Chapter 56: “I am his first love.”

At first, Duan Zhuxian thought that Jiang Yao had been angry with him for nearly ten years because of the love letter that was never sent. He could not argue and willingly bore the bitter consequences.

Later, Jiang Yao told him that the matter of the love letter was nothing. And the thorn in his heart was his indifferent attitude and the sight of his back as he walked away without looking back. He couldn’t remove this thorn completely and took on the blame of being the culprit.

And at this moment, when he found out that he was actually considered a “rival in love” by Jiang Yao, he felt wronged.

The most peculiar injustice of a thousand years.

So wronged that he wanted to pull Jiang Yao into his arms and bully him hard to vent his anger.

The shock on Jiang Yao’s face was no less than that of Duan Zhuxian. The moment the pent-up frustration of the entire night was suddenly released, his brain was blank for a few seconds, then filled with the overwhelming possibility that overturned his understanding. His chest heaved uncontrollably.

His gaze gradually lowered, as if he was repeatedly analyzing what he had just heard. His throat moved up and down until it was dry, and his voice finally trembled out: “What do you mean? Don’t you like Shen Tang?”

Duan Zhuxian took a few steps towards Jiang Yao and stopped in front of him. He let out a slow breath, restraining the urge to pull him into his arms.

“Jiang Yao, listen carefully. I have never liked Shen Tang.”

Each word was deliberate, forceful, and resonated with conviction.

Facing Duan Zhuxian’s displeased gaze, Jiang Yao slightly raised his head, with his eyes misted with shock. He asked unyieldingly, “In our third year of high school, when you didn’t return my love letter and I said you liked him too, why didn’t you deny it?”

Didn’t deny it?

Duan Zhuxian’s brow furrowed slightly.

He couldn’t clearly remember.

But he must have spoken, must have said something.

In his memory, that moment was chaotic—his heart pounded noisily, the wind and snow howled, and countless thoughts clamored in his mind. He didn’t know what he had blurted out, but he had already walked too far. From a distance of over ten meters, Jiang Yao didn’t hear him.

“I was angry and in a hurry to leave at that time,” Duan Zhuxian paused, then took another step closer to Jiang Yao. “Moreover, I didn’t nod. Why should you label me with a secret crush on someone else? Even if there was a misunderstanding at that moment, once you calmed down, you should have seen that my attitude towards Shen Tang was no different from that towards other friends. How could you think I liked him? Do you even understand what liking someone means?”

Duan Zhuxian’s face was no longer calm but visibly angry. His usually indifferent lips, now filled with turbulent emotions, and uttered so many words for the first time, with each one was striking at the heart.

Jiang Yao was left speechless.

Though he was stunned, Duan Zhuxian’s reminder suddenly made Jiang Yao realize that, aside from some trivial details he had misinterpreted, there was no substantial evidence proving Duan Zhuxian had feelings for Shen Tang beyond friendship.

In fact, all his suspicions stemmed from Duan Zhuxian’s ambiguous attitude. All subsequent analyses and judgments were based on the assumed fact that “Duan Zhuxian liked Shen Tang.”

Jiang Yao stammered, “So, when you applied to Q University and went to study in North America, it really wasn’t for Shen Tang?”

It turned out that when Jiang Yao said “chasing after Shen Tang” at the wedding, this was what he meant.

Duan Zhuxian suddenly understood.

At that time, his mind was entirely focused on Jiang Yao, so he didn’t care about unrelated people and hadn’t considered there could be such a significant misunderstanding.

Under the soft light of the bedroom, Jiang Yao shed all his pride and arrogance, looking like a helpless little animal, with slightly red eyes.

Duan Zhuxian felt a pang of heartache.

But he didn’t coax him.

He merely explained in a low voice, “It wasn’t for him. I’ve said before, it was all a coincidence, but you didn’t believe me.”

“Who told you your credibility with me is so low?” Jiang Yao pouted a bit guiltily, then lifted his eyes to ask, “Since you never liked Shen Tang, why did you leave such an important banquet to rush to the police station in such a hurry?”

Duan Zhuxian’s temples throbbed as he helplessly said, “Because the person I like was at the police station.”

Seeing Jiang Yao’s stunned expression, Duan Zhuxian switched to a more straightforward explanation, “I thought you got into a fight with someone.”

Jiang Yao suddenly realized that the person Duan Zhuxian was concerned about on the phone was him.

He was silent for a moment, as if still unable to believe it, and continued to ask, “Then why didn’t you let me walk with Shen Tang tonight? Don’t think I didn’t notice your little actions; you even insisted on driving them yourself.”

Duan Zhuxian was at a loss for words, then sighed.

Jiang Yao was such a fool, and he had to be coaxed.

Duan Zhuxian rubbed his temples, then reached out and pulled Jiang Yao into his arms. His palm gently stroked the short hair on the back of his neck. “I’m a normal person with no special fetishes. Seeing my wife getting too close to his former crush, of course, I’m going to be upset.”

Jiang Yao let out an “oh,” suddenly remembering this aspect himself.

In Duan Zhuxian’s eyes, he wasn’t exactly innocent either.

Burying his face in Duan Zhuxian’s shoulder, he suddenly felt a bit shy.

Duan Zhuxian asked, “Any more questions?”

Jiang Yao replied, “Not for now.”

“So, do you believe I never liked Shen Tang?”

“Yeah, someone like you who wants to sleep with the person they like wouldn’t be able to hold back for over ten years.”

Out of Jiang Yao’s sight, Duan Zhuxian kissed the top of his head with a bitter smile.

“By the way,” Jiang Yao suddenly said, “why did you call me on the way home? Your car was right behind mine. Couldn’t it wait until we got home?”

“Nothing much, I just suddenly missed you.”

Damn.

How could this person be so good at this?

Jiang Yao blushed again.

They hugged tightly for a while. When they finally parted, Jiang Yao remembered that Duan Zhuxian had been about to take a shower, his clothes already half off.

The man in front of him had his shirt wide open, and his belt loosely hanging at his waist. The next step would have been stripping completely.

Jiang Yao felt a surge of heat and desire, and to cover it up, he took two steps back, and couldn’t help but teased, “If there were still laws against hooliganism, you’d be the first to get caught.”

Duan Zhuxian stepped closer again, bringing his wrists together and extending them toward Jiang Yao, “I surrender. Please, Officer Jiang, arrest me.”

The deep, seductive voice sent a rush of heat through Jiang Yao’s body.

Where did Duan Zhuxian learn these bewitching tricks? How could he be so alluring?

But Jiang Yao’s stubbornness kicked in, so he resisted, and was determined not to fall for it.

So Duan Zhuxian added another charge-assaulting a police officer-and carried the officer straight into the bathroom.

*

The bathtub was already filled with water. Duan Zhuxian stripped him and placed him in the gently flowing hot water, following with a cascade of delicate kisses.

In the past, he had been hurt by the sharpness of Jiang Yao’s personality. So, when Jiang Yao was upset, Duan Zhuxian often didn’t know what to do and used many wrong methods, ultimately pushing him further away.

Now that they were reunited, he understood that Jiang Yao was the softest-hearted person towards him in the world, easier to coax than anyone else.

As their body temperatures merged, the surrounding air and mist gradually thickened.

Before it was over, Duan Zhuxian lifted Jiang Yao out of the bathtub and attended to him once more.

Jiang Yao, who was dizzy and disoriented, was carried to the bed and tucked in. Suddenly, a warmth fell on his ear, accompanied by a question.

“Jiang Yao, are we dating now?”

Jiang Yao pondered for a moment and replied, “I suppose so.”

He had never been in a relationship before, so he wasn’t sure what it should be like, but he couldn’t think of any other kind of relationship where he’d repeatedly get jealous over someone.

Duan Zhuxian chuckled softly, “I’m relieved to hear that.”

“Duan Zhuxian, I used to really hate you, wishing I could tear you into pieces.”

Jiang Yao said gloomily. That short sentence disturbed Duan Zhuxian’s heartstrings, and the melody in his chest tinged with a bit of bitterness.

Then Jiang Yao stretched a leg to circle around Duan Zhuxian’s, with his body in a pressing posture. With a shift in his tone, he pulled Duan Zhuxian’s heartstrings in another direction, “But since I’ve decided it’s you, I won’t look at anyone else from now on. Even if my affection isn’t grand or skilled, it will only be for you. So you can’t like anyone else. If I find out you’ve fallen for someone else—”

Jiang Yao paused. Since his right hand was held by Duan Zhuxian, he raised his left hand, clenched it, and shook it in front of Duan Zhuxian. “Do you see this?”

Duan Zhuxian suppressed his wildly beating heart and raised an eyebrow. “A wedding ring?”

“I meant my fist!” Jiang Yao rolled his eyes. “Unless they’re a professional fighter, no one can withstand three punches.”

Duan Zhuxian asked, “Where will you hit?”

“Wherever you cheat, like here.” Jiang Yao tapped Duan Zhuxian’s chest with his fist. “Or here…”

Jiang Yao lifted his leg and lightly pressed, and felt something.

Something hard.

?

Not believing it, he ground his knee again.

Duan Zhuxian trapped Jiang Yao’s knee with his leg, “Stop it. It’s hard to hold back.”

Jiang Yao’s eyes widened. Was this guy really a beast?

Here he was, pouring out his heart, and Duan Zhuxian was secretly enjoying it. So his heartfelt confession was just a catalyst, huh?

Duan Zhuxian, seeing the blush on Jiang Yao’s face, curved his lips into a smile and said in a calm voice, “The day it stops liking you, you won’t even need your fist.”

He grabbed Jiang Yao’s clenched left hand, pried his fingers open, and pressed it firmly against his own chest. “Because that would mean the thing inside here can no longer do anything, and you might consider using your fist to give me some CPR.”

Duan Zhuxian spoke slowly, without a deep or solemn tone, as if “liking Jiang Yao” was a constant in his life, as simple as breathing or drinking water.

Jiang Yao’s heart pounded.

Although this person had liked him for less than three months, he made his vow sound like it was rooted in years of deep affection.

Just like the scoundrels in TV dramas.

But just like the foolish characters who fell for those scoundrels, Jiang Yao found his heart moved.

“Anyone can say pretty words,” Jiang Yao muttered as he burrowed further into the blanket, hiding half of his ear. “But don’t like me too much. I don’t know how to return it, and I might just end up flustered and at a loss.”

Duan Zhuxian hummed in response and whispered into the exposed half ear, “Yao Yao, you’re my first love.”

“I know,” Jiang Yao said, then buried the rest of his ear under the covers.

“Do you like me a bit more now?” Duan Zhuxian asked.

But this time, he received no answer.

Jiang Yao had his head buried in the blanket, face pressed against Duan Zhuxian’s chest, seemingly asleep.

Duan Zhuxian waited for a long time, long enough that he too was swept away by drowsiness.

Just before closing his eyes, a single word, carried by the night, whispered softly into his ear.

“Yes.”