1.3 – in the bud

In the room where there had been no sound for a long time, only the occasional faint presence of someone, the sound of human voices finally drifted in.

“Ah—, it’s hot—”

A voice grumbling was mixed with the sound of a sigh. The voice of an old man responding softly with a chuckle could also be heard. Following that was the clinking sound of things being tidied up, signaling that it was over.

Yuri, who had been waiting outside the sliding door, turned around and spoke through the door.

“Is it finished?”

“Yes—”

He heard Ling Xinlu’s long response. Yuri said, “I’m coming in,” and opened the door. The acrid smell of dried grass wafted out.

Ling Xinlu, while buttoning his shirt, looked back at Yuri and asked, “Did you wait long?”

Helping the old man who was tidying up white ash and thin pieces of paper, Yuri picked up a bowl of water and poured it in the outer courtyard. There was nothing else to help with. The old man had told him not to touch anything. It was only recently that he had been allowed to handle the water bowl.

When Yuri wiped the water bowl with a dry towel and handed it back to the old man, the old man murmured something as he took it. Yuri couldn’t understand what he was saying as the man smiled softly, curving his wrinkled lips. Yuri spoke Chinese reasonably well, but he couldn’t understand this old man’s speech. Ling Xinlu had once told him with a smile, ‘It’s because it’s mixed with a lot of Southern dialects.’

Even now, he still couldn’t understand, but Yuri listened intently and looked at the old man sincerely, and the old man continued talking regardless of whether Yuri understood or not. Then, as the old man lightly patted his forearm with a wrinkled hand, as if to a kind grandson, Yuri nodded anyway and replied, “Yes, Elder.”

At that, Ling Xinlu, who was getting dressed beside them, suddenly burst into laughter.

“Do you even know what Elder Chang said, yet you answer him?”

“I thought he was saying something kind.”

Yuri spoke with his eyes slightly widened, and Ling Xinlu laughed, saying, “That’s true, but…”

“He said your posture is upright. He saw your shadow sitting behind the sliding door, and he said your posture is very good because you kept your back straight the whole time.”

Yuri looked at the old man and nodded, saying thank you. The old man nodded back.

Ling Xinlu continued to chuckle, finding something very amusing, as he fastened his sleeve buttons.

“Mr. Gable is sometimes funny to watch. Before, in the alleyway, you were having a serious conversation with those little girls in languages that didn’t match.”

Ling Xinlu burst into laughter again, recalling how, even though the flow of the conversation didn’t match at all, they had been chattering away as if they were perfectly in sync.

Eventually, the old man finished tidying his tools and drank the tea brought by a servant at the right time. Ling Xinlu, who had finished dressing, and Yuri, who had already drunk several cups of tea while waiting outside, both lifted their teacups.

Twice a week, Ling Xinlu received acupuncture and moxibustion. It was for his eyes, which, while not entirely hopeless, had shown few promising signs so far. Since the old man had been sought out and brought in by the ringa, he couldn’t be a complete quack, yet there was still no significant improvement.

Ling Xinlu didn’t seem to expect much nor was he particularly keen on it, but since there was no reason to explicitly refuse, he met the old man obediently. And during that time, Yuri waited outside, separated by a single door, until it was finished.

“I feel like it’s getting hotter by the day. Ugh, I’m going to get scars. What is this, doing this to my jade-like skin?”

Ling Xinlu grumbled while drinking tea, but in reality, he never once mentioned pain or heat during the moxibustion. Once, Yuri had entered the room for a brief matter while the moxibustion was being performed, and even as the skin was searing, Ling Xinlu had been staring at the ceiling with a serene face. Only when the treatment was over and it was time to dress did he playfully complain and lament the heat.

Unless it was intentional for some other reason, he was truly a man who never let others hear a weak sound from him.

Eventually, the old man, having emptied his teacup, gave a single nod as usual and left, leaving the two of them alone in the room.

Yuri slid the door wide open, bringing the sun-drenched inner courtyard into view. The annex deep within the ringa main house had an inner courtyard where flowers bloomed profusely every season except winter. It was the garden Ling Xinlu’s mother loved most.

“Shall we head back then?”

As soon as Ling Xinlu emptied and set down his teacup, he showed signs of wanting to stand up. Yuri looked at him silently for a moment but soon stood up and followed him.

As they stepped out of the room and put on their shoes, an employee bringing fruit rolled their eyes in confusion.

“Um, the Young Mistress will be arriving soon…”

“Ah, tell her I left early because I have an appointment. Tell her I’ll visit this weekend.”

Ling Xinlu walked toward the parking lot with a light step, and Yuri gave a slight bow to the employee and followed behind him.

It had been less than a month since Yuri had moved into the ringa main house.

When he first came to China, Ling Xinlu was living in the main house, and Yuri stayed there as well, but before long, Ling Xinlu got a separate house and moved out. To the elders of the family—though he was young, he was an ‘elder’ in terms of generational rank—he gave the reason that the shock and heartbreak over his unrecovered body were too great, and he wanted to spend some time quietly to compose himself. However, as soon as he moved into a mansion about 40 minutes by car from the main house, the first thing he said was, ‘Ah, now I feel refreshed. They were so bothersome there.’

‘Do you not get along with your family?’

Yuri hadn’t intended to pry, but thinking it would be better to know if he was to look after him for the time being, he asked. Ling Xinlu shrugged as if asking what he meant, saying, ‘Surely not.’

‘I love both my father and mother. They think the world of me.’

The problem is that it’s sometimes truly ‘terrible,’ he added, and Ling Xinlu’s expression didn’t seem to be intentionally hiding his true feelings.

Indeed, during his short stay at the main house, what Yuri felt was the excessive affection the two adults poured onto Ling Xinlu. It was a love so overwhelming it felt like one could drown in it—literally, an ‘excessive love’.

‘I had expected it to some extent from the rumors, but… it’s surprising.’

As soon as he entered the ringa, Yuri was summoned before ring huolong, who wanted to see for himself what kind of person the youngest son had brought to keep by his side. After spending a full hour drinking tea with him—though most of the conversation was about world affairs, perhaps because the background check was already complete—Yuri had murmured in a dazed voice.

Ring huolong was a possessor of an overwhelming aura that felt as if it drained one’s energy just by being near him. Indeed, one could not lead a family like a vast empire without such a presence.

The surprising thing was that a man who seemed as if he wouldn’t shed a drop of blood or a single tear poured an absurdly unconditional affection onto his youngest son. To the point where Yuri suspected that such a sly, tiger-like man might have some ulterior motive.

‘My father is a bit like that. Still, seeing him tell me to take good care of our son as I left, I think I passed the test, Mr. Gable. My father is a very fastidious man who rarely shows such signs.’

‘I figured he would like Mr. Gable,’ Ling Xinlu had smiled nonchalantly. Then, with that beaming face, he had dragged Yuri to his mother, saying, ‘Now it’s Mother’s turn to judge.’

His mother, whose beauty from her youth had not faded at all even in middle age, was, in all honesty, exhausting.

The slightly melancholic-looking Madame looked at the person beside her son for so long it felt uncomfortable, scrutinizing him. Meanwhile, every word she spoke to her son was so indulgent that Yuri thought she might actually spoil him.

The excessively cautious love, as if dealing with a one-year-old baby dying of a disease, was something Yuri could recognize without having to observe her for long.

The love the parents poured onto Ling Xinlu was absolute and unconditional, enough to make one think he had grown up remarkably well in such an environment.

Thus, when Ling Xinlu left the main house for the mansion, Yuri could understand his refreshed expression.

“…Yes, Mother. I told him I was meeting Qianfeng. Today’s treatment took a bit longer, so time is tight. …Of course, I want to see you too.”

Looking at Ling Xinlu in the rearview mirror as he answered a phone call that came less than five minutes after driving out of the main house, Yuri slowed his foot on the accelerator slightly. The speed began to drop.

Soon, Ling Xinlu glanced back and gestured for him to keep going. After a short pause, Yuri increased the speed slightly again.

“…Yes, then I’ll see you this weekend. Yes, I love you, Mother.”

After whispering sweetly, Ling Xinlu tossed the phone into the back seat as soon as he hung up.

“Ah, now she’ll probably call Qianfeng. Asking where we’re meeting, what we’re doing, telling him to always be careful and take good care of Xinlu.”

Yuri raised an eyebrow at the lightly chattering Ling Xinlu.

“You don’t have an appointment to meet him, do you?”

“I don’t.”

“Then if your mother calls him…”

“He’ll find out I lied.”

“…Is that alright?”

“It’s fine. She probably won’t call me back to argue about it.”

Ling Xinlu waved his hand dismissively, saying that a mother who calls every single friend her son is meeting is the one in the wrong. Yuri looked forward again in silence. Indeed, this wasn’t the first or second time such a thing had happened, but Yuri had never seen his mother scold or reprimand her son. Rather, she would cautiously read his mood, barely managing to ask, ‘Do you hate Mommy?’

“Really, I’m quite admirable and praiseworthy for not turning out crooked despite this. Don’t you think?”

“Yes.”

When Yuri nodded obediently, Ling Xinlu puffed out his cheeks and glanced at Yuri, as if he had almost burst into laughter. Yuri continued speaking calmly while driving on the open road.

“Because you are always the lovely son in front of them.”

That was Ling Xinlu—behaving as he pleased, yet always wearing a kind and bright smile like a mask. Ling Xinlu chuckled.

“That’s the image they want. Isn’t showing them what they want the ultimate filial piety? But actually, they know. People’s eyes aren’t holes in a knot; they see everything even when it seems they aren’t looking.”

He didn’t go out of his way to hide the fact that the image of the good and cute son he showed them wasn’t everything. It was as if he were saying, if you want to love me, then love me.

Indeed, one is not loved because they are good. Some might think it unfair, but affection is not something obtained through effort.

Yuri looked only ahead in silence.

Sometimes, Ling Xinlu would look at him with eyes that seemed to say, ‘Regardless of what I do, you eventually like me anyway.’ And that thought was not wrong. There were times when even that arrogantly confident attitude seemed lovely; it seemed that’s what happens when one is blinded by affection.

If he, a stranger, felt this way, how much more must the parents feel, Yuri thought, nodding inwardly. Just then, beep-beep, the phone plugged into the slot next to the gear shift notified him of an arriving message.

“…”

Yuri and Ling Xinlu glanced at the phone almost simultaneously. Since Ling Xinlu’s phone was tossed in the back, the message must have been for Yuri, but Yuri didn’t touch the phone, as if nothing had happened.

“You got a text.”

“I’m driving right now.”

“It might be an urgent contact.”

“Then they would have called. I can check it later.”

Even without checking, he had a rough guess of who sent it. Ling Xinlu probably guessed as well.

There were very few people who would contact Yuri via message, as he had only been here for a few months. Most people who contacted him personally preferred calls, and above all, the number of people he exchanged messages with within this country was very limited.

“Fei must have returned home.”

At Ling Xinlu’s casual murmur, Yuri replied just as casually, “I suppose so.”

The content of the message was also easy to predict. It would be a greeting message not much different from, ‘I heard you visited the house—the main house. If I had known, I would have come sooner. Get home safely.’

If it deviated from the expectation, it would be that the sender was Xiao Chun instead of Fei. The content would obviously be similar. Despite the age difference, they were siblings who sometimes acted like twins.

Ling Tangyun had only two children, and both Fei, the eldest of that generation, and his younger sister Xiao Chun were children to be proud of anywhere. While he didn’t blindly shower them with excessive love as his father did the youngest son, Ling Tangyun’s eyes also softened whenever he spoke of his children.

Yuri knew the siblings well. Since they were young, though they didn’t meet often, he had occasionally run into them with Ling Tangyun. Even after growing up, they still followed him around like puppies, calling him “Uncle.” Perhaps because the age gap between Yuri and Fei was smaller than the one between Ling Tangyun and Yuri, Fei—who had no older brother—might have thought of Yuri as an older brother.

When Yuri, having signed a contract with Ling Xinlu, packed his bags and entered the ringa household, it was those siblings who welcomed him with the brightest faces. Fei, who had recently returned to the country after graduating from school in the US, and Xiao Chun, who had started university in Shanghai but was back at the family home for the birthday of their grandmother—Ling Huolong’s first wife—both hovered around him like puppy siblings, calling out, “Uncle Yuri, Uncle Yuri.”

It was so much so that Ling Xinlu, who usually didn’t care about other people’s business, had looked at Yuri with cold eyes and muttered, “I’m not sure when Mr. Gable became part of the same generation as me.”

Ling Xinlu, who was a few years younger than his nephew Fei, never cared about his age among relatives, but he hated being called “older brother” or “hyung” by his nephews—simply because they were in a similar age group. It wasn’t for the sake of authority, but rather because “he hated it when relatives he didn’t particularly like pretended to be close.”

“Xiao Chun still contacts you occasionally, right? If he’s a student studying in a far-off land, he should just focus on his studies.”

Ling Xinlu glanced with a displeased look at Yuri’s phone, where the lamp flickered intermittently, indicating unread messages, and let out a scoff. Yuri glanced at Ling Xinlu and spoke calmly.

“They are good children.”

“Good, my foot. Stop it. I don’t even want to hear it. I believe I already told you I don’t like those siblings.”

“But those children like ‘Uncle Xinlu’.”

“Just because they like me doesn’t mean I have to like them?! —Stop it. I’m really starting to get in a bad mood.”

Ling Xinlu grimaced and waved his hand. By turning his head toward the window, he made it clear that he wouldn’t listen any further. Yuri gave a light shrug and fell silent.

It seemed they had never been on particularly good terms. It wasn’t that their relationship was bad, but it was certain that Ling Xinlu disliked his nephews.

Yuri had once asked Fei casually, but there didn’t seem to be any specific incident. Fei didn’t even realize that Ling Xinlu disliked him. With innocence, he had said, “The youngest uncle? He can be a bit hard to approach. I guess he’s just shy,” and then proudly added, “Still, the youngest uncle is closer to me than to the other nephews—my cousins. We talk occasionally.” Of course, Yuri didn’t say a single word to Fei about Ling Xinlu’s actual thoughts toward him.

“…”

It seemed to be a matter of personality types.

The siblings, who were not shy and treated everyone with obvious friendliness, were like canines, so to speak. On the other hand, Ling Xinlu—who would purr lovably when necessary but was fundamentally fickle and thoroughly private—was a feline.

“Come to think of it, when I stayed at my maternal grandmother’s house in Birmingham, they raised both a dog and a cat.”

When Yuri spoke, Ling Xinlu looked at him with a face that said, ‘Why suddenly dogs and cats?’ but he listened in silence.

“Since they were raised together from a young age, they didn’t fight violently, but they weren’t on great terms. No, that’s not it… The dog liked the cat and followed it around, but the cat hated it and kept avoiding it.”

“Of course you’d hate it if something you didn’t like kept following you.”

Yuri smiled silently as he watched Ling Xinlu empathize with the cat as if it were obvious. The smile vanished so quickly that Ling Xinlu, who had barely caught it, asked suspiciously, “Did you just smile? No?” Yuri simply shook his head calmly and replied, “No, I just thought that dogs and cats really don’t get along that well. That’s all.”

As Ling Xinlu seemed to be pondering why this man was suddenly saying such random things and what the hidden meaning was, Yuri changed the subject.

“Shall we stop somewhere on the way? Or should we go straight home?”

“Hmm? Ah—let’s go home. I think the DVD I ordered a few days ago should arrive around today.”

Ling Xinlu let out a light sigh, as if giving up on digging into Yuri’s thoughts.

Yuri frowned slightly as he watched Ling Xinlu slide a CD into the player and climb into the passenger seat, pulling his knees to his chest.

Although he was wearing a seatbelt, he looked unstable, swaying whenever the car turned or moved sharply. Yuri had told him several times not to do that, but Ling Xinlu didn’t break the habit.

So in the end, once again, Yuri habitually reached out to hold Ling Xinlu whenever he made a turn. Each time, Ling Xinlu would chuckle and say, “I told you I won’t roll over,” but Yuri decided not to listen to him.

『So, I’m calling to say that although it’s a hassle, I’d like you to pay some attention to him from now on.』

“I don’t particularly want to say this to you either,” he added. Yuri could vividly imagine Ling Tangyun’s expression as he sighed over the phone. He was likely rubbing his furrowed brow and shaking his head as if dealing with a headache.

He was already over fifty. Although his tiger-like father was still healthy, and he refrained from standing out too much under him, he was strictly an adult in charge of a branch of the family. Furthermore, while not as famous as his father—who had made a name for himself for better or worse since his youth—Ling Tangyun was also well-known as a formidable figure, proving that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. For such a man to call someone else to ask a favor regarding a matter that wasn’t even his own business was a truly rare occurrence.

When Ling Xinlu visited the family home, received treatment, and left immediately, his mother seemed deeply heartbroken. (As Ling Xinlu expected, she had even tried calling his friend.) When his beloved wife, whom he cherished above all, grew depressed and tearful, Ling Huolong became displeased. However, unable to call his youngest son directly to scold him, he seemed to have nudged his eldest son—who was on close terms with Yuri, the youngest son’s attendant—to nag him.

Thanks to this, Ling Tangyun, who never had to ask for favors elsewhere and whom no one dared treat lightly, was now sighing into the phone to Yuri. He wanted Yuri to try and keep Ling Xinlu at the family home a little longer whenever he visited.

“Since things don’t always go my way, I can’t say I will definitely do so, but I will try.”

Yuri, who was always honest and clearly distinguished between what he could and could not do, answered bluntly. As if he had already expected such an answer, Ling Tangyun sighed but said nothing more.

『Right. And Xinlu? How is he doing?』

“He is bathing right now. If you have business with him, shall I tell him to call you after he comes out?”

『No, no, no. There’s nothing like that.』

Ling Tangyun answered quickly. Yuri, having expected this, replied simply, “Yes, then.”

In the past—before Yuri had met Ling Xinlu at the seringe—he had occasionally heard fragments of stories about the ‘youngest brother’ from Ling Tangyun. And each time, though he wasn’t entirely sure, he got the feeling that Ling Tangyun found his youngest brother unsettling. It wasn’t that he hated him.

Ling Tangyun was not a man with a heart so small that he would be jealous just because the boy was a son born to a concubine his father took in his later years, or because he was a son so favored and cherished that people called him the ‘Young Master’ in the shadows. Yet, how should he put it—rather than hating or being jealous, it felt as though he kept an unsettling distance. Yuri only vaguely realized the reason after coming here.

It was an emotion closer to fearing and being wary of a mischievous monkey, never knowing when it might suddenly cause a bizarre accident and terrify people.

For example, it happened last month.

Unless something happened, the close immediate family members of the ringa household would gather for dinner every weekend. Ling Xinlu, who lived separately from the main house, almost always returned home on weekends for dinner and occasionally stayed overnight.

During the last weekend of last month, Ling Xinlu returned to the main house, and naturally, Yuri accompanied him.

At the time, Ling Xinlu was upset with Ling Tangyun, though the reason wasn’t significant. A few days prior, when Ling Xinlu had gone to the main house for acupuncture, Ling Tangyun had encountered Yuri and remarked, as a passing joke without any particular malice, “I’ve heard quite a few complaints of regret that an informant like Yuri Gable, whom so many places covet, is wasting his talents while cleaning up after someone else.” This had later accidentally reached Ling Xinlu’s ears.

“I heard the eldest brother said such a thing?” Ling Xinlu’s bright smile as he confirmed this with Yuri was somehow ominous, but fearing that Ling Xinlu might be bothered, Yuri nodded honestly and replied, “Yes. But I don’t think I’m wasting my talents. Rather, I’m just a bit concerned that I’m receiving excessive compensation while resting comfortably.”

“Haha, why? Because it feels like you’re getting something for nothing?” Ling Xinlu had laughed and dropped the subject then and there, but it seemed he hadn’t forgotten the memory and had kept it in his mind.

It wasn’t something Ling Xinlu needed to confront Ling Tangyun about—doing so would make both of them look ridiculous—nor was it something he could, so Yuri thought he would just forget it. Yuri himself didn’t care and forgot about it quickly. In fact, it was such a trivial matter that it was almost laughable to remember it for long.

Then came the weekend, at a gathering where the family ate together. Since it was only the immediate family up to Ling Xinlu’s generation, there weren’t many people.

While they ate, Yuri ate separately elsewhere, but that day, the others’ meal had not yet finished even after Yuri returned. This was because Ling Huolong, who had been out, returned slightly later than scheduled. So, Yuri stood quietly by a pillar in the dining room.

He could see Ling Xinlu, whose slow eating speed was due to his eyes making it hard to judge the distance of objects, slowly using his chopsticks. As he was eating in a manner not much different from the others, Ling Tangyun, who had finished his meal and was holding a teacup, spoke to him belatedly, as if checking in.

“So, are you doing well outside? Any inconveniences?”

Ling Xinlu stopped his chopsticks in mid-air for a moment, looked at him, and smiled brightly.

“Yes, I’m doing very well and comfortably.”

“I’m glad. I don’t need to say it, but if you ever need anything, just let me know.”

“Yes,” Ling Xinlu nodded obediently. Then, after smiling lovably for a moment, he said innocently, “Sometimes the eldest brother feels like a father to me.”

The room went silent. From Ling Huolong, who had just picked up his teacup, to Ling Tangyun, who froze as if paralyzed for a moment, and the other family members—everyone looked at Ling Xinlu.

Ling Tangyun forced a smile, smoothing out a face that had almost contorted grotesquely for a second.

“What, you resemble Father a lot too.”

“No, I don’t mean that I look like Father, but you know that feeling people usually have when they say someone is like a father. Generous and reliable. I’ve thought that occasionally for a long time. That the eldest brother is just like a father.”

“Maybe it’s because the age difference is so large,” he added, smiling nonchalantly. For a few seconds after Ling Xinlu’s words, no one spoke. Only Ling Xinlu continued to use his chopsticks leisurely.

Ling Tangyun didn’t look away, but seemed to be gauging Ling Huolong’s mood. Ling Huolong didn’t say anything as he drank his tea, but the corners of his stubborn mouth were turned downward.

No matter how meaningless the words were, it couldn’t sound pleasant for a father to hear that his cherished, lovely youngest son felt that another man—even if that man was his own biological son—was like a father.

And even if Ling Huolong was displeased by it, Ling Tangyun couldn’t clumsily say something as ridiculous as, “Father, the biological father here is more like a father,” which would only be an absurd attempt to curry favor.

“…”

For a while, everyone kept their eyes cast down on the table in silence. Until Ling Huolong slowly spoke, changing the subject by saying, “Xinlu’s tea must be cold. Bring a fresh one.”

And watching this scene, Yuri thought: Ling Xinlu, who was smiling gently, looked somehow mischievous.

Indeed, so this was it. He couldn’t pinpoint it exactly, but this was how one could end up sitting on a bed of thorns.

Yuri felt he understood why Ling Tangyun always maintained an ambiguous attitude toward his youngest brother, drinking his tea with a darkened complexion. The reason he felt uncomfortable, rather than specifically hating or disliking him, likely included this kind of behavior.

Wondering why this brat was acting out of mischief behind a composed face again, Ling Tangyun looked at Ling Xinlu with a suspicious expression. Meeting that gaze, Ling Xinlu beamed.

“Thank you for worrying about me. But I’m fine. Mr. Gable takes such good care of me.”

“Ah, is that so.”

“Yes. I know I’m picky, but he takes care of me so well that I have nothing to complain about. I’m truly grateful. Taking care of someone like me isn’t an easy task.”

Only then did Ling Tangyun seem to realize why Ling Xinlu had suddenly acted out. He looked at Ling Xinlu with a strange expression and then fell silent.

By then, Yuri, who had been standing quietly by the pillar, felt awkward. He blinked while rubbing his temples for no reason, and by chance, his eyes met Ling Xinlu’s as he turned his gaze. Seeing Yuri, he gave a bright, pretty smile.

Yuri couldn’t bring himself to say anything—nor did he intend to. You can’t spit on a smiling face.

Yuri understood Ling Tangyun’s feelings. Whether for better or worse, he wanted to avoid contact with his youngest brother as much as possible. Because it felt like putting one’s hand into a snake’s den.

『Anyway, right, I’ll see you this weekend. Then rest well, and I’ll see you then.』

Once the business was concluded, since they saw each other every weekend anyway, there wasn’t much more to say. Ling Tangyun ended the conversation with a light greeting.

“Yes, then please rest,” Yuri said, and after the greeting, he waited for the other to hang up first before putting down the receiver.

Just as he turned around after ending the call, Ling Xinlu came out of the bathroom.

Coming out with flushed cheeks and steam rising from him, he naturally took the water glass Yuri was holding and looked at him.

“Who called?”

“Mr. Ling Tangyun called to check in. He asked me to send his regards.”

“Ah, the eldest brother,” Ling Xinlu nodded, his eyes curving into a smile.

“I suppose word got back to him that I visited the main house and left without even showing my face. The eldest brother really goes through a lot.”

He even let out a feigned sigh of pity, saying that the man wasn’t actually a pushover, but had somehow been born under such a powerful father.

Having emptied the glass in one go as if he were thirsty, Ling Xinlu handed the empty glass back to Yuri and went into the living room. He picked up an apple from a basket on the table and took a bite. While doing so, he rummaged through a wooden box where snacks were usually kept and pulled out some cookies.

There are many things one learns while living with another person, and this was one of them. Despite not appearing so, Ling Xinlu had a greater appetite than he looked. While the amount he ate in one sitting was normal, considering the frequency of his eating, he seemed to eat about twice as much as others.

Yuri looked at him with curious eyes, wondering where all that food went, and as he opened the cookie box, Ling Xinlu beckoned him over.

“Eat with me. I saw you only picking at greens during dinner; aren’t you hungry?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Yuri, who had a small appetite and ate very little, shook his head. A gaze that looked at Yuri as if he were the strange one approached for a moment.

“Then give me a massage. My eyes are tired.”

Ling Xinlu mumbled through the cookies while lightly rubbing his eyelids. Yuri soon nodded and went to the bathroom to get a clean towel and a water bowl. He filled the bowl with warm water and returned to the living room.

Almost every night, Ling Xinlu complained of eye fatigue. He seemed to tire easily even during the day, and Yuri occasionally noticed him pressing on his eyelids.

Perhaps because he hated others noticing such things, he never acted that way when there were even two or three people around, but when he was alone with Yuri, he would occasionally let out such exhausted sighs.

It seemed he didn’t want to show a weak side even to Yuri; if their eyes met during such moments, he would flash a look of displeasure and coldly snap, “What are you looking at?”

It had been like that even shortly after he left his family home and moved into this house. One day, on the way back from the rehabilitation center, the phone rang unusually often, and Ling Xinlu took consecutive calls from his father and mother. His mother, in particular, showed no sign of hanging up; even when Ling Xinlu made it obvious he wanted to end the call, she continued, “Yes, but…”

Eventually, after speaking with his mother longer than usual, Ling Xinlu threw his phone aside as if casting it away and sank deep into the passenger seat with an irritated expression. He pressed and rubbed his eyes and temples, letting out a long sigh.

Then, he suddenly locked eyes with Yuri in the rearview mirror. To Yuri, who had been driving in silence while occasionally glancing at Ling Xinlu, he snapped brusquely, as if venting his frustration, his eyes flashing fiercely.

“What are you staring at?”

“Sigh louder.”

Yuri spoke calmly. Ling Xinlu, who had just opened his mouth to be sarcastic again, paused, caught off guard by the unexpected response.

“Sigh louder. If you inhale deeply into your lungs and let it out in one big breath, your chest will feel a bit more relieved. You can slouch your back a little, and let your shoulders slump. It would be fine to lean on something and close your eyes. The late afternoon is a time when everyone feels sleepy and languid.”

Ling Xinlu looked at Yuri—who was speaking indifferently while focusing on the road without even looking at him—with a face half-bewildered and half-angry.

“You…—”

Just as Ling Xinlu was about to say something, he ended up only sighing. “I don’t even have the energy to be angry…” he muttered sullenly to himself.

Only then did Yuri turn his gaze toward him. Ling Xinlu, the tension gone from his shoulders, glared at Yuri with grumbling eyes, but that was all.

Whether it was because he had taken Yuri’s words to heart, or because he decided it was simply easier to ignore the man’s existence entirely, from then on, he would occasionally reveal his exhaustion without reserve whenever he was alone with Yuri.

Just like now, when night fell, he would naturally lean his head in and demand, “My eyes are tired, so massage them.”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Only after hearing Ling Xinlu’s answer did Yuri gently place the hot towel, which had been hovering just above the eyelids, down upon them. Lying long on the sofa with his head resting on Yuri’s thigh, Ling Xinlu murmured like an old man, “Ah, that feels refreshing…”

“Refreshing?” Yuri tilted his head, repeating the word, and quietly placed his palm over the steaming towel to add weight. He stayed like that for a moment, then slowly began to press lightly on his eyelids, temples, and the area around his eyes.

There was nothing particularly professional about it—he was simply placing a hot towel and rubbing around the eyes—but Ling Xinlu seemed to find it pleasant, as he would lie with his head on Yuri’s thigh almost every night. With the tension gone from his shoulders and his entire body relaxed, he quietly entrusted his face to Yuri.

“Does it hurt?”

“No, not at all. It feels good.”

Ling Xinlu murmured languidly with a sigh. Yuri gazed down at him, who truly seemed to be in a good mood.

He looked at him often in general, but when a towel covered the eyes like this, he could stare more brazenly. Even with the eyes covered, it was a flawless, beautiful, and radiant face. The rhythm of his breathing was also lovely.

As he watched, Ling Xinlu, still under the towel, smiled obliquely and said, “You’re going to burn a hole in my face.” Even without seeing, he seemed to feel the gaze clearly. While replying, “I’m sorry,” Yuri continued to look at him without hesitation.

“How are your eyes?”

“The same. I can only tell light from dark, a blurry haze.”

It didn’t get worse, but there was no improvement either. Even with steady visits to the rehabilitation center, acupuncture, moxibustion, eating everything said to be good for the eyes, and monthly detailed hospital check-ups, it remained the same.

“I guess it’s just going to stay like this. Then again, the rehab center—well, that’s how rehab centers are—they don’t so much aim for improvement as they do help you get used to living with one eye.”

As Ling Xinlu spoke of the possibility that his eyes would remain this way, unable to see, for the rest of his life, he didn’t seem particularly sad or angry. Compared to him, who had already acknowledged and accepted this reality, it was the people around him who remained sad and angry as time passed. His mother, it was said, still took stabilizers on the days she saw her son because she became so grief-stricken.

“I can accept not being able to see out of one eye now.”

Suddenly, Ling Xinlu’s voice dropped a bit. A hint of exhaustion seeped in.

“But it’s not just the eye; I’m generally more tired than before. I didn’t realize that having your field of vision cut in half would be so mentally draining.”

Ling Xinlu let out a deep sigh. Yuri quietly stroked the area above his eyes.

When he first lost half his vision, it was common for him to bump into things while walking. For the first day or two, there were times when his balance would tilt, causing him to stop in his tracks while walking.

Now, he was completely accustomed to living by relying on the vision of one eye and was no different from anyone else, but one thing remained. As the evening grew late, he became more exhausted than others.

“Should I do it for you too, Mr. Gable?”

At Ling Xinlu’s sudden question, Yuri paused his hand for a moment, but quickly realizing what he meant, he resumed the gentle rubbing and shook his head.

“I’m fine.”

“Really? It feels great. Having a warm towel on your eyes and getting them massaged. I’m actually quite handy. I bet I’d be better at it than you, Mr. Gable.”

Yuri looked down at Ling Xinlu, who was chattering away, saying, “Mr. Gable feels good, but sometimes he seems a bit clumsy,” and then stopped his hand.

“Would you prefer to do it yourself?”

He had asked without any ulterior motive, but at that moment, Ling Xinlu shut his mouth. Yuri could feel the pupils shifting beneath the towel.

“No. I’m sorry. Please keep going.”

Looking down at Ling Xinlu, who now lay like a good child with his hands neatly folded on his stomach, Yuri smiled quietly. He began to gently massage the area above his eyes again.

The towel was gradually cooling. The tension left Ling Xinlu’s shoulders again as he relaxed. “Feels good…” a monologue like a sigh leaked out.

That pleasant voice sounded somehow languid, so Yuri quietly spoke as he dipped the lukewarm towel back into the container of hot water.

“If you’re sleepy, go to sleep.”

As the towel disappeared, Ling Xinlu opened his eyes and gazed blankly at Yuri. Clear, black eyes—which could not be seen by the blurry vision—stared intently at Yuri before closing again under the towel being placed back over them.

“Shall I? Then, just for a moment.”

The low, murmuring voice was already half-asleep.

Without saying another word, gazing at the closed lips, Yuri remained silent as well.

Only the sound of quiet, peaceful breathing flowed out, slow and rhythmic.

* * *

The ringa family estate was located in the suburbs, slightly away from the city center. Although it was only a few dozen minutes’ drive, it was a secluded and quiet village, far removed from the noise and bustle of the city.

The ringa, who had been landowners in that spot for hundreds of years, had most of their land confiscated during the revolution and their family fortune had once declined sharply as many people perished. However, the relentless and fierce efforts of several generations had not been in vain, and now they stood on a firmer foundation than ever before.

Even now, from the moment one entered that land, those with the ringa surname enjoyed an authority no less than that of the former imperial family, and the direct line was beyond question.

At first, Yuri had shown a look of surprise, albeit with a blunt face, seeing people take a step back and bow their heads whenever Ling Xinlu passed—in severe cases, some even bent deeply at the waist—but he had grown used to it. Indeed, for the ringa, who exerted influence large and small everywhere Chinese immigrants were active, not just in China, it was not strange for them to be treated like royalty in their own domain. Now, terms like ‘Elder,’ ‘Master,’ ‘Madam,’ and ‘Young Master’ felt almost familiar.

And in the midst of this, Yuri.

He was wondering if this was how a subject serving a king from close quarters felt.

“Young Master, he didn’t seem to be in a very good mood today. Did something happen? He isn’t feeling unwell, is he?”

“Oh, hush. He went to the rehab center today; do you think he’d be in a good mood? …Did he say anything about how the progress is going?”

“Can’t you even tell the difference between a hospital and a rehab center? He went to the hospital the week before last. Didn’t you hear that they said there’s no great improvement, but there is hope?”

Listening to the young girls chattering away, Yuri chuckled. No child recognized the smile trapped within his indifferent face, though one of them even gave a small scolding, saying, “Hey, look, Mr. Yuri looks angry because you guys are talking too much,” but Yuri looked at them fondly.

Most of the children, not yet twenty, were the children of servants who had been employed by the ringa for a long time. Seeing these children, who kept their mouths shut and stayed as quiet as dead when the ringa adults were around, chattering away like this was simply cute.

If my own youthful first love had borne fruit, I might have had a daughter the age of these children… Thinking such things made him realize he had indeed grown old. Now that he was in his mid-thirties, he was at an age where he couldn’t be called young anywhere. Not just his age, but the feeling he had while looking at these fresh young girls was closer to that of a grandfather looking at his granddaughters in his twilight years.

Perhaps because he was a foreigner, a rare sight in these suburbs, they had initially only whispered and peeked at him from a distance, but it had been a while since they started clinging to him and chatting whenever he visited the estate. The fact that he was a foreigner who could communicate reasonably well in Chinese was fascinating, and above all, the fact that he was a close aide to the beautiful youngest Young Master—whom they could only admire from afar without daring to speak to—seemed attractive.

Even now, while Ling Xinlu had been called by his father to play the part of the good son, Yuri, who had been strolling leisurely through the garden, was caught by them before he could even take ten steps and was listening to their chatter.

Occasionally, a passing employee would scold the children, “You brats, why are you surrounding and bothering an adult when he’s trying to rest!” But then Yuri would wave his hand in their defense, signaling that it was fine, while the children shut their mouths with pouting faces. Then, the children would immediately regain their confidence and chatter again, “See! What did we even do!”

“Goodness, he’s only putting up with them because he’s kind,” the employee would click their tongue and pass by, but in reality, Yuri didn’t dislike chatting with them—though it was mostly them doing the talking. The young girls’ chatter was cute, and there were too many useful facts to ignore among the stories they told. Surprisingly, children sometimes knew more than adults.

“Speaking of which, Fourth Uncle came by earlier, and can you believe it? He was shamelessly flattering the Young Master, saying he looks more handsome every time he sees him. After all that whispering with the Madam about how he’s just the son of a concubine.”

“He’s just jealous because his own son is useless. Ugh, I hate that whole family. I heard from Auntie Bai that the Master knows everything Fourth Uncle is up to. He just lets it happen while knowing.”

“Really? Then again, when he kicked out the Great-Uncle a few years ago, I heard he listed every single thing he’d done in secret over a decade ago.”

“Yeah, that’s why the Great-Aunt got scared and immediately…”

It was all well and good that the children knew more than the adults, but occasionally they couldn’t distinguish between what should and shouldn’t be said in front of others, or who was an appropriate person to tell, which could be quite awkward.

Since he wasn’t embedded in the ringa family to gather intelligence, Yuri felt these were stories that wouldn’t benefit him to hear, so he subtly changed the subject.

“Right, I heard Young Master Ling Xinlu is currently playing a game of Go with his father. I wonder who will win?”

The children immediately followed the new topic.

“Who knows. Until about two years ago, the Master was generally dominant, but for the last year or two, they’ve been almost evenly matched.”

“But I heard the Young Master won more often starting this year, right?” As the girls chattered, admiration for the Young Master quickly filled their eyes. To be able to stand proudly and equally against the terrifying Master, whom no one could defeat—even if only in a game of Go—made him handsome, brave, kind, and brilliant; he was truly a prince.

“Is there anyone else like the Young Master? I actually feel a bit sorry for whoever ends up marrying him later.”

One girl, clasping her hands and letting out a deep sigh, murmured with a hint of subtle jealousy.

“I know. I think I’d hate to have a perfect man as a spouse too.”

Amidst their chorus of “Me too, me too,” Yuri remained quietly silent.

Yuri also liked Ling Xinlu, and perhaps he liked him more seriously than these girls who admired him superficially. There were times when even his flaws didn’t seem like flaws, so it could be said that he was slightly blinded by affection.

Nevertheless, Yuri did not think Ling Xinlu was perfect; he saw his flaws clearly. In fact, he sometimes saw him as a human with more flaws than others. He was a person whose strengths and weaknesses both leaned toward extremes.

Ling Xinlu wasn’t the type of person to struggle desperately to hide his flaws, and as Ling Xinlu himself had said, people’s eyes aren’t blind; when you are close to someone, their strengths and weaknesses naturally become visible. Yet, these girls seemed to see only his strengths. This is why idealizing—or in this case, almost idolizing—a person is scary, he thought to himself.

As he occasionally chimed in or agreed while they talked, Yuri fell into a quiet silence, and sensing something unusual, one child glanced at him.

“By the way, does the Young Master… happen to have someone he’s seeing in secret?”

“Hmm?” Yuri blinked. At that, the girls immediately clung to this new and exciting topic, their eyes sparkling.

“He probably couldn’t even bring a lady from an ordinary family to the house.”

“Maybe that’s why he’s seeing someone in secret without telling the Master and Madam. Honestly, does it make sense for such a wonderful Young Master to still be single?”

“But remember a few months ago, when the Young Master wouldn’t even leave his room and was struggling? There was a rumor that he’d been heartbroken. Maybe that’s why?”

“Our poor Young Master,” they lamented, their faces falling. In their minds, a secret and poignant love between a prince and a commoner girl was already unfolding with vivid realism.

“Huh? Mr. Yuri, what about it? What’s the deal? You’re always with him, so you must know.”

“I won’t tell anyone. We’ll keep it a secret just between us, I promise! Please?”

Surrounded by girls who pounced on him like hyenas who had found prey, Yuri looked up at the sky with a troubled “Ummm—” He believed in living as honestly as possible, but Yuri was also capable of lying calmly if the situation demanded it. And he had no intention of spilling every detail to them.

But the reason he was momentarily speechless was that Yuri himself couldn’t judge which answer—’yes’ or ‘no’—was the correct one.

“So there is one? Seeing as you can’t answer, there really is one, isn’t there?”

“Really? Waaah—, what kind of person is he?”

Half-crying and half-expecting, the girls huddled closer and closer; if they came just ten centimeters nearer, Yuri would have been buried in a mound of people. It was then.

“Why are you curious about that?”

A single voice dropped from behind him.

The voices that had been chirping like a flock of sparrows stopped instantly. Even Yuri, who had done nothing wrong, flinched instinctively to avoid drawing attention.

Through the gap as the girls hesitantly backed away from Yuri, Ling Xinlu appeared, his eyes curving into a gentle, smiling expression. He had been standing there, barely a few steps away, though it was unclear since when; he approached with a slow but cheerful stride.

“My, you were all playing around like this while I wasn’t looking. Did you hear many interesting stories? I imagine you heard quite a lot.”

Adding that they were the kind of stories that would get someone severely reprimanded if the elders heard them, Ling Xinlu didn’t even look at the girls, as if they weren’t there at all. However, he was undoubtedly aware of their state, as they shrunk their shoulders and glanced at one another.

“I heard there is a red dot slightly above Mr. Ling Xinlu’s tailbone; is that true?”

Standing in the middle of them, Yuri blinked for a moment before asking nonchalantly. At that, the girls—who had clearly been talking about such things earlier, and who had even whispered that their ‘little young master’ had a pretty backside, making one wonder if they were truly innocent children—screamed and began to flee in a hurry. They must have been terrified that Yuri would bring up the talk about the backside.

Ling Xinlu paused, looking displeased at the fleeing girls, but seemingly having no intention of pursuing them, he approached calmly and sat beside Yuri. With his eyes narrowing under the warm sunlight pouring onto the wooden veranda, he looked like a contented cat.

“How was the game of Go?”

“I lost. By half a point.”

Ling Xinlu answered without appearing particularly disappointed, his eyes smiling.

“I have to let him win once in a while. The old man probably hasn’t had many exciting things happen lately. …But.”

A subtle smile played in his gaze as he glanced at Yuri.

“Why are you trailing off so meaningfully and not answering? Without a doubt, before today is over, a rumor will spread through the whole house that I have a secret lover.”

Yuri looked at Ling Xinlu in silence for a moment. Meeting that steady gaze, the smile gradually vanished from Ling Xinlu’s face as he became flustered. Only after Yuri quietly turned his head away as if nothing had happened did Ling Xinlu open his eyes wider and speak.

“Why are you looking at me like that? I almost started suspecting that I might have a lover I don’t even know about.”

As Ling Xinlu spoke in a surprised tone with a hollow laugh, Yuri responded ambiguously, “I see.” This time, Ling Xinlu wiped the smile from his face and spoke again, “Wait a minute.”

“Your answer is quite lukewarm… what’s wrong? Did you happen to hear something? Like someone trying to push a blind date on me?”

Ling Xinlu wasn’t the type to bat an eye even if a hundred blind dates were pushed his way, but he still openly displayed his displeasure.

It seemed that lately, talk of blind dates had been coming his way occasionally. This was because a rumor had spread with considerable credibility that Ling Xinlu had been so heartbroken after a breakup a few months ago that he hadn’t left his room for a while.

However, such occurrences had decreased significantly after Ling Xinlu eventually flew into a rage and shouted that he was ‘sick and tired of dating and making lovers for a while.’

Yuri tried to brush it off with a shake of his head, but Ling Xinlu’s gaze was sharp, staring intently and scrutinizing every detail of his expression. Knowing how quick-witted this man was, and since it wasn’t a story that needed to be hidden—and because Yuri himself was somewhat curious—Yuri slowly opened his mouth.

“The person you exchanged contact information with at the bar the other day, are you not contacting them?”

“The bar?” Ling Xinlu looked puzzled, but then murmured, “Ah,” as if the memory had returned. Only then did he seem to gradually understand Yuri’s subtle reaction.

Though not very often, Ling Xinlu occasionally went out for nightlife. Yuri, who didn’t have a security contract with Ling Xinlu, didn’t necessarily need to follow him, but he usually accompanied him. Their ‘nightlife’ didn’t involve gloomy or suspicious places; it was usually just going to a pub with light music for a drink, or rarely, visiting a club to enjoy the music.

Not long ago, in the middle of the night, Ling Xinlu had suddenly said he ‘wanted to eat grilled skewers’ and visited a bar in an alley not far from the mansion. While they were sitting opposite each other, eating skewers and sipping beer, Yuri realized that Ling Xinlu was suddenly staring intently at one spot. To be precise, his gaze wasn’t fixed on a spot, but on a person, following them wherever they moved.

Perhaps noticing Yuri’s gaze following his to the employee, who seemed to be a part-timer, Ling Xinlu finally turned his head to look at Yuri and beamed.

‘Doesn’t the shape of the eyes look a bit like Tae-yi hyung?’

‘…Do they?’

Now that he mentioned it, they did seem a bit similar. While East Asian faces weren’t so three-dimensional as to be distinctly distinguishable, Yuri wasn’t so lacking in observation that all East Asian faces looked the same to him. Even from that perspective, the shape of the eyes was definitely similar. For instance, the slightly drooping corners of the eyes that made it feel as if they were smiling even when they weren’t.

As Yuri nodded, saying it did seem so, Ling Xinlu asked back playfully, “Right?” and suddenly raised his hand to call the employee. Regardless of Yuri’s momentary hesitation, as he hadn’t expected him to call out so suddenly, Ling Xinlu called the employee with a bright smile and struck up a conversation while ordering another beer.

‘It’s crowded today, it must be tiring to work,’ ‘I’ve been here often but I think this is the first time I’ve seen you’—with the skill of skillfully initiating and maintaining a friendly conversation, Ling Xinlu even managed to exchange phone numbers with the employee. As he lightly waved to the employee, who went back to the kitchen with a shy, slightly awkward smile, an indefinable level of experience emanated from him.

‘…You’re experienced.’

‘Really? This was my first time doing something like this.’

The answer given with an innocent smile didn’t seem to be a lie. ‘Indeed, his claim that he’s better and more resourceful than others at anything, even if it’s his first time, is proven here as well,’ Yuri thought to himself.

‘I can get a contact number from a man even in an ordinary bar like this,’ he recalled, looking at the cheerfully beaming Ling Xinlu with a somewhat heavy heart, half-impressed.

“I’m not contacting them. We talked on the phone a few times, but as we spoke, it wasn’t very interesting.”

Ling Xinlu waved his hand dismissively, sounding bored. Then, as if finding it amusing, he burst out laughing.

“What? So, that’s why you couldn’t answer when I asked if you thought I had a secret lover?”

“Ah, seriously,” Ling Xinlu laughed as if it were absurd, but his lips curled into a frown even while his face remained smiling.

“Besides, no matter who I date, I don’t do it in secret. It’s not like I’m committing a crime, so why date in secret? I’d proudly bring them home and meet people together.”

Having said that, he fell silent. He gazed at the sky where the sun had begun to set, lost in thought for a moment, then glanced at Yuri. Seeming to deliberate whether to speak or not, he let out a sigh and opened his mouth.

“Would it be better not to tell Mr. Gable? As long as you don’t intentionally set out to dig into my background, I’m confident I can hide it as much as I want.”

Ling Xinlu spoke in a calm tone, but he looked Yuri straight in the eye. And Yuri soon realized what he was talking about.

Perhaps he was saying this out of consideration for Yuri. No, he was undoubtedly looking after Yuri’s feelings in his own way.

Though it wasn’t spoken aloud or overtly displayed, both of them knew that Yuri always watched Ling Xinlu silently. The reason they didn’t specifically bring it up was that it had no effect on their current relationship. And likely, it would remain so unless something happened.

Yuri bowed his head and thought for a moment before shaking it.

“I think it would be better not to.”

If he were to get a lover, there would be no need to go out of his way to mention it, but it wasn’t something to hide either.

As if he had expected such an answer, Ling Xinlu nodded, saying, “I see.”

“I have no intention of intentionally hurting Mr. Gable’s feelings. However, that doesn’t mean I intend to walk on eggshells or do things I don’t want to do just to be considerate of Mr. Gable.”

Ling Xinlu took off his shoes and sat on the veranda. “A lover, huh…” he murmured, seemingly imagining a situation he had never seriously considered until now. However, as nothing particular seemed to come to mind, he shook his head and looked at Yuri. It was a light, yet somewhat serious gaze.

“For example. It wouldn’t matter if I occasionally slept with someone who liked me, just to lightly loosen up my body, right? As long as we both keep the boundaries we’re supposed to, it should be fine. But—I’m not really in the mood for that.”

Ling Xinlu shrugged. What he was saying was a metaphor, but at the same time, it was a message directed at Yuri.

“I’m a greedy person in many ways, but it seems I’m naturally plain in that department; I don’t really feel like doing it with someone I don’t like that much. So, if I were to sleep with Mr. Gable, that would be me ‘serving’ him—and I’ve always hated putting in effort to serve others.”

“You know I’m a bit selfish, Mr. Gable. I’d rather just throw money at it,” Ling Xinlu added with a feigned sigh.

Listening to those words, Yuri ended up letting out a chuckle.

Those words, which were beyond overly blunt to the point that a single slip would be no different from insulting someone to their face, actually sounded refreshing. He had seen many people who spoke directly, but there were few people more blatant than Ling Xinlu, who didn’t beat around the bush even with the person right in front of him.

“A single slip and it’s a mockery, yet it doesn’t sound like a mockery at all.”

Feeling amused, Yuri tried mimicking the words Ling Xinlu often said to him. For a moment, Ling Xinlu’s eyes widened, and he made a strange face—neither a smile nor a frown.

“…I’m not mocking you.”

“I know.”

Up to this point, it was a conversation that occurred often, but the speaker was reversed. Ling Xinlu looked at Yuri with a peculiar expression, but as Yuri didn’t stop his quiet laughter, Ling Xinlu eventually laughed along. “Ah, seriously, I get scolded even when I’m being honest,” he grumbled.

After laughing for a while longer, Yuri spoke coolly.

“Thank you for your consideration. I tend to like ‘service’ whether I’m giving or receiving it, but I dislike service that I’m not in the mood for, regardless of which side I’m on. So, you don’t need to worry about that aspect.”

“Really?” Ling Xinlu stared intently at Yuri as he fell silent, then laughed. When he playfully said, “I’ll do it for you later if you feel like it,” Yuri responded in kind, “Thank you.”

As if his heart had become lighter, Ling Xinlu looked at Yuri with a beaming smile, then suddenly turned his body. And he just lay down.

Lying long and perpendicular to Yuri, Ling Xinlu stayed like that for a moment before slowly sliding up to use Yuri’s thigh as a pillow.

“Anyway, if you hear any interesting stories, let me know. It seems those young girls pick up a lot of strange rumors from somewhere.”

‘He says managing subordinates is the hardest part,’ Yuri thought to himself, ‘if I told him about the theory of the “tragic youngest master who falls in love with a commoner girl of a different status and dates her in secret,” he’d probably burst out laughing with joy.’

At that moment, as if he had heard that thought, Ling Xinlu suddenly snapped his head up to look at Yuri.

“If you have something to say, don’t keep it inside; just say it.”

“I have nothing to say.”

“Really?”

“Nothing.”

However, if he said it, Ling Xinlu would undoubtedly burst out laughing and then interrogate him about who was spreading such nonsense, so Yuri decided to lie with a composed face for this moment.

Staring at Yuri, Ling Xinlu turned back to lie on his side and patted the thigh he was resting on.

“Don’t end up unable to walk again; tell me before that happens. Because if you say, ‘I can’t walk, so I’ll have to sleep here today,’ I’m going to be angry.”

There was a reason why Ling Xinlu, who usually returned to the mansion even after midnight unless it was an unavoidable situation where he had to stay at the main house, said such a thing.

Just a few days ago, Ling Xinlu had fallen fast asleep while lying on Yuri’s thigh to get an eye massage, leaving Yuri sitting motionless for several hours. As a result, even after Ling Xinlu woke up and quickly moved, Yuri’s legs were numb for a while and he couldn’t move, forcing him to remain seated.

Even though it was technically his own fault, Ling Xinlu didn’t apologize or seem sorry; instead, he coldly reprimanded him, asking, ‘Were you just sitting there like an idiot without waking me up?’ Still, perhaps feeling a bit guilty, he massaged Yuri’s legs until the numbness faded. All while grumbling the entire time.

“I think I’ll be fine for about 20 minutes.”

“20 minutes… alright.”

As if intending to stay lying down for the full 20 minutes, Ling Xinlu checked the time and rested his head more comfortably on Yuri’s thigh. Having developed the habit of rubbing his eyes every night, Yuri covered Ling Xinlu’s eyes with his hand. Ling Xinlu seemed to flinch for a moment, so Yuri quietly asked, “Should I move it?” but Ling Xinlu thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, “No, it’s dark and nice.”

With the round, beautifully shaped head resting on his thigh and his hand over the man’s eyes, Yuri thought that Ling Xinlu looked exactly like a cat curled up into a loaf of bread.

“….”

‘Maybe he looks more like a mocha bun than a loaf of bread…’ Thinking this, Yuri gently touched the hair, which was as soft as cat fur, with his fingers.

“When you lie on someone’s lap so defenselessly like this.”

Then, Ling Xinlu suddenly murmured in a languid, lowered voice.

“Do you know that from Mr. Gable’s perspective, this is a position where it would be very easy to kill me if you set your mind to it?”

“…I know.”

However, wondering why he was bringing that up at this timing, Yuri answered bluntly.

Ling Xinlu was silent for a while. Nor did he seem to have any intention of getting up to escape the dangerous position. He simply lay there, appearing content.

While quietly waiting for Ling Xinlu’s answer—thinking it didn’t matter if one didn’t come—Yuri looked down at the garden. Just as he was about to forget those words, Ling Xinlu, who he thought had fallen asleep, murmured softly.

“In seringe, I occasionally went to see Tae-yi hyung as a backpacker. Not to meet him, but just to see how he was doing.”

“….”

“That bastard was lying on Tae-yi hyung’s lap. He had completely entrusted his head to him, and he was even taking a nap. To the point where he wouldn’t wake up even if Tae-yi hyung grumbled about the weight and moved his head.”

If it were Riegrow, he probably wasn’t so deeply asleep that he wouldn’t wake up despite the movement, but rather, even when his consciousness returned, he remained like a lazy lion, not opening his eyes and leaving his head to be handled however Jung Tae-ui wished. But that wasn’t what Ling Xinlu was talking about.

Yuri also knew what Ling Xinlu meant.

He too had seen such sights several times in seringe, and each time, he had watched them with a sense of wonder.

‘As if he’s confident enough to say, “Go ahead and kill me if you can,”‘ Ling Xinlu murmured. But Ling Xinlu would know that wasn’t the case. Just as Yuri knew.

Of course, someone of Riegrow’s caliber would have been able to snap the other’s neck first if they had tried to harm him, even from such a position. However, it wasn’t because he was that confident that he had been lounging so indolently in front of Jung Tae-ui.

“…….”

Without a word, Yuri used the hand covering his eyes to lightly tickle his hair. For a long while, he remained silent, as if asleep.

It was something that had happened a long time ago. It was a matter he had long since let sink deep into his heart.

Yet, while Yuri was thinking this, perhaps Ling Xinlu had recalled them every time he encountered such trivial triggers. Even if Ling Xinlu’s voice, as he spoke of them now, was no longer as agitated or trembling as it once was.

“I wonder if Tae-yi hyung is doing well. He should be doing well… but every time I think that, a surge of emotion wells up inside me. Because if Tae-yi hyung is doing well, then that bastard is probably doing well too.”

Ling Xinlu murmured sporadically and languidly, almost like someone talking in their sleep. Suddenly, the eyelids resting quietly beneath Yuri’s hand seemed to twitch. His lips tightened.

Perhaps his mind wasn’t as composed as his calm voice; after muttering, “Ah, how annoying…,” Ling Xinlu shifted his body and turned his head away. Beneath Yuri’s hand, which now hovered aimlessly in the air, he moved his head toward the upper part of Yuri’s thigh and buried his face deep into his stomach. He didn’t want to show his expression.

“…….”

Yuri lowered his hovering hand and placed it on Ling Xinlu’s head. Keeping his hand in place, he stroked the hair by moving only his fingers in a rubbing motion.

“You should try to do well too, Mr. Ling Xinlu. So that you won’t feel resentful.”

When Yuri spoke bluntly, Ling Xinlu, who had his face buried in the stomach, turned his head just a fraction. A fierce glare became visible.

“Do you think it’s that easy?”

The displeased tone of his huff was, however, not as unstable as it used to be. Thus, Yuri spoke with a bit of relief.

“It will happen soon.”

“…….”

“It will.”

Rather than mere consolation, it felt as though it truly would happen.

Ling Xinlu, who continued to glare at Yuri as if venting his frustration while Yuri calmly repeated himself, let out a sigh—hm—turned his head back, and buried his face in Yuri’s stomach once more.

For a while, there was silence.

Yuri gazed down at him with his hand still on his head, then lifted his gaze. He looked out at the garden, which was being dyed in the yellowish light of evening.

It is so peaceful. Yet this man is still struggling.

Yuri quietly toyed with his hair.

After some time had passed, suddenly—

“It’s twenty minutes from now.”

A muffled voice leaked from the face buried in his stomach.

“I was trying to catch a quick nap, but Mr. Gable kept talking to me, so I couldn’t sleep at all.”

So, it’s twenty minutes from now, Ling Xinlu murmured, pressing the weight of his head firmly against Yuri’s thigh. As if he had absolutely no intention of moving.

“……. The one who kept talking was you, Mr. Ling Xinlu….”

“Ah—seriously, I can’t sleep because you keep talking to me like that.”

“…….”

Yuri looked down blankly at the man who was not only turning the tables but was even acting annoyed. His legs were already starting to fall asleep, and he looked at him with a troubled expression, wondering what to do, but in the end, his lips parted a few times only to close quietly without a word.

* * *

—I’ve attracted quite a few human-pests since I was young.

Yuri was recalling something Ling Xinlu had said a long time ago. I see, he thought, finding it somewhat understandable.

He knew that Ling Xinlu was the type to attract people. If he had to be precise, wasn’t he himself one of the people drawn to him?

He already knew, and had felt several times, that people’s eyes gathered wherever he went and that even a light gesture could draw attention.

But thinking about it, this was the first time he had witnessed it so clearly.

“…….”

Yuri was leaning against a pillar at the corner of the corridor. In the wide-open space inside the corridor, a crowd of people, too many to count at a glance, were gathered and chatting noisily. And among them, the figure that caught the eye immediately, without needing to look around for long, was Ling Xinlu.

Today was someone’s birthday among those many people.

He had overheard who it was when entering the corridor earlier and had seen someone pointing from a distance, but he felt it would be difficult to find the protagonist again amidst that crowd.

…No, he did know.

Excluding Ling Xinlu, who was flamboyantly surrounded by a mass of humans, he noticed a few people gathered around one person. Seeing others approach to greet him and others strike up conversations, it seemed that person was the one being celebrated today.

“Wow… seeing it like this, the contrast is really stark. I didn’t notice it as much when I was inside.”

Xiao Chun, who had been standing in the crowd and quickly trotted over after accidentally making eye contact with Yuri, stood beside him and whispered in admiration while looking into the corridor. As she said, from this secluded spot slightly away from the bustling center, the heart of the corridor was visible at a glance.

As the daughter of Ling Tangyun, she also tended to attract attention, but standing side-by-side with Yuri in a corner away from the center, while some people waved to acknowledge her, no one went out of their way to approach and talk to her.

“There are many people I haven’t seen before. Are they all relatives?”

“No. I think they only invited second cousins of a similar age. It’s not the eldest grandson’s birthday, so it’s not an occasion where the entire extended family would gather to celebrate. Most of them are probably siblings and their partners.”

Xiao Chun pointed to a neat-looking young man talking to someone near a table, mentioning that her boyfriend had also come. When her eyes met the young man’s, she smiled and waved cutely.

“Is it an important enough occasion to bring a partner?”

“Eh, no. It’s just an excuse to gather and hang out. Among the siblings, there are only a handful of people for whom a ‘birthday’ would hold significant meaning. Like my brother, or—though he’s not a sibling—my youngest uncle, Xinlu. …When it’s my youngest uncle’s birthday, it’s incredible. The corridor gets completely filled with gifts.”

Indeed, the level of importance guests placed on the birthdays of the numerous grandchildren versus the only favored son seemed to be different.

Since this had likely been the case every birthday for the past twenty-odd years—and for most of the siblings—there was nothing particularly new to compare now, but the man who was the protagonist of today yet didn’t shine brightly in this setting was glancing at Ling Xinlu, who was standing a short distance away.

On the other hand, Ling Xinlu, who was merely a guest, was confidently leading the atmosphere at the center as if he were the master of the place. He likely had no intention of deliberately seizing the atmosphere, but because he naturally stood out and drew people in, it happened that way.

“Looking at it now, my youngest uncle is completely in a flower garden.”

Xiao Chun, who had run to the nearest table to grab two glasses of drinks and returned, murmured as she handed one to Yuri.

Just as Xiao Chun said, Ling Xinlu was in a flower garden.

Beautifully dressed young ladies were particularly concentrated around Ling Xinlu.

“My youngest uncle has always been popular. If I just count the ladies who try their hardest to get into his good graces, there are more than I can count on two hands. Like that sister in the lemon-colored dress standing next to him right now.”

“I see… if that’s the case, she shouldn’t stand over there. She should stand on the right. Otherwise, she won’t be in his line of sight.”

Yuri murmured calmly, as if talking to himself. Xiao Chun rolled her eyes as if wondering what he meant, but after a moment, she clapped her hands. “Oh, right, uncle’s eyes.”

“They’re no different from anyone else’s, so I completely forgot.”

As Xiao Chun whispered an excuse, looking embarrassed for having forgotten, Yuri replied as if to comfort her, “I forget sometimes too.”

In truth, he almost never forgot, but Ling Xinlu was so natural in everything that it wouldn’t have been strange at all if he had. To someone who didn’t know the circumstances, they would never have noticed that he had a disability.

“…By the way, is that sister in the white dress standing to my youngest uncle’s right his partner?”

Xiao Chun, who had never seen a partner of her youngest uncle, looked with curious eyes at the young lady standing close to Ling Xinlu. Standing so close that their arms touched, she was even leaning in, her face less than a hand’s span away, sharing a pleasant conversation. From a distance—or perhaps even from up close—they truly looked like a couple in a loving relationship.

“Probably not.”

Yuri murmured ambiguously and moistened his dry lips with the drink. He hadn’t even touched the food and had been staring at them for so long that he hadn’t realized he was thirsty.

“Really? They look very close. I think this is the first time I’ve seen my youngest uncle talk to just one person like that. Who is she? Did they meet here?”

Beside Xiao Chun, who was watching them with excitement, wondering if her youngest uncle might actually get a partner, Yuri remained silent.

The reason Yuri’s gaze held a heavy light was not solely because of his own feelings for Ling Xinlu. Nor was it only because her smiling expression—the shape of her eyes and the line of her mouth—overall resembled Jung Tae-ui.

He didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but it seemed that until Ling Xinlu, who had stared intently at her for a while as soon as he saw her, approached her, she had been standing intimately right next to today’s birthday protagonist. Almost as if they were dating.

“…….”

However, seeing how she quickly moved away from that man and went to Ling Xinlu’s side as soon as he approached and spoke a few words, perhaps Yuri’s concern was merely an unnecessary worry.

Yuri watched her, her face flushed with excitement as she talked with Ling Xinlu, then looked at today’s protagonist, who had been glancing at them and glaring at Ling Xinlu with fierce eyes, and let out a low sigh. It’s probably just a baseless thought, he murmured to himself.

“Come to think of it, did Fei not come?”

Having emptied his glass in a few sips, Yuri finally realized why something felt missing. He had been so focused on Ling Xinlu that he hadn’t noticed, but Fei, who usually stuck to Xiao Chun at these kinds of gatherings, was nowhere to be seen.

Since Fei, being her sibling, would naturally be invited to any relative-related gathering that Xiao Chun was invited to, they often went together, but even looking around again, Fei was not visible.

“My brother is busy learning the business from Father these days. He said he’d come after dinner, so he’ll probably be here in a little while.”

Yuri nodded. Now that he thought about it, Ling Tangyun had mentioned it in passing recently. That it was time to start teaching his son the business.

Thinking about it, since he had returned after graduating from school, it was about time to start working. Furthermore, as the eldest son of Ling Tangyun and the head grandson of the Ling family, the work Fei had to learn and the responsibilities he had to shoulder would be several times heavier than those of others.

More than anything, that was especially true if he were to inherit the Ling family’s business entirely.

“I hope it goes well.”

After a moment of silence, Yuri murmured as if to himself.

It wasn’t clear exactly what he hoped would go well. He simply hoped that Fei’s life would turn out as he desired.

Xiao Chun, perhaps feeling similarly to Yuri, only nodded and said nothing.

There was no way she didn’t know that among the numerous businesses her family ran, some were exposed in the light, while others were hidden in the shadows—the kind of work that could not be revealed to the public.

She stood on a delicate line where she could neither stop Fei from starting to dip his hands into those tasks, which were not entirely just or moral, nor could she bless him with applause. Just like Yuri.

However, since it was her family’s business and something that had been prepared for since he was very young, she didn’t seem to have a great deal of aversion to it.

“Come to think of it, it seems my youngest uncle is also about to start learning the business.”

Xiao Chun murmured while looking at Ling Xinlu in the distance, as if she had overheard the adults talking. Yuri said nothing.

Just like Fei, it was already somewhat predestined that Ling Xinlu would have a hand in the family business. Had he continued on the path he took when he entered UNHRDO, he might have lived a different life, but since he had left that place and returned to the Ling family, he would eventually help with the family business, sooner or later.

Yuri glanced at Xiao Chun.

“And you?”

“Me? Well, the outline will become clear by the time I graduate, but I’ll probably work somewhere related to the Ling family. Still, I probably won’t touch the family business.”

It seemed they didn’t entrust the daughter with work that could potentially become dangerous. Yuri let out a light sigh at the thought that at least one of the children he grew fond of was within the safety line.

No, actually, it probably wouldn’t be that dangerous.

Although there were many morally problematic issues, it was still strictly a business. It wasn’t a gang that used bodies as capital; at the very least, there wouldn’t be work that physically harmed one unless something extreme happened.

“My youngest uncle would probably be good at it.”

As if knowing what Yuri was thinking, Xiao Chun murmured.

She was also looking where Yuri was looking. She watched with a smile—though with a certain degree of detachment—as he whispered affectionately to the lady in white, while simultaneously throwing charming smiles and words to the people around him without exception, naturally drawing them in, evoking goodwill and controlling the atmosphere of the place with just a glance and a smile.

“I like my youngest uncle, but sometimes he’s scary. He always smiles gently and treats everyone well, whether it’s me or others, but sometimes I get the feeling that he’s looking down from somewhere far away. He’s been like that since I was little.”

Xiao Chun prattled on, saying it felt as if an adult were mixed in even when they were playing together, then sighed lightly and shrugged. She concluded by saying, But I still like him.

Yuri looked at Ling Xinlu in silence. He thought that girls were often more sensitive than boys. Even though they were siblings who always hung out together, Fei would just grin and say, “Youngest uncle? He’s great.”

Ling Xinlu leaned in to listen to the lady in white, as if she were telling him something very interesting. Then, he soon burst into laughter and whispered something back to her. They looked so much like a tender couple that other people were starting to look at them with eyes that wondered, Could they actually end up dating?

“…….”

Perhaps because he had thought so from the first moment he saw her, she indeed looked like Jung Tae-ui. Especially when she smiled, the way her eyes curved and the corners drooped, and the way her mouth formed a clean arc, made her expression very similar. While she wasn’t an extraordinary beauty nor did her features stand out flamboyantly, Yuri felt he could quickly understand why Ling Xinlu had approached her immediately, even if others couldn’t.

It seemed she already knew Ling Xinlu and had a fondness for him. Whether it was a fondness for him or for ‘Ling’ Xinlu—since Ling Xinlu seemed to be seeing her for the first time at this gathering, it was likely the latter—she was smiling continuously with sparkling eyes, without even a moment to cool her flushed cheeks, in front of him as he approached her with a generous, kind, and bright smile.

After a few words, Ling Xinlu probably realized that she already had a fondness for him. He was a person sensitive to such things. And he would have given sweet words and gentle gestures like water and fertilizer to let that fondness sprout and bloom into a brilliant flower. He was a man who knew exactly how to utilize the affection others had for him.

She already seemed unable to see anything else around her. For example, the man who had been with her until Ling Xinlu arrived, and who was still pouring a fierce gaze upon them.

“…He doesn’t look very happy.”

Yuri suddenly murmured. Beside him, Xiao Chun widened her eyes and turned to him, saying, “Huh?” Yuri shook his head, brushing it off with a, “Nothing.”

“I’m feeling a bit tired. I was wondering if there was somewhere suitable to sit.”

Yuri stepped back. There were no chairs in the secluded corner where they stood. Inside the corridor where people were gathered, there were several empty seats, but he didn’t want to wedge himself between the crowd.

After looking around for a moment, Yuri spotted a wide niche carved into the wall beside a pillar and sat there. It looked like a place originally meant for decoration, perhaps for a large vase or a statue, but since it was empty, no one would complain if he used it as a seat.

Watching Yuri with a beaming smile, Xiao Chun trotted over and whispered playfully, “I’m a refined young lady, so I won’t sit on a stone ledge,” before plopping down onto Yuri’s lap.

“……. A refined young lady shouldn’t just sit on any man’s lap.”

“You’re my uncle, so it’s fine. Am I too heavy?”

“Your boyfriend is watching from over there.”

“You’re my uncle, so it’s fine. Am I too heavy?”

Yuri gave a bitter smile at Xiao Chun, who was blinking her eyes innocently. No, he thought, as he stroked her hair.

Her neat and shy boyfriend seemed concerned, but he didn’t approach; he just kept glancing over repeatedly. It was as if he felt intimidated by a man who looked far more impressive than himself. ……Yes, like a man celebrating his birthday, wearing a face of utter confusion, fueled by anger and despair.

It was around then.

Ling Xinlu, who had been standing beside the lady in white since entering and pouring all his attention into her, suddenly picked up a glass from the table as if he were thirsty. He looked down silently for a moment at the woman who was talking to him enthusiastically, her eyes shining with an intoxicated, ecstatic glow. “……Is that so?” he replied to her, a smile hanging from the corners of his slanted lips—a smile that felt slightly colder than before.

Yuri, who had been staring blankly at them, finally locked eyes with Ling Xinlu as the latter shifted his gaze to survey the corridor, refreshing the surrounding atmosphere.

“…….”

For a brief moment, the smile vanished from Ling Xinlu’s face.

It was as if he had only just realized that Yuri had been watching him this entire time.

Ling Xinlu’s gaze remained fixed on Yuri for a few seconds before shifting to Xiao Chun, who was sitting on Yuri’s lap and staring back at him with wide eyes. To the girl who waved and smiled brightly upon their eyes meeting, the usual smile did not return.

Ling Xinlu turned back to the lady in white, spoke a few short words, and began striding toward them. Left behind abruptly, the lady in white blinked as if she didn’t understand what was happening and reached out to grab Ling Xinlu in bewilderment.

Ling Xinlu looked down silently at her as she asked him something, still smiling prettily despite the anxiety on her face. He looked at her with eyes that had grown noticeably colder, as if he were re-examining every corner of her face to see if there was something he had missed.

Soon, Ling Xinlu gently but firmly brushed off her hand that was clutching his sleeve and said a few words. Then, he turned away again.

This time, she didn’t follow Ling Xinlu as he walked toward them; she simply stood there in a daze, watching him.

Crossing the corridor directly, Ling Xinlu stopped a few paces away from them. As if the disappearance of his smile had never happened, he wore his usual radiant expression.

“So you were in a corner like this. No wonder I didn’t see you. Have you eaten something?”

“Yes, more or less.”

“Don’t tell me you only picked out the vegetables again?”

Ling Xinlu laughed aloud, speaking playfully, and only then dropped his gaze to Xiao Chun. Looking down at her as she beamed and said, “It’s been a while, Uncle,” Ling Xinlu remained silent for a moment before finally smiling thinly.

“Yes, Xiao Chun. You’ve become even prettier. But why is such a pretty young lady sitting in a place like that?”

“What do you mean ‘a place like that’? It’s so comfortable. It’s warm and soft.”

“Right?” Xiao Chun turned to Yuri, seeking agreement. Yuri, who had no way of knowing how warm and soft his own thighs were, could only mutter, “I suppose.”

Looking down at them, Ling Xinlu tilted his head.

“That’s not technically wrong…… but just because it’s comfortable doesn’t mean you should sit on my pillow.”

“Huh? Pillow?”

“That’s where I lie down when Mr. Gable gives me an eye massage every night.”

When Ling Xinlu gestured with his chin toward the area beneath Xiao Chun’s backside, she looked surprised. “Oh, really?” she said, before pretending to look distressed.

“But I can’t exactly lie down here too.”

“……. No, I just don’t like it when other people use my pillow. So why don’t you just get up?”

“…….”

She shut her mouth and simply stared at Ling Xinlu with wide eyes. Her beaming lips were saying ‘I don’t want to’ in her stead.

And in the middle of it all, Yuri, who had suddenly become a cushion or a pillow, could see words flowing across Ling Xinlu’s forehead as he smiled. I really hate these obnoxious siblings.

“……Xiao Chun, I’m thirsty. Could you bring me something to drink?”

When Yuri spoke, Xiao Chun pouted, saying, “My, making a lady run errands,” but she readily stood up and trotted toward the corridor. Yuri also stood up from his spot.

Ling Xinlu approached with slow steps and stood beside him.

“Why are you in such an inconspicuous place?”

“I don’t particularly like crowded areas.”

“Ah, I suppose……. Still, you’re to my right. You know I can’t see out of this eye.”

At Ling Xinlu’s words as he casually tapped near his left eye, Yuri paused for a moment before nodding and saying, “Yes.”

A memory of the past flashed through a corner of his mind—of Ling Xinlu snapping sharply, eyes flashing, telling him not to stand on the right. Time has passed so quickly, Yuri thought, smiling to himself. As time went by, it seemed Ling Xinlu’s hardened heart had thawed a little.

Perhaps Ling Xinlu remembered the past as well, as he glanced at Yuri with a slightly awkward expression. Somehow noticing the smile hidden behind Yuri’s indifferent face, he asked sullenly:

“What are you thinking about?”

“Nothing, really.”

Knowing full well that if he said he was remembering the past, Ling Xinlu would undoubtedly look even more awkward and sullen, Yuri politely glossed over it. Ling Xinlu, who knew he was lying but chose to be fooled—or rather, had no choice but to be fooled—quietly shut his mouth.

“By the way, that lady is…….”

Yuri started to speak but stopped.

The lady in white whom Ling Xinlu had left behind was now in the corner of the opposite corridor, crying. One or two people who seemed to be her friends were trying to comfort her, but she kept shaking her head.

Following Yuri’s gaze, Ling Xinlu turned his head and raised an eyebrow slightly.

“We were having such a fun conversation until a moment ago, why is she crying? Did something happen in the meantime?”

Speaking dismissively as if it had nothing to do with him and was none of his concern, Ling Xinlu watched her in silence for a moment. He looked at her with emotionless eyes as her shoulders shook with sobs, then let out a sigh and tilted his head.

“She caught my eye as soon as I arrived, so I went to greet her, but as we talked, I found there was nothing special about her.”

Ling Xinlu’s gaze as he looked at her was cold, his tone nonchalant.

It was because he realized she wasn’t what he wanted. No, he probably knew that from the start, but he approached her anyway. He likely had no expectations. It was pure curiosity.

And now that his curiosity was satisfied, the heart that had briefly swelled had deflated.

At the same time, Yuri’s heart deflated as well. It felt as if the air filling it had suddenly leaked out.

“She doesn’t look very happy.”

Yuri murmured to himself.

Ling Xinlu, who had been calmly surveying the corridor with indifferent eyes, suddenly paused. The way he slowly turned his gaze to look at Yuri was strange. He looked bewildered, as if he had heard something absurd, amused, and perhaps a tiny bit flustered.

“Pardon? Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

Ling Xinlu asked back with a smile, but Yuri said nothing. Then, still wearing that smile, Ling Xinlu frowned slightly. However, he spoke with his lips still curved in a smile.

“What’s wrong? You look like someone who’s angry. Are you angry?”

Instead of answering, Yuri simply looked at Ling Xinlu in silence. Seeing those quietly sunken eyes, the smile gradually vanished from Ling Xinlu’s face.

“Why—.”

But just as Ling Xinlu was about to open his mouth again, there were rough footsteps approaching them rapidly.

The man, pushing through the crowd and heading straight for them, never took his eyes off Ling Xinlu. With eyes glaring fiercely as if they might breathe fire at any moment, he stormed up to Ling Xinlu and stopped only when he was within arm’s reach.

Ling Xinlu merely glanced at the man, who was glaring at him terrifyingly, his shoulders heaving as he barely suppressed his rage. Soon, Ling Xinlu spoke with a nonchalant smile.

“Ching Min, why is today’s guest of honor coming to a corner like this? Come to think of it, I didn’t get to greet you properly earlier, did I? Happy birthday.”

“――Yes, thank you, Uncle. I’m honored to finally receive a greeting, after you completely ignored me the moment you arrived and snatched my lover right in front of me. What on earth do you think you’re doing?!”

A sharp, raw voice exploded aggressively. It was a voice so harsh that even people standing some distance away turned to look.

Ling Xinlu stared at the man in silence for a moment, but showed no particular reaction. He simply smiled as if troubled and softly called his name, “Ching Min.”

“I didn’t know she was your lover. When I told her she seemed close to you, she only answered that you were acquaintances from a long time ago. Who would think she was your lover when she answered like that?”

The face of the man called Ching Min hardened. Ling Xinlu drove a blade straight into a point that the man himself must have been harboring in his heart.

“Besides, there was no other intention. She just looked like someone I know, so I spoke to her out of gladness. We just shared a few words. I don’t think this is something you should be running at me in such a rage over.”

You overthought it, and it’s troubling that you’re angry with me for talking to someone I didn’t think was your lover—Ling Xinlu spoke in a tone that clearly conveyed this meaning, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

Ching Min glared at him with terrifying eyes. Following Ling Xinlu’s gaze as it briefly shifted toward the woman, who was sobbing while stealing glances their way, Ching Min seemed to decide to vent his frustration on Ling Xinlu rather than her. Perhaps, in his mind, that was the more masculine thing to do.

“Stop making excuses! Do you take me for a fool? Do you think I didn’t hear? From the moment you first saw her, your eyes were on her, and you asked her if it was okay to talk because you wanted to get to know her! And you say there was no other intention?! Ha, a passing dog would laugh at that! Just be honest—you knew she was someone else’s lover, but she caught your eye, so you wanted to toy with her a bit!”

Ching Min screamed.

The corridor had already become as silent as if water had been poured over it; no one was speaking loudly. Everyone was watching, either in silence or whispering in low voices.

In that thorn-like, stinging silence, Ling Xinlu’s expression didn’t change. No, it did. He wiped the smile from his face and showed a flicker of irritation. Hmm…… he sighed and slowly opened his mouth.

“What’s the problem? Did I touch the woman? Did I trick her into coming out? I simply shared a few words and gave her back to you. I clearly told her to go back to her lover. But since she didn’t understand and kept holding onto me, I explained it more clearly and gave her some kind advice. I told her that since she abandoned her original lover without a second glance the moment someone better-looking appeared, she must be embarrassed to go back, but since he is kinder than I am, he’ll probably accept her if she cries and says she’s sorry. Why, did she not go to you and apologize? She seemed to be crying, though.”

Ling Xinlu spoke coldly, frowning, as if wondering why everyone was making such a fuss over a simple conversation. Whether those words carried across the silence or not, the woman, whose sobbing had subsided into hiccups, began to wail loudly again. Her shattered pride, the humiliation of having her vulgar greed exposed without gaining anything, and a certain amount of frustration and disappointment were bleeding into her cries.

Leaving her far behind, Ching Min glared at Ling Xinlu, his face pale. His tightly clenched jaw was trembling.

Eventually, with a voice as trembling as his jaw, he ground his teeth in rage.

“Yes, you don’t have to tell me. I saw everything. I don’t know why you did it, but you blatantly seduced her, and then the moment you realized she wasn’t what you wanted, you turned away instantly. Do you think I didn’t see? ――I’m not some one-eyed cripple pretending to be normal like you, Uncle?!”

A massive shout erupted, echoing throughout the corridor.

A perfect silence followed, where even the small whispering voices vanished completely.

In that ominous, razor-sharp stillness, Ching Min glared at Ling Xinlu, his face bluish and his shoulders heaving. His breath trembled violently, as if he could no longer control himself.

In front of him, Xinlu, whose expression had vanished, looked at him in silence. Cold, sunken black eyes stared him down. Both eyes were directed at him, but as he had said, only one eye was actually seeing him.

Eventually, he spoke coldly.

“Since you seem very angry, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. I don’t think talking longer will do either of us any good, so for your sake, I’ll make one thing clear. Whether you continue to date a shallow woman who ran to me the moment I spoke a few pleasant words, abandoning you instantly, is none of my business. But that woman will never become your aunt. Wouldn’t she be more suited for someone like you, who, even after being insulted by her, wants to look impressive and runs to pick a fight with me?”

“…―!!”

Ching Min’s eyes flashed white for a moment. Overcome with rage, his vision blurring, he lunged forward to grab Ling Xinlu by the collar.

However, just before his hand could seize the collar, Yuri, who had been standing aside watching them, stepped in between. He grabbed the man’s wrist to stop him.

“Calm down. For now.”

“Let go! Get out of the way! That bastard――!!”

Holding onto Ching Min, who was thrashing wildly and trying to shake off his wrist, Yuri signaled to the men standing awkwardly nearby. They immediately rushed over and helped restrain Ching Min.

Several men converged to hold back the man who was screaming and pouring out curses, eventually dragging him out of the corridor. The woman in white, who had been sobbing and watching the situation from the corner, also left with her friends.

An awkward atmosphere remained in the corridor, with people glancing at each other with uneasy faces. Amidst this, only Ling Xinlu, who looked cold but not uncomfortable—merely slightly irritated—composedly walked to the table and picked up a glass of water.

After lightly wetting his throat, he exchanged nods and small talk with a few people. The uncomfortable air in the corridor gradually settled, and people began to talk again, albeit awkwardly, as if nothing had happened. Before long, though it was unknown how much this incident would be gossiped about after today, the gathering regained a mood similar to before.

Yuri finally accepted the drink from Xiao Chun, who had been standing frozen for a long time due to the hostile atmosphere.

“I do like Uncle…… and I think he’s not a bad person…… but today, he seems like a bit of a bad person.”

“I think Brother Ching Min might have overreacted a bit,” Xiao Chun whispered softly beside him. Yuri glanced at her for a moment, then turned his head back and remained silent.

Meanwhile, Ling Xinlu, who had regained his customary polite smile while making small talk with the guests, suddenly looked over. His eyes met Yuri’s.

After staring back at the silent Yuri for a moment, the smile slowly faded from Ling Xinlu’s face. He tilted his head, staring intently at Yuri as if trying to verify something.

After asking the person next to him for a moment’s excuse, he began walking toward Yuri. Yuri watched him approach with his usual indifferent expression.

Soon, Ling Xinlu stood before Yuri. He stared at him piercingly. Yuri looked back at him, showing no particular emotion.

“Are you angry?”

“…….”

“Are you angry with me?”

“…….”

Reading the answer from Yuri’s silence, Ling Xinlu frowned slightly.

“Why are you angry with me, Mr. Gable?”

“I am not angry. I simply think this was out of line.”

“That’s the same as being angry. Why are you being like this?”

Ling Xinlu pressed him, his face twisted in a look of incomprehension.

Yuri fell into thought. The silence stretched on for quite a while, but Ling Xinlu, despite his evident displeasure, waited patiently for the answer.

Finally, having finished his thoughts, Yuri shook his head.

“This was not a justifiable action.”

As Yuri looked up and flatly denied it, Ling Xinlu let out a hollow laugh and looked at him with hurt eyes. It was a gaze so harsh that even Xiao Chun, watching from the side, shrank her shoulders and looked around nervously, yet Yuri met that gaze calmly.

“Mr. Ling Xinlu. I am viewing this from the position of a mediator, but I am trying to understand things from your perspective as much as possible. …No, it happens naturally even without effort. After all, I have more affection for you than for them. But even so, this is not right. You already had a hunch before you even spoke to her.”

That she was his lover.

How she, who had been casting subtle looks of admiration toward him, would react if he spoke to her.

And that when he actually spoke with her, even if she resembled someone very much, how he would ultimately feel about her.

Ling Xinlu must have known all of it. Even if he hadn’t consciously calculated every detail, he could have calculated such things in his subconscious, and yet he approached her.

Merely a moment of curiosity.

Merely to quench a single sip of thirst—one that did not stem from her.

“What did they do wrong to you?”

Ling Xinlu said nothing. He simply stared intently at Yuri. He looked resentful, as if Yuri had thrust his own hidden inner thoughts—which he perhaps hadn’t even been conscious of—right in front of his face, leaving him cold and stunned by a situation he had never imagined.

“This isn’t something for Mr. Gable to criticize me for. The people who can criticize me are the parties involved. —Don’t you think you’re overstepping?”

A cold response came back.

With those final words, Ling Xinlu, who had been staring coldly at Yuri, turned away. Watching his back as he walked back into the crowd without a single glance back, Yuri let out a silent sigh.

“……, ……Uncle Yuri. I like my youngest uncle, but I’m on Uncle Yuri’s side.”

Seeing Xiao Chun whisper while cutely pumping her fist in a ‘fighting’ gesture, Yuri shifted his gaze from the melancholy sight of Ling Xinlu and murmured apathetically.

“If we’re picking sides and fighting here, I think I’d be at a disadvantage.”

Hearing those words mixed with a slight chuckle, Xiao Chun laughed out loud.

“What are you talking about? I’m worth a hundred men!”

“Worth a hundred men? Should I help too? Then the two of us could take down two hundred.”

As soon as Xiao Chun finished speaking, another voice chimed in.

Seeing a person pop their head between them, cheeks bulging as they munched on a croquette in one hand and a duck leg in the other—likely grabbed haphazardly from a table—Xiao Chun happily shouted, “Brother!”

“Did you just get here? You said you’d be late, but you’re earlier than I thought.”

“I escaped. If I’d stayed, I would’ve been there all night. Do you want some of this?”

Fei, who hadn’t even changed out of his stiff suit, seemingly having just arrived, thrust the duck leg toward Yuri. However, before Yuri could say anything, Fei realized, “Ah, right, Uncle Yuri doesn’t like meat much,” and ate it himself.

“But why is the atmosphere like this? Where’s Ching Min? I need to wish him a happy birthday.”

Looking around and greeting people with nods whenever their eyes met, Fei sensed something was off even though the atmosphere seemed to have returned to normal. He turned his round eyes toward Xiao Chun and asked. Xiao Chun pouted and shrugged.

“He clashed a bit with the youngest uncle.”

“Youngest uncle? Uncle Xinlu?”

“How come?” Fei asked back, his eyes sparkling with amusement. Xiao Chun started to speak but stopped. He looked as if explaining it was too much trouble.

“It just happened. People will be gossiping about it for a long time anyway, so just hear it then.”

As she ended the conversation simply with a wave of her hand, Fei, seemingly more curious, continued to stuff food into his mouth while looking around.

“Ah, there’s Uncle. Oh, we made eye contact.”

With a mouth full of food, Fei beamed and waved his hand. Ling Xinlu, who had been looking this way, seemed to frown slightly, but he turned his head away with a nod that was almost a dismissal.

Without a hint of embarrassment, Fei lowered his hand and shrugged.

“Uncle seems to be in a bad mood too. That’s unusual. He’s the type of person who wouldn’t even care about someone like Ching Min.”

He’s showing his bad mood that much just because he fought with Ching Min? Fei tilted his head repeatedly, and having finished the food in his hands, he ran back to the table to grab another handful of things.

During that time, Yuri’s eyes met Ling Xinlu’s, who had glanced over. When Yuri simply looked back silently without reaction, Ling Xinlu averted his cold gaze and resumed talking to the person next to him as if nothing had happened.

“How have you been, Uncle Yuri? Doing well?”

Turning to Fei, who asked while crunching on cookies like a glutton, Yuri replied, “Yes.”

“How about you? I heard you started learning the business. Is it manageable?”

The moment Yuri spoke, Fei’s face crumpled into a grimace, and his hand holding the cookie dropped as if he had lost his appetite.

“Ah—it’s killing me, Uncle. Please talk some sense into my father. He’s determined to cram in a month what others learn in ten years, telling me to learn this and master that… he’s draining the life out of me. I feel like I’m actually going to die.”

He grumbled that he hadn’t even been given proper time to eat today, so he couldn’t eat anything in peace all day, and then swept more cookies into his mouth.

Yuri chuckled, thinking that Ling Tangyun must be pushing his only son quite hard out of greed.

“At your age, even if you work yourself to death, you won’t actually die. It’s only when you get to my age that it starts becoming dangerous.”

“I might not die from working to death, but when I was in school, there was a guy whose brain actually fried from studying to death…….”

“Do you know how many kilograms I’ve lost in just a month or two?” Fei grumbled, then made a fake crying face and suddenly hugged both Yuri and Xiao Chun.

“Kyaak! My blouse! Where are you wiping those greasy hands!”

Immediately snapping into a serious expression, Xiao Chun punched Fei’s cheek and escaped his embrace, running off somewhere while frantically calling for a mirror. Fei, who had hugged them seeking comfort only to be punched by his younger sister, blinked and looked at Yuri with a pitiful face.

“Uncllee…….”

“Do you want to wipe them on my suit?”

Yuri took a handkerchief from his pocket and neatly wrapped it around Fei’s hand. “I’m grateful, but somehow I feel a bit sorrowful,” Fei murmured as he rubbed his hand with the handkerchief.

“You can just give it back without washing it,” Yuri said with great generosity, letting out a low laugh. His heart felt a bit lighter.

Perhaps because he had known them since they were young, looking at the siblings now made him feel as if they were truly his own niece and nephew. No matter how much time passed, he found them lovely, as they were less stained by the years than he was. They were the only things he had envied in Ling Tangyun for a long time.

……However, his lightened mood did not improve beyond a certain point. It was because of the stinging gaze hitting his cheek.

It seemed Ling Xinlu’s mood had soured considerably. The gaze that had only occasionally flickered toward them while he chatted normally with others had, at some point, become a persistent and blatant pierce to his face. Whenever Yuri turned his head, nine times out of ten, he met his eyes.

As if the more he chewed over it, the more anger welled up, the gaze grew increasingly sharp.

“By the way, I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but for a while now…….”

Unless Fei was a fool, he couldn’t have missed that gaze. He subtly turned his back to block Yuri from Ling Xinlu’s view and gave a bitter smile.

“It feels like the youngest uncle is glaring. Did I do something wrong, or was there a problem between you and Uncle Yuri?”

“If you don’t suspect yourself, then it must have been a problem with me.”

“Is that so? Ah, thank—no, it’s worse if the atmosphere is awkward while living together. Our youngest uncle isn’t a bad person fundamentally, but he can be quite prickly when his mood is off. Uncle Yuri, are you okay?”

“Of course.”

He had managed to get along with Ling Xinlu even during a time when he was far more razor-sharp and desolate. No matter how much he complained or how sour his mood became now, it was nothing compared to back then. So, he was fine.

Yuri shook his head and said he was okay.

Wondering what he had imagined on his own, Fei looked down at Yuri with a look of pity. With his inner thoughts fully displayed on his face, he looked at Yuri sorrowfully and let out a long sigh. Then, after scrubbing his hands clean with the handkerchief, he placed his hand on top of Yuri’s head.

“Hang in there. I like the youngest uncle, but you know I’m on Uncle Yuri’s side, right?”

Fei spoke quite seriously while rubbing Yuri’s hair with a rough touch—it was unclear whether he was messing it up or patting it. The moment he said that, Yuri burst into a low laugh.

“You and Xiao Chun really are siblings.”

He laughed for a long time.

“Xiao Chun? What about Xiao Chun?” the brother of the ‘worth a hundred men’ siblings asked bewilderedly, though he continued to pat Yuri’s head, his kind eyes blinking in confusion. Finding that lovely, Yuri patted the hand that was stroking his head.

It was then.

“Let’s just go back. I’m tired.”

A cold voice came from behind Fei.

Startled, Fei lowered his hand and turned around, opening the blocked line of sight. Ling Xinlu was standing there, having approached unnoticed, looking at them.

“Oh, youngest uncle. Are you leaving already? Aw, I just got here.”

Fei spoke welcomingly, but Ling Xinlu’s gaze as he glanced at him was cold.

“It looks like Xiao Chun is here too. You two play together.”

“Aw, is a sibling I see every day the same as uncles I only see occasionally?”

Despite saying that, Fei had no intention of actually keeping a man who said he was tired, so he neatly folded the greasy handkerchief and handed it back to Yuri. Ling Xinlu, who watched Yuri nod and put the handkerchief back in his pocket with a chilly gaze, suddenly gestured with his chin toward the two of them and spoke abruptly.

“Even seeing each other occasionally, you two seem closer than people who see each other every day.”

“Huh?” Fei responded bewilderedly, blinking as he looked at Yuri following the gesture. Then, he laughed brightly.

“Well, when we were in Europe all summer, I stayed at Uncle Yuri’s house and saw his face every day, so now it’s natural to feel as familiar as if we see each other daily, even if it’s only occasionally.”

Ling Xinlu, who had been watching them expressionlessly, let out a low snort and twisted his lips as if something bothered him.

“To think you spent a trip staying with an old man instead of a lover. You must have been lonely.”

“Ahaha, no way. Uncle Yuri was so good to me. He treated me better than a lover would.”

Fei waved his hand and listed Yuri’s virtues, but that didn’t make Ling Xinlu soften his expression as if thinking, ‘He was such a good person.’ Rather, his jaw tightened as if something had soured even further.

In the next moment, Ling Xinlu’s face regained an expression as he asked, “Is that so?” He smiled, narrowing his eyes.

“He was good to you? He was angry with me.”

Ling Xinlu glanced at Yuri with a smile that seemed to say ‘how unfair,’ but his eyes were not smiling. His pitch-black pupils were swirling with a deep distortion.

Looking at him with a feeling of ‘the nerve of this man,’ Yuri guessed why his mood was so foul. The feeling from when he had turned away in anger earlier had not been resolved.

Fei, glancing at Yuri who remained silent without making excuses, scratched his head awkwardly and laughed.

“Aw…… maybe the youngest uncle did something wrong? Uncle Yuri rarely gets angry. While I stayed at his house, I did plenty of things I couldn’t tell others about, but I’ve never once seen him get angry.”

Yuri didn’t even have time to feel grateful to Fei for backing him up. Ling Xinlu looked at Fei with that same non-smiling smile. However, during the short silence, even that smile slowly faded, and eventually, no expression remained on his face.

“You two really must know each other well. But tell me, Fei, did you happen to get hired as Mr. Yuri Gable’s spokesperson recently without my knowledge?”

With a blank face devoid of a single smile, but in a surprisingly soft voice, Ling Xinlu whispered to Fei. Realizing the words were sarcasm, the smile vanished from Fei’s face for a moment. As if debating whether to answer, Fei glanced at Yuri, worried that his response might put Yuri in a difficult position.

Yuri remained silent, simply looking at Ling Xinlu. Ling Xinlu, shifting his gaze from Fei to meet Yuri’s, stared back intensely for several seconds.

Yuri, meeting Ling Xinlu’s gaze calmly without smiling or getting angry, let out a quiet, long breath. At that moment, Ling Xinlu’s expression hardened harshly. He opened his mouth as if to say something impulsively but stopped midway; he glared at Yuri fiercely before finally closing his mouth and letting out a bitter sigh. He closed his eyes, his fingers pressing hard against them.

“I said let’s go. I’m really tired.”

When Ling Xinlu spoke in a voice saturated with fatigue and displeasure, Yuri nodded obediently. He set the glass in his hand down on the stone pedestal and turned to Fei.

“I should be going now. Have a great time. Give my regards to Xiao Chun.”

“Uh…… okay. It’s late, so get home safely.”

Fei glanced back and forth between Ling Xinlu and Yuri but said nothing more, giving a bright smile and a farewell with a lingering look.

Fei waved, saying, “See you later, youngest uncle,” but Ling Xinlu didn’t even respond and walked toward the parking lot first. Yuri, following behind and nodding lightly in lieu of a greeting, also began to walk.

After exchanging brief nods with the people he passed, Ling Xinlu quickly left the corridor, walking briskly forward without once looking back. Yuri followed two steps behind him, remaining silent as he trailed the man who walked with an angry pace.

Until they finally reached the parking lot, Yuri sat in the driver’s seat and Ling Xinlu sat in the passenger seat, they did not exchange a single word nor meet each other’s eyes. Or rather, Yuri had looked at him while walking behind, but Ling Xinlu had not looked back.

Yuri looked back at Ling Xinlu, who sat in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead without moving a muscle until the engine started and Yuri gripped the steering wheel, and spoke quietly.

“Please put on your seatbelt.”

However, Ling Xinlu continued to stare forward as if he hadn’t heard a word. After watching him for a moment, Yuri leaned over and fastened the seatbelt for him. Then, he started the car in silence.

From then on, silence filled the car for the entire journey back.

Until they arrived at the mansion and the car came to a stop, Ling Xinlu didn’t move, staring only out the window. Yuri also drove in silence, occasionally glancing at the rearview mirror, but he neither looked at Ling Xinlu nor spoke to him.

He figured Ling Xinlu’s insides were twisted in a knot. But at the same time, he wondered if things had improved compared to before, when Ling Xinlu would lose control of himself whenever his temper flared, becoming pale with rage. …That didn’t mean he felt more comfortable now than when Ling Xinlu would vent his anger by shouting fiercely. It wasn’t that Yuri was the type to be restless in this kind of silence, but his heart felt heavy, just as anyone else’s would.

“…….”

Since this was the first time he had seen him upset in this manner, he had no idea how long it would last.

Hoping it wouldn’t be long, Yuri parked the car in the mansion’s parking lot, turned off the engine, and looked at Ling Xinlu through the rearview mirror. Though he wasn’t asleep, he remained motionless, staring out the window as if lost in thought.

“……. We have arrived.”

Thinking that he might have been so deep in thought that he hadn’t realized they were there, Yuri spoke softly.

Seeing him tilt his head ever so slightly, it seemed he had heard Yuri, yet Ling Xinlu still didn’t move. After watching him for a moment, Yuri reached out to unbuckle his seatbelt and then waited in silence. He could wait as long as necessary.

Yuri leaned his head back against the seat. He waited for Ling Xinlu’s mood to lift—or for his thoughts to be sorted out.

But the wait did not last long.

Yuri felt Ling Xinlu, who had been staring out at the dark, still scenery, glance at him.

“Are you angry?”

The sudden question was unexpected. If it had been a statement—that he was angry—Yuri could have accepted it just by hearing that cold, sulky voice without needing to be told. But he was asking Yuri, in that unpleasant tone, if he was angry.

Yuri, who had been leaning against the seat, sat up straight and turned to him. Ling Xinlu was staring straight at him, almost as if glaring.

“…….”

Yuri did not answer.

While it wasn’t a question he expected to hear at this moment, it wasn’t that he wasn’t angry.

No, to be precise, it wasn’t a matter of whether he was angry or not, but whether he condoned Ling Xinlu’s behavior in the corridor earlier. And Yuri still believed it was wrong. That opinion was unlikely to change.

“With that woman earlier, I really just started a conversation. If she hadn’t followed me so easily, I wouldn’t have clung to her so persistently.”

Ling Xinlu turned his body completely toward Yuri. His words, spat out as if he were being wronged, sounded almost like he was throwing a tantrum.

Facing Yuri, who remained silent and tight-lipped, Ling Xinlu suddenly shut his mouth as if overcome with emotion. Soon, his lips twisted into a grimace.

“—That’s right. It’s because her smiling face felt a bit similar to Tae-yi hyung’s.”

A low, resentment-filled confession that seemed to surge from the bottom of his chest.

“So, whether she had a lover or not, whether she knew she was different from Tae-yi hyung or not, I talked to her. She whispered things intended to make me fall for her and gave me that kind of smile. —But from the start, even before I did anything, she was already glancing at me. She was looking at me with eyes that desperately wanted me to speak to her. She smiled diligently every time our eyes met, and when I finally spoke, she just happily followed me without even knowing me.”

The words he poured out in his fit of anger were nothing more than despicable self-justification and self-defense. And he knew that himself. That was why his face distorted more and more the more he spoke.

That realization, eating away at his misplaced pride, was the most certain and effective punishment for him. Even if no one else punished him—which they couldn’t—he grit his teeth in pain as he recounted his own actions.

“You’re the same.”

After gritting his teeth for a while, Ling Xinlu suddenly muttered.

“You liked me without even knowing me well. What exactly did you like about me?”

You don’t know either, Ling Xinlu was redirecting his displaced anger toward Yuri. And Yuri silently watched Ling Xinlu, who looked as if he were about to crumble but was forcing himself to cling to his pain. Then, he slowly spoke.

“What part of you do you wish I liked?”

Yuri asked quietly.

For a moment, Ling Xinlu seemed lost for words and simply stared at Yuri.

After meeting his gaze in silence for a while, Yuri continued.

“I like you, including those parts of you. ……But what we need to discuss now is separate from that. I do not like hurting people’s feelings over a mere whim that isn’t even sincere. Nor do I believe it is acceptable to do so.”

While Yuri spoke calmly, Ling Xinlu said nothing. He only stared at Yuri without even blinking.

“Just because I like you doesn’t mean I will call a wrong a right.”

Yuri concluded his words and fell silent.

He would not condemn his mistake, nor would he bend his principles to defend him.

For a long time, Ling Xinlu remained silent. He stared intently at Yuri, and then, at some point, his lips twisted as if something surged up inside him. However, though he looked at Yuri as if he wanted to lash out, he ultimately couldn’t say a word and shut his mouth again.

Eventually.

“Don’t be angry.”

A voice, small as if it might vanish, whispered.

“Don’t be angry. I was wrong.”

As if they had never flashed so fiercely, his pitch-black pupils were now dim, the light extinguished. A voice as sunken and dark as those eyes spoke, telling him not to be angry because he had done wrong.

Yuri gazed at him. After dropping his gaze for a moment, Ling Xinlu flicked his eyes up to look at Yuri and muttered again. Don’t be angry.

“I was wrong. I really just… wanted to talk for a bit. I suspected that doing so would cause friction between those two, but I didn’t talk to her specifically to make them that way.”

I really mean it, the whispering voice grew faint.

Yuri watched him in silence. With a slight feeling of bewilderment. He felt troubled, wondering what to do with the man whose expression had clouded over as if the light had been snuffed out in an instant.

I’m not angry. My anger has faded. It’s okay.

Such words lingered on the tip of his tongue for a moment before disappearing. None of them seemed right.

So, Yuri quietly reached out to the man who was now silent. He gently placed his hand on the head of the man who sat with his head bowed, motionless.

Ling Xinlu’s neck seemed to flinch. However, he didn’t move and remained docile as Yuri slowly stroked his hair.

As Yuri stroked him several times with clumsy touches, his hunched shoulders gradually relaxed. His face, which had lost its light, slowly regained its composure.

Finally, Ling Xinlu lifted his gaze from his own hand and caught Yuri’s eye. Yuri hesitated for a moment, then gave a barely perceptible nod. That was the answer.

Only then did Ling Xinlu’s dark expression soften. He let out a quiet breath and carefully scanned every corner of Yuri’s expression.

“Ah… seriously…”

He muttered like a sigh.

His body, seemingly drained of energy, tilted toward Yuri. Resting his forehead on Yuri’s shoulder with a soft thud, he whispered lowly.

“I hate it when people who don’t usually get angry… actually get angry…”

Muttering to himself that it felt like too much of an energy drain, Ling Xinlu remained motionless on Yuri’s shoulder for a while. As Yuri, who had been stroking his head, looked at his hand suspended in the air and slowly lowered it, Ling Xinlu suddenly rubbed his forehead. Yuri stiffened slightly at the gesture of him rubbing his forehead against his shoulder.

It was like a kitten acting cute. But for a kitten, he was far too large; he was more like a slender lion.

The hair softly tickling his neck, the warm body heat touching his shoulder, the faint scent that wafted every time he moved his head.

These things blended together, coming to him as vividly as a tangible sensation.

“—…”

He was momentarily flustered.

It might have shown on his stoic face. Ling Xinlu, with his forehead pressed against his shoulder, probably couldn’t see it, but Yuri blinked, realizing he was flustered.

However, the momentary hesitation seemed to have reached Ling Xinlu as well.

Lifting his head in curiosity, he stared intently at Yuri, who was merely blinking.

“…….”

“…….”

In less than two seconds, he seemed to read Yuri’s stoic face.

The next moment.

Unexpectedly.

A look of flustered embarrassment flashed across Ling Xinlu’s face as well.

Yuri had thought he would laugh playfully, smirk, ask why he was acting that way, or simply ignore it, but he didn’t expect him to make such a face. Ling Xinlu, looking flustered and embarrassed.

Because it was so unexpected, Yuri found himself staring intently at his face.

“……What are you looking at. ……Why are you so flustered.”

Suddenly scowling, Ling Xinlu pulled his body away from Yuri. He even turned his head away.

Thinking that he probably didn’t like showing his vulnerable side to someone even for a moment, Yuri quietly shook his head and said, “I’m not.”

After staring out the empty window for a while, Ling Xinlu turned back to Yuri before long. His face had returned to its usual expression, as if nothing had happened.

“Shall we go up now?”

Saying this, Ling Xinlu gestured upward with his chin and gave his usual graceful, eye-curving smile. With his usual face, no longer angry or depressed, Ling Xinlu opened the car door.

Looking at that face, Yuri realized that the series of emotions caused by the discord this evening had been settled. No longer entangled or knotted, they were back to normal.

Yuri smiled. Though it didn’t show prominently on his face, he smiled gently with a heart that had softened. He soon gave a short answer, “Yes,” and got out of the car.

“By the way.”

Just as they stepped into the elevator, Ling Xinlu spoke up as if he had suddenly remembered something. After a subtle hesitation, he glanced at Yuri, who was quietly waiting for the rest of the sentence, and continued.

“What was that thing Fei mentioned earlier—about doing something unspeakable while staying at Mr. Gable’s house?”

“Huh? ……Ah.”

Yuri muttered nonchalantly and chuckled. “It’s nothing much,” he said, but under Ling Xinlu’s persistent gaze, he readily revealed the shame of his nephew—though not by blood.

“Things like accessing adult sites every day on my computer and getting a virus, or not doing laundry for so long that he ran out of underwear and wore my swimwear instead. It might be a bit embarrassing to tell others, but it’s not exactly an ‘unspeakable’ act.”

Yuri recalled Fei pleading with him, ‘You can’t tell anyone, Uncle, especially not Xiao Chun. If he finds out, all 6 billion people in the world will know.’ However, considering the chaos of losing two months’ worth of data to that virus and the struggle to recover it, he didn’t feel much guilt.

Moreover, it’s not Xiao Chun, Yuri muttered to himself, while Ling Xinlu looked at him with a somewhat displeased expression.

“Do you still use that swimwear?”

“……? Yes, it’s perfectly fine.”

Modern swimwear is made tougher and more durable than before, and it wasn’t that long ago. Yuri informed him of the swimwear’s status, noting it hadn’t worn out yet, but Ling Xinlu looked at him as if he didn’t like that, as if there was something he wanted to say.

However, Ling Xinlu ultimately said nothing to the puzzled Yuri, merely clicking his tongue lowly as he stepped out of the elevator upon arrival.

“I feel suddenly exhausted. ……Hurry inside and massage my eyes for me.”

* * *