Chapter 10: “His waist is good.”

When Yu He was brought to the Fu residence, he didn’t bring anything with him.

After staying in the estate for a few nights, he realised he couldn’t sleep without wearing his headphones to listen to live broadcasts.

This morning, Yu He had stayed up all night again, and the dark circles under his eyes were getting worse day by day. He sat at the breakfast table with no energy, looking even worse than Fu Yunzheng. The resentment caused by his insomnia was extremely heavy.

To use the most popular phrase online, the resentment around him now could sustain ten evil sword immortals. 

Even Fu Yunzheng noticed that Yu He was not in a good state. He signalled to the aunt who was serving the meal to bring a bowl of nourishing pigeon soup for Yu He, put down his chopsticks, and asked, “Are you feeling unwell? Why do you look so bad?”

When others didn’t ask, neither did Yu He say anything. But as soon as someone asked, he complained unconsciously. He put down his chopsticks, leaned on the table, and reluctantly uttered one word: “Sleepy.”

“If you’re sleepy, go upstairs and rest. I wake up early, you don’t need to accompany me for breakfast,” Fu Yunzheng said as he wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin. His actions were imbued with a sense of luxury, and his words were mature and considerate of Yu He’s feelings and concerns. “When it’s your own home, you can be more casual. Nobody will pick on you.”

Throughout his life, many people had made demands of Yu He – this thing must be done, that thing must not be done, and so on. It was the first time anyone had told him so clearly, “Be casual, nobody will pick on you.”

Before this, Yu He had always felt that whoever was born would have to be criticised and pointed at by others.

People always have many opinions and views on other people’s lives:

“You should do this, not that”; “I have crossed more bridges than you, so this is experience”; “Those who didn’t do this regretted it, if you don’t listen, you will suffer,” and so on.

Yu He couldn’t help but wonder: Can Fu Yunzheng really practise what he preaches?

Or is he just appeasing me like a child, and now he finds me pleasing, so he won’t nitpick, but someday when he finds me displeasing, nothing I do will be right?

Fu Yunzheng, as always, is good at understanding people’s hearts, almost like he has telepathy, able to read Yu He’s thoughts through his black, shiny eyes.

“I have no reason to lie to you,” said Fu Yunzheng.

That’s true, lying always has a motive.

With their different social statuses, Fu Yunzheng being the superior, even when Yu He was still in the Yu family, he couldn’t refuse Fu Yunzheng’s orders, let alone now.

Yu He rested his elbow on the table, propping his head up, and grabbed a custard bun: “Can I eat like this?”

Before this, he always followed strict dining etiquette, using a knife when necessary and a fork when required, but later he found out that Fu Yunzheng also used chopsticks to eat Western food, so he switched to chopsticks.

But eating custard buns and fried dough sticks with chopsticks just didn’t feel right.

Fu Yunzheng has a three-year-old nephew who also likes to eat while leaning on the table. His sister would use chopsticks to hit the little boy’s hand every time she saw him doing that. But he doesn’t think it’s necessary to enforce rules at home. When he takes his nephew out, the little boy behaves like a gentleman and even helps ladies lift their door curtains.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that Yu He is now slumping in his chair and gnawing on a steamed bun. A year ago, Fu Yunzheng saw him at a charity dinner. Yu He was not like this on formal occasions.

At the time, Fu Yunzheng was giving a speech on stage while Yu He was standing below in a casual suit. Among dozens of people in the room, Yu He was the most eye-catching, his head shining like it was in the spotlight. He looked elegant, aloof, and possessed an otherworldly temperament. When he lifted his glass, he raised his eyebrow in a way that made it clear that he didn’t care about anyone. 

Fu Yunzheng still remembers that fleeting moment vividly. He really didn’t care about anyone, otherwise Yu He wouldn’t have failed to recognize Fu Yunzheng.

For Yu He, he didn’t care who was giving a speech at the charity event. While others saw it as an opportunity to climb the social ladder with Fu Yunzheng, Yu He found it long and boring.

Yu He was like a fleeting shadow or an enchanting beauty to Fu Yunzheng, while Fu Yunzheng was just an extremely boring passerby who talked a lot of nonsense to Yu He.

Times changed, and Yu He fell from the clouds, like a surprised swan landing in the palm of a hand.

Finally, Fu Yunzheng caught the little fairy crane.

Nowadays, Fu Yunzheng doesn’t like to appear in public, he hasn’t attended a social gathering for a long time, and he doesn’t know when the once eye-catching little crane will be seen again. Now that the little crane hasn’t been fully grown, let alone Fu Yunzheng himself, he is unwilling to attend banquets. Even if he takes Yu He out, Yu He probably won’t be as confident as he used to be. 

The first half of a young man’s life is smooth sailing, but when he stumbles, he tends to stay down and become timid. 

It’s best to give him some time and space to grow and interact more with him. He will regain his confidence with time. 

Yu He finished eating his custard bun while lying on the table, and Fu Yunzheng also finished his meal. His phoenix eyes fell on Yu He, who was dozing off on the table. 

Fu Yunzheng asked, “Why can’t you sleep at night?” 

Yu He replied, “I’m used to turning day and night upside down, and it’s too quiet at night, so I can’t sleep.”

It was the first time that he had heard someone couldn’t sleep because it was too quiet, and Fu Yunzheng found it a bit novel. Half-jokingly, he said, “So what, should I hire a theatre troupe for you?”

Yu He laughed, thinking that Fu Yunzheng was teasing him, “It’s creepy to listen to theater at night, besides, you still need to sleep.”

Fu Yunzheng said, “The Fu residence has nothing else but many single houses. The nearest one is 300 metres away from the main house, and the farthest one is two kilometres away. You can live wherever you want, and you won’t disturb me.”

Only then did Yu He realize that Fu Yunzheng thought he was hinting that he wanted to move out and not live with him.

It’s hard to understand what a big shot is saying without using your brain. If this matter is not explained clearly, it will become a hidden thorn in the future, making it seem like Yu He doesn’t want to accompany him.

Yu He really didn’t mean it that way. He lay on the table and looked at Fu Yunzheng meaningfully, saying, “Do you think I’m noisy?”

Fu Yunzheng also looked at Yu He and said calmly, “Speak nicely.” 

“You didn’t speak nicely at first,” grumbled Yu He. “I don’t want to live alone. That would be even creepier. I really don’t have any intention of not wanting to live with you.” 

Fu Yunzheng stopped pushing the issue. He only asked, “How can you fall asleep then?” 

“I like to hear some noise when I sleep. My earphones are at Jinse Terrace. I want to go and get them,” Yu He answered. 

Getting earphones is not a legitimate reason, and Yu He thought Fu Yunzheng would suggest buying a new pair since they aren’t worth the trouble of going there. Unexpectedly, Fu Yunzheng just nodded slightly and turned to Zhang Shan, saying, “Zhang Shan, call Wang Wuchuan and have him pick up Yu He.”

Yu He: !!!

After the meal, Fu Yunzheng manoeuvred his wheelchair back to the living room.

The LCD TV was playing morning financial news, and there was a paper notebook beside Fu Yunzheng, occasionally he lowered his head to jot down a few words with a pen.

Fu Yunzheng’s hands were very handsome, with strong and powerful bones, and his wrist flowed with the pen, smooth and agile, making him even more elegant and refined, like a handsome young nobleman with jade-like bones standing in the wind.

Seeing that Fu Yunzheng didn’t seem to want to talk to him, Yu He just leaned on the dining table and daydreamed.

The news anchor read the script in a clear and sonorous voice, and the professional terminology of financial information was somewhat incomprehensible but soothing, making it the perfect background music for inducing sleep.

Yu He fell asleep as if he was back in high school during morning self-study, burying his head in his arms. Before long, he was in a half-awake, half-asleep state. He silently prayed to the god of sleep, hoping that no one would kindly wake him up to go back to his room. If someone were to wake him up at this moment, it would be a shame to lose this hard-won drowsiness. He might not be able to control his temper when he gets up.

He wanted to act like a good kid for a few more days, to give himself a chance.

Please, pretty please.

Perhaps it was the mercy of the god of sleep, but Yu He slept until noon. 

He first smelled the faint aroma of food, and faintly heard Fu Yunzheng saying, “Lunch is set up in the living room. Don’t call him. He’ll wake up hungry and eat.” 

Zhang Shan didn’t quite agree with Fu Yunzheng’s hands-off approach to taking care of people and lowered his voice, saying, “How can he sleep wherever he wants? His waist will be sore when he wakes up.”

“Don’t worry,” Fu Yunzheng said, “his waist is fine.” (Divinelyme: ( •̀ω•́ )✧ I see what you did there.)

Maybe it’s not that good, thought Yu He in his heart.

As his consciousness slowly returned, every bone in his body felt wrong, sore and aching. His back was sore and he wished he could take out his spine and straighten it before putting it back in. His legs were also numb, very numb. His neck and waist hurt too.

He groaned, telling himself to be brave and face it. Yu He opened his eyes bravely and found himself still lying on the table. The breakfast had already been removed from the table, and a fleece blanket was draped over his back. As he moved, the blanket slipped off.

Aunt Zhou was the first to see and said, “Young master is awake.” 

She handed a glass of iced cola to Yu He and said, “Wake up and have lunch.” 

Yu He’s mouth was dry from sleeping, so he drank the cola in one gulp. The quick replenishment of sugar helped him regain the courage to fight against the numbness in his legs. 

He stood up, leaning on the table. 

As soon as his feet touched the ground, a piercing pain spread throughout his body, and Yu He cried out, “No, no, no, no.” 

In the midst of the pain and numbness, his feet gave way, and he fell from the chair with a loud thud.

The fall was hard this time, and it made a loud noise that attracted Fu Yunzheng’s attention from the living room. Upon seeing this, Aunt Zhou exclaimed and hurried over to help Yu He: “What’s wrong?” 

Yu He groaned, “My leg is numb.” 

Aunt Zhou, who was in her fifties and kind-hearted, treated Yu He like her own child: “Oh, you silly child. Move around if your leg is numb, and it’ll be okay once you get it moving.” 

Yu He didn’t have the courage to move his leg again. He sighed and rubbed his waist, “I can’t move it anymore. This time, it’s really over.” 

As soon as he finished speaking, the dining room fell silent, as if a dead person was lying there.

Yu He noticed that Aunt Zhou suddenly stopped talking and turned to look at her, only to find that Aunt Zhou was looking carefully at Fu Yunzheng.

There were about a dozen servants and maids on the first floor of the villa, and they all stopped moving, peering at Fu Yunzheng’s expression.

The gentle and calm atmosphere inside the villa disappeared rapidly, and the air suddenly became heavy and oppressive.

Even though it was noon on an autumn day and the sunlight was shining in through the French windows, no one felt warm.

Damn it, thought Yu He inwardly.

This time his leg was probably really gone. By saying the word “useless” to Fu Yunzheng, wasn’t he sticking a knife in the other’s heart?

It is said that Fu Yunzheng once bankrupted a supplier who insulted him for his disability in just a few days!

At this moment, Fu Yunzheng’s expression was inscrutable, his cold gaze seeming to land on both Yu He’s face and his legs.

It’s really strange. Can the gaze of a big shot still be encrypted? How come it can’t be deciphered!

The sound of the electric wheelchair rolling on the tiles was particularly clear.

The electric wheelchair came straight towards Yu He, and he held his breath, feeling as though the wheelchair was about to roll over his legs. Even if it was a truck, he couldn’t dodge it.

The wheelchair came to a stop, almost touching Yu He’s legs.