TFS | Chapter 48

“Since he’s someone you know, why did he come looking for me?” Xu Linruan leaned back a little, her eyes slightly lifted, and asked half in confusion, half in suspicion, “Did you do something bad overseas?”

“I didn’t.” Qi Yue immediately denied it, but his wife’s expression clearly said she didn’t believe him. He wilted at once and answered honestly, “Fine, there was a little something, but it’s not what you’re thinking.”

“Let me bullshit my way through this, okay?” He pulled Xu Linruan into his arms, resting his head on her shoulder. His posture, full of taking advantage of her, had become increasingly practiced. “Do you remember the shooting incident that happened at school before? The report said there were two Asian international students. One was me, and the other was that guy who came to see you today.”

Qi Yue toyed with her fingers back and forth, sometimes lacing their fingers together, sometimes bringing them to his mouth to nibble. He looked as if he had found some interesting toy. “He was sent to that school because of family reasons. I don’t know the details either.”

“But after the shooting, the two of us, as the instigators, were taken to some militarized correction facility. Those people were crazy, they handled things extremely, and their management style was even more twisted. We worked together and it took a long time before we could get out of that hellhole.”

“After that, I didn’t keep in touch with him. But I’m guessing he came back to the country to seek refuge.” Qi Yue couldn’t help kissing his girlfriend on the earlobe.

Xu Linruan tilted her head. The sensitive skin of her ear itched faintly. “What does seeking refuge mean?”

Qi Yue narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning a little dark. “I’m not entirely sure. Before coming back to the country, I heard that he turned over some evidence to the police, which led to the correction facility being shut down. That also put him on the radar of the people behind it. He got himself into trouble, so of course he’d come back home to lay low.”

After thinking it over, he still couldn’t help emphasizing, “Anyway, you’re not allowed to have contact with him. If he comes looking for you, remember to tell me.”

“Mm, got it.” Xu Linruan nodded. Since that person had trouble on his hands, she should keep her distance. Besides, he really did seem rather strange.

She looked at the restless man in front of her. “By the way, what have you been busy with lately? Why didn’t you mention anything when you came back?”

Xu Linruan felt confused. None of these things lined up with the plot she remembered, especially what had happened after he went abroad. Something felt off, as if it wasn’t as simple as it sounded.

She could tell this guy had hidden a lot from her, especially about what happened after he was sent to that correction facility. He had always been vague about the details. At first, she had thought that if he didn’t want to say, then there was no need for her to dig into it.

Still, the work he had been busy with lately made her curious.

Qi Yue couldn’t help laughing. The corners of his mouth curved up. “Wife, are you worried about me?” He couldn’t help planting a loud kiss on her cheek. “Okay, fine, I’m not as smart as you, but don’t make me sound that useless. I’m definitely not as good as you when it comes to studying, but I’m not that stupid when it comes to dealing with people.”

“I registered a company with some friends who came back from overseas. We do some overseas sales. Things have been pretty busy lately, so I’ve been tied up a bit, but don’t worry, I can handle it myself.”

What he was more worried about now was not his own work, but the fact that Jiang Rang had come back to the country. For it to make him rush back this way, the situation this time was probably troublesome and not easy to resolve.

Qi Yue lowered his head. A few strands of soft black hair fell down, making his expression hard to read. Actually, he hadn’t finished everything he said earlier.

Most of the people who had detained them were extremists. There had been quite a few cases of them molesting and luring underage victims into crimes, and a lot of the evidence-recording work had his fingerprints on it. That was also one of the things he had been quietly worried about, afraid it would drag her into it.

He hadn’t said it because he was afraid she would worry.

Silently, he suddenly held the person in his arms even tighter. His once restless fingers gradually stilled. “Ruanruan, I suddenly feel a little uneasy…”

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Xu Linruan found it curious. This guy could feel uneasy too? These past few days, he had already taken plenty of liberties with her, especially after he found out she liked him too. He had become even more brazen.

“I keep thinking… you’ll leave me.”

“Why would you think that?” Xu Linruan turned to look at him. Could it be that she really hadn’t shown enough affection, so he had no sense of security? “…Haven’t I always been here?”

“I don’t know.” Qi Yue’s brows and eyes showed a strangely hesitant emotion, but he quickly masked it. “It’s just that this feeling is hard to explain. Let me hold you a little longer, maybe I’ll feel better…”

By that point, it was already obvious what he was doing. Xu Linruan rolled her eyes inwardly. This brat was probably just being finicky and taking a roundabout route to get her to indulge him.

Fine, let him hug her. It wasn’t like she’d lose a piece of flesh.

After quite a while, the guy still had no intention of letting go. Xu Linruan couldn’t help patting the back of the hand around her waist. “Are you done? How much longer do you want to hold me?”

“Mm… just a little more.” Qi Yue felt he could press his advantage. His wife was the type who had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, and she couldn’t stand seeing him play the tragic card. “Ruanruan, actually, there’s another place that’s a little uncomfortable. Could you…”

Xu Linruan refused decisively, “No.”

Qi Yue paused, looking a little depressed. He knew it would be like this.

…………

The next morning, the hospital opened as usual.

When Xu Linruan woke up, the guy beside her had already left ahead of time. He had been busy these past few days, so getting up early had become normal.

After washing up, Xu Linruan found breakfast already prepared on the table. There was even a small note stuck beside the chopsticks, reminding her to eat before going to work. He really did have the air of a househusband about him.

She picked up her chopsticks,夹 an egg and took a bite. It tasted decent, barely edible. It seemed this guy had learned quite a few survival skills while out there.

After breakfast, she drove to work.

As she was getting close to the company, Qi Yue called her. First came a whole round of acting spoiled, showing off, and asking for praise, then he said he would come over for lunch.

Xu Linruan smiled and agreed. Around noon, someone knocked on the office door. She thought it was that guy arriving, but when the door opened, the person standing outside was Jiang Rang.

“Surprised?” Jiang Rang walked in unhurriedly, a faint smile on his face. “I told you I’d come find you again. By the way, can I call you Ruanruan?”

“You’re looking for me for something?” Xu Linruan looked up at him. She really was a little surprised. This guy had thick skin and was very familiar with people right away, showing no awareness at all that he might be unwelcome.

Today he wasn’t dressed in women’s clothes. He wore a white shirt with black pants, black Martin boots on his feet, and his long hair was tied back. When he smiled, he really did have that androgynous manga-like look.

Compared with Qi Yue, his features weren’t as striking. His face was softer, more delicate. Even with long hair, it was still obvious that he was a man.

Xu Linruan took out her phone. On the other side, Jiang Rang looked a little anxious. “Hey, hey, put the phone down first. Can’t you call him later? I really did come to see a doctor this time, Dr. Xu.”

Xu Linruan couldn’t tell what terrible illness he had. If he did have one, it was probably his brain. This guy had likely come to entertain himself. “If you’re here to see a doctor, that’s even easier. Take a number in the lobby downstairs and wait in the outpatient waiting area outside.”

“No, mine is different.” Jiang Rang pulled over a chair and sat down without the slightest politeness. “And actually, I came to apologize. I offended you yesterday, so can I say sorry?”

Xu Linruan glanced up at him. “Sure. I accept your apology. Now you can leave.”

When Jiang Rang heard that she accepted his apology, he automatically filtered out the second half of her sentence. Then he nudged the chair forward a bit, speaking in that familiar self-involved tone. “Dr. Xu, don’t you want to know what Qi Yue went through overseas?”

He was smiling brightly, clearly seeing that she didn’t know about this, which was why he deliberately brought it up.

But if Xu Linruan could be manipulated by him, then she would not be normal. She pressed her lips together and smiled. “He’ll tell me sooner or later. I don’t need you to say it.”

That made Jiang Rang feel a little frustrated. Why was this woman so impossible to sway? She was really hard to deal with. No wonder that guy still hadn’t won her over by now.

He adjusted his mindset and continued thick-skinnedly, “Fine, if you don’t want to know, forget it. But I really am here to see a doctor. As a doctor, you wouldn’t refuse the pitiful pleas of a patient struggling on the brink of death, would you?”

Brink of death? He sure had the nerve to say that!

Xu Linruan looked him over. She still couldn’t see what was wrong with him. “What’s wrong with you?”

Jiang Rang moved a hand to his chest and put on a deeply melancholy expression. “There’s something wrong here.”

Xu Linruan lifted her eyelids lazily. “Oh, if it’s heart disease, you can register with internal medicine.”

“It’s not heart disease.” Jiang Rang’s face stiffened. He felt this woman was really too unromantic. “What I mean is, my chest feels uncomfortable. I need to find someone to talk out the things I’ve been bottling up inside.”

When she ignored him, Jiang Rang didn’t get angry either.

He picked up a pen from the desk and twirled it around, looking unconcerned. “Actually, yesterday I wasn’t deliberately trying to offend you.”

“…You probably don’t know this, but my family situation is pretty complicated. Ever since I was little, my stepmother made me wear women’s clothes. I resisted and submitted at the same time, and then it got weird. I ended up developing this abnormal hobby. It actually felt happier interacting with girls…”

“But anyway, even though I like women’s clothes, my sexual orientation is still very normal.”

Jiang Rang stole another glance at Xu Linruan. She was still expressionless. He put the pen down and decided to take the route of self-pity to win sympathy. “…After I became an adult, my old man thought I was too embarrassing, so he packaged me up and threw me into a militarized school for reform. I stayed there for a while and found that place kind of strange, so I worked with other people to dig up some evidence. In short, I went through a lot of suffering…”

“Hey, I’ve said so much. Dr. Xu, why don’t you have even a little sympathy? Don’t you think I’m really pitiful? Why is there not even a trace of expression on your face?”

He leaned forward, half his body resting on the desk. His words sounded miserable, but there wasn’t much misery on his face.

Xu Linruan felt that this guy was sick, probably with something wrong in the brain, so she recommended, “Fine, I can’t treat your illness. But there’s a psychological counseling center across from the hospital. If you want to deal with psychological issues, you can go across the street for counseling.”

Jiang Rang: “…”

Damn, that was brutal. So he had said all that, and she hadn’t been moved at all? Then how was this conversation supposed to continue?