LNTSWJLY Chapter 67

The room, which had originally been quite spacious, was now packed with people. Yu Zhi stood at the very edge of the crowd, watching the doctors and nurses bustle about and the man on the bed, who had regained consciousness but was still unable to move or speak. His heart was perfectly calm.

By contrast, Lan Jingzhi, standing beside him, wore a rather complicated expression.

His hands unconsciously clenched, and his lips pressed together slightly. He did not look the least bit happy about his fiancé waking up.

Yu Zhi stepped closer and gently patted the back of Lan Jingzhi’s hand twice. It was both a gesture of comfort and a reminder.

Lan Jingzhi came back to his senses and composed his expression. He turned to glance at Yu Zhi but said nothing.

Deep down, he did not want Yu Chen to wake up. He had no way of guaranteeing that Yu Chen wouldn’t cast him aside once he regained consciousness. If that happened, all the effort he had invested up to this point would go down the drain.

As long as Yu Chen remained unconscious, the Yu family would continue tolerating him, no matter what. But if Yu Chen woke up, there was no telling when their flimsy relationship might fall apart.

Still, no matter how much he wished for Yu Chen to remain asleep, Lan Jingzhi would never go so far as to tamper with someone or deliberately do something to prevent him from waking up. He wasn’t that vicious.

He could only say that everything came down to fate and circumstances. From now on, he had only one path left: win Yu Chen over completely and sever his relationship with Xia Ningyang. If he could accomplish that, perhaps their fake relationship could eventually become real.

Yet when Lan Jingzhi considered this possibility, he discovered that he felt very little happiness or pleasure. Instead, he even felt a little irritated. He attributed this reaction to the fact that he did not actually like Yu Chen, then forced himself to stop thinking about it.

“Chenchen, Chenchen, how are you feeling?”

“Doctor, when will my son be able to speak? He’s already awake, so there shouldn’t be any major problems from now on, right?”

Watching everyone fuss over Yu Chen with such concern that they had even forgotten about the others around them, Yu Zhi pressed his lips together without saying a word. He reached out, took Lan Jingzhi’s hand, and led him out of the room and downstairs.

Lan Jingzhi was pulled along. To avoid attracting the attention of Yu parents, he had no choice but to cooperate and obediently follow Yu Zhi away.

Only after they had left the room did he ask, “What are you planning to do?”

Yu Zhi led him to the kitchen and instructed one of the servants, “Could you please make two bowls of noodles for us? Thank you.”

With that, he took Lan Jingzhi to the dining room and sat down.

“Little Brother Yu is hungry…” Only then did Lan Jingzhi understand. He nodded in realization.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Yu Zhi looked at him.

“I…” Lan Jingzhi wanted to say that he wasn’t hungry. However, the churning in his stomach made it impossible to pass off that lie, so he simply shut his mouth and dropped the subject.

When the noodles were served, Yu Zhi looked at the two bowls of tomato-and-egg noodles in front of them. Something occurred to him, and he glanced toward Lan Jingzhi.

Sure enough, Lan Jingzhi was frowning as he picked out and set aside the minced meat topping, then carefully lifted out the noodles underneath and began eating them slowly.

Yu Zhi reached over and took Lan Jingzhi’s bowl of noodles. He picked out the few pieces of chopped green onion that stood out clearly against the red-and-yellow toppings, then placed the bowl back in front of Lan Jingzhi.

By the time Yu Zhi began eating, Lan Jingzhi was still staring at the bowl in front of him without moving. His expression was complicated. Only after a long while did he compose himself and begin eating in silence.

After a few mouthfuls, Lan Jingzhi finally couldn’t hold back any longer. With a meaningful look, he remarked, “Little Brother Yu, you’re really so thoughtful. If Uncle and Auntie knew how considerate you were, they would surely like you.”

Yu Zhi looked up at him, swallowed the noodles in his mouth, and asked clearly, “Is there any point to this?”

Lan Jingzhi looked puzzled. “What?”

Yu Zhi replied calmly, “Is there any point in trying to please people who don’t care about you at all?”

Lan Jingzhi’s grip on his chopsticks tightened!

He understood what Yu Zhi meant.

Yu Zhi was saying that those two people didn’t care about him, so he didn’t bother trying to win their affection.

But at the same time, Yu Zhi was asking him a question, too. Was it worth making himself miserable just to please other people for things that didn’t matter? Especially when those people didn’t care about him at all, not even the household servants knew his likes, dislikes, or dietary restrictions.

Was any of it worth it?

Lan Jingzhi narrowed his eyes and smiled at Yu Zhi. “Little Brother Yu, you’re so innocent. Do you really think Heaven is that kindhearted, that it would let someone have everything? Take you, for example. You get to live here, and you’ve had food, clothing, and everything you need since childhood. But you’re not valued. You’re practically invisible. Those things come at a price.”

Lan Jingzhi had never liked lecturing people. Yet whenever Yu Zhi said things like this to him, which had happened several times now, he found himself saying more than he normally would.

There was no sarcasm in his words, nor was he trying to achieve anything. He simply wanted to tell Yu Zhi what he thought.

Perhaps he wanted to convince Yu Zhi. Or perhaps he wanted to convince himself.

Who knew?

Yu Zhi didn’t deny what he said. He simply replied, “I thought everything had its own order of importance. You should first hold on to what matters most to you, then work toward getting the other things on top of that. What do you think?”

Lan Jingzhi raised an eyebrow. His tone sounded casual, but there was a hint of seriousness beneath it.

“And how does Little Brother Yu know what matters most to me? I’m your older brother’s boyfriend or rather, his fiancé now. Surely he’s the most important person to me, isn’t he?”

“Oh? Then was that why you looked so serious upstairs, as though you were facing a formidable enemy? Were you so worried that my brother might wake up only to find that his health was still poor?” Yu Zhi drawled leisurely.

Lan Jingzhi choked on his words, left with nothing to say.

He looked at Yu Zhi for a while before finally lowering his head. In a gloomy mood, he listlessly picked at the noodles in his bowl, taking one bite after another without much enthusiasm.

Yu Zhi chuckled silently. He didn’t press the stubborn man any further.

Everything needed to be done in moderation. There was no need to rush.

Yu Chen’s awakening was like a shot of confidence injected into the Yu family. Even the servants felt that the villa had become much livelier. The two heads of the household, the master and mistress, were also in excellent moods and treated everyone with noticeably warmer expressions.

The only person whose circumstances remained unchanged was Yu Zhi, the Yu family’s second young master, who had virtually no presence in the household. He continued spending his days in his room, rarely leaving unless he had something to do.

In the past, Father Yu would at least have asked him a few questions. Now, he simply let Yu Zhi do as he pleased and no longer bothered asking about him.

This showed just how different Yu Zhi’s circumstances and treatment might have been if he had agreed to take Yu Chen’s place at the company back then.

Many people would have pitied him and made a spectacle of his misfortune, leaving him with nowhere to hide.

But Yu Zhi was not the original owner. His attitude toward Yu parents remained unchanged. He seemed to embody the idea of neither rejoicing over external gains nor grieving over personal losses.

It was precisely this attitude that kept Yu Chen’s awakening from affecting him in the slightest.

However, Lan Jingzhi was different.

After Yu Chen woke up, Lan Jingzhi had to keep the mask of a fiancé deeply in love with him firmly in place. Every day, he made a point of appearing in front of Yu Chen, telling him about everything that had happened while he was unconscious. From time to time, he would express his devotion with remarks such as, “It’s so good that you’ve woken up,” “It wasn’t until you became a vegetable that I realized how important you are to me,” and “I’m so happy to see you awake.”

Many people felt happy when they learned that someone liked them. It had nothing to do with gender. It was simply a matter of human competitiveness and vanity.

Although Yu Chen already had someone else in his heart, Lan Jingzhi’s apparent devotion still pleased him. Moreover, after learning that Lan Jingzhi had stayed by his side throughout this period, as well as discovering what Xia Ningyang had done, Yu Chen treated Lan Jingzhi quite well.

In fact, Mother Yu had considered the idea of burning the bridge after crossing the river once she had gotten what she wanted. However, her son had only just woken up. Doing so now would make her intentions far too obvious. She cared about saving face, and on top of that, she felt just a tiny bit guilty toward Lan Jingzhi. In the end, she kept the thought to herself and said nothing.

“By the way, Chenchen, Ningyang came to visit you a few days ago, too. You woke up not long after he came to see you. Now you can even speak, and your body is gradually recovering. Would you like me to invite Ningyang over to visit you more often? Perhaps you’ll recover even faster that way.”

Mother Yu had her own suspicions about Xia Ningyang. After all, the timing was simply too coincidental. Her son had been in a vegetative state for quite some time, yet he woke up shortly after Xia Ningyang visited. She couldn’t help wondering whether there was a connection.

However, she failed to notice the unnatural look in Yu Chen’s eyes when he heard Xia Ningyang’s name. His expression was complicated, and his brows drew together slightly.

“He’s probably very busy, Mom. Please don’t bother him for the time being.”

Yu Chen didn’t know what attitude he should take toward Xia Ningyang. It was impossible to say that he wasn’t the least bit angry with him. But claiming that he no longer loved him would be a lie, too.

Lan Jingzhi smiled and said, “Brother Yu Chen, why don’t you consider what Auntie suggested? You and Mr. Xia have been friends for so many years. He must be very worried about you. Now that you’ve woken up, you should see him at least once and put his mind at ease.”

Come on over. I’m practically hoping you’ll show up. If you don’t come, how will Yu Chen get to see just how guilty you look?

However, Mother Yu listened only to her son. Once she learned that he didn’t want to see Xia Ningyang, she stopped bringing up the matter. Instead, she went out to consult the nutritionist about what her son should eat that day.

With only the two of them left in the room, Yu Chen looked at the boyfriend he didn’t love, a man whose feelings for him ran so deep that he seemed unable to live without him, and found himself at a loss for words.

“Brother Yu Chen, would you like me to turn on the television? What would you like to watch?”

“Oh, anything is fine. Just turn it on.”

Yu Chen didn’t like watching television, but he also wanted to know what changes had taken place in the world while he was in a vegetative state.

Lan Jingzhi turned on the television and, based on what he knew about Yu Chen, switched to the news channel.

After that, he watched Yu Chen watch television while occasionally glancing at the phone on his bedside table, which was plugged in and turned on.

Throughout this time, Yu Chen barely looked at Lan Jingzhi, nor did he ask him anything. It was as though he hadn’t even noticed Lan Jingzhi’s presence.

People who are accustomed to putting themselves at the center of everything find it difficult to pay attention to others, especially when those people aren’t important to them.

This made it clear where Lan Jingzhi, his boyfriend, stood in Yu Chen’s heart.

No. It would be more accurate to say that Lan Jingzhi had never occupied a place in his heart at all.

Fully aware of this, Lan Jingzhi walked over to the window, opened it, and looked out at the garden.

How boring.

These words suddenly popped into his mind without warning. His heart skipped a beat as he remembered what Yu Zhi had said to him earlier.

He hurriedly pushed the thought down again, as though, as long as he didn’t think about it or examine it too closely, he wouldn’t have to face any of it, and none of it would ever appear before him.

He turned his gaze away from the window and looked at Yu Chen lying in bed. Although Yu Chen had only recently recovered from a serious illness, this male lead was still talented, handsome, and full of charisma.

Yet, no matter how Lan Jingzhi looked at him, Yu Chen no longer seemed as attractive as before. What was more, Lan Jingzhi understood perfectly well that this wasn’t because Yu Chen himself had changed. It was because Lan Jingzhi had changed.

As he looked at Yu Chen, another figure and another face kept appearing in his mind.

Because of this, every second he spent looking at Yu Chen felt like an ordeal he had to endure.

Flustered, Lan Jingzhi turned his head away. He didn’t want to think about why this was happening, nor did he want to consider what was wrong with him.

Because deep down, he knew the answer all too well.

It was an answer that would make him happy, yet trouble him at the same time.

Xia Ningyang eventually came, just as Yu Chen was gradually regaining control over his body.

“What are you here for? To see whether I’m dead yet?”

The moment he saw Xia Ningyang, the calm expression on Yu Chen’s face cracked. His first words were dripping with sarcasm.

Xia Ningyang had been worried that Yu Chen hadn’t contacted him at all since waking up. But when he saw the anger on Yu Chen’s face, for some reason, he felt relieved.

It was as though a feeling deep inside told him that Yu Chen could never bring himself to leave him. Even if Xia Ningyang had done something wrong, Yu Chen wouldn’t abandon him.

This feeling eased his anxiety, and most of the guilt in his heart faded away.

Two tears slid down his cheeks. Paired with his adorable face, they made him look so pitiful that anyone who saw him would find it difficult not to feel sorry for him.

“Brother Chen, I didn’t mean to do it. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have argued with you while you were driving, and I shouldn’t have panicked and forgotten to call an ambulance after running away. I… I was just scared. I was afraid something would really happen to you, afraid that you…”

…that if something happened to you, I’d be held responsible.

Xia Ningyang’s family was wealthy too, so he certainly could have afforded to pay compensation. But he was afraid of having someone’s death on his conscience, especially when that person was someone he knew. If the truth got out, even if he didn’t end up in prison, he would never be able to shake the reputation of having caused someone’s death for the rest of his life.

He was better at shifting the blame than accepting responsibility.

Yet, to Yu Chen, those words meant something entirely different. He interpreted them as proof that Xia Ningyang had been afraid something would happen to him, that Xia had been worried about him, and that he liked him.

Combined with Xia Ningyang’s pitiful expression, this softened Yu Chen’s heart.

It had been many days since Yu Chen woke up, and much of his anger had already faded. Now, seeing Xia Ningyang again and hearing from him what sounded like an admission that he actually liked him, Yu Chen couldn’t help but soften toward him.

He simply couldn’t bring himself to reject Xia Ningyang.

“Stop crying,” he said coldly.

His voice was still cold, but it no longer had the cutting edge it had moments earlier.

Xia Ningyang was perceptive enough to notice the change. His heart leaped with joy, and he hurried forward, grabbing Yu Chen’s hand as he pressed him for an answer.

“Brother Chen, you’re not angry anymore, are you? You’ve forgiven me, right?”

What else could Yu Chen say? With Xia Ningyang crying as he pressed him for an answer, Yu Chen, whose heart had already softened, found himself even less able to resist him. After going back and forth like this for a little while, Yu Chen finally surrendered, and the two successfully resolved their conflict.

“Brother Chen, while you were in a vegetative state, Uncle and Auntie arranged an engagement between you and Mr. Lan out of concern for your safety. Everyone in our social circle knows about it now.” Xia Ningyang deliberately reminded him of this.

Yu Chen almost instinctively furrowed his brows. Clearly, he wasn’t happy about the arrangement either. Xia Ningyang was secretly delighted. Remembering how Lan Jingzhi had mocked him several times, he felt even more justified in what he was doing.

He wasn’t taking revenge. He was merely making sure Brother Chen could clearly and rationally choose his own marriage and partner.

Just because Brother Chen was dating Lan Jingzhi didn’t necessarily mean he wanted to get engaged to him, let alone marry him.

“I understand,” Yu Chen replied calmly.

Although he didn’t like Lan Jingzhi, he knew what the other man had done for him. Even if he wanted to break up with him, he wouldn’t bring it up at a time like this.

Lan Jingzhi liked him so much. If Yu Chen broke up with him, he would probably be devastated, unable to recover from the blow, and utterly heartbroken.

Outside the door, Lan Jingzhi listened to their conversation. An incredulous, mocking expression appeared on his face.

He genuinely hadn’t expected that, even after everything that had happened, those two could still make up!

Was he too cold-blooded, or was he simply too normal to understand their relationship?

If someone had nearly gotten him killed, he would consider it lenient enough not to retaliate. There was no way he would forgive that person without holding anything against them.

As Lan Jingzhi found the two of them utterly incomprehensible, an inexplicable sense of unease suddenly rose within him, slipping beyond his grasp.

Even after all that, Yu Chen could still forgive Xia Ningyang. Could Lan Jingzhi really kick Xia out of the picture and keep Yu Chen by his side with nothing more than the little care he had shown him and his feigned devotion?

The words ‘Impossible’ surfaced in his mind, stirring up a wave of irritation.

The irritation kept him awake that night. He tossed and turned for a long time, but sleep simply wouldn’t come.

He lit up his phone screen, then turned it off again. In the darkness, his eyes were as wide awake as his mind.

Knock, knock!

The sudden knocking sounded particularly clear and eerie in the middle of the night, like the opening scene of a horror movie.

As the protagonist of this horror movie, Lan Jingzhi reached out and switched on the light in his room. Bright light flooded the entire room, quickly dispelling the eerie atmosphere.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.” The voice outside the door was familiar and clear.

A feeling of delight spontaneously welled up inside Lan Jingzhi.

The door opened. Yu Zhi was holding a cup of milk. Seeing Lan Jingzhi standing there staring blankly at him after opening the door, Yu Zhi lifted the cup slightly.

“Are you sure you want to talk right here in the doorway?”

Lan Jingzhi stepped aside. “Come in.”

“This is for you. Drink it while it’s still warm.” Yu Zhi placed the cup of milk in his hands.

Lan Jingzhi took a sip. It wasn’t the plain milk he hated.

“I added sugar and boiled it with some nuts. I let it cool until it was warm before bringing it to you.” Seeing the surprise and confusion on Lan Jingzhi’s face, Yu Zhi explained.

It really is sweet.

Lan Jingzhi thought silently to himself.

Although the milk had been boiled with nuts, Lan Jingzhi couldn’t taste any of them. The milk was simply sweet and fragrant; there was nothing he needed to chew. Clearly, Yu Zhi had gone out of his way to strain them out.

“Little Brother Yu, how did you know I was still awake?” he asked, voicing another question that had been bothering him.

“I guessed,” Yu Zhi answered directly.

If Lan Jingzhi had been asleep, he wouldn’t have responded to Yu Zhi’s knock. Clearly, Yu Zhi’s guess had been pretty accurate.

Lan Jingzhi: “…”

He was at a loss for words.

“Heh, heh… Little Brother Yu, you really can predict things like a fortune-teller. If you get good enough at it, you could make a living out of that someday.”

Yu Zhi smiled. “I’m good at quite a few things. I won’t starve in the future.”

Lan Jingzhi hurriedly lowered his head. Clutching the warm milk, he said awkwardly, “Why are you telling me this, Little Brother Yu? I— I’m not going to spend my life with you.”

“Oh? I thought you were asking out of concern for me as a future member of your family, so I explained. What exactly did Brother Jingzhi misunderstand?”

Yu Zhi’s words left Lan Jingzhi feeling as though something had lodged in his chest. He was both frustrated and embarrassed. He looked up at Yu Zhi, only to meet those innocent eyes. Feeling that he had made a fool of himself, Lan Jingzhi snapped irritably, “I misunderstood. Little Brother Yu, don’t take it to heart. It’s late, so you should get some rest too. If your brother sees us still in the same room this late, he might b—…get jealous.”

He had deliberately changed the words be unhappy to get jealous, hoping to provoke Yu Zhi a little.

Having issued the order for the visitor to leave, he watched as the person on the receiving end ignored it. Instead, Lan Jingzhi couldn’t help laughing.

“All right, I won’t tease you anymore. I was only joking just now. Don’t be angry.”

Lan Jingzhi was indeed no longer angry. However, his embarrassment and frustration had now turned into nervousness and unease.

He had seen Yu Zhi’s expression. It seemed casual, yet his eyes were serious.

“Lan Jingzhi, last time, you said that whatever you wanted most at the moment was the most important thing to you. Is that right?”

“What? Are you trying to talk me out of it?” At the mention of this matter, Lan Jingzhi calmed down a little. “That makes sense, too. People like us, who pursue material things, must seem vulgar to you. You probably look down on us and think we’re beneath your notice, right? Are you going to persuade me to ‘mend my ways and return to the right path’? If so, you might be disappointed…”

“Why are you being so hostile?” Yu Zhi interrupted him. He took the cup from Lan Jingzhi’s hand, which contained only a little milk at the bottom, worried that Lan might accidentally drop and break it.

“I know you consider it important because, apart from that, there’s almost nothing else you can hold on to.”

“But what if someone were willing to treat you with genuine sincerity, on the condition that you return that same sincerity in equal measure? Would you be willing?”

Lan Jingzhi was at a loss for words. Nervousness, excitement, fear, anticipation… All sorts of conflicting emotions surged through him. Stammering, he asked, “Y-y-you… What do you mean?”

Yu Zhi smiled faintly, his features as beautiful as a painting.

“It’s simple. If I liked you, would you be willing to give me the most important place in your heart?”

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