Yan Yu lay back down on the bed, his right hand guided by Gu Huaizhi's to reach the wound below.
Applying his own ointment under Gu Huaizhi's gaze — just imagining what this round of “bedside care” would turn into next made Yan Yu choke down laughter until his face burned; he buried it in the pillow.
[Yan Yu: A man who doesn't keep his word. Nothing but perks for himself.]
[System: (covering its ears)]
Gu Huaizhi looked at Yan Yu's scarlet ears, lips curving. Mercifully, he released that poor right hand.
[Gu Huaizhi's Affinity +10. Current Affinity: 25.]
[Gu Huaizhi's Corruption -5. Current Corruption: 75.]
Without waiting to see whether there was still ointment on his hand, Yan Yu shot back under the blanket.
Gu Huaizhi pulled his trousers up for him, went to wash his hands, and had a meal sent in.
The smell of food filled the room. Hiding in the blanket, Yan Yu's long-empty stomach protested aloud.
“Go wash your hands.”
Yan Yu didn't move.
The lump in the blanket shrank a little lower. For some reason, Gu Huaizhi thought of the hamster he'd kept long ago, forever diving into its bedding at the slightest disturbance.
His gaze softened a degree. He gestured for the server to set the food down and leave, placed the new phone on the table, and tapped the lump under the blanket.
“Come out. This is for you.”
The lump stirred; after a moment a corner lifted, revealing half a small white face.
Yan Yu glanced at the phone on the table. He recognized the brand — the bar owner's son had one that cost three months of his wages.
He looked timidly up at the distinguished man, lips trembling.
“I don't want a phone. Can you let me go?”
“Eat first.”
“...” Yan Yu lowered his eyes. The little blanket shifted and shifted, about to retract again.
Gu Huaizhi's brow knitted in displeasure. Was this man a turtle in a past life?
He scooped the whole thing up — boy and blanket together — and just as he reached to bring the food over and let go, Yan Yu immediately wound the blanket around himself until only two big eyes showed, watching him warily.
Terrified that one wrong word meant his clothes coming off again.
Gu Huaizhi nearly laughed with anger. Anyone else he took to bed would be fawning over him, pouring his tea, begging him to let them stay a few days more.
Never before had he been the one asking someone to stay, only to have them desperate to leave.
Drugged the wine, climbed into his bed — all brisk efficiency — and now he played the innocent?
“Not eating?” His eyes narrowed, his voice cooling.
“If you won't eat, I'll suspect you're saving your strength. Hinting that we should do something else instead.”
“Or I could call the police back. A thirty-million case — they were very interested.”
Yan Yu's heart lurched. He stared at the maliciously smiling man in disbelief.
Sitting had pressed against his bruises; his eyes welled with pain, red-rimmed and glistening.
Looking exactly as if he'd been bullied mercilessly last night.
Gu Huaizhi's lips curved. He brought the food over to him.
Yan Yu flexed his fingers and picked up the chopsticks.
The blanket hampered his every movement, making him clumsy.
Gu Huaizhi frowned. “Peel off that eggshell of yours.”
“...” Yan Yu looked at him, knew he couldn't win, and reluctantly loosened the blanket, burying himself in the food.
The meal came from the housekeeper at Gu Huaizhi's home; even as invalid's fare it looked appetizing — fresh ingredients, excellent flavor.
Yan Yu tasted none of it.
If Gu Huaizhi never let him leave, how was this any different from prison?
Better to submit to the investigation than be held here under constant threats... A thirty-million case wouldn't be handled carelessly. Once the police stepped in, they would prove the cufflink wasn't stolen by him — clear his name.
The Lanyu security footage would be pulled too. With the footage, he could prove he wasn't lying — that he'd been a victim last night as well.
Best of all would be catching whoever had set him against Gu Huaizhi. And if they couldn't... Yan Yu figured the target had surely been Gu Huaizhi all along. When big players fight, a stray like him caught in the crossfire could count himself lucky to exit early. Best not to ask for too much.
Then Gu Huaizhi would have no reason to keep him, no way to threaten him. He could walk away clean and earn money to save Grandma Director!
It all fell into place. Delighted, he even ate with more energy.
Truly: man is iron and food is steel — eat a meal, gain strength, and the brain starts working again.
Absorbed in his plans, he never noticed the gaze beside him deepening into something dark.
Gu Huaizhi wasn't eating. His eyes never left Yan Yu.
The hospital gown was a mess from all his burrowing, the collar askew, a button undone, baring a stretch of pale skin.
To spare his bruises, the boy sat nearly kneeling, weight on his knees and the arms braced on the overbed table, the curve of him lifted slightly.
His lips slick and glossy, he took small bites of steamed egg custard, brows knitting now, eyes lighting up the next moment, every emotion written on his face.
Now and then the tip of his tongue darted out to catch a drop of sauce at the corner of his mouth before he went right on eating.
A born temptress — every movement a lure.
Gu Huaizhi's breathing deepened. Yan Yu finally sensed the change and wrapped himself in the blanket without a second's delay.
Gu Huaizhi's temples throbbed. He grabbed the phone and tossed it over.
Yan Yu hesitated. He was worried about Grandma Director and wanted to reach Zhou Peng — but a phone from Gu Huaizhi was something he hesitated to touch. Who knew what he'd be charged for it?
Gu Huaizhi read him at a glance and reached to take it back. “Your old junk one is shattered. Take it, or I take it back — either way, don't count on ever getting another phone.”
Yan Yu snatched it back at once. “Don't!”
“Thank you. I'll count it as a loan. When I have money, I'll pay you back.”
The old SIM was already inside; all his contacts were there. In a single day, missed calls and unread messages had stacked past ninety-nine.
Too busy to wonder what Gu Huaizhi would make him pay for this one, Yan Yu found Zhou Peng on WeChat to let everyone know he was safe, then asked after Grandma Director's health.
[Yan Yu: Pay him back with my body, of course~]
[System: =_=]
That was obviously an empty promise. Yet Gu Huaizhi was staring at a man this delighted over a mere phone — a man actually thanking him — with a strange look on his face.
Who in this world forgave the past for a little kindness?
Was this pure-heartedness — or did he want something?
And the moment he got the phone, he was chatting away, smiling so brightly.
Gu Huaizhi reached out and took the phone away.
“What are you doing?” Zhou Peng had just told him the orphanage was fine, that Grandma Director had been fretting this very morning over his not coming home. He was in the middle of figuring out how to explain, and his voice rose.
Seeing the anxiety on Yan Yu's face, Gu Huaizhi sneered inwardly.
“If it's a loan, it comes with terms. Two minutes a day...”
“What can anyone do in two minutes?” Yan Yu cut in.
The orphanage was what he cared about most. When he'd first taken the job at Lanyu, everyone had been a hundred times against it. Now Zhou Peng had checked in, and Yan Yu had replied normally one minute and vanished the next.
He didn't need to think to know how worried everyone would be. They might just storm Lanyu to demand him back...
Yan Yu would never allow the people at the orphanage to get hurt because of him.
“Then call the police! Let me borrow their phone! Once the investigation is done, I won't owe you a cent — and last night, I was a victim too!”
“And when that happens, sir, kindly stop slandering me and let me leave.”
The boy's body still bore the marks the man had left, yet he straightened his back in defiance and glared up at him.
Get a phone in hand, and his courage grew.
Gu Huaizhi's eyes cooled slightly — and a flicker of interest rose in him.
[Gu Huaizhi's Affinity +5. Current Affinity: 30.]
[Gu Huaizhi's Corruption -5. Current Corruption: 70.]
[Yan Yu: He's an M.]
[System: (scratching its head) For a great domineering CEO, that really shouldn't be.]