On Wednesday during breakfast, Bai Mu Ning told Wen Jing about Jiang Qingci asking to meet him.
He believed that since they were the closest people to each other, there shouldn’t be any secrets between them.
Anything that happened should be shared to Wen Jing.
Wen Jing asked, “Why did he reach out to you?”
While drinking his porridge, Bai Mu Ning said, “He sent me a message saying he’s going abroad and wants to meet me.”
Wen Jing paused for a moment before saying, “You want to go.”
He spoke with certainty, having already discerned Bai Mu Ning’s true thoughts.
Bai Mu Ning nodded again. “Before Zhou Chao died, he asked me to pass a message to him. I might as well tell him now.”
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Rq Hbsw Ubys byed’v pvkzz clld psxlobyv y xsdpvla cynj vbld, Jyk Yw Lkdt oswzed’v byhl lpnyrle qasx vbl cyplxldv.
Hbsw Ubys bye ynnlrvle bkp elyvb yde alzlyple bkx clqsal eukdt; svblaokpl, Jyk Yw Lkdt oswze pvkzz cl cwakle wdela vbl awcczl.
Fkdnl Hbsw Ubys zlv bkx ts sdnl, Jyk Yw Lkdt qlzv bl pbswze qwzqkzz Hbsw Ubys’p zypv okpb. Tso vs es kv oyp wr vs bkx.
“Ps usw dlle blzr?”
Mbyv oyp nzlyazu yd lmralppksd sq ytallxldv. Jyk Yw Lkdt pxkzle yde pyke, “Ls dlle. Zsw vbkdj R nyd’v bydezl bkx?”
Jyk Yw Lkdt ryvvle bkp nblpv nsdqkeldvzu. “Nlv xl vlzz usw, R’hl dlhla zspv yd yatwxldv. R’x alyzzu tsse yv nwapkdt rlsrzl.”
Tl xktbv ynv sclekldv kd qasdv sq Eld Kkdt, cwv bl oypd’v zkjl vbyv okvb svblap. Ebld kv nyxl vs qktbvkdt sa yatwkdt, bl ayalzu zspv.
Wsa psxl alypsd, Eld Kkdt nbwnjzle psqvzu. “R’hl plld vbyv qsa xuplzq. Jycu alyzzu kp tsse yv nwapkdt.”
“You’ve seen it?” Bai Mu Ning asked in surprise. “When?”
He tried hard to recall the image he had always shown and thought that he had never cursed anyone in front of Wen Jing. So how had Wen Jing seen it for himself?
“The Civil Affairs Bureau,” Wen Jing reminded him.
That one sentence triggered Bai Mu Ning’s memory. The time at the Civil Affairs Bureau, he had gone there to help Li Li scold her ex-husband.
Li Li had paid him for that job, and that was where he had run into Wen Jing.
Bai Mu Ning hadn’t expected that Wen Jing had noticed him back then.
“You saw me?” Bai Mu Ning said. “I thought you didn’t recognize me.”
“No, how did you even notice me? If I remember correctly, that was our second time meeting.”
After seeing Bai Mu Ning finish eating, Wen Jing began clearing the dishes and said, “I saw you the moment I looked up.”
He saw him at first glance. Did that mean he was special to Wen Jing from the start?
Bai Mu Ning froze, lost in thought for a while, before chasing after him into the kitchen. “So does that mean you liked me from the beginning? Otherwise, why’d you notice me? Come on, tell me.”
Just the thought of being able to pry into Wen Jing’s heart made Bai Mu Ning excited.
He could never figure Wen Jing out. He only had a vague sense of him and couldn’t quite understand why Wen Jing liked him.
He’d never had the chance to ask before, and now that the opportunity was right in front of him, he wasn’t about to let it slip away.
Wen Jing started to tease him. “Guess.”
There was no way Bai Mu Ning could guess. He wrapped his arms around Wen Jing’s waist from behind and pleaded, “Jing-ge… Jing-ge, just tell me!”
Wen Jing dried his hands, turned to look at him, and said helplessly, “If you keep calling me that, I might not go to work today.”
Bai Mu Ning pursed his lips, his cheeks tinged with red, and said in dissatisfaction, “Are you threatening me?”
“How can you be like this? If you don’t want to say it, then don’t; why threaten me?”
These past few days, Wen Jing hadn’t held back at all, and Bai Mu Ning really couldn’t take it anymore!
Wen Jing pulled Bai Mu Ning into his arms and coaxed softly, “I’ll tell you tonight, okay?”
–
Jiang Qingci arranged to meet Bai Mu Ning at a cat café. When Bai Mu Ning arrived, Jiang Qingci was already there, holding a silver shaded cat in his arms. Upon seeing Bai Mu Ning, he smiled and greeted him, “I’m over here.”
He spoke to Bai Mu Ning with the warmth of an old friend who hadn’t been seen in a long time.
It seemed Jiang Qingci really liked cats. When he held one, his smile was gentle and sweet.
“When I was little, I had a cat. I found a stray by the roadside and really liked it. I brought it home and told Zhou Chao I wanted to keep it. Zhou Chao agreed.”
“But one day, my cat died. I cried terribly. Zhou Chao told me that from then on, he’d always stay with me, just the two of us.”
“You know what? I was terrified. The thought took root in my head that Zhou Chao killed my cat.”
“He must have done it. And someday, he’d kill me too. So I tried everything to escape from Zhou Chao, but nothing worked; until I met Wen Qi.”
Bai Mu Ning didn’t pick up any of the cats. He simply looked steadily at Jiang Qingci and said calmly, “I’m not interested in your story. That’s between you and Zhou Chao. I’m not here to judge who’s right or wrong.”
“I’m guessing the real reason you asked me here today is to play the victim. You know Wen Jing and I have made up, and you’re afraid I’ll tell him what you said to Zhou Chao back then, right?”
“If Wen Jing finds out that in your call to Zhou Chao, you ignored my safety completely, provoked him, and even told him to die… you’re afraid Wen Jing will take revenge, aren’t you?”
Jiang Qingci’s smile faded. “I really don’t like dealing with smart people. It’s so boring.”
He released the silver shaded cat from his arms and looked at Bai Mu Ning.
“You deliberately told Wen Qi about my identity, trying to make Wen Jing find out the truth and dump me.” Bai Mu Ning took a sip of his unsweetened coffee and winced at the bitterness.
Setting the cup down, he continued, “You never thought I’d survive and come back alive. That’s why you had to pretend to let something slip to Wen Qi.”
“Maybe from the start, you were already guiding Zhou Chao into provoking Wen Jing because you knew Wen Jing could help you get rid of that problem for you.”
“All that talk about saying the wrong thing or not meaning it; you’re too smart for that. How could it possibly have been a mistake?”
Jiang Qingci didn’t respond. His expression went completely cold.
Bai Mu Ning went on, “You don’t love anyone. All you’ve ever wanted is freedom. As a child, you clung desperately to Zhou Chao to escape the orphanage. Later, to escape Zhou Chao, you latched onto Wen Qi. You even dragged Wen Jing into it on purpose. Everyone was just a stepping stone for you.”
“Jiang Qingci, you’re a bastard.”
Bai Mu Ning didn’t care about anyone else. He only cared about Wen Jing. Still, he had to admit he owed his encounter with Wen Jing to Jiang Qingci’s scheming.
After a long silence, Jiang Qingci finally spoke. He gave a cold laugh. “And you’re not a bastard yourself? Didn’t you deceive Wen Jing for money? We’re the same, so stop pretending to be the good guy.”
Bai Mu Ning smiled. “You’re right, we’re both bastards. But I have something to tell you. Before Zhou Chao died, he asked me to pass a message to you. Want to know what it was?”
“Guess what? Did he hate you, resent you, or still like you? Love you, even?”
Jiang Qingci’s expression shifted several times before curiosity finally got the better of him. “What did he say?”
“Sorry.” Bai Mu Ning smiled politely. “I’ll never tell you in this lifetime. You don’t deserve to know.”
He stood up and turned to leave. Not long after, the sound of a cup shattering came from behind him.
He knew Jiang Qingci would never forget Zhou Chao in this lifetime. That was enough.
Zhou Chao might have been extreme, but he had treated Jiang Qingci well; it was a true heart given to the wrong person. With anyone else, it wouldn’t have ended in suicide.
Both of them were villains: one couldn’t forget until death, the other couldn’t forget for the rest of his life. That outcome suited them.
—
After meeting Jiang Qingci, Bai Mu Ning went straight home. On the way he stopped by the supermarket and bought some fruit, vegetables, and beef to make hotpot that night.
Carrying his bags home, he opened the door and found a girl inside the room.
“Brother, you’re back?” The girl froze when she saw him.
Bai Mu Ning stared for a moment before matching the face to a name from the back of his mind. “You’re Sun Jin?”
The first time he had met Sun Jin she had worn a cool, edgy style—all piercings on her face and ears.
Now a pale, clean-looking girl stood before him; it took him a while to recognize her.
Sun Jin looked at Bai Mu Ning warily. “Who are you? Why are you in my brother’s house?”
Bai Mu Ning didn’t know how to introduce himself, so he set down his bags and said, “My name is Bai Mu Ning. I’m your brother’s colleague.”
Sun Jin didn’t buy it. “Bullshit. How could you be my brother’s colleague? Are you even an adult? Wait, what does my brother do? If you can’t answer, I’ll call the police.”
“Your brother is Wen Jing. He’s the on-call doctor at Sanwen Hall. Don’t you remember me?”
Sun Jin tried to recall. “No impression. Who are you, really?”
“You knocked me over outside the Civil Affairs Bureau and said your brother should take responsibility for me.”
Sun Jin finally remembered. “Oh, it’s you. But aren’t you being unfair? I only bumped into you once and now you’re clinging to my brother?”
“Even made my brother promise himself to you?”
What kind of logic was that?
He hadn’t said anything like that!
“You’re misunderstanding.”
“What could I possibly misunderstand? You’re definitely my brother’s boyfriend. Otherwise, how could he let you into his house? He’s such a clean freak!”
Bai Mu Ning had no choice but to admit, “Yes, I’m his boyfriend.”
“Then what should I call you? Sister-in-law?”
That title was unbearable. Bai Mu Ning rubbed his temples and said, “If you don’t want to call me that, just use my name.”
“Oh, okay. Brother’s husband then.”
Brother’s husband?
Now Bai Mu Ning finally understood who Sun Jin took after. Her way of thinking was exactly like Pei Shuchen’s.
Sun Jin walked over, her eyes landing on the grocery bags in Bai Mu Ning’s hand. “Brother’s husband, what did you buy? I’m hungry.”
“Hotpot.”
Half an hour later, Bai Mu Ning and Sun Jin were sitting together eating hotpot.
“What do you even like about my brother? He’s so boring and controlling. No, he’s a total pervert.”
“You know what? My parents were always busy with work, so I grew up with my brother. He treated me like I was his daughter, deciding what I should study, wear, eat, what my future plans were… He even interfered with what I said.”
“Living like that almost drove me crazy. My brother said that once I got married, he’d stop controlling me, so I went looking for someone to marry. Who knew there was an age restriction for that kind of thing?”
“The days were unbearable, so I just ran away from home.”
Sun Jin picked up a slice of beef with her chopsticks. “Do you know what that helpless feeling of running away from home is like?”
“It’s when you’ve left physically, but you’re still under his watchful eyes. No matter what you do, he knows. How is that even called running away?”
Listening to Sun Jin complain about everything Wen Jing did, Bai Mu Ning couldn’t help but feel a kind of indescribable envy.
To have someone care about you, look after you, plan everything for you, wasn’t that happiness?
Sun Jin had everything, yet she saw control as a cage. But once she lost it all, she would realize how precious what she had truly was.
Bai Mu Ning’s parents had passed away long ago. He had no family, struggling to survive alone. Since childhood, he had envied people who had parents and relatives.
He had always been alone; eating by himself, spending New Year’s by himself, carrying everything on his own shoulders. No one cared for him, protected him, or planned his future for him.
He lacked a sense of security, and Wen Jing’s overwhelming possessiveness gave him exactly that. He liked Wen Jing’s control.
Sun Jin couldn’t stand it, but he could. Perhaps that was what Pei Shuchen had meant when he said that being with Wen Jing must have been hard.
Pei Shuchen believed Bai Mu Ning would eventually crack under Wen Jing’s constant supervision and control.
Sun Jin looked at Bai Mu Ning seriously and asked, “So what exactly do you like about my brother?”
Without hesitation, Bai Mu Ning replied, “I like everything about him.”
Sun Jin stared at him in disbelief. “You can accept someone who controls your life and knows everything about you?”
“Yeah. I can. I like everything Jing-ge gives me.”
Sun Jin was speechless. “Are you some kind of masochist?”
Bai Mu Ning just smiled carefreely. “Maybe!”
What could he do?
He just liked Wen Jing.
–
That evening, when Wen Jing came home from work, he saw Sun Jin sitting on the sofa. He only gave her a brief glance before his gaze passed over her and finally settled on Bai Mu Ning. “Baby, come here.”
Bai Mu Ning obediently stood up, walked over, and hugged him. “Jing-ge, you’re back?”
Wen Jing’s fingertips brushed against Bai Mu Ning’s cheek. He held back the urge to kiss him and asked, “Were you good today?”
“I’ve always been good!”
Sun Jin, ignored and was forced to swallow dog food: “…?”
These two were made for each other.
“Brother, I’m back. Where am I staying?”
Wen Jing said, “Go change the sheets later. You’ll stay in the guest room.”
Sun Jin huffed, “Why should I change the sheets myself? You used to do it for me.”
“Didn’t you say you hate it when I interfere too much?” Wen Jing replied. “Don’t worry, I won’t interfere anymore.”
Sun Jin felt a flicker of happiness, though not much, it still felt like she was losing something.
“Then can I go study abroad?”
“It’s already arranged. You can leave anytime.”
This time, Sun Jin was completely overjoyed. She even jumped onto the sofa and started rapping.
Except, her rap sounded more like loud chanting, off-key and not pleasant to hear at all.
If he remembered correctly, Sun Jin went abroad to study music but that seemed like a tough path.
Wen Jing said helplessly, “Now you understand why I didn’t agree with her learning music? She’d starve to death.”
Bai Mu Ning nodded in agreement.
Still hyped up, Sun Jin wasn’t happy to hear that. She huffed, “Keep it down tonight, you two. I just turned legal,. I can’t handle any adult-rated noises.”
After saying that, she stormed into the guest room and slammed the door shut.
Later that night, after taking a shower and playing a bit of his game, Bai Mu Ning finally got ready for bed.
Once he lay down, Wen Jing put down his book and pulled him into his arms for a kiss.
As the kissing deepened, Wen Jing’s hands began to wander. Bai Mu Ning panicked and said, “Stop, your sister’s next door. We can’t.”
If there was any noise and Sun Jin heard, wouldn’t that be the end of him?
“She won’t hear. She always stays up past midnight. She’s definitely rocking out with headphones right now.”
“What are you afraid of?” Wen Jing bit his earlobe, giving him no room to refuse. “Just be a little quieter when you moan.”
An experienced man who had tasted the forbidden fruit was terrifying. His desire was insatiable, and he never seemed to tire.
Wen Jing carried Bai Mu Ning into the master bathroom. The bathtub was filled with water, and Bai Mu Ning leaned over its edge, his body trembling with each movement, making water spill over the sides.
Wen Jing gripped his waist and asked, “What did you say to Jiang Qingci today?”
Bai Mu Ning didn’t dare speak. Afraid that if he opened his mouth, the sounds in his throat would escape uncontrollably.
Sensing what he meant, Wen Jing paused and said, “Talk.”
Bai Mu Ning finally caught his breath and replied, “I stabbed a knife into his heart, for both our sakes, to vent the anger he caused us.”
Wen Jing began moving again, and more water spilled out of the tub. “What else?”
“N–nothing… nothing else.”
Wen Jing turned Bai Mu Ning’s face toward him and kissed him. “Remember, don’t ever lie to me. I want to know everything about you. Even if you can’t take it, you’ll endure it for me.”
“Don’t ever defy me, resist me, grow tired of me, or betray me. Do you understand?”
Bai Mu Ning nodded weakly. “Wen Jing, I understand.”
Unhappy, Wen Jing bit down on the back of his neck. “I told you, you’re not allowed to call me by name. I don’t like it.”
“Baby, what should you call me?”
Bai Mu Ning’s brain was deprived of oxygen; it felt like he was boiling alive, his thoughts a blur, and his words came out muddled.
“Husband. You’re my husband.”
That word had come up earlier when Sun Jin teasingly asked who between him and Wen Jing was the husband and who was the wife. Bai Mu Ning hadn’t thought about it before.
But right now, he instinctively felt he belonged to the “wife” role, and Wen Jing was the “husband.” So he blurted it out without thinking.
Wen Jing suddenly froze. He sat down, and Bai Mu Ning followed his movement, sinking into his lap. Wen Jing asked patiently, “What did you just call me, baby? Say it again.”
Obediently, Bai Mu Ning whispered, “Husband…”
He thought it was just a simple word, yet that single “husband” was enough to drive Wen Jing utterly insane.
Translator’s Note:
[Belated] Happy holidays, everyone! Hope you enjoyed your break!
Sorry for the late update. Hope you liked these ones! Main story ends at Chapter 65, soon!!
WAIT, COME BACK! I NEED MORE!😭