CH 56

The next day.

Lin Yuxing woke up to find no one by his side. Gu Zhongyi always slept less, so he probably got up early.

Lin Yuxing was awakened by messages from a newly created group by Su Li. His phone kept vibrating.

Su Li: [Some people are living their lives so sweetly that they don’t even reply to messages.]

Gu Nuan: [Some people got their bottoms sunburned by the sun and are probably still sleeping.]

Su Li: [Some people forget their friends once they start dating. The water in the river last night was my cold heart flowing east.]

Gu Nuan: [Some people just left us and went away. The snow last night was my tears falling one after another.]

Su Li & Gu Nuan: [Sigh~]

With sleepy eyes, Lin Yuxing glanced at the messages: [Sleeping, let’s chat later.]

He struggled and sent another message he didn’t have time to send last night: [Happy New Year.]

Su Li: [Tsk tsk.]

Gu Nuan: [Tsk tsk tsk.]

Lin Yuxing muted the group.

He had barely slept for a while longer when Liao Yan’s call came. Lin Yuxing answered the call, feeling exhausted.

Liao Yan’s voice was full of energy. “Yuxing, Happy New Year!”

“…”

“Why aren’t you saying anything? I messaged you last night, and you didn’t reply. I messaged you this morning, and you still didn’t reply. As a friend, you’re really heartless.”

“I stayed up late for New Year’s Eve.” Lin Yuxing clearly wasn’t fully awake. He curled up and sniffed the bitter orange scent on the blanket, yawning. “It’s nothing, I’ll hang up first.”

“It’s already past 1 p.m. Are you planning to continue sleeping?”

Lin Yuxing really wanted to hang up the phone, so he casually responded, “Um…”

Due to the bruise on his face, Liao Yan was “grounded” at home and was bored, so he intentionally said, “Wow, Gu Zhongyi’s stamina is quite impressive.”

Lin Yuxing couldn’t even open his eyes properly, so he didn’t catch on and mumbled sleepily, “He has too much stamina, my waist is sore…”

He didn’t feel much last night, but now even a slight movement made his waist ache terribly.

Liao Yan fell silent on the other end for a full minute. It seemed like something fell from his hand to the ground.

Liao Yan:…

Liao Yan: ??

Liao Yan: “You, you and him, you guys?!”

Liao Yan didn’t care about anything else and started cursing, “Gu Zhongyi, that lustful bastard, how dare he make a move on you when he’s only a few years older?!”

Lin Yuxing’s mind went blank, and he was almost “awakened” by Liao Yan’s scolding.

He pressed the phone against his face, realizing what he had just said. He immediately woke up, jumped up from the bed, and abruptly hung up the call.

It was over, it was over. How could he have revealed his intimate relationship with Gu Zhongyi to Liao Yan…

Lin Yuxing regretfully threw himself onto the bed. It seemed that he couldn’t save face anymore.

Mainly because Liao Yan seemed too lively and familiar with people, Lin Yuxing was afraid he would talk about it everywhere. Although it was widely known that he and Gu Zhongyi were in a relationship, in this day and age, it wasn’t a big deal for couples to sleep together. But there were some private matters that Lin Yuxing didn’t like to reveal.

What if he asked Liao Yan to keep it a secret?

Lin Yuxing rejected Liao Yan’s call and was considering how to organize his words. Meanwhile, Liao Yan started bombarding Lin Yuxing with messages.

Liao Yan: [Answer the phone, don’t ignore it.]

Liao Yan: [All the alphas in this world are dogs. There’s not a single one to believe in!]

Liao Yan: [TMI.]

Liao Yan, grinding his teeth, firmly concluded that all alphas are dogs, forgetting that he himself was now an alpha.

In a spacious bedroom, Liao Yan paced back and forth while holding his phone, muttering words that were far from pleasant.

Liao’s mother, carrying a plate of pineapples, knocked on the door and walked in concerned: “Xiao Yan?”

As soon as he heard her voice, Liao Yan’s anxious attitude immediately subsided. He put his phone in his pocket and went to take the plate from Liao’s mother’s hand: “Thank you, Mom.”

Liao’s mother saw the broken glass on the floor, but instead of blaming Liao Yan, she hurriedly fetched a broom and dustpan to clean it up.

“Mom, I can handle it myself!”

“You rest.”

Liao’s mother quickly cleaned up the broken glass in a few strokes. She caught sight of the bruise on Liao Yan’s arm and furrowed her brows with concern.

It was the Lunar New Year, and she shouldn’t have allowed Liao Yan to go out the previous night.

“You should rest well at home these days and not go anywhere,” Liao’s mother said, slowly inspecting the injury on his arm, and said worriedly, “I always heard that the security in City C is good, how did you come across thugs?”

Liao Yan stuffed a piece of pineapple into his mouth, casually brushed off the concerns, telling his mother not to worry about it.

Liao’s mother said, “You, since you were young, were always obedient and never good at fighting. If you encounter such a situation again, just run away quickly, don’t get into conflicts with them.”

“I know, Mom.”

Due to Liao Yan’s injury, their family declined the visit of relatives who were supposed to come over that day. It was also for the sake of Liao Yan that they had no plans to leave City C during the New Year.

Since Liao Yan woke up, he had been suffering from a “strange illness.” He couldn’t leave City C; whenever he left the city, Liao Yan would become restless, as if his soul had been drawn away, turning into a walking corpse.

They had visited many major hospitals to find out about that condition, but they all said there was no physical problem, perhaps it was a psychological illness.

However, that knot seemed difficult to untie for the time being.

Liao’s parents saw Liao Yan’s gradually improving nature, so they didn’t rush things. After all, the psychologist also said that that was not something to be rushed, it had to be dealt with slowly.

Liao’s mother thought about it and gently touched Liao Yan’s shoulder. “It’s good that the injury isn’t severe, otherwise, you would’ve scared me to death.”

Liao Yan had already picked up the second piece of pineapple. He listened to his mother’s nagging and nodded, pretending to be obedient. Otherwise, he couldn’t possibly tell her that he was the one who started the fight, right?

On the desk, Liao Yan’s computer screen was on, displaying a two-year-old news article.

Liao’s mother had good eyesight and unintentionally caught sight of the headline that read, “[20xx, the Hidden Truth behind the Car Accident Case in City D].”

Liao Yan reached out and closed the page.

Liao’s mother didn’t ask further, nor did she suspect anything.

She sat in Liao Yan’s room for a while and chatted. She mentioned, “Your aunt called me just now and said she contacted that specialist doctor who’s difficult to make an appointment with.”

Liao Yan couldn’t help but stand up. “Will it work?”

“Your aunt is reliable when it comes to these things. She asked you to schedule a time after the New Year, and she’ll make arrangements.”

Liao’s mother noticed that Liao Yan’s lips were a bit dry. She got up and brought the kettle from the living room, pouring a cup of hot water for Liao Yan and placing it on the table. “By the way, which friend of yours needs scar repair? I heard your aunt mention it, and that doctor’s fees are not low.”

“Just a classmate I get along with well,” Liao Yan didn’t tell the whole truth or lie, “Don’t worry too much about the money aspect.”

Liao’s mother smiled, her eyes filled with tenderness for her son.

Liao Yan chatted with his mother about trivial matters while eating pineapple, occasionally glancing at his phone.

Before long, Liao Yan had finished almost half of the plate of pineapple.

“By the way, Mom, is Dad’s company planning any activities in the future? Do they need temporary workers? My friend and I have free time and would like to gain some social experience while earning some pocket money.”

Liao’s mother was very supportive of her son’s growing extroverted personality and said, “I’ll talk to your dad about it later.”

“Thank you, Mom.”

Liao’s mother pretended to be nonchalant and took the opportunity to say, “If you’re bored at home, invite your friend to come over. Didn’t your dad buy you a new gaming card?”

Liao Yan almost choked on the pineapple in his mouth and exclaimed, “Can… can I?”

“Of course, this is your home too, you can do whatever you want.” Liao’s mother couldn’t help but smile, her eyes filled with warmth, as she said in a gentle voice, “I’ll prepare something delicious and treat your friend well.”

In fact, Liao’s parents had no ulterior motives. They just wanted to express their gratitude to their son’s current friends and take the opportunity to see what kind of people they were.

Their son had fallen back on interpersonal relationships before, and they couldn’t afford to be careless again.

Liao Yan, or rather, Qu Xing, hugged Liao’s mother with gratitude.

“Mom, you’re really too good to me.”

From childhood to adulthood, he had never experienced genuine motherly love.

Although he was an impostor, he still accepted that care wholeheartedly.

After all, in a certain sense, he was now Liao Yan. If he were to say he wasn’t Liao Yan, he might be labeled as mentally ill and sent to a hospital, which would only cause distress to that elderly couple…

Since he couldn’t repay the loss, he might as well continue the lie.

Anyway, he had always wanted a family, and the real Liao Yan just wanted to be liberated.

So Liao Yan took out his phone and formally invited his little star to come to his house. He lay on the recliner on the balcony, typing while reminiscing about the things Lin Yu Xing loved to eat.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t remember what his younger brother liked to eat or didn’t like to eat. Perhaps when he was in the orphanage, there wasn’t much good food to begin with.

He only remembered that Lin Yu Xing wasn’t picky and could be happy with a steamed bun.

He also remembered that every time Lin Yuxing had something delicious, he always couldn’t bear to eat it alone and had to wait for him to eat together. Even a lollipop had to be smashed open with a stone, giving him the bigger piece and keeping the smaller one for himself.

They were twins, only having each other since birth. If it weren’t for fate’s mockery, they would have remained close brothers with a good relationship.

The corners of Liao Yan’s mouth gradually turned downward.

He hadn’t pressed the send button after typing, but Lin Yuxing’s message arrived.

Perhaps it was because of the words he used to scold Gu Zhongyi earlier that made Lin Yuxing unhappy.

Lin Yuxing wrote a long paragraph, very serious and without any joking intention: [After thinking it over, I still want to clarify these words with you. I know you’re concerned about me, and as a friend, I’m grateful for that, but I don’t want anyone accusing my senior in front of me. If he’s at fault in this matter, I’m at fault as well. But regardless of right or wrong, it’s our own business.]

Liao Yan: “…”

Liao Yan was scolded by Lin Yuxing.

He never knew that his crybaby younger brother would be so protective.

Not only that, Lin Yuxing seemed polite and courteous to everyone except him. That stark contrast greatly struck him.

He was too angry just now and forgot that he wasn’t Lin Yuxing’s “brother” anymore, just an ordinary classmate, an ordinary friend.

Looking at that serious message, he squatted on the ground, frustratedly scratching his head. It seemed that he needed to be nicer to Gu Zhongyi in front of Lin Yuxing before laying everything out.

Otherwise, would Lin Yuxing cut ties with him before he had the chance to explain?

Miscalculated, miscalculated.

After a while, Liao Yan’s “sincere” apology arrived on Lin Yuxing’s phone.

Liao Yan: [“Respecting Senior Gu”. I will remember these words from now on and hope you can calm down.]

Liao Yan: [Wuwuwu, you don’t hate me now, right? Actually, I support your relationship with Senior Gu more than the person with ID789 on the forum.]

Lin Yuxing: [Uh…]

Sometimes, Lin Yuxing couldn’t figure out what kind of person Liao Yan was. but ID789 wasn’t as annoying as him.

Liao Yan: [Wuwuwu.]

Liao Yao: [crying emoji × 3]

Liao Yan: [ sad emoji spam]

Lin Yuxing: […I’m not angry anymore, stop spamming.]

Liao Yan: [Really?]

Lin Yuxing: [Yeah. I have to get up now, let’s chat later.]

Speaking of which, Lin Yuxing hadn’t talked to ID789 for a long time.

During that period, he had continued to post on the forum, but privately, he hadn’t bothered Lin Yuxing at all, surprisingly quiet.

Following the principle of courtesy, Lin Yuxing sent him a message: [Happy New Year.]

One minute later, ID789 didn’t reply, but the door to the room was opened by Gu Zhongyi.

“Awake?” Gu Zhongyi seemed to have just returned from outside, his coat still on, carrying a hint of cold. He walked over to Lin Yuxing and said, “I bought roasted sweet potatoes.”

“Roasted sweet potatoes?”

Lin Yuxing remembered his casual remark the previous night and happily grabbed Gu Zhongyi’s hand, feeling the chill.

Looking at Gu Zhongyi’s coat, it wasn’t thick.

“Didn’t you drive there?”

“I remember there’s a nearby place, so I didn’t take the car.” Gu Zhongyi didn’t want Lin Yuxing to freeze, so he retracted his hand. “I tried my luck.”

Lin Yuxing saw that Gu Zhongyi’s ears were red from the cold, knowing he must have been wandering around nearby for a long time before finding a place selling roasted sweet potatoes.

Lin Yuxing felt sorry for Gu Zhongyi. He held Gu Zhongyi’s hand again, exerting a bit of force, and smoothly guided him to sit by the edge of the bed. Lin Yuxing warmed his hands, rubbed and kneaded them carefully.

Some of the coldness on Gu Zhongyi’s body dissipated, and he raised the corners of his mouth. “Thank you.”

While warming his hands, Lin Yuxing chattered on, “I will eat the roasted sweet potatoes later; it doesn’t have to be today.”

“I don’t want you to wait.” If possible, Gu Zhongyi would have bought them the previous night.

Lin Yuxing felt distressed. “It’s so cold outside, and you’re dressed so lightly.”

Gu Zhongyi looked at him and once his hands were warm, he reached out to touch Lin Yuxing’s cheek. “The roasted sweet potatoes will get cold if we don’t eat them soon. Are you getting up?”

“Yes!”

Without forgetting, Lin Yuxing kissed Gu Zhongyi on the face and cheerfully said, “I didn’t get a chance to say it yesterday, Happy New Year.”