This chapter is brought to you K, thanks for the ko-fi! （人´∀`*）
When Song Jianchu woke up, it was already dark outside. He felt a bit confused and didn’t know how long he had been sleeping.
The unfamiliar room was filled with a faint familiar fragrance, which made him feel at ease.
Has Mu Ye been here?
“I didn’t see him,” Song Jianchu felt a bit regretful, but he also let go of his worries.
It’s better to wait for things to calm down before meeting Mu Ye.
Ignoring the thought of wanting to see him, Song Jianchu let out a sigh, peeled off the fever patch from his forehead, coughed lightly, and sat up to find his phone.
He didn’t see his phone by the bedside, so he got out of bed and walked out of the bedroom slowly. He hoarsely called, “Yin Chi, where’s my phone?”
Pushing the door open, his eyes flickered in surprise, and his footsteps paused at the doorway.
The person he wanted to see was right there, in that warm light.
Mu Ye was cooking in the open kitchen, focused on studying a recipe on his phone. He turned around when he smelled something and smiled gently, “Awake?”
Mu Ye said, “Yin Chi left, and my phone has been confiscated for a few days. I’m not allowed to use it.”
Song Jianchu felt complicated and asked softly, “Why hasn’t he left yet?”
Mu Ye raised an eyebrow, “Are you rushing me?”
Song Jianchu pressed his lips lightly, “…no.”
Mu Ye put down his phone and walked over, embracing him and gently pressing his forehead against Song Jianchu’s to check if his fever had gone down. He smiled and said, “Bai Xingyu sent me a recipe for nutritious porridge. It should taste good. It’ll take about ten minutes. Go lie down.”
Song Jianchu looked into those gentle eyes and his will weakened, making it hard for him to speak rationally.
He obediently nodded and said, “Okay.”
“Don’t worry about the little ones. I’ve asked Pei Shinian to take care of them,” Mu Ye hugged him, comforting him by patting his back gently. “It’s quieter here. Rest for a few days, and when you’re better, we’ll go back.”
Song Jianchu pressed his face against Mu Ye’s shoulder, feeling a bit uneasy, and whispered softly, “Okay.”
Mu Ye should already know that he was lying when he saw Yin Chi.
Wasn’t he angry?
Song Jianchu mentally prepared himself for questioning, clenching his fingers tightly and waiting.
However, Mu Ye didn’t ask anything. He just held him.
After a long time, Mu Ye finally let go of him, turned his shoulder, and pushed him towards the bedroom. “Be good, get more sleep. I’ll call you when the food is ready.”
Song Jianchu turned his head to take a glance and nodded dazedly before obediently returning to lie down.
As if afraid that he would feel lonely, Mu Ye didn’t close the door for him.
The fragrance of rice porridge wafted into the room. Song Jianchu lay on his side under the blanket, his eyes fixed on the outside. Because of another presence, even the lighting seemed warmer.
Song Jianchu’s gaze also softened.
Song Jianchu was very focused on efficiency in life and rarely wasted time like this. Even when he was in school, he would continue reading even if he had a cold.
It seemed like he was always chasing after something and felt uncomfortable when he stopped.
But he didn’t know when it started, he didn’t feel bored even when he did nothing.
Song Jianchu wasn’t accustomed to eating in bed, so he went to the dining table to have his porridge. He quietly ate a lot, burying himself in the meal.
Mu Ye accompanied him during the meal, occasionally looking up to observe if he had an appetite.
When his bowl was empty, Mu Ye raised a corner of his lips and said, “Want another bowl?”
Song Jianchu observed Mu Ye’s expression but couldn’t discern any emotions. He nodded slightly and said, “Thank you.”
Mu Ye only ate a little before stopping. He supported his face with his hand and looked at Song Jianchu, his gaze falling on the bruise at the corner of his mouth, furrowing his eyebrows slightly.
After Song Jianchu finished his last spoonful and put down the spoon, he lowered his eyes and spoke softly, “Teacher Mu.”
“Mm,” Mu Ye smiled with satisfaction.
Not wanting Mu Ye to stay here, Song Jianchu spoke rationally, “You should go back. I can take care of myself.”
The corners of Mu Ye’s mouth slowly drooped, and he remained silent.
Song Jianchu calmly explained, “It’s not that I’m rushing you. It’s just that if you stay here and get caught, it would be difficult to handle. There’s no need to involve you in this trouble. It has nothing to do with you in the first place.”
“And it has something to do with you?” Mu Ye’s expression was calm as he finally asked, “Why did you go looking for him? Why did you fight?”
Song Jianchu slowly shifted his gaze away.
Mu Ye chuckled, got up to take away the empty bowls, and didn’t continue probing, “You don’t have to say if you don’t want to. Go lie down, I’ll bring you the medicine later.”
There were only two bowls, and Mu Ye didn’t use a dishwasher. He rolled up his sleeves and washed them by hand, no longer smiling.
Song Jianchu didn’t get up. He sat on the dining chair, watching Mu Ye wash the dishes, which took a long time.
Throughout their life together, Song Jianchu had never allowed Mu Ye to do any household chores, not even lifting objects. Unable to help himself, he said, “Don’t wash them anymore, just leave them.”
“Chu Chu,” Mu Ye spoke in a low voice.
Song Jianchu grew slightly nervous, “Yes?”
Mu Ye absentmindedly washed the dishes and spoke casually, “When I was your age, I wasn’t as sensible as you.”
Song Jianchu was momentarily stunned, then he relaxed.
He chuckled and lazily propped his face on the dining table, “I can’t imagine.”
Indeed, it was hard to imagine.
While Mu Ye sometimes acted childish, most of the time he was mature and stable. In Song Jianchu’s eyes, he was strong and gentle.
“I’m not as good as you think,” Mu Ye’s voice mixed with the sound of flowing water as he laughed. “When I was young, I caused trouble for my family. I loved to play, hated studying, and argued with my parents. After I debuted, I didn’t like going home because I didn’t want to listen to them nagging me.”
Song Jianchu smiled faintly, images of a young Mu Ye when he just debuted flashed through his mind.
Just the thought of it made Song Jianchu’s heart skip a beat, and his cheeks slightly flushed.
If he had met the young Mu Ye, who was the same age as him, he didn’t know what foolish things he would have done…
“So, I’m glad that I met you when you were eighteen,” Mu Ye’s lips curved slightly as he spoke softly, “That way, I can accompany you as you grow up, provide you with some experiences when you encounter difficulties, and tell you where I made mistakes and how to make relatively correct choices.”
Song Jianchu’s gaze became hazy and unfocused, his fingers coiling on his thigh.
“But it seems like I don’t have many opportunities to do that.” Mu Ye smiled helplessly. “You, Chu Chu, are too mature. Most of the time, you’re more considerate than me. You’re excellent in every aspect.”
“…”
Song Jianchu withdrew his gaze without much confidence.
If Mu Ye knew that he had been hiding something, he would undoubtedly be disappointed.
Mu Ye wasn’t as perfect as he imagined.
“I also like the mature and sensible Chu Chu.” Mu Ye rinsed off the foam on the dishes, paused for a moment, and spoke softly,
“But sometimes, big brother also hopes that you can be less independent and occasionally rely on me.”
Mu Ye turned off the water flow, supporting himself on the edge of the sink with both hands, and lowered his head slightly. “Like now.”
“…” Song Jianchu remained silent for a long time, his hand discreetly rubbing the inconspicuous small blood spot on his wrist under the table.
“Teacher Mu,” Song Jianchu hesitated, biting his lip. “I…”
Song Jianchu met Mu Ye’s gaze, unable to lift his head, his throat feeling dry.
Should he say it now?
If he said it now, Mu Ye would be even more worried.
He had kept it hidden for too long, originally intending to find a solution and tell him when it wouldn’t burden Mu Ye too much.
But in the end, he had reached a dead end.
He didn’t know how to start, how to be forgiven.
Song Jianchu lowered his head, pinching his fingers, and his lips moved weakly.
But once again, he couldn’t make a sound.
Just as he struggled to speak, his head was gently ruffled. Mu Ye smiled and said, “There’s no need to rush me.”
Mu Ye sat down beside him with the medicine box in his hands. He lifted Song Jianchu’s chin to examine his injuries and spoke soothingly, “Don’t worry too much about the online discussions. It’s normal for Chu Chu to be so popular and attract public attention.”
Song Jianchu kept his gaze fixed on Mu Ye’s face. “…Mm.”
Mu Ye opened the medicine box, took out the medication and a cotton swab, and gently applied it to the corner of Song Jianchu’s mouth.
As the cotton swab touched the wound, it stung a little, causing Song Jianchu’s mouth to twitch slightly.
Mu Ye frowned, “Does it hurt?”
Song Jianchu was accustomed to denying pain to appear strong and shook his head, “It doesn’t hurt.”
Mu Ye raised his gaze to look into his eyes.
Song Jianchu remembered what Mu Ye had said earlier and honestly corrected himself, “…It’s a little painful.”
Mu Ye smiled, lightening his touch as he carefully applied medicine to the wound with the cotton swab. He asked, “Did you fight back?”
Song Jianchu paused for a moment and shook his head.
Mu Ye nodded, closed the medicine bottle cap, and said lightly, “Fighting is not good. It affects our public image, Chu Chu.”
Song Jianchu blinked.
With his slightly swollen mouth and a docile expression, he no longer had that mature and calm demeanor, appearing somewhat cute.
Mu Ye stared at him for two seconds, couldn’t help but suppress a laugh, leaned closer, and gently blew on his swollen and painful mouth.
After blowing twice, Mu Ye clicked his tongue in annoyance, “Can he still show his face?”
Song Jianchu replied, “I’m not sure, but it shouldn’t have anything to do with him.”
“Alright, let’s not worry about him.” Mu Ye patted his face and kissed his nose. “Be a good boy and go to sleep. I still have some things to take care of, but I’ll come and accompany you after I’m done.”
Song Jianchu obediently stood up and listened to Mu Ye’s instructions.
Mu Ye kept an eye on Song Jianchu until he lay down and closed his eyes before closing the door.
After tidying up the medicine box, Mu Ye picked up his phone and called Gu Jiaming.
Gu Jiaming answered quickly, “We’ve already filed a lawsuit against the rumor-mongering marketing account about Song Jianchu. The hot search has been taken down, but the comments section might still be causing trouble for a few more days.”
“How is the situation with him now?” Mu Ye asked.
“It’s mainly about his father’s matter. It has nothing to do with him. I heard he’s temporarily been released,” Gu Jiaming said, “But he also has a shady history. I found some handles on him in the past two days, and the police will find out soon too. I think his days are numbered.”
“Let’s not report him for now,” Mu Ye said.
Gu Jiaming understood and replied, “I know. After all, he’s Song Jianchu’s relative. We shouldn’t kick him while he’s down.”
“He sent me his current address.”
Gu Jiaming sent the address and said, “You can go talk to him if you want, give him some money, and tell him to stay away from your partner in the future and not cause any trouble.”
“Give him money?” Mu Ye laughed with a hint of ambiguity, “Even taking him in was already taking care of him.”
“What do you mean? What are you planning?” Gu Jiaming paused, realizing something was off, and quickly warned, “Mu Ye, I warned you before when you scared him with debt collectors. You can’t get involved in this kind of thing. If you’re going to deal with him, do it through legal channels!”
Mu Ye casually replied, “Don’t worry, this time I won’t involve outsiders.”
“What do you mean by ‘not involving outsiders’?” Gu Jiaming’s eyelid twitched, “Are you going to arrange a fight like elementary school kids? Or are you planning to extort him??”
Mu Ye brushed it off, saying, “I have something to do. I’ll hang up.”
“What are you trying to do? Mu Ye, be more mature! We still have to continue our singing career! Right now, just honestly accompany your partner…”
Before Gu Jiaming could finish speaking, Mu Ye hung up the call.
Mu Ye quietly entered the bedroom and made sure that Song Jianchu was already asleep.
Bending down, he gently kissed the corner of the boy’s reddened mouth, then picked up his coat and quietly left the room.
…
Song Yan had been under investigation for two days. His eyes were bloodshot, and he returned to the basement he had temporarily rented to hide from debt collectors.
When he opened the small refrigerator, he found that the alcohol was gone. Cursing, Song Yan went out to buy some alcohol. As he walked to a dark alley, his vision suddenly went black, and he caught a whiff of a strong dog food smell.
“Who?!” Song Yan thought it was the debt collectors and struggled to take off the bag of dog food on his head. “You’ve got the wrong person!”
A hand grabbed his collar, lifting him off the ground.
“Shut up, you idiot,” a gruff voice said, “Dare to touch my brother? You’re asking for death.”
Song Yan was dumbfounded. “Huh? Who are you guys?”
Song Yan had indeed never slept with someone’s wife, let alone a big brother.
Fists and feet rained down on him, and Song Yan was beaten until he saw stars, whimpering and hunching down, “Big brother! You’ve really mistaken me! I never touched your brother! I don’t even have money to fool around with women!”
A voice, deliberately deep and solemn, said, “Stop crying. We never bully the innocent, trash.”
Song Yan, the young master, had never experienced this kind of beating. The leader’s punches were on a level comparable to UFC
Song Yan was quickly beaten to the point where he couldn’t even squat and fell to the ground. He tightly shielded his face with the bag, pleading, “Please spare me, big brother! I really never touched your wife. I’ll give you the money, just stop hitting me…”
The gruff voice sneered, “Still trying to deceive us? You bankrupt loser, where would you get the money?”
“I-I don’t have money!” Song Yan hurriedly said, “But I have a younger brother who has money! He’s the richest person on Weibo! His name is Song Jianchu, go find him!”
Not only did the punches and kicks not stop, but they also became more intense.
“You have no shame, scamming your own brother,” a younger voice said, “You idiot. Big brother, step aside, let me take over!”
Song Yan was forcefully kicked in the stomach, causing him to retch inside the bag of dog food. He felt like crying but had no tears.
What were they doing?
Rolling on the ground in pain, Song Yan continued to wail and beg for mercy. He thought to himself that he must have accumulated bad luck from his past eighteen lives!
“Don’t knock him out,” a familiar voice with a deep tone said.
In a daze, Song Yan heard it and, enduring the excruciating pain, quickly got up and pleaded, “Thank you, big brother! Thank you for showing mercy! I won’t dare to do it again!”
That voice replied lightly, “If you dare open your eyes, I’ll come back.”
“I won’t open my eyes, absolutely won’t!” Song Yan desperately pleaded for his life, “You can leave now, I promise not to call the police!”
The bag of dog food was pulled off his face, and the cool night breeze made Song Yan’s trembling body kneel on the ground. Afraid of angering this group, he tightly closed his eyes and didn’t dare to move.
But they didn’t leave.
In the next moment, his mouth received a punch, and his head spun as he collapsed to the ground.
Song Yan, in a sorry state, remained sprawled on the ground, still not daring to open his eyes. With loose teeth, he mumbled incoherently, begging for mercy and admitting to his mistakes, “Big brothers, I was wrong, I won’t touch your brother anymore… please stop hitting me, don’t kill me…”
The gruff voice finally cursed in disdain, “You idiot, dirtied my fist.”
Upon hearing that voice, Song Yan’s pain intensified, and he instinctively shrank back.
The sound of plastic packaging being torn rang out.
A cold voice said, “Clean up.”
A gentle voice said, “Good job.”
An excited voice said, “I haven’t done this kind of thing since high school graduation. Today was really thrilling.”
The gruff voice said, “Let’s go, the kid’s here.”
They used wet wipes and tossed them onto Song Yan’s face.
Their footsteps gradually faded away, and the dark alley returned to silence, with only the sound of Song Yan’s painful moans.
Finally, Song Yan dared to open his swollen eyelids, holding his aching cheek, feeling miserable and whimpering, “This isn’t about debt collection. What exactly…”