CH 32

Fortunately, Gu Zhongyi’s movements were quick, and he immediately held the drunk Lin Yuxing in his arms.

Lin Yuxing was startled and stopped crying. Soon, he cooperatively wrapped his arms around Gu Zhongyi’s neck and gently pressed his cheek against Gu Zhongyi’s cheek, rubbing against it.

“Senior, you’re so good~”

Lin Yuxing flattered incoherently, his eyes blurred and drowsy.

Gu Zhongyi couldn’t calm his heart. That night, he had received extraordinary affection from Lin Yuxing and had to force himself to remain composed. After all, Gu Zhongyi was a physically and mentally healthy Alpha. How could he not be moved or lose control when the Omega he liked actively pursued him?

However, Gu Zhongyi was also strict with himself, and he managed to keep his desires in check.

To dispel his inappropriate thoughts, Gu Zhongyi placed Lin Yuxing on the sofa, squatting down to check, “Are you hurt?”

“I like you the most~”

Lin Yuxing leaned closer, ignoring the question, feeling that the dream version of Gu Zhongyi was so warm to him.

Gu Zhongyi held his breath. “Are you really not hurt?”

“No.” Lin Yuxing managed to finally answer. He rubbed his eyes, spoke incoherently, and assured Gu Zhongyi not to worry. He didn’t feel any pain at all.

Lin Yuxing, who was as innocent as a blank sheet of paper when it came to matters of the heart, didn’t know how to kiss and didn’t have the courage to kiss Gu Zhongyi’s lips. In his dreams, he could only muster the courage to boldly kiss Gu Zhongyi all over his face.

He didn’t expect that when he pressed his lips against the Alpha’s cheek, it felt soft.

“Senior.”

Lin Yuxing tilted his head and suddenly picked up a pillow from the sofa, shouting at it, “Senior, I want to tell you a secret.”

Gu Zhongyi looked at his serious and adorable appearance and couldn’t help but reach out to position his head facing himself, speaking more boldly, “You’ve already confessed your feelings. What other secret could there be?”

“Well, there is one.” Lin Yuxing leaned his face against the palm of Gu Zhongyi’s hand, a smile forming at the corner of his mouth, and the scent of citrus filled the air. “Before, when you asked if I had any inappropriate thoughts… I, I said no.”

Gu Zhongyi remembered that he had been very upset at that time.

“I’m sorry, I lied to you. I have plenty of inappropriate thoughts!” Lin Yuxing moved closer and whispered into Gu Zhongyi’s ear, speaking in a hushed voice, “In my dreams, I even held your hand.”

Lin Yuxing waved his hand, admitting that he was not a good person. After holding hands last time and now kissing his face, what kind of mischief would he do next? He scolded himself that he was not well-behaved, and not responsible.

Overwhelmed by desire.

Lin Yuxing’s sadness overwhelmed him, and he slapped himself.

“Yuxing!” Gu Zhongyi grabbed his hand.

Lin Yuxing hung his head despondently, accustomed to self-blame and self-reflection. It had become his way of survival since childhood.

“I’m sorry, don’t blame me. I always… I’m always afraid of being caught. I’m afraid you won’t want to meet with me anymore, afraid you won’t be my friend…”

Gu Zhongyi felt a pang of heartache. To ease Lin Yuxing’s disappointment, he took the initiative to intertwine his fingers with Lin Yuxing’s hand. “Is this how you held it?”

“How did you know?” Lin Yuxing raised his head in confusion, staring at their tightly held hands, feeling delighted. “You really are the senior from my dream last time. Both dreams are of the same you.”

Gu Zhongyi had already stepped into the role assigned to him by Lin Yuxing and replied warmly, “Because I wanted to see you, so I came.”

Excitedly, Lin Yuxing kissed the back of Gu Zhongyi’s hand. “Thank you, you’re truly amazing.” He offered his sincerest gratitude.

Gu Zhongyi successfully received a “good person card.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Okay, let’s live a long life together.”

“Sure!”

Lin Yuxing talked a lot, hiccuped from the alcohol, and comfortably lay down on the sofa.

Perhaps the alcohol had dissipated, and Lin Yuxing, who had been restless for so long, was finally exhausted. He tightly held Gu Zhongyi’s hand and made a repeated request, “Can you keep holding my hand like this?”

“Of course.”

Lin Yuxing felt happy upon hearing that. Then he softly asked, “Since you’re so good, can you… accept all my flaws too?”

“Yes.” Gu Zhongyi responded firmly.

Lin Yuxing smiled. “Then let me tell you another secret.”

He wanted to be completely honest with Gu Zhongyi.

“When I was little, I lived in an orphanage for a long time. The people there didn’t want to play with me… because I… wasn’t very good..”

Lin Yuxing’s eyes welled up with tears again. He let go of Gu Zhongyi’s hand, struggling to sit up.

He felt dizzy, as if he would collapse the next second. Gu Zhongyi wanted to support him, but Lin Yuxing pushed his hand away.

With great effort, Lin Yuxing pulled down his high collar, turned around, and revealed his unsightly gland in front of Gu Zhongyi.

He wanted to say: It’s not just the gland, my whole back is like this, ugly and disgusting.

But if… it’s you, surely you can accept me, right?

Deep in his heart, he longed for someone to genuinely accept him.

Unfortunately, in the “dream,” Lin Yuxing had exhausted his energy and couldn’t finish what he wanted to say. He fell back and fell into a deep sleep.

Perhaps in his true dream, this peace would continue.

Meanwhile, Gu Zhongyi felt as if an invisible force had gripped his throat, rendering him speechless.

He had never known that Lin Yuxing’s gland looked like that. Suddenly, he remembered the first time he saw Lin Yuxing when they were young, wearing a high collar.

He also recalled the nicknames Lin Yuxing had in the orphanage—freak and monster.

It was a hot summer.

Nine-year-old Gu Zhongyi got out of a private car, limping as he carried his backpack. With him was Yang Qing’s father, Yang Qu.

The director of the orphanage stood at the door, warmly approaching them, “You must be Mr. Yang. Thank you for donating to our orphanage this time.”

Yang Qu didn’t directly mention that the donation was made by Gu Zhuang. After responding politely, he brought Gu Zhongyi to meet the director. “I will come to pick him up after the summer vacation. As for the rest, please don’t ask too much.”

Yang Qu was always worried and afraid that something might go wrong. “The child is shy. Please take good care of him.”

“Don’t worry, although our conditions are a bit poor, the people here are very kind.” The director had never encountered anyone willing to send their children to the welfare home for experience before.

She didn’t quite understand and didn’t dare to ask further.

She led Gu Zhongyi inside and gave him a pack of candy. Gu Zhongyi casually put the cheap candy into his backpack without much interest.

During the nap time, numerous little heads popped out from the nearby windows, observing the new kid from a distance.

In the shadow outside the dormitory door, Lin Yuxing held a stick and was focusing on poking the mud on the ground.

“Little Star, why aren’t you taking a nap again?” The director saw Lin Yuxing sweating profusely and took out a handkerchief to wipe his face.

Lin Yuxing smiled when he saw the director and affectionately called out, “Mom Director!”

The director rubbed his face with her hand, asking, “What happened?”

Lin Yuxing enjoyed the feeling of being touched. Without much concern, he said, “Someone poured water on my bed, and they said they don’t want to sleep near me, so I came out to play.”

Upon hearing this, the director looked toward the children’s dormitory disappointed, and the little heads by the windows quickly retreated.

She then entrusted Gu Zhongyi to Lin Yuxing and hurriedly entered the dormitory to scold those misbehaved little ones.

Gu Zhongyi felt downcast after being suddenly left behind and hugged his backpack tightly.

He looked up but couldn’t open his eyes due to the glaring sunlight.

Beside him was an Omega boy who timidly looked at him.

Gu Zhongyi turned away.

Thinking that Gu Zhongyi didn’t like him either, Lin Yuxing pursed his lips, lowered his head, and continued poking the soil, playing his own boring game.

As a result, Gu Zhongyi was soon covered in sweat but didn’t know how to find shade. He turned uncomfortably, annoyed, and wondered when the director could settle him down soon.

A few minutes later, Lin Yuxing asked him softly, “Do you want to come over a bit?”

“…”

Lin Yuxing pointed to a tree, saying, “It’s not sunny here.”

Gu Zhongyi didn’t move. His mood was already bad enough.

Lin Yuxing handed him the stick in his hand. “Do you want to play with me?”

Gu Zhongyi didn’t say anything and carefully observed Lin Yuxing.

Unlike himself, this boy looked malnourished, very thin and short. He was wearing a high-collared shirt, and that collar seemed to have been sewn on by someone, with a mismatched color and a strange shape.

Only then did Gu Zhongyi realize that Lin Yuxing was an orphan.

Although he didn’t have it any better, he at least never had to worry about food and clothing since childhood. Amazed, Gu Zhongyi felt pity for the children in the welfare home and took out the candy given by the director from his bag.

He stumbled over and showed a little kindness. “Do you want to eat?”

Lin Yuxing was surprised by Gu Zhongyi’s goodwill and looked at him shyly, hesitating to take the candy immediately.

Gu Zhongyi said, “It’s candy.”

Lin Yuxing stared at him, unable to look away. Because in the welfare home, there wasn’t a single child as clean and pretty as Gu Zhongyi.

Lin Yuxing thought Gu Zhongyi was really good-looking.

However, Gu Zhongyi started to feel a little impatient and prepared to withdraw his hand.

Lin Yuxing quickly grabbed the candy and held it in his hand. Looking at the fancy packaging, he nodded vigorously and showed a very happy smile. “Let’s eat!” He handed Gu Zhongyi a handful of mud and said, “There are ants inside, want to play together?”

Gu Zhongyi swatted Lin Yuxing’s hand in disgust.

But this incident didn’t affect the favorable impression Lin Yuxing had of Gu Zhongyi.

From that day on, Lin Yuxing started to stick around Gu Zhongyi. Because of a bag of candy, he innocently regarded Gu Zhongyi as his best friend.

And he vowed to be the strongest support for the limping Gu Zhongyi, not allowing anyone to bully him!

The magical thing was that despite his small stature, Lin Yuxing had an endless amount of energy.

At lunchtime, when Gu Zhongyi couldn’t walk fast, Lin Yuxing would carry him on his back and rush to the cafeteria first. During snack time in the afternoon, even if he didn’t have any himself, Lin Yuxing would ensure that Gu Zhongyi had his share. At night, when it was time to sleep, Lin Yuxing would fetch hot water and help Gu Zhongyi soak his feet, imitating the actions of adults.

He took care of everything and even fought fiercely with other children for Gu Zhongyi’s sake.

“They were the ones who took Ah Yi’s things first!” Lin Yuxing, who was in the late stage of losing his baby teeth, had his already shaky front tooth knocked out. “Director Mom, they said Ah Yi is a cripple! They were impolite and unreasonable, they were wrong!”

The other children who were beaten by him had swollen faces and cried, saying “But he is a cripple!”

With an aggressive fist raised, Lin Yuxing ignored his own disheveled appearance.

In the end, the children who were beaten were taken one by one to receive treatment and were all sent outside to stand and receive punishment.

During the gap when the director walked away, the children who had been beaten down by Lin Yuxing would verbally attack him. “Freak! Ugly monster!”

Lin Yuxing heard them insulting him and couldn’t be bothered to respond. He lowered his head, kicked the small pebbles at his feet, and remained silent.

Children would persist in saying, “No wonder no one wants you! Stay away from us, don’t infect us!”

They seemed to have hit a sore spot with Lin Yuxing.

Continuing to kick the stones, Lin Yuxing retorted in a low voice, “As if any of you idiots have someone who wants you.”

Snack time in the afternoon arrived.

The children who misbehaved were not allowed to eat, and a few of them swallowed their saliva pitifully, listening to the cheerful laughter from inside the room.

One child choked with sobs and said, “It’s all because of Xiaoxing!”

Lin Yuxing would just continue to kick the stones.

After a while, Gu Zhongyi brought a small stool and sat down next to him. He had three packs of snacks in his hands. He had special privileges in the welfare home, as the director specially arranged for him.

Gu Zhongyi was different from the other children. He didn’t lack snacks, clothes, or toys; he lacked love.

Lin Yuxing stared at the snacks in his hands, unable to look away. The stones were no longer moving, and his hungry stomach made a rumbling sound.

Lin Yuxing moved closer to Gu Zhongyi and asked, “Ah Yi, are you the director’s biological child?”

Why are your snacks always different from everyone else’s?

Gu Zhongyi didn’t give a direct answer.

Lin Yuxing swallowed his saliva and covered his stomach. “Are they delicious?”

“I don’t know,” Gu Zhongyi’s attitude was always indifferent.

Lin Yuxing looked at the small pebbles on the ground and answered enviously, “They must be delicious.”

“I don’t know, I’ve never eaten this kind of snacks before.” Gu Zhongyi opened the bag and took out a chip, handing it over. “Try it for me.”

Instantly, Lin Yuxing’s eyes lit up.

He quickly opened his mouth, and a chip was stuffed in. Feeling ecstatic, he chewed and let the wind blow through his missing front tooth, intentionally saying loudly, “It’s so delicious!”

The other children stood by watching and salivating.

Gu Zhongyi couldn’t help but smile, and his attitude changed. “Do you want to try some plum candy?”

“I do!”

“But you’ve lost all your front teeth. Can you eat candy?”

“I can! Give it to me, I’ll show you.”

The two of them ate all types of snacks in front of the other children and Lin Yuxing no longer felt miserable. He was like a bright little sun, gazing at Gu Zhongyi and saying, “Ah Yi, you’re so good to me.”

At that time, Gu Zhongyi was still young and didn’t understand why Lin Yuxing had so many hurtful nicknames or why such a good person like Lin Yuxing could be bullied by other children.

He regretted not thinking more at that time.

The short two months of summer vacation passed quickly. He thought that he and Lin Yuxing could make promises as friends. But in the end, how much did he really understand about Lin Yuxing?

When he was young, he regarded “freak” and “ugly monster” as playful nicknames among children, but he didn’t know that they were the real shackles on Lin Yuxing.