The rising sun bathed the room in a soft glow, and the dim bedroom was peaceful. On the large bed, the two people slept on opposite sides. Li Wenshui curled up under the blanket, with only half of his head exposed. This was an extremely insecure sleeping posture. Liang Jin slept on his side, naked from the waist up, his broad shoulders and narrow waist complementing the beautiful curves of his muscles.

Suddenly, his arm brushed against the soft, warm skin. He immediately pulled the other person into his arms, his hand sliding up their smooth stomach. The other person struggled a bit, but he held them tighter, biting down on their delicate neck while his hand roughly kneaded their skin. Liang Jin, half-dreaming and half-awake, thought, ‘Today’s little star is quite different from usual.‘

Heat coursed through his body as he gripped their slender ankle, kissing their moist lips while pressing his body down on them. The other person let out a low, hoarse moan of pain. The intense discomfort caused Li Wenshui to snap his eyes open. His mind went blank, and his face darkened with a growing sense of humiliation and anger. Li Wenshui bit down hard on the other person’s lips, and the taste of blood filled his mouth.

It was the first time Liang Jin had been bitten, and the heat left his body completely. He finally realized that the person beneath him wasn’t his little star’s boyfriend. Li Wenshui’s undershirt was pulled up to his chest, his shorts hanging on his knees, and his chest was covered with messy, red, finger marks. Half of his face was swollen, his eyes glaring with frustration and fury. His body trembled uncontrollably, giving him an appearance of someone who wanted to kill. Though his appearance was pitiful, his gaze was intensely hostile.

The intimate heat disappeared, and the two people, who had once been so close, now faced each other with cold glares. Just then, the door opened, and a light voice rang out, “Cousin, wake up and have breakfast. I bought crab roe buns…”

Li Wenshui’s face showed a hint of panic, and Liang Jin quickly grabbed the blanket and covered him. Luo Jianan stood frozen at the door, his mouth agape. Liang Jin got out of bed and slowly picked up his shirt. He frowned slightly as he looked at Li Wenshui, “How did you end up in my room?”

Li Wenshui quickly scrambled to put on his pants, pulling his undershirt down, his voice sharp with anger, “This is your room? I’ve stayed here before!”

Luo Jianan finally snapped out of it, rushing over to Li Wenshui’s side. He glanced nervously at Liang Jin, who was calm and composed, before scanning Li Wenshui closely. “Wenshui, did my cousin bully you? If you’re upset, tell me, I’ll support you!”

Li Wenshui looked at Liang Jin, who was also watching him, his smiling eyes hiding a deep, cold malice. The room was deathly silent.

After a long while, someone finally broke the silence. “It’s fine,” Li Wenshui said, his hands tightly clenched under the blanket, his expression relaxed and natural. “Actually, nothing happened. I just don’t know how I ended up in this room.”

Li Wenshui chose not to say anything further, as speaking would bring him no benefit and would only put Luo Jianan in a difficult position. Besides, nothing substantial had happened between him and Liang Jin.

Luo Jianan sighed in relief. “It’s fine then, it’s fine. It’s my fault, you haven’t stayed here for so long. I moved the guest room you used to stay in to another place, and now this room belongs to my cousin. I forgot to mention it yesterday!”

Li Wenshui: “…”

It was definitely a misunderstanding. Thinking back to the surprise on Liang Jin’s face earlier, it was clear that he had mistaken him for someone else.

Now, he had both anger and grievances, but didn’t know who to vent them on. Liang Jin was silent, putting on his clothes and leaving the room. Luo Jianan lightly patted Li Wenshui’s shoulder and said, “I’ll go out now. Get dressed and come out. I bought some desserts for you.” Li Wenshui smiled and nodded. As soon as Luo Jianan left the room, the smile on his face quickly faded.

In the spacious and bright living room, Liang Jin and Luo Jianan sat at the dining table, which was filled with various breakfast items. Li Wenshui came out of his room and saw his favorite cake on the table, but he had no appetite at all. Liang Jin had returned to his friendly and approachable demeanor, holding Luo Jianan’s tabby cat in his arms, not minding the dirt as he used his fingers to feed it some chicken breast. Luo Jianan waved at Li Wenshui, “Come over, the pumpkin porridge will get cold soon.”

Li Wenshui’s feet moved uncontrollably toward the entrance as he thought about how Liang Jin’s lips had been the ones he had bitten. “I’m not hungry, I have something else to do later, I’ll leave now,” he said.

“Don’t, it won’t take long to eat breakfast, even if you have other things to do,” Luo Jianan tossed his chopsticks aside and quickly stood up to run toward his room. “Wait a moment, I found a lot of things I want to give you last night.” He came back holding two large bags, “Take a look and see if there’s anything suitable for you. If not, it’s just taking up space here.”

Li Wenshui took the bags without a word of politeness and left. Liang Jin withdrew his gaze, “What did you give him?”

Luo Jianan sat back down, picking up a crab roe bun to eat. Unlike Liang Jin, he didn’t have the refined manner of a young master; his eating was neither graceful nor polite.

“Not much, just some clothes I wore once but didn’t find quite right. It would be a waste to throw them away.”

“Isn’t the pair of sunglasses I gave you unsuitable? You didn’t even unwrap the packaging, did you?”

Luo Jianan was momentarily at a loss for words. His cousin’s observation skills were sharp—how did he notice the sunglasses inside the bag?

“If Wenshui likes them, I’m fine with it. I have so many sunglasses, one more or less doesn’t matter.”

Liang Jin gently stroked the cat’s back, his expression lazy. “He likes them, so you gave them to him? He didn’t even say thank you.”

“If he didn’t, then he didn’t. I don’t like hearing pleasantries. As long as Wenshui understands, that’s enough.”

Liang Jin’s eyes shifted slightly. “Maybe not?” The way Luo Jianan spoke, so sure that Li Wenshui was only after his money, made him a little angry, and also confused him. For many years, he had never seen his cousin target anyone this way. Liang Jin usually didn’t care about anyone—he never inquired or asked too many questions. Yet, when it came to Wenshui, he was either indirectly questioning their relationship or talking about how bad Wenshui was. This made Luo Jianan wary. His cousin had always liked beautiful people—did this mean he was also interested in Wenshui?

“Cousin, you always talk badly about Wenshui in front of me. Are you trying to make me break ties with him because you like him?”

Liang Jin froze for a moment, the image of Li Wenshui biting him fiercely flashing in his mind.

“I like gentle and obedient people who are not after wealth. Li Wenshui doesn’t fit any of those qualities.”

Liang Jin sighed lightly. “Because Aunt asked me to advise you. If you wait for her to take action, don’t come crying to me for help.”

“What? My mom knows!” Luo Jianan’s face changed, and he seemed troubled. He didn’t care if it caused him trouble, but if it troubled Wenshui, with Mrs. Chen’s ruthless methods, his friendship with Wenshui would be over!

After leaving Luo Jianan’s house, Li Wenshui didn’t return home but went straight to his part-time job. In order to earn money, he juggled several jobs, one of which was handling accounts for a small private company.

The accounting work for the small company was easy. Li Wenshui, in a rush to finish, completed a day’s worth of work by 3 p.m. When the supervisor checked the accounts, Li Wenshui was lying on the desk with a rather bad expression. He hadn’t eaten anything since morning, and his blood sugar had dropped, leaving him weak. His head was foggy, and his body ached. It had been years since he had been with someone, and the collision with Liang Jin had taken a toll on his body. Even though it hadn’t been successful, he was still injured.

The supervisor, after checking the accounts, looked at Li Wenshui, who seemed weak, and said, “The accounts are fine. The money for today will be transferred to your card shortly. You don’t need to come in next time.”

Li Wenshui sat up suddenly. “Why? Did I do something wrong with the accounts?”

The supervisor replied, “You did well, but we found someone else who does just as good a job, has a higher degree than you, and charges a lower price.” He then added with a smile, “College students nowadays aren’t worth much!”

The supervisor’s condescending attitude angered Li Wenshui. He stood up, looking down at the short, plump man, and said fiercely, “The contract still has six months to go. If you breach it, you’ll have to pay me the penalty.”

The supervisor shrugged. “There’s no penalty. Go ahead and sue if you want!”

Li Wenshui rarely endured such treatment; he would always find a way to vent his anger if possible. If he held it in, it meant he really had no solution. Liang Jin was the one he couldn’t afford to provoke and had no way to deal with.

By the time Li Wenshui left the arbitration office, it was already evening, and the sunset had turned half the sky red. A warm breeze brushed against his lonely face. After submitting the arbitration application, he still had to wait five more days. Even if he received compensation, he would still be short one job. His various part-time jobs barely covered his sister’s living expenses and debt repayment, leaving him very little for himself each month. Now, losing one job meant either not being able to repay his debts or not providing enough for Wenqing’s living expenses, and he couldn’t afford to fall short on either. Li Wenshui thought to himself that he needed to find another job quickly.

On his way home, Li Wenshui received a call from his internet celebrity friend, Lin Yumo.

“Wenshui, where are you? We’re having a party today, come join us!”

Li Wenshui didn’t have money to party; he was still hungry. He gripped his phone and stuck it out the bus window to let the wind blow through. His lighthearted voice was mixed with the sound of the wind. “I’m on a cruise, vacationing.”

“Wow, you’re living a better life than I am. I won’t bother you then. By the way, do you know the results for the company’s New Star Project came out?”

Last year, Li Wenshui signed with an influencer company. Due to his lack of connections, he was marginalized, without a team or scripts. He was working alone, making videos as a beauty influencer.

However, in this industry, there is no shortage of good-looking people. Li Wenshui’s earnings were minimal. Three months ago, the company decided to incubate a group of influencers with poor KPIs, and Li Wenshui fought for a long time to be included. He even spent two years’ worth of living expenses just on gifts. He knew that to gain something, he had to give up something. Li Wenshui was never someone who didn’t understand how to adapt.

“I didn’t know,” Li Wenshui had a bad feeling. “Who did they settle on?”

“Suge, you know, the agent is involved with him,” Lin Yumo sighed. “It’s good to have connections in this world, I really envy it.”

Li Wenshui fell silent. Outside the window, the scene was bright and colorful, the city sprawling, but there wasn’t a single place in it that felt like it belonged to him.

The bus stopped, and Li Wenshui got off alone. Before him was darkness, the alley littered with trash, flies swarming around, releasing a foul stench. The chest he usually puffed up in pride suddenly slumped, and Li Wenshui lowered his head, stepping into the darkness.

Yes, he envied too.