huge thanks to szm‘s generosity!! 
extra ko-fi chapter (1/4) 🥳🎉 enjoy the updates~
On Saturday morning, Xu Ze went to the nursing home, still escorted by the bodyguard. Xu Ze exited the car and entered the hospital building alone to find Zhou Zhen.
“As you know, we’ve tried many medications on your grandmother, but the response hasn’t been great. The interventional surgery six months ago didn’t produce ideal results,” Zhou Zhen said, “Because of her mental health issues, she experiences significant mood swings and a varied range of behaviors, placing added strain on her heart and lungs. This situation poses a considerable risk for someone with pulmonary hypertension.”
“This time Professor Li reviewed the test reports. Even though he adjusted the medication, he still recommended a lung transplant. The longer we delay, the greater the risks. We can’t wait until conservative treatment fails completely before we start preparing for it. By that time it’ll be too late.”
“How much will the operation cost?” Xu Ze clasped his hands together on his lap. He appeared calm and only focused on the most critical question.
Zhou Zhen knew that Xu Ze rarely checked the monthly bank statement. He would simply deposit the money into the nursing home’s account as soon as he received his salary. Whenever the doctor prescribed a medication change, he would comply. If the new medicine was expensive, he would work to earn the money. Since Ye Yunhua moved into the nursing home, Xu Ze had never owed a single cent in medical expenses. Sometimes it was hard for Zhou Zhen to imagine how he managed to gather this money, but Xu Ze had managed to do it.
“At least half a million has to be prepared in advance. The monthly expenses after the lung transplant are also relatively high, but—” Zhou Zhen paused as if unsure how to phrase it. After a while, he continued, “Finding a donor requires lining up, which isn’t that fast, so you don’t need to rush. I’m just discussing this with you to settle this matter first.”
“Mn,” Xu Ze nodded.
However, Zhou Zhen realized that his explanation had come too late, and Xu Ze was thinking of starting to raise money right away.
“Do we have to wait a long time?”
“Usually, yes, but it also depends on luck. I’ll sort out the paperwork in the next few days and notify you to come and sign when it’s ready. After you sign, you can enter the system waiting list.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Xu Ze fully understood Professor Li and Zhou Zhen’s suggestion. Lung transplantation shouldn’t be considered a last-ditch life-saving operation. The earlier they performed the lung transplant evaluation while Ye Yunhua’s physical condition wasn’t too deteriorated, the higher the success rate and the better her recovery would be.
After leaving the office, Xu Ze went to Ye Yunhua’s hospital room.
“I just gave her some oxygen. Her condition is stable. If you need anything, please ring the bell without delay,” the nurse said quietly.
“Okay. Thank you.”
Ye Yunhua was propped up on the bed, quietly looking out the window. Xu Ze glanced outside; it was the same familiar view that Ye Yunhua must have grown tired of.
“Do you want some fruit?” Xu Ze sat down by the hospital bed and asked.
Ye Yunhua shook her head, her lips had turned purple from the difficulty in breathing. After another half minute, she suddenly said, “How could they leave Xu Ze alone and go away like that?”
Xu Ze felt something lodged in his throat for a brief moment. It took him quite a while to make a sound, “What?”
“Last night, it was very late, Qiao Yuan and Xu Ming came looking for me.” Ye Yunhua spoke with a serious tone, “They wanted to take me to a good place to live comfortably. I was quite happy about it, so I followed them.”
“Halfway through, I felt that something was wrong. Xu Ze wasn’t coming along. I stopped and asked them why they didn’t take Xu Ze. He’s still so young, and he’ll be scared staying alone at home.”
Xu Ze lowered his eyes and looked at his hands for a while, his fingers twitched nervously. Then he raised his head and slowly reached out to hold Ye Yunhua’s hand. Ye Yunhua continued talking as if she hadn’t noticed.
“They didn’t answer, they just stood there and smiled at me. I told them to go ahead and I had to go back to check on Xu Ze.” Ye Yunhua sighed, “Yuanyuan didn’t look like she blamed me. It’s a relief if she doesn’t. I shouldn’t have slapped her.”
The next morning after slapping her daughter, she found her lying on the bed with her wrists cut and covered in blood. Although she knew that being scammed out of the compensation money was the last straw that pushed Qiao Yuan to this point, the guilt and regret were still insurmountable for a mother.
That was why Ye Yunhua’s mental state was affected, and even with her muddled memory, the guilt from that slap still weighed heavily on her.
“She won’t blame you,” Xu Ze said slowly.
Only then did Ye Yunhua notice that Xu Ze was holding her hand. She looked down for a few seconds, then pulled her hand away. Still concentrating on her wrist, she asked, “Where is my bracelet? I was wearing it last night.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
She had never asked about such things since her condition worsened. Xu Ze immediately stood up, “I’ll go get it for you.”
We If kfca ab olcv j cegrf ab bqfc atf rabgjuf ibmxfg. Lf gfaglfnfv Tf Tectej’r yfibculcur atja tjv yffc rabgfv veglcu tfg tbrqlajilhjalbc lc jc biv gferjyif yju. Ktfgf kfgf rbwf mibatfr jcv vbmewfcar lcrlvf.
Xu Ze pulled out the rosewood Buddhist prayer beads from the bag. A total of twelve beads with a faint woody scent. He returned to the ward and handed the bracelet to Ye Yunhua.
Pcrafjv bo qeaalcu la bc, Tf Tectej rlwqis byrfgnfv atf ygjmfifa jcv atfc ibbxfv ja We If, “Ktlr lr obg sbe.”
Xu Ze was taken aback and sat down, “Why?”
“You’re a kid who always comes to see me, I think you’re a good person.” Ye Yunhua put the bracelet on Xu Ze’s wrist, “Wear it, okay.”
The Buddhist prayer beads made a crisp sound as they touched the wristband Lu Heyang had given him. Xu Ze He felt completely on edge. After a long pause, he finally replied, “I’ll wear it well.”
After returning from the nursing home, Xu Ze began researching selling the house. It was not long before his birthday—at first, he didn’t remember his birthday, but after this birthday he would become an adult. The house that was temporarily managed by the association due to Ye Yunhua’s mental problems could officially be transferred to his name.
Xu Ze had never looked into house prices and didn’t know how much this small house in the old city could sell for. He raised his head and looked around the apartment. He had come here to live with his grandmother after his mother died. Many years passed, most of which he spent alone.
Only this summer would there be another alpha in the room from time to time. Xu Ze carefully examined the desk, chair, curtains, fan, and pillow—all of which had been touched by Lu Heyang. Although there were no traces left, Xu Ze remembered those moments.
He spaced out for a few seconds. He opened the photo album on his phone and wrote down the contact information of the real estate agents he had photographed around the community. At the same time, he thought—the following Monday and Tuesday, there was an admission seminar organized by various colleges and universities for S-level students. It was mandatory to attend unless there were special reasons, but Lu Heyang definitely wouldn’t have the time to attend.
Although other S-level students considered this a redundant seminar because most had already planned which schools they would choose, Xu Ze thought it was necessary.
On Monday morning, Xu Ze quickly packed his backpack to catch the bus at the school gates. The seminar would last two days, and everyone would spend one night at the hotel.
An hour later the bus arrived in another district. After the S-level students got off the bus, they received their room cards and dropped off their luggage. Then they gathered in the auditorium. The first teacher hadn’t spoken for ten minutes when He Wei fell asleep on the table. Xu Ze, who was wearing glasses, listened intently and took notes.
Two hours passed, and He Wei dozed off several times. Finally, tired of sleeping, he raised his head and began searching for nearby restaurants online. Xu Ze was still writing. But he wasn’t taking notes as he knew he wouldn’t apply to the school they were currently introducing and used the time to do a test paper.
Xu Ze sensed someone in the front row was looking back but paid no attention and continued to work on the exercises. Until he heard someone whisper, “Lu Heyang and Gu Yunchi came?”
It was as if someone had grabbed his ear. Xu Ze snapped his head up and followed the glances of the others. He saw the attendant closing the side door at the back. Two alphas sat down in the second to last row, revealing the black tops of their two heads, which were almost identical as they sat down. Xu Ze immediately recognized that the one on the right was Lu Heyang.
Xu Ze turned back. He hadn’t come around yet and stared at the test paper for quite a while before moving his pen again. Next to him, He Wei’s hearing was slower by about ten seconds. He put down his phone and asked Xu Ze, “Did someone just say that Heyang and Yunchi are here?”
“It seems so,” Xu Ze was engrossed in writing the paper.
This time, He Wei was smart enough to ask Lu Heyang directly with his phone. After receiving a positive answer, he let out a “woo-hoo” and used his elbow to nudge Xu Ze, “They’re in the back, let’s go sit with them?”
“No,” Xu Ze replied. He Wei hadn’t seen them for a while, so there was probably a lot of catching up to do.
“Come on. Don’t you want to see Heyang?” He Wei was already bending to get up.
Xu Ze hesitated and then said, “You go.”
“I’m off then. Remember to have lunch with me later,” He Wei said as he turned and rushed to the back.
At noon, the first half of the seminar was over. Xu Ze packed up his notebook and test papers. When he turned around, he saw Lu Heyang and the others standing at the back door talking to some teachers. Lu Heyang seemed a little tanned and his hair looked freshly cut. His upright posture was obviously the result of his training.
After watching from a distance, Xu Ze pushed his chair and prepared to leave through the side door. But when he looked up again, he noticed that Lu Heyang turned to look at him and raised his right hand to gesture toward him.
Amidst the moving crowd, Xu Ze met Lu Heyang’s eyes and briefly lost his hearing. He walked toward the back door like a pet obeying its owner’s command. Xu Ze walked a little hastily, as if a few seconds slower would mean missing something—if Chi Jiahan saw him like this, he would definitely scold him for being under a spell.
Xu Ze stopped a meter from Lu Heyang and didn’t get closer. After half a minute, Lu Heyang said something to He Wei and the others, then turned around and walked to Xu Ze.
“Let’s go.” Lu Heyang tapped the back of Xu Ze’s hand with his finger.
Xu Ze left with Lu Heyang without questioning where they were going or what they were going to do, leaving He Wei behind to doubt, “Didn’t Xu Ze agree to have lunch with me?”
They took the VIP elevator. As they entered, Lu Heyang swiped his card and the doors closed. There were only two people left in the enclosed space. Lu Heyang glanced at Xu Ze and asked, “Are you used to wearing glasses?”
Only then did Xu Ze realize he had forgotten to take off his glasses. Normally, he would put them away in the case after using them.
“I’m used to it,” Xu Ze said, his voice was unsteady because his heart was beating fast.
“Why do you sound so unsure?” Lu Heyang asked, “Are you pregnant again?”
Xu Ze didn’t know when the two became connected, he lifted his head slightly and blinked in confusion, “…No.”
The lights at the top of the elevator shone down on the lenses of his glasses, creating several colorful rays of light that reflected in Xu Ze’s deep gray eyes. Lu Heyang looked at him and asked, “What’s the matter then?”
Perhaps Xu Ze was the only person in the world who couldn’t hear that he had asked the question when he already knew the answer. Xu Ze honestly replied, “I’m happy.”
After saying that, he pursed his lips with an unconscious smile in his eyes, and even the tips of his eyelashes shimmered. Xu Ze looked more like an emotionless robot when he wore glasses, giving off an inexplicable aura as if every aspect of him was inscribed with a cold warning of “Do not touch”.
Lu Heyang looked away and just smiled instead of speaking.
The elevator stopped on the 27th floor. Lu Heyang was staying in a suite. He opened the door and let Xu Ze enter first. After closing the door, Lu Heyang turned around and found Xu Ze standing behind him like a tail without moving further inside.
Lu Heyang slightly bowed down. Xu Ze tried to grab his clothes to get closer, but Lu Heyang held Xu Ze’s shoulder—Xu Ze immediately released his grip and stepped back, feeling self-conscious about being turned down.
“Glasses.” Lu Heyang raised his other hand to take Xu Ze’s glasses from his nose and then kissed him.
Even though they hadn’t seen each other only for a short while, Xu Ze felt like it had been a long time. The two of them had just pressed their lips together when Xu Ze extended his tongue and met with Lu Heyang’s. His breath quickened, and his legs wobbled as he stepped back. His backpack pressed against the wall behind him and the air inside squeezed out as a puff.
For a second, Xu Ze considered gathering the courage to undress Lu Heyang himself for the first time, but soon after he heard some noise at the door. Xu Ze immediately opened his eyes. He separated from Lu Heyang and whispered, “Doorbell.”
“Mn.” Lu Heyang was in no hurry and kissed Xu Ze again before reaching out to open the door.
Xu Ze leaned against the wall and straightened out his backpack. When the door opened, he saw the person outside before Lu Heyang. At that moment, Xu Ze quickly gripped Lu Heyang’s hand and stood in front of him as cover.
The alpha outside the door was tall and strong, with an expressionless face and calm eyes, but Xu Ze could smell the danger in him.
“Uncle Wen,” Lu Heyang called out. Then he touched Xu Ze’s waist with his hand and asked, “Are you my bodyguard?”
Xu Ze was still slightly out of breath and his lips were reddened from the kiss. He was stunned and replied, “No.”
“If not, don’t be so quick to cover me next time. It’s fine.” Lu Heyang put the glasses back into Xu Ze’s hand, “You go eat first, the food is ready.”
Xu Ze nodded, exchanged a glance with Jiang Wen, and then walked into the suite’s dining room.
“Could you beat him?” When Xu Ze entered the dining room, Lu Heyang suddenly asked.
“I could,” Jiang Wen gave a rare smile.
After all, Xu Ze was a high school student boxer who tried his best to avoid hurting others too severely in an underground boxing ring. Compared to a ruthless ex-mercenary, even if Xu Ze was given a gun, Jiang Wen would win with his bare hands.
Jiang Wen went into the study while Lu Heyang walked to the dining room. Xu Ze sat motionless at the table with his hands in his lap, as if he didn’t plan to eat if Lu Heyang didn’t come. Lu Heyang placed the backpack between Xu Ze’s back and the chair on another chair. Lu Heyang told him, “I’ve already eaten, these are all for you.”
Xu Ze began to worry, “I can’t finish it all.”
“You don’t have to finish it, just eat until you’re full. Uncle Wen has something to discuss with me, so eat slowly.”
Xu Ze nodded.
When Lu Heyang closed the study door and sat down in the chair, Jiang Wen placed a recording pen on the desk, “We found He Yi’s younger brother, but he doesn’t know much about He Yi’s situation, only some general information.”
Lu Heyang pressed the play button and immediately a terrified scream came from the recording pen, “I really don’t know!”
“Did you hit him?” Lu Heyang pressed pause and asked.
“No, we didn’t lay a finger on him.”
“Are you Lu Chengyu’s people? Don’t come looking for me. It’s been so many years. My brother and his family have already caused me enough suffering. Now I’m just trying to run an honest small business. Please, can you let me go…”
After three to four minutes of sobbing and pleading, the voice of another alpha appeared. It was someone next to Jiang Wen, “Are you done wailing? I ask and you answer…”
“……Oh.”
……
“This matter really has nothing to do with me, blame my brother and the family… No, blame my sister-in-law. That omega is simply a dumbass! He actually had someone kidnap Lu Chengyu’s son before the election! But Lu Chengyu wasn’t affected at all, and instead, the He family suffered misfortune after misfortune. After Lu Chengyu took office, they were brought down one by one… Even someone like me, who’s not an official, had my company go bankrupt.”
“It really had nothing to do with me. I became penniless for no reason. I only knew that my brother had offended Lu Chengyu, but I didn’t even hear about the kidnapping until later. After struggling to live a peaceful life for a few years, please, I beg you, please let me go…”
……
There were only a few sections of useful information in the more than 20-minute recording, and the rest was full of howling and sobbing. He seemed to be genuinely ignorant.
Lu Heyang was not surprised. In political and business conflicts, children had always been the easiest targets. Even Gu Yunchi had experienced a similar incident. The kidnapping of the opponent’s son on the eve of the election would be considered a ridiculous scandal. It was normal for the news to be blocked to protect the image of the Union government. The so-called dumbass omega, He Yi’s spouse, was obviously the one who was pushed out to take the blame in the end.
Being kidnapped was not unusual, but if it was just a kidnapping, why would he have no memories? Lu Heyang had undergone a thorough examination, and there was no sign of any trauma to his brain.
“You can’t find He Yi anywhere?” Lu Heyang asked.
“Can’t find him. He was sentenced to five years at the time, and he disappeared as soon as he was released. The omega was supposed to serve 17 years but went insane halfway and was thrown into a mental hospital. One day he suddenly disappeared, probably taken away by He Yi.”
The fact that the two people were able to get out of prison alive showed that Lu Chengyu didn’t need them to die, so he turned a blind eye.
With the clues leading up to this point, Lu Heyang understood that the He family wasn’t the main focus; the focus remained on Lu Chengyu.
“Be more careful next time.” Lu Heyang returned the recording pen to Jiang Wen.
Jiang Wen nodded. After a pause, he said, “Han Jian was beaten up and hospitalized.”
Lu Heyang frowned, “Wei Lingzhou?”
This kind of method was too senseless to be Lu Chengyu. If Lu Chengyu had made a move, Han Jian wouldn’t have been beaten, he would have just been fired and lost his foothold in the capital forever.
“Yes, Miss Lu already knows.”
It was inevitable to know because Wei Lingzhou had called Lu Qingmo to show it.
“Send some people to guard the hospital and prepare some nutritional supplements to send over.” Lu Heyang glanced at the date on his wristband. He thought Wei Lingzhou had made a mistake this time, “It just so happens that my sister is returning to the country tonight.”
Lu Heyang sent Jiang Wen out of the suite and went to the dining room. As he had told Xu Ze to eat slowly, Xu Ze really ate slowly. His right cheek puffed out with a mouthful of rice. He stared intently as Lu Heyang walked toward him.
For some reason, Lu Heyang had the thought of poking Xu Ze’s face—in fact, he did it, which left Xu Ze blank for a second.
“Why did you take pictures of men’s health ads on the wall?” Lu Heyang sat down on the chair next to him, “Do you have an unspeakable disease?”
Xu Ze repeated the sentence in his head like doing in-depth reading comprehension. Finally, he realized that the real estate agency’s phone numbers he had taken pictures of on the wall of his community were densely surrounded by various psoriasis advertisements, and the bodyguard had truthfully described it to Lu Heyang in this way.
Author’s note:
All members of the He family are 108-tier NPCs. They don’t have scenes, so don’t worry.
more specifically Chinese rosewood (
hopefully nothimg happens to grandma 😔