Chapter Forty-Five

And so, Old Yu lost his temper once again.

It wasn’t until Yi Xiaoyu got home to shower and noticed the marks under his neck that he finally realized the reason behind his chubby partner’s outburst. After his shower, with Old Yu still not home, Yi Xiaoyu tried calling him, but no one answered. He sent a text message explaining the marks on his neck.

Exhausted after sending the message, Yi Xiaoyu collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep. His nerves had been on edge with anxiety and frustration for so long, and now that there was finally a solution, his whole being relaxed. All he wanted was a good night’s sleep.

He slept straight through to past nine in the morning. Just as he finished getting ready and emerged from the bathroom, he heard the front door open. Peeking out, he saw Old Yu at the door changing his shoes.

Old Yu’s face was cold and stern as he finished changing his shoes. He looked up to see Yi Xiaoyu standing in the bathroom doorway, brushing his teeth while staring at him. Just as Old Yu was about to speak, Yi Xiaoyu beat him to it. “Good, you’re back. Go make me a bowl of noodles in the kitchen—I’m in a hurry to get to the office.” With that, Yi Xiaoyu turned and went back to brushing his teeth.

Old Yu opened his mouth to retort, but ended up only sighing in frustration before heading to the kitchen. Whether it was lingering anger or something else, the noise from clattering kitchenware was constant as he cooked.

When Yi Xiaoyu came out dressed, Old Yu had already set the noodles on the table.

“Where did you go last night?” Yi Xiaoyu sat down, eating noodles while checking his work email on his phone.

Old Yu, without thinking, replied with a defeated air, “I went to a brothel!”

Yi Xiaoyu paused, squinting at Old Yu. “Oh?”

A chill ran down Old Yu’s spine. He quickly backtracked, “Just kidding... I stayed at a hotel.”

“Alright.” Yi Xiaoyu continued browsing through his emails.

Thinking of the message Yi Xiaoyu had sent last night, Old Yu couldn’t hold back any longer. “So, you’re going to see your first love again.”

“Are you about to start your nonsense again?”

“You accept his help, and from now on he’ll have even more reasons to get close to you. Every so often he’ll ask you out for drinks, then you’ll drive him home, and then when he’s drunk, he’ll try to kiss you. You two will—”

“Fatty, with an imagination like yours, you should write a novel.”

“My writing is terrible, I couldn’t possibly—hey! Don’t change the subject. Just tell me, between me and that pretty boy, who do you choose?”

“Here you go again.”

Old Yu grew more animated. “Who do you choose?”

Yi Xiaoyu sighed. “You idiot, of course I choose you.”

Hearing this, Old Yu felt a rush of warmth fill his chest, almost as if honey were overflowing inside him. He shifted in his seat, struggling to maintain a serious tone. “Alright then. Promise me you’ll never meet that Wen Ming in private again. It’s fine in public, but no more drinks, no more chats—and don’t accept his help either. Otherwise, he’ll use the favor you owe him to try—”

“I know my boundaries. This is my decision to make. Don’t interfere.”

Old Yu slammed the table and stood up, but seeing Yi Xiaoyu’s gaze instantly turn cold, he quickly lost his nerve and sat back down. “Still... I don’t agree with you accepting his help.”

“Fatty, you have no idea what’s happening at my company, and you don’t understand how important Wen Ming’s help is to me.”

“I’ve said it before—I’ll take care of you from now on. Even if you lose everything, I don’t care. Xiaoyu, I’ll give you whatever you want. I beg you, don’t have any more contact with that man, alright? I’ll work hard, I promise—”

Without a word, Yi Xiaoyu stood up, grabbed his briefcase from the sofa, and prepared to leave. Old Yu dashed ahead to block the door. “If you don’t promise me, I won’t let you out.”

“Have you had enough?” Yi Xiaoyu snapped. “You’re really fighting with me over this? How childish can you be? I’ve tried to reason with you—if you still don’t trust me, think whatever you want.”

Yi Xiaoyu tried to slip past Old Yu, but Old Yu bent down, scooped him up by the waist, and strode quickly toward the bedroom.

“What are you doing?!” Yi Xiaoyu shouted, furious. “Put me down, you big oaf! Put me down right now!”

Old Yu dumped him on the bed, locked the door, and shoved a single armchair against it, plopping down on the chair.

“If you don’t promise to break things off with that pretty boy today, don’t even think about leaving this room. Yell at me, hit me if you want—I’m not moving.”

“Yu Yige!” Yi Xiaoyu was shaking with rage. “Fine! Suit yourself! Sit as long as you want!” He took off his jacket, climbed into bed, and pulled the covers over himself, turning his back on Old Yu, refusing to say another word.

Old Yu stared at his partner’s back, torn by indecision. After a while, he couldn’t help but get up, kneel by the bed, and gently touch Yi Xiaoyu’s shoulder. “Xiaoyu... honey... I’m hurting too...”

Yi Xiaoyu ignored him.

Old Yu slipped under the covers, only to be shoved off the bed by Yi Xiaoyu’s sudden turn. Before Old Yu could process the pain, Yi Xiaoyu was already up, grabbing his clothes, pushing aside the chair at the door, and slamming the bedroom door shut behind him.

Old Yu didn’t chase after him. Instead, he sat on the edge of the bed, burying his head in his hands.

When Yi Xiaoyu arrived at the office, he received a call from Yi Yu, demanding an answer by the end of the day. No sooner had he hung up than Wen Ming called, inviting him out to discuss the matter of helping him.

The entire day, Yi Xiaoyu barely accomplished anything. He kept flipping through the photos on his phone—pictures he and Old Yu had taken in Bali, and suddenly remembered the nude art wedding photos Old Yu had secretly hidden away. He thought of the sly look on Old Yu’s face when he stared at those photos, and finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

If he accepted Wen Ming’s help, maybe he could finally escape his predicament. But... but maybe, day after day from then on, Old Yu would live in constant anxiety.

He understood Old Yu’s fears. If their roles were reversed, Yi Xiaoyu wasn’t sure he could be so magnanimous—watching the one he loved grow closer to his first love, while he himself remained innocent and carefree, it would always be the one who loves the most who suffers in silence.