He Wanted to Run Away

Night had fallen completely. The car was parked in a shadowed spot away from the light; if they had not been close by and deliberately looking for it, they would never have noticed it.

Yu An had spotted the car so quickly for another reason—he had seen it before.

In He Li'an's garage.

"Where?" Song Yuechi clutched Yu An's arm tightly and tremblingly followed his gaze.

The car door happened to open, and someone stepped out. His face was not immediately visible; all they could vaguely make out was a tall, upright silhouette. Song Yuechi was so frightened that he immediately hid behind Yu An.

The long-legged man quickly walked over. Yu An tipped his head up slightly. "Why are you here again?"

The man who had only gone back that afternoon had appeared here again after just four hours.

He wasn't going to say he was just passing by, was he?

"Just passing by."

Yu An: ...

Light shone in from the side, illuminating half of He Li'an's face. He looked down at Yu An, his expression dark and unreadable.

Yu An pulled up the corners of his mouth expressionlessly. "Heh."

This man's ability to talk nonsense was truly unparalleled.

He did not believe him.

Yu An tilted his head slightly and asked Song Yuechi, "Do you believe him?"

Song Yuechi cautiously glanced at He Li'an and said in a tiny voice, "No."

Then, like a mouse that had seen a cat, he hid behind Yu An and barely dared to breathe.

Because after He Li'an arrived, he felt the killing intent had grown even stronger.

Yu An tilted his head at He Li'an, with a hint of provocation in his gaze.

See? Even Song Yuechi did not believe him. Did he think he could fool him?

Unexpectedly, He Li'an showed no anger at being exposed. He calmly shifted his gaze to the cardboard box Song Yuechi had brought. "Need help?"

Yu An felt Song Yuechi tugging at his clothes from behind, so he answered, "Mm."

The cardboard box was huge and presumably heavy; otherwise, Song Yuechi would not have asked him to come down and help in the first place.

But He Li'an hoisted it up effortlessly.

He had come that afternoon and was already familiar with Yu An's new home. Carrying the box, he headed inside first.

Yu An was about to follow when Song Yuechi grabbed him.

He looked as though he still had lingering fears. "I-I won't go up."

"Why?" Yu An asked, then immediately thought of the answer. "Because of He Li'an? You're the one I invited. He came uninvited, so you don't need to be afraid of him."

Yu An grabbed Song Yuechi's arm and pulled him inside.

Song Yuechi planted both feet against the ground like a pig being driven to the slaughterhouse during the New Year.

Yu An patiently comforted his timid friend. "Don't worry, He Li'an won't kill you."

But Song Yuechi seemed even more frightened.

Once the three of them entered, the already small house felt even more cramped.

After setting down the box, He Li'an went to wash his hands. Yu An poured two cups of water and placed them on the tiny coffee table, which was only big enough to lay out two advanced mathematics textbooks. When he turned around, he found Song Yuechi standing silently in the corner as though being punished.

"Song Yuechi, come drink some water."

Song Yuechi looked up just as He Li'an finished washing his hands and walked over. He turned around to face the wall. "I'm not thirsty."

Yu An was a little confused.

Why was Song Yuechi so afraid? What exactly was so scary about He Li'an?

At that moment, He Li'an walked over and sat directly on the sofa, so practiced and natural that it was as if he were in his own home.

His gaze swept over the two cups of water on the coffee table. He reached over and found that he could not reach them, but he did not get up. He merely raised his eyelids and looked at Yu An.

Yu An understood and handed the water to He Li'an. "Don't scare Song Yuechi."

He only had this one friend. He could not let He Li'an scare him away.

For some reason, that sentence seemed to upset He Li'an. He drained the cup of water as if venting his frustration, then looked over coldly. "You're his baby. Why would I scare him?"

Yu An felt a little embarrassed. "How did you know?"

Song Yuechi often called him baby. He had gotten used to the affectionate term, but hearing He Li'an say it made him feel embarrassed again.

He Li'an sneered. "I have ears. I heard it."

Although he had found Yu An's apartment and the building's security was quite good, He Li'an had still been restless at home that afternoon. He worried that it was unsafe for Yu An to live alone, so he wanted to come take another look.

But when he arrived downstairs and had just parked, he saw Song Yuechi.

Song Yuechi had a loud voice. He had his video call on speaker, and the first thing he said was, "Baby." The person being called baby did not even refute him.

He had not expected Yu An and Song Yuechi to be close enough for that.

He dared not think further about whether Song Yuechi had come over after dark to spend the night at Yu An's place.

The more He Li'an thought about it, the angrier he became. He drank the other cup of water meant for Song Yuechi too.

Only then did Yu An finally begin to understand a little of how Song Yuechi felt.

He Li'an really was a little scary today.

He looked toward the corner. "Song Yuechi, you should go back fir—"

"Okay!"

Song Yuechi's voice rang out. Yu An only saw a blur flash past him, followed by a bang...

After that, Song Yuechi was gone from the room.

Yu An: ...

He Li'an was still staring at him fiercely, looking so menacing as though Yu An had committed some unforgivable crime.

Yu An did not dare meet his eyes. Lowering his gaze, he said softly, "Don't look at me like that."

He Li'an laughed in extreme anger. "I can't even look at you?"

"You're too scary."

The child's voice carried a trace of complaint, quiet and low, as if he were afraid.

It was the first time He Li'an had heard Yu An speak in that tone. His mind went blank for a moment, and then he realized that he had scared him.

Yu An was not someone who was easily frightened.

So he must have looked terrifying right now.

"Sorry..."

Driven by instinct, He Li'an wanted to apologize to Yu An.

But once he opened his mouth, he suddenly realized that he did not understand why he was acting this way.

Recently, he seemed to keep doing the wrong thing in front of Yu An, always apologizing to him like some barbarian who could not control his emotions.

He felt absurd. He wanted to run away.

The moment that thought surfaced, his body had already reacted. He stood and walked toward the door. The room was so small that, taking the largest steps possible, he only needed five steps to reach it.

One.

The instant he took the first step, the child nimbly ran over and blocked his path. "Where are you going?"

He Li'an was somewhat stunned. He had not expected to be stopped after taking only one step.

Yu An waited for a long time, but He Li'an did not speak. His gaze was a little vacant, and he looked rather silly.

Song Yuechi was often silly. Zhu Wen was occasionally silly. Even He Li'an had moments when he was this silly.

Maybe everyone was like that sometimes.

Yu An decided to be more forgiving. He pulled He Li'an back onto the sofa. "You haven't finished talking. Why are you running away?"

This time, He Li'an was the one who did not dare meet his eyes.

Yu An tilted his head onto his shoulder, only then catching sight of He Li'an's eyes.

He said, "He Li'an, talk."