In the end, they still failed to prevent the meeting.
It was set at a private restaurant on the east side of the city. Yin Zhengsong had arranged everything himself, even reserving the private room three days in advance.
On the day of the meeting, Yin Xigui wore a thin, light-gray sweater. He had tied his hair carelessly into a small tuft at the back of his head, leaving his entire pale face exposed. He looked neat, innocent, and obedient.
Sheng Linyou leaned against the wall by the entryway and watched him change his shoes without saying a word.
After tying his laces, Yin Xigui stood and turned toward him. He walked over, rose onto his toes, and kissed the corner of Sheng Linyou's mouth.
“I'm leaving, Gege. I'll be back soon.”
Sheng Linyou did not stop him. Only when Yin Xigui turned away did he reach out and tug the little tuft of hair at the back of his head.
Yin Xigui yelped and looked back. Sheng Linyou released him, his expression indifferent.
“Come home early.”
“Mm.”
After the door closed, Sheng Linyou remained in the entryway for a while. The living room felt empty. The television was off, and the wind outside made the curtains billow and fall.
He went to the balcony and lit a cigarette. Holding it between his fingers, he barely smoked at all, simply watching the ash fall bit by bit onto the floor.
He knew Yin Xigui would not accept the marriage. That little fool had eyes and a heart for no one but him, and Sheng Linyou was at least confident of that much.
But he also knew how far Yin Zhengsong's reach extended and how powerful the Yin family was. They could transfer control of a lower-tier citizen's collar whenever they pleased.
The cigarette burned down and scorched his fingertip. He shook his hand and crushed out the butt.
Yin Xigui reached the private restaurant before one thirty. The room was at the innermost end of the second floor. When he pushed open the door, someone was already seated inside.
It was a young woman. She was very slender and wore a simple white dress, her hair tied back. She sat quietly across the round table and rose when he entered, greeting him with a slight nod.
“Hello, Young Master Yin. I'm Li Nian.”
Yin Xigui returned a polite smile and sat across from her. A round table covered in a plain tablecloth separated them. A server brought tea and withdrew, leaving only the faint hum of the radiator in the silent room.
Yin Xigui took a sip of tea and studied the woman opposite him from the corner of his eye.
Li Nian's gaze remained lowered as her fingers traced the rim of her cup. Her nails were neatly trimmed and entirely unadorned. She appeared to be about his age. Her features were pleasant without being striking, and her entire manner carried a cautious restraint.
She looked remarkably like the version of himself he performed before everyone else.
Yin Xigui set down his cup and suddenly spoke, his voice still fine and soft. “Miss Li, I know you didn't want to come.”
Li Nian's fingers paused, and she raised her eyes. Their gazes met. A faint curve lingered at Yin Xigui's lips, but his eyes were far too bright for someone supposedly timid.
“...What do you mean, Young Master Yin?”
“I mean...” Yin Xigui tilted his head and tapped the tabletop twice, the rhythm languid. “Things aren't easy for you in the Li family either, are they? An illegitimate daughter pushed into a marriage for the family's benefit. Your father has probably told you plenty of things like, ‘This is for your own good.’”
Li Nian stared at him for several seconds. The corner of her mouth moved almost imperceptibly. Then she straightened, picked up her tea, and took a sip. When she put the cup down, its base struck the table with a crisp sound.
“You're quite different from the rumors, Young Master Yin.”
Yin Xigui smiled, leaned back in his chair, and relaxed completely. “I could say the same about you.”
The atmosphere in the room changed. Their veneer of false courtesy vanished, and they exchanged a knowing look across the table.
“I don't want this,” Li Nian said bluntly. “I don't even know you. Why should I marry you? Besides—” She raised her chin slightly, the gesture carrying a touch of pride. “I have my own plans.”
“What a coincidence.” Yin Xigui propped his cheek on one hand. “I have someone of my own to protect.”
Li Nian arched a brow, apparently surprised by his answer. Then she smiled, the curve of her lips far more vivid than her earlier restrained expression.
“So you asked me here today just to confirm that neither of us wants this?”
“Not entirely.” Yin Xigui took out his phone, lit the screen, and pushed it across the table.
It displayed a short draft agreement written in businesslike language. Its central condition was simple: they would cooperate with their families in public while staying out of each other's affairs in private.
Li Nian skimmed it and looked up. “You even prepared this?”
“I was afraid you wouldn't know how to act.” Yin Xigui retrieved his phone, speaking lightly. “If we give ourselves away, we'll both be in trouble. Since neither of us wants the marriage, we may as well put on a convincing show. Tell your father you think I'm acceptable, and I'll tell mine that I'd like to keep seeing you. We can drag it out and decide what to do once the attention dies down.”
Li Nian considered it for a moment, then nodded. “All right. But I have a condition.”
“Let's hear it.”
“You have to help me keep up appearances with the Li family. Accompany me to an event occasionally, just often enough to convince them the relationship is progressing. It won't be much—once every month or two.”
She paused. “In exchange, I can help manage Yin Zhengsong. I may not be favored by the Li family, but I have certain... evidence of their dirty dealings.”
Yin Xigui's brow moved slightly. Looking at Li Nian's composed face, he realized he had indeed judged her correctly. She was even more interesting than he had expected.
“Deal.” He extended his hand.
Li Nian shook it. Their hands met briefly above the table, and both were smiling when they let go.
“We still have to finish this meal.” Yin Xigui picked up his chopsticks again and placed a cold appetizer in his bowl. “If we're putting on a show, we should do it properly. We can't go home hungry.”
Li Nian murmured her agreement and picked up her chopsticks. They quietly ate half the meal, occasionally exchanging a few inconsequential remarks. Sunlight filtered through the blinds, laying alternating stripes of light and shadow across the tabletop.
Halfway through the meal, Yin Xigui's phone vibrated. He glanced down. Sheng Linyou had sent him only two words.
“Eaten yet?”
Cradling his phone, Yin Xigui smiled and typed back, “I'm eating now. Have you eaten, Gege?”
The reply came quickly. “I have.”
Yin Xigui stared at those words for several seconds, then wrote, “I don't like her. Don't worry, Gege.”
This time, two minutes passed before a single-word answer appeared.
“Mm.”
Yin Xigui placed his phone facedown and looked up to find Li Nian studying him thoughtfully.
“That lower-tier citizen of yours?”
“He isn't a lower-tier citizen.” Yin Xigui's tone remained gentle, but some of the warmth left his gaze. “He's my person.”
Li Nian tactfully asked no more questions and lowered her head to drink her soup.
When the meal ended, the two left the private room one after the other. Yin Xigui walked ahead down the corridor, while Li Nian remained three paces behind, maintaining a proper distance.
As Yin Xigui descended the stairs, his phone rang again. He answered, and Sheng Linyou's voice came through.
“Finished?”
“Mm. I just came out.”
“I'm at the entrance.”
Yin Xigui's steps paused. Then he hurried outside. Pushing through the door, he saw Sheng Linyou beneath a plane tree on the opposite side of the road.
Sheng Linyou had changed into a thin black jacket. With both hands in his pockets, he leaned against the trunk. Afternoon sunlight slipped between the leaves, scattering flecks of light across his body.
Yin Xigui practically ran across the road. The moment he reached Sheng Linyou, he caught hold of his sleeve.
“Gege, why are you here?”
“I was passing by.”
Yin Xigui looked up at him, suppressing a smile without exposing the lie.
It took forty minutes to drive here from the villa. In what world was this on his way? But Yin Xigui said nothing. He merely slid his hand down from Sheng Linyou's sleeve and into his palm.
Sheng Linyou's fingers closed around it.
Li Nian emerged at that moment. Spotting the two figures beside the road from a distance, she slowed her steps.
Her gaze rested briefly on their joined hands before moving away. She walked to her car and, before opening the door, looked back and gave Yin Xigui a slight nod.
Yin Xigui smiled at her.
Sheng Linyou noticed that smile. It was subtle—almost imperceptible—but after spending so much time with Yin Xigui, he knew every kind of smile the man wore.
There was something else in this one. He could not describe it, but instinct told him it was not merely polite.
“You two seemed to get along well.” Sheng Linyou looked sideways at him.
“Well enough.” Yin Xigui tilted his head against Sheng Linyou's shoulder. “She doesn't want the marriage either, so that makes things easier.”
Sheng Linyou grunted and asked no more. They walked along the sidewalk, Yin Xigui on his left with half his body pressed against Sheng Linyou's arm.
But something tightened faintly inside Sheng Linyou.
The expression on Li Nian's face had felt utterly out of place.
Sheng Linyou's grip tightened. Yin Xigui was still absorbed in his own calculations. Feeling those fingers close more firmly, he looked up with smiling eyes and leaned over to peck Sheng Linyou's cheek.
“Your hand is so big, Gege. I feel safe when you hold mine.”
Sheng Linyou looked down at the upturned face.
Yin Xigui was smiling, his eyes curved. The wind blew loose strands of pink hair against the corner of his mouth, and Sheng Linyou reached out to brush them aside, his fingertips grazing Yin Xigui's lips.
Yin Xigui rubbed his face against Sheng Linyou's palm like a kitten being petted.
Sheng Linyou pushed his misgivings back down.
That evening at the villa, Yin Xigui lay on his stomach across the couch, typing furiously on his phone.
Sheng Linyou came out of the kitchen carrying two glasses of water. As he set one on the coffee table, his peripheral vision caught Yin Xigui's screen.
The chat was labeled “Li Nian.” They had only added each other that day, yet their message history was already more than a dozen entries long.
Yin Xigui wore an intent expression as his fingers flew across the keyboard, a barely visible curve at his lips. Noticing Sheng Linyou's gaze, he looked up and locked the screen with perfect composure.
“What are you looking at, Gege?”
“Nothing.” Sheng Linyou pushed the glass toward him. “Drink some water.”
Yin Xigui obediently drank half, set the glass on the table, and lay down again. Resting his chin on his folded arms, he looked up at Sheng Linyou.
“Gege.”
“Mm?”
“If I really don't have to marry Li Nian, will you be happy?”
Sheng Linyou sat in the armchair beside him and studied him for a moment. “As long as you don't want to marry her.”
“Of course I don't.” Yin Xigui rolled onto his back, placed both hands behind his head, and looked up at him. The movement exposed a strip of pale waist. “I want to be with you.”
Sheng Linyou's gaze darkened briefly at the sight. He walked over, bent down, and pulled the hem of Yin Xigui's sweater back into place. When his fingertips brushed the skin at Yin Xigui's waist, he distinctly felt him shiver.
“Stop teasing me.”
Yin Xigui murmured an obedient acknowledgment and straightened his clothes, though the corner of his mouth remained raised.
Sheng Linyou looked at him for two seconds, then abruptly said, “Yin Xigui.”
“Mm?”
“What are you and Li Nian discussing on your phone?”
Yin Xigui's expression did not change in the slightest. He remained soft and obedient. “Just the details of today's meeting. We're deciding what to tell our families. What are you worried about, Gege?”
Sheng Linyou stared into his eyes for a long time. They were clear and bright, reflecting the living room's warm yellow light. Within them, he could see his own reflection and an unreserved dependence—but also something he could not quite make out, like an undercurrent in deep water.
He could not name it.
“Nothing.” Sheng Linyou rubbed the top of his head. “Go to bed early.”
His steps were quicker than usual as he went upstairs. He entered the bedroom, walked into the bathroom, and turned on the faucet. Cold water splashed against his face. Bracing himself against the edge of the sink, he stared at his dripping reflection.
Water ran from his jaw.
He remembered the smile Yin Xigui had given Li Nian when they parted. The concentration on his face while typing. How quickly he had locked the screen.
Sheng Linyou slowly straightened and wiped the water from his face with the back of his hand.
Yin Xigui was definitely hiding something from him.
Yet his instincts also said that it had nothing to do with Yin Xigui's feelings for him.
The way that little fool looked at him was genuine. His constant need to cling to him was genuine. So was the way he curled into Sheng Linyou's arms and trembled in the middle of the night.
Sheng Linyou shut off the faucet and stood for a moment in the dark bathroom. Then he opened the door and walked out.
Yin Xigui was already standing at the bedroom door with a pillow in his arms. Bare feet rested on the floor, and the night breeze had tousled his long pink hair.
“Gege, can I still—”
“Come in.”
Yin Xigui's eyes curved as he ran inside. With practiced ease, he lifted the covers, burrowed beneath them, and rolled into a bundle at the center of the bed. Then he patted the empty space beside him.
The moment Sheng Linyou lay down, Yin Xigui pressed close. He rested his forehead in the hollow of Sheng Linyou's shoulder, placed a hand on his chest, and curled his entire body into a tiny ball.
“Good night, Gege.”
Eyes closed, Sheng Linyou raised an arm around his back.
“Mm.”
Moonlight slipped through the window, laying a thin silver line across the floor. Yin Xigui's breathing gradually evened out in his arms, his fingers unconsciously clutching the front of Sheng Linyou's pajama shirt.
Sheng Linyou lowered his gaze to that pink head and silently sighed in the darkness.
Forget it.
Whatever Yin Xigui was hiding, it did not matter as long as he stayed.