“Does it require donations? I have money!” Yu Qingxian said immediately. He was already calculating his assets and how much cash he could donate.
“No. You can donate if you want to do good deeds yourself, but not for my sake. This is my own cultivation path; I need to complete it myself. Besides… I don’t want to drag you into my Karma.”
If it were just about donating money and goods, the officials and local tyrants he saved in his previous life had donated enough to form a mountain. Ancient times weren’t like modern ones—wealth was concentrated in very few hands, and those local tyrants were on a different level from today’s rich. A bowl of thin porridge could save a life, a grass hut could shelter a team of disaster victims… Chu Yi didn’t know what heinous things he had done in a previous previous life; no amount of Merit could fill that hole.
He kept pushing back—this wouldn’t work, that wasn’t allowed… Yu Qingxian lost face and sneered coldly in dissatisfaction. “In the end, you just want to cut ties with me, right!”
If he really wanted to cut ties, why help him yesterday? The joy and sweetness he felt upon waking was now matched by this pain. It hurt more than if Chu Yi had given no hope and rejected him outright!
“…” Chu Yi felt awkward. He had lived over thirty years and this was the first time he’d met someone who stirred his heart; old embers reigniting… wasn’t it easy to make mistakes?
Even now, with President Yu glaring at him coldly, he thought the man looked like he might cry. He wanted to hug him, kiss him, full of tenderness…
Yu Qingxian noticed Chu Yi’s gaze and froze. He didn’t know who moved first, but before he knew it, they drew closer and closer. When he came to his senses, their faces were almost touching.
“Ahem…”
“Ahem…”
They both startled back at the same time, covering their mouths and coughing lightly.
Seeing Chu Yi’s ears turn red and his eyes dodge awkwardly, Yu Qingxian suddenly felt much better. He extended a hand. “Give it to me.”
“What?”
“The Jade Thumb Ring. Isn’t it your apology gift? Why wouldn’t I take it!”
He had seen Chu Yi making this Jade Thumb Ring while he was kidnapped and unconscious. It definitely wasn’t just for atonement as Chu Yi claimed. If he never saw the man again, it would be a keepsake at least.
When Yu Qingxian went out, his expression had already returned to calm.
Big Brother Yu had sharp eyes and spotted the ring on his hand at once. “This Jade Thumb Ring looks familiar. The quality seems the same as my Spirit Jade. Did Chu Yi give it to you for protection too?”
As he spoke, Yu Zhensheng pulled out the Spirit Jade hanging around his neck. Sure enough, the quality matched the Jade Thumb Ring exactly, just much smaller.
Yu Qingxian: “…”
Why did that man give a breakup gift that matched his big brother’s!
With a blank face, Yu Qingxian said, “Big Brother, don’t you think wearing such a small jade pendant doesn’t suit your status?”
Big Brother Yu replied, “Little Xian, how can you think that way? For things Chu Yi gives, size is secondary; the key is value and function!”
It was Emperor Jade quality at least. According to Master Zhang, the Protective Talismans they bought from Chu Yi were drawn on Yellow Talisman Paper… He didn’t know why Chu Yi treated him differently, but it felt great!
“If Big Brother doesn’t think it’s small, why hide it under your clothes?”
Yu Zhensheng: “…”
He glanced at the exquisitely carved Jade Thumb Ring in his brother’s hand, which suited a man’s taste, then at his own coin-sized, crudely carved jade pendant. Sourness welled up in his heart.
Sure enough, comparison brought harm…
But after going to the police station with his brother and learning the details of the kidnapping, Yu Zhensheng immediately grew suspicious. “You and Chu Yi…”
Chu Yi had protected Qingxian too well back then; he hadn’t even noticed his brother had been drugged. No wonder they ditched them and drove off first. Could it be…?
“Big Brother, don’t overthink it!” Yu Qingxian reacted strongly, though he tried to keep a straight face. But Big Brother Yu knew his brother too well—this was definitely something!
“Chu Yi is young, handsome, and so capable…” Big Brother Yu recalled those Lonely Ghosts and Wild Ghosts taking Chu Yi’s bribes and leading them back. He shivered involuntarily. “Uh, Master Zhang and Master Chen admire him greatly. Grandpa praises him endlessly. If I were ten years younger…”
“If Big Brother were ten years younger, then what?”
Big Brother Yu sat properly in his seat and sensed his brother’s tone was off. Turning, he met his brother’s icy glare and laughed it off. “If I were ten years younger, I’d study Mystical Arts with him, haha… But that’s impossible. I have to manage the Corporation, so I can only leave it to you, Little Xian.”
Big Brother Yu patted his brother’s shoulder, his tone suddenly serious. “What I mean is, if you like him, bring him home. Grandpa and Mom have come around; they won’t say anything. If it’s Chu Yi, the Yu Family would be getting the better deal. Grandpa would approve first… Ignore what others think. He doesn’t even come home anyway, so he can’t interfere with us three siblings.”
Yu Qingxian lowered his eyes. “I know.”
But now, the obstacle between them was Chu Yi’s Fate Pattern. He hadn’t believed in fate before, but now he wondered if his own bumpy love life was because of Chu Yi.
Chu Yi was great, truly great. Everything in the car felt like a dream. Just thinking that this man would never be with him made his heart feel maliciously squeezed—extremely painful.
And for some reason, he also felt a long-buried unwillingness and anger surging up, as if it would shatter his reason and release an evil side…
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