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Join the Server“So, what you truly regret is that the video wasn’t filmed?” Xu Hengzhou ground his teeth, asking with a lingering sense of pique. After transmigrating, he profoundly regretted having rejected Xiang Chen so definitively.
“Exactly!” Xiang Chen declared, his tone utterly justified. “You had already rejected me back then, so I thought we stood no chance. After a good cry, I just moved on. Was I supposed to pester you?”
Xu Hengzhou felt a profound internal injury. This little rascal was far too insincere in their pursuit! Shouldn’t one persevere after being rejected? Instead, they had simply given up!
It was fortunate he had transmigrated. Otherwise, if he had sought out Xiang Chen the very next day, wouldn’t it have made him seem incredibly easy to win over?
Unaware that he was practically driving Xu Hengzhou to吐 blood, Xiang Chen continued, “Besides, I didn’t know you had transmigrated too back then. We couldn’t even meet, so thinking about you would only make me miserable! Oh dear…”
Xiang Chen yelped, then quickly covered his mouth, listening intently. There was no sound from outside, indicating that his uncle had not been disturbed.
He then clutched his bitten left cheek and glared at Xu Hengzhou. “Why did you bite me?!”
In the darkness, Xu Hengzhou’s displeased expression was obscured, but Xiang Chen gradually sensed his discontent from the heavy atmosphere.
He replayed his recent words in his mind, then instinctively hunched his shoulders, whispering, “Was I wrong? And even if you did transmigrate, we’re brothers now. There’s no need to dwell on those old matters anymore…”
Xu Hengzhou was so exasperated that he let out a laugh, though his laughter was quite chilling. He had always been a rather aloof person.
Approaching thirty, he had never truly fallen for anyone; Xiang Chen was the first to spark his interest and make him wish for a genuine connection.
His father had once called him a cold-blooded animal, and it wasn’t entirely inaccurate. Xu Hengzhou was naturally detached.
While he might appear to get along well with others, in reality, if there were a ‘favorability meter’ like in games, Xu Hengzhou would be an exceptionally difficult character to ‘conquer’ because his favorability towards people was incredibly low.
Assuming the maximum favorability was one hundred, for his father, Xu Hengzhou’s favorability was probably around -50.
If not for his father providing the sperm to conceive him, it would undoubtedly be the absolute minimum of -100.
For his assistant, who had been with him for several years, it was perhaps around 10, with loyalty being a bonus point, though Xu Hengzhou usually found him foolish.
As for other acquaintances, whether close or distant, Xu Hengzhou’s favorability fluctuated between negative values and 10, rarely showing any significant increase.
Only Xiang Chen was an exception. Before the transmigration, his favorability towards Xiang Chen was around 30. Don’t think that’s low; his mother held the highest score, making Xiang Chen a solid second.
After transmigrating, with their constant companionship, Xu Hengzhou’s favorability towards him had soared. It was now definitely above 50, and still showed a tendency to climb higher.
Of course, normal people didn’t possess such a favorability meter. Xu Hengzhou simply felt that Xiang Chen’s place in his heart was becoming increasingly significant.
Moreover, while Xu Hengzhou appeared to be an outstanding individual, he actually harbored numerous flaws.
His possessiveness was stronger than average, his desire for control was intense, and he harbored a significant protective instinct for those he considered his own.
These traits were less apparent before because of his immense wealth and strong capabilities, which always allowed him to handle matters flawlessly.
So far, only two people had been drawn into his territory: his mother and Xiang Chen. His mother had passed away, and Xiang Chen was now a young child who listened to his every word.
Now, realizing that Xiang Chen might not have liked him as much as he had imagined, Xu Hengzhou felt as though someone had punched him in the chest, leaving him breathless.
“So, did you ever like me?” Xu Hengzhou gritted out. “Not now, but before we transmigrated.”
Xiang Chen blinked. “I did, yes.”
Xu Hengzhou, however, dared not believe him easily. He rubbed his chest and said, “Tell me how you came to like me, and also, how did you get my name wrong?!”
He hadn’t intended to bring that up, feeling it was embarrassing. But now, it seemed the embarrassment might have already occurred long ago.
Xiang Chen stammered for a moment, reluctant to speak. Yet, under Xu Hengzhou’s cold, scrutinizing gaze, he slowly and painstakingly began to recount the story of his first romantic feelings.
Xiang Chen knew he was gay. This realization struck him during his senior year of high school. His grandmother had passed away, his academic performance was poor, and he felt immense pressure, constantly seeking an outlet to vent.
By then, his family had also become wealthy, and his grandfather, feeling he had suffered too much, was very generous with money.
Despite having money, he didn’t squander it. He bought an expensive mountain bike, the kind his grandmother had once mentioned, fulfilling one of her small wishes.
The rest of his money went towards buying his favorite foods or treating Huo Kai to meals.
Later, when Huo Kai realized Xiang Chen was feeling down, he suggested they go out. They ended up at a bar.
The place was too noisy, and Xiang Chen found it unbearable, so he told Huo Kai he wanted to leave. Huo Kai walked him out, and then they stumbled upon a couple, both boys, locked in a passionate embrace.
Xiang Chen was stunned. Raised by his grandparents, he had never mingled in such circles and had no idea that boys could be together.
Huo Kai, however, found his reaction overly dramatic, calling it commonplace. He then introduced Xiang Chen to numerous informational websites, explaining that one particular site had different sections.
Huo Kai enjoyed the romance section, but it also featured a ‘pure love’ section—for boys, he explained!
A new world opened up for Xiang Chen. After several days of continuous reading, he realized that while he still couldn’t get into the romance section, he found the ‘pure love’ section captivating.
This time, it was Huo Kai’s turn to be shocked. As a straight man, he didn’t dislike homosexuality, but he found those purely romantic BL (Boys’ Love) stories utterly unreadable. Yet, Xiang Chen actually found them interesting!
It was through this that Xiang Chen discovered his own sexual orientation, and he unhesitatingly embraced it.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t experienced any internal struggle. Rather, Xiang Chen felt that while he didn’t like girls, he also hadn’t felt any attraction towards boys either.
Due to his past experiences, he had built a shell around himself. Others couldn’t get in, and he was unwilling to come out. How could he possibly be in a relationship like that?
To speak inauspiciously, he might never fall in love in this lifetime. If that were the case, what difference did it make whether he liked men or women?
Originally, he hadn’t told anyone about this except Huo Kai. But out of momentary curiosity, he borrowed a few books on the psychology of homosexuality from the library. When borrowing the books, he hadn’t realized that his stepmother’s son was secretly following him.
That person checked his borrowing records and immediately reported it to his mother, causing a huge fuss.
Xiang Chen’s father directly pointed at him, cursing him as a pervert, and even threatened to sever their father-son relationship, telling him never to acknowledge him as his father again.
Xiang Chen felt no inner turmoil, even a slight urge to laugh. He had long since considered his father dead to him; his father, surprisingly, still believed there was a father-son relationship to be broken.
His only concern was his grandfather. The old man was elderly, and if he were to be angered into illness, Xiang Chen couldn’t bear it.
Unexpectedly, his grandfather remained remarkably calm about it.
He told Xiang Chen, “You are a good child. Your grandparents and I didn’t take good care of you and made you suffer a lot. Now that your grandmother is gone, and I don’t know when I’ll follow, you’ll be left alone. I don’t have much else to say, but just find someone kind-hearted who treats you well, and live a good life together…”
The depth of Xiang Chen’s emotion at that moment was beyond words. The two elders who had raised him had given Xiang Chen so much love, preventing him from being corrupted by his past experiences and allowing him to retain his kindness towards the world.
Later, after his grandfather passed away, Xiang Chen always remembered his words. The person he loved should be kind-hearted. As for treating him well, that would only be known after they got to know each other.
Hearing this, Xu Hengzhou’s expression had already soured. While he was proud, he wasn’t without self-awareness; being kind-hearted had absolutely nothing to do with him.
Xiang Chen, oblivious, continued to explain how he had fallen for Xu Hengzhou.
Xu Hengzhou had always believed their first meeting was at his family’s mall, where Xiang Chen had stumbled on an escalator, and he had steadied him from behind. Of course, it wasn’t out of kindness, but fear that Xiang Chen would fall on him.
Then, Xiang Chen, blushing, thanked him, fell in love at first sight, secretly admired him, and even followed him.
However, through Xiang Chen’s account, Xu Hengzhou discovered that it wasn’t their first meeting at all. It wasn’t even their second; it was their third.
Xiang Chen claimed their very first encounter was at a prestigious private school.
It was during his freshman year, just after winter break. One day, Xiang Chen’s class monitor suddenly called him, asking for help to pick up and deliver some documents.
The monitor was in a rush and couldn’t go back to school, being stuck elsewhere. Since most other classmates had already left, and Xiang Chen lived very close to the school, he was asked for the favor.
Xiang Chen’s class monitor was a decent boy, very generous, and usually looked out for Xiang Chen, so Xiang Chen didn’t refuse.
He took the documents and went to the address the monitor had given him, only to find it was a large, imposing school.
After registering at the guardhouse, and because the monitor had called ahead, the security guard allowed him to enter.
His class monitor met him, thanked him upon receiving the documents, and explained that it was difficult to get around there, with few taxis. If Xiang Chen wasn’t in a hurry, he could wait, and the monitor would take him back after finishing his business.
Xiang Chen glanced outside the school gate. Indeed, not a single taxi was in sight. He had forgotten to ask the driver who brought him to wait, so he decided to stay and wait for the monitor.
The monitor led him into an office where several people, seemingly teachers and school leaders, were present. There were also two boys.
One was badly beaten, with one eye swollen shut, blood on his mouth, and his clothes torn. The other boy, however, had a neat uniform and no visible injuries on his face.
The injured boy saw the monitor and leaned against him, clutching his hand and refusing to let go.
The monitor quietly explained the situation to Xiang Chen. The injured boy was his younger brother, and the other boy had hired a group of older students to beat him.
The reason for the beating was ridiculous: his brother had been carrying the same backpack as the other boy.
Seeing his brother in such a state, the monitor was understandably furious. However, the other boy’s family wielded significant influence, so the school dared not intervene, only waiting for his family to arrive.
In that instant, Xiang Chen recalled his own experiences in elementary school. He deeply empathized with the monitor’s brother’s plight.
“That was the first time I saw you,” Xiang Chen recalled, closing his eyes. “You wore a long trench coat, tall and handsome. I’ve never seen anyone wear a trench coat better than you.”
Xiang Chen didn’t need to elaborate further; Xu Hengzhou remembered it himself. After all, he had only dealt with such a troublesome matter once.
If he recalled correctly, that boy was his illegitimate younger brother, whose mother was his father’s most favored mistress at the time.
His father had gone on an overseas trip with the mistress, and when the child caused trouble that couldn’t be covered up, a parent was called.
His father sent his secretary, but the secretary could never control that unruly child, so he was forced to ask Xu Hengzhou for help.
Xu Hengzhou had owed the secretary a favor and couldn’t refuse. The events were straightforward and clear, with no room for him to argue.
Therefore, after listening, Xu Hengzhou, amidst the anxious gazes of everyone present, kicked over that detestable brat and forced him to apologize.
Finally, he guaranteed compensation for medical expenses and stated that he would accept whatever punishment the school imposed. If the victim was not satisfied, they could retaliate.
The other party likely hadn’t anticipated such an attitude. After the school issued its punishment, there was no further entanglement.
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore The Moon Reflected In The Water. Start reading now!
Read : The Moon Reflected In The Water
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