HL 13

Coffee No Sugar: I’m just sharing your cute photos with you. Don’t you like this one? I took a lot that day.

The other person’s shamelessness and fervor made Xu Nanxiao’s whole body burn with heat—whether from anger or something else, he didn’t know. His palms were sweaty, and even his typing was shaky.

He was a grown man of 1.82 meters, who had won lightweight boxing championships until his hands went numb. And yet, faced with sexual harassment from a strange man, all he could do was rage impotently here.

An Owl: You sick freak! Don’t let me catch you, or I’ll kill your whole family! Fuck you! Get the hell away from me!!! GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ten exclamation marks—enough to show how agitated Xu Nanxiao was. But the hooded man wasn’t the least bit intimidated; instead, he kept teasing him.

Coffee No Sugar: I’m not going anywhere, darling. I’m already looking forward to our next meeting.

Coffee No Sugar: Maybe when you’re out walking alone, I’ll hypnotize you on the spot, drag you into an alley, and fuck you.

Coffee No Sugar: Or at your workplace, right in front of your colleagues, in public, I’ll turn you into my little dog.

Coffee No Sugar: Or when you’re home alone, I’ll pretend to be a delivery guy and trick you into opening the door. Then we can play deliveryman-and-house-husband roleplay—how does that sound?

“Wha—” Xu Nanxiao was completely dumbfounded. Even though he’d been with plenty of people, he’d never encountered such a degenerate. He didn’t know what to say anymore.

Whether he wanted to or not, the hooded man’s fantasies had already formed images in his mind—alleyways, public places, home, the delivery guy—as if he had actually been violated by the hooded man.

Xu Nanxiao was so mortified and furious that even his fingers turned red. His chest heaved uncontrollably, as if someone had him by the throat. He couldn’t keep chatting any longer. He directly deleted and blocked “Coffee No Sugar.”

During the psychiatric evaluation and brain CT scan, Xu Nanxiao was still in a daze.

Ying Yusheng spoke with the doctor, but those difficult technical terms all slid across Xu Nanxiao’s cortex without leaving a trace.

He slowly moved his eyes and noticed the coffee Ying Yusheng had placed on the table. The label read: Iced Americano, Large, No Sugar, No Milk.

Coffee without sugar—not even afraid of the bitterness. With that thought, Xu Nanxiao looked away.

After the examination, Ying Yusheng offered to drive Xu Nanxiao home. Xu Nanxiao was utterly exhausted and had no reason to refuse.

As they walked through the crowded hospital corridor, Ying Yusheng saw his weary face and couldn’t help asking curiously, “What’s wrong? Why do you look so worn out? Did that hooded man come after you again recently?”

Xu Nanxiao paused for a moment, then finally admitted, “Yeah. Somehow he got my WeChat.”

“He added you?” Ying Yusheng was taken aback and quickly asked, “What did he say?”

“He said…” Xu Nanxiao’s face flushed with embarrassment. He bit the inside of his cheek with his canine tooth and impatiently made something up, “A bunch of provocative stuff.”

Xu Nanxiao didn’t want to say more. Right now, he just wanted to collapse into bed and sleep without a care. But the thought of the hooded man saying he wanted to “come over for roleplay” made him feel like he probably wouldn’t sleep soundly anyway. Fuck, even horror movies have safe rooms—this hooded man was more relentless than any female ghost.

Xu Nanxiao was so lost in his own world that he didn’t notice Ying Yusheng had fallen behind.

When he finally realized it, he turned around and looked back. “What? Don’t want to drive me anymore? Then I’ll head back on my own.”

“No, that’s not it.” Ying Yusheng gave a helpless smile. He pressed his lips together, hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly asked, “I was just thinking, Nanxiao… would you be willing to stay at my place?”

Xu Nanxiao froze.

He frowned slightly. “Didn’t you say it wasn’t convenient?”

“Seeing you like this, I really can’t rest easy.” Ying Yusheng strolled toward him and finally stopped right in front of him. “But Nanxiao, if you come to my place, you have to agree to one condition.”

“What condition?”

“I have OCD. If you live with me, you can’t bring women home, and you can’t go out to hotels with strange women.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Xu Nanxiao was confused. “I get the OCD part and not bringing them home—but why can’t I even go to a hotel outside?”

“People with open sexual attitudes are more likely to catch diseases. You know what I mean, right?” Ying Yusheng looked down at him, his eyes obscure. “Before, we were just friends, and I had no right to interfere in your life. But if you’re staying at my place, please keep yourself clean. Otherwise, if I find out, I’ll be very uncomfortable.”

To be honest, Xu Nanxiao’s energy was all focused on the hooded man—he had no interest in going out looking for women. Besides, after that drunken incident, Xu Nanxiao now didn’t dare trust strangers easily, terrified they might be accomplices of the hooded man.

Ying Yusheng’s house was upscale, with multiple layers of security to get in and out—much safer than his own place. And it happened to be not far from the boxing club, making his commute convenient.

So, despite his hesitation, he agreed to Ying Yusheng’s offer.

But Ying Yusheng didn’t move. He kept staring intently at Xu Nanxiao. The light that flickered behind his glasses wound around Xu Nanxiao’s ankles like dense algae, as if dragging him into the abyss.

“Do you promise?” he asked.

Xu Nanxiao unconsciously swallowed slightly and, almost instinctively, answered submissively, “Uh, I promise.”

The next second, Ying Yusheng broke into a warm, spring-like smile. He firmly grabbed Xu Nanxiao’s forearm and pulled him forward. “Then hurry up and pack your bags at your place. Move in tonight.”

Xu Nanxiao was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh and teased, “What’s the rush?”

At KFC, Lu Yingjie froze in place upon hearing what Xu Nanxiao said. His mouth was still half-open, frozen in the motion of about to bite into his burger.

“You’re going to live at Professor Ying’s? No, not…” Lu Yingjie wanted to laugh but couldn’t, and finally let out a strange gurgle from his throat. “Since when are you two that close? I’ve never even been to Professor Ying’s place.”

“We’re not that close. It’s just that something came up recently.”

“What kind of something?”

“None of your business. It’s got nothing to do with you.”

“Nothing to do with me, but something to do with Professor Ying?” Lu Yingjie’s face immediately darkened, and he lost control of his volume. “Xu Nanxiao, whose older brother are you?!”

Seeing curious looks from all around, Xu Nanxiao felt embarrassed and gave Lu Yingjie’s head a light smack.

“What are you yelling for?” Xu Nanxiao suppressed his irritation and explained patiently, “I’ve run into some trouble with a nasty person lately. Staying at his place means there’s someone else around to watch my back.”

Lu Yingjie winced and covered his head, glaring with his big, deer-like round eyes. “Then I can move in with you.”

“My place is two hours by subway from your school.”

“I don’t care. I’ll just get up at five.”

“And your classes?”

“Why wouldn’t I be able to go? If you live with me, it’s perfect—I’m sick of my roommate’s snoring anyway.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Xu Nanxiao let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re not a kid anymore. Don’t act like you’re still weaning.”

Before he finished speaking, his collar was suddenly yanked with brute force. He instinctively braced himself on the table with his arms, barely keeping from falling into Lu Yingjie’s arms.

After steadying himself, Xu Nanxiao was about to curse. But when he looked up, he saw Lu Yingjie’s brows slightly furrowed, the corners of his eyes red, and those clear eyes glistening with a watery sheen as they looked at him.

There was a pitiful air about him—like someone who’d been pushed too far and didn’t dare make a sound.

Xu Nanxiao’s anger immediately dissipated by more than half. Helplessly, he said, “You…”

“I’m not a kid at all, Xu Nanxiao. You’re only four years older than me! The one who keeps treating me like a kid is you!” With that, Lu Yingjie slammed the table and stood up. Ignoring the curious stares of the other diners, he grabbed his backpack and walked out.

“Lu Yingjie.” Xu Nanxiao called out after him. “If you dare throw away that burger you took one bite of, just you wait.”

Lu Yingjie stopped. He clenched his jaw. Then, suddenly, he turned around, strode back, snatched up the half-eaten burger, and ran out.

Xu Nanxiao couldn’t help but laugh. He picked up a French fry, popped it into his mouth, and muttered:

“What a piece of work.”

At the weekly group meeting, Ying Yusheng listened to his graduate students report on their project progress and gave them gentle feedback.

“Mao Ke, this theoretical transfer is very interesting. The next step worth exploring is what specific components make up the ‘effectiveness’ of this perceived support…”

Mao Ke listened attentively, typing furiously on her laptop. After Ying Yusheng finished his comments, she nodded and politely expressed her gratitude.

“Alright, next is…” Ying Yusheng flexed his wrist, which wore a leather-strap watch, and scanned the meeting room for Lu Yingjie’s face. But he found Lu Yingjie staring fixedly at him.

To most people, Lu Yingjie probably looked expressionless at that moment. But Ying Yusheng noticed his fingers unconsciously pressing down on the end of his ballpoint pen, a sign of somatic suppression. When their eyes met, Lu Yingjie’s lower eyelids tensed instantly, revealing a defensive mindset.

Ying Yusheng and Lu Yingjie’s relationship wasn’t exactly close, but it was one of mutual learning. Given today’s attitude, Ying Yusheng didn’t need to ask to guess the reason.

He thought with some resignation—Lu Yingjie still wasn’t seasoned enough; he couldn’t hide what was on his face.

After the meeting ended, the students said their goodbyes to Ying Yusheng one by one. Only Lu Yingjie kept his head down, organizing his materials, taking an unusually long time.

Once the other students had left, Lu Yingjie indeed blocked his way and called out to Ying Yusheng.

“Professor, could I have a word with you alone?” Lu Yingjie said with a shy smile.

Ying Yusheng wasn’t surprised. He nodded, set his folder aside, and leaned back against the windowsill.

“What is it, Yingjie?”

“I want to thank you, Professor.”

“Oh?”

“Brother Nanxiao told me everything. Not only did you provide him with free hypnotherapy, but when he ran into trouble recently, you invited him to stay at your place.” Lu Yingjie said sincerely, “You’ve taken such good care of my Nanxiao—I don’t know how to thank you enough.”

[My Nanxiao.]

Ying Yusheng’s eyelids half-lowered, casting a gray-blue shadow beneath his eyes, but his expression remained unchanged as he replied, “No need to thank me. At first, it was indeed out of consideration for your sake. But later, Nanxiao and I became friends too. I’m just helping a friend.”

“You and my brother are friends?” Lu Yingjie said, feigning surprise. “My brother never mentioned it to me.”

“Is that so? Maybe he was afraid it would make you uncomfortable. After all, when a ‘guardian’ and a ‘teacher’ become friends, it can be a bit stressful.”

Lu Yingjie was thoroughly choked up. After a long pause, he stubbornly corrected him, “He’s not my guardian. He’s only four years older than me.”

“To be precise, four years and eleven months.” Ying Yusheng gazed steadily at Lu Yingjie, as if seeing right through him. “You’re deliberately downplaying the age gap—it really bothers you, doesn’t it?”

Lu Yingjie said nothing, just stared back at him like a wild deer facing a challenger.

“But you’re really not a kid anymore—look, you’re as tall as your teacher now.” Ying Yusheng gestured vaguely at their heights, then gently soothed him, “However, Yingjie, if you want your brother to stop treating you like a child, just growing older and taller won’t cut it. When…

Ying Yusheng stepped closer, patted his shoulder, and leaned in to whisper by his ear, “When you can live independently without relying on your brother, and learn not to interfere in his interpersonal relationships—then he’ll see you as a ‘man.'”

Lu Yingjie froze instantly, his mind going blank. He stared blankly at Ying Yusheng.

Wait—how? He could tell?

He could tell that I…

Ying Yusheng didn’t explain. He just gave a knowing, ambiguous squint—

“Right?”