SDVPP Chapter 77

Rong Xu helped Chi Han pull down his eye mask and lowered the window’s sunshade, then gently kissed the side of his face. “Go to sleep, it’ll still be a while before we arrive.”

The last time he left, his heart felt utterly dead, and the time spent on the plane had been unbearably long. But now, looking at Chi Han, he was filled with joy.

Chi Han rested his head on Rong Xu’s shoulder, his whole body leaning against him.

Wrapped together in a single blanket, Rong Xu held Chi Han’s hand and placed it on his own lower abdomen, his thumb slowly stroking it again and again.

Chi Han felt Rong Xu’s unconscious affection, and the corners of his lips lifted slightly. He quickly drifted off to sleep.

They had both lunch and dinner on the plane. Chi Han had been sitting for so long that his legs were numb. He wanted nothing more than for the captain to land the plane for a bit so he could go run 800 meters before coming back.

Even though this section of the cabin only had him and Rong Xu, no matter how big the plane was, it still wasn’t that spacious. He felt stifled.

Thinking about this time last year, when Rong Xu had still been in a wheelchair and had to endure such a long flight all by himself, Chi Han felt an ache in his heart.

Chi Han subconsciously rubbed Rong Xu’s calf. Rong Xu had just set down his knife and fork and was now wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin. He looked at Chi Han with a trace of confusion, but let him knead his leg.

“What’s wrong?”

Chi Han shifted closer, their long legs pressing together, sharing a warm stretch of contact.

“Nothing. Just feeling sore from sitting, and thinking about how you had to go alone last year made it worse.”

Rong Xu chuckled softly, his eyes full of warmth. “Feeling sorry for me?”

Chi Han nodded and raised his arms to hug him, his mood a little downcast.

Rong Xu didn’t want Chi Han to keep tormenting himself over and over, so he deliberately teased, “Then do you know what I was thinking at the time?”

Chi Han straightened up and asked, “What?”

He thought that if it was something he could do, he would definitely try to fulfill Rong Xu’s wish.

Rong Xu let out a low chuckle, leaned in close, and whispered in his ear.

Chi Han started off listening seriously, then gradually his ears turned red, and eventually he directly covered his ears.

He stared at Rong Xu, face full of shame and indignation, unable to speak for a long time.

How could this person always say such indecent things with a completely straight face to tease people?!

Didn’t he know Chi Han didn’t have strong self-control either?!

After finishing, Rong Xu leaned back again, smiling as he said, “Even though the current conditions aren’t ideal, you could sit on my lap.”

Chi Han: “……”

Chi Han: “Stop talking, just stop!”

Rong Xu had only been teasing him to begin with. Seeing his reaction, he chuckled a few times and let it go.

They had both slept through most of the day, so now they were wide awake.

There were still two hours before landing. Chi Han was completely done with the airplane movies.

He stood up to stretch a bit, and then his eyes lit up with a sudden grin.

“Rong Xu, let’s find someone to play ‘Fight the Landlord’ with us!”

Rong Xu: “?”

Rong Xu had never refused a request from Chi Han, so fifteen minutes later, a young male flight attendant appeared in first class.

Rong Xu had never played “Fight the Landlord” before and was still trying to understand the rules, while the flight attendant, afraid of playing too well and ruining the guests’ fun, held back.

So in the first two rounds, Chi Han crushed them.

It was rare for Rong Xu to be bad at something, and Chi Han got a little carried away with excitement. He licked the corner of his lips and, in high spirits, proposed a punishment rule.

Lose one round, stick a tissue on your face. The second round would be double, and so on.

Rong Xu looked at him with a half-smile and agreed.

Then the tide turned drastically.

Rong Xu started winning every round, always the first to finish playing all his cards. The flight attendant, though he had a few tissues on his face, didn’t lose too badly.

Only Chi Han ended up with his entire face covered.

He could barely see the cards in his hand!

Whenever he spoke or blinked, all he could see was a flurry of tissue strips. The flight attendant gripped his thigh tightly, trying not to laugh out loud.

“Another round?”

Rong Xu tossed out his last two cards, looked up with a calm and confident smile.

Chi Han had long lost all sense of reason. He slapped his cards down on the table and lifted his chin. “Of course we’re playing again!”

Rong Xu reached out and lightly tugged at the tissue hanging precariously by Chi Han’s lips, the corner of his eye lifting slightly as the tissue slowly slid off his fingertip, inexplicably seductive.

“If we keep playing, we’ll need new rules.”

Chi Han agreed without even thinking: “Sure, what are the new rules?”

Rong Xu reached over, hooked an arm around his shoulder, and leaned close to whisper a few sentences in his ear.

Even with Chi Han’s face covered in tissues, the flight attendant could see him blushing bright red.

Flight attendant: “???”

He was just pulled in to play cards! Why did the situation suddenly take such a turn?!

Is this the kind of game rich people like to play?

Was he lured in just to be fed to the sharks??

Chi Han hesitated for a long time, but in the end, he couldn’t resist the temptation.

He yanked off the tissue strips blocking his vision and waved his hand boldly. “Let’s go! One round to decide the winner!”

And then Chi Han—fair and square, with full dignity—lost.

…

After getting off the plane, they still had to take a car. By the time they arrived at the hospital, it was already 9 p.m.

The room Rong Xu had stayed in before was a premium suite, located on the top floor. It was very quiet and usually undisturbed.

There were two beds in the room, both quite large.

Chi Han sat on one of them, resting while taking in his surroundings.

A flat-screen TV hung on the clean white wall, and the room was fully equipped with daily necessities. In the corner were a water dispenser, a fridge, and even a microwave.

The closet was built into the wall and looked quite spacious.

The bathroom had a bathtub, though it wasn’t very big—just barely enough to fit two people.

Chi Han’s fingers brushed along the edge of the tub. When he thought about the wager Rong Xu had proposed on the plane earlier, the tips of his ears couldn’t help but turn red.

As soon as Rong Xu got back, he was taken by the doctor for a check-up. Before leaving, he had his assistant stay behind, worried that Chi Han might feel uncomfortable being here alone.

“Although it’s not as cold here as it is back home, the humidity is heavy. I turned on the air conditioning ahead of time for you, and all the bedding and pillowcases are brand new.”

The assistant knew Chi Han was someone his boss treasured deeply, so he spared no effort in his explanations. “Originally, there were only a few pots of pothos in the room, but young President Rong said you probably prefer blooming flowers, so we replaced all the pothos.”

Chi Han didn’t really know much about flowers; he just liked beautiful things. So whenever he saw exotic or striking plants, he would naturally stop to look a little longer.

These were the kinds of small details that most people would never notice, yet Rong Xu had remembered them all.

Chi Han’s fingers lightly brushed the tip of a bird-of-paradise bloom, and his expression softened a little.

He smiled and nodded at the assistant, his voice filled with gratitude. “You’ve really gone through a lot of trouble. Thank you.”

To find this many blooming rare flowers in this season must have taken a great deal of effort.

The assistant smiled and shook his head, then continued, “Young President Rong said you’re free to use anything in the room. If anything feels inconvenient, just let me know and I’ll get someone to change it right away.”

“If there’s anything you want to eat tonight, just send it to my phone.”

Chi Han, a little embarrassed, replied, “It’s okay, really. I can just go to the hospital cafeteria.”

The assistant stopped at the doorway, turned back with a smile, and said, “Young President Rong booked two chefs to be on standby full-time. If you go eat in the cafeteria, it would probably be a waste of his thoughtfulness.”

Chi Han’s mouth parted slightly: “…???”

Hired two chefs to stand by 24/7 just in case he wanted to eat?

Chi Han suddenly felt like he was dreaming.

No matter how you looked at it, Rong Xu really did have some of those domineering CEO genes in him.

“Alright, got it. I’ll message you when I decide.”

Chi Han wiped the sweat from his brow, afraid the assistant would say something even more shocking, and quickly saw him out.

Once the room quieted down, Chi Han wandered around, touching this and that. An hour had passed, and Rong Xu still hadn’t returned.

If it weren’t for the fact that no one except medical personnel could be present during the examination, he absolutely would have insisted on going with him.

Bored, Chi Han opened the closet and looked around. When he got to the innermost compartment, he suddenly discovered a small hidden door inside, with a lock hanging on it.

Chi Han: “?”

His curiosity was instantly piqued.

Could this be something left behind by the previous occupant?

But knowing Rong Xu’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t allow someone else’s things to remain in a place where he was staying.

So this lock must have been put there by Rong Xu?

Was something hidden inside?

Chi Han felt a little itchy with curiosity, mainly because he was bored out of his mind at the moment.

He fiddled with the small door a few times, and it barely opened a thin crack. Even with the flashlight on, he couldn’t see clearly what was inside.

Chi Han bit his lower lip.

Five minutes later, he decided to message the assistant and ask.

The assistant would definitely know best about what was in Rong Xu’s room. If it was something confidential that couldn’t be seen, at least asking would give him a sense of the boundaries.

A few seconds after sending the message, he got a reply.

Assistant: [Are you referring to the combination lock?]

Chi Han: [Yes. If it’s something that can’t be discussed, never mind. I was just curious.]

The assistant looked at his phone a bit awkwardly. He knew very well what was behind that little door. Rong Xu probably didn’t want it seen, but before leaving, he had specifically instructed him that Chi Han could have anything he wanted.

The assistant hesitated for a moment, then eventually sent the code over.

Forget it. Everything should follow the final clause of the client’s latest modification.

When Chi Han saw the code, his heart skipped a beat. It was his birthday.

He held his breath, suddenly breathing a little faster.

With a soft “click”, the lock popped open, and the hidden door was easily pulled open.

Chi Han’s heart was pounding like a drum, though he didn’t even know what he was so nervous about.

He reached inside. His fingertips touched something smooth and firm. He pulled it out and found that it was a thick roll of sketch paper.

The paper had been preserved with great care—there wasn’t the slightest trace of damage or contamination. The entire roll was bound neatly and tightly.

He untied the cord and spread the sketch paper open.

So many sheets—and every single one depicted the same person.

Chi Han.

It felt like something sharp had struck deep into Chi Han’s heart, chiseling it open and letting everything inside spill out.

Every page was marked with a date. From the earliest drawings with slightly awkward and hesitant lines, to the later ones, vivid, lifelike, and filled with spirit.

Chi Han could almost imagine Rong Xu sitting in front of his sketchpad, day after day, sketching him again and again.

Every tiny detail had been carved into his memory.

Every stroke spoke of feelings he could never voice aloud.

Chi Han’s fingertips brushed the signature in the corner of the sketches. His vision blurred so badly he could barely make out the words:

“November 30th, thinking of Chi Han.”

“December 4th, thinking of Chi Han.”

“December 10th, thinking of Chi Han…”

Chi Han lifted his hand to cover his eyes. His palm was soaked with tears, and he felt as if he could barely breathe.

On those thick stacks of sketch paper, every page was a piece of Rong Xu’s longing.

Chi Han didn’t even dare imagine how Rong Xu had endured all this time alone.

A few minutes later, Chi Han wiped his face clean, carefully gathered the sketch papers, and gently put them back where he had found them.

Rong Xu had locked those drawings away, probably because he didn’t want anyone to know what he felt deep down.

In case he never recovered, at least it would give Chi Han a clean break. No one would ever know about this quiet, unspoken love.

Chi Han pressed his palm against the hidden compartment, his eyes rimmed red.

To hell with a clean break.

…

Rong Xu finished his check-up and didn’t even wait for the results. He rushed straight to the top floor, where his assistant was already waiting by the entrance.

When the assistant saw him, he got straight to the point:

“The video from that day at Lianhua Temple has been recovered. Do you want to see it now?”

Rong Xu paused mid-step, lowering his gaze to look at the phone screen.

The video was short. It began with Chi Han running anxiously under the banyan tree.

When Chi Han looked up at the wishing plaques, his lips moving silently in panic, Rong Xu instantly understood why he’d reacted the way he did that day.

He watched the whole video in silence, his hand tightening into a fist. The feeling of their hearts beating in sync made his chest swell.

“…Mm. Send the video to my phone. You can go now.”

Rong Xu reached out to press the elevator button, but the next moment, someone stopped him.

The assistant looked at Rong Xu’s sharp, cold expression and swallowed nervously before forcing a smile and saying, “One more thing… I gave Young Master Chi the code to the lock on the hidden compartment in your room.”

The air around Rong Xu froze instantly. His lips curled into a chilling arc, his gaze so cold it made one’s scalp tingle.

“What did you say?”

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