Whatever Su Luoxia’s true intentions were, the atmosphere in the room cooled noticeably the moment Mo Junyi spoke.
However, Su Luoxia quickly adjusted her emotions and spoke with some awkwardness, “Truly a heroine among women. And… what about your aunt’s husband?”
Su Xingtong frowned, wanting to interrupt, but Mo Junyi answered first: “Also a police officer. He has also retired to the second line.”
No matter the era, relatives within the government system are highly sought after as in-laws. Su Luoxia’s eyes darted around as she asked, “And specifically? Was he a criminal investigator too?”
This time, Mo Junyi abandoned his previously cooperative attitude and shook his head. “I am not at liberty to say.”
At those words, any observant person would have realized that the uncle held a sensitive position. Su Luoxia, however, failed to take the hint; instead, she curled her lip and grumbled, “Fine, keep your secrets then. A small household like ours couldn’t possibly hope to climb those heights anyway…”
Before she could finish, Su Xingtong cut her off with a frown: “Aunt.”
Su Xingtong had always been submissive at home; this was the first time he had ever talked back to a family member for the sake of an outsider.
Su Luoxia looked at him in disbelief, but ultimately lacked the courage to say anything more.
The atmosphere at dinner was quite frigid, yet Mo Junyi was the only one who remained composed, calmly finishing his entire meal.
By the time dinner was over, it was already eight o’clock. The drive from there to Mo Junyi’s home spanned the entirety of Huayang City, taking nearly three hours.
Father Su seemed to have already forgotten the earlier awkwardness. He enthusiastically grabbed Mo Junyi, insisting they stay the night before leaving. Su Xingtong, bundled in his scarf, said nothing; his cold expression made it clear he had no desire to stay.
Seeing this, Mo Junyi reached out and pulled Father Su’s hand off his arm. “There is no need to trouble yourself. I’ll take him home.”
Mo Junyi’s grip was quite firm; even though he didn’t use full force, the pressure made the smile vanish from Father Su’s face.
Su Xingtong’s eyes flickered, but he had no intention of speaking up for his father.
The night was exceptionally dark on the way back. Neither of them spoke at first after getting into the car. It wasn’t until they had driven a considerable distance that Su Xingtong finally spoke up: “Was it… hard to believe?”
Mo Junyi did not turn his head. “In what sense?”
“In every sense.” Su Xingtong pulled his scarf down a bit, revealing his chin. “For example, that a popular star has such a different face in private.”
“Nice headline,” Mo Junyi replied. “Though I think ‘Popular Star Actually Has a Pack of Blood-Sucking Relatives’ would be more of an eye-catcher.”
His tone was cold, and his words were far from polite.
Instead of getting angry, Su Xingtong couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. “So you can make jokes.”
Mo Junyi’s tone remained unchanged. “I wasn’t joking.”
A trace of bitterness colored Su Xingtong’s smile. He turned to look at the starry sky outside the window, and only after a long silence did he speak: “I wasn’t good at studying when I was little. My parents always favored my younger brother.”
Mo Junyi did not interrupt him. Su Xingtong lowered his eyes and continued, “But compared to my two older sisters, my situation was actually considered quite good.”
From today’s experience, it was obvious his parents favored males over females; one could only imagine the plight of his two sisters.
“Later, as I grew up, my grades got worse and worse for various reasons,” Su Xingtong added. “My family was poor, so my parents told my two sisters and me to drop out of school and go to work to support my brother’s education.”
Mo Junyi couldn’t help but frown. Su Xingtong remained immersed in his own world: “I didn’t mind for myself, but my two sisters were very good students. My parents insisted regardless.”
After saying this, he seemed to fall into a certain memory. Mo Junyi waited a long time before asking, “And then?”
“And then?” Su Xingtong’s lips curled in a self-mocking arc. “I had a massive row with my family, dropped out, and went to work to pay for my two sisters’ education.”
In families that favor boys, it was common for sisters to drop out for a brother, but it was rare for someone like Su Xingtong to drop out for his sisters—let alone for both of them.
Mo Junyi didn’t ask why he didn’t support his brother’s schooling; he only offered a word of comfort: “Now, you are the one in your family who is doing the best.”
Su Xingtong’s smile finally held a hint of warmth. “True.”
The dark night and the cramped space of the car seemed to merge into a sort of solvent, dissolving the arrogance Su Xingtong wore during the day and revealing the soft shell beneath.
The two of them chatted casually all the way back, their tone familiar and comfortable, as if they were old friends who had known each other for years. It wasn’t until they entered the city center that they realized, given their relationship, the atmosphere had become somewhat ambiguous.
Mo Junyi simply stopped talking, his expression betraying nothing. Su Xingtong, however, turned his head slightly; under the reflection of the starlight and moonlight, his face looked slightly flushed.
By the time the car drove into the city, it was already 11:30 PM. Mo Junyi broke the silence by asking, “Where is the place your friend found for you?”
Su Xingtong snapped out of it and gave an address. Mo Junyi paused. Noticing this, Su Xingtong asked in confusion, “Is there a problem?”
Mo Junyi shook his head, not mentioning that the place was, to his knowledge, one of Lu Hengyu’s properties.
Just as Mo Junyi was preparing to head there, Su Xingtong suddenly received a WeChat message. After reading it, his expression changed slightly.
Meeting Mo Junyi’s questioning gaze, he spoke with some embarrassment, “Um… Jinghan, that friend of mine, suddenly said… he needs me to find another place.”
Mo Junyi frowned. “Why?”
Su Xingtong’s voice grew smaller. “That house belongs to his boyfriend. They’ve been keeping their relationship a secret from his boyfriend’s parents, but they were caught today. Now his parents have…”
He didn’t finish, seemingly finding it difficult to put into words.
It seemed Li Jinghan hadn’t told Su Xingtong the true nature of his relationship with Lu Hengyu, leaving this muddled star to believe his friend had simply found a legitimate boyfriend.
Mo Junyi’s temple throbbed as he pieced together the situation.
Although Lu Hengyu hadn’t graduated from university, he had plenty of money and property; keeping someone like Li Jinghan was well within his means. However, that was only as long as his parents didn’t know.
Now that his parents had clearly found out, they had likely “seized control” of all Lu Hengyu’s properties overnight in a fit of rage, with the goal of flushing out their son and the “vixen” who had led him astray.
Lu Hengyu’s parents were Mo Junyi’s uncle and aunt; as a pair, they were a walking history of wealthy family drama. It wasn’t surprising they would do something like this.
Mo Junyi snapped back to reality and said, “Given the circumstances, it’s best not to get involved.”
Su Xingtong’s expression turned subtle. “But my ID card is still in that house…”
Mo Junyi was stunned. Without an ID card, he couldn’t check into most hotels. This was indeed awkward.
After Su Xingtong spoke, a delicate silence fell over the car, and the air between them suddenly became heavy.
After a long pause, Mo Junyi asked, “Have you not bought property in Huayang City?”
Su Xingtong pulled his scarf back up. “…No. I don’t take commercial endorsements. Most of the acting fees I get are sent back home, and the rest is used for social expenses.”
Mo Junyi was speechless. “You really are your family’s money tree.”
Su Xingtong didn’t respond, tacitly accepting the evaluation.
After another pause, Mo Junyi spoke: “Then come back to my place tonight.”
The already ambiguous atmosphere grew even denser at his words. Su Xingtong lowered his eyes and gave a small, quiet response: “Thank you.”
Whether it was the one bringing someone home or the one following someone home, their states of mind had undergone a subtle shift this time.
Perhaps it was the day’s experiences that gave them a deeper understanding of one another, or perhaps the atmosphere in the car had influenced them; in short, neither was as candid as they had been the first time.
Due to his childhood experiences, Su Xingtong had a slight obsession with cleanliness as an adult. Although he was from the north, he wanted to shower twice a day whenever he had the time.
However, in this situation, he found it difficult to speak up. He followed Mo Junyi into the house, obediently changed into slippers, and clutched his scarf for a long time without saying a word.
Ultimately, it was Mo Junyi who saw through his thoughts. “The showerhead broke a couple of days ago. I fixed it yesterday, but don’t touch the head while you’re washing. You’ll have to make do.”
Hearing Mo Junyi give him an out, Su Xingtong breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Events seemed to follow the same trajectory as before; even the pajamas Mo Junyi gave Su Xingtong were the same.
Watching Su Xingtong walk into the bathroom clutching the clothes, Mo Junyi withdrew his gaze and took out his phone.
Mo Junyi had a strange routine: if he went to sleep before ten, he would automatically enter “vacation mode,” but after ten, he would enter “work mode,” and his sleepiness would vanish. He could sleep if he forced himself—he never suffered from insomnia—but he felt there was no need.
Since meeting Su Xingtong, Mo Junyi had unknowingly added a new habit: checking Weibo.
Weibo was as lively as ever today. To no one’s surprise, Su Xingtong’s name had appeared on the hot search list again, and in a fairly high position.
Mo Junyi glanced at the bathroom where the water was running steadily, then looked down and clicked on the trending topic titled: “Su Xingtong Diva Behavior.”
The first post under the topic was a short essay by a marketing account designed to stir up trouble, telling a story completely opposite to what Su Xingtong had said today:
According to insider sources, while Su Xingtong was acting opposite popular idol Bai Yuan, he used cold sarcasm to humiliate the other man until he was moved to tears. Filming had to stop halfway through as it was impossible to continue.
For a moment, Mo Junyi found it hard to associate the words “cold sarcasm” with Su Xingtong. Just as he was marveling at the editor’s ability to turn black into white, a familiar thud of a heavy object hitting the floor suddenly erupted from the bathroom.
Mo Junyi’s heart skipped a beat. He hurried to the bathroom door and asked, “Did something hit you?”
A muffled answer came from behind the door: “I’m alright… it doesn’t hurt much.”
Mo Junyi frowned and asked, “Can you still wash?”
“I don’t think so.” Su Xingtong seemed to be looking up at the situation. “The showerhead fell off.”
“Then I’m coming in to take a look,” Mo Junyi paused halfway through his sentence. “Cover yourself up a bit.”
The bathroom was silent for a moment. Su Xingtong spoke with some unnaturalness: “Okay.”
His voice sounded a bit distorted through the door, and to Mo Junyi’s ears, it carried a hint of softness.
Mo Junyi’s eyes darkened. He forced himself to ignore the stir in his heart, said a quiet “Pardon my intrusion,” and pushed open the bathroom door.