After Yuan Baiyue left, Gu Xuanze was once again alone in the office. He put down his pen, massaged his aching temples, and allowed himself to relax briefly.

Avoidance doesn’t solve anything. Gu Xuanze’s gaze deepened as he opened Lu Youze’s WeChat on his phone. After hesitating for a long time, he finally sent the message.

“Can we meet tonight?”

After sending the message, Gu Xuanze felt a slight sense of relief. At least the other person hadn’t blocked him. Maybe there was still hope?

He put the phone aside and went back to dealing with company matters.

But his gaze kept drifting toward his phone screen, and the usually work-focused Gu Xuanze found himself distracted, something he was often teased about.

About half an hour later, Gu Xuanze sighed as if resigned. Just as he was about to make a call, Lu Youze suddenly replied.

Lu Youze:

“Sure. Where should we meet tonight?”

Gu Xuanze stared at the message for a while, unable to tell from the response whether Lu Youze’s memory had fully recovered, or how much he remembered.

Of course, all would be clear when they met.

Gu Xuanze:

“Just come to my place, I’ll pick you up later.”

Lu Youze replied quickly this time.

Lu Youze:

“Okay.”

Gu Xuanze quickly finished up some documents that only he could handle and then headed home.

Though it was still a while before evening, he wanted to prepare a nice dinner beforehand.

This might be the last dinner, Gu Xuanze thought with a sense of sadness.

Ye Xingyin, probably still dealing with issues related to the audio leak, was certainly unavailable to bother Ah Hao. After some thought, Gu Xuanze made a call to ask his younger brother to return home later.

He didn’t want anyone disturbing him tonight, not even Ah Hao.

Looking at the table full of dishes he had prepared, Gu Xuanze felt a bit better. He had made Lu Youze’s favorite foods before the memory loss. He had put a lot of effort into figuring out what Lu Youze liked to eat, since the things exposed online weren’t necessarily true preferences. He wasn’t sure if Lu Youze still liked them after the memory loss.

Gu Xuanze checked the time—it was already past six in the evening. He planned to tidy up a bit and then go pick up Lu Youze. But after taking just a couple of steps, he suddenly felt dizzy, barely managing to steady himself.

He rubbed his brow and the tip of his nose, leaning against the kitchen wall for a moment before regaining his composure.

He had to find out whether Lu Youze really remembered everything. He didn’t want any more uncertainty; he couldn’t afford to take any more risks.

After quickly freshening up, Gu Xuanze left the house, feeling as if the discomfort earlier had been just a trick of the mind.

When he was nearing Lu Youze’s apartment, he sent a message letting him know he would be there in five minutes.

When he pulled up in front of the building, he saw Lu Youze was already waiting.

“Have you been waiting long?” Gu Xuanze kept his eyes on the road, afraid to glance at Lu Youze’s expression in the passenger seat.

“No,” Lu Youze replied, sounding much like usual. Perhaps the restoration of his reputation had lifted his spirits, and his mood seemed quite good, his voice even carrying a smile. “I just came down.”

“Youze, may I ask you something? Has your memory fully returned?”

Gu Xuanze didn’t sense any hostility from Lu Youze. He couldn’t help but steal a glance at him and carefully asked, not wanting to make it obvious, but slowly testing the waters.

When Lu Youze first heard Gu Xuanze mention a question, he had been a little nervous, worried that the conversation would turn to something about their relationship. After hearing the question, he relaxed slightly, glad that it wasn’t about emotions, as he wasn’t sure how to answer that right now.

“Mr. Gu, to be honest, I still don’t remember anything from before,” Lu Youze said, keeping a neutral tone as he observed Gu Xuanze’s reaction.

Gu Xuanze couldn’t tell what he was feeling, but he was partly relieved. He had an unspoken hope that Lu Youze would never regain his memory.

“And what about what you posted on Weibo…” Gu Xuanze started to ask, but then stopped himself, feeling it didn’t matter. He didn’t want to pressure Lu Youze or make him feel constrained.

“I just wrote it randomly,” Lu Youze replied casually, turning his head to look out the window.

Lu Youze wasn’t keen on continuing this topic either. If he started talking about the journal from the previous identity, Gu Xuanze might not feel good about it either.

The two fell into silence. Thankfully, the car soon arrived at the Gu family villa. After guiding Lu Youze into the living room, Gu Xuanze said, “Youze, go wash your hands. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Lu Youze was indeed hungry. He had been focused all day on the online public relations battle, and with things so tense, he hadn’t dared to go out, afraid of being spotted by reporters. Not wanting to cause any trouble for Yuan Baiyue or the others, he hadn’t ordered takeout, and he was now extremely hungry.

Looking at the sumptuous dinner spread out on the table, Lu Youze’s eyes lit up. If he weren’t concerned about his image, he would have rushed over to devour the food.

“Mr. Gu, did you make all of this?” Lu Youze licked his lips, trying hard not to let his saliva drip out. He once again marveled that Gu Xuance was truly a perfect man. He could both entertain guests and cook; was there anything in this world that Gu Xuance couldn’t do? A man like him, who wouldn’t want him? Lu Youze was startled by his sudden thought. He felt a bit flustered and avoided Gu Xuance’s gentle gaze.

Although there was no change in Gu Xuance’s expression, Lu Youze caught a glimpse of the slightly lost look in his eyes.

“Mm.” Gu Xuance suppressed all emotions in his eyes. He took Lu Youze’s bowl and served him several dishes, carefully saying, “These are the ones you used to love. I don’t know if they still suit your taste, so please try them.”

The dishes looked delicious, but for some reason, after hearing Gu Xuance’s words, Lu Youze suddenly lost his appetite.

Sigh! Lu Youze resignedly sighed. He had reminded himself not to become too immersed in Gu Xuance’s gentleness, but Gu Xuance was so kind, and it had been a long time since anyone treated him so carefully. Add to that the influence of the Alpha pheromones and other confusing factors.

In the end, he found himself starting to care.

Once he started caring, jealousy followed, which was something Lu Youze had anticipated. Once he began feeling jealous, Lu Youze knew it was over. But he still wanted to struggle a bit.

“Mr. Gu, I just remembered I have something to do. I’ll leave now.” Putting down his chopsticks, Lu Youze stood up and said to Gu Xuance. As a professional actor, even though it was obvious this was a lie, there was no change in his expression.

Gu Xuance didn’t say anything. He just looked at Lu Youze with his beautiful eyes, keeping his gaze on him.

Lu Youze began to feel uneasy under the gaze, and his perfect performance began to show cracks.

“Mr. Gu, I’ll leave now.” Lu Youze awkwardly turned and fled.

Gu Xuance quietly watched Lu Youze’s back as it disappeared from view. He reached out, wanting to hold him tight, but his clenched fist eventually loosened.

Gu Xuance thought, maybe he wasn’t doing well enough.

It was fine, next time he would do better. He wouldn’t put any pressure on the other person to make him want to run away.

Gu Xuance glanced at the dishes on the table. They were originally prepared for Lu Youze, but since Lu Youze didn’t want to eat, he had no desire to eat either. He had left early today, and there were still some files he hadn’t finished dealing with. Gu Xuance thought for a moment and decided to go to the office and handle the files.

But just as he stood up, he suddenly felt dizzy. In a panic, he reflexively grabbed the tablecloth, but his body still fell forward, and the dishes on the table crashed to the ground.

The sound of the dishes crashing was so loud that even Lu Youze, who had already reached the living room, heard it.

He originally thought that Gu Xuance was angry, but then he remembered that Gu Xuance’s personality didn’t seem like someone who would act that way. Earlier, he had noticed that Gu Xuance’s complexion wasn’t great. The man hadn’t rested for several days; could his body be in trouble? Thinking of that possibility, Lu Youze quickly ran back to the dining room.

When he saw Gu Xuance on the floor with soup and food spilled everywhere, he cursed inwardly. He didn’t know how to describe his feelings at this moment, but he was really scared that something had happened to Gu Xuance.

“Mr. Gu.” Lu Youze crouched down and patted Gu Xuance’s face. When there was no response, he slapped it harder. “Mr. Gu, can you hear me?”

Still no response.

Lu Youze grew anxious. He picked Gu Xuance up and carried him to the living room sofa. Since Gu Xuance had planned for just the two of them to be alone, the housemaids were on vacation, and no one was there to help.

It was only then that Lu Youze remembered to call an ambulance. While waiting for the ambulance, he also called Gu Xuance’s older brother.

Lu Youze looked at Gu Xuance, who was pale and lying on the sofa. He used a tissue to wipe the food scraps off his face and body. Then he couldn’t help but hold Gu Xuance’s hand. His hand was cold, a completely different temperature from when he had touched Lu Youze.

Waiting always felt long, especially when you were scared. Even a wait of just ten minutes felt like a century.

The ambulance arrived at the same time as Gu Xuance’s brother, Gu Xuanke. Gu Xuance was carried into the ambulance, but Lu Youze didn’t follow. His current public profile was too high, and it wasn’t suitable for him to appear in public.

Gu Xuanke had been brought back by Ye Xing. He didn’t leave with the ambulance. He glanced at the calm Lu Youze, suddenly feeling a bit empathetic towards Gu Xuance.

In the end, he and the eldest son were in the same boat, just pitiful people who loved those who didn’t love them back.

“Mr. Lu,” Ye Xing’s voice was a bit cold. “Although the eldest son might blame me for meddling, I still want to say one thing: the eldest son has done far more for you than you know.”

After saying this, Ye Xing didn’t linger. He still had to look after the second young master. If anything really happened to the eldest son, the one who would suffer the most was probably the second young master.