On the way home, Ji Ruan fell asleep in the car.
This nap was extraordinarily deep, perhaps the most deep and dreamless sleep since arriving in this world.
Even when the car stopped and the door was opened, letting in the sunlight, Ji Ruan only instinctively curled up without waking up.
Gu Xiuyi called Ji Ruan several times from the door frame, but there was no response from the person in the seat. It was unclear whether Ji Ruan couldn’t hear him or had simply fallen into a very deep sleep.
After waiting a few seconds, Gu Xiuyi reluctantly bent down to check on Ji Ruan inside the car.
Ji Ruan's head was tilted against the back of the seat, his right ear pressed down. Gu Xiuyi gently pinched Ji Ruan’s face to expose his ear, revealing that the small external hearing aid was indeed turned off.
It truly was a sleep disconnected from the world...
Gu Xiuyi turned on Ji Ruan’s hearing aid, and as he released his hand, he noticed that Ji Ruan’s cheek had turned red from his pinch, leaving two distinct fingerprints on his fair skin.
Because he was so close, Gu Xiuyi could clearly see the tiny hairs on Ji Ruan’s face. His skin was incredibly tender and smooth, astonishingly fine in texture.
This kind of skin, full of vibrant life like a ripe fruit, was unique to children of this age—God's gift to "youth."
"......"
Gu Xiuyi's hand froze.
He once again felt a sense of awe towards the eighteen-year-old body.
He patted Ji Ruan's face, his voice tense: "Ji Ruan, it's time to wake up."
Suddenly, clear sounds filled Ji Ruan’s ears: cicadas, wind, and Gu Xiuyi calling his name.
At that moment, it was like the world had been activated, and everything gained color.
Gu Xiuyi quickly withdrew just before Ji Ruan opened his eyes.
The scorching summer sunlight stung his eyes, and Ji Ruan squinted, seeing Gu Xiuyi standing straight by the car door, a halo of light surrounding him, hazy and indistinct.
"Why did you sleep so deeply?" Gu Xiuyi asked.
Ji Ruan instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes: "No..."
As soon as he spoke, Ji Ruan sensed something was wrong. His voice sounded off, and his throat felt itchy.
Before his sluggish mind fully recovered, a burning sensation flared in his throat, the itch bursting out instantly.
"Cough, cough, cough—!"
Ji Ruan suddenly bent over, bracing his knees as he coughed violently.
If it weren't for Gu Xiuyi's quick reflexes in grabbing him, Ji Ruan would have fallen out of the car, collapsing onto the cobblestone path in the yard.
"Cough... cough, cough, cough—damn... cough!—cough, cough—"
This sudden and intense coughing fit caught Ji Ruan completely off guard. He bent over, red-faced with his ears burning, his blood pressure spiking, and his head aching from the force of his coughs.
Gu Xiuyi had never seen anything like this before. It took him a couple of seconds to react before he put his hand on Ji Ruan's back and patted it. "What's going on?"
Ji Ruan couldn't speak.
Gu Xiuyi kept patting for a while but noticed that not only did it not help, but it seemed to make Ji Ruan cough even harder.
Gu Xiuyi didn't know what he was doing wrong, but he didn't dare move. He could only stand there patiently, acting as a human support for Ji Ruan.
In the end, Ji Ruan managed to recover on his own.
Ignoring Gu Xiuyi, he shakily stood up and stumbled towards the door.
Gu Xiuyi didn't let Song Ling follow him. He instructed Song Ling to go off-duty, then quickly caught up to Ji Ruan and supported him as they walked forward.
They hadn't gone far when Ji Ruan started coughing again, this time so badly that he couldn't get up from squatting on the ground, tears streaming down his face like rain.
Gu Xiuyi had no choice but to squat down with Ji Ruan, lifting his chin to check his complexion.
At around four or five in the afternoon, the scorching sun showed no sign of relenting. After baking all day, the ground was as hot as a fiery furnace.
Ji Ruan's forehead quickly became covered with sweat, and his complexion was terrible.
Gu Xiuyi instinctively felt that if Ji Ruan kept coughing like this, he might throw up.
However, the short path in the courtyard seemed endless due to Ji Ruan's impaired mobility.
It was unbearably hot.
Gu Xiuyi didn't want to delay any longer. He directly lifted Ji Ruan's arms over his shoulders without asking, "Should I carry you inside?"
Ji Ruan, dizzy and overwhelmed by his coughing, heard this.
He had actually wanted Gu Xiuyi to help him for a while now. Whether he carried, piggybacked, or dragged him, Ji Ruan would accept anything as long as it got him inside.
But his coughing was so severe that he couldn't communicate except for sobbing, so Gu Xiuyi's words were a timely rescue.
With tear-filled eyes, Ji Ruan nodded repeatedly, urgently patting Gu Xiuyi on the shoulder three times.
Carry me, carry me, hurry!
It was like frantically whipping a horse while riding.
Gu Xiuyi: "..."
He couldn't explain why, but he felt a bit odd about it.
In the villa, Aunt Zhao was humming a tune as she was about to start dinner. Hearing someone return, she washed her hands and went to greet them. The first thing she saw was Gu Xiuyi, standing tall and straight, and Ji Ruan, drooping over him like a little koala that had melted in the sun.
"Oh! What happened here?!" Aunt Zhao hurried over, gently touching Ji Ruan's fluffy head. "What's wrong, Ruan Ruan?"
Ji Ruan liked Aunt Zhao the most.
He perked up at her voice, lifting his head from Gu Xiuyi's shoulder. He opened his mouth to speak but was pushed back by Gu Xiuyi's hand on the back of his head.
"Nothing, Aunt Zhao. Just call a doctor," Gu Xiuyi said.
Then, looking at Ji Ruan's round head, he scolded harshly, "No talking, or you'll cough all over me again."
Cough all over him?!
Ji Ruan was stunned. Whenever he coughed, he always covered his mouth!
Not only was he not allowed to talk to Aunt Zhao, but he was also being blamed. Ji Ruan's fists clenched, and he angrily punched Gu Xiuyi's shoulder, only to be jostled in retaliation, which made his chest hurt and triggered another bout of coughing.
Gu Xiuyi put Ji Ruan on the bed. After Aunt Zhao followed them in, he went outside to wash his hands. When he came back, the scene in the room had completely changed.
Ji Ruan's coughing, triggered by the jostling, hadn't stopped. Aunt Zhao sat by the bed, hugging him and soothing him nonstop:
"Oh dear, what happened to our baby on this trip?"
"Did you catch a cold, or was it the heat?"
"Oh, our poor baby..."
Aunt Zhao had always been soft-hearted and particularly liked children, especially cute ones like Ji Ruan. Even though Ji Ruan was already eighteen, she still treated him like a three-year-old, soothing him with all her heart.
Gu Xiuyi knew this, but hearing her repeatedly call him "baby" made him feel a bit overwhelmed. He pinched the bridge of his nose hard.
It wasn't just Aunt Zhao's affection; it was rare that Ji Ruan was willing to act spoiled in her arms.
Maybe it was the motherly aura Aunt Zhao exuded. As a child who lost his mother early, Ji Ruan inevitably relied more on such comfort when he felt unwell.
Thinking about this, Gu Xiuyi couldn't bring himself to criticize Ji Ruan's coquettish behavior.
Silently, he watched the pair, Aunt Zhao's hand gently rubbing Ji Ruan's back, slowly and steadily. After a few repetitions, Ji Ruan's coughing indeed eased.
So that's the technique?
Gu Xiuyi recalled the force he used when patting Ji Ruan's back and coughed awkwardly into his hand.
After soothing Ji Ruan for a while, his coughing wasn't as severe but still persisted intermittently.
She looked at Gu Xiuyi, worried: "Xiao Gu, could you get a cup of warm water and bring up the cough syrup?"
Leaning against the door frame, Gu Xiuyi took off his suit jacket, his white shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. The collar was wrinkled from Ji Ruan's grip, with two buttons undone.
His cold demeanor clashed with the warm scene in the room. Even though it was his villa, he seemed like an outsider standing there.
Gu Xiuyi was slightly taken aback: "Me?"
Aunt Zhao paused, realizing she had spoken without thinking. She couldn't possibly order Gu Xiuyi around. She quickly patted her forehead, laughing: "How about this, Xiao Gu? You hold Ruan Ruan, and I'll get the syrup."
Hold Ji Ruan?
No way.
This kid was too restless. Once in his arms, he would scratch, claw, and punch. One shirt was already nearly ruined.
Hold him?
Never again in his life.
Gu Xiuyi turned around and headed out: "Syrup... is in the storage cabinet on the first floor, right?"
Aunt Zhao saw this and couldn't help but laugh. She called out down the hallway, "Yes! In the second layer of the storage cabinet, on the left, in the medical box!"
Ji Ruan really did catch a cold. The reason was unclear. Maybe the air conditioning outside was too strong and gave him a chill, or maybe he spent the whole day outside in fluctuating temperatures, going from hot to cold.
The entire villa was in chaos because of Ji Ruan, and it only started to calm down after the doctor arrived and put him on an IV drip.
Gu Xiuyi and Aunt Zhao left Ji Ruan's room together, gently closing the door. With a long sigh, Gu Xiuyi remarked, "Aunt Zhao, don't give him fried food when you cook from now on. And no iced water either, his throat is too weak..."
Aunt Zhao stifled her laughter: "Got it. I just didn't expect you to join Ruan Ruan in eating fried chicken. I remember you hated it when you were young, saying it was unhealthy."
Gu Xiuyi's shirt smelled like fried chicken. He pinched the collar and sniffed, immediately wrinkling his nose in disdain, then sighed again, "He's still young..."
At his age, you just have to give in.
Aunt Zhao didn't respond, though faint laughter escaped her. Gu Xiuyi turned his head: "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, nothing, it's fine," Aunt Zhao waved her hand. "Go take a shower. I'll start cooking. It's fine, really..."
Gu Xiuyi: "..."
Ji Ruan's throat was even more swollen than expected. He almost completely lost his voice the next day. His hearing was already poor, and now he was like a little mute, unable to speak for a week until he slowly recovered his ability to talk.
Gu Xiuyi went on another business trip, and Ji Ruan didn't see him at all during his recovery.
About half a month later, on a sunless but sultry afternoon, Aunt Zhao was not at home. Ji Ruan sat on the living room floor with Xiao An, watching a movie.
This was when Gu Xiuyi returned.
Still impeccably dressed in a full suit, he looked both tall and strong. As he walked towards Ji Ruan, he seemed both familiar and a bit unfamiliar.
He never seemed to get tired. Despite being on business trips for so long, there was no sign of fatigue on his face; he looked even more spirited.
He brought back two bags, washed his hands, and then placed them in front of Ji Ruan.
Having not seen each other for half a month, Ji Ruan felt a bit distant and didn't know how to start a conversation.
But Gu Xiuyi lifted Ji Ruan's chin with two fingers, calmly observing for a moment: "You've lost weight."
Ji Ruan hadn't expected him to touch him right away. He was stunned for two seconds before dodging and touching his own chin. Maybe he had lost a bit of weight...
His throat hurt, and he couldn't eat much, so it was normal to lose weight.
"Ji Ruan," Gu Xiuyi called his name again.
Ji Ruan looked up.
Gu Xiuyi raised his chin slightly: "Say something."
His tone was like he was instructing Xiao An to lift its paw.
Ji Ruan was dissatisfied and let out a light hum, "Are you sick?"
Gu Xiuyi, however, laughed and sat down cross-legged opposite Ji Ruan. He seemed to be in a particularly good mood today. "Is your throat still not better?"
Ji Ruan absentmindedly petted Xiao An's head. "It's almost fully healed now."
"Hmm," Gu Xiuyi responded ambiguously, then continued, "Then come with me to the Gu residence later."
"The Gu residence?" Ji Ruan looked up suddenly, "You mean... your parents' house?"
Gu Xiuyi propped his chin up. "That's right."
Ji Ruan took a deep breath. That was the legendary old mansion!
For a wealthy family like Gu Xiuyi's, the old mansion was practically a battlefield. Just thinking about it gave Ji Ruan a headache.
But Gu Xiuyi didn't seem to care much and immediately changed the subject, "Give me your hand."
Ji Ruan was still mulling over the old mansion, feeling uneasy. He absentmindedly extended his hand, which was immediately grasped by Gu Xiuyi.
The next second, something cool was slipped onto his ring finger. Ji Ruan came to his senses—it was a plain ring.
A very simple and elegant design, identical to the one on Gu Xiuyi's ring finger.
Ji Ruan couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
Gu Xiuyi didn't look up at him, still holding his wrist as if admiring something, and casually told him:
"The ring has arrived."
____________________________
The author has something to say:
President Gu: Ah... even his wrist is so tender... a young body... a gift from God (to me)...
Ruan Ruan: Lately, people keep asking me why older men like young partners. For details, see the psychological activity of a certain old man surnamed Gu above.
T/N: I am quite pleased with Ruan Ruan’s ability to act spoiled unconsciously haha