Yin Xigui lowered his lashes, fingers twisting the corner of his shirt.
“I am a young master, but no one wants to come here.” He paused, his throat moving faintly. “Father says I don't deserve servants. He says I'd corrupt the household.”
Sheng Linyou pressed his tongue against a back tooth and let out a sudden laugh. There was no humor in his eyes.
“So you spent tens of millions on a lower-tier to make yourself look important?” He turned his head, his gaze settling on Yin Xigui's lowered lashes. “You thought that would make your father finally acknowledge you?”
“No…” Yin Xigui shook his head violently. His eyes reddened again, and his lips opened and closed several times. “I only—I just…”
Silence lingered for several seconds before he finally forced out the rest.
“I just wanted the house to feel a little less empty.”
Sheng Linyou froze.
“Enough. Don't cry.” His voice deepened. “I'll stay.”
Yin Xigui's head snapped up. Tears still clung to his lashes, but a smile had already curved his lips.
“Really?” His voice leaped with excitement. “Then you can have the room at the end of the second floor. It gets the best sunlight! And I'll cook for you every day!”
Sheng Linyou arched a brow. “You can cook?”
“Mm!” Yin Xigui nodded hard, eyes sparkling. “No one looks after me, so I taught myself.”
That evening, Yin Xigui showed Sheng Linyou to his room upstairs.
It was spotless. The sheets were brand-new and, up close, still carried the clean scent of soap and sunshine. A tiny succulent even sat on the windowsill, its leaves plump and round.
Sheng Linyou closed the door and had just removed his coat when soft footsteps sounded outside. They paced past twice, stopped, then began again.
A quiet, nasal voice drifted through the door, soft and tentative.
“Brother…are you asleep?”
Sheng Linyou opened the door.
Yin Xigui stood in the hallway clutching a thin quilt. His bare feet rested on the cold wooden floor, toes curled against the chill. He gazed up at Sheng Linyou with pleading eyes, his lips pale from the draft.
“What is it now?”
“The air conditioner in my room broke. It's so cold…” Yin Xigui hugged the quilt tighter, his voice fading. “Really cold.”
“And?”
“Could I sleep outside your door?” Yin Xigui hurried on, speaking faster as though afraid of being refused. “I'll sleep on the floor! I won't take up any room in your bed. I promise!”
Sheng Linyou studied that upturned face for three seconds.
Then he abruptly reached out and hauled Yin Xigui inside. The young man's back struck the door with a muffled thud.
Sheng Linyou crowded against him, planting one hand beside his ear as he leaned toward that pale, immaculate face.
The space between them shrank to barely the width of a palm. Their breaths tangled.
“Yin Xigui.” Sheng Linyou narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping low. “You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?”
Yin Xigui trembled but did not retreat. Instead, he tipped his chin up slightly, exposing the graceful line of his throat.
“Doing what? I don't know what Brother means…”
That sweet scent clinging to Yin Xigui filled Sheng Linyou's senses, abruptly setting his thoughts on edge.
He caught Yin Xigui by the chin and forced their eyes to meet. The skin beneath his fingertips was warm and soft.
“You bought me, call me Brother every other breath, then come knocking at my door in the middle of the night because you're cold.” His voice sank another degree. “Do you think I'm an idiot? Or do you not understand that an owner can do whatever he wants to a lower-tier?”
“I wasn't…”
Yin Xigui had barely spoken when chaotic footsteps erupted beyond the door, followed by the sharp crash of a bottle shattering against the floor.
“Yin Xigui! Get your ass out here!” a coarse male voice roared. Each blow against the door rattled it in its frame. “My father said that lower-tier of yours is going to the conditioning facility tomorrow! Who the hell do you think you are? You don't deserve to own anyone!”
The color drained from Yin Xigui's face. He clutched Sheng Linyou's wrist with desperate force.
“Don't go out. Please…” Tears pooled in his eyes again. “They hit people when they've been drinking…”
“They? Who?”
“My brothers.”
The door shook beneath a barrage of kicks as the abuse outside grew uglier.
A second, shriller voice joined in. “A bastard born to some stray whore dares put on airs like a young master? Keep it up and we'll have you thrown out of the Yin family tomorrow!”
Sheng Linyou looked down at Yin Xigui. The young man was plainly terrified, yet he had still placed himself between Sheng Linyou and the door.
That fluffy pink head pressed against his chest.
Something inside Sheng Linyou snapped.
He pulled Yin Xigui behind him, threw back the bolt, and kicked the door open. The two drunken men outside stumbled into the room—and straight into Sheng Linyou's murderous stare.
“Which one of you said I was going to a conditioning facility?”
The man in front wore an expensive suit and a crooked tie. He stared for a moment, then sneered and reached to shove Sheng Linyou in the chest.
“A collared animal thinks it can challenge me?”
Before he finished speaking, Sheng Linyou seized his wrist and wrenched it backward.
Bone cracked. The man's scream exploded through the corridor.
Before the cry had fully left his mouth, Sheng Linyou gripped the back of his neck and slammed his face into the wall with a dull bang.
“Who's the animal?” Sheng Linyou asked. “Say it again.”
Yin Ou's face distorted against the wall. He cursed through crushed lips. “You bastard! Yin Xigui! You let a lower-tier attack your brother? Have you lost your mind?”
Yin Xigui peeked from behind Sheng Linyou, fingers still knotted in the fabric at the small of his back. His whole body shook, but he enunciated every word.
“H-He's not a lower-tier. He's mine.”
Sheng Linyou's eyelid twitched. He shifted to shield Yin Xigui again and looked down at the two men cowering on the floor.
“Get out. If I ever see either of you cross this threshold again, it won't be a wrist I break. It'll be a neck.”
The two men scrambled away. Their uneven footsteps retreated until they disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Silence returned. Only Sheng Linyou and the person still clutching the hem of his shirt remained.
He turned to find Yin Xigui crouched on the floor, picking up the broken bottle shard by shard.
One piece sliced his fingertip. A thin line of blood welled from the cut. Yin Xigui merely glanced at it, wiped it carelessly with his thumb, and reached for another shard.
“What the hell are you—”
Sheng Linyou yanked him upright.
Yin Xigui stumbled into his arms. Looking down, Sheng Linyou found that pale face streaked with tears, though a smile still lingered at the corners of his mouth.
“Brother, you're amazing. No one has ever driven them away for me before.”
Sheng Linyou ignored him. He caught the bleeding finger and lowered his head, drawing it into his mouth to suck away the blood.
Yin Xigui shuddered violently. A whimper escaped him as he tried to pull back, but Sheng Linyou only tightened his grip.
Sheng Linyou released the finger and leaned close to his ear, his voice low and hoarse.
“Listen carefully, Yin Xigui. I've chosen to stay. From now on, if anyone lays so much as one finger on you—”
“I'll make sure he loses the whole damn hand.”
The tips of Yin Xigui's ears turned crimson, while his tears fell even harder.
Still sniffling, he burrowed into Sheng Linyou's arms and rubbed his forehead against his collarbone. His voice was muffled and thick with tears.
“Then please don't leave. I'll give you all my allowance…”
“Is that the best you can do?” Sheng Linyou laughed despite himself. “You spent tens of millions bringing me here, and now you plan to support me with pocket money?”
“I-I'll earn more in the future!” Yin Xigui hurriedly raised his head, eyes still red. “I learn very quickly. I really do!”
Sheng Linyou gazed down at the fluffy pink head in his arms. A soft whorl crowned Yin Xigui's hair, and the strands tickled his chin.
“Enough. Go to sleep.”
“What about Brother?” Yin Xigui looked up.
“I'll sleep by the door.”
“No!” Yin Xigui stamped a foot, then threw out both arms to block him. “I told you the bed is yours!”
“And what if you sneak into my bed again in the middle of the night?” Sheng Linyou teased deliberately.
“I wouldn't…” Yin Xigui's voice dwindled as he spoke.
Sheng Linyou gave a quiet laugh, bent down, and swept him into his arms. Yin Xigui yelped and instinctively clasped his arms around Sheng Linyou's neck.
“Since you're so afraid of the cold,” Sheng Linyou said as he carried him toward the bed, laughter tucked beneath his words, “we'll sleep together. If you dare cry in secret again, I really will hit you.”
“I don't cry in secret.” Yin Xigui buried his face against Sheng Linyou's shoulder and protested in a soft, muffled voice. “I always do it openly.”
The answer nearly made Sheng Linyou laugh aloud.
He tossed Yin Xigui onto the bed. The young man promptly burrowed into the covers until only a pair of damp eyes remained, the blanket pulled up beneath his nose. He mumbled something too quietly to hear.
“What did you say?”
Yin Xigui lowered the blanket enough to uncover his mouth and smiled.
“Good night, Brother.”
In the darkness, his fingers found Sheng Linyou's warm palm, his thumb gently stroking the back of his hand.
“Don't be afraid, Brother,” Yin Xigui said from beneath the covers. His voice was soft, yet unwavering. “I'll protect you.”
Sheng Linyou closed his eyes and smiled soundlessly in the dark.
*Who's protecting whom, you silly young master?*
But words spoken like prophecies had a way of coming true.