The warm yellow glow still enveloped this corner, with the faint aroma of sweet wine lingering in the air. Xi Ting remained nestled securely in his embrace, arms loosely wrapped around his neck, cheek pressed against his chest, breathing softly and steadily.
Meanwhile, Wen Zheng stood just a step away, his face still wearing that expression of mingled reluctance and longing, his words hanging in the air, their echo not yet faded:
"…If you don’t want him, give him to me."
Regression had occurred.
It seemed that, according to the System’s judgment, Dominic could not hand the person over.
As if finding some legitimate justification, this time he showed no intention of passing the person over. His arms even tightened imperceptibly, securing the warm body more firmly within his embrace. The boy’s soft hair brushed against his jaw, creating a subtle sensation.
He lifted his gaze to meet Wen Zheng, who had repeated those words, a hidden sense of pleasure rising within him. His tone was flat, carrying a hint of his usual condescending indifference:
"It seems he recognizes people."
Those three simple words blocked all of Wen Zheng’s follow-up arguments.
It’s not that I don’t want to give him to you—it’s that he only recognizes me. If you want to blame someone, blame his dependence, or blame the System that forced the Regression.
Dominic held his brother’s secret crush without a trace of guilt, thinking to himself.
Wen Zheng was taken aback. He looked at Xi Ting, who was indeed nestled tightly in Dominic’s arms, his posture one of complete trust and intimacy.
Unwilling, he glanced at Xi Ting once more, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something else. But under Dominic’s calm yet unyielding gaze, he ultimately gritted his teeth, turned around, and left.
With the nuisance gone, Dominic could finally take a closer look at the "lover" in his arms who had caused all this inexplicable trouble.
As time passed, the alcohol had fully taken effect in Xi Ting’s system. He seemed to have fallen even deeper into drunkenness, his eyes completely closed, eyelashes casting two small shadows beneath his eyelids, trembling slightly with each breath. The blush on his cheeks had spread to the tips of his ears, and even his neck was tinged with a faint pink.
Dominic watched him for a few seconds before suddenly reaching out. His slender fingers, cool to the touch, pinched one of the boy’s soft cheeks.
The texture was exquisite—warm, smooth, like fine cream cheese.
He applied a bit more pressure, causing the soft flesh to puff up slightly.
"Don’t fall asleep," Dominic warned.
"Mmm…" Xi Ting murmured in discontent, half-asleep, his brows furrowing as he tried to turn his face away.
Dominic released his grip and switched tactics, easily pinching both of the boy’s cheeks between his thumb and forefinger.
The boy’s lips were slightly parted, revealing a glimpse of pearly white teeth and the soft tip of his tongue deeper within. His breath carried the sweet, cloying scent of alcohol.
Dominic recognized what the boy had been drinking.
It was a special fruit wine produced from one of the Fairwind family’s subsidiary estates, made by fermenting a blend of berries and honey. Sweet and smooth as juice, it was easy to drink but had a lingering, potent aftereffect that could easily lead to overindulgence without realizing it.
It seemed this little drunkard had indulged too much and was knocked out without even noticing.
He let go, observing the faint red fingerprints left on the boy’s pale cheeks.
Xi Ting was disturbed by him and couldn't rest peacefully. Hazily lifting a hand, he tried to swat away the fingers teasing him, but lacking strength, it instead seemed like he was yielding.
Dominic took the opportunity to grasp that restless hand. Compared to his own, the boy's wrist was somewhat slender, easily held in one hand.
He looked at this little thing before him, drunk beyond awareness and completely at his mercy, thinking of the mission issued by the "System" in the dream.
"Wake up a bit." Dominic's voice wasn't loud, carrying a commanding tone as his fingers pinched the boy's cheek with moderate pressure.
Unable to sleep peacefully because of him, Xi Ting reluctantly lifted his heavy eyelids. His eyes were watery and misty, unfocused, looking at him with a mix of grievance and confusion, as if protesting why he wasn't allowed to sleep.
"What secrets do you have?"
Dominic asked directly.
"Secrets…" Xi Ting repeated the word slowly, as if trying hard to understand its meaning. He blinked, his gaze seeming to clear for a moment, staring fixedly at Dominic's face so close to his.
Then, he suddenly reached out, imitating Dominic's earlier action, gently cupping Dominic's cheeks with both hands.
His palms were warm, carrying a slight dampness of sweat and the scent of alcohol.
"I don't have any secrets…" Xi Ting mumbled, his voice slurred.
Holding Dominic's face, he gently shook it from side to side, as if playing some game, his eyes curving into a somewhat silly smile. "I have no secrets from Domi…"
Indeed, it was impossible to reason with a drunk.
Dominic let him shake his face a couple of times before raising his hand to grasp Xi Ting's wrist, pulling his hands down.
Xi Ting collapsed into his arms once more.
Just then, he felt something hard and rectangular in the pocket of the other's jacket.
A phone?
Without hesitation, Dominic's free hand reached into Xi Ting's jacket pocket, easily retrieving the phone—a simple white device.
He pressed the side button, and the screen lit up.
The lock screen photo came into view—it was a picture of Xi Ting himself, but he wasn't alone.
It seemed to be a candid shot, slightly blurred. In the photo, Xi Ting was smiling with curved eyes, his face full of happiness, looking up at the person beside him. That person only showed a small part of their profile and a beautifully defined jawline, along with a hand gently ruffling Xi Ting's hair.
Dominic recognized it—it was himself.
The gaze of that "self" in the photo looking down at Xi Ting was incredibly gentle, doting and indulgent, an expression the real Dominic Fairwind would never possess.
It felt very unfamiliar.
The phone had no password, unlocking directly to the home screen.
The desktop had only one messaging app. He opened it; the contact list was sparse, with the first few names simply annotated.
【Boyfriend】
【Brother】
【Oliver】
【Senior Xie】
…
【Classmate A】
【Classmate B】
【Boyfriend】
Perhaps the Dreamscape hadn't covered this. Clicking on a few at random, the chat histories were all blank.
Finding no useful information, he was about to exit when he sensed something amiss, his fingers abruptly pausing.
Why were there… two "Boyfriend" annotations?
Dominic's brow furrowed.
He first tapped on the "boyfriend" listed further down. The chat history was completely blank, with no previous messages, as if this contact was merely a placeholder.
He exited and then tapped on the topmost "boyfriend."
This time, the chat interface was no longer empty. A flood of conversation records instantly filled the screen.
The latest messages:
【Boyfriend: The meeting today was so boring, I kept thinking about you, baby.】
【Xi Ting: pats head, almost done?】
【Boyfriend: Yeah, almost.】
【Boyfriend: Miss you so much, really want to kiss you.】
【Xi Ting: (sheep covering face shy emoji)】
【Xi Ting: I miss you too.】
【Xi Ting: We’ll see each other soon!】
The timestamp showed that the "want to kiss you" message was sent earlier today. After Xi Ting replied with the emoji and that line, the other person hadn’t responded again.
Dominic scrolled further up. The chat history spanned a month, with daily conversations and a high frequency of messages.
The content was nothing more than daily sharing, caring exchanges, and overwhelmingly sweet, sticky romantic talk, filled with terms like "baby," "darling," "kisses," "miss you," "want to kiss you," "love you so much," and "like you the most." The tone was so intimate and sugary it bordered on nauseating, exactly like a pair of inseparable young lovers in the honeymoon phase.
His gaze lingered on the other person’s densely packed messages of "baby misses you."
Such straightforward, even childish vocabulary seemed less like a lover and more like an overly enthusiastic, tail-wagging dog, eager to express affection and dependence to its master.
It was unsettling.
He exited the chat interface and looked back at Xi Ting in his arms. The boy seemed to have drifted back into a half-asleep daze now that the disturbance had stopped, his cheeks flushed.
"This person," Dominic turned the phone screen toward Xi Ting, pointing at the second "boyfriend’s" chat history, his voice colder and deeper than before, "who is it?"
Xi Ting struggled to lift his eyelids, squinted at the screen, then looked up at Dominic, his expression confused, as if he didn’t understand why he was asking this.
He replied matter-of-factly, "Isn’t it your alternate account?"
Alternate account?
Dominic’s eyes sharpened.
Seeming to sense his lover’s irritation, Xi Ting, though still puzzled, tried to explain haltingly, "You said it yourself… your main account is for work, not suitable for overly intimate chats… so, so you usually chat with me using your alternate account…"
Dizzy, he buried his face back into Dominic’s chest. "Domi… is an idiot."
This explanation sounded plausible. Separating work and personal accounts for different social circles was a common habit for many people.
Was this his alternate account?
He looked at the chat records that were completely at odds with his own personality, still unable to believe he would turn into such a shameless, fawning figure after falling in love.
The boy in his arms shifted unconsciously again, uncomfortable in his position. Dominic glanced around, then walked out of the hall into the garden outside.
The garden air was slightly cool, carrying the crisp scent of plants, which diluted the cloying smell of alcohol lingering on them. A white wicker lounge chair was perfectly placed in the center of the lawn.
Dominic walked to the lounge chair, sat down first, then placed Xi Ting on the other side of the chair, his movements far from gentle.
However, almost the moment he was released from his embrace, the drunken Xi Ting, like a fledgling bird that had lost its sense of security, instinctively followed the warmth and familiar scent, clinging back to him in a daze.
He turned sideways, his arm limply draping over Dominic's waist, his head tilting as he tried once more to rest it on his thigh or lean against his side, mumbling indistinctly, "Domi…"
As if he couldn't bear to be apart for even a moment.
Fine.
Dominic lowered his gaze, watching Xi Ting's persistent efforts to press closer, and in the end, he didn't push him away.
He allowed Xi Ting's arm to encircle his waist, and his head eventually came to rest against the outer side of his thigh.
Author's Note:
None