Chapter 58

Mi Zhao’s body stiffened as he stared at Li Yan in shock. “What did you just say?”

The weather was getting colder, and even standing under the eaves of the staircase, one could feel the biting wind cutting across their face like a knife. Li Yan’s hair was blown into a disheveled mess, and his nearly contorted face slowly stretched into a strange smile.

“I asked if you’ve slept with my Uncle.” Li Yan enunciated each word with force. “You were lying in his bed so naturally—guess that means you two have already done it, huh?”

Mi Zhao’s expression shifted to one of disbelief. He did hate Li Yan now, but he hadn’t expected such filthy words to come out of his mouth.

It was as if he didn’t know Li Yan at all.

Seeing Mi Zhao remain silent, Li Yan took it as tacit admission. In that moment, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice pit, yet at the same time, a fire surged uncontrollably up to his head. His heart felt like it had been overturned into a vat of vinegar, the bitterness and sourness rising all the way to his throat.

He took a large step forward, suddenly closing the distance between them.

“Mi Zhao, you sure know how to pretend. When you were with me, you acted all innocent, blushing just from holding hands. But the moment you got to my Little Uncle, you couldn’t wait to climb into his bed? Even his hospital bed?”

Mi Zhao glared at him, his face pale.

Li Yan’s tone was full of mockery, his words growing sharper by the second. “Did you set your sights on my Uncle’s status and wealth? Is that why you don’t even care that he’s disabled? Well, let me remind you—clearly, you haven’t met his mother yet. She would never allow a man like you to stay by his side—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Mi Zhao abruptly raised his foot and kicked Li Yan’s shin.

Li Yan wasn’t prepared at all. Stumbling backward, his foot twisted on the staircase, and he lost his balance, tumbling down with a series of painful thuds.

The stairs outside the hospital weren’t very long, but they were hard. In the frigid winter, the fall was brutal. Li Yan was completely dazed, lying spread-eagle on the ground for a long moment, unable to recover.

When he finally came to his senses, a pair of polished leather shoes entered his field of vision.

“Young Master Li Yan?” Li Zhixuan, dressed in a sleek suit, peered down at him with curiosity, a briefcase in hand. “Are you okay?”

Li Yan was in so much pain that he could barely speak.

Li Zhixuan reached out and grabbed his arm, hauling him upright in one swift motion.

At that moment, Mi Zhao, wrapped in his scarf, descended the stairs as well. Most of his face was hidden behind the fabric, leaving only his round eyes exposed.

In the past, those eyes always carried a polite, gentle smile, but right now, they were cold and indifferent.

Li Zhixuan’s gaze quickly darted between Mi Zhao and Li Yan. “What happened?” he asked.

Li Yan hesitated. Since Li Zhixuan had been sent by the Old lady, he likely wasn’t aware of Mi Zhao’s relationship with his Uncle. So Li Yan wavered, unsure of what to say.

But before he could even form an excuse, Mi Zhao spoke candidly. “He said I climbed into your family’s Third Master’s bed.”

Li Zhixuan: “…”

Li Yan panicked instantly, ignoring his pain as he shouted, “What nonsense are you spouting?!”

Not only had he exposed himself, but he had also dragged Li Yan into it!

Li Yan opened his mouth to explain, but Li Zhixuan suddenly let go of his hand and gave him a firm shove.

Li Yan collapsed onto the ground again, this time so hard that he could barely keep his eyes open from the pain.

Li Zhixuan acted as if nothing had happened, his expression unchanged as he turned to Mi Zhao. “Are you heading back to school?”

Mi Zhao took a moment to process everything before responding, “Ah? Yes.”

“I drove here. Let me give you a ride.”

Mi Zhao glanced down at Li Yan on the ground. Without hesitation, he accepted the offer and followed Li Zhixuan away.

—

He arrived at school just in time for his afternoon class. Since he didn’t have time to stop by his dorm to grab his tools, he messaged Yan Qingting, asking him to bring them along.

Yan Qingting’s reply was cold and indifferent.

When Mi Zhao entered the classroom, Yan Qingting was, as usual, seated in a corner. The sound of Mi Zhao’s approaching footsteps didn’t even make him look up—only his eyelids twitched slightly.

Mi Zhao sat beside him, setting up his canvas while lowering his voice. “I got back together with him.”

Yan Qingting, who had been cleaning his paintbrushes, froze mid-motion. Then, without a word, he tossed his brush into the bucket. His movements were small, and since the teacher was lecturing at the front, no one else noticed their interaction.

“Mi Zhao, are you messing with me?” Yan Qingting turned to him, his face dark. “Last month you broke up, and now this month you’re back together? Even rockets don’t move this fast.”

Mi Zhao thought about how miserable he had been over the past month, and how Yan Qingting had tried so hard to keep him occupied with different activities to cheer him up. A wave of guilt washed over him.

“…Sorry,” he whispered.

Yan Qingting turned away, picked up his brush, dipped it in paint, and aggressively slashed it across the canvas.

Mi Zhao, feeling guilty, said nothing. He just sat there, watching Yan Qingting pitifully.

Luckily, Yan Qingting had a fiery but short temper, it came and went quickly. Before long, he spoke again. “Are you serious this time?”

“Of course,” Mi Zhao replied, rubbing his nose. “I’ve always been serious about my relationships.”

With that, he began recounting in detail how he ran into Li Sipei at the plaza yesterday, how their conversation led them to the hospital, and everything that happened afterward.

Yan Qingting listened with growing disbelief, clicking his tongue. “He still forgave you after all that? You two must be true love.”

Mi Zhao chuckled sheepishly.

“…I wasn’t complimenting you,” Yan Qingting deadpanned, his face dark.

Mi Zhao immediately wiped the smile off his face. “Oh.”

—

Mi Zhao had promised Li Sipei that he would message him frequently, and he kept his word. He sent a quick text both before and after class.

Li Sipei was probably still resting, so he didn’t reply immediately.

Back in his dorm, Mi Zhao wasted no time opening Weibo. He hadn’t logged in for a month or two, and his inbox was flooded with 99+ comments and private messages. He skimmed through them briefly before switching to his feed and posting an update about accepting commissions.

Yan Qingting had set Mi Zhao’s account as a special follow, so the moment he updated, Yan Qingting, who was lying in bed, shot up like a dying man jolted awake from a dream.

“You’re taking commissions again? No way, didn’t you guys already talk things out? Do you still need to make money to support him?”

As soon as the post went up, the usual crowd in the comment section became lively. Sitting on the chair by his bed, Mi Zhao replied to comments without even looking up.

After finishing his replies, he finally looked up and said, “Don’t talk nonsense. I just want to earn a little extra.”

Yan Qingting raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t the money your parents make enough for you?”

“I want to earn my own.”

Mi Zhao didn’t have the nerve to admit he was planning to invite Li Sipei on a trip. It would be too embarrassing if the other person turned him down.

Besides, he had a months-long travel plan for next year. Now that he and Li Sipei were back together, he was considering whether to bring him along for those few months.

Of course, it was too early to talk about that. Saving up more money couldn’t hurt.

Though Mi Zhao didn’t say anything explicitly, after living together for over two years, Yan Qingting could easily read between the lines. He gave Mi Zhao a knowing look but didn’t call him out.

“Oh, by the way.” Just as he was about to lie back down, Yan Qingting suddenly sat up again. “Did you hear about Li Yan and Lin Qiuzu?”

Mi Zhao paused mid-scroll and frowned. “What about them?”

At the mention of this, Yan Qingting couldn’t hide the gloating smile on his face. “Someone exposed all their dirty little secrets—it’s spreading like wildfire! People in private group chats are even paying for their videos, hahaha!”

While Yan Qingting cackled, Mi Zhao remained surprisingly calm. “Yu Xingteng did it.”

Yan Qingting was taken aback. “How do you know?”

“He gave me a heads-up. Said those rumors might drag me into it.” Mi Zhao shrugged. “Whatever. I don’t care if people know I’m gay.”

Yan Qingting covered his mouth, snickering. “Well, they’re in for a rough time now.”

—

After dinner, Mi Zhao prepared to visit Li Sipei at the hospital.

Just as he stepped outside, he suddenly remembered something and turned back toward the dorm.

Hearing the movement, Yan Qingting looked up. “Forgot something?”

Keeping his head down, Mi Zhao walked straight to the wardrobe and rummaged inside. His voice was muffled. “Not really.”

Yan Qingting found it odd and sat up. From his angle, he could clearly see the swirl of hair on top of Mi Zhao’s soft black head—and the tips of his ears, flushed red.

Before long, Mi Zhao found what he was looking for. He quickly hid it behind his back and turned around, looking guilty as hell.

Yan Qingting crossed his arms, his posture full of interrogation.

“I-I forgot to shower.”

“Oh~” Yan Qingting drawled meaningfully.

The exposed half of Mi Zhao’s face turned completely red. He stammered, “C-can I use the dorm’s bathroom?”

Yan Qingting shrugged. “Of course. It’s your bathroom too—do whatever you want.”

He stretched out the last few words, and Mi Zhao felt like his entire face was on fire.

Flustered, he grabbed his things and rushed into the bathroom. Since it was his first time doing this in the dorm, knowing that Yan Qingting was right outside made him so nervous that he kept fumbling.

Just then, his phone, placed on the sink, started ringing.

He hesitated briefly before setting down what he was holding. His pants were stuck at his knees, so he could only shuffle in tiny steps from the toilet to the sink.

He picked up his phone and saw that it was a video call from Li Sipei.

Panic surged through him. He glanced at what he was holding, then instinctively hung up the call.

Just as he opened the chat to type a message, the screen darkened again—Li Sipei was calling back.

Mi Zhao shut his eyes for a second before accepting the call.

The screen instantly split into two frames: a large one showing Li Sipei’s face, shrouded in dim, flickering light, and a smaller one displaying Mi Zhao’s own anxious expression.

“What’s wrong?” Li Sipei’s voice came through. “Are you still at school?”

Mi Zhao raised his phone slightly to avoid an unflattering angle, but in the process, he accidentally lifted it too high, exposing a bit of bare skin below.

Startled, he quickly tilted the camera back to its original, unfortunate angle.

However, Li Sipei had been watching the screen closely the entire time and had naturally caught that glimpse. He pressed his lips together in silence, his finger resting against his chin as he leaned on the car window.

Then, his gaze shifted slightly beyond the phone.

“Li Zhixuan,” he called, “give me your phone’s earbuds.”