It was indeed the right decision for Ji Ruan to skip military training. He realized that he seemed to have a conflict with the sun.
Perhaps it was his physical condition, but he easily became dizzy even when there was no apparent cause.
One afternoon, the sun was particularly intense. Ji Ruan woke up from a nap feeling hungry and decided to find something to eat. Everything seemed fine until he went downstairs. A beam of sunlight broke through the treetops outside the window, dazzling his eyes. As he raised his hand to shield his eyes, darkness suddenly engulfed his vision.
Immediately, a wave of intense dizziness followed.
Ji Ruan desperately reached for the handrail, narrowly avoiding a catastrophe by instinctively grasping onto it before falling. However, he still lost his footing and slid down a few steps, leaving him with a sore tailbone. His vision gradually cleared, but everything remained blurry.
Aunt Zhao had taken half the day off for some errands, leaving him alone in the house.
Ji Ruan was so weak that he couldn't stand. He clung to the handrail as if it were a lifeline, drenched in sweat. His heart was beating rapidly as if it would burst out of his chest, and he felt so uncomfortable that he wanted to vomit.
Eventually, it seemed that Gu Xiuyi had returned.
Thank goodness he's back.
Ji Ruan collapsed on the stairs, unable to move. Someone slapped his face and called his name. The tip of his nose brushed against the man's shirt, which carried a very familiar scent.
Feeling cold and dizzy, Ji Ruan instinctively clung to the source of warmth for comfort.
Gu Xiuyi picked him up, but Ji Ruan was too weak and frightened, so he clung to the man's clothes with all his strength.
When his vision finally cleared, he found himself lying back on his bed, his face pressed against the doll's belly. Gu Xiuyi poured half a cup of sugar water into his mouth.
"It's alright," Gu Xiuyi said, placing his hand near Ji Ruan's ear. His fingertips were warm to the touch. "It was hypoglycemia."
Ji Ruan still felt a bit dizzy, but he raised his head and squinted to see Gu Xiuyi's sharp jawline. His collar was disheveled.
"Thank you," Ji Ruan weakly said. "I'm glad you're back."
Gu Xiuyi pulled a chair from the desk and sat beside the bed. "Are you hungry?"
Ji Ruan's eyelashes trembled as he toyed with the teddy bear's stomach, his voice barely audible. "I almost fainted from hunger..."
Gu Xiuyi remained silent for a moment. Ordering takeaway was too slow now. He looked at the beads of sweat on Ji Ruan's pale cheeks and forehead, his mind momentarily blank.
The poor little Wu Fen was weak, and Wu Fen was truly weak. Gu Xiuyi couldn't resist indulging in his obsession. He made up his mind to do it himself—to cook noodles downstairs.
This would be his first time cooking.
Ten minutes later, Ji Ruan obediently sat at the dining table. In front of him was a bowl of clear noodles that looked good. At the very least, the noodles weren't sticky or mushy.
Under Gu Xiuyi's calm gaze, Ji Ruan picked up a chopstick and took a bite.
...It tasted peculiar.
Unsure, he swallowed it anyway.
It...Truly unappetizing.
Ji Ruan couldn't pinpoint exactly what made it unpalatable, but it simply didn't align with the taste of earthly cuisine. It seemed that the seasonings added were from another world, far from suited to human tastes.
The corner of Ji Ruan's mouth twitched as he looked up at Gu Xiuyi.
The man sat across from him, and Ji Ruan couldn't quite determine whether Gu Xiuyi was fully aware of his culinary skills.
However, since it was Gu Xiuyi's first time cooking, Ji Ruan decided to be polite and picked up another chopstick to take a bite of the noodles. However, he didn't dare to eat it and ended up gently placing the chopsticks back down.
He looked at Gu Xiuyi guiltily and said, "I'm sorry."
There was a brief silence in the air.
Gu Xiuyi's expression remained flawless as he responded, "It's alright."
He moved the noodle bowl away from Ji Ruan's sight, set it aside, and spoke in a rational and objective tone, "If it doesn't taste right, don't force yourself to eat it. We don't want to upset your stomach again."
The bowl of noodles was left untouched in a corner of the marble table, indicating that Gu Xiuyi knew well enough that his cooking skills were terrible. He didn't even want to taste it.
In the end, Aunt Zhao returned from her vacation and ordered a bowl of plain noodles for each of them: a large bowl for Gu Xiuyi and a small bowl for Ji Ruan. Although they were all soy sauce and vinegar, Aunt Zhao wielded the magic of a master chef. Every bite was so delicious that it brought joy to one's palate. Ji Ruan even finished his soup.
Later that night, just before going to bed, Gu Xiuyi visited Ji Ruan. Instead of wearing pajamas, he was dressed in a suit.
Ji Ruan looked at his attire and hesitated, asking, "What are you...?"
"Going on a temporary business trip," Gu Xiuyi responded without dwelling on the topic. He handed something to Ji Ruan, saying, "Take this."
Ji Ruan instinctively held it with both hands as something heavy was placed in his arms. It was a large glass jar filled with candies and chocolates.
Confused, Ji Ruan looked up and asked, "?"
He had just emerged from the shower, his cheeks flushed and his pajamas hanging loosely around his shoulders, revealing a tantalizing hint of his collarbones. The steam from the shower had left his skin glistening, and his hair was still damp and tousled.
Gu Xiuyi pressed his lips together and explained, "You can have these whenever you feel dizzy from now on."
Ji Ruan was taken aback but soon realized that the candies and chocolates in the jar were individually wrapped in sugar paper, eliminating the need to tear them open. These types of packaging, with jagged edges, could be difficult to open when someone has low blood sugar.
Ji Ruan happily responded, "Thank you, I'll enjoy them."
Indeed, sugar would be much better than Gu Xiuyi attempting to cook noodles again.
Gu Xiuyi tapped the candy jar lightly and cautioned, "But don't eat them before going to bed. It can contribute to tooth decay."
"I know," Ji Ruan shook the jar and had a thought, "Are there any cherry-flavored ones?"
Fruit-flavored candies were readily available in the market, but cherry flavor seemed to be less common.
Gu Xiuyi paused for a moment before responding, "Probably not. Do you like cherry flavor?"
Ji Ruan chuckled, and the glass jar reflected a fractured light beneath his lower eyelids, making his smile even more beautiful. "I just mentioned it casually."
Maybe it was due to the gentle yellow light in Ji Ruan's room, but Gu Xiuyi's expression seemed to soften instantaneously. "Alright."
Just then, Gu Xiuyi received a phone call. After answering, he gestured to Ji Ruan with a tilt of his chin. "Well, I should let you rest."
"Okay, goodbye," Ji Ruan waved with a smile.
Gu Xiuyi headed downstairs, taking a few steps before realizing that there was still light beneath his feet.
In the darkness of the night, the lights in the living room and corridor were turned off.
However, when Gu Xiuyi turned his head, the warm glow from Ji Ruan's room spilled out like a river of stars, reaching his feet.
It stretched out before him as he saw Ji Ruan standing at the doorway, holding the candy jar in his arms. As they locked eyes, Ji Ruan smiled again, and the warmth of his smile matched the radiance of the light.
"Boss, boss—?"
Gu Xiuyi was brought back to reality by the voice in his earpiece.
"What's the matter?"
"...Oh, nothing. Just tell me."
Gu Xiuyi turned around, taking advantage of the residual light left by the boy, and made his way step by step, following the path illuminated by the Milky Way outside his home.
During his business trip, Gu Xiuyi was taken aback when he received an unexpected message from Ji Ruan. It contained a photo of a bright red candy wrapper spread out on a desk. Ji Ruan mentioned that the candy had a cherry flavor, which surprised Gu Xiuyi, as he had initially thought it was strawberry. Ji Ruan described it as a little sour and a little sweet, expressing his enjoyment of it. He even wanted to show Gu Xiuyi the candy wrapper.
Gu Xiuyi felt overwhelmed by the consecutive messages, almost as if experiencing synesthesia. Without even tasting the candy, he could almost savor its sweetness in his mouth. Ji Ruan had only shown him the candy wrapper once, but Gu Xiuyi found himself looking at it repeatedly.
He clicked on the message, hesitated for a moment, deleted Ji Ruan's name, and replaced it with a cherry icon using the input method. With a smile on his face, he attempted to focus on the ongoing presentation.
"...Mr. Gu?" The employee delivering the presentation was nervous, but Gu Xiuyi assured him that his proposal was commendable, encouraging him to continue.
This praise was a first for the employee since joining the company, and he was overjoyed, expressing his gratitude to Gu Xiuyi.
Meanwhile, Ji Ruan received a reply from Gu Xiuyi after finishing his milk, but there was no trace of emotion in the three words.
[I see.]
Unaffected by this, Ji Ruan pouted and took out his iPad to start watching a drama.
Three days later, in the early morning at the airport, Xiaoya and Song Ling awaited Gu Xiuyi. Xiaoya appeared exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes.
Indignantly, she complained, "What the devil did the boss get up to?!"
She brandished five fingers in the air. "Five days! The brief two-week trip was over in a flash! I haven't slept for an entire day! Will the company compensate me for my death from overwork?!"
Song Ling pretended to be serious as she replied, "Of course, the company will compensate you."
As Xiaoya was about to slap Song Ling across the face, he quickly dodged and flashed an apologetic smile. "Just kidding, just kidding," he said. "This is called improving efficiency."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Xiaoya's ladylike image was completely shattered. She lowered her voice so that Gu Xiuyi, who was walking in front of them, wouldn't hear. "There's still a meeting when we get back!"
"There's only one left," Song Ling said with a raised eyebrow.
Xiaoya snorted softly. "Am I the one who bends my waist for five buckets of rice?" she asked.
Song Ling smacked his lips. "Anyway, you must be satisfied."
Xiaoya sighed. "Why isn't he tired?" she asked, looking at Gu Xiuyi's tall and straight back in front of her. "How can anyone be more energetic the more he travels?"
Smirking, Song Ling replied, "Maybe there's a motivation for him to come back early."
Xiaoya didn't quite grasp his meaning, but before she could ponder further, Gu Xiuyi turned around and instructed Song Ling to have his luggage brought back to the villa. Gu Xiuyi had decided to move back there to address Ji Ruan's health issues. Although each issue wasn't severe, collectively they left Ji Ruan fragile, like a crystal doll that could shatter with a touch.
Aunt Zhao, as caring as she was, was getting older, and even though Ji Ruan was thin, he was a grown young man. If he were to experience sudden dizziness on the stairs again, Aunt Zhao might not be able to assist him.
Gu Xiuyi couldn't rely on fortunate coincidences every time, so returning to the villa seemed like the most sensible choice.
"Okay." Song Ling readily agreed to take care of it before dinner.
Gu Xiuyi also asked him to order additional sets of sheets and quilts, as the bed sizes at home were different from those in the apartment.
Moreover, Gu Xiuyi made sure to emphasize that a few sets should be ordered for Ji Ruan as well, as he was unsure of the size of Ji Ruan's bed.
As Song Ling was jotting down the memo, he casually mentioned, "The beds in the dormitory are all the same size, I'll double-check later."
Abruptly, Gu Xiuyi halted in his tracks.
Caught off guard, Song Ling and Xiaoya nearly collided with each other.
"What dormitory?" Gu Xiuyi's expression instantly turned serious.
Sensing the sudden change in atmosphere, Song Ling blinked and adopted a respectful tone. "Ji Ruan started living in the dormitory after school, and I should start organizing it in the next couple of days."
Gu Xiuyi seemed frozen in place, displaying no emotion on his face, but the sheer intensity of his presence made Xiaoya shrink back, afraid to approach.
He had completely forgotten.
It was customary for students at Beijing University to reside in dormitories, and even Gu Xiuyi had acquiesced to living on campus during his freshman year. But after so many years since graduating, he had even forgotten about this crucial detail!
Gu Xiuyi furiously pinched his eyebrows, turned on his heel, and strode away.
Xiaoya quickly reminded him, "Boss! The meeting..."
Gu Xiuyi's footsteps didn't waver, and his voice echoed coldly through the empty hallway, "Change the agenda."
----
Author's Note:
Mr. Gu: Living on campus? Preposterous!
Ruan Ruan: But everyone does it!
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