Chapter 53 - 2#
Jing Shun shot him a questioning little glance and couldn’t help letting out a shallow alcohol burp.
Chi Gui understood and responded calmly, “I came out for some fresh air too.”
This family reunion banquet today had never been his wish.
Those hypocritical faces flattered and catered to him to his face, but behind his back, who knew how they would slander and scorn him, this illegitimate son?
Chi Gui asked knowingly, “This is private property, isn’t it? You don’t have the right to kick me out.”
Jing Shun nodded belatedly, “Fine. I already knew who you were a long time ago.”
A glimmer lit in Chi Gui’s eyes. “You…”
Jing Shun spoke his name. “Chi Gui, right?”
“…”
The light in Chi Gui’s eyes dimmed. “Mm.”
Jing Shun didn’t notice this fleeting change in his expression, nor did he remember his friend’s instructions at all.
His gaze fixed on Chi Gui’s handsome face, then slowly traveled downward, scrutinizing him seriously.
Chi Gui asked him, “What are you looking at?”
“Mm.” Driven by the alcohol, Jing Shun reached out a hand, his rounded fingertip pointing through the air at the spot where Chi Gui’s tie was. “Your tie is loose.”
Chi Gui looked down and realized that his suit tie had somehow been pulled loose, hanging slack and disheveled.
“Yeah.”
Chi Gui acknowledged it but didn’t act on it right away.
To be honest, he wished he could tear off this tie named “restraint,” strip off this suit that didn’t belong to him anyway, and flee this nauseating banquet.
But he couldn’t give in to any of those impulses right now.
Seeing that Chi Gui hadn’t moved for a while, Jing Shun felt an inexplicable itch. “Why aren’t you fixing it? Want me to help?”
“No…”
Chi Gui changed his words at the last moment. “Do you know how?”
Jing Shun nodded confidently, his face full of anticipation as he scooted forward. “I do!”
Chi Gui knew the person in front of him was in the euphoric state of early drunkenness, but he still had the leisure to play along. “Then go ahead?”
Jing Shun’s fingertips rolled the tie, tilted his head to study it seriously, and then got to work.
Whether Chi Gui was listening or not, he muttered to himself, “I heard someone say before that a tie is the spirit of a suit. If you don’t tie it well, the other guests might secretly laugh at you.”
“…”
Even without that tie, his embarrassing identity had probably already been laughed at countless times.
Jing Shun carefully tied the knot, straightened it, and suddenly offered him comfort. “All done—take a look!”
“Chi Gui, don’t worry, no one will laugh at you now!”
“…”
Chi Gui met the soft, warm smile so close to him and felt a momentary daze.
The disgust and irritation brought on by this hypocritical banquet suddenly dissipated with that drunken consolation.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Jing Shun picked up his precious wine bottle again and shuffled backward, speaking disjointedly. “But I’m hungry.”
Chi Gui was amused by his dazed state. “What do you want to eat? I’ll get it for you, as a thank-you for tying my tie.”
“Cake!”
Jing Shun blurted out, his face full of hope. “Can I?”
Chi Gui stood up. “Sure. Then wait here.”
One command, one action.
Jing Shun obediently sat still like a child and nodded. “Okay.”
The garden wasn’t far from the banquet hall—only three or four minutes round trip. But unfortunately, as soon as Chi Gui entered the hall, Old Master Chi called him over.
By the time he found a way to extricate himself and returned to the garden with the small cake, Jing Shun was already asleep, sprawled on the pavilion bench.
Chi Gui approached and called to him softly. “Jing Shun? Wake up?”
Jing Shun opened his eyes dizzily, and after a few seconds, a look of grievance appeared on his face. “You were gone so long. I thought you were lying to me and weren’t coming back.”
“No.” Chi Gui wasn’t good at comforting people, so he simply handed over the small cake. “Here.”
Jing Shun childishly scooped up a spoonful of the cake.
But just as the sweetness spread on his tongue, a bitter ache crept into his eyes at the same time.
He held it in for a moment, then put down the spoon. “I don’t want it anymore.”
Chi Gui noticed his emotional slump. “Not to your taste? Want me to have them get you a different kind?”
Jing Shun shook his head. The alcohol, now fully hitting him, had obliterated his rationality and thrown his emotions into chaos. He looked at the almost-stranger Chi Gui in front of him, and the grievances he had bottled up for so long suddenly burst forth.
“My parents are divorced. Neither of them wants me. They even forgot it was my birthday today.”
Eighteen.
The day that was supposed to mark his official coming of age, yet the people closest to him weren’t by his side.
Jing Shun was terrified and lost about the future after adulthood. He closed his eyes in an attempt to escape, and didn’t know whether he was asking Chi Gui or himself:
“All alone… what am I supposed to do?”
“…”
Chi Gui was silent.
He didn’t have an answer to this question himself.
Forced back to the Chi Corporation, devoid of any familial affection, and unwittingly becoming a thorn in everyone’s side, what was he, alone, supposed to do?
Time ticked by, second by second.
After a long while, Chi Gui finally stood up and lifted the drowsy Jing Shun into his arms. He gave him the lightest and yet heaviest two words:
“Happy birthday.”
“Don’t be afraid.”
Another year older. Even if you can’t see the road ahead, at least don’t be afraid.
…
Taking the birthday as an opportunity, Jing Shun had brought up the long-buried past, but unexpectedly, he ended up learning some vague details from Chi Gui.
The car slowly drove through the Chi mansion’s gate. He looked at Chi Gui, who was still driving, and felt surprisingly surprised.
“So you remember our first meeting? Then why did you pretend not to know me before? I thought I drank too much and mixed up my memories.”
Chi Gui held back a smile at the barrage of questions from the passenger seat and defended himself slyly, “I wasn’t pretending not to know you. You just never asked, so I thought you’d forgotten.”
“…”
Jing Shun was left speechless by his retort. After a long pause, he laughed. “Alright, I guess I really don’t remember much.”
All he could recall was meeting Chi Gui in the garden that day and venting his grievances. As for everything else before and after, he had indeed lost all memory.
Chi Gui added, “The banquet wasn’t over yet, so I couldn’t stay outside too long. I had to take you to a private lounge and told the attendant to look after you.”
Hearing this follow-up detail, Jing Shun pressed further, “So it was you who took me back to the lounge? And the cake the next day—was that from you too?”
Jing Shun remembered that when he woke up the next day, an attendant at the estate had brought him a piece of cake. The card on it bore the simplest of words—
Happy birthday.
Chi Gui pulled the car into the garage of the North Wing. “Mm. What’s wrong?”
Hearing Chi Gui’s admission, a look of sudden understanding dawned on Jing Shun’s face. “Chi Sheng told me back then that he was the one who took me, drunk, to the lounge. And that the cake the next day was also prepared on his behalf.”
Chi Sheng had even said that he would spend every birthday with him from then on into adulthood. At the time, Jing Shun had been deeply moved, but time reveals people’s true colors—
That half-hearted promise had ultimately become an empty check.
“…”
Chi Gui’s face darkened. He stepped on the brake.
He had truly underestimated Chi Sheng’s shamelessness—he could actually take credit for something like this without even blushing.
“Chi Gui.”
Jing Shun sensed the gloomy aura settling over the man beside him and spoke up in time. “Thank you.”
Chi Gui was taken aback. “What?”
Jing Shun unbuckled his seatbelt and turned sideways to face Chi Gui. “Thank you for spending my eighteenth birthday with me. And that was our first meeting.”
“First meeting?”
Chi Gui savored those words for a moment, then let out a chuckle. “You’re welcome. Happy birthday.”
Jing Shun accepted the birthday wish but didn’t return it right away. “Let’s get out!”
“Sure.”
Chi Gui got out first and retrieved Jing Shun’s wheelchair from the backseat.
Jing Shun was already able to stand with some support. He sat down in the wheelchair on his own, beaming at Chi Gui. “The medical assistant said I’ve made a lot of progress in my rehab these past couple of days. If I keep it up, I should be able to walk with a cane soon.”
Chi Gui encouraged him. “Good.”
The elevator went straight up from the garage to the second floor.
Dog Bao charged out of the bedroom, wagging its tail furiously at Jing Shun. “Woof! Whine whine—”
“Shh! Quiet!”
It was already past ten; he couldn’t disturb the others in the house who were sleeping.
“Whine~”
Dog Bao was clever, but it still circled Jing Shun’s wheelchair.
Chi Gui remained inside the elevator. Something was clamoring to break out of his chest, but he suppressed it fiercely. “Jing Shun.”
Jing Shun looked up at him. “Hm?”
Chi Gui repeated, “Happy birthday.”
Jing Shun smiled. “Mm, got it.”
“Get some rest early.”
“Okay.”
The elevator doors closed, cutting off the man’s figure.
Jing Shun didn’t rush into his room. Instead, he pricked up his ears, listening for sounds from upstairs. Only after he confirmed that the third-floor door had closed did he ruffle Dog Bao’s head. “Baby.”
“Whine~”
“Papa Jing is going to do something big tonight! You’d better wish me success, okay?”
Dog Bao perked up its ears, utterly serious, and let out a tiny, “Arf!”
…
Time passed until eleven o’clock.
Chi Gui came out of the bathroom after washing up but had no desire to sleep.
He thought of the bouquet of flowers delivered to his office, the birthday invitation after so many years, the Jing Shun who was gradually opening his heart to him—the volcano that had long lain dormant in his chest was beginning to show signs of an uncontrollable eruption.
Chi Gui thought he could endure, could restrain himself. But deep inside, a wild idea was taking root—
If Jing Shun ever dared to take the initiative to cross that line, even if it was just a passing fancy, a momentary attraction, a fleeting impulse, he would throw all caution to the wind, bite down tight, and bind the other man to his side forever!
Knock knock.
A knock at the door.
The malice in Chi Gui’s eyes sank deep into his pupils in an instant. “Who is it?”
“It’s me.”
“…”
His body’s instinctive reaction outpaced everything. Chi Gui opened the door as fast as he could.
Jing Shun stood outside the door, dressed in long-sleeved pajamas.
Having just showered, his fair cheeks were flushed with a rosy pink that trailed all the way down to his collarbone—enough to tempt anyone to commit a sin.
Chi Gui’s breath and voice both tightened. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
“It’s only eleven. My birthday isn’t over yet, is it?”
Jing Shun mysteriously beckoned him. “First, open your hand. I have something for you.”
Chi Gui obeyed. “What is it?”
Suddenly, his palm sank with weight.
Two oval, hard-boiled eggs landed in his hand one after the other, the warmth spreading straight to the depths of his heart, striking his soul.
“Chi Gui, the birthday eggs your grandparents never got to give you—I’ve made up for them on their behalf.”
Only then did Jing Shun finally return the birthday wish. “Happy birthday.”