Deep in the Night - Chapter 16

The flying knife thrown by Gu Yuan had rendered Lu Wenlei unconscious. A medical examination at the hospital indicated a certain degree of concussion, so Gu Yuan assigned several bodyguards to secretly detain Lu Wenlei in a highly secluded private hospital.

Gu Yuan’s original intention was not only to recover his own capital but also to completely swallow the laundered black money that Mingda Shipping had extracted—although he hadn’t explicitly said so, Fang Jin had already figured out his plan.

Thus, in some respects, Gu Mingzong’s assessment of him was correct: young, spirited, overly ambitious, and too sharp.

What Fang Jin couldn’t understand was why Gu Mingzong resented these traits. If the issue was excessive ambition, Gu Mingzong himself was a man of intense possessiveness and control. Why did he hold his heir to an entirely different standard?

Was it truly as he said, that Gu Yuan’s ambition was more like his mother’s family?

But Gu Yuan’s maternal family was also an established financial magnate, far surpassing the Chi family in status and power. Even if there was a resemblance, what did it matter?

Starting from the second day of Lu Wenlei’s coma, Fang Jin personally led bodyguards to stand guard in the private hospital’s isolation ward, constantly monitoring for signs of him waking up. However, likely due to his poor physical and mental state during his escape, Lu Wenlei only showed signs of waking on the third day.

It was late at night. Fang Jin was sitting in the ward processing documents when he heard the bodyguard’s call. He immediately rose and walked over, confirming that Lu Wenlei’s eyelids were fluttering, his body was twitching, and he was clearly about to wake up.

“You go notify Mr. Gu, and also call the doctor,” Fang Jin instructed the bodyguards: “Go now. I’ll stay here and watch.”

The bodyguard hesitated: “But if you are left alone here…”

“What is the issue for just a few minutes? Go quickly!”

The bodyguard immediately nodded in acknowledgment and withdrew rapidly.

The door clicked shut. Fang Jin immediately turned to the bed, pressing down on the Hegu acupoint (in the webbing between the thumb and index finger) on Lu Wenlei’s hand with one hand, and forcefully pinching his Renzhong acupoint (philtrum) with the other—the pinch was precise and vicious. A few seconds later, Lu Wenlei’s entire body jerked! He then slowly opened his eyes, immediately letting out a guttural moan.

Fang Jin quickly pulled out his phone, opened an audio file, and held it next to Lu Wenlei’s ear. The next second, a woman’s tearful voice came from the phone: “Husband, when are you coming back? Are you alright? We are in City G now, and we are safe for the time being…”

Then a child’s voice piped up: “Daddy! Daddy, I miss you!…”

Lu Wenlei trembled all over: “My—my son…” He then fumbled to reach for the phone.

“Your wife and child are doing well now, but whether they continue to do so from tomorrow depends on my mood.” Fang Jin withdrew the phone a step ahead of him, staring down at him: “You don’t need to mention your deal. I’m not interested. Right now, I only want to know why you said Young Master Gu cannot take the top spot. If your answer satisfies me, I will bring your wife and son here for you to see them tomorrow. How about that?”

Lu Wenlei stared fixedly at Fang Jin, his eyes slightly twitching.

It was past two in the morning. Fang Jin’s face was pale from several consecutive nights of little sleep, but his expression was cold and his gaze sharp. His meticulously tailored suit fit him perfectly, his collar and cuffs were immaculate, and the titanium cufflinks reflected a cold, metallic light under the ward lamps.

He looked ready to attend a formal event or a negotiation table at any moment, and his aura showed no weakness whatsoever.

“…” Lu Wenlei opened his mouth. It took a long time for a sound to emerge: “I must first… see my son…”

“Then you will never see him again.” Fang Jin said calmly: “Go ahead and test me. You will find that I am a man of my word.”

A terrifying silence filled the ward, broken only by the regular beeping of medical equipment. Footsteps approached from the hospital corridor not far away—the bodyguard was bringing the doctor toward the room.

Time ticked by second by second. Lu Wenlei stared at Fang Jin in despair, his voice hoarse: “…Gu Yuan… he is not suitable…”

“He is not… he is not Gu Mingzong’s… biological…”

Fang Jin’s pupils instantly constricted!

Just then, the door was pushed open with a bang, and bodyguards, doctors, and nurses flooded in, almost simultaneously crowding around the bed. Fang Jin involuntarily retreated half a step amid the crowd, only to see Lu Wenlei staring at him, mouth agape, issuing “Ah! Ah!” sounds.

“I will bring your son tomorrow,” Fang Jin threw out a brief sentence and paid him no further mind. He turned and asked the bodyguard, “Where is the Young Master?”

“The Young Master is on his way.” The bodyguard dared not ask Fang Jin what he meant by what he had just said to Lu Wenlei, and reported properly: “The Young Master said to ask you to rest first, and he will wake you up when he arrives.”

Fang Jin nodded and walked out of the ward without a word.

—

The hospital corridor was very quiet, the bright lights reflecting off the snowy white walls, causing a slight dizziness.

Fang Jin stood with his hands in his pockets, gazing at the deep night outside the window at the end of the corridor. Although he had only slept three or four hours for several consecutive days, he felt no sleepiness whatsoever. On the contrary, his mind was so clear that he felt no fatigue.

Gu Yuan is not Gu Mingzong’s biological son?

What a joke. Setting aside how much Gu Yuan resembled his father—apart from slightly deeper, more Europeanized eyes and brows, the rest of his features were almost identical to Gu Mingzong twenty years ago—and considering the Gu family’s traditional paternity tests and the one-in-ten-thousand Rh-negative AB blood type inheritance, how could Gu Yuan not be Gu Mingzong’s son?

To suggest that Gu Mingzong was cuckolded by other close relatives within the family was even more absurd—the Gu family was notoriously difficult to propagate, having a single male heir for three generations with no close relatives. Where would such a cuckolding come from!

Fang Jin furrowed his brow. Just then, the elevator door dinged open at the end of the corridor. He turned his head and saw Gu Yuan emerge with a few subordinates.

“Mr. Gu…?”

Gu Yuan’s steps paused.

He had thought Fang Jin had already gone to rest, but he hadn’t expected him to be standing here waiting. Not only that, he was fully dressed, his expression solemn, his hands tucked into his trousers pockets. Gu Yuan couldn’t tell what he had been contemplating, as his tightly furrowed brows hadn’t entirely relaxed.

For some reason, he found Fang Jin in this moment of solitude somewhat unfamiliar, very different from the usually docile, silent, and gently composed figure who followed him.

Fang Jin repeated: “—Mr. Gu?”

Gu Yuan snapped back to attention and asked, “What are you doing here? Why haven’t you gone to rest at this late hour?”

Fang Jin withdrew his hands from his pockets and let them hang naturally. He lowered his head and said, “I’ve been sleeping in Lu Wenlei’s ward for the past two days. He just woke up, and the doctors and nurses are all inside, so I came out first.”

In this moment, he seemed to have reverted to the humble and cautious demeanour Gu Yuan was used to. Gu Yuan stared at the long, beautifully contoured side of Fang Jin’s neck and chin, which was accentuated by his lowered head. For some reason, his heart skipped a beat.

“…I’ll go ask him a few questions. You wait outside for me first.” Gu Yuan paused, then said: “I’ll be quick. I’ll take you back to sleep later.”

The last sentence was actually very unusual for Gu Yuan. After all, he didn’t need to explain to his assistant what he was going to do or not do, or how much time he would spend on a certain matter.

But what he was thinking was: It’s very late now. Will Fang Jin be tired waiting here for me? Will he be wanting to sleep already? If I spend too much time making him wait, maybe he will be very unhappy.

—

Gu Yuan walked off quickly with a few people. Fang Jin was left stunned for a long time by the phrase “take you back to sleep.” After he recovered, he couldn’t help but chuckle self-deprecatingly, shook his head, and walked toward the balcony.

The weather was gradually getting warmer, and the evening temperature was pleasantly cool. This famous private hospital certainly justified its expensive fees. The garden trees were lush and secluded, and despite being located in the city centre, there was a refreshing fragrance of plants and earth.

Fang Jin leaned against the railing, his mind subconsciously replaying the look in Gu Yuan’s eyes just now, and the words “I’ll take you back to sleep later,” which he knew he shouldn’t take seriously. As he thought about it, he felt a slight warmth. Seeing no one around, he casually loosened his tie and unbuttoned the second-to-last button of his shirt collar.

—He clearly respects your work ability and treats you as a valued subordinate, nothing more.

It’s good enough to maintain that respect. Thinking about things that are meaningless is just asking for trouble, isn’t it?

Fang Jin sighed almost silently. Just then, a voice came from behind him: “—What are you sighing about? Missing your girlfriend?”

Fang Jin snapped his head around: “Mr. Gu?”

Gu Yuan had indeed finished quickly. He was walking from the corridor, sipping a glass of iced water, and asked Fang Jin with a teasing look: “Were you really thinking about your girlfriend?”

Fang Jin wanted to say that he really didn’t have a girlfriend, but the words didn’t come out. Instead, he felt a sudden sadness and forced a smile: “Yes… but thinking about it is useless. Never mind.”

Gu Yuan’s expression changed instantly.

If the light had been brighter, his momentary furious look would certainly have been noticeable. But he was standing with his back to the corridor light, and he recovered in a few short seconds, saying calmly: “I’ll give you annual leave to spend time with your girlfriend after this matter is resolved, but right now, you are mine. Don’t let your attention wander at a time like this.”

Fang Jin stared blankly at him, then lowered his eyelashes and smiled after a long moment: “Alright.”

The chirping of insects drifted from the garden in the deep night, their sounds distant, making the night seem exceptionally tranquil. A breeze carrying the scent of grass and wood swept across the balcony, passing between the two of them. In that moment, even the raised tips of Fang Jin’s hair were clearly visible.

The atmosphere suddenly became inexplicably intimate and ambiguous. Gu Yuan’s gaze lingered on Fang Jin’s loosened tie and open collar for several seconds before he coughed unnaturally: “—Tidy up and let’s go back. My men have sorted things out. You’ll come with me.”

Fang Jin hadn’t fully recovered: “So fast?”

“Countless people from both the legal and illegal spheres are chasing him. Lu has been scared out of his wits. I just made him sign an asset transfer contract, and that was that—he would have knelt and hugged my thigh if he could, but what did he expect? I thought he’d be tougher. I wasted bringing a professional interrogator. I didn’t ask you to come in just now because I was afraid the scene would be too bloody, and what if you cried again?”

Why do you always think I’m going to cry? I clearly don’t… Fang Jin thought. Then he heard Gu Yuan pause and add: “Don’t sleep at the hospital. Crash at my place tonight. We’ll go to the company tomorrow afternoon.”

“—Huh?”

“It’s for your convenience! And you can drive for me tomorrow! What are you thinking?”

Fang Jin looked bewildered: “I wasn’t thinking…”

Just then, his voice stopped. His gaze went past Gu Yuan to the hospital corridor.

He saw a doctor in a white coat and mask, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a clipboard, slowly walking from the stairwell toward Lu Wenlei’s ward. He turned his head and looked remotely toward the balcony, his eyes meeting Fang Jin’s.

In that moment, Fang Jin recognized him.

—That was clearly Wang Yu, Gu family’s Head of Security!

A buzzing sound went off in Fang Jin’s mind. He saw Wang Yu give him a look of deep meaning, then reach out and push open the door to Lu Wenlei’s ward.

“What’s wrong with you?” Gu Yuan noticed Fang Jin’s abnormality and turned to look behind him.

However, in that fraction of a second, Fang Jin, driven by a surge of unknown courage, grabbed Gu Yuan with his cold, trembling hand!

Gu Yuan was holding a glass of water. With the sudden grasp, the water spilled out, splashing all over Fang Jin.

“What is it? Fang Jin, you—”

But Fang Jin did not loosen his grip. He seemed utterly unaware that the posture was highly intimate. He simply held onto both of Gu Yuan’s hands tightly, like a drowning man clutching a piece of driftwood, their palms pressed seamlessly together, like a pair of intimate lovers in the throes of passion.

Gu Yuan seemed too startled to pull away. After a long moment, he frowned and asked, “What are you doing, Assistant Fang?”

“…I… I haven’t stayed at your place, Mr. Gu. Is it inconvenient? We are both men…”

“It’s because we’re men that it’s fine. Are you worried I’ll do something to you?”

Fang Jin stared intently at Gu Yuan, terrified he would suddenly turn his head toward the ward. In his panic, he didn’t even notice the clear unnaturalness in Gu Yuan’s tone: “But I’m just worried about inconvenience. If you need to call someone over tonight, listening nearby would be…”

Gu Yuan frowned and asked, “Are you worried I’ll call a mistress over?”

Fang Jin was speechless, only looking up at him slightly.

This posture was incredibly intimate. From Gu Yuan’s perspective, it even felt romantically entangled—Fang Jin was clutching his hands tightly, like a saviour, not letting go, his lips slightly parted, his expression showing undisguised worry and urgency. His collar was deeply open, revealing a long, elegant side of his neck that extended to his distinct collarbone. The enticing depression was clearly visible, before disappearing into the white shirt that had become semi-transparent from the water.

Though the time and place were entirely wrong, a sudden thought flashed through Gu Yuan’s mind: His skin looks so translucent. It must be very thin and soft.

I wonder what it feels like to touch. Is it cool and delicate, or warmly tempting, like it could melt your fingers?

Gu Yuan took a deep breath, attempting to suppress the electric jolt of restlessness that suddenly shot through his nerve endings:

“—I won’t be calling anyone over tonight. Don’t worry, Fang Jin. I just want you to get a good night’s rest. I have no other intentions.”

“But,” Fang Jin stammered, almost at a loss for words to continue the conversation: “—But, Mr. Gu, I…”

His lips trembled slightly as he spoke. The hospital corridor light passed over Gu Yuan’s shoulder and reflected on his lips, creating a subtle sheen. He looked panicked yet soft, stirring an impulse from the deepest part of one’s heart to kiss him roughly.

This situation was truly too ambiguous. Due to the tight hand-holding, Gu Yuan’s firm arms were half-open, and Fang Jin was practically pressed extremely close. The wet, semi-transparent shirt clung to his body, revealing the faint outline of his bare skin. Any closer, and he would truly be nestled tightly in Gu Yuan’s arms.

Gu Yuan was struggling to maintain control. He strained to suppress the bone-deep excitement that was surging through him, yet it wasn’t working very well.

His breathing grew heavy. He could even feel himself growing slightly hard.

Would you like me to translate the next chapter as well, or would you like to discuss the implications of Wang Yu’s appearance and Lu Wenlei’s confession first?