He Qingye had only just woken from a coma, yet when he shouted those words, his voice was full and powerful. If he had not been lying in bed, no one would have taken him for a patient.
Pei Yumian’s face flushed bright red. What He Qingye said drew everyone’s attention toward him.
“Mr. He probably still isn’t fully lucid…”
Pei Yumian explained weakly, trying to find some reason for He Qingye’s abnormal behavior.
He Qingye was unhappy when he heard that. He looked around the room, then declared again in a firm voice:
“I just don’t want to be separated from my wife! Otherwise I’ll starve myself to death!”
That made no sense. Who would actually starve himself to death?
But Pei Yumian did not know how to argue with him. He could only look to his mother-in-law Qin You for help.
“Mom…”
Seeing this, He Qingye copied Pei Yumian and called toward Qin You as well:
“Mom—”
For one brief instant, Qin You felt that perhaps it would have been fine if He Qingye had simply remained vegetative.
But as a normal person—and the mother of the person involved—she quickly dragged her thoughts back onto the proper track and said to Pei Yumian and the doctor:
“You two go outside first. I’ll talk to Qingye.”
Pei Yumian turned, picked up Xiaopang, and left with the doctor. He trusted that his mother-in-law would not disappoint him.
The room immediately held only He Qingye and Qin You. Qin You looked at her son with a complicated expression.
As He Qingye’s mother, she actually understood his feelings very well.
Back then, the instant the Pei family released news that Pei Yumian was available for marriage, He Qingye had impatiently placed himself—this enormous piece of prime meat—right in front of the Pei family.
At first, Qin You had of course opposed it. Everyone knew the Pei family’s reputation. That was not a prospective in-law family; it was clearly a leech that would never come off once attached.
But after his father’s death, that was the first request He Qingye had ever made of Qin You. The obsession in his eyes made it impossible for her not to soften.
In the end, they spent one hundred million Blue Star coins to buy back a daughter-in-law who, although outstanding, was not exactly a cost-effective bargain.
Qin You had thought the car accident and amnesia might cause He Qingye to let go of that obsession. She had not expected Pei Yumian to be almost fated for He Qingye. He only had to see him once to fall again.
He Qingye looked at Qin You with a pale face.
“Mom, I only want him.”
It was exactly the same stubbornness as before. The only difference was that the He Qingye in front of her was livelier. He had become the child Qin You knew better.
Qin You sighed softly.
“All right. Mom will help you.”
An incomparably brilliant smile appeared on He Qingye’s face, dispersing the gloom that had lingered in Qin You’s heart for the past three years.
A few minutes later, Qin You opened the door and walked out. With a troubled expression, she said to Pei Yumian:
“Yumian, He Qingye damaged his brain in the accident. I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to look after him for a while.”
The past few years had been so peaceful and comfortable that Pei Yumian had nearly forgotten he did not truly have the right to refuse. He tightened his arms around Xiaopang and asked softly:
“That’s fine, but what about the pheromones?”
The doctor quickly explained:
“As long as you avoid intimate contact, strong pheromone-blocking patches can keep them under control. Children can’t use these patches, though. They would affect development.”
In the end, Qin You took the delighted Xiaopang away. Only the medical staff in protective clothing, He Qingye, and Pei Yumian remained in the villa.
At first, Pei Yumian was not particularly nervous around He Qingye.
After all, He Qingye could not even walk. Pei Yumian only needed to think of looking after him as a job.
Wiping his face and hands, feeding him meals and medicine—Pei Yumian’s care could hardly have been called anything but attentive.
As for He Qingye’s nonsense and the burning looks he aimed at Pei Yumian, Pei Yumian pretended he neither heard nor noticed any of it.
Once he finished taking care of He Qingye, Pei Yumian would use his internship assignments as an excuse to hide in his small study. He only went to He Qingye’s room when He Qingye needed something.
That life continued for a little over ten days, and Pei Yumian had almost grown used to it.
While Pei Yumian hid in the little study, He Qingye completed the initial stage of rehabilitation at astonishing speed and became able to get out of bed and walk.
So once He Qingye could move around freely, Pei Yumian could no longer ignore his existence.
Wherever Pei Yumian went, He Qingye followed. Except when using the bathroom or sleeping, they could practically be called inseparable.
Just like today. Pei Yumian had only managed to hide in the small study for a brief respite while He Qingye exercised during rehabilitation, yet he had barely been there any time before He Qingye called him out.
Lingering music rose from the movie. Pei Yumian had been staring at He Qingye for too long, and He Qingye turned his head to look back at him.
Under the shifting light and shadow from the screen, He Qingye’s gaze was sharp and dangerous, like some beast lying in wait.
Pei Yumian instinctively shifted away, only for He Qingye to catch his wrist. In the blink of an eye, He Qingye’s expression returned to normal, his eyes clear and guileless.
While rubbing Pei Yumian’s wrist, He Qingye leaned closer and asked softly, “Wife? What’s wrong?”
Pei Yumian pulled his hand away and pushed He Qingye’s face back.
“Watch the movie properly.”
He Qingye drooped his eyes in grievance.
“Wife, this isn’t fair. Why can you look at me whenever you want, but I can’t look at you whenever I want?”
Pei Yumian bit his lower lip, unable to find a reason to refute him.
“Wife, I was wrong. I’ll listen to you from now on.”
He Qingye pinched Pei Yumian’s chin and tenderly rubbed his lower lip with the pad of his index finger.
“You’ve bitten it red.”
He Qingye’s voice had become slightly hoarse. Pei Yumian quickly turned his head to escape his control, covered his mouth, and said muffledly:
“If you keep touching me, you can watch the movie by yourself.”
Only then did He Qingye finally behave. He laced their fingers together and watched the movie with an utterly serious expression.
By the time the movie ended, Pei Yumian was almost asleep. Through the haze of drowsiness, he heard He Qingye mutter:
“Wife, do you only like the me who didn’t lose his memory? You never call me husband…”
Pei Yumian silently answered in his heart: he did not like either version of He Qingye.
Pei Yumian pretended to sleep for a little while longer, then rubbed his eyes, put on a fake yawn, and said:
“It’s lunchtime. Let’s go.”
Pei Yumian thought he heard He Qingye let out a teasing little laugh, but when he looked closely, there was only an innocent smile on He Qingye’s face.
His right hand was finally released. Without drawing attention, Pei Yumian wiped it against his clothes. He had just started to stand when He Qingye’s hand touched his cheek.
“Wife, you’ve got a mark pressed into your face.”
The rough pad of He Qingye’s finger brushed across his skin, making every hair on Pei Yumian’s body stand on end. He quickly rose, frowned, and pretended to be unhappy.
“I’m hungry.”
He Qingye stood as well, his tall figure completely enveloping Pei Yumian in shadow.
The pressure created by their difference in size made Pei Yumian feel unable to breathe.
This time, Pei Yumian did not bite his lip. He only pressed his lips together lightly before saying:
“I’ll go downstairs first.”
The instant Pei Yumian turned and left the room, he seemed to hear He Qingye laughing again, but he did not turn around to look.
——
The dining table did not match the size of the dining room at all. Originally, the dining room had contained a long European-style table. But ever since He Qingye became able to get out of bed and eat on his own, he had forcefully replaced the large table with the small square one now in front of them.
The small square table could seat at most four people. In other words, when Pei Yumian sat down to eat, his knees were almost directly against He Qingye’s.
At first, Pei Yumian was very unused to it. His whole body stayed tense, his knees tucked in for fear of touching He Qingye’s newly recovered body.
He Qingye, however, was nowhere near as particular as Pei Yumian. His legs swung back and forth and bumped Pei Yumian’s from time to time.
Later, Pei Yumian realized He Qingye was doing it on purpose. His intelligence now seemed to have regressed to that of a high school student, and he was unbearably childish.
Just the brush of their knees was enough to make He Qingye’s lips curve into a smile as he said happily to Pei Yumian:
“Wife, I bumped into you again.”
Pei Yumian had no idea what was so exciting about that, so he deliberately spoiled the mood.
“Sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”
He Qingye’s temper was now inversely proportional to his intelligence. Even after receiving such a cold response, the smile on his face did not fade at all.
“Wife, I was the one who bumped into you on purpose. I should be the one apologizing.”
“Wife, will you forgive me?”
This boring exchange had appeared at the dining table countless times. He Qingye said the same thing every time. Once Pei Yumian became annoyed, he would answer with a cold “Mm” and ignore him.
He Qingye still never got angry. He tirelessly hooked his leg around Pei Yumian’s beneath the table.
That noon, Pei Yumian came downstairs early. Seeing him come down alone, the nanny could not decide what to do.
“Mr. Pei, should I serve lunch?”
Logically, to accommodate the currently fragile He Qingye, Pei Yumian ought to wait until He Qingye came downstairs before letting the nanny serve the food.
But at that moment, simply thinking about He Qingye made Pei Yumian irritated and restless. He had no desire at all to accommodate him, so he nodded.
“Serve it.”
The small square table was quickly covered in bland, flavorless recovery meals. Pei Yumian had no intention of waiting for He Qingye. As soon as the dishes were all there, he began eating.
Originally, the nanny had been supposed to cook separate meals for Pei Yumian, but Pei Yumian refused. Recovery food was merely bland. It was not inedible.
Most importantly, at the time Pei Yumian had felt it would be terribly cruel to let He Qingye, a patient who could not eat anything rich, watch him feast on fish and meat.
Now Pei Yumian thought He Qingye was not pitiful in the slightest.
After eating a few bites, Pei Yumian told the nanny, who was tidying things nearby:
“From now on, make my meals normally. Mr. He can keep eating recovery meals.”
Pei Yumian was almost finished eating by the time He Qingye slowly came downstairs.
The moment he sat down, Pei Yumian watched the expression on He Qingye’s face change as dramatically as a stage mask, instantly turning aggrieved.
“Wife, why didn’t you wait for me?”
Pei Yumian did not want to answer. He quickly finished his last two bites, pulled over a napkin to wipe his mouth, and said:
“I’m done. Take your time.”
After saying that, Pei Yumian started to stand. The moment he lifted his right leg, his left leg was caught between He Qingye’s calves.
Pei Yumian frowned at He Qingye, unable to understand what trick he was trying now.
The grievance on He Qingye’s face had already vanished, replaced by his usual smile.
“Wife, stay with me until I finish eating—”
Pei Yumian wanted nothing more than to get away. He tried pulling his leg free, but it did not move.
“What exactly do you want?”
He Qingye swallowed the food in his mouth and answered as though it were obvious:
“I want you to stay with me, Wife.”
Pei Yumian felt his patience reach its limit. He yanked his leg free.
“But I don’t want to stay with you. I want to be by myself for a while.”
The instant he finished speaking, Pei Yumian regretted it. But he did not want to explain anything to He Qingye. He turned and left the dining room, returning to his little study.
Curling up again on the small sofa, Pei Yumian buried his face in the crook of his arm. He bit his lower lip until it was almost bleeding.
He should not have spoken to He Qingye that way. He Qingye had amnesia, and because of an imprinting response, he had become so dependent on him.
Qin You had given him so much money, and He Qingye had given him Xiaopang. He should know how to repay kindness.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
“Wife, can I come in?”
He Qingye’s voice sounded again. Pei Yumian let out a long breath, stood, and opened the door to let him in.
“Sorry. I haven’t been in a very good mood lately.”
After apologizing, Pei Yumian felt much better. He had just turned around when He Qingye pinched his chin.
Pei Yumian instinctively tried to dodge, but He Qingye said with a grave expression:
“Don’t move.”
Pei Yumian always lacked the courage to resist He Qingye when he looked like this. He really did stay still and watched He Qingye take a tube of anti-swelling ointment from his pocket.
The cool ointment was spread over his lips. Only then did Pei Yumian realize how badly he had bitten his lower lip.
He Qingye looked very serious as he applied the ointment. Illness had thinned his cheeks, making his jawline appear even sharper. When his face went cold, he looked no different from the He Qingye before the amnesia.
Fortunately, the amnesiac He Qingye smiled often. The moment his eyes curved, Pei Yumian found it impossible to harden his heart against him.
Pei Yumian rarely looked at He Qingye from such a close distance and unconsciously held his breath. By the time he came back to himself, He Qingye had already released his chin, taken his wrist instead, and guided his hand onto He Qingye’s own face.
“Wife, from now on, if you’re unhappy, you can do anything you want to me. But don’t hurt yourself.”
Pei Yumian lifted his head and saw the seriousness on He Qingye’s face. He had just tried to pull his hand back when He Qingye tightened his grip.
Once He Qingye had Pei Yumian’s attention, a little smile appeared on his face. Holding Pei Yumian’s hand, he patted his own cheek with it.
“Like this. You can hit harder too.
