BTMDY Chapter 78

Lips tangled, breaths mingled, spit mixed.

 

In the silent stairwell, their ragged gasps burst out like an undercurrent at sea suddenly surging into a tidal wave, the air turning thin and sticky in an instant.

 

After their soft lips brushed and pressed together, Lin Shen suddenly snapped as if venting some grudge—he bit down hard on Lu Chengxuan’s lower lip.

 

Lu Chengxuan felt the pain for real.

 

But he didn’t push him away. Instead, he answered with a gentleness unlike any time before, sucking softly at Lin Shen’s bitten lips, as though the tang of blood between their teeth simply didn’t exist.

 

That calm, unhurried attitude only made Lin Shen burn with frustration.

 

He didn’t bite again. Instead, like lashing out, he kissed harder, prying past Lu Chengxuan’s teeth, forcing his way in, tempting him to join this fierce clash where neither was willing to lose.

 

It was supposed to be the most intimate thing.

 

Yet all that flowed through their hearts was bitterness and hurt they could never put into words.

 

Lu Chengxuan was taller, and the wall at his back kept him from bending down to match.

 

Noticing how Lin Shen had to strain on his toes to keep pressing forward, he slid a hand around his waist and lifted him gently.

 

That made it easier for Lin Shen.

 

But with their bodies pressed so close there was no space left between them, Lin Shen didn’t care about anything else—he only wanted to pour out the chaos, the restlessness, the unease boiling in his chest.

 

At the stairwell door, voices of classmates drifted in.

 

Neither of them paid attention to the noise. After a couple of tries before, their kissing had already grown more practiced, more in sync.

 

Hot breaths tangled; the air around them felt stolen away.

 

One hand on Lin Shen’s waist, the other rubbing the back of his neck as if to soothe him, Lu Chengxuan kept responding with the same gentle lips.

 

When one side decides to surrender, no matter how fierce the attack, it can’t last forever.

 

Realizing this too late, Lin Shen finally leaned back and broke away.

 

Panting hard, he stared into Lu Chengxuan’s eyes, then lowered his gaze to the bead of blood forming on the lip he’d bitten. His fist tightened in the fabric of Lu Chengxuan’s collar.

 

“This isn’t like you. Where’s that fire from last time?”

 

The grip on his collar pressed against his throat, but Lu Chengxuan only stared back, unmoved.

 

Just as he was about to answer, the door above them creaked open.

 

Every landing in the fire stairwell had a door.

 

They were now between the eighth and seventh floors, just one flight down from the banquet hall. If anyone came through and stepped forward, they’d see everything.

 

Lin Shen reacted quick. He tugged Lu Chengxuan with him, sneaking into the blind corner where no one would notice unless they walked right over.

 

The open stairwell carried every sound.

 

Lin Shen held his breath and listened—recognizing the voices drifting down belonged to Lin Wangye and Xu Suinian.

 

“Baby, someone might come here.”

 

“I don’t care!”

 

“What if we’re seen? Not embarrassed?”

 

“I don’t care! I just wanna kiss you!”

 

…

 

And then the talking stopped. From above, faint wet sounds slipped through, mixed with muffled gasps and soft moans.

 

Even without seeing it, it was easy to imagine just how intense it must be.

 

Lin Shen’s eyes flew wide open on the spot. He couldn’t stay, but he couldn’t exactly leave either. Instinctively, he looked up at Lu Chengxuan—and the sight of blood on his lips pricked his heart like a needle. His face burned hot all at once, and he quickly wiped it away like he couldn’t bear to look.

 

The problem was, he used his palm to wipe it, so the motion looked exactly like a slap. Hand and lips collided in a sharp touch, and even though he hadn’t used much force, the crisp ‘smack’ still rang out.

 

A perfect example of ‘it takes one hand to make a slap sound.’

 

Right after, voices drifted down from above.

 

“Hm? Wait… was that a noise? Mmm—”

 

Panic washed over Lin Shen’s face. He didn’t even care if someone spotted them below—the only thing that mattered was not giving himself away. Without hesitation, he grabbed Lu Chengxuan and bolted, rushing all the way down from the seventh floor to the first, slipping into the hotel lobby, and pretending nothing had happened as they waited for the elevator back up to the banquet hall on the eighth.

 

There were still ten days left before the college entrance exam results came out.

 

With high school finally behind him, Lin Shen cut loose completely. For a while, he didn’t want to think about a single thing. He locked himself at home gaming like mad, or he begged Yang Qingsen to score him insider tickets to pro matches.

 

Compared to him, Lin Wangye was the one actually handling serious business.

 

The esports hotel was set up in a high-rise with several hotels inside. Lin Wangye leased out the entire 21st floor. The size wasn’t huge, but it was far from small.

 

That floor used to be a boutique hotel. The wiring and plumbing were intact, and plenty of the hard furnishings could be kept. So instead of starting from scratch, they just renovated what was already there, which saved time and money.

 

Lin Wangye didn’t want to waste summer break, so he paid an express fee and pushed the contractors to finish in two months.

 

And right as summer vacation arrived, the Shenlin Esports Hotel officially opened.

 

To fit the theme, Lin Wangye had the front desk designed in a forest style. The bar counter looked like stacked logs, and the wall behind it was decorated like a dense woodland. Every tree was sculpted in 3D, even the moss on the trunks looking shockingly real.

 

Step out of the elevator on the 21st floor and you were hit with a refreshing wave of green, softened by warm yellow lights. The whole vibe was instantly comforting.

 

The rooms themselves came in all sorts of themes.

 

Besides the forest style, Lin Wangye splurged on a professional interior design team to create sci-fi, industrial, vintage, European, and even anime-themed rooms.

 

And there were doubles, triples, quads, quints, and six-person setups.

 

The doubles and triples were priced about the same as standard hotel rooms in Ningchang. From four beds up, the rates went up, but split among everyone, the cost wasn’t bad at all.

 

After trying it once, Lin Shen fell in love with the place.

 

Partly because it was just that comfortable.

 

And partly because crashing there for free felt amazing.

 

Once the renovations were done and the opening date set, Lin Wangye threw himself into prep work. The biggest priority was getting the word out before summer break began.

 

He’d originally planned to hang banners in arcades and other spots where young people hung out, but after checking the prices, he realized it was way too expensive. To save money, he hired college students part-time to hand out flyers on campus, letting word of mouth spread one person to ten, ten to a hundred.

 

Yang Qingsen pitched in a lot with the promo too.

 

After the logo was finished, Lin Wangye paid a ‘friendship price’ sponsorship fee through Yang, and soon the Shenlin Esports Hotel logo was printed right on Phantom Wail’s team uniforms.

 

It didn’t take long for GhostCry to make waves in the first ‘Heroes of Glory’ pro spring season, drawing fans and attention left and right.

 

Business works like that—get your name out there, and that’s half the battle won.

 

Phantom Wail’s popularity among Ningchang’s gamers naturally boosted the hotel’s rep as well.

 

By the time opening day arrived, every room was already booked.

 

Even Lin Wangye himself hadn’t expected things to blow up this much. The hotel’s official account was flooded daily with messages, most of them asking if there were any rooms left.

 

But no matter how much demand there was, the number of rooms stayed the same.

 

With all the rooms booked solid, the only chance was waiting for someone to check out and then scrambling to grab the vacancy.

 

Back then, esports-themed hotels weren’t common at all. In fact, the whole city of Ningchang only had this one. Gamers, whether alone or with a few buddies, came to try it out, and every single one of them walked away raving about it. Sure, it cost more than an internet cafe, but the experience was on another level.

 

And since summer break had just started, lucky guests who managed to snag a room weren’t leaving after just one night. If anything, they renewed right away.

 

A zero-percent vacancy rate—what did that even mean?

 

It meant Lu Chengxuan’s investment would pay off way faster than expected. After that, the only thing left would be routine expenses, and the hotel would be running at pure profit.

 

Of course, it couldn’t stay full forever. Once the holiday season ended, the hype would fade a little.

 

But with their name already established, what could possibly stop them now?

 

Lu Chengxuan caught on quick. Seeing the insane return rate, he immediately went to Lin Wangye, pushing him to open more branches across Ningchang as fast as possible.

 

And this time, instead of sitting back and testing Lin Wangye’s abilities, he handed him seven or eight ready-made locations to choose from.

 

Just like that, young Master Lin flipped his role and rose to the top, fired up to take on his first challenge after the college entrance exam.

 

Nineteen days later, the scores were finally coming out.

 

On the big day, Lin Wangye set aside a four-person room so they could all be there to witness the nerve-wracking moment together. Lu Chengxuan was busy and couldn’t make it, so in the end it was just Lin Wangye, Lin Shen, and Shi Yuan sitting in front of the computer, waiting.

 

As soon as the site went live, Lin Wangye punched in his exam number and shut his eyes tight, hitting search.

 

“How is it, how is it?!”

 

He covered his eyes with his arm, too scared to peek, flailing his free hand to the side.

 

Shi Yuan hadn’t checked his own score yet. He caught that wild hand in his palm, glanced at the monitor, and after a few seconds, smiled faintly.

 

“You did really well.”

 

The calm drawl of his voice eased Lin Wangye instantly. He pulled his arm away and peeked at the screen, then shot straight out of his chair: “I’m in Ningchang University for sure, baby!”

 

Shi Yuan held onto his hand, stopping him from flailing too much. With a smile, he said, “Ten points higher than your last mock exam. Really great job.”

 

“I’m amazing!” Lin Wangye crowed, but sat back down obediently since Shi Yuan looked worried. He checked the scores carefully and then grinned wide. “Hah, math screwed me as usual.”

 

Right after, he noticed Shi Yuan still hadn’t checked his own results. Anxious, he scooted his chair closer.

 

“Come on, let’s see yours!”

 

Three years of hard work had all led to this, but Shi Yuan looked completely calm. He typed in his number, hit enter without a second thought—

 

“Whoa!”

 

Lin Wangye jumped even higher than before. Clutching his pounding chest, he stood frozen for a long moment before spinning toward Shi Yuan, eyes shining. “You’re insane!”

 

Shi Yuan, though, wasn’t surprised at all. His scores had always hovered in that range, so the final result wasn’t unexpected.

 

After celebrating with him for a while, Lin Wangye turned to check on his dad.

 

On Lin Shen’s screen, the page wasn’t the exam portal at all.

 

It was ‘Heroes of Glory.’

 

Lin Wangye nearly exploded. “Why are you still playing?!”

 

“Quit yapping.” Lin Shen, with a tragic ‘0-9-1’ scoreline, waved him off impatiently. “Game’s almost over.”

 

And sure enough, a moment later, their base went up in flames.

 

Lin Shen yanked off his headset, tossed it on the desk, and spun around, fuming. “If you two hadn’t been chattering next to me the whole time, I would’ve won!”

 

“A real pro never blames the environment!”

 

Lin Wangye had long since gotten used to his dad looking for excuses after every loss, so he shot back right away. Then, in a rush, he closed the game results screen and pulled up the score inquiry page.

 

“Come on, check your score already!”

 

“Don’t rush me, don’t rush me.”

 

That laid-back attitude made Lin Wangye’s stomach twist with worry. Deep down, he wanted nothing more than for his dad and Shi Yuan to get into Ningchang University with him. Shi Yuan was a sure thing—but his dad? That was a gamble.

 

Every exam Lin Shen ever took, his score had hovered right at the cut-off line. If he messed up even a little on the big day, it was game over.

 

Under Lin Wangye’s anxious stare, Lin Shen leaned over the keyboard and started typing in his admission number—only to suddenly stop halfway.

 

“What’s wrong?” Lin Wangye asked nervously.

 

“I forgot my admission number.”

 

At that, Lin Wangye’s vision went dark; he nearly fainted on the spot.

 

Meanwhile, Lin Shen slowly pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and lifted it to his ear. “Hello? Aunt Wang? My admission ticket should be in my room, second drawer on the right side of my desk…”

 

While his dad chatted lazily on the phone, Lin Wangye was busy taking deep breaths to calm himself down, resisting the urge to send the man flying with one punch.

 

At last, Lin Shen keyed in the info. Lin Wangye shoved himself closer, eyes wide—and then froze in shock.

 

“How the hell do you have one more point than me?!”

 

Lin Shen smirked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs. “That’s the depth of being a father. You wouldn’t understand.”

 

“…”

 

As much as it bugged him that someone who played games nonstop had scored even better, Lin Wangye still let out a huge sigh of relief. At least they’d all be going to college together.

 

Maybe his dad had been secretly working hard behind his back.

 

Didn’t matter now.

 

They talked about their scores a little longer, then Lin Shen turned to check their class group chat to see how everyone else had done.

 

Lin Wangye wanted to call Lu Chengxuan to ask his score, but he couldn’t get through.

 

Truth was, Lu Chengxuan hadn’t been home much lately.

 

He was going abroad soon anyway, and with his credentials, the college entrance exam was more of a formality. His score wouldn’t change which schools he could attend.

 

Figuring he was just busy, Lin Wangye didn’t think much of it.

 

By now it was almost midnight. The three of them washed up and crawled into bed.

 

The four-person room had two sets of bunk beds.

 

Lin Shen lay on the single bed by himself, too restless to sleep. With his eyes closed, he started tossing questions into the dark.

 

“Xu Suinian, are the debt collectors still after you?”

 

“Yeah. They won’t let go.”

 

The police investigation had dug up even more—turns out Xu Shengrung had forged official state seals just to get loans.

 

By the time the high court wrapped up the trial, the list of charges was long: provoking trouble, intentional injury, extortion, illegal possession of drugs, forging government seals.

 

Multiple sentences combined—he’d be rotting in prison for life.

 

After the court ruling, Xu Shengrung’s creditors realized he wasn’t coming out. So, naturally, they turned their sights to Xu Suinian, using the ‘father’s debt, child pays’ logic.

 

Even with past lessons in mind, these people didn’t go overboard—but the constant harassment was still a headache.

 

Since these creditors had dared to lend money, they had the means to track someone down.

 

Lin Wangye found it frustrating too, but didn’t let it bother him too much.

 

Lin Shen thought for a moment, murmuring, “This isn’t really a problem… Hey, do the creditors know you have a little sister?”

 

“Probably not,” Shi Yuan replied.

 

Recalling the past, he explained, “When my mom divorced him, he was still just a burden at home. He hadn’t racked up debts outside. Mom knew he’d affect the treatment, so when they split, she took Suinian away. After she passed, my grandparents kept him away from Shengrung too. The creditors probably only know about me. If they knew about Suinian, they’d have come to the hospital already.”

 

Lin Shen pondered, “If you ask me, you should just change your name. These people are basically small-time lenders—they can only track you down manually, nothing magical. Change your name, and it’ll be nearly impossible for them to find you.”

 

Lin Wangye, who had been half-asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.

 

The two of them had been speaking quietly, thinking he’d fallen asleep.

 

“But if they can’t find me, won’t they go after Xiao Lin?” Shi Yuan asked.

 

“Who even dares mess with Xiao Lin right now?” Lin Shen shot back.

 

“I’m still worried,” Shi Yuan admitted.

 

“If you don’t deal with this, they’ll eventually discover you have a sister, that you have money. What if it affects your treatment? If Xiao Lin stays with you, they’ll keep harassing him too. They probably know they can’t easily recover their money. Change your name, and they won’t find you or Suinian for a while—they won’t even know you have money. It makes tracking you harder, more costly. Eventually, they’ll probably give up.”

 

Shi Yuan sighed softly.

 

“You’re right…”

 

“Go into hiding,” Lin Shen said. “Ningchang is a big city. If you don’t go back to your old home and your grandparents stop running their stalls, they won’t be able to track you easily. Changing your name won’t hurt you—it’s easy to notarize your old name, and it won’t cause any problems with college or job applications.”

 

Shi Yuan didn’t have any strong attachment to his name.

 

The only thing he cared about was Lin Wangye’s words: ‘I want to stay by your side, year after year.’

 

He didn’t want Lin Wangye to be affected by these people just for being with him.

 

Lin Shen had a point. Changing his name was worth trying. A name was nothing to cling to.

 

“Makes sense. I’ll think about a new one. I’ll settle it before college.”

 

Lin Wangye suddenly rolled over, gently wrapping his arms around him.

 

“Shi Yuan, how about keeping this name?”

 

*

 

Forepast.

 

In the living room, Xu Suinian and Chairman Lin sat across from each other.

 

The spacious floor was covered in soft carpet. A group of nannies entertained the household’s little prince, who ran a pretend stall with his toys.

 

Despite the noise, both adult men remained calm, holding their coffee steadily and looking at the laughing, running child with gentle, indulgent eyes.

 

On the table in front of them lay an offer letter.

 

“After all these years, those people haven’t stopped. Might as well do what I suggested—change your name,” Chairman Lin said slowly. “You’ll be away for many years. By the time you return, you’ll be someone else.”

 

Xu Suinian lowered his gaze quietly, then spoke after a moment.

 

“Yeah. I’ll think of a new name.”

 

At that moment, a small child wobbled over, fast enough that even the nannies couldn’t stop him.

 

The little boy clambered onto his favorite uncle’s lap, holding a toy ice cream cone like a treasure, his soft voice calling out:

 

“Ice cream for sale! Anyone want ice cream?”

 

Little Lin Wangye smelled faintly of baby cream, his eyes sparkling like stars, smiling sweetly.

 

The young man’s heart softened completely.

 

Bending slightly, he adjusted his glasses. Beneath the lenses, his rational eyes now shone gently. He picked up the toy ice cream, smiling warmly. “How much?”

 

Little Lin Wangye held up eight fingers.

 

“Ten yuan! Only ten yuan!”

 

“Can I get two for a discount?”

 

The boy counted his fingers painstakingly, blinking big, bright eyes at him.

 

“I like you. Two. Ten yuan.”

 

*

 

Previous life timeline, before studying abroad,

 

Shi Yuan: 24 years old

 

Lin Wangye: 5 years old

 

Before he even learned numbers, he had already learned how to love.

 

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