CH 38

Ji Yao didn’t return to school the next day. He skipped a group seminar and stayed at home until Jiang Heng was fully recovered before leaving.

Ji Yao wasn’t particularly skilled in cooking. The porridge he made for Jiang Heng was quite unsatisfactory.The more you ate towards the bottom, the stronger the burnt taste became, and by the end, it had an almost choking bitter taste.

However, Jiang Heng managed to finish it, leaving nothing behind.

……………..

Amidst the busy city traffic, neon lights intertwined. Jiang Heng licked his lips and suddenly found himself missing the taste of that porridge.

At the pharmacy, Ji Yao took the plastic bag from the cashier, crumpled the receipt into a ball, and casually tossed it into the nearby trash bin by the entrance.

Upon getting into the car, Ji Yao noticed that Jiang Heng was awake. He casually placed the medicine bag in Jiang Heng’s lap.

“Take the medicine if your temperature rises above 38.5 degrees Celsius,” Ji Yao advised. “If it doesn’t reach that level, try other methods to lower the fever.”

Jiang Heng glanced inside the bag and found two boxes of acetaminophen tablets and an electronic thermometer. He thanked Ji Yao.

Ji Yao started the car and set off again. Jiang Heng held the two medicine boxes in his hands, adjusted his seat back to a normal angle, and seemed to have no intention of resting further.

Ji Yao activated the turn signal, glanced at the movements of the car behind when making a turn, and then an unanswered question from before emerged in his mind again.

“Jiang Heng,” Ji Yao spoke up, “During today’s court session, Liu Qiang’s initial statement had flaws. That wasn’t up to your usual standard. Why didn’t you address it?”

Ji Yao paused for a moment and continued, “If you had challenged him then, even if the falsified evidence had been discovered later, the judgment at that time would have required me to compensate.”

He had wanted to ask this question at the bar, but Jiang Heng’s condition had disrupted their conversation. Now, he couldn’t hold back from asking.

Ji Yao knew he was being a bit stubborn, but he couldn’t help it. Wang Tao’s speculation was one thing, but he wanted to hear it directly from Jiang Heng.

Jiang Heng tied the plastic bag, seemingly uninterested, and said casually, “When a client conceals information from their lawyer, the lawyer has the right to terminate the cooperation.”

Of course, Ji Yao was aware of this, but this “termination” clearly didn’t refer to “terminating on the spot.”

Ji Yao hesitated for a moment, unable to hold back his urge to ask further, “If he hadn’t concealed anything, would you have been prepared to make me bankrupt through legal action?”

Jiang Heng turned to look at him, and with a half-smile, he replied, “what do you think?.”

Ji Yao: “…”

He realized he couldn’t get a straightforward answer out of Jiang Heng.

Unable to extract an answer, he decided to give up, and he didn’t initiate another conversation with Jiang Heng until he dropped him off at the entrance of his residential complex.

Surprisingly, the entrance that should have been open was now blocked by barriers. Security personnel were maintaining order nearby. When they recognized Jiang Heng’s car, they hurried over and knocked on the window.

Ji Yao rolled down the window, and the security guard looked momentarily surprised before realizing Jiang Heng was in the passenger seat.

“Lawyer Jiang, the interlocking system for several of the gates in the complex is malfunctioning. We’re in the process of repairing it, and cars can’t enter right now.” The security guard hadn’t expected Jiang Heng to return so early, saying with a puzzled expression, “could you go out and come back after a few hours?”

“How long will it take?” Ji Yao asked.

“Well, I’m not sure. The engineer hasn’t arrived yet. It might take three to five hours?” the security guard replied.

That was too long. Jiang Heng was obviously uncomfortable, and he just wanted to get home and rest.

“Is there another entrance we can use?” Jiang Heng asked.

“There’s no other. None of the gates are working,” the security guard, who had a good relationship with Jiang Heng, saw that he wasn’t planning to leave, so he thought for a moment and proposed an alternative plan, “If you’re in a hurry to get home, how about leaving your keys with me? When the gates are fixed, I’ll bring your car into the garage and leave the keys in the duty room.”

“Sure.” Jiang Heng agreed readily and signaled Ji Yao to hand over the car keys.

“Thank you for today, Dr. Ji,” Jiang Heng said. “You can drop me here. I’ll treat you to a meal another day.”

As Jiang Heng spoke, he opened the car door, stepped out, and appeared a bit unsteady. Ji Yao had originally intended to drop him off downstairs and leave, but seeing Jiang Heng in this state, he frowned and decided to see it through to the end in terms of ensuring his well-being.

He handed the car keys to the security guard, took a few steps hurriedly, and supported Jiang Heng’s arm.

“You seem to have good connections,” Ji Yao said with a somewhat cool tone.

“Is that so?” Jiang Heng couldn’t help but chuckle. “Perhaps it’s because I have a friendly face.”

During their conversation, they turned a corner. Suddenly, a seven- or eight-year-old boy, unable to stop in time, crashed into Jiang Heng. Something he was holding flew out of his hand and Jiang Heng instinctively shielded Ji Yao, resulting in him getting splashed with water.

The boy seemed startled by the collision. Holding an empty plastic bucket, he bowed deeply.

“Sorry, Uncle Jiang,” the boy said with a distressed expression. “I didn’t see you.”

As they spoke, a gray-haired old lady chased after the boy from behind, grabbing him and scolding him by smacking his bottom.

“You were running and you bumped into someone,” the old lady apologized in a hurry. “Sorry, Lawyer Jiang. There’s a parent-child clay modeling contest on the plaza, and he was too eager—”

“It’s alright,” Jiang Heng said hoarsely, tugging at his soaked clothes. “I’m almost home, not feeling cold. Jun Jun, go play. Be careful next time.”

The old lady still felt somewhat guilty. She handed him two oranges and then left with Jun Jun.

Ji Yao glanced at Jiang Heng’s soaked shirt, grabbed his arm, and led him towards the hallway, unable to resist a sarcastic comment. “You sure are good at attracting bad luck.”

“Aaah, you noticed too?” Jiang Heng chuckled.

“Yeah,” Ji Yao looked at him sympathetically. “I can even introduce you to a talisman for Mercury retrograde.”

Jiang Heng: “…”

Jiang Heng returned home but was stopped outside the residential area. He had barely taken a couple of steps when he was drenched with water. Ji Yao looked at him as if he were a truly unlucky guy and decided to see it through by escorting him home.

Fortunately, Jiang Heng’s home wasn’t far from the entrance of the residential area. It only took a few steps to get there.

His clothes were thoroughly soaked. After entering the house, he hesitated for a moment between “welcoming Ji Yao in” and “taking care of himself,” but Ji Yao spoke up first.

“Go take a warm shower,” Ji Yao said. “Otherwise, you’ll turn into a furnace in the middle of the night, and no one will be here to help you.”

“Alright,” Jiang Heng didn’t bother with formalities either. “Water’s in the kitchen, coffee’s on the counter. Pour yourself whatever you want.”

He took off his coat, tossed his phone and keys onto the cabinet, and walked barefoot into the bathroom.

Ji Yao stood at the doorway, hesitating for a moment. Eventually, he decided to wait until Jiang Heng was done before leaving. He didn’t want to risk Jiang Heng fainting in the bathroom and him becoming a prime suspect.

He opened his phone, replied to a couple of messages, glanced at the notifications in his work group, and sent a “received” message in the department group.

While he was replying to messages, Jiang Heng’s phone suddenly vibrated on the cabinet in the foyer. Ji Yao looked up and realized it was a call.

At first, Ji Yao didn’t pay much attention, assuming that if Jiang Heng didn’t answer soon, the caller would hang up. However, the caller was persistent and made three consecutive calls without giving up.

Ji Yao began to worry that it might be something urgent. He walked over to the bathroom door and called out Jiang Heng’s name several times. However, whether it was due to the noise of the running water or the good soundproofing, Jiang Heng didn’t seem to hear any of it.

The incoming call continued to flash on the screen, and Ji Yao couldn’t just ignore such insistent calling. He reluctantly answered the call, intending to explain on Jiang Heng’s behalf.

“Hello,” Ji Yao spoke before the caller on the other side could start, “I’m sorry, the owner of the phone isn’t available right now. What can I help you with—”

He intended to say they could call back later, but before he could finish, a loud and casual male voice on the other end cut in.

“Are you his assistant?” The voice came with a lot of background noise, probably not able to hear Ji Yao clearly either, so it just carried on, “Good, I can ask you. Did your boss, Jiang Lu, win the case today?”

Ji Yao didn’t react immediately.

“I’ve been waiting for him all day. How can he not even send me a message? Do you know how hard it is to get a last-minute flight back to China?” The man on the other end complained endlessly, then remembered he was speaking to someone who wasn’t the main person, so he quickly redirected the conversation, “So, what’s the result? If he lost, I’ll just continue my vacation.”

The rest of the conversation wasn’t entirely clear to Ji Yao.

Because Jiang Heng had finished his shower and emerged from the bathroom.

With water dripping from his hair, wearing a loose bathrobe, he opened the bathroom door. He seemed surprised to see Ji Yao standing at the bathroom doorway.

Ji Yao was hit by the warm steam that filled the room. His mind momentarily stopped, and he acted on instinct, handing over the phone to Jiang Heng.

“Your phone,” Ji Yao said. “It kept ringing, and since you didn’t respond when I notified you in the bathroom, I answered it.”

Jiang Heng took the phone, looked at the caller ID, and fell into a brief, strange silence. Then he answered the phone.

“Senior Brother.”

Jiang Heng said that and nodded at Ji Yao before heading toward the balcony.

He didn’t scold Ji Yao for answering his phone without permission. Ji Yao let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding, feeling the tension in his shoulders gradually relax.

The information from the phone call, however, made Ji Yao curious. He turned his head, his gaze following Jiang Heng’s silhouette.

The balcony door was left slightly open, and Ji Yao stood at the bathroom doorway, catching faint traces of Jiang Heng’s smiling voice.

“… I forgot,” Jiang Heng said, his voice carrying amusement. “I had too much to do today. Next time, I’ll make it up to you. The case is settled without an appeal. Thanks for your help.”

“You’re quite the busy person, juggling a thousand things a day,” Qian Xu laughed on the phone. “Well then, get ready, I’ll come back to Shanghai and give you a good scolding.”

“Of course,” Jiang Heng replied. “We’ll have a meal together afterwards, invite Jingyi too. You can pick the place.”

Qian Xu and Gao Jingyi were classmates from the same period, they were considered senior to Jiang Heng. Qian Xu was three years older than Jiang Heng, and they didn’t have much interaction during their time in school. However, having the same mentor at work always made people feel closer, and it was easy to talk about anything.

Six months ago, Qian Xu left the law firm he was with and started his own practice. Qian Xu and Jiang Heng were both top students in criminal law, and Jiang Heng had planned to introduce Qian Xu to Li Linghua’s case if they failed to settle the lawsuit. But now that the case was settled, those plans wouldn’t be necessary.

“Well, it’s settled then, as long as it’s all good.” Qian Xu said casually, “Alright, since there’s no more work to do, I’m going to Finland straight from here. After being stuck at Red Circle for seven or eight years, I’ve practically become a cog in the wheel. Finally, I can take a break and enjoy myself.”

“Sure,” Jiang Heng smiled and said, “We’ll catch up after that.”

After a brief exchange, they hung up. Jiang Heng looked back and noticed Ji Yao still standing there, like a little gatekeeper by the bathroom door.

Their eyes met, and Ji Yao opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.

But eventually, Jiang Heng spoke first, “Did you hear everything?”

“Yes,” Ji Yao nodded.

Jiang Heng raised an eyebrow, seemingly not very surprised. He nodded and casually placed his phone on the coffee table.

“So…” Ji Yao asked, “Why?”

“Because you really stumbled into the line of fire,” Jiang Heng said calmly. “I’ve looked into this matter, and I know the whole story. In that situation, Liu Qiang intentionally misled you, leading to the death of Li Wen. There was no way you could have avoided it without my help.”

Water droplets from his hair fell on his bathrobe collar, and Jiang Heng seemed to find it inappropriate to have this kind of conversation in such a state. He adjusted his collar and turned to walk towards the bedroom.

“Moral justice might not be the standard of judgment, but if the law can prove its justice, there’s no need to wrong a good person,” Jiang Heng closed the door, his voice faintly audible from the bedroom, “If it weren’t you in the defendant’s seat, but another doctor, I would do the same.”

Ji Yao walked to the bedroom door and leaned against it, asking, “So if it were another doctor, would you also plan to introduce them to your mentor?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the bedroom door behind him was pulled open suddenly, and Ji Yao stumbled forward, nearly falling in.

Jiang Heng had changed into casual home clothes and stood by the door, arching an eyebrow at him.

“Probably ,” Jiang Heng admitted straightforwardly, “Regardless, you’re a good doctor and shouldn’t be affected by this.”

As he said this, Ji Yao’s gaze moved past Jiang Heng and settled on something behind him.

Inside the bedroom, the wet bathrobe that Jiang Heng had taken off was draped on a clothes rack next to the wardrobe. The bedside lamp was turned on at its lowest brightness, casting a faint glow on a small area of the bed.

Ji Yao suddenly saw it, a palm-sized three-dimensional storage rack on Jiang Heng’s bedside table. A coin was embedded in the center of the rack, its surface bathed in a warm glow from the lamp.

He only caught a glimpse, as Jiang Heng quickly closed the door behind him and walked towards the dining area to pour water.

Ji Yao fell into silence all of a sudden. The anxiety he had been wrestling with settled like dust, leaving behind a thick layer of floating ash in his heart.

He recognized that coin.

In a way, it marked the “beginning” of him and Jiang Heng. Back then, during their vacation in Hokkaido, he had believed Izumi’s words, taking that step forward, and subsequently spent over two years entangled with Jiang Heng, only to end up parting ways in the end.

There was something that started in brilliance but ended in bitterness—Ji Yao was well aware of this fact. Yet, despite his awareness, he had succumbed to the temptation and dashed toward the predetermined outcome.

And now, that coin appeared on Jiang Heng’s bedside table, and Ji Yao suddenly felt like he didn’t need to ask anymore.

Because he already knew the answer.

“Jiang Heng,” Ji Yao suddenly spoke, “You shouldn’t have helped me like this.”

His tone was light, carrying a subtle hint of pain, as if torn between hesitation and struggle. Jiang Heng’s hand, busy pouring water, paused for a moment, effortlessly capturing Ji Yao’s wavering heart.

“Why?” Jiang Heng asked casually.

“Because I’m your ex-boyfriend,” Ji Yao said, “The ex-boyfriend who agreed to get married behind your back but was caught in the act.”

He had finally voiced those words, feeling somewhat relieved.

Jiang Heng’s tone was familiar to him, implying that Jiang Heng already knew the answer for sure. Asking why was just a matter of providing an opportunity for him to “confess.”

After a moment of silence, Jiang Heng said, “but you didn’t get married.”

Ji Yao ran a hand through his hair, turned in a circle where he stood, and the words “I didn’t” got stuck in his throat, unable to come out.

Finally, he had no choice but to ask in a subdued tone, “When did you find out?”

“When I was in the hospital, one of the nurses from your hospital told me,” Jiang Heng sat on the couch, tilting his head and smiling. “She mentioned that your records indicated you were unmarried.”

Ji Yao: “…”

It was amazing how careful one had to be. Because Jiang Heng looked good, the nurse couldn’t help but tell him anything he wanted to know.

“Don’t feel guilty. The past is the past, and we should all move forward,” Jiang Heng pushed a glass of water toward him, saying, “Since you’re struggling with this, how about you do me a favor? Consider it returning the favor.”

“Sure,” Ji Yao quickly agreed, “What favor?”

“My mom is coming back to the country soon. She wants to see if I’m doing well,” Jiang Heng said. “So I’m thinking of asking you to pretend to be my boyfriend, just to deal with my mom.”

Ji Yao: “… “