Chapter 2

It was a gaze that carried a hint of scrutiny.

The man holding the suit in his right hand wore only a white shirt, standing tall with an elegant and handsome figure.

However, his demeanor was exceptionally cold, exuding an air that seemed to say “keep your distance.”

Especially his narrow, deep-set eyes, which, when they met someone’s gaze, seemed inherently aloof and superior.

Su Xingyao didn’t know this strikingly handsome man.

He had never seen him before.

But when their eyes first met, a name immediately flashed through his mind—

Lu Jiuxu.

A man described as a ruthless, cruel, and erratic big boss.

He was the only villain in the novel, one of the few men who didn’t indulge Shen Huaixi.

Later, after his death, he suddenly launched indiscriminate attacks against the protagonist group centered around Shen Huaixi, nearly wiping them all out.

Su Xingyao recalled that the words most commonly used to describe Lu Jiuxu in the novel were cold, violent, sinister, and malicious.

Therefore, he had assumed that the man would be the kind of person who looked tough to deal with, someone whose mere gaze could be overwhelmingly oppressive.

But now, as he stood not far away, when their eyes met, the first feeling that rose in Su Xingyao’s heart was a sense of familiarity and warmth.

It was as though they had known each other for a long time, and an automatic sense of goodwill arose.

Su Xingyao felt somewhat confused.

But then, he thought it might be because both of them shared a similar fate. Under the influence of the plot, they were both set up as stepping stones for the protagonist’s success, undeservedly turned into cannon fodder.

Moreover, Lu Jiuxu had saved him—he was, without a doubt, his savior.

With this thought, Su Xingyao smiled faintly at the man.

After seeing the smile, a flicker of surprise passed through Lu Jiuxu’s eyes.

However, his expression didn’t change much. After giving a slight nod to Su Xingyao, he spoke in a calm, neutral tone, “You’re awake.”

“Mm, just woke up a little while ago.”

Su Xingyao replied naturally, without the awkwardness or distance one might expect when speaking to a stranger.

When Lu Jiuxu suddenly returned, Aunt Zhang called out to him, “Mr. Lu,” and quickly stood up to pour him a glass of water.

“Xiao Yao’s been awake for about half an hour, and Doctor Lin will be here soon,” she explained.

Lu Jiuxu gave a brief acknowledgement with a hum, then handed his jacket to Aunt Zhang before sitting down in the chair opposite Su Xingyao.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked.

Su Xingyao gently shook his head. “No, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“You—”

“Woof, woof, woof! Woof, woof, woof!!”

The words Lu Jiuxu was about to say were interrupted by the excited barking of a dog.

The little dog that had previously burst through the door, seeing that Su Xingyao hadn’t responded to it, crawled out from under the bed, placed its little paws on the side of the bed, and scratched. Then it scampered back under the bed, running around and making various noises, trying to get Su Xingyao’s attention.

Lu Jiuxu didn’t seem annoyed at the interruption, and instead, he took the opportunity to introduce the dog.

“It’s called Sunset.”

Aunt Zhang, noticing the little black-eyed dog was staring eagerly at Su Xingyao, joined in to explain, “Sunset has been guarding you every day for the past month. Now that you’re awake, I think it’s a little excited.”

Aunt Zhang’s description piqued Su Xingyao’s curiosity.

The little dog had been guarding him every day?

What kind of angelic, empathetic dog was this?

He tilted his head and leaned slightly forward, smiling gently as he looked down at the little dog still pawing at the floor under the bed.

Sunset seemed to sense Su Xingyao’s gaze and stopped moving its paws, looking up at him.

Earlier, Su Xingyao hadn’t been able to see clearly as the dog had jumped too quickly, but he vaguely remembered it being a yellow-furred puppy.

Now that the dog was calmly looking up at him, Su Xingyao finally saw it clearly.

And then, his smile instantly faded.

The little dog had black, shiny eyes, orange-yellow fur, a round short tail, and a small flaw on its right ear…

For a moment, Su Xingyao thought he was seeing things.

Had Dan Huang (Egg Yolk) come back to see him?

Seeing Su Xingyao staring at him without blinking, Sunset obediently stood on its short legs, then lay back down beside the bed, squinting its eyes and adopting a pose that said, “You can pet me whenever you like.”

Su Xingyao understood its invitation, and his fingers instinctively twitched.

His natural love for animals made him want to reach out and pet Sunset’s head.

But the terrifying memories of the past had left him with such deep psychological scars.

He hesitated for a long time but still didn’t dare extend his hand.

This small shift in his behavior didn’t escape Lu Jiuxu’s notice.

His gaze dropped down, landing on the hand Su Xingyao had clenched around the bedsheet.

“Are you feeling unwell?” he asked.

Su Xingyao quickly shook his head. “No.”

He reluctantly pulled his gaze away from Sunset, he forced himself to look into Lu Jiuxu’s eyes before speaking again. “Sunset… reminds me of a little dog I used to have. They really look alike.”

They really, really did look alike.

Aside from Sunset’s hind legs being fine, it even had the small nick on its right ear, just like Dan Huang.

He had never seen two dogs that looked so similar.

After he explained, Su Xingyao still couldn’t calm his mind and thus fell silent.

This topic didn’t have much to talk about, so he didn’t expect Lu Jiuxu to say anything in response.

But the next moment, he heard Lu Jiuxu patiently explain, “I found it last year.”

Su Xingyao instantly understood the implication in Lu Jiuxu’s words.

He was politely asking if it was possible that Sunset was the little dog he once had.

And from the way he spoke, it seemed that if it really was his dog, Lu Jiuxu would return it to him.

Su Xingyao looked at Lu Jiuxu gratefully for his thoughtfulness.

But he did not accept his kindness.

“It shouldn’t be the same one.”

As he spoke, his gaze darkened.

“Because Dan Huang… has been gone for six years.”

His long eyelashes fluttered slightly as Su Xingyao hid the sadness in his eyes.

“Because of an accident… on a rainy day… it was hit by a car.”

After he explained the cause with difficulty, the scene from that time flooded his mind, uncontrollably resurfacing.

Dan Huang’s lifeless body in the heavy rain, Shen Huaixi’s fake apology…

And…

The blame from everyone at home.

— “It’s just a disabled dog. If it’s dead, so what? Huaixi didn’t do it on purpose, who are you putting on this show for?”

— “I told you a long time ago that Xiao Xi is allergic to dog fur. I told you not to bring the dog home, but you insisted on keeping it.”

— “Don’t look at Xiao Xi like that. Your dog scared him half to death, and I haven’t even scolded you yet…”

His dog died because of Shen Huaixi, yet in the end, it was still him who was blamed.

—

“Sorry.”

A low voice pulled Su Xingyao back from the memories of the noisy accusations.

He looked at the person in front of him and realized that it was Lu Jiuxu apologizing to him.

Realizing his lapse in composure, Su Xingyao quickly smiled. “It’s okay. It was my own carelessness.”

He shouldn’t have trusted his family so wholeheartedly and left Dan Huang, who had been his only companion, alone at home.

Lu Jiuxu didn’t respond but simply stared at Su Xingyao.

He could clearly feel the other person’s sudden emotional downturn.

But for some reason, despite his usual cold demeanor, he felt a bit of reluctance toward this stranger.

In just a few seconds, Su Xingyao managed to calm his emotions.

He put on a smile again and waved at the dog.

“Hello, Sunset.”

Seeing that Su Xingyao finally showed some affection, Sunset whined softly a few times, as if complaining about being ignored earlier.

However, Su Xingyao’s smile was so charming that Sunset couldn’t hold onto its pride for long and immediately took the opportunity to rest its head on Su Xingyao’s hand, rubbing its chin against his skin, acting spoiled.

No one could resist the adorable charms of a spoiled puppy, and Su Xingyao was no exception.

In the end, he couldn’t help but gently move his fingers, responding to Sunset’s affectionate gesture.

Sunset closed its eyes in enjoyment, but before long, someone interrupted them.

“Sleeping beauty, you’re finally awake.”

The cheerful voice was extremely penetrating.

Several medical staff, wearing white coats, followed a doctor who walked into the room with a confident air.

The speaker was the doctor at the front. He had almond-shaped eyes with a slightly upward slant, exuding a playful and flirtatious charm.

“Well, our Boss Lu is here today too!” He turned to a nurse beside him and asked, “What’s the lucky day today?”

The nurses giggled at his teasing of Lu Jiuxu.

Lu Jiuxu’s normally cold face became a little livelier in response to the laughter, and he casually replied, “Get lost.”

Lin Chengyi wasn’t bothered by the scolding, continuing his playful banter. “I specially came back to wake up Sleeping Beauty.”

This was the second time Su Xingyao had heard himself being called “Sleeping Beauty,” and he finally realized the doctor was referring to him.

His rebuttal got stuck in his throat, and before speaking, he realized that the doctor might have a point.

He had indeed been asleep for a long time.

However, a few seconds later, he still corrected the doctor seriously. “Doctor Lin, my name is Su Xingyao.”

He gave a faint smile, his eyes curving slightly. “Don’t call me Sleeping Beauty.”

Lin Chengyi was momentarily stunned.

The surrounding nurses were also frozen, captivated by Su Xingyao’s beautiful smile.

After hearing Su Xingyao’s words, Lu Jiuxu shot Lin Chengyi a look and warned, “Don’t speak nonsense.”

Lin Chengyi chuckled awkwardly, then realized, “Got it, Su Xingyao, right?”

Before Su Xingyao could reply, Lu Jiuxu answered for him, “Yes.”

After that, Lu Jiuxu left.

Lin Chengyi put on his gloves and began examining Su Xingyao.

While he had been joking around earlier, he was serious about his work and carried out a thorough examination that lasted over an hour.

—

Perhaps due to his rebirth, Su Xingyao’s body was recovering quite quickly.

According to Doctor Lin Chengyi’s advice, he had been taking walks downstairs during this time.

As he strolled, he realized that Lu Jiuxu’s mansion was truly vast.

Not only was the area large, but the landscaping was also done exceptionally well.

The villa was filled with all kinds of flowers, plants, and trees.

Particularly the multi-headed roses and peonies, which the gardener had carefully planted throughout the yard. Each one was meticulously tended to.

Su Xingyao found it fascinating.

Judging from Lu Jiuxu’s cold and aloof personality, Su Xingyao had assumed he wouldn’t care about plants.

Yet, he had spent considerable effort to hire someone to plant so many roses and peonies in the yard.

For someone with his aloof image to engage in such peaceful activities seemed oddly out of place to Su Xingyao.

Of course, this wasn’t the only thing that felt out of place.

For example, although Lu Jiuxu loves these flowers, he rarely comes to stay here.

And another thing—he never mentions saving him, nor did he ask him to leave after he woke up. Instead, he simply allowed him to stay here and recover.

Lu Jiuxu, this villainous big boss, really is quite interesting.

While Su Xingyao was walking, his attention was suddenly drawn to a patch of watermelon-red peonies.

A few days ago, when he walked past this spot, the peonies were still in bud. He didn’t expect them to bloom so quickly.

He stopped in front of the peonies and asked the nearby gardener, “Master, what is the name of this flower?”

The gardener replied, “This is called Sunset Coral, a variety from the Netherlands.”

Su Xingyao nodded and squatted down to examine the flowers closely.

When he was a child, after he got lost, he had been adopted by a family. Although he didn’t want to recall the painful experience of being adopted, the peonies from that time had left a deep impression in his memory.

Back then, there was a wealthy family near his school.

When he was little, every day as he walked to and from school, his eyes would always be drawn to the peonies in their yard, which changed color.

The color of these peonies was especially magical—the petals would gradually change from watermelon-red to salmon pink.

Each peony seemed to bloom like a frozen sunset, poetic and romantic in its own way.

The young Su Xingyao didn’t know what variety of peony it was, he only knew that every year, in April and May, he would go to that family’s gate to take a look.

It wasn’t until later, when his adoptive mother passed away, and his adoptive father’s harsh treatment of him and his sister made life unbearable, that he gradually forgot about that watermelon-red color that had brightened his childhood.

But he never imagined that, years later, he would see these same peonies again, this time in Lu Jiuxu’s villa, due to an accident.

And now, he finally knew their name.

Sunset Coral.

A name as beautiful as its color.

Su Xingyao was just about to quietly admire the peonies when Aunt Zhang suddenly handed him something.

“I’ve been holding onto this for you and forgot to return it,” she said.

She handed him the phone that had fallen off the cliff with him earlier.

Seeing Su Xingyao staring at his phone, Aunt Zhang apologized, “I’m getting older, and my memory’s not as good. I didn’t see you using your phone, so I completely forgot about it.”

“It’s fine.”

Su Xingyao smiled.

In fact, Aunt Zhang didn’t need to apologize.

He really didn’t need the phone.

During these days of recovery, being away from his phone had actually made him feel more at ease.

In his free time, he walked, read books, soaked up the sun, played with the dog, and learned from the gardener how to grow flowers.

This was the only time in years when he felt truly relaxed and carefree.

Not wanting to look at his phone for now, Su Xingyao casually tossed it on the desk to charge.

After discussing the planting and care of Sunset Coral with the gardener, he finally turned the phone back on.

As expected.

The phone had only a few messages.

Even though he had been missing for more than a month, no one had bothered to check on him.

Su Xingyao looked at the messages. Aside from various ads and spam, most of them were from his manager, sent the afternoon he had fallen off the cliff.

The contents were mostly criticisms.

However, after a certain time that evening, his manager stopped sending messages.

It seemed that someone had intervened and simply let him disappear.

Su Xingyao cleared his phone’s messages, too lazy to read the insults from his manager.

He could live without his phone, but he couldn’t avoid it forever.

So, he lowered his head, carefully scanning the contacts on the screen. One by one, he blocked the calls and WeChat messages from all the unimportant people in his life.

But the phone seemed to be purposely working against him.

Just as he had blocked Wen Ningshu, a WeChat message popped up out of nowhere, the first message after over a month of silence.

Qin Mingchuan: Are you done causing trouble yet?