DREB CHAPTER 60

Lu Lianning woke in the middle of the night. The dim glow of the nightlight filled the room. Beside him, Li Yan slept soundly. Lu Lianning turned to look at him, noticing that not much seemed to have changed. His gaze lingered for a moment on the scar above Li Yan’s eyelid before he slowly looked away.

He suddenly remembered asking Gu Chen why he had chosen Li Yan as his assistant.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Chen had replied, “Because Li Yan looks like someone who can endure hardship.”

Now, that same Li Yan, who seemed so capable of enduring hardship, was afraid of the dark and terrified of needles like a child.

But the one most afraid was probably Lu Lianning himself.

Sometimes, he wondered how things had come to this, how he had let Li Yan become this way.

At 26, Lu Lianning felt he had to do things differently than he had at 22.

One sunny day, he went alone to Li Yan’s rundown house in Wujingwan Town, searching for any trace of Li Yan’s past.

That’s when he found an old photo album. Dust flew up as he opened it, making him choke.

In the album, three children stood in a row. Two of them were likely Chen Yaxin and Chen Yu as kids. Li Yan stood on the far left.

Although the two pale, delicate children were more striking, Lu Lianning’s gaze was drawn to Li Yan, who was grinning widely with his big white teeth showing and looking like a little mud-covered puppy.

Compared to that, the grown-up Li Yan was much better looking. His features weren’t particularly stunning, but they were decent.

Lu Lianning flipped through the entire album and took everything, along with some scattered, worthless old belongings.

He was trying to understand and figure out the root of the conflicts he kept having with Li Yan, as well as what exactly Chen Yu meant to him.

Setting everything else aside, it was clear that the three of them had grown up together.

And with Chen Yaxin gone, Chen Yu was probably the only family Li Yan had left.

In the bedroom, Lu Lianning openly pulled out the album. Li Yan, who had been lingering in the bathroom, rushed out the moment he saw what was in Lu Lianning’s hands.

Li Yan reached out to cover the album with his hand, but he didn’t dare grab it. For once, he initiated a conversation with Lu Lianning, “That’s mine.”

He was actually nervous and afraid that Lu Lianning might get angry, destroy the album in front of him, or do something else cruel that would hurt him.

But to his surprise, Lu Lianning’s face remained blank as he responded with indifference, “Yes, it’s yours.” He let go and handed the album over, the gesture almost friendly.

Li Yan clutched the album with both hands, his gaze wary as he studied Lu Lianning, struggling to make sense of this uncharacteristic behavior.

If you asked Lu Lianning why he acted this way, even he wouldn’t have been able to explain. But he knew one thing for sure: A roasted sweet potato Li Yan gave willingly would taste different than one taken by force.

How different? He’d have to taste it to find out.

Seeing Li Yan nervously clutch the album, Lu Lianning spoke slowly, “I went to your hometown specifically to bring it back for you.” He emphasized the word “specifically,” his gaze fixed on Li Yan.

Li Yan was at a loss, not understanding why Lu Lianning had gone to that rundown house or rifled through his belongings. But he had said it, and now he was clearly waiting for a response.

Li Yan, whose mind was clearer now, cautiously said, “Thank you.”

Lu Lianning arched a brow and replied, “That’s not sincere enough.”

Li Yan thought back to the tricks he used in the past to please him and leaned in, planting a light kiss on Lu Lianning’s cheek.

Lu Lianning’s eyes brightened, but he masked his expression, still looking faintly unsatisfied. “Is that it?”

Li Yan pressed his lips together, appearing as though he was racking his brain but couldn’t come up with anything better. After a moment of hesitation and some reluctance, he moved closer to Lu Lianning, bowing his head to expose his neck.

For a Beta, the glands at the back of the neck couldn’t be marked permanently, but it was still a sensitive area, rarely offered up so freely.

For someone like Lu Lianning—an Alpha who had been restraining himself for nearly half a year—the sight made his breath hitch. The smooth, vulnerable skin, bared in such a submissive and appeasing gesture.

His breathing grew ragged, and his eyes reddened. The desire stirred by Li Yan’s simple action surged through him like a tidal wave.

Li Yan waited, noticing that Lu Lianning’s hand, which had been resting casually by his side, was now clenched into a tight fist. His entire body was tense as though he were trying to restrain himself.

As soon as Li Yan lifted his head, Lu Lianning shoved him away and stormed into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

The sound of rushing water echoed through the room. Li Yan stared blankly at the closed door. He knew Lu Lianning had already taken a shower once since coming home today.

When Lu Lianning finally slipped under the covers, bringing with him a wave of cool air, he unusually didn’t reach out to pull Li Yan close.

Li Yan lay there with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling, the faint patterns above blurring in the dim light. After a while, he closed his eyes.

At first, he thought it was just his imagination, but the rough panting by his ear grew more rapid.

Lu Lianning’s whole body was burning. The urge to mark Li Yan, to penetrate him, was becoming impossible to suppress.

But the moment hadn’t arrived yet—the moment Zheng Zhi had mentioned.

Unable to hold back any longer, Lu Lianning grabbed Li Yan’s hand and pressed it down against his body.

Li Yan flinched from the heat of Lu Lianning’s palm. He was about to ask, “Are you feeling unwell?” when Lu Lianning forced his hand onto a place that made Li Yan’s heart race with alarm.

Li Yan’s body instinctively recoiled as far from Lu Lianning as possible, except for the hand that remained trapped. He didn’t dare pull it away too forcefully, fearing that things might spiral even further out of control.

Lu Lianning’s breathing was chaotic, like a wild beast that had been caged for too long. His words were forced out through his throat with difficulty, “Touch me… just touch me.”

To Li Yan, it felt like he was holding a bomb.

His body was tense, every part of him except that hand shifting as far away from Lu Lianning as it could. But by now, Lu Lianning was too consumed by his own emotions to notice Li Yan’s subtle movements.

After a long time, Li Yan furrowed his brows. Though reluctant, he gave in. “Fine, I’ll touch it.”

–

Li Yan must have cherished that photo album deeply. That morning, he didn’t go out as usual; he normally wouldn’t stay home a second longer than necessary.

He lay on the large bed, legs propped up, flipping through that album over and over.

When Lu Lianning went upstairs and peeked through a crack in the door, he saw Li Yan climb off the bed, clutching the album. Thinking he was being discreet, Li Yan knelt on the floor with his butt sticking out and hid the album under the bed.

Out of mercy, Lu Lianning didn’t push the door open, letting Li Yan believe he had hidden it well.

At the end of that month, Lu Lianning took Li Yan to the hospital for a check-up.

When it came time for the blood draw, Li Yan tried to flee, but Lu Lianning held him firmly, his expression stern. The staff member noticed how this young man in his twenties needed to be hugged just to get a shot and was about to comment, but Lu Lianning’s warning glare quickly silenced her.

Embarrassed, Li Yan buried his face in Lu Lianning’s chest, refusing to lift his head.

Later, Zheng Zhi met with Lu Lianning in his office to go over the test results. He was surprised, noting that Li Yan’s physical recovery was quite good and his mental state had improved significantly compared to last year. However, due to past neglect of his health, extra care was still needed going forward.

For once, Lu Lianning didn’t argue and simply put away the medical orders, which were now half of what they had been the year before.

When he returned to the resting room where Li Yan was waiting, he found him not lying on the bed but sitting on the edge with his legs dangling off.

He looked a bit like a goose, neither beautiful nor delicate enough to please its owner.

Lu Lianning opened the door and called his name.

Li Yan clearly disliked hospitals. The moment he heard his name, he jumped to his feet and hurried over, quietly asking, “Can we go home now?”

Lu Lianning seemed to like that question. He took Li Yan’s hand and led him out.

At the end of the year, Lu Lianning went on a business trip to Europe and brought back a beautifully designed tassel nightlight for Li Yan.

Before bed that night, Li Yan spent quite some time tinkering with it. But as soon as Lu Lianning came back, he stopped touching it.

Still, Lu Lianning sensed that Li Yan liked it.

Sure enough, Li Yan couldn’t resist for long and soon began braiding the tassels of the expensive nightlight.

That same year, the cat Li Yan had been raising grew plump, resembling an overfed piglet, while the ornamental miniature sunflowers in the garden grew tall, like a mutated variety.

By the end of the fourth year, Lu Lianning was still working to mend the broken pieces of Li Yan that he had shattered.