When Ye Xi stood at Bai Yue’s front door, he still felt a little dazed.
He had been here countless times before. For most of his final year in high school, he had spent at least half his weekends here.
He remembered every detail of Bai Yue’s house.
The round black table in the living room where he often did his homework. The equally black sofa, sometimes strewn with Bai Yue’s tie or jacket. The brass vase with flowers that changed with the seasons—he once, in his nerves during a homework check, plucked off a few lilies of the valley.
On the balcony, there was even a little bird-watching nest, where he sometimes scattered grain.
But now, his high school life had ended with the college entrance exam.
In theory, he had no excuse to come here anymore.
Maybe it was because Bai Yue had given him too much temptation, too many privileges, that gradually emboldened him.
On the phone, he didn’t even bother finding excuses—he simply said he wanted to spend the weekend at Bai Yue’s.
And Bai Yue agreed without the slightest hesitation.
Ye Xi’s grip on his schoolbag tightened.
Inside it, he had hidden a bottle of red wine, taken from Li Rui’s older brother.
It came from some obscure French winery, with only a few dozen bottles produced—meant simply as gifts for friends.
The reason Li Rui had smuggled this bottle over to Ye Xi was because, among red wines, this one had a relatively high alcohol content.
Ye Xi was still a little timid.
He had never confessed to anyone before; his only experience came from anime and manga—where the male and female leads embraced on snowy nights, kissed naturally under the cicadas of summer, or shouted “I like you!” outside a rushing train…
Each scene was romantic enough.
But they all required too much timing and circumstance. He had no patience left—he only wanted to strike quickly.
So, after much deliberation, he bought one last lesson from that online seduction course, asking the dating instructor for advice.
In the end, he decided to stick with his original plan.
Find a way to get Bai Yue drunk.
Then naturally end up in bed together.
By the time morning came, the rice would already be cooked—leaving Bai Yue with no choice but to take responsibility.
While he explained this plan, the love instructor didn’t even have much to say, even seemed to choke a little.
When she heard Ye Xi say he suspected his crush might actually like him back, she even typed out a huge “?”
But the next second she quickly deleted it, sending a sweet voice message instead:
“That’s right, we’ve seen this happen before too! Mutual affection with your crush is actually quite common. So, sweetheart, what are you worrying about? Just go for it!”
Thinking of her encouragement, Ye Xi took a deep breath and finally pressed the doorbell.
Footsteps came quickly from inside. With a soft click, Bai Yue’s face appeared behind the door, smiling at him.
…
Ye Xi dragged his feet as he stepped in.
He actually knew the password to Bai Yue’s apartment—Bai Yue had given it to him long ago. But he always felt too embarrassed to enter directly.
Now, with his guilty conscience, he stumbled inside and stood in the living room, suddenly feeling at a loss for what to do.
Before he came, he’d been full of ambition, imagining Bai Yue stripped down to nothing but his underwear. But now he just stood there, dumbly staring at him.
Bai Yue brought over chilled juice and snacks. Seeing Ye Xi daze out like this, he only found it cute, and asked softly, “What is it? What are you thinking about?”
Ye Xi shook his head, sat down on the sofa, and struggled to pull the bottle of red wine from his bag.
He stammered, “Bai-ge, this… this is a bottle of wine I got from a friend, from a private winery. I brought it for you. We can drink it tonight while we watch a movie.”
His motives were anything but pure.
Beforehand, he’d already insisted on staying the night at Bai Yue’s.
And suggested they watch a horror movie together.
The excuse he came up with was sloppy at best—saying watching horror films alone had no atmosphere, and since Li Rui had already left with his family for Europe, he wanted to come here.
Fortunately, Bai Yue didn’t press him, nor did he thoughtlessly invite Zheng Yang over.
He just pretended Ye Xi was a lonely kid with no friends—helpless without Li Rui.
Bai Yue walked over, taking the wine from his hands. The bottle was ordinary, plain even, except for the label—a small rose drawn with tender green stem and leaves, and a pink blossom. It actually looked a little cute.
Bai Yue thought to himself that he didn’t remember Ye Xi having friends who gave out red wine.
But he didn’t call him out, only smiled lightly: “Alright, I’ll set it aside for later tonight.”
That afternoon, they didn’t do anything special.
Bai Yue had always been patient. Even as a child, he would sit with Ye Xi through boring cartoons.
Now, it didn’t feel much different from summers past. He played video games with Ye Xi, taught him Go—treating him completely differently from the rough way he dealt with Zheng Yang.
Even though Ye Xi clearly had no talent for Go, Bai Yue only smiled.
“It’s fine, it’s not like you’re going pro.”
He sat beside Ye Xi instead of across from him. Holding Ye Xi’s hand, he pinched a white piece between their fingers, half-encircling Ye Xi in his arms.
Hand over hand, his broad, dry palm guided Ye Xi’s.
With a soft click, the white stone blocked the black’s path.
He ignored the rules completely, guiding Ye Xi’s hand to place several more stones.
By the end, the board was a rout: black’s forces collapsed, and white surrounded and controlled nearly the whole field.
Even though the game wasn’t finished, it was obvious—black’s life was over, and white had won a sweeping victory.
“See? You won.”
Bai Yue’s voice was low, close enough that even softly spoken, it slipped into Ye Xi’s ear like a fish gliding through water.
Ye Xi’s heart trembled.
He turned his head toward Bai Yue, who was looking back at him, calm as ever.
But somehow, Ye Xi couldn’t shake the feeling that Bai Yue wasn’t talking about the game at all…
….
That night, after dinner, Ye Xi finally reached the moment he’d been waiting for.
He had chosen a horror movie—“Haunted House Terror,” released two years ago.
It was supposed to be so terrifying that Li Rui had flat-out refused to see it with him.
Originally, he’d planned to watch it with Liang Zhan, but at that time his mother had come back, they’d fought several times, and his mood had been terrible. Eventually, he’d forgotten all about it.
Now he said softly, “I really wanted to see this one before, but things came up. Then a few days ago, I saw a post recommending it again, and I thought—I’d like to watch it with you.”
He glanced uncertainly at Bai Yue. “Have you seen it before, Bai-ge?”
“No.”
Bai Yue’s eyes fell on the TV. The opening credits had already begun. The room was dim and hushed, the sound of rain falling outside. It really was the perfect night for a movie.
Ye Xi was satisfied.
He held the freshly opened wine, hesitated, then bit his lip, steeled himself, and poured a brimming glass. Acting casual, he handed it to Bai Yue.
“Bai-ge, try it first—see if it’s good?”
His voice was so low, he didn’t even dare meet Bai Yue’s eyes.
Bai Yue stared at the overfilled glass for a few seconds, speechless.
This was the first time he’d ever seen someone drink red wine like this.
It wasn’t about tasting it—it was like Ye Xi was afraid he’d die of thirst.
But he said nothing, silently accepting it. Because Ye Xi had poured it so full, he couldn’t even give it a light swirl or sniff its aroma.
Still, seeing Ye Xi’s expectant eyes, he smiled and took a sip.
“Not bad.”
The wine really was decent. Not world-class, but rich in flavor, with fine tannins, hints of cherry and blackcurrant, and a touch of chocolate.
As he spoke, his gaze lingered on Ye Xi.
He wasn’t an idiot—of course he could tell how strange Ye Xi was acting that day.
From suddenly wanting to spend the weekend together, to mysteriously bringing wine.
All of it felt suspicious.
But Ye Xi’s eager expression was far too cute—his guilty eyes darting away like a startled bird whenever Bai Yue looked at him, pretending to hide his face.
Bai Yue let out a helpless chuckle.
He took another sip of wine.
He thought: even if Ye Xi had poisoned the glass, he’d still drink it all.
The movie began.
For once, Ye Xi sat still, hugging a pillow as he watched.
But every so often, he stole a glance sideways, monitoring Bai Yue’s glass.
Whenever the level dropped, he immediately refilled it with great diligence.
By the end, Bai Yue stared at the bottle, already half-empty, and didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh.
He almost wanted to tell Ye Xi—if you really want to get me drunk, next time just bring whiskey.
Red wine was too slow to take effect.
But looking at Ye Xi’s earnest face, he said nothing, only finished every drop in his glass.
And yet, by the time the movie ended, Bai Yue wasn’t drunk.
Ye Xi had completely underestimated his tolerance.
Even with half the bottle gone.
By the finale, when the protagonists unleashed their final attack, Bai Yue’s gaze was still clear, his demeanor calm. He even pointed out a few plot holes. Not a trace of drunkenness.
Ye Xi was dumbfounded.
He stared at Bai Yue, then at the wine bottle…
He had assumed Bai Yue couldn’t handle much, since he rarely drank in front of him.
But now—what was this?
Some hidden “never drunk” superpower?
Ye Xi was falling apart inside.
He thought, How am I supposed to do this now? If you won’t even get drunk, how am I supposed to trick you into bed?
Bai Yue, seeing that tangled little face, hesitated too—wondering if maybe he should just pretend to be drunk.
Both of them sat there, each with their own thoughts.
The room was very quiet.
Only the ticking of the clock could be heard.
When the brass hands finally overlapped at eleven o’clock, they chimed with a light ding, reminding the master of the hour.
Ye Xi jolted back to his senses.
The movie was over. The ghosts had been laid to rest.
And the surviving couple clung to each other at the haunted house gates, kissing passionately, their lips and tongues entwined.
As soon as Ye Xi snapped back to his senses, what he saw was this very scene, and for a moment it felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.
He was someone who could read erotic manga without so much as a twitch, but right now—just because Bai Yue was beside him—he lowered his head uncomfortably, even the back of his neck tinged red.
Bai Yue picked up the remote and hit pause.
With a click, the protagonists froze on the screen.
But his gaze was fixed instead on Ye Xi.
Ye Xi was wearing a blue-and-white hoodie, paired with white pants that had only a dark blue trim. The fit was perfect, allowing ease of movement while faintly outlining his frame, leaving him looking fresh and clean.
On this summer night, he was like a clear spring.
Bai Yue truly couldn’t guess what Ye Xi was trying to do.
He had originally planned to confess to Ye Xi in a few days.
He’d already decided on the villa at the foot of the mountain—far away from others, just the two of them.
Maybe he would kiss Ye Xi’s cheek.
Maybe he would kiss Ye Xi’s lips.
Or maybe, he would get slapped across the face and scolded as a bastard.
But whichever it was…
Bai Yue’s long fingers twirled the remote. In his pitch-black eyes, emotions lay obscure and hard to read.
He thought to himself, hopefully not the last one.
He didn’t want to treat Ye Xi too roughly, to make him cry.
He wanted Ye Xi obedient, soft, just like in his dreams—naturally stepping into his arms.
They were meant for each other.
That way even Zheng Yang would have no grounds to object, except to stomp his feet in frustration.
At that thought, Bai Yue’s gaze on Ye Xi grew darker still.
He didn’t understand why Ye Xi had delivered himself to his door.
So beautiful, tempting without realizing it. During the horror movie, he’d even leaned against his shoulder, making Bai Yue’s restraint teeter on the edge of collapse.
It was as if a million voices inside his heart were shouting—right now, kiss him.
Forget confession rituals, forget gentle guidance, forget giving Ye Xi time to think.
Right now—you could have him.
Bai Yue rubbed his brow, forcing his eyes away from Ye Xi.
Outside, the rain still trickled down. Controlling his voice, he kept it warm and steady as he said to Ye Xi, “It’s late. Do you want to go wash up first?”
Don’t stay by his side anymore.
He wasn’t the perfect elder brother figure Ye Xi thought he was. In truth, he harbored countless thoughts that would frighten him.
At any moment, he might become someone even he himself would despise.
