The phone on the nightstand wouldn’t stop ringing. Kong Wenyu let go of Nie Jun’s hand and reached over to check it.
Yu Jiadou’s name flashed across the screen. There’d been a lot going on lately, so he didn’t hesitate—he answered.
The phone felt icy against his ear, and even then, he had to turn the volume all the way up just to make out the shouting.
“Are you out of your damn mind, Kong Wenyu?!” Yu Jiadou barked. “Why the hell are you dead set on picking a fight with your second aunt? Her connections are worth more than two of me!”
Behind him, Nie Jun had slowed down, his movements languid. Kong Wenyu had no patience for this. “If you’ve got nothing useful to say, I’m hanging up.”
“You—!” Yu Jiadou let out a disbelieving laugh. “The two families you picked—Chang’s family barely has any heirs. Took them ten years to get a grandson, of course they want to make it a big deal. The invitations are already out. It’s too late to change the date.”
“And the Xu family’s marrying off their daughter overseas. This engagement party is the real occasion, meant to collect gifts. That’s why they sent invitations out everywhere. You change the date now, where’s their face supposed to go?”
“Great, I’m hanging up,” Kong Wenyu said, exhaling slowly and reaching out with his other hand to push against Nie Jun’s thigh.
The gesture barely had strength—it was more teasing than forceful. Nie Jun caught his hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed his fingers before lacing them together.
“You’re not hanging up,” Yu Jiadou said irritably. “If you want to get through this peacefully, forget it. That’s not happening. I’ve got personal ties with the Chang family, and the Xu family’s untouchable too. But Di Xun… you could try him.”
Kong Wenyu closed his eyes, listening.
“You didn’t mess with Di Xun’s people last time—that was you showing him respect. Now, though? You’re backed into a corner. The question is whether he’s still willing to do you a favor.”
Yu Jiadou sighed. “Look, all I’m saying is—fix that damn temper of yours. You go around making enemies everywhere. You gotta give people a little face.”
“Fine,” Kong Wenyu muttered, breathing heavily. “I’m hanging up.”
Yu Jiadou was just about to curse him out again—but the line was already dead.
Kong Wenyu tossed the phone aside and pulled Nie Jun’s hand toward him.
Nie Jun leaned down, pressing close to his back.
Kong Wenyu couldn’t help but let out a low, contented sigh.
“He’s wrong,” Nie Jun whispered by his ear, gazing at the flush around Kong’s eyes, the way lust clouded his face.
“Some people are introverted. Some are social butterflies from birth. You—you’re just you. You don’t need to change.” His voice softened along with his movements, going deeper, drawing out the words, “I think you’re… just right.”
“Oh yeah? What’s so good about me?”
“You’re smart. Composed. A gentleman… Your hair, your hands, your voice…” For each word, Nie Jun paused and kissed his shoulder. “This too.”
“You don’t need to beg anyone else,” he murmured, his voice rough in the rain-soaked silence. “If they won’t do it—I will.”
Kong Wenyu’s grip dug into his thigh, leaving claw marks behind.
Nie Jun felt it—sharp, aching. His half-lidded eyes held shadows too deep to see the bottom of. “There are only two roads left: make the main player disappear, and the wedding and baby celebration get canceled automatically. If you can’t bring yourself to do it, or can’t pick who—let me choose.”
“Fuck,” Kong Wenyu cursed under his breath. “You planning to be a fugitive?”
Nie Jun abruptly stopped and bit down on his shoulder. It was harsh—so unlike his usual gentleness, almost feral.
The pain sparked a strange itch. Kong Wenyu broke into a thin layer of sweat, nerves tingling, thoughts unraveling.
“A car accident. A staged kidnapping. A medical mishap—say, an allergic reaction to a vaccine…” Nie Jun’s voice was low and husky, muffled as he kissed the spot he’d just bitten, then moved to his ear. “Everyone does it this way, except you. You’re too soft—how can I let go?”
Kong Wenyu’s thoughts scattered. The roar in his ears drowned everything. Sight, sound—it all blurred and disappeared.
“Jun…” Kong Wenyu couldn’t take it anymore—his fingers trembled out of his control. “Wait…”
Nie Jun pulled him up slightly, one palm sliding up along his narrow waist and stopping at his delicate throat.
He cupped the back of Wenyu’s neck, thumb and index finger pressing gently under his jawline, forcing Wenyu to tip his head back.
It was 11 p.m.
Kong Wenyu finally fell asleep.
Nie Jun tossed the used items into a trash bag, pulled it out of the automatic bin, and tied it shut. The trash can emitted a mechanical whirring sound, like a rewinding tape.
The noise didn’t wake Wenyu. He was sunken deep into the mattress, utterly motionless.
Nie Jun had long noticed that exhaustion gave Wenyu the rare gift of deep sleep.
At midnight, Nie Jun finished showering quietly. Feeling refreshed, he grabbed the trash bag and stepped out.
He took the fire escape to avoid any motion-activated lights, sitting down on the lowest step and lighting a cigarette.
The glowing tip flared and faded in the dark, like a midnight sigh—quiet and addictive.
When he finished smoking, he stood up, grabbed the black umbrella leaning against the door, and slipped out through the Kong family’s gate, tossing the trash.
He stood under the eaves, checking the weather forecast on his phone. It said the rain would stop soon—but there would be thunderstorms by dawn.
He pocketed the phone and walked toward the guard station.
Pushing open the door, he found Hai Ming staring at him in surprise. “You didn’t leave?”
“Just got here,” Nie Jun replied, folding up his umbrella and placing it aside.
“You’re all wet?” Hai Ming looked at his damp hair and the faint mist still clinging to his cheeks. “But your clothes are dry?”
Nie Jun’s hand froze as he took off his jacket. “Shirt’s wet underneath. I’ll sleep in the dorm room next door.”
“Why not just crash here?” Hai Ming said, closing the window to block out the sound of rain. “Plenty of space.”
“Sure.” Nie Jun smiled and headed to the sink. While Hai Ming wasn’t looking, he quickly unzipped his jacket and splashed water onto his T-shirt.
He draped the jacket over a chair and grabbed a towel to dry his hands.
Hai Ming glanced over and saw the wet shirt—just as expected.
“There’s spare clothes in the wardrobe. Grab something to change into.”
“No need,” Nie Jun sat down and pulled out his phone. “It’ll dry soon.”
The chat history with Kong Wenyu was short and easy to skim. Frequent calls, but all brief.
Nie Jun lifted his eyes and gazed through the window toward Wenyu’s bedroom.
“It’s raining,” Hai Ming followed his gaze. “He won’t be coming out.”
Nie Jun locked his phone screen and hesitated. “Does he still… get put in solitary?”
“…Huh?” Hai Ming didn’t follow. “What?”
“Nothing,” Nie Jun said.
“Put who in solitary?” Hai Ming pressed, looking again toward the bedroom and catching on. His brows knit. “You mean the boss?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Where’d you hear something like that?” Hai Ming scoffed, finding it laughable. “Who the hell would dare? He runs this house like a tyrant. Mr. Kong and his wife tiptoe around him. You really don’t know how it is with rich only sons.”
Nie Jun frowned too, silently thinking: You don’t know the half of it.
“…I think there really was one time.” Hai Ming dug into his memory, then broke into a laugh before he could stop himself. “The weather that night was terrible—windy, raining, thunder and all that. He wanted to go racing at the club—cars, or maybe motorcycles, something off-road. Put on his helmet and couldn’t see a thing. So Madam said to lock him up, and told him he could go out only when the rain stopped.”
Nie Jun immediately felt the same kind of speechless disbelief that Man Mingzhi had earlier. After sitting in silence for a moment, he couldn’t help but crack a smile too.
Hai Ming saw that and thought he’d found a kindred spirit. He laughed along with a sheepish “heh heh.”
—
The next day, Kong Wenyu’s phone rang all day. It died twice, and he switched to a backup phone just to keep making calls.
By late afternoon, sensational headlines had taken over every trending chart. Just skimming through them, it was all attention-grabbing phrases like “pregnant before marriage”, “secret engagement”, “underground romance”, and “wedding bells soon.”
There were no photos of the driver in any of the images, just one of Kong Lingtiao in a black dress and a photo of a medical report.
Kong Wenyu had just ended a call. He sat on the couch holding his phone, eyes following Nie Jun as he walked in through the door.
Nie Jun dropped the newspaper on the table, then turned around and walked back toward the door.
The phone screen had already gone dark, but Kong Wenyu didn’t notice. He just stared blankly at the doorway.
“That was reckless,” Yu Jiaduo said from the couch as he ruffled his hair, clearly on the verge of a breakdown. “Why didn’t they talk first? Now everyone’s panicking. If the Ao family’s PR team jumps in, who knows how they’ll spin this.”
Kong Wenyu finally looked away and tossed his phone onto the table. “Waiting for a call.”
Yu Jiaduo picked up the newspaper to read, but only got through a couple lines before giving up. He put his hands together in a mock prayer gesture.
Across from him, Man Mingzhi took a calm sip of coffee, her expression unchanging. “If begging Heaven actually worked, the streets would be full of homeless people praying for lottery wins. If you’re that bored, go find something useful to do. And if your nerves are shot, pop a sleeping pill and take a nap.”
Yu Jiaduo choked. “Are you talking about me, Auntie?”
“I’m talking about the air.” Man Mingzhi set her cup down with a crisp ding.
“Well at least I’m not like Xiao Yu over there, just sitting and waiting for a call,” Yu Jiaduo said, trying to defend himself. “Why aren’t you saying anything to him?”
Man Mingzhi replied, “Because he has eyes. He knows when to keep his mouth shut.”
Yu Jiaduo looked at Kong Wenyu—furious but not brave enough to argue.
Kong Wenyu, unfazed, just shrugged like it was none of his business.
Yu Jiaduo closed his mouth and started scrolling on his phone. “They’re starting to pull down the trending posts on the other side.”
As soon as he said it, the phone on the table rang.
Kong Wenyu picked it up while gesturing for more follow-up action.
Yu Jiaduo immediately contacted someone to push the tags back up.
Man Mingzhi reached over and took Kong Wenyu’s phone.
“Hello?”
“…Sister-in-law?” Kong Lingtiao paused on the other end. “Why are you answering the phone? Where’s Kong Wenyu?”
“He’s sick—resting right now,” Man Mingzhi replied airily. “You need something from him?”
Kong Lingtiao took a sharp breath. “Did you see this morning’s news? We just signed the agreement face to face a few days ago. I acted in good faith, even pushed the board to expedite the process—at the latest, he could’ve started next month. Now he leaks something like this without a word? If he’s planning to back out, don’t blame me for turning hostile.”
Man Mingzhi clicked her tongue. “Now that tone sounds more like you. Doesn’t really matter who leaked it—what matters is whether it’s true. Are you really pregnant? With that chauffeur?”
There was a pause. Kong Lingtiao’s breath grew sharp and unsteady—she was clearly furious.
Man Mingzhi chuckled. “Here, I’ll give you a solution. Release a statement: say you two are already married. Legally. Having a baby is natural.”
She coolly echoed Kong Lingtiao’s own words back at her. “Relax. Even if you’re married, you’re still family. The Kong family might have ancestral rules, but we also prepare a generous dowry for daughters who marry out. And I won’t kick you out of the company either.”
“Sister-in-law!” Kong Lingtiao snapped, voice sharpened with threat. “I’ve got dirt on Kong Wenyu too. If I let it out, think about what that’ll do to him. You really want to push me that far?”
From the couch, Kong Wenyu just shrugged. Man Mingzhi replied flatly, “Do what you want.”
She hung up, placed the phone back on the table.
Kong Wenyu and Yu Jiaduo both gave her a thumbs-up.
“If she goes public, she’s forcing the Long family to pick a side,” Kong Wenyu said. “Now it’s all up to the Ao siblings.”
Yu Jiaduo glanced around the room—Zhu Yi topping up tea, the housekeeper in the kitchen, a maid polishing the stairs, and Nie Jun standing quietly near the door.
He lowered his voice, cautious. “You should be careful too.”
“Have Hai Ming stay by your side,” Man Mingzhi told Kong Wenyu. “If there are only two people in this house you can trust, one’s Aunt Zhu. The other is him.”
She picked up her coffee cup, took a small sip, then stood, smoothing her shawl. “Don’t sleep tonight. Stay on top of this. When I wake up, I expect to hear good news from you.”
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