AMBTICPIB Chapter 3

Chu Yi had always been curious about Shen Jin’s appearance. After all, people are naturally curious about the unknown. He had been at the Shen Family for so many days without ever meeting him. Today, he was finally going to see Shen Jin.

But before he could fully take in the sight, Chu Yi finally collapsed, fainting from heatstroke.

Fortunately, Butler Wen had stepped outside just in time to catch him. Otherwise, Chu Yi would have fallen straight to the ground.

Shen Jin’s bodyguard was startled by Chu Yi’s sudden collapse. He wondered if it was because Chu Yi was so terrified of Shen Jin that he had fainted. Shen Jin’s aura was so intimidating that only a few people weren’t afraid of him.

But to faint outright seemed a bit dramatic. He cautiously glanced at Shen Jin’s face, but Shen Jin remained expressionless.

Butler Wen, with his years of experience, saw the flushed cheeks and felt Chu Yi’s forehead. He confirmed, “He has heatstroke. Come help me carry Chu Yi inside.”

Even though it was September, the sun was still scorching. After a full day of military training under the intense heat, Chu Yi was bound to have suffered heatstroke.

Though Chu Yi was slender, he was still a grown man, a big boy who weighed over a hundred pounds. For Butler Wen, who was getting on in years, carrying him was a strain. One wrong move and he’d throw out his back.

Only three people were in the courtyard.

Butler Wen said to Shen Jin’s bodyguard, “Xiao Chen, come help me carry him inside.”

The bodyguard glanced at Shen Jin, who remained impassive, silently giving his consent. He stepped forward and lifted Chu Yi from Butler Wen’s arms.

Chu Yi was surprisingly light. The bodyguard barely felt his weight as he carried him effortlessly into the house. Butler Wen instructed the bodyguard to lay Chu Yi on the sofa, fanning him to cool him down while having the bodyguard bring a cool towel to wipe his face.

Butler Wen unbuckled Chu Yi’s belt, unbuttoned his shirt, and unzipped his camouflage uniform down to his chest, exposing his fair neck to help him cool down.

The family doctor soon arrived, having rushed over at his fastest speed, fearing Shen Jin was unwell.

Upon reaching the villa, Butler Wen directed him to examine the person lying on the sofa.

Though Butler Wen suspected Chu Yi had fainted from heatstroke, he wasn’t a doctor. He wanted a professional opinion to be absolutely sure.

The family doctor examined Chu Yi and said to Butler Wen, “He’s just suffering from heatstroke. There’s nothing else wrong. Give him some Huoxiang Zhengqi Water and let him rest. He’ll wake up soon.”

The maid brought the Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, and Butler Wen slowly fed Chu Yi two mouthfuls.

Fortunately, though Chu Yi had fainted, he could still swallow. Butler Wen continued to feed him the medicine.

The family doctor had rushed over as if his life depended on it, only to find himself examining an unfamiliar young man. Wait, how could there be a stranger in the villa? The doctor suddenly remembered the rumors he’d heard a few days ago. Could this be Shen Jin’s arranged marriage partner?

After feeding Chu Yi two bottles of Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, Butler Wen continued to wipe his face with a cool, damp towel.

Once he was done, Chu Yi’s complexion had improved significantly.

Shen Jin stood nearby, expressionless, watching the unconscious figure on the sofa. Chu Yi remained motionless, his eyes closed, his face pale.

As Butler Wen wiped Chu Yi’s face, he glanced at Shen Jin. Shen Jin turned and walked upstairs.

In his hazy state, Chu Yi heard voices.

“Uncle Wen, I’m leaving now.”

Butler Wen replied with concern, “Take care of yourself. Don’t overwork yourself.”

Chu Yi’s eyelashes fluttered. The voice sounded quite pleasant.

Chu Yi had been staying at the villa for several days. He noticed that everyone else addressed Butler Wen with respectful formality, calling him “Butler Wen.” Only Chu Yi seemed to call him “Uncle Wen.”

So the person who called him “Uncle Wen” must have been Shen Jin.

Chu Yi remembered encountering Shen Jin in the courtyard. He had been trying to get a good look at Shen Jin, but before he could even see his face, he had fainted.

Now, Shen Jin was right in front of him. All he had to do was open his eyes to see him, but his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. No matter how hard he strained, he couldn’t pry them open. His eyeballs darted frantically beneath his closed lids.

After a struggle, Chu Yi finally managed to open his eyes, but he could only make out a blurry silhouette. Within seconds, the figure vanished completely from his sight. Shen Jin had left the villa. Chu Yi closed his eyes again, still having failed to catch a glimpse of him.

The Huoxiang Zhengqi Water finally took effect. After about half an hour, Chu Yi fully regained consciousness.

When he woke up, he realized he had suffered heatstroke.

He hadn’t fainted under the scorching sun, but had collapsed upon returning to the villa. Chu Yi couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret. If he had fainted on the training ground, he could have skipped the afternoon’s military training.

Seeing him awake, Butler Wen asked anxiously, “Chu Yi, you’re awake! Are you feeling any better?”

Chu Yi replied, “Thank you, Uncle Wen. I’m fine now.”

He knew that after he fainted, Butler Wen had been taking care of him and was genuinely worried.

After a moment, Chu Yi remembered to ask, “Uncle Wen, did Mr. Shen come back just now?”

Butler Wen told him, “He did, but he’s gone on a business trip.”

Chu Yi let out a soft “Oh,” having missed another chance.

Now that he was awake, Chu Yi felt fine. He went upstairs to shower and change, his body drenched in sweat from a day of military training.

Because Chu Yi had suffered heatstroke, Butler Wen had specially made mung bean soup for him to drink.

The mung beans had been frozen in the refrigerator, so they had all bloomed during cooking. Concerned that Chu Yi might not like it, Butler Wen had also added a few pieces of rock candy, giving the soup a subtle sweetness.

Chu Yi drank two bowls in a row. “Thank you, Uncle Wen.”

Butler Wen had always been incredibly kind to him, unlike anyone else he had ever known. Growing up, Chu Yi had become adept at distinguishing genuine concern from malicious intent.

Hearing Chu Yi’s words, Butler Wen’s heart ached for him even more.

During dinner that evening, Chu Yi noticed that all the dishes were cooling and detoxifying.

Stir-fried winter melon, a seasonal vegetable, was made with winter melons picked less than five hours ago. This purely green vegetable was simply stir-fried, resulting in a soft, slightly sandy texture that was incredibly refreshing.

Another dish was bitter melon stewed with pork ribs. After long hours of simmering, the bitterness of the bitter melon had completely dissipated, leaving behind only a subtle, refreshing fragrance. The pork ribs were not greasy at all, perfectly light and flavorful. Chu Yi ate several pieces.

The cold ice plant salad was also delicious. The thick, jade-green ice plant was tossed with a special sesame sauce that smelled fragrant and tasted even more exquisite.

Butler Wen had been worried that Chu Yi wouldn’t eat much, but thankfully, Chu Yi’s appetite hadn’t been affected. He ate heartily, which relieved the butler.

He recalled how, when he had unfastened Chu Yi’s belt earlier, the buckle had been fastened to the innermost hole, yet it still hung loosely. The boy was truly too thin.

The next day, as Chu Yi prepared to go to school, Butler Wen approached him with a few items.

“These are cooling patches,” Butler Wen instructed. “Stick them on your clothes for a cooling effect. And this is a cooling spray. Remember to spray it on your clothes, not directly on your skin.” Military training in such sweltering weather was grueling. Concerned that Chu Yi might suffer heatstroke again, Butler Wen had prepared these items for him.

Not only that, but Uncle Wen had also prepared mung bean soup in a thermos for Chu Yi to drink during breaks.

Chu Yi’s eyes were red-rimmed. “Thank you, Uncle Wen.”

The morning temperature wasn’t very high, so Chu Yi didn’t need to use his heat-relief gadgets.

Afternoon, the sun grew intense and the temperature soared. As Chu Yi was about to apply a cooling patch, Jiang Xu noticed and curiously leaned over. “What’s that?”

Chu Yi explained, “Cooling patches and cooling spray—they’re heatstroke prevention gadgets.”

He gave Jiang Xu two patches, which Jiang Xu stuck to his undershirt before putting on his camouflage uniform.

A moment later, he felt a cool sensation on his skin. “Wow, this really works! It’s so much cooler. Chu Yi, how did you think of this? You’re so smart!”

Chu Yi thought to himself, ‘It wasn’t me who thought of it. Uncle Wen told me about them.’

Nearby, several girls saw Chu Yi and Jiang Xu’s heat-relief gadgets and came over to ask Chu Yi for cooling patches.

Unfortunately, Chu Yi hadn’t brought many. After using two himself, he gave the remaining patches and spray to his classmates.

Everyone eagerly sprayed their clothes.

“Wow, it really works! It’s so cool. How long does this last?”

Chu Yi’s cooling artifact was quickly used up.

Inspired by him, the others immediately pulled out their phones and ordered their own cooling devices, regretting that they hadn’t thought of it sooner, having been so focused on sunscreen.

But it was true—using these things made a huge difference. No matter what activity they were doing, it wasn’t nearly as unbearable.

Because Chu Yi had cried so spectacularly yesterday, leaving the Drill Instructor utterly dumbfounded, the Drill Instructor couldn’t help but glance at him a few extra times today, fearing he might start crying again.

The training exercises that followed were grueling. The Drill Instructor expected Chu Yi to burst into tears again, but to his surprise, Chu Yi didn’t shed a single tear.

The Drill Instructor pondered this. Could it be that Chu Yi had cried yesterday because of him? Because he looked so fierce, had he frightened him?

As the military training reached its halfway point, time seemed to accelerate.

Thanks to his preparations, Chu Yi didn’t suffer any more heatstroke in the following days, and the number of classmates suffering from it also decreased significantly.

Finally, the seven-day military training came to an end.

During those seven days, many classmates got tanned, but Chu Yi’s skin remained exactly the same as when military training began. He was the only one in the entire class who didn’t tan, and many girls envied him.

After seven days of military training, everyone had gotten to know and become familiar with each other. Once it was over, a few of them went to a nearby beverage shop to grab drinks. Only after finishing his drink did Chu Yi return to the villa.

As Chu Yi got out of the car, he started walking while looking at his phone. They had created a small group chat, and someone was talking. He was engrossed in reading their conversation.

The driver behind him watched Chu Yi and gestured for him to watch where he was going. Unfortunately, Chu Yi couldn’t see the driver’s warning. His attention was glued to his phone, and he figured he was already in the courtyard, which was flat and level. So he didn’t bother looking up.

By the time Chu Yi finally lifted his gaze from his phone, he had already collided with something.

A dull throbbing pain filled his head, as if he had slammed into a solid wall. Though he was the one who had bumped into someone, he stumbled backward a few steps from the impact. Instinctively, Chu Yi grabbed the nearest thing he could reach.

As Chu Yi lowered his head, he realized he had bumped into someone. He was holding the person’s hand, and he noticed a bracelet on the wrist of the person he was holding. The bracelet was emitting a faint green glow.

Chu Yi looked up to see a cold, expressionless face staring back at him. He froze, his mind blank.

The face was far from ugly. Its features were sharp and deep, strikingly handsome.

Lately, everyone around Chu Yi had spoken of Shen Jin with fear, so he had assumed Shen Jin must be quite intimidating and frightening.

But now, seeing Shen Jin in person, his face wasn’t scary at all. It was nothing like the Chu Family had described—far from repulsive. Chu Yi had never seen anyone so handsome.

It was just that his gaze was too fierce, even more so than their Drill Instructor’s. And the man before him was staring directly at him.

Pain shot through his forehead, and the man’s intense stare made Chu Yi bite his lip. He remembered Butler Wen’s words and tried to hold back his tears, but he couldn’t. They poured down like a dam had burst.

Shen Jin’s brow furrowed.

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