At the Jiang household.

Jiang Yi placed his phone face down on the desk. After finishing his homework, he went to take a shower. As he dried his hair, he realized he had forgotten something.

Seeing his phone on the desk reminded him that he had silenced it earlier, so he had missed Lu Li’s call.

Jiang Yi picked up his phone and leaned back in his chair to check his messages. He found that Lu Li had texted, saying he planned to come over tonight to sleep at his place.

Jiang Yi frowned slightly, remembering that Aunt Lu had raised the height of the wall between their houses, which explained why Lu Li had been staying at the Lu residence these past few nights.

He called Lu Li, and the line connected quickly, with some shuffling sounds in the background.

Jiang Yi, still drying his hair, asked in confusion, “Did Aunt Lu let you come over tonight?”

On the other end, Lu Li, sounding both hurried and frustrated, replied, “No.”

“But don’t worry, I’ll climb over the wall. Just don’t lock the window tonight.”

Jiang Yi paused. He hesitated, then said, “Didn’t they raise the wall? Maybe you shouldn’t come over—it’s dangerous this late at night.”

Lu Li, busy packing his suitcase, scoffed at the idea of danger. He thought, Dangerous? Please. I may not be the admin of Jiang Yi’s fan group, but I can certainly sneak into his bed!

Thinking about the admin who had kicked him out of the group, Lu Li’s frustration grew. He aggressively packed his suitcase, stomping on it to make sure it was fully stuffed.

Jiang Yi sighed, “When are you coming?”

Lu Li replied, “Now. Give me ten minutes. Don’t lock the window.”

With that, he hung up.

Jiang Yi set down his towel and opened his bedroom door. He glanced toward the living room and saw that his father wasn’t there—he was probably in the shower. Quietly, Jiang Yi opened the front door, slipped outside, and carefully closed it behind him.

---

A few minutes later.

At the back wall of the Lu residence, Lu Li, dressed in pajamas, pushed his suitcase to the base of the wall. With one long stride, he stepped onto the suitcase and swiftly climbed up the wall, crouching on top of it.

On the other side, Jiang Yi looked up, slightly stunned to see Lu Li perched on the wall. Instinctively, Lu Li blurted out, “Why did you come?”

Jiang Yi, serious, replied, “I’m here to pick you up.”

Jiang Yi glanced at the height of the wall, then nervously opened his arms. “Jump down, I’ll catch you.”

Lu Li: “…”

Looking down at the slender boy below, Lu Li couldn’t help but think that if he really jumped, he might crush Jiang Yi, whom he had carefully nurtured for seven or eight years.

Lu Li said, “Step back a bit. You’re too close—I won’t be able to land properly.”

Jiang Yi took a few steps back, arms still outstretched.

“Not enough. Move back five or six more steps.”

Jiang Yi glanced at the distance, puzzled. “Isn’t that too far?”

At that distance, it seemed like Lu Li would have to fly down, not jump.

Lu Li reassured him, “No, it’s fine. I climb this wall all the time. I know what I’m doing.”

Reluctantly, Jiang Yi took a few more steps back, arms still ready.

“Okay, stay right there,” Lu Li instructed.

Jiang Yi stopped, holding his breath in anticipation.

From his vantage point, Lu Li gazed down at the boy standing below him. It looked like Jiang Yi had just taken a shower; his soft black hair was still slightly damp, clinging to the back of his neck. He was looking up at Lu Li with wide, nervous eyes.

The night breeze ruffled Jiang Yi’s white T-shirt, causing the hem to flutter, and the sight of his open arms reminded Lu Li of a fledgling bird spreading its delicate wings.

It was as if this person in front of him could take flight with the wind at any moment.

I need to hold on to him, Lu Li thought suddenly.

Without hesitation, he bent his knees and, under Jiang Yi’s wide-eyed gaze, jumped off the wall.

Jiang Yi, standing a good distance from the wall, watched as Lu Li leaped down. He stumbled forward a few steps as he landed, managing to stand right in front of him, half-bent, looking down at him.

Jiang Yi: “…”

He looked down at his outstretched arms and suddenly felt like they hadn’t been necessary at all.

The next second, Lu Li collapsed onto him, feigning exhaustion. “Wow, that wall is really high.”

“Next time, you’ll still have to catch me.”

Jiang Yi pushed Lu Li’s blonde head away, his face stern. “You tricked me again.”

What was all that about stepping back? Clearly, he hadn’t needed Jiang Yi’s help.

With exaggerated energy, Lu Li dragged him along, saying, “I didn’t trick you! My legs are all shaky.”

Jiang Yi was tugged all the way back to his house. Once there, he carefully opened the door. Seeing that the living room was still empty, he breathed a sigh of relief and quietly slipped back into his room.

After Jiang Yi opened the window, Lu Li, still in his pajamas, skillfully climbed inside.

Once the sneaking was done, Jiang Yi lay down on the bed. Turning his head, he asked, “Why do we always have to sneak around like this?”

Lu Li, already climbing into bed beside him, grinned. “Who cares?”

After all, sleeping with Jiang Yi was the most important thing.

Jiang Yi thought for a moment and said, “But doesn’t that mean you’ll have to get up at four in the morning tomorrow?”

Lu Li shrugged, “Four o’clock, six o’clock—whatever. Just get here already.”

Jiang Yi climbed into bed, and Lu Li, with practiced ease, wrapped his arms around him. Feeling smug, Lu Li thought, Forget being the group admin—nothing beats sleeping in the same bed as Jiang Yi.

Yawning, Jiang Yi, already drowsy, vaguely thought that for Lu Li’s next birthday, he should probably give him a big body pillow.

The Next Morning, 5 a.m.

In the Lu Family Living Room.

Lu Ting massaged his temples as he looked at his teenage son sitting on the sofa, one foot wrapped in an ice pack. Lu Li coughed and said, “Dad.”

“Can we not tell Mom about this?”

Lu Ting responded calmly, “Tell her what?”

“Oh, you mean you don’t want me to tell her that in the middle of the night, you carried a suitcase to the wall, used it to climb over into Jiang Yi’s yard, and then this morning, while climbing back over, you slipped off the suitcase and dislocated your ankle?”

Lu Li remained silent.

Lu Ting continued, “Lu Li, even when your mom and I were in a long-distance relationship, I wasn’t as desperate as you.”

Lu Li: “…”

Lu Ting glanced at the family doctor, who had rushed over at the crack of dawn, and sighed, “Your reason for needing the doctor is so embarrassing, I don’t even want to call him.”

The family doctor couldn’t hold back a chuckle.

Lu Li leaned back on the sofa, pretending not to hear anything.

Standing up, Lu Ting asked, “Should I call your teacher to get you excused from school?”

Lu Li immediately replied, “No need.”

“I’m going with Jiang Yi.”

Lu Ting pressed his fingers to his forehead, thinking, This kid must have ‘Jiang’ written in his destiny, given how clingy he was to Jiang Yi.

---

6:30 a.m., Jiang Family.

After waking up, Jiang Yi didn’t even bother changing out of his pajamas. He opened the door and peeked into the living room, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw only his father, busy as usual.

After breakfast, Jiang Yi left the house with his backpack, and like every other day, Jiang’s father drove him to the Lu residence. While waiting for Lu Li, Jiang Yi reviewed vocabulary in the car.

However, when Lu Li finally appeared, he was limping.

Jiang Yi was stunned and didn’t quite know how to react.

Once Lu Li got in the car, Jiang Yi immediately asked what had happened.

Lu Li gave a vague and unclear explanation, avoiding the embarrassing truth that he had slipped off a suitcase while trying to climb over the wall.

But Jiang Yi, already guessing it had something to do with the wall, tossed his vocabulary book aside and looked at Lu Li’s foot. “You shouldn’t have come over last night.”

Lu Li, without batting an eye, lied, “My dad said that breaking bones makes them grow stronger.”

Jiang Yi frowned. “Your dad’s just talking nonsense.”

Lu Li thought, Fine, nonsense it is.

Seeing the concern on Jiang Yi’s face, Lu Li licked his fangs and said, “Come over to my place tonight and sleep with me.”

“If I don’t hold you when I sleep, I’ll toss and turn all night.”

“The doctor said I can’t move my ankle too much in the early stages, or it won’t heal properly.”

Jiang Yi hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Really?”

Lu Li nodded, “Really.”

“I swear, if I’m lying, I’m a dog.”

After another brief hesitation, Jiang Yi agreed.

Lu Li’s eyes lit up, and he quickly added, “No backing out, okay?”

Jiang Yi, still oblivious to the deception, nodded earnestly. “I won’t.”

Lu Li, who had been in a sour mood all morning, suddenly felt much better.

---

The car slowly pulled up to the school gates.

As Lu Li hopped out on one foot, Jiang Yi supported him all the way to the international class.

Along the way, many students stared at them. Lu Li, enjoying the attention, leaned in close to whisper in Jiang Yi’s ear, secretly hoping one of the onlookers was the admin who had kicked him out of the group.

Once Jiang Yi dropped Lu Li off at the international class, he made his way back to his own.

As soon as he sat down, Cheng Chao excitedly asked, “Did Lu Li break his leg?”

Jiang Yi: “…”

He muttered, “No, he just sprained his ankle.”

Cheng Chao clicked his tongue, disappointed but still curious, “How did he sprain it?”

Jiang Yi rubbed his nose. “He climbed over the wall to my house last night and sprained it climbing back over this morning.”

Cheng Chao blinked. “Wait, hold on.”

“He climbed over the wall to your house?”

“Why does he need to climb over the wall? Do his parents not let you hang out together?”

Jiang Yi shook his head and answered honestly, “No, it’s just that when he was younger, he used to come over a lot. He’d often pretend to sleep at my house because he didn’t want to go home, so Auntie Lu built a wall.”

Cheng Chao was still confused. “So why is he still climbing over the wall to see you now?”

Jiang Yi opened his pencil case and continued truthfully, “He comes over to sleep.”

Cheng Chao: “???”

“What?”

In disbelief, Cheng Chao asked, “Is he afraid of ghosts or something? Why does he need you to sleep with him?”

Jiang Yi hesitated and then said, “Maybe? He’s scared of sleeping alone.”

Cheng Chao mumbled, “I think it’s more likely that the ghosts are scared of him.”

Scared of ghosts? With that perpetually angry face, wouldn’t the ghosts be terrified of him?

Cheng Chao felt like something was off, but Jiang Yi’s expression was so natural, as if this was all completely normal. Left with no choice, Cheng Chao swallowed his questions and tentatively asked, “So… do you sleep together every night?”

Jiang Yi shook his head.

Cheng Chao sighed in relief, only to hear Jiang Yi continue, “Only when my dad’s on business trips.”

Cheng Chao: “…”

He tried to imagine what it would be like if one of his friends, like Zhong Mao, asked to sleep with him out of fear of ghosts. He’d probably just throw them into the nearest toilet and flush, with no chance of agreeing to such a request.

---

Meanwhile, in a much better mood, Lu Li leisurely posted on the school forum, announcing that he had created a group chat about Jiang Yi and inviting everyone to join.

An hour later, the group only had two members: Lu Li, the group owner, and Zhong Mao, the admin.