Huo Rulan looked at the chip in his hand and recalled Cheng Yun’s behavior just now… It all felt absurd, yet amid that absurdity, he couldn’t help but feel a chill of dread.
Cheng Yun desperately reached out to snatch the chip from Huo Rulan. The pitiful and delicate expression he wore earlier was completely gone, replaced by madness and desperation. That chip was his biggest weapon in winning over Huo Rulan—if Huo Rulan took it away, he’d lose everything! Huo Rulan, the Madam of the Huo family, wealth and status, even the treatment for his illness…
Cheng Yun slammed into Huo Rulan and swung his hand. Caught off guard, Huo Rulan was scratched across the face—long, red, swollen welts marked his right cheek, faintly bleeding upon closer look.
The sudden pain made Huo Rulan instinctively push him away. Realizing something was seriously wrong, he stuffed the chip safely into his pocket and turned to quickly walk toward the door. But Cheng Yun pounced and tightly hugged his waist. “That’s mine! Give it back!”
Huo Rulan tried to pry him off. “If there’s nothing wrong with the chip, I’ll apologize and compensate you generously…”
But Cheng Yun seemed possessed—he wouldn’t listen to a word and only clung to Huo Rulan’s waist, screaming, “If you don’t give it back, I’ll make Ye Xi die right now!”
Huo Rulan’s gaze turned ice-cold. He forcibly broke Cheng Yun’s hold, spun him around, and pinned him to the wall by the throat.
“Ugh…” Cheng Yun’s face flushed from being choked, yet he still glared at Huo Rulan stubbornly, speaking with eerie certainty: “He will die… he definitely will…”
Huo Rulan suddenly tightened his grip. Cheng Yun struggled violently.
With a glint of deadly cold in his eyes, the man growled, “If anything happens to him, I’ll kill you with my own hands.”
Mu Chengyang, who had just changed clothes and walked out, froze in horror at the scene. He rushed forward and pried Huo Rulan off. “Old Huo! Let go, he’s going to die!”
Mu Chengyang pulled Huo Rulan back and forced him onto the sofa. Red-eyed, he scolded, “Are you insane?! You wanna go to jail?! Think about Ye Xi! Think about your baby! Don’t make me punch you!”
Huo Rulan slowly calmed down, his eyes bloodshot. He glanced at Cheng Yun, who was coughing violently on the ground, and turned his head away, murmuring, “He threatened me… said he’d kill Ye Xi…”
“He threatened you? He…” Mu Chengyang looked at his red-eyed friend, and the words of blame died in his throat.
The air fell silent, the only sound being Cheng Yun’s persistent coughing. Mu Chengyang had someone quietly take Cheng Yun away, it couldn’t be made public. Cheng Yun didn’t dare resist. Having brushed so close to death, he just wanted to leave quickly.
Then Mu Chengyang called in the banquet’s security to investigate. But when he heard their report, his face turned pale.
Once everyone had left the lounge, Mu Chengyang sat beside Huo Rulan with a grim expression. “Do ghosts exist?”
If not, how did Cheng Yun bypass all surveillance and suddenly show up at the lounge door?
The thought made Mu Chengyang break out in goosebumps. He edged closer to Huo Rulan.
Huo Rulan shook his head and took the chip from his pocket to show him, explaining Cheng Yun’s strange behavior.
Mu Chengyang’s expression darkened. He carefully stored the chip, planning to take it to his lab later for analysis. “I’ll send more people to keep an eye on him. You protect your wife and yourself. This feels too targeted to be coincidence.”
Huo Rulan nodded and took the antiseptic his friend handed him, gently dabbing at the wounds on his face. “Thanks, Ge.”
“Mm.” Mu Chengyang saw he was struggling and took the cotton swab himself, clumsily applying the medicine. “You don’t have to go with me tonight to explain anything. Just think about how you’re going to explain that face to your wife.”
“Okay.”
Huo Rulan left early. The wounds on his face quickly caused a stir, with everyone assuming Mu Chengyang had hit him. After all, they’d gone upstairs together, and Huo Rulan had been fine before, now he was scratched up.
Mu Chengyang became the victim of gossip. Rumors spread in the social circle that the Huo and Mu families had a falling out.
The Mu parents called and scolded him for hitting their “little brother.” Even his big brother phoned to ask about it. When Gu Qing heard, he even asked if he’d fought with Huo Rulan.
Mu Chengyang put down the phone in numb silence. “…” Speechless.
Huo Rulan bought Ye Xi’s favorite cake and had the driver take him home. He stared blankly out the window the entire way, heart still heavy with unease.
He arrived home just after eight. Standing in the living room with the cake in hand, he hesitated to go upstairs.
Ye Xi waddled slowly downstairs with his belly in his arms. “I heard the car earlier. Why didn’t you come up?”
Hearing his voice, Huo Rulan instinctively turned around. Ye Xi saw his face and stopped in his tracks, stunned on the stairs, eyes slowly reddening.
Then he quickened his pace. Huo Rulan hurried up to meet him.
Ye Xi leaned into his arms and cupped his face, tearfully pouting, “You looked fine when you left. Why are you hurt now? Who scratched you like this? It’s all swollen!”
Huo Rulan hugged him, gently wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes. “It doesn’t hurt, it just looks red. I’m okay.”
Ye Xi didn’t believe him. Puffing his cheeks, he blew gently on the scratches. “You still won’t tell me who did it?”
Huo Rulan looked down into his wet eyes. “…I had a bit of a conflict with Cheng Yun.”
“Cheng Yun…” Ye Xi’s face went pale, then immediately bristled like a mother hen protecting her chick. “Next time I see him, I’m scratching his face!”
Then he buried his face against Huo Rulan’s chest and cried, heartbroken over his handsome husband’s scratched-up face.
Huo Rulan was comforted by his reaction and finally smiled, anxiety easing.
He bent down and lifted Ye Xi into his arms, carrying him to the living room. Along the way, he weighed him a little, still light, but much better than before.
Ye Xi sat on Huo Rulan’s lap, letting him wipe away his tears. Looking at the scratches on the man’s face, he gently blew on them again, his eyes brimming with tears that kept falling.
But pregnant people shouldn’t cry too much. Huo Rulan quickly pointed at the cake to change the subject. “No ice cream cake like you wanted, so I got fruit cake instead.”
Ye Xi looked up at him, teary-eyed and in disbelief. He pouted and said aggrievedly, “You lied to me. You just didn’t want me to eat ice cream.”
Huo Rulan let out a soft laugh. “Alright, I can’t fool you. We still can’t eat ice cream for now, how about we have some fruit-flavored cake first?”
“Okay, fruit cake for now. Ice cream cake in a few days,” Ye Xi said as he gave Huo Rulan a thumbs-up. “Very good.”
Huo Rulan truly felt like he was going to die from how adorable he was. He pinched Ye Xi’s cheek and leaned down to kiss him on the lips. “Okay, okay, in a few days you can have ice cream cake.”
Finally getting what he’d been craving for so long, Ye Xi happily rubbed his face against Huo Rulan’s neck. His soft hair brushed against Huo Rulan’s face, who gently patted his fluffy head and gave it another kiss.
Seeing that he was no longer crying, Huo Rulan held him and fed him cake. Ye Xi opened his mouth wide and took a big bite. After chewing, he told Huo Rulan, “The fruit’s sweet and a bit sour. I like it. You try too.”
Huo Rulan accepted the bite Ye Xi offered and swallowed the tooth-achingly sour kiwi without changing expression. After praising it a few times, he continued feeding Ye Xi.
After the cake, Huo Rulan still had to make the day’s soup. Ye Xi followed closely behind him and wouldn’t leave no matter how much he was coaxed—he just wanted to stick to Huo Rulan.
Amused, Huo Rulan poked his cheek. “Why are you so clingy today?”
He asked Ye Xi to wait there and brought a chair from the dining room to the kitchen doorway. “The kitchen’s going to smell. If you sit here, you can still see me, okay?”
Ye Xi nodded, held his belly, and lazily slumped into the chair.
Afraid he’d get bored, Huo Rulan bent down to kiss his belly, then went upstairs and brought down a tablet so Ye Xi could watch dramas.
One inside, one outside, one watching TV on a tablet while occasionally glancing toward the kitchen; the other, wearing an apron and simmering soup, occasionally turned back to look at his lover at the door.
The positions were different, but the love was the same.
Under the same roof, time quietly passed, and life moved on gently and warmly.
***
By the time the baby was over six months, Ye Xi was no longer able to move around comfortably. His belly had grown significantly, bringing along all kinds of discomfort. When he felt unwell, he couldn’t help but curl up in Huo Rulan’s arms and cry.
Seeing him like that made Huo Rulan’s eyes go red with heartache—he couldn’t even sleep at night.
Lately, it had been thundering and raining at night. Ye Xi was startled awake several times. So when Huo Rulan couldn’t sleep, he would cover Ye Xi’s ears in advance and pat his back to soothe him.
That night, Ye Xi was again awakened by the muffled sound of thunder. Instinctively, he curled into Huo Rulan’s embrace. “Huo Rulan…”
Huo Rulan cupped one hand over his ear and patted his back with the other, whispering gently, “I’m here. Don’t be afraid. Go back to sleep.”
Ye Xi burrowed around sleepily in his arms, barely conscious, and asked in a soft voice, “…What time is it?”
His voice was thick with sleep. Huo Rulan massaged his waist and checked his phone. “Almost three.”
Ye Xi slowly became more awake and sat up. Huo Rulan got up, turned on the bedside lamp, and held him gently. “Do you need the bathroom?”
Ye Xi shook his head. “No. I was asking… have you not slept at all?”
Huo Rulan paused for a few seconds before replying, “I couldn’t really fall asleep.”
Ye Xi looked at him, reached out to touch his eyes, then leaned in and kissed the corner of his eye. “Your eyes tell me… you’re very worried about me.”
He took Huo Rulan’s hand and lay down with him. “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry. Sleep, okay?”
Huo Rulan rested his head on Ye Xi’s shoulder and gave a small nod.
He couldn’t tell anyone—not even Ye Xi—that a month ago, after that chip was discovered to not be of this world, it disintegrated into dust shortly after. And Cheng Yun had also mysteriously disappeared. They searched the entire city but found no trace.
All the strange occurrences had Huo Rulan deeply unsettled, especially since it was clear that Cheng Yun’s target had been both him and Ye Xi.
Huo Rulan held his soft little wife in his arms, he meant to lull Ye Xi to sleep, but instead, he fell asleep first himself. Pressing down the anxiety in his heart, he silently closed his eyes.
Far away, in a small rented apartment miles away, Cheng Yun emerged from the bathroom after vomiting. He staggered to the window, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked up at the moon outside. His eyes were numb and dark.
It should be over six months by now. It’s almost time.
He wasn’t going to live.
And if he couldn’t live, then he shouldn’t either.
If he had to die, he was taking someone down with him.
