Becoming the Caged Canary of a Forced Love - Chapter 3

Gu Nian forced himself to relax his tensed muscles. Through the thin fabric of the shirt, the man’s scorching body temperature radiated outward, turning the skin where they touched feverish.

The room suddenly fell silent. Even the autumn breeze that had been rustling the curtains ceased, as if time itself had frozen. The air was heavy with an indescribable emotion.

Pei Jichuan held Gu Nian quietly. The wisp of irritability in his heart seemed to have been swept away entirely. Feeling the warm breath of the person in his arms and the vigorous, steady heartbeat, a feeling of “recovering something lost” began to nourish his parched soul.

During the three days Gu Nian had been unconscious, Pei Jichuan had barely closed his eyes. The faint dark circles under his eyes and his slightly hollowed cheeks were enough to prove it.

The earth, shrouded in night, was silent, save for the intermittent chirping of crickets in the courtyard.

They remained in each other’s embrace for a long time.

Even in his previous life, Gu Nian had almost never experienced such a burning embrace. He had always felt that such physical contact was meaningless, but now…

Pressed tightly against Pei Jichuan’s chest, listening to that powerful, rhythmic heartbeat, it felt as though the entire world had shrunk down to this single embrace.

Gu Nian looked up slightly. At this distance, he could see the man’s face even more clearly. A thick, masculine scent washed over him, and his heart seemed to skip a beat. Before Gu Nian could react, the brief embrace ended.

Pei Jichuan slowly loosened the arms that had been pinning Gu Nian. Once they had pulled apart, Gu Nian finally noticed the man’s tightly pursed lips.

Is he in a bad mood?

Gu Nian thought to himself that since he had woken up, Pei Jichuan’s mood hadn’t seemed positive once. He couldn’t help but label him as “irascible and moody.”

“Rest now. I’ll take you to the hospital for a check-up tomorrow.” Pei Jichuan’s brow was furrowed deeply. He averted his gaze as if avoiding something and left the room.

Gu Nian clearly heard the sound of the door closing. He recalled the strange phone call from earlier; though he hadn’t heard everything clearly due to the distance, he had keenly caught a few key words:

“Illness” and “Canary.”

This man really is sick, Gu Nian thought, a flicker of schadenfreude dancing in his heart.

However, the word “canary” did indeed confirm his suspicions. Lin Nuo was definitely Pei Jichuan’s kept lover, but based on Pei Jichuan’s attitude, their relationship seemed far from simple.

His body—suffering from excessive blood loss and a long-term lack of exercise—was far too frail. Just thinking for a moment caused Gu Nian’s head to throb painfully.

Gu Nian turned and threw himself onto the massive bed. The soft silk fabric enveloped him securely. His exhausted, weary brain seemed unable to wait to drag him into a whirlpool of darkness.

Gu Nian gently rubbed his fingertips. That warm embrace just now had stirred some inexplicable emotions, but he had no time to decipher them now. He could only let his heavy eyelids close as exhaustion took over.

Sometime later, the door opened again. Pei Jichuan had returned. He picked up the duvet that had been tossed to the side and gently covered Gu Nian with it.

He stood there with his hands at his sides, watching him carefully for a while longer before departing once more.

The moment the door had opened, Gu Nian’s ear, hidden beneath his hair, had twitched slightly. Sensing Pei Jichuan’s approach, he controlled his breathing to remain steady, ensuring he looked the part of a sleeping “Sleeping Beauty.”

His brain, accustomed to pulling the alarm when others approached, made him hyper-aware; sometimes, having overly sensitive nerves wasn’t a good thing.

However, the current situation was temporarily safe. He had sensed that Pei Jichuan’s actions were devoid of malice.

Maybe I can relax for a moment…

His consciousness blurred, and his thoughts were swallowed by the darkness. Gu Nian finally drifted into a deep sleep.

The night retreated quietly, and the morning glow swept across the dim horizon, starting the prelude to a new day.

Pei Jichuan stood on the balcony, looking down over the entire estate. Just as the sky began to brighten, the servants in the manor were already busy under the direction of the butler.

The warm morning light hit the faint dark circles under his eyes—proof that last night had been another sleepless one. Insomnia had become the norm for him; it was only during these past few years when he held Lin Nuo that he could get a good night’s sleep.

Since they were going to the hospital for a check-up this morning, he had to compress his company work into what little time remained.

Pei Jichuan turned and went back to the study to continue reviewing the financial reports he hadn’t finished earlier.

Morning sunlight slanted through the glass and across the bed. Fingers beneath the duvet moved slightly, and Gu Nian slowly opened his eyes. The confusion typical of waking up vanished instantly after a few blinks.

A body that had been unconscious for three days clearly couldn’t recover its vitality from a single bowl of porridge. Gu Nian lazily rolled over and sat up.

Regardless of what lay ahead, comforting his protesting stomach was the top priority.

He glanced at the surveillance camera blinking with red light, then unhesitatingly stepped to the door and pushed it open.

Outside was a long corridor. Elaborate light fixtures cast a cool glow, the walls were lined with famous paintings, and the floor was covered in thick wool carpeting that felt like walking on clouds.

Gu Nian didn’t know the way, so he wandered aimlessly through the house. After making a few random turns, he saw servants busy in the high-ceilinged foyer. Beside them stood a white-bearded old man in a formal suit who looked like a butler.

Gu Nian observed from behind a pillar for a moment. Once he was certain the man in the suit was the “Butler Zhao” the maids had mentioned, he strolled out and descended the long staircase.

Butler Zhao was busy directing the servants on their tasks for the day when he turned and suddenly saw Gu Nian on the stairs.

Seeing this “Grand Ancestor” out and about by himself made cold sweat break out on the butler’s forehead.

Butler Zhao hurried forward. “Young Master Lin! Why did you come out? If you need anything, just call the internal line. Your body hasn’t recovered yet—what if you trip or bump into something?”

As he spoke, Butler Zhao reached out to support him, but halfway there, he remembered Pei Jichuan’s pathological possessiveness and his hand froze awkwardly in mid-air.

Gu Nian glanced at Butler Zhao, ignoring the hovering hand. He managed a somewhat friendly smile and said, “I’m a bit hungry. Please get me something to eat.”

Hearing this, Butler Zhao said hurriedly, “Wait a moment, please wait a moment!”

He turned and shouted, his voice practically a roar: “Auntie Wu! Auntie Wang! Young Master Lin is hungry, bring up breakfast immediately!”

Butler Zhao turned back, about to invite Gu Nian to the dining room, when he suddenly seemed to have his throat seized, losing the ability to speak.

He struggled to squeeze out three words: “Morning, President Pei.”

Gu Nian felt a massive shadow loom over him from behind. Just as he was about to turn and look, he was suddenly grabbed by the back of his knees and hoisted up.

The sudden sensation of being airborne made Gu Nian let out an involuntary cry. The thick carpet had muffled the footsteps so effectively that he hadn’t realized Pei Jichuan had walked up right behind him.

Reflexively, Gu Nian wrapped his arms around Pei Jichuan’s neck. Pei Jichuan didn’t stop, stroking forward with long strides and placing Gu Nian down on a nearby sofa.

Only then did Gu Nian see that Pei Jichuan was holding a pair of fluffy slippers.

“Not wearing shoes again,” Pei Jichuan said, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.

Lin Nuo had always had the habit of not wearing shoes at home. Because of this, Pei Jichuan had ordered carpeting for the entire second floor, including his study. However, the guest foyer on the first floor clearly didn’t suit that style of decor.

Pei Jichuan grasped Gu Nian’s ankle to put the slippers on for him.

Looking at the man kneeling on one knee before him with lowered eyes and a submissive demeanor, Gu Nian suddenly found it impossible to reconcile this image with the overbearing, oppressive man from last night.