Because Zheng Yang was right there, Ye Xi didn’t get to use a single bit of the seduction tips he had crammed the night before.
He had genuinely studied with Bai Yue for over three hours—his brain was practically smoking.
Fortunately, Bai Yue didn’t scold him for his poor test results. Instead, he reassured him gently.
“Your foundation is still a little shaky right now, so it’s easy to get stuck on harder problems. Once your fundamentals are solid, you’ll be able to tackle the more difficult ones.”
Ye Xi felt a soft warmth bloom in his heart. He smiled shyly, and the little bear plushie hanging from his backpack swayed along with him.
He began putting his pens back into his pencil case one by one. Although he was reluctant, he was preparing to say goodbye to Bai Yue.
Before he came over, Li Rui had even tried to hype him up and encouraged him to try and stay the night.
But one glance at Zheng Yang sitting on the sofa like a gatekeeper instantly killed that idea.
Forget it.
He figured Zheng Yang was the one who looked like he was planning to sleep over—not him. No need to join the circus.
Just as he was organizing his test papers, it suddenly started raining outside.
At first it was a light drizzle, but within two minutes it had turned into a torrential downpour. Even the indoor lighting seemed to dim.
Zheng Yang stood by the window, looked down, and naturally announced, “This rain’s crazy—it’s not stopping anytime soon. I might as well stay over.”
Bai Yue wanted to punch him.
It wasn’t like his place didn’t have an underground parking garage. Zheng Yang’s family chauffeur could drive right in—there was no way this spoiled young master would get a single drop of rain on him.
But Bai Yue took a deep breath, turned to look at Ye Xi, and spoke warmly, “Why don’t you stay too? With rain like this, it’ll be hard to get a taxi back to school.”
Ye Xi froze.
He hadn’t expected Bai Yue to invite him to stay over.
He glanced at Zheng Yang standing by the window, and for the first time in his life, found himself in a fierce internal struggle.
The temptation of sleeping over at Bai Yue’s versus the overwhelming desire to stay far, far away from Zheng Yang—it was a fierce mental tug-of-war.
But when he met Bai Yue’s clear, gentle eyes, the desire to stay close to Bai Yue easily won out.
It wasn’t his first time staying over anyway. He gave a small nod.
“Then I’ll take you up on your hospitality, ge.”
Since both Zheng Yang and Ye Xi were staying over, dinner was naturally prepared by Bai Yue.
As the eldest among the three, he really did have a parental aura about him at this moment.
He handed each of them a slice of carrot cake as a pre-dinner snack and ordered them to behave on the sofa and not fight.
This was mostly aimed at Zheng Yang.
After all, nine times out of ten, any conflict between the two of them was started by him.
Zheng Yang grumbled a reluctant “mm.”
But the moment Bai Yue left the room, he snapped his gaze toward Ye Xi.
Ye Xi completely ignored him, fingers flying across his phone as he chatted with Li Rui. He was typing so fast, it was impossible to follow.
After a while, Zheng Yang narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why’d you think to ask Bai Yue for tutoring?”
At first, Ye Xi didn’t even realize Zheng Yang was talking to him.
After a few seconds, he turned and looked at him blankly.
He thought: Why? Obviously because I’m trying to seduce him.
But of course, he couldn’t say that to Zheng Yang.
After a moment of silence, Ye Xi actually responded this time instead of ignoring him.
“Bai Yue saw my test papers and thought they looked pitiful. Out of kindness, he offered to tutor me. I agreed. That’s all.”
This story was completely true.
But Zheng Yang still picked up on something off about it—Bai Yue was a college student, not in high school like Ye Xi. Under what circumstances would he even see Ye Xi’s test papers?
He gripped the TV remote tighter, frowning as a long-suppressed suspicion flickered through his mind.
But soon, he shook his head and dismissed the idea as ridiculous.
Still, staring at the variety show on the screen, he couldn’t focus at all.
He glanced at Ye Xi sitting beside him and suddenly remembered when Ye Xi had first come to the Zheng household—back then, he had clutched his toys and peeked around corners just to sneak a look at him.
A wave of dull pressure settled in his chest.
He thought: I’m supposed to be Ye Xi’s older brother. Why didn’t he come to me for tutoring? My grades are good too.
Since they were kids, the moment Bai Yue appeared, Ye Xi’s eyes never looked at anyone else. It was like he couldn’t wait to pack up and go live with Bai Yue instead.
Thinking of that, Zheng Yang clicked his tongue and slammed the remote, changing the channel.
…..
Over half an hour later, Bai Yue finished making dinner.
To prevent the two boys from fighting, he made a simple sukiyaki hot pot.
In the meantime, Ye Xi had poked his head into the kitchen, saying he wanted to help.
Bai Yue smiled and stuffed a piece of tamagoyaki in Ye Xi’s mouth.
“It’s almost ready. Nothing left to help with,” he said warmly. “Go wait outside. We’ll eat in a minute.”
Ye Xi felt embarrassed.
He was getting tutoring, free food, and not lifting a finger. He really was freeloading too much.
So he loitered instead of leaving, squeezing next to Bai Yue and silently helping plate the food.
Bai Yue didn’t chase him off—he just smiled at him.
At exactly six o’clock, the three of them sat down for dinner.
It was an odd combination.
Technically, they had all grown up together in some way.
But it was rare for them to sit at the same table so peacefully.
So the meal was unusually quiet.
Zheng Yang seemed lost in thought. Gone was his earlier aggressive vibe—he scrolled through his phone for a while before silently eating.
Bai Yue was serving food to Ye Xi.
Ye Xi held his bowl and kept shaking his head, saying he didn’t need any, but still accepted the rice cakes Bai Yue gave him and smiled sweetly at him.
Bai Yue paused, dazed by the smile, completely ignoring Ye Xi’s refusal as he served him another helping of beef slices.
After dinner, there was really nothing left to do.
If Ye Xi were to summarize the evening, it was actually very dull.
He had finally managed to stay over at Bai Yue’s house, and in theory, it should’ve been romantic, thrilling, full of heart-pounding moments. He’d planned to use all the little tricks he’d learned and finally redeem himself by seducing Bai Yue into a frenzy.
But in reality, Zheng Yang and Bai Yue played chess in the living room while he read a magazine. All three of them were under the same roof, but aside from Bai Yue occasionally scolding Zheng Yang’s terrible chess skills, it was almost completely silent.
Ye Xi peeked at Bai Yue over the top of his magazine.
He was a little surprised.
He rarely saw Bai Yue with a cold expression, let alone scolding someone. But maybe Zheng Yang was just that bad at chess. Bai Yue sat upright at the table, dropped a piece onto the board, and when Zheng Yang hesitantly responded with a move, Bai Yue sneered.
“Are you stupid? Golden corner, silver edge, grass belly—forgot everything, huh?” Bai Yue said bluntly. “Next time you play chess, don’t tell people I taught you.”
Zheng Yang, furious, kicked him under the table.
Ye Xi hid behind his magazine and laughed quietly.
He couldn’t help thinking: Even Bai Yue’s cold face is handsome.
His imagination started running wild. In principle, he didn’t want Bai Yue to be mean to him… but every rule has its exception…
If it were in bed, that coldness might have its own appeal.
Ye Xi’s eyes sparkled.
He was so lost in thought he didn’t notice the chess game had ended. The two at the window had grown bored and stopped playing.
Zheng Yang and Bai Yue both turned to look at him.
At this moment, Ye Xi was lying on the sofa, magazine covering the lower half of his face, eyes squinting into a bright crescent. Whatever he was thinking about, it was clearly making him happy—his eyes were gleaming.
That face was lively and expressive, nothing like his usual quiet self.
Bai Yue couldn’t help but laugh. He glanced at Zheng Yang and silently mouthed:
“See? Adorable, right?”
Zheng Yang rolled his eyes in exasperation.
What the hell are you showing off for?
Seriously? Ye Xi was his little brother. Did Bai Yue really think he had the right to flaunt?
But he looked at Ye Xi, who hadn’t noticed the gaze from the two at the window at all, still grinning to himself, his face nearly hidden behind the magazine.
Zheng Yang couldn’t help it and chuckled softly.
He thought, Nothing’s changed since we were kids. Ye Xi is still so clueless it’s almost cute.
The group lingered in the living room until ten o’clock. Zheng Yang glanced at his watch and was the first to speak up to Ye Xi.
“It’s already ten. Don’t you think it’s time to sleep?”
Ye Xi looked confused.
Ten o’clock—on a weekend? Normally at this time, he’d have just finished a few chapters of a web novel and wouldn’t even be close to starting his late-night routine.
Besides, both he and Zheng Yang were in their final year of high school—who was he to tell him what to do? If anyone should be going to bed early, it was Zheng Yang.
But just as he was about to speak, he heard Bai Yue say, “It is getting late. Zheng Yang, you should head to bed too. I’ve given Ye Xi the guest room across from mine—you take the one on the left.”
Bai Yue pointed to the room across from the study.
Zheng Yang glanced at that guest room, then looked over at “Ye Xi’s room,” as if measuring something.
But he didn’t object.
Ye Xi swallowed the words that were about to come out. He thought, Fair enough. Even if I stay in the living room, I can’t do anything with Zheng Yang watching me like a hawk.
He thought for a second, then put on his obedient face and said to Bai Yue, “Then I’ll head back to the room too. Good night, Bai-ge.”
As for Zheng Yang, he gave him a half-hearted nod and didn’t say anything else.
Then he turned and walked straight into the guest room without looking back.
Anyone with eyes could see the difference in how he treated them.
Zheng Yang was fuming.
“Did you see that?” he complained to Bai Yue. “No respect for his elder brother at all.”
Bai Yue gave a perfunctory nod and casually replied, “Kids are like that.”
He thought to himself, With your tsundere attitude, not saying a single thing Ye Xi would like to hear since you walked in, it’s a miracle he even nodded at you.
Having failed to get any sympathy, Zheng Yang stormed off to his assigned guest room.
But halfway there, he suddenly turned back and looked at Bai Yue.
“You are going back to your room to sleep later, right?” He crossed his arms and stared at Bai Yue.
Bai Yue paused and looked at him thoughtfully, then smiled.
“What else would I be doing?” he said, looking at Zheng Yang. “Staying in the living room alone to watch TV?”
Zheng Yang considered the likelihood of that, thought it sounded reasonable, and nodded in satisfaction.
But after showering, he still felt something was off. He cracked open his door and started patrolling the living room like a guard.
The living room was empty.
Ye Xi’s door was closed. Bai Yue hadn’t come out either. Good.
Satisfied at last, he returned to his room and went to bed.
But what he didn’t know was that just half an hour after he fell asleep, the door to Ye Xi’s room opened just a crack.
Ye Xi had been ranting to Li Rui.
“He’s got no awareness at all. Bai Yue spent the whole afternoon tutoring me, and Zheng Yang just sat there the whole time. What was he even trying to do? I don’t even provoke him normally. I avoid him at school and barely talk to him at home. It’s not like I’ve done anything to offend him, right? Okay, yeah, I beat him up when we were kids, but he bullied me too—so we’re even!”
Typing was too slow.
Ye Xi angrily switched to voice messages.
Li Rui was just as outraged.
“That’s so over the line!”
He would’ve been furious too. If Sheng Yuhe promised to tutor him and some third wheel showed up out of nowhere, he’d be pissed beyond belief.
Ye Xi and Li Rui complained for over half an hour before they started to drift off-topic and began chatting about a serialized web novel they were both reading.
It was an (multiple male leads) story.
Ye Xi and Li Rui were on opposing sides and were currently locked in a heated debate over which male lead deserved to be the “main.” Their friendship nearly capsized.
“It’s obviously the childhood friend,” Ye Xi insisted. “The neighbor-brother type is the chosen one. He’s gentle, considerate, way better than all the others.”
“Bullshit. The mysterious newcomer is the real deal. The domineering CEO is true love. You’ve got no taste.”
Neither could convince the other, so they angrily hung up the call.
Afterward, Ye Xi noticed it was almost 1 AM. He’d chatted with Li Rui for over two hours, rambling all over the place, and his throat was parched.
He grabbed his pajamas and fanned himself. It was autumn, not hot at all—
But he still felt a little restless.
He opened the guest room’s mini fridge, but it had probably gone unused for ages. No water, no drinks—just some snacks.
Ye Xi hesitated. His lips were so dry. Finally, he got up.
He remembered Bai Yue had said there was ice cream, drinks, cake, and fruit in the fridge—told him to help himself.
Ye Xi peeked out of his room, nervous.
Even though Bai Yue had said to treat this place like home, wandering into his kitchen alone in the middle of the night felt bold—almost rude.
Just one ice cream, he told himself.
He turned on a small kitchen light and crouched by the bottom shelf, studying the options.
Coffee flavor looked good, but it might keep him awake.
Matcha was okay too, but a bit bitter.
He mulled it over and finally picked white peach. He unwrapped it and tossed the wrapper in the trash.
Just as he stood up with the ice cream in his mouth, he heard a soft laugh nearby.
“Where’d this little mouse come from, sneaking ice cream in my kitchen?”
Ye Xi jumped in fright, almost dropping the ice cream. Luckily, a hand reached out and caught it just in time.
He looked up, startled.
Bai Yue had appeared in the kitchen without a sound, dressed in dark silk pajamas, perfectly at ease, smiling at him.
Seeing Ye Xi frozen in place, he handed the ice cream back to him and teased softly, “Careful you don’t get cavities.”
