48

The moment Jiang Yuanye kissed him, Zhou Chaosheng’s brain short-circuited, as if an electric circuit board had exploded. His mind was filled with one thought:

He kissed me again...

Why did he kiss me again?

“...What are you doing?” Zhou Chaosheng covered his kissed cheek, looking dazed as he asked.

Jiang Yuanye had a isn’t it obvious? expression and said, “Can’t you tell? I’m kissing you.”

Zhou Chaosheng didn’t understand. “Why are you kissing me?”

Jiang Yuanye raised an eyebrow and asked back, “Didn’t you ask me to prove it?”

I asked you to prove it, but not like this!

A gust of wind blew in from outside, rustling the leaves and lifting the sheer curtains by the window. The fabric spread like a fan, undulating in waves into the room.

Zhou Chaosheng looked at the person lying in the hospital bed, bathed in shifting light and shadow. Somehow, his dissatisfaction seemed to fade away with the wind. He thought, Why am I even arguing with a patient?

A knock came at the door.

“Come in.”

As soon as he spoke, the doctor and nurses entered. Zhou Chaosheng instinctively stepped back to the corner, making space for the doctor’s routine check-up.

“How are you feeling now?”

“It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt as much anymore, but I still feel nauseous and bloated, with no appetite. Eating just now was a bit difficult.”

“These are normal post-surgery reactions,” the doctor explained. “But if the symptoms persist or worsen, you need to inform us immediately. Also, you must take good care of your wound to prevent infections and complications, ensuring smooth recovery after surgery…”

After listing several precautions, the doctor suddenly became stern and warned, “You absolutely cannot mess around like you did yesterday. Try to completely avoid alcohol, coffee, and other irritants. No smoking either. You need to develop healthy eating habits otherwise, you’ll risk developing stomach cancer.”

Jiang Yuanye nodded like a pecking chick, repeatedly humming in acknowledgment.

Once the doctor left, Zhou Chaosheng leaned against the wall, lowering his eyes to look at Jiang Yuanye, who was smiling at him innocently.

For some reason, an inexplicable sense of strangeness and shock filled Zhou Chaosheng’s heart because for a brief moment, he actually felt like Jiang Yuanye was acting spoiled toward him.

“I’ll be more careful next time. This won’t happen again.”

“There’s a next time?”

Jiang Yuanye shook his head vigorously like a rattle drum. “No, no, no! There won’t be a next time.”

Zhou Chaosheng let out a light scoff. “There better not be.”

Jiang Yuanye raised three fingers and swore, “If I drink again, I’ll be your dog.”

Hearing this, Zhou Chaosheng suddenly got interested. He reached into his pocket, unlocked his phone, and scrolled to the voice recorder app from memory. Lightly tapping the screen, he said, “I didn’t hear that clearly. Say it again.”

Jiang Yuanye secretly rolled his eyes. He really wanted to snap, Are you serious right now? But since Zhou Chaosheng’s current identity wasn’t his nemesis but his boyfriend, he had no choice but to swallow his frustration and repeat, “...If I touch alcohol again, I’ll be your dog.”

Zhou Chaosheng glanced at the phone screen, watching the numbers on the timer change rapidly. The corners of his lips curled up slightly, this might just be the only satisfying thing that happened to him today.

Jiang Yuanye only realized what had happened when he saw the phone screen. Then, catching sight of Zhou Chaosheng’s smirk, it finally hit him—he had been recorded.

“...Are you a child?”

“This is just in case you go back on your word.”

“Damn it! Delete it right now!” If it weren’t for the lingering stomach pain, Jiang Yuanye would’ve yanked out his IV and jumped up to snatch the phone away.

“I’m not deleting it.” Zhou Chaosheng locked his screen and slid his phone back into his pocket, his smile unreadable. “This is such a precious recording. Since it’s a shared memory between the two of us, I think it’s best to keep it.”

Jiang Yuanye’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected Zhou Chaosheng to be this shameless, twisting black into white with a straight face!

“You—”

“Alright, just rest properly. I’ve hired a caretaker for you. They’ll look after you for the next few days. I have to leave for Europe on a business trip probably for two to three months. If you need anything, send a message. Don’t call me.”

“Why can’t I call you?”

“I’ll be busy, always in meetings.”

Jiang Yuanye raised an eyebrow, suddenly feeling competitive. “You make it sound like I’m not busy too. Even when I’m swamped, I still find time to call you. Why can’t you do the same for me?”

This unreasonable argument again.

What made Zhou Chaosheng even more helpless was that he was already used to it.

“...Fine. I misspoke. You can call me whenever you want.”

“And what about you?”

“What?”

“Will you call me?”

“...I will.”

Hearing the other person give in, Jiang Yuanye knew when to quit while he was ahead. “Alright, go do what you need to. I’ll let Zhang Youqi know about your trip.”

Zhou Chaosheng gave a soft hum, not mentioning that he had already spoken to Zhang Youqi and Xu Qingyun in advance. Before leaving, he glanced at Jiang Yuanye one last time.

His lips were still pale. Even after eating some porridge, there was no sign of color returning to them. His already fair complexion looked completely bloodless.

Zhou Chaosheng originally planned to leave directly but ended up detouring to the water dispenser, pouring a cup of warm water for the other person. When he knocked and entered, Jiang Yuanye was lifting his shirt, looking at the scar from his surgery.

Hearing the movement, Jiang Yuanye raised his head and met his gaze. His expression immediately showed surprise and a hint of panic. After realizing what was happening, he quickly put his shirt down, only looking up again after tidying himself up.

Zhou Chaosheng didn’t understand what Jiang Yuanye was so flustered about. He had already seen every part of him except the most private areas, wasn’t it a bit late to be feeling shy now?

“What are you covering up for?”

“…Nothing, I just wanted to see the scar.”

“Then why cover up?” Zhou Chaosheng didn’t let himself get sidetracked by his words.

Jiang Yuanye had a helpless, resigned look. “Covering the scar. I think it’s ugly.”

If it was ugly, then why hadn’t he covered up before? When Jiang Yuanye helped him bathe, he had exposed plenty of scars without a care. Zhou Chaosheng didn’t understand what made this one any different.

“I don’t mind.”

Jiang Yuanye froze for a second, and his face, which had just been pale like a corpse in a coffin, suddenly flushed red at a visible speed.

Zhou Chaosheng was about to speak again when he heard a quiet mutter: “But I mind. Isn’t that enough?”

Sure, of course, that was enough.

That’s what Zhou Chaosheng thought, but he wasn’t tactless enough to go along with the self-deprecating words. Instead, he said, “It’ll fade. Even if it doesn’t, it won’t affect your figure.”

Jiang Yuanye looked up, puzzled. “What figure?”

“Don’t you have abs and V-lines?”

“I do, but a scar still ruins the overall look, doesn’t it?”

Now Zhou Chaosheng finally understood what Jiang Yuanye was concerned about. The scars he had before were on his back and legs—places that wouldn’t affect much. But a scar on his abs and V-lines, areas meant to be shown off? That would make a difference in photos.

Realizing this, Zhou Chaosheng felt speechless. “Other than me, who else are you trying to attract?”

Jiang Yuanye froze for a moment before quickly shaking his head, waving his IV-free hand. “I’m not trying to attract anyone! Don’t frame me like that I’m a proper, law-abiding citizen.”

“A law-abiding citizen who goes to bars?”

“Hey, why are you still holding onto that?”

“Did I say anything wrong?”

“…You went too.”

“I did. But I never said I was a law-abiding citizen.”

Jiang Yuanye let out a long sigh. He really couldn’t win against Zhou Chaosheng. Not only did he hold grudges, but he also loved bringing up old arguments—going on and on until the other person had no words left.

“Fine, fine, I admit I was wrong.” After admitting defeat, Jiang Yuanye quickly clarified, “But I really wasn’t trying to attract anyone. I just think it looks ugly.”

Zhou Chaosheng recalled the smooth, porcelain-white skin, the distinct abs, and the well-defined V-lines he saw last night. He stated honestly, “It’s not ugly.”

Jiang Yuanye blanked for a few seconds.

Zhou Chaosheng noticed that he had been spacing out more than usual today. He assumed it was a normal post-surgery symptom, causing sluggish reactions or occasional dizziness.

“…You haven’t even seen it.”

“I saw it yesterday when I changed your clothes.”

Jiang Yuanye was shocked. “You changed my clothes?!”

Zhou Chaosheng didn’t understand his exaggerated reaction. “We’re both men. What’s the big deal?”

The underlying message was clear—you’re not a girl, so why are you acting like you’ve been taken advantage of?

Jiang Yuanye was speechless.

And in a place where Zhou Chaosheng couldn’t see, that flush of red crept from his cheeks down to his neck and the edges of his ears.

When Zhou Chaosheng walked over to set down the cup, he happened to notice it. He glanced at Jiang Yuanye, who had lowered his head, puzzled.

Were post-surgery symptoms really this extensive?

Deep in thought, Zhou Chaosheng mentally adjusted his future reading plans. He decided to start studying medical books to fill in his knowledge gaps in this field.

“This water is warm. Drink it soon, but don’t gulp it down all at once it’s bad for your stomach.” Zhou Chaosheng patiently reminded him.

Jiang Yuanye responded softly, “Mm. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Just remember to pay me back.” Zhou Chaosheng wasn’t used to his gratitude, so he used this as an excuse to brush it off.

Jiang Yuanye immediately lifted his head, eyebrows raised high. “You’re charging me for water? Do you have to talk about money all the time? Don’t you know that talking about money hurts relationships?”

Zhou Chaosheng knew, but there were no feelings between them, right?

That’s what he thought to himself, but on the surface, he said indifferently, “I gave you a hundred thousand, paid more than eighty thousand for your surgery and hospitalization, bought you porridge this morning for ten yuan—after rounding it down, the total is 180,000. It’s not too big or too small an amount, but just because of our relationship, you’re not planning to pay it back, right?”

Jiang Yuanye: "…"

“Zhou Chaosheng, I want to break up with you.”

Hearing the words "break up," Zhou Chaosheng slightly raised an eyebrow. “I ask you to pay me back, and you bring up breaking up? What kind of logic is that?”

Jiang Yuanye expressionlessly crossed his arms, turned his face toward the window, and coldly snorted. “No logic, I just want to break up.”

Zhou Chaosheng was speechless.

Looking at the "cold-faced" Jiang Yuanye, he found it somewhat amusing. “Just because I asked you to pay me back?”

Jiang Yuanye said nothing.

This was the first time Zhou Chaosheng had seen his long-time rival throw a tantrum in front of him. While he found it strange, he also felt an inexplicable headache. He silently sighed and compromised, “Forget it, if you don’t want to pay, then don’t.”

Maybe his voice was lower and softer than usual, but when these words came together, they carried an indescribable gentleness.

It was like…

He was coaxing someone.

Jiang Yuanye’s heart suddenly twitched.

He couldn’t describe the feeling. It just felt a little itchy, a little numb, like someone had lightly poked him.

Next