Chapter 62

“Let me think. You mean you’ve handed over power again?”

Lin Se, dressed in a white lab coat, leaned curiously against the worktable. Beside him sat a pricey book of folk remedies he’d salvaged from recycling, including even a prescription specifically for treating homosexuality.

Bo Chengyan merely sat across from him, his face expressionless and his gaze darkly indifferent.

He did indeed have some troubles weighing on him.

This conversational form of therapy was helping him dissect his own psyche.

“I wouldn’t call it power.”

The young man chuckled at once, shrugged, and said carelessly, “Bo, it’s power in fact.”

“The essence of modern marriage isn’t it just the legal enslavement of women?”

“Why else does ‘domestic violence’ exist, instead of just ‘intentional injury’?”

Lin Se twirled the pen in his hand. “People have been critiquing marriage since the nineteenth century.”

“Whether it was Marx and Engels, or the utopian socialist Fourier, they all dissected this social phenomenon.”

“Power exists.”

Bo Chengyan merely furrowed his brow slightly. “That’s traditional marriage.”

“Little Jing is a boy. We won’t have children.”

Lin Se reached over and picked up the worn old street-market book, flipping through a couple of pages without looking up as he said, “It’s still marriage.”

“Legalizing same-sex marriage has become an international trend right now. Many countries are refining their laws, but there are still plenty of obstacles and flaws.”

“The other side of marriage is family—and family is a profoundly sacred concept.”

“Birth, aging, sickness, and death—all are inseparable from family.”

Bo Chengyan had the vague sense this was turning into a sermon. He frowned and glanced up.

“I haven’t restricted his freedom.”

Lin Se paused in his page-turning, set the book back down properly, and crossed his arms as he said, “True, but you do want to control things, don’t you?”

“Why else would you come to me?”

People were complex creatures.

Human nature was base, yet a lifetime was spent pursuing morality.

From proverbs passed down mouth to mouth, to canonical texts held as ideals, and on to today’s public service announcements.

It all circled back to one word: benevolence.

Bo Chengyan’s eyelids drooped slightly, his long fingers interlaced, the knuckles sharply defined.

“I’ve never denied my desires.”

It was like the dull thud of a stone plummeting into a well.

The young man didn’t seem to care at his words, replying offhandedly, “Well, that’s nothing to worry about. There’s an old saying: a gentleman is judged by his deeds, not his heart…”

“Besides, he likes you a lot.”

Lin Se frowned faintly at the thought. That fondness wasn’t purely romantic love—it even carried elements of familial affection.

The two were impossible to tease apart.

“I know.”

The voice that replied was deeply serene.

The young man looked puzzled. “If you know that, why come to me? There’s no conflict between you two—”

Bo Chengyan simply lifted his gaze to meet his.

He said nothing.

“You’re not here just to assuage your guilt, are you?”

“Treating me like some after-the-fact patch job?”

~~~

Patients with psychological issues often had a performative streak. They would exaggerate their flaws or virtues, or even try steering the therapist’s diagnosis in a desired direction.

It was a rather vicious tendency.

After the man had left, Lin Se pondered and pondered. He paced two circles around the worktable and drained the water from his cup.

Something was off.

It was nine parts out of ten off.

Bo Chengyan had handled his own mother’s suicide case with perfect calm back then, and Lin Se had never seen him seek counseling over it.

When had he… started coming so frequently…?

“…”

Lin Se closed his eyes, inwardly conceding that he’d been played. This man had been thinking several steps ahead from the very start.

A partner’s image was crucial.

What if he lost control? Would Qi Jing be afraid? Would he pull away?

The desire for control wasn’t a stable constant.

It fluctuated. It had peaks.

There would inevitably come a day when the facade cracked beyond repair.

Lin Se felt his fate was truly bitter. Wouldn’t he end up being dragged out and used as a convenient “patch” when that time came?

His assistant was tidying the instruments nearby and glanced over, her eyes landing on that page about treating homosexuality.

“Teacher, is this for real?”

Lin Se inwardly railed against it all. He had zero interest in playing love-cop security guard. He glanced back at the book and waved her off.

“Look at the last line.”

The assistant was baffled. Could this folk remedy actually work?

Her gaze drifted downward.

It fell on…

—If it proves useless, then milord has no ailment to begin with.

~~~

Capital City saw a downpour in September, but thankfully it didn’t last long. The floods in Z Province last time had served as a warning, after all.

“Little Jing, grab a jacket.”

The boy wore a long-sleeved hoodie and had a backpack slung over his shoulders. He paused at the entryway.

Qi Jing had shot up a great deal and now stood exactly six feet tall, though he seemed to have stopped growing.

“Will it rain again today?”

His voice hadn’t changed much either. It was still like it had been two years ago.

Obedient and soft.

“It looks a bit overcast. Don’t put too much stock in the weather report. Catching a cold wouldn’t be good.”

Auntie furrowed her brow, watching as he put on his coat.

In the end, she couldn’t hold back from adding, “Wouldn’t it be better to take the family car if you’re heading out to play? The driver could wait right there—much more convenient.”

A life of luxury was their norm.

Auntie was used to looking after him, so naturally she felt a pang of concern.

Even over something so minor.

Qi Jing shook his head. “Um… I can’t be the sort who doesn’t even know how to call a cab. Auntie, a lot of my classmates at school don’t have drivers.”

“That would make me stand out as weird.”

University was a platform for higher education, gathering people from all walks of life in a more inclusive, diverse microcosm of society.

The boy was growing up bit by bit, gaining a deeper understanding of the world’s disparities. Class differences, once confined to textbooks, were now real.

There were poverty subsidies, part-time tutoring gigs, KTV clubs, photography societies, volunteer teaching trips, skiing clubs…

All mixed together.

Qi Jing gained a whole new perspective. He stepped out of Brocade River Villas and walked all the way to the villa district’s entrance.

He was ready to hail a cab.

996 perched on the boy’s shoulder, craning its neck curiously.

【So, have you found your hobby yet?】

Qi Jing let out a sigh, raised his hand to flag one down, and the car pulled up. The boy gave the driver the last few digits of his phone number.

Everything went smoothly.

The scenery out the car window was the same as always, but the inside felt entirely different.

Uncomfortable. Cramped.

There was even the stench of cheap cigarettes.

【No, this seems really tough. I’ll try again later.】

Qi Jing lowered his eyelids and carefully fitted on his mask, sitting there quietly.

Up front, a phone was mounted on the dashboard, its screen showing a WeChat group.

It was almost all voice messages.

Playing automatically.

They were all in the local dialect, and three out of every five sentences were laced with profanity.

Grating to the ears.

The driver was utterly lost in them, only glancing back once and clocking that his passenger was a student.

“Damn, on a day this gloomy, I figured I’d snag a big fare. Nope… just a piddly little trip. Won’t even cover my gas.”

“Hell, I might as well be some chump sent to chauffeur the young master around, haha.”

The malice was plain as day.

While waiting at a red light, he slammed on the brakes hard. Even with his seatbelt on, Qi Jing lurched forward, his bangs coming slightly undone.

His phone buzzed with a vibration.

It was a call.

His mood was glum, but he picked up anyway.

“Where are you?”

The voice on the other end was steady, sounding even more mature over the line.

With the driver finally quieting down up front, Qi Jing relaxed a fraction and replied flatly, “In a cab.”

“Just headed out.”

“What make and model?”

Qi Jing blinked, mumbling, “I didn’t look… I think it was…”

Then his tone shifted.

“I’m in the car, okay?”

There was a hint of petulance in it.

“Bad driver attitude? It’s just the model.”

Qi Jing truly hadn’t expected him to guess so accurately. His damp eyes darted about, and in the end he said stubbornly, “I don’t want to say.”

His voice was soft and mulish.

Truth was, Bo Chengyan didn’t approve of him taking cabs at all. For one, it wasn’t safe. For another, it simply wasn’t comfortable.

This wasn’t the right way to be independent.

Qi Jing just felt that all his classmates took cabs. Having a driver ferry him every day… it would look bad.

He had a subtle herd mentality going on.

He didn’t want to stand out.

“…Hm?”

The boy’s ears flushed red. He just didn’t want to give in.

It was a matter of probability. Ride-share drivers weren’t all bad, and some cars were perfectly comfy.

He just hadn’t gotten lucky yet.

“Of course you can.”

Bo Chengyan replied with refined politeness, his long fingers drumming lightly on the stack of photos atop his desk.

Someone had snapped them illicitly, as usual.

Just then—

A muffled grunt came through the phone, like the screech of a hard brake, followed by a loud male voice bellowing.

“Done! Hey, we’re here.”

“Whoa, what kinda loading zone is this? Hurry up and get out, or they’ll dock my pay.”

Bo Chengyan’s brow furrowed.

But he said nothing.

From the phone came even an offhand “Sorry,” the slam of a door, and the sound of the car peeling away rapidly.

Qi Jing’s breathing hitched all at once.

He’d been startled.

“I’m here now. I’ll hang up?”

Qi Jing thought his tone sounded perfectly calm, but that hint of grievance was impossible to hide. Bo Chengyan could hear it plain as day.

“Good. Remember to bring a gift for your friends.”

“Got it?”

His voice was very mild; he said nothing more.

“I got it.”

“Bye-bye.”

The call disconnected.

Bo Chengyan lowered his gaze to the red dot moving across the computer screen, his expression calm. He had merely glanced at that intersection and instinctively tapped into his connections.

He was just about to dial…

Then he snapped out of it.

The man frowned slightly and set his phone down.

He was losing control, just a little.

~~~

This location wasn’t right; the positioning was off.

Qi Jing stared at the flower shop across the street, thoroughly dejected. It was a double-lane road, so he’d have to walk up to the intersection ahead, cross at the zebra crossing, and then make his way to the destination.

At least five hundred meters.

“…”

No big deal.

It was just a walk.

The weather was so fickle. Moments ago, it had been overcast, but after he’d walked a short distance, the sun had come out.

It was hot now.

996 was still perched on his shoulder.

A heavy weight.

Meanwhile—

Jiang Xiuyuan was arranging flowers. His hair had grown long, tied back at the nape of his neck, his features clean and gentle.

The original Soul-Soothing Jewelry Set had returned as well, though only the earrings remained. His loose shirt was cinched tight by the apron, revealing a supple waist.

He wrapped up a large bundle of champagne roses. After a moment’s thought, he pulled out a card.

Bending over the table, he began to write on it.

Knock knock knock.

The young man looked up.

The person at the door tilted his head and smiled warmly.

“Long time no see.”