CH 48

the slightly warm phone landed on the edge of the pillow, and ji yao covered his eyes with his arm. unable to resist, he lay on the bed for a while.

when he was on the phone, his anger and strength were not straightforward, but now that he had calmed down, his face was still flushed, and he felt extremely embarrassed.

indeed, he needed to quit drinking, he thought firmly.

he tossed and turned in bed, as if there were nails stabbing him underneath. jiang heng had hung up on him without a care, leaving only a few words, causing ji yao to be entangled not knowing which step to take.

he had just been humiliated last night, and he didn’t want to go directly to the person responsible for it. but now that jiang heng had finally opened up to him a bit, ji yao didn’t want to let go of this opportunity.

the bright sunlight outside was refreshing, and ji yao lay on the bed for more than ten minutes, eventually unable to resist the temptation. he got up from the bed and put on his slippers, heading into the bathroom.

an hour later, he sat in a car that arrived at jiang heng’s residence.

coincidentally, the security guard on duty that day was the same one he had encountered last time. the security guard, an older gentleman, apparently had a photographic memory. he remembered ji yao even after such a long time had passed. with a cheerful smile, he greeted ji yao and helped him open the visitor gate.

“are you here to see lawyer jiang?” the security guard asked with a smile. “please fill out the visitor form.”

ji yao cleared his throat awkwardly, nodded randomly, and then filled in his name and phone number in the visitor column.

it seemed that jiang heng had been waiting for him in advance. ji yao went upstairs, rang the doorbell, and within a few seconds, the door opened from the inside.

jiang heng was wearing glasses on his nose, dressed in a soft plain home outfit, wearing slightly thick slippers, his eyes slightly curved as he smiled, examining ji yao from head to toe.

“so impatient?” jiang heng teased.

“i actually came to assassinate you,” ji yao retorted without wanting to back down. “and then take my recording.”

jiang heng chuckled softly and stepped aside to let him in, taking out a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet and handing them to ji yao.

“committing a crime on top of another crime,” jiang heng said with a smile. “the security downstairs knows me. if you were to stuff me into a fridge, he would notice within half a month. so, i advise you to think twice.”

ji yao entered the apartment, casually hanging his coat on the coat rack near the entrance. he didn’t intend to continue the banter with jiang heng that way.

“you’re right,” ji yao asked. “so, have you eaten?”

“just ordered takeout,” jiang heng said. “my study is upstairs. when the takeout arrives, just let me know.”

“you are actually working?” ji yao originally thought that jiang would be reserved, so he made up a reason to brush him off. he didn’t expect him to be serious. “it’s saturday today.”

“when lawyers get busy, there’s no concept of weekends,” jiang heng explained. “liu qiang’s case is about to go to trial.”

“so soon?” ji yao was surprised. “isn’t it usually more than a month before a criminal case goes to trial?”

“the impact of this case isn’t good,” jiang heng leaned against his shoulder, tilted his head, and let out a soft sigh. “li linghua had already brought this case to the news—husband in a parasitic relationship conspired with a third party to murder the son, such a big matter. imagine the public opinion it generated.”

ji yao couldn’t help but wince, he could probably imagine.

“are you handling this case now?” ji yao asked.

“there’s a compensation aspect attached to the prosecution,” jiang heng said. “li linghua has already forced liu qiang to divorce her. now, she’s planning to make him pay dearly.”

ji yao walked in slippers, following jiang heng into the room, and asked further, “at this point, can liu qiang agree to the divorce?”

“zhou fang accused him during her detention period, saying he was an accomplice to the murder,” jiang heng said, “liu qiang was terrified, and then li linghua told him that if he divorces her immediately, not only can she help him get bail, but if they go to court later, she can also provide him with a letter of forgiveness, which could lead to a lighter punishment.”

“didn’t li linghua want to send everyone involved in this incident to prison? how could she suggest that?” ji yao said. “and liu qiang, how can he believe those words?”

jiang heng knew that ji yao still held some resentment towards li linghua for wrongly accusing him, but he just smiled faintly and didn’t argue. he went on to explain, “once it’s established that liu qiang didn’t participate in the crime, at most, he might have known about it but failed to report it. with zhou fang taking the heat for it, the main culprit won’t fall on him. li linghua’s words are vague and won’t have much impact on the sentencing.”

“that’s true,” ji yao took a sip of water, then remembered something, “isn’t this considered confidential information? you’re telling me just like that?”

“not really,” jiang heng said: “because of the negative public opinion, this case will be tried openly, and there might even be journalists live streaming—hm, if you want to see how the mastermind who falsely accused you is tried, i can reserve a seat for you in the public gallery.”

to be honest, jiang heng’s suggestion did make ji yao somewhat tempted. he didn’t really hold much resentment against li linghua because she had indeed lost her son and was misled by someone else. however, it was clear that liu qiang was intentionally making false accusations, and ji yao, as the “victim,” couldn’t help but want to see him pay.

“it would be great if i could be the one to pronounce the verdict and then place a bunch of firecrackers at the courthouse entrance,” ji yao said jokingly.

jiang heng seemed to sense something from his expression and said with a subtle smile, “setting off fireworks within the city limits violates public order.”

“… how could that be?” ji yao cleared his throat subconsciously and said, “i won’t go then, the trial could last several hours and make my back will ache from sitting for too long. also, it’s a workday, i need to go to work.”

however, even though ji yao was saying he wouldn’t go, he had already pulled out his phone and reserved an official livestream channel for the trial.

jiang heng nodded as if he weren’t surprised by this answer.

“i need to prepare some documents,” jiang heng said. “feel free to make yourself at home. if you get tired, you can rest in the guest room, and help yourself to anything you need.”

with that, jiang heng pointed in the direction of the guest room, and ji yao nodded, indicating that he understood.

next, jiang heng went upstairs to continue the work he hadn’t finished, while ji yao stayed downstairs to wait for the delivery.

he sat on the couch, couldn’t help but look around the living room. the last time he had been here, it was nighttime, and ji yao’s mind had been elsewhere. he had been provoked by jiang heng and had a jumble of emotions in his mind, so he hadn’t paid much attention to the place where he was now settling.

the house was quite spacious, with the downstairs area likely being the living space, including the living room, kitchen, and a small dining area. ji yao hadn’t been upstairs yet, but knowing jiang heng, it was probably a purely work-oriented area.

the decoration of the entire house was rather simple, and the style was clearly from several years ago. ji yao looked around but didn’t see any elements that particularly matched jiang heng’s preferences.

ji yao and jiang heng’s relationship was currently in a state of uncertainty. while jiang heng had reluctantly allowed him to “pursue,” it still seemed like there was a long way to go before they could truly reconcile. ji yao had come to visit, and at first, he didn’t want to wander around. however, he couldn’t resist the temptation and, using the excuse of getting water, made a trip to the kitchen and the small dining bar.

after circling around and returning, ji yao was convinced that jiang heng hadn’t put too much effort into decorating the place.

apart from the kitchen having some modern kitchenware, the overall condition of the house was similar to the style seen in real estate listings for second-hand homes.

it was spotlessly clean, but there were no very obvious signs of daily life. some rooms had traces of recent renovation work, suggesting that jiang heng had probably done some simple area planning to separate the living and working areas.

this surprised ji yao. he remembered that when he lived with jiang heng before, jiang heng had been enthusiastic about maintaining the living environment. although it wasn’t extravagant, he always made gradual adjustments according to his preferences and likes.

so, even without the complicated “household rules,” when ji yao lived with him back then, he felt much more comfortable than he did at home.

had jiang heng matured over the years and stopped focusing on enjoying life? ji yao wondered.

without figuring out the reasons, ji yao returned to the living room with a water glass in hand and took out his phone.

since the end of the trial, ji yao hadn’t paid any attention to li linghua’s case. his job at the hospital kept him busy, so he rarely had time to browse social media for gossip. now, he opened the weibo app, and the trending topics were dominated by celebrity headlines.

so he thought for a moment and typed in a few keywords in the search bar.

the screen loaded briefly for half a second and then displayed a hot weibo post about the li linghua case, with personal information hidden.

the post had been made several days ago, but there were still recent comments pouring in, indicating that it had caused a stir on the internet at some point, which was why it continued to attract attention.

ji yao clicked on the profile picture of the weibo user and searched for the case under the trending topics. that’s when he realized that this local influencer had been following the case closely from the beginning.

the first voices of public opinion appeared around the time of the trial, but for some reason, neither he nor the hospital’s name had been prominently mentioned. it was all summed up with the result of “failed resuscitation.”

ji yao wasn’t naïve. he still vividly remembered li linghua’s attitude toward him before the trial and she was clearly out to get him. he knew that this was likely jiang heng’s influence.

he pursed his lips and clicked to save the weibo post, putting away his phone.

the ice-cold lemon water refreshed his mind. ji yao drank about half a glass, couldn’t help but look upstairs three times, but still didn’t go up.

half an hour later, the doorbell rang, and a delivery person in a blue uniform holding a receipt knocked on the door. ji yao verified the recipient’s information with him.

“mr. jiang, right?” the delivery person asked.

ji yao nodded and took the large box from the delivery person.

the food that jiang heng had ordered didn’t seem like something an ordinary person would buy. the one-meter-square box featured a logo from a certain restaurant. ji yao opened the box and found a variety of mild and soft breakfast items, still steaming hot. there was everything from congee to dumplings, each neatly separated in individual takeaway bags.

ji yao quickly checked, realizing that the contents of the box were meant for two people, and one of them was clearly tailored to his taste.

so, he thought for a moment, selected a few items, and carried them in his fingers, confidently walking upstairs.

the second floor was even simpler in terms of decoration, with most of the area opened up, leaving only three rooms.

ji yao’s gaze swept around, and he noticed that one of the room’s doors was slightly open, leaving a narrow gap.

he knew this was a hint from jiang heng, so he approached the door, tapped it lightly with his fingers, and without waiting for jiang heng to respond, he pushed the door open himself.

jiang heng seemed to be engrossed in his work, still focused on what was in front of him, a beautiful pen held between his fingertips, and he couldn’t help but turn it half a circle.

so ji yao didn’t enter the room to disturb him. instead, he leaned against the door, using the opportunity to unabashedly observe jiang heng.

the hot air softened the plastic, causing it to emit a faint aroma. ji yao’s fingers, which held the bag handles, were stained with a light red mark where the heat had touched them. he watched jiang heng and felt his heart softening.

it was as if he had once again found that feeling of relaxation from years ago when he was with jiang heng. so his thoughts became somewhat sluggish.

for a moment, ji yao even felt like the past few years had been nothing more than a fleeting dream, and this moment was the only real thing.

after about three or four minutes, jiang heng seemed to sense the gaze on him, and he couldn’t help but raise his head to look at ji yao.

“how long have you been standing there?” jiang heng asked in surprise.

“not too long,” ji yao said. “i knocked on the door, but you didn’t hear.”

jiang heng nodded, relaxing back into his chair. his computer screen was still on, and there were several printed documents on his desk.

jiang heng’s office was quite tidy, with a bookshelf against the wall. the top shelf was filled with various legal reference books, while the bottom one had novels and such that he often read. ji yao noticed that there were a few untranslated books that looked like they were newly purchased, still unopened.

the office was spacious, with a sofa against the wall near the door. ji yao placed the breakfast on the small coffee table in front of the sofa and couldn’t help but walk a few steps closer to jiang heng.

“still busy?” ji yao asked.

“it’s almost done,” jiang heng replied.

as they talked, jiang heng couldn’t help but use his fingertips to rub his nose, causing ji yao to notice that jiang heng’s home outfit draped nicely and seemed loose yet fitting. when he raised his hand, the right side of the collar curved down slightly, revealing a small but beautifully shaped collarbone.

ji yao licked his lips, feeling like he hadn’t fully awakened from the sense of overlapping time and space just now. he couldn’t help but walk closer to jiang heng, placing a hand on the back of his chair, and then his other hand on the desk, slightly bending forward.

it was quite an assertive posture, as if with a little more courage, he could easily trap jiang heng in his embrace.

jiang heng didn’t evade or avoid, and his entire demeanor remained calm. there was no hint of surprise in his eyes behind his glasses. he seemed to be wearing a faint smile, but at the same time, not quite.

“i want to hug you,” ji yao said.

“no,” jiang heng said. “you haven’t won me over yet.”

ji yao made a faint clicking noise and, in a somewhat tentative manner, asked, “can’t you let me off just this once? i don’t have much experience.”

in their circle, jiang heng wasn’t the first person ji yao had tried to pursue, but he had little experience in chasing someone. jiang heng and ji yao were both approaching their thirties, and while romantic dinners with flowers, roses, and candlelight might serve as a nice gesture, truly captivating someone’s heart was a more challenging task.

jiang heng looked at ji yao with interest, as if seeing a younger version of him.

ji yao was like a young cat, easily startled, and he would flee when faced with anything unfamiliar or frightening. but once he felt safe, he would gradually extend his claws, test the boundaries, and then push further.

however, it seemed that jiang heng had some principles.

“no,” jiang heng said with a hint of amusement. “i’m not easy to pursue.”

ji yao looked frustrated, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to figure out a way to approach this.

“can i get an advance?” he asked.