At the birthday dinner, Lin Shen hadn’t been distracted at all. Now, as soon as it ended and he slid into the passenger seat, he pulled out his phone to check work messages, replying as he casually asked,
“How are you two planning things?”
In the back seat, the two of them immediately scooted close together again.
Lin Wangye practically glued himself to Shi Yuan, using every limb to stay close. The smile on his face hadn’t faded all evening, and his voice sounded softer than usual as he said, eyes sparkling, “Brother Lu, take me to that hotel on Huanghe Road.”
“Mm.” Lu Chengxuan replied without hesitation.
Hearing the keyword, Lin Shen immediately got the hint and turned to ask, “I’ve never been there. Isn’t it near the old district?”
“Yeah, it’s right nearby.”
Lin Wangye nodded, worried Shi Yuan might not know the full story since he’d just returned to the country. He turned to explain, “Huanghe Road is the fourth branch, and it’s actually the first branch to make more profit than the main store. Right now, it’s the biggest. Once the shopping street is built, it’ll definitely earn even more!”
He’d rambled about all this on the phone before, but Shi Yuan just smiled at him and said, “That sounds good.”
The esports hotel was run solely by Lin Wangye. Lin Shen, aside from having played there before, hadn’t cared much about it—and honestly, he didn’t have the time.
“That’s great. Once the shopping street is finished, it’ll definitely boost the area’s economy several levels,” Lin Shen nodded, then asked, “But the housing prices around there will go up too. How long was your lease back then?”
Mentioning this, Lin Wangye straightened his chest, looking proud as he said, “Haha, Brother Lu invested in the property years ago! The Huanghe Road branch opened directly on our own land, so there’s no rent!”
After he spoke, Lin Shen said nothing.
He turned his head back, staring at the road for a moment, then glanced at Lu Chengxuan out of the corner of his eye. His lips moved slightly, but in the end, he swallowed the words he was about to say.
“So, what about you guys?” Lin Wangye asked the couple in the front.
“Back to the company.” Lin Shen leaned back in his seat, still scrolling through his phone. “Nothing better to do anyway, might as well put in some overtime.”
After Lin Pengcheng left, both Lin Shen and Lin Qianqian had their own things to handle. The huge Lin family villa was basically empty. The property was a significant investment, and it happened to come at a time when Linhong was short on cash.
So, Lin Shen just sold it off.
He now stayed in the lounge right next to the company office, no need to get up early, able to sleep or jump into meetings whenever he wanted.
He didn’t feel homeless at all—instead, he felt clever for making the move.
But hearing this, Lin Wangye immediately got uneasy. Letting go of Shi Yuan’s arm, he leaned forward into the front seat and said, “Don’t work too late, okay? You need at least seven hours of rest.”
Lin Shen had heard this so many times he could almost grow calluses on his ears. He waved his hand and replied, “Alright, alright, I know. Stop nagging me.”
Lin Wangye frowned at Lin Shen’s words, clearly unhappy, and argued his point.
“I’m not nagging you because I want to, it’s because you don’t pay attention! If I didn’t keep an eye on you, do you even have a sense of time? You’d be working overtime until three or four in the morning, then wake up at eight for a meeting and work straight through the day. Do you think you’re some kind of god?”
“That was before, wasn’t it?” Lin Shen said, exasperated. “If I don’t push myself to the limit, how would I get the project? Now I can actually slack off a little when I want. And those few times I passed out from exhaustion—you want to lecture me about that forever? Dad vibes way too strong, I’m begging you, cut it out!”
Lin Wangye raised his voice in mock threat, “Say that one more time and I’ll cry!”
“Damn it…” Lin Shen’s vision went dark for a second, and he sighed in surrender. “Fine, fine, I was wrong. Back at the office, I’ll work at most one extra hour and then sleep. Happy now?”
“Good.”
Lin Wangye, satisfied, leaned back into the rear seat, curling up against Shi Yuan again.
Since Lin Shen and Lu Chengxuan were still in the car, he couldn’t get too handsy. So, he played with Shi Yuan’s fingers, letting the soft light from the street lamps and neon outside shine through the windows as he fiddled.
The tips of his fingers felt slightly cool. Lin Wangye traced them down until his eyes landed on the ring on Shi Yuan’s ring finger.
He twisted it around twice, then took it off and examined it carefully in his palm.
“The inside has my name on it.”
“Of course,” Shi Yuan said, moving his knuckles and smiling softly. “Yours has my name too. Mine has yours—it has to.”
Lin Wangye knew this, of course, but seeing it with his own eyes for the first time made him sigh in awe.
Both rings were engraved with each other’s names on the inside.
Shi Yuan’s ring read ‘LWY’, while Lin Wangye’s read ‘SN’. The letters had been redesigned by Shi Yuan himself—he extended the ‘N’ so that it could also look like a ‘Y.’
It was the perfect combination of their names.
This design even became the original logo Shi Yuan would include on all his works.
The rings themselves were also designed by Shi Yuan, drawn by hand and made by a craftsman. The band was engraved only with simple lines—minimalist, elegant, and beautiful.
The more Lin Wangye looked, the happier he got. He couldn’t resist leaning in to show off.
“Hey, Old Lin, look! Couple rings!”
Lin Shen, still staring at his phone while replying to messages, shut his eyes tight and waved his hand dismissively.
“My old eyes can’t see that. Go enjoy the cool air somewhere else.”
Seeing that Lin Shen wasn’t impressed, Lin Wangye pouted. He turned eagerly to show Lu Chengxuan, but the driver was focused on the road and couldn’t spare a glance, so he settled back in his seat.
Holding the ring in his hand, unwilling to let go, Lin Wangye looked down and took Shi Yuan’s hand, placing it in his palm. With utmost seriousness, he slowly slid the ring onto Shi Yuan’s ring finger.
In that moment, it felt strangely magical.
It turned out that building an eternal bond with someone you love didn’t require vows or ceremonies. Locking them firmly into your life only needed mutual understanding.
Unconsciously, Lin Wangye hummed the melody of a wedding march.
He hadn’t studied it on purpose, yet it came out with uncanny familiarity.
Shi Yuan’s face held a faint, gentle smile as he lifted his hand to lightly scratch the area between Lin Wangye’s chin and Adam’s apple.
The tiny itch made Lin Wangye instinctively shrink his neck, then he tumbled into Shi Yuan’s arms, laughing.
Lin Shen jumped up, furious and helpless. “Lu Chengxuan! Step on the gas and get these two out of here! I can’t take it!”
Lu Chengxuan remained calm, quietly exhaling two words.
“Speed limit.”
Lin Shen sucked in a breath, closed his eyes, and pinched the bridge of his nose in desperation.
By now, the roads were clear. Aside from stopping at traffic lights, the ride was smooth, and they quickly arrived at the Shenlin Esports Hotel on Huanghe Road. Lin Wangye said a quick goodbye and ran to the trunk to grab his luggage, then hurried Shi Yuan toward the hotel.
Watching his retreating figure, Lin Shen felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness, as if he couldn’t hold onto the moment no matter how he tried.
“Let’s go,” he said to Lu Chengxuan.
Lu Chengxuan shifted gears, turned the car, and pressed the accelerator toward Linhong Building.
With only the two of them left in the car, Lin Shen finally voiced the question weighing on his mind. “The esports hotel plan existed years ago. You knew when the old district would be redeveloped—did you intend to hand it to me from the start?”
“You can’t put it that way entirely,” Lu Chengxuan said, calm and measured. “The branch was opened there because the location just happened to be suitable. The Lu family did participate in the bidding, but in the end, you earned it yourself. It wasn’t a matter of me allowing it or not.”
“Then why did your father suddenly take back your rights?”
Lin Shen hit the nail on the head. Lu Chengxuan paused briefly, not answering immediately.
These past few days, his workload was clearly different from before. Lin Shen didn’t know exactly what had happened, but he couldn’t have been unaware.
Before heading out for Lin Wangye’s birthday, Lu Chengxuan had been straightforward when Lin Shen asked him.
Since graduating high school, Lu Chengxuan had started handling the Lu Group’s affairs. The reason he was always so busy was that, aside from tasks assigned by his father, he also managed the Chengfeng online shopping platform while keeping up with his studies.
Recently, he had more free time because he no longer handled Lu Group’s matters at all. Occasionally, he would only deal with Chengfeng’s handovers.
Chengfeng Online Shopping was something Lu Chengxuan had built from scratch into what it was today—but the project itself was a task assigned by the Lu family. The investment and controlling stake behind it belonged to Lu Chenghan.
Lu Chengxuan had basically written a perfect report card.
The achievement was his, but if Lu Chenghan chose to take it away, there would be nothing left in his hands.
And now, that was exactly the situation Lu Chengxuan was facing.
As the only son, he still had all the privileges a son should have—but when it came to power, his father had completely pushed him out, making him a marginalized figure in the Lu family.
Of course, this was unfair to Lu Chengxuan.
But Lu Chenghan ruled the Lu family with absolute authority, controlling everything with an iron grip.
Lu Chengxuan hadn’t taken part in the project bid, which made Lu Chenghan think something fishy was going on. He had exploded in anger and punished him. On paper, it sounded reasonable—but Lin Shen couldn’t understand it at all.
Compared to the Lu family, the Lin family’s wealth was far behind.
Yet even when his own father looked down on him, Lin Shen would still inherit everything through a will—because he was the biological son.
Meanwhile, facing a son he had personally groomed for twenty years, Lu Chenghan just kicked him out with no mercy at all.
It had to be said: Lu Chengxuan’s situation was very different from Lin Shen’s.
When Lin Shen ran away from home back then, he was still a student. Even if he didn’t return, it had little impact—at most, it annoyed people.
But Lu Chengxuan held a core position in the Lu Group.
With his abilities, being pushed out wasn’t just a loss for him—it was a huge loss for the company. And Chengfeng, the platform he personally built, only worked at its full potential under his guidance.
Could someone else keep up with the rapidly evolving market? Could they take Chengfeng to the next level? This wasn’t something a simple handover could solve.
So Lin Shen just couldn’t understand it.
Even if, hypothetically, Lu Chengxuan had deliberately let go of the project, the punishment Lu Chenghan gave him was far too harsh.
It was as if he didn’t want this son at all.
In any ordinary family, if a son misbehaved, a father might angrily say, ‘From now on, you’re not my son,’ and maybe cut off pocket money for a few days to make the point.
But in the Lu family? That was absurdly extreme.
Lin Shen didn’t know where the problem really lay, but he had a faint feeling it had something to do with him.
Seeing Lu Chengxuan sink into a long silence, he didn’t press further. He just stared at him for a long moment, then shifted the question:
“Was this what you expected?”
Without hesitation, Lu Chengxuan nodded. “Yes.”
“Then it’s fine.”
Lin Shen still didn’t fully understand, but he exhaled for no reason and didn’t want to pry any further. He reclined his seat, closed his eyes for a nap, and after a moment, suddenly opened them again.
“Hey… you’re not planning to suddenly ask me for money, are you?”
“Not at all,” Lu Chengxuan said seriously. “I have a backup plan.”
“What backup plan?” Lin Shen asked, curious.
Lu Chengxuan pressed the brake at a red light and looked at him. “Even if we step back a million times, the investments I made back then are still making money.”
Lin Shen couldn’t help but snicker, raising his arm and giving a thumbs-up. Lazily closing his eyes, he said, “So if I invite you to be my secretary, your dad won’t send someone to quietly take me out, right?”
“He wouldn’t do anything illegal or against public morals.”
His serious face while saying something so absurd made Lin Shen laugh even harder. Stretching lazily, he said boldly, “Well, you’re free anyway, so come help me with some overtime. I want to play games.”
“Alright.”
*
Shenlin Esports Hotel – Huanghe Road Branch
Lin Wangye and Shi Yuan got on the elevator together. During the ride, Lin Wangye noticed Shi Yuan hadn’t said a word and felt something was off. Glancing at the security camera, he stopped caring about appearances, turned around, and wrapped his arms around Shi Yuan’s waist, looking up at him with blinking eyes.
“You’re always saying on the phone that you miss me. Now it’s just the two of us, and you’re not talking to me at all?”
Shi Yuan lowered his gaze, his eyes soft and gentle.
“Want the truth?”
“Of course,” Lin Wangye nodded eagerly.
“Alright,” Shi Yuan sighed lightly, sounding a little dejected. “It seems like there’s some kind of bond between you and Lin Shen that I can’t surpass or interfere with. Even though it’s not love, I might still feel a little jealous.”
Hearing this, Lin Wangye realized it too. If the roles were reversed, he’d probably feel the same way. He tightened his hold on Shi Yuan and rubbed his face against him.
“Don’t be jealous. The feelings I have for you aren’t something he could interfere with anyway. I just didn’t control my emotions tonight, that’s all—don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad at you.”
Shi Yuan lifted a hand to touch Lin Wangye’s face, his gentle gaze settling on him through his glasses. “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you cry. It made me feel… uneasy. I just didn’t adjust my own feelings in time. Don’t worry about it.”
The fifth floor arrived in the blink of an eye. The elevator doors slowly opened, and the two of them walked down the corridor to the room at the end. Shi Yuan stopped, and at the sight of the room number, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Room 520!” Lin Wangye spread his arms, presenting the number like a show, a big grin on his face. “The place where the dream began!”
Memories flowed back to that year in hospital room 520, the moment a young boy pushed the door open.
Everything seemed preordained, as if by fate.
Shi Yuan felt a constant thrum in his heart. His hand tightened unconsciously on the luggage handle as he turned and gave Lin Wangye a soft smile, lips parting slightly. “Open it.”
“The code is our birthday, 011111!”
Saying this, Lin Wangye pressed the confirm button, turned the handle, and stepped inside. He had just wanted to show off the Chinese-style decoration he had supervised, when suddenly he was pushed against the wall.
With a loud ‘bang’, the door slammed shut, the suitcase toppled over, and a long-awaited kiss landed with a rush of heated breath.
Lin Wangye threw caution to the wind, wrapping his arms around Shi Yuan’s neck, responding with equal force.
In an instant, the floodgates that had been shut for hundreds of days burst open. The emotions pent up for so long poured out, smashing any remnants of restraint between them.
In the past, their kisses had always begun softly, like a gentle spring rain.
Now, that familiar tenderness was gone. Shi Yuan’s breath claimed every inch between their lips almost instantly, and Lin Wangye had never experienced such fierce invasion. The overwhelming sensation assaulted his brain, making every nerve tremble with shock.
It had been so long since they had met that Lin Wangye had forgotten all the techniques of kissing.
On top of that, he could hardly withstand such an intense, passionate kiss. His vision blurred with steam, and he tried to gasp through small whimpers for air, only to be met with an even more aggressive onslaught.
Finally, when he struggled to breathe, the tears streaming down his face caught Shi Yuan’s attention. Only then did Shi Yuan regain a fraction of his composure and gently lift his lips from Lin Wangye’s.
Gasping for air, Lin Wangye tried to calm his chaotic breathing, his eyes red as he looked at him.
“Forgot… how to… breathe… slowly…”
Shi Yuan’s eyes were dark and intense, his own breathing uneven as he said in a husky voice, “Did you prepare the things?”
Due to the lack of oxygen, Lin Wangye’s mind went fuzzy.
After a long moment, he realized what Shi Yuan meant and nodded eagerly, his eyes still flushed with excitement and a hint of innocent delight. “Prepared… I prepared really well.”
Shi Yuan couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. He leaned down to press a kiss on Lin Wangye’s slightly swollen lips before turning and heading into the bathroom.
Almost the instant the bathroom door closed, Lin Wangye realized his legs had gone weak. Sliding down along the wall, he sat on the floor for a long while, finally covering his face and cursing under his breath, his cheeks flushed.
“Damn… so twisted… and I love it…”
“A little separation makes it feel like newlyweds again… the longer the separation… the better it’s gonna be…”
He grabbed the bath towel from the cabinet, wrapped the things prepared on the nightstand inside, and squatted by the bathroom door, waiting. He worried that once Shi Yuan came out, it would be too late to prepare.
When the bathroom door opened, Lin Wangye, seeing Shi Yuan hadn’t noticed him, scrambled in, clutching the towel and sliding through the door crack. Quick as lightning, he locked the door behind him.
Shi Yuan, drying his hair, turned to the bathroom door and laughed at the sight. He walked over and knocked gently.
“What’s this? I didn’t even lock it, you little rascal.”
Lin Wangye’s muffled voice came from inside.
“Wait on the bed. Don’t rush me.”
Immediately, the sound of the shower started.
Shi Yuan knew that now, whatever he said, Lin Wangye probably couldn’t hear him. So he went over to the bed, sat down, leaned over, and pulled open the nightstand drawer, his expression tinged with surprise.
He could understand the set and the lubricant…
But what was that round little thing? And the blindfold and handcuffs?
Wasn’t this preparation a bit… excessive?
Shi Yuan felt a swirl of complicated emotions. After thinking for a long moment, he finally bent down, took the blindfold from the drawer, and put it on himself. At the same time, he cuffed his hands together and leaned against the bed, waiting.
With his vision taken away, time began to drag.
They had been apart too long, and many things weren’t so easy to control.
Shi Yuan couldn’t help but worry that he might accidentally hurt Lin Wangye, so he kept reminding himself to maintain restraint. That initial loss of control from earlier had completely vanished.
After an unknown amount of time, the water in the shower stopped.
Lin Wangye pressed himself against the door first, feeling for any movement. Then, carefully unlocking the latch, he cracked the door open. Seeing that no one was there, he hesitated a moment before stepping out.
When he saw Shi Yuan sitting on the bed, already perfectly arranged for him, Lin Wangye froze for a split second, then snickered quietly.
Even though Shi Yuan couldn’t see anything, he could hear Lin Wangye’s light footsteps approaching.
He pretended not to notice, keeping his original position against the headboard. Then he felt the air shift beside him, followed by a faint tickle on his chin—Lin Wangye’s fingertip brushing across it.
The last strand of Shi Yuan’s carefully maintained composure snapped.
He raised his hand to grab Lin Wangye’s wrist to scare him—but Lin Wangye didn’t intend to run. Instead, he climbed onto him, leaned close, and whispered into his ear with a breathy voice,
“This isn’t for you to use.”
Shi Yuan exhaled sharply, ready to pin him down, but the handcuffs restricted his movement. Before he could even act, Lin Wangye pressed him back.
Without sight, Shi Yuan had no way to predict Lin Wangye’s movements beyond the position of the moving air. He could only guess.
Then, unexpectedly, his lips met a soft touch.
Lin Wangye leaned in and kissed him lightly. Just as Shi Yuan tried to deepen the kiss, Lin Wangye pulled back at exactly the right moment. He then took the keys from the drawer, graciously unlocked the handcuffs, and tossed the blindfold aside.
When Shi Yuan regained his sight, he saw Lin Wangye slowly opening his robe.
The next second, he froze.
The wound at his collarbone had become a tattoo.
The design was extremely familiar: ‘SN’, the engraving inside the ring, the logo Shi Yuan included on every design he made.
The tattoo didn’t look new—it had clearly been there for some time.
In that instant, a subtle, dark sense of possessiveness surged within Shi Yuan. One he would never voice, yet often stirred quietly in his mind—now, it was overwhelmingly satisfied.
But it was a shadowy, even slightly harsh part of his nature.
Shi Yuan reached out with his fingertip to touch it. Once he confirmed it wasn’t a temporary or drawn-on tattoo, but something permanently etched onto Lin Wangye’s skin, he felt a surge of uncontrollable tenderness.
“Back when you got hurt, you felt the pain once already. Now, getting a tattoo here—does it hurt?”
“No,” Lin Wangye shook his head. “The big area hurts, but this tiny spot? Barely feels anything.”
Shi Yuan didn’t know what to say at first. He gently traced the tattoo with his fingertip, remaining silent.
“Aren’t you upset?” Lin Wangye asked.
“No,” Shi Yuan quickly denied it, pulling him into his arms and softly patting his back. “It’s just… I’ll be changing the logo on my works from now on.”
Lin Wangye snuggled closer, asking,
“Why? It’s nice—no need to change it.”
“This name and symbol… their meaning was given by you. The work is the work. You are you. I don’t want you objectified in any way,” Shi Yuan said.
“Why are you being so serious?”
Lin Wangye smiled, nuzzling his face against him.
“Don’t change it. Xiao Lin is your work too.”
After that, Shi Yuan naturally wouldn’t go against his wishes. He reached up and ruffled Lin Wangye’s hair.
“Alright then.”
Faced with this long-awaited, tender embrace, neither of them felt any rush.
Shi Yuan held Lin Wangye, who was lying across him, stroking his hair lazily with one hand while the other circled his waist. After a while, he noticed something felt… odd.
Lin Wangye was wearing only a bathrobe.
But Shi Yuan’s hand brushed something strange.
Fluffy. Soft.
He didn’t realize what it was at first, so he grabbed it and tugged gently. Almost immediately, Lin Wangye shivered, lifting his head from Shi Yuan’s chest, his breathing slightly ragged.
“What are you doing pulling my tail?”
The hint of complaint in his voice instantly broke Shi Yuan’s last remaining defenses.
*
Lin Shen (smiling): Smoking, drinking, dyeing hair, tattoos… he’ll learn it all sooner or later.
Lin Wangye: Dye it blonde, pretend to be Brother Lu’s son!
Lin Shen: 6
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