Lego Robot

Wu Jiangyuan stayed at the hospital until Dai Lan woke up.

The moment Dai Lan opened his eyes, he saw Wu Jiangyuan leaning back in a chair beside him, watching him with a dark expression.

"Now that you're awake, talk." Wu Jiangyuan spoke flatly. "What's going on between you and that Beta?"

The corner of Dai Lan's eye twitched violently, and he played dumb. "What Beta?"

"Still trying to hide it from me?" Wu Jiangyuan narrowed his eyes and snorted. "The doctor already told me. Your fever was caused by a Beta biting your gland."

"And those marks on your neck-don't tell me they're mosquito bites."

Dai Lan deflated like a punctured ball.

"Really can't hide anything from you."

Wu Jiangyuan's brow twitched. "So it really was that Beta?"

Dai Lan said, "...Yeah."

Then he immediately added, "But it was all an accident! An accident!"

"An accident?" Wu Jiangyuan asked. "What's that Beta's name?"

Dai Lan's gaze darted around, refusing to meet Wu Jiangyuan's eyes.

After some stammering, he finally said, "I don't know."

Wu Jiangyuan asked, "Where does he live?"

Dai Lan said, "Don't know."

Wu Jiangyuan asked, "Didn't you look into him?"

Dai Lan answered meekly, "...I didn't find much. All I know is that he meets with that Omega once a week."

Wu Jiangyuan asked, "What did you go looking for him for?"

Dai Lan said, "I just wanted to see what was so special about this Beta. He actually said I was no different from a little kid."

How could he let that slide? A mighty Alpha like him, called a little kid by a Beta.

"I couldn't stand it, so I challenged him to a drinking contest, and then..."

His face turned sickly as he trailed off.

Wu Jiangyuan knew the rest, too. "And you competed your way into bed? Well done. If your dad finds out, he'll beat you to death."

At that, Dai Lan shot up onto his knees on the hospital bed. "Oh, Jiangtang'er, you absolutely cannot let my daddy find out! This is so embarrassing!"

Wu Jiangyuan said, "So you do know it's embarrassing."

"You remember what he looks like, right?"

Dai Lan nodded. "I remember. These days, I even use that face as a rag to wipe my feet in my dreams."

Wu Jiangyuan said, "All right, then. How do you want to handle this?"

"Pretend nothing happened, or settle the score with him?"

Dai Lan hesitated, his face dark. "I don't want to see him again."

"All right. Then we'll act like nothing happened."

Wu Jiangyuan decisively ended the subject. "If you ever do this again, I'm telling your dad to take you back."

Looking utterly aggrieved, Dai Lan lay back down to rest.

Wu Jiangyuan said, "Focus on getting better. I'll come see you when I have time."

After being held up for so long, it was time he went to take care of his own business.

Dai Lan sounded listless. "Fine, go on, then. Just leave me all alone in this cold hospital."

As if Wu Jiangyuan didn't know him. Once he had his energy back, even the hospital dogs wouldn't escape his flirting.

He drove home.

First, he took a shower.

Then he picked up his suitcase and headed out.

Even now, he couldn't shake the feeling he'd had while talking to Pei Jinghe on the phone last night.

So he decided to take his things over first.

Hao Garden-

After passing through security.

Wu Jiangyuan stood at the entrance to Hao Garden and entered the code Pei Jinghe had given him.

Beep-

The door opened with a sound, and a fresh breeze washed over him.

Wu Jiangyuan caught a hint of Sichuan Thuja in it, but it caused him no physical discomfort.

Pei Jinghe wasn't home. At this hour, he should have been at the office.

Wu Jiangyuan took the initiative to send him a message.

3Q: [I'm here.]

In case he didn't believe him, he even took a photo of his home and sent it over.

Only after doing that did he bring his luggage inside.

The furnishings here had changed a little since his last visit.

Most noticeable was the large expanse of pink bougainvillea that had sprung up outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Wu Jiangyuan was surprised. He had always thought Pei Jinghe's claim that he liked bougainvillea last time was just something he'd said.

He hadn't expected him to genuinely like it.

How had he never known before?

Wu Jiangyuan carried his suitcase upstairs and put it in the room he had used before.

As he came out and passed Pei Jinghe's room, an idle glance out of the corner of his eye caught something remarkable.

He stopped and, after a moment's hesitation, walked into Pei Jinghe's room.

On the cabinet by the window stood a small-Lego Robot.

It was only as tall as his forearm, made entirely of metal, with a lifelike form and a control panel indicating that it could actually be activated.

But there was now a crack across that control panel, clearly from being dropped.

Wu Jiangyuan reached out and touched the robot's body. He remembered it vividly.

It was a globally limited custom model, now discontinued and hard to come across no matter how much money one had.

Wu Jiangyuan had once seen it at Pei Jinghe's home when he was little.

He had fallen in love with it then, absolutely adored it, and many of his visits to the Pei family had been for this robot.

Boys tended to be rather possessive of their toys when they were young.

Pei Jinghe had refused to let him touch it, and the two had even fought over it.

Wu Jiangyuan had thought he was stingy for not even letting him touch it, and afterward, he had never asked to see the thing again.

They had both only just started elementary school then, at an age when they understood nothing.

For some reason, remembering that scene made Wu Jiangyuan want to laugh.

He hadn't expected Pei Jinghe to have kept the robot all this time.

Apart from this, though, there didn't seem to be anything else left.

He turned and left the room.

His phone chimed with a reply from Pei Jinghe.

The guy with the perpetual scowl who's asking for a beating: [Hungry? I'll have Auntie Zhang go make you something to eat.]

A few seconds later, another message arrived.

The guy with the perpetual scowl who's asking for a beating: [Your room is the one you slept in last time. Auntie Zhang has kept it clean.]

Wu Jiangyuan tapped the reply box, but before he could type anything, another message came through.

The guy with the perpetual scowl who's asking for a beating: [If you need anything prepared, just tell me. If there's anything you're unhappy with, you can tell me that too.]

Three messages in a row left Wu Jiangyuan with no temper at all.

3Q: [.]

The guy with the perpetual scowl who's asking for a beating: [Not happy? I have a few other properties. Want to see which one you'd like to stay in?]

3Q: [Stop, stop, stop.]

3Q: [I'm not unhappy. No need to go to all that trouble, and no need to call Auntie Zhang.]

3Q: [I'm happy. Very happy.]

After sending three replies in a row, Wu Jiangyuan felt hungry.

He told Pei Jinghe he was going to get something to eat, then put his phone down.

After spending a little time figuring out Pei Jinghe's kitchen, Wu Jiangyuan threw together something simple to eat, filled his stomach, and sat down on the sofa.

The sofa was so comfortable that once Wu Jiangyuan lay down, he couldn't be bothered to move.

A pleasant, faint pine scent lingered around his nose, and the drowsiness from his poor night's sleep at the hospital caught up with him.

When Pei Jinghe returned home.

What he saw was Wu Jiangyuan fast asleep on the sofa.

His heart, which had been heavy all this time, softened at that moment, and he walked over without even changing his shoes.

Wu Jiangyuan lay on his side, breathing evenly in his sleep, half his face buried in a cushion, his legs bent and crossed, and his shirt riding up slightly to reveal a stretch of pale, firm waist.

Pei Jinghe's eyes darkened slightly, and he slowly bent down.