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The lights on this small road were dim, and the man on my shoulder finally stopped insisting on getting down.

It was rare that it was my turn to educate Xie Xu, so I had to seize the opportunity:

“You, a grown man, why are you throwing a tantrum like a little girl?”

“And you’ve even learned to drink like one.”

“You’re a model actor in the entertainment industry; how can you let someone capture this kind of—”

“Xiao Huai.” Xie Xu interrupted me.

“Uh-huh?”

He said seriously, “Come to my company and be with me, okay?”

Seeing Xie Xu’s expectant eyes, I really couldn’t bear to pour cold water on him:

“Being in the same company as Xie Xu would certainly be good, but… this isn’t just about whether I want it or not, is it?”

He panicked and said, “I’ll help you with other matters.”

I chuckled lightly and joked, “I know, Xie Xu is the best.”

Xie Xu seemed dissatisfied with my reaction: “I’m being serious.”

“Xiao Huai, I know better than ever what I’m doing.”

“I want to be with you.”

I didn’t respond directly; I took his words at face value, thinking he just meant he wanted to be together as friends.

I was too afraid to break this layer of window paper and too afraid of disappointing Xie Xu.

Ever since I realized my feelings for Xie Xu were more than just brotherly, I had nightmares for several nights.

In my dreams, Xie Xu looked at me like I was a monster, blaming me for bringing this matter up and disgusting him.

Xie Xu had returned home with me.

After preparing the guest room for him, I lay in bed, unable to sleep, constantly thinking about what Xie Xu had said that night.

But after thinking for a long time, I couldn’t come to a conclusion, so I decided to seek help from the vast number of netizens.

I opened my computer in the dark and pretended to be a passerby asking a question under a fanfiction about me and Xie Xu:

“If a guy says he wants to be with you while drunk, is he serious?”

Netizens who were also up late replied immediately:

“Coming out? This question must be taken seriously.”

“Have you ever tripped? If so, I think he will admit it.”

…

I kept scrolling until I saw a reply from the author of this fanfiction:

“He will admit it.”

I immediately private messaged this user named “Liking CP is Real”:

“Will he really admit it?”

“Yes, of course! He definitely likes you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Intuition, and besides, drunk words are the truth.”

“But there are also drunken nonsense!”

…

From 1 AM to 4 AM, I shared all the little moments of me and Xie Xu with this “Liking CP is Real” user, even embellishing some details.

He patiently replied to me one by one.

In the end, he asked me:

“So what about you? Do you like him?”

I thought for a moment and replied: “I do.”

Who knew he would start to probe further: “When did you start liking him? Why do you like him?”

This user really seemed to have a knack for gossip.

“In high school.”

“High school? But weren’t you quite dismissive of him back then?”

I scrolled back through the chat history—was my tone back then really dismissive?

“I don’t think so? He was obedient back then and always liked to stick to me.”

Back then, Xie Xu always liked to stick to me. Wherever I went, he followed.

I lived in a little run-down house near the school.

Xie Xu followed me and lived in that little run-down house.

One time, I really got impatient and asked him, “Do you have somewhere to go?”

Xie Xu shook his head.

“You can’t just follow me. What about your classes?”

“It’s pretty close to the school.”

“Why do you want to follow me? It’s like I’m abducting a minor.”

“Being with you is safe.”

So, I ended up sharing a bed with Xie Xu for several nights.

As time went by, I started to get used to having him around.

For someone who had been an orphan since childhood, he was an existence beyond family.

---

The next morning, I was woken up by a series of phone calls:

“Jia Ge, is something the matter?”

“Xiao Huai, the people from Nanchuan Film and Television are at the company, saying they want to sign you.”

“They’re coming to sign me?”

I couldn’t help but remember what Xie Xu had drunkenly said last night.

Oh no, could he have contacted the company while drunk?

“Yes, they said that since I’ve been bringing you for a while, they asked if I was willing to let you come over.”

“Xiao Huai, are you going?”

I hung up the phone and hurriedly slipped on my slippers to rush into Xie Xu’s room to ask for clarification.

As soon as I opened the door, I found Xie Xu was changing his clothes.

He was shirtless, and his perfect physique was beautifully outlined in the natural light.

He had a great figure from working out, with clearly defined abs. Upon seeing me, his ears suddenly turned red, and he turned away.

I awkwardly said, “Uh, Xie Xu, I just received news from Jia Ge. Did you help out with Nanchuan?”

“Uh-huh,” he casually replied, then asked, “Xiao Huai, do you have any extra clothes?”

Xie Xu always liked to be clean; he probably thought that the clothes he wore yesterday smelled of alcohol.

I pointed to the wardrobe behind me without looking: “In the wardrobe; just take whatever you need.”

The delicate sound of him changing clothes behind me almost drove me crazy.

I cleared my throat several times and tried to change the subject: “Xie Xu, they previously made a clarification to protect you, and now they want to sign me, which means our CP fans will be reviving.”

Xie Xu corrected me: “It’s called a comeback.”

I scratched my head: “Sorry, you know I struggled to read in high school.”

Xie Xu had already changed his clothes and walked up to me: “Xiao Huai, are you willing to come?”

He smelled just like the laundry detergent I was familiar with.

My senses were about to explode!

I held my breath: “Xie Xu.”

“Don’t get too close to me.”

“Uh?” Xie Xu said, putting his hands in his pockets and looking down at me.

He looked so annoyingly cute right now.

I didn’t know how to explain.

Could I really tell him it was because of what happened last night?

Now, as soon as he touched me, my mind started racing with other thoughts.

I took a step back, but Xie Xu unexpectedly stepped forward, coming even closer to me:

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