TYAM Chapter 59

Moving between cities is a tedious process.  

While transporting everything by truck only takes an afternoon, organizing and packing up all the odds and ends can take days.  

Jiang Wang was busy handling business on Yuhan’s side, so he entrusted the task of inventorying and packing at home to Ji Linqiu.  

Jiang Wang felt a little guilty about it and suggested hiring some part-time help, but Ji Linqiu declined.  

“The more people, the messier it gets. If things are misplaced, I won’t be able to find them later. Xingwang and I can handle it just fine.”  

The two of them shared a unique sense of equality when it came to the child.  

No matter the situation, they didn’t treat Xingwang as “just an eight-year-old kid” but instead taught him hands-on how to help, treating him no differently than an adult.  

Of course, they would shower him with enough praise and encouragement afterward, so much so that even running an errand to buy soy sauce gave the child a great sense of accomplishment.  

“Alright, pack as you see fit,” Jiang Wang said casually. “If you find anything worn out or broken, just toss it. We can buy replacements after the move.”  

“Got it. Go deal with your work.”

Ji Linqiu felt a little embarrassed helping his boyfriend pack up his place.  

He rarely ventured into Jiang Wang’s room. Even though they lived under the same roof, he kept a respectful distance, almost like avoiding an unspoken boundary.  

This man… exuded a strong sense of dominance.  

It wasn’t evident in his gaze or words but rather an omnipresent aura.  

Even when Jiang Wang was smiling gently or mopping the floor, his firm, defined muscles silently radiated a warning.  

Ji Linqiu’s reluctance to enter Jiang Wang’s room resembled an instinctive avoidance of a predator.  

Subconsciously, he felt that being too close to Jiang Wang might result in being completely devoured, not even leaving a trace behind.  

Very dangerous.  

Now, with the big bad wolf out of the house, Ji Linqiu hummed a tune as he wandered in, noticeably more at ease as he stepped across the threshold.  

The room was, as always, a mess. T-shirts and jackets were tossed haphazardly everywhere, and a tie lay discarded on the floor.  

A few steps in, the distinct scent of Jiang Wang became apparent.  

Deep and rich, as if it carried the boldness of masculine hormones.  

Ji Linqiu’s face heated up. He opened the windows, pretending to air out the room, his heart pounding faster.  

He spent the entire afternoon tidying up, packing business documents into one box, daily clothing into a few others, and unknowingly using up several rolls of wide tape.  

As the large wardrobe gradually emptied, a hidden compartment became visible—a sliding panel without a lock.  

The hidden compartment had been built by the previous homeowner to store a safe. After the safe was removed, it became a concealed space for storing important items like bankbooks and contracts.  

There was a similar hidden compartment in Ji Linqiu’s own room, though he had never used it.  

But Jiang Wang’s… could it hold something?  

Ji Linqiu debated for a moment before deciding not to pry.  

Though he and Jiang Wang shared a close and trusting relationship, it wasn’t his place to go through the other’s belongings.  

Unexpectedly, the compartment’s latch had aged and loosened. When Ji Linqiu removed the coats and jackets covering it, the panel slid open on its own, revealing a tightly wrapped cloth bundle.  

…A cloth bundle?  

Ji Linqiu thought it might contain unwashed bed linens and prepared himself for a nasty smell.  

Instead, the bundle smelled clean and fresh, with a faint scent of mothballs.  

Underneath the bundle were several letters—family letters written by Du Wenjuan.  

He knew this. 

Ji Linqiu already knew about them.  

Back when Peng Xingwang had found these letters in Jiang Wang’s wardrobe, he had excitedly insisted on storing his own letters alongside Jiang Wang’s, claiming they should be together.  

After some hesitation, Ji Linqiu carefully took the bundle out and placed it on the bed, unwrapping it layer by layer.  

Beneath the cloth wrapping was a neatly folded soft blanket, fastened with more moth-repelling wood balls. Clearly, something important was hidden inside.  

A twinge of jealousy stirred within Ji Linqiu.  

What could be so precious that it required such meticulous protection?  

Holding his breath, Ji Linqiu peeled back a corner of the blanket, intending only to take a quick look before putting everything back. He planned to call Jiang Wang afterward to apologize.  

But the moment he saw what was inside, he froze.  

The fabric that appeared was all too familiar.  

Wool-blend material, a traditional standing collar, and dark gray buttons.  

‘Why is the coat my mother made for me in his wardrobe?!’

It was the one his mother had sewn by hand—  

For a split second, Ji Linqiu thought Jiang Wang had stolen it, but something didn’t add up.  

No, this couldn’t be the new coat he had just received this year.  

Ji Linqiu was utterly shocked. He carefully unfolded the coat, scrutinizing it with growing confusion.  

It was almost identical.  

The cut, the fabric, even the small scratch on one of the buttons — everything matched.  

He remembered accidentally nicking the button while peeling an apple. 

The tiny mark was barely visible to the naked eye, yet it was also present on this coat.  

At that moment, Ji Linqiu felt like his breath had turned to ice. He quickly rushed back to his own room to retrieve his coat and placed it side by side with the one he had just found.  

No, there were subtle differences.  

The coat in Jiang Wang’s hidden compartment bore signs of multiple alterations.  

The waistline and shoulders had been let out, the sleeves extended, and similar fabric was carefully stitched in where needed, with decorative touches to conceal the seams.  

The coat had clearly been submerged in water for a long time, rendering it misshapen and stiff, unwearable.  

Yet it had been painstakingly preserved, as though even in decay, it was a cherished relic.  

Ji Linqiu took deep breaths, trying to steady himself and piece together his thoughts as fragments of memory began to surface.  

Jiang Wang had always been different from anyone else in the city.  

He could effortlessly diagnose people’s illnesses, discern family circumstances, and even predict the gender of a pregnant woman’s unborn child.  

He never missed a lottery ticket, and his business decisions were so sharp that it made people call him god.   

He and Peng Xingwang shared a mole in the exact same spot.  

And when Jiang Wang smiled, his demeanor resembled that of a father and son with Peng Xingwang.  

Jiang Wang had never mentioned his own parents, as though he were a rootless wanderer in Hongcheng, devoting himself entirely to caring for a child who might have otherwise faced ruin.  

Ji Linqiu couldn’t bring himself to think further.  

He lowered his eyes and stared at the two coats for a long time, as if trying to confirm one last detail. Carefully, he turned out the inner pockets of both coats, checking a near-invisible corner.  

His mother had once whispered to him when they parted ways that she had secretly embroidered two small characters on the coat.  

平安[mfn]peace, safety[/mfn]

She had used a fine red thread to stitch the characters in a place where they could be easily touched, a silent prayer for her son’s safety and well-being.  

Both inner pockets were turned inside out, revealing identical hidden embroidery.  

The lettering on the new coat was still sharp and clear, while the stitching on the coat Jiang Wang had hidden was worn and faded, with only a few scattered red marks left. Still, the original characters were faintly discernible.  

But Jiang Wang had already mentioned this once, long ago.  

He had said that at the age of fifteen, he was specially recruited into the military and encountered a teacher at the train station.  

The teacher had taken off their coat and given it to him, warning him about the northern cold and urging him to be careful along the way.  

Ji Linqiu even remarked that Jiang Wang must have missed that teacher very much. 

At the time, Jiang Wang had looked up and smiled faintly, saying nothing more.  

But how could this be?  

How could it possibly be like this?  

Ji Linqiu clutched the two coats, examining them over and over in disbelief. He was astonished that Jiang Wang had kept such an incredible secret from him.  

Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to doubt him.  

It felt as though he was overly indulgent with Jiang Wang. His first instinct wasn’t to question him but to understand how hard it must have been to explain and how much difficulty he must have faced.  

Ji Linqiu stubbornly refused to doubt him, refused to even entertain any negative suspicions about him.

He was overwhelmed by a strange mix of panic and love, as if he were losing his grip on reality. Still, he felt that he loved Jiang Wang even more.

As dusk fell, Ji Linqiu sighed quietly, carefully rewrapping the old coat layer by layer and placing it back in the hidden compartment. 

He closed the panel and hung a few jackets back in the closet, leaving them slightly messy to make it look as though they hadn’t been touched.  

Downstairs, the sound of a key turning in the lock was followed by the cheerful chatter of a man and a child.  

“I’m starving! I’m so hungry I can eat this door right now!”  

“Put your bag down! How about hotpot for dinner?”  

“No! I want meat!! Braised pork!!”  

Jiang Wang decided to consult a third party and called out loudly:

“Linqiu—”  

He used to habitually call him “Teacher Ji,” despite Ji Linqiu’s protests that he wasn’t his teacher.  

After confessing their feelings, Jiang Wang gradually started calling him by name. At first, he was a bit awkward, but the more he said it, the more natural and affectionate it became, sometimes even calling out just for fun.  

Ji Linqiu leaned over the railing upstairs and raised an eyebrow. “You came back early without telling me?”  

The child, Peng Xingwang, bolted up the stairs without even taking off his shoes. “Teacher Ji, hug me! Big brother just pulled my ear!”  

Jiang Wang laughed lazily from downstairs. “Teacher Ji, how about giving me a hug too?”  

“You get up here!” Ji Linqiu called back, hiding his earlier panic and helping smooth over the situation. “Your closet is stuffed full! You clean it yourself!”  

Jiang Wang suddenly remembered something, smacking his forehead as he ran upstairs. He rushed into his room and saw the neatly packed boxes of clothes and other belongings.  

“The spring and summer clothes are all packed, the fall and winter ones are in that wardrobe. Are you doing it yourself?”  

“I think I left a savings book in there— wait!”  

Jiang Wang opened the wardrobe, rummaging through it with his back to Ji Linqiu. After a while, he popped his head out from behind a thick jacket.  

“Nope, it’s in the office safe.”  

“Let’s go eat first. I’ll take care of the rest later.”  

He slung an arm around Ji Linqiu’s shoulders and casually guided him out of the room.  

Ji Linqiu poked his head in mock annoyance. “Next time, let’s hire help. My back is killing me.”  

Jiang Wang grinned, shamelessly teasing, “A man shouldn’t complain about his back!”  

Peng Xingwang, focused on braised pork, suddenly turned at the door and asked, “Why do men need strong backs?”  

“Don’t listen to his nonsense!”  

---

As Boss Jiang prepared to move out, friends in the city held farewell banquets for him, sending various gifts that quickly piled up.  

Ji Linqiu, being well-liked at school, received his share of thoughtful gestures. Even the principal had a long private chat with him, and Madam Xu gifted him a cherished Russian poetry collection full of annotations.  

Thankfully, Jiang Wang had returned to help pack. As soon as the ten-odd boxes of belongings were sent to Yuhan, the living room turned into a Christmas-like scene, with gift piles that had to be reorganized.  

Peng Xingwang wandered around the two adults, envy written all over his face.  

“Big brother and Teacher are amazing, you two get so many gifts!”  

“Some of these are just formalities,” Jiang Wang said, glancing at the pile. “You’ll understand when you’re older. For now, you can hang a stocking on Christmas Eve and wait for Santa Claus to grant your wish.”  

“I don’t believe in that,” Peng Xingwang said seriously. “Isn’t that just a sneaky way to ask you for gifts? If you ask for it, it’s not really a gift anymore.”  

Before he finished speaking, the doorbell rang twice.  

Peng Jiahui stood at the door holding a small item in his hands.  

He greeted Jiang Wang and Ji Linqiu politely but didn’t step inside, instead calling the child over.  

“Xingxing, since you’re moving to Yuhan, I’ll be able to visit you every month when I’m on a business trip. If anything happens, you can tell me.”  

Peng Jiahui unwrapped the package, tying a small talisman around the child’s neck.  

“This is a protective charm I asked for at a temple. It needs to be replaced every year. Don’t lose it.”  

He paused, seemingly anticipating the child’s reaction, and added, “Of course, if you do lose it, just let me know. We’ll go get a new one together, alright?”  

Peng Xingwang looked at the mountain of gifts in the living room and then at the small talisman hanging around his neck. Smiling brightly, he nodded earnestly.