YMW CH 4

Insomnia

Xie Guilan’s eyes stayed cold and gloomy, but confusion finally flickered within them. He was injured, yet Cen Wu still insisted he stay up late to do homework —it certainly felt like a punishment.

But compared to what Cen Wu had subjected him to before, this was nothing.

Sweat glistened on Cen Wu’s pale cheeks. His misty eyes darted toward Xie Guilan before quickly looking away, lashes trembling like a frightened sparrow.

Xie Guilan had to admit Cen Wu seemed different tonight. But he knew better than anyone that no matter how timid or innocent Cen Wu acted, darkness hid beneath the facade.

He had entered the Xie family at seven, ten years ago. Cen Wu had once ruined his winter coat, filled his boots with snow, and sent him to feed the horses like that.

When he fell ill, Cen Wu locked him in a dark attic, releasing him only when someone else found him—reluctantly, at that.

Tonight, Cen Wu forced him to kneel, publicly whipped him with a riding crop, and trampled him.

…

And now, he wanted him to do homework?

Xie Guilan stared coldly at Cen Wu, unable to guess what new humiliation he planned. But exhaustion drained his curiosity. He picked up the workbooks, intending to head to the hallway to finish them.

Cen Wu’s volatile temper was unpredictable. Who knew if he would snap in the middle of the night and demand Xie leave his room?

Xie Guilan stood, but his severe injuries made him unsteady. Kneeling in the storm for half the night had left him dizzy, and his vision darkened as he collapsed.

!!!

Cen Wu instinctively reached out to catch him. However, Xie Guilan, nearly 1.9 meters tall, proved too heavy for him.

This is bad, Cen Wu thought.

“Young Master!” The old butler appeared just in time, catching Xie Guilan and preventing a crash.

Relief flooded Cen Wu.

The butler’s steady arms supported Xie Guilan, concern etched on his aged face. “Are you alright?”

Cen Wu: “…”

“I’m… fine,” Cen Wu replied.

The butler laid Xie Guilan on the bed and fetched clean clothes for him.

Initially, he planned to move Xie Guilan to a guest room. However, Cen Wu followed closely, his body tense whenever the butler touched Xie Guilan. He clutched his coat tightly, clearly unwilling to let him go.

The butler knew the original Cen Wu behaved obediently around his parents but carried a ruthless streak. He understood the boys’ relationship remained strained.

But as the family’s butler, his loyalty belonged to the Cen family. Since Cen Wu wanted Xie Guilan to stay, he complied.

Cen Wu felt anxious, his legs trembling slightly. He realized Xie Guilan didn’t need to act. Once the truth about the real and fake heirs emerged, any Cen family member could easily end him.

The butler’s reputation preceded him; handling a minor like Cen Wu would be effortless.

There was no turning back now.

Cen Wu didn’t dare think too much. He hurried to find Dr. Lu, and by the time they returned, the old butler had already changed Xie Guilan’s clothes.

In the Cen household, only the eldest brother was about the same height as Xie Guilan. However, Xie Guilan was only seventeen or eighteen, carrying the slenderness unique to youth. The shirt looked loose and baggy on him.

“Start with an IV drip,” Dr. Lu checked Xie Guilan again. There wasn’t much cause for concern; he had just developed a sudden high fever. “We’ll deal with the rest once the fever goes down. As long as the wound doesn’t get infected, he’ll be fine.”

Xie Guilan’s pale complexion now showed an abnormal flush, and his normally pale lips had turned a deep red from the fever.

“Young Master, it’s very late. You should go to bed,” the old butler coaxed. “I’ll take care of Young Master Xie.”

In his previous life, Cen Wu had been a director. He wasn’t exactly poor, but he wasn’t used to having servants at his beck and call.

Moreover, he was the youngest in the family, and since he had brought Xie Guilan back, it felt uncomfortable asking others for help.

“I… I’ll stay,” Cen Wu quickly said. “Uncle Zhang, you can all go to bed. Dr… Dr. Lu too.”

He knew how to change IV bottles and remove needles. He already felt guilty about calling people out so late at night.

The original host had a fiery temper and hated being contradicted. The old butler hesitated but knew better than to argue with this temperamental young master. After a moment, he agreed.

“Young Master,” the butler instructed, “Dr. Lu and I will be in the guest room downstairs tonight. Call us if you need anything.”

Afraid of upsetting Cen Wu, the other servants quickly left, closing the door behind them.

“…”

Cen Wu waited quietly for a few minutes. Once he was sure everyone had left, he rubbed his stiff cheeks, finally relaxing after a tense night.

Even the corners of his lips curled up uncontrollably.

No one was here!

Only Xie Guilan remained, unconscious and lifeless—although it wasn’t polite to put it that way.

If he weren’t worried about Xie Guilan waking up and embarrassing himself, Cen Wu would have jumped on the bed and rolled around. After all, the bed was absurdly large.

He tucked the blanket around Xie Guilan, took out his phone, and sprawled on the bedside, finally enjoying a rare moment of solitude.

Earlier, the butler had borrowed clothes from the original host’s elder brother, and Cen Wu hadn’t thanked him yet.

Since he was here, he decided to take care of the male lead without offending Xie Shangjing or the Cen family.

Once Xie Guilan didn’t hate him so much, he planned to expose the truth about the fake heir, send Xie Guilan home, and make his escape. Everyone would have a brighter future.

But as soon as he turned on his phone, dozens of messages popped up, making his hand tingle from the vibration.

“…”

His social anxiety flared up again.

Cen Wu felt like he was holding a hot potato. After a few minutes, he nervously opened the top message and was immediately greeted by a photo of abs.

???

A bad feeling washed over him. He scrolled through the messages, and sure enough, most were photos of chest and abdominal muscles, along with moody gym shots.

Cen Wu: “…”

Seriously, dude?

As a director, Cen Wu had to deal with actors, crew members, investors, and censors, so he had about three thousand contacts despite his social anxiety.

But the original host had six thousand, including over a thousand marked as a special group called [The Fish Pond].

When he opened the group, he saw countless contacts labeled with names like “Brother So-and-So.”

The chat content included messages like:

[Check out my abs, little Wu.]

[The moonlight is beautiful tonight. Did you see it? Do you miss me? I miss you a lot.]

[Your chest needs more work. Keep training.]

[Don’t worry about me. Go hang out with Young Master Xie. I’ll be here waiting. Can I take you to dinner tomorrow?]

“…”

It was like cross-server flirting.

Although Xie Shangjing liked the original host, he was never short of admirers. Recently, he was even dating a high school beauty.

He expected loyalty from the original host while being unfaithful himself. And the original host wasn’t one to take things lying down. The Cen and Xie families held equal power, and the original host didn’t think the Cen family would ever find out he was an imposter. Why should he tolerate Xie Shangjing’s behavior?

The original host met these people at parties and bars, added them as friends, and flirted casually.

But he was also timid, never daring to cross Xie Shangjing’s line. He didn’t engage with them beyond a few flirty texts. Even holding hands would get him into trouble with Xie Shangjing.

Survival was more important.

Cen Wu scrolled through the original host’s social media, eyes overwhelmed by a flood of abs and chests.

No one knew how many people the original host had added. They all thought they were special. With the Cen family’s power, being close to the original host meant skipping years of struggle, so they were extra enthusiastic.

Despite his many flaws, the original host had good taste. None of the muscles were over-trained. The physiques were lean, well-defined, and sexy.

And they were well-photographed—shadowed gym lighting highlighting broad shoulders, narrow waists, and shark-fin lines.

Cen Wu: “…”

Weird. Let’s look again.

He kept switching between looking at abs and checking on Xie Guilan. The unconscious Xie Guilan’s cold, handsome face was a refreshing contrast.

He’d stare at the abs, then at Xie Guilan.

Xie Guilan, sensitive to being watched, frowned slightly in his sleep but remained unconscious due to exhaustion.

Cen Wu thought about Xie Guilan’s complicated past. Stealing a child took minutes; returning home would take a lifetime.

With that thought, he softened, tucking the blanket around Xie Guilan again.

Xie Guilan vaguely felt the care, the soft and gentle touch helping the medicine work. His eyelids grew heavier.

Meanwhile, Cen Wu fell into a weird cycle—abs, Xie Guilan, abs again.

He checked the IV, changed bottles, and by 3 a.m., he was exhausted.

Cen Wu: “…”

So tired.

The novel never mentioned the male lead’s insomnia…