Lin Bosheng didn’t show much of an emotional reaction to this delayed apology. He smiled politely, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes, and his smile was more like a grimace. He exchanged a few pleasantries, coldly.

“You mentioned those things before, but I’ve already forgotten about them…”

Liu Sizhen noticed the awkward tension and quickly stepped in to ease the atmosphere, “Yeah… Look, I’m fine now, right? He’s not that petty.”

Lu Xu: “…”

He nearly blurted out, Can you really compare?

Back then, Liu Sizhen did bully him, but it wasn’t as severe. At most, he often made Liu Sizhen do things, but seeing Lin Bosheng’s reaction, it didn’t seem unwilling. Eventually, Liu Sizhen didn’t need to say anything—Lin Bosheng became very self-aware.

Lu Xu had been a little slow to realize what was going on, sensing something was off between them, but not being able to pinpoint exactly what.

Looking back now, he realized: Wasn’t that flirting?

And one willing, the other willing to endure…

But had Lin Bosheng really forgotten?

Nonsense, how could he forget?

Lin Bosheng was someone who would repay any wrong done to him. Every face, every name, every word spoken by those who had bullied him—he remembered them all, clearly.

Once given the opportunity, he would never let them off easy. But… since Liu Sizhen was still around, he didn’t want to spoil his image in front of him. Even if he had to pretend, he had to act magnanimous.

“We’re all classmates, no need to be so distant… You can just call me by my name.”

As he said this, Lin Bosheng shot Lu Xu a dark, cold look from the corner where Liu Sizhen couldn’t see. That glance reeked of silent threat.

This was very different from the friendly tone in his words.

The moment Lu Xu caught that look, he felt a chill run down his spine. He wanted to get away as quickly as possible, not daring to call Lin Bosheng by his name.

“…”

“What’s wrong?”

Liu Sizhen still didn’t realize.

Lu Xu watched Lin Bosheng expose his sharp fangs in front of him, but when he turned to face Liu Sizhen, it was as if he had become a different person—smiling brightly, acting completely differently.

He sure knows how to fake it. No wonder those other classmates and people from different schools had such a strong dislike for him back then. Every time they mentioned him, it was with clenched teeth—there was some merit to it.

Lu Xu didn’t want to stay near Lin Bosheng, and as it turned out, Lin Bosheng felt the same. He gently reminded Liu Sizhen, “Zhenzhen, are you hungry?”

They had planned to go around the school area, sparked by Liu Sizhen’s comment that he didn’t know how the second high school was doing now. Lin Bosheng had taken a week off just to bring him back.

Though not completely idle, Lin Bosheng had managed his time well enough to spare some for a meal. The two of them coincidentally chose not to take a car but walked the route they used to.

The few kilometers seemed far, but while chatting, they were nearly there. It was supposed to be a nostalgic afternoon, but unexpectedly, they ran into Lu Xu on the way.

Seeing him, Liu Sichen politely invited Lu Xu, “What about you? Are you busy? If not, would you like to join us?”

Lu Xu, however, seemed a bit hesitant, almost shaking his head off.

“No, no, I’m very busy. I’m… a little busy right now…”

Funny, just earlier when they met, Lu Xu said he had been free lately, but now he was suddenly claiming to be busy?

“It’s fine, since he’s busy, we can just go by ourselves,” the male lead said with a smile, looking in a good mood. “Shall we go to the usual place?”

---

There was a dessert shop near the second high school that was very popular with students. The drinks and desserts were loved by the nearby students, and the decoration was excellent. It was one of the few places at the time that had a second floor with separated booths, and after school, the shop was always crowded with students.

It was a business-minded place, with a wall for messages in the lobby, and many students liked to leave notes there or study, and later, people began to meet up there.

Even though their prices were higher than other places, many students still liked to go.

At that time, it was relatively new, but eventually, it became quite common.

Liu Sizhen had seen many changes over the past few days, and his first reaction was, “Oh? They’re still open?”

“Yeah, they’re open.”

Lin Boshen wanted it open.

As they spoke, the male lead naturally took Liu Sizhen’s hand.

In China, it was still a little jarring to see two boys holding hands in public. As soon as they did, they immediately felt several strange stares directed their way.

Liu Sizhen was shy and wanted to pull his hand away, but as soon as Lin Bosheng sensed the slightest hesitation from him, what was initially a tentative hold turned into a firm clasp, his fingers interlocking with Liu Sizhen’s. His tone naturally carried a slightly commanding edge.

“Don’t move.”

After becoming an adult, Lin Bosheng had become particularly dominant, and his strength was such that Liu Sizhen couldn’t pull his hand away. Realizing his tone had been a little harsh, he softened his voice, “Why are you so easily embarrassed?”

“…”

As Lin Bosheng continued speaking, it seemed like he remembered something.

“Last night, you were also like this…”

The mention of this successfully diverted Liu Sizhen’s attention.

“Shut up, shut up!!”

“Okay, okay, I won’t say anything.”

Seeing Liu Sizhen’s expression, so vivid and full of emotion, Lin Bosheng felt a sense of satisfaction deep in his chest, knowing that this was a side of Liu Sizhen only he could see.

He always liked to tease him, and so he leaned in and spoke softly.

“Don’t be angry, or else tonight…”

The last few words were so faint, but Lin Bosheng didn’t even need to hear them. With just the lip movements, Liu Sizhen knew exactly what was said, and his face immediately turned bright red. He hurriedly walked ahead, not wanting to speak to him anymore.

“Zhenzhen… Don’t walk so fast, watch where you’re going.”

Liu Sizhen was so easily flustered… They hadn’t even done anything outrageous. All Lin Bosheng had done was help him once. Of course, he wanted to take things further, as that cute, vulnerable side of Liu Sizhen was irresistible.

Lin Bosheng watched as Liu Sizhen looked at him in a daze, his eyes full of unwillingness and dependence.

He taught him how to bite the corner of his shirt, and Liu Sizhen obediently followed suit.

The sticky, muffled sound of him…

“You… What are you doing?! Spit it out! It’s dirty!”

Lin Bosheng chuckled as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.

“Zhenzhen, it’s not dirty.”

---

Lin Bosheng thought of it as a trivial matter, but for Liu Sizhen, who had been brought up with strict education, it was already quite over the line. He couldn’t just casually say things that easily led to inappropriate thoughts, like Lin Bosheng could.

It was incredibly rude.

— What he said earlier at the hospital could be overlooked since they didn’t understand him, but could it be the same now?

Liu Sizhen came to a conclusion:

— Lin Bosheng must have learned these things from someone, and it wasn’t good.

So how did they both end up like this?

After Liu Sizhen returned to the country, everything seemed normal for the first couple of days. He moved back into the original villa, and everything inside was almost exactly the same, as if nothing had changed since he left.

Even the house staff, who had scattered before, were all gathered again by Lin Bosheng, and Liu Sizhen sometimes felt a little confused, as if nothing had changed at all.

Of course, Liu Sizhen knew why Lin Bosheng did this.

He wanted to recreate the same atmosphere Liu Sizhen had known, and he succeeded. After dropping Liu Sizhen back at the villa, he quietly returned to his own place.

A couple of days passed, and Liu Sizhen started feeling uneasy.

After all, it was Lin Bosheng who paid for the house, so legally, it belonged to him. Liu Sizhen didn’t feel entirely comfortable staying there.

So on the third day, at dinner, he called out to Lin Bosheng.

If he had known what was going to happen next, he would have kept quiet.

But there’s no such thing as a “regret pill.”

He didn’t know what happened that evening. Dinner seemed just like the past couple of days, but shortly after eating, he started feeling unwell, like he was about to have a fever, but it felt different from the usual feverish symptoms.

It was so quiet. Where was everyone? It shouldn’t be this quiet at this time. Lin Bosheng had anticipated this and had already quietly sent the cleaning staff away.

Since he was the one paying them, it was an easy request to make, and Lin Bosheng knew it wasn’t exactly moral, but… he never claimed to be a good person.

“Zhenzhen, what’s wrong?”

He pretended to be concerned.

“I… I don’t know… I’m feeling a bit hot… and a little…”

…Uncomfortable.

The delicate-faced, black-haired boy was flushed, lying on the soft sofa. He even felt particularly embarrassed, wanting to cover his certain reaction with his hand because he didn’t want Lin Bosheng to see it. Earlier, Lin Bosheng had been somewhat stern, asking him to stay before dinner, but now, he was telling him to leave.

However, this didn’t make Lin Bosheng think he was bad-tempered or moody. He simply saw him as a little, feisty creature, all show and no substance—bluffing.

He even found this awkward reaction of his particularly cute.

Lin Bosheng moved closer to Liu Sizhen, gently cradling his face, and kissed his lips. He wasn’t sure if it was just a psychological effect, but he felt that his lips were sweet.

“So sweet…”

Liu Sizhen’s only experience with kissing was when Lin Bosheng forcibly kissed him. That time, they were outside, so the kiss didn’t last long, but the one after he returned to the country was different.

By the end of the kiss, Liu Sizhen felt like he was running out of oxygen.

What he could remember was the faint, indescribable fragrance on Lin Bosheng’s body and his steady voice guiding him on how to breathe properly.

“Don’t hold your breath…”

“It’s not like this, Zhenzhen.”

He was holding his face so gently, but the kiss was rough, like a starved carnivore… His tongue was tingling.

Lin Bosheng’s breath was a little unsteady. He first took Liu Sizhen’s hand and placed it on his cheek, then turned his face and licked his palm like an animal. When he felt the goosebumps rise on his skin, he actually smiled.

As if it were something to be happy about.

He didn’t clearly remember that day, but it seemed like it had started with a warmth, like he was sick. He couldn’t quite recall how it all began.

It seemed like Lin Bosheng had accidentally bitten Liu Sizhen’s lip when he kissed him. As usual, Lin Bosheng would get a little rough, sometimes scolding him and hitting him to release his frustration, but this time… it was completely different.

Totally different…

Liu Sizhen wanted to close his eyes, but Lin Bosheng leaned in and kissed his trembling eyelids.

“Don’t close your eyes, look at me, Zhenzhen… It’s me…”

In a way, he really had been “hungry” for many years, and in the end, Lin Bosheng tried to convince Liu Sizhen that this was all normal. How could it possibly be… normal?

No, he couldn’t think about it anymore.

Liu Sizhen’s gaze was originally on Lin Bosheng’s face, but when his eyes shifted, he noticed there seemed to be faint small holes on Lin Bosheng’s earlobe, which perfectly matched the location and number of holes on his own ear.

Seeing that Liu Sizhen was looking at his ears, Lin Bosheng casually said,

“When you left that year, I went to the pedestrian street next to the second high school and got these pierced.”

In those years, many students secretly got various ear piercings with their parents’ money. Lin Bosheng didn’t like it. He thought it was meaningless and felt that such behavior was foolish. But later, one day, he voluntarily did something he had once considered foolish.

Remembering this, Lin Bosheng had told the piercer where to place the holes. He clearly remembered that all of Liu Sizhen’s piercings were on the left, so he decided to pierce the right side.

The piercer, seeing Lin Bosheng in his school uniform, advised him not to get too many and to be careful with the cartilage, as it would hurt a lot. If he got several pierced at once, the healing process would be slow and there was a risk of infection.

But Lin Bosheng insisted. The piercer couldn’t turn down the business, so after warning him, she proceeded, disinfected the area, and quickly finished. The piercings were cheap, only five yuan for two, but Lin Bosheng got six, spending a total of fifteen yuan.

Afterwards, the entire right earlobe was hot to the touch.

Indeed, the piercer was right. Normally, it would take only half a month to heal, but after six months, the wound was still occasionally inflamed, and sometimes it would hurt him awake at night.

And it wasn’t just his ear that hurt; his heart ached too.

“Why did you do that?” Liu Sizhen asked curiously.

“…” Lin Bosheng was silent for a moment, “I don’t know.”

Even after all these years, he still didn’t know why he did it. Was it because Liu Sizhen wasn’t around? But before that, he had been alone too.

Before Liu Sizhen returned, Lin Bosheng ate alone, went to school alone. It was just the same as it had been before, but now, it was hard to accept.

Why…

He even thought that by having the same marks on his body as that person, maybe he could get closer to him…

But now, Lin Bosheng didn’t need to use such a foolish method to get closer to Liu Sizhen. The real, vibrant person he had searched for all those years was right beside him.

A distance where he could see him with just a turn of his head,

A reality he could touch with a simple reach,

And even… a relationship more intimate than before.

Lin Bosheng felt so happy, he almost felt like he was floating.

This was even more beautiful than the dreams he had had over the past eight years. If Liu Sizhen wasn’t right next to him, Lin Bosheng would have laughed out loud because he was so happy.

If Liu Sizhen could talk to Lin Bosheng’s assistant,

He would surely know how grateful the assistant was to him. Even though the company employees had never met Liu Sizhen, each one hoped Lin Bosheng could keep this joyful mood.

“Hey… why are you standing at the door?”

Liu Sizhen looked back at Lin Bosheng, who seemed lost in thought.

The store’s decoration had changed slightly from before, but the general layout hadn’t changed much. Liu Sizhen automatically sat in his usual spot.

He and Lin Bosheng had come here many times when they were still in second high school. Back then, Liu Sizhen always walked ahead, and Lin Bosheng followed behind, carrying his bag, playing the role of the errand boy, and doing it very well.

Now, the man who had been a student before was already an adult, but he still, as naturally as before, wiped the cup for Liu Sizhen, moved the straw aside, and handed him the milk tea after adjusting it perfectly.

He didn’t need anyone to tell him what to do. He knew it himself.

To be accurate, those things were what he had always wanted to do.

“The taste has changed a little.”

Liu Sizhen took a sip and immediately noticed the difference in flavor. After all these years, they had probably changed the ingredients.

“Really? I don’t think it’s changed. It’s still the same as before,” Lin Bosheng said, seemingly unaware of the change, his gaze fixed on Liu Sizhen, not knowing whether he was referring to the milk tea or the person.

At that moment, there was still a month to go before the original class reunion.

As the class reunion drew closer, Liu Sizhen felt sleepier each day. Lin Bosheng seemed to have noticed something and advised him not to go, saying that they didn’t genuinely want to reconnect with him emotionally.

Liu Sizhen, of course, understood perfectly. They were just coming to watch him make a fool of himself.

After so many years, what kind of feelings could there still be? They probably didn’t even remember what he looked like. Eight years had passed; no matter how deep the feelings once were, they were gone. Not to mention, Liu Sizhen and the others had only been classmates for half a year…

“No, I’m going,” Liu Sizhen yawned. “…By the way, didn’t you say you had a meeting this afternoon?”

“Yeah.”

Lin Bosheng was usually busy. From the emails he had sent before, it was clear that he had a packed schedule. Most of the time, he slept at the company—basically, a complete workaholic.

Since Liu Sizhen returned, he watched as Lin Bosheng brought all his work home. Even meetings were held remotely. If anything needed Liu Sizhen’s approval or signature, Lin Bosheng’s assistant would deliver it to him.

Aside from handling his own work, Lin Bosheng also took care of the Liu family’s issues. He chose to deal with things openly rather than using money to suppress them.

He found a few influential accounts and had one subtly analyze the suspicious aspects of the matter, with hints of support for the Liu family, while another account voiced opposition. Neither side made their argument too convincing, leaving just enough logical gaps for others to debate.

On the other hand, instead of covering up mistakes, Lin Bosheng openly admitted them and issued a sincere apology. At first, the public’s reaction wasn’t very noticeable, but there was some improvement. With people’s strong rebellious tendencies nowadays, he made a few emotional appeals. Gradually, there were other voices starting to emerge.

Liu Sizhen watched from beginning to end as Lin Bosheng handled everything.

He watched Lin Bosheng stabilize a precarious situation, using his network and resources to rebuild a new industry chain, while also paying off the previous debts. Who wouldn’t call him a living bodhisattva? After all, it’s easy to make things better when they’re already good, but difficult to provide help when things are tough. And Lin Bosheng was providing a lot of help.

In this process, Liu Sizhen also learned a little about the blackmail and scandals surrounding the Liu family. Some of the allegations were indeed true, revealing quality control issues that were their own fault.

The reason for the Liu family’s downfall wasn’t just the exposure of non-compliant products or the false accounting, but an undeniable fact: they were outdated.

With the rapid changes of the times, the older generation’s tastes couldn’t keep up with the young people who were gradually becoming the driving force. As orders dwindled and new talents rose within the industry, internal and external issues piled up, making the collapse inevitable.

Liu Sizhen’s father knew this, too. Their old traditional methods were no longer effective in today’s rapidly developing world, especially with the fast-changing internet—a field he was unfamiliar with.

Coincidentally, Lin Bosheng was an expert in that area.

When Liu Sizhen saw his father eagerly inviting Lin Bosheng to dinner and expressing gratitude towards him, all Liu Sizhen could think was, As expected of the main character!

He didn’t know what Lin Bosheng had said to them, but his nominal parents were suddenly very kind to him. It was surprising, considering that people of their age typically had prejudices against homosexuality. Yet, they seemed to accept that he was living with Liu Sizhen and even somewhat encouraged it.

Occasionally, Liu Sizhen still sensed something strange in their attitude, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It wasn’t until one day when a small factory in the new industry chain had a problem, which wasn’t a big deal, and could have been easily resolved with a visit, that things changed.

But his father came to find Liu Sizhen and asked him to go back to Lin Bosheng for help. His father’s words implied that if Liu Sizhen asked, Lin Bosheng would surely help.

Liu Sizhen watched his father, a man he hadn’t seen much since he moved away, who didn’t exchange pleasantries with him and immediately started talking about business interests.

Thinking about it, it made sense. His father had never really spent time with him. Even when the family was in trouble, he had never truly supported Liu Sizhen financially. The only reason he “forgot” about him was because he didn’t consider his son to be of any use.

Like a pet, his father would give him extra allowance when he was in a good mood, but when trouble came, he didn’t remember him. In truth, he never imagined that this seemingly useless son—who still wasn’t much help—had grown up with a handsome face…

And could actually attract such a useful man to help him out.

“Zhenzhen, since you’re already with him, why not…”

The man rattled off one demand after another, making outrageous requests.

The more Liu Sizhen listened, the more tightly he furrowed his brow.

The greed was astonishing. Lin Bosheng had helped resolve the negative public opinion about the Liu family, poured money into rebuilding their supply chain, and even covered the penalty fees for their breached contracts.

And yet, having benefited from all this, the man now wanted Lin Bosheng to deal with their competitors as well, acting as if there was nothing unreasonable about it.

“After all, doesn’t he like you? He said he’d do anything for you. Sure, you can’t take everything a man says at face value, but you should take full advantage of him…”

Liu Sizhen listened with a frown as the man laid out his intentions. Besides asking for help, he also wanted to borrow money, claiming that Lin Bosheng was likely just playing around. He urged Liu Sizhen to make the most of the attention while it lasted and extract as much as possible from him.

At last, Liu Sizhen understood what the man meant. No wonder he had been so eager to please. To him, it was as if Liu Sizhen had been sold to Lin Bosheng.

Even though it wasn’t real, looking at the face so similar to his own biological father’s, Liu Sizhen couldn’t help but feel a twinge of unhappiness.

Perhaps that man didn’t entirely lack affection for him. But compared to a son he hadn’t spent much time with and didn’t share a deep emotional bond with, he clearly valued tangible benefits more. No matter how strong the bond of blood, it couldn’t compete with the reliability of material gain.

---

That day, Liu Sizhen didn’t agree to his father’s requests. Naturally, he didn’t bring the matter up with Lin Bosheng either.

However, Lin Bosheng must have learned something from the household staff.

How else could Liu Sizhen explain why that evening, Lin Bosheng silently embraced him from behind? Resting his chin in the crook of Liu Sizhen’s shoulder, his eyes half-closed, it was clear to anyone that he was relaxed and content.

He breathed in Liu Sizhen’s unique scent, the one that always brought him comfort, and for the first time, Lin Bosheng began to talk about his family. He spoke of his childhood, of painful memories he would rather forget.

He spoke calmly about the origins of every scar on his body, about how he stopped believing in familial love from a very young age. He admitted that he had once believed in nothing and always thought the world was incredibly dull—until he met him.

—”I don’t like this world. In fact, I despise it. But after you appeared, I wanted to try liking it…”

At the end, he said, “Zhenzhen, you’re all I have.”