CH 10

Translator: Abo Dammen

The early morning golden rays of sunlight peeked through the window crevice and penetrated the ground through the gaps in the curtains that were occasionally blown by the wind. His gaze was fixed on the horizon as Jiang Yunshu slowly raised his hazy lids. The fog gradually lifted from his vision. Unmoving, he stared with his eyes wide open at the ceiling’s decorative pattern. 

He woke up irritated, but it didn’t mean he’d lose his cool with others just because he’d woken up grumpy that morning. Rather, it would typically take a considerable amount of time for his mind to reset and for him to awaken sober. Slowly blinking, he noticed the empty glass cabinet, then moving his gaze to the right, he observed an iron lock attached to the third closet.

Jiang Yunshu remembered that he had locked it in front of Bai Tang last night. 

When he changed Bai Tang’s bandage last night, Bai Tang had been terribly afraid the entire time that he could feel Bai Tang’s tremblings transfer to his hands. He had to tie the bandage several times before aligning. Jiang Yunshu was very depressed. Reflecting on his actions, he couldn’t remember where he had frightened this little ancestor again.

He thought that Bai Tang certainly didn’t like this room. After all, he had let those tools go, still unaware of the many nightmares they had caused in the past, so he gave up his newly purchased bed and conceded the room he had just cleaned.

Despite Bai Tang’s initial attitude of “would rather die than yield”, he intended to sleep at his feet while uttering the most audacious words with the most terrified expression.

But after being resolutely rejected by Jiang Yunshu four times, Bai Tang closed his mouth tremblingly and silently stood aside while watching him change into new sheets. He still remembered Bai Tang’s astonishment when he saw Yunshu’s neat and clean movements. 

“Okay, Bai Tang,” Jiang Yunshu put the key in Bai Tang’s palm. “this will be your room in the future. I’ll call the housekeeper tomorrow to clean up the things in this room. Once your feet are healed, I’ll go buy some furniture you like.”

“T-That’s unacceptable, sir!” Bai Tang’s heart somersaulted. “I—” 

“Have we previously requested housekeeping?” His words were cut short when Jiang Yunshu interjected. In his impression, this was the second time Jiang Yunshu had interrupted someone speaking. His upbringing was extremely strict. Since childhood, he had been instructed to be courteous and to only speak in turn. When he was 5 years old, the palm of his hand was struck 30 times with an iron ruler for interrupting his father.

Indeed, Bai Tang’s attention was diverted. He hurriedly said, “Yes! But the contact information is in the cupboard downstairs…” 

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Bai Tang is very awesome and powerful. After spending nearly two weeks with him, Jiang Yunshu had reached this conclusion. Even though he was subjected to long-term abuse and lived in constant fear, he was still able to manage all of the housework in the two-story villa in an orderly manner all by himself,  organize many trivial things by categorizing them, and remember exactly where all this information had been stored. 

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He didn’t cry when he’s hurt, and he was able to endure the pain and continue running despite being injured… After thinking about it, Jiang Yunshu was at a loss for words after contemplating the situation. Besides that, when Bai Tang was consistently beaten, he was the best at withstanding the pain. 

▪︎•°°•▪︎

After he finished rebooting, he sighed, sat up, and folded the quilt. He had seen his marriage certificate with Bai Tang, which they had gotten on April 17th, three years prior. Since then, nearly three and a half years have passed. Jiang Yunshu had no idea how Bai Tang had survived these three years or what kind of daily existence he had led.

If he replaced Bai Tang, Jiang Yunshu didn’t believe he would last longer than Bai Tang. 

Also, Bai Tang’s mind must be more fragile and sensitive than most people’s because of how hard his life had been. A little trouble would make his mind go crazy and  cause him to become excessively cautious, so Jiang Yunshu decided to give Bai Tang the only key to that room.

Jiang Yunshu wished to gradually make Bai Tang realize that he, too, had personal space that belonged to him alone. Whenever he felt confused, afraid, or helpless, he would be able to seek refuge in a larger and more secure protective shell. 

In Jiang Yunshu’s mind, he feared that the worst-case scenario was that Bai Tang’s string would be stretched to the breaking point.

The fresh flowers on the headboard were still moist with dewdrops. Jiang Yunshu checked the time. It was 6:47 in the morning, 13 minutes before the alarm clock was scheduled to go off. The moment he opened the beige curtains, the green screen flashed before his eyes. A number of sparrows flapped their wings and fled in fright. He observed a leaf-covered branch that was about to reach into the window. He felt much better after stretching out his hand and twirling it in his fingers. 

Jiang Yunshu walked out of the door lightly after washing up, and saw a lone key hanging on the door handle of Bai Tang’s room.

Sure enough, he still didn’t accept it. He didn’t know if the child slept in bed last night… He retracted his gaze and was about to go downstairs when he heard a soft sound. The door opened, and Bai Tang’s flushed face poked out from behind the door. The middle-length hair that reached his shoulders seemed to have been trimmed, but there was a stubborn tuft peeking. 

The instant he saw Jiang Yunshu standing next to the stairs, he immediately sobered up. He had been so frightened that he hurriedly opened the door, but had forgotten that he was still behind it. The door slammed shut with a loud bang on his head. “Ow! S-Sir, you’re up!”

“Good morning, Bai Tang.” Jiang Yunshu greeted with a voice as soothing as a breeze, which bafflingly reduced Bai Tang’s fear. He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Rub your head.” 

When he worked at the city hospital, all the doctors who knew him said that his voice was so pleasant that patients were willing to listen to him nag for a few more minutes, but unfortunately, Dr. Jiang didn’t talk much. Dr. Lin was also very jealous because of this. “Ah~ so annoying. That lovely new nurse in our department would always say that you have a great voice aaaaaaaahhhhh.”

Bai Tang was stupefied. His recently awakened mind was still very confused. He rubbed his head absentmindedly. 

Jiang Yunshu’s smile grew bigger. Bai Tang’s usual bathroom was next door. He said, “Go wash up. Can you go there by yourself?”

“Yes!” Bai Tang immediately put his hand down. “I don’t want to trouble sir…” 

Jiang Yunshu responded, “But when you go down the stairs, I’m going to carry you down. Hopping down is dangerous.”

Bai Tang pursed his lips uneasily and said, “Okay…Thank you, sir.” 

After that, the both of them remained still. Bai Tang looked at him nervously. Jiang Yunshu’s eyes softened. “Go.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, sir…!” Bai Tang immediately turned around. He leaned against the wall with his left hand and hopped to the bathroom on one foot, turning his head from time to time for fear of Jiang Yunshu chasing him and hitting him. 

Jiang Yunshu stood in the same place. After watching Bai Tang enter the bathroom, he walked to the bedroom door and glanced inside. There was no indication that anyone had slept on the bed.

He sighed. He had already predicted it. 

▪︎•°°•▪︎

There was also an east-facing window in the kitchen where sunlight would enter. On the window sill was a small, succulent, and plump green plant.

Jiang Yunshu originally wanted to cook lean meat porridge, but he was worried that Bai Tang wouldn’t eat it, so he decided on green vegetable porridge instead. As soon as he turned his head, he noticed Bai Tang staring at him dumbfoundedly from the top of the stairwell. He had no idea how long he had stood there. He took a few steps, lightly pressed his palm on Bai Tang’s back, who instinctively retreated, and said, “Next time, just call me directly.” 

Arriving on the first floor, he put Bai Tang on the ground. “Do whatever you want to do, I’ll steam some lean meat.”

Bai Tang had an anxious look on his face. Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Yunshu said, “Your hand is injured, so you can’t touch the water.” 

Bai Tang still wanted to say something, but Jiang Yunshu cut him off, “No.”

Bai Tang’s mouth closed, and his pupils were trembling with confusion. He no longer knew what Jiang Yunsu‘s purpose was for doing this. He felt a sense of emptiness and panic, as if his feet couldn’t touch the ground and he had no idea when the guillotine hanging above his neck would fall. 

If the purpose was to make fun of him and see how stupid he looked, this game has been going on for almost two weeks. Given Jiang Yunsu’s personality, he ought to have been bored long ago. Jiang Yunsu had already attained his objective if he had sought an excuse to inflict cruel suffering on him. Why hasn’t Jiang Yunsu lost his temper yet, given that he let the alpha make the bed last night, didn’t sleep under the alpha’s feet, and allowed the alpha to cook porridge this morning?

But if Jiang Yunsu really wanted to make fun of him, did he even need to find an excuse…? Did he not simply want to play? Bai Tang’s lashes trembled in panic. 

Or, did he really lose his memory…?

In any case, Bai Tang had no idea how to handle such an unfamiliar alpha, which was outside of his area of expertise.