Man Mingzhi returned home just before noon the next day. The living room was empty and quiet. Aunt Zhu hurried out to take her handbag.
“I’m going to shower,” Man Mingzhi said as she walked toward the bedroom. “Make something light. Porridge.”
Aunt Zhu answered and went to put her bag away in the walk-in closet. For a brief moment they were walking side by side.
Man Mingzhi sighed. “And get the herbal foot soak ready. I’ll soak my legs after lunch.”
Aunt Zhu acknowledged her again and moved to help, but was waved off.
“We only have one child,” Man Mingzhi said, her tone as tired as her steps. The delicate makeup couldn’t hide the fine lines at the corners of her eyes. “Can we really just let him go off the rails like this? Has that little bastard even called to check in on the family?”
Aunt Zhu made a small sound of surprise. “He’s home. He didn’t go out.”
Man Mingzhi stopped in her tracks and turned to look at her.
Aunt Zhu thought for a moment. “He asked for a late-night snack yesterday. Then ice water around midnight. I was worried it’d upset his stomach, so I gave him warm water instead.”
“What the hell?” Man Mingzhi frowned. “You didn’t go up to check on him? Don’t tell me he’s so heartbroken he’s depressed now?”
“I peeked in when I brought up the food. Room was dark, couldn’t see much.” Aunt Zhu recalled. “But he was leaning by the window, smoking.”
Heartbroken, just as I suspected, Man Mingzhi thought grimly.
Kong Wenyu didn’t have the habit of eating late-night snacks, and he definitely wasn’t a smoker. That was not a good sign.
“I’d better go check on him.” Man Mingzhi hesitated for a few seconds, then turned toward the stairs. “Hope he’s not up there about to jump out the window.”
Aunt Zhu started to follow, a bit worried herself. But knowing Kong Wenyu valued his privacy, Man Mingzhi waved her off. “Don’t follow. I’ll go myself.”
Aunt Zhu nodded and turned to tell the kitchen to start the porridge.
Upstairs was indeed completely dark. Even with the sunlight blazing outside, the hallway felt gloomy and cold.
Man Mingzhi pulled back the curtains at the end of the hall and opened a window, letting in a breeze and some light.
Kong Wenyu’s bedroom door was shut tight. She went over and knocked.
No response.
She knocked again, louder this time.
After a pause, a tired, slightly muffled voice came through: “Just bring it in.”
He must’ve thought it was Aunt Zhu bringing him breakfast. Man Mingzhi felt slightly relieved.
“I’m coming in,” she said, giving him a few seconds out of courtesy before turning the doorknob.
The bedroom was pitch-black, both the blackout and sheer curtains drawn tight. Only a sliver of light leaked through a gap.
She didn’t barge in to pull the curtains open, just stood by the door and gave a heads-up: “I’m turning on the lights.”
There was a flash of movement on the bed—seemed like Shola scrambled off in a mess of limbs—right as the light switched on.
Kong Wenyu frowned and pushed himself up to sit against the headboard, looking thoroughly annoyed and sleep-deprived.
The thin blanket was draped over him haphazardly, half thrown aside, and another pillow lay crumpled next to him. The whole bed was a disaster—creases everywhere, corners flipped up, the sheet nearly dragging on the floor.
The trash bin was full of used tissues, and what looked like a T-shirt balled up and tossed in. Still, it wasn’t the war zone of cigarette butts she had expected, and that surprised Man Mingzhi a little.
Her reaction was so obvious that Kong Wenyu sighed and looked back at her. “It’s only been a day. You don’t recognize me anymore?”
“I’d know you even if you were a pile of ashes.” Man Mingzhi instantly lost interest and stood across from him, casually glancing at the half-finished glass of water on the nightstand.
“What do you want?” Kong Wenyu asked with a touch of impatience, as if telling her to get to the point.
Since he didn’t seem to be doing anything reckless, Man Mingzhi felt relieved. “Young master’s been holed up at home all day—I figured I should give you a little update on how things are going outside.”
She adjusted the shawl draped over her shoulders. “About this marriage arrangement with the Long family—if you want it, just say so, and I’ll take care of it. I’ll find someone to take the blame, tell Mr. Long you’re still young, made a mistake, but are willing to make amends. If you don’t want it, I’ll be blunt and say your condition isn’t improving, and call the whole thing off.”
Before he could speak, Man Mingzhi continued, “But just so you know—backing out of two engagements, plus being ‘sick’—no well-off family’s daughter will want to marry into ours after that.”
The way she said “sick” made it sound like she was cursing his mental state.
Kong Wenyu, maybe because she had actually been pulling her weight at work the past couple of days, didn’t nitpick her wording. “The Longs and the shareholders—will they give you a hard time over it?”
“Oh, now you care if someone gives me a hard time?” she let out a cold laugh. “If you don’t, I’ll count myself lucky. What happened to your big talk yesterday? All fired up saying you were gonna lock him up—I thought you were about to blow up the airport.”
“No need now.” Kong Wenyu sounded calmer than the day before. He was about to say he’d already found the person when the curtain in the walk-in closet rustled—and Shola bounded out, full of energy.
The dog circled Man Mingzhi twice with happy barks before hopping up on the bed beside Kong Wenyu.
“Keep that mutt out of the bedroom,” she said, stepping back.
“It’s not your bedroom.” Kong Wenyu patted Shola’s head. “Go play.”
Shola nuzzled him affectionately, then darted back into the closet. Something got knocked over, and a clatter of falling objects followed.
Not wanting to share a room with the dog, Man Mingzhi said briskly, “Think it over. Let me know once you’ve made up your mind.”
“I already have. I’m not marrying anyone else.”
Man Mingzhi could sense there was more to that “anyone else” and gave him a few probing glances. “Then who do you want to marry?”
“Nie Jun,” Kong Wenyu replied. “I want to take him abroad and register our marriage.”
Having just steeled herself to be an open-minded parent, Man Mingzhi was still floored. “You’re out of your mind. The best I can do is accept you keeping him around.”
That she even lowered her bottom line that quickly made Kong Wenyu chuckle, tongue briefly touching a canine tooth.
“You’re rushing things,” Man Mingzhi tried to steady herself. “You two haven’t been together that long. Once you get that certificate, there’s no undoing it.”
Kong Wenyu smiled but said nothing.
Man Mingzhi took a step back. “A title means nothing. You keep him here, give him a house, give him a car—that’s something real, isn’t it?”
“Not good enough,” Kong Wenyu replied, still staring at the blackout curtains.
“You’ve been engaged twice and backed out twice. At this rate, you’ll be onto the next one in under a year.”
Her voice had risen slightly, but she suddenly remembered Nie Jun was supposed to be gone, and if he really heard this and jumped out the window, they’d be screwed.
“I’ll think about it,” she changed tack, swallowing her harsher words. “And you think about it too. Like you said—mutual respect.”
Kong Wenyu finally looked away from the window and gave a slow nod.
Man Mingzhi let out a breath. “Come down and eat something.”
“In a bit.”
“I’ll have someone bring it up.” She assumed he’d lost his appetite from emotional stress. “Take care of yourself.”
Once the bedroom door closed, Kong Wenyu sat silently for a while, rubbing the sore muscles at the tops of his thighs.
The curtain in the closet moved again. Nie Jun stepped out, fully dressed.
Kong Wenyu glanced over at him. “What were you hiding for?”
“Your mom hasn’t agreed yet.” Nie Jun hesitated before crouching at the side of the bed. He took Kong Wenyu’s hand, gently rubbing the back of it. “It’s not great for your reputation.”
Kong Wenyu leaned back deeper into the pillows, his posture relaxed. “You think I still care about that kind of thing?”
His smile wasn’t the usual kind with eyes curving into crescents—there was just the subtlest lift in the corners, but it was enough to show he was clearly in a good mood.
Nie Jun leaned in slightly. “There’s this little private kitchen in the old city area. It’s your kind of food. Want to check it out? It’s not super close, but not that far either.”
Kong Wenyu ruffled his hair, gave his ear a gentle pinch, then let his hand slide down to pat him on the lower back.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Kong Wenyu said. “Afterward, I’ll take you to a concert. You in?”
“I want to go with you,” Nie Jun replied.
Kong Wenyu gave his waist a playful squeeze, chuckling. “Then let’s get moving.”
He stretched as he stood up, paused at the bathroom door, and raised an eyebrow. “Coming with me?”
It was already getting late—if he didn’t eat soon, his blood sugar might crash.
“I already washed up in Shola’s room,” Nie Jun said. “I’ll go grab your clothes.”
Kong Wenyu threw on some casual pants, a white polo, and strapped on his watch. Just like that, that effortless, high-end aura surrounded him.
Not that he seemed to notice. As he passed Nie Jun, his hand brushed over the light fabric of Nie Jun’s pants.
“What kind of pants are these?” he asked, glancing down.
“Just regular pants,” Nie Jun said. “I bought them off the convenience street outside the complex.”
“Comfy?” Kong Wenyu asked again.
“Pretty decent,” Nie Jun smiled. “I’ll bring you a pair tomorrow.”
Kong Wenyu nodded and kept walking toward the door, asking over his shoulder, “You know my size?”
His legs were long, so his pants size ran larger—but he preferred a looser fit around the waist. That’s why he rarely bought pants off the rack; everything was custom-ordered and delivered straight to him.
Nie Jun followed behind and gave his waist a quick glance before looking away. “Shouldn’t be wrong. They had white and navy—do you want either?”
Kong Wenyu didn’t notice, just said firmly, “I want the exact same ones you’re wearing.”
Nie Jun agreed, and as they reached the staircase, he called out, “I’ll go down the back stairs.”
Kong Wenyu turned to look at him. Nie Jun had already taken a step back, standing just out of sight at the stairway landing.
“No one knows I’m here,” Nie Jun explained. “If I just walk out of your room, it won’t look great.”
Kong Wenyu glanced downstairs and saw Man Mingzhi sitting at the dining table, eating. Aunt Zhu was moving in and out of the kitchen, carrying light-colored dishes.
“Technically, I should be in Chengdu right now,” Nie Jun said lightly, smiling. “And if I were coming back, I’d come in through the front door. Anything else wouldn’t make sense.”
Kong Wenyu pictured the scene in his head and had to admit, it made sense. So he asked, “Then how are you getting out?”
“I’ll go out the back, cut through the side wing’s infirmary entrance, pass through the hallway. There’s some bushes near the front—I’ll slip out that way.”
Kong Wenyu gave him a long, complicated look. “You’ve got this down to a science.”
“I’m even better at it at night,” Nie Jun said, then quickly added, “It’s darker, harder to spot me. Way easier than during the day.”
“Got it.” Kong Wenyu turned his head, grinning, and waved him off. “You’ve really got the whole sneaking-around thing figured out.”
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