The car transitioned from the old and rundown flat housing area to the wealthy villa district. Along the way, the scenery transformed from decayed, outdated buildings to bustling high-rises.

Li Wenshui, burning with fever, felt dizzy and lightheaded. Despite his poor health—normally he’d already be asleep by now—he couldn’t sleep at all; instead, he felt a bit excited. He was actually going to live in a villa! When it came to housing, the most he had ever fantasized about was buying a 70-square-meter apartment in a slightly more central, convenient area, with two bedrooms and a living room to accommodate him and his younger sister. The property title would be in his sister’s name, and in the future, the apartment would serve as her dowry when she got married. As for himself, he figured he’d buy a smaller 30- or 40-square-meter apartment, which would be enough for one person.

Li Wenshui had planned for Li Wenqing’s dowry and future but had never really thought about his own. He hadn’t considered whether a 40-square-meter apartment would be enough if he got a boyfriend. As for large villas, those were beyond his imagination. Even though he was only temporarily staying here and not the actual owner, his easily satisfied nature made him feel that this alone was enough to boast about for quite some time.

As the car approached the villa district, the gates opened automatically, and the car drove through unimpeded. Winter had already arrived in the city, but inside the villa district, all the trees were lush and green. Evergreen pines and cypresses lined the roads, with not a speck of snow in sight. The ground was dry and spotless, a stark contrast to the icy alleys of the flat housing area, where snow and ice piled up every winter, and it was easy to slip and fall. Li Wenshui himself would tumble at least three to five times every winter.

When the car stopped in front of the villa, Li Wenshui hopped out and ran to the trunk. He fumbled around for a while but couldn’t figure out how to open it, and he didn’t dare force it open, afraid he might break the car.

When Liang Jin got out of the car and found that Li Wenshui was missing, he turned around to see him poking and prodding at the back of the car with a confused look, which made him seem adorably silly. Liang Jin walked over, grabbed Li Wenshui, and guided him toward the villa. With a chuckle, he said, “You don’t have to do anything.”

As they approached the door, it opened automatically without Liang Jin even needing to lift a hand. A housekeeper took the car keys from Liang Jin. It was as if they had already been informed that Liang Jin was bringing someone back. Two clean pairs of slippers were neatly placed in the entryway.

Li Wenshui changed into the slippers while one housekeeper put away his worn shoes in the shoe cabinet and another took his jacket to hang it up. He wasn’t used to this kind of treatment and felt a bit stunned and awkward.

In contrast, Liang Jin remained composed and indifferent, clearly accustomed to being served like a young master.

When Li Wenshui walked into the living room, his eyes lit up with surprise. Although it was his second time here, he was still amazed by the luxurious décor. The living room was beyond spacious—it was expansive, so large that someone could ride a bike indoors.

Two security guards carried Li Wenshui’s luggage into the house and asked, “Young Master, where should we put these?”

Li Wenshui’s wide-eyed, awestruck expression amused Liang Jin. He patted the young man in his arms, whose big round eyes were gleaming with astonishment, and asked with a soft laugh, “Which room do you want to stay in?”

Snapping out of his daze, Li Wenshui thought for a moment before asking, “Where’s your room?”

He wasn’t sure where to stay but wanted to pick a room close to Liang Jin’s. Liang Jin seemed to misunderstand his intention. Stroking Li Wenshui’s neck, he leaned in and said, “If you want to sleep in the same room as me, that’s fine. But, baby, you’ll need to be ready for me to… morning and night…”

With the security guards and housekeepers nearby, Liang Jin didn’t bother to lower his voice. Li Wenshui’s face turned red, and he quickly interrupted, “Stop saying that!”

“Hurry up. Where do you want to stay?” Liang Jin’s hand moved to Li Wenshui’s waist, giving it a firm pinch.

Li Wenshui, feverish and slow-thinking, couldn’t decide. He didn’t even know where the rooms were. The thought of staying with Liang Jin made his heart flutter a little—it felt like a chance to get closer to him. So, he blurted out, “I’ll stay with you.”

“Take the luggage to my room,” Liang Jin instructed. The security guards, having just overheard Liang Jin’s flirtation, kept their expressions blank as they nodded and complied.

Liang Jin led Li Wenshui upstairs. The last time Li Wenshui came here, he used the stairs, but this time, he rode the villa’s elevator.

When they reached Liang Jin’s room, Li Wenshui couldn’t hold out any longer. The moment he saw the large bed, his legs moved on their own, carrying him over to it. He collapsed onto the bed and didn’t get up again.

Liang Jin walked over and gently patted him. “Baby, take off your clothes before sleeping.”

Li Wenshui didn’t respond. Liang Jin reached out and felt his burning forehead, a flicker of worry crossing his eyes.

*

When Li Wenshui opened his eyes again, he was lying in a soft, comfortable bed that felt like sinking into a sponge. It was worlds apart from the hard wooden bed in his small flat.

The quilt was warm, and he poked his head out from under it, revealing only half of his face. His forehead was dotted with a light sheen of sweat.

Li Wenshui touched his forehead—it had cooled, and his body felt much better than before.

He raised his hand, and through the dim light, he saw that the wound on his hand had been re-dressed and bandaged properly. The bandage was tightly wrapped and neat, unlike the crooked one Liang Jin had put on.

Li Wenshui turned over, and the blanket smelled like Liang Jin. He was surrounded by Liang Jin’s scent. He closed his eyes, feeling a tightness in his chest, and oddly felt a sense of security.

It was already four in the afternoon. The sun was setting, and the sky was filled with red clouds. Liang Jin’s house was in a great location. Lying in bed, through the window, he could see the beautiful sunset by the river. It was so beautiful. Li Wenshui silently thought that it would be nice to live here forever.

In fact, Li Wenshui was tired. He had worked so hard for half of his life and now, exhausted, he really did wish someone would pull him out of the quigmire. He had envied those influencers who were supported by someone. He knew this was a lazy thought, wanting to become a phoenix without working for it, but he was just so tired. He wanted to let everything go, but he didn’t have that chance. No one was willing to pull him out of the quigmire, so he had to rely on himself.

Li Wenshui pushed open the door and went outside. Liang Jin’s room was on the third floor. The floor was spacious, with famous paintings and vases in the hallway, perhaps all genuine. Li Wenshui didn’t recognize them, but he felt that Liang Jin’s house didn’t need to be so showy. Everywhere here exuded wealth, yet it was quiet. With such a big house, Liang Jin lived alone. Didn’t he feel lonely?

He walked downstairs while taking out his phone. The housekeeper in the dining room saw him come down and respectfully asked, “Would you like to dine now?”

Li Wenshui had never been treated like this before and felt a bit awkward. He quickly nodded, worried they might bow to him again. When the dishes were ready, he didn’t see Liang Jin’s figure. Looking around, the housekeeper said, “Young Master has gone out.”

Li Wenshui asked, “When will he be back?”

The housekeeper shook his head, “Not sure. He usually comes back quite late.”

Li Wenshui said “Oh” and didn’t eat immediately. Instead, he took some photos, snapping shots of the dining and living rooms. He chose two pictures that clearly showed how expensive the house was and posted them on his social media. The caption was an emoji of two little figures hugging.

It wasn’t directly stated where the photos were taken, but anyone with a keen eye would understand it was a display of affection and flaunting wealth.

A moment later, his phone rang with a video call from Lin Yumo. Li Wenshui opened it, and the phone lagged, with the sound coming through before the video. Lin Yumo asked, “Wenshui, where are you? Are you living with your boyfriend…”

Lin Yumo saw Li Wenshui’s bruised face and gasped, “Wenshui! What happened to your face? Did someone hit you?”

In the video, Lin Yumo appeared as a clean, fair young man with ear studs. Li Wenshui saw his own face in the video and it looked rather battered. He forced a smile and said, “It’s fine, I just slipped. The roads are too slippery in winter. It’ll be better in a couple of days.”

“Be careful! You have such a pretty face, I even want to get insurance for you. Ah, what’s that painting behind you?”

Li Wenshui turned around, and behind him was a painting of a sunset in ink. He didn’t understand art or appreciate abstract paintings.

“This painting was sold at a charity auction for one billion! Oh my God! Who is your new boyfriend? Is he some kind of rich old man?” A billion – Li Wenshui just thought the value was outrageous, but he had no real sense of what a billion meant, since it was completely outside his usual experience.

“No, he’s not an old man. He’s very good-looking and quite young,” Li Wenshui said, feeling a faint sense of pride as he described him. Simply put, Liang Jin was indeed very outstanding in terms of appearance.

“Who is he? Can you tell me? Do you have a photo?” Lin Yumo was so curious that he almost wanted to jump through the screen to find out more.

Li Wenshui hesitated. If only this relationship could see the light of day, he wouldn’t have to struggle to invent excuses. Lin Yumo noticed his reaction and made a guess: “You wouldn’t be involved with a married person, would you? Being a male mistress, so you can’t mention the other person’s name?”

Li Wenshui: “…”

“Well, then don’t tell me, for safety’s sake. I’m just worried about you getting hit by the legitimate spouse.”

“Not exactly…,” Li Wenshui couldn’t think of a way to deny Lin Yumo’s outrageous guess without mentioning Liang Jin’s name.

“By the way, is this house a gift from him?”

How could it be possible? But Li Wenshui didn’t answer. He couldn’t say he followed a man worth one billion dollars with a painting and ended up not gaining anything. Too embarrassing!

“Wenshui, turn the camera around. Let me see your house.”

Li Wenshui turned the camera to the rear, giving Lin Yumo a view as he walked around. Lin Yumo’s eyes widened in amazement, continually exclaiming, “Oh my God, so extravagant!”

Although the house wasn’t his own, Li Wenshui felt pleased through Lin Yumo’s exaggerated praise, as if in that moment the house had truly become his.

As the camera turned towards the entrance, the door suddenly opened, and Liang Jin walked in, holding a box of cake. His handsome face unexpectedly entered the frame. The sound came through the speaker, and Lin Yumo’s voice echoed, “Oh my God! Liang Jin!”

Li Wenshui hurriedly ended the call and quietly explained to the approaching Liang Jin, “It was a misunderstanding. My friend wanted to see where I was living, but didn’t expect you to come back at this time, so he accidentally caught a glimpse of you.”

Liang Jin walked past Li Wenshui, put down the cake, with an unreadable expression, and said, “Delete the post.”