After finishing the treatment, Ye Xi stood in front of the mirror, still a bit unaccustomed.
The stylist had strongly recommended he get some subtle silver highlights at the ends of his already longish hair. It wasn’t flashy, just enough to break the dull monotony of black.
To Ye Xi, it did seem kind of nice, but touching the ends of his hair, he asked uncertainly, “Do you think Bai Yue will like this?”
“Come on, don’t worry. As long as Bai Yue isn’t blind, he’ll definitely notice how good you look. Just ask them.” Li Rui guaranteed it.
The nearby staff all nodded enthusiastically.
Ye Xi looked half-convinced.
After that, Li Rui dragged him to buy two new outfits.
Ye Xi was so exhausted he nearly collapsed in the back seat of the car.
Meanwhile, Li Rui was still full of energy, juggling more shopping bags than Ye Xi, flipping through a brochure the store associate just gave him, already planning his next seasonal wardrobe.
Ye Xi sincerely gave him a mental thumbs-up.
As fellow young gays, he was honestly eight leagues behind Li Rui—completely unqualified.
But when he saw Li Rui returning to school with him, he asked curiously, “Aren’t you going home this weekend?”
Li Rui’s family was different from his—his parents had a good relationship, he had a kind older brother, and all of them doted on him. But they were all workaholics with little time to spend at home, so Li Rui preferred boarding at school to be with Ye Xi.
“Nope. My brother’s not home this week, and my parents are away at a conference. They won’t be back till tomorrow night.” Li Rui pouted, clearly annoyed. “None of them care about a high schooler’s mental health. Can’t they come home once in a while and check on me?”
But remembering Ye Xi’s home situation, he immediately shut up.
Compared to Ye Xi, his complaints sounded downright privileged. Just thinking about Ye Xi’s family gave him a headache.
Ye Xi just smiled, clearly not bothered.
But maybe they jinxed it—just as they were getting close to school and discussing what to eat for dinner, Ye Xi’s phone vibrated.
He lazily glanced at it, but once he saw who the message was from, his smile froze instantly.
In the pale chat window was a single line, each word casting a shadow over him:
“Jianya Road No. 51, Tonghua Residence. I’m back. Let’s have dinner together.”
Li Rui noticed the shift in Ye Xi’s expression and fell silent. “Who is it?” he asked.
Ye Xi’s eyes were still fixed on the screen, the brightness in them dimmed like a fogged-over glass.
He said two words: “My mom.”
Li Rui’s face immediately changed.
His mind flashed with alarm bells. Why did that villain NPC suddenly show up again?
He cautiously asked, “What does she want?”
Nothing good ever came of it.
Ye Xi pursed his lips and showed him the screen: an address, and that short message.
Ye Xi said softly, “Looks like I can’t have dinner with you after all.”
Li Rui’s mouth tightened into a line.
He knew Ye Xi’s biological mom had gone to Europe with her girlfriends on vacation months ago, and now, out of nowhere, she was back.
He scowled. “Do you have to go?”
Ye Xi didn’t respond.
Honestly, he didn’t want to.
But could he say no? If he refused, his mom would make a big deal out of it—and it would just get worse.
After a moment, Ye Xi looked down and said calmly, “Might as well go. She’s still my mom. It’s not like she’s going to eat me.”
Li Rui looked like he wanted to argue.
With your mom? That’s actually a real possibility…
But it was Ye Xi’s private business, and he couldn’t interfere. So he just nodded. “Alright. I’ll have the driver take you to Tonghua Residence.”
Ye Xi didn’t refuse the offer. He gave Li Rui a small smile. “Sorry, you’ll have to eat dinner alone.”
“What are you talking about?”
Li Rui gave him a light shoulder bump.
About half an hour later, the car arrived at Tonghua Residence.
Ye Xi got out of the car empty-handed—Li Rui would take his stuff back for him anyway.
Standing by the curb, a breeze swept past. His thin shirt fluttered, making his already slim figure look even more delicate.
Li Rui watched him, wanting to say something, but Ye Xi had already waved and turned toward the main entrance.
Li Rui could only swallow his words again.
“To Hanguan Road,” he told the driver, then slumped back into his seat.
Half an hour later, while alone in a private room eating his barbecue set, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Wonder how Ye Xi’s doing…
As Ye Xi’s longtime friend, he knew better than anyone how awful Ye Xi’s mood always got after seeing his mom.
…..
Ye Xi’s mood was, indeed, terrible.
As soon as he entered the residence, an attendant led him to a private room where Ms. Ye Shuyue was waiting.
The room was on the second floor—spacious, with slender bamboo blinds, and lush phoenix trees outside. The soft lighting and natural decor created the illusion of dining in a tranquil summer forest.
But the atmosphere at the table was anything but serene.
Since Ye Xi arrived, Ye Shuyue had only said three things:
- “What rank did you get in this month’s exam?”
- “What rank did Zheng Yang get?”
- “And you actually have the nerve to say it out loud? You’re a lost cause, a total disgrace to me.”
Even when insulting someone, Ye Shuyue looked elegant. She was just forty, but well-maintained and youthful. Dressed in a sleek black dress with a trim waist, poised and graceful, her fair, striking face framed by delicate jade earrings.
Anyone meeting her for the first time might find her refined and composed—if they ignored the venom dripping from her lips.
Ye Xi was used to it by now—her words went in one ear and out the other.
He knew Ye Shuyue had never liked him. She’d never managed to become the official wife after giving birth to him, and had been relegated to a hidden mistress, something she’d always resented.
Now she was back in the country and inviting him to dinner purely for show—to impress his nominal father.
So Ye Xi didn’t even react. He just quietly sipped his pigeon soup.
Nothing she said ever fazed him anymore.
It was more boring than tabloid gossip.
But his calm detachment only made Ye Shuyue more irritated.
Ungrateful little thing, she thought coldly.
She stared at him for a moment, then suddenly picked up the decorative folding fan on the table. Her slender, pale fingers gripped the handle, and without hesitation—like she’d done it a thousand times—she swung it straight toward Ye Xi’s face.
Slap.
Ye Xi didn’t even have time to react before a red mark appeared on his face.
The edge of the folding fan had grazed his cheek, and within seconds a swollen bruise emerged, even breaking the skin slightly.
“That’s the attitude you show your mother?” Ye Shuyue asked coldly. “Have you forgotten basic manners?”
She hadn’t even raised her voice. It was as if she hadn’t just slapped Ye Xi, but merely patted his shoulder.
Ye Xi was stunned.
It wasn’t that he couldn’t dodge it—it’s just that Ye Shuyue hadn’t hit him like that in years.
He hadn’t expected it at all.
He picked up a white napkin to wipe his lips, paying no attention to the swelling on his face. His eyes—still cold and expressionless—lifted slightly as he stared at Ye Shuyue.
“I’ve always treated you like this,” he said calmly, the corners of his mouth curving ever so slightly. “But what about you? Why are you suddenly so angry? Did Dad find another mistress and start neglecting you again?”
Ye Shuyue’s face turned pale at the question, almost losing her composure.
Ye Xi had hit a nerve.
For a woman in her position, the headaches in life were always the same—her “husband” couldn’t keep it in his pants. A third woman was always followed by a fourth, and then a fifth and sixth. Peace never lasted.
And her own son was such a disappointment, constantly overshadowed by the legitimate heir of the family.
She would never be able to rise above others in this life.
Ye Shuyue threw the fan aside.
Her lapse in composure lasted only a moment. She folded her arms and sat at the table, chin raised, sneering at Ye Xi.
“How do you even have the nerve to talk back? If you were half as capable as Zheng Yang, maybe your father would pay attention to you and make some plans for your future. Then I wouldn’t have to compete with a bunch of young girls for his attention.”
“But you’re useless. All you know is eating, drinking, and playing around. It’s not just that you can’t compete with Zheng Yang—you even bow and scrape to him, and he still hasn’t done a damn thing for you.”
She let out a mocking laugh. “How did I give birth to a son like you? You’re nothing like me.”
Ye Xi nearly burst out laughing.
Like you?
Like what part of you?
Graduated from a top university at a young age, then got pregnant out of wedlock, becoming someone’s mistress in hopes of climbing to the top.
Her whole life had been about clawing for power—but for what? A despicable man? A position and wealth that were never hers to begin with?
But he had already said these things before. The only thing it got him was two more slaps.
He didn’t feel like arguing with Ye Shuyue anymore. They were nothing alike, and sitting together only made them both more miserable.
Ye Xi glanced at his watch. It had been an hour since he entered the private room.
They had barely exchanged a few sentences.
Ye Shuyue hadn’t asked how he had been lately, or what was going on at school. She hadn’t even noticed that he’d gotten taller.
“That’s enough time, isn’t it?” Ye Xi said, lowering his wrist. “This meal should be enough for you to report back. You can go tell Dad that you came to see me as soon as you got back, but I’m still a disappointment, always making you angry. You should even squeeze out a couple tears so Dad will buy you another building ‘for our future security.’”
He gave Ye Shuyue a sarcastic smile.
She already had two buildings and a shopping mall under her name—all coaxed and cried out of his father over the years. Honestly, being a mistress to that extent was kind of impressive.
Ye Xi wasn’t a mean person. Outside, he was even considered gentle and harmless. His teachers often described him as a bit lazy, but helpful and supportive of classmates.
But whenever he faced Ye Shuyue, their similarly shaped faces would twist into equally cutting mockery.
Maybe that was the only thing they had in common.
Ye Shuyue’s face was like frost.
Seeing Ye Xi making no effort to seek her permission, she rang the bell on the table and asked the waiter to bring over his backpack.
Ye Xi took the bag, put on his coat, and gave her a businesslike nod.
“I’ve had enough. I’ll be leaving now, Mom.”
In front of outsiders, he always left Ye Shuyue some dignity—playing the role of the dutiful son.
He turned and walked toward the door of the private room, but as the waiter opened it for him, he paused.
He looked back at Ye Shuyue.
She was sitting alone by the window, her exposed arm thin and fragile. Her gaze was cold and distant, like a porcelain beauty—cold, gorgeous, and utterly devoid of warmth.
Ye Xi noticed she seemed thinner. Her clothes looked a little loose, even the slim black dress seemed baggy.
But after a moment’s pause, he said nothing and walked out.
….
Ye Xi took a cab back to school. By the time he returned to the dorm, his mood was back in order.
Li Rui saw the red mark on his face and freaked out, practically trembling with rage. If he didn’t know it was Ye Xi’s biological mother, he might have started sticking pins into a voodoo doll.
He held an ice pack to Ye Xi’s face and muttered, “What kind of person… Is she even really your mom?”
Ye Xi was amused.
“She is,” he told Li Rui. “We did three paternity tests after I was born. She’s definitely my biological mother.”
If she weren’t, Ye Shuyue wouldn’t feel so justified in disciplining him.
Ye Xi didn’t care much.
Compared to what he endured as a kid, this was nothing.
He even comforted Li Rui in turn: “At most, I only have to put up with her for another two years. Once I’m in college, I’ll be free. After graduation, I’ll move abroad so they can’t find me even if they tried.”
Li Rui wasn’t comforted at all. He clutched Ye Xi’s hand, clearly worried. “But you’ll be all alone in a foreign country. And what about Senior Bai Yue? If you leave the country, how will you two be together?”
Then Li Rui remembered something else and got even angrier. “Ugh, I’m so mad. I just gave you a facial treatment today, and now your skin’s all messed up!”
He seriously wanted to slap Ye Xi’s mom too.
Ye Xi gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry for wasting your effort.”
Li Rui shook his head, muttering, “That’s not what I’m mad about.”
But Ye Xi didn’t answer the earlier question.
He thought, What does Bai Yue’s future have to do with me? He only wanted to sleep with Bai Yue, that’s all.
He had never thought about a future with Bai Yue.
But even so, after finally calming Li Rui down, lights off and lying in bed, Ye Xi kept glancing at the small cabinet beside his bed.
Each bed came with a storage box for personal items.
Right now, his cubby held the tiny clay figurine Bai Yue had given him—adorable, just about thumb-sized.
Ye Xi’s eyes softened again.
He would see Bai Yue tomorrow.
Just the two of them.
Bai Yue would tutor him, smile at him, sip tea while listening to him talk.
The thought made him dazed, a faint smile curling on his usually frosty face.
He’d had a terrible evening—seeing Ye Shuyue had practically triggered a trauma response. He’d stood downstairs for half an hour before coming up to the dorm, just to make sure Li Rui didn’t notice.
But all of that—everything awful and humiliating—melted away before the idea of seeing Bai Yue tomorrow. It was like weightless willow fluff, utterly insignificant.
Just like when he was little, when his chaotic childhood was full of scoldings and beatings from his mom, and bullying from Zheng Yang—Bai Yue was the only one who would take his hand and shield him.
Bai Yue was like a Band-Aid on his life, healing all his resentment and pain.
It was the same now.
Ye Xi closed his book.
He pressed the clay doll to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss—like it was Bai Yue himself.
See you tomorrow, he whispered in his heart.
