HL 26

The three-day vacation ended, and Ying Yusheng drove Xu Nanxiao home.

After pulling the car to a stop, Ying Yusheng turned to the passenger seat and said softly, “We’re here.”

Throughout the drive, Xu Nanxiao had been resting his head on his hand, staring out the window—and he remained in that same posture even now.

Hearing Ying Yusheng’s voice, he didn’t move right away. After a long pause, he suddenly said, out of the blue, “It’s winter now.”

“Yeah.” Ying Yusheng smiled. “It’s getting cold. The hot spring was really nice.”

“When it gets colder, we can go skiing. The ski resort at Yunfo Mountain is pretty good—I’ve been there a few times before.” Xu Nanxiao finally looked at Ying Yusheng. “Next time, I’ll take you.”

Ying Yusheng paused.

His lips curved upward, and a thrill he’d never felt before rose from the base of his spine, sending a tingle through his scalp. But on the surface, he merely adjusted his glasses with a composed air. “No, next time it’s my treat.”

After extending the invitation, though Xu Nanxiao tried his best to keep a straight face, the tips of his ears were still a little red. He rubbed the back of his head, then turned to open the car door. “Suit yourself. I’m going.”

“Wait, Nanxiao.” Ying Yusheng suddenly pressed firmly on his shoulder. “I know this might make you angry, but I have something to say.”

Xu Nanxiao: “What?”

“About my earlier speculation that Yingjie might be the hooded man… may I speak on it?”

Xu Nanxiao let out a long sigh, sat back down, and rubbed his brow. “At this point, just say it.”

“Random guessing is pointless. You could test his attitude toward you in certain specific situations. For people without professional training, their eyes and micro-expressions can’t lie. If you’re willing to try, I can teach you.”

…

When Xu Nanxiao opened the door, his mind was still full of Ying Yusheng’s words.

Ying Yusheng had explained it simply and vividly enough, but the thought of applying those techniques to Lu Yingjie made Xu Nanxiao not want to remember them too clearly.

Pushing the door open, Xu Nanxiao noticed a shadow in front of him. He looked up and found Lu Yingjie staring at him with a cold, stern expression.

The anger had been refined into something eerily quiet, yet it carried more pressure than any roar. Xu Nanxiao suddenly felt that this expression looked unfamiliar on Lu Yingjie’s face—as if he had never truly known him.

“Ge, where have you been these past few days?” Lu Yingjie’s lips were as cold and hard as if frozen.

“I told you in the text—I went to a hot spring with a friend.” Xu Nanxiao sidestepped past him and headed straight for his room.

“With who?”

“Why do you care who? Are you my dad?”

“You came back with Professor Ying! I saw you get out of his car!” Lu Yingjie suddenly shouted from behind him.

Xu Nanxiao finally ran out of patience. He turned around, frowning. “So what if I did? What business is it of yours? Lu Yingjie, did you take the wrong meds? Do you have to control me just because I went out with a friend? Back when I used to disappear for nights fooling around with women, you didn’t say a damn thing.”

“I was just…” Lu Yingjie was momentarily at a loss for words.

What else could he do but stay silent?

He knew Xu Nanxiao liked women, and he wasn’t one—so all his feelings had to be swallowed down, teeth clenched. Was he supposed to stop Xu Nanxiao from living a “normal” life just for his own selfish desires?

But Professor Ying was different—he was a man, just like him! And yet, as a man, he had been steadily infiltrating Xu Nanxiao’s life, earning his trust bit by bit. Lu Yingjie could accept losing to a woman, but he couldn’t stomach losing to another man.

Lu Yingjie stiffened his neck and said nothing. Xu Nanxiao didn’t back down either. The atmosphere between the brothers grew tense and strained.

After a moment, Xu Nanxiao relented. He let out an irritated sigh and reached out his hand toward Lu Yingjie’s head.

Lu Yingjie thought he was about to get a knock on the skull and instinctively shrank his shoulders. But in the end, that hand landed softly on top of his head.

Xu Nanxiao ruffled his hair and said, “There’s some local snacks I brought back for you in the bag. Go have some. I’m going to take a shower.”

“Oh, okay…” Lu Yingjie didn’t understand why Xu Nanxiao was being so gentle today. He felt a little lost, but still obediently took the olive branch offered.

Watching Xu Nanxiao disappear into the bathroom, Lu Yingjie stood frozen in place for a moment. Then he walked over and, as Xu Nanxiao had said, picked up his backpack.

He opened it to find a box of tea cakes.

They were homemade by the resort. Xu Nanxiao had liked them, so he’d bought a gift box to bring back.

The thought that his gege had remembered him softened Lu Yingjie’s expression considerably. He took a bite of the tea cake—it was fragrant, sweet, and so flaky it crumbled with each bite. Delicious.

He’d gotten hungry waiting for Xu Nanxiao, so he tore open four or five packs in one go. Just as he was happily enjoying the tea cakes, he suddenly heard Xu Nanxiao’s voice from the bathroom:

“Lu Yingjie, I forgot the towel. Can you pass it to me?”

Lu Yingjie almost choked. He quickly took a sip of water, caught his breath, and then replied, “Coming.”

He trotted over to the sink, grabbed Xu Nanxiao’s gray towel, and then suddenly realized something. He looked toward the bathroom door—the silhouette behind the frosted glass was faint and hazy.

Lu Yingjie’s face flushed red. He felt like something was stuck in his throat and cleared it with a cough to ease the awkwardness.

He slowly opened the bathroom door just a crack and reached the towel through the gap. “Ge, here you go.”

“Come in,” Xu Nanxiao said, annoyed. “My slippers are all wet—how am I supposed to step out of the shower?”

With no choice, Lu Yingjie stepped inside and handed the towel directly to Xu Nanxiao. As he pushed the door open, a wave of steam rushed out first. He told himself to look down, look down, don’t look. But when Xu Nanxiao reached out to take the towel, he couldn’t help but raise his eyes—and once he did, he couldn’t look away.

It wasn’t the body usually hidden under loose jackets and jeans—broad, flat shoulders and back, flowing smoothly into a narrow waist. Water droplets rolled over the taut curve of his glutes and slid all the way down his straight, long legs.

Under the light, his wet skin gleamed with a wild, glossy sheen. Every inch of muscle held latent power, stretching out in quiet, unabashed display.

Lu Yingjie’s throat went dry. His breath caught.

His gaze was fixed uncontrolably on those broad back muscles and that trim waistline. One single thought cycled through his mind: That’s so fucking sexy.

“Still not leaving?” The person in front suddenly spoke, teasing. “Want to scrub my back?”

Blood rushed straight to Lu Yingjie’s head. Forcing himself to stay calm, he laughed and said, “No way.” Then he shoved the towel into Xu Nanxiao’s arms, his heart a mess of burning heat, and walked away with a composed expression.

If Lu Yingjie had turned around to look at Xu Nanxiao, he would have seen his face darken considerably—his mood not nearly as light as his teasing tone suggested.

[Micro-expressions are extremely brief, uncontrollable facial expressions.]

[In daily interactions, people can hide their emotions, but when faced with a sudden shock, they reveal their true thoughts.]

[Dilated pupils and accelerated breathing often indicate sexual arousal. Pressing or pursing the lips together is a sign of self-suppression.]

[You’ll understand when you see it.]

Ying Yusheng’s words echoed in his ears.

Xu Nanxiao cursed himself—How could I be such an idiot?

He wasn’t particularly sharp when it came to matters between men and women, but he wasn’t completely clueless either. So why had he never noticed it with Lu Yingjie? Was it because he’d always seen him as a little brother, so he’d never looked at it that way?

Lu Yingjie liked men.

Lu Yingjie actually had feelings for him…

Xu Nanxiao felt a wave of nausea, his throat tightening as if something disgusting had been shoved down it. He instinctively stepped back, his spine hitting the cold tiles and making him shiver.

Absurd. Nothing but absurd.

The details he’d ignored now pierced his mind like poison-tipped needles—Lu Yingjie’s glances that landed on him and darted away, those overly familiar shoulder touches, all the protection and closeness he’d mistaken for brotherly affection… It all felt tainted.

He’d always thought Lu Yingjie was just clingy, just not grown up yet, just placing special value on the bond they’d shared since childhood.

He’d even secretly prided himself on it, enjoying the feeling of being fully trusted and admired. Now, looking back, he felt like a fool kept in the dark. What had been going through Lu Yingjie’s mind when he looked at him?

“Fuck.” Xu Nanxiao cursed under his breath, slamming his fist against the wall beside him. The sharp pain was nothing compared to the turmoil churning inside him.

Despite realizing Lu Yingjie’s ulterior motives, Xu Nanxiao still refused to conclude that he was the hooded man.

Ying Yusheng merely smiled at that, sipping his tea and remarking casually, “Whatever makes you happy.”

That single sentence plunged Xu Nanxiao into deep uncertainty.

The shoes, the build, the motive—all pointed to Lu Yingjie. Was his refusal to believe just self-deception?

In the end, Xu Nanxiao followed Ying Yusheng’s advice. He didn’t confront Lu Yingjie or alert him. Instead, he pretended to know nothing and continued looking for conclusive evidence.

But once you know, you can’t act as if you don’t.

Xu Nanxiao unconsciously began avoiding physical contact with Lu Yingjie. When their eyes met, he’d look away first. He even reduced the time they spent alone together.

He thought he wasn’t being obvious, but Lu Yingjie noticed quickly. He repeatedly asked Xu Nanxiao if he’d done something wrong, if he’d made him angry—but Xu Nanxiao always denied it.

Watching the distance between them grow, Lu Yingjie felt his heart being cut to pieces, but he had no idea what to do.

“Junior, is this seat taken?” Lu Yingjie was eating with his head down when he suddenly heard Mao Ke’s voice.

“Yeah.”

Lu Yingjie looked up, revealing a haggard, pitiful face.

The corners of his eyes drooped, and faint dark circles shadowed his under-eyes. His normally fluffy hair fell messily across his forehead, and his lips were taut—yet the moment he saw his senior female colleague, he still managed to force a faint smile.

“What’s wrong with you?” Mao Ke frowned, sitting down with concern. “You’ve published your paper, you’re top of your major in GPA, just waiting to graduate—what’s there to be upset about?”

“…I had a fight with my ge.” Lu Yingjie’s voice weakened.

Of course. Who else could make this obsessive older-brother fan so heartbroken but his ge?

“Why?”

Lu Yingjie shook his head. “I don’t know. He won’t tell me.”

Mao Ke looked at him quietly for a while, took a bite of her chicken leg, and then said casually, “Just hypnotize him and ask.”

Lu Yingjie froze, then immediately shot back, “How could I do that?”

Mao Ke simply asked, “Why not?”

“Professor Ying strictly forbade using hypnosis outside of medical settings.”

“Use it secretly—he won’t know.” Mao Ke shrugged.

“Don’t you remember, senior?” Lu Yingjie tried to steady his emotions. “Two years ago, a senior student got caught using hypnosis on a patient without authorization. He was supposed to get into the Sixth Hospital after graduation, but instead, he was dismissed.”

“That was because his skills were lacking, and he tried to take advantage of the patient, triggering their mental defenses—he deserved it.” Mao Ke was unfazed. “You just want to know why your ge is upset. It’s not like you’re doing something morally corrupt.”

Mao Ke was known for being upright and principled, even to the point of rigidity—so for her to say something like this was surprising. On closer inspection, she seemed listless, her eyes dull.

While Lu Yingjie was observing her carefully, Mao Ke continued, “You know our senior, Chen Xiruo? Didn’t she break up with her cheating boyfriend recently? She found out by hypnotizing him.”

“Really…” Lu Yingjie found it hard to believe.

“Of course. Otherwise, would he have told her?” Mao Ke said. “Besides, hypnosis is highly talent-dependent. Out of all the undergrads, grads, and PhDs in this cohort, you and Xiruo are the best at it. I’d love a chance to hypnotize someone myself. Yingjie, don’t waste your talent.”

[Don’t waste your talent.]

Lu Yingjie’s heart stirred slightly.

But he quickly shook his head, struggling: “No, that’s disrespectful to my ge. I believe there’s nothing communication can’t solve. If he found out I hypnotized him, he’d be so mad he’d never talk to me again.”

Seeing Lu Yingjie’s hesitant, cautious look, Mao Ke smiled.

“Oh, little Bambi, you’re so adorable. If only you weren’t such a brother-con.” Mao Ke ruffled his hair and laughed. “Since you won’t hypnotize him, then I guess you’ll just have to keep being miserable.”

Lu Yingjie’s face turned crimson, and he buried his head in his meal, eating in silence.