My Ex-Boyfriend is Obsessed with Getting Back Together - Chapter 14

After eating his fill and getting enough sleep, Pei Ran’s spirit had improved significantly. He sat up in bed, watching Gu Linchuan busying himself around the room.

“Thank you for taking care of me for so long,” he said. His throat was still hoarse, making his voice sound weak and breathless.

Once Gu Linchuan finished tidying up, he sorted out the medication. “Take the capsules twice a day. Take one more before you go to sleep tonight, and take the others as usual.”

After speaking, Gu Linchuan stood up, his long legs moving as he prepared to leave.

Pei Ran sat up abruptly. His hand reached out but missed, failing to catch hold of the man. His voice carried a hint of anxiety. “Are you leaving already?”

“Is there something else?” Gu Linchuan stopped in his tracks.

Pei Ran choked on his words. For a moment, he couldn’t find a single legitimate reason to make him stay. He could only manage to say, “I came to Suzhou on a business trip all by myself, and I have no one to talk to. Stay with me a little longer, okay?”

Pei Ran’s eyes grew red as he leaned into his role of acting pitiful.

Gu Linchuan stood still, not turning back. “Your voice is already hoarse, why do you want to talk so much?”

“Then you talk, and I’ll listen,” Pei Ran said.

Gu Linchuan asked, “What do you want me to talk about?”

“Can I ask anything?”

“Mm.”

“How did you and Yan Yi… get together?” After asking, Pei Ran peeked at his reaction, terrified that he might have caused offense.

“A family alliance,” Gu Linchuan replied.

Pei Ran let out an “oh.” He then asked, “Do you like her?”

“Whether I like her…” Gu Linchuan trailed off, making Pei Ran grow tense along with the silence, “or don’t like her, does it matter?”

“Of course it matters. Marriage is a lifelong commitment,” Pei Ran said, his eyes widening.

Gu Linchuan replied indifferently, “An alliance brings massive commercial benefits. The sacrifice required is within an acceptable range.”

Pei Ran had nothing left to say.

The two fell into an awkward silence again. Pei Ran felt an inexplicable surge of pettiness, burying himself under the covers and pointing toward the door. “I feel much better. If you want to go, then go.”

Gu Linchuan arched an eyebrow. He had responded to every single question, yet the person in front of him was now throwing a tantrum.

“Then I’m really leaving?”

“Go ahead. I’ll just lie here in this guesthouse alone with my fever. I’m not sad at all, and I’m definitely not lonely!” Pei Ran’s voice was muffled from beneath the quilt.

Gu Linchuan let out a soft chuckle. He feigned leaving but instead walked to the bedside, staring at the bundle that was Pei Ran.

As the sound of footsteps faded, Pei Ran sat up abruptly, muttering something under his breath. To his surprise, the man was right there in front of him, watching him with an arched brow.

Startled by the sudden figure, Pei Ran’s voice grew smaller and lost its confidence. “Didn’t you say you were leaving?”

Gu Linchuan bent down, meeting him at eye level. “Didn’t you say you’d be sad alone?”

Hearing this, Pei Ran smiled. He quickly cleared a space on the edge of the bed and patted it, signaling for him to sit.

Gu Linchuan played along, deigning to sit down.

Looking at Pei Ran’s flushed cheeks, Gu Linchuan resisted the urge to touch his forehead to check his temperature. Instead, he asked, “You knew you were sick, yet you still climbed that high?”

“I didn’t feel it then. I just felt cold and thought that moving around might help warm me up.” Pei Ran thought back to that brief, startling glimpse of him. “Why did you suddenly show up here?”

“Work,” Gu Linchuan answered succinctly.

Pei Ran was curious. “So, coming to Suzhou was for work too?”

“Mm.” Gu Linchuan asked him in return, “And you?”

Pei Ran coughed twice before speaking slowly. “I came to learn about Suzhou embroidery to help with my clothing designs.”

Gu Linchuan asked, “Why didn’t you bring an assistant?”

“The studio isn’t that big, I can handle it myself.” Pei Ran was used to doing everything personally, and he was even more used to traveling for work alone.

Pei Ran looked down at his injured palm, which was wrapped in a beautiful bow. He sighed. “I suppose the scheduled date will have to be pushed back.”

Gu Linchuan followed his gaze. “Will it have an impact?”

“There won’t be a long-term impact, but I definitely won’t be able to hold a pen in the short term.” Pei Ran raised his hand, then tried to cheer himself up. “I can still spend this time learning the theoretical side of things.”

“Go only after your body feels better.”

Pei Ran squinted and smiled at him, nodding obediently.

After talking for a while, Pei Ran’s energy flagged again. Gu Linchuan pulled the pillow out and helped him lie down.

Pei Ran closed his eyes. He felt the man lean over to tuck in the corners of the quilt. That familiar orange scent soothed his nerves, and his consciousness soon began to blur.

“When are you leaving?” Pei Ran asked in a small voice, his eyes still closed.

Standing by the bed, Gu Linchuan replied, “Tomorrow.”

Pei Ran thought to himself that the man had only come for three days, yet his illness had selfishly occupied an entire day of his time. He felt a twinge of guilt. “Did I delay your work?”

Gu Linchuan’s trip was originally intended to find someone anyway, so he replied, “No.”

Pei Ran seemed not to hear, sniffing as he started to feel sorry for himself first. “I didn’t mean to…”

Gu Linchuan let out an impatient click of his tongue. He reached out and pinched Pei Ran’s cheek, squeezing his mouth into the shape of a goldfish blowing bubbles. He said it one more time: “I said you didn’t delay anything.”

“Don’t be so mean,” Pei Ran murmured softly, sounding as if he were talking in his sleep.

Gu Linchuan was practically laughed into anger. He realized the man had gained yet another skill: besides leaving without a word, he was now an expert at shifting the blame.

“Pei Ran,” Gu Linchuan called out softly.

“Mm?” Pei Ran’s voice was very faint.

“Next time you leave, can you let me know first?”

Don’t leave without saying goodbye, don’t stay too far away from him, don’t get hurt, don’t get sick, don’t be unhappy…

There was too much. Gu Linchuan was too greedy, and he was never satisfied.

The separation during their youth could not wear away such deep affection. Upon seeing Pei Ran again, love manifested before every other emotion.

Gu Linchuan stood by the bed for a long time. The person on the bed had already fallen asleep and couldn’t give him an answer, leaving only the sound of shallow breathing.

He stood silently before the bed like a quiet statue. Only after a long time did he turn and leave.

Pei Ran’s sleep was restless. His nasal congestion made breathing difficult, causing him to wake several times during the night before falling back into a deep slumber.

When he woke the next day, it was still pitch black outside. He checked his phone; it was only six in the morning.

When Pei Ran spoke, his voice was so hoarse he could hardly recognize it. His throat was so dry it felt like it was cracking, and swallowing brought a dull pain like swallowing razor blades.

Pei Ran tapped his head and turned his neck to look around, but Gu Linchuan was long gone.

For a moment, he thought everything yesterday had just been a dream. Fortunately, the medication Gu Linchuan had sorted out was still on the table, proving that it had all been real.

Pei Ran put on his coat, went downstairs for breakfast, and then slowly meandered back, curling up on the bed with no desire to move.

When working hours finally arrived, he took out his laptop and contacted the embroidery workshop they had agreed upon. He expressed his deep apologies and postponed today’s learning session by two days.

Upon hearing he was sick and injured, the contact immediately expressed concern for his situation and said there was no rush.

Pei Ran felt relieved. He put his laptop away and planned to bury his head under the covers and keep sleeping.

However, having slept too much the day before, he truly couldn’t fall back asleep. Pei Ran decided to wrap himself up fully and head out for a stroll.

He walked slowly along the bluestone path. On either side were riverside dwellings with white walls and black tiles. Occasionally, he could hear the soft, melodic tunes of local opera.

A teahouse was open on the riverbank. Quite a few people were already seated around stoves to brew tea, the bamboo-woven heaters sending up clouds of white steam from the wooden tables.

Pei Ran wandered aimlessly. Before long, he saw a dark gray gable wall standing before him. Evergreen creepers climbed the wall, and two stone lions stood on either side of the gate, their features revealing a sense of majesty.

Above the mountain gate hung a plaque with gold characters on a black background, inscribed with the words “Guiyun Temple.” The scent of sandalwood drifting from within the gate mingled with the earthy smell of soil after the rain, weaving around his nose.

The temple’s incense was flourishing. Tourists from all over had gathered, holding sticks of incense as they stood piously before the hall to bow.

Pei Ran also walked to the incense table, took a stick of incense, and went to the furnace.

The flames licked the base of the incense, and curls of blue smoke drifted up past his fingers. Pei Ran held it with both hands, raised it above his head, and bowed deeply toward the Buddha statue inside the hall.

In his ears were the low prayers of other pilgrims—prayers for health, for safety, and for success.

In this moment, Pei Ran felt free of desire. He had so few attachments in this world, feeling like a wisp of smoke from this mortal realm that no one could hold onto.

This transcendental state didn’t last long. In just a moment, he fell back heavily into the mundane world.

He whispered a prayer for his mother’s health, for his best friend’s well-being, and he also wanted Gu Linchuan to be happy.

At this thought, he gave the Buddha an apologetic smile, hoping the Buddha wouldn’t find him too greedy.

After paying his respects, Pei Ran walked deeper into the temple toward the destination of his trip.

Guiyun Temple housed a unique masterpiece of Suzhou embroidery, the Transformation Tableau of the Lotus Sutra of the Buddhas of the Three Realms.

The lighting inside the temple was soft. Pei Ran stood before the embroidery, holding his breath and focusing so intently that he even lightened his breathing on purpose.

There were floral offerings before the Buddha, and one could clearly see the veins of the petals. It felt like traveling through time, seeing the embroideress of years past holding the silk thread, stitch by stitch.

The work reflected not only the exquisite nature of Suzhou embroidery but also the Zen heart of the embroideress. Every stitch and every thread was a form of spiritual practice.

The lotus patterns were somewhat different from the entwined lotus vines Pei Ran had designed, but they shared common points.

Most importantly, the lotus embroidery did not look visually heavy. This made Pei Ran feel more relaxed. If he could find the technique within this, his trip would not be in vain.

“Does the benefactor like Suzhou embroidery very much?”

A clear, gentle voice sounded from behind. Pei Ran turned his head to see a young monk with delicate features standing beside him. His earlobes were rounded, and his eyes were as clear as mountain spring water.

“This was embroidered by the most famous embroideress in Suzhou.” Seeing Pei Ran look toward him, the monk touched his forehead bashfully. “The master’s secular surname was Shen. Later, having seen through the red dust of the world, she donated her life’s work to the temple. This image stays here every day, listening to the sutras and prayers.”

“I see.” Pei Ran gave the young master a calm smile and turned back to the Transformation Tableau of the Lotus Sutra of the Buddhas of the Three Realms, marveling once again. “Even someone like me who knows very little about Suzhou embroidery can see the brilliance in this. Does Master Shen have any other works?”

The young monk nodded and pointed him in a direction. “Turn at the corridor, go straight until you reach that ginkgo tree, and you’ll arrive.”

Pei Ran followed the direction with his gaze. The ginkgo tree was bare in the winter, but it was tall and upright, clearly very old.

Having established his direction, Pei Ran pressed his palms together and bowed slightly to thank the young master before heading that way.

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