Ye Xi met Zheng Yang’s gaze for a while before gently closing the door.
Now, in the narrow hallway, only the two of them remained.
The action itself wasn’t anything special, but the soft click of the lock made Zheng Yang tense for no reason.
He pulled his hand back from the elevator button, furrowed his brows unconsciously, and asked in a low voice: “What is it?”
Newly in love, Ye Xi should’ve been inside being affectionate with Bai Yue. What was he doing out here?
Ye Xi actually felt a little awkward too. He’d only come out because he saw through the video doorbell that Zheng Yang still hadn’t left.
He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out the bag he’d been hiding behind him.
He said: “I noticed you hadn’t gone yet, so I wanted to give you this. It’s a souvenir Bai Yue and I brought back from our trip.”
It was a set from the resort—essential oils, hand cream, and incense, all handmade with natural ingredients. He’d bought sets for Li Rui and Liang Zhan too.
At the time, he’d debated whether to get one for Zheng Yang, not even sure if he’d ever get the chance to give it.
Now, softly, he said: “It’s nothing special, just some local products. There’s an essential oil in there I tried mixing myself. I don’t know if you’ll like it, but if you don’t mind, you can try it.”
Ye Xi rarely spoke to Zheng Yang in such a serious, gentle way.
He was actually quite tall, but with his head slightly lowered, his gaze downcast, the warm light falling on his slender neck made him seem fragile.
It almost resembled the way he looked as a child.
Zheng Yang froze, then finally snapped out of it: “…Oh.”
He peeked into the bag and saw the essential oil packed in a pretty little pouch, tied with a lopsided bow that made it obvious who had tied it.
He couldn’t help the small curve of his lips.
Lifting his head, he deliberately asked: “What scent is the essential oil?”
Ye Xi blinked, not expecting him to ask.
He answered without thinking: “Citrus, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang.”
He remembered Zheng Yang liked citrus and sandalwood scents—he’d smelled them on him before.
Zheng Yang got the answer he wanted. He looked at Ye Xi and said quietly: “Then I’ll accept it.”
After that, he really should’ve left. He’d already said goodbye to Bai Yue, and now he’d received Ye Xi’s gift. There was no reason to linger.
But still, he stood rooted to the spot.
And Ye Xi stayed across from him, stiffly, not going back inside either.
Though they’d known each other for over ten years, there had been very few moments where the two of them spoke this calmly, especially alone.
After a moment, Ye Xi spoke softly: “Earlier when I said if you were really angry, you could beat me up—I only said that in the heat of the moment. It’s just that I always thought you hated me.”
He’d noticed how angry Zheng Yang got at those words, as if mad that he would take himself so lightly. So Ye Xi wanted to explain.
Looking up at him, his voice rough, he said: “Even though you said you have no right to interfere in my relationship with Bai Yue, the fact you don’t object still makes me really happy. Thank you.”
This was actually the reason he’d come out—to say this.
And once the words were out, he felt like a weight had been lifted, his heart at ease.
He smiled at Zheng Yang, showing a faint dimple.
But now he really had nothing else to add.
He didn’t dislike Zheng Yang anymore, but they didn’t have much to talk about either. Standing there facing each other was a bit awkward.
He was about to slip back inside when he heard:
“Who said I hate you?”
Ye Xi’s eyes widened. He looked up at Zheng Yang.
Zheng Yang was holding the gift bag, leaning against the railing without him noticing.
Dusk was falling, the last glow of the sunset shining through the window, gilding his profile with a soft gold.
He looked nothing like Ye Xi. Each of them resembled their mothers more. Zheng Yang had inherited his mother’s bold brows and deep features.
Since the first time Ye Xi met him at seven or eight years old, he’d thought Zheng Yang looked a bit like a mixed-race kid—like a delicate doll in a shop window.
And now, that once disdainful, beautiful boy had grown up.
Zheng Yang’s expression was complicated, the memories of the past swirling in his mind.
He wasn’t someone good at being honest, but at least now, he enunciated clearly:
“I admit, when we were kids, I bullied you. I really wanted a little brother or sister—someone cute and obedient to follow me around. But then you appeared. You looked exactly as good as I imagined, but still…”
He paused here, then seemed to steel himself:
“But whatever the past was, from the age of fourteen onward, I never really hated you again.”
Fourteen?
Ye Xi blinked, searching his memories. What had happened that year?
If anything, maybe just at school…
“You haven’t forgotten, have you?” Zheng Yang raised his brows.
Ye Xi was too embarrassed to admit that he had really forgotten, or rather, that he had no idea what exactly Zheng Yang was referring to. He could only look back at him with an innocent expression.
Seriously…
Zheng Yang let out a helpless little laugh. But seeing Ye Xi like this, he also knew that Ye Xi had truly never taken it to heart.
He reminded him, “That year at school, behind the gymnasium, when I had an allergic reaction—you were the one who discovered me. You called the ambulance and accompanied me to the hospital.”
He paused. “That allergic reaction was very serious. If you had discovered me any later, I might have gone into shock right there.”
At the time, he had eaten a piece of candy a classmate casually gave him, but it happened to contain a tiny amount of an herb he was allergic to.
Since he had never experienced anything like that before, and it was close to dismissal time, he was alone on the court behind the gym. He felt so unwell that he fell to his knees, unable to even call out for help…
At that moment, he truly thought his life might end there.
Until Ye Xi appeared, almost by accident.
Ah… so it was that.
Ye Xi’s face showed dawning realization. Of course he remembered that incident, but he never thought it was something remarkable.
He said softly, “Even if it wasn’t me, any student passing by would have helped you.”
To him, it wasn’t heroic at all, just the bare minimum of human decency.
“Maybe,” Zheng Yang didn’t deny his words, but calmly said, “But that day, it was you who passed by, and you did save my life. I may not be a saint, but I can’t go on holding resentment toward the person who saved me.”
In truth, given the state of their relationship back then, Ye Xi could have pretended not to see. It was dark enough—if he’d walked away, no one would ever have known.
If something had happened to him, Zheng Lu was already old, unlikely to father another child. He would have had no choice but to raise Ye Xi.
Zheng Yang didn’t believe Ye Xi’s mother hadn’t instilled that thought in him.
Yet Ye Xi had still run to him the very next second.
Zheng Yang thought for a moment, then added quietly, “Actually, my mom was very grateful to you too. She’s still shaken when she thinks about it. But she was afraid that suddenly coming to you might cause you psychological pressure, or affect you in some way. So instead, she just told me to take better care of you. This time, for your graduation, she even prepared a gift and asked me to pass it to you when I could.”
Ye Xi had listened calmly until then…
But that last sentence shocked him so much his pupils widened, and he stared straight at Zheng Yang.
“She…” He couldn’t continue; his throat felt inexplicably tight.
He had always remembered Zheng Yang’s mother. It was strange—he hadn’t seen her many times, yet her image remained vivid.
Back when he first followed his mother into the Zheng household—an awkward, hostile situation—Madam Ruan Wenshu had once picked him up.
It was simply because he’d scraped his knee in the garden…
She had set aside prejudice, shown no displeasure, lifted him up, soothed him, and jogged with him in her arms to the butler.
So even after all these years, he still remembered her long hair falling down, brushing softly against his face.
But once he grew old enough to understand, he realized what his existence meant to her, to Zheng Yang—how much hurt it had caused.
He had felt too ashamed even to say thank you.
Ye Xi bit his lip.
For some reason, all of Zheng Yang’s earlier words hadn’t shaken him as much as this final sentence.
He had always known that Ruan Wenshu was an extraordinary person—brilliant in her career, passionate about charity. Far too good for Zheng Lu.
And precisely because he knew this, it made her kindness even harder to face.
Zheng Yang noticed Ye Xi’s slightly wet eyes, but, rare for him, he chose to pretend he hadn’t.
Seeing Ye Xi like that, his heart ached too.
He said softly, “So… you don’t need to keep feeling like you owe me something. When we were kids, I really did bully you, treated you horribly, yet you never truly retaliated. At school, when you saw I was unwell, you ran to me immediately instead of walking away. That’s when I knew—you really are a fool.”
He looked at Ye Xi and sighed lightly. “Though it sounds a bit like I’m taking advantage by saying this, let’s just wipe the slate clean about the past. If you really think you ever owed me anything, saving my life once is enough to settle it.”
He could still remember, in the ambulance, how Ye Xi had held his hand.
When the paramedics asked what their relationship was, Ye Xi hesitated for a moment, then answered with two words: “Younger brother.”
At that moment, Zheng Yang had thought: let the past grudges of the previous generation be forgotten.
Even Ruan Wenshu herself didn’t care about that marriage—she had no feelings for Zheng Lu.
So why should he keep clinging to it?
In that house, Ye Xi had gained nothing. He was just the unlucky child everyone overlooked, a tool discarded once used.
If given the chance, would Ye Xi really have chosen to be born into that family?
Zheng Yang thought not.
After he finished speaking, silence fell over the hallway.
At some point, Ye Xi’s eyes had reddened, his nose stung, yet he couldn’t form words.
Zheng Yang took a deep breath, also unsettled inside.
He had carried these words in his heart for a long time, never able to say them.
Now that he had, he still felt a little ashamed.
But seeing Ye Xi’s reddened eyes in the fading dusk, he thought maybe he’d said it too late.
“All right, I’ve said what I needed to. I should get going. You should head back too.” Zheng Yang spoke softly. After a pause, he stepped forward and, a bit awkwardly, imitated Bai Yue by ruffling Ye Xi’s hair.
Looking at him, he gave a final reminder: “If Bai Yue ever dares bully you, call me.”
Then he pressed the elevator button again.
That last line made Ye Xi laugh.
He thought, You, fainting at the slightest anger—how could you help anyone?
And just what kind of image do you even have of Bai Yue?
But he didn’t say any of that—he simply watched Zheng Yang step into the elevator.
Zheng Yang shook the gift bag in his hand, one foot already inside the elevator. “Thanks for the gift.”
Ye Xi stood in the hallway alone for a long time. Only when the evening wind picked up and a sudden summer rain threatened to fall did he slowly return inside.
Bai Yue had been waiting for him in the room. When Ye Xi suddenly said he wanted to give Zheng Yang the gift, Bai Yue had guessed there was something Ye Xi wanted to say to him.
When Ye Xi came back in, Bai Yue was casually watering the jasmine on the balcony.
The jasmine was something Ye Xi had brought when he moved in, saying he liked its fragrance. Now its green leaves had spread, its white blossoms delicate, filling the summer night with a fresh, sweet scent.
Ye Xi slowly walked over, reached forward, and wrapped his arms around Bai Yue’s waist, pressing his face against his back.
Bai Yue froze, then set the watering can aside.
He turned around and held Ye Xi in his arms. But as Ye Xi leaned against him, he quickly felt a damp patch spreading on his shoulder.
Bai Yue’s chest tightened, a little flustered. “What’s wrong, did Zheng Yang say something to you?”
Ye Xi shook his head, then nodded.
Muffled, he said, “Zheng Yang said… he doesn’t hate me.”
Ye Xi’s words were fragmented, unclear.
But Bai Yue understood.
He stroked Ye Xi’s head.
With the jasmine’s gentle fragrance drifting through the summer night breeze, he whispered, “Who could bear to hate you?”
“Zheng Yang’s shown his concern for you countless times in front of me. He just doesn’t know how to speak—everything he says comes out sounding unpleasant.”
“And you have many friends at school. When I went back to visit, I chatted with some teachers who taught us both. One of them mentioned you—she said you’d offer to help her carry things, but as soon as you finished, you’d run away like a rabbit.”
He kissed Ye Xi lightly on the forehead.
“Everyone likes you.”
Ye Xi didn’t reply, but he bit his lip as his tears fell even harder.
