Deep in the Night - Chapter 17

It was only a few minutes, but for Fang Jin, it felt as long as an entire century.

He discreetly glanced past Gu Yuan and saw the ward door open again in the hospital corridor not far away. Wang Yu silently emerged. He was still disguised in a white coat and a large mask. As he turned, he briefly glanced at Fang Jin before quickly disappearing behind the security door of the stairwell.

“…Fang Jin,” Gu Yuan controlled himself, stepping back half a step, and said hoarsely: “You might be too tired. I should take you back to rest, okay?”

His palm pressed against Fang Jin’s hand that was tightly gripping his own. It was as if he wanted to push Fang Jin away, yet he couldn’t bring himself to do it, resulting in a moment of extreme intimacy with their hands tightly clasped.

The next second, Fang Jin suddenly realized something and instantly pulled his hand away as if he’d received an electric shock: “I—I’m sorry, Mr. Gu! I was just startled for a moment… Are you alright?”

Gu Yuan was the one who was truly stunned when the long, delicate hands suddenly left his palm. But he quickly recovered, immediately stepping back and turning slightly to shield the hardening part of his body.

Fortunately, he was wearing a shirt and jeans so late at night, so the erection wasn’t too noticeable. If he were wearing a fitted suit, the effect would have been perfectly visible.

“I’m fine, you just scared me. Why the sudden panic!” Gu Yuan forcefully coughed to cover his slightly hoarse voice. He quickly turned and strode out of the balcony, coldly stating without looking back, “I’m going back if you’re not. Do you want to stay up until morning?”

—

Fang Jin couldn’t remain at the hospital alone, so he had no choice but to leave with Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan’s usual three-bedroom duplex apartment in the city center was very close by. A bodyguard drove them, with the two of them sitting side-by-side in the back seat. In the confined space, Gu Yuan wasn’t sure if his sense of smell had suddenly become incredibly acute or if Fang Jin’s scent was simply very pronounced. Either way, he could clearly distinguish the subtle, elegant trace of men’s cologne coming from behind Fang Jin’s ear, continuously provoking his anxious and sensitive nerves.

Illuminated by the constantly retreating streetlights, Gu Yuan kept glancing at Fang Jin from the corner of his eye, his gaze lingering on the exceptionally pale and tender skin behind his dark hairline and his long, graceful neck.

What would it feel like to touch? he couldn’t help but wonder.

Fang Jin had put his tie back on. Why did he always wrap himself up so tightly? Besides, it was the middle of the night and he was still in formal wear. What would he use for pajamas later? Wear my old T-shirt?

Would it be too big for him?

Gu Yuan uncomfortably shifted his sitting posture, concealing the erection that hadn’t subsided the entire way. Now he really wanted to find someone to accompany him, but could he sleep next to Fang Jin and invite a mistress over? Or get a pretty young boy like Xiao Yao to vent his frustrations?

…No, no, no. What would Fang Jin think if he heard? He might get upset and cry again.

But then again, does Fang Jin wear pajama bottoms at night? Sharing that kind of clothing is too sensitive. But if he doesn’t wear any, should he just walk around with his long legs bare? That might not be appropriate…

The car stopped downstairs at the apartment building. The bodyguard turned around and respectfully said, “Young Master, we’ve arrived.”

Gu Yuan snapped out of his confused state, grunted, and pushed the car door open.

Fang Jin was about to get out first to open the door for him, but Gu Yuan quickly walked ahead, not looking back the entire time. They took the elevator up to the second-to-last floor of the high-rise apartment. Gu Yuan opened the door and entered the apartment before Fang Jin. Finally feeling the hardness below subside slightly, he pointed to the guest room and said, “You sleep there. The bedding is clean, and no one usually sleeps in it.”

Fang Jin cautiously said, “I can just sleep on the living room sofa. For getting to work tomorrow…”

“Just go where I tell you to!” Gu Yuan abruptly cut him off. “What kind of appearance is sleeping in the living room? Go quickly!”

The thought that flashed through Gu Yuan’s mind at that moment was this: if he woke up early the next day and saw Fang Jin curled up on the sofa, wearing only a large, baggy old T-shirt with his long legs bare below… he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on work all day tomorrow.

But he certainly couldn’t state this reason openly. Gu Yuan wiped his face, deliberately ignored the slightly startled Fang Jin, and walked into the bedroom, pretending nothing was amiss.

—

Perhaps because of the intense heat in his heart, Gu Yuan didn’t sleep well all night. Close to dawn, he had a flurry of chaotic dreams. It started with the little girl from his distant memory sitting on the steps and crying, her delicate face covered in tears. Then he was back in his youth, and the girl had grown up, leaning over the balcony of the Gu family’s tall villa, smiling down at him, her bright eyes like sparkling crystals in the sun.

Thinking about it carefully, it was a terrifying scene—someone who had died smiling at him in a dream. Yet, in his daze, Gu Yuan didn’t feel scared at all. He just thought: Ah, you are finally smiling.

Do you have happy moments too?

Your limited dozen years of life weren’t all loneliness and sadness, right?

Then the scene shifted. He was back in the chaotic emergency room corridor, where red lights flashed. He felt like a bodiless soul floating high in the air, watching his blood-soaked body on the operating table, as doctors and nurses quickly wheeled him to the operating room. Even in that life-or-death moment, he felt utterly indifferent.

Then he saw the figure hiding in the corner.

He couldn’t see the person’s specific appearance, only feeling that she was very thin and timid in the haze. He knew it was her—the girl who shared the same blood as him, the one who eventually merged into his marrow and even his soul.

Why are you still here? Why don’t you run away quickly?

Please, hurry up and run!

Gu Yuan desperately reached out to her, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t touch even a single strand of her hair.

The corridor was covered in blood, and the flashing red lights made it as terrifying as hell. He watched helplessly as the girl was engulfed in the world of sinister blood-red, her small, innocent back like a single, thin snowflake in a raging fire, disappearing in an instant.

Gu Yuan seemed to fall into the deep ocean of memory, alternating between reality and dreams. He only saw bizarre images, like schools of flashing fish, streaming past him and flying up to the water’s surface above.

Suddenly, the scene switched again. He was back on the cold stone steps in the shadow of the building from his memory.

The difference was that he and the beautiful girl next to him had both grown up. They sat side-by-side, facing the bright sunlight and the grass-scented wind. Gu Yuan’s heart thumped. After a long while, he turned his face and whispered, “I… I’ve always missed you…”

The girl’s face in the dream was blurry. She slowly leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss on Gu Yuan’s lips.

She seemed to carry an enticing sweet fragrance. Her lips and tongue were hot and irresistible. Gu Yuan felt a rush in his brain as if it had caught fire. The intense stimulation and desire quickly set his whole body ablaze. Before he could even think, he pressed the person in his arms to the ground, kissing and caressing wildly, wishing he could knead the entire person into his embrace.

It was an ultimate, extreme sense of hunger. Nothing else mattered, nothing else existed. All his senses were filled with violation and lust.

The pleasure, accompanied by a strong electric current, was so swift and intense, instantly engulfing him like a tide. Gu Yuan didn’t even remember the specific process, only vaguely recalling the bone-deep craze and the immense satisfaction of conquered desire, culminating in a deeply satisfying climax.

It was at that moment he finally saw the flushed face and helpless, tear-filled eyes of the person beneath him.

It was Fang Jin.

—

Gu Yuan woke up with a start, sitting up on the bed with a gasp.

The sunlight streamed outside the window. The clock showed it was already past nine in the morning. Gu Yuan was breathing heavily. He looked down and saw that his underwear and the sheets were soaked.

“…”

He remained frozen on the messy bed for a good few minutes before flipping over, getting out of bed, and striding into the bathroom.

Water poured down over his head. Gu Yuan stood naked in the warm spray, eyes closed. Everything from the previous night on the terrace, the sweet scent in the car, the irresistible dream… Reality and fantasy intertwined, ultimately resolving into Fang Jin’s exquisite face, a mix of lust and humiliation.

Why Fang Jin?

Gu Yuan dimly felt like he was losing his mind. He recalled Fang Jin’s fragmented pleas in the dream, his twisting and struggling body, and the final, soft, tender surrender, feeling a rush of hot blood surge downwards…

A few seconds later, he despairingly realized he was hard again. Through the transparent glass of the bathroom, his erection in the mirror was undeniable, a physical proof.

—

Gu Yuan took over half an hour to emerge from the bathroom. He quickly dressed and went out, only to find Fang Jin in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

He was wearing the same white shirt from last night, now slightly wrinkled. The shirt sleeves were casually rolled up to his elbows. He was bending over to take a carton of eggs from the refrigerator. This posture clearly highlighted his slightly raised buttocks and long legs. For a moment, Gu Yuan even confused reality and the dream, staying still and watching for several seconds.

“Mr. Gu?” Fang Jin turned his head. “Are you up? Breakfast will be ready soon!”

Gu Yuan paused, then gave a faint “Hmm” and turned to walk out of the kitchen.

Breakfast consisted of toast, fried eggs, bacon, boiled vegetables, and a cup of rich, mellow coffee. Gu Yuan devoured most of his plate. He looked up and saw Fang Jin was still on his first slice of toast. It was clear he was trying his best, but his swallowing speed was not complimentary. At this rate, Fang Jin would have barely finished a third by the time Gu Yuan finished his meal.

Gu Yuan subtly slowed down, observing him from the corner of his eye.

Fang Jin’s phone was on the table. He glanced at it while eating, perhaps checking emails or handling work. When he chewed, one cheek puffed out slightly, the corners of his mouth were faintly moist, and his lowered eyelashes were long and clear in the morning light.

Aside from being at the Gu family residence, Gu Yuan had never sat and eaten breakfast slowly with anyone at home—his occasional lovers didn’t count.

Especially after a night of erotic dreams, it gave Gu Yuan an even greater sense of confusion, as if they were a newly married couple, peacefully eating at the same table after an intimate night, their life leisurely, stable, and tranquil.

…Is Fang Jin like this at home too?

Is he like this with his girlfriend?

Gu Yuan’s recently softened heart was suddenly sharply pierced. A confusing and inexplicable sourness spread through him.

—He is your assistant, and a straight man with a girlfriend. He’s not like those club boys and minor celebrities scrambling to sleep with you.

Do you think that just because you have money and power, anyone will eagerly climb into your bed if you just beckon?

Fang Jin finished his toast as quickly as he could. He looked up and saw Gu Yuan sitting across the table, leisurely swirling his coffee cup. Seeing Fang Jin look over, Gu Yuan asked, “Are you done?”

Fang Jin immediately stuffed half an egg into his mouth, nodded affirmatively while swallowing, and said, “Yes.”

Only then did Gu Yuan finish the last sip of his coffee. He stood up and said, “I’m not in a rush, take your time. Eating too fast is bad for your stomach.” He picked up the empty plates and walked towards the kitchen.

Fang Jin said, “Oh, leave them there, I’ll wash…”

“House—” Gu Yuan was about to say that the housekeeper comes daily for cleaning, but the words changed in his throat. He said calmly, “I do the chores myself at home. You just sit.”

Gu Yuan put on an apron, looked at the counter for a bit, found a sponge and dish soap, and began washing the dishes. He caught a glimpse of Fang Jin cautiously walking into the kitchen, his face showing clear hesitation.

He deliberately pretended not to notice, concentrating on washing his and Fang Jin’s dishes, placing them on the rack. Without looking up, he asked, “Could you prepare my clothes for work, please?”

Fang Jin, who had been hesitating, immediately said, “Okay!” and quickly turned to leave.

Gu Yuan took off his gloves and watched Fang Jin walk towards his master bedroom closet. For some reason, the strange feeling of being a newly married couple that he had felt at the breakfast table returned.

He had never experienced a scene like this before, but a man’s domestic life was probably just this. The wife makes breakfast in the morning, they sit down and eat together, and then the husband washes the dishes; the wife goes to prepare the clothes for work, and usually, there is a farewell kiss before leaving…

Aside from the “wife” being a man, it seemed no different from the thousands of ordinary and warm families in the world. And if that man was Fang Jin… it seemed like the last bit of incongruity disappeared.

Gu Yuan was momentarily lost in thought, then suddenly laughed at himself.

This kind of ordinary warmth should be entirely heretical for Fang Jin. He has a girlfriend, and perhaps he enjoys her full care at home.

—

Meanwhile, in the master bedroom, Fang Jin’s phone suddenly rang in his trousers pocket.

The vibration occurred while he was holding Gu Yuan’s shirt with one hand and opening the tie cabinet to compare colors with the other. A few seconds after the ringtone started, he pulled out one black tie with a fine check pattern from the cabinet, draped it over the shirt on the hanger, and pulled out his phone.

His expression subtly changed.

It was Gu Mingzong.

Fang Jin quickly walked to the balcony connected to the master bedroom and closed the door behind him: “Hello, Mr… Gu.”

Gu Mingzong’s steady voice came from the other end of the line, seemingly completely unaware of Fang Jin’s momentary hesitation:

“—Where are you?”

In that instant, Fang Jin wondered, Did Wang Yu tell Gu Mingzong about seeing me at the hospital yesterday? Is this call meant to be a reckoning?

No, it wouldn’t be.

Lu Wenlei’s silencing hadn’t been discovered yet. Wang Yu probably used some kind of delayed death method to avoid suspicion. And even if he told Gu Mingzong about running into him, it wouldn’t matter much. There was currently no evidence linking him to finding Lu Wenlei, and no one would know that he had linked Lu Wenlei to the Gu family.

A fact based on conjecture and suspicion would not be enough for Gu Mingzong to personally call and question him.

“I’m at Young Master Gu’s place,” Fang Jin said calmly, his voice sounding completely normal: “I worked too late last night. Young Master asked me to stay here for the night so I could take him to the company early this morning.”

Gu Mingzong seemed to laugh: “Is that so?”

“…”

“Tell him to have the driver take him,” Gu Mingzong said with a chuckle: “I have something going on at your place. Come home.”

Fang Jin’s hand holding the phone instantly tightened.

However, before he could say anything, the call had already ended.

—

Fang Jin’s apartment wasn’t far from here. It was also a high-rise, hotel-style apartment, nominally an employee benefit subsidized by the head office, but in reality, it was Gu Mingzong’s personal property.

There were two sets of keys for the apartment, and Gu Mingzong held one. Fang Jin had wanted to move out after returning the black card, but he needed to find a very appropriate and natural opportunity to bring it up without incurring Gu Mingzong’s wrath—and such opportunities weren’t available every day.

Fortunately, Gu Mingzong rarely sought him out after he returned from Germany, and even when he did, he never came to this apartment. Fang Jin had lived there alone all year.

—So, what exactly happened today? Why did Gu Mingzong suddenly come in person?

Fang Jin hastily asked Gu Yuan for leave, only saying that he had an urgent matter at home and had to rush back. He thought the leave wouldn’t be easily approved, but Gu Yuan merely looked at him sharply for a moment, thinking about something. After a pause, he said coldly, “Fine.”

Despite saying “fine,” his expression didn’t convey permission for Fang Jin to leave immediately. Instead, he pondered for a moment longer, his knuckles drumming on the table.

“Just remember to come back to work.” After a while, he finally waved his hand in annoyance and said, “—Go.”

This attitude was actually very strange, as if he had already settled on a reason in his mind for Fang Jin taking leave, knew the emergency at home was an excuse, but was unwilling to expose it.

As for the complex mix of emotions in that “unwillingness,” only Gu Yuan knew it in his heart as he watched Fang Jin’s departing back.

—

Fang Jin, however, didn’t have the luxury of contemplating Young Master Gu’s hard-to-describe complex feelings. He quickly went downstairs and out of the apartment building, where he saw a familiar black Mercedes-Benz parked across the street. The driver standing by the car door saw him descend and immediately approached him politely: “Assistant Fang, Mr. Gu sent me to pick you up.”

Fang Jin was silent for a moment, then turned and got into the car without a word.

Traffic wasn’t heavy that morning. Half an hour later, the car stopped downstairs at his destination. Fang Jin didn’t wait for the driver to open the door for him; he pushed it open and walked out himself.

As he rode the elevator up to his front door, Fang Jin’s hand holding the key trembled slightly. He took several deep breaths to barely compose himself.

It’s okay, don’t be afraid.

You’ve overcome far more dangerous moments than this. You can certainly handle this.

Fang Jin steadied his breathing and reached out to push the door open. The next moment, he saw Gu Mingzong sitting on the living room sofa by the coffee table, looking down at his work Vertu phone. Seeing Fang Jin enter, he looked up and smiled: “So fast?”

Fang Jin closed the door and said in a low voice, “Mr. Gu.”

Gu Mingzong pointed to the sofa beside him, “—Sit.”

Fang Jin paused, then slowly walked over. Suddenly, he caught sight of something placed on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

In that instant, his entire body froze. He felt all the blood rapidly turn cold, unable to move a muscle—

He recognized what it was.

It was a Vertu phone with a stainless steel embossed casing, exactly like the one Gu Mingzong held in his hand right now.

—It was the fake phone he had used as a temporary replacement in the restaurant that day to steal information!

In a flash of realization, he finally understood why he had been called back.

This undeniable iron evidence was now sitting squarely, openly, in front of Gu Mingzong!