Li Chu began to suffer from insomnia that night.
It was because he had thought of something even more serious than Shao Tingyue being gay. That is, his current identity is Shao Chu, his nephew. Wouldn’t that make them guilty of incest!
Li Chu tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep until the middle of the night. When he stumbled toward the bathroom in a daze, he accidentally bumped his forehead against the door. Misfortunes never come singly; now he had a bump on his forehead and a bump on the back of his head.
Shao Tingyue usually appeared dignified and pedantic, constantly harping on about the household code, so why was he like this in private? He would even lay a hand on his own nephew!
He began to feel lucky that he was an imposter. Otherwise, the mere thought of it was terrifying.
Li Chu finally sighed deeply. He had saved up enough money; should he take this opportunity to run away?
But what about the Old Madam? She was so good to him. Alex had mentioned before that her health was poor and she had been in and out of the hospital several times this year.
What if he ran away and scared her?
Li Chu buried his cheeks in his pillows, filled with sorrow. If something truly happened to the Old Madam, he would never be able to forgive himself.
After several days of insomnia, Li Chu was visibly haggard. His small face was as pale as paper, and the tiny bit of fullness he had gained in his cheeks was gone.
His peach-blossom eyes looked particularly large, and he looked listless, as if he had lost his soul.
When Shao Tingyue left the house, he noticed Li Chu staring blankly while eating breakfast and even touched his forehead to check if he had a fever.
The boy looked a bit resistant and instinctively wanted to dodge, but eventually let him check.
He kept nodding off in class, and the professor on the podium glared at him several times.
“Chu Zai? Are you okay?” Judy, who had a pleasant round face, leaned over to look at his pale complexion. “You look so tired. Are you sick?”
Li Chu rubbed his sore eyes, shook his head, and said listlessly, “I am fine. I just did not sleep well.”
Judy patted his shoulder. “Well, get some rest. I am leaving now.”
“Hm, bye,” Li Chu mumbled vaguely, and started to pack his things sluggishly.
Just as he walked out of the school gate, he saw the familiar Rolls-Royce parked on the side of the road with the window half-lowered.
Shao Tingyue had come to pick him up.
Li Chu stood there, struggling for a moment, but eventually acted as if nothing was wrong, opened the car door, muttered a “Second Uncle,” and plopped into the seat.
He was truly exhausted. The comfortable air conditioning mixed with the faint scent of cigars smelled like peace of mind, so he fell asleep shortly after the car started.
Shao Tingyue turned his head, watching the boy sleeping curled up in the seat.
Li Chu’s sleeping face was very quiet, his eyelashes casting shallow shadows under his eyes. Because of his sleep deprivation, there were faint blue bruises under his eyes, making his whole face look childlike and soft.
It was clear he had not been sleeping well these past few days.
Was he thinking about some messy business, or had he remembered something he should not have?
Shao Tingyue watched for a moment, then reached out to prop the boy more comfortably against his lap.
Li Chu’s eyelashes fluttered. Realizing the person he was leaning against was Shao Tingyue, he instantly sobered up.
There were two little voices in his heart frantically fighting. His subconscious told Li Chu that what they were doing was wrong; not only was the sexual orientation wrong, but the identity was wrong, and the time and place were all wrong.
But he had been lonely for two lifetimes. Apart from his biological parents who died early, Shao Tingyue was actually the person who treated him the best.
He would stay up all night guarding him when he was sick, carry him on his back for long distances, hold him while they slept, discipline those who bullied him, and give him the confidence to do anything.
Li Chu kept his eyes closed, feeling the man’s palm stroking his spine. It was like the action of patting an infant’s back, very light, carrying the intent to lull him to sleep.
He struggled for a while but fell asleep again anyway.
When Li Chu woke up again, he was already in his own bed; Shao Tingyue must have carried him back.
He felt he could not go on like this.
He took a shower to sober up, then gathered his courage and stood at Shao Tingyue’s bedroom door.
Just as he was about to knock, a servant carrying a vase passed by and said with a smile, “Young Master Chu, are you awake? The Second Master ordered us to save some food for you.”
The courage Li Chu had just mustered vanished again. His ears turned red, and he stammered, “Ah? Oh, thank you. I am not very hungry, I will go eat by myself later.”
The servant continued, “Are you looking for the Second Master? Do you need me to help you knock?”
Li Chu rubbed his burning ears and quickly stopped her. “No need, no need. I was just passing by.”
The servant looked puzzled and walked away with the vase.
Li Chu stood outside the door for a while, starting to ponder what on earth he wanted to say to Shao Tingyue.
Should he tell him his identity was actually fake, that he was not the person they were looking for at all? Or should he say that homosexuality was undesirable and two men could not be together?
Li Chu sighed. He would check the Shao household code later to see if it mentioned this.
It would be best if it did; then he could righteously say, “Second Uncle, look, the household code must be followed! Otherwise, how can you be the helmsman of the Shao family?”
Footsteps came from inside the room. Li Chu was startled and ran away in a flash.
He did not see the door open behind him; the man leaned against the doorframe, his black eyes staring deeply at the boy’s fleeing back.
Late at night, Li Chu quietly opened his room door and slipped down to the wine cellar on the first floor.
The wine cellar maintained a constant temperature all year round and occupied most of the basement.
Against the wall were rows of dark wine racks, filled with all kinds of wines.
Li Chu knew nothing about wine. He randomly pulled out a bottle of red wine. On the bottle was an elegant French font that read “Romanée-Conti 1978.”
Fine. Liquid courage for a coward. Let us do this!
Shao Tingyue was catching the breeze on the terrace, his deep eyes blending into the night, his gaze fixed in the direction of Li Chu’s room.
The cigar held between his fingertips had burned to the end, the glowing red ember flickering in the dark like the dark fire jumping in his eyes.
Regret it?
No. He would not regret it.
Even if Li Chu remembered, even if he were to be afraid, run away, or look at him with eyes full of disgust like he was a monster.
Shao Tingyue’s lips twitched very slightly.
So what?
Since he had already set his heart on it, he had no intention of turning back.
The so-called overwhelming wealth and illustrious reputation; since he could control them with one hand, he could naturally bear all the consequences. Even if it were a desire that the world would not tolerate, the gods had already granted it, so who else could object?
Li Chu felt that the wine had a powerful kick. His whole body felt warm and he was getting sleepy.
Cannot sleep! He still had important business to do!
He sluggishly went upstairs with very light footsteps. At this hour, except for the night-watch servants, most had already fallen asleep.
Standing before Shao Tingyue’s bedroom door, Li Chu took a deep breath and knocked.
After several seconds, no one opened the door. Li Chu thought Shao Tingyue had already gone to sleep and felt somewhat regretful. Just as he was about to turn and leave, the door opened.
Shao Tingyue stood at the door, carrying the night breeze from the terrace.
The bedroom was not lit; the faint moonlight outside the window outlined his tall and upright silhouette. He had no expression on his face, and seeing that it was Li Chu, his brows furrowed.
“You…”
The boy stood outside the door, the corridor light shining from behind him, gilding him with a fuzzy light edge. His beautiful eyes were filled with broken stars, sincere and determined.
“Second Uncle, can I come in? I have something I want to tell you.”
He tripped slightly while entering. Shao Tingyue instinctively reached out to catch him. The boy’s body carried the smell of alcohol and he bumped softly into his arms.
“…”
The man’s arms tightened instantly, his brows knitting slightly. “You drank?”
Li Chu rubbed against his chest, seemingly finding this position very comfortable, and nodded like a mortar and pestle, his hair tickling Shao Tingyue’s chin.
Shao Tingyue held his shoulders and pulled him away to look at his face by the moonlight. “How much did you drink?”
Li Chu lifted his cheeks and slowly raised one finger.
“A glass?” Shao Tingyue guessed, though judging by the level of intoxication, it should be more.
Li Chu shook his head vigorously, waving that finger for emphasis, and slurred out a word: “Bottle.”
Then, his eyes crinkled, and there was a hint of reserved showing off in his tone: “A whole bottle!”
Shao Tingyue: “…”
He was silent for two seconds and called his name in a low voice: “Li Chu, what do you want to say?”
Li Chu still remembered his mission, so he licked his dry lips and tried hard to organize his words: “Second Uncle, I am sorry.”
Shao Tingyue’s brows twitched. He said nothing, just looked at him quietly.
Li Chu summoned the greatest courage of his life: “Actually, I lied to you. I am not your nephew.”
Shao Tingyue’s gaze was calm, his tone very light: “And then?”
And then? Li Chu was stunned by the question. And then shouldn’t he ask who I am, why I impersonated someone, and then kick me out?
His brain was turning a bit slowly. Subconsciously following Shao Tingyue’s question, he began to count on his fingers, starting with the topic he least wanted to talk about: “Then the money and things you gave me, I will return them all to you.”
When mentioning returning the money, Li Chu’s voice dropped significantly. His eyes reddened uncontrollably and his nose felt sour.
God knew how hard it was for him to save that money! It was already in his pocket, and now he had to dig it out. Just thinking about it made his heart ache!
Shao Tingyue lowered his eyes, looking at the little kid’s expression of grievance and reluctance, a very faint smile flickering in his eyes.
The man’s tall silhouette completely enveloped the boy. He looked down at him, repeating his words: “Returning all the money, are you planning to make a clean break?”
Li Chu was stunned by the question. Since his identity was fake, he should not be taking things from the Shao family, especially what Shao Tingyue gave him. As for whether to break it off.
He blinked his eyes in confusion, looked at the man’s well-defined face, and remembered something else: “Second Uncle, do you like men? Are you?”
Shao Tingyue pressed his brows down slightly but remained silent.
Li Chu thought for a moment and felt something was off. He pursed his lips and asked again: “Second Uncle, do you like me?”
Shao Tingyue was about to speak, but the boy lifted his eyes, his cheeks flushing red: “Do not try to deny it! I remember everything. You kissed me in bed, and even put your tongue in my mouth!”