TLDMDTBS Chapter 60

Chapter 60

Ji Ruan’s cheeks and lips were pale, his eyelashes drooping in a way that seemed very aggrieved, causing Gu Xiuyi’s heart to ache.

“What happened? Can you tell me slowly?”

Ji Ruan looked at the screen, a hint of worry in his brows, hesitating to speak.

Gu Xiuyi waited anxiously, yet he dared not urge him loudly, only softening his tone: “Hmm? Baby, could you tell me?”

“I…” Ji Ruan bit his lip, eyes downcast after a long pause: “I got heat stroke today.”

It wasn’t that incident.

Gu Xiuyi could tell with a glance that what really troubled Ji Ruan wasn’t the heat stroke.

But evidently, Ji Ruan did not want to bring it up now, or rather, he didn’t know how to start.

After a moment of thought, Gu Xiuyi didn’t press directly, but instead went along with his words: “How did you get heat stroke? Is it very uncomfortable?”

Ji Ruan hid under the blanket, looking at him with watery eyes: “I went to the studio, and it was so hot when I came back in the afternoon that I got a bit sunburned.”

It seemed something happened at the studio.

Gu Xiuyi smiled reassuringly: “Well, that could give you a bit of a headache. Have you taken any medication? Do you feel any better now?”

His voice was low and gentle, filling Ji Ruan’s ears with a soothing resonance, making his weary heart feel like it had a place to rest, and he couldn’t help but relax a little.

“It’s a headache, and I feel a little nauseous,” Ji Ruan slowly said under Gu Xiuyi’s guidance. “But I couldn’t find any medicine, so I just made myself some mild saltwater…”

He tugged at the corner of his mouth: “But I’m not feeling as bad now. Han Xiaolin is helping me buy Huoxiang Zhengqi, and she’ll be back soon.”

The sky-blue air conditioner was soft and fluffy, easily covering most of his face with a slight movement. Ji Ruan stretched out his hand from under it, the tips of his snowy white fingers resting on the blue blanket, his black hair cascading softly, appearing adorably meek.

Gu Xiuyi almost wished he could reach through the screen to hug him.

“Good boy,” Gu Xiuyi said softly. “Now tell me what happened in the studio, okay?”

Ji Ruan’s gaze flickered.

Gu Xiuyi found a comfortable position to sit down, coaxing patiently: “It’s okay, don’t be afraid, take your time…”

He observed Ji Ruan’s expression, using an absolutely serious tone: “Just say it in a way that feels comfortable. I believe every word you say.”

Sincerity, gentleness, and patience were always the most powerful weapons.

In that moment, it seemed Ji Ruan also obtained some courage, wanting to spill everything that had happened.

Having stared at his phone for too long made Ji Ruan’s eyes ache. He propped himself up on the bed and sat against the wall with his legs folded, resting his chin on his knees.

He looked at the screen, and under Gu Xiuyi’s warm gaze, he let out a soft sigh: “Today a very difficult client came to the studio.”

Gu Xiuyi nodded, patiently responding: “Hmm, and then?”

“He’s the grandfather of my best friend, and next month is his 80th birthday. He wants to commission a piece of Han embroidery as a birthday gift for the elder.”

Ji Ruan met Gu Xiuyi’s eyes, recounting calmly: “He said he’s known that friend since childhood, that he’s the most important person to him, and despite being abroad for so long, he believes he’s still the most special person in that friend’s heart.”

Gu Xiuyi’s expression showed subtle changes, and Ji Ruan thought he probably had guessed it.

“In short, that client said many seemingly meaningless things,” Ji Ruan paused before continuing: “But he seemed very confident—”

“He said his surname is Bai.”

That should be enough.

There was no need to elaborate further.

From Gu Xiuyi’s perspective, Ji Ruan had heard of Bai Yue but never knew what he looked like. Even though Bai Yue had come across as antagonistic in his words today, he had never mentioned Gu Xiuyi’s name or even revealed his real name.

If Ji Ruan were to speak too much at this point, it would seem a bit odd. He didn’t want to exert unnecessary effort explaining things nobody would believe, like dreams or literary tropes from being a character in a book.

Just touching upon the facts sufficed.

Clearly, Gu Xiuyi understood completely.

His brow furrowed, thin lips pressed into a straight line and slightly downward, his gaze as sharp and clear as a knife’s edge. Ji Ruan was well aware this was the expression Gu Xiuyi wore when he was exceptionally serious.

“Ji Ruan,” Gu Xiuyi said heavily, enunciating each word clearly: “Don’t believe it.”

Ji Ruan was taken aback.

“No matter how others appear or what they tell you, do not believe a word of it,” Gu Xiuyi said:

“Just remember, no one has more confidence than you.”

Ji Ruan thought Gu Xiuyi might give a bit of explanation, but he didn’t expect him to give such a firm assurance.

According to the flow of the novel, after learning Bai Yue was back, Gu Xiuyi would inevitably find himself in a dilemma like many traditional love rivals, wavering uncertainly between Bai Yue and Ji Ruan.

It was precisely due to this concern that Ji Ruan had gone through a rather complex struggle before saying those words.

But Gu Xiuyi abruptly cut the conversation short, leaving Ji Ruan momentarily speechless.

“Well, um… you… I…” Ji Ruan stammered for a long time, yet couldn’t get a useful word out.

Gu Xiuyi said earnestly: “I understand what you mean, I’ll be back soon, just wait for me a bit longer.”

“…Alright.” Ji Ruan pursed his lips and nodded.

His expression was unreadable, but his tone softened considerably: “Then I will wait for you a little longer.”

Gu Xiuyi showed a hint of a smile this time, coaxing him like a child: “Our baby is so good. Thank you for being willing to tell me instead of keeping it bottled up inside.”

Gu Xiuyi’s overly sweet words made it such that although Ji Ruan was praised, he couldn’t quite feel happy about it, his whole body tingling: “What’s there to thank for? My mouth is for talking, of course, I wouldn’t hide anything.”

Bang!

The dormitory door was pushed open, and Han Xiaolin burst in energetically.

“Ruan! Ji Ruan, are you in bed? I got the Huoxiang Zhengqi! Hurry up and take it!”

Ji Ruan pushed the curtain aside: “Okay, thank you! I’ll be down right away.”

After saying that, he pulled back and raised his phone: “Ah, I can’t talk anymore, my roommate is back, I need to go take my medicine.”

“Go ahead.” Gu Xiuyi nodded, then suddenly remembered something: “—Wait.”

Ji Ruan stopped: “Is there anything else?”

“You are the most important.”

Ji Ruan’s ears instantly turned red.

In the previous quiet dorm, he had worn headphones for so long it became uncomfortable, hence he had played the call on speaker, and now Gu Xiuyi’s words echoed loudly in the entire room.

Hearing Han Xiaolin upstairs preparing to open the lunch box made Ji Ruan pause.

“I got it!” Ji Ruan’s cheeks burned as he hurried to tap the red icon on the screen, his hand trembling, and inadvertently let Gu Xiuyi say another sentence.

“Baby, be careful when getting out of bed—”

Beep!

Gu Xiuyi’s last word was cut off by Ji Ruan’s finger.

Finally hanging up.

Ji Ruan adjusted his clothes, took a deep breath, and climbed off the bed, seeing Han Xiaolin shaking his head at the table.

Ji Ruan: “…”

“Are you out of your mind?”

Han Xiaolin looked up, meeting Ji Ruan’s flushed face and deceptively calm eyes.

His expression was complex: “In broad daylight, you’re flirtily chatting in the dorm room, and there’s a single guy sitting here! You think I’m deaf or blind? This makes it very hard for me!”

“Are you crazy, Han Xiaolin?” Ji Ruan pulled his chair over, feeling choked. “Where am I flirting?”

“Where aren’t you?!” Han Xiaolin transformed years of single frustration into power, snapping his chopsticks in half: “You were even being cute with Mr. Gu!”

Just as Ji Ruan’s butt touched the chair, he almost lost his balance: “Use reason when you talk! Where was I being cute?”

Han Xiaolin shot him a sideways glance, suddenly mimicking Ji Ruan’s voice: “I got it!—Isn’t that being cute?”

Ji Ruan: “…”

Ji Ruan thought Han Xiaolin was utterly unreasonable!

“Where’s my Huoxiang Zhengqi?!” he asked irritably.

Han Xiaolin tossed the medicine bag to him, sighing about his single status as he felt he had no rights.

Ji Ruan tore it open and downed a whole bottle, almost spitting it out due to its bitterness, his entire face wrinkled together, and he hurriedly got up to find a cherry candy, catching a glimpse of Han Xiaolin who also opened a bottle to drink.

“Did you get heat stroke too?” Ji Ruan sat back down, still with a wrinkled face, sucking on the candy.

“Isn’t it just to prevent it since it’s so hot?” Han Xiaolin finished his drink and began to eat some noodles: “Besides, Huoxiang Zhengqi is supposed to stimulate your appetite.”

Ji Ruan’s expression was one of disbelief.

How could something so bitter stimulate the appetite? No one would believe it!

Ten minutes later, Ji Ruan felt hungry.

He had fallen for Han Xiaolin’s nonsense.

Ji Ruan hadn’t felt very well all day, and he was already eating very little. He had managed to buy a bowl of wontons for dinner, only to end up throwing half of it back up.

Now that the Huoxiang Zhengqi kicked in, the headache and stomach pain were gone, and hunger surged up.

But his pride made it awkward to snatch a bowl of noodles from Han Xiaolin.

Just as he contemplated going out to buy food, a bag of Shengjian (pan-fried buns) was suddenly thrown onto the table, with Han Xiaolin declaring with a knowing tone: “I told you, that stuff stimulates appetite.”

Ji Ruan, mouth full of Shengjian, nodded silently, realizing that although Han Xiaolin could be unreasonable at times, he truly was a good friend.

A well-experienced good friend, who even knew that Huoxiang Zhengqi stimulates the appetite.

When Gu Xiuyi returned, he would definitely tell him about this great discovery!

·

That night, Ji Ruan did not have any nightmares.

Perhaps it was due to Gu Xiuyi’s assurance that he felt reassured, or perhaps the lunchbox Shengjian was simply too delicious, or because he recovered from the heat stroke and felt more comfortable, making his heart feel much lighter.

In any case, he still needed to thank Huoxiang Zhengqi.

The next day, Ji Ruan had class only in the morning; after taking a nap in the afternoon to recharge his energy, he went to the studio.

On the way, he passed a cake shop and went in to buy a cherry cake.

Whenever Gu Xiuyi was around, he would handle these things, but now that he was on a business trip, Ji Ruan had to buy for himself.

While the staff was packaging the cake, he unexpectedly ran into someone he didn’t want to see.

Bai Yue was wearing a light-colored shirt, smiling softly and waving to Ji Ruan: “What a coincidence, you came to buy cake too?”

Ji Ruan nodded: “Not so coincidental; my school is right next to it.”

Bai Yue was smiling, his eyes moving from Ji Ruan to the cake being packaged: “This cake is really cute, the cherry model looks very realistic.”

Ji Ruan thanked him and took the cake from the staff, casually replying: “It tastes really good too.”

Bai Yue’s was quickly packaged as well; he hurried to catch up with Ji Ruan, walking alongside him: “Are you going to the studio? Why not go together? I also wanted to talk to you about the commissioned work.”

This reason made it impossible for Ji Ruan to refuse, so he agreed to go with him.

Bai Yue snuck a glance at Ji Ruan’s hand holding the cake, his gaze settling on the ring on the ring finger for a few seconds: “I never would have guessed you got married at such a young age.”

Ji Ruan walked unhurriedly for two steps, then gradually turned to look at Bai Yue.

Bai Yue’s expression was hard to define—confusion, impatience, or perhaps tinged with mockery?

Perhaps it was all of those, or perhaps none at all.

Regardless, at that moment, as Bai Yue met Ji Ruan’s eyes, his steps hesitated.

·

Today it was considerably cooler than yesterday, but walking under the sun for a while in the afternoon still made Ji Ruan sweat a bit.

Upon reaching the studio, he dropped off his bag and washed his hands, first taking out a tissue to slowly wipe his forehead and neck. The skin on the side of his neck glistened with sweat, appearing translucent like crystal.

Even while sweating, he radiated a beauty that did not seem the slightest bit disheveled.

Bai Yue sat at the wooden table, watching as Ji Ruan took a seat across from him, pulling out drawings that had pencil sketches on them.

He leaned over to take a look: “Is this my draft?”

Ji Ruan held a pencil and leaned on the table, seemingly already having started working, responding gently: “That’s right.”

“Really nice,” Bai Yue seemed oblivious to Ji Ruan’s coolness, taking out his phone with a smile: “It’s so beautiful. Can I take a picture?”

Ji Ruan finally raised his head and gave him a look, perplexed: “What’s the point of taking a picture of just a few strokes?”

To be honest, the draft didn’t even reveal its basic shape yet.

Bai Yue was momentarily at a loss for words, awkwardly laughing.

Just as Ji Ruan was about to retract his gaze, he suddenly froze.

His gaze landed on the phone strap on Bai Yue’s phone, and his pupils constricted instantly, his expression turning quite ugly.

It was a common black fabric strap, two or three centimeters wide, the most ordinary type found on the market, capable of wrapping around one’s wrist.

But it clearly bore the four digits—1028.

That was also Gu Xiuyi’s phone password.

Ji Ruan was all too familiar with it; Gu Xiuyi had mentioned he had used that password for many years, and Ji Ruan remembered the expression on his face when he said it quite clearly.

He didn’t know if 1028 held any special significance.

But the fact was, it appeared on Bai Yue.

Bai Yue seemed to relish Ji Ruan’s expression; he slightly tugged at the strap: “Are you looking at this?”

He smiled: “I had this made for myself; 1028 is the day I left the country.”

Ji Ruan’s face went even paler.

Bai Yue seemed to love the look on Ji Ruan’s face, his predatory gaze fixed intently on Ji Ruan, enjoying the moment immensely.

“I haven’t forgotten that date all these years because it reflects my nostalgia for my homeland.”

He said and laughed lightly, as if sharing heartfelt thoughts with a good friend: “Of course, more importantly, on that day, my friend was so sad he got drunk—weirdly enough, that’s totally not his style—”

“So, this can be considered an important anniversary for the two of us, which is why I’ve kept it so long without replacing it. Looking at it now, it’s quite old.”

Old?

Ji Ruan’s brows furrowed slightly as if he suddenly thought of something.

“Can I take another look?” he asked.

Bai Yue assumed he was still reluctant to let it go and nodded generously: “Of course.”

Ji Ruan took the strap and examined it closely. It was indeed quite old, the numbers faded and the corners frayed.

But compared to something genuinely aged, it seemed more like it had been made to look old intentionally?

Ji Ruan’s back relaxed slightly.

Dingling—

The bell at the door chimed.

Immediately followed by Cheng Zizhang’s surprised voice: “Mr. Gu is back?!”

“…Hahaha, please come in, come in…”

“…Little Ruan is inside!”

As Ji Ruan’s hand was left empty, Bai Yue quickly pulled the phone strap away.

Ji Ruan looked up, his gaze colliding directly with Gu Xiuyi at the doorway.

Gu Xiuyi was dressed in a simple shirt and suit, without a tie, the top button open.

It appeared he had rushed over, carrying a haggard air, yet his posture remained upright. When he passed by the window under the sunlight, his expression appeared very gentle.

“Ji Ruan?”

Gu Xiuyi approached Ji Ruan in quick strides and, before he could express his delight, saw Ji Ruan’s pale complexion.

His gaze turned serious, the back of his hand pressed against Ji Ruan’s forehead: “Why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?”

Ji Ruan shook his head, removing Gu Xiuyi’s hand.

He quietly met Gu Xiuyi’s gaze for a moment, then slowly stood up, weary, leaning into Gu Xiuyi’s embrace.

Ji Ruan seldom displayed such intimate gestures in front of others; for a moment, Gu Xiuyi’s heart nearly stopped in fright.

He gently stroked Ji Ruan’s neck, as if caressing a precious jade: “Baby?”

Bai Yue, his fingers tense, forced a smile as he stepped forward: “Xiuyi, it’s been a long time—”

Splash—

The door beside them opened, and Bai Yue quickly snapped back to reality, seeing only Gu Xiuyi carrying Ji Ruan away.

“—Long time no see.”

The first thing he said to Gu Xiuyi after years apart was something only he could hear.

The bell at the main door jingled again.

Cheng Zizhang looked on, bewildered, as Gu Xiuyi hurriedly embraced Ji Ruan like a precious treasure, realizing she couldn’t catch up, she turned back.

That client with the surname Bai stood at the entrance of Ji Ruan’s workspace.

He was still smiling, but it felt like merely wearing a mask of a smile, evoking unexplainable discomfort in others.

Cheng Zizhang approached uneasily: “…Mr. Bai? Are you alright?”