As Han Shao Zhou’s thoughts wandered, he couldn’t help but think back to the three years when he was just a stand-in. Even though he now knew Mo Ming’s past and understood Mo Ming’s feelings for Zhou Xu, he still felt wronged. And despite everything, he occasionally found the guy beside him incredibly infuriating.
“Ouch—” Mo Ming suddenly winced and pulled his hand back.
“What’s wrong?” Han Shao Zhou asked instinctively. “Did I cut your skin?”
Mo Ming nodded, biting his lip. “Yeah, it hurts.”
Seeing Mo Ming frown and look so aggrieved, Han Shao Zhou paused before continuing to trim his nails. “I’m not your boyfriend, so stop giving me that look. It won’t work.”
“…”
Afterward, they found a high-end restaurant in the city to sit down. Han Shao Zhou didn’t order right away, thinking it was too early, so he asked the waiter to bring over two pots of tea first.
They chose a table by the window. It wasn’t even five in the afternoon, and the spacious restaurant was practically empty except for their table.
Han Shao Zhou had once thought that after learning everything, he would confront Mo Ming and settle things. But now that he knew everything, he found that nothing really mattered anymore. No matter how much he wanted to bring it up, there was no point. This man had never truly cared about him, so how could he expect Mo Ming to understand his feelings? There was no solution to this issue, so letting it go in this indifferent manner might be the most dignified way to end things.
Feeling agitated, Han Shao Zhou flipped through the menu, occasionally glancing up at the person across from him.
Mo Ming held his teacup, gently blowing on the steam rising from the surface. His long, thick lashes fluttered with each breath.
“The money in that card—I didn’t touch it,” Han Shao Zhou said as he casually turned the pages of the menu. “You can go to the bank and report it lost to get a new one.”
Mo Ming looked up. “Why?”
Han Shao Zhou didn’t lift his head. “It goes against my principles. Even though some things about you make me really annoyed, your lack of decency is your issue. I won’t stoop to your level.”
Mo Ming remained silent.
Han Shao Zhou set the menu down and took a sip of tea. “I’ll never forget what you did. No matter how many reasons you had, it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t let this go.”
As he raised the teacup to his lips, Han Shao Zhou glanced at Mo Ming out of the corner of his eye… Mo Ming was looking down at his teacup, his gaze unreadable.
“Of course, I know whether I’m angry or not doesn’t matter to you. And I won’t do anything about it because of my anger,” Han Shao Zhou continued. “So that’s that. I don’t have any more feelings for you. Let’s just say you’re a rabbit that bit me once… I’m not going to hold a grudge against a rabbit.”
Mo Ming stayed silent.
“Don’t you have anything to say?” Han Shao Zhou asked.
Mo Ming hesitated for a moment. “About what?”
Han Shao Zhou leaned back in his chair, studying Mo Ming. After taking off his puffer jacket, Mo Ming was wearing a loose white sweater, making him look like a freshly shelled soft-boiled egg. His black eyes were clear and calm, shimmering with a gentle light.
Han Shao Zhou stared at him for a long time before asking, “Over these three years, did you ever really look at me? Did you try to understand me?”
Mo Ming hesitated, just about to speak, but Han Shao Zhou cut him off. “Forget it. I don’t want to know. It doesn’t matter.”
Mo Ming obediently kept quiet.
After a few seconds of silence, Han Shao Zhou suddenly asked, “We’ve shared a bed for three years. I can’t believe I don’t hold any place in your heart at all.”
“I…”
“Forget it,” Han Shao Zhou interrupted again. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“…”
After some time passed, Han Shao Zhou looked like he was about to ask something again, but Mo Ming, anticipating this, spoke first. “You’re a good person.”
“…”
After they finished their meal and left the restaurant, it was already past six, and the sky had darkened considerably. Heavy rain had also started to fall.
With a two-to-three-hour drive ahead of them to return to Chuanhai, Mo Ming didn’t want to risk driving in the dark and rain, so he decided to stay at a nearby hotel for the night and head back in the morning when the weather cleared.
Han Shao Zhou had a similar thought, and they drove straight to a five-star hotel in the city. At the front desk, Han Shao Zhou made a point of seriously requesting Mo Ming to cover his room fee.
Mo Ming had a feeling Han Shao Zhou was upset, possibly ever since he had called him a good person at the restaurant.
While waiting for the elevator, Han Shao Zhou suddenly said, “I was really angry when I smashed your apartment. But I’ve already compensated you for the damage.”
Mo Ming frowned, not understanding why Han Shao Zhou was suddenly bringing this up.
“So…” Han Shao Zhou continued, “You can’t hold that against me.”
Mo Ming was silent for a few seconds before murmuring, “You destroyed my flowers…”
His voice was soft, but Han Shao Zhou heard it.
Han Shao Zhou coldly replied, “What was I supposed to destroy? You?”
“…”
Mo Ming pursed his lips and decided not to say anything. Han Shao Zhou watched his stubborn expression and felt an urge to pinch his cheeks, just to see if he could make him cry.
The elevator arrived on the first floor, and the doors slowly opened.
Han Shao Zhou was about to step inside when he suddenly froze, seeing who was in the elevator. A smile appeared on his face. “Uncle, what a coincidence.”
Pang Yuanqing stepped out of the elevator, his thin-framed glasses barely concealing the surprise in his long eyes. He smiled as well. “Xiao Han, I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
Mo Ming’s gaze locked onto the man. He was about the same height as Han Shao Zhou, dressed in a suit, with neatly groomed hair and eyebrows. He wore gold-rimmed glasses and appeared to be in his mid-thirties to early forties, with a high nose bridge and thin lips. His refined, distinctly Eastern face exuded a gentle, elegant aura.
Mo Ming knew who this man was…
Pang Yuanqing, Han Shao Zhou’s uncle by marriage, and the president of Ding Sheng Group.
“I had some personal matters to attend to here. What about you, Uncle?” Han Shao Zhou asked.
“Business trip. I’m on my way to meet a client.” Pang Yuanqing’s gaze shifted to Mo Ming. “Xiao Han, is this your friend?”
Han Shao Zhou was about to introduce him, but Mo Ming politely spoke up first. “Hello, President Pang, I’m Mo Ming.”
After a brief pause, Mo Ming looked Pang Yuanqing in the eye and said softly, “I’m a friend of Zhou Xu.”
Pang Yuanqing nodded slightly. “I remember him. He was a pretty popular singer. So, Mr. Mo, you’re in the entertainment industry as well?”
“Yes,” Mo Ming replied with a respectful tone. “I’ve heard Zhou Xu mention you before. It’s an honor to meet you today.”
Pang Yuanqing smiled slightly at Mo Ming but didn’t say much else. Instead, he turned back to Han Shao Zhou. “Xiao Han, your grandfather’s condition has worsened. He’s been asking for you. If you have time, you should go see him.”
“I was just planning to in the next couple of days.”
Pang Yuanqing didn’t stay to chat long. After exchanging a few more words, he turned to leave with his assistant. As he walked away, his gaze lingered on Mo Ming’s face for just half a second longer than necessary.
Even after he left, Mo Ming remained deep in thought.
“It’s rare to see you this eager to make a connection,” Han Shao Zhou commented. “Besides, Zhou Xu wasn’t my uncle’s fan, so what’s the point of mentioning that you were his friend?”
Mo Ming, a bit belatedly, turned to look at Han Shao Zhou. “Huh?”
Han Shao Zhou snorted, stepping into the elevator. Mo Ming followed him inside.
“Is President Pang usually very busy?” Mo Ming asked.
“He’s running Ding Sheng now, so of course, he’s busy.”
“I remember Hong Yi is a subsidiary of Ding Sheng. Does President Pang pay attention to the development of the artists there?”
“Why would he bother with such small matters? Unless he’s slept with some small-time actor, maybe then he’d give them a little boost,” Han Shao Zhou replied, then frowned at Mo Ming. “Why are you asking?”
“…Just curious.”
Han Shao Zhou leaned in closer to Mo Ming, who pressed his lips together and blinked softly.
“Are you interested in my uncle?” Han Shao Zhou asked suddenly.
Mo Ming quickly shook his head.
“You mentioned that Zhou Xu had talked to you about my uncle before,” Han Shao Zhou said. “Did they know each other?”
“…I just said that casually.”
Zhou Xu hadn’t actually mentioned Pang Yuanqing to him, but Pang Yuanqing’s reaction just now made him think that they knew each other.
Han Shao Zhou narrowed his eyes. “You’re acting strange…”
“…”
Han Shao Zhou straightened up, looking at the elevator doors. “Even if you are, it has nothing to do with me.”
Mo Ming’s room was on the thirty-third floor. He remembered that the elevator carrying Pang Yuanqing had also come from the thirty-third floor earlier.
In other words, Pang Yuanqing was staying on the same floor as him.
The hallway was long with many rooms, making it impossible to tell exactly which room Pang Yuanqing was staying in.
After showering in his room, Mo Ming went downstairs to the front desk. He claimed that while he was showering, 2,000 yuan in cash went missing from his room and asked to check the security footage to see if anyone had entered while he was in the bathroom.
The hotel staff were very cooperative, immediately taking him to the surveillance room to review the footage from his floor.
The staff member fast-forwarded the video, and Mo Ming quickly saw which room Pang Yuanqing had exited from—it was the one right next to his.
“The footage shows that no one other than you entered your room,” the staff member said.
“Thank you for your help,” Mo Ming replied. “Maybe I misplaced the money somewhere. I’ll go back and look again.”
Back in his room, Mo Ming lay on the bed, staring at the white ceiling with a serious expression. After a few minutes, he suddenly got up and stepped out onto the small balcony.
At over thirty floors up, the cold wind was biting. The people and cars below looked like tiny moving pebbles.
Mo Ming grabbed the railing, leaning out to look at the small balcony of the room next door. The distance wasn’t too far, and there was a stone statue of a bird embedded in the wall between them. If he could climb over it, he could reach the other balcony.
Frowning, Mo Ming’s eyes scanned the statue, evaluating the situation. There seemed to be enough support points. He wasn’t too heavy, so climbing up shouldn’t be an issue.
Downstairs, Han Shao Zhou was smoking on his balcony when he noticed Mo Ming standing on the balcony above, seemingly studying the statue. He even appeared to be measuring something with his hands.
“Are you planning to take that statue back with you?” Han Shao Zhou called out suddenly.
Mo Ming froze, finally noticing Han Shao Zhou below. He realized that Han Shao Zhou’s room was directly beneath Pang Yuanqing’s.
“No…” Mo Ming leaned against the railing, looking down at Han Shao Zhou with wide eyes. “I was just looking around.”
Mo Ming was wearing a loose white bathrobe, and from this unusual angle below, Han Shao Zhou could clearly see those long, pale legs. From the slender ankles upward, the bathrobe barely covered his knees. The night wind blew the hem, revealing just enough to spark all kinds of thoughts…
Han Shao Zhou tore his gaze away and took a deep drag on his cigarette.
Damn.
In a haze, memories of Mo Ming teasing him with his feet came flooding back. He used to lie on the bed and poke Han Shao Zhou with his toes, sometimes tickling his chest or neck, all while giggling. And Han Shao Zhou would seize the chance to grab his ankle, refusing to let go no matter how much Mo Ming tried to pull away. Then he would kiss and bite his way up Mo Ming’s leg, until he had him trembling and crying.
But this guy never learned his lesson. Those long legs had been tormented by him countless times, yet he never hesitated to provoke him again.
Han Shao Zhou looked up again, just in time to see Mo Ming shiver from the cold, lifting one foot to rub against the other leg’s calf while still eyeing the stone statue.
“Go back inside and put on some pants,” Han Shao Zhou ordered sternly.
Even if he couldn’t touch those legs anymore, he couldn’t just stand by and let them freeze in the cold. Back in the day, he would have rushed upstairs to warm him up the old-fashioned way.
No freezing allowed…
