Jian Youyou seized this opportunity, wrapping her arms around Yu Hekun's waist and asking him urgently, "Do you like me? Is that why you're letting me go back? Because you like me?"
Yu Hekun avoided her gaze and didn't speak, but he didn't push her away either.
There's hope!
Jian Youyou pressed on relentlessly, "Is it? Do you like me, even just a tiny, tiny bit?"
Her posture was utterly submissive, but in her heart, she was assessing Yu Hekun's reaction. Could he really be wavering?
She decided to test it by rising on her tiptoes to try, but as she leaned in, Yu Hekun turned his face away, and Jian Youyou's kiss landed on the corner of his lips.
"I understand," Jian Youyou said, looking at Yu Hekun with bitterness. "You don't have to do this. Even if you hadn't come, I was planning to go and explain tonight. How could I bear to let others speak so badly of you? You really don't need to do this."
As she spoke, her shoulders slumped, her heels settled back on the ground, and she lowered her head, releasing Yu Hekun. "Brother Kun, you really are something else, taking everything and giving nothing back."
Yu Hekun's breathing grew heavier, but he still hadn't let go of her shoulders. Jian Youyou hung her head and fell silent, wondering if she had overplayed her act. Damn, what do I do now?
But after holding back for a moment, Yu Hekun spoke up. "I have a fever... cough," he coughed once and continued, "It's contagious."
Jian Youyou instantly understood what he meant. This time, she looked up at him with genuine delight, her eyes shining like a hound spotting a meaty bone. She rose on her toes again and promptly captured the soft flesh of Yu Hekun's lips with her own.
Yu Hekun let out a pained "mmph," but this time he didn't pull away.
He didn't respond immediately either, his eyes remaining open because his mind was in turmoil.
Honestly, he didn't know what he was doing or why he was doing it. He couldn't answer Jian Youyou's question either; he didn't know why he wanted her to go back with him.
But his heart was pounding wildly, unsure if it was because of the high fever or because of her kiss.
"Brother Kun, close your eyes," Jian Youyou murmured against his lips, her arms looped around his neck in a seductive whisper.
Yu Hekun bent his back slightly. After a moment, his eyelashes fluttered twice, he closed his eyes, completely lowered his head, parted his teeth slightly, and tentatively began to respond.
This wasn't the first time Yu Hekun had been bewitched, but it felt different from the previous times. He could clearly hear his own ragged breathing and smell the faint, mingled scent of shower gel and shampoo on her. For the first time, Yu Hekun discovered that her lips and her body were so soft, holding her in his arms was like holding a cat, pliant and seemingly boneless.
Gradually, Jian Youyou's feet returned to the floor, her arms hanging loosely, but Yu Hekun leaned in completely, his weight pressing down until Jian Youyou's waist was forced to arch backward. She was compelled to step back until they reached the sofa, where Yu Hekun pressed her into the cushions, enveloping her completely.
Jian Youyou had never kissed anyone like this in her life. While responding, she couldn't help but marvel inwardly. This was more like it. This was far more thrilling than the childish puppy love she'd experienced before. Men, huh? It's the ones from the second dimension that are truly top-tier. Look at this innate talent, learning and extrapolating without being taught!
And so, the two people who had just been enacting a tragic scene began hurtling headlong toward an 18+ direction. Yu Hekun seemed to have opened the floodgates, and Jian Youyou, not seeing him as a real person but rather as part of a vivid dream, had no intention of stopping him at all.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Zhan Cheng waited and waited, growing increasingly uneasy. Finally, he went upstairs to check. Pushing open the slightly ajar door, he was nearly blinded by the sight of the two entangled figures on the sofa, clinging to each other as if inseparable.
He stood frozen in the doorway for a moment. Seeing that Yu Hekun was clearly being deceived to the point where his brains seemed to have drained southward, he cursed, "Fuck!" He turned around, slammed the door shut, and stood outside, furious, practically tearing his hair out.
Inside, the sound of the door slamming finally snapped Yu Hekun out of his trance-like state. He scrambled up from the sofa in a fluster, his breath ragged, lips flushed red, hastily straightening his clothes. But once he was presentable and looked at Jian Youyou, who was still lying on the sofa gazing at him with a smiling, amused expression, his face instantly flushed crimson.
Her dress strap had slipped off her shoulder, and the hem had ridden up to her waist. Yu Hekun could hardly believe he had done something so outrageous. He hurriedly took off his jacket and draped it over Jian Youyou.
But in his haste, he draped it directly over her face, leaving the enticing view still completely unobstructed, especially her legs. Yu Hekun didn't dare look again. Stumbling slightly, he headed for the door, but turned back before leaving. Addressing Jian Youyou, who had now sat up, he said, "Hurry up and come out. I'll wait for you outside."
Having achieved her goal, Jian Youyou smiled with relaxed pleasure, even feeling a bit unsatisfied. Who gets to have a dream this realistic?
Thrilling.
Leaning back on the sofa, she nodded. Even right in front of Yu Hekun, she gathered his jacket in her hands, buried her face in it, and took a deep breath. He always carried that clean, refreshing scent.
Yu Hekun nearly jumped out of his skin at her infatuated gesture. He practically yanked the door open and bolted out in an instant.
Jian Youyou, however, laughed. She put on Yu Hekun's jacket, tidied herself up, combed her hair, and even leisurely washed her hands. As she washed them, she recalled Yu Hekun's back—so nice to touch, firm yet with soft skin, seemingly flawless.
"Tsk," she clicked her tongue at her reflection in the mirror.
In the real world, even when she had managed to get together with the school heartthrob back in her student days, compared to Yu Hekun, it was the difference between glass and a diamond.
Yu Hekun emerged from the room directly into Zhan Cheng's disapproving, exasperated gaze. He coughed, averted his eyes, and adjusted his clothes.
Zhan Cheng stared at Yu Hekun. He'd seen too much; how could he not recognize that Yu Hekun's current state meant he was about to fall hard? Among their circle, it wasn't unheard of for someone to get in over their head with a kept lover. Without exception, the outcomes ranged from minor heartbreak to being shipped off abroad by their families.
Zhan Cheng had always believed that unless Huo Jiaoyue suddenly returned to the country, someone like Yu Hekun—who had no antenna for romance and was utterly single-minded—would be impossible to trap. When Yu Hekun had decided to keep this lover, Zhan Cheng had even helped vet her. But even his sharp eyes had failed to see that this woman was such a deeply practiced seductress.
And so brazenly daring, jumping from a ship into the sea—damn, even Zhan Cheng had never seen someone so recklessly willing to risk their life.
He looked at Yu Hekun and sighed heavily, but in the end, didn't say anything more. It wasn't just Yu Hekun, a tender leaf instantly wilted by the heat. If a woman really plunged into the sea for him, even Zhan Cheng's iron-clad heart would probably get dented.
This is just not something a normal, living person would do.
The two men stood at the doorway for a moment before Jian Youyou emerged from the room wearing Yu Hekun's clothes. Having just washed up, her face was clean and translucent like egg white, her lips a bright, seductive red—a clear testament to what Yu Hekun had just been up to. Zhan Cheng frowned at her, looking for a chance to pick a fight. But before he could even speak, Jian Youyou, boneless as ever, nestled herself against Yu Hekun's side.
What was Yu Hekun usually like? A hedgehog. Zhan Cheng had grown up with him; they'd played in the mud together as kids. But after a certain incident one year, he'd returned changed, becoming increasingly obsessed with cleanliness—to a pathological degree. If Zhan Cheng dared touch him with dirty hands, Yu Hekun would ignore him for two months.
But now? This woman was wearing Yu Hekun's jacket, clinging to him all sticky-close. Her hands, just washed and still damp, pressed against his dark shirt, leaving a wet mark. His face showed a mix of embarrassment and shyness, but not a trace of disgust.
Zhan Cheng shut his mouth completely. He wasn't in a hurry. No matter how many tricks a fox had up its sleeve, it would eventually give itself away. In Zhan Cheng's view, her throwing herself into this so recklessly was all about squeezing out more money. She wasn't content with a few small fish; she wanted to drain the whole reservoir.
She'd show her true colors sooner or later. He'd just keep a closer watch on Yu Hekun's behalf. When that ugly face of hers was finally revealed, Yu Hekun would understand.
And so, the three of them, each with their own thoughts, came downstairs. Jian Youyou brought nothing with her—she had nothing to bring. She simply locked the door to the rental apartment and slipped the key under the doormat.
However, once outside, Jian Youyou saw the large number of bodyguards Yu Hekun had brought. She blinked, thinking to herself, Is this bastard trying to pull off a forced abduction?
But on the surface, she put on an innocent, puzzled expression. "Brother Kun, you didn't bring all these people just to catch me, did you?"
Yu Hekun had brought people primarily to prevent her from running, but Zhan Cheng's men were indeed intended for capture. Given the current situation, though, with the two practically glued together, capture was entirely unnecessary. Zhan Cheng said nothing, shot Jian Youyou a glare, and got into the car first.
Yu Hekun muttered in a low voice, "No."
After he spoke, a bodyguard came over to open the car door for him. Out of habit, he started to get in, but then felt a tug on the back of his hand.
Jian Youyou looked at him with a full-on, coquettish pout.
The tips of Yu Hekun's ears reddened a shade more. He pressed his lips together, the aloof and stern expression he always wore in public softening with a hint of helplessness. He reached out and patted Jian Youyou's head, then moved aside to let her enter first. He even acted like a gentleman, placing his hand against the window frame to prevent her from bumping her head.
Jian Youyou sat down, chest out, meeting Zhan Cheng's gaze from across the seat. She flashed him a toothy grin. Then, as Yu Hekun also settled in, she leaned over and planted a loud, smacking kiss on his cheek.
Yu Hekun raised a hand to his cheek, turning his head to give Jian Youyou a look of disapproval. But he couldn't see his own expression—the bright shimmer in his eyes betrayed the agitation and delight in his heart.
Sometimes, people are just like that, unable to understand themselves.
But while those involved are lost in the fog, Zhan Cheng saw everything clearly through the rearview mirror.
He met Jian Youyou's challenging gaze again as she tilted her head against Yu Hekun's shoulder and leaned forward to catch his eye in the mirror. He sighed and muttered a quiet "fuck" under his breath, looking out the window.
Yu Hekun was a goner.
It seemed too fast, yet it made perfect sense. After all, a complete novice with zero experience, thrown into a life-or-death game from the start—it'd be weird if he could escape.
Halfway through the ride, Zhan Cheng was so infuriated by Jian Youyou that he switched to another car and left. Only Yu Hekun and Jian Youyou remained in the vehicle. Without ceremony, Jian Youyou lay down with her head on his lap, wrapped her arms around his waist, and closed her eyes, pretending to sleep.
She could feel Yu Hekun's initial stiffness when she lay down, which gradually eased. Eventually, he even used his hand to steady her head, which was wobbling with the motion of the car, anchoring it against one side of his thigh.
No one spoke in the car anymore. With her face buried against Yu Hekun's waist, Jian Youyou chuckled silently to herself.
Yu Hekun kept one hand on Jian Youyou's head. With the other, he propped his elbow on the windowsill, resting his chin in his hand, staring blankly at the passing scenery outside.
He was still confused, still hadn't sorted things out. Ever since he saw Jian Youyou leap from the railing into the sea because of something he said, it felt like everything had spiraled out of control.
Back in the room, he had avoided Jian Youyou's question about whether he liked her. He truly didn't know, and he couldn't believe he could develop feelings for someone other than Huo Jiaoyue so quickly.
Yu Hekun's fingers drifted from his chin to his lips. Remembering something, his ears grew hot again. The thoughts he had just begun to untangle in his mind became a tangled mess once more.
It didn't take long for the car to turn into the villa district. When they arrived at the Yu Family home, Jian Youyou remained still, her head pillowed on Yu Hekun's leg. She wasn't asleep; she was contemplating how to proceed with the plot and what she should take back to the real world.
After the car stopped, Yu Hekun looked down at Jian Youyou, thinking she was asleep. He wasn't sure what to do. The driver today wasn't Uncle Lin but a slightly younger man, also a long-time employee of the Yu Family named Qiu Lai, who usually worked in the guard booth. He was filling in because Uncle Lin was busy.
Looking at Yu Hekun, Qiu Lai was reminded of his own experience when his cat fell asleep on his lap—unwilling to move a muscle, enduring the numbness in his legs until the feline master deigned to wake up on its own.
Qiu Lai parked the car, paused, and then turned around softly, saying, "President Yu, I'll head back to the guard booth now."
Yu Hekun nodded. After the driver got out, only the two of them were left in the car. The bodyguards from the following vehicle had all returned and taken up their posts. Yet Yu Hekun remained seated, not uttering a word to wake Jian Youyou.
He hung his head, actually feeling a bit dizzy. After all, his high fever hadn't broken yet. When he was focused on thinking or doing something, the symptoms were easy to ignore. But in this quiet moment, all his senses came rushing back. His head spun, his eyes felt like they might fall out when he looked down, his back ached, his legs hurt, and his nose was stuffy.
Jian Youyou listened to his muffled, congested breathing and felt the abnormally high temperature radiating from his thigh. Finally taking pity on him, she pretended to wake up, rolling over and then climbing up "groggily."
"We're home," Yu Hekun said, his voice sounding a bit off. If it weren't for needing to bring Jian Youyou back, he should have gone straight to the hospital.
"Mhm," Jian Youyou hummed, sitting up and looking at Yu Hekun's miserable state. A flicker of... well, no, not even a flicker of guilt surfaced in her heart. What's a little cold for a grown man? Yu Hekun was the male lead, the kind of fantastical being from novels and TV dramas who could run two miles with a knife sticking out of him.
So, she rubbed her eyes, grabbed Yu Hekun's hand as he was about to open the door and get out, pulled herself close to him, wrapped her arms around his neck, and rested her head on his shoulder.
"I'm so happy," Jian Youyou said, and even the punctuation in that sentence was genuine. "So happy you came to find me."
She was happy that Yu Hekun was so easy to fool. Otherwise, she really wouldn't have known what excuse to use to come back on her own.
Yu Hekun hadn't yet fully adapted to being constantly so close to another person. He sat stiffly, one hand still holding the car door handle. He turned his head to meet Jian Youyou's smiling, crescent-shaped eyes, pursed his lips, and managed a slight smile in return.
The two finally got out of the car. Yu Hekun's steps were a bit unsteady. He hadn't felt this awful back at the rental apartment. Now that he had resolved the "major issue" that had kept him tossing and turning, barely sleeping for the past two days, the constant anxiety and gnawing guilt and regret in his heart gradually faded. Along with it, the burst of energy that had kept him spirited enough to rush her from the rental apartment dissipated. He swayed twice on the short walk from the garage to the living room.
Once they entered the house and reached the foyer, Jian Youyou wanted to strike while the iron was hot and remind Yu Hekun of what he had said just before she jumped into the sea—that if she jumped, he would never mention breaking up again.
But after changing her shoes, before she could speak, she saw Yu Hekun, who was bending over to put on his slippers, slump to the floor. His hand slipped from the edge of the shoe cabinet, and with a soft "thud," his head lightly knocked against the floor. He passed out in a posture reminiscent of a dog diving for food.
Just then, a housekeeper emerged from inside. Aunt Yun, seeing the scene, hurried over. "Young Master!"
Jian Youyou also crouched down, turned him over, and instinctively checked for breath under his nose. Then, together with Aunt Yun who had rushed over, they helped him sit up. He opened his eyes briefly, raised a hand halfway, his lips moved slightly, and then he passed out again, his face alarmingly flushed.
The result was that Jian Youyou, having just arrived at the Yu Family home before her feet could even get warm, had to hastily follow Aunt Yun to take Yu Hekun to the hospital. On the way, it was now Yu Hekun lying unconscious with his head on Jian Youyou's lap.
Jian Youyou looked down at him, her expression complicated. She had never seen such a fragile "domineering CEO." Weren't the CEOs in novels supposed to fight until dawn, leave the female lead unable to get out of bed the next day, and still go to work full of energy?
It was the same hospital, the same corridor. After handing Yu Hekun over to the doctors and nurses and enduring their flurry of activity, the diagnosis wasn't anything serious. It was just that he had been under too much stress and fright these past few days. And now, with her sudden "resurrection from the dead," once his mind relaxed, illness finally conquered him.
So, two hours later, past noon, Jian Youyou sat by the bedside watching Yu Hekun, who was still unconscious but whose flushed complexion had finally subsided a bit. She clicked her tongue and muttered, "Fragile popsicle."
Yu Hekun remained unconscious until almost evening. After several IV bags dripped into him, he was finally awakened by the urgent need to relieve himself. A nurse's aide helped him to the bathroom. After returning to bed and drinking the warm water Jian Youyou poured for him, he finally began to look more alert.
Jian Youyou stopped playing her mobile game. She took the cup from Yu Hekun after he finished drinking, and without a second thought, brought it to her own lips for a sip. Yu Hekun saw this and opened his mouth, wanting to stop her, but Jian Youyou asked him, "Do you mind?"
Yu Hekun quickly shook his head. He was a bit wary of Jian Youyou's ability to twist facts on the spot.
Jian Youyou smiled and asked in an extremely gentle voice, "Then are you afraid I'll infect you?"
Yu Hekun gave a soft "Mhm."
Looking at this naive sweetheart, Jian Youyou set the cup down, reached out, and grabbed the hand that wasn't attached to the IV drip. "You know how much I like you. Even if it's a virus, you infecting me..." Jian Youyou chuckled softly, looking straight at Yu Hekun as she said word by word, "I'd find it romantic too."
Such a line, akin to smiling while drinking poisoned wine, was something Yu Hekun had never heard before. The internet in this novel's world was completely different from the real world; there were no compiled collections of cheesy pick-up lines here.
Hearing Jian Youyou's words, and feeling her soft lips briefly brush against his finger, Yu Hekun felt a jolt like an electric shock. He quickly withdrew his hand, his lips moving as he struggled for a response. On his face, which had finally cooled from the fever, a blush threatened to make a comeback.
The two of them locked eyes in silence. Jian Youyou gave herself a mental pat on the back. In the past, she would have found such lines cringe-worthy, but now, to excel as the considerate little lover of a domineering CEO, she could deliver them without batting an eye. It was the spirit of professionalism! See, wasn't Yu Hekun quite taken with it?
The heat in Jian Youyou's gaze was too intense. After a moment of eye contact, Yu Hekun, feeling scalded and embarrassed, averted his eyes. He coughed and changed the subject. "Have you eaten?"
Jian Youyou shook her head. "I couldn't swallow even a sip of water until you woke up."
Yu Hekun almost choked on his own saliva. Jian Youyou asked with a gentleness that was almost eerie, "What would you like to eat? I'll ask Aunt Yun to make it for you."
The tips of Yu Hekun's ears turned red enough to drip blood. Unable to bear it any longer, he shot a glare at Jian Youyou and said in a low voice, "Can you act normal?"
Jian Youyou reined in her enthusiasm for this high-paying, lucrative profession, turned her head aside with a smile, and said, "I just can't help myself."
The atmosphere between them grew thicker and stickier, like honey too dense to stir. Yu Hekun couldn't handle this. He coughed several times, reached up to rub his feverish ears, and finally noticed the medicine in the IV bottle was almost gone. He quickly said, "Go call the nurse!"
Jian Youyou glanced at it; there was still quite a bit left, and you could just press the call button for the nurse. But seeing Yu Hekun looking like he wanted to bury his head under the blankets, she said, "Alright," and got up to walk out of the room.
The moment she left, Yu Hekun let out a long sigh of relief. Leaning back against the bed, he picked up the phone by his pillow and called Yu Mingzhong.
As soon as the call connected, Yu Hekun said directly, "You don't need to come back. That... she's not dead. She's back now."
Yu Mingzhong, who had just managed to hand over all his work, even getting the retired old man to hold the fort at the company, had hastily packed his things, bought a plane ticket, and was now waiting at the airport, asked, "Who's back?"
Yu Hekun coughed and said quietly, "Jian You. She's back."
"You said she jumped from Zhan Cheng's yacht?" Yu Mingzhong frowned slightly. "You saw her jump with your own eyes. From that height, how could she possibly be unharmed?"
Yu Hekun couldn't explain this either. It was precisely because of his emotional intelligence that Jian Youyou could fool him so easily. When he tried to explain to Yu Mingzhong, he hemmed and hawed, roughly repeating what Jian Youyou had said, and concluded with, "So, you don't need to come back."
Yu Mingzhong tapped his fingers on the leather suitcase beside him. Despite his gentle and refined appearance, a sharp glint flashed behind his glasses. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't bother commenting on how Yu Hekun called him 'brother' when he needed him and 'you' when he didn't. Instead, he found his brother's nonsensical explanation almost laughable.
"Are you running a fever?" Yu Mingzhong suddenly asked over the phone.
If his brain wasn't fried from fever, Yu Mingzhong couldn't believe that his brother, who was capable enough to hold his own in the domestic business world, would buy such a story full of holes.
But after he asked, Yu Hekun paused for a moment, then actually asked with a trace of annoyance, "Did you send someone to watch me? How did you know I have a fever?"
Yu Mingzhong
"I'm already on the plane. If you have a fever, just rest well." After saying this, Yu Mingzhong hung up the phone.
Yu Hekun frowned, moving the phone away from his ear, and muttered, "Aren't you supposed to turn off phones on a plane? Liar."
