After a split-second of surprise, Lan Yan regained her calm. “Sure, Sister Shan, wait a sec. I’ll have him grab them.”
Only Chen Boyu stared at her as if struck by lightning.
She wore an obviously men’s T-shirt and jacket, appearing at his non-blood-related stepbrother’s place at eleven at night.
Liang Jingchuan had already turned off the stove and stepped out of the kitchen, realizing something was off:
Luo Shan hadn’t asked for his unit number or building, and since she’d said to meet at the gate, she wouldn’t suddenly change plans and knock on a male colleague’s door in the middle of the night—too compromising.
His gaze passed the entryway to the door and landed on the shocked Chen Boyu. His steps paused as he said to Luo Shan, “One moment.”
Luo Shan nodded.
Normal hospitality, even if just polite, would’ve invited them in.
But the atmosphere was too weird. Lan Yan couldn’t say it.
She figured Chen Boyu probably didn’t want to come in either.
Moments later, Liang Jingchuan came from the study with the files and handed them to Luo Shan.
She checked—complete. “I’ll take these then. I’ll bring them to the office when I’m back from the trip.”
Liang Jingchuan nodded.
Luo Shan turned to Chen Boyu. “I’ll head out then, President Chen.”
Chen Boyu had been working overtime in the office. He’d called earlier to discuss Liang Jingchuan’s resignation but got no answer, assuming he was busy.
About to leave, he’d heard Luo Shan needed files from Liang Jingchuan’s place, learned he was home, and tagged along.
Chen Boyu resisted thinking right now. After a beat, he nodded and responded to Luo Shan.
Luo Shan turned and left.
The air grew thick.
The doorway divided them like a standoff. Inside, the two stood shoulder to shoulder, closer than casual acquaintances—far from Chen Boyu’s memory of them clashing like needle and wheat awn, always keeping distance.
Liang Jingchuan had a faint cut on his lip. Though Chen Boyu flashed through possibilities in an instant—bumped it, got canker sores…
But if he avoided the biggest possibility, it was simply burying his head in the sand: that was a bite mark from someone.
Combined with Lan Yan’s attire, one indisputable fact stared him in the face.
They had just slept together.
The thought flashed through his mind, and Chen Boyu felt as if he had been slapped, a burning anger surging up.
Liang Jingchuan reached out, pulled Lan Yan’s shoulder closer, and lowered his head to say, “The noodles are cooked. Just dish them out and eat. You go ahead. I’ll go out and talk to him.”
Lan Yan nodded.
Chen Boyu watched her walk inside. Apart from that instant when she opened the door, her gaze had not lingered on him for more than a second.
Liang Jingchuan took the black pilot jacket he had worn out that day from the hook at the entryway, slipped it over his T-shirt, changed his shoes, walked out the door, and closed it behind him.
The motion seemed even more like blocking his view into the apartment.
Chen Boyu could no longer tolerate it and charged forward with a raised fist.
Liang Jingchuan dodged to the side. “I won’t accept that. I don’t owe you on this matter.”
“You bastard…! She’s my ex-girlfriend!” Chen Boyu grabbed his collar in fury, his eyes bloodshot with rage.
“Since she’s your ex-girlfriend, she has nothing to do with you anymore.”
“…But I’m your brother! You went after your brother’s ex-girlfriend…” Chen Boyu thought of something and let out a cold laugh. “No wonder you were in such a hurry to cut ties with me. Afraid I’d find out…”
“Boyu, I’m not afraid of anyone knowing. I just haven’t told you yet because the timing wasn’t right. I did mention resigning, and I won’t deny that Yanyan is part of the reason, but not all of it…”
“What did you call her?”
Liang Jingchuan looked at him calmly. “Let’s go downstairs to talk. This building has more than one resident. Don’t disturb the others.”
Chen Boyu’s chest heaved violently. His gaze fell on the “303” behind him.
He had come here more than once to drink or discuss business with Liang Jingchuan, but ridiculously, he had never once thought about what “303” meant.
Today was March 2nd. Tomorrow was Lan Yan’s birthday.
At midnight, they would spend it together.
Chen Boyu released Liang Jingchuan’s collar, wiped his face, and turned away sullenly.
The elevator descended to the first floor. The open space in front of the complex was empty.
“…When did you two get together?” Chen Boyu’s voice was cold with anger.
“February 14th.”
Chen Boyu took a deep breath. Only then did he remember that he had asked this before. When he saw the scratches on Liang Jingchuan’s neck, he had even joked that they were moving fast—three days and already in bed. He felt like a clown.
“…When did you start chasing her?”
“Last August.”
“I hadn’t broken up with her yet then!” Rage tore at his reason, and Chen Boyu raised his fist again. “And you say you don’t owe me?”
Liang Jingchuan did not dodge this time.
The solid punch finally gave Chen Boyu’s anger an outlet, venting some of it. But that scorching shame and fury of betrayal only grew: “Back then, you two went on that business trip to Suzhou alone… I came back early, and you even asked me for the room key… Liang Jingchuan, were you playing me for a fool? Stealing your brother’s girlfriend—that’s how you treat a brother…?”
“I didn’t steal her from you. I took back what was originally mine.”
Whether it was the words themselves or Liang Jingchuan’s unflappably calm tone, it was like a bucket of cold water dumped over Chen Boyu’s head. His anger, like molten iron, cooled instantly, steam rising as his thoughts stuttered for a second: “…What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean.” Liang Jingchuan raised the back of his hand and roughly wiped his mouth. “I’ve liked her since high school, before you even met her.”
Chen Boyu was still reeling from the previous statement when this one delivered an even deeper shock.
“I don’t care how you won Yanyan over. But once you had her, you didn’t cherish her. From any standpoint, I couldn’t just stand by. If your relationship had been happy, I wouldn’t have stepped in, and I wouldn’t have had the chance. Boyu, you didn’t like her that much. The breakup was all your fault. Yanyan even gave you one last chance. One life to clear the level is hard. I warned you. You have no right to stand here and hold me accountable now.”
Liang Jingchuan’s emotions remained exceptionally calm from start to finish: “Your anger now boils down to thinking that as your brother, I shouldn’t touch your things. Even though Lan Yan is a person with her own thoughts, not some object you marked, and you two had already gone your separate ways. Of course, maybe it’s also because you’d accept losing to anyone but me.”
Chen Boyu’s chest rose and fell, his breaths short and ragged, as if he had suddenly lost the ability to argue. “…Spare me the high-sounding nonsense. The moment you decided to chase her, you stopped seeing me as a friend.”
“If that’s how you want to see it, I won’t deny it. When faced with a choice, I’ll pick her without hesitation every time.”
“Including your career?”
“Including my career.”
“Looks like you were prepared.” Chen Boyu sneered coldly. “Fine. Then don’t blame me for not holding back!”
With those words, he turned and stormed off, his footsteps hurried.
Lan Yan had no appetite. She dished out the noodles, but they sat in a lump in the bowl. She paced restlessly in the living room, unconsciously walking to the entryway and back.
After some time, she heard the sound of the code being entered. She rushed forward and opened the door.
Looking at Liang Jingchuan, she was momentarily speechless. She raised her hand to touch his swollen lip, but her fingers stopped just short, then grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside. In a low voice, she asked, “Do you have a first aid kit?”
“Yes. In the study.”
She led him by the hand into the living room and pressed him down onto the sofa.
She went to the study and found a small first aid kit on the open shelf of the bookcase. As she picked it up, she noticed a rolled-up painting in the adjacent compartment.
Thick rice paper, not lying flat, with bubbles on the back. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was the Lotus Emerging from Water from that restoration blind box they had fixed together.
For a moment, her vision blurred. She blinked, and once it cleared, she walked back to the living room.
She set the first aid kit on the coffee table, opened it, found an iodine swab, snapped it, let the iodine drip, and soaked the tip.
She knelt one knee on the sofa, one hand pressing Liang Jingchuan’s chin to tilt his head up slightly, the other dabbing the swab at his lip.
Her touch was very gentle, even lighter than when she had peeled off the fate paper.
Liang Jingchuan watched her, a smile on his face. She slapped his forehead. “Doesn’t it hurt? And you’re smiling.”
“Kiss me, and it won’t hurt.”
“…Can you keep your mouth shut for ten seconds? You can’t die if you don’t flirt at a time like this.”
Liang Jingchuan chuckled and fell silent.
After using two swabs to disinfect, Lan Yan rummaged for a bandage.
“No need. It’ll be fine by tomorrow.”
She withdrew her hand.
Lowering her gaze, she was silent for a moment before saying softly, “The talk didn’t go well, did it?”
“Yeah. It’s fine. His reaction is only natural. It takes time to process something like this.”
After a few seconds of silence, Lan Yan said, “Even if you only took 30% of your salary, it’d still be more than me. But I can support you.”
Hearing that made even ten punches worth it. Liang Jingchuan couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from turning up. “You sure? I have a big appetite.”
She wasn’t sure which appetite he meant.
“But you can cook and do housework.”
“That’s not enough.”
Lan Yan looked away. “…Not enough flesh payment, huh.”
“Starting now?”
No one could match Liang Jingchuan at seizing the moment. Lan Yan grabbed a throw pillow and smashed him with it twice to vent her frustration.