Disciplinary Code

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Jiang Heng was a rational person, a quality Ji Yao had recognized since they were dating years ago.

He was methodical and rarely made impulsive decisions. Most of the things he mentioned had already been carefully considered and evaluated in his mind before he mentioned them.

So, just after 9 a.m. on Monday morning, Ji Yao received a call from the interior designer, who wanted to discuss “ideas for interior decoration.” She asked if he had time.

“Interior decoration?” Ji Yao had been busy all morning with his rounds and, taking a moment to react, he asked, “Is it for the apartment in Jing’an District?”

“Yes,” the designer replied with a smile, politely asking, “Do you have some free time? We can meet at a location of your convenience.”

That evening, Jiang Heng had casually mentioned it, and Ji Yao had thought he had merely made a plan for the future. He hadn’t expected Jiang Heng to act so quickly; within two days, he had already found a designer.

It seemed that Ji Yao’s surprise had been evident because the designer quickly asked again, “do you have time?”

“Sure,” Ji Yao hastily replied, “How about 12:30 noon?”

The designer quickly agreed, and they exchanged WeChat information. Ji Yao provided the address of a cafe next to the hospital.

During his lunch break, Ji Yao changed his clothes and prepared to leave. He ran into a young nurse coming on shift, carrying a beautifully wrapped small box. She had a cheerful expression, her eyes and lips filled with a smile, and she seemed ready to bounce with energy. If she weren’t on duty, she would probably be skipping.

“What’s going on? Did something good happen?” Ji Yao asked curiously. “Did you find money on the street or something?”

“Oh, Dr. Ji,” the young nurse sighed as if pitying his lack of sophistication. “It’s a gift from my boyfriend. Don’t laugh, that love talisman really works. I just started using it, and he confessed to me.”

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Ji Yao blinked in response.

The nurse suddenly seemed to recall something and smacked her palm as if she had figured it out. “Oh, Dr. Ji, you used it too, right? How has it worked for you?”

Of course, it worked—quite well. Ji Yao thought. Although this “love talisman” was an old one, it had at least successfully reunited them.

Thinking about this, Ji Yao couldn’t help but look at her with a puzzled expression, wondering if this thing was really so mystical.

“Well, it’s, uh, alright,” Ji Yao replied vaguely. Fortunately, he wasn’t fond of gossip, so the nurse didn’t press further. She continued enthusiastically, “I think It’s really effective. Dr. Ji, you must keep using it; persistence is key!”

Ji Yao couldn’t resist her enthusiasm, so he nodded vaguely, carrying his bewilderment with him as he entered the elevator.

First, it was Mercury retrograde, and now it was love talismans. Ji Yao thought that sometimes it was better to believe in them rather than dismiss them completely. So, he pulled out his phone and secretly found the Weibo account of that mystical blogger, then clicked the follow button.

A notification popped up in the private message window, and Ji Yao soon realized that this blogger also offered customized mystical services.

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He had a head full of question marks but ultimately decided not to delete the message.

After about ten seconds, the elevator stopped on the first floor. Ji Yao straightened his collar, left the hospital, and arrived at the café. Inside, someone was already waiting.

Jiang Heng had chosen a designer in her early thirties, dressed in a light gray professional outfit, giving off a competent vibe.

On her table, there was a cup of black coffee, several thick folders, and a style guide for interior decoration. She was unmistakably a professional.

Ji Yao walked in and before he could introduce himself, the woman had already looked up at him. Her gaze moved over him as if she were assessing him, then she smiled and stood up, greeting Ji Yao.

“Dr. Ji, right?” The woman smiled and gestured for him to sit. “I’m Han and I’m the designer for the interior decoration plan.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Ji Yao shook her hand, then sat across from her and called a waiter to order a drink.

“So, regarding the interior decoration, Mr. Jiang has requested that I consult with you regarding your preferences,” Han got straight to the point. “What are your thoughts on the house design?”

Ji Yao had never been in charge of such a thing, and his only impression of a living space was whether it looked pleasant or not. Thus, when Han asked, he couldn’t think of any specific requirements.

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Han had probably dealt with many clients like Ji Yao before, so she smiled and, noticing his uncertainty, pulled out two floor plans and began explaining, pointing with her pen.

“Well, regarding the living area downstairs, Mr. Jiang wishes to open up the bedroom and the adjacent small utility room to expand the bedroom space. He also wants to change the functionality of the guest room and eliminate the idea of having a secondary guest room. But we’d like to know your thoughts on how to utilize this space,” Han explained while circling a few areas on the floor plan. “As for the balcony, I originally proposed a vintage-style greenery theme, but Mr. Jiang mentioned that you both have busy schedules and may not have time to maintain such a design.”

“Wait, wait,” Ji Yao couldn’t help but interrupt. “Why eliminate the guest room?”

There were multiple bedrooms in Jiang Heng’s duplex apartment, and it sounded unreasonable to eliminate a guest room.

“Mr. Jiang believes that there is no need for a second bedroom in this apartment,” Han explained. “He feels that this space is exclusively for the two of you and theoretically, there shouldn’t be anyone else staying over.”

Han’s explanation made Ji Yao realize that Jiang Heng might have a bit of a possessiveness to him now even more than before. He considered this area to be their private domain, and he didn’t want anyone else to enter it.

Even XiaoTong, it seemed, communicated with him on the outer boundary of this domain.

“But he also said that he would consider your opinion,” Han added as she observed Ji Yao’s expression.

“No, let’s go with his idea,” Ji Yao shook his head and said, “Let’s not have it.”

Ji Yao was fine with Jiang Heng wanting to make this home exclusively theirs. Jiang Heng had already made a considerable effort to grant him complete freedom, so Ji Yao was willing to uphold this unspoken rule as much as possible, making their home as private and secure as possible.

Han nodded and noted it down in her memo.

“What about the upstairs office area?” Han asked next. “Mr. Jiang mentioned that you might want to separate it from his space. Would you prefer an independent study or a semi-independent partition?”

If this had been three years ago, Ji Yao would have chosen the former.

Back then, he and Jiang Heng were more intimate but less trusting. He had been deeply in love but hesitant, so he had paid a lot of attention to “independence” and “freedom.” He had always kept himself in a state where he could withdraw at any time and was stubborn about not letting his heart be fully invested in Jiang Heng.

But now, he had no such concerns.

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“Don’t listen to him on this,” Ji Yao joked. “Let’s keep it open. Just separate the desks. I find it quite efficient to work while watching him.”

“Couples who work together are less tired,” Han also smiled, picking up on his playful tone. She added a bit of off-topic chatter, “I’ve designed houses for quite a few same-sex couples, and I can tell that your relationship is very good.”

Their relationship was definitely strong, but Ji Yao and Jiang Heng were not just an affectionate couple. They had gone through a long period of adjustment, defeated by reality and their immaturity. They had wandered through life, spent a lot of effort fighting against themselves, and finally, they had managed to hold each other’s hands.

On Jiang Heng’s birthday, there had been so much chaos that Ji Yao didn’t realize there was no birthday cake until the next day.

At the time, Ji Yao was puzzled because in his memory, Jiang Heng was someone who valued rituals. Even if he had no one to celebrate with, he would buy a cake for himself; there was no way he would forget about it.

He asked XiaoTong, who had expressed regret about it, but it seemed that Jiang Heng had insisted on not having a cake. He claimed the cream was too sweet and no longer suited his taste.

Ji Yao knew that wasn’t the real reason, but he didn’t dare to say much at the time. He later asked Jiang Heng as they headed to work the next day.

“It’s not a big deal. I can have my own preferences, too,” Jiang Heng had helplessly smiled, “You can just consider it my way of throwing a small tantrum.”

After all, back then, XiaoTong hadn’t paid much attention to the special day, and taking away his birthday cake had upset him. Since then, he had become more stubborn and never celebrated his birthday or shared it with anyone.

He wasn’t regretful about the past or resentful towards XiaoTong. It was just that in these little things that no one knew about, Jiang Heng had his own pride.

Afterward, Ji Yao couldn’t help but think that perhaps Jiang Heng loved him even more than he realized. Jiang Heng had crossed his own boundaries, given up his own principles, and was willing to try again, which might be the result of his inner struggle.