As soon as the words were spoken, the atmosphere immediately froze.

Li Wenshui tightened his grip on the phone. Didn’t Liang Jin usually not look at his Moments? He had finally managed to show off something big, and yet, how did Liang Jin end up seeing it this time? He opened WeChat, and the post already had more than thirty likes, with a few small influencers who weren’t very close to him leaving comments wishing him well and envying him. Li Wenshui hesitated to delete it. He looked at Liang Jin, who was carrying the cold air of winter, his deep eyes gazing at him. His smile didn’t reach his eyes. His tone was quite casual, almost as if not reproaching him, but in reality, it left no room for discussion. Whenever Li Wenshui did something that made Liang Jin unhappy, Liang Jin would use this kind of high-handed gaze to examine him. It was exactly this look that reminded Li Wenshui of how unequal their relationship was. Li Wenshui felt frustrated, but he knew that posting photos of someone else’s house without permission was inappropriate. He felt justified but also guilty. After all, he was living here now, and posting a moment wouldn’t really cause any harm, right? Still, under Liang Jin’s gaze, he reluctantly deleted the post, which had been up for less than twenty minutes.

“Deleted, is that okay?” Li Wenshui turned the phone and showed it to Liang Jin. Liang Jin glanced at the screen. The photos of the villa were gone, leaving only content about showing off wealth. In fact, Liang Jin rarely paid attention to WeChat Moments. Li Wenshui was the one friend he had who posted the most. Every time he casually checked his Moments, the first post was from Li Wenshui. The little liar’s posts were vulgar and lowbrow because he hadn’t been exposed to the real rich circles and could only imitate clumsily. At first, Liang Jin would scroll past, but gradually, when bored, he would click on Li Wenshui’s profile to see what other posts he had shared, which were always full of contradictions. It was a good way to kill time. And then, today, he saw this post.

Li Wenshui had many habits that Liang Jin disliked, and showing off was one of them. His flaws were obvious, but so were his strengths: beautiful and soft, perfect as a bed companion, but not yet good enough to be a partner that could be proudly shown off. At this moment, with the post deleted, Liang Jin lazily rested his cheek in his hand and beckoned Li Wenshui with his finger. “Tell your friend to watch their mouth. There shouldn’t be a next time. Consider this forgiven.”

Li Wenshui felt a knot in his heart. Liang Jin’s attitude made it seem like he had done something wrong. Standing half a meter away from him, he said nothing, just staring at him.

“Anything to say?” Liang Jin raised an eyebrow slightly.

After a moment of silence, Li Wen Shui softly spoke, “Liang Jin, you can let your friends know about our relationship, but I can’t let mine know?”

“Didn’t the friend you just talked to already know?” Liang Jin lightly tapped his finger on the table, lazily looking at him with a smirk. “Baby, do you still have other friends?”

Li Wen Shui suddenly fell silent. Liang Jin knew how to trap him with his words. Besides Lin Yu Mo and Luo Jia Nan, he didn’t have any other friends. Lin Yu Mo already knew, but he didn’t want Luo Jianan to know yet. He hesitated, “All my friends on WeChat are my friends.”

Liang Jin replied, “Do you believe that yourself?”

Li Wen Shui didn’t respond…

Actually, the conversation with Liang Jin always led to one point: he was a hidden existence to Liang Jin.

Feeling frustrated, Li Wen Shui lowered his gaze. His eyes caught the Black Forest cake on the table. This cake was a popular bestseller recently, and he had always wanted to try it but never bought it because it was too expensive.

For a moment, the cake cheered him up. “Is this for me?”

Liang Jin noticed how Li Wenshui’s gloomy eyes suddenly became bright and clear, as if the fog had lifted. Liang Jin thought Li Wenshui really liked cake.

“Who else in this house would like this?” Liang Jin asked.

Li Wenshui carefully opened the cake box, and the sweet scent of chocolate and cream filled the air. “Why did you think of buying it for me? It’s not a special day or anything.”

“I passed by and saw it, so I bought it,” Liang Jin answered casually. He had indeed bought it when passing the cake shop after remembering that Li Wenshui liked it. Liang Jin didn’t feel the need to justify such a simple action—he treated people well.

Li Wenshui took two bites and then noticed that Liang Jin was eating a vegetable chicken breast salad. The green vegetables and tasteless chicken clearly didn’t look appetizing.

“Liang Jin, aren’t you going to eat cake?”

“I don’t like sweets,” Liang Jin said. “They’re unhealthy and high in calories. You should eat less too.”

“But it’s really good! How can you not like sweets? Especially from this shop, it’s ranked number one in the city for desserts, the taste is the best. I even replicated a few of their cakes and sold them at the night market; they sold out in no time.”

When talking about his homemade cakes, Li Wenshui’s eyes sparkled with excitement. He scooped up a spoonful of cake and offered it to Liang Jin’s mouth. “Try it, it tastes great!”

Li Wenshui’s big eyes blinked innocently, his face covered in bruises, not really pretty, but pure and sincere.

“Try it.” Li Wenshui blinked again, and his spoon touched Liang Jin’s lips.

Liang Jin looked down at the sweet cake, hesitated for a moment, then slowly opened his mouth.

“Not bad, right?” Li Wenshui asked.

Liang Jin stared at Li Wenshui’s throat, watching it move slightly.

Suddenly, Li Wenshui was pulled into Liang Jin’s arms and kissed deeply, his lips gently pried open.

Li Wenshui’s face immediately turned red, as if it could boil shrimp. The maid was still around!

After the kiss ended, Liang Jin held Li Wenshui’s head, glancing around as he asked, “Not bad, right?”

Same question. Was he asking about the cake or the kiss?

Li Wenshui’s mouth was sweet, both were good, but he refused to answer.

After dinner, Li Wenshui had planned to take a good look around the villa but was dragged to the bathroom by Liang Jin.

“Shall we shower together?” Liang Jin took off Li Wenshui’s old, pilled sweater.

With his clothes off, what else could he ask? Li Wenshui’s body, pale and slender, showed numerous bruises: on his legs, waist, abdomen, and chest, each with varying degrees of injury. Liang Jin unbuttoned his shirt, his gaze briefly scanning Li Wenshui’s fragile body. He remembered that Li Wenshui always had bruises, perhaps because his skin was too delicate?

“Still fighting with people? Does getting yourself hurt like this make you feel better?” Liang Jin, standing naked in front of Li Wenshui, was tall and fit, with a body completely unmarred by any scars.

“I’m not a masochist. What would make me feel better? Would you feel better if I hit you?” Li Wenshui slipped and fell into Liang Jin’s arms. His hand instinctively pressed against Liang Jin’s abs, and he couldn’t help but touch them—great texture.

Liang Jin’s eyes curved into a smile. “Still okay? You’re not losing out, are you?”

Li Wenshui quickly looked away, his gaze dropping, which made him feel even more embarrassed. He was like a cat with its neck bitten, frozen in place, his nape slightly reddening.

Then, Liang Jin smoothly lifted Li Wenshui into the bathtub, where the water temperature was perfect, with a pleasant aroma from nearby scented candles.

Li Wenshui lay in Liang Jin’s arms, gazing up at the sparkling night sky through the skylight. His face flushed from the warm water, and he focused on admiring the stars, not noticing that his leg had been lifted.

That night, Li Wenshui was so exhausted he quickly fell asleep. When he woke up the next morning, his face had swollen less, and his body ached less. Morning light filtered through the black curtains, and as Li Wenshui opened his eyes, he saw Liang Jin asleep beside him. For a few minutes, he was completely dazed. He really had moved into Liang Jin’s house and was sleeping in Liang Jin’s room. It felt like a dream.

Li Wenshui grabbed his phone and sat up. Though he wasn’t wearing any clothes, he wasn’t cold; the room was warm. If he had been in a flat like in previous years, he would have been too cold to sleep without clothes. He opened WeChat and saw that Lin Yumo had sent him several messages yesterday:

Lin Yumo: [What’s going on? Didn’t you and Liang Jin break up?]
Lin Yumo: [Does this mean I can finally live the good life now? Latch onto that big thigh!^[1]finding a powerful protector]

Li Wenshui replied: [Don’t tell anyone about me and Liang Jin, okay?]

Lin Yumo quickly responded: [Why? Can’t talk about being in a relationship?]

Li Wenshui didn’t reply. In truth, he wasn’t sure what kind of relationship he had with Liang Jin. Were they just “friends with benefits”? Did anyone bring a “friend with benefits” home? Lovers? But Liang Jin didn’t seem to particularly love him. Maybe it was a “friends with benefits” situation with some unfulfilled emotions?

His phone vibrated.

Lin Yumo: [I can understand though. This kind of rich guy probably doesn’t want too many bad rumors about him. Too many scandals might affect his family’s stock price or something. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. If he likes you more, you’ll get more money!]

Li Wenshui: [Of course he likes me! Money’s not the problem. Just be ready to latch onto my leg!]

With that boastful message sent, Li Wenshui got dressed and got out of bed. It was right to try to make Liang Jin like him more; what if he was right about the gamble?^[2]He is talking about making Liang Jin like him more so that he can live well by Liang Jin’s money and status that’s why he said gamble

—

The next morning, as Liang Jin was changing clothes, he noticed the colorful clothes in his wardrobe and remembered that Li Wenshui had moved in. He was used to living alone, and his decision to have Li Wenshui move in was a spur-of-the-moment thing. If he didn’t like living together, he could always send him back out. He opened the door and went downstairs, where Li Wenshui was watering a small orange tree in the corner. The tree had been alive for over a decade, passed down from Liang Jin’s mother, but it hadn’t borne fruit since last year. The leaves had started falling off as soon as they were touched. Li Wenshui stared at the tree, seemingly thinking of a solution. Liang Jin walked over and put his arm around Li Wenshui’s shoulder. “It’s beyond saving. Don’t waste your time. Let’s go eat.”

But Li Wenshui didn’t give up. He believed the tree could still be saved. A week later, a small fruit appeared on one of the branches of the orange tree.

—

Li Wenshui had been living there for a week, and if there had been any change in Liang Jin’s house, it was that it had become livelier. Although there had been a maid and security, the house had always been quiet before. Since Li Wenshui’s arrival, the sounds of him talking with the maid could always be heard. Li Wenshui was great at finding ways to save money, and the maid admired his tips and was eager to try them out. As for the benefits of Li Wenshui moving in, the flowers at home were much livelier, and he also took care of Liang Jin’s meals, bathing, back-washing, and even warming his bed.

The downside was that Young Master Liang often couldn’t find his things. Whenever he asked, Li Wenshui would admit to putting them away. Liang Jin had told him several times not to touch his things, but Li Wenshui seemed to have a habit of organizing things and would still neatly put away any items of Liang Jin’s that were left out in plain sight.

Winter was tough for part-time jobs, and with one job gone, Li Wenshui’s social media efforts with the influencer company didn’t yield any results. He decided to stop following the company’s directions and started building his own platform. He increasingly thought about terminating his contract. Since the company wasn’t nurturing him, why should he keep giving them half of his earnings?

One evening, after visiting a store, Li Wenshui had just taken off his jacket when someone knocked on the door. He went to open it and found Zhou Qi and Pei Zhi standing outside, both shocked, their surprise almost spilling from their eyes.

Zhou Qi asked, “What are you doing here?”