Chapter 39

Before Lin Qiuzu could finish speaking, the sound of running water in the bathroom abruptly stopped.

Li Yan yanked the door open without even bothering to put on his clothes. “What did you say? A new boyfriend?”

Initially, Lin Qiuzu had been excited, but seeing Li Yan’s reaction, which was even more intense than his own, he suddenly calmed down. His expression darkened, and he grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it over.

“Why are you so worked up just hearing Mi Zhao’s name?”

Li Yan caught the pillow, not even bothering to argue. He strode to the bed in just a few steps, towering over Lin Qiuzu. “What exactly did you say?”

Lin Qiuzu had been ready to throw in another jab, but when he met Li Yan’s furious eyes, he hesitated for a moment.

Before he could say anything, Li Yan snatched the phone from his hands.

Li Yan scrolled through the screen, his expression dark and unreadable. He stood there for a full minute, motionless. Even when Lin Qiuzu grabbed his phone back, the shock on his face didn’t fade.

A buzzing noise filled his head, as if his mind had turned into a beehive.

The news was too sudden, too shocking. His vision swayed.

Mi Zhao has someone else now?

How could that be?

They had only broken up for—

Like lightning flashing through his mind, countless memories surged forward. He grasped onto a few key details—

The person Mi Zhao had spoken to on the phone in the restaurant bathroom, the counselor asking if Mi Zhao was in a relationship, the watch and clothes he had never received…

And Mi Zhao’s profile picture.

Li Yan grabbed his own phone and searched for Mi Zhao’s WeChat.

Even though Mi Zhao had blocked and deleted him, he could still see the profile picture.

Mi Zhao rarely changed it—maybe once every six months. It was always a drawing of his own. Last time, Li Yan had begged and pestered him for ages before Mi Zhao finally drew his portrait and set it as his profile picture.

Back then, Li Yan hadn’t thought much of it. He figured Mi Zhao was just trying to provoke him.

But now—

He tapped on the image and examined it carefully.

The longer he stared, the darker his expression became. His entire face was clouded with rage.

“Hey,” Lin Qiuzu kicked him in the stomach, his tone laced with irritation. “Did Mi Zhao really get a new boyfriend? Or is he just pretending to save face?”

Li Yan swatted his foot away, barely bothering to dry himself off as he hastily grabbed his clothes.

Lin Qiuzu grew anxious. “Say something!”

Li Yan turned his head and sneered. “You know better than anyone whether he has a new boyfriend or not, don’t you?”

“What do you mean by that?”

“What do I mean?” Li Yan stared at him coldly. “You were the one spreading those rumors, weren’t you?”

Lin Qiuzu froze, finally realizing what he was referring to.

Previously, there had been rumors circulating in A University’s publicity club about Mi Zhao dating someone. But supposedly, that person wasn’t doing well—no job, no money, no prospects, just a freeloader living off Mi Zhao.

Since Li Yan was also a student at A University, he had caught wind of it. He had instantly assumed the worst, growing restless with anxiety, afraid that people would uncover his past with Mi Zhao.

To ease Li Yan’s worries, Lin Qiuzu had spent money to fuel those rumors, making sure the gossip painted Mi Zhao’s supposed partner as a useless, unemployed man who did nothing but leech off him.

He had been careful to spread the idea that the person was male—just a little trick of his.

But he hadn’t expected Mi Zhao to actually get a boyfriend—let alone make it public.

Lin Qiuzu’s emotions churned violently, waves of conflicting feelings crashing against each other. Under the dim light, his face looked pale and sickly. He watched as Li Yan finished dressing, ready to leave.

Like snapping out of a daze, Lin Qiuzu rushed forward and grabbed his arm tightly.

“I only did that for you! And now you’re holding it against me?”

Li Yan shook his arm, trying to break free, his brows furrowed so tightly they almost knotted. “I don’t have time for this. I’m leaving.”

“Where are you going? To find Mi Zhao?”

“None of your damn business.” Li Yan’s patience had completely worn out. “Let go.”

Lin Qiuzu was so furious at his attitude that he felt like his head might explode. He glared at Li Yan with burning rage.

But Li Yan remained unmoved. His mind was solely focused on finding Mi Zhao and getting answers.

After a long silence, Lin Qiuzu’s shoulders sagged in surrender. “Fine. Wait for me—I’m coming with you.”

—

The hotel where Li Yan and Lin Qiuzu were staying was only half an hour’s drive from the restaurant where the group had dined.

During the ride, neither of them spoke, each lost in their own thoughts.

Li Yan’s expression was blank, but the turmoil in his heart raged on. Shock and fury twisted together, each wave more intense than the last.

Ever since Mi Zhao had rejected his birthday invitation, he had stopped reaching out. That night, out of spite, he had deliberately invited Lin Qiuzu and made sure everyone who had Mi Zhao on WeChat posted about it.

Mi Zhao was stubborn, but so was he. If Mi Zhao wanted to give him the cold shoulder, then fine—they could see who caved first.

It was a good plan.

But he had never considered the possibility that Mi Zhao might actually belong to someone else one day.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened until his knuckles turned white, veins bulging from the back of his hand.

The thought of Mi Zhao holding, kissing, or even sleeping with another man—

Something inside him swelled, growing larger and larger.

He was drowning in jealousy.

Even he had never touched Mi Zhao. How dare that guy—

Li Yan’s face twisted in rage, his eyes reddening.

Lin Qiuzu noticed every detail of his reaction. His fingernails dug into his palm, the sharp pain barely grounding him.

After a long silence, he let out a cold laugh.

He wanted to see for himself—was this person really Mi Zhao’s boyfriend? Or was it just some random guy he pulled off the street to keep up appearances?

Lin Qiuzu scrolled through the group chat for any photos of Mi Zhao and his supposed partner. Unfortunately, there were none—just pictures of the restaurant and food.

But as he scrolled further, his fingers suddenly paused.

Then, he chuckled in amusement. “Using a cane? So he’s a cripple?”

—

Thirty minutes later, as soon as Li Yan parked the car, he jumped out and rushed into the restaurant.

Ignoring the approaching staff, he scanned the room and quickly spotted the Club’s president, who was settling the bill.

“Senior!”

The Club’s president, holding the receipt, turned in surprise. “Li Yan? What a coincidence. Are you here for dinner too?”

Li Yan strode forward, his gaze sharp as a blade as he swept over the remaining group members. Without wasting time, he demanded, “Where’s Mi Zhao? Where did he go?”

“He left already,” the president replied.

“With who?” Li Yan’s voice was ice-cold. “His boyfriend?”

The Club’s president, intimidated by Li Yan’s intense gaze, stammered, “Y-Yeah.”

“Are you sure he actually has a boyfriend?” Lin Qiuzu interjected from behind Li Yan. “Did you see it with your own eyes?”

The president, remembering how Lin Qiuzu had flaked on them, immediately lost his patience. “How would we know if it’s real or not? If you’re so curious, ask him yourself.”

Lin Qiuzu was momentarily speechless, his face paling.

The Club’s president, now fully aware of their bad intentions, smirked.

“Mi Zhao finally got to see his boyfriend, so don’t bother them. His boyfriend is handsome, generous, and most importantly, they’ve been dating for two or three months now.”

He pulled out his phone and flashed a message notification. “Look at this—he even donated 200,000 yuan to our club.”

Li Yan stared at the screen, at the long string of zeroes.

His chest tightened unbearably, as if a rope were strangling his heart.

Oppression, suffocation, pain.

He could barely breathe.

Wait!

Li Yan’s expression froze, and he suddenly realized something. His face twisted in shock and rage as he looked at the president. “You said they’ve been dating for how long?”

“Two or three months.”

“…”

But they had only broken up one month ago!

Before leaving, Mi Zhao asked Yan Qinting to come along, but Yan Qinting shook his head like a rattle drum and refused no matter what. Left with no choice, Mi Zhao got into Li Sipei’s car alone.

Once inside, he received a WeChat message from Yan Qinting.

[Yan Qinting: Are you coming back tonight?]

[mrz: Yeah.]

[Yan Qinting: Come back early. I need to tell you something.]

[mrz: ?]

[mrz: What is it?]

Yan Qinting didn’t reply.

Mi Zhao found it odd. He put his phone back in his pocket and looked up, only to meet Li Sipei’s gaze. Remembering something, he reached out and patted Li Sipei’s shoulder.

“You donated twenty thousand to them? That’s too much. A few thousand would’ve been enough.”

Li Sipei smiled but didn’t say anything.

Sitting in the driver’s seat, Ruan Xin broke into a cold sweat. It wasn’t twenty thousand—it was two hundred thousand!

Forget it.

Since Third Master Li didn’t explain, she wouldn’t say anything either.

Mi Zhao figured that Li Sipei had large daily expenses, so maybe he had given that much just to help him save face. He planned to return the money later, but knowing that Li Sipei wouldn’t accept his money, he had to set the idea aside for now.

Still, it was strange—why didn’t Li Sipei like taking money?

People in his line of work were supposed to love money, weren’t they? Money was way more useful than any fancy gifts.

Since they were still in the car, Mi Zhao didn’t dwell on the thought. He leaned down and tugged at the hem of Li Sipei’s pant leg. “Does your legs hurt?”

He remembered that when Li Sipei did rehab training, the pain would be so intense that his entire back would be drenched in sweat by the end of a session.

Li Sipei answered honestly, “A little.”

“I’ll massage it for you.” As Mi Zhao spoke, he reached out to lift Li Sipei’s leg onto his lap, but before his fingers could even close around it, Li Sipei quickly pulled his leg back.

“No need,” Li Sipei said.

Mi Zhao wanted to ask why, but then he caught sight of Ruan Xin in the front seat and swallowed his words. Instead, he reached for Li Sipei’s hand resting on his lap.

Their fingers intertwined.

Both of them had already gotten used to holding hands like this.

“I’ll do it when we get back.”

Li Sipei pressed his lips together, fell silent for a moment, and then softly responded, “Okay.”

When they arrived, Ruan Xin, being tactful as always, didn’t get out of the car. She watched as Mi Zhao helped Li Sipei into the building before driving away.

The elevator numbers climbed quickly, and Mi Zhao’s originally calm heart began to stir.

As soon as they stepped inside the apartment, before the door was even closed, he impatiently grabbed Li Sipei’s collar. While using his foot to kick the door shut, he pressed his lips against the other man’s.

He had wanted to do this since they were in the car.

Li Sipei backed up step by step until his back hit the wall. Trapped, he placed one hand on the wall and the other around Mi Zhao’s waist.

His posture seemed stiff and passive, yet he made no move to push Mi Zhao away.

Before long, they were both breathless.

Mi Zhao reached out and fumbled for the light switch. With a click, the warm glow illuminated Li Sipei’s face—completely flushed, even down to the tips of his ears.

No matter how many times they had done this, his reaction was always the same—innocent and inexperienced.

Mi Zhao’s breathing grew heavier. Unable to resist, he nuzzled against the other man’s cheek and whispered, “Let’s go to the couch. I’ll massage your leg.”

Li Sipei placed two fingers against Mi Zhao’s chest, pushing him back just enough to create a sliver of space between them.

“You should shower first,” Li Sipei said. “You’re dirty.”

Only then did Mi Zhao remember that he had been working all day, sweating inside that mascot costume for over two hours. His clothes were drenched, and he reeked of sweat.

It must have been unbearable for Li Sipei to let him cling to him for so long.

Mi Zhao peeled off his jacket and tossed it onto the couch. Then, with practiced ease, he grabbed a change of clothes from the bedroom and headed into the ensuite bathroom.

Li Sipei, still flushed, sat down on the couch and took a few deep breaths.

His fingers twitched slightly as if still remembering the feel of Mi Zhao’s waist—so slim, so soft.

He had never touched anyone else’s waist before, so he didn’t know if others felt the same. But for some reason, he felt that Mi Zhao would have been perfect for dance.

Not just because of his slender, flexible waist, but also because of how he moved…

A sudden ringtone snapped him out of his thoughts.

His gaze fell on Mi Zhao’s discarded jacket. He reached inside and pulled out the vibrating phone. The screen displayed an unfamiliar number.

After a moment of hesitation, he picked up his cane and walked toward the bedroom.

Inside the bathroom, the sound of running water echoed.

Stopping at the bathroom door, he called out, “Your phone is ringing.”

Inside, Mi Zhao was standing under the shower, washing his hair. The water, mixed with shampoo suds, ran down his face. He squinted with one eye open and called back, “Who is it?”

“I don’t know,” Li Sipei replied. “No contact name.”

Mi Zhao didn’t really want to answer, but worried that it might be someone from his club, he hesitated before saying, “Just answer it for me. Put it on speaker.”

With that, he turned off the shower, grabbed a towel, and started wiping the remaining foam from his hair. As he walked toward the door, he opened it just a crack.

At the same time, Li Sipei answered the call and put it on speaker.

The next second, an earsplitting scream erupted from the phone—

“MI ZHAO! HOW COULD YOU BETRAY ME?! YOU BROKE UP WITH ME FOR THAT MAN, DIDN’T YOU?! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!”

And in the background, another voice cursed, “Li Yan, are you insane?! Keep your damn voice down!”