Chapter Thirty-One 3306 Refund

When the morning light shone through the gauze curtains into the suite of Golden Buddha City, Cheng Yin was already awake.

She tiptoed into the living room and found Lin Shirong organizing documents by the coffee table. His gold-rimmed glasses reflected the morning light, and there was a faint bluish tint under his eyes behind the lenses.

"Good morning," Cheng Yin greeted softly. "Is Li Yaodong still not awake?"

Lin Shirong looked up and pointed to the bedroom door: "Just woke up, on the phone." He adjusted his glasses. "I ordered breakfast, it'll be here in a bit."

Cheng Yin nodded and walked to the French windows.

The skyline of Golden Buddha City appears and disappears in the morning mist, with the golden roofs of temples interspersed among the high-rise buildings, like a jigsaw puzzle where modernity and tradition intertwine.

The bedroom door opened, and Li Yaodong came out. His complexion was better than last night, but the bandage on his right shoulder was still glaring. His black hair stood up in a messy manner, which made him look much younger.

"I'm starving." Li Yaodong slumped onto the sofa, the movement aggravating his wound. He frowned. "Where's breakfast?"

Lin Shirong pointed to the phone: "I'll be there soon."

Li Yaodong looked at Cheng Yin: "How did you sleep?"

Cheng Yin nodded: "It's alright." She hesitated for a moment, "Does the wound hurt?"

Li Yaodong raised an eyebrow: "It hurts." He looked at her meaningfully, "It hurts a lot."

The exaggerated tone made Lin Shirong's lips twitch slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

Cheng Yin took it seriously and walked over to Li Yaodong, wanting to check his bandages: "Should we call the doctor to come earlier?"

Li Yaodong grabbed her wrist: "No need." A slight smile played on his lips. "You can just feed me."

"good."

This straightforward answer surprised Li Yaodong for a moment, then he smiled like a triumphant child.

Lin Shirong pushed up his glasses, looked down at the documents, and pretended not to notice the interaction between the two.

Cheng Yin ladled out a bowl of porridge and sat down next to Li Yaodong.

"Open your mouth." She scooped up a spoonful of porridge and blew on it.

Li Yaodong obediently opened his mouth, like a fledgling bird waiting to be fed.

Cheng Yin's movements were skillful and precise; the spoon was tilted at just the right angle, not a drop spilled. She watched Li Yaodong's mouth intently, waiting for him to swallow before offering the second spoonful, like a professional caregiver.

Lin Shirong looked up from the document. He had known Li Yaodong for nearly twenty years and had never seen this man, who had once dominated Macau, so... docile.

What's even stranger is that Cheng Yin's expression was extremely serious, without the slightest bit of shyness or ambiguity, as if she were simply completing a task.

"You..." Lin Shirong couldn't help but ask, "Do you often take care of people like this?"

Cheng Yin nodded: "Xu Chen gets injured often." She continued feeding him porridge, "He's used to it."

Li Yaodong's smile froze on his face. He sat up abruptly, the movement aggravating his wound and causing him to gasp. "No need," he said, snatching the bowl of porridge from his hand. "I can do it myself."

Cheng Yin looked at his sudden change in confusion: "The wound doesn't hurt anymore?"

"It hurts terribly," Li Yaodong gritted his teeth, "but it's not to the point where I can't eat."

Lin Shirong lowered his head and drank his coffee. This man had his tendons cut when he was eighteen, and he could still bite the bandage and bandage himself. Now he was actually throwing a tantrum over a bowl of porridge.

"Move in with me after you return to Macau." Lai Yiu-tung suddenly became serious. "Cancel 3306."

"good."

This straightforward answer made Lin Shirong's coffee cup clink softly on the saucer, and also made Li Yaodong raise an eyebrow: "Aren't you going to ask why?"

"You need someone to take care of you." Cheng Yin pointed to his shoulder. "Your wound needs changing its dressing."

Li Yaodong smiled and pinched her waist: "Yes, I need to be taken care of." His gaze swept over Lin Shirong's slightly stiff expression.

Lin Shirong handed over a document: "The arrangements in Macau are complete. A private plane will depart at 2 PM."

Li Yaodong flipped through the documents, while Cheng Yin fed him another spoonful of porridge: "How is Cici?"

"She was frightened, but she's alright." Lin Shirong put down his coffee cup. "She's decided to stay in Macau."

Li Yaodong snorted: "A wise choice."

Cheng Yin got up to pack her luggage.

Lin Shirong watched her figure disappear behind the bedroom door, then turned to Li Yaodong: "Seriously?"

Li Yaodong picked up the fork Cheng Yin had used and poked at a piece of ham left on her plate: "What do you think?"

Lin Shirong pushed up his glasses: "She probably doesn't understand the meaning of 'cohabitation'."

"She'll understand." Li Yaodong glanced meaningfully at Lin Shirong's right arm. "Thank you for saving her."

Lin Shirong's expression subtly shifted: "It's my duty."

Li Yaodong chuckled and said nothing more.

The private jet is more spacious than when it arrived.

Cici was already in the cabin, dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans, without makeup, her hair tied in a ponytail, completely unlike her usual party queen self. Upon seeing Cheng Yin, she immediately stood up and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you," Cici whispered in her ear, her voice choked with emotion, "If it weren't for you..."

Cheng Yin gently patted her back: "It's alright."

Li Yaodong patted the seat next to him: "Come here." Cheng Yin sat down, and his hand naturally rested on her waist.

Li Yaodong fell asleep quickly due to the effects of the medication, his head resting on Cheng Yin's shoulder. His breathing was steady and warm, brushing against Cheng Yin's neck like tiny flames, making her skin feel hot.

Cheng Yin carefully adjusted her posture to make Li Yaodong more comfortable.

This was completely different from the Li Yaodong she remembered, the one who had dominated the casinos. Cheng Yin couldn't help but reach out and gently brush away a strand of black hair from his forehead.

Li Yaodong frowned in his sleep and unconsciously grabbed her wrist as if it were a piece of driftwood.

Lin Shirong sat opposite him, looking down at the documents. He turned the pages too forcefully, and the documents occasionally made a slight tearing sound.

Cici looked at this and then at that, and wisely put on an eye mask and pretended to be asleep.

Li Yaodong only woke up when the plane landed at Haojiang International Airport. He released Cheng Yin's wrist, which already had a faint red mark, like a silent declaration.

He Jingwen waited on the tarmac, his floral shirt standing out conspicuously in the sunlight. Seeing the four of them descend the gangway, he waved exaggeratedly, "Welcome home!"

Four people, four oddities.

"Uh..." He Jingwen scratched his head, "The car is ready."

As they got into the car, He Jingwen finally couldn't help but whisper to Lin Shirong, "What's going on?"

Lin Shirong pushed up his glasses: "Don't ask."

On the way back, He Jingwen observed the four people in the back seat through the rearview mirror.

Li Yaodong and Cheng Yin sat together, with almost no gap between them; Lin Shirong and Cici sat separately, the former occasionally adjusting his glasses, while the latter stared blankly out the window.

"So..." He Jingwen broke the silence, "Cici isn't leaving?"

Cici nodded: "Yes, stay in Haojiang."

"And what about Accountant Cheng?" He Jingwen glanced meaningfully at Li Yaodong's hand on her waist. "Is she still staying at Jiapu?"

She moved in with me.

Suite 3306 at Gaper remains clean and tidy.

"Not bringing it?" Li Yaodong asked, leaning against the door frame.

Cheng Yin shook her head: "No need."

Li Yaodong approached, picking up a diamond necklace with his left hand: "I picked this out especially for you."

Cheng Yin looked at the dazzling main stone and remembered Li Yaodong saying, "You look good in diamonds." She took the necklace, hesitated for a moment, and said, "It's too expensive."

"Put them on," Li Yaodong commanded. "Now."

Cheng Yin turned around and brushed her hair to one side. Li Yaodong's left hand cuffed the clasp rather clumsily, his fingertips inadvertently brushing against the back of her neck, causing a slight shiver.

"She's beautiful." Li Yaodong turned her shoulder, looked her over, and said, "Keep her."

After packing her luggage, Cheng Yin took one last look around apartment 3306.

When they arrived at Li Yaodong's house again, he took Cheng Yin directly to the master bedroom, where a king-size bed was covered with dark gray sheets.

"Sleep here," he said, pointing to the king-size bed. "It'll be easier to take care of you."

Cheng Yin had no objection and placed her luggage in the corner.

Dinner was Cantonese home-style cooking prepared by the nanny. Li Yaodong's left hand was not very dexterous with chopsticks, so Cheng Yin naturally helped him pick up food, her movements as familiar as those of an old married couple.

After dinner, the doctor came to change the dressing. Li Yaodong's wound was healing well, but the doctor instructed that it should not be pressed, and Cheng Yin wrote down all the precautions.

After changing the dressing, Cheng Yin went to the bathroom to wash up. When she returned, Li Yaodong was already lying in bed, with a large empty space on his left side.

The mattress was so soft it felt like it would swallow him whole. Just like in room 3306, Li Yaodong instinctively tried to turn around and hug her, but the movement aggravated his wound, and he let out a muffled groan.

"Don't move," Cheng Yin said softly. "Like this..." She leaned closer, resting her head on Li Yaodong's intact left shoulder, her body gently pressed against his side.

This position would neither put pressure on his wound nor prevent him from feeling her presence.

Li Yaodong's body stiffened visibly for a moment, then relaxed, and he gently wrapped his left arm around her waist.

"Is Cici really not going back?"

Li Yaodong gently nuzzled the top of her head: "For her, Siam...is not home."

This sentence reminded Cheng Yin of her aunt's attic, and of those places that were called "home" but were as cold as a cellar.

"You seem to have gained a little weight," Li Yaodong suddenly said, his fingers stroking her waist.

Cheng Yin answered earnestly, "I'm eating properly."

Li Yaodong chuckled softly, his breath brushing against the top of her hair: "Keep it up."