Kong Wenyu had a bad feeling—worse than anything he’d felt in years past.
“I promised you,” he said quietly, “no matter who I get engaged to, it won’t change what we have.”
Nie Jun opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He stared at him for a long time but said nothing.
Kong Wenyu left the support of the desk, kneeling on the carpet so they were face to face.
“I’m selfish,” he admitted. “I want everything. I go back on my word. But I swear, I’ll keep you hidden. No one will find you.”
But if he were truly selfish, he wouldn’t be looking up at Nie Jun like this—eyes full of hope.
Nie Jun reached out, brushing his fingers along Kong Wenyu’s cheek. Kong Wenyu turned his face slightly, leaning into the touch.
Nie Jun’s knuckles skimmed past the corner of his eye, then slid to the back of his head, fingers twisting into the soft hair there and yanking it back firmly.
That beautiful, innocent, deceptively pure face was laid bare in front of him—along with the delicate curve of his exposed throat.
Nie Jun lowered his gaze and studied him in silence.
It was impossible to guess what he was thinking. Under the faint light, his sharp nose cast shadows, his eyes sunk deep in their sockets—quiet, unreadable.
Forced to tilt his chin up, Kong Wenyu said softly, “Trust me.”
Nie Jun finally let go.
“When’s the engagement?”
Kong Wenyu looked straight at him, dazed for a moment.
“Next month.”
Nie Jun did the math—it was soon.
“You planned it a while ago. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Second Aunt agreed to host the wedding,” Kong Wenyu explained slowly, dragging out the context, never quite getting to the point. “My mom was worried something might go wrong if we waited too long. She kept pushing.”
“I wasn’t hiding it from you on purpose,” he said, reaching out to take Nie Jun’s hand. “I just…”
Still not recognized as anything official—Nie Jun gripped his hand back and after a beat said quietly, “It’s okay.”
The days got hotter and hotter, and once the end of the month passed, time started running like it was sprinting downhill—impossible to hold on to.
On the day of Kong Lingru’s wedding, the weather was mild and clear.
It was the second time in a short span that Kong Wenyu visited her home. This time, he came alone—no bodyguards. So when she saw him walk in by himself, Kong Lingru was genuinely surprised.
“Congratulations,” he said, setting the wedding gift down by the door.
She glanced at him briefly, then at the stiff, silent crowd standing out in the courtyard below.
“What are you doing here?”
“A wedding and a baby on the way—double happiness.” Kong Wenyu said smoothly. “I thought hard about what to give you and decided to bring over some of our old staff. They’ve watched you grow up. They know what you like. With them here, I can rest easy.”
She swept her gaze over the group—some from the medical wing, some from the kitchen, a couple of bodyguards. At the front stood the housekeeper who had served the Kong family for decades.
Her eyes shifted back to him.
“If you don’t trust them,” Kong Wenyu said lightly, lifting an eyebrow, “feel free to fire them. No need to send them back.”
Kong Lingru’s expression soured. After a long silence, she said, “You’re doing well now. Of course you get to do whatever you want.”
Kong Wenyu cast a meaningful glance at the old housekeeper standing outside.
Then he turned back, met her gaze, and looked briefly at the gentle curve of her pregnant belly.
“You should take care of your health,” he said. “Don’t bother with anything else. I just came today to get this squared away. From now on, let’s keep out of each other’s way.”
He turned to leave, but she called after him:
“Xiao Yu.”
Kong Wenyu paused but didn’t answer. He also didn’t leave.
“I lost. There’s nothing more to say,” Kong Lingru said, bracing herself against the corner table by the sofa. “Just promise me—don’t touch my partner or my child.”
Kong Wenyu stood silently for a moment. He didn’t agree, but neither did he say something cold or mocking, as she clearly expected.
Maybe it was the unexpected calm in him—so rare—that made her pause before continuing, “Believe it or not, I never wanted to take anything from you.”
The wide, brightly lit living room stood still. The solid wood coffee table, lush green plants around the edges—everything seemed to be watching them quietly.
“Never wanted the inheritance?” Kong Wenyu asked. “Or never wanted a say in the company?”
Kong Lingru fell silent for a while, then her voice lowered. “At first I thought—my brother’s gone, so the sister should step up. We’re all Kong family, after all. But the more people tried to stop me, the more I refused to back down. I had to prove I was capable.”
Kong Wenyu listened without interrupting.
She gave a soft laugh. “When he was kidnapped, I had a lot of time to think. You never realize what’s really important until you’re about to lose it. That last-minute press statement—I didn’t do it because I had no choice. I did it because I finally understood.”
Kong Wenyu looked past her, out the window at the jagged skyline against the night.
Nie Jun should be waiting near the entrance, hidden in some shadow beneath the trees.
“No matter what, we’re getting married,” Kong Lingru said. “I just need your word—and I’ll walk away willingly.”
Snapped out of his thoughts, maybe genuinely eager to leave, Kong Wenyu answered without hesitation.
“Alright.”
“I forgot to congratulate you,” she added with a faint smile. “I’ll be there for the engagement next month. I hope Miss Long is really the person you want to spend your life with.”
Outside the Kong family estate, Nie Jun was indeed standing under the big tree by the gate.
He looked tense. But Kong Wenyu, recalling the way Kong Lingru had touched her stomach, couldn’t help but smile.
“Relax,” he said. “She’s probably done giving me trouble.”
It was still early. Red wedding banners still clung quietly to the villa walls. The sky was a dull, overcast gray.
Nie Jun looked at him for a few seconds, then asked, “Do you want to get married?”
Kong Wenyu smiled faintly. “Let’s talk about the engagement first.”
His engagement was scheduled just a week after Kong Lingru’s. Both were set for a Saturday.
Kong Wenyu hadn’t been home all week. He’d been hiding out in an old neighborhood apartment, refusing to go anywhere even when others called.
The night before the engagement, he stayed on the phone until very late. After hanging up, he smoked three cigarettes in a row out on the balcony, only then stubbing the last one out forcefully in the ashtray and heading to the bathroom.
When they were together, he was restless—impatient. He wanted everything faster, harder.
Halfway through, Nie Jun reached for something, and after that, every motion became smoother, deeper. Even Kong Wenyu, who never made a sound during sex, couldn’t help but cry out.
By the time they were done, it was nearly 3 a.m. Kong Wenyu was drained and finally drifted off into sleep.
Nie Jun woke early the next morning. Kong Wenyu was curled on his side, not sleeping well, a frown etched between his brows.
Pale morning light slipped through a gap in the curtains. Nie Jun watched him for a long time, then gently pressed a finger to that frown and carefully got up to make breakfast.
He quietly shut the bedroom door and found a key he’d never used before. Without saying anything, he locked the door from the outside.
Then he cooked congee and made two simple side dishes.
When everything was done, the bedroom was still silent. Peeking through the narrow gap, Nie Jun saw Kong Wenyu still asleep.
The wall clock ticked toward seven.
The engagement banquet was set for nine o’clock. Kong Wenyu still needed to go home, change, get his hair done—any later, and he might not make it in time.
Or… he might just skip the whole thing.
Nie Jun stood at the edge of a decision, wavering between waking him up—
Waking him up, to send him off to become someone else’s fiancé.
Or letting him sleep, quietly slipping away. Letting him wake in a panic, realizing he’d overslept—only to find the door locked.
What would he do?
Call him.
And what if the call didn’t go through?
Nie Jun mulled over whether he could handle the storm of Kong Wenyu’s fury and still walk away unscathed.
Or maybe… maybe he wouldn’t stop at just locking the door. Maybe he’d take him away altogether.
He hesitated for a beat, then slipped the key into the lock and turned it once. On the second turn—click—the spring snapped back, the bolt released, and the door swung open.
Kong Wenyu didn’t stir.
Nie Jun walked to the bed and crouched down beside him, voice soft as he called his name.
Kong Wenyu was a light sleeper. The sound drew him out of slumber, though his eyes took a moment to focus through the haze.
“What time is it?” His voice was hoarse, as it often was when he first woke up.
“Seven twenty,” Nie Jun said, kneeling at the bedside, face level with his. “Want to get up and eat something?”
Kong Wenyu clearly hadn’t forgotten the nine o’clock engagement. This time, he didn’t linger under the covers. He sat up.
The thin blanket slid down, revealing the red marks on his shoulder and thigh.
He turned his head to glance at them—then looked back at Nie Jun.
Nie Jun pressed his lips together. “I’m sorry.”
Kong Wenyu picked up his phone from the nightstand, opened the front-facing camera, and checked his neck and lips.
Aside from the couple of red marks, there were no obvious traces.
Surprisingly, he didn’t say anything. He turned the phone off, got out of bed, and said, “What did you cook? Smells really good.”
Nie Jun watched him walk out of the room. A few seconds later, he followed.
“Have some soup—it’s good for your throat,” Nie Jun said, carefully ladling out half a bowl and placing it in front of him.
Kong Wenyu cleared his dry throat and obediently drank it all.
Nie Jun then handed him a bowl of fragrant steamed egg custard. Kong Wenyu slowly ate every bite with a small spoon.
After that, Nie Jun gave him a cut sandwich. Normally Kong Wenyu didn’t eat much in the mornings, but this time, after a glance at Nie Jun, he took it and ate a couple of bites.
“You’re not eating?” His voice was still raspy.
“I already did,” Nie Jun replied.
Kong Wenyu nodded without pressing further.
He got up and went to the bathroom to wash up. Nie Jun, as usual, cleaned the table in silence, a quiet routine formed between them over time.
By the time everything was tidied up, the car to pick Kong Wenyu up had already been waiting outside the complex for some time.
Kong Wenyu headed home in the car. Nie Jun took his bike to the music shop to collect his violin, then checked in at the front desk. Despite the morning rush, he still arrived five minutes earlier.
When Kong Wenyu got out of the car, he saw Nie Jun standing outside the duty room, eyes trailing him from the front gate to the building’s steps.
An hour later, the front desk phone rang, calling Nie Jun upstairs.
He grabbed the packed violin and hurried up, pushing open a few doors before he saw Kong Wenyu’s figure by the window.
He stepped closer, standing just beside him.
Because of the significance of the day, Kong Wenyu wore a custom-fitted suit, striking cufflinks, and an elegant, dazzling watch—a sharp contrast to his usual understated style.
He’d also styled his hair—every strand immaculate, the overall look stunning.
If only he weren’t getting engaged to someone else.
“You look amazing,” Nie Jun said, placing the violin down. “It’s a gift—for your engagement.”
There were plenty of similar violins on the third floor; in that context, it wasn’t anything special.
Kong Wenyu glanced at it and noticed the high-end label. “If it’s for me, why didn’t you hand it to me yourself?”
Nie Jun hesitated, then opened the case and took it out.
“What do you want to hear?” Kong Wenyu asked.
“Anything’s fine.”
“I don’t know that one,” Kong Wenyu said while tuning. “Pick another.”
Nie Jun smiled and thought for a moment. “Mariage d’Amour.”
Kong Wenyu finished tuning and rested the violin on his shoulder.
The phone on the table rang—it was probably people downstairs urging him to get going.
He ignored it. Instead, a soft, flowing melody began—smoother, more lingering than the last time.
Nie Jun felt again the strange, ear-ringing illusion that the moment was stretching out endlessly. What he thought was only the prelude had already lasted three minutes—the piece nearing its end.
As the final note faded, Kong Wenyu packed the violin back into the case and straightened, pushing the window open. The wind outside was damp and heavy, casting sharp definition across his face.
“Looks like it’s going to rain,” Nie Jun said, glancing out at the sky, then back at him.
Kong Wenyu was staring out at the dark, overcast horizon—the blurred line of the skyline vanishing into the gloom.
In the courtyard below, the cars had already assembled. The bodyguards stood in formation. Man Mingzhi had left earlier, en route to the hotel.
“Do you think it might be dangerous?” Nie Jun stared at the departing vehicles, hesitating. “There were no issues the last time you went to the office—so this time, something might happen.”
Kong Wenyu turned to look at him but didn’t respond.
Nie Jun was usually a quiet person, but after a moment, he spoke again, taking the initiative one last time: “Do you really have to go through with the engagement?”
Kong Wenyu opened his mouth but paused. “Give me a little time…”
Nie Jun looked at him for a long while before finally saying, “I’ll take you to the hotel.”
Time was running short. Kong Wenyu stared at his back without blinking.
“Jun-ge,” he said softly. The wind pushed in through the open window, lifting his hair against the side of his face. “I went looking for you—many times.”
Nie Jun froze.
“I booked the same ship, again and again, but I never saw you again,” Kong Wenyu said. “The port and the trading company told me that the security that day was outsourced. They wouldn’t give out photos or any personal details.”
Nie Jun swallowed—his throat dry.
“They were worried about revenge,” he said.
Kong Wenyu nodded, then was silent for a moment before quietly continuing, “That time on the ship, when I came to talk business with Ao Yongwang, the moment you walked up—I recognized you right away.”
He was trying to soothe Nie Jun.
Because today, he was getting engaged.
To someone else.
Nie Jun didn’t call him out. “You thought I came looking for trouble?”
Kong Wenyu shook his head, then lowered his eyes and smiled. “Doesn’t seem like it.”
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