After the meal, Jia Yuxing and Ye Qianfan sat on the sofa and chatted. It had to be said that Jia Yuxing understood Ye Qianfan’s personality extremely well. He did not ask about Wei Dongyan. Instead, he waited for Ye Qianfan to bring up the subject himself. “I broke up with him.”
Ye Qianfan spoke lightly, making no mention of Wei Dongyan getting engaged behind his back or imprisoning him. He did not want Jia Yuxing to worry. “There’s no place for me there anymore.” Jia Yuxing frowned.
Of course he knew that whatever had happened to Ye Qianfan could not possibly be as simple as he made it sound. From the beginning, Jia Yuxing had opposed Ye Qianfan being with Wei Dongyan. To people of their generation, what future could there be between two men? Especially when one of them was a businessman like Wei Dongyan, a man who valued profit over affection.
“I see.” Jia Yuxing was silent for a while before saying, “Since you’re back, then work hard. These old bones of your master can still find you a place somewhere.” “Master.”
Only after falling to rock bottom could a person truly understand who had treated them well. Ye Qianfan could not say many words of gratitude. Those words were too light. Speaking them aloud would almost feel like an insult to Jia Yuxing.
“I could tell from one look that Wei Dongyan was no good.” Jia Yuxing looked at Ye Qianfan with the frustration of someone mourning his misfortune while resenting his refusal to fight for himself. His voice was heavy. “And you were useless too. Ah! How can all that love and romance possibly last forever? You’re a man. You should build a career of your own! Only then will people stop looking down on you. Only then will you truly have standing of your own! Think about how you acted back then, willing to live or die for Wei Dongyan. You were practically no different from a woman!”
The words were rather harsh. The instant Jia Yuxing finished speaking, he looked at Ye Qianfan’s expression. Only after finding no particular reaction did he breathe a long sigh of relief. “Forget it. One learns from suffering. If you understand now, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
Ye Qianfan nodded. He knew Jia Yuxing meant well. If Ye Qianfan had been a woman, then marrying Wei Dongyan might at least have given him legal protections. But he was a man through and through. Not only did he have no such protection, he had to hide their relationship. Even if Wei Dongyan abandoned him, all he could do was swallow the humiliation in silence.
Love between two men was difficult enough. If the two sides began from unequal positions, it was even harder for them to truly make it to the end.
At this moment, Ye Qianfan’s heart had already gone cold. Yet when he saw the worry and relief in Jia Yuxing’s eyes, his own eyes inexplicably grew wet. “Master, I understand.”
“It’s good that you understand.” Jia Yuxing sighed. “Tomorrow, come to the hotel with me and have a look around… At your age, you can’t stay idle for too long. Get some rest early today. Build up your energy…” Ye Qianfan nodded.
He had rushed all the way from A City to C City that day, then concentrated on cooking Jia Yuxing a full dinner. By now, he was already sleepy. Hearing Jia Yuxing’s words, he did not try to force himself to stay awake. He obediently took a shower and lay down in bed.
Before Ye Qianfan left C City, he had always lived with Jia Yuxing. After he left, Jia Yuxing kept Ye Qianfan’s bedroom exactly as it was and regularly had someone clean it. That was why Ye Qianfan could simply move back in. Even such a small thing showed just how deeply Jia Yuxing cared for him.
The bed was soft, but its scent felt strangely unfamiliar. Ye Qianfan’s hair was still wet. He had not dried it before lying down on the pillow. His entire body felt weak with exhaustion, and he knew he could fall asleep the moment he closed his eyes. Yet the tattoo around his left wrist continued to tug at his attention, making him unwilling to sleep just yet.
He could not stop thinking about the cabbage he had eaten at dinner. Normally, Ye Qianfan bought vegetables at the market. No matter how attractive a cabbage looked, it was almost certainly treated with pesticides. Cabbage seemed ordinary, but it was actually a delicate crop. Without pesticides, insects could easily eat it to pieces.
And to an expert palate, pesticide-treated cabbage was far inferior to genuinely naturally grown cabbage. The soil these days had long been affected by human activity; no matter how clean people claimed it was, it could never truly be pristine. Yet the cabbage they had eaten that evening was, without exaggeration, the best-tasting vegetable Ye Qianfan had ever eaten in his life.
Ye Qianfan knew perfectly well that it had little to do with his cooking. Naturally, that made him even more interested in the space. With a thought, he forced himself to stay awake and entered it again.
Nothing had changed since his first visit. Rows of shelves still made the place resemble a supermarket. Ye Qianfan walked through the aisles, carefully examining the dazzling assortment of goods. Just as the sheer variety was making his eyes blur, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. Could this space sell absolutely anything?
Following the thought, Ye Qianfan asked aloud, “Do you sell nuclear weapons?”
Silence. Nothing changed around him. Ye Qianfan sighed, thinking he had clearly gone too far with his imagination… Then, at that exact moment, a glowing screen appeared in front of him. Displayed on it were all kinds of weapons Ye Qianfan had never seen before.
Ye Qianfan sucked in a sharp breath. He swiped across the glowing display, and his entire body began trembling uncontrollably. This place actually sold nuclear weapons!!!
Of course, Ye Qianfan also noticed the glaring red prices beneath those weapons—numbers running into eight digits.
That did nothing to diminish his excitement. He had already tasted just how delicious the cabbage from this space was. Naturally, he wanted to try the other things it sold as well… All right. The problem of earning currency was still a serious one.
The ring Wei Dongyan had given him had only been worth ten points. Ye Qianfan did not exactly have the financial ability to spend hundreds of thousands on ingredients for a single meal… He gave a bitter laugh and decided to study the space more carefully in a few days.
Right now, he was simply too tired. The moment he left the space, Ye Qianfan eagerly closed his eyes. Within seconds, he fell asleep. That night was probably the most restful night he had experienced in nearly half a year.
A sleepless night.
Early the next morning, Ye Qianfan woke up. Rubbing his eyes, he climbed out of bed and felt as though all the exhaustion in his body had vanished. He was exceptionally energetic.
After washing up, Ye Qianfan changed his clothes and walked out of his room just as Jia Yuxing returned from his morning exercise.
Perhaps it was Ye Qianfan’s imagination, but Jia Yuxing looked especially lively that morning, almost several years younger.
“You’re up?” Since he knew Ye Qianfan had been exhausted, Jia Yuxing had not woken him. Looking at him, he said, “Come on. Your master made breakfast. After we eat, I’ll call Old Liu to pick us up.”
“All right.” Ye Qianfan nodded.
Although Jia Yuxing specialized in Shandong cuisine, he was also highly skilled at Western-style pastries.
That morning’s breakfast consisted of freshly baked almond fruit pie and pine-nut cakes. The fruit pie was topped with Ye Qianfan’s favorite yellow peaches and apples, with cream decorating the edges. One bite brought crisp pastry and soft filling into his mouth at the same time, along with the rich fragrance of fruit. Ye Qianfan ate several pieces. The pine-nut cakes were covered generously with pine nuts and a little syrup. They were golden brown and intensely fragrant. The pine nuts were crisp, while the baked cakes were rich with the aromas of egg and milk.
Naturally, Jia Yuxing knew exactly what his disciple liked. He watched Ye Qianfan eat heartily while drinking several glasses of plain milk.
“Good?” Jia Yuxing asked with a smile.
“Delicious.” Ye Qianfan nodded. It had been a very long time since he had eaten pastries this authentic.
“Then eat more.” No chef disliked having his food praised. Jia Yuxing smiled until his eyes narrowed.
By the time Ye Qianfan finished breakfast, the driver had arrived to pick them up. Ye Qianfan opened the car door for Jia Yuxing and waited until the old man sat down before climbing in after him.
“Well, if it isn’t Little Ye. You’re back?” Old Liu had driven for Jia Yuxing for many years and naturally knew Ye Qianfan. Surprise flashed through his eyes. “When did you come back?”
“Yesterday.” Ye Qianfan smiled. “…I rushed back overnight.”
“Is that so.” Old Liu merely greeted him and did not ask why he had returned. Having stayed beside Jia Yuxing for so many years, he knew quite well what had happened to Ye Qianfan and had no desire to touch that forbidden subject. “Elder Jia, where are we going?”
“To the hotel.” Jia Yuxing was obviously in a good mood.
“All right.” Old Liu started the car.
Jia Yuxing disliked having outsiders in his home, so he always cooked for himself. He only hired hourly cleaners to take care of the house. He and his wife had divorced long ago, and he had no children, so in a sense he was counting on his disciples to care for him in his old age and see him off when he died.
Ye Qianfan had once been the disciple in whom Jia Yuxing placed the greatest hopes. But blinded by love, he had almost disappointed the old man completely. Fortunately, Heaven had taken pity on him in the end and given Ye Qianfan a chance to correct his mistakes.
Because Jia Yuxing lived in the suburbs, the drive took nearly an hour before they entered the city. Along the way, Ye Qianfan told Jia Yuxing amusing stories from the past few years, putting the old man in an even better mood.
“Elder Jia, we’re here. You two go in first. I’ll park the car over there,” Old Liu said.
“All right.” Jia Yuxing nodded. “Come over afterward. I’ll make a table full of good food and everyone can get together.”
“Then I really have to thank you.” Old Liu knew Jia Yuxing’s cooking well. His grin grew so wide his eyes nearly disappeared.
“Let’s go.” Jia Yuxing turned to Ye Qianfan. “I already told Little Zhuang and the others… Now that you’re back, we really ought to celebrate properly.”
“Yes, Master.” Ye Qianfan no longer knew what to say. There was no way to measure just how much Jia Yuxing had given him.