HL 9

“Nanxiao, are you free this weekend?”

After the hypnosis session, Ying Yusheng called out to Xu Nanxiao as he was about to swagger out.

Xu Nanxiao turned around, not giving a direct answer: “What is it?”

Ying Yusheng looked at him for a moment, then smiled: “I’m moving soon. I’ve got a lot of stuff and wanted to ask if you could help me pack.”

“Why me?”

“You know.” Ying Yusheng said with some regret. “I don’t have many male friends.”

Xu Nanxiao didn’t want to go. He didn’t like the feeling of being alone with Ying Yusheng.

But he knew he couldn’t do without the man for now, and he was afraid Ying Yusheng might refuse to hypnotize him again, so he reluctantly agreed: “…Send me the address.”

Though he knew Ying Yusheng must make good money, his riverside penthouse in the wealthy district still exceeded Xu Nanxiao’s expectations.

The security guard was a handsome young man who grilled Xu Nanxiao for ages before letting him in.

At the entrance of Building 7, the marble floor in the lobby gleamed like a mirror. The air carried a clean fragrance mixed with some unidentified botanical scent. The elevator walls gleamed with polished metal finishes.

After finally finding Unit 2601, Xu Nanxiao rang the doorbell. When Ying Yusheng’s familiar face appeared behind the door, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief and relaxed.

“It’s so hot out—you must be exhausted. I offered to drive you, but you had to be polite.” Ying Yusheng chided softly, then handed him a pair of slippers. “What would you like to drink?”

“Just water.”

“Alright.” Ying Yusheng took out a clear glass and walked to a silver machine in the corner. The machine sensed the glass’s approach and silently dispensed cool water.

Xu Nanxiao lounged on the sofa, scanning the room with feigned casualness. “Why are you moving out of here?”

“It’s still a bit far from work. My place at Huamao Mansion just finished renovations, so I figured I’d take the chance to move there.”

“Wow. A people’s teacher owning two luxury homes in Beijing.”

“Actually, three.”

“…”

Ying Yusheng couldn’t help laughing. Xu Nanxiao realized the man had caught his sarcasm and was just teasing him. He turned his head away, muttering a curse under his breath.

“Just kidding. My salary alone really isn’t enough to buy these places—mostly it’s dividends from my mother’s family business.”

“What does your father do?” Xu Nanxiao raised an eyebrow.

“They divorced when I was young. I haven’t been in touch with him for a long time.” Ying Yusheng didn’t want to discuss it and deftly changed the subject. “It’s getting late—shall we get started? Please help me pack the books into boxes.”

To work more easily, Ying Yusheng took off his outer jacket, revealing a black fitted t-shirt underneath.

Xu Nanxiao froze and instinctively sat up straighter.

He hadn’t expected Ying Yusheng to have such a great physique beneath that jacket—firm chest, strong arms, taut midsection. Not overly bulky, exactly the type women liked—not at all what you’d expect from a desk-bound intellectual.

Maybe it was the coach’s occupational habit, but Xu Nanxiao had no resistance to good physiques. His impression of Ying Yusheng improved several notches.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Xu Nanxiao frozen, Ying Yusheng turned around curiously.

Xu Nanxiao steadied himself and stood up nonchalantly: “Nothing.”

Ying Yusheng’s place didn’t have much stuff—they finished packing in about two hours. Xu Nanxiao didn’t understand why he’d even needed to come.

“Thanks for your hard work. Let’s have some cake and take a break.” With that, Ying Yusheng opened the fridge.

Xu Nanxiao was puzzled until Ying Yusheng brought out an entire cake—from his favorite coffee shop.

“I figured I’d buy a whole one to have slowly.” Ying Yusheng explained. “Since you’re here today, eat as much as you want.”

Xu Nanxiao decided it had been worth coming after all.

They sat across from each other, enjoying the cake. Suddenly, Ying Yusheng said: “Want to play some games later? I just got a PS5 Pro—haven’t used it much.”

“Professor Ying plays games?”

“I’m pretty good.” Ying Yusheng smiled. “Just never had anyone to play with. Since you’re here today, want to try Red Zone Cop 2?”

Red Zone Cop 2 was a game Xu Nanxiao had been into lately. Ying Yusheng had hit right on his sweet spot—there was no way he’d refuse.

“Hey, hold him off—I’ll flank.”

“Okay… no, not enough firepower.”

“Then fall back—don’t die, grab a medkit.”

“Yeah, can you handle it alone?”

“Who are you underestimating? Watch me show off.”

They huddled together on the sofa, each gripping a controller. In the game, they coordinated flawlessly; outside the game, shoulders brushed against shoulders, knees against knees, like old friends who’d known each other for years.

Xu Nanxiao played this game with Lu Yingjie often too, but Lu Yingjie was so good that his scores were always way ahead, putting pressure on Xu Nanxiao.

Ying Yusheng wasn’t as good—in fact, Xu Nanxiao often had to protect him. The ever-capable Professor Ying being his little burden in-game gave Xu Nanxiao’s pride and sense of accomplishment a massive boost.

Right in the middle of a critical team fight, the doorbell rang. Ying Yusheng asked Xu Nanxiao to hold the line while he answered it.

Before long, he returned with two pizzas.

“Here, try this—their seafood truffle pizza is pretty good.”

“Nice.” Xu Nanxiao grinned roguishly. “You know games go with pizza—a true connoisseur.”

Ying Yusheng continued with a smile: “Want some cola? Or if you don’t want cola, I’ve got beer in the fridge.”

The match was at a critical moment—Xu Nanxiao’s eyes never left the screen. “Cola, I guess. For beer, I only drink Yanjing.”

“What a coincidence.” Ying Yusheng pulled out two bottles of beer. “I only have Yanjing in my fridge.”

Ying Yusheng kept meeting Xu Nanxiao’s expectations over and over. Xu Nanxiao should have been happy—but for some reason, something in his heart suddenly seized.

Like when a wild animal senses danger and all its fur stands on end.

Seeing Xu Nanxiao staring at him, Ying Yusheng asked blankly: “Don’t want it?”

“I do.” After a long moment, Xu Nanxiao turned his gaze back to the screen, his Adam’s apple bobbing slightly. “Bring it over.”

What the hell was that?

Why did he suddenly feel such a chill?

At Ying Yusheng’s place, Xu Nanxiao had pizza, beer, games, a movie… before he knew it, it was past ten at night.

Ying Yusheng invited Xu Nanxiao to stay over, but was refused. He then offered to at least drive him home since it was hot out.

Xu Nanxiao didn’t want Ying Yusheng to know his home address, but he couldn’t be bothered to walk, so he agreed.

They drove in silence the whole way, Xu Nanxiao’s head against the window, watching the night scenery rush past the rectangular frames.

After an unknown amount of time, he noticed a box of candy in the center console. The familiar blue packaging had “Toothpaste-Flavored Gummies” printed in large letters.

Xu Nanxiao snatched the candy box, surprised: “You eat this too?”

Ying Yusheng glanced at him, then returned his eyes to the road, equally surprised: “Do you…? Everyone tells me I have weird taste, but the toothpaste flavor is actually quite refreshing. I love it.”

“Yeah, it’s addictive.”

Xu Nanxiao didn’t just like it—he’d bought two or three cases of it, popping a couple whenever his mouth felt dull.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance: “I heard this flavor’s selling badly and might be discontinued soon.”

“That won’t do.” Ying Yusheng said immediately. “I’ll write to the factory—I’m sure there are plenty of people who like the toothpaste flavor.”

Having someone who understood his taste improved Xu Nanxiao’s mood. He told Ying Yusheng: “I gave one to a buddy once—he spat it out and said I had weird eating habits. Fuck.”

“Honestly, I threw up the first time I tried it too. But for some reason, after a while I craved it again.”

“You’re both weak. I loved it from the first bite.”

…

The conversation flowed freely after that, covering all sorts of topics. Xu Nanxiao didn’t even notice when the car had stopped at the entrance to his neighborhood.

“Nanxiao.” Ying Yusheng interrupted gently. “We’re here.”

“We’re here?” Xu Nanxiao snapped back to reality, then felt embarrassed for having been so immersed in conversation with Ying Yusheng. Embarrassment made him want to flee. He threw out a “Later” and reached to unbuckle his seatbelt.

But somehow, at that exact moment, the seatbelt refused to come loose.

The next second, a hand suddenly covered his.

Xu Nanxiao instinctively tried to pull away, when he heard a low voice—

“Don’t move.”

Those two deliberately lowered words sounded different from Ying Yusheng’s usual tone—they were exactly like his hypnotic voice. Xu Nanxiao’s mind instantly went foggy, his body unable to move.

Ying Yusheng leaned over, his tall shadow engulfing Xu Nanxiao in the passenger seat. The faint creak of leather, the rustle of fabric, mixed with Ying Yusheng’s dry, unfamiliar scent, came crashing down on him.

His arm crossed over Xu Nanxiao’s chest, and the metal buckle gave a crisp “click” under his fingers.

He’d released the latch, but didn’t pull back immediately. Leaning forward brought him extremely close to Xu Nanxiao. Ying Yusheng looked up at him from below, his gaze seeming to fall on his lips, or perhaps just into empty space.

“You have to press this button.”

After saying that, Ying Yusheng straightened up slowly, smiling as if nothing had happened. “Get some rest early tonight. Good night.”

Only after Ying Yusheng’s car had driven away did Xu Nanxiao gradually regain his senses.

Did he hypnotize me just now?

No—for something so trivial, he wouldn’t have.

Xu Nanxiao hadn’t had such a good time with anyone in a long time. With Ying Yusheng’s emotional intelligence and thoughtfulness, even the most critical person in the world would find nothing to fault. And on top of that, they’d discovered today that their tastes and hobbies were remarkably similar—almost like looking at another version of himself.

But Xu Nanxiao felt unsettled.

He was an intuitive creature—and his intuition was rarely wrong.

Initially, Xu Nanxiao thought he disliked Ying Yusheng because of his eyes. Those eyes always felt familiar, yet he couldn’t remember where he’d seen them.

But now he seemed to understand—what he truly hated was the feeling of being so thoroughly known.

Xu Nanxiao hated being constrained by anyone. And Ying Yusheng seemed to have that ability.