As June arrived, summer came in full force. Xie Dongcheng went to the hospital for a re-examination ahead of time, and all his indicators had recovered well. The doctor allowed him to remove the splint.

However, as a precaution, the doctor advised him not to engage in heavy lifting exercises in the near future. While Xie Dongcheng readily agreed on the surface, in reality, he did the opposite and bought a dumbbell to start weightlifting as soon as he got home.

The reason was simple: his right arm had been protected by the splint for a month, causing it to lag behind in strength training, visibly smaller in size compared to his left arm. He appeared somewhat uncoordinated.

Just as Yu Zi finished negotiating a deal, he pushed the door open and saw Xie Dongcheng lifting a dumbbell to exercise his right arm, his veins bulging.

“Are you out of your mind? Aren’t you afraid of breaking it again?” Yu Zi exclaimed.

Xie Dongcheng shook his head. “It’s fine, I know what I’m doing.”

“You don’t need to rush this. Who’s going to notice whether your arm is thicker or thinner?” Yu Zi said.

Xie Dongcheng was very serious. “I have to go to the cocktail party. I can’t embarrass you…”

He finished his sentence and added another set.

If Xie Dongcheng hadn’t mentioned it, Yu Zi would have almost forgotten. The cocktail party hosted by the cooperating company was scheduled for the following week. It was hosted by a well-known real estate developer, so they couldn’t afford to be careless in their attire.

With the onset of hot weather, the thick suits they originally bought were no longer suitable. While Yu Zi had some relatively formal spring and summer shirts, Xie Dongcheng’s wardrobe clearly lacked them. So, Yu Zi planned to take Xie Dongcheng to buy some new clothes.

At the same time, the deadline promised by Wang Jing was approaching in a few days. Yu Zi called him in advance, and this time he answered the phone and was very proactive, saying he was already trying to raise money but needed another two days. Yu Zi scolded him over the phone, threatening to report him to the police if he didn’t pay back the money soon.

Wang Jing immediately burst into tears, promising to repay as soon as possible.

Fortunately, several large orders had been paid recently, and the daily turnover in the restaurant had steadily increased since the summer began. Yu Zi’s financial reserves were also more abundant, so delaying for another two or three days was not a big deal for him.

Coincidentally, there was a ceiling in the shop that needed to be refitted. Yu Zi decided to close the shop for two days to make repairs before reopening. This also gave him two days of rare leisure time.

In the late afternoon, around five or six o’clock, he took Xie Dongcheng to the CBD. Xie Dongcheng drove his Toyota, following the address given by Yu Zi. Looking up, they arrived at the World Trade Shopping Center.

Xie Dongcheng had never been to such a place before. The clothes and pants he wore when he was young were either bought by Uncle Wu at the roadside stall or were leftovers from the neighbors next door.

Yu Zi was familiar with this place, as he used to be a high-level VIP customer at two luxury stores here.

Once he had some money in his hands, he couldn’t stand the sight of Xie Dongcheng’s clothes.

“You must have a hundred of these T-shirts, change it.” Yu Zi looked at the solid-color T-shirt Xie Dongcheng was wearing and patted his chest. Then he walked into a store and picked out a perfectly tailored black shirt for him. He handed it to Xie Dongcheng and ordered, “Go try it on.”

Xie Dongcheng could only go to the fitting room under the watchful eyes of several shop assistants.

Two minutes later, he came out of the fitting room. Although Xie Dongcheng had never worn good clothes before, his well-built body couldn’t hide, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, muscular and full, which perfectly filled out the shirt.

“You look good in a black shirt.” Yu Zi nodded repeatedly when he saw him.

Then he tilted his head and quickly walked up, helping him unbutton the top button.

“It looks better unbuttoned.”

Xie Dongcheng was so frightened that he didn’t dare to move, afraid of wrinkling the clothes.

With a wave of his hand, Yu Zi bought the shirt and then went to the next store to pick out pants for him. Xie Dongcheng stood there like a human clothes hanger, trying on one pair after another under the watchful eyes of the shop assistants.

Once they found a satisfactory pair, Yu Zi didn’t even let Xie Dongcheng take it off. He directly put it on him and continued shopping.

After wandering around for a long time, Xie Dongcheng grabbed Yu Zi’s wrist and stopped, saying, “Isn’t that enough? We’ve spent a lot of money.”

“It’s not enough yet.” Yu Zi naturally had a grasp on his spending. He didn’t choose those particularly expensive luxury brands, just a few young brands that suited him.

After saying that, Yu Zi reached out and grabbed his hand, then extended his fingers and intertwined them with Xie Dongcheng’s.

Instantly, Xie Dongcheng’s heart pounded incessantly. Here they were, in the busiest shopping center in the northern city, holding hands amidst countless passersby.

When Yu Zi was five or six years old, he used to play house with his friends. He was always fascinated by dressing up the virtual children in the game and decorating the house. But now, he felt that everything was more interesting without transforming Xie Dongcheng.

With clothes, pants, and shoes all sorted, there was only one final, crucial step left: scent.

Xie Dongcheng always smelled like lemon soap, fresh but lacking depth.

Yu Zi took him to a perfume brand store on the ground floor atrium. He greeted the salesperson familiarly and then rattled off a string of perfume names that Xie Dongcheng couldn’t understand at all.

By the time he came back to his senses, the salesperson had already started offering him fragrances to try.

Ssssh—the fine mist sprayed into the air.

Yu Zi was very satisfied with the scent. The top note was lemon, similar to Xie Dongcheng’s original scent, with a hint of seawater in the middle note, and the base note was a steady blend of cedar and amber.

“What do you think?” Yu Zi asked, looking up at him.

Xie Dongcheng struggled to find a word for a while and finally managed to blurt out, “Nice.”

Without further ado, Yu Zi bought it straight away.

Amidst the salesperson’s compliments, the two walked out of the store. Yu Zi took a few steps and then stopped, turning back to hold Xie Dongcheng’s arms in both hands, looking him up and down several times.

After letting go of his hands, he stepped back and said, “Turn around, let me see.”

Xie Dongcheng complied. Healthy, tall, and robust, with a bit more mature charm than before. Only then did Yu Zi nod in satisfaction.

As they walked forward, Xie Dongcheng couldn’t help but speak up, “There’s something I’m not sure if I should say…”

“What is it?” Yu Zi asked.

“You’re acting like marking territory like a dog…” Xie Dongcheng’s voice trailed off.

They happened to reach the parking lot, surrounded by darkness.

Suddenly, Yu Zi’s eyes flashed, then he reached out, grabbed Xie Dongcheng’s neck, and fiercely sucked on his lower lip.

“I am marking territory. What about it?” Yu Zi said firmly.

Xie Dongcheng immediately fell silent.

Naturally, Yu Zi’s transformation course for Xie Dongcheng didn’t end there. He definitely wouldn’t allow Xie Dongcheng to go to the cocktail party and drink orange juice the whole time again.

When Xie Dongcheng returned home in his newly acquired clothes, he found an unopened bottle of wine on the table. There was also a red velvet bow tied around the neck of the bottle.

“Is today a special day?” Xie Dongcheng asked him.

Yu Zi replied, “I’ll tell you in a moment.”

The night had already fallen outside the window, and only a small pendant light illuminated the living room. After dinner, Yu Zi opened the bottle of wine and brought out two Bordeaux glasses from the kitchen. Xie Dongcheng’s home had never had such things before, and he didn’t even know when Yu Zi had bought them.

With a crisp clink of liquid, Yu Zi poured wine into the two glasses.

“Are we drinking?” Xie Dongcheng asked.

“I’m teaching you how to taste wine,” Yu Zi said, pushing the other glass toward Xie Dongcheng.

They had drunk at home before, but this was the first time they did it so formally, making Xie Dongcheng a bit nervous.

The light from the pendant lamp wasn’t too bright, casting a halo directly onto Yu Zi’s pupils.

He lifted the glass in his hand and looked at Xie Dongcheng. “The first step is to observe the color.”

Yu Zi signaled to Xie Dongcheng, who hurriedly raised his glass, pretending to examine it.

“What color is the wine?” Yu Zi asked.

“Red,” Xie Dongcheng replied.

“Does it resemble the color of rubies? Not as deep as crimson, nor as light as pomegranate,” Yu Zi said, the light reflecting on his lips as he spoke. Xie Dongcheng couldn’t really gauge how red the wine was; all he could see were those lips tinged with a light red.

“Yes, rubies,” he nodded absentmindedly, his gaze still fixed on the lips in front of him.

“Because this wine has been aged in oak barrels before bottling, it carries some fragrances besides the fruitiness,” Yu Zi continued, urging him to smell more carefully by lifting his glass, standing up, and sitting on the table in front of him.

With the glass under his nose, Yu Zi said softly, “Take a good sniff.”

Xie Dongcheng felt his throat getting drier, but he had to comply with Yu Zi’s instructions. However, for some reason, all he could smell was the faint fragrance emanating from the person in front of him.

“The third step is to taste,” Yu Zi continued, regardless of his reaction, determined to continue teaching.

He leaned over, pressing the rim of the glass against Xie Dongcheng’s lips. Xie Dongcheng could only part his lips slightly. Yu Zi tilted the glass, and the ruby-like liquid slid into his mouth along the rim of the glass.

Xie Dongcheng stared at Yu Zi’s face, almost forgetting to close his lips, causing the wine to trickle down the corner of his mouth and seep into his black shirt. Hurriedly, Xie Dongcheng closed his mouth and swallowed the wine. How could he taste the wine like this? Swallowing it all at once, he couldn’t taste anything.

The wine soaked the collar of his shirt, and Xie Dongcheng hurriedly tried to sit up to get a tissue to wipe it clean. But before he could stand up, Yu Zi held him down.

Yu Zi extended his slender fingers, rubbing the wet collar, then slid his fingers down an inch, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt.

“Is this also part of the lesson?” Xie Dongcheng asked hesitantly.

Yu Zi was wearing a silk shirt with a V-neck collar. Xie Dongcheng could see his collarbones and smooth skin just by lifting his head.

Yu Zi didn’t answer him but instead lifted his glass and took a sip of wine. Instead of swallowing it, he grabbed Xie Dongcheng’s neck, leaned in close to his lips, and murmured, “Let’s continue the last step of tasting wine.”

Yu Zi reached through the black shirt fabric, touched his wound, and then slowly passed the wine to him.

Xie Dongcheng, ignoring the taste of the wine, tilted his head back, closing his eyes, indulging in the sweetness between his lips.

After finishing a sip of wine, Yu Zi whispered in his ear, “Now I can answer the question you asked earlier.”

“What question?” Xie Dongcheng still hadn’t opened his eyes, still looking up.

In the darkness, he suddenly felt something covering his eyes.

Xie Dongcheng quickly opened his eyes, seeing nothing but crimson. The figure in front of him was blurry, impossible to discern clearly.

At some point, Yu Zi had removed the slightly wide red velvet ribbon from the wine bottle and covered his eyes with it. He even tied a beautiful knot behind his head.

It looked like a carefully wrapped gift.

“You asked me what day it is today.” Yu Zi stared into his eyes, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.

Xie Dongcheng’s shirt buttons were completely undone, looking like prey ready to be hunted.

Yu Zi’s fingers slid over his shoulder, whispering softly, “Today is—the day you find out who the master is.”