Chapter 35
Fang Jing Yao melted into it, his body heating up quickly. Half lost in the moment, he slipped his hand under the covers, reaching for Long Yu—but when he touched him, his heart sank. Long Yu held him close but didn’t respond at all.
Long Yu kissed him again and whispered, “Sorry, I’m just really tired lately.”
Fang Jing Yao said, “It’s fine, I wasn’t really thinking about doing that anyway… Long Yu, is there really nothing you want to ask me?”
Long Yu shook his head and pulled him close to sleep. Their position was as intimate as ever, but Fang Jing Yao could tell something was different—the warmth of Long Yu’s arm on his shoulder wasn’t quite the same.
A creeping unease spread through his chest. When Long Yu didn’t ask, he almost asked himself—
“Who are you looking at? The person you’re seeing right now… is it really me?”
Fang Jing Yao couldn’t sleep a wink that night. The next morning, he had dark circles under his eyes.
Feeling miserable, he went out to find Zhuo Yifan.
But when he actually saw his student, he felt too embarrassed to bring up relationship issues with someone younger. So he buried himself in work instead, helping Zhuo Yifan review his new drafts and make corrections, trying to fill every second so he wouldn’t have to think. At first, Zhuo Yifan didn’t notice anything, but by noon, when he realized his teacher still hadn’t gone home, he cautiously asked, “Aren’t you going back, Master?”
Fang Jing Yao just hummed in reply, still sketching.
Zhuo Yifan wanted to ask about Dr. Long, but when he started to, he saw his teacher’s expression darken and didn’t dare continue. He just stayed close, serving tea and snacks, occasionally sneaking glances out the window downstairs.
Without looking up, Fang Jing Yao said, “Stop looking. Luo Yi’s not coming.”
Zhuo Yifan froze. “You knew?”
Fang Jing Yao said, “Yeah. He stopped me downstairs a few days ago—said he wanted to return something.”
Zhuo Yifan asked, “What thing?”
Fang Jing Yao: “The ring.”
Zhuo Yifan: “…What?! Dr. Long knows about it?”
Fang Jing Yao replied, “Mm, he’s been watching from behind the whole time.”
Zhuo Yifan: “…”
Zhuo Yifan fell silent. He finally understood why his master had been acting strange today — it turned out there was a bit of unresolved tension between him and Dr. Long.
Zhuo Yifan remembered when his parents used to fight at home; he never knew whose side to take. If he sided with his dad, his mom would pinch him and cry, saying he had no conscience; if he sided with his mom, his dad would look hurt and say raising him had been a waste. Once, he got fed up and blurted out, “Why don’t you two just get divorced?” — and sure enough, his parents stopped fighting and teamed up to give him a good beating.
Now, Zhuo Yifan didn’t dare to give his own immature advice so easily. Whatever his master said, he just listened quietly.
Fang Jing Yao was also quite frustrated. He talked for a while about Luo Yi — and from the way he talked, it sounded like he was starting to hate him too.
Just then, there was the sound of a car downstairs. Fang Jing Yao lived on the second floor, so he could hear everything clearly. He didn’t move, but Zhuo Yifan jumped over to the window to look and said excitedly, “Master, it’s Dr. Long…” His excitement barely lasted a second before his face changed. “Master, this is bad — my grandmaster ran into Luo Yi downstairs!”
Fang Jing Yao finally stood up and went over to look, but only watched from above — he had no intention of going down.
Zhuo Yifan stood beside him, even more nervous than he was. “Master, you’re just letting them be down there? Aren’t you afraid something might happen?”
Fang Jing Yao glanced down, thought for a moment, and said, “Probably not. Luo Yi doesn’t look like he’s good at fighting. He probably can’t beat Long Yu.”
Zhuo Yifan made a strange face. “Aren’t you afraid of what Luo Yi might say?”
Fang Jing Yao frowned slightly. “Say what?”
Zhuo Yifan cautiously watched his master’s expression and stammered, “They all say… you slept with Luo Yi for two or three years…”
Fang Jing Yao: “Bullshit!”
Zhuo Yifan seized the chance to ask, “Then why are you so nice to him? I know several people who’ve worked with him — they all ended up falling out. No one can stay on good terms with him for long. With that kind of personality, I really don’t see what’s worth you treating him so well.”
“There are a lot of reasons. When I met him, he had just started college. We had similar interests, so we kept in touch. Back then, Luo Yi’s family was poor, but he was extremely proud… His temper was even worse than it is now — always asking for trouble. His dorm mates bullied him, too. For four years of college, Luo Yi did all the assignments for their dorm.” Fang Jing Yao paused and let out a short laugh. “That kid was ruthless — endured it for three or four years without saying a word. But when it came time for their graduation project, he refused to lift a finger to help. There were six of them in total, and in the end, only Luo Yi graduated on time. The rest all had to redo their defenses and rewrite their projects.”
Zhuo Yifan listened quietly on the side.
Fang Jing Yao continued, “When he was interning, something happened at home. His parents were desperate and depended on him, this freshly minted intern, to support the family. He lost more than ten pounds in two months. He was so poor he could barely eat, left early and came home late every day. His dorm mates made things worse for him — in the middle of winter, he only dared get dressed in the hallway hugging his clothes for warmth… Anyway, there were a lot of things like that. At first, I really pitied him.”
Zhuo Yifan said, “Then later when he didn’t need your help anymore, you stopped liking him?”
“Not exactly. Maybe I just realized we wanted different things.” Fang Jing Yao sighed. His own family was only moderately well-off, but he was open-minded and didn’t care much for material pursuits. Luo Yi, climbing up from the bottom, wanted much, much more.
Luo Yi thought Fang’s way of living was too easygoing; Fang thought Luo Yi’s was too exhausting — living just to prove himself to others.
They’d endured so many hardships together, yet when they finally reached a point where they could shape their own lives, they couldn’t walk the same path anymore.
Downstairs, Long Yu had already finished talking with Luo Yi. His tone was always cold, and he showed Luo Yi no politeness at all. Before Luo Yi could bring up anything emotional, Long Yu started talking about the lawsuit, his few sharp words making Luo Yi furious.
“Don’t bother trying other tricks,” Long Yu said coolly. “Jing Yao will never reconcile with you. We’re all adults — you should understand that everything has a price. Since you made your choice, you have to accept the consequences.”
Luo Yi wasn’t ready to give up. With a trace of provocation in his voice, he said, “Dr. Long, you saw the ring in Jing Yao’s hand that day, didn’t you? Why don’t we let him choose for himself? Do you dare step aside and let him decide again? Do you dare bet on it with me?”
Long Yu glanced at his watch and said indifferently, “I’d suggest you pay attention to the date. The court doesn’t wait for anyone.”
Luo Yi sneered. “So you’re scared, huh? I’ve been with Jing Yao for over seven years. You really think what you two have now can compare to that?”
Long Yu ignored him completely and strode upstairs.
Zhuo Yifan opened the door for him and whispered, “My master’s in the study — hurry, Grandmaster.”
Long Yu nodded. “Alright.”
Zhuo Yifan watched him enter the study and finally exhaled in relief — but moments later, he heard the sounds of an argument coming from inside.
Fang Jing Yao hadn’t meant to argue this time. He still thought Long Yu was someone who needed gentleness, someone who needed to be coaxed — but after so many days of coaxing, he was tired. It felt like he was the only one putting in effort, while Long Yu just stayed within his walls, never taking a step toward him or showing any sign that he was willing to open up.
After seeing Luo Yi today, that tightly wound string in Long Yu snapped again. He forced himself to speak calmly, analyzing the pros and cons for Fang Jing Yao, but when he saw the impatience on Fang’s face, he couldn’t help pressing his lips together.
Fang Jing Yao was aggrieved too. He just wanted to be in love with Dr. Long — who the hell wanted to talk about Luo Yi?!
After a pause, Long Yu finally said, “Jing Yao, Luo Yi isn’t as simple as he looks. I’ve found some issues with his contracts. You should stay away from him — I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Fang Jing Yao was getting impatient. He listened for a bit before replying, “Long Yu, is this all you want to talk about? Yifan’s already handling it, and I’ve been avoiding him as much as possible…”
Long Yu looked at him, but his mind echoed with Luo Yi’s earlier words — “seven years.” He hadn’t responded then, but anger was still burning inside him. He said coldly, “Then the reason you haven’t exposed his wrongdoing — is it because you still care about him?”
For the first time, Fang Jing Yao got angry. He bit his lip and glared at Long Yu. The man’s tone was cold, his eyes distant, almost unfamiliar.
Long Yu said, “You still want to help him? Help that man?”
Fang tried to hold back his temper. “No, I just think this whole thing isn’t worth dragging out any longer—”
Long Yu let out a short, bitter laugh. “Not worth it? You think it’s no big deal — because the one at fault is Luo Yi? You think he can be forgiven, that your feelings can balance it all out, so you go easy on him, right?”
Fang Jing Yao snapped, “That’s not what I mean!”
“But that’s what you’re doing! If you really have nothing to do with him anymore, why can’t you see clearly what’s right and wrong?” Long Yu wouldn’t back down. Ever since he’d first heard about Luo Yi from Zhuo Yifan, he’d suspected the man’s intentions weren’t pure. His instincts had been right. When he saw Fang’s hesitant attitude, he’d chosen to watch silently — until today, when Luo Yi’s words provoked him beyond restraint. “I told you before, and yet you still gave him the second half of the manuscript!”
“Luo Yi worked with me for years — half of that book’s structure came from him! That book took me five years, Long Yu, do you know how long that is? Fifteen volumes, over six hundred chapters — all written one by one! He helped me so many times when I was struggling, so I didn’t want to push him too hard… Yes, I’m sentimental, I’m impulsive! I don’t want to work on that book anymore — I just want to end it, to make peace with it, and with myself, alright?! After all those years, even as a friend, can’t I—”
Long Yu cut him off coldly. “You’re always this generous with your so-called ‘friends’? Sorry, I can’t accept that.”
Fang Jing Yao’s anger flared. He stood up and stared at him. “And what about you?”
Long Yu frowned. “What about me?”
“Do you even love me? The me standing right in front of you?” Fang Jing Yao’s voice trembled slightly. “Or am I just a substitute for someone else you loved? Long Yu, when you look at me — who is it that you’re really seeing?”
Long Yu froze.
Fang Jing Yao waited for an answer. The air between them grew heavy. It was their first real argument, and Fang Jing Yao felt like he was the only one raging — so angry it hurt his heart and lungs.
Author’s Note:
Don’t worry — it’s just a lovers’ quarrel. A little “bedside argument,” ahem ahem~
