NASAY CH 55

The snow outside was heavy, but none of them minded.

Feng Jia wasn’t interested in anything else, completely focused on his snowball fight with Li Lefan. He ended up with snow all over his neck, shivering like he had been electrocuted. He ran over to Luo Xing, shaking himself off, making Luo Xing laugh helplessly.

“Luo Xing, don’t bother with him! Just stuff a handful of snow down his collar and freeze this idiot to death, hahaha!”
Li Lefan sneaked up from behind, grabbed a handful of snow, and swiftly shoved it down Feng Jia’s neck.

“Sh*t! You bastard, don’t run!”
Feng Jia shuddered from the cold and took off running.

Ye Qiaoqiao covered her mouth, laughing as she watched them chase each other around the yard. Seeing them getting closer, she got startled and quickly warned,
“Be careful, don’t run into—ah!”

The snowman collapsed on impact.

After all the effort put into building it, the carefully crafted snowman was now just a pile of ruins. Lu Qinghe’s faint smile instantly disappeared. He grabbed a handful of snow, yanked Feng Jia’s collar, and stuffed the snow straight into his mouth.

Feng Jia struggled frantically, flailing his arms and legs.
“Lu—Lu Qinghe! Don’t, don’t, don’t act rashly!”

Lu Qinghe gave him a fake smile, ignored his protests, and firmly covered his mouth, stuffing it full of snow. Feng Jia rolled his eyes, spat out a few mouthfuls, and gasped,
“What the hell do you eat to be this ruthless?!”

Huo Xingzhou walked over just in time to see this scene. Li Lefan was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.
“Serves you right! Hahaha! That’s what you get for not watching where you’re going! Dumbass!”

Feng Jia grabbed a handful of snow, rolled it into a ball, and threw it straight at Li Lefan’s face.
“If it weren’t for you, would I have knocked over the class monitor’s snowman? Lu Qinghe, be fair and punish him too!”

Lu Qinghe ignored him and turned back to rebuilding the snowman with Ye Qiaoqiao.

Luo Xing had never built a snowman before and found it interesting. He crouched down, touched the snow, and murmured, “So cold.”

Huo Xingzhou went inside and came back with two pairs of gloves. He pulled Luo Xing’s hands over and helped him put them on, smiling as he said,
“With gloves on, it won’t be cold anymore. Otherwise, if you keep playing, you’ll get frostbite, and that’ll be a real pain.”

When Luo Xing was little, his life had revolved around studying. He had never experienced the fun of playing in the snow, so everything felt new to him.

As Huo Xingzhou helped him put on the gloves, he thought to himself—he would make sure to fill in all the childhood experiences Luo Xing missed. Just thinking about it made him happy.

“Alright,”
Huo Xingzhou quickly put on his own gloves and looked over to see that Lu Qinghe had already built a giant snowball as the base. He urged excitedly,
“Hurry up! Let’s build a big one!”

Luo Xing responded with a soft “Okay” and started gathering snow. But since he had never done it before, he mostly just assisted Huo Xingzhou. Sometimes, he even ended up making things worse, accidentally messing up the shape of the snowball.

Huo Xingzhou didn’t mind at all, instead encouraging him.

Honestly, he had long outgrown the age for building snowmen. If someone had invited him to do this on any other day, he would have mocked them for being childish and asked if they still thought they were kids.

But now, looking at Luo Xing’s face turning slightly red from the cold, he just felt like it was the most fun thing in the world. Not even playing basketball or video games was this enjoyable.

After a while, their snowman was finally finished, though it was still a little behind Lu Qinghe’s. Ye Qiaoqiao had already run into the glass greenhouse and brought back a red pepper for the snowman’s nose, two grapes for its eyes, and had even taken off her wine-red hat to place on its head.

Luo Xing looked on with envy and went inside to find some fruits and vegetables to decorate their snowman too. When he came back, he saw that Huo Xingzhou had shaped two snowballs into ears and placed them on the snowman’s head.

Holding the fruits, Luo Xing froze for a moment.
“Is this… a rabbit?”

Huo Xingzhou’s eyes sparkled with amusement, and he sang in a soft voice,
“Little bunny, open the door, I want to come in~”

As he sang, his gaze subtly drifted over Luo Xing’s face, making Luo Xing’s cheeks flush. He quickly turned away to decorate the snowman, ignoring Huo Xingzhou’s teasing.

Huo Xingzhou leaned closer and asked in a low voice,
“Little bunny, are you going to let me in or not?”

He gently tapped the exposed bit of skin peeking out from Luo Xing’s scarf, his voice full of playful intent.
“I really want to come in.”

“No way.”
Luo Xing moved slightly, smiling as he dodged to the side.
“The door is sealed.”

“If it’s locked, then I’ll use a key to open it. Just not sure if it’ll fit the size.”
Huo Xingzhou hummed, glancing over him.
“Might be too big.”

“What?” Luo Xing didn’t understand and asked blankly.
Huo Xingzhou coughed, putting on a serious face to bluff,
“I mean, the carrot you picked for the nose is way too big. Who’s got a nose that big? It’s not like it’s an elephant. Are you dumb?”

Luo Xing looked down. It did seem a bit too large. Embarrassed, he chuckled and replaced it with a slightly smaller vegetable. Once their oddly shaped snowman was finished, Huo Xingzhou took out his phone.
“Come on, I’ll take a picture for you. Pose next to the rabbit. Yeah, squat down.”

Luo Xing leaned against the large snow rabbit, smiling at the camera—a little stiff, but genuine. His shyness was captured in the shot.

“Done?”
Luo Xing’s legs were almost numb from squatting, but seeing that Huo Xingzhou hadn’t moved, he asked doubtfully.

Huo Xingzhou averted his gaze. “Done.”
Just as he was about to put his phone away, he suddenly had another idea. Raising his voice, he called out,
“Hey, hey, hey! Everyone, come over! Let’s take a group photo.”

Ye Qiaoqiao and Lu Qinghe had no objections. Li Lefan scoffed,
“Zhou-ge, are you regressing? Taking a group photo after building a snowman? Isn’t that a bit childish?”

Feng Jia burst out laughing.
“What do you know? This is called having a youthful heart!”

“Even if I’m old, I can still school you. Now, are you joining or not?”
Huo Xingzhou shot them a chilly glance before setting up his phone on a nearby stand.
Feng Jia and Li Lefan quickly ran over, standing behind Luo Xing. Both secretly raised two fingers behind his head, making a playful “bunny ears” gesture.

Ye Qiaoqiao stood next to Lu Qinghe. Huo Xingzhou adjusted the angle and set the timer. When he noticed Feng Jia and Li Lefan’s little prank, he chuckled but didn’t stop them. Instead, he walked over and stood on Luo Xing’s right.

A moment later, the picture was taken. Huo Xingzhou retrieved his phone, checked the photo, and nodded approvingly.
“I’ll send it to you guys later. Anyone who dares delete it is asking for trouble.”

This was the first memory he gave to Luo Xing.

“Alright, let’s go inside before we catch a cold.”
Huo Xingzhou glanced at their red noses. Their bodies were likely sweating under their layers, and he didn’t want them getting sick from the sudden temperature change.

They stomped the snow off their feet at the door, entered the house, took off their coats, and hung them up. Then they all piled into the massive home theater room.

Luo Xing had never been in here before. Feeling a little uneasy, he sat down stiffly on the sofa. Huo Xingzhou brought over a variety of nuts and fruits, setting them on the low table. The group gathered on the thick carpet in the center.

Huo Xingzhou waved at Luo Xing to come closer and handed him a cushion to lean against.
“Let me check if you’re sweating. Do you need to change your clothes?”
As he spoke, he reached over to feel, but Luo Xing blocked him.
“Not much sweat, it’s fine.”

“Huo Xingzhou.”
Lu Qinghe spoke up.

“Wow, what does Master Lu need?”
Huo Xingzhou grinned, only to get a glare in response.
“Come outside for a moment.”

Luo Xing looked at them in confusion. Huo Xingzhou patted his shoulder.
“It’s nothing. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Lu Qinghe was already standing outside, his posture perfectly straight, a stark contrast to Huo Xingzhou’s casual demeanor.
“What do you want?”

Lu Qinghe paused for a few seconds, as if choosing his words carefully, or maybe hesitating. After a long silence, he finally said,
“Do you know why Luo Xing reacts so strangely whenever he hears Xue Jian’s name?”

“He said he considers Xue Jian our friend, so he’d rather avoid him.”

Lu Qinghe, rarely seen smiling, suddenly did. His normally icy expression softened, like a cold breeze turning into a gentle spring wind. He asked,
“Do you believe that?”

Huo Xingzhou was silent for a moment before replying, “No.”

“Looks like you do have some brains.”
Lu Qinghe acknowledged him with rare praise. Seeing Huo Xingzhou about to retort sarcastically, he quickly cut in,
“A few weeks ago, when you went with your mom to that funeral, I saw Zhang Zheng causing trouble for Luo Xing at the school gate. Later, Xue Jian showed up and saved him.”

Huo Xingzhou’s brows furrowed. That happened?
He glanced back at the tightly closed home theater door. Why had Luo Xing never told him? “And then?”

“I don’t know what happened after that, but they got into an argument.”
Lu Qinghe watched Huo Xingzhou’s face, then suddenly chuckled.
“Luo Xing told Xue Jian—’Huo Xingzhou is mine.'”

Huo Xingzhou was stunned for a long time. The usually shy Luo Xing, who would blush at a tease and try to run away at the slightest touch, had, without his knowledge, defended his feelings so courageously.

“The reason he walks away is probably because he still doesn’t see himself as your boyfriend… or as someone who belongs to you. He thinks of himself as an outsider. Or maybe he’s just trying to restrain himself.”

Huo Xingzhou nodded. Luo Xing had always resisted confirming their relationship. Aside from the long-standing burden of Zhao Jiulan, he also didn’t want their relationship to affect Huo Xingzhou’s family.

His insistence on bringing Luo Xing home for the New Year was precisely to show him that his parents wouldn’t mind at all.

But even after all this, Luo Xing had still been so protective of him—yet Xue Jian had still managed to find an opening.

Thinking of Xue Jian, Huo Xingzhou frowned and asked,
“If Xue Jian really saved Luo Xing out of kindness, why did they end up arguing?”

Lu Qinghe had never seen someone take so long to make a connection. After a moment of thought, he simply chalked it up to “love makes people stupid” and said, “From what I gathered from Luo Xing, it seems like he realized Zhang Zheng was someone Xue Jian had arranged to act out a scene.”

“???” Huo Xingzhou was completely baffled.
“Is he insane?”

“……….”

Lu Qinghe was silent for a long time, struggling to put it into words. Finally, he said,
“Xue Jian seems to like you… He liked you even before Min Yao appeared. So I think when he keeps saying you bear responsibility for Min Yao’s death, this is what he means.”

“Are you f*cking kidding me?”

Huo Xingzhou looked like he had swallowed a fly and couldn’t spit it out. He stared at Lu Qinghe for a moment before saying,
“I’m begging you, don’t disgust me like this, okay?”

“I think you need to sort out your relationship with Xue Jian,”
Lu Qinghe said matter-of-factly.
“I have a feeling his appearance outside your house today wasn’t a coincidence. Ever since Min Yao died, he hasn’t been normal.”

Because of his family background, Lu Qinghe had no biases against same-sex relationships, so he spoke without any reservations.
“At first, he probably thought you just didn’t like men, which is why you didn’t like him. But now that you’re with Luo Xing, he’ll think that you hurt him while still being able to live guilt-free—while he alone has to bear the weight of Min Yao’s death.

When someone loses their mind, there’s no telling what they might do.”

Huo Xingzhou nodded. “I know.”

“Good.”

Lu Qinghe wasn’t one to talk much. The fact that he even brought this up was a testament to their years of friendship. After saying his piece, he turned and pushed open the door to the home theater.

Aside from Ye Qiaoqiao, no one else could make him stay an extra minute.

Huo Xingzhou remained where he was, frowning in thought.

He had known Xue Jian for a long time—even longer than Lu Qinghe. Yet he had never been able to understand him.

In some ways, Xue Jian was similar to Lu Qinghe—they were both people of few words.

The difference was that Lu Qinghe simply didn’t like talking to anyone other than Ye Qiaoqiao. His entire being radiated an aura of “stay away”—even to those who were close to him.

Xue Jian, on the other hand, carried an air of untouchable arrogance, as if he looked down on forming connections with others.

He liked him? And had liked him for so many years?

But unlike the overwhelming joy he had felt upon realizing Luo Xing had liked him for nearly ten years—so intense that he wanted to crush him into his arms—Huo Xingzhou only felt disgust.

Being liked by someone like that was more revolting than swallowing a fly.

He had warned Xue Jian countless times to stay away from Luo Xing.

Yet Xue Jian still dared to stir up trouble when he wasn’t around.

Huo Xingzhou clenched his fists.

Xue Jian, you’re really pushing it.

Luo Xing didn’t know how to play video games, but he couldn’t refuse Feng Jia’s enthusiasm and reluctantly joined them.

Since he was new to the game, he couldn’t even walk properly—constantly bumping into walls and firing his weapon randomly, making a complete mess of things.

Lu Qinghe didn’t play much, probably due to his family background, but he was surprisingly skilled.

Ye Qiaoqiao didn’t play at all. Still, the four of them, despite carrying the rookie Luo Xing, somehow managed to reach the final circle.

Feng Jia confidently declared,
“Luo Xing, just hide first. Watch your big bro carry you to victory!”

Luo Xing didn’t even notice the way Feng Jia addressed himself—he was too nervous. Taking a deep breath, he quietly agreed and hid by a door, anxiously shifting his perspective to check inside, outside, and through the windows.

Since he couldn’t hear the subtle in-game sounds, he relied solely on his eyesight, which quickly tired him out.

When Huo Xingzhou returned, the first thing he saw was Luo Xing sitting up straight with tension, his fingers stiffly pressing the screen. It made him laugh. He walked over and sat beside him, casually grabbing an almond from the pile of nuts Ye Qiaoqiao had shelled and popped it into Luo Xing’s mouth.

“What are you doing?”

Luo Xing turned his head nervously.
“Feng Jia and the others are teaching me to play… I’m not very good…”

Huo Xingzhou chuckled, resting one arm on his bent knee while turning slightly toward him.
“Let me see—how many kills do you have?”

One.

Heh, Huo Xingzhou thought, that must be a bot. Outwardly, he praised,
“Wow, our little Luo is amazing.”

“No, I’m not…”
Luo Xing blinked shyly, embarrassed. Compared to how skilled Lu Qinghe and the others were, his only kill had been a fluke—he’d accidentally whacked someone with a frying pan.

Huo Xingzhou took the phone from his hands, scanned the surrounding area, and quickly found a better position.

Without realizing it, Luo Xing leaned in closer, watching as Huo Xingzhou’s fingers moved swiftly, taking down an opponent and looting their crate.

When they regrouped with the others, Feng Jia immediately began scolding him,
“Didn’t I tell you to hide first? Why did you—hey?”

Mid-sentence, he was so distracted by talking that he didn’t notice an enemy hiding behind a shipping container. By the time he turned around, the kill notification had already popped up on the screen.

Luo Xing got the kill?

Feng Jia looked up in surprise, only to realize that at some point, the phone had ended up in Huo Xingzhou’s hands. Luo Xing was nestled beside him, blushing slightly as Huo Xingzhou fed him nut after nut, along with pieces of fruit.

Feng Jia let out a dramatic sigh.

Unsurprisingly, they won the game. Huo Xingzhou enthusiastically hyped up Luo Xing’s contribution, encouraging him to play another round, saying,
“Maybe we can win again!”

Luo Xing, finding the game more fun than he expected, agreed. This time, Lu Qinghe lost interest and went to watch a drama with Ye Qiaoqiao instead.

Huo Xingzhou stepped in to fill the fourth slot. With him leading the team, Luo Xing felt much less nervous, and by the end, his performance was surprisingly good.

“See? Our Teacher Luo learns everything so quickly.”
Huo Xingzhou grinned, gently squeezing Luo Xing’s hand. Tilting his head slightly, he asked teasingly,
“Will you abandon me in the future if I’m bad at the game and refuse to play with me?”

“Of course not!”
Luo Xing hurriedly denied it, realizing he was too agitated and quickly lowered his voice, whispering,
“I will never dislike you. You’re so amazing, and I… I can’t do anything. I’m afraid you’ll dislike me instead.”

“Then should I write a pledge, stating clearly that if Huo Xingzhou dares to dislike Luo Xing, he will…”

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Luo Xing blinked, waiting for him to continue.

After a long pause, he still hadn’t spoken.

“Why… why did you stop?”

The others were all busy with their own things, and no one was paying attention to them. Huo Xingzhou leaned in closer, his lips near Luo Xing’s ear as he whispered,
“Let me take care of you for a lifetime. What do you think?”

Luo Xing was stunned, his face instantly turning red. He even seriously followed his words and thought about it—Huo Xingzhou, taking care of him for a lifetime.

Actually, Luo Xing felt that if they could really be together, openly and without discrimination, he would be willing to take care of Huo Xingzhou for a lifetime, even if… even if Huo Xingzhou bullied him however he wanted.

The group fooled around until the middle of the night. By around four in the morning, Ye Qiaoqiao couldn’t stay awake anymore.

Huo Xingzhou had many guest rooms in his house. Ye Qiaoqiao and Lu Qinghe each went to rest, while Feng Jia and Li Lefan, still full of energy after drinking a lot, continued playing video games.

The large screen and immersive sound effects made the game feel incredibly thrilling.

Huo Xingzhou glanced down at Luo Xing, who had already fallen asleep against him, his soft breaths tickling his neck.

“You guys keep playing. If you get tired, just go sleep in the guest rooms on the first floor,”
he said. Then, without waiting for a response, he bent down, picked up Luo Xing, and carried him upstairs.

On the way up, Luo Xing woke up and rubbed his eyes. Huo Xingzhou looked down and asked,
“Did I wake you?”

“No,”
Luo Xing yawned. It was only then that he realized he was being carried, and he was startled. He immediately tried to get down, but Huo Xingzhou pinched his waist threateningly.
“Move again, and I’ll throw you down. If you hurt your face, I won’t be responsible.”

—

As the New Year approached, Huo Yansheng and Wu Suyan also returned home.

Luo Xing was supervising Huo Xingzhou as he did his winter vacation homework. The two of them were sitting cross-legged on the living room carpet, writing furiously.

When Huo Yesan opened the door and saw this scene, he thought he had walked into the wrong house. He turned back to Wu Suyan and asked in a low voice,
“What’s wrong with your son?”

Wu Suyan was taking off her scarf. Hearing this, she curiously poked her head in for a look.
“Oh my goodness.”

A gust of cold wind blew in through the door. Luo Xing thought it hadn’t been shut properly, so he looked up—and immediately jumped to his feet in nervousness, greeting them awkwardly,
“Uncle, Auntie.”

Huo Yansheng smiled.
“No need to be nervous, sit down.”

Wu Suyan, unlike him, was far less reserved. She threw her scarf and down jacket to Huo Yansheng, changed her shoes, and walked over with a smile.
“Baby, you’re doing homework? Have you eaten?”

“Why did you both come back together?”

Huo Xingzhou looked up as she pinched Luo Xing’s cheek affectionately. Her hands were cold, making Luo Xing shiver slightly, but he didn’t resist and obediently replied,
“Yes, I have.”

“Do we need your permission to come home together?”
Wu Suyan snorted, then turned to Luo Xing with a bright smile.
“Tell Auntie, what did you eat?”

Luo Xing was a little nervous, staring at Wu Suyan’s face the whole time. The moment she finished asking, he immediately answered,
“Noodles.”

“Oh dear, how can that be enough? Wait, I’ll make you something better.”
Wu Suyan shot her son a glare.
“I told you to take good care of your friend at home. How could you just give him noodles?”

Luo Xing hurriedly explained,
“No, no, I wanted to eat that. I just woke up in the morning and wasn’t very hungry, so I ate something light.”

Wu Suyan nodded.
“Alright, you two continue with your homework. I’ll go cook.”

She then headed to the kitchen and waved at Huo Yansheng, who had just finished changing his shoes.
“Mr. Huo, come help me.”

Huo Yansheng nodded and followed her into the kitchen.

—

“The bone marrow match for Luo Zhiyuan is scheduled for about a week from now. Do you think we should tell Luo Xing?”

Wu Suyan put on an apron and turned her back to him. Huo Yansheng naturally helped her tie the straps, thinking for a moment before saying,
“We should tell him. He deserves to know.”

“Honestly, I don’t want his parents to keep affecting his life, but since this concerns him, and if we don’t tell him, he’ll keep worrying about it.”
Wu Suyan pulled on her sleeves and waited for Huo Yansheng to finish washing the vegetables. Watching his meticulous knife work as he started chopping, she suddenly said,

“Mr. Huo.”

“Mm?”

“I didn’t expect you to accept your son being gay so calmly. I thought I’d have to spend some effort getting you to adjust, but you actually asked me about it first.” She blinked playfully.
“Huo Yansheng, you’re quite adorable.”

Huo Yansheng was silent for a moment, automatically ignoring the word adorable, and replied, “With the Lu family’s two kids, and the Ye family’s one, I’ve been surrounded by this for years. What’s there to be surprised about? Besides… love isn’t about gender. As long as Xingzhou is sure he’ll love him for a lifetime and never regret it, that’s enough.”

Wu Suyan smiled, recalling when he had named their son Xingzhou^[1]. She had asked why he chose that name—wasn’t it just a boat?

He had said, Life is like sailing at night. Sometimes the darkness is overwhelming, sometimes dazzling lights appear. But in the end, lights go out, and boats stop moving. As long as you remember your direction and don’t let others mislead you, wherever you arrive will be the right place.

Huo Yansheng had never imposed rigid expectations on Xingzhou. As long as he didn’t regret his choices and stayed true to his principles, he was free to live as he wished.

Wu Suyan glanced at Luo Xing, who was seriously teaching Xingzhou how to solve a problem, and sighed.
“If only Luo Xing had a father like you. That would be nice.”

Huo Yansheng smiled but said nothing.

He knew his son’s personality well—if he didn’t approve of their relationship, Xingzhou wouldn’t give up either way. Instead of losing a son, he would rather gain another.

And as for Luo Xing, he may not have had a father like this before. But if he wanted, from now on, he had one. No regrets.

—

“Babies, time to eat!”
Wu Suyan called as she brought out the dishes one by one.

Huo Xingzhou had long been eager to escape his homework. He immediately tossed his pen aside and stood up. Luo Xing, however, carefully put away his books before following, still nervous as he called out, “Uncle, Auntie.”

“Go wash your hands and eat,”
Wu Suyan said with a smile, wiping her hands on her apron.
“Half of today’s dishes were made by Huo Dad himself. I’ve only eaten his cooking a few times in my life!”

Luo Xing nervously fidgeted with his fingers, not knowing what to say. Huo Xingzhou grabbed his wrist and pulled him away.
“Come on, stop spacing out. Go wash your hands.”

He ran warm water and tested the temperature before letting Luo Xing wash. Watching him, he said,
“Relax. Just act like you’re with Ye Qiaoqiao and the others. You’ve already met them before.”

“Mm. I’m not… not nervous,”
Luo Xing mumbled. But his shaky breath gave him away.

Huo Xingzhou chuckled, drying his hands with a towel.
“Let’s eat.”

Just then, Luo Xing suddenly grabbed his hand.

Huo Xingzhou paused.
“What’s wrong?”

“I want… I want to tell Auntie that I can’t hear.”