Chapter 118: Back To That Key Moment ①

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Chapter 118: Back To That Key Moment ①

A few days later, Jian Chenfeng brought Shang Ke home in high spirits. Once they got through this family dinner, their relationship would essentially be official, and they would no longer have anything to worry about.

When they entered the Jian family’s old residence, the spacious living room held not only Jian Chenfeng’s parents, but also Jiang Yumo’s parents, Jiang Donglin, and Jian Xin.

Jian Chenfeng remained on full alert, carefully watching Shang Ke’s expression. Only after seeing him greet everyone naturally, with no unusual reaction whatsoever when he looked at Jian Xin, did Jian Chenfeng finally relax a little.

This was the first time Jian Chenfeng’s parents had interacted with Shang Ke at close range, and their impression of him was fairly good. At the very least, his appearance, temperament, speech, and manners were all quite presentable. They had also come to terms with the situation. Their daughter had fallen for the Jiang family’s eldest son, while their son had fallen for the Jiang family’s second son. It seemed the two families were destined to become in-laws one way or another. As for heirs, that was hardly an insurmountable problem for the Jian family. With modern technology, how difficult could it be to have a child?

Most importantly, they simply couldn’t change Jian Chenfeng’s mind. This was what happened once a child’s wings had fully grown. All they could do was hope that the two men would date for a few years, break up, and eventually start separate families of their own.

Unfortunately, the Jian parents’ wishful thinking was destined to come to nothing. Jian Chenfeng had already spent half a lifetime proving the depth of his feelings for Jiang Yumo. There was absolutely no possibility of them breaking up.

The family dinner passed properly and peacefully, with everyone getting along well enough.

“Jiang… Second Brother.” After dinner, Shang Ke was enjoying the cool air in the courtyard when he suddenly heard Jian Xin’s voice behind him.

He turned and smiled at her. “Jian Xin, why did you come out? Where’s Big Brother?”

Jian Xin lowered her head and said softly, “I wanted to thank you in person, and also say I’m sorry. I misunderstood you before.”

“There’s no need. As long as you’ve recovered and you’re healthy, that’s enough.”

Looking at his gentle smile, Jian Xin felt an inexplicable ache in her heart. This man had almost given his life for her. If Donglin hadn’t told her the truth, she might never have known just how deeply he had supposedly loved her.

There was just one thing she couldn’t understand. If he loved her that much, why was he together with her brother? Could her brother have forced him? She knew Jian Chenfeng’s personality very well. Once he set his mind on someone, he would never let go, and Jiang Yumo was definitely no match for him.

Thinking this, Jian Xin hesitated before saying, “Second Brother Jiang, if you don’t want this, maybe I can help you get away from…”

“Get away from what?” Jian Chenfeng appeared beside Shang Ke like a ghost, fixing Jian Xin with a sinister stare. He hadn’t even started dealing with his sister yet, and she was already running around stirring up trouble.

Jian Xin’s face went pale. She hastily made up an excuse and fled as though flying. For some reason, ever since her surgery succeeded, her brother’s attitude toward her had become extremely cold, as though she had committed some unforgivable crime.

In Jian Chenfeng’s memories, Jian Xin truly had been unforgivable—not only because she had received Yumo’s heart, but because after recovering, she had failed to cherish her new life and instead indulged herself recklessly. In this lifetime, he planned to marry Jian Xin off to Jiang Donglin as soon as possible and let him keep her in check, lest she repeat the same mistakes.

Shang Ke gave Jian Chenfeng a strange look. Hadn’t he doted on his younger sister before? Why did he treat her almost like an enemy now?

“You and Jian Xin…” Jian Chenfeng began stiffly.

Shang Ke understood immediately. This guy was worried that Shang Ke still had “lingering feelings” for Jian Xin. After all, back when he was completing his mission, he had carefully built himself into the image of a devoted romantic willing to give Jian Xin his very heart. Anyone would assume that a man like that couldn’t easily let go of such a “bone-deep, unforgettable love.”

Shang Ke wrapped his arms around Jian Chenfeng’s waist and smiled. “I only have one heart. Since I didn’t give it to Jian Xin, I suppose I can only give it to you.”

A brilliant light appeared in Jian Chenfeng’s eyes. All the worries in his heart vanished at once, replaced by overwhelming happiness.

At last, he let go of the final trace of unease. In that moment, all the pain and regret of his previous life were finally made whole.

The two officially began their harmonious and happy life as husbands. Their sex life was endlessly varied, they worked together in perfect sync, and their leisure time was just as colorful.

As Shang Ke gradually revealed more and more of his talents, he shattered quite a few people’s expectations. The once-useless spoiled young master had transformed into a widely praised young talent. His relationship with Jian Chenfeng went from being looked down upon at first to becoming the envy of countless others, earning them the reputation of being the “Perfect Lovers.” They even inspired quite a few pleasure-seeking playboys to wonder whether they ought to find a suitable man and seriously fall in love for once.

Most of those attempts naturally went nowhere, because they used Shang Ke as their standard when choosing a partner. The outcome was predictable: substitutes simply didn’t work. In the end, all they were left with was envy, jealousy, and hatred toward Jian Chenfeng.

Three years later, with Shang Ke’s consent, Jian Chenfeng adopted a boy—Jian Simo. He knew that Jian Xin would eventually have two children, and this time he planned to cultivate one of them as well, so that child and Jian Simo could manage the Jian Group together in the future.

Everything seemed perfect until, seven years later, something went wrong with Shang Ke’s body.

The first time Shang Ke fainted, Jian Chenfeng had just finished a meeting and was preparing to go eat with him. When he opened the office door and saw Shang Ke lying unconscious on the floor, his heart nearly stopped.

After Shang Ke was rushed to the hospital, the doctor told Jian Chenfeng that although the brain-tumor surgery years ago had been successful, there had always been a risk of recurrence. The fact that symptoms were only appearing now was already something of a miracle.

“How do we treat it?” Jian Chenfeng asked.

“At present, we can only control it with medication and other supportive treatments,” the doctor replied.

“Is his life in danger? What symptoms might appear? What do I need to watch for?”

“He may suddenly develop headaches, fever, or fainting spells, along with declining hearing in his left ear and vision in his left eye. In severe cases, he may develop left-sided paralysis affecting his arm and leg and become unable to walk normally. However, careful diet and appropriate exercise may slow the progression.”

Jian Chenfeng had no idea how he walked out of the consultation room. His mind was completely blank, his chest felt crushed beneath a massive weight, and fear surged over him like a tide, nearly drowning him.

He stood outside the hospital room, his legs so heavy that he couldn’t take another step.

“Father?” Jian Simo looked worriedly at Jian Chenfeng’s ashen expression.

Jian Chenfeng clenched his fist, then pushed open the door.

Inside, his lover was leaning against the pillows and smiling gently at him just as he always did. Jian Chenfeng’s eyes burned. He slowly walked to the bedside, pulled Shang Ke into his arms, and breathed in his familiar scent.

He was seeking comfort from his lover. Shang Ke was clearly the one who was ill, yet Jian Chenfeng felt as though he were the one about to die.

Seeing Jian Chenfeng like this, Shang Ke guessed that his condition was probably not very optimistic.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a “Journey of Happiness” ? Why was disaster still finding him even when he was living peacefully and behaving himself?

“Don’t be upset,” Shang Ke comforted him. “The doctor didn’t say my life was in immediate danger. As long as I take good care of myself, my daily life shouldn’t be affected too badly.”

Jian Chenfeng merely held him without speaking. He could never face death with the same calmness Yumo did. Because he had already lost him once, he was even more afraid now. Without Yumo beside him, Jian Chenfeng didn’t think he had the courage to endure a second lonely lifetime.

“Yumo, don’t leave me.” Like a wounded beast, Jian Chenfeng leaned helplessly into Shang Ke’s embrace.

“Mm. I won’t leave.” Shang Ke closed his eyes, hiding the sorrow within them.

After that, Jian Chenfeng gradually began transferring his work to Jian Simo so he could free up more time to stay with Shang Ke.

Shang Ke had studied medicine himself and knew quite a lot about caring for his body. Combined with appropriate exercise, his condition was not as severe as they had feared. Aside from occasional headaches, he was basically no different from an ordinary healthy person.

Jian Chenfeng treated him like something made of glass, keeping Shang Ke with him at all times and rarely letting him out of his sight. Later, he took him abroad for several examinations, but the results were always much the same. There was no particularly effective treatment available, only medication and other supportive measures to manage the condition.

Another five years passed under Jian Chenfeng’s constant anxiety.

By then, Jian Simo was fully capable of handling things on his own, so Jian Chenfeng simply cast aside all his responsibilities and took Shang Ke traveling.

As the two entered middle age, their relationship remained as deep as ever, and their sex life was just as harmonious. Jian Chenfeng, however, had become even more considerate than before. Every time they had sex, he made sure to give Shang Ke plenty of foreplay, unwilling to let his lover suffer even the slightest pain.

Over the next several years, the two traveled across the world and took enough photographs to practically cover an entire villa. They turned them into album after album filled with stories, reflections, and amusing anecdotes. Naturally, there was no shortage of every imaginable kind of love note either.

They did not completely neglect business while traveling. They surveyed markets, gathered information, and expanded the company’s operations around the world. By the time Jian Chenfeng was forty-seven, the Jian family’s business had grown to more than three times its former size, and the Jiang family prospered along with it.

Their reputation as the “Perfect Lovers” spread from China to the rest of the world, and the two even appeared several times on the covers of internationally renowned magazines.

When Shang Ke was forty-six, he developed left-sided paralysis and could only walk with the aid of a cane. The following year, he lost the sight in his left eye, and the hearing in his left ear also deteriorated.

After yet another fainting spell—neither of them knew which number it was anymore—Jian Chenfeng brought him back home, and the two moved into a secluded villa on a mountaintop. Every day, they watched the sunrise and sunset together, took walks through the forest together, tended flowers, played chess…

Shang Ke sat comfortably in a lounge chair, gazing at the beautiful sunset outside the window. Time seemed to have left few traces on his face. He was still as handsome and elegant as ever, only now with the added charm of maturity.

He smiled at Jian Chenfeng. “If we have another life, let’s imagine how we could spend our later years even more perfectly.”

“As long as I have you, anything would be good.” Jian Chenfeng looked completely content, as though he had no other desires at all.

“You can’t be this unambitious.” Shang Ke poked his arm. “Come on, think of something. Don’t you have any unusual ideas?”

Jian Chenfeng thought for a moment, then replied, “Mm. I hope we both have indestructible bodies, so we can fuck our way through heaven and earth until we’re old.”

Shang Ke pointed at him and laughed without stopping.

“What about you? What kind of old age do you want?” Jian Chenfeng asked.

“I hope…” Shang Ke paused to catch his breath, then said, “that your wish comes true.”

A day later, Jian Simo arrived at the villa with an entire carload of health supplements.

He opened the door and saw the two men leaning together in their chairs as though asleep, so he picked up a blanket and quietly walked over.

Their expressions were peaceful, and smiles still lingered on their faces. Just looking at them gave one a feeling of happiness.

Jian Simo unfolded the blanket and gently draped it over them.

The instant his fingers touched their bodies, he froze.

“Father?”

Jian Simo’s voice trembled, and tears immediately spilled from his eyes…

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