Bone-Attached Disaster - Chapter 26:
Chapter 26: Heart in Turmoil
The wind blew, and the leaves rustled. The sound of rustling leaves surrounded them from all directions, rising and falling like a symphony. The sky had turned dark at some unknown point. Lights glittered among the towering buildings of the city, and traffic flowed endlessly on the highway.
“I have nothing to ask,” Lu Jie stood up. “That’s enough for today. It’s already dark. Everyone go home.”
“President Lu…”
Their curiosity, which had peaked, was left unsatisfied, and everyone showed extremely disappointed expressions.
Lu Jie was unmoved. He resumed his boss’s authority. “If you’re disappointed, you can stay here and continue playing. Fu Jia’an and I are leaving first.”
He walked over to Fu Jia’an. “Give me the car keys.” In an instant, he reverted to the absolute, uncompromising President Lu.
Feeling defeated, everyone realized they should take the hint. The few people quickly cleaned up the food waste and walked together down a small slope toward the parking lot. The young people were full of energy. Seeing Dr. Fu and President Lu walking ten meters ahead, they boldly started chatting about the unfinished topic.
“Xun Zhuo, you really dared to ask that!”
“Since you asked, why didn’t you ask more directly? Now it’s quite frustrating with only half the gossip.”
Xun Zhuo scratched his head, shyly saying, “Actually, I don’t think what Dr. Fu said is necessarily true. None of us at this table match him very well in terms of intelligence or looks. Maybe he was just joking.”
The people beside him agreed, “That’s true. I feel like Dr. Fu isn’t someone who would easily reveal his true thoughts.”
Jiang Niannian said, “Xun Zhuo, why are you so modest? You’re quite handsome too, the flower of our lab! Who knows if Dr. Fu just likes your type?”
They often teased him like this. Hearing it, Xun Zhuo quickly and bashfully said, “Keep your voices down. President Lu and the others are still ahead.”
“Oops, I almost forgot. President Lu also counts as someone at the table…”
Once in the car, Fu Jia’an lowered the window and waved goodbye to the crowd with a smile. Everyone gathered around and saw President Lu, who was starting the car, through the passenger window.
Lu Jie turned his head toward the group, his gaze sharp. “Jiang Xiaoli, bring your lab report to my office on Monday. Jiang Niannian, remember to run the promotion plans for the new drugs by me before executing them. Xun Zhuo, hurry up and finish the presentation slides for the industry summit report.”
He called them out by name, and every instruction hit a weak point in their work, as if he had calculated in advance the jobs they were most likely to fumble right now. This made everyone look at each other again, their interest in digging for gossip instantly vanishing.
Lu Jie looked straight ahead, the lines of his side profile stern and cold. He said one last thing: “If you guys go out for dinner, drinks, or karaoke tonight, whatever you do, Xun Zhuo, keep the receipt, and come to me for reimbursement later.”
He stepped on the accelerator. The car started and quickly left the young people behind.
The car drove into the bustling city traffic. Lu Jie rolled the window halfway down, letting the wind rush in. He felt it was more breathable this way.
He wasn’t sure if it was because he hadn’t eaten much earlier or if it was the after-effects of the hangover, but his stomach was feeling uncomfortable again.
Lu Jie suddenly spoke while waiting for a traffic light. “Look, stop misleading them, or you’ll cause new rumors because of a single sentence.”
“Why do you make me sound like a harbinger of disaster?” Fu Jia’an lazily yawned. “Besides, what if I was telling the truth? What if my ideal type really was at that table?”
Lu Jie stared at the countdown timer of the red light, not turning his head toward Fu Jia’an, but he knew the other person was looking at him, and the gaze felt somewhat hot.
Fu Jia’an timely changed the subject. “Actually, your employees like you quite a bit.”
Lu Jie said, “I don’t care about that.”
Fu Jia’an said, “If you don’t care, why did you have to pretend to be fierce and tack on those few instructions at the end? Are you afraid they’ll find out you’re nice and won’t respect you at the company anymore?”
Lu Jie dismissed the notion. “Have I stooped so low that I need you to teach me about interpersonal relationships now? Besides, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t need to compensate at all. They could just continue thinking of me as a clueless boss.”
“Your acting is terrible, Lu Jie,” Fu Jia’an said. “You’re not that kind of person. No matter how much you pretend, you won’t pull it off.”
In the early days of the company, Lu Jie was obsessed with being a perfect boss for a long time. He was accustomed to being thorough and avoiding putting stress on those around him. But later, Lu Jie found that his position inevitably led to criticism. A too-relaxed atmosphere was unsuitable for research, and tolerating small mistakes could lead to safety hazards. No matter what he did, he couldn’t satisfy everyone.
He had to be responsible for the research results, so he couldn’t be responsible for everyone’s mood.
Lu Jie learned to be an unlikable person. Even though he had moments of reluctance and internal struggle during this process, he felt it was something he had to bear. Of course, he couldn’t have heart-to-heart talks with his subordinates, nor had he ever discussed such topics with Jiang Yan. He always felt uncomfortable discussing serious topics with Jiang Yan.
But now, it was as if someone had approached, discovered the cracks on the outer wall of his heart, pried them open regardless, and pointed at the pulsating bl00d vessels within, saying: See? I knew it was warm inside all along.
Lu Jie couldn’t articulate what he was feeling—was it warmth, or a desire to flee?
“You talk as if you know me so well,” Lu Jie finally said. He parked the car, unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out.
At nine o’clock in the evening, Lu Jie was lying on the sofa watching TV. The sound of splashing water came from upstairs—Fu Jia’an was showering. He couldn’t figure out how to adjust the showerhead in the second-floor bathroom earlier and had called Lu Jie up to help him check it.
Lu Jie randomly flipped through channels, feeling that today seemed exceptionally long. He should have been exhausted, but now his drowsiness was completely gone.
Fu Jia’an came downstairs after blow-drying his hair, wearing pajamas and holding a mysterious box, which he placed on the coffee table.
“What’s that?” Lu Jie asked casually, maintaining his relaxed posture with his arm supporting his head, continuing to fiddle with the remote control.
“LEGO. Something to put together.”
“Oh. Should I turn up the living room light then?”
“No need. The light from your TV is enough.”
“…You’re not on call tonight?”
He could have gone straight back to his room, but Fu Jia’an wasn’t resting yet, openly lingering in the living room. If he left first, it would look like he was avoiding Fu Jia’an.
Whoever hid first lost.
“I took two days of annual leave for the move,” Fu Jia’an said naturally. He laid out the LEGO pieces on the spacious carpet and pulled out the instruction booklet.
“Oh.”
Lu Jie didn’t say anything more. The TV stopped on a sports channel, broadcasting an NBA game. The enthusiastic commentary and cheers were on display, but he had no interest in watching.
He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Jiang Yan: [When are you coming home?]
Jiang Yan finally revived: [You never rush me home. Missing me?]
It was true. Lu Jie usually never cared where Jiang Yan was messing around. Jiang Yan often didn’t stay home overnight, and Lu Jie enjoyed having the apartment to himself, preferring Jiang Yan never return.
But now was different. This situation urgently needed a talkative idiot to lighten the mood, okay!
Lu Jie: [Do you know what’s going on now? I’m literally suffocating.]
Jiang Yan: [What’s wrong?]
Lu Jie glanced at Fu Jia’an in front of him. He was barefoot, sitting cross-legged on the plush carpet. The side of his face, lowered to read the instruction booklet, was very focused. The light and shadow created a small bright patch on his cheek, which climbed to the mole on his nose as the TV screen flickered.
His eyelashes were thick and long, lowered now by his gaze, like the briefly rested wings of a butterfly, poised to immediately stir up a storm if they fluttered.
Lu Jie looked down and typed: [I think Fu Jia’an likes me.]
Then he deleted it and changed it to: [I think Fu Jia’an is pursuing me.]
The phone was quiet for a while. No reply. After about a few minutes, it vibrated again.
Jiang Yan: [Oh, really? Then do you want to be the 1 or the 0?]
Lu Jie: [?]
Lu Jie: [Do what? I don’t like him, okay?]
Jiang Yan: [6] (Note: A casual slang/meme reply often expressing disbelief, confusion, or just a dismissive “ok sure.”)
Lu Jie gathered a lot from that single ‘6.’ It felt exactly like encountering someone with delusions; no matter what they said, you couldn’t be bothered to refute it, so you just humored them, letting them do whatever they pleased.
Then he reviewed his conversation with Jiang Yan and realized that Jiang Yan had been mocking him since the line “Then do you want to be the 1 or the 0?” and he hadn’t realized it at all.
Lu Jie couldn’t offer any evidence to explain, practically fuming. He wanted to call Jiang Yan right now and give him a piece of his mind, but he had to admit that the explosive information he had thrown out did seem quite ridiculous to an outsider.
The entire weekend was spent with just Lu Jie and Fu Jia’an. The newly arrived “roommate” was perfectly comfortable, quickly appearing in all the common areas in his pajamas. Lu Jie, however, endured an incredibly long and difficult weekend.
He certainly wanted to lie in his bedroom all day or just run off and stay at a coffee shop. Because every time he saw Fu Jia’an, he felt extremely uneasy. But the more his conscious mind wanted to hide, the more he outwardly tried to appear relaxed. Lu Jie was trying hard to treat Fu Jia’an like an ordinary roommate, otherwise, it would look like he was easily swayed.
Besides, the possibility that Fu Jia’an might like him was only a guess.
Until the guess was unequivocally confirmed, the one who lost their composure first was the one with the lower rank. Lu Jie normally had no competitive spirit in love, but when the opponent was Fu Jia’an, any kind of win felt utterly satisfying.
Finally, Monday morning arrived. Fu Jia’an wasn’t home; he had likely rushed to the hospital for his shift early in the morning. Lu Jie ate a relaxed breakfast, comfortably brewed a cup of coffee, hummed a tune, and drove to the company.
The door to Jiang Yan’s office hadn’t been opened for several days. Lu Jie looked inside today and saw no one, so he called Jiang Yan.
“Hello? Where are you? Not coming to the company today either?”
The sound of rustling fabric came from the other end of the phone. Jiang Yan’s voice was a bit deep and seemed to be in a bad mood. “Today… depends on the situation.”
“It’s been days, Jiang Yan,” Lu Jie seized the chance to poke fun back. “What kind of girl is she, making you not want to go to work for days?”
“Ah, tomorrow, I’ll definitely go tomorrow,” Jiang Yan vaguely said. “By the way, take Fu Jia’an’s contract home for him today, will you?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, Lu Jie, I have to hang up. Talk later.”
“Hello…” Lu Jie was speechless, looking at the disconnected phone. Jiang Yan had really become obsessed lately, abandoning the company for a relationship.
Looking at the contract on his desk, Lu Jie didn’t really want to take it home for Fu Jia’an. He disliked blurring the line between personal and professional. He sent a message to Fu Jia’an, asking if he had time to come to the company to pick up the contract, but Fu Jia’an didn’t reply.
Then he had no choice but to take it to Fu Jia’an’s hospital; it wasn’t far anyway.
Lu Jie grabbed his car keys and drove downstairs. After parking his car at the Municipal Second Hospital, he still hadn’t received a reply. Probably in surgery? He decided not to disturb him. He remembered the way to Fu Jia’an’s dorm. So he decided to put the contract on his dorm desk and then leave a message for Fu Jia’an to pick it up later.
The Municipal Second Hospital’s dormitory building hadn’t been renovated for many years and felt like an old building from the ’90s when you walked in. But since it was a hospital dorm, the interior was relatively clean. One drawback was that there was only one elevator, which Lu Jie had taken once; it was extremely slow and required a long wait.
Fu Jia’an lived on the fourth floor, so there was no need to take the elevator. Lu Jie immediately decided to take the stairs; it would count as exercise.
When he reached the fourth floor, at the stairwell landing, Lu Jie heard movement above, which sounded like two people talking. But listening closely, the voices were indistinct, a blend of intimacy and muffled kissing.
Great… I’ve run into a couple being affectionate…
Lu Jie discreetly turned around, trying his best not to make a sound to avoid disturbing them.
But his hearing was too good. Just as he was about to take a step down, he clearly heard a low, husky voice say:
“I’m jealous… Brother, cheer me up…”
The owner of that voice was also very familiar.
It was his best friend. Jiang Yan, who had been missing for days, immersed in a romantic idyll.