Limited Ambiguity Chapter 28

Chapter 28

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Upon returning home, Qi Yan took a shower and put on a black nightgown. He came to Lu Fenghan to have his nails trimmed.

Lu Fenghan sat next to him, his eyes downcast as he carefully held Qi Yan’s fingers. Qi Yan could even clearly feel the rough calluses on Lu Fenghan’s palms.

Recalling what Jiang Qi had said to him when he stopped him at the club, Qi Yan felt a surge of annoyance again. He carefully compared and confirmed that he had never experienced the same emotion before, which left him somewhat bewildered.

After hesitating for two seconds, Qi Yan still spoke up. “I’m not happy.”

Lu Fenghan paused, then looked up at him, asking, “Why aren’t you happy?”

Qi Yan didn’t answer but instead asked another question, “Lu Fenghan, would you sign a contract with someone else?”

“No.” Lu Fenghan casually wiped Qi Yan’s newly trimmed nails with his thumb, testing the smoothness, and replied, “Little Scatterbrain, do you think everyone is as foolish as you, able to offer a price of ten million star coins?”

“I’m not foolish.” As if designing an experiment, Qi Yan eliminated interference factors. “If someone offered the same or even higher price than me, would you sign a contract with them?”

Lu Fenghan thought carefully.

He would sign the contract Qi Yan offered for various reasons.

He had just escaped death on the front lines. Qi Yan had saved his life, the exorbitant medical fees, Qi Yan’s suspiciously high identity and attitude… these were all necessary conditions for the contract to come into effect.

The appropriate timing, a serendipitous encounter—there wouldn’t be a second chance.

So Lu Fenghan replied, “Never. How could I ever be bought with mere money?”

Seeing Qi Yan appear to relax, Lu Fenghan threw the question back at him, “And you? If faced with the same situation, would you save that person, enter a contract with them, and let them protect your safety?”

As the question slipped out, Lu Fenghan instinctively wished to retract it, as if it had never been asked.

His heart hung in suspense, and even the seconds it took for Qi Yan to answer seemed to stretch out agonizingly slow.

Qi Yan shook his head without hesitation. “I would only save you.”

If the injured person hadn’t been Lu Fenghan, he would have suspected whether it was a trap deliberately set against him.

He would contact emergency services but never engage with the person, let alone keep them by his side.

Although Qi Yan’s words were few, each one left Lu Fenghan remarkably satisfied.

After Qi Yan finished answering, he addressed Lu Fenghan’s initial question, “I’m unhappy because Jiang Qi wants to take you away. It infuriates me. He cannot entertain such ideas.”

“Not even allowed to think about it? That’s truly domineering.” Lu Fenghan chuckled, his tone indulgent. “Alright, he won’t be able to take me away. Even if someone offered me fifty million I wouldn’t leave.”

He recalled, “What you said to Jiang Qi, about him being only three months younger than you, what’s the story behind that?”

“Just as I mentioned,” Qi Yan brought it up as if stating a fact unrelated to him, “Jiang Qi is the child of Qi Wenshao and Jiang Yunyue, born three months after me. According to Alliance laws, legitimate children and legally recognized stepchildren have inheritance rights, while illegitimate children do not. So, after Qi Wenshao and Jiang Yunyue got married, they never publicly acknowledged Jiang Qi’s identity.”

Lu Fenghan recalled the celebration at the Qi household and found it ironic.

“Jiang Qi and Jiang Yunyue harbor great animosity towards me, perhaps fearing I might contest their inheritance rights.” Qi Yan’s tone remained calm. “They should still be concerned that I might reveal this secret.”

Just as Qi Yan had speculated.

Upon returning home, Jiang Qi hurried past the landscaped gardens and the bustling household robots, making his way hastily to the greenhouse to find Jiang Yunyue.

Jiang Yunyue’s appearance was not striking, but in her years as the wife of the Qi family, her demeanor had become increasingly refined. She spoke and acted with an unhurried grace, exuding the air of a sophisticated upper-class lady.

Holding a bouquet of flowers, she was puzzled to see Jiang Qi rush in. “Didn’t you go to meet your friends? Why are you back so soon?”

“I ran into Qi Yan, brought there by Xia Zhiyang and the others.”

“The Xia family has never looked favorably upon us, so it’s normal for them to be at odds with you.” Jiang Yunyue noticed the panic in Jiang Qi’s eyes. “What’s happened?”

Jiang Qi made sure there was no one else around before finally blurting out the words he had agonized over countless times in his mind. “Qi Yan knows! He knows I’m Dad’s biological child, and he knows I’m only three months younger than him! Didn’t you say this was a secret, known only to us?”

Jiang Yunyue suppressed her smile. “What was the situation at the time?”

Jiang Qi recounted the provocation he had directed at Qi Yan.

“How many times have I warned you? You need to stay composed! The more vulnerable you appear in front of Qi Yan, the more your father will favor you. He has always felt guilty for not being able to let you openly assume the identity of a Qi family member and stand proudly in public. He’s been wanting to compensate you. The more you seem aggrieved, the more he’ll pity you and compensate you. You can’t let your temper run wild.” Though Jiang Yunyue was lecturing, her tone was light. “But as long as no one sees, it doesn’t matter.”

“Mom, I know, I’m not that foolish,” Jiang Qi protested. “You keep saying Dad favors me and dislikes Qi Yan, but he’s been secretly supporting Qi Yan behind our backs!”

“This is an adult matter. Don’t dwell on it,” Jiang Yunyue reassured him, seeing how genuinely frightened he was by Qi Yan. “And don’t be afraid yourself. No matter how clever or outstanding Qi Yan may be, he’s still just a nineteen-year-old boy. Without any support in Leto, no matter how high he holds himself now, if he really encounters trouble, he’ll ultimately come to your father for help. Unless he wants to completely alienate your father, he absolutely wouldn’t dare to reveal this secret on his own.”

Jiang Qi always believed Jiang Yunyue. Feeling reassured, he asked again, “Mom, is Qi Yan’s mother really dead?”

“You mean Lin Zhi? She passed away eight years ago.” Jiang Yunyue patted Jiang Qi’s shoulder. “Look, your father has always been protecting you. He only officially married Mom after Lin Zhi’s death, just to ensure that whether you appear in public or inherit the Qi family’s wealth in the future, everything is legitimate and won’t attract gossip. Focus on your studies, don’t be afraid. No matter what happens, Mom will always be here to help you.”

After Jiang Qi left the greenhouse, Jiang Yunyue continued trimming the flower branches, the gemstone table on her wrist shimmering in the light.

She remembered when Lin Zhi was alive, her son was clearly Qi Wenshao’s biological child, yet could only bear her surname. At that time, Lin Zhi blocked her path, leaving her with few options. Now, if Lin Zhi’s son were to obstruct her child’s path, things might not be so simple.

The next day was a public lecture day. Qi Yan walked to the classroom with Lu Fenghan. Just as they turned a corner, they heard someone exclaim in surprise, “Brother!”

Lu Fenghan didn’t need to look to know who it was. He thought this Jiang Qi would calm down for a couple of days, but unexpectedly, he approached with a beaming smile.

Jiang Qi seemed to have completely forgotten yesterday’s incident. “Brother, I mean, Qi Yan, do you find me annoying? I just really want to talk to you.”

Qi Yan ignored him and continued walking.

Jiang Qi noticed the gathering gazes around them and pretended to hurriedly reach out to grab Qi Yan ahead, asking with a hint of grievance, “Are you mad at me again?”

Qi Yan stopped and gave a cold glance. “Let go.”

Jiang Qi awkwardly released his hand, intending to play the victim and say a few more words, but unexpectedly, Qi Yan turned to someone nearby and said, “Hurts.”

Lu Fenghan grabbed Qi Yan’s hand and immediately noticed a red mark on his arm, along with a few bruises. He looked at Jiang Qi’s hand and saw a decorative ring on his middle finger with sharp protrusions.

Xia Zhiyang happened to pass by and exclaimed upon seeing the redness on Qi Yan’s arm. “Why so serious? Jiang Qi, even if you dislike Qi Yan, you can’t resort to such petty tricks! The ring you’re wearing has so many rivets, do you really think it doesn’t hurt when it pricks someone?”

“I didn’t!” Jiang Qi intentionally used his left hand adorned with the ring to grab someone. The rivets would of course be uncomfortable, but who could tell?

“The ring is on your hand, how can you say you didn’t do it on purpose? If you hadn’t pulled Qi Yan’s arm so hard, how could the rivets have made such serious marks?” Xia Zhiyang originally wanted to mimic Jiang Qi’s tone but couldn’t muster it in the heat of the moment, so he felt somewhat regretful.

Knowing he was digging himself deeper, Jiang Qi simply hid the hand wearing the ring behind his back and hurried away under the questioning gazes of the crowd.

Xia Zhiyang felt a sense of satisfaction. “This should prevent him from always looking so pitiful and cautious in front of everyone, as if you’re always bullying him!” He then sought approval from Qi Yan, “I did well, right? Fighting fire with fire is much more satisfying than fighting him directly!”

Seeing Qi Yan nod, Xia Zhiyang’s smile widened. “Next time, I’ll be even more relentless and make him so angry he’ll explode!”

Before entering the classroom, Lu Fenghan noticed there was still time before class, so he led Qi Yan to a secluded corner of the terrace and carefully examined his arm. “Still hurting?”

Though the pain was bearable, Qi Yan thought of something and replied, “It hurts more.”

Not adept at lying, he didn’t dare to meet Lu Fenghan’s eyes.

Aware that Qi Yan’s sensitivity to pain was much higher than average, Lu Fenghan refrained from touching him too much and applied the healing gel he always carried with him.

After applying it, he saw Qi Yan eagerly looking at him. Lu Fenghan deliberately asked, “What’s wrong?”

Qi Yan reminded him, “Bandage.”

“The healing gel is enough. We don’t need the bandage.”

Qi Yan didn’t say anything, but the anticipation in his eyes faded away.

Unable to bear seeing Qi Yan disappointed, Lu Fenghan compromised once again. “You’re really Little Delicate,” he remarked as he took out the bandage and wrapped it around Qi Yan’s arm in two loops, finally tying a standard bowknot neatly within Qi Yan’s sight.

Qi Yan inspected the bowknot twice before finally expressing satisfaction.

Even when they returned home in the evening, Qi Yan didn’t let Lu Fenghan remove the bandage. He even took precautions when showering—after washing, the bandage remained dry.

Lu Fenghan couldn’t understand the insistence behind all this.

Carrying a cup of water into the study, Lu Fenghan saw Qi Yan sitting at the computer, the light from the screen casting a glow on his face. Lu Fenghan noticed the bandage tied around Qi Yan’s wrist. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that everyone had their own quirks.

As he handed over the water, he recalled how Qi Yan had been staying up late multiple times recently. Lu Fenghan asked, “Why have you been staying up late so often lately?”

“I’m working on something complex. I’m afraid I won’t have enough time,” Qi Yan replied without elaborating, taking the cup and sipping from it.

His nails, trimmed smooth by Lu Fenghan, stood out as his fingers rested on the cup.

Leaning against the table, Lu Fenghan’s gaze lingered on Qi Yan’s fingertips for a moment, thinking that sometimes he himself felt the same way as Qi Yan.

He lived alone, unafraid of death but worried about running out of time to accomplish his ambitions.

The rebels lurked menacingly on the front lines of the Southern Cross Region, biding their time to strike, while space pirates remained a persistent threat. In his youth, he had vowed to eradicate the rebels within twenty years, resolving the Alliance’s looming crisis. Yet now, nearly a decade had passed, and far from disbanding them, he himself had narrowly avoided death in battle.

Whether due to idleness or a newfound susceptibility to sentimentality, he gradually realized that Leto would not vanish without him, nor would the Alliance be destroyed.

Just as when Lu Jun had suddenly fallen in battle, he had managed to grow into his current position on his own.

Even if he were to perish in battle, someone would step in to take his place. Vincent and the others might shed a few tears, but they would still have their own lives and goals.

After all, no one was indispensable to Lu Fenghan.

He was not irreplaceable.

After Qi Yan finished his water, Lu Fenghan asked the same question as before, “Qi Yan, if you encountered someone critically injured before you, would you save him and make a contract with him to protect you?”

Qi Yan, puzzled, still answered truthfully, “No, I would only save you, only make a contract with you, and only let you protect my safety.”

Lu Fenghan’s eyes darkened slightly as he gazed at the person before him. “No one else but me?”

Qi Yan: “That’s right.”

In that moment, Lu Fenghan couldn’t restrain himself and reached out to touch Qi Yan’s delicate eyelid.

It was an abrupt gesture, yet Qi Yan, aside from blinking, made no attempt to evade it.

Lu Fenghan smiled.

Where did all this sentimentality come from?

At least in Qi Yan’s eyes, he was irreplaceable.

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