A two-faced act amid a brawl

The moment Song Nianxing stepped out of the room and looked up, the first thing he saw was Shen Siyi absorbed in preparing the ingredients.

He wore a simple, crisp white shirt, the two buttons nearest the collar left undone. A stretch of his finely shaped collarbone peeked in and out of view as he moved. Bright sunlight streamed in and fell among the wisps of hair over his forehead, joining the steam from the boiling water before him to bathe his whole figure in a divine yet warm glow.

Noticing the movement, he slowly lifted his eyes, then his lips curved into a radiant smile. "You're awake? How did you sleep?"

The brilliance of his smile left Song Nianxing dazed. Remembering what he had just said to his manager, he could not help feeling a little guilty and could only silently pray that Shen Siyi had not heard him.

"Pretty well. How about you, Senior Shen?"

Shen Siyi gently shook his head. "Not too well, but don't overthink it. I've always had trouble sleeping."

Without waiting for Song Nianxing to speak, he continued, "Get ready to eat. Afterward, let's go bring your things over. Don't you have to go on that livestream show again the day after tomorrow?"

Song Nianxing pursed his lips, hesitating over whether he should keep troubling Shen Siyi.

But at the thought of that pervert, he nodded in agreement again.

I'll trouble Shen Siyi a little longer for now. With him around, I always feel a little safer.

When Shen Siyi is here, I feel safe.

Song Nianxing himself was startled when he realized what he was thinking.

He and Jiang Jingzhe had known each other since childhood, which was why he felt somewhat safe with him. Yet he had spent far less time with Shen Siyi than with Jiang Jingzhe, and Shen Siyi could still give him that same feeling.

Could it really be just as Jiang Jingzhe said-that Shen Siyi is special to me?

Song Nianxing's thoughts remained tangled until he reached his own front door and came back to his senses.

And the moment he did, he met Jiang Jingzhe's eyes, riddled with scarlet veins.

Song Nianxing stared in a daze. Disheveled was the only way to describe Jiang Jingzhe at that moment. Even when the two of them had been at their lowest and most penniless, Song Nianxing had never seen him looking like this.

He was curled up against the doorway, countless beer cans scattered at his feet. His short black hair had long since lost its styling and was messy and frizzy. Exhausted shadows darkened the skin beneath his eyes, and even the corners of his mouth were surrounded by fine stubble. He looked every bit like a stray dog.

The instant he saw Song Nianxing, his eyes visibly brightened, regaining their light, and he quickly rose from the floor. "You're back."

His voice was hoarse, his excitement impossible to conceal.

But that bright expression lasted only a few seconds before it abruptly froze.

Shen Siyi appeared behind Song Nianxing, dressed in a well-tailored long black trench coat over a white turtleneck, with an understated luxury necklace around his neck. He looked immaculate and elegant.

The instant Jiang Jingzhe looked his way, a hint of amusement entered his composed expression. His brows lifted slightly, and his thin lips moved as he responded to Jiang Jingzhe's words:

"What are you doing here, Jingzhe? Were you waiting for us?"

He deliberately stressed the word "us," and the moment it reached Jiang Jingzhe's ears, it became a catalyst for his fury.

"Shen Siyi!"

Jiang Jingzhe roared and strode rapidly toward them, his eyes stretched so wide they seemed about to split.

Not long after leaving following his argument with Song Nianxing last night, he had regretted it. Once home, he had barely spent any time tossing and turning in bed before deciding to return and find Song Nianxing.

But when he came back and knocked, no one answered. He was about to call, only for the news that Shen Siyi's Weibo post was trending to pop up as soon as he opened his phone. Then he read the post, and he had nearly gone mad on the spot.

Song Nianxing went to Shen Siyi's home! After arguing with me, Song Nianxing went to Shen Siyi's home!

What would they do?!

What had they done?!

He had thought about it all night, but in truth, the instant he saw Song Nianxing return just now, he had not wanted to dwell on it anymore.

He had thought that as long as Song Nianxing came back, as long as he returned to his side, he could pretend none of it had happened. But Shen Siyi just had to come along.

Shen Siyi! It was all Shen Siyi's fault! Damn Shen Siyi!

So the instant Shen Siyi finished those provocative words, he could no longer bear it and charged forward.

Song Nianxing was startled by his state and hurriedly reached out, trying to block him in front of Shen Siyi.

But to Jiang Jingzhe in his current state, that action was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.

"You're protecting him again!"

Jiang Jingzhe swept a glance over him, then immediately reached out and grabbed Shen Siyi by the collar. "What right do you have to touch Song Nianxing, and why did you! What did you do to him last night!"

He roared, disregarding Song Nianxing's attempts to stop him as he drew back his fist and swung at the side of Shen Siyi's face.

Shen Siyi's lips curved slightly. Rather than dodge, he moved backward with the blow, then hit the wall with what looked like considerable force, deliberately putting some distance between the two of them and Song Nianxing.

He met Jiang Jingzhe's eyes. There was not the slightest trace of fearful evasion in his gaze, only boundless excitement. His bleeding lips curved without restraint. "Why don't you guess why?"

As he spoke, he took advantage of Jiang Jingzhe's stunned pause and the hand gripping his collar to move a little closer. His amused voice immediately echoed between them. "Of course it's because he was mine to begin with. You've monopolized him for so many years. Don't tell me you've really forgotten?"

The fist Jiang Jingzhe had raised again abruptly stopped. He looked at Shen Siyi too, meeting those obsidian eyes, before his gaze slowly shifted to a tiny cinnabar-red mole above his brow bone.

The moment a memory flashed through his mind, the hand gripping Shen Siyi's collar began trembling uncontrollably.

"You... it's you!"

His Adam's apple bobbed once. He did not dare blink, his pupils trembling incessantly.

"So you did it on purpose! Everything was deliberate. Aren't you afraid I'll..."

"Afraid you'll do what?" Shen Siyi said lightly. Though he was looking at him, he seemed not to regard him at all. "Afraid you'll tell him I approached him on purpose? Then do you dare tell him? Shall I tell him for you?"

The instant he finished speaking, Jiang Jingzhe swiftly raised his hand and clamped it around his throat. "Don't you dare!"

Watching the chaos before him, Song Nianxing felt as though his heart was about to leap out of his throat. Throwing all caution aside, he shoved Jiang Jingzhe hard. "Jiang Jingzhe, have you gone mad!"

Shen Siyi took the opportunity to free himself from Jiang Jingzhe's hold, then raised his leg and kicked him.

Jiang Jingzhe stumbled and fell to the floor. He looked at Shen Siyi, who was coughing incessantly with a pained expression, then at Song Nianxing, who was frowning and staring at him angrily. Unable to hide his anguish, he said, "I've gone mad? Song Nianxing! He's not a good person. Don't let him fool you!"

Song Nianxing averted his gaze and stopped looking at him. "I've told you so many times. Senior Shen has helped me a lot, and he's never done anything bad to me. You, on the other hand, have gone far too far. From today onward, let's truly pretend we never knew each other."

"What... did you say?" Jiang Jingzhe's expression seemed to crack. He staggered to his feet and was about to argue when a flurry of footsteps came from behind him.

Immediately afterward, a shrill female voice rang out.

"Jiang Jingzhe, do you know what you're doing?!! The paparazzi filmed everything you just did, and the internet has already exploded! Have you gone mad? Are you throwing away your career?!"