Becoming the Caged Canary of a Forced Love - Chapter 8

Butler Zhao handed the phone to Gu Nian with the utmost respect, but the sheer resentment in his eyes was enough to make Gu Nian’s skin crawl.

“Butler Zhao, are your eyes uncomfortable?” Gu Nian asked “sincerely.”

“Young Master Lin, could you please stop running around in the future? These old bones of mine really can’t take the tossing anymore.” Butler Zhao massaged his lower back, his tone bordering on a full-blown grumble.

Gu Nian fiddled with the phone idly. It was an older model—economical and practical. Sliding his finger across the screen, he knew better than to hope for a password; fortunately, it still supported fingerprint recognition.

As soon as the phone opened, several unread private messages popped up. Gu Nian ignored them for the moment and opened the photo gallery to browse.

There were very few photos. Gu Nian only lingered for a moment on the few that featured people.

“Young Master Lin, President Pei said if you find this phone too old, the latest model is already prepared for you. You see how well President Pei takes care of you—can’t you understand his feelings by now…?” Butler Zhao finally began his long-winded “lecture” again.

Gu Nian’s finger moved slightly, sliding to a group photo. There were three people in the frame: Lin Nuo stood in the middle holding a blurry photograph, flanked by an older man and woman who looked like his parents.

“I see.” Gu Nian had no desire to pay him any mind; he only wanted to quickly figure out his own identity.

Butler Zhao was suddenly choked off by those two words. He shivered for no apparent reason and adjusted his glasses.

The curtains were only half-drawn, and the light in the room was somewhat dim. Gu Nian’s face was partially hidden in the shadows, wearing an obscure expression. Under the faint glow reflected from the phone, a sort of dominant coldness seemed to flicker in his eyes.

Butler Zhao suddenly felt as if he could no longer speak. After struggling for a moment, he managed to squeeze out: “Rest for now. I’ll go see how the kitchen is doing with the dishes.” Then, he fled the room.

After closing the door, Butler Zhao let out a long sigh of relief. He felt that Young Master Lin was vastly different from before; the pressure brought by that icy gaze was no less than that of President Pei.

After agonizing over it for a long time, Butler Zhao could only reach one conclusion: this must be what they call “the couple’s resemblance”!

Gu Nian flipped through the entire gallery and only found a few useful photos. Aside from the middle-aged couple, there was a young man with a high frequency of appearances; judging by the posing, he was likely a close friend.

Gu Nian exited the gallery. His finger hovered over the dial icon but ultimately retracted, sliding instead to a search engine.

His organization had secret contacts in Country Z. With this face, Gu Nian wouldn’t need to spend much effort proving his identity, but… he still needed to verify a few things.

Gu Nian checked the time: 10:46 AM. It was nearly lunch time.

Gu Nian rolled over to get out of bed, but as soon as he moved, every muscle in his body screamed with soreness and weakness.

He pulled back the covers. Bruises from finger marks still lingered at the back of his knees. Because he had been held in the same position for too long, his thigh muscles were agonizingly sore.

Gu Nian had always had the habit of exercising, and he could tolerate occasional muscle aches, but this frail body was clearly incapable of enduring it.

Supporting himself against the edge of the bed, Gu Nian slowly stood up. The moment his feet touched the floor, the muscle pain signaled back to his brain immediately. He waited for quite a while before he could slowly stand straight. Last night, Pei Jichuan had truly turned into a beast, completely incapable of listening to reason. Gu Nian realized belatedly that it felt as though his entire body had been “gnawed” over.

An absolute animal, Gu Nian thought through gritted teeth.

He shook his head to clear away the image of a certain large beast and stepped outside.

The kitchen was located in a relatively quiet corner. Fortunately, as it was nearing noon, the aroma of food served as a guide.

Gu Nian naturally bypassed the busy servants and Butler Zhao, slipping into a corner of the kitchen. As he passed the refrigerator, he helped himself to a few grapes.

A small electronic scale sat casually in a corner of the kitchen. Gu Nian tilted his body slightly to block the surveillance camera’s view, groped for the power button, and placed his phone on it.

Butler Zhao turned his head and noticed Gu Nian in the corner. His head felt like it was about to explode—the “Grand Ancestor” was wandering off again!

Butler Zhao hurried over. “Young Master Lin, why are you here?”

Gu Nian swallowed the grapes, silently turned off the scale, and took back his phone.

“I didn’t eat breakfast. I’m starving to death.” Gu Nian turned around, chewing the grapes, and met Butler Zhao’s eyes with an innocent look.

Butler Zhao felt his skin crawl under that gaze, but his internal thought was: If President Pei finds out I let Young Master Lin go hungry, I’m dead!

Before long, a complete, nutritious lunch was neatly laid out on the dining table. Butler Zhao had even specially placed a soft cushion on the chair.

Glancing over the table, it was filled entirely with bland foods suitable for a patient. Gu Nian sighed but obediently began to fill his stomach.

In the past, Gu Nian had always preferred spicy food; high oil and high salt were his norms. But for the sake of this fragile little body, he would have to endure it.

Butler Zhao stood to the side, observing and silently recording Gu Nian’s preferences. But after watching for a long time, it seemed Gu Nian ate about the same amount of every dish—or perhaps… he didn’t like any of them?

The surveillance camera in the corner suddenly rotated silently, its lens pointing directly at Gu Nian.

Gu Nian, who was holding a bowl and taking small sips of soup, caught the movement and glanced at it warily but made no large reaction. After confirming the camera was indeed watching him, he lowered his head and hid the strange look in his eyes.

His peripheral vision fell on the phone placed at the side of the table. Before leaving the room, he had specifically checked the official website for this phone’s detailed specifications. To prevent any accidents, he had even browsed other models of the same brand.

The weight displayed on the electronic scale just now had a significant discrepancy from the official weight. It was likely that some “extra things” had been added.

Though he couldn’t be 100% sure, he had to be cautious.

Gu Nian set down the soup bowl, his fingers gently rubbing the rim. This path is blocked. I have to gain his trust first, then find another way once I leave the villa.

At the same lunch hour, Pei Jichuan was staring unblinkingly at his computer screen. On the screen, Gu Nian was sitting in the dining room eating. Pei Jichuan watched Gu Nian’s every move, feeling no fatigue whatsoever.

He had enjoyed a rare good night’s sleep last night, and the chronic dark circles under his eyes had faded considerably.

The assistant came to collect Pei Jichuan’s finished lunch and was surprised to find that he had actually eaten more than half of it. Usually, no matter how meticulously the food was prepared, President Pei would only take a few bites; the rest was destined for the trash can.

Secretary Han, walking leisurely in her thin high heels, passed by and saw the assistant dazing over the tray. She quietly walked over and patted the assistant’s shoulder.

“Xiao Jiang, what are you dazing about?”

Assistant Jiang was startled and turned around clumsily with a deep bow.

“Hello, Sister Han!”

Secretary Han let out a chuckle at her reaction and asked, “It’s lunch break. Why aren’t you resting instead of standing here with a tray?”

Assistant Jiang gave a sheepish grin. “President Pei seems to be in a particularly good mood today. He ate so much lunch! Before, he’d only touch a few bites. Sometimes I wondered if President Pei was a robot who could live without eating.”

Secretary Han raised her folder and lightly tapped Assistant Jiang’s forehead. “If President Pei heard you say that, I couldn’t save you. But you’re right; he really is in a good mood today. With the way he looked like a volcano about to erupt before he left yesterday, I thought the whole company would have to ‘die’ today.”

After speaking, Secretary Han patted her own chest.

Assistant Jiang stared at those charming curves and subconsciously swallowed her saliva. Then, she looked down at her own petite frame and felt like crying.

“By the way, I booked two seats at the Beloved restaurant. I wonder if Junior Jiang would do me the honor of having dinner with me?” Secretary Han smiled, her curved eyes looking alluring and radiant.

Staring at that face, Assistant Jiang nodded as if possessed.