Nestled together

A bone-chilling wind blew through the half-open window, and white snowflakes drifted down from the gray sky.

"It's so cold. Why did it suddenly start snowing so hard?" Gu Nian'an rubbed his hands, which had turned red from the cold. For some reason, the cold made his legs ache a little. His lips turned down slightly, making him look aggrieved.

Seeing Gu Nian'an's aggrieved expression, Fu Xiuyuan's lips lifted slightly, and he could not help laughing. "The scenery on this mountain is lovely after it snows, too. We can get up tomorrow morning and go enjoy the snow."

He knew Gu Nian'an was upset because he could no longer go camping, but seeing the drooping ears that seemed about to materialize on his head, he still could not resist gently ruffling his hair.

Gu Nian'an's eyes flew wide. He covered his head and cried, "Sir, what are you doing!"

Seeing him look as though he were facing a formidable enemy, Fu Xiuyuan finally could not hold back a chuckle. "Look how scared you are. Go take a shower and get to bed. We'll get up early tomorrow to see the snow." With that, he took out his laptop and started working.

Listening to the steady sound of running water from the bathroom, Fu Xiuyuan leisurely read through the documents his secretary had sent him on the way there.

Gu Nian'an had had no friends during his school years and had been withdrawn. Having grown up in an orphanage, he had never learned to play the piano, either. Yet over the past few days, his personality had seemed to change completely. Fu Xiuyuan's gaze deepened.

But remembering everything from the past few days-the young man's sweet smile and his soft, warm palms-the man lowered his eyes, concealing the emotions in them.

The water abruptly stopped, and before long, Gu Nian'an came out of the bathroom. Fu Xiuyuan's gaze was involuntarily drawn to him. Gu Nian'an wore a white bathrobe. His legs were long and shapely, his ankles slender, and even the tips of his toes were faintly pink.

Seeing the man looking at him, Gu Nian'an could not help feeling a little nervous. He rubbed his fingers and said, "I'm done, sir. You can go shower now."

Fu Xiuyuan gave him a long look before heading straight into the bathroom.

Gu Nian'an could not help grumbling inwardly. Ah, the male lead really is the male lead. What an intimidating presence.

That night.

Watching the snow outside the window, Gu Nian'an somehow suddenly recalled a scene in the novel. After the male lead's younger brother, Fu Shirui, was born, their father had shifted his attention entirely to Fu Shirui.

On the male lead's eighth birthday, his father and stepmother had taken Fu Shirui abroad on vacation, leaving the male lead home alone.

When reading the novel, he had merely thought, What a lousy father, and felt nothing more. But after transmigrating into the book and getting to know the male lead, he had discovered that the male lead was different from what he had imagined. Rather than being cold and heartless, he was very gentle.

Especially after discovering that the male lead had friends who cared deeply about him, he felt even more strongly that this was a real world.

And when Fu Xiuyuan was no longer merely the male lead in his eyes, but a living person with his own joys and sorrows, he suddenly wanted to ask him, Fu Xiuyuan, are you lonely?

Gu Nian'an abruptly covered his mouth. "Sorry, sir. I-I spoke out of turn." Damn it, I accidentally said what I was thinking out loud.

At his words, a trace of complexity passed through Fu Xiuyuan's eyes. Only after a long while did he say, "No, not anymore."

Gu Nian'an raised his eyes at his response. The man's gaze was unfocused, but a profound loneliness radiated from him, and his eyes held emotions Gu Nian'an did not understand.

Gu Nian'an froze for a moment. Yes, those stories glossed over in a few words to lend Fu Xiuyuan an air of tragedy had truly happened to him here.

To them, this was the real world. All that hurt and pain was real to him.

The male lead had become obsessive and heartless later on only because no one had ever truly gotten close to him.

Gu Nian'an suddenly felt a little sad. Remembering how Fu Xiuyuan had cared for and protected him these past days, he realized he had let his preconceptions lead him to see the male lead as nothing more than a character in a book.

He did not know what he should do. His gaze flickered several times as he thought, Could I try trusting him and treating him as a friend, rather than the male lead in a book? He took a deep breath and suddenly asked, "Sir, would you like to hear a story?"

Gu Nian'an looked into the man's eyes a little uneasily. A faint trace of surprise flashed through Fu Xiuyuan's eyes, and he looked at Gu Nian'an and nodded gently.

"It was a snowy day just like this. A child was sitting in his room in his pajamas, and outside, his mother was screaming hysterically. He was terrified, so he didn't dare open the door or go outside. But she kept pounding against the door and threatening him. The child was frightened, so he opened it. The instant he did, his mother pinned him to the floor and wrapped her hands around his throat.

"She said to him, 'Why don't you just die? Giving birth to you is my greatest regret.'" Fu Xiuyuan watched the young man, who seemed to be telling someone else's story, his eyes unreadable.

Gu Nian'an continued, "The child's vision kept going black as she strangled him. His mother did stop in the end, then dragged him out into the snow. The child felt awful all over and couldn't move. Lying in the freezing snow, he was so, so cold. He thought, if only someone would hold him." With that, he suddenly buried himself in the man's arms.

"Sir, winter is so cold." Gu Nian'an's muffled voice came from within the man's embrace.

The young man's warmth seeped through his embrace. Fu Xiuyuan suddenly felt a strange flutter in his chest. Though he tried to restrain himself, his fingers still trembled uncontrollably.

Gu Nian'an nuzzled against the man's chest and said softly, "Sir, I'll keep you company properly for these three years." So please don't be so lonely anymore, and don't look so sad again.

Even if there's nothing I can do, at least during these three years I spend with you, be a little, just a little less lonely. Be a little happier, sir.

Fu Xiuyuan lowered his eyes to the young man in his arms, who seemed to have fallen asleep. Soft strands of hair fell beside his ears, and his rosy little mouth turned down slightly, as though he were a little unhappy.

An inscrutable gleam flashed through Fu Xiuyuan's eyes. He could not tell what the feelings welling up inside him were.

But since you chose this, then no matter who you are, you have to stay. He slowly reached out and wrapped his arms around the young man.

So warm.

He tightened his hold on the person in his arms again.

Even though the past was over and could never be changed, at this moment, let them nestle together for a while. Let them briefly forget the past they could never return to and the tragedies they could never change, and simply hold each other close.

It was as though they were also embracing their past selves: the boy who had watched his mother fall into the snow, who had spent his birthday alone, and the boy who had been thrown into the snow and yearned for warmth.

At this moment, across worlds and across time, they nestled together.