DYH | Chapter 6

Li Lang visited Bai Wei’s place on the third day after Bai Wei moved in. That was also the first time An Tianming learned about Li Lang’s existence.

After reuniting with Bai Wei, An Tianming had been curious about his social circle. He didn’t dare to interfere too much, fearing Bai Wei would resent it, but in truth, An Tianming really hoped Bai Wei had some friends. He knew Bai Wei was someone who needed companionship and support.

After bringing Bai Wei back to the place they used to live together, An Tianming noticed that Bai Wei had almost no social activities at all. At the time, Bai Wei had explained that ever since his car accident and memory loss, he no longer remembered his friends. He made it sound like it was his fault, and hearing that made An Tianming’s heart ache. He knew why Bai Wei didn’t have any friends—it wasn’t because of the car accident. It happened after Bai Wei’s father was imprisoned. Bai Wei was no longer the Young Master of the Bai family, and so, his so-called friends had all left him.

There had been several nights back then when An Tianming sat beside Bai Wei’s bed, holding his hand as Bai Wei silently shed tears in his sleep… Looking back now, An Tianming found his past self utterly ridiculous.

During these three days of staying with Bai Wei, An Tianming had actually seen quite a few of his friends. That meant Bai Wei wasn’t without friends—he had just been deliberately keeping them from An Tianming.

Of course, An Tianming didn’t blame Bai Wei for this small deception. Even after Bai Wei was responsible for his death, An Tianming couldn’t bring himself to resent him—let alone for such a minor act of concealment. If anything, An Tianming would rather Bai Wei have more friends.

However, this particular one… seemed like an exception.

The moment the unexpected guest simply stood at the open doorway, An Tianming immediately sensed that something was off.

Bai Wei, who had been waiting for his food delivery, was clearly surprised by the visitor. “Li Lang?” He stood there, stunned, staring at Li Lang for a long moment.

Li Lang was the first to break the silence. “You were busy settling in these past two days. I figured you’d be more free today, so I came to check in. Hope I’m not bothering you?”

“Of course not.” Bai Wei finally snapped out of it and stepped aside. “Come in and have a seat.”

Li Lang walked in slowly, scanning the place with the air of someone going through a checklist, then casually commented, “The lighting here is pretty good. But it’s a bit small, isn’t it?”

Bai Wei quickly chuckled. “This is what a normal apartment looks like. Unlike the last one I rented—prime location, dirt cheap, and way too spacious.” He added seriously, “For a moment, I almost thought that place was haunted.”

Li Lang looked slightly awkward, as if caught off guard by the joke. “I’m not a ghost.”

An Tianming felt an inexplicable sense of irritation. He understood the seemingly random exchange between Bai Wei and Li Lang—Li Lang must have secretly helped Bai Wei, arranging for him to rent that apartment at an unusually low price. And Bai Wei must have appreciated the gesture, otherwise, he wouldn’t be teasing about it so easily.

—If it had been An Tianming trying to help, Bai Wei definitely wouldn’t have accepted it.

That thought almost felt like self-inflicted torture. But then, An Tianming despised himself even more—because the truth was, he had never even thought about helping in the first place. And yet here he was, feeling sorry for himself so shamelessly.

“Speaking of ghosts…” Bai Wei’s cheerful expression quickly turned into something more uneasy, carrying an almost imperceptible plea for help.

In day-to-day life, Bai Wei might as well score a zero when it came to taking care of himself, but when it came to his personal independence, he had always been stubbornly self-reliant. He rarely allowed anyone to see his vulnerable side. But now, without hesitation, he instinctively moved a little closer to Li Lang.

For the longest time, An Tianming had been grateful that even in death, he could still stay by Bai Wei’s side. But now, he started to understand—maybe the reason he was still here was because he deserved it. For all the pain he had once inflicted on the innocent Bai Wei, how could he have ever thought that everything was over just because he had died?

That realization made him unwilling to look away, even though he normally would have avoided it. He continued watching as Bai Wei, without even realizing it, leaned on Li Lang for support.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Bai?” Li Lang asked, concerned.

Bai Wei quickly glanced around before lowering his voice. “I think this place is haunted.”

An Tianming was completely caught off guard by this unexpected statement, his mind suddenly in turmoil. “Xiao Wei?” he called out. “Xiao Wei, can you sense me?”

He was filled with both hope and fear—hoping that Bai Wei could perceive his presence, yet terrified of what that might mean.

But Bai Wei didn’t hear him. Instead, he hesitated before explaining to Li Lang, “For the past two nights, when I’m sleeping, I keep feeling like… someone is standing next to my bed. I can feel their breath.”

Li Lang immediately countered, “You think ghosts need to breathe?”

Always someone who valued logic, Bai Wei had to admit that Li Lang had a point. He lowered his head, deep in thought for a long moment, then tried to convince himself, with Li Lang’s help, “Maybe it’s just psychological trauma.”

At those words, Li Lang’s expression darkened slightly, but more than anything, it showed concern and worry. “So… you’re still having nightmares?”

Bai Wei stared off into the distance, lost in thought. “Sometimes, I can’t tell if it’s a dream or reality.”

“All the bad things are just dreams. All the good things are real…”

Before Li Lang could finish, Bai Wei smiled and completed the sentence for him: “—Whether that’s true or not, as long as you believe it, it’s fine.”

Li Lang smiled as well. “Yeah, I almost forgot that I picked up this theory from you.”

After exchanging smiles, Bai Wei’s expression grew heavy again. “I really don’t want to have that dream anymore.”

Li Lang placed a reassuring hand on Bai Wei’s shoulder. “Xiao Bai, you know I’m not a therapist, so maybe I can’t help much. But at the very least, I don’t have any other friends. No matter what you tell me, I won’t have anyone else to share it with. So you can tell me anything.”

Bai Wei lifted his eyes to look at Li Lang. “Who said you don’t have any friends? At the very least, you have me.”

Li Lang didn’t say anything for a while. Finally, he lowered his voice and said, “Thank you, Xiao Bai.”

Bai Wei took a deep breath, as if making up his mind. “Since you’re thanking me, then it’s about time you repay me—I’m about to tell you something really scary.”

“No problem, you know I’m not easily scared.”

Bai Wei hesitated for a long time before finally speaking.

“You know I moved, so you probably also know that I ran into An Tianming again, right?”

Li Lang nodded slightly. “I know.”

“…I don’t know what he wants, but I figured if I tried to run, the outcome would be even worse. So I accepted his arrangement and moved into his villa.”

“So, to you, living with me is ‘even worse,’ huh? You’re just putting up with it because you’re afraid I’ll make things worse for you?” An Tianming murmured in a low voice. He knew Bai Wei couldn’t hear him, but he still wanted to ask. The words came out in a suffocating whisper, a voice only he himself could hear.

Bai Wei continued, “He arranged for me to stay in the room I used to live in… and then the dreams started.”

“What kind of dreams?” Li Lang asked gently.

“I dream…” Bai Wei’s expression turned dazed. “Every night, he crouches by my bed and apologizes. I don’t know what he wants, and it scares me… Sometimes, I even start to suspect it’s not a dream, and that scares me even more. Back then, I thought my biggest fear was that he’d lift me up to the clouds again, only to throw me back down… But if this isn’t some haunting, I was just thinking—if it’s not supernatural, and I’m really just dreaming of him by my bedside…”

Bai Wei couldn’t continue. Li Lang quietly picked up where he left off. “You’re afraid you still haven’t let him go?”

Bai Wei looked up at him with an unreadable expression. “Do you think that’s possible?”

It wasn’t a rhetorical question—it was just a question. He looked like he was hoping for a denial.

Li Lang didn’t answer. Instead, he suddenly changed the subject with a slightly more animated tone. “Xiao Bai, speaking of your theories, do you still remember your ‘balance scale method’?”

Bai Wei was momentarily taken aback. “I remember.”

“Then come back to me.”

Bai Wei stared at him, at a loss for words.

Li Lang elaborated, “Think about it. Right now, the left side of the scale represents you having already moved on from An Tianming, and the right side means you haven’t. If we put the weight of being with me on both sides, there are only two possible outcomes.

“The second possibility is that you haven’t let go of An Tianming yet—but because you’re with me, at least it means you have a chance to let go.

“The first possibility is that you’ve already moved on from An Tianming, and as a result, you end up being ‘forced’ into a relationship with me, feeling all wronged and pitiful—but at the very least, you’ve moved on. So, in a way, the balance is still restored.”

Bai Wei averted his gaze, looking at the bookshelf beside him as if seriously considering the logic. After a moment, he turned back to meet Li Lang’s eyes.

“Ah Lang, you know I only have one experience of being someone’s boyfriend—and it was an absolute disaster. But I have way more experience being someone’s friend. For your own good, I’d rather you have a good friend than a lousy boyfriend.”

Li Lang, as if having already expected this outcome, nodded nonchalantly. “Alright, that’s the third time you’ve rejected me. Third time’s the charm—maybe next time, you’ll say yes.”

Bai Wei stood up from the couch, looking slightly guilty as he corrected himself. “Actually, now that I think about it, this isn’t for your good at all. I’m rejecting you for my own sake—because I’d rather have you as a friend. You know, I wouldn’t talk about this with Xuan Zi or anyone else, probably not with anyone at all. But in the end, I told you… and honestly, we’re not even that close.”

Li Lang looked at him with an unreadable expression. “We lived together for a year.”

Bai Wei smiled wryly. “I actually think that was the year we were the farthest apart.”

He walked over and turned on the lights, as the sunlight quietly faded from the room. Li Lang remained silent for a long time. For a moment, An Tianming thought he saw himself in Li Lang. Their love was so deeply repressed, so timid that no one could even hear it.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“I really hope that’s my food this time. I’m starving.” Bai Wei eagerly went to answer the door. Finally, his wish was granted—on the other side of the door was his fried rice delivery.

Carrying the takeout back inside, Bai Wei suddenly thought of something. “Oh right, have you eaten yet?” He asked with genuine concern, realizing that he only had one portion of food.

Li Lang paused for a second before nodding. “I already ate.”

Bai Wei gave him a sincere piece of advice. “Next time, don’t hesitate before lying. It makes it way too obvious.”

Saying that, he went into the kitchen and grabbed two bowls. He scooped the fried rice into them, dealing the portions out as if playing a card game. He was incredibly meticulous about it, carefully observing both bowls and making slight adjustments until he was satisfied that the portions were perfectly equal.

“I’ll let you choose first,” Bai Wei said.

“I’ll take the bowl on the left.”

Bai Wei looked particularly annoyed. “Damn, I thought the left one had more food. Your eyes are too sharp.”

“If you’re going to be this picky, don’t pretend to be generous and let me choose first next time,” Li Lang said seriously.

Bai Wei rolled his eyes. “I thought you’d pick the smaller portion.”

“…Fine, I’ll take the bowl on the right then.”

Satisfied, Bai Wei picked up the bowl on the left. “See? This isn’t me taking advantage of you—you picked the right bowl all on your own.”