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Chapter 12 — Step By Step, As I Walk Into Your Heart
Edited by Planetes
After that farce, Han Jiang brought Yun Jinshu to a very upmarket restaurant for dinner as per agreed. It was just that the two of them did not have much of an appetite. Although the table was covered with dishes that they ordered, they barely took a few bites each before returning home.
Side by side, the two entered the villa. Walking past the garden, they happened to see that brand new white Mercedes Benz, as well as the traces on the ground left behind by the two of them when messing around just now, announcing to all how they nearly got caught up in each other and indulged themselves outdoors.
Yun Jinshu pulled the wool coat around him tighter, lifting his head and quipped at Han Jiang, “Han-laoban, I probably need to shower first before we can continue what we have yet to complete just now.”
Han Jiang caressed his hair. “Don’t talk nonsense. It’s been exhausting for you today, go and rest early.”
“But it was you who said that we’ll postpone it later. I’m only following instructions, or… you don’t want to do it anymore?”
Yun Jinshu’s words were forever laced with amusement when speaking to Han Jiang. His black eyes glimmered gently, and the curve of his smile put his dimples on display. If not for the slight redness and swelling of his cheek, no one would have been able to guess what had just happened earlier.
However, the more he was like this, the worse Han Jiang felt. If another person had suffered such grievance, he probably would have long plunged into Han Jiang’s arms, whining and complaining about his treatment. However, Yun Jinshu did not do so. Instead, he looked as if he was completely unbothered by that incident, and his calm made Han Jiang’s heart tremble.
How could there be someone like Yun Jinshu in this world? No matter what blows he had to endure, he would face them with a smile. This made others could not help but see him in a different light.
“Jinshu, don’t be like this. You can voice out any grievances you feel, don’t hold it in.”
When Yun Jinshu heard what Han Jiang said, he glanced at him as though he had given him a great shock. Rubbing at his forehead, he smiled, “Han-laoban, what are you saying? What sort of grievances would I have? Isn’t it just a slap? I’m a man anyway, I definitely can endure this sort of thing.”
Resigned, Yun Jinshu sighed, removing the wool coat and returning it to Han Jiang. “Alright, alright, I understand. Han-laoban doesn’t seem very interested today, and since you’re not willing to do anything of that sort, I’ll return to my room to rest first.”
He turned and headed into the villa, leaving Han Jiang standing there alone. With a burning gaze, Han Jiang’s eyes were fixed to Yun Jinshu’s back, all the way until his figure vanished before he was willing to move.
Opening the door of the villa, just like usual, Yun Jinshu greeted the old butler and the few servants with an amiable politeness. He exchanged his shoes for a pair of slippers with no sense of unfamiliarity. No one was able to tell that he had just gone through a huge storm.
Quietly finishing his shower, Yun Jinshu refused the supper the butler brought up. He pulled the blanket back, burying himself completely within, and only then did he finally feel that his entire body was about to collapse.
He was not a tolerant and open-minded saint, but a petty, selfish person. Towards Han Jiang’s actions, there was no way that he would let it go so magnanimously. He deliberately wanted Han Jiang to feel worse, as long as he was able to see Han Jiang feel at least the tiniest bit of regret and sadness for him, Yun Jinshu felt that everything was worth it.
Yun Jinshu understood Han Jiang way too well, to the point where he knew him even better than himself. As such, he was aware that the more he was like a leech living as though he could not survive without the support of Han Jiang, the more Han Jiang would look down on him. Even if he, Yun Jinshu, was to be a shield, he had to play his role gloriously, and never let Han Jiang look down on him, nor be humiliated over it.
Yun Jinshu had his own determination, and so he was able to grit his teeth and endure it all. In this battle with Han Jiang, whoever gave in first would lose. However, today he was able to see this reluctance of having Yun Jinshu enduring his grievances in the eyes of such a coldhearted man. Even if the pain he suffered was greater than what he actually did, Yun Jinshu would still be able to smile.
Seeing how discomfited Han Jiang was, Yun Jinshu would feel at ease. So, he would be able to endure whatever pain that came.
Although Han Jiang won, he did not lose either.
***
The door to the room clicked open. Dressed in light-coloured house clothes, Han Jiang was carrying a bowl of steaming ginger soup as he walked in.
The yellow light of the floor lamp in the bedroom cast a gentle, hazy glow around the room. Yun Jinshu was buried entirely in his blanket, and only a tuft of his hair was exposed. The sound of the air-conditioning whirred quietly, and this image made Han Jiang inexplicably have the feeling of home.
Carrying the porcelain bowl, he walked to the bedside and patted Yun Jinshu’s shoulder lightly. Softly, he spoke, “Jinshu, are you asleep yet? Wake up and have something to fill your stomach.”
Actually, Yun Jinshu was not asleep at all. The moment the door opened, he already knew that Han Jiang was here. It was just that he was unwilling to speak to him, and so he had his back to the door the entire time, pretending to sleep. Now, Han Jiang had spoken to him, and he no longer had any reason to continue feigning sleep. As such, he rubbed his eyes as he turned around. “Oh… What time is it now? Was I asleep for very long?”
The corners of Han Jiang’s lips lifted up as he shook his head. “No, it was just a short while. However, you’ve been standing in the cold wind outside today, if you don’t warm yourself back up, it’s likely that you’ll fall sick. Thus I prepared some ginger soup for you, have some before you go back to sleep.”
Yun Jinshu paused. He raised his head in slight disbelief. “You mean… this soup was prepared by you?”
Han Jiang laughed, patting Yun Jinshu’s head. “Look at how wide your eyes have become. Is this very remarkable? My father was an army officer, and has always had strict demands on me since I was a child. After transferring from the army into the government, he still treated me like a soldier. As such, I’ve learnt to cook since I was a child. Although my skills cannot compare to that bowl of noodles of yours, I’m still able to cook most dishes decently.”
Hearing this, Yun Jinshu did not know what he was feeling at the moment.
If he did not count this period after rebirth, he had already known Han Jiang for over five years. Despite their intimate relationship, and sharing the same bed, most of the things he had learnt about Han Jiang had been gathered from magazines and the news, and there was no mention of his military family background at all.
Today, not only did Han Jiang reveal so much to him, he even mentioned his father. Although Yun Jinshu did feel a small trace of delighted surprise, thinking about it from another angle, if it was not for his “good” performance today, helping Han Jiang deal with Shen Nian, this huge source of trouble, would Young Master Han have given him such great “welfare”?
Thinking about this, Yun Jinshu could not help feeling a little aggrieved. However, he still mustered up a teasing expression, smiling at Han Jiang. “Han-laoban excels both in work and the kitchen, what an unmatched, perfect man. I have nothing but admiration for you, and I’m now determined to follow in your footsteps.”
Being intelligent, how could Han Jiang not detect the sarcasm in Yun Jinshu’s words? But seeing how Yun Jinshu regained his previous sharp tongue, Han Jiang relaxed, and the tightness and worry within his heart no longer cause as much pain anymore.
Han Jiang was unwilling to contemplate why this person could so strongly affect his own emotions in just this short period of days, and only wanted to go with the flow of his feelings.
Again lifting up that bowl of ginger soup, Han Jiang scooped a spoonful, blowing at it before delivering the spoon right to Yun Jinshu’s mouth. “Alright, hold your glibness for later first. The soup’s getting cold, if you don’t drink it now, it’ll lose its effectiveness.”
“Mn.” Yun Jinshu smiled. Acting both spoilt and shameless, he opened his mouth wide as he drank spoon after spoon of the ginger soup Han Jiang fed him.
Since the person paying him was willing to continue this act, Yun Jinshu naturally had to cooperate. In any case, having Young Master Han lowering his status and feeding him this time, Yun Jinshu could have been considered to have benefited from it. No matter what feelings they each had now, at least, on the surface they looked very harmonious. Not only were they in harmony, in the words of young girls online, they had a very strong “CP-feel”, although Yun Jinshu did not understand what “CP” was at all.
Late at night, Han Jiang planted kisses all over Yun Jinshu’s body. He did not go all the way, but only pulled Yun Jinshu into his arms and fell deeply asleep. However, Yun Jinshu went through cycles of sleeping and waking up the entire night, tossing and turning about until 3 in the morning, before he could not sleep any longer.
Looking up at the clock hanging on the wall, Yun Jinshu shifted Han Jiang’s arm away lightly. He wanted to get off the bed to drink some water, only to hear his phone vibrate. Looking at the number calling, he immediately had a bad premonition. Still, he glanced at Han Jiang out of concern, confirming that he was deeply asleep before pushing the blanket away and getting out of bed before taking his phone with him to the balcony.
The moment he accepted the call, Zhao Hanchuan’s shouts immediately came through.
“Yun Jinshu, what exactly are you doing?! I’ve called you so many times, but you fucking only answer my call now?!”
This yell nearly made Yun Jinshu deaf. He hurriedly pulled his phone a distance away from his ear, wondering what was exactly so serious that it could make Zhao Hanchuan use such vulgarities.
“Big-shot Zhao, calm down a little? It’s three in the morning now, it wouldn’t be nice if your loud voice scares the little children.”
“Don’t talk nonsense! Yun Jinshu, if not for Starbright having signed you on, I’ll have chased you out long ago! You even dare to be affiliated to Shen Nian, this sort of person? You have yet to even debut, and you’re now stained with matters of drugs and homosexuality, are you thinking that your death is coming too slowly?!”
Under the bout of Zhao Hanchuan’s incessant scolding, Yun Jinshu finally understood what was going on. So it was about this matter. By the way, Yun Jinshu truly was an innocent party in this as well.
Yun Jinshu sighed helplessly. “Zhao-dage, I’m really not familiar with Shen Nian at all. You don’t have to worry like this about that matter, things will naturally work itself out.”
Zhao Hanchuan sneered. “Not familiar? If you’re not familiar, he would hit you? Tell me honestly what exactly is going on. If not because of the people I know from the newspapers, and found out about this, how long more do you plan on hiding it away from me?”
“I had no plans on hiding it from you, but I feel that things are not as serious as you think they are.”
“Jinshu, you’re new to this industry, and you don’t know how perilous it can be. I can not blame you for it, but do you know that once you’ve been connected to drugs, you’ll be destroyed! By that time, even if I have a god-given ability, I wouldn’t be able to do anything for you!”
Hearing how anxious Zhao Hanchuan, a man who was always so cold, was for him, Yun Jinshu was actually quite touched. As expected, Big-shot Zhao was a person who was outwardly cold, but a truly kind and passionate person on the inside.
“If there’s a need to, I will explain it to the media. Zhao-dage, go and rest first, I have my own plans for this matter.”
“Your own plans? As a newbie, what plans can you have?!” Zhao Hanchuan had been infuriated by how unbothered Yun Jinshu was, and started yelling into the phone again.
Yun Jinshu could neither laugh nor cry. Right at this moment, a hand came from behind him, taking his phone away. Yun Jinshu turned around to see Han Jiang cladded in pyjamas.
“Eh? You’re awake?”
Han Jiang stroked his hair in a soothing motion, and then answered the phone. “Is this Mr. Zhao? This is Han Jiang.”
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- ISMM Chapter 45 - May 11, 2023
- BTTC Chapter 55 - April 25, 2023
- BTTC Chapter 54 - April 18, 2023
Is Han Jiang really the main lead? I dont want Jinshu to be hurt the second time around.
(I’m assuming you actually want an answer). Lots of angst ahead, on both sides. On everybody’s side. *spreads angst all over like butter* Everyone has to swim through angst to reach the HE.
Thank you for the chapter update!!!
In this game of revenge-chicken, *who* is really the winner?
Can’t wait for more! 👍👍👍
Thank you for the chapter ❤️
I think I really like this. Can’t wait for those grievances fall upon YJ. Love angst 🤭
Nnngg every chapter has me more and more intrigued. I really hope more of the past on Han Jiang’s side is revealed and we get more on what went down. Thanks for the chapters! I can’t wait to read more!!
Yun Jinshu is in the perfect position to desteoy Han Jiang… I really wanna see how that works.
Thanks for the chapter!