As Xie Fei Nian grew older and couldn’t stand the heat, he loved to go to the mountains to escape the summer heat and visit friends, staying for two or three months at a time.

An Yi planned to take the intermediate pottery certification exam during this time.

Since the exam didn’t accept individual applications, he had to find a qualified pottery training institution for collective enrollment. He could only participate in the certification exam in October. In addition, he wanted to enroll in classes to systematically study sculpture and figure sketching. He couldn’t rely solely on a master like Xie Fei Nian to teach him everything.

Ling’an City was too small, and after searching around, An Yi couldn’t find a training institution that met his requirements.

“This is easy, wait for my message.” Xie Nancang took charge of this matter and within three days had An Yi pack his bags to go to Jinan City with him.

“I’ve inquired about it. The teachers in this institution are all excellent,” Xie Nancang handed An Yi a brochure. “Here’s the teachers’ resumes. I’ve contacted the ones I marked with a star and told them about your situation. You can specify which teacher you want. I think this targeted teaching is more suitable for you than ordinary training. Think about it.”

An Yi appreciated his thoughtfulness, and the matter with the institution was settled.

Xie Nancang’s gaming company was located in Jin Hai, and he owned several properties there.

One of the apartments was not far from the training institution and could be reached on foot. But even so, An Yi insisted on renting a place to live on his own.

“An An, did I do something wrong that’s troubling you?” Xie Nancang’s tone sounded a bit hurt.

An Yi quickly shook his head and explained, “I need a lot of paint and clay for practice, and I’m afraid of dirtying your beautiful house. And you’ve already helped me a lot. If I cause you any more trouble, I’ll feel guilty.”

“Is it really just because of this?” Xie Nancang asked.

An Yi nodded.

Xie Nancang didn’t insist any further.

The training period lasted for three months, and An Yi rented a one-bedroom apartment near the training institution.

The rent, along with the training and registration fees, wasn’t cheap. However, out of the initial five million, apart from travel expenses, cemetery management fees, and the two million donated to the leukemia charity foundation, the remaining amount was basically untouched. He was now financially comfortable, and with low personal desires, living alone was easy and stress-free for him.

He threw himself into the training.

Sketching in the morning, sculpting in the afternoon, and practicing brushwork on smooth porcelain tiles alone in the evening.

He enjoyed keeping himself busy, focusing on himself, and savoring the process of slowly molding a piece of work with his own hands.

But occasionally, on a rainy night, he would think of Yan Chen.

He thought of his sarcasm and mockery, his kisses and hugs, and the last time he saw Yan Chen with red eyes, filled with indescribable anger and loss of control.

Calculating the time, it had been almost two months. For such a long time, everything had been peaceful and quiet. Presumably, the initial reluctance and denial had faded away by now, and Yan Chen should have returned to his circle, continuing to be the libertine young master of the Yan family.

An Yi didn’t dwell on any feelings. Right now, he couldn’t calm his mind enough to recall that person. The love and resentment accumulated over the past five years couldn’t be cut off completely with just a turn and leave. He could only quickly regain his senses and try to focus on his current academic life.

He treated Yan Chen’s name as taboo, but Yan Chen was completely the opposite; he went crazy thinking about him every day.

Because of the broken engagement, he was confined to his bedroom for over half a month, with his old man personally guarding him at home. He tried to run away twice, but the old man was so angry that he directly ordered the bodyguards to stop him, almost using electric batons.

As the storm of the broken engagement gradually subsided, Yan Jingwei finally calmed down, but Yan Chen still refused to back down on the matter of coming out. 

Unable to leave Yan Chen alone, Qi Wenxing, as a friend, naturally came to visit him and tease him face-to-face.

“I went to the racecourse yesterday and didn’t see you there. The gatekeepers there have started gossiping about you coming out of the closet and being chased by Uncle Yan with a cane. It was such a touching story,” Qi Wenxing laughed, leaning back on the bed. “You should have seen Qin Muye’s expression, he was almost laughing to death.”

Yan Chen’s face turned cold, and he grabbed a pillow nearby and threw it at Qi Wenxing’s face.

Qi Wenxing moved the pillow away and restrained his smile. “Seriously, what are you planning to do? You can’t keep clashing with Uncle Yan like this forever, can you?”

He advised, “In my opinion, you’d better compromise early. Are you really going to fight with your family for the sake of a man?”

There were quite a few people in this circle who swung both ways, and sexual orientation was the least significant thing. Everyone could have just silently understood each other, so Qi Wenxing couldn’t understand why Yan Chen insisted on coming out and made such a big fuss, causing such a storm.

“…Are you really into An Yi?” After thinking for a while, Qi Wenxing could only think of this reason.

Yan Chen finally showed some reaction. “How’s the thing you were supposed to investigate?”

Qi Wenxing raised an eyebrow. “Answer my question first.”

“I’ve been with him for so long, why are you asking such useless questions?” Yan Chen urged impatiently, “Get to the point, did you find him?”

“I found him, I found him.” Qi Wenxing grinned. “I have my ways, finding someone is easy.”

“Do you have any photos?”

Recently, Yan Chen couldn’t touch his phone or use a computer, and he couldn’t even see a photo of An Yi in the old house. He was about to go crazy.

Qi Wenxing took out an envelope from his back pocket and threw it to Yan Chen. Seeing how urgently he wanted it, Qi Wenxing kindly reminded him, “Just look at the ones on top.”

Yan Chen furrowed his brows and took out the photos from the envelope.

The first few were solo shots of An Yi taken from across the street. He looked handsome, holding an umbrella on the side of the road, as beautiful as a painting. Yan Chen softened his gaze slightly until he saw the last two photos—An Yi folding the umbrella and getting into a Mercedes.

“Where is he?!” Yan Chen hated that he couldn’t tear the photos apart.

“He’s in Jin Hai,” Qi Wenxing said, “This Xie Nancang is quite capable; he has protected Yi ge’s information very well. I only managed to find him by following the exam registration system.”

Yan Chen stood up abruptly, snatched the car keys from Qi Wenxing’s waist, and said nothing.

“Hey hey hey!” Qi Wenxing grabbed him. “What are you doing?!”

Yan Chen’s profound gaze spoke volumes.

Qi Wenxing sighed and took out a bank card and handed it to him . “Let me help you this time.”

Yan Chen rarely thanked him and took the keys and card, then directly jumped out of the second-floor balcony railing, landing on the lawn below, and skillfully ran along the wall towards the front yard.

Qi Wenxing made some noise in the room to cover for him. By the time the engine roared, startling the bodyguards outside the door, Yan Chen had already driven away.

Yan Chen’s ID documents had been confiscated, so he couldn’t travel by high-speed rail or plane.

Xichuan and Jinan were separated by more than half the country’s territory, but he drove non-stop for a day and night without closing his eyes, directly chasing after him.

Jin Hai had just experienced a typhoon, with continuous rain and darkness covering the sky like early nightfall in the afternoon. The training class ended early to avoid getting stuck on the road when the rain intensified.

An Yi stood under the umbrella on the street downstairs, and Xie Nancang came on time to pick him up.

He got into the car all soaked, and Xie Nancang kindly handed him a thin blanket. “Wipe yourself dry, be careful not to catch a cold.”

“Didn’t we agree to meet at the supermarket? Why did you still come to pick me up?” An Yi neatly folded the umbrella and put it into a plastic bag, tying it up to avoid wetting the car interior.

“It was on my way. I thought it would be difficult for you to catch a cab in the rain, so I came over.” Xie Nancang started the car and took him to the supermarket to buy groceries. They had agreed to cook dinner together at home that day, with An Yi cooking and Xie Nancang helping out.

Xie Nancang had been craving dumplings for a long time. The ones made in restaurants always fell short, and the atmosphere was not as cozy as at home.

So An Yi bought all the ingredients, from kneading dough to chopping filling, and even to wrapping dumplings, he did it all himself.

He worked swiftly, and once the filling was prepared, the kitchen was filled with fragrance.

Xie Nancang couldn’t stop praising, wishing he could sit by the pot with a bowl in hand.

An Yi chuckled, “were you busy today? You seem so hungry.”

“It’s because you’re so skilled,” Xie Nancang never spared compliments for An Yi. “The filling is fragrant, and the shape of the dumplings you made is cute and appetizing. If possible, I really want to eat the meals you cook every day.”

“Eating the same thing every day would get boring.”

“How could that be?” Xie Nancang said, “If you’re willing to cook every day, I’d love it. How could I be picky?”

An Yi lowered his head and continued to roll out the dough.

In the past, when Yan Chen came to see him at night, he would start preparing the ingredients in the afternoon, concentrating on cooking. Even if the dishes were all perfectly cooked, he never saw the man give it more than a passing glance. But now, it was just an ordinary meal of dumplings, yet Xie Nancang was so appreciative.

It showed that whether someone liked something or not made a big difference indeed.

Why did he insist on being stubborn in the past, preferring self-deception?

After wrapping the dumplings and cooking them, the two sat opposite each other at the dining table, eating and chatting.

An Yi showed Xie Nancang the results of his sculpture class in the past few days. He could now roughly replicate the teacher’s work, and the progress was evident from the photos.

Xie Nancang exclaimed, “You really have talent. No wonder Grandpa always praises your skillfulness and complains about my clumsiness.”

“The teacher praised me today too,” An Yi blushed and smiled shyly, “I feel a bit like a primary school student, and I’m quite embarrassed.”

“Then you’ll have to get used to it soon,” Xie Nancang smiled and ruffled his hair, “In the future, more people will praise and commend you.”

Xie Nancang asked him to sit and rest while he took the bowls and chopsticks to wash. After cleaning up the kitchen, he said he wanted to watch a movie, so An Yi turned on the TV.

Outside the window, the rain was pattering, and only the corner spotlights were on inside, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.

The two sat side by side on the sofa, watching a psychological thriller.

When the male lead discovered the truth about his split personality, Xie Nancang suddenly held An Yi’s hand, and the oversized cuffs of his home clothes slipped down his forearms, as Xie Nancang lightly rubbed the scars on An Yi’s arm with his thumb.

An Yi struggled a bit, but Xie Nancang held his hand tighter.

“Do these scars still hurt?” Xie Nancang asked him.

An Yi shook his head.

Since he had become busy, his somatic symptoms had improved a lot, and he hadn’t harmed himself for a long time.

He deliberately avoided looking at these old scars. Even though it was summer, he always wore long-sleeved sun-proof shirts to cover his arms, but he didn’t expect Xie Nancang to notice the scars on his arms.

“We’ve been together a few times, so of course I noticed,” Xie Nancang lowered his head and lightly kissed his wrist. He looked deeply into An Yi’s eyes. “Can I stay over tonight?”

The meaning of staying was self-evident.

An Yi was slightly stunned, and Xie Nancang’s kiss had already reached his lips.

“You seem a bit nervous,” Xie Nancang gently pecked his chin and cheeks, “Do you want a drink?”

An Yi lowered his eyelashes, his gaze falling on Xie Nancang’s soft lips, “No need.”

The two were on the sofa, and this time Xie Nancang was not as gentle as on the boat, causing the sofa to shift positions.

An Yi’s body half fell off the sofa, teetering on the edge.

Then he was carried by Xie Nancang to the carpet. The linen carpet was not as soft as wool and did not absorb water as well as cotton, so before long, a small puddle of water formed around An Yi’s red knees.

Xie Nancang brushed aside An Yi’s sweaty hair from behind, placing his palm on his forehead, testing his temperature. “You’re so hot, I thought you had a fever.”

Fever, that word was like a curse, awakening memories of unbearable pain and shame.

An Yi shuddered, curling up in Xie Nancang’s arms. Almost simultaneously, there was a knock on the door.

Like a nightmare replaying, Yan Chen’s cold voice came from behind the door, “An Yi, open the door.”

^[1]Author’s Note:

The exclamation mark key on my keyboard is about to be broken by Yan Chen (dog head)