Chapter 11

As soon as Mi Zhao heard Li Yan’s name, he felt sick.

During the first few days at Rizhao, he couldn’t sleep at night, tossing and turning. Every time he closed his eyes, that scene replayed in his mind.

That day, he had flown to City A ahead of schedule. As soon as he got off the plane, he rushed back to school to drop off his luggage. He sent Li Yan a message on WeChat asking for his location, but it took a long time for Li Yan to respond. The location he sent was pinpointed to a small grove behind a bar.

Looking back now, everything about that situation was suspicious. But since things had already come to this, digging deeper didn’t seem to matter much anymore.

Yet, the moment he saw Lin Qiuzu just now, he suddenly recalled a detail he had previously overlooked.

“Xiao Zhao?” A hand nudged his shoulder, waving in front of his eyes. “What are you thinking about? You look terrible.”

Snapping back to reality, Mi Zhao realized his fingers were ice-cold. He grabbed Yan Qinting’s hand, which was still waving around, and pulled back his gaze, his face pale. “We should go in.”

Yan Qinting seemed startled by his reaction. He had been grumbling just moments ago, but upon hearing this, he immediately quieted down.

Mi Zhao walked quickly, his grip on his suitcase handle slick with a thin layer of sweat. He kept his eyes fixed straight ahead. “Let’s drop off our luggage in the dorm first, then go handle the registration.”

“Whatever you say.” Yan Qinting held back for a moment, but in the end, he couldn’t resist sidling up to Mi Zhao with a sly look. “That car definitely belongs to Lin Qiuzu. He must’ve lent it to Li Yan. Did you see how smug Li Yan looked? I swear, he was just about ready to take his own head off and mount it on the roof so everyone could get a clear look at him.”

Mi Zhao took a deep breath and glanced sideways at Yan Qinting. “How do you know it’s Lin Qiuzu’s car?”

Yan Qinting shot back, “Do you think Li Yan has the money to buy a sports car?”

“…” After a moment of careful thought, Mi Zhao fell silent. At the same time, a long-standing doubt resurfaced in his mind. “By the way, there’s something I’ve been really curious about. Isn’t Li Yan part of the Li family? Then why does he seem so—”

He paused, unable to find the right word.

Yan Qinting filled in the blanks for him. “Stingy? Poor?”

“…” That was actually spot on, and an incredibly accurate description at that.

Back when Li Yan was still his boyfriend, Mi Zhao had held back from complaining about him to Yan Qinting. But truthfully, he had been holding in his frustrations for a long time. Li Yan always seemed like he was only coincidentally a “Li”—he had no connection to the powerful Li family of City A. Whenever they went on dates, he was constantly fixated on prices.

The most absurd incident was when Li Yan asked him if he wanted to buy a car. At the time, Mi Zhao had just rented an apartment off-campus and needed to travel every weekend to tutor students. It was only a half-hour walk, yet Li Yan tried to convince him to buy a Porsche—just so he could drive it around for fun when he had free time.

Well, Li Yan’s dream of driving a Porsche had now come true—a Porsche so shiny and green it was almost blinding.

Of course, Mi Zhao’s head was also glowing green.(he got cheated on)

Speaking of which, Yan Qinting suddenly perked up, chattering away. “There’s a long story behind this. Your family isn’t from City A, so you wouldn’t know about the Li family’s affairs.”

Mi Zhao thought to himself: Even if his family were from City A, they still wouldn’t necessarily know about the Li family’s business.

His parents made money, but there was still a significant gap between them and true high society. They had built their wealth from scratch by working on engineering projects under a big boss—essentially overnight millionaires. His parents had little education and had spent their youth toiling in rough and messy construction sites. Now that they were older, they wanted to integrate into elite circles. The problem was, those circles looked down on nouveau riche like them.

For years, his parents had hovered on the fringes of high society, attending countless gatherings but never truly being accepted.

Thinking about the projects his parents had been tricked into investing in, Mi Zhao felt stifled.

“My parents told me that Li Yan and his family only look good on the surface. The real power in the Li family is with the old madam. She has a son—an only child—who is apparently disabled.”

“Disabled?”

Something clicked in Mi Zhao’s mind. “What kind of disability?”

“No idea. I’ve never even seen the old madam in person.” Yan Qinting stroked his chin, deep in thought. “All I know is that after her son’s accident, he became a recluse. A lot of people want to meet him, but very few actually get the chance.”

“And what does that have to do with Li Yan’s family?”

“How could it not?” Yan Qinting smirked, clearly enjoying the gossip. “You think the Li family is rich, right? But all that money belongs to the old madam’s son. Li Yan’s family has nothing to do with it. Even the ancestral mansion they live in is in the son’s name.”

Mi Zhao was stunned. “…Huh?”

Seeing his dazed expression, Yan Qinting couldn’t resist ruffling his hair. Before Mi Zhao could swat his hand away, he quickly withdrew it.

“Li Yan and his cousins are all from the branch family—descendants of the old madam’s husband’s older brother. A whole bunch of them fighting tooth and nail over the crumbs that fall from the old madam’s table. And there’s something else Li Yan definitely never told you—” Yan Qinting leaned in and whispered, “Li Yan’s mom was a mistress who broke up his dad’s previous marriage. She’s from a small town, and her family back home is full of leeches. She’s not particularly generous to Li Yan either, even though he’s her only son.”

“…”

Mi Zhao was utterly speechless. After a long pause, he muttered in amazement, “Holy shit… that’s intense.”

“Right?” Yan Qinting shrugged. “That’s the tragic tale of Li Yan, his mother, and their financial power bank of a family.”

—

Perhaps Li Yan’s miserable family background had cheered him up, but Mi Zhao suddenly felt much better. He and Yan Qinting returned to their dorm to drop off their luggage.

Their dorm was a two-person room, just for the two of them. After an entire summer of vacancy, it had collected a fine layer of dust, much like his old off-campus apartment.

Originally, they had planned to leave right after unpacking to complete their registration. But since it was still early and the campus was crowded, they decided to clean their dorm first and handle the paperwork after lunch.

Mi Zhao changed into loose, worn-out clothes in the bathroom. As he pulled out his phone and set it on the desk, a sudden thought struck him.

He picked up his phone and opened WeChat.

At the top of his chat list, pinned together with his parents’ messages, was his conversation with Li Sipei.

The last message remained frozen on the screen—sent yesterday afternoon.

[mrz: I’m going to get busy first, still have one more assignment to finish.]

[Xiao Li: Mm.]

Mi Zhao leaned on the desk, holding his phone in both hands, hesitating for a long time. Then he turned back and took a picture of his desk.

[mrz: (image)]
[mrz: Just arrived at the dorm, about to clean up.]

After sending the message, Mi Zhao was about to put down his phone and start working.

But in the next second, the contact name “Xiao Li” at the top of the chat box suddenly changed to a “typing…” indicator.

Then, the reply came through.

[Xiao Li: Okay.]

Mi Zhao: “?”

A reply in seconds?

Even though it was just a single word, Mi Zhao still couldn’t help but feel a little happy—very few people could resist the thrill of an instant reply, and he was no exception.

His thumbs tapped quickly across the phone screen.

[mrz: What are you up to? Not sleeping in?]

The reply came fast.

[Xiao Li: Helping the caregiver check supplies, moving to City A tomorrow.]

[mrz: You’ve already arranged a place to stay with your friend, right?]

[Xiao Li: Mm.]

[mrz: Send me the address when you get there. I’ll come find you after class, let’s have a meal together.]

As he sent this message, Mi Zhao felt a little nervous. But after a moment’s thought, he realized there was no reason to be—after not seeing each other for a few days, it was only natural to do something together.

Hmm…

Do something.

Mi Zhao’s face turned red. When the other party replied with a simple “Okay,” the corners of his lips curled up uncontrollably. Just as he was about to type another message, the light beside him suddenly dimmed.

A head leaned in—fast.

Luckily, Mi Zhao’s reflexes were even faster. Before his brain could fully react, his finger had already pressed the power button on his phone.

Click.

The phone screen went dark, reflecting Yan Qinting’s exaggerated pout.

“Wow, so you’re secretly chatting with someone behind my back? And you won’t even let me see?!”

Feigning calm, Mi Zhao placed his phone on the desk and answered briefly, “Ahem, it’s just that person.”

On the way to the dorm, Mi Zhao had given Yan Qinting a quick summary of what had happened at the villa. Of course, some details were too inconvenient to mention, so he glossed over them.

Yan Qinting immediately put two and two together. “The guy in the wheelchair?”

Mi Zhao frowned slightly. “He has a name.”

Yan Qinting straightened up and rolled his eyes. “Well, you haven’t told me what it is.”

Mi Zhao thought to himself—it was because of Li Sipei’s special occupation. If he mentioned it casually, it might cause trouble for him.

Patting Yan Qinting on the shoulder, he gave a serious promise. “If there’s a chance to introduce you two in the future, I’ll tell you then.”

“…”

Yan Qinting’s eyes widened in shock. “Wait… You actually plan on keeping in touch with him long-term?”

Mi Zhao emphasized, “I think he’s a good person.”

Very good at providing emotional support. Very professional.

And right now, that was exactly what he needed the most.

“‘A good person’?” Yan Qinting looked like he was questioning his own hearing. “I don’t get it. He can’t even walk properly, and he still— And you’re saying he’s a good person?!”

Mi Zhao thought for a moment and solemnly corrected him. “First, he’s not completely unable to walk—he just can’t stand for long periods. Second—”

He coughed awkwardly, a little embarrassed. “I was the one who took the initiative.”

Yan Qinting: “?”

“I was on top.”

After a pause, he added, “Position-wise.”

“…”

A moment of silence later, Yan Qinting pointed at the blushing Mi Zhao with a look of sheer devastation.

“So it turns out you’re the beast—you won’t even let a disabled person go?!”

Mi Zhao: “…”

—

A busy day passed in exhaustion.

The next day was the official registration day for the school. Since Mi Zhao and Yan Qinting had already completed their paperwork, they decided to stay in the dorm and avoid the crowds of freshmen.

Yan Qinting spent the entire day lying on his bed, playing on his phone. Meanwhile, Mi Zhao sat at his desk, barely moving, his digital pen never stopping.

When Mi Zhao was focused, he was completely absorbed in his work, blocking out the world around him.

It took several shouts from Yan Qinting to snap him out of it.

“I saw your Weibo post about taking commissions—what’s that about?”

“Oh.”

Without turning his head, Mi Zhao zoomed in and out on the tablet screen with his left hand while his right hand swiftly filled in details with his digital pen. After finishing a small section, he finally straightened up and stretched his sore shoulders.

“Nothing major. Just more expenses lately, so I want to earn some extra cash.”

Yan Qinting clicked his tongue. “Looks like being a sugar daddy isn’t easy, huh? Enjoying yourself in bed but working yourself to death outside it.”

Too lazy to engage, Mi Zhao put down his pen, stood up, and said, “Get down. Let’s go eat.”

Since it was registration day, the school cafeteria was packed.

The two of them searched for a while before finally finding a four-person table.

While Mi Zhao stayed to hold the seats, Yan Qinting went to get their food.

Taking out his phone, Mi Zhao checked his messages.

After Li Sipei’s “Okay” reply that morning, there were no further messages from him. But his dad had sent five nearly one-minute-long voice messages not long ago.

The cafeteria was too noisy to listen to them now.

Just as he put his phone away and looked up to check on Yan Qinting’s progress in the line, he suddenly spotted two familiar figures standing not far away, scanning the room for empty seats.

The next moment—

The two of them locked eyes with him.

Mi Zhao: “…”

Oh, fuck.