seemed to recall something amusing and couldn’t help but open up.
“On Chengyi’s first day at kindergarten, he was quite different from the other kids, not crying or making a fuss at all. He thought going to kindergarten was like his dad going to work every day, his little career.”
“So every day, he liked to act like your uncle with a stern face, like a little cool guy, which somehow attracted quite a few little girls to like him.”
Xie Fengjun couldn’t help but laugh as she recounted these things.
“One day, he came home from school and told me that two little girls wanted to be his girlfriend, but he didn’t agree to either. So I asked him why our Yanyan didn’t agree.”
Ye Lekui was curious: “Why?”
Xie Fengjun mimicked her son’s expression at the time, furrowing her brows and using a very serious tone:
“Because I think they are not pretty. I can’t lose to Dad. I have to find a very beautiful wife in the future.”
Ye Lekui laughed heartily.
Ye Professor couldn’t help but laugh as well.
Xie Fengjun continued talking about her son’s childhood antics without stopping. She remembered every single word and expression her son used back then with remarkable detail.
It felt as if these events hadn’t happened nearly twenty years ago, but rather just yesterday.
“When Chengyi was four years old, he accidentally got caught in the rain and developed a high fever that turned into pneumonia. It was very severe. He was hospitalized for more than half a month with no improvement.”
At this point, the smile on Xie Fengjun’s face suddenly vanished, replaced by worry.
“Your uncle was originally a very staunch materialist, but at that time, he met a fortune-teller outside the hospital who insisted that Chengyi had evil energy in his body and that only inviting Guanyin to drive away the evil could cure him… Obviously, this was a scam, right?”
She shook her head helplessly.
“Yet your uncle actually believed it, spent a large amount of money to get a very expensive piece of jade from Xinjiang, and then went to a temple reputed to be very effective to have it consecrated. Finally, they made a small Guanyin statue, saying it could ward off disasters and evil.”
“It might have worked a bit, but more likely, it was the hospital’s medicine that kicked in. Anyway, after putting on that small jade Guanyin, Chengyi improved within a week. He has worn it ever since.”
Ye Lekui was truly shocked.
An academician of the National Engineering Institute seeking the Buddha’s help for his son to drive away evil—it was simply incongruous!!
She couldn’t help but glance back at her uncle, who had clenched his fist with one hand, awkwardly holding it against his lips and clearing his throat, but he didn’t deny it.
Xie Fengjun spoke a lot, not as if she was telling Ye Lekui specifically, but more like she was releasing the thoughts and love in her heart.
She even pulled out photos from her phone for the girl to see.
The moment Ye Lekui saw the photos, her breath stopped.
If the reference was her uncle and aunt, Ye Lekui felt that the person named Yan Xun she met today only bore some resemblance. But if the reference was the five-year-old photo of her cousin Ye Chengyi…
—The resemblance was striking!
The features almost matched perfectly, about sixty to seventy percent.
The remaining thirty to forty percent difference was only due to the age gap.
It was a pity that her cousin didn’t have any distinctive birthmarks, but even so, at this moment Ye Lekui could clearly feel her heart racing.
Her intuition told her she might have found the right person!
But the other two didn’t notice her abnormality. As the conversation continued, Xie Fengjun fell silent. Ye Professor took her hand and ended the topic.
“Alright, let’s eat.”
“… Mm.”
After dinner, Xie Fengjun said she was tired, and Ye Lekui, understanding, didn’t bother her further and obediently went back to her room.
However, she tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep.
After hearing so many stories about her cousin Ye Chengyi and seeing the photos tonight, Ye Lekui’s intuition told her that Yan Xun was Ye Chengyi.
“But the age…”
Hiss! Wait a minute!
What if… it’s the Chinese age?
Perhaps it was a case of being blinded by one’s own thoughts, or maybe Ye Lekui had been too hasty and the other person’s attitude too indifferent, so she hadn’t dared to ask more about the age.
Thinking back now, it’s possible that the kidnapped child’s age could have been altered.
Ah!
She should have been more shameless back then, insisted on getting a phone number or adding a WeChat contact. At least she should have asked him what the second character of his name was!
Ye Lekui tossed and turned in bed, feeling increasingly frustrated, and even knocked her head against the wall several times.
“I’m really stupid, so dumb…”
Unable to sleep, the couple in the other room also lay awake.
As the father who had lost the child, Ye Cunshan began to blame himself again.
“I’m sorry, Fengjun, it’s my fault. I didn’t protect him well, and I lost him.”
“…”
Xie Fengjun sighed silently.
After the incident, she had resented her husband, even hated him. But looking back…
“If I had taken Chengyi that day and encountered someone drowning, in an emergency, my first reaction might have been to save the person too.”
Xie Fengjun closed her eyes, but tears still dampened her lashes.
“It’s also my fault. If I hadn’t been a little lazy that day and had gone to the beach with you…”
Such conversations had been repeated many times.
From the initial stage where Xie Fengjun vented all her anger and self-blame on her husband to the later days when they both felt deep sorrow and spoke little, eventually, they slowly began to understand each other and reviewed what happened that evening over and over again.
But the final conclusion was always unresolved.
Because the child was already lost.
Xie Fengjun was thirty-three years old when she was pregnant. Although she wasn’t considered a high-risk pregnancy medically, it was still dangerous. Even with her husband’s constant attentive care, the process of giving birth was extremely difficult and challenging.
—She gave birth to the child with her own life.
And at that time, in order to care for his wife and newborn child, Ye Cunshan had to give up an important project, which caused his career to stagnate for two or three years.
But neither of them regretted it because the child was worth it.
Yanyan had a naturally good temperament—kind, sensible, and clever. Even without the mother’s filter, Xie Fengjun could confidently say that anyone who interacted with Yanyan would like this child.
As parents, they loved him even more.
Despite their busy work, they always found ways to make nutritious and delicious meals for the child, bought him beautiful and comfortable clothes, various toys and books, taught him to read, do arithmetic, and recite poetry, and tried to use vacations to take him around the country.
But this happiness lasted only a short five years.
Their beloved son, Yanyan, who was their precious child, was taken away by those despicable human traffickers.
Perhaps they even used some terrible methods. Were there people who scolded him, beat him, or starved him? How scared would Yanyan be, unable to find his mom and dad? How would he cry?
If what the traffickers said was true, her child might have died on the road many years ago.
If that were the case, Yanyan would have passed away alone in fear, sadness, and illness without waiting for his parents…
Whenever she thought about this, Xie Fengjun felt almost suffocated.
When she first heard the news, she even thought of ending her own life.
Fortunately, the police said there were too many kidnapped children, and two years had passed. They hadn’t found a body to confirm with DNA, so there might still be hope.
Because of this, the couple had held on to that tiny bit of hope until now.
“Let’s not talk about it…”
Ye Cunshan hugged his wife and whispered comfortingly,
“We will find him.”
Such comfort was ineffective, and that night all three of them almost couldn’t sleep.
The next morning, at five o’clock, Ye Lekui got up and went out with two clearly visible dark circles under her eyes.
She ended up waiting for over two hours at the driving school’s entrance before Coach Liu arrived. However, Coach Liu cheerfully told her:
“Miss Ye, you’re very lucky today. You can practice driving alone.”
“Alone, by myself???”
That’s no luck at all!
Ye Lekui instantly felt a pang of missed opportunity.
“Yes.”
Coach Liu had a look as if she had hit the jackpot.
“Mr. Yan just told me that he has something to do these days and won’t be coming. So today, you’re basically having a private lesson~”
“…”
Ye Lekui was silent for a long time, nearly out of breath.
She held it in for a while and said:
“Then, coach, can you give me his phone number? I need to reach him for something urgent.”
“This…”
Coach Liu seemed a bit troubled,
“Our rule here is not to disclose students’ personal information. Why don’t you wait and ask him yourself in a few days?”
“… Then could you please make a call to him now? I need to speak with him.”
Coach Liu thought for a moment and decided it was doable.
“Alright.”
Ye Lekui immediately moved closer, watching Coach Liu take out his phone, scroll through the contacts, and dial “Mr. Yan Xun.”
— So this is the “Xun.”
Ye Lekui made a mental note.
She was impatient and eagerly waited.
“Beep…”
“Hello, the user you are trying to reach is turned off.”
Smash!
At that moment, Ye Lekui heard the sound of her own heart breaking.
Coach Liu was puzzled: “Hmm, strange; he just sent me a message over an hour ago.”
Ye Lekui was not willing to give up and had him call a few more times, but it was still turned off.
“Sorry, Miss Ye.”
Coach Liu could only shake his head.
“Shall we start practicing driving?”
“No more practice…”
Ye Lekui had no mind for driving at all and was completely dispirited. But with no other way to contact Yan Xun, she could only ask Coach Liu:
“Could you send him a message, saying I have something urgent, and ask him to call me back when he sees it?”
“Alright.”
…
Meanwhile…
Yan Xun, whose phone was turned off, was sitting in the innermost private room of a café. Sitting opposite him was the person he had just caught following him that morning.
The person was a man, small in stature, wearing a hat and mask, and carrying a large camera, looking like a paparazzi from a TV show.
Yan Xun frowned: “Who are you, and why are you following me?”
The man seemed very surprised, not because Yan Xun had caught him, but because…
“You… really don’t remember me?”
“…”
So it’s someone he knows.
Yan Xun wanted to ask who this person was and why he was following him, but the man insisted that Yan Xun turn off his phone before he could speak.
“Okay.”
Yan Xun turned off his phone.
After confirming that the phone was off, the man hesitated for a long time before speaking:
“Yan Xun, do you really not remember anything?”
Realizing he couldn’t hide his amnesia any longer, Yan Xun didn’t try to conceal it either and directly asked:
“Who are you, and how do you know I have amnesia?”
“I…”
The man hesitated, tilted his head, and then said:
“Do you remember that on the day your father passed away, a group of troublemakers bullied someone in that house under renovation?”
Yan Xun was taken aback.
At that time, Yan Xun had seen the troublemakers from upstairs and only saw their backs. However, the boy who was bullied appeared to be seriously injured, limping as he walked.
[Some misled kids.]
[Bullying someone.]
Recalling this, Yan Xun quickly remembered. After a moment’s thought, he asked:
“Are you the boy who was bullied that day?”
The other person answered with a soft “mm”.
“My name is Li Rong. I’m very grateful to your father for that day. If it hadn’t been for him, I might…”
He didn’t continue.
Yan Xun also fell silent for a while, clearly feeling that the events of that day were painful memories for him as well.
After a moment, he pulled himself out of the memory and repeated his question:
“When did you come into contact with me? And how did you know I have amnesia?”
“…”
Li Rong seemed like a very timid and introverted person. He had been keeping his head down and hardly looked at Yan Xun’s face. He seemed to be thinking about what to say and how much to tell the amnesiac Yan Xun.
After a while, he seemed to have figured out how to start.
“Actually, after that day, I’ve been keeping an eye on your family. I know you got into Capital University, and coincidentally, I also work in the capital… But I never disturbed you. I only heard later that you were dating a girlfriend named Jiang Jingshu…”
Yan Xun didn’t rush him and listened patiently.
Li Rong continued: “I don’t know if you’re aware, but your ex-girlfriend’s maternal family surname is Chen, and those who bullied me… also have the surname Chen.”
Hearing this, Yan Xun frowned slightly. He probably understood the meaning of what Li Rong was saying.
“So you’re saying that Senior Jiang Jingshu’s cousins bullied you?”
More accurately, it should be called bullying.
But Li Rong didn’t elaborate. He only said:
“Fortunately, you didn’t marry her.”
“What do you mean?”
Yan Xun sensed that Li Rong was internally struggling and seemed to want to tell him something but was hesitant about whether to continue concealing it.
“Since you chose to tell me the truth before, there’s no need to hide it now. My amnesia is only temporary; the doctor said I might recover in two or three months.”
Yan Xun was not lying; he just exaggerated the probability of recovery.
This statement seemed to tip the balance in Li Rong’s mind.
His speech quickened, and he finally got to the point:
“Because that day, to save me, your uncle had a confrontation with them and taught them a lesson. Although he didn’t beat them up too badly, Chen Tengxiao felt humiliated and was very angry. After leaving, he said many vicious words of revenge.”
“I was very scared at the time, afraid they would retaliate more harshly, but unexpectedly, they didn’t take it out on me and even let me go rather kindly.”
“… The next day, I heard that your uncle and you had an accident that night.”
Yan Xun was stunned for a while, gradually extracting a key piece of information from this statement:
“So you’re implying that the motorcycle accident that night wasn’t due to the rain, but someone tampered with it?”
“At that time, I only suspected.”
Li Rong shook his head.
“Later, I couldn’t stand them anymore, so I begged my parents to move. I left Nancheng, and after more than ten years, I graduated from university, became a minor entertainment reporter, and also worked part-time as a paparazzi, taking some gossip and scandal photos.”
At this point, he lowered his head somewhat embarrassedly.
“That day, I was trying to photograph a celebrity going to a bar. Unexpectedly, I saw those people again. I was terrified and instinctively wanted to run away, but Chen Tengxiao, who was drunk, mentioned the events from that year.”
At the same time, he pulled out his phone to play a recording for Yan Xun.
The beginning of the recording was filled with noisy music, faint sounds of women’s coquettish laughter, and several men drinking.
After about ten more seconds, Yan Xun finally heard a drunken male voice:
“Damn it, daring to make me lose face, damn!”
“Don’t piss me off, Chen Tengxiao. I have plenty of ways to make him suffer, just like that old bastard who hit the cabinet back then! His head was smashed to pieces.”
“…”
In that instant, Yan Xun’s mind went blank, and he experienced a sharp ringing in his ears.
He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar and then been thrown into a fiery pit, with all his blood fueling his anger.
Even though he now knew that his adoptive parents’ motives might not have been pure, the feelings built over more than a decade were real.
Not to mention, Yan Xun had personally experienced that terrible accident. He was merely fortunate to have survived.
If it hadn’t been for the kind-hearted people passing by that day, he would have become a corpse in the water ten years ago.
“You’re saying that person…”
Yan Xun was briefly speechless, then said hoarsely:
“…tampered with my father’s motorcycle?”
“Not sure, maybe.”
Li Rong shook his head.
“But it’s been too many years since then. The motorcycle is long gone, and even if it were found, even if he confessed in person at the police station, he was only sixteen at that time.”
Sixteen, a minor.
Even if he had directly committed murder, it wouldn’t be a death penalty.
And this recording was an illegal recording, and Chen Tengxiao was speaking drunkenly, so it couldn’t be used as evidence.
Yan Xun understood the implications of what was left unsaid.
“When did I find out about this?”
“Last year.”
Which was about two years after Yan Xun married Chu Tingyun.
At this point, Li Rong sighed.
“Over two months ago, I heard that you had an accident and was particularly scared because I thought it might not be an accident. But fortunately, you’re okay. It’s just that your family protected you too well, and I couldn’t get close to you at all.”
“Later, after you were discharged from the hospital but didn’t contact me, I found it strange. I managed to get your medical records, which said you had amnesia. So, I’ve been hesitating whether to tell you.”
Such matters are a heavy burden on anyone. Yan Xun might have nearly lost his life because of it, and forgetting it might be for the best.
That’s why Li Rong had been hesitating.
Yan Xun remained silent for a while but quickly grasped the key point:
“Why do you think the accident wasn’t an accident? Did I do something that made someone feel threatened?”
“Since the law can’t punish him, we have to find other ways.”
Li Rong took a slight breath and said quietly:
“The Chen family’s business has many unsavory aspects, so you want to cut off their source of power. But with just the two of us, it’s too difficult.”
“…”
A flash of realization crossed Yan Xun’s mind.
“So the crisis facing the Chen family this time is related to me?”
Recently, during a wedding, Yan Xun overheard a conversation from people nearby. They said that on the surface, it seemed like a marriage between the Jiang and He families, but in reality, Jiang Jingzhu represented her maternal family more.
The Chen family had recently been reported for a lot of shady dealings, with large amounts of funds frozen and urgently needing someone to help them out.
If Yan Xun were involved in this, where would he obtain evidence that could strike directly at the Chen family’s weak points?
This question wasn’t difficult to answer.
Because Yan Xun scanned his network and quickly found the most likely and fastest way—his spouse, Jiang Shigong’s president.
Chu Tingyun.
—
At this time, Chu Tingyun was still comfortably nestled in bed, sleeping in. He knew Yan Xun had left early for driving lessons. Initially, he tried to force himself to wake up to call a driver to take Yan Xun, but before he could find his phone, the young man grabbed his hand.
“Just keep sleeping. I’ll go by myself. No need for a driver. The driving school is too far; otherwise, it would be rush hour both ways, and you’d have to wait at home.”
After saying this, he kissed the man’s forehead.
“It’s still early. You can sleep a bit more. I’ll call you at eight-thirty to wake you up.”
“Mm…”
With Yan Xun’s words, Chu Tingyun felt reassured and continued to sleep.
However, this time his sleep wasn’t very good or comfortable, and he had a dream.
A bad dream.
He dreamt of more than four months ago when Yan Xun formally proposed divorce for the first time.
It was clear that Yan Xun had long been planning the divorce because when he brought it up, he had prepared the marriage agreement, the draft divorce agreement, and the two bank cards returned to Chu Tingyun.
“Take a look and let’s discuss any issues.”
Chu Tingyun didn’t say a word and immediately tore the divorce agreement into shreds.
“I don’t agree.”
“I understand how you feel right now. It’s okay. You can calm down and accept it slowly. After all, this divorce agreement is just a draft. I can print many copies.”
Yan Xun didn’t get angry but appeared very calm.
But the calmer Yan Xun was, the angrier Chu Tingyun became.
“So you’ve been planning to leave me for these three years? This family means nothing to you, right?”
“…”
Yan Xun took a slight breath, seeming tired.
“Chu Tingyun, let me go.”
“Don’t talk to me about these random things!”
Chu Tingyun couldn’t listen at all.
“Yan Xun, saying so much is just to get a divorce, isn’t it? You just want to escape from me, right?”
“… I don’t want to argue with you. You should calm down first.”
Yan Xun stood up to leave, but halfway there, Chu Tingyun grabbed him and pulled him back.
“You’re not going anywhere!”
“…”
Yan Xun stiffened and looked at him with a slight smile.
“Are you going to lock me up again?”
“…”
Chu Tingyun’s expression changed several times. In the end, he said nothing, turned around, and stormed out, going to the company to sleep.
After their marriage, unless he was on a business trip, Chu Tingyun generally didn’t stay in hotels. Even when he went out to drink after arguing with Yan Xun, he always ended up sleeping at the company.
This time was no exception.
But he didn’t expect that Yan Xun would come to him again.
In fact, that was Yan Xun’s second visit to Chu Tingyun’s company. It was just that it was in the middle of the night, and the front desk was not staffed, so few people knew he had been there.
At that time, Mr. Chu was half-reclining on the sofa, his suit wrinkled, his tie thrown on the floor, and a cigarette burning at his fingertips.
He watched the cigarette burn slowly in his hand, but his attention was not on it. He seemed to be pondering a question he could never understand.
At that moment, Chu Tingyun’s peripheral vision suddenly caught a familiar figure.
The person was dressed in a simple shirt and washed-blue jeans, clean and fresh, like the wind brushing through the trees in early spring, resembling how Chu Tingyun first saw Yan Xun.
For a moment, Chu Tingyun even had a sense of time flowing backward.
But time would never flow backward.
Their marriage had reached a point where it could only be barely maintained by Chu Tingyun’s desperate pulling.
“Yan Xun?”
“You… how did you come here?”
The sentence originally seemed unwelcome, but at that moment, Chu Tingyun said it with a hint of surprise.
He immediately extinguished the cigarette, stood up from the sofa, and subconsciously adjusted his clothes.
Yan Xun, however, was not concerned about his attire and simply said:
“Let’s have a good talk, Chu Tingyun.”
“Okay, talk about what?”
“Divorce.”
“…”
That was a conversation that couldn’t be had.
Indeed, Chu Tingyun’s expression changed instantly, becoming very gloomy.
“Why…?”
He hurriedly stepped forward, gripping Yan Xun’s hand tightly, as if pulling this person back and dragging him toward himself.
With reddened eyes, the man struggled to keep himself from getting angry.
“Yes, I was wrong to you before. I locked you up and hurt you. But I have done my best to make amends. I’ve given you all the good I can give!”
“Yan Xun, what more do you want me to do?!”
The young man didn’t struggle; he only said softly:
“There’s no need for you to make amends. You’ve already paid the price.”
“……”
Chu Tingyun was suddenly taken aback.
At that moment, his face looked as if he had been slapped.
“You owed a debt back then, and you were going to file a lawsuit. I just wanted to help you. I wanted to make up for it, and I wanted to marry you. It was you who insisted on signing an agreement…”
Yan Xun asked him, “If I hadn’t signed, would you have helped me?”
“Chu Tingyun, your exact words were ‘Yan Xun, as long as you marry me, I will take care of everything, including all expenses for your family abroad.’”
Yan Xun stared into his eyes and continued, “Chu Tingyun, dare you say that when you said those words, you weren’t treating it as a transaction?”
“Your chips were your money, your power. And my chips were my freedom, my marriage, my self-esteem, weren’t they?”
“Don’t deceive yourself, Chu Tingyun. Don’t forget, our marriage was originally a transaction with a clear price.”
“……”
Chu Tingyun was speechless.
Because the truth was indeed like this.
Chu Tingyun had taken advantage of Yan Xun’s misfortune to seize the opportunity and had done so deliberately. Even after succeeding, he had secretly rejoiced for a long time.
Otherwise, how could Yan Xun have agreed to marry him?
Perhaps having succeeded initially through money, Chu Tingyun wanted to make Yan Xun owe him more, so that the other party would become more dependent on him.
He gave Yan Xun money, luxury homes, and cars.
At the time, Gu Shanqing felt uneasy about it, but Chu Tingyun never thought that what he was doing could be considered as keeping a mistress.
After all, which wealthy patron isn’t able to summon or dismiss a kept lover at will? And he followed Yan Xun around every day, hoping for a smile from him.
This wasn’t keeping a mistress at all.
It was just that he hadn’t managed to pursue Yan Xun successfully and had to use some means to make the other party submit.
Even if they were genuinely dating and getting married, spending money on the person you like wasn’t that unusual, was it?
After all, Chu Tingyun truly felt that tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands were nothing to him. He felt it was only right to spend money on Yan Xun.
When his father didn’t divorce his mother, he used to transfer hundreds of millions every month.
Those around him who were pursuing someone or were married all gave their wives millions or even tens of millions.
Gifts included luxury homes, cars, jewelry, and even companies.
Chu Tingyun didn’t see anything wrong with what he did. Compared to that, he hadn’t spent much. It was just that Yan Xun didn’t like him, which was why he resisted and refused to spend his money.
Chu Tingyun was determined to make him like himself and to make Yan Xun enjoy his kindness.
“I still don’t agree to divorce.”
Chu Tingyun tried to hug him and kiss him, as if advancing their physical relationship could bring their hearts a little closer.
“Why won’t you agree?”
Yan Xun turned his head away, avoiding his kiss.
“Is it interesting to keep torturing each other like this?”
“Interesting!”
Chu Tingyun bit his neck in frustration, leaving a deep bite mark.
“I find it extremely interesting!”
Although Yan Xun had always been cold, Chu Tingyun still felt happiness after their marriage.
The house he bought could finally be called a home.
Yan Xun would remember to leave him food, make him hangover soup, and let him hold him while sleeping. He would remember everything Yan Xun liked and disliked, and all his allergens…
The other person was originally a very good person, kind-hearted. Even though forced into marriage, Yan Xun was still very good to him.
It’s just that he didn’t accept his kindness.
But these small bits of happiness were enough for Chu Tingyun to endure his coldness.
The colder Yan Xun was, the more precious those little bits of happiness seemed, making him more entangled.
This pathological way of interacting was like a thorny vine, densely packed. Pulling it out with hands would get you bloodied by thorns, but the longer it drags on, the harder it is to sever.
“Why insist on divorce?”
Chu Tingyun had lost count of how many times he had asked this question but never received the answer he wanted.
“I’ve said it before; our marriage was originally a transaction.”
Yan Xun could only tell him once more,
“Chu Tingyun, I am now just notifying you that I am going to breach the contract.”
“……”
Breach the contract.
At this moment, Chu Tingyun suddenly understood.
What he had forcibly obtained, he had thought were once warm gestures, were just Yan Xun’s compromises under reality and embarrassment.
Chu Tingyun had originally thought that as long as he made up for it properly, and with more time and effort, Yan Xun would truly fall in love with him.
It was only now that he realized how naive that thought was.
Yan Xun seemed to have never loved him. The little bit of kindness he gave might just be because Yan Xun was inherently kind.
Even if Chu Tingyun had hurt him, Yan Xun couldn’t do something like stripping him and locking him away, severing all contact with the outside world.
The only forms of resistance Yan Xun could think of were silence and cold treatment. But this way of dealing with him was more painful than hitting or scolding.
He might never love me in this lifetime.
This realization felt like someone had tightly gripped his heart and then crushed it into a bloody mess.
But he couldn’t break free.
Originally, Chu Tingyun might have just liked Yan Xun, neither more nor less, to the extent that after an argument, Chu Tingyun could ignore him for two or three months, waiting for Yan Xun to come back and admit his mistake.
Later, after learning that Yan Xun eloped with Jiang Jingshu, this liking turned into hatred from betrayal.
Chu Tingyun felt hatred, along with the pain and resentment of being abandoned.
These intense emotions stained the initial liking with dirty colors, growing deeper and thicker.
Then, these complex emotions were spun into threads, twisted into ropes, and finally woven into a net.
This net trapped Yan Xun and Chu Tingyun, binding them tightly together.
It was just that the former wanted to break free, while the latter was willing to sink.
After a long time, until today, Yan Xun, who was covered in wounds, finally tore a hole and eagerly wanted to escape.
He couldn’t stand this distorted marriage and forced love.
But Chu Tingyun couldn’t tear it open and was unwilling to do so. He was trapped inside by himself and couldn’t escape. So he could only hold on tightly to Yan Xun, not letting him go, and selfishly clinging to him for warmth.
“I don’t agree. I won’t divorce…”
Had he known this would happen, Chu Tingyun shouldn’t have signed a marriage agreement with Yan Xun. But without signing, perhaps the marriage wouldn’t have been possible.
But now he had no time to think about that. All he could think about was how to make Yan Xun give up the idea of divorce.
“Xun Xun, tell me what you want. I can give you everything except divorce.”
“Chu Tingyun, stop messing around…”
In the scuffle, Yan Xun was pressed down onto the sofa.
Chu Tingyun knew every part of this person. During those three months in the snow-capped villa, he had almost studied Yan Xun’s body thoroughly. He knew what the other person couldn’t tolerate.
“Hmm…”
Yan Xun suddenly trembled, as if shocked by electricity. He took several shaky breaths, reaching down to grab Chu Tingyun’s hair tightly, almost gritting his teeth as he said,
“Chu Tingyun, how shameless can you be? You can’t think about this every time we argue…”
Yan Xun didn’t finish his sentence. He suddenly turned his head away, burying half his face into the sofa. The expression on the other half of his face was unclear, whether it was pain or pleasure, but his eyelashes trembled noticeably and gradually became wet, showing a somewhat sultry vulnerability.
—But this kind of thing is quite useful, isn’t it?
Chu Tingyun wanted to say this, but at this moment, he was too busy to speak.
Previously, when he and Yan Xun had arguments and things never went well, he consulted a partner who had a lot of experience in relationships.
The partner, with extensive experience and a master at romance, had dealt with both men and women and was someone who could win over anyone.
After hearing Chu Tingyun’s troubles, the partner immediately gave him some advice.
“It’s simple!”
“Sometimes, an argument isn’t about who’s right or wrong. What people want is an attitude. If money doesn’t work, try saying some soft words. If money and attitude don’t solve the problem, just go in for a passionate encounter. That should do the trick.”
“Oh, I see…”
Chu Tingyun found this advice very enlightening.
After practicing it a few times, he discovered that this method was quite effective.
Because after doing it, Yan Xun wouldn’t have time to argue. Even if things were awkward afterward, they’d eventually pass.
Married life involves some bickering and fighting, which was normal.
Before Yan Xun mentioned divorce, Chu Tingyun had always thought this way. Over time, he had even gotten used to it.
Just like someone who is constantly injured eventually gets used to the pain and doesn’t feel it as much.
“Cough, cough…”
After a long time, Chu Tingyun suppressed a cough. He wiped the marks on his face with the back of his hand, then straddled Yan Xun and kissed his ear,
“As long as this kind of thing works for you… that’s enough.”
“Really?”
Yan Xun seemed very angry.
Chu Tingyun originally planned to force his way again, but unexpectedly, Yan Xun was very uncharacteristic that night. Perhaps provoked, he took on the role of the aggressor. He overturned the documents on Chu Tingyun’s desk and then carried him off.
Chu Tingyun thought he had finally placated Yan Xun and cooperated especially well.
“So you like it here…”
Yan Xun, annoyed, said, “Shut up.”
Chu Tingyun thought that maybe it was not always good to do it at home and that they should change places. But he quickly couldn’t think about that anymore because his head felt like it was about to be smashed into mush.
After two or three times, he was exhausted and said he wanted to wash up and sleep.
Yan Xun, seemingly appeased, silently and obediently took care of all the cleanup afterward.
Finally, he even poured Chu Tingyun a glass of water.
At that moment, Chu Tingyun only wanted to sleep: “I’m not drinking. I’m tired.”
Unable to get the water into him, Yan Xun drank it himself and then came to kiss him.
“Hmm…”
Chu Tingyun rarely saw such tenderness from him and obediently opened his mouth.
Soon, he fell asleep.
But after falling deeply asleep, Chu Tingyun didn’t know that the young man lying beside him got up and turned on his work computer.
