Yan Chen watched An Yi’s retreating figure, his heart pounding.

He hadn’t figured out what caused this turmoil yet, but his steps had already caught up to his brain.

This was Yan Chen’s first time in the morgue, and the first time he faced the departure of a living being in such a straightforward manner.

He looked at the beautiful girl who used to call him “Yan Chen ge” and laugh with crescent-shaped eyes, now placed in the narrow, cold mortuary compartment. Watching An Yi kneeling beside her, heartbroken and tearful as he leaned down to kiss her colorless cheek, Yan Chen was deeply moved.

He walked over to bid farewell to An Ya.

An Yi lowered his eyes, tears welling up, unwilling to look away from An Ya’s face for even a moment.

It wasn’t until the staff came to gently remind him that there would be other bodies arriving soon that An Yi finally let go.

Just as the morgue drawer was being pushed back, An Yi’s mental defenses collapsed.

His vision went black, and he collapsed directly into Yan Chen’s arms.

“An Yi! An Yi!”

Yan Chen was shocked by his feverish temperature and hurriedly carried him to the emergency room upstairs.

A duty nurse brought people over to help and got An Yi into the emergency room. Yan Chen was stopped again.

He leaned against the cold wall, raising his hand to touch his cheek.

That slap felt like it had rooted itself in his face, the sting spreading to his chest, leaving him with strands of confusion and helplessness, wrapping tightly around his heart.

He waited outside the emergency room until dawn. Lin Yuming came out and told him that An Yi’s fever had subsided but he hadn’t woken up.

“Why hasn’t he woken up?! Is there something else wrong?” Yan Chen asked anxiously.

Lin Yuming rubbed his dry eyes and said irritably, “What did you do to him, don’t you know? He was already having severe withdrawal symptoms. You’re still provoking him like this, are you trying to push him to a dead end?”

“What withdrawal symptoms?”

“He has long-term insomnia, anxiety, and he’s on antidepressants. Don’t tell me you didn’t know.”

“…” Yan Chen was speechless. He really didn’t know.

Lin Yuming was furious with him, but he was a cultured person and didn’t like arguing with others. At this moment, he didn’t want to waste his breath on Yan Chen.

“If you still have a conscience, please stay away from him, he has been through enough.” Lin Yuming had been busy for several days in a row, and now he couldn’t hold on anymore. After saying that, he waved his hand and left quickly.

Yan Chen felt a bit embarrassed, but Lin Yuming’s words reminded him.

He called Jiang Hai and the two of them finished the trivial formalities together, then contacted the funeral home. Qin Muye transferred An Yi to a single room to take care of him.

After An Yi woke up once after the fever broke, he was given a sedative by the doctor due to his excessive agitation and then fell into a deep sleep again.

He felt like he was trapped in a swamp, struggling more and more, sinking deeper and deeper.

The mud first swallowed his grandfather, then his parents. He cried out “no”, but watched helplessly as his sister, in pain, was slowly swallowed by the swamp.

He heard An Ya crying and calling him “ge”, saying she was scared. He wanted to hold her tightly, but his comforting words were choked back by the mud that filled his throat.

He couldn’t breathe.

Before suffocating, he finally woke up.

His hospital gown was soaked with cold sweat. He looked like a ghost who had just crawled out of hell, with a pale face. He stumbled out of bed, muttering that he wanted to find his sister.

Qin Muye, who had just washed his face, came back and was scared when he saw this scene. He hurried over to help him back to bed. “You just had a fever, haven’t eaten anything for a day, and you can’t get out of bed and move around.”

An Yi stared blankly at the ceiling for a few seconds, suddenly awakened. He no longer had a sister.

He had nothing left.

One by one, his loved ones left him, and now there was only him.

How could this be? Why did it have to be like this? What did he do wrong to experience this endless pain over and over again?

“Yi Ge, …..” Qin Muye wanted to say “condolences”, but stopped himself, “Do you want something to eat? Shall I go buy you some lean meat porridge?”

An Yi didn’t say yes or no.

While Qin Muye went to the nurse’s station to order food, An Yi walked barefoot into the stairwell and ran downstairs directly to the morgue.

Yan Chen and Jiang Hai were discussing the procedures for transferring the remains. When they saw An Yi appear barefoot, Yan Chen immediately took off his coat, wrapped him up, and sat him down on a bench. “Why aren’t you wearing shoes? Aren’t you cold?”

An Yi didn’t speak, his gaze fixed on the entrance to the morgue, where his little sister was still sleeping.

Jiang Hai ran to the convenience store upstairs and bought a pair of cotton slippers. When Yan Chen helped An Yi put on the slippers, he noticed a tear in his thin pants. He rolled up his trouser legs and saw bruises on An Yi’s knees.

“Did you fall just now?” Yan Chen asked, but An Yi seemed not to hear, still staring at the entrance to the morgue absorbed in thought.

Yan Chen lowered the hem of his pants and pondered for a moment before whispering, “I’ve arranged… the funeral. When do you want them to come?”

Only then did An Yi react. He blinked his wet lashes and looked at Yan Chen coldly, asking, “What funeral?”

Yan Chen’s throat tightened, unsure how to respond.

An Yi looked into the distance again. After a long, long time, tears streaming down his face, he whispered, “Now, please. It’s too cold in there.”

Yan Chen: “Alright.”

An Yi was brought back to his villa to recuperate, while Yan Chen took care of everything else.

Five days later, An Yi, limping and dressed in plain black, went to bid farewell to An Ya for the last time.

An Ya’s appearance was clean and beautiful, dressed in the skirt they had agreed she would wear when she left the hospital. She lay quietly in the coffin, surrounded by flowers, looking as if she had returned to her pre-illness state.

Before cremation, An Yi placed a photo of them entering the transplant ward into her hands, without saying a word.

He brought a small glass vial with a long finger joint and filled it with a bit of An Ya’s ashes, placing it close to him.

Then he carried the urn and buried his sister’s ashes next to his parents’ tombstone.

He knelt in front of the tombstone, his figure lonely.

Yan Chen stood under a tree in the distance, smoking a cigarette. After the smell of smoke dissipated from his body, he went over and helped An Yi up. “Let’s go. Your knees aren’t healed yet.”

An Yi got into the car with him. After the car had driven for a while, he suddenly said, “Turn left up ahead.”

Yan Chen glanced at him.

An Yi said, “Go to Feng Jiayuan.”

Feng Jiayuan was a villa community developed by a local developer in Xichuan in previous years. The landscape design seemed a bit outdated when viewed with modern eyes. Passing the fountain pool in the atrium, there was a dilapidated two-story villa with peeling paint on the walls, which used to be An Yi’s home.

This house was mortgaged to the creditor to repay the debt many years ago. Later, the creditor got into trouble, and the house was seized and auctioned by the court. It was unclear who owned it now.

An Yi looked into the yard through the railing.

The garden had been neglected for a long time, and the lawn where An Ya had once taken her first steps was already abandoned.

The wrought-iron bench on the porch where Grandpa used to sit in the sun was already covered in rust.

Only the pomegranate tree that his mother had tended with him still stood half-dead in the cold winter wind.

Everything couldn’t go back to the way it was.

An Yi withdrew his gaze and limped back to the car.

Yan Chen started the car and asked him, “Do you want to go for a drive? Or go out for a stroll? How about going abroad? I’ll take you somewhere warm for the winter.”

An Yi shook his head. He didn’t want to go anywhere.

Yan Chen asked again, “Then is there anything you want to eat? You’ve lost weight recently, you need to eat well.”

An Yi simply closed his eyes, not giving any response.

Yan Chen sighed inwardly, gripping the steering wheel tightly and then letting go, driving the car straight back to his villa.

After getting out of the car, An Yi didn’t let him help. He limped upstairs alone and locked himself in his room.

Yan Chen specifically called the nutritionist who made healthy meals for his mother in the old house. He prepared three meals a day for An Yi in various styles, but every time An Yi only took a few bites, saying he was full, and then went back to his room.

Yan Chen patiently accompanied him, trying various ways to cheer him up and take him out for a change, but An Yi’s response was always indifferent.

He wasn’t deliberately opposing Yan Chen, but he just couldn’t muster any interest.

Before, he was busy and tireless, working hard to repay debts, to pay for his mother’s medical treatment, to raise An Ya… he always had a taut string, never knowing fatigue. But now, without An Ya, that taut string suddenly snapped, and his life came to a complete standstill.

What was he busy with? What was there left to do?

Nothing mattered anymore. His life had lost all meaning.

The day An Ya left, it felt like she took his soul with her, and now he floated in the air, in the rain, aimless and without any anchor. Wherever the wind blew him, he went.

He could never return home, never land, never see the ones he wanted to see.

A huge, unfillable void cracked open in his heart.

He tried to drown it in alcohol, but it only turned into tears.

He attempted to fill it with medication, but Lin Yuming watched him closely, and he couldn’t get enough of those prescription drugs.

A few days later, Yan Chen brought him a small cardboard box.

Inside were some of the everyday items An Ya had kept with her during her hospital stay. Among them was a notebook, one that An Yi often saw her writing and drawing in.

The notebook was already half used, with some creased pages, many of which still bore traces of tears.

An Yi trembled as he opened it. Several photos tucked into the notebook fell out, mostly of the two of them together, with Yan Chen in a few of them. Besides the photos, there was also a neatly folded note with his handwriting on it.

“I promise to accompany An Ya to see the sea, climb snowy mountains, and ride horses on the grassland, without regret.”

— An Yi

His own handwriting.

An Yi couldn’t help but cry.

His promise remained, but the person who had asked for the note as proof would never come back.

An Yi tucked the note away and turned the pages to read what An Ya had written.

Her pain, her strength, her fear, her longing… Every word pierced his heart. Especially as her life neared its end, her once graceful handwriting had become obscure and difficult to discern, each stroke showing her struggle at the time.

She wrote: “I want to die so badly, but my brother would cry.”

On the day her life came to a halt, she wrote the last few words: “Ge, don’t cry. Live happily and freely, and when you miss me, just look up at the sky. The clouds are me, and so are the stars.”

An Yi hugged the notebook, unable to speak.

In extreme emptiness and pain, he faced the loneliest Spring Festival of his life.

Fireworks were set off outside the window, and he sat on the windowsill, hugging his knees, staring quietly at the brilliant night sky.

Suddenly, a warm breath enveloped him from behind, and Yan Chen wrapped him in his arms.

An Yi sat still, his gaze still fixed on the deep night.

Yan Chen had sneaked back from the Yan family’s old house to accompany him, thinking it would move An Yi, but An Yi, like the past two months, treated him as if he were air. No matter how affectionate he was, An Yi remained like stagnant water, without any ripples.

Yan Chen had had a little to drink that day, and now he was a little drunk. Unable to help himself, he became a bit aggressive.

He reached up to An Yi’s throat, using a little force to lift his chin, forcing An Yi to lean back against him.

He lowered his head, skillfully kissing An Yi’s lips, but An Yi refused to respond.

“I’m tired,” An Yi said.

Yan Chen whispered, “Just lean on me then, no need to move.”

An Yi refused again, “I’m not in the mood.”

Yan Chen coaxed, “Even venting in bed helps. Give it a try.”

This time, An Yi pushed him away directly. “I really don’t want to. Find someone else.”

At his words, Yan Chen’s face darkened.

For the past three months, he had been incredibly accommodating to An Yi. Yan Chen could swear that he had never been so humble and submissive in his entire life.

But he found that An Yi, once stubborn, was extremely difficult to deal with.

Yan Chen’s patience finally ran out. He asked sternly, “So you’re not even willing to let me touch you now?”

An Yi sat back on the bay window without saying a word.

Yan Chen clicked his tongue, grabbing his chin, “I’m asking you a question.”

An Yi slapped his hand away, saying coldly, “Stop bothering me.”

“An Yi,” Yan Chen’s face turned completely cold, “I skipped my family’s banquet to be with you, don’t be stubborn.”

“Did I ask you to?” An Yi lifted his eyes indifferently, “Have I made you feel aggrieved in the past two months? Then you can go find someone else, anyway, I’m not the only one by your side.”

“More and more spirited, aren’t we!”

Yan Chen’s anger surged up, but seeing the tears in An Yi’s eyes, he took a few deep breaths and forcibly suppressed his temper.

“I know you’re still blaming me for… the things before,” afraid that An Yi would be upset, now An Ya’s name had become a tacit taboo between them, “If you’re angry, just let it out, I won’t argue with you this time.”

An Yi didn’t follow his lead: “Do you want me to thank you for your magnanimity and then kneel down to thank you tearfully? You’re wrong, Yan Chen. I’m not mad at you or resentful of you, I hate you!” Even though he knew An Ya’s departure was inevitable, missing the last chance to see her was his lifelong regret, and he couldn’t let it go.

“Take that back!” Yan Chen yelled at him.

“I won’t! I’m telling the truth!”

“Fine, fine,” Yan Chen was truly annoyed this time, “I’ve been treating you like a god for the past two months, and now you think so highly of yourself, don’t you? What kind of person can’t I find?!”

“Then go find one! Don’t come looking for me anymore, let’s end it!”

An Yi choked back tears and finished speaking. Yan Chen couldn’t hold onto his dignity any longer, his expression cold as he gave An Yi a fierce look before storming out.

The spacious villa turned into a cold, silent tomb.

An Yi felt uncomfortable staying there, so that night, he packed up his sister’s things and went back to his apartment.

It still looked as messy as it did on that rainy night, with furniture covered in dust, and the air so cold that even breathing hurt.

He didn’t bother to clean up. He walked into the adjacent small room, holding An Ya’s notebook.

This was An Ya’s bedroom, and she hadn’t been back since she fell ill and went to the hospital. There were traces of her everywhere—stuffed animals on the bed, posters on the wall, ornaments on the desk, potted plants on the windowsill—but everything was gradually disappearing.

An Yi sat on the carpet at the foot of the bed, picked up a rabbit plush toy from the bed, and leaned back against the mattress, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Faintly, he could hear the sound of the neighbors’ TV and laughter outside the window, joyful as they counted down to the New Year.

At the stroke of midnight, An Yi buried his face in the long ears of the rabbit, and burst into tears.

The stronger the festive atmosphere, the lonelier he felt.

He bought a case of beer and locked himself in his room.

With the curtains drawn, he couldn’t tell whether it was day or night, or whether it had been days or just a few hours.

When a glaring light hit his face, An Yi frowned and retreated to the corner, taking a moment to adjust before seeing the face of the person who had entered.

It was Lin Yuming and Qin Muye.

“How much have you been drinking?” Qin Muye wrinkled his nose at the heavy smell of alcohol in the room.

An Yi shook his head, and Lin Yuming directly held his face, using a small flashlight to check his dilated eyes, “Besides drinking, have you taken any medication? How long have you been drinking, do you have any other discomforts now?”

An Yi shook his head again. He wanted to take medicine, but there was none left at home.

Except for him, there was nothing left in this house.

Lin Yuming breathed a sigh of relief, helped An Yi into the bathroom, and washed his face for him.

An Yi returned to the living room and sat down dejectedly, his voice hoarse like a broken radio: “Why are you guys here?”

“Of course we’re worried about you,” Lin Yuming sighed, “An Yi, I know you’re sad, but people should look forward, it’s time to move on.”

Qin Muye echoed, “If your sister were here, she would be sad to see you like this.”

An Yi rubbed his face, “I know, thanks for caring.”

Lin Yuming could tell that he wasn’t taking it to heart.

He advised, “An Yi, you shouldn’t be like this now. You’ve always been the exceptional big brother that An Ya was proud of. She would definitely want you to live well and not be downcast. In the past, you did everything for your family, now do it for yourself.”

“For myself?”

Since he was 18, An Yi hadn’t lived a single day for himself in the past ten years. He had become accustomed to running around for his family, and now that he had no goal, everything he did seemed meaningless.

Since there was no meaning, what was the point of change?

“So, are you planning to lock yourself in here, drink until you die, and no one will know?” Qin Muye suddenly became a bit agitated and pulled An Yi, wanting to take him outside.

“What are you doing!” Lin Yuming came over to stop him.

Qin Muye glanced at An Yi’s flushed cheeks. “Yi ge wants to drown his sorrows in alcohol, so let’s go have a good drink.”

An Yi was stuffed into the car, Lin Yuming sat beside him, and Qin Muye drove them straight to a club, where various kinds of foreign liquor were ordered and filled the table.

“Drink,” Qin Muye raised his glass. “I’ll drink as much as you do.”

Lin Yuming also poured himself half a glass and joked, “This expensive foreign liquor, I won’t be polite.”

An Yi picked up his glass and clinked it with theirs, gulping down half a glass, but he didn’t feel any better.

He had been isolated from the outside world for too long and found everything noisy and annoying.

He would rather go back to his little nest and fend for himself.

After drinking a few glasses in silence, Qin Muye suddenly sat beside him and handed him a bottle of iced tea.

Just like when they first met.

An Yi was taken aback and thanked him.

But Qin Muye shook his head and said, “I should be the one thanking you.”

An Yi didn’t understand, and Qin Muye smiled bitterly, “You made me see how rotten I used to be. Now when I look at Yan Chen, it’s like looking in a mirror.”

An Yi lowered his head and took a sip of the drink.

Qin Muye looked at him seriously. Because the music was loud, he leaned in closer and asked, “Did you have a fight with Yan Chen yesterday? I saw him drinking alone.”

An Yi didn’t quite agree, he thought it should be considered an incomplete breakup.

Qin Muye sighed, “I really don’t understand. How could you like someone like him? Is it because he’s handsome, rich, and has a good body? I know you’re not that shallow.”

An Yi didn’t want to explain, and there was no need to explain anymore.

He had witnessed Yan Chen’s tenderness, especially when he had helped him several times when he was in trouble. It was hard not to be moved by that. Because of this hint of affection, he knew Yan Chen was an abyss, but he still jumped in without hesitation.

Now, with little love left, he thought that the youthful infatuation that started in their teenage years had probably come to an end.

“It would have been better to leave him earlier,” Qin Muye looked at him earnestly, “I’m saying this not because I like you, but as an observer. You and Yan Chen are not from the same world. He’s not worthy of you, and neither am I. You’re so clean and pure, you should live well in your own world.”

An Yi turned to look into his eyes and asked softly, “What is Yan Chen’s world like?”

Qin Muye didn’t speak, as the surroundings had already answered for him.

The strong music, dazzling lights, and bustling crowd… reveling in extravagance and debauchery was their way of life. Who would willingly give up all of this for one person and leave this flashy world behind?

Reflecting the colorful surroundings in his eyes, but his pupils were dull and lifeless.

He understood Qin Muye’s meaning, but it only made him more confused and miserable inside.

After struggling for nearly ten years, he was about to turn 30, without a job, with few friends, and most importantly, his closest family members had all passed away, leaving him all alone.

The only intimate relationship he thought he had… was in a mess.

Why could everyone else live passionately and freely, while he was in constant turmoil and hardship?

He felt like such a failure.

“An Yi, you’re just too serious,” Lin Yuming, who knows when, sat down beside him with a glass of wine. “Take me, for example, I’m in the hospital every day, I’ve encountered all sorts of frustrating things. If you take everything seriously, you’ll probably collapse long ago. Sometimes being too clear-minded makes you suffer, it’s better to be a bit muddled.”

“Is that so?”

Lin Yuming took a sip of his drink and smiled, “Sometimes, you have to relax.”

“Relax and enjoy the present moment.”

An Yi looked around again, as if in a surreal and absurd dream. Everyone immersed in it was indulging themselves, flirting, teasing, seducing, pulling… Yielding to instinct, indulging in pleasure.

Does the glamorous world truly have such great power to make people no longer feel pain?

If he were a bit more carefree, could he also find happiness?

Seeing that it was already late, Qin Muye decided it was time to close up. He had three executive suites upstairs, ensuring quietness and no disturbances.

An Yi stayed in the middle suite. Despite drinking quite a bit that night, he felt no drowsiness at all.

He stood in front of the glass window, looking down at the bustling streets below, as if standing in the current of time, with only him being paused.

He pushed open the window, leaning out completely, as if he could still smell the lingering scent of gunpowder in the air after the fireworks had exploded.

Jumping down might be a good idea.

Just like his father did back then, taking a leap, and all the pain would disappear.

Moreover, now that he was alone, he wouldn’t drag another 18-year-old boy through ten years of torment.

An Yi lifted one leg.

His phone behind him began to ring loudly, faintly reflecting Yan Chen’s name on the glass window.

He didn’t care, and looked up at the night sky.

The city’s night scene was forever tainted with light pollution, and he couldn’t see the clouds and stars he longed for.

What about his Xiao Ya?

In another world, could she see the sea and the snow-capped mountains?

An Yi lifted the other leg, relying solely on his hands lightly hooking the window sill.

He glanced down, seeing a dark alley below. Would he hit a passing stray cat if he fell?

He took a deep breath, his heart pounding fiercely, and his palms began to sweat.

The ringing behind him started again.

An Yi remembered the several missed calls, which ultimately led him to miss his last meeting with Xiao Ya.

On the last day of her life, Xiao Ya still cared about him, wanting him to live happily and freely. What is freedom? Would jumping down bring freedom?

The cold wind blew, making his tear marks feel cold and wet. He climbed back into the room, and sat down weakly against the glass window, giving himself a hard slap.

He blamed Yan Chen, but also hated himself.

He was neither as resilient nor as brave as Xiao Ya.

Xiao Ya could resist all pain resolutely, even though she had thoughts of escape, she still fought until the very end of her life.

And he was just a coward who wanted to leave halfway through.

Yan Chen’s incoming call continued incessantly, disturbing An Yi’s troubled mind.

He wiped away his tears, stood up to wash his face, without taking his phone, he went downstairs alone back to that dazzling and colorful world.

The midnight session had begun, and there were even more people on the dance floor than before, more lively. An Yi sat quietly at the bar for a while, rejecting several men and women who came to talk to him. He swiped his card to book a quiet private room.

The manager came to greet him when he saw An Yi swiping his card under Yan Chen’s name.

When the manager was about to leave the room, An Yi suddenly stopped him, “Find me a few people… men.”

“Okay, do you have any requirements?” the manager respectfully asked, “Such as height, skin color, and so on.”

“…Cleaner ones,” An Yi said.

“No problem, please wait a moment.” Not long after the manager left, he called in seven or eight people into the private room, standing in a row for An Yi to choose.

An Yi was doing this for the first time, feeling awkward and embarrassed, he dared not look closely. He casually pointed to a tall man and said, “Him, that one.”

The man he pointed to bowed slightly towards him. When everyone else left the room, he sat next to An Yi and extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Ming.”

An Yi nodded, not really looking at him directly, unsure of what to say.

“Do you drink, boss?” Ming wanted to liven up the atmosphere, but An Yi shook his head.

He had already drunk enough today; he wasn’t in the mood for more.

Right now, he wanted to relax, to indulge, to revel in sensuality.

He wanted to experience passion with a stranger, to see if it really felt that good, good enough to temporarily forget the pain.

He wanted to take a stroll in the flashy world and understand why Yan Chen didn’t want his love, preferring to indulge in worldly pleasures.

“Can you go out with clients?” An Yi asked bluntly. “The kind that involves getting a room.”

“I’ve never done that before, but… if it’s the boss, I’m willing,” Ming looked at him with a deeper gaze. “But I never…bottom”

“…Then let’s go.” An Yi downed the half-filled glass of wine on the table and stood up to leave.

He led the man back to the upstairs suite, where the environment was relatively quiet, but the atmosphere became somewhat intense. An Yi stood with his arms crossed at the door and said to Ming, “Then… you go take a shower first.”

“We can shower together,” Ming approached him, his tall figure easily enveloping An Yi, “I’ll help you.”

“I… I’m used to showering alone,” An Yi frowned, speaking softly.

“Is that so?” Ming lowered his eyes, getting closer, and lightly brushed his fingertips over An Yi’s ear, where his hair was slightly longer. He chuckled softly. “Your ears are red; you’re easily embarrassed.” After saying that, he pecked An Yi’s ear and turned to enter the bathroom.

An Yi let out a long sigh.

He walked back to the bedroom, his phone was dead, which was good; he didn’t want to see anything annoying right now.

Listening to the rushing water in the bathroom, An Yi felt a bit constrained. He checked the bedside table and found lube and condoms, everything was there.

He took them out and placed them on the bedside table, glanced at them for a moment, then threw them onto the bed.

Ming showered quickly and came out wearing only a towel. His slightly long, wet hair covered half of his face, and for a moment, he looked like Yan Chen stepping out.

An Yi panicked a bit and said, “I’m going to shower,” then hastily retreated into the bathroom.

The misty hot water quickly wet his cheeks, and he wiped off the condensation on the mirror, staring at it for a long time.

He shouldn’t have second thoughts at this time when the arrow was already on the string.

An Yi took a deep breath, undressed, and went to shower. He washed slowly and carefully, his skin turning red from the hot water. After washing, he wrapped himself in a bathrobe, twisted the doorknob, and went out into the quiet bedroom, barefoot.

Ming stood by the bed, looking at him with a complex expression.

An Yi looked puzzled, then saw Yan Chen sitting in the shadow under the window.

“Aren’t you going to explain?” Yan Chen’s tone was unfriendly, giving Ming a cold glance.

“There’s nothing to explain,” An Yi tightened his collar and said calmly, “It’s just as you thought.”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t in the mood, didn’t want to do it? It seems you just don’t want to do it with me.”

“Yes,” An Yi nodded. “I don’t even want to see you.”

Yan Chen came to him, lifted his chin, and said in a deep voice, “Say it again.”

An Yi turned his head away, refusing to even look at him.

“An Yi, why are you always against me?” Yan Chen gritted his teeth. “Didn’t you say you love me? How long has it been, and you’re already hooking up with someone else!”

At his words, An Yi smirked and repeated exactly what Yan Chen had once said to him.

“I do love you, but I never said I only love you.”

“It was just talk, you didn’t take it seriously, did you?”

Yan Chen was choked up and couldn’t say a word.

Only a pair of reddened eyes were blazing with fire.

Ming, who was standing aside, understood what was going on. He awkwardly spoke up, “Excuse me, if the boss doesn’t need me, then I’ll…”

“Get lost,” Yan Chen didn’t want to hear another word.

Ming swiftly grabbed his clothes and left.

An Yi took a step back, sneering, so he could take in Yan Chen’s current state completely.

“Why are you angry? Are you going to force yourself on me now?” 

Yan Chen’s heart tightened suddenly. At this moment, An Yi seemed to be covered in sharp thorns, but inside, he was already completely shattered. Yan Chen sighed deeply, “Can’t you just talk to me calmly?”

An Yi said coldly, “There’s nothing to talk about between us.”

“I don’t believe it!” Yan Chen grabbed his shoulder. “I know you’re doing this today to provoke me, to retaliate for those hurtful words I said to you that day.”

“I don’t have any grudges against you, so there’s no question of retaliation,” An Yi raised his eyes to meet his. “I’m just like you, I want to do it when I feel like it, with someone who catches my eye, nothing special.”

“You’re still saying you’re not angry?!” Yan Chen glared at him.

“I’m not angry. From now on, whatever I do has nothing to do with you.”

“…Damn it, why do you always anger me so much!” Yan Chen, frustrated, simply lowered his head and sealed An Yi’s lips with his own.

An Yi pounded him, pushed him, and fiercely bit him.

Between their tightly pressed lips, the scent of blood soon permeated the air. Yan Chen furrowed his brows tightly but refused to let go.

An Yi struggled to break free, but eventually stopped trying. However, when he was thrown onto the bed, he didn’t yield to Yan Chen’s desires as he used to.

He insisted on taking control from Yan Chen, displaying a decadent sensuality that Yan Chen had never seen in him before, yet his eyes were hollow, devoid of the love and affection that used to surge within.

After a night of indulgence, Yan Chen wanted to take him home, but An Yi unexpectedly stuffed two hundred yuan into his belt.

A hint of surprise flashed in Yan Chen’s eyes. “What’s the meaning of this?”

“It’s your tip,” An Yi retorted. “Not enough?”

Yan Chen chuckled in frustration. “You spent two thousand on that guy last night, and I’m worth only two hundred?!”

An Yi pulled out another fifty from his wallet and slapped it into Yan Chen’s hand.

Yan Chen was annoyed to the core. “You’re really pushing it now. Come on, let’s go home.”

“No,” An Yi put on his clothes, walked to the table, and took a sip of water to soothe his hoarse throat. “We made it clear on New Year’s Eve; it’s over, and from now on, you play your game, and I’ll play mine.”

“You play yours,” Yan Chen sneered, “Do you have the money to play?”

An Yi’s heart was pounding fast, but he spoke quite calmly, word by word, “You’ve always been generous to your lovers. Others can get a house from you in three months, but after being with me for five years, isn’t three to five million reasonable?”

^[1]Author’s Note:

Someone’s about to break through the defenses, I won’t say who.