The person in his arms, however, reacted dramatically, pushing him away. The look in Huo Youqing’s eyes was now filled with fear, as if he were looking at a madman.
“Mr. Dai,” Huo Youqing began.
That single address immediately widened the gap between them.
Dai Yixin remained in his pushed-back position, his hands still outstretched. He looked at that pale, delicate face, trying hard to maintain composure, and thought—
He had never been called by his own name, and now, for the first time, he was being addressed as Mr. Dai.
Huo Youqing dared not look at Dai Yixin any longer. Speaking quickly, he said, “If your father isn’t home, I’ll take my leave.”
He even changed “you” to the formal “you’ to show respect.
This time, Dai Yixin did not stop him. He pulled his emotions back, returning to his usual quiet and reserved self, as though regaining his calm. He lowered his head to look at the ID card in his hand. The photo was his, the birth date was his, and the name he’d earned with the loss of a leg now belonged to him as well.
But Huo Youqing still refused to look at him.
Just as Huo Youqing reached the door, he suddenly stopped. He didn’t know how much influence Dai Yixin had within the Dai family, but he wanted to try. He might not be able to enter the Dai family home again, or perhaps he wouldn’t dare to.
“Mr. Dai, I’m really sorry about what happened to Dai Yuan, but it had nothing to do with my uncle and aunt. I hope you can pass that message to your father…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Dai Yixin, for the first time, impolitely interrupted him. In less than a minute, it was as if he had become a different person.
Proud, beautiful, and cold.
“Why should I deliver a message for you?”
Dai Yixin, who was taller than him, stood straight without lowering his head, his previously gentle demeanor entirely gone. Perhaps that gentleness had always been a façade.
His amber eyes showed no emotion as he looked down at Huo Youqing, a slight smirk at the corner of his mouth. “Only those with leverage can sit at the negotiation table. Someone like you isn’t qualified to speak with my father.”
The words were full of humiliation, and Huo Youqing, who had never been spoken to like that in his life, instantly turned pale.
He stiffly muttered another apology and hurried to leave. But just as he stepped out of the room, Dai Yixin’s voice floated to him.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
The words felt like a prophecy.
A prophecy of what was to come, a forewarning of fate.
And it was not wrong.
A week later, Huo Youqing visited the Dai family again.
This time, he met others in the household, such as the family butler. The butler was an older gentleman, but he had a refined appearance. It seemed like he knew in advance that Huo Youqing would come, as he had prepared tea that suited Huo Youqing’s taste. The butler informed him that the eldest young master had yet to return and asked him to wait a little while.
Huo Youqing sat stiffly, with no appetite for the food laid out on the table. After about fifteen minutes, he couldn’t help but ask, “Is Mr. Dai at home?”
He was referring to Father Dai.
The butler responded, “Mr. Dai left for overseas a couple of days ago. Were you looking for him? I thought you were a friend of the eldest young master.”
Huo Youqing felt embarrassed and wasn’t sure how to respond. But the memory of his uncle’s face, crying in despair after a night of drinking, flashed in his mind, giving him the thick skin to stay.
The night before, he hadn’t been able to sleep and had unexpectedly seen his uncle coming home late.
His uncle had drunk a lot, his entire body reeking of alcohol, and he staggered as he walked. Huo Youqing wanted to help him, but before he could, he saw his uncle collapse onto the sofa, covering his face and crying. The noise woke his aunt, who came downstairs, clearly flustered. She hurriedly sent Huo Youqing back to bed, explaining, “Your uncle gets emotional when he drinks too much. It’s nothing. Don’t worry.”
But how could it be nothing?
In the eighteen years he had known his uncle, he had seen him in many moods—strict, doting, confident, and in control—but never had he seen him cry like a child.
Huo Youqing knew that, although his uncle comforted his aunt by saying he could start a small business, deep down, he couldn’t let go.
It was the mess Huo Youqing had caused.
Even though the surveillance footage showed that Dai Yuan’s death had nothing to do with him, the Dai family still harbored resentment. Huo Youqing thought, Let them take it out on me.
So, he visited the Dai family again.
Part of his courage to come stemmed from something Dai Yixin had said during their last conversation. He had picked up on the unspoken meaning in his words.
—
“The eldest young master has returned,” the butler’s words interrupted Huo Youqing’s thoughts. He instinctively stood up and turned to see Dai Yixin walking in, impeccably dressed in a suit. His left leg still seemed to be an issue, as his steps were slightly unnatural.
Before Huo Youqing could speak, the other man’s gaze had already locked onto him.
He pursed his lips, bracing for a scornful remark. But to his surprise, Dai Yixin’s attitude was unexpectedly kind. In front of everyone, he took Huo Youqing’s hand in his own.
Dai Yixin was tall, with large hands that nearly engulfed Huo Youqing’s.
“I’m so glad you came to find me,” the young man said, then leaned in to brush his cheek against Huo Youqing’s in a foreign gesture of greeting. The cold touch made Huo Youqing feel as if he’d been marked by something lifeless—or a snake. His already tense body grew stiffer, and for the remainder of the encounter, he felt like a puppet being dragged into Dai Yixin’s room.
The sound of the door closing slightly brought Huo Youqing back to his senses. He glanced at his hand, still held tightly by the other man, but resisted the urge to pull away. Instead, he looked up at the man standing so close to him and asked softly, “I don’t have the right to sit at the negotiating table with your father, but can I negotiate with you? If I do have that right, can you ask your father to leave my uncle and aunt alone?”
Since returning home, he’d thought about everything. About Dai Yixin’s unnerving behavior—hugging him, smelling him, kissing his cheek. None of it was normal between mere acquaintances; after all, they barely knew each other.
And then, he remembered what Dai Yuan had once said.
Dai Yuan had told him that Dai Yixin loved to steal his things. That statement was now fully proven. Dai Yuan had only just died, and Dai Yixin had already eagerly changed his name to Dai Yuan. It seemed Huo Youqing himself was another one of the things Dai Yixin wanted to take—because of his closeness to Dai Yuan.
He thought back to that drunken kiss. Even his uncle had reviewed the surveillance footage, so it was impossible that the Dai family hadn’t seen it. Dai Yixin probably assumed that Huo Youqing had meant more to Dai Yuan than just friendship, and that was why he had developed this sudden interest.
Dai Yixin’s response to Huo Youqing’s plea was: “No one will hurt you or your family.”
That promise, for now, put Huo Youqing somewhat at ease. Though he would have preferred confirmation from Father Dai, he knew he couldn’t ask for too much at this moment.
He forced himself to smile.
“Thank you.”
“Dai Yuan.”
At those words, Dai Yixin’s lips curved into a smile, but what he asked next was something utterly bizarre. He requested that Huo Youqing put makeup on him.
“My makeup skills aren’t very good,” Huo Youqing began to refuse, but then he remembered he had once applied makeup for Dai Yuan.
Did Dai Yixin really have to take even this?
Without realizing it, a deep sense of revulsion toward Dai Yixin was brewing inside him.
He turned his face away, suppressing the chaotic emotions within, and spoke again. “Alright, I’ll do it. But I’ll warn you, I’m not very good.”
Dai Yixin’s response was to lower his head and nuzzle Huo Youqing’s cheek affectionately, his voice gentle. “That’s okay.”
—
It was the same face as Dai Yuan’s. The more Huo Youqing worked on the makeup, the more this realization took root in his mind. His hand holding the brush trembled, and for a fleeting moment, it was as if Dai Yuan were smiling at him again.
Dai Yuan’s amber eyes always curved when he smiled.
Barely holding himself together, Huo Youqing swiftly finished applying the makeup, and after adding the lipstick, he said quietly, “It’s done.”
Dai Yixin didn’t check a mirror. He told Huo Youqing to wait where he was and then walked toward the wardrobe.
About ten minutes later, Huo Youqing heard movement again. He didn’t lift his head, only stared blankly at his own fingers until a soft white fabric entered his vision. Layers of white gauze, with smooth silk beneath.
He blinked in confusion, following the gauze upward. It was an exquisitely beautiful wedding dress, now worn by Dai Yixin.
With a bouquet in hand, Dai Yixin looked like a radiant, young bride. His face alone could captivate many, but his towering figure betrayed the fact that he was still a man.
Pervert…
Pervert!
Huo Youqing’s barely suppressed emotions finally exploded. He could no longer hold himself back. All he wanted was to escape from this place.
After two steps, a long arm wrapped around his waist.
The “bride” pulled her “groom” onto the bed, the white train of the wedding dress spilling over the covers like petals.
