An Yi understood what he meant and said, “You’ve misunderstood. Dropping out of school was my personal choice, and it had nothing to do with Yan Chen.”

Lin Yuming didn’t believe him.

Yan Chen was the kind of person who could mock the headmaster at the school flag-raising ceremony under the pretext of self-criticism, and his family’s power and influence allowed him to directly challenge the principal. An Yi daring to fight him definitely wouldn’t end well for him.

“That day, we did indeed have a fight, but, It was him who helped me fight back,” An Yi explained.

It was during the spring sports meeting, and the seniors didn’t participate. They were given half a day off, so they didn’t have to attend evening self-study and could go home in the afternoon.

An Yi planned to return the washed and dried school uniform to Yan Chen, but after searching around, he couldn’t find him anywhere, so he had to give up.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he left the school gate, he was blocked by several debt collectors in the nearby alley.

These people were reeking of alcohol, and when they were in a bad mood, they loved to take it out on him. As punches and kicks rained down, An Yi remembered Yan Chen’s frustrated gaze from that morning, and suddenly a surge of strength coursed through him.

He grabbed a piece of broken brick from the ground and fought back.

This undoubtedly angered the opponents, attracting even more violent attacks.

In the chaos, An Yi saw Yan Chen, dressed in black sportswear, passing by the entrance of the alley. The young man’s steps were casual, and his slender figure looked lazy.

In an instant, many thoughts flashed through An Yi’s mind.

He hoped Yan Chen would turn his head and look at him, yet he didn’t want Yan Chen to discover his presence.

As the figure disappeared, An Yi closed his eyes in despair. A few seconds later, he heard footsteps approaching rapidly. Opening his eyes, he saw Yan Chen turning back and running towards him.

Without a word, the young man threw a punch at the assailants.

“Damn! Yan Chen, where did you go?!”

“Come on!”

Several friends who often played cards with Yan Chen shouted as they rushed over.

A group of energetic young men, rolling up their sleeves and ready for a fight, had a strong momentum. The opponents didn’t want to escalate the situation and ran away.

However, Yan Chen’s hand was cut by something, and blood flowed quite a bit, looking rather frightening.

Just to be safe, his friends wanted to take Yan Chen to get a tetanus shot. No one cared about An Yi, who was sitting paralyzed in the garbage heap.

Only Yan Chen looked back at him.

That look contained many emotions.

An Yi had a lot to say as well, but just as he was about to speak, he heard someone urging Yan Chen, “Hurry up and get the shot. If anything happens, Uncle Ye will skin us alive.”

With a slight scoff, Yan Chen withdrew his gaze and left.

An Yi had sprained his foot. By the time he reached the end of the alley, Yan Chen and his group had disappeared.

The neatly folded school uniform in his backpack never made it back.

Back home, in a daze, An Yi was startled by the sight of the blood-red scene in the living room.

His mother was lying on the ground, the sight of blood from her wrist was terrifying. An Ya was kneeling beside her, crying heartbreakingly, her little hands and face covered in blood.

An Yi was shocked.

It was a soul-piercing cold arrow that made him shiver on many nights to come, unable to fall asleep.

He rushed over with the same haste, called 120, and tried to stop the bleeding by pressing down on his mother’s wound. An Ya, with her weak body trembling, leaned over, but An Yi was too flustered to comfort her.

It wasn’t until they reached the hospital that he realized his sister’s wrist was also cut.

But the wound was shallow, and the bleeding stopped on its own.

In the end, their mother was saved, but her spirit had collapsed. Even the slightest thing could make her lose control and go to extremes, even hurting those around her. Someone had to be there with her at all times.

Unable to afford a caregiver and with relatives cutting ties with them long ago, An Yi could only rely on himself.

How many times did he wonder, if he had taken the college entrance exam at that time, would the next ten years of his life have followed a different trajectory?

Most likely not.

Debt collectors burdened with financial pressure would not stop their endless harassment and threats against him. He still had to work multiple part-time jobs tirelessly to support the family.

He wasn’t a genius, unable to ensure academic success under extreme pressure.

Thinking of this, An Yi felt a wave of sadness in his heart.

It seemed like his fate was sealed from the moment his father took that leap.

But deep down, did he regret his choices?

He didn’t.

In such circumstances, with such a family, he was the only backbone and hope.

His family needed him.

Even when his mother succumbed to depression later on, he had to take care of his sister alone, being both father and mother, without complaint, even though he was barely 20 years old at the time.

---

“Yan Chen helped you in the fight…” Lin Yuming digested it for a long time, still unwilling to accept reality. “So, you two were together in high school?”

An Yi shook his head. “We’re not together now either.”

Lin Yuming showed another expression of incomprehension.

“The situation is a bit complicated, don’t dwell on it,” An Yi didn’t want to say more, nor was it necessary.

“…Alright,” Lin Yuming didn’t want to pry into his privacy too much, but there was something he had to get off his chest, “Someone like Yan Chen, the playboy, doesn’t have genuine feelings. You deserve better.”

An Yi smiled, “Why do I feel like you’re not surprised about my sexual orientation?”

“To be honest, I’ve been thinking about you and Yan Chen for the past few days. The thought that your dropping out of school might have been his doing has been bothering me. I don’t have time to dwell on whether you like men or women.”

During high school, Lin Yuming had always seen An Yi as a competitor and a role model for academics. Seeing him struggling now, he felt a mix of emotions.

After dinner, he took out a bank card. It was a gesture of helping a friend, he wanted to help An Yi.

An Yi firmly refused to accept it.

In the tug of war between the two, the department called urgently for Lin Yuming to come back. He had no choice but to take back the card for now.

An Yi didn’t go with him. He went straight to the studio.

The afternoon classes were already booked up, so he spent several hours teaching pottery. After a hasty dinner, he went to the bar street to pick up clients for his chauffeur job.

The weather was getting colder, so An Yi put on a woolen hat.

During the downtime waiting for orders, he opened the WeChat conversation that was pinned, and the last message from Yan Chen was still from An Ya’s birthday. After he drove away, An Yi sent a message asking if he had arrived home.

Yan Chen didn’t reply.

It had been a full month and a half.

Since the “I love you” incident that year, Yan Chen hadn’t ignored him for so long.

An Yi sighed and closed WeChat, then searched for the official website of South City Resort. The video of Yan Chen giving a speech as a representative of the investment side on the ribbon-cutting day was playing automatically in a small window on the homepage.

Yan Chen’s voice was somewhat cold, his expression indifferent, but there was an aura of commanding presence and style when he spoke.

Others might see him as the perfect son of a tycoon, but An Yi couldn’t help but think of the cool teenager from ten years ago who didn’t care about anything.

An Yi found several promotional photos.

At the banquet, Yan Chen wore a classic black suit, tall and imposing, exuding charisma.

He didn’t need to do anything. Just standing there made everything else pale in comparison.

Although An Yi knew that this person’s private nature was capricious and domineering, his gaze was still drawn to him.

This was not only a beautiful facade built with money, but also because of the slight comfort Yan Chen had given him in the past, giving him a filter. Setting aside all this, Yan Chen’s extraordinary vision and rich experience forged by his social status were enough to make him outstanding in such social occasions, enticing and admirable.

An Yi looked at the photos again and again. The desire to see Yan Chen reached its peak when he returned to his cold apartment.

He restrained himself and cleaned himself up first. Yan Chen didn’t like sloppiness.

His hair had grown to a certain length, naturally curly. After washing and blow-drying, it looked fluffy and youthful.

He took out his phone and stood in front of the full-length mirror, imitating the poses he had learned online, lifting the hem of his cotton T-shirt to his mouth, feeling embarrassed as he took a series of photos.

After choosing the best one, he sent it to Yan Chen.

Then he sent a message: Have you returned? I miss you.

Then came the long wait.

Every few minutes, An Yi picked up his phone and checked, every second…

It was agonizing.

An Yi waited for seven hours, finally receiving a response from Yan Chen.

He only sent an address and room number, leaving the rest to be understood.

An Yi immediately set out and arrived at the destination, only to find it was a sprawling golf club offering accommodation and dining.

When the manager heard he was looking for Yan Chen, not only did he personally escort him to the guest room, arrange for a fruit platter and snacks to be brought in, but also kindly said, “There’s a spa and massage room on the second floor. If you need any services, we can arrange them for you anytime.”

“No need, thank you.”

Since Yan Chen wasn’t there, An Yi wandered around the room alone.

The suite was on the top floor, spacious and quiet.

Red wine was awake on the bar counter, classic movies played silently in the lounge, and the clear water in the massage bathtub gently rippled with the motor.

The meeting room balcony faced the entire lush golf course, with a broad view and pleasant scenery. The setting sun hung at the end of the city, burning half the sky into an indelible orange-red pool.

An Yi stood on the balcony for a while, seeing three golf carts coming and going in the distance, stopping at the edge of the course.

The people in two of the carts shook hands with Yan Chen, who got off last, before leaving one after the other. Yan Chen then walked towards the guest room department.

It seemed like everything was fine now.

An Yi couldn’t wait to see him and ran downstairs directly, wanting to rush to Yan Chen’s side and hug him as soon as possible.

It had been a long time since he felt so jubilant, as excited as a child about to get candy.

Recently, life had been too bitter. Although Yan Chen was also one of the factors causing him pain, only when he was intimate with Yan Chen could he briefly taste a hint of sweetness.

He needed some sweetness now.

An Yi rushed downstairs at the fastest speed. When he arrived at the lobby, he saw Yan Chen striding in from outside the revolving door with his hands in his pockets.

There was also a tall, slender, and delicately faced young man hanging on his arm.