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Join the ServerJiang Yu lifted his eyes to look at him, his lashes trembling.
“…What?”
“New Year’s Eve.”
Li Xiao gazed at him, his expression tender and sincere.
“Spend it with me this year.”
Jiang Yu opened his mouth to say something, but Li Xiao didn’t give him a chance.
Li Xiao leaned in, his chin nearly resting on Jiang Yu’s shoulder, his voice dropping with a hint of pitiful pleading.
“No matter how you want to spend it, can I come along?”
His breath brushed against Jiang Yu’s neck, warm and gentle.
Jiang Yu’s body stiffened slightly, the tips of his ears beginning to burn.
“…Don’t you spend it with your family?”
Li Xiao was silent for a few seconds.
Then he straightened up, looked into Jiang Yu’s eyes, and curled his lips into a faint, self-deprecating smile.
“I don’t have a family.”
Jiang Yu froze.
“The Li family…” he began hesitantly, “aren’t they your family?”
“They’re just people who share my last name.”
Li Xiao’s voice was calm, but Jiang Yu could hear the deep chill beneath the surface.
“Old Master Li is my grandfather. He never saw me as family. He thought I was a stain on the Li name and sent me abroad when I was very young.”
Jiang Yu’s pupils contracted.
He looked at Li Xiao—at this man who was always so dominant and in control—and saw the rare, genuine exhaustion on his face.
“…Why?” Jiang Yu’s voice was barely a whisper.
Li Xiao gave a bitter smile.
“Because I’m a bastard.”
He said it lightly, but each word struck Jiang Yu’s heart like an ice pick.
“My father abandoned my mother before I was born.”
Li Xiao continued, his tone flat, as if recounting someone else’s story.
“After giving birth to me, my mother suffered from severe postpartum depression. Not long after… she committed suicide.”
Jiang Yu’s fingers clenched tightly.
He stared at Li Xiao, his throat tightening, unable to speak.
“My grandfather thought my mother disgraced the Li family. He also thought I was a mistake that shouldn’t exist.”
Li Xiao chuckled, the smile devoid of any warmth.
“So I was sent abroad very young and grew up alone.”
“They gave me money—lots of it. To outsiders, I was a rich young master, living a life of splendor.”
He paused, his gaze landing on Jiang Yu.
“But in truth… I have nothing.”
The living room was dead silent.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights still blazed brilliantly.
But at this moment, Jiang Yu only felt a chill in his heart.
He remembered Li Xiao’s seemingly carefree smiles, the occasional arrogance and dominance, the persistent kindness toward him.
So this was what lay behind it all—a deep, aching loneliness and deficiency.
“Jiang Yu.”
Li Xiao suddenly spoke, his voice low and hoarse.
“You said we’re not from the same world.”
He reached out and gently touched Jiang Yu’s cheek.
“But you know what? In my eyes, your world is so much cleaner, so much warmer than mine.”
“You have a sister, people you care about, things you’d fight tooth and nail to protect.”
“And me… I only have money and a bunch of fake ‘friends.'”
His thumb traced Jiang Yu’s cheek, his eyes deep enough to swallow a person whole.
“So when I met you, when I saw how hard you fought for your sister, saw you quietly mixing drinks at the bar, saw you biting your tongue even when terrified…”
Li Xiao paused, his voice dropping further.
“I thought, this is the person I want. Not out of pity, not out of sympathy.”
“Because you have something I don’t, a warmth I want to protect.”
Jiang Yu’s eyelashes fluttered violently.
He stared at Li Xiao, at the longing and vulnerability in those eyes, and his heart felt as if it were being squeezed, aching with bitterness.
“Li Xiao…” Jiang Yu’s voice came out raspy.
“Jiang Yu.”
Li Xiao interrupted him, leaning in until their noses almost touched.
“I know you might not believe me yet, that you’re still afraid.”
“But I’ll wait.”
“Wait for you to let down your guard, wait for you to trust me, wait for you… to let me into your world.”
His breath was hot against Jiang Yu’s lips.
Jiang Yu could smell the faint cologne on him, see his own tiny reflection in Li Xiao’s pupils.
“So, on New Year’s Eve…”
Li Xiao’s voice dropped even lower, coaxing.
“Let’s spend it together, okay?”
Jiang Yu’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
He looked into Li Xiao’s eyes, which were filled with hope and a hint of nervousness.
This man, always so dominant, now looked like a child begging for candy.
Jiang Yu’s heart completely softened.
He nodded slightly.
“…Okay.”
Li Xiao’s eyes instantly lit up, a brilliance so bright it seemed to illuminate the entire room.
He leaned in again, pressing his forehead against Jiang Yu’s, his breath hot and rapid on Jiang Yu’s face.
“Really?” Li Xiao’s voice was barely restrained with ecstasy.
“…Mm.”
Jiang Yu’s lashes fluttered, but he didn’t pull away.
Li Xiao’s hand slid to the back of Jiang Yu’s neck, his fingers gently stroking the skin there.
“Jiang Yu…” Li Xiao’s voice was husky with desire.
“Can I kiss you?”
Jiang Yu’s heart pounded wildly in his chest, a deafening drum in his ears. His cheeks burned.
“…So sleepy. Time to sleep.”
In an instant, he wrenched himself free from Li Xiao’s grip on his neck, sprang up from the sofa, and tossed out the words in rapid succession. Without looking back, he strode quickly toward the master bedroom and slammed the door shut with a bang.
Li Xiao sat on the sofa, watching his panicked retreat. He froze for a moment, then let out a low laugh.
He didn’t follow immediately. Instead, he poured himself another glass of water, took his time drinking it, giving Jiang Yu ample time to compose himself.
After about ten minutes, he walked to the master bedroom door.
The door wasn’t locked.
The corners of Li Xiao’s mouth curled up even more.
He gently pushed the door open.
Only a warm yellow bedside lamp was on in the room.
Jiang Yu sat on the edge of the bed, his back to the door, head down, apparently fiddling with his phone.
When he heard the door open, his body stiffened noticeably, but he didn’t turn around.
“Asleep?”
Li Xiao leaned against the doorframe, amusement in his voice.
“…About to sleep.” Jiang Yu’s voice was muffled, still facing away.
“Don’t sleep yet.”
Li Xiao walked in, his tone casual.
“The gauze on my neck needs changing. Help me put on a new one.”
Jiang Yu turned his head, frowning slightly.
“You can do it yourself in front of the mirror.”
“I can’t get it right on my own. It won’t be in the right place and falls off easily.”
Li Xiao stopped in front of him and very naturally crouched on the carpet by the bed, looking up at him with an air of rightful dependence.
“You apply it carefully, so it heals faster.”
From this angle, Jiang Yu could clearly see the slightly loosened gauze on the side of Li Xiao’s neck, its edges curling up, revealing the thin scab forming over the wound beneath.
Under the warm lamplight, the wound looked somewhat gruesome.
Jiang Yu pressed his lips together.
He knew Li Xiao was making an excuse.
But seeing that wound, any resistance he felt melted away.
“…Where’s the first aid kit?”
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