Bian Xun, sitting opposite him, remained silent for a long time.
“I don’t mean to blame you.”
Yan Mo thought for a moment. Their breakup back then had not been especially ugly. His mindset was fairly calm as he comforted him.
“It’s just that I’ve already coaxed myself into being okay. I’m not sad anymore. So please don’t… make me remember it again, okay?”
“Thank you for pitying me.”
“Let’s eat.”
Before Bian Xun could speak, Yan Mo smiled and said,
“After breakfast, I’m planning to go to the airport. You have a match, so you don’t need to see me off. It’s a pity I won’t be able to watch it live. Do your best.”
It was a very gentle rejection.
A mature way of speaking that left no room for fault.
Beneath the softness was a firm attitude.
He was clearly drawing the line without hesitation, unwilling to become deeply involved again.
Bian Xun still had so many things he wanted to say and ask.
For example, Yan Mo had not been wealthy back then. When he supported him, he worked part-time while saving money for match tickets. If he had undergone plastic surgery, it must have cost a lot. Did he need money now?
For example, that man from earlier did not seem like he would give up easily. What if Yan Mo suffered alone?
For example, where did he plan to settle down in the future?
His contact information?
Did he have enough luggage?
There were so many, so many things he wanted to say.
He had never cared about them back then.
But by the time he wanted to understand, he suddenly realized—
They no longer had the kind of relationship where he could ask those questions.
After packing his luggage, Yan Mo, in the overly quiet atmosphere, actually relaxed after saying everything clearly.
He spoke a lot to Bian Xun.
“I know you don’t like greasy food and don’t like meat, but you should still eat some. Otherwise, how can you keep up with the intensity of your training?”
“And just because you don’t like people touching your head, you refuse to cut your hair… Right now you can still tie it into a bun, but if it grows longer, are you planning to braid it?”
“You can’t handle fruit acid, yet you still like vinegar… At least pay attention to your blood pressure. It’s not like your low blood pressure has only happened once or twice.”
“Oh, right. Check the bathroom light before going to sleep. You always forget to turn it off.”
“Even if you’re afraid of heat, you can’t keep wearing thin pants in winter.”
“You can smoke, but smoke less.”
The person rubbing the cigarette box paused.
At the very end—
The gentle, delicate young man stepped forward and hugged him.
Softly, beside his ear, as if saying goodbye to him and also to those years, he said,
“I’m leaving…”
“…”
In the past, Bian Xun had never truly felt the reality of their breakup.
That was simply his personality.
Calm like still water.
And a breakup by text message lacked weight.
His memory of Yan Mo remained frozen at the moment when Bian Xun had just entered the esports world, before he had become a god admired by everyone.
The young man had stood beneath the stage with warm black eyes, holding up a glowing support sign that read “Bian Xun, do your best!”
He had smiled brilliantly.
Today, looking at the young man whose smile was still warm, Bian Xun finally felt the delayed ache rising from deep within his chest.
That youth and love that never asked for anything in return were gradually moving far away.
“Goodbye.”
“Mm.”
“Be careful on the road.”
“I know.”
The person carrying a backpack stood outside the door and waved at him.
Then he turned and walked toward the elevator.
Coincidentally, the other members of Team TKG came out to gather and saw Yan Mo leaving Bian Xun’s room.
“Captain Xun! Who was that? Why did he come out of your room?!”
The support player’s eyes widened as he pointed at Yan Mo’s back and stammered.
The others were equally shocked.
Ji Xian’s face immediately darkened.
Although the matter with Yan Mo years ago had left things awkward and he and Bian Xun had never gotten together, everyone had tacitly treated them as a pair.
Ji Xian thought the same.
Even if it was never said aloud, he and Bian Xun both understood their relationship.
He was still the only person who could move Bian Xun’s emotions.
There were also small moments of warmth between them in daily life.
Some thoughts Bian Xun would not tell anyone else.
But when Ji Xian asked, he would tell him.
So who was the person who had just left Bian Xun’s room?
Why had Bian Xun never told him?
The support player stared wide-eyed at Bian Xun, who looked distracted and carried an air of reluctance and sadness.
“No way… Captain Xun, did you…”
“Bro, I’m telling you, you can’t betray Xian-zai! Cheating and finding a mistress? I can’t believe you’d do that! If you really did, then as a man, I’ll look down on you!”
For some reason, hearing those words made Bian Xun feel a rare burst of anger.
The calm and indifferent God Xun was angry?
Back then, this same teammate had casually said at the dinner table, right in front of Yan Mo—who was still Bian Xun’s boyfriend—that “Ji Xian is Captain Xun’s little wife.”
In the end, Yan Mo left and proposed breaking up.
Even then, Bian Xun had not been angry with him.
Because he knew his teammate was simple-minded and foolish.
But now, Bian Xun discovered that he was strangely furious.
He turned and stared at the righteous support player.
He stared until the other shrank back behind the ADC before finally speaking.
“He isn’t a third party.”
“He’s Yan Mo.”
“He is my boyfriend.”
Yan Mo?
The support player froze.
Ji Xian froze too.
The air fell silent.
Thinking of the trouble he had caused in the past, the support player felt guilty and regretful. He shut his mouth and did not dare make a sound.
Ji Xian, meanwhile, clenched his fists and stared hard at Bian Xun.
Bian Xun no longer paid attention to them.
He closed his eyes.
His hand in his pocket rubbed against the cigarette box.
He thought:
If only he had said those words back then.
Everyone had been indignant on Ji Xian’s behalf.
Yet not a single person had stood in front of the young man who truly needed protection.
And he—
The person who should have been angry for him.
The person who should have been furious because his boyfriend was ignored.
The person who should have stood up for him—
Had stood by and done nothing.
“He isn’t a third party.”
“He is my boyfriend.”
Such simple words.
Why…
Why had he failed to say them back then?
After leaving the hotel, Yan Mo turned his phone back on.
Several messages immediately popped up.
Most were from An Zhihan.
Only then did he learn that An Zhihan and Yan Fei had divorced.
After his surprise faded, the young man felt somewhat confused.
Why was An Zhihan telling him this?
Yan Mo didn’t understand.
He was no longer anyone to An Zhihan.
This might sound cold, but whether An Zhihan’s life was good or bad had nothing to do with him.
Yan Mo continued reading.
[Xiao Mo, after learning of your death, I spent countless nights unable to sleep. I reflected seriously on our marriage. I was the one who was wrong.]
[I owe you an apology.]
[Knowing you’re safe, I’m more relieved and happy than anyone.]
[When we divorced, you didn’t take anything with you. Regarding the division of property, I want to compensate you more… I don’t mean to insult you. I only want to express my apology. If it can make your current life even a little better, even just a little, then that would be enough. These are things you deserve. Please reply when you have time after seeing this message.]
—An Zhihan.
The man’s wording was extremely humble.
Based on Yan Mo’s understanding of An Zhihan, seeing him speak in this tone felt no different from seeing a ghost.
“Has An Zhihan been possessed?”
Or after driving Yan Mo away, had the man suddenly developed a conscience and realized the person he loved was Yan Mo?
Impossible.
Yan Mo couldn’t help finding it absurd and laughable.
When they had been properly married, he hadn’t cherished him.
After everything fell apart, he regretted it.
Wasn’t that just ridiculous?
This wasn’t a television drama.
Yan Mo replied with “Thank you, but there’s no need.”
Then he switched his phone to airplane mode and boarded the plane as the announcement sounded.
Yes.
Yan Mo was leaving Shanghai.
This city was definitely cursed!
The young man muttered quietly.
With the strand of hair sticking up from sleep on top of his head, he looked somewhat adorable.
Although he didn’t notice, quite a few passengers on the plane watched him with smiling eyes.
Some people were not beautiful in any obvious way.
Yet just looking at them made others unable to look away.
Clean.
Gentle.
Likable.
This time, he was still in first class.
Without the system chattering beside him, the young man was truly alone.
A faint loneliness rose in his heart, and he sighed softly.
“I wonder when System will—”
“Hm? Strange. Didn’t you buy connected seats? There’s a stranger sitting in my seat.”
A slightly rising, dissatisfied voice sounded nearby.
Yan Mo turned his head in shock.
A tall man nearly 1.9 meters stood there with both hands in his pockets.
His soft silver hair stuck up slightly.
On his exquisite baby face, already perfect enough without retouching, hung a large pair of sunglasses.
He was complaining to the person beside him in a drawn-out tone, like a cat.