After Transmigrating into an ABO World with My Rival - Chapter 8

Fu Tingyue had a strong temper, but most of the time, he kept his anger bottled up inside. Chen Yanzhi, on the other hand, let his temper flare directly and never suppressed himself; the two were complete opposites in that regard.

Chen Yanzhi had actually planned to show some concern for Fu Tingyue, but the man did not give him the chance. As soon as they got home, Fu Tingyue locked himself in his room and ignored everyone.

Chen Yanzhi stood at the door for a while, shouting through the wood, “Fu Tingyue, if you don’t open this door right now!”

Before he could finish, the door suddenly swung open from the inside, and Fu Tingyue appeared in the doorway, looking utterly helpless.

Chen Yanzhi crossed his arms. “Quite the temper you have, locking me out, are we?”

Fu Tingyue sighed. “No.”

When it came to having a big temper, no one could surpass Chen Yanzhi, but Fu Tingyue was more than willing to indulge him.

Chen Yanzhi tsked, took a step forward into the room, kicked the door shut, and cornered Fu Tingyue. “What’s with the attitude? If you don’t give me a proper explanation today, don’t blame me for being rude.”

Looking at Chen Yanzhi in his ruffled state, most of Fu Tingyue’s anger dissipated. “It’s nothing.”

He was too cute; Fu Tingyue could not bear to stay mad.

Hearing this, Chen Yanzhi grew even angrier. “If it’s nothing, then why did you lock the door?”

Locking the door was one thing, but locking him out was simply unforgivable.

Fu Tingyue looked at Chen Yanzhi with an air of surrender. “Do you really want to know?”

“Duh.” Chen Yanzhi rolled his eyes, walked over to a single armchair, sat down with his legs crossed, and glared at Fu Tingyue. “Spill it. Why were you suddenly angry for no reason?”

Fu Tingyue lowered his gaze, the shadows from his eyelashes obscuring the emotions in his eyes. “You have something to say to everyone else, but nothing to say to me.”

Chen Yanzhi hit his limit. “Am I talking to a dog right now?”

Fu Tingyue remained silent. He was afraid that if he said too much, he would upset Chen Yanzhi.

Seeing Fu Tingyue like that made Chen Yanzhi even more impatient, but he suppressed his temper and said, “Fu Tingyue, I’m not a mind reader. I cannot guess what you’re thinking. If you consider me a friend, then tell me.”

Before Chen Yanzhi could finish, Fu Tingyue spoke up with a hint of agitation. “I don’t want you to be so close to others! You’ve only been here a few days, yet you’ve memorized everyone’s names and you chat with them so happily. It makes me unhappy.”

The moment he impulsively spoke his mind, Fu Tingyue regretted it. But the words could not be taken back, so he simply looked down, unable to meet Chen Yanzhi’s eyes.

Chen Yanzhi was stunned, seemingly unable to process Fu Tingyue’s words immediately. He had wondered if he had done something wrong or said something to offend Fu Tingyue, but he never expected it to be this.

“I”

Before he could finish, Fu Tingyue interrupted. “It’s my problem. You don’t need to worry about it. I have some work to handle. You should rest for a bit.”

Fu Tingyue turned to leave, but Chen Yanzhi quickly reached out and grabbed his wrist. “Wait. Let’s talk.”

Chen Yanzhi rarely spoke in such a serious tone. “Fu Tingyue, talk to me. If we don’t solve the problem, there will always be a knot in your heart. If you always use avoidance to deal with things, that knot will never be untied, and we will only drift further apart.”

He finally understood why his relationship with Fu Tingyue had worsened in their original world. It was because Fu Tingyue was used to bottling up his emotions, and Chen Yanzhi never noticed them, or perhaps he did notice, but did not want to care.

But now, he had to care. He did not want any barriers between him and Fu Tingyue.

Fu Tingyue’s voice was noticeably dejected. “Zhizhi, do you hate me now?”

He did not know why he suddenly lost control of his emotions. He had always controlled them so well in the other world, so well that this idiot Chen Yanzhi never suspected a thing. Why was he losing control now? He had even locked Chen Yanzhi out just now; it was truly crossing the line.

“No, I won’t hate you over something this small, but we need to talk,” Chen Yanzhi said as he pulled Fu Tingyue toward the sofa and forced him to sit.

Fu Tingyue looked into Chen Yanzhi’s eyes, dazed. He had expected Chen Yanzhi to scold him and then ignore him.

Chen Yanzhi stood on his tiptoes to press down on Fu Tingyue’s shoulders, forcing him to stay seated. After checking to make sure no one was eavesdropping, he lowered his voice. “Are you worried that if I get close to the people here, I won’t be good to you anymore?”

Fu Tingyue nodded slowly. That was a fair way to put it.

“Tsk, you’re really overthinking things. Didn’t you tell me these people were all arranged by your parents? I’m only getting close to them to get information and test your parents’ attitude.”

For the first time in his life, Chen Yanzhi explained himself with such patience. “How could I ever ignore you just because of them? Besides, you’re naturally a man of few words. I talk a lot and cannot help wanting to chat, so I have to find them.”

Fu Tingyue missed the main point. “I’m willing to listen to you. About anything.”

In fact, whether Chen Yanzhi was talking about nonsense or serious matters, Fu Tingyue was willing and happy to listen. Those moments were his happiest.

Chen Yanzhi, being thick-skinned, did not dig into the deeper meaning of Fu Tingyue’s words. He waved it off indifferently. “But you’re busy! Besides, we’re in a strange place. It’s important to stay on good terms with the locals, especially since they’re informants.”

Plus, he could not change his talkative nature. He could chat with anyone anywhere; if he was truly bored, he could talk to an ant for half an hour.

Looking at Chen Yanzhi’s sincere and adorable expression, Fu Tingyue lowered his eyes. “I understand. This was my fault. I don’t know why I haven’t been able to control my emotions these past few days. I’ll adjust as quickly as possible.”

It was his possessiveness at work. Chen Yanzhi had done nothing wrong; he had been likeable since childhood, and it was the same here. It was Fu Tingyue’s fault for taking it out on him.

Chen Yanzhi nodded with satisfaction, a smile appearing on his face. “Next time something like this happens, you have to tell me. If you keep it to yourself until you’re fuming, I’ll never know what’s on your mind.”

He was lazy by nature and did not like guessing people’s thoughts. He did not care what unimportant people thought, but Fu Tingyue was important, which was why he said all this. If they had a rift over such small things, it would be a total loss. Speaking directly was the best and fastest solution.

Fu Tingyue nodded in agreement. “I’ll remember that.”

“Good. If there’s nothing else, go back to your work. I need a shower.” Chen Yanzhi lifted his arm and sniffed, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “I feel like I smell like disinfectant.”

Fu Tingyue secretly let out a long breath, a smile finally touching his face. “Go ahead. By the time you’re done, it’ll be time to eat. Didn’t you say you were hungry?”

Chen Yanzhi gave his shoulder a natural pat and turned to grab his clothes for the shower. He truly did not seem to have taken the incident to heart, which made Fu Tingyue breathe a sigh of relief.

However, Fu Tingyue did not leave immediately. He paced around Chen Yanzhi’s room for a while, finally standing by the window to watch the sun sink into the west. The evening glow painted the sky in shades of orange and red, beautiful as a painting.

The moment the sound of the shower stopped, Fu Tingyue turned and left decisively, without a hint of hesitation.

By the time Chen Yanzhi came out, the room was empty. He had no idea Fu Tingyue had lingered.

After washing up, he felt much more relaxed. He jumped onto the sofa, played with his phone for a bit, and then went to find Fu Tingyue.

Whether it was because he was too tired or for some other reason, Fu Tingyue did not eat much at dinner; he spent most of the time tending to Chen Yanzhi. After the meal, Chen Yanzhi wanted to go upstairs to be alone with Fu Tingyue. He felt uncomfortable being watched by so many people in the living room.

Fu Tingyue whispered to him, “Rest for a bit and finish your medicine before going up.”

Chen Yanzhi froze. “What medicine?”

“The Chinese medicine to regulate your body. You forgot again.” Fu Tingyue shook his head helplessly. “When will your memory ever improve?”

Chen Yanzhi was completely stunned. “I have to start drinking it tonight?”

He thought he had a couple more days.

Fu Tingyue knew Chen Yanzhi wanted to wiggle out of it, but he insisted. “It’s better to start regulating as soon as possible. What if it gets worse if we delay?”

Sure enough, the next moment, Chen Yanzhi said, “I just got back from the hospital today. How about I rest today and start tomorrow?”

Although he had never tried it, how good could Chinese medicine taste? He really hadn’t expected so many things in this world to overlap with their original world, even traditional Chinese medicine existed. It was eerie.

Fu Tingyue smiled dotingly. “Zhizhi, if you don’t drink it today, you’ll just have to drink it for an extra day later on. It’s the same either way. You might as well start today and finish one day earlier.”

Chen Yanzhi knit his brows in distress. “What if it tastes awful? What if it makes me vomit?”

It wasn’t that he was being fussy; he was just genuinely afraid of bitterness.

Seeing his fearful expression, Fu Tingyue comforted him softly. “It won’t. I had someone buy preserved fruits. Just eat a couple after you drink it, and you’ll be fine.”

If it weren’t for Chen Yanzhi’s poor health, he would not want to force him to take medicine either.

“I’m not a child. I don’t need preserved fruits to bribe me into taking medicine,” Chen Yanzhi grumbled, then turned to the nanny. “Please bring the medicine over.”

It was just Chinese medicine; it could not possibly kill him with bitterness.

As it turned out, it really did almost kill him. That bowl of medicine was more bitter than the entire month he had spent living alone in that basement. If Fu Tingyue hadn’t had the preserved fruits ready and fed them to him immediately, Chen Yanzhi might have actually vomited on the spot.

He slumped onto the sofa, exhausted, using his tongue to roll the preserved fruit around his mouth. Only when the taste of the medicine faded did he ask miserably, “I have to keep drinking this tomorrow?”

Fu Tingyue tore open another package and popped another fruit into Chen Yanzhi’s mouth before nodding. “You have to drink it every day.”

Chen Yanzhi’s health was poor, and he needed a combination of diet and medication to recover quickly. Lately, the household menu had become light and healthy. Fu Tingyue constantly remembered the doctor’s warning that Chen Yanzhi’s body was too weak for rich foods, fearing that anything too greasy would make him unwell again.

Chen Yanzhi understood how poor his condition was and, for once, did not make a scene. He nodded obediently. “Fine. I’ll drink it.”

A hint of surprise flashed in Fu Tingyue’s eyes, and he could not help but praise him. “Mm. Good job.”

Chen Yanzhi snorted. “I’m not a child who needs to be coaxed to take medicine.”

He knew he was weak, and he wanted to get healthy and start exercising soon to build up his strength. Seeing him being so well-behaved, Fu Tingyue fed him one more preserved fruit before they headed upstairs.

After a day of running around, Chen Yanzhi’s weak body could not hold out. Shortly after washing up, he became drowsy and fell asleep curled up in his blanket.

In the middle of the night, he was jolted awake by a suffocating feeling, like being crushed by a mountain. He wasn’t having a nightmare, and his mind was clear when he woke up, but he still felt uncomfortable. He suspected he might have been poisoned by the Chinese medicine.

He reached out to push Fu Tingyue, but his hand recoiled from the heat. “Fu Tingyue, why are you so hot? Do you have a fever?”

A sleeping Fu Tingyue was in a daze. Hearing Chen Yanzhi’s voice, he subconsciously reached out and pulled the smaller man into his arms. His breathing was abnormally rapid.

He panted, “Zhizhi, I, I feel a bit unwell.”

Chen Yanzhi struggled. “Let go first. I’m going to call for help. You’re burning up right now.”

Fu Tingyue held him tight and would not let go, his scorching breath brushing against Chen Yanzhi’s ear. “No, no need. I think, I think I’m entering my Rut.”

Support After Transmigrating into an ABO World with My Rival