The Sickly Beauty Can’t Escape the Obsessive Lover - Chapter 24.2

Five years ago, on that birthday, Jing Yuan had taken everything from him. When the police took him away, the wary glances from his friends foreshadowed the loss of everything he held dear.

Jing Yuan’s chest felt tight and heavy.

When he thought about it, Ji Yan was a pitiable person.

He absentmindedly plucked a few leaves from the ironleaf tree beside the desk, hanging his head, unsure how to offer comfort.

Seeing his silence, Ji Yan returned to his seat, facing the small courtyard. His voice was calm. “From that day on, I learned that in this world, you can only rely on yourself. If you’re not ruthless, you’ll only end up as someone else’s prey.”

Jing Yuan lifted his head. “Don’t be sad. You still have everything now, don’t you? You’re handsome, rich—the kind of person many people envy.”

Ji Yan looked at him and smiled with a hint of meaning: “But the pain I’ve endured will never disappear.”

“Yet it can be forgotten,” Jing Yuan said softly, raising a hand that had been busy beneath the desk. “For you—happy birthday.”

Snapping back to reality, Ji Yan realized that Jing Yuan had somehow woven a slender leaf from the ironwood tree into a rose.

Under Ji Yan’s astonished gaze, Jing Yuan opened his palm and placed the rose in it.

He had learned this from a short video, thinking it would be a useful skill to charm handsome guys after leaving Ji Yan. He hadn’t expected Ji Yan to be the first to experience it.

But it didn’t matter. Having another sample for data would only help him refine his craft in the future.

Ji Yan lifted the ironleaf rose and slowly curved his lips.

He had to admit, Jing Yuan’s handiwork was impressive.

“You know how to do this?” Ji Yan’s narrow eyes fixed on Jing Yuan. “This isn’t some trick you used to charm others before, is it?”

“Of course not, I swear,” Jing Yuan declared earnestly.

After all, this was meant to be his future method for charming men.

Ji Yan raised the rose again, holding it up against the gilded twilight, his thumb gently rubbing the stem. “Not bad.”

Jing Yuan beamed proudly. “Of course. If I were selling these, I could easily get five yuan for one.”

Ji Yan glanced at him. “Your mind seems to be filled with nothing but money.”

“Who doesn’t love money?” Jing Yuan huffed.

Ji Yan couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you for the gift.”

Seeing Ji Yan’s satisfaction, Jing Yuan finally felt a weight lift from his heart. Seizing the moment while Ji Yan was in good spirits, he leaned in closer, his tone soft and sweet. “Ji Yan, could you promise me something?”

Ji Yan narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”

Over the past while, Ji Yan had come to understand Jing Yuan’s thought process a little. To put it simply. It was odd and unpredictable.

So, Ji Yan had no idea what Jing Yuan was about to say.

“I hope you’ll ensure I live to be eighty,” Jing Yuan said shyly, his eyes full of hope and even a hint of pleading.

Ji Yan’s smile faded once more.

In its place came seriousness and caution.

The two stared at each other for a long moment before Ji Yan hesitantly replied, “Eighty… that’s a bit difficult.”

Jing Yuan frowned, displeased. “Why?”

Ji Yan was blunt. “I can’t even guarantee I’ll live that long myself. Ensuring it for you would be challenging.”

Jing Yuan clung to him. “But if you promise, it’ll give me an extra layer of security. Then I’ll be in a better mood and live longer.”

Ji Yan frowned slightly, his logical mind thoroughly disrupted by Jing Yuan’s request, finding the whole situation increasingly absurd.

In his view, Jing Yuan had only two possible motives for making such a request.

First, he wanted a worry-free life with all his material needs met.

Second, he hoped Ji Yan would always take care of him, whether they stayed together or not.

“So, can you, Yan Yan?” Jing Yuan began to act cute and coaxing, occasionally glancing at the vibrant green rose as a reminder of his effort. “My hand got cut while folding the rose.”

Ji Yan’s attention shifted to Jing Yuan’s fingers.

Sure enough, there was a small, healed cut on one of them.

Ji Yan held Jing Yuan’s hand, still weighing the request in his mind.

After a moment, he replied, “Alright.”

Jing Yuan’s face immediately lit up. “Really?”

Ji Yan’s expression softened. “Mm.”

The gloom from yesterday’s broken longevity noodles vanished completely. Beaming with energy, Jing Yuan tugged at Ji Yan. “Let’s go eat—my treat.”

Ji Yan stood up with him: “Are we eating out?”

Jing Yuan nodded: “Yes. There’s a restaurant in the village that’s pretty good, especially their red bean sticky rice.”

Ji Yan picked up his coat: “Mm.”

…

The small restaurant at the village entrance was quite busy at this hour. During peak tourist seasons, they served many out-of-town visitors, so the quality of their dishes was reliable.

Some tea farmers who had just finished their work greeted Jing Yuan and Ji Yan as they arrived: “Boss Jing, Boss Ji, here for a meal too?”

Jing Yuan responded warmly, “Yes.”

The restaurant owner specially arranged a private room for them. After ordering a few dishes, Jing Yuan was visibly overjoyed. Ever since Ji Yan had agreed to his request, he hadn’t been able to wipe the smile off his face. To celebrate, he even ordered a bottle of glutinous rice wine.

Seeing him so happy, Ji Yan was in a good mood too. But when Jing Yuan reached for the wine to pour himself a drink, Ji Yan stopped him with a raised hand.

“You’re on medication. You can’t drink.”

Jing Yuan mumbled, “This is plum wine, very low alcohol content. I just want a tiny sip.”

Ji Yan still refused. “It might interfere with your medicine.”

Knowing Ji Yan had his best interests at heart, Jing Yuan pointed to his phone. “Why don’t you ask the doctor? If he says I can have just a little, I’ll take one sip.”

After some consideration, Ji Yan sent a WeChat message to the doctor.

Glutinous rice was Jing Yuan’s favorite. Last time, he had devoured two bowls of it just by itself, though his stomach couldn’t handle it later, and he ended up vomiting twice in the middle of the night.

“If only there was cake,” Jing Yuan thought, feeling that this birthday meal was a bit too simple. He asked the owner for a bottle of ketchup and leisurely wrote the words “birthday cake” on a potato patty. “There, your cake is ready.”

Ji Yan held a small bowl of wine and remarked, “You’d make a good salesperson.”

Jing Yuan looked puzzled. “Why?”

Ji Yan smiled without answering and took a sip of the glutinous rice wine.

Soon, the doctor replied on WeChat, informing Ji Yan that Jing Yuan could indeed have some fruit wine, but the amount had to be strictly controlled. However, he needed to avoid peach blossom wine and osmanthus wine, as Jing Yuan was allergic to those.

With permission granted, Jing Yuan took a small sip and squinted his eyes contentedly.

The plum wine was smooth and fragrant, with a delicate sweetness that retained the original flavor of the plums. It was delicious and went down easily.

“Don’t overdo it,” Ji Yan warned softly.

“I know, I know,” Jing Yuan replied, holding his glass with a flourish as he leaned back in his chair. Gazing at the serene and beautiful courtyard, he began to daydream about the carefree and liberated life he would lead once he safely made his escape.

An hour later, Ji Yan took Jing Yuan to leave.

On the way, Jing Yuan mumbled things Ji Yan couldn’t understand. After a few steps, he would crouch down and whine about having no energy.

Seeing the tipsy look in Jing Yuan’s eyes, Ji Yan had no choice but to call Chen Tian to pick them up.

Jing Yuan seemed drunk.

Under the vast expanse of dark green tea fields, two tall figures sat side by side on the roadside, waiting for the car to arrive.

Jing Yuan’s constitution couldn’t handle the cold. As the weather had turned chilly, Ji Yan worried he might fall ill. Taking off his coat, he asked, “Do you want to wear this?”

Jing Yuan, his expression hazy with drunkenness, nodded obediently. “Yes, please.”

As Ji Yan was about to hand it to him, he deliberately asked, “Who am I?”

Jing Yuan formed circles with his fingers and placed them over his eyes. “The big villain.”

Ji Yan’s smile faded slowly, and he leisurely put his coat back on. “Yuan Yuan.”

Jing Yuan: “Yeah!”

Ji Yan: “Keep freezing, then.”

Since Jing Yuan was drunk anyway, he probably wouldn’t remember what happened the next day. Ji Yan decided to drop the pretense.

Jing Yuan, like a frozen little quail, tucked his head into his down jacket and pitifully traced something on the ground with his finger.

Curious, Ji Yan asked, “What are you drawing?”

Jing Yuan: “Cursing you.”

Ji Yan couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. In the end, he still draped his coat over Jing Yuan’s shoulders and glanced at the time on his wristwatch.

Chen Tian should be arriving in about five minutes.

“You’re such a good person,” Jing Yuan murmured, bundled in his warm wool coat as he shifted closer to Ji Yan, gently resting his head on Ji Yan’s shoulder.

Ji Yan immediately turned to look at him, a flicker of surprise in his expression. “Why are you leaning on me?”

Jing Yuan replied, “I’m scared of the dark. There might be ghosts in there.”

Ji Yan glanced back at the dense tea fields but said nothing more, lost in thought as he gazed into the distance.

Soon enough, Chen Tian arrived.

Seeing Ji Yan without a coat in such cold weather while Jing Yuan was wrapped up like a little penguin, Chen Tian was both surprised and a little concerned. “Why aren’t you wearing something warmer?”

Ji Yan helped Jing Yuan into the car. “He’s drunk, and his clothes are thin.”

Chen Tian noticed their linked hands and seemed to sense something more. He didn’t say anything else, focusing on his role as the driver.

On the road, Jing Yuan continued to chatter nonstop. He had only had a small glass of plum wine, but perhaps the delayed effect was kicking in. After the meal, he grew increasingly dizzy, even seeing double when he looked at Ji Yan.

Ji Yan, who preferred quiet, felt a bit helpless with the constant noise beside him.

“Yuan Yuan,” he suddenly called Jing Yuan’s name.

Jing Yuan, who had been mumbling, looked up dazedly. “Huh?”

Ji Yan smiled faintly. “If you keep talking, the ghosts outside might come looking for you.”

The tactic worked like a charm. Jing Yuan immediately fell silent, cautiously scanning his surroundings.

Ji Yan’s lips curved into a slight smile as he cracked the window open a sliver and let out a long, quiet sigh.

Just then, a warm presence slowly drew closer.

Ji Yan looked down to find Jing Yuan, who had somehow wrapped his arms around his waist without him noticing. Jing Yuan’s brow was slightly furrowed, his expression pitiful.

Ji Yan asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jing Yuan looked up. “I’m scared of ghosts. Can I sleep with you tonight?”

Before Ji Yan could respond, the car ascended a slope and slowly entered the underground garage.

Chen Tian, ever tactful, glanced back and said, “Have a good evening, Mr. Ji.”