Beneath a sky filled with stars and moonlight, the gentle, melodious night breeze brushed across their faces, carrying the dampness of late spring along with the warmth of early summer.
The warmth from that recent touch still lingered on his hand. Yu Zhi took out his phone, glanced at it, then looked up at the young man.
“Why didn’t you call me when you came back?”
Yin Xu glanced at him, as if speaking lightly, yet with deeper meaning beneath it.
“I originally wanted to give you a surprise, sir. I didn’t expect you’d beat me to it.”
Yu Zhi chuckled. “If you’re going to make something out of nothing, at least pick a better excuse.”
Yin Xu deliberately said, “I’ve been gone for so long, who knows whether you might’ve started having thoughts about certain people who weren’t important before?”
The corners of Yu Zhi’s lips curved slightly. “What thoughts could I possibly have about him?”
Lin Nuan watched the two of them flirt and banter using him as an excuse, and he was furious. Seeing that they were about to get into the car and leave without even sparing him a glance, he immediately stormed forward in anger.
“Yin Xu, aren’t you afraid? If I tell your classmates, your teachers, and your school that you abandoned the people who raised you, even if you’re not expelled, your reputation will be ruined! Your teachers, your classmates, even your future colleagues will all know you’re a heartless, ungrateful person! Aren’t you afraid?”
He was counting on the fact that Yin Xu cared about his reputation and wouldn’t dare reveal that he had been sleeping with an older man. As long as he smeared him, Yin Xu wouldn’t be able to clear his name, nor defend himself!
Yu Zhi was about to call the club staff and have Lin Nuan taken away. Since Lin Nuan could appear here, especially in that kind of setting, he was most likely working at the place.
But unexpectedly, someone moved faster than him. Before he could even dial, the young man had already stepped forward two paces and smiled at Lin Nuan.
“What do I have to be afraid of?”
“So what if they know?”
“What does their attitude toward me have to do with me?”
“My life won’t change because of them, and I won’t compromise for them either.”
He let out a faint, mocking laugh. The trace of ridicule at the corner of his lips made Lin Nuan’s eyes sting. “Besides, I suppose Young Master Lin has been a pampered rich boy for too long and doesn’t understand the hardships of the real world. My work and my life depend on my ability, not on something as illusory as reputation.”
Only then did Yu Zhi snap out of the joy of seeing Yin Xu again and properly examine the young man who had changed so much.
He thought that photos and reports were far too shallow, so shallow that he had never truly imagined Yin Xu would become this good.
Gone was the timid isolation from the orphanage. Gone was the gloomy self-abandonment from being used by Father Lin. Gone was the inferiority and dependence from his time in the Yu family.
This was a man with a complete set of values and the ability to handle himself in the world.
Yu Zhi had never so clearly realized it before, he had grown up.
An inexplicable sigh rose in his heart, like the pride and reluctance of watching one’s own child come of age.
Not just him, even Lin Nuan was suppressed by Yin Xu’s presence. In just a few short years, their positions had completely reversed.
How could he possibly accept that?
“What are you so proud of? Aren’t you just relying on a powerful man? How are you any different from me?!” he said, his face full of jealousy and resentment.
Yin Xu’s smile faded. “You still don’t understand?”
He glanced at the watch on Lin Nuan’s wrist. “Take that, for example. You can only ask someone else to give it to you, while I can buy it myself. That’s the fundamental difference.”
With that, he ignored him, turned around, opened the car door, and got into the passenger seat.
Lin Nuan still wanted to say something, but the security guards Yu Zhi had called over dragged him away. He had no strength to resist.
Yu Zhi got into the car and turned to look at Yin Xu with amusement. He also glanced at the million-worth Starry Universe watch on his wrist.
“I didn’t mishear just now, right? Someone said he could buy things himself, so why are you still wearing the watch I gave you?” Seeing the young man’s proud expression, he couldn’t help teasing him.
Yin Xu remained completely unfazed, not the slightest bit embarrassed. “Others are outsiders, how can they be compared to you, sir? You haven’t forgotten our agreement, have you? Now, I’ve won, so what’s yours is mine, isn’t it?”
Yu Zhi: “……”
The foot he had just lifted to press the gas pedal suddenly couldn’t go down.
This brat—his talent for asking for a beating had clearly improved.
And yet, there was also a strange sense of inevitability settling in his heart, as if things had finally fallen into place.
To avoid hearing any more shocking remarks, Yu Zhi simply kept quiet and didn’t respond about the bet.
Yin Xu glanced at him. Seeing that he remained unmoved, he immediately turned his head to look out the window, as if the night scenery of S City were so captivating that one couldn’t look away.
When they got home, the moment Yu Zhi entered, he saw a black backpack on the sofa, along with a suitcase that hadn’t even been taken back to the room yet.
Clearly, someone had just returned and, without even putting his things away, rushed out to find him.
As for how he knew where he was, it was either Xiao Pang or the assistant.
With just one glance, Yu Zhi reconstructed everything Yin Xu had done after getting home. Looking at the young man sitting comfortably in the living room, casually turning on the TV, he asked:
“Have you had dinner?”
Yin Xu was flipping through channels with the remote, but his eyes weren’t really paying attention to whatever was playing on the TV.
“I ate. Airplane food.”
Yu Zhi understood immediately; meaning it tasted bad, so he probably didn’t eat much.
He turned and went into the kitchen. The housekeeper likely hadn’t expected anyone to come back that night, so there was no prepared food left in the fridge.
Yu Zhi took out a few tomatoes and eggs, planning to make two bowls of noodles, and also smashed two cucumbers for a cold dish.
They were all very ordinary dishes, but every movement he made while cooking carried a kind of calm elegance, pleasing to the eye.
Yin Xu stopped watching TV altogether and leaned against the kitchen counter, quietly watching the man cook.
“Did I misunderstand? You came into the kitchen not to help?” Yu Zhi glanced at him, clearly implying that if he wasn’t helping, he should leave.
Yin Xu deliberately said, “What am I? I’m not the host, just a guest. Since when do guests help out?”
Yu Zhi was almost amused to the point of anger. He called his name seriously, “Yin Xu.”
Yin Xu also answered seriously, “I’m here, sir.”
“Did you take a class at school on how to speak sarcastically?”
Yin Xu replied calmly, “No, sir. I’m smart; I taught myself.”
Yu Zhi kept his tone mild as he negotiated, “Then I’d trouble that smart you to shut it off right now.”
Yin Xu obediently agreed, “Alright, sir.”
But in his heart, he thought: You’ve bullied me so many times, what’s wrong with me being a little sarcastic?
Seeing that he had quieted down, Yu Zhi focused on cooking the noodles.
About ten minutes later, the two of them sat at the dining table, eating dinner together as the aroma filled the air.
Yu Zhi himself didn’t feel much about it, but from that simple bowl of noodles, Yin Xu felt a long-lost sense of happiness. He couldn’t tell whether it came from the noodles or from the person he was eating with.
He had endured not coming back for three years. He had thought he had grown used to being alone, used to life outside. But now that he had returned, he realized that wasn’t true.
He hadn’t forgotten the joy of returning to this city. Nor the timid hesitation as he approached home after being away so long. Nor the emotion he felt when he discovered his fingerprint could still unlock the door. Nor the sense of ease and security after stepping inside.
It had only been a year of living under someone else’s roof, yet this place had already become an irreplaceable home in his heart.
“I don’t remember your school being on break recently,” Yu Zhi asked after dinner.
Yin Xu didn’t hide it. “I graduated early.”
Yin Xu smiled faintly. “So, sir, you don’t need to worry about when I’ll go back to school.”
Yu Zhi was momentarily taken aback, then nodded. “You’re right.”
He shifted and added, “But I remember it was supposed to be four years, not dependent on graduation.”
Yin Xu: “……”
Looking at the serious expression on the man’s face, Yin Xu took a deep breath and said slowly, “Sir, don’t play tricks like that.”
“If you’re a good parent, you should lead by example.”
His hand holding the teacup tightened slightly.
His eyes narrowed, and even his posture tensed a little.
Waiting too long for a response, Yin Xu couldn’t help but look up and met a pair of eyes glinting with amusement.
— This man was teasing him.
The clear realization hit his mind, and Yin Xu felt a weight lift from his chest. It was like finishing a long battle; exhausted yet relaxed.
He leaned back fully, sinking into the sofa, the pale yellow cushion compressing deeply under him.
“Don’t bully people like this…” he said weakly.
This was also the first time since returning that he had shown vulnerability in front of Yu Zhi.
Fine sweat dotted his forehead, his eyes showed grievance. He looked like a walking, capital-letter sign that said, “You’re bullying me. You need to soothe me. You need to pamper me.”
Pitiful and adorable at the same time.
Yu Zhi hadn’t expected such a strong reaction. Today, the young man’s calm, composed demeanor since coming back had confused him, making him forget that in some situations, he had never really changed.
Thinking to tease him a little, partly to get back at the sarcastic remarks from earlier, Yu Zhi hadn’t expected to almost make him cry.
He pulled out a handkerchief with a smile. “Put it under your eyes. Don’t ruin your face with crying.”
Yin Xu felt a surge of frustration and suddenly didn’t want to cry anymore.
He took the handkerchief stubbornly, refusing to let it go to waste.
Smelling the faint jasmine scent on it, Yin Xu had the strange illusion of smelling the man himself.
Yu Zhi let out a soft sigh. Over the past few years, he had received weekly updates about Yin Xu.
He knew just how serious and hardworking the young man had been with his studies.
He knew that Yin Xu also had very good relationships with his classmates and friends.
Watching him gradually move toward the path he wanted, Yu Zhi wasn’t unhappy about it.
More than once, he had even thought that this child might, before long, forget that fleeting crush from his youth and let his life get back on track.
But that thought fell through again and again as Yin Xu kept rejecting confessions and advances from others, until eventually, Yu Zhi hardly held onto any hope at all.
Only then did he realize that while young people are easily moved and enjoy new experiences, they are also stubborn.
Once they make a decision, no one can pull them back.
At that moment, he felt a trace of regret, whether his own repeated refusals in the past had instead become one of the reasons for Yin Xu’s persistence.
What you can’t have is always what stirs your heart. Perhaps if he had let the other obtain it easily back then, maybe his feelings would have changed long ago.
But a hypothesis was only a hypothesis. As time passed, he had no choice but to face and accept the fact that Yin Xu had been steadfastly holding on all along.
Yu Zhi thought about it for a long time, but when faced with someone who persisted to the very end, no matter how many methods he had, there was nothing he could do.
The bet had been set by him. He wasn’t someone who went back on his word. Even if it had only been a temporary measure at the time, he had never intended to break his promise.
Since the other party had already proven through his actions that he wouldn’t regret it, what reason did Yu Zhi have not to go along with him?
Life’s journey is long. There are always some things where one can afford to be a little impulsive and self-indulgent.
He raised his hand and took a sip from his teacup, only to find the water had grown a bit cold. He set it down and didn’t drink any more.
Yin Xu saw it and, naturally, picked up the teacup, poured out the cold tea, and refilled it. He placed it in front of Yu Zhi, within easy reach.
The night wind howled, sending the curtains fluttering and carrying a wave of cool air inside.
Although it was late spring moving into early summer, it had rained yesterday, leaving the air slightly chilly.
“It’s getting late. Sir, you should go back to your room and rest. I’ll go to sleep too. Some things can be said slowly, no rush.” Yin Xu stood, preparing to leave.
“Yin Xu.” The call came from behind him, warm, clear, and calm as always, serious yet gentle.
He heard a faint, soft laugh, tinged with helpless indulgence, as the man casually spoke the words Yin Xu had been dreaming of for so long:
“You win.”
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