Reluctantly Willing

Gu Jun was focused on reaching the Hotel Royal Duke. He didn’t notice if anyone was following him. When he passed a flower shop, he hurriedly got out of the car. There was still the same girl behind the counter.

“Sir, what kind of flower would you like this time?”

“I’m going to confess,” Gu Jun said, voice a little choked up. “Give me the best flowers you have.”

“For confessions, red roses are better. Wait a moment. I’ll go wrap it up now. How many would you like?”

“Doesn’t matter.” Gu Jun wasn’t in the mood to think about this. He just wanted to see An Xiaoyan. “Wrap it up as fast as possible. I’m in a hurry.”

“Okay.”

The worker decided to wrap up 66 roses and add some baby’s breath for embellishment. After she wrapped it up, the bouquet was very beautiful. There were large red flowers and blue baby’s breath.

Gu Jun held it but it felt unrealistic. He’d just hit An Xiaoyan when he was down and now he was going to confess. Would An Xiaoyan agree?

“Have a nice day.”

Gu Jun walked out with the flowers. He shuddered when the wind hit him. He took a deep breath, inhaling the fragrance of the roses.

Two hundred meters behind him was Gu Jing. He was confused. He didn’t think that Gu Jun was in a hurry for a bouquet of flowers. It seemed that things were more complicated than he’d thought.

Gu Jun placed the flowers in the front passenger’s seat. He floored the gas and continued driving. The two cars sped down the road.

It was blinding. When An Xiaoyan opened his eyes, the sunlight forced him to close them again.

“Sir, you should get up,” someone said.

An Xiaoyan saw someone that looked like a hotel worker beside him. Since he’d woken up, the worker closed the door and left.

Everything that had happened flowed through his mind. An Xiaoyan was wrapped up in blankets. Merely moving his hands brought bone-piercing pain.

It was all clear. Gu Jun had tossed him here.

An Xiaoyan pushed himself up and lifted his clothes. His body was covered in bruises. The little bit of hope completely vanished. Gu Jun had been so nice to him before, but it had all been to give him to Nan Qiang. Gu Jun would do anything to achieve his goals.

He slowly put his clothes on and walked out while leaning on the wall. Some of the scratches on his body were bleeding. Blood would seep out with every step. Now, he was clear how insignificant he was compared to power and wealth. This kind of life was meaningless.

No one stopped him. When An Xiaoyan walked out of the Hotel Royal Duke, a black car drove over from the distance.

From afar, Gu Jun saw someone walk out. The man swayed as if every step were difficult. He instantly recognized An Xiaoyan.

Gu Jun received the position as the chairman of the Gu Group, but he wasn’t happy at all. He wouldn’t have had the chance to win if it wasn’t for An Xiaoyan.

He parked on the side of the road. Taking a deep breath, he stopped for a long while before making up his mind. He walked out with the flowers.

An Xiaoyan took one step after another. The immense pain forced him to bow down. He was like a 70-year-old man. Gu Jun approached him with the bouquet of roses.

From now on, no one can stop me. We don’t have to care about people’s judgment. I can sweep away all obstacles.

“Xiaoyan…”

Hearing the familiar voice, An Xiaoyan looked up. Gu Jun was so brilliant under the sun. Holding the flowers, he was like a prince from the storybooks.

“I want to say…”

Before he could finish, Gu Jun was hit without any alert. The roses scattered on the ground. The boom shook his eardrums.

Red liquid started flowing on the ground like a creek. It intertwined with the roses. He couldn’t tell them apart.

“Xiaoyan!” Gu Jun yelled. He hugged the person on the ground tightly.

“Get an ambulance! Ambulance!”

The ground was covered in blood. Gu Jun hugged An Xiaoyan, getting blood on himself. He looked back and met Gu Jing’s resentful eyes.

“Xiaoyan, keep it up. The doctor’s here soon.”

Even though Gu Jun had made the worst mistake, An Xiaoyan still used all his might to push him away when Gu Jing’s car came.

Perhaps, this was his end. He would use his life to pay back everything he owed. It had hurt a lot when the car crashed into him. It seemed that his life was inseparable from pain.

The ambulance siren approached. Gu Jun hugged An Xiaoyan to stop the wound, but blood still kept flowing out. He pressed down on An Xiaoyan’s pulse. He forced himself to keep calm and feel the pulse.

“Xiaoyan, don’t die. I even bought you flowers. I like you. I really like you. Please push through. Oh, right, I forgive you. I forgave you long ago. Can you forgive me now? It’s my mistake.”

His nails dug into the flesh. An Xiaoyan started growing pale. He vaguely heard Gu Jun say he forgave him and he said, “Okay.”

His voice was weak, but Gu Jun still heard it. He hugged An Xiaoyan tightly, wanting to send his warmth into the cold body.

“Hurry, don’t move. We’ll carry him up.” The doctor on the ambulance carried An Xiaoyan in. The door closed and Gu Jun watched him get taken away.

Gu Jing had already driven away in fear. Looking at the ambulance driving away, Gu Jun thought, Gu Jing, you will pay for this.

By the time Gu Jun got to the hospital, the surgery had already started. Sitting in the hallway, Gu Jun felt like a failure. An Xiaoyan hadn’t felt any happiness in the year they were together. Most of the time was actually spent in the hospital.

“Who’s the relative of the patient just brought in from the ambulance?” the doctor called to the hallway.

Gu Jun snapped out of his thoughts. Raising his hand, he said, “I am.”

“Come in.”

After going into the office, the doctor gave Gu Jun some scans.

“The patient’s right leg is a bit serious. He must undergo surgery immediately. However, the leg seems to have been injured before. He’ll be a bit lame after the surgery.”

“Anything else?”

“Not sure about any other injuries right now. It’s just that the car ran straight into the right leg.”

Gu Jun thought about how he’d accidentally broken An Xiaoyan’s leg during New Year’s. If he hadn’t done so then, we wouldn’t have this problem now.

“Doctor, anything is fine as long as he won’t die.” His choked voice echoed through the office. Gu Jun never imagined that he would ever plead in such a way.

“Okay, we’ll try our best. Go pay for the hospital stay and surgery now.”

Gu Jun continued to sit in the hallway. He called Chen Chen.

“Come to the hospital right now and bring enough money. Also, buy a bouquet of roses when you pass by a flower shop.”

“Mr. Gu, did something happen?”

“Just come,” Gu Jun said softly. He didn’t have the courage to say it out loud.

When Chen Chen hurried to the hospital, Gu Jun was still sitting there. The surgery room’s light was still red.

“What’s wrong? You didn’t even go to the press conference. Did something happen?”

“I f*cking…ah, sit down.”

Chen Chen sat down. He took out the credit card and put it on the side with roses.

“When An Xiaoyan wakes up, I won’t ever let go of him.”

Chen Chen never imagined that Gu Jun would sacrifice An Xiaoyan to win over Nan Qiang or that Gu Jing would try to run Gu Jun over.

“Reveal all the information you found before. Gu Jing wants power, but I won’t let him have it. He hurt An Xiaoyan, so I’ll take away the thing he wants the most.”

Gu Jun had thought a lot after An Xiaoyan’s car accident. He’d worried too much before and had always been indecisive. Thinking about all the things he’d done, he realized that the bad karma he’d planted before was biting him now.

“The roses are so pretty, but the blood on An Xiaoyan is redder than the roses. I couldn’t even confess before he pushed me out of the way. If he didn’t push me, I’d be lying in there now. This is the first time I feel that karma is real. An Xiaoyan has truly repaid everything he owed to me.”

Chen Chen didn’t speak. He quietly listened to Gu Jun mutter to himself.

Love could really change someone. He’d known Gu Jun for so many years, but Gu Jun had never been so sentimental.

Gu Jun subconsciously reached for a cigarette, but he stopped when he realized it was a hospital. A while later, he thanked Chen Chen.

“Why are you thanking me? These are my duties.”

“I’ll give you a raise in a few days. You’ve been with me for so long. You know me pretty well.”

“If you didn’t decide to hire me, I wouldn’t be here today.”

At midnight, the surgery room’s light finally turned green. The doctor walked out and Gu Jun went to ask about the situation.

“The patient will survive, but the right leg will be a bit lame after it heals. I put ointment on the other places. He’ll be fine after he rests.”

“When can I see him?”

“You can visit him after he’s transferred to a regular patient’s room.”

“Thank you, doctor. Thanks.”

An Xiaoyan lay on the bed quietly with an oxygen mask. Gu Jun walked in with the roses. He put the flowers on the windowsill.

“I’m going to say what I didn’t have time to say before. An Xiaoyan, I want to be with you. Can you be Guo Guo’s father?”

The man on the bed didn’t answer. Gu Jun produced a box and took out the small ring inside. He slipped it on An Xiaoyan’s right ring finger.

“I had someone make it just for you. I’d wanted to propose after seeing you today. No one will stop us now. I’d already fallen for you at the Oriental Eye, but I didn’t say anything because I had too many worries. Please don’t mind. I really do love you. I’ve destroyed the IOU. You don’t owe me anything now.”

After seeing the ring on his finger for a while, Gu Jun felt it was wrong. He gently removed it.

He didn’t know when An Xiaoyan would wake up. Gu Jun rested against the bed. He didn’t dare sleep. He was afraid he would wake up and An Xiaoyan would be gone.

Now, he realized that love between the same gender could be so painful and impressionable too.