Chapter 28 SJC

Right now, Shen Jinnian was absolutely sure of one thing—

The Gu Yan in front of him was definitely human.

A very annoying human.

He subtly bumped Gu Yan’s arm with his shoulder and muttered, “You can drop the act now.”

Gu Yan lifted his head and glanced toward the white car that had just dropped Shen Jinnian off.

The driver hadn’t left yet.

Instead, he lowered the passenger-side window, leaned out, and waved enthusiastically. “Your wife’s a riot! Wishing you two a hundred years of bliss~”

Shen Jinnian’s ears instantly turned bright red.

But since this whole mess was his own doing, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept the awkward fruit of his own labor—now served up with extra embarrassment by both the driver and Gu Yan.

Gu Yan smiled politely and nodded. “Thanks.”

“You’re seriously still playing along?” Shen Jinnian wanted to crawl into a hole.

He jabbed Gu Yan in the leg with his knee, subtly herding him into the hotel lobby. “Hurry up, it’s freezing.”

Gu Yan closed the umbrella and smoothly took off his jacket, draping it over Shen Jinnian’s shoulders. He even asked considerately, “Tired from the trip?”

With the kid in his arms, Shen Jinnian couldn’t reject the jacket—but he could ignore the question.

“Gu Yan, cut it out already!”

“Even actors need time to come out of character,” Gu Yan said patiently.

“Well, I don’t need time to punch you.” Shen Jinnian gave him a sharp look and bent his knee again for another jab, only to change the subject altogether: “How did you get here so fast?”

They had taken nearly an hour by car, and Shen Jinnian had only sent the location twenty minutes ago.

There was no way that was enough time.

Gu Yan took a couple steps back to give him space, eyes still twinkling as he smiled. “Had something to deal with nearby. I happened to be passing by when your message came, so I got off early.”

“Seriously?”

Shen Jinnian's inquiring eyes swept across Gu Yan's face twice—

No signs of a guilty conscience, no obvious lies. He was half-convinced.

But he deliberately asked with doubt in his tone: "Did you come to save me on purpose?"

Gu Yan nodded.

He had.

He’d even gone as far as pulling a few strings to get a helicopter from the neighboring city. Sped through the rain, all just to make it on time.

Shen Jinnian gave him another once-over.

For the first time, he didn’t find Gu Yan so unbearable. In fact, the man was… kind of handsome.

He raised his brows and looked up at Gu Yan. His eyes sparkled like stars soaked in moonlight as he teased, “Thanks, I’ll treat you to a room tonight.”

Gu Yan gave a slight nod. “Sure.”

Shen Jinnian immediately carried the sleeping child to the front desk: "Please open two suites."

The receptionist quickly checked the system, then looked up apologetically. “I’m really sorry, sir. We only have one double room left—king bed.”

Shen Jinnian checked the time on his watch. It was barely 5 PM. “Already fully booked?”

“Probably because of the weather. A lot of guests checked in early today,” she explained.

Shen Jinnian frowned. This was tricky.

The storm outside was brutal—wind and rain hammering everything.

He couldn’t exactly take the baby back out in this mess, and making Gu Yan go out alone to find another hotel seemed a bit too heartless.

He was stuck.

Before he could decide, Gu Yan stepped forward and handed over his ID. “Then we’ll take the one room.”

Shen Jinnian’s expression made it clear he was not thrilled.

The last two times they’d shared a room, things had… escalated.

They’d crossed every possible line—done everything one could and shouldn’t do.

He was practically traumatized now.

Sensing his reluctance, Gu Yan leaned in and whispered, “I can sleep on the floor.”

Shen Jinnian hesitated.

Gu Yan’s voice took on a hint of pleading, sounding pitiful. “The rain’s too heavy outside, and I can’t really go looking for another hotel.”

“Yes.” The receptionist added, “There’s a tourist area nearby, and it’s packed with visitors. Other hotels are probably in the same situation.”

With both of them convincing him, Shen Jinnian hesitated.

After a second or two, he reluctantly took out his ID and handed it to the receptionist along with Gu Yan’s. “Alright, just book it.”

Once Shen Jinnian agreed, the room was quickly prepared.

Gu Yan took the room key and followed Shen Jinnian and the child into the elevator, heading upstairs.

When they arrived at the room, Shen Jinnian’s face turned pale.

He had never stayed in a non-star hotel before, let alone a chain hotel. Opening the door, he was immediately struck by the sparse and cheap layout. His face fell.

“So small? So basic?” Shen Jinnian paced around, unable to accept it.

“This room is smaller than my bedroom.”

“Most regular hotels are like this,” Gu Yan said. “You’ll have to make do for one night.”

Shen Jinnian didn’t want to settle, but there was no choice. However, looking at the frosted glass shower, he felt uncomfortable.

It felt like it was supposed to be hidden, but it wasn’t. The faintly visible skin color made it even more suggestive.

Gu Yan saw that Shen Jinnian's brows were getting tighter and tighter, and his bad mood was about to overflow. He spoke in time to interrupt Shen Jinnian's thoughts, "Do you... want to put the child down?"

Shen Jinnian snapped back to reality.

After realizing that he was still holding the baby in his arms, he suddenly looked up at Gu Yan, and saw that his eyes were still on the baby, so he immediately turned his back to Gu Yan and protected the child in his arms.

Shen Jinnian: "Don't look at him."

Gu Yan put his bag on the couch, keeping a natural distance of about a meter from Shen Jinnian. He deliberately avoided looking at them. “Did you come out here alone with the baby?”

“Mm.” Shen Jinnian rummaged through his bag and covered the baby with a light blanket, speaking softly. “Do I look like I can come out alone?”

Gu Yan’s gaze grew deeper.

He wanted to ask if the baby was really Shen Jinnian’s, but common sense stopped him.

Finally, he managed to resist. If he opened that topic, Shen Jinnian would definitely kick him out of the room before the day was over.

The two of them sat in silence in the room, neither willing to bring up a new topic.

But Shen Jinnian couldn’t hold it in anymore. The storm had dirtied his clothes, and the feeling of his clothes being coated in dirt was uncomfortable.

However… with the simple bathroom, he really didn’t feel like washing up in front of Gu Yan.

“Gu Yan…” He found an excuse to send him out. “It’s late, can you go get us some dinner?”

Gu Yan didn’t refuse. “What do you want to eat?”

“Fried chicken with coconut milk ice,” Shen Jinnian blurted out. “I’ll pay you.”

He quickly took out a few red bills and handed them to Gu Yan, pressing them into his hand with no room for argument. “Don’t rush back.”

Gu Yan was caught off guard for a moment as he took the money. An odd thought flashed through his mind—like he was part of a family, on a trip, with his wife handling the money.

But he didn’t take Shen Jinnian’s money. “I made you upset last time. Tonight, I’ll treat you to dinner.”

After speaking, he put the money on the bedside table, then quietly left the room, closing the door behind him.

Shen Jinnian didn’t think much of it.

He didn’t want to waste time, quickly grabbing his bathrobe and heading for the bathroom to shower.

Halfway through, the baby unexpectedly woke up early.

The little cub yawned sleepily, and then looked around to find that he was in an unfamiliar environment. Shen Jinnian, who had been holding him to sleep, was gone.

The familiar strong sense of loss made him feel so wronged that he collapsed instantly, and tears soaked the pillow along the corners of his eyes: "PaPa..."

“Daddy’s here, don’t cry.” Shen Jinnian hurriedly dressed, trying to calm the baby.

The baby was immersed in his own crying and didn't hear it at all. He was in grief.

Until the bedroom door was pushed open with a bang!

Gu Yan rushed back, out of breath.

He heard the child crying from a long distance, but he didn't find Shen Jinnian when he came in.

Gu Yan picked up the child on the bed without hesitation, wiped away the tears on his little face, and let the child snuggle in his arms.

The little one clung to Gu Yan’s neck, burying his head in his shoulder as he sniffled and sobbed, calling out in a soft, childlike voice: “Papa…”

Though the baby’s speech wasn’t clear, the simple, familiar sound was unmistakable.

Gu Yan stiffened, holding the baby, and everything about the moment froze.

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This concludes today's extra chapters!

This is my 101st post haha. Didn't know I'd hit this milestone so soon~

By the wayyy I made some changes on the TOC page, let me know if you like it!