Deep in the Night - Chapter 29

Fang Jin had taken one day off, but he still didn’t show up for work the next day.

Gu Yuan went to pick him up in the morning, but no one was home, and Fang Jin wouldn’t answer his phone. After arriving at the office, Gu Yuan instructed his secretary to keep calling, yet there was no response for the entire morning.

Gu Yuan had a meeting scheduled for noon. However, as the secretary reported again and again that the calls went unanswered, he grew increasingly impatient. Finally, close to noon, he casually found an excuse to cancel the suppliers who had been eagerly waiting for this meeting for half a month. Without telling anyone, he personally drove to Fang Jin’s apartment.

Standing at the door again, he suddenly recalled his previous unannounced visit, which resulted in him hearing urgent, suppressed gasps from the bedroom. A strong, ominous premonition immediately flashed through his mind, and his thick brows furrowed.

…Could Fang Jin be…

But he likes me, and he knows I like him too. He wouldn’t, right?

Gu Yuan couldn’t help but imagine what he should do if Fang Jin were truly sleeping with someone else again. His first reaction was to beat the adulterer half to death, call his bodyguards to bag him and dump him in the moat, and then tie Fang Jin up at home, violently bedding him for three days and three nights until he recognized the truth and never dared to look at another man again. But then he reconsidered: directly beating the adulterer would be boring. He should hang the man up and force him to watch as Gu Yuan brought Fang Jin to the brink of consciousness, crying and begging for mercy, admitting that Gu Yuan was better than anyone else.

Gu Yuan took a deep breath, suppressing a boiling urge and annoyance, and reached out to knock on the door. “Fang Jin! I know you’re inside! Fang Jin!”

“Open the door!”

Clang, clang, clang. Clang, clang, clang.

Gu Yuan knocked dozens of times, his impatience mounting with every knock. Suddenly, the door opened without warning. In that split second, Gu Yuan couldn’t stop his hand, and his knuckles went right into Fang Jin’s face—SMACK!

Fang Jin cried out and immediately crouched down, clutching his nose.

“What’s wrong with you?” Gu Yuan instantly panicked. He quickly helped Fang Jin up, seeing that half of Fang Jin’s face was covered by messy hair, his hands tightly covering his mouth and nose. He could vaguely see his eyes were red at the corners, and tears seemed to be clinging to his lashes.

Gu Yuan immediately became agitated: “I didn’t mean to! Does it hurt? Where did I hit you? Is it bleeding?”

Fang Jin kept his eyes tightly shut, remaining silent, with large tears streaming down his cheeks. Gu Yuan never imagined he would make Fang Jin cry in such a way. In his panic, he could only pick him up and place him on the living room sofa. He restrained him from getting up while forcefully prying away the hand covering his mouth and nose.

His nose was completely red, but it was hard to distinguish whether it was from crying or from the blow of the knuckles. Gu Yuan looked closely. Fortunately, there was no nosebleed.

“I didn’t mean it, are you crying, don’t,… Do you want ice?”

Fang Jin kept his eyes tightly closed, leaning on the sofa, and silently shook his head.

Gu Yuan still went to the fridge, retrieved two ice cubes, and glanced into the bedroom on the way back, relieved to find no one else inside.

Fang Jin had sat up, leaning into the corner of the sofa armrest, his gaze fixed on Gu Yuan. His expression was somewhat vacant. Gu Yuan, unsure what to do, used the ice to gently massage his nose bridge. Fang Jin didn’t resist, only slightly turning his head away when it got too cold.

Gu Yuan rubbed his nostrils. Seeing there was no bleeding, he casually popped the ice into his mouth, crunching it loudly, and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

“…”

“Why didn’t you go to work today? Are you in a bad mood?”

“…”

Gu Yuan grabbed his hand, rolled up his sleeve, and saw that the black and purple bruise had significantly faded. But Fang Jin’s complexion was still poor, with tired dark circles under his eyes, suggesting he hadn’t slept for a long time. Even his consciousness felt a bit scattered.

This was clearly not right. Gu Yuan’s tone became stern: “Fang Jin! What’s wrong with you, stop being silent!”

“…It’s nothing,” Fang Jin finally whispered after a long pause. “Just feeling a little unwell.”

Gu Yuan immediately checked his forehead and found he had a slight fever. He was about to get up to fetch medicine and water, but Fang Jin pulled him back, his voice hoarse: “Don’t get medicine. It’s just how it is sometimes… It’s okay, it will pass soon. Taking fever reducers too often is bad.”

Gu Yuan knew that Fang Jin tended to run a fever when his emotions were volatile, but what had caused his emotional volatility?

He looked at Fang Jin suspiciously, seeing the latter stare back vacantly. The expression was like he was harboring many insurmountable problems and was seeking answers from Gu Yuan. Gu Yuan’s heart stirred. He wondered if Fang Jin had broken up with his Benefactor cum Sugar Daddy because the one-month deadline was approaching. He sat down again, held Fang Jin’s hand, and asked cautiously and solemnly: “—Is there something you want to tell me?”

The living room fell silent. Outside the window, tree branches swayed gently, bringing a faint, buzzing sound of cicadas.

Fang Jin looked at him, his expression one of holding back words.

“…Gu Yuan,” he finally asked softly after a long time: “Why do you like me?”

Gu Yuan was momentarily stunned, then immediately declared, “You liked me first!”

Before Fang Jin could utter a weak rebuttal, Gu Yuan mercilessly cut him off: “It’s fine, I know all about it, and I completely understand, so you don’t need to hide anything. We’re both adults. There’s no need to analyze liking or even loving someone into a list of pros and cons. Just tell me if I’m suitable? Am I not even up to your dating standards?”

“—I know your circle might be chaotic, and you face many temptations.” Gu Yuan saw Fang Jin shaking his head, seemingly about to object, and immediately interrupted him without allowing refusal: “But you’ve seen my conditions. If I’m not boasting, I’m better than most people you’ve been involved with, right? Do you still need to look for anyone else?”

“I haven’t… been involved with many people,” Fang Jin said with difficulty. “I just…”

Gu Yuan sharply noticed the key point: He hasn’t been involved with many people.

He had always vaguely felt that Fang Jin had a rather fixed partner and was encountering some trouble with this person—perhaps owing money, owing a favor, or having embarrassing photos taken. That’s why his attitude towards solidifying their relationship was hesitant and uncertain. However, this was only his speculation, with no factual evidence to prove it.

Yet, for some reason, this speculation was becoming clearer, reaching a point where it couldn’t be ignored.

“Do you still have a regular partner now?” Gu Yuan asked, looking into Fang Jin’s eyes. His voice was gentle, soft, carrying a subtle, seductive undertone.

Fang Jin seemed lost in those deep, sea-like eyes, staring blankly, forgetting even to blink. After a moment, he finally shook his head: “No…”

The air seemed to stop, then slowly began to flow again, thick and warmly viscous, drawing them gradually closer together.

Gu Yuan leaned in and kissed him. The kissing started intermittently, long and lingering. Fang Jin let out a weak moan in the gaps between breaths. The sound washed over Gu Yuan’s ears with lustful, subtle hoarseness, filling his every nerve with thirst and heat.

He then deepened the kiss, his memory pulling him back to that frenzied night a month ago, when Fang Jin was pinned down and ruthlessly penetrated again and again, like a beast conquering its beautiful prey beneath its claws. Even then, the person could only cry and convulse futilely, gripping the sheets tightly in response to the frequency of the violation, his wet, crimson lips unconsciously parted, completely unable to resist the arrogant kissing.

Gu Yuan’s breathing became heavy. He pressed Fang Jin deep into the sofa, then suddenly lifted his head and looked down at him: “Say you like me.”

Fang Jin’s eyelids were slightly red, his watery eyes unblinking.

Gu Yuan softened his voice, his expression full of temptation, completely contrasting with the hot, lethal weapon pressed against Fang Jin’s thigh beneath him: “—Say it now. Say you like me.”

“…” Fang Jin opened his mouth in his expectant gaze but only managed a muffled murmur.

I like you.

What does it matter if I like you?

The grievances and entanglements of the previous generation, the bizarre blood-feud and life-and-death struggle, were like a giant net slowly unfurling from the depths of darkness. It would eventually and cruelly strangle that fragile affection until it was reduced to a grotesque, bloody pulp.

“Don’t you like me? Who was the person crying and calling my name that night?”

“You’ve secretly liked me for so long. Did you think it would cease to exist if you didn’t admit it?”

Fang Jin turned his head away, but Gu Yuan’s warm breath pressed close to his ear. The repeated urgings were like thousands of needles stabbing violently at the most cowardly and insecure part of his heart, causing his whole body to writhe in pain.

Did I really think it wouldn’t exist if I didn’t admit it?

“…I like you…” Fang Jin’s voice came out intermittently, choked with sobs: “I really like you…”

Like a victorious general, Gu Yuan picked up Fang Jin, strode into the bedroom, roughly tossed him onto the bed, and then mounted him.

Fang Jin tilted his head back, kissed again. He felt his shirt buttons unfasten one by one, his clothes quickly stripped away. His bare skin rubbed against Gu Yuan’s expensive, soft fabric, creating an indescribably stimulating, electrical sensation. He expected Gu Yuan to quickly remove his clothes too, but the next thing he felt was the beginning of the expansion, the rough friction of Gu Yuan’s calloused knuckles, making him let out an unbearable moan.

“Gu… Gu Yuan, Gu Yuan…”

Gu Yuan looked down, like a dominant wolf standing over him. But this wolf was handsome, cruel, yet impeccably dressed, with a chillingly bright glint in his eyes.

“Bear with it,” he said coldly. “Don’t you dare scream.”

“I like you too,” Gu Yuan muttered, grabbing his hair in the haze of passion, forcing him to look up and accept his kiss, whispering against his tear-stained cheek: “I love you.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Gu Yuan was stunned for a second. That was the first time in his life he had said, “I love you.”

Truly the first time.

They made love twice more that afternoon. The second time was in the bathroom, where Gu Yuan pinned Fang Jin against the tiled wall under the shower, entering him deeply from behind. But Fang Jin clearly disliked the position. In his daze, he kept turning his head back, subconsciously trying to search for Gu Yuan’s face.

The posture was incredibly pathetic. Thus, the third time was on the carpet after moving from the bathroom back to the bedroom. Gu Yuan faced him gently, the pace slow and considerate, whispering sweet nothings into his ear.

When they finally finished, it was almost completely dark. Both were utterly exhausted. During dinner, Fang Jin was barely holding on, nearly falling asleep. Gu Yuan called for takeout, then used a spoon to feed him spoonfuls of warm, delicious preserved egg and lean meat congee, forcing him to drink most of the bowl even in his semi-conscious state, before finally letting him sleep.

“I love you,” Gu Yuan whispered before sleep, kissing the sweat-dampened hair on Fang Jin’s temple.

The room was shrouded in the long river of night. After a long moment, he smiled, leaning in to kiss Fang Jin’s flushed, sleeping face again: “And one more reward—you have excellent taste in falling for me.”