Are you trying to scare me to death?

Chen Yannan returned to the hospital carrying piping-hot plain rice porridge.

Xue Chen's wrist had been put in a cast. When the door opened, he was throwing a tantrum because even moving his fingers hurt. At the sight of Chen Yannan, his pent-up anger finally found an outlet:

"Do you really take me for an idiot? You were gone so long. Did you go looking for Li Shu?"

Chen Yannan didn't want to entertain his unreasonable behavior, especially under these circumstances. He had brought this entirely on himself.

"You should know better than anyone who treated whom like an idiot first."

Xue Chen forced his eyes to redden, taking advantage of the fact that he and Chen Yannan were alone in the ward. "Do you have any proof of that? Just because I got shot at the Manor where Pei Song'an hosted the gathering, you get to pin this on me?"

Chen Yannan set the plain porridge in front of Xue Chen, scooped up a spoonful, and slowly brought it toward him, enunciating clearly:

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that Pei Song'an said it was you, so it was you."

"A fracture in your right hand heals very slowly. Your movement will be restricted, you can't get it wet, and the pain will keep you tossing and turning at night. Recovery takes a long time, and rapid calcium loss can lead to osteoporosis."

"Learn your lesson. Li Shu isn't someone you can touch."

Xue Chen's expression soured, but since things had come to this, he had no intention of sparing Chen Yannan's feelings either. Liking someone didn't mean you had to swallow every grievance. What mattered was how to keep that person in your grasp.

"It doesn't feel good, does it? Being kept in the dark while your precious darling gets hurt?"

Xue Chen turned his head away, refusing the porridge Chen Yannan offered him.

"Weren't you swearing up and down that Li Shu was your bottom line? But what have you actually done now? All you've done is repeat what the doctor said, then tell me Li Shu has Pei Song'an backing him and warn me to stay away?"

"Stop pretending, Chen Yannan. You actually like Li Shu, don't you?"

"Hahaha, how pathetic. You don't even dare say who you like. You need me to say it for you. I really feel sorry for you."

At last, a visible crack appeared in Chen Yannan's mask. His relaxed shoulders turned utterly rigid, and even his forehead was visibly coated with sweat. His voice was hoarse:

"Shut up."

The look Xue Chen gave Chen Yannan grew even more intrigued, and the curve of his lips widened:

"What? Did I hit the mark?"

"It hurts to watch the person you like fall into someone else's arms, doesn't it? Especially when you can't even get angry right now, shouldn't get angry, don't even have the right to get angry."

Chen Yannan seized Xue Chen by the collar and slammed him down onto the bed. His chest heaved, the desire in his eyes tainted with something filthy, making him radiate ruthlessness and coldness from his very bones. He repeated:

"I said, shut up."

Xue Chen showed no intention of backing down. An indescribable gloom showed on his beautiful face, making him look even more alluring beneath the room's lights:

"Why are you angry? Lashing out in humiliation because I was right?"

"Face reality, Chen Yannan. Right now, the last person you should provoke is me."

Because Pei Song'an had to prepare for a competition, their planned tutoring sessions were pushed back a week.

That was how studying worked. Once a definite date had been set for the torture, every day before tutoring began had to be lived like it was your last.

Li Shu figured he hadn't spent much money that month, mostly mooching meals off Pei Song'an. Then he checked his bank balance-good grief, the first digit had jumped from a three to a six.

He closed his phone and sank into thought.

What was going on? This was so much money it felt like someone was buying his life. Who had sent it?

Should he call the police?

He couldn't help it. His mother had drilled the instinct to return money he found into his bones since childhood.

Bzz, bzz, bzz-

An incoming video call from Pei Song'an suddenly popped up.

Li Shu's heart skipped. A call right after the money arrived-it gave him the eerie feeling of being monitored in real time. Pei Song'an's profile picture was Zhaocai sticking out his tongue, the puppy's eyes round and wide, wearing the little circus outfit Pei Song'an had bought him, as though saying:

Answer the phone. If you don't, I'll have someone deal with you.

Li Shu cleared his throat and answered.

"What took you so long? What were you doing?"

"Did you get the money?"

On-screen, Pei Song'an wore a black outdoor jacket with a stand-up collar and, unusually, a pair of silver-rimmed glasses. Light gleamed in his dark eyes behind the lenses. Even through the screen, his gaze was unusually scorching.

From the look of it, he had just come out of the competition exam venue.

Li Shu instantly straightened from his slouch, eyes widening. "You transferred the money? How did you get my account number? No, why did you send me so much? Do you need a favor? Bro, I've never done anything illegal, not even as a kid."

Pei Song'an's gaze rested on Li Shu's fair, tender face. Those rosy lips looked as though he had just drunk some water, like petals after rain, vivid and lovely.

"Such a good boy. Did your mom tell you every day, even when you were a little baby, to ask the police for help if you were in trouble, that returning lost money was a virtue, and to always be wary of strangers, or you'd be abducted into the mountains to be a child bride?"

Li Shu: "..."

Pei Song'an: "What?"

Li Shu jumped up in embarrassment, even dropping his phone onto the floor. The picture dissolved into chaos, leaving only his flustered voice:

"What do you mean, what? Don't you think you sound like a pervert saying that? Aaaah, I don't even know! Especially after taking your money, it feels so weird!"

When that fair little face reappeared in view, Pei Song'an slowly stroked Li Shu's skin through the screen with his fingertip. Reflected in his deep, dark eyes was the scene of the last time he had kissed the side of Li Shu's neck.

"And that already feels weird?"

His tone deepened, and his voice through the speaker made every pore on Li Shu's body prickle.

"I love the expression you have when you look at me. Your eyes are so wet, like you've been crying. It makes me really want to kiss you."

"You blush just from a few words. Is it because you've been a good boy since you were little? It's all right. You're cute when you're shy, too."

He watched Li Shu press those rosy lips together, his cheeks and the tip of his nose reddening with embarrassment, his glistening eyes even redder and heartbreakingly endearing.

So beautiful...

Pei Song'an lowered his eyes, forcibly suppressing the emotions slowly welling up inside him.

"Now that's what sounding weird is, Li Xiaoshu."

Those few remarks had teased Li Shu's heart into a frantic race. Even after taking ages to compose himself, he still felt as though he had been struck by lightning:

"...Bro, if you want your money back, you don't have to use such an intense approach."

"Are you trying to scare me to death???"