go Ape

A bedside lamp was left on in the room. Chen Chi turned to stare at Chu Sinian's fair neck under the warm light, and suddenly stretched out his arms to hug Chu Sinian.

He buried his head in Chu Sinian's shoulder, closed his eyes, and smelled the same shower gel scent. A tingling sensation spread from his skin to his heart.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

Chu Sinian felt uncomfortable with the rubbing against his ear, and turned his head slightly to say, "Yes, I booked a ticket for around nine o'clock in the morning."

Chen Chi opened his eyes, his pupils appearing particularly dark in the backlight. "Don't leave, okay?"

Chu Sinian remained silent.

Chen Chi kissed his earlobe and felt his body tremble. "I want to lock you up."

A deep, hoarse voice sounded in his ear, and Chu Sinian suddenly felt half of his body go numb. He squinted and slapped him, "Don't go crazy. Lock him up again, are you really willing to do that?"

Chen Chi's voice was hoarse, "I can't bear to part with it."

"If you don't want to go to sleep, go to sleep quickly. I'm very sleepy; I have to go tomorrow..."

Chen Chi pressed his chest against his back and gently interrupted him, "Go to sleep."

Upon hearing this, Chu Sinian was overcome with drowsiness. He turned around, nestled in Chen Chi's arms, found a comfortable position, buried his head between the blankets and Chen Chi's chest, and quickly fell asleep.

As if his usual difficult sleep had never existed, Chen Chi looked intently at the person in his arms, reached out and turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the room into complete darkness.

Chen Chi tightened his arms and kissed him on the forehead.

Goodnight, Nian Nian.

Chu Sinian woke up at seven o'clock the next morning.

The room was well-lit; if it weren't for his biological clock waking him up, Chu Sinian would have thought it was still last night.

He rubbed his eyes and subconsciously rolled over. The arm around his waist tightened instantly, lifting Chu Sinian up and slamming him against Chen Chi's chest.

Chu Sinian looked up, and Chen Chi opened his eyes, his dark eyes still carrying a hint of morning daze, his voice slightly hoarse, "Awake? Are you hungry?"

Chu Sinian nodded awkwardly, "You have to travel to several countries today, so get some sleep. You don't need to see me off."

Chen Chi ruffled Chu Sinian's hair, got up and got out of bed. "I'll have someone bring breakfast over. Go wash up first."

Chu Sinian was given another assignment, and he stood up and said, "Understood."

He was also very busy recently, just as busy as Chen Chi. However, he sacrificed his mealtimes, while Chen Chi sacrificed his sleep. Chu Sinian considered himself healthier than Chen Chi because he didn't skip meals; he just ate whatever was filling and convenient.

Chen Chi had a Chinese breakfast, or more specifically, Cantonese breakfast, delivered to him.

Chu Sinian picked up a large White Rabbit coconut milk cake with his fork. It looked so cute that even a child might not be able to bring themselves to eat it.

Chu Sinian put a fork into his mouth, but it immediately slid down his throat, forcing him to cough. Chen Chi, who was on the phone nearby, came over and put his hand on Chu Sinian's chin, "Spit it out."

Chu Sinian suddenly remembered the bones vomited out in the ward, coughed until his face turned red, and spat them into his hand.

It's really delicious, sweet but not cloying.

Chu Sinian licked his lips, watching Chen Chi discard the rabbit fragments from his palm, put his phone on the table and talk to the other person while wiping his hands with a wet wipe, his eyes glancing at him from time to time.

Chu Sinian knew that it carried a hint of reproach.

But he ignored it and continued to eat the rabbit.

After Chen Chi finished his call, he couldn't wait to ask, "Where can I find Cantonese breakfast in Cancun?"

"I had someone prepare this yesterday." Chen Chi forked the rabbit, cut it in half, and handed it to him. "Don't swallow such a big thing if your throat is so shallow."

Chu Sinian said "Oh," and then asked, "How did you know I have a shallow throat?"

Chen Chi lifted his eyelids and looked at him quietly, "Kiss a few times, and lick it properly."

Chu Sinian looked at him with some disbelief, "You're really shameless."

“Kong Bo once told me that you are thick-skinned and stubborn when it comes to business, and that you always offer unreasonable terms and refuse to budge an inch. I didn’t believe it.”

"I believe it now."

Chen Chi suddenly smiled, "You can't make money if you're not thick-skinned, year after year."

Chu Sinian touched the end of his eyebrow, indicating his agreement.

He picked up a shrimp dumpling and put it in Chen Chi's bowl. "When are you leaving?"

Chen Chi was working on a contract on his laptop when he heard this and said, "Flying to Vancouver at one o'clock this afternoon."

Chu Sinian held the shrimp dumplings in the bowl to Chen Chi's mouth, and Chen Chi glanced at him before taking a bite.

Chu Sinian looked at his profile as he chewed his food while working and suddenly asked, "You seem to know me very well. You even know exactly when I finish work and go to eat."

Chen Chi said, "The mealtimes aren't hard to guess."

Chu Sinian nodded, "However, my meals are very irregular. I might not have breakfast until 11 or 12 o'clock, and I might not have lunch until 4 or 5 o'clock in the afternoon."

Chen Chi paused in his typing, turned to look at him, and asked, "What do you want to say?"

Chu Sinian smiled, shook his head and said, "It's nothing, I was just asking."

Chen Chi continued to look at him, his face as cold and stern as ever.

Chu Sinian continued eating as if nothing had happened, and the two remained silent for a long time.

When it was time to go to the airport, Chen Chi held Chu Sinian's hand all the way to the lounge. He put a bag of snacks on the table and said to Chu Sinian, "Have some if you're craving something. The snacks on the plane aren't necessarily clean."

Chu Sinian winked at him, "You still knew I'd want snacks."

Chen Chi rubbed his head. "It's normal to have a snack on a long flight."

Chu Sinian pouted, broke free from their clasped hands, hugged them, and buried her head in their neck. "I hope we'll be together forever."

Chen Chi was taken aback, then hugged him back, "I will."

There are no direct flights from Cancun to East Anglia; you need to land in New York and transfer there before flying directly to East Anglia.

As international flights soared into the sky, a young man pulling a suitcase walked straight out of the airport. Amidst the bustling crowds, he stood still.

He squinted at the north and turned off his phone.

He generously gave the pesos, got into the black man's car, and drove north.

In the hotel, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling glass doors into the living room, filling the brightly lit room. Chen Chi sat at his desk, conducting a video conference. "The new product launch has been well-received by the market. The biological research team can start the next project. The finance department has approved an additional 40% in funding. I need concrete results from you by the next quarter..."

The video conference had been going on for about half an hour when Chen Chi took a sip of water and subconsciously picked up his phone to check Chu Sinian's location. Suddenly, he frowned.

The positioning system he installed was very powerful; no matter where the other party was or what state they were in, as long as the device was not turned off, he could know their precise location.

There are charging stations in the first-class cabin of the plane. Chu Sinian doesn't usually use his phone much, and since he installed GPS, he has never turned it off.

Chen Chi immediately stood up and dialed Yi Fan's number. "Contact Bingnan International Airlines immediately and inquire about the departure time of flight C5708 bound for New York at 9:15 AM. Tell them to find Chu Sinian."

Yi Fan paused for a second, then quickly replied, "Okay, boss. Mr. Chu should be on the plane. Don't worry too much."

Chen Chi's face darkened. "I can't see his location."

Yi Fan was contacting people on another phone when he heard this, and his heart skipped a beat. "It's okay, boss. Those who slipped through the net have already been dealt with. Maybe their phones just ran out of battery..."

Chen Chi hung up the phone.

He gripped his phone tightly, veins bulging on his arm. Those lingering, terrifying memories once again assaulted his mind, and his resentment grew even stronger.

Chen Chi frowned and pulled up the hidden surveillance footage he had installed on his computer in the apartment. The apartment was empty, just as it had been after Chu Sinian left.

Chen Chi stared at the screen, a storm brewing in his eyes. Suddenly, without warning, he walked outside and dialed a phone. "Check the airport surveillance footage. I'll be at the airport in twenty minutes."

Chen Chi strode into the hotel lobby. His imposing aura amidst the bustling crowd caused tourists to automatically make way for him, and even those who wanted to approach him to ask if they needed help hesitated.

The young man standing not far away by the suitcase watched the man walking briskly forward and curled his fingertips.

He gripped the suitcase handle and slowly walked towards the man.

The moment the action began, the rollers made a muffled rustling sound on the marble floor, drowned out by the sound of waves and the noise of people.

The man, who was about to step out the door, looked coldly toward the sound of the wheels grinding, and suddenly froze.

Chu Sinian slowly walked up to him, a bitter feeling welling up in his heart, he couldn't tell if it was disappointment, helplessness, or both.

He choked back a sob, then forced a smile. "You're looking for me, aren't you?"

Chen Chi stared at him silently, as if there was something else he didn't understand.

When did you begin to have doubts?

Hearing him admit it so readily, Chu Sinian's anger turned to weakness. "Ever since I was home, you've always been able to predict exactly when I'll finish my work and have been suspicious when you bring me food, but I didn't believe you."

He pulled his suitcase and walked towards the room. "Later, you took care of me in every little detail. You didn't really intend to hide it from me, did you?"

Chen Chi took the hand holding the handle, but the other man dodged away. So Chen Chi pulled the suitcase and went back to the room with him. "Yes, I don't want to hide it from you."

Chu Sinian suddenly turned around and glared at him, "Then why didn't you tell me!"

They left in such a hurry that they didn't close the hotel room door. Chen Chi gently pushed Chu Sinian through the door, then leaned back to close it and said to him, "I was afraid you couldn't handle it."

Looking at Chen Chi's expressionless face, Chu Sinian suddenly felt a little overwhelmed. "Can't stand it? You really care about me. Even Ning Zicheng understands that he can't investigate me, so why are you going to monitor me even more intensely!"

"Do you think I don't know? Ever since I was discharged from the hospital, you've always been there whenever I go out. Do you think I don't know you're spying on me?"

"I'm just afraid, I'm just afraid you've suffered psychological trauma, that it will pass in time, but why do you still treat me like this when we're together!"

Chu Sinian's eyes reddened, and his face was filled with anger.

His pupils trembled, and he couldn't suppress the feeling of being wronged.

He thought everything would be alright after they got together.

Chu Sinian closed his eyes and staggered to the table where the computer was placed.

The large computer screen, still powered on, clearly displayed surveillance footage from all directions of the apartment, leaving no blind spots except for the bathroom.

If you're worried about yourself, you can install a security camera in the living room. Why?

Why are there so many angles from which people are spying?

Chu Sinian was completely exhausted. An overwhelming feeling of being enveloped tightly gripped him, as if it wanted to take away and destroy all his living space until he suffocated.

Tears welled up in his eyes. "Chen Chi, why did you do this to me?"

Chen Chi stood in front of him, pulled his hand away from the corner of the table, his expression indifferent. "I don't think I did anything wrong."

“I don’t think I’m wrong to want to see you do something wrong.”

His eyes were dark and deep. He pinched Chu Sinian's chin, flicked his fingertips, and wiped away the tears that had slid down his cheeks. "Why are you crying?"

Chu Sinian glanced at him, pulled his hand away, and smiled sarcastically, "That's right? Well, Chen Chi, that's really good."

"I was blind to have been with you! You're a complete bastard!" Chu Sinian exploded, his familiar ice spikes stabbing fiercely at Chen Chi.

Chen Chi's face suddenly turned horribly grim. He grabbed Chu Si's neck with his hand, applying a bit of force with his five fingers, making the grip extremely tight.

"Don't say things like that. I can assume you're just angry for a moment and I won't take it seriously. You'd better not take it seriously either."

Chen Chi gently kneaded the back of his neck, seemingly both comforting and coercing him, while his other hand wrapped around his waist. He lowered his head and rubbed against his ear, feeling the slight trembling of the person beneath his palm.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Niannian, don't be impulsive. You said we'd be together forever, didn't you?"

"Good boy, you can't break your promise."

Chu Sinian tried to push his arm away but couldn't. He felt as if his body was completely controlled by another person, and he didn't even have room to breathe.

Only then did he realize the extent of Chen Chi's illness.

Chu Sinian shouted, "Let me go!"

Chen Chi ignored him, his hand behind her waist stroking her back. "Calm down, Nian Nian. I know this isn't what you meant."

Chu Sinian bit his lip in hatred, slowly realizing that he had become a bird under Chen Chi's grasp.

Whether he wanted to get rid of it or not, or whether he tried to implement it, it all became nonsense.