HL 58

From that day on, Ying Yusheng no longer restricted Xu Nanxiao’s range of movement. Although a few people still followed him whenever he went out, at least he could come and go freely now.

Xu Nanxiao even received a new Apple phone. He turned it over and over, having never seen a model like this before. Ying Yusheng told him it was an iPhone 17 Pro.

Apple was already up to 17? Xu Nanxiao stared at this orange chunk of metal, his expression dazed for a moment.

Although Xu Nanxiao had chosen to stay and had expressed his love, he still didn’t smile as much as before. Even when he ate something delicious, he chewed it as if it had no taste.

It’s okay. One step at a time. Ying Yusheng told himself that.

After a while, if Xu Nanxiao was willing, they could move back to that penthouse.

Ying Yusheng knew that Xu Nanxiao had never liked having other people in the house—and honestly, Ying Yusheng didn’t like it either. If Xu Nanxiao no longer wanted to run away, he could send away the surveillance people and keep just the two of them at home.

Though the club had been disbanded and the coaches had all gone back to work under Ying Baiying, they could be reassembled at any time. But Xu Nanxiao probably resented that previous group, so Ying Yusheng would recruit new ones instead.

In any case, everything would get better.

When Ying Yusheng came home from work, he saw Xu Nanxiao using a small knife to cut beef brisket for Juanjuan’s dinner.

Watching Xu Nanxiao’s back, he couldn’t help but smile faintly. He changed his shoes, walked over, put an arm around Xu Nanxiao’s shoulder, and kissed his cheek.

Xu Nanxiao hated this clingy behavior the most and elbowed him away. Ying Yusheng knew that even teasing a cat required knowing when to stop, so he didn’t bother him further. He set down the delicate little wooden box he was carrying and went to change his clothes.

Ying Yusheng had just taken off his cardigan when he heard Xu Nanxiao ask from behind, “What’s in the box?”

“Wedding candy from my cousin’s wedding today. They’re traditional southern-style sweets, made by a famous confectioner. I thought you’d like them.”

By the time Ying Yusheng sat down at the dining table, Xu Nanxiao was already eating.

Looking at the white sugar ball he’d taken a bite of, Xu Nanxiao said, “Not bad. Never had this before.”

“I’m glad.” Ying Yusheng sprinkled parsley over his pasta.

“How old is your cousin?”

“Thirty.”

“Then it’s about time he got married. Find a wife who knows how to take care of him, settle down—that’s good.” Xu Nanxiao’s gaze turned somewhat meaningful as he stared off into space, eating another piece of soft candy.

Suddenly, he noticed that Ying Yusheng hadn’t moved for a long time. Curious, he looked over and saw Ying Yusheng smiling a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, staring at his plate as he wound pasta around his fork over and over without putting it in his mouth.

Xu Nanxiao quickly realized what Ying Yusheng was unhappy about and found it a bit ridiculous. “Why are you mad? I’m not getting married.”

“No, you’ve misunderstood.” Ying Yusheng looked up and blinked softly. “I wouldn’t get angry over ‘something that’s impossible.'”

“Impossible? Ha, you really have some nerve saying that.” Xu Nanxiao let out a cold snort through his nose.

Though Ying Yusheng claimed he wasn’t angry, after dinner he forcefully pulled Xu Nanxiao into sex.

Even though they’d done it many times, every time that donkey thing thrust in, Xu Nanxiao felt like his stomach was about to bulge. All his internal organs were squeezed up into his chest, while every nerve and drop of blood pooled in his lower body.

Ying Yusheng knew Xu Nanxiao’s sensitive spots too well, so he knew exactly how to break him down.

Whenever Xu Nanxiao couldn’t take it anymore and began begging incoherently with a thick tongue, Ying Yusheng would kiss his sweaty forehead and take the opportunity to make him “say something nice.”

So Xu Nanxiao would go through the whole repertoire again—”Gege,” “Daddy,” “Husband,” “I love you”… He wasn’t sure which word finally satisfied Ying Yusheng, but he gave Xu Nanxiao what he wanted, and the hot surge made his whole body tremble uncontrollably.

In the middle of the night, Xu Nanxiao sensed movement beside him and groggily opened his eyes.

The space next to him was already empty. He reached out and felt cold sheets.

He propped himself up and looked around, finding Ying Yusheng sitting on the bay window, one leg drawn up, looking outward. Outside hung a full moon, its light spilling into the window frame like a cutting board, bleaching the room into a sheet of silver foil.

Xu Nanxiao got out of bed, grabbed a cigarette from the coffee table, and walked over with it dangling from his lips. “Not sleeping in the middle of the night, playing ghost here.”

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Ying Yusheng adjusted his glasses and smiled faintly. “I had a dream just now, and when I woke up I realized it wasn’t real, so I sat here to get some air.”

“All over some little thing like that?” Xu Nanxiao sneered.

“Maybe because it felt so real—I was a little disappointed.”

“What did you dream about?”

Ying Yusheng’s body suddenly stilled. He didn’t speak for a moment, just looked at Xu Nanxiao quietly, then curved his eyes and said, “It’s a secret.”

“Fine, keep it. I don’t care anyway.” With Ying Yusheng’s little episode keeping him awake, Xu Nanxiao sat down on the bay window too.

Xu Nanxiao lit the cigarette, took a drag, and leaned in to deliberately blow smoke in Ying Yusheng’s face. Ying Yusheng didn’t get annoyed, just coughed a few times and helplessly opened the window wider.

Xu Nanxiao suddenly noticed the wedding candy box on the table and said casually, “Your cousin’s wedding—must have been quite a production, right?”

“Mm.” Ying Yusheng’s voice sounded faint in the moonlight. “Done according to our hometown traditions. Grandfather is from southern Fujian, and the family has always been old-fashioned. Two hundred tables, three floors of the hotel packed. They hired a Nanyin opera troupe—the elders love it. They performed ‘Chen San and Wu Niang’ for four hours.”

“Can’t believe you sat through that.” Xu Nanxiao flicked his ash. “How much did you give as a wedding gift?”

“A car. He likes Ferraris.”

“Damn. Was the bride pretty?”

“Honestly, I couldn’t really see.” Ying Yusheng thought for a moment. “She wore a black veil when she entered. By the time the ceremony started, our table was too far away. But she had a lot of jewelry on—she jingled the whole way.”

Xu Nanxiao snorted. “Black veil? Wearing something so unlucky to a wedding?”

Ying Yusheng explained with a smile, “According to our southern Fujian traditions, the black veil is for warding off evil.”

“How do you wear it?” Xu Nanxiao lifted the inner black lining of the curtain and wrapped himself in it completely. “Like this, fully covered? No-Face?”

“Heh, not the whole body. Just a thin strip covering the face.” As he spoke, Ying Yusheng reached over and lifted the curtain for Xu Nanxiao.

Suddenly, Ying Yusheng froze, his hand still holding the curtain up.

The mesh of the black veil cast flowing shadows across Xu Nanxiao’s silhouette, like a layer of damp mist, or like some ancient ritual.

Xu Nanxiao’s eyes behind the veil looked especially bright, carrying their usual sharpness, yet somehow, through this barrier, they seemed… quietly still.

The moon that had faded from Ying Yusheng’s dream now hung high before his very eyes.

“Nanxiao…” He gently took Xu Nanxiao’s hand and pressed it against his own cheek.

Xu Nanxiao’s knuckles had slightly raised calluses, a bit rough to the touch. But Ying Yusheng didn’t mind—he turned his face and kissed the soft flesh on the inside of Xu Nanxiao’s wrist.

Xu Nanxiao frowned uncomfortably. “What are you doing?”

Ying Yusheng seemed to have decided on something, but on the surface he just shook his head with a smile and said, “Nothing.”

Xu Nanxiao didn’t think much of it—until a few days later, when he was looking for a charger and happened to spot a small jewelry box in Ying Yusheng’s bedside drawer.

Curious, he opened it and found a pair of white gold rings inside. The rings were exceptionally brilliant, cut with some technique he didn’t recognize, and engraved with the initials of both his and Ying Yusheng’s names.

These past few days, Ying Yusheng had dismissed all the outsiders. Even sharp objects were no longer put away—the fruit knife used for peeling apples sat blatantly on the nightstand. Xu Nanxiao had a feeling Ying Yusheng might be planning to do something, but he never expected it to be this.

Xu Nanxiao picked up the rings and turned them around, examining them in the light.

Just then, Ying Yusheng happened to push the door open. “Nanxiao, where were you? What do you want to eat today—”

He froze when he saw the ring box, his eyes widening slightly. But the next second, he recovered his usual composure, blinked, and said with a light laugh, “Why are you playing with the little trinket I bought?”

“Little trinket?” Xu Nanxiao raised his sharp eyebrows. “The receipt says wedding rings.”

Ying Yusheng stopped in front of Xu Nanxiao, wearing an expression that looked almost sheepish—completely at odds with his face.

“Yeah, sorry.” He lowered his head slightly, avoiding Xu Nanxiao’s gaze. “I was going to find the right time to give them to you.”

Xu Nanxiao didn’t speak, just toyed with the rings in his hand.

“…”

“…”

“Since you’ve seen them anyway, then…” Ying Yusheng let out a breath, lifted his head, and looked seriously at Xu Nanxiao, something flowing in his eyes. “Will you take them?”

Xu Nanxiao still didn’t speak. He looked down at the rings.

He heard something—thump, thump, thump—coming from Ying Yusheng’s chest, echoing through the quiet bedroom, dampened by the humid air.

Finally, Xu Nanxiao spoke. “Coward… put them on me.”

Ying Yusheng froze, staring at him dumbfounded.

Almost reflexively, he lowered his eyelids, trying to hide the emotions threatening to spill over. But the joy still broke through the calm dam he’d maintained for years, escaping first from the corners of his mouth.

It was a smile that came before reason, completely unguarded.

“Okay!”

As Ying Yusheng helped Xu Nanxiao put on the ring, Xu Nanxiao couldn’t help but think—ever since he’d been locked in this house, his feelings for Ying Yusheng seemed to have died.

This villa had become the octagonal cage of a boxing ring, and Ying Yusheng had become his opponent. In the octagon, there’s no room for feelings—only finding your opponent’s weakness, and then conquering.

So he’d kept thinking: what could Ying Yusheng’s weakness be?

Was it the moment he believed Xu Nanxiao wouldn’t leave, letting his guard down? The moment he dismissed all the servants and was alone? The moment his hands were busy putting a ring on Xu Nanxiao, unable to protect his own abdomen?

None of those.

Ying Yusheng’s greatest weakness turned out to be that single moment of surrendering to happiness.

With a pfft—

A pfft?

Ying Yusheng looked down and saw that Xu Nanxiao had taken the apple knife from the nightstand and plunged it deep into his body.