CTS 14

“You sure you want to delete them?”

“Mhm.”

Ji Mingxuan gave a smile that was hard to read. “Don’t regret it later.”

“I won’t,” Shen Mo said.

So Ji Mingxuan deleted the messages right in front of him.

Shen Mo sat quietly by his side, as if watching countless memories rush past his eyes. Maybe what he truly missed wasn’t Zhou Yang himself, but the warmth of those beautiful years from his youth.

But it had already been three years.
It was time for anyone to start looking forward.

Ji Mingxuan used Shen Mo’s phone to call his supervisor and request time off.
Then he called his own assistant to say he wouldn’t be going to the office that morning. Once he was done, he tossed the phone aside, beckoned Shen Mo over and said, “Come nap with me a little longer.”

On a snowy day like this, curling up and sleeping at home really was the most comfortable thing in the world.

Since Mr. Ji had given the order, Shen Mo let himself relax for once and lay back down on the sofa.

The heater was running strong in the living room. Ji Mingxuan pulled Shen Mo into his arms, resting his chin on his shoulder, and soon fell asleep. Shen Mo had plenty on his mind, yet somehow, he also dozed off without realizing it.

By the time he woke again, it was almost noon.

He got up, tidied the living room, and put on his clothes. When he turned back, he saw Ji Mingxuan was still fast asleep.

“Mr. Ji, time for lunch.”

“Mr. Ji?”

Shen Mo called him a few more times, but Ji Mingxuan didn’t respond. He reached out to give him a gentle shake, but the moment he touched Ji Mingxuan’s wrist, he froze.

He was burning up.

Startled, Shen Mo quickly checked his forehead. It was just as hot.

Only then did he realize Ji Mingxuan was sick. Letting him stay on the sofa wouldn’t do. It took some effort, but Shen Mo finally managed to get him into the bedroom.
Ji Mingxuan, dazed and half-conscious, collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep again the moment his head hit the pillow.

Worried that Ji Mingxuan might be hungry, Shen Mo went to the kitchen and cooked a pot of plain porridge. Once it was ready, he brought it into the bedroom and gently called him to wake up and eat.

Ji Mingxuan was clearly low on energy, but he still managed to finish the bowl of porridge.

Shen Mo quietly observed his face and said,
“Mr. Ji, I think you’re sick.”

Ji Mingxuan dismissed it casually.
“Just a little tired.”

“You have a fever,” Shen Mo said.
“Should we go to the hospital?”

At the mention of a hospital, Ji Mingxuan frowned immediately. “No need.”

“Then how about I get a doctor to come here?”

“It’s just a minor illness. No need to bother anyone.”

“But..”

“Enough,” Ji Mingxuan cut him off, lying back down and pulling the blanket over his head. “I’ll be fine after some sleep.”

Shen Mo didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.

He never expected someone like Ji Mingxuan to be so stubborn about seeing a doctor when he was sick.

Thinking back to what happened the night before, Shen Mo couldn’t help feeling a little guilty. He wondered if Ji Mingxuan had been overworked to the point of collapsing because of him. He rummaged through the cabinets, found some fever medicine, and fed it to Ji Mingxuan before settling in beside the bed to take care of him.

Ji Mingxuan’s fever didn’t go down and his sleep was restless. At one point, he murmured in his sleep, “Shen Mo…”

Shen Mo rushed over and held his hand.
“I’m here, Mr. Ji.”

Ji Mingxuan didn’t say anything more, but the furrow in his brow eased slightly.
His palm was burning hot. Just as Shen Mo was about to let go, Ji Mingxuan gripped his hand in return.

Shen Mo tried to pull away, but couldn’t.
In the end, he let him hold on.

Time passed quickly.

By the time the setting sun painted the room in soft orange light, Shen Mo realized he had sat there the entire afternoon.

Ji Mingxuan’s condition had stabilized, but they were out of medicine. Before it got dark, Shen Mo changed clothes and went out to buy more. Most of the snow on the road had melted, but walking was still difficult. Since Ji Mingxuan’s driver was still on duty, Shen Mo took the car.

On the way, the driver, Old Zhang, brought up Ji Mingxuan’s drunken night. “Mr. Ji went to see someone the night before last. Yesterday, he was in a bad mood all day. He got completely drunk afterward. He couldn’t even walk straight.”

“Were his shoes wet because he fell?”

Old Zhang didn’t dare say anything negative about his boss, so he gave a vague laugh.
“Mr. Ji was planning to go to Jinxiu Villa, but with all the heavy snow and how drunk he was, I was worried something might happen on the road. So I brought him home instead. He didn’t get mad, did he?”

When Shen Mo heard the words “Jinxiu Villa,” his expression froze for a moment.

Old Zhang asked again,
“Mr. Ji didn’t get angry, did he?”

Shen Mo gave a small “Oh,” then said,
“No.”

He remembered how Ji Mingxuan had taken so long to recognize him last night.

Instinctively, he turned the ring on his left hand.

So that’s what it was.