Chapter 280, convince him (second watch).

Ji Mingqian raised an eyebrow, him help out?

What was Ajiu up to now?

"Ji Mingqian, hurry up, we haven’t eaten yet, we’re starving." Ye Jiuliang stuffed Jiang Yisheng’s luggage into Ji Mingqian’s hands, then pulled him into the car first.

Ji Mingqian looked at the suitcase in his hand, sighed helplessly, and resigned himself to putting it into the trunk.

In the cover of night, the blue sports car shook off the other vehicles and sped away.

The smell of smoke in the car had mostly dissipated, and Ye Jiuliang rolled up the windows to block out the cold air from outside.

The weather in Country Y is nothing like that of the capital, everyone on the streets is already wearing sweaters and scarves.

"What’s with those two?" Ye Jiuliang sent a message to Li Mochan while asking.

The traffic light turned red up ahead, and Ji Mingqian stopped the car for a moment, handing Ye Jiuliang the pre-purchased hot drink, "They haven’t eaten all day, Achen locked himself in my room and wouldn’t come out, and Anuo stayed in her room as well. I’m out of ideas with those two."

He hadn’t expected Jiang Yisheng to come, so he had only bought two cups.

Ye Jiuliang took one of the cups and handed it to Jiang Yisheng, "Asheng, have a drink to warm up." He had a weak constitution and was particularly susceptible to the cold, his face turning pale.

Jiang Yisheng took the hot drink and thanked him.

"Aqian, let’s head to yours first," Ye Jiuliang took a sip of coffee and said.

Ji Mingqian was taken aback, "Why are we going to my place?"

"Let Asheng stay at yours for the next couple of days."

With that said, Jiang Yisheng was startled as well.

He gathered his thoughts, glanced at Ji Mingqian, just as he was about to decline, the man driving spoke up first.

"That’s fine."

Jiang Yisheng’s eyes fell, nibbling on the straw, lost in thought.

Ji Mingqian’s private residence was in the city center, he rarely stayed there, but he had someone clean regularly, so the house was free of dust.

"Yisheng, here are the keys, all the rooms on the second floor are unoccupied, you can pick any to stay in." Ji Mingqian placed the keys on the table, stretching his hand to the remote and pressing it, lighting up the entire surroundings.

Jiang Yisheng looked at the keys, "Thank you."

Meanwhile, Ye Jiuliang casually sat on the sofa and started ordering takeout with his phone.

"Asheng, what do you want to eat?"

Jiang Yisheng pushed his luggage to the side and began unwrapping the scarf around his neck, "Anything not spicy is fine."

After ordering takeout, Ji Mingqian pulled Ye Jiuliang aside.

He glanced back at the person sitting on the sofa, lowered his voice, and said, "What did you bring him here for?"

Ye Jiuliang tugged at his ear, and Ji Mingqian’s handsome face contorted, "Ancestor, this is a human ear, okay?"

It wasn’t a pig’s ear, not made to withstand her messing with it.

Ye Jiuliang curved his lips, and whispered a few words into his ear in a low voice.

Hearing this, Ji Mingqian’s eyes widened, "You’ve got to be joking, how could he possibly agree?"

Probably no man would agree.

"Then how about you do it?" Ye Jiuliang gave him a cool look and said.

Ji Mingqian immediately stepped back, "Not me."

"Why not find a girl directly?"

Ye Jiuliang scoffed, "You think Anuo is that easy to fool? Plus, which average person has that temperament?"

Anuo hadn’t met Asheng either.

Ji Mingqian’s gaze swept towards Jiang Yisheng discreetly; regardless of anything else, that person’s inherent grace and elegance were hard to come by.

Before he could react, the person beside him patted his shoulder, assigning a grave task to him, "So, I’m leaving this to you, you convince him."

"Why me?" Ji Mingqian snorted with laughter, shaking off her hand, his tone menacing.

"I don’t have the ability to convince him, what if he gets annoyed and beats me up?"

Ye Jiuliang held back a laugh, "Don’t worry, Asheng can’t beat you."

Ji Mingqian shook his head, "You handle this yourself."

"For the sake of Achen, can’t you make an effort?" Ye Jiuliang elbowed him, annoyed, "A friend in need is a friend indeed. You understand, right? If you can’t persuade him, then you’ll have to take his place in the end."

"..."

Like knives stabbing both sides?

What if he bled to death?

"Ye Jiuliang, I really don’t know how Li Mochan can stand your dictatorial and domineering personality," Ji Mingqian said through gritted teeth.

Ye Jiuliang whistled, laughed nonchalantly, "That just proves that my Li Mochan has great taste."

Ji Mingqian, "..."

The takeout arrived, and Ye Jiuliang casually ate a few bites before driving off in Ji Mingqian’s car.

Jiang Yisheng watched the closing door, blinked, a mix of pitiful and innocent.

Had he been left behind?

"Where did Jiuliang go?" He turned his gaze back to Ji Mingqian, "Isn’t she staying here?"

Ji Mingqian looked up into his clear green eyes, his chopsticks halted; he felt somewhat guilty.

"A friend is sick, she went to check on them. Eat up quickly, I need to talk to you after."

That damn Ye Jiuliang, dropping people here and running off, how disgraceful.

Jiang Yisheng ate gracefully, "Have your wounds healed?"

"They’ve healed long ago," Ji Mingqian said casually.

Jiang Yisheng fell silent, quietly eating his meal.

...

At the end of the hallway, a window stood open, the cold wind barging in relentlessly.

Suddenly, one of the room’s doors opened.

The wall lamp cast a warm orange light, illuminating the woman’s slightly pale face.

Gu Xinuo shuffled downstairs, turned a corner, and stopped in front of the room to the left on the second floor.

Looking at the closed door, she hesitated, a trace of nervousness flickering through her eyes.

After a long moment, she mustered her courage and knocked on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock——"

After a wait, there was no response from inside the room.

Had he fainted from the fever?

Gu Xinuo frowned slightly and knocked again, with more force this time.

"Knock, knock——"

"Chu Chen, open the door."

Still no response, the door remained closed.

"Chu Chen, open the door. If you don’t open it, I’m going to break it down," Gu Xinuo said, hitting the door, her voice tinged with urgency without realizing it.

After her words, the door opened with a "click."

The man’s eyes, bloodshot, met hers—a pale face devoid of color, jaw covered with dark stubble, disheveled yet carrying a decrepit sort of handsomeness.

Gu Xinuo stood frozen, having never seen him like this; her heart gave a fierce pang.

"You..."

"What is it?" His hoarse voice was as cold as ice.

The estranged tone, like a bolt of lightning, left Gu Xinuo dazed.

Since she met Chu Chen, he had never spoken to her with that tone.

It was as if he wanted to draw a clear line between them.

Thinking of Ji Mingqian’s words, Gu Xinuo hesitated before speaking, "You haven’t eaten all day, do you want to order some takeout?"

"No need." Chu Chen’s eyes were downcast, the pain in his chest numbing him.

"Has your fever gone down? Do you need to take more medicine?" Gu Xinuo said softly, her eyes darting away, not daring to meet his gaze.

The atmosphere was stifling to the point of suffocation.