Li Sheng wanted to push Yuan Ye away, but Yuan Ye suddenly leaned close to his ear, his tone deep and low: “You can get hard for anyone?”
Li Sheng’s brows furrowed, and returning to his usual cold and detached look, he pushed Yuan Ye away forcefully with his left hand: “I don’t need you to take care of me.”
“Your older brother has already entrusted you to me, and I don’t want to add unnecessary trouble to myself either.”
“Since I’m a bother, why did you even take on this chore? My brother is my brother; I don’t want to owe you this favor.” Li Sheng suddenly felt that Yuan Ye was a very frivolous person, and all his initial good impressions completely vanished. Just as he wanted to turn around and head to the living room, he was pulled back by Yuan Ye. Taken by surprise, he tumbled right onto Yuan Ye, and the two of them pressed closely together once more. However, Yuan Ye’s gaze no longer held a shred of joking, and his tone returned to normal: “If you don’t want to bring even more trouble to your family, come with me. During this period, my house will be yours to stay in. I’m very busy and won’t have time to take care of you—you’ll have to do everything yourself, understood?”
Li Sheng clearly knew the seriousness of the matter. Because of Li Fan’s status, a few years ago their mother had been struck by a car and nearly lost her life. Growing up, because of his family’s connections, most of the time it couldn’t be considered a normal family. Fortunately, he was already accustomed to it enough, so he didn’t argue further and let Yuan Ye go ahead and pack his luggage.
“My mom and dad aren’t home, right?”
“Mhm, your brother sent them off to the military district.”
“Then my brother?”
Yuan Ye did not answer. Li Sheng knew that this time was different from the past. Daring to stir up trouble at a military officer’s wedding site was a form of provocation against authority. He had no way to persuade the brother who was about to walk into danger by saying things like “don’t go”—that was the duty of a soldier and the protection of his family. He understood this, so whenever this happened, Li Sheng felt extremely in pain. He had seen Li Fan come home covered in bruises, bearing the pain in solitude and forbearance. Thus, naturally, he knew how different he was from Li Fan, and he never forced Wei Heng to love him.
Seeing Li Sheng sitting on the edge of the bed in a daze, knowing that his mind was wandering and overthinking, Yuan Ye fished a White Rabbit creamy candy out of his pocket, peeled it, and shoved it into Li Sheng’s mouth. Startled, Li Sheng tasted the sweetness in his mouth and didn’t know what to say, so he could only sigh in his heart about Yuan Ye’s fickle and unpredictable personality.
“You even carry milk candies in your pocket?”
Yuan Ye packed up the clothes and pushed the suitcase to the doorway: “You left them at my place. I kept meaning to put them in my pocket to give to you, but I always forgot.”
Chewing the milk candy in his mouth, Li Sheng felt a rich milky flavor diffuse. He didn’t know what kind of mood he was in, but his heart felt uncomfortable.
Li Fan sat in the living room smoking, and a layer of smoke had drifted across the entire living room. Li Sheng furrowed his brows: “Brother, Mom isn’t home; otherwise she’d be nagging again.”
Li Fan’s eyes were a bit red, looking as though he hadn’t slept well. He forced a smile at Yuan Ye: “I’ll entrust my younger brother to you for now. After a while, everything will be fine.”
For some reason, Li Sheng always had a bit of a life-and-death parting feeling. Li Fan’s appearance looked as though he were leaving final testament words. His nose soured, and he turned his head to look out the window. Before leaving, Li Fan and Yuan Ye chatted for a long time. Both of their expressions were serious, and from time to time Yuan Ye answered a few phone calls. Yuan Ye was very tall—judging by his appearance, he seemed even taller than Wei Heng. His usual demeanor had a strong deterrent presence, and although his build wasn’t as robust as Wei Heng’s, he was not inferior in the least. Coming back to his senses, Li Sheng shook his head. For some reason, he always wanted to compare the two men together. Having just gotten aroused in the bedroom, thinking about it now still brought a wave of embarrassment, but looking at Yuan Ye’s demeanor, it seemed he had long known about his sexual orientation. Most likely, Li Fan had chatted about it with him, and probably once again wanted Yuan Ye’s help in finding a girlfriend.
While Li Sheng’s mind was wandering wildly, the two of them finished their conversation. With one arm hanging in a sling, Li Sheng got into the car with Yuan Ye, while Li Fan waved for them to drive slowly.
The entire way was spent in silence, with Yuan Ye driving straight to the house in the suburbs. Actually, Li Sheng still wanted to see the house in the city center; it must be as luxurious as a palace. Yuan Ye was very considerate in taking care of him. Once home, he helped Li Sheng organize his clothes. In truth, Li Sheng felt quite embarrassed to have Yuan Ye running around busy like this, but the moment he opened his mouth, he was afraid Yuan Ye might utter some unexpected words, so he simply dropped it. This time, words between the two of them became much fewer. Li Sheng found it quite miraculous: he was clearly just a client, yet now he had started taking care of his daily life.
Yuan Ye didn’t stay idle. After finishing unpacking Li Sheng’s luggage, he headed straight into the kitchen to get busy. Opening the refrigerator, it was completely stocked with various health tonics and nourishing foods, which somewhat startled Li Sheng. If anyone said these weren’t prepared for him, probably nobody would believe it.
Li Sheng stood at the doorway of the kitchen watching Yuan Ye busy all by himself, and suddenly said: “You’re exceptionally like someone.”
Yuan Ye placed the lid back on the chicken soup, wiped his hands with a dry towel, and walked slowly over to stand in front of Li Sheng, asking: “Does Wei Heng take care of you like this too?”