The new year calls for new beginnings, especially spending it happily with the one you love.
Bo Jin found the remote, which had slipped between the sofa cushions, and turned off the TV, gently pushing Xie Ruan back into the sofa as he leaned in for a kiss.
The room was suddenly quiet without the cheerful music. Xie Ruan, not used to the silence, pushed back. “Why did you turn off the TV?”
Bo Jin, noticing his distraction, nipped playfully at Xie Ruan’s lip. “Still thinking about other things… You really need to be taught a lesson.”
“Ow—” Xie Ruan hissed. “Are you a dog or something?”
Bo Jin chuckled, brushing his thumb over the spot he had just bitten. “Not only a dog, but one with strong dog waist. Want to give it a try?”
“No thanks,” Xie Ruan muttered, turning his head away uncomfortably and pushing Bo Jin. “Let go; my phone’s ringing.”
“It’s fine,” Bo Jin murmured against the corner of Xie Ruan’s lips, trailing downward. “At this time, it’s all mass New Year’s greetings—doesn’t matter if you look or not.”
He kissed somewhere, and Xie Ruan shivered, his waist going soft as he fell right into Bo Jin’s arms.
“Here?” Bo Jin chuckled, brushing the spot and moving upward. “Pretty sensitive, aren’t you?”
“Bo Jin!” Xie Ruan pressed his hand over Bo Jin’s through his clothes, feeling a bit panicked.
Was he actually serious?
“I know.” Bo Jin affectionately kissed Xie Ruan’s collarbone. “I won’t bully you.”
Xie Ruan trembled, his breathing unsteady. “Then, why are you…”
Bo Jin licked his lips and looked up into Xie Ruan’s eyes, smiling. “Just because I won’t bully doesn’t mean I won’t take what I can.”
True to his word, Bo Jin eventually let go, but not before thoroughly taking his fill.
Xie Ruan slumped down, breathing heavily, eyes moist and lashes glistening.
“Beast!” Xie Ruan gritted out, catching his breath before giving Bo Jin a half-hearted kick. But he was so weak, it barely had any effect.
Bo Jin took a sip of ice water to cool down, scrolling through his phone to distract himself, and responded calmly, “If I were a beast, we’d be doing a lot more right now.”
He’d overestimated his self-control—and underestimated how strongly he felt about Xie Ruan. Just moments ago, he’d almost gone too far, but his sense of responsibility finally prevailed.
Bo Jin sighed.
Forget Liu Xiahui’s restraint; he was the amazing one.
Xie Ruan went silent for a moment, then muttered a curse under his breath.
Bo Jin tossed the phone to him. “Here, it’s been buzzing for a while.”
His own notifications started pouring in too—a flood of New Year’s messages that left Bo Jin’s head spinning. Ignoring the ones from acquaintances, he responded to a few close friends and then opened a small group chat with Sun Haoxiang and the others.
Messages were flying, tagging him one after another. Tired of catching up, he sent a simple reply.
[Bo]: What’s up?
[After repeatedly turning down the school beauty, Sun Haoxiang]: On New Year’s Day, that’s all you have to say?
[He Mingjie]: Dog Bo, where’s your heart?!
[Bo]: ?? Weren’t you all messaging me?
[Vice Monitor – Pan Yu]: Brother Bo, are you busy?
Bo Jin felt a spark—after all, they were the ones asking.
He picked up the remote, dimming the main chandelier until only the soft ambient lights remained.
Noticing the change, Xie Ruan glanced up from his messages. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Bo Jin said, patting his head. “You keep busy.”
“Oh.”
Bo Jin angled his phone and took a photo of their shadows together on the wall, then sent it to the group chat.
[Bo]: [image]
[After repeatedly turning down the school beauty, Sun Haoxiang]: ??? Who’s that with you?
[Vice Monitor – Pan Yu]: Xie Ruan’s at your place?
[Bo]: En.
[He Mingjie]: Why are you hiding Little Xie? Can’t you show us his face properly?
[Bo]: You think I’m sending you a picture of his face? Dream on.
[He Mingjie]: Nobody wants it anyway!
[Bo]: Noted. Time for you to leave the chat.
[After repeatedly turning down the school beauty, Sun Haoxiang]: So, God Bo, how’d you kidnap Little Xie?
[Bo]: I didn’t “kidnap” him. He came on his own—and brought me dumplings.
[Bo]: Have you guys ever tried sauerkraut pork dumplings? They’re amazing…
[After repeatedly turning down the school beauty, Sun Haoxiang]: …We’ve all had those, thank you.
[Bo]: Not like this—you haven’t had the ones Xie Ruan made just for me.
[He Mingjie]: [I’m going to punch you sideways.jpg]
Feeling bold, Bo Jin laughed and was about to respond when Pan Yu’s new message popped up.
[Vice Monitor – Pan Yu]: Brother Bo, do you know Shen Xingyun? Yesterday, he reached out to me through an old middle school friend, asking for your contact info.
Bo Jin’s fingers froze.
[Bo]: Don’t know him.
[After repeatedly turning down the school beauty, Sun Haoxiang]: Is this because of Little Xie?
[He Mingjie]: Wouldn’t it be way too late if that’s the reason? It’s been a whole semester!
[After repeatedly turning down the school beauty, Sun Haoxiang]: Maybe he found out you’re dating Little Xie
[He Mingjie]: Actually, could be.
Bo Jin frowned. That didn’t seem right.
He only told Sun Haoxiang and the others about his relationship with Xie Ruan. These people aren’t the type to gossip, so they wouldn’t spread it around. As for Xie Ruan’s side, it’s even less likely.
Given how shy he is, he wouldn’t likely bring it up even to his best friend Song Xinghe unless they were caught together.
Bo Jin’s eyes narrowed. Why was Shen Xingyun looking for him?
As he pondered, the group chat’s speculations grew wilder.
[He Mingjie]: Maybe he wants to challenge Brother Bo to a duel!
[After repeatedly turning down the school beauty, Sun Haoxiang]: Heartbroken high schooler, initiating an online showdown!
Bo Jin: “…”
Idiots.
He typed out a response.
[Bo]: Just ignore him.
Whatever Shen Xingyun wanted, Bo Jin had no interest.
[Vice Monitor – Pan Yu]: Got it. I didn’t give him your info.
Bo Jin sighed in relief and glanced at Xie Ruan beside him, then reached for the half-empty pack of cigarettes on the coffee table. “I’m going for a smoke.”
Xie Ruan frowned, looking up from his phone. “Don’t smoke too much.”
“I know,” Bo Jin flicked his finger against Xie Ruan’s forehead lightly, smiling. “Just one, okay?”
Blushing for no apparent reason, Xie Ruan waved him off, shooing him away.
Bo Jin opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony, lighting a cigarette as he leaned against the railing.
The winter night’s wind blew sharply against his face, bringing a chill that seeped into his bones.
He exhaled a smoke ring, emptying his thoughts as he looked out over the city lights below.
His high school dean, Zhao Caiming, had never understood why Bo Jin, with his strong academic record, would choose to attend their not high not low-level Shijia High School.
The teachers were also unsure.
Some guessed it was for a scholarship, or proximity to his home, or, somewhat ridiculously, that Zhao Caiming had somehow “seduced” him…
None of these reasons were true.
Bo Jin had chosen Shijia High School because of Shen Xingyun.
There was no other reason; he simply wanted to see what kind of person Shen Xingyun was—someone the Shen family had unhesitatingly chosen over him.
He’d seen him.
And found himself even more confused.
Shen Xingyun was far from exceptional; his grades weren’t great, and he was a far cry from the ideal heir the Shen family had once envisioned in front of Bo Jin.
Bo Jin smirked bitterly.
He knew, deep down, that no matter how many faults Shen Xingyun had, there was one thing that would always overshadow Bo Jin—he was their biological child.
It was hard not to feel resentful.
Resentful at being abandoned, again and again.
Bo Jin flicked away the ash from his cigarette and took another drag.
He still remembered, when Mother Shen found out she was pregnant, she had sat on the sofa, hand on her stomach, speaking to Father Shen. The gentle look she once gave him was gone, replaced with disdain.
“A child from an orphanage—who knows what kind of blood runs in his veins? He could be a murderer’s kid, born evil.”
“There’s no such thing as a foolproof secret. What if we raise him, and one day he finds out he’s not our real son, and decides to turn on our own child?”
“I’m telling you, Old Shen, we can’t keep this brat! We didn’t work so hard to build this fortune just to give it to some stranger.”
“Get him away from here. I can’t stand the sight of him—always makes me uneasy, like he’ll kick me in the stomach. Like those cuckoo birds that lay eggs in other nests, pushing the other chicks out…”
…..
On and on, each sentence harsher than the last, became the endless nightmare that would haunt Bo Jin in the dead of night.
As he looked out over the lights in the city below, Bo Jin exhaled slowly. He bore no grudge against Shen Xingyun; after all, it was natural for parents to favor their own blood.
But he couldn’t bring himself to like him either.
Whatever Shen Xingyun wanted, it had nothing to do with him.
Bo Jin stubbed out his cigarette, waiting until the smell had dissipated before he went back inside and sat down beside Xie Ruan.
The past was the past. Even if he couldn’t forget it, he could turn the page.
Because now, he had a better present and future.
Bo Jin didn’t give another thought to Shen Xingyun wanting his contact information.
Meanwhile, on Shen Xingyun’s end, waves were crashing.
He’d overheard his grandfather talking to his dad and found out that, apparently, the Shen family had once adopted Bo Jin.
And back then, Bo Jin hadn’t been called Bo Jin at all; he was named Shen Xingyun, until his name was later changed…
No wonder his mom had reacted so strongly upon hearing Bo Jin’s name the other day; he’d felt something was off.
Shen Xingyun felt like he’d swallowed a fly—completely disgusted.
Even though he knew it was because his father had been diagnosed with low fertility, making it difficult to have children naturally, he still felt a pang of discomfort.
It was as if something he’d thought was exclusively his had once belonged to someone else.
“F*ck!” Shen Xingyun cursed, feeling a swell of frustration as he looked around his room, suddenly annoyed with everything.
He threw his phone onto the bed, thinking of the few brief encounters he’d had with Bo Jin, and sneered.
Just an orphan—what was he so proud of?
If his parents hadn’t graciously raised him for two years, he might have starved to death.
Wait.
A sudden thought occurred to Shen Xingyun.
Did Bo Jin even know about this?
He should know, right? In an orphanage, people talk. Besides, with the Shen family’s wealth, it would certainly have been a topic of gossip.
No wonder.
Shen Xingyun suddenly understood. No wonder Bo Jin had such a bad attitude toward him. He’d thought it was about Xie Ruan, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case at all.
Thinking of Xie Ruan, Shen Xingyun felt a renewed interest.
So, why was Bo Jin close to Xie Ruan? No way was it some sudden, mutual attraction. He didn’t buy it.
Given Xie Ruan’s reputation at school, even a good-looking face couldn’t save him. As much as he hated to admit it, Bo Jin was at least something.
Narrowing his eyes, Shen Xingyun thought—was Bo Jin getting close to Xie Ruan just to spite him?
Now, that would be interesting.
Shen Xingyun’s mood lifted immediately.
So, Xie Ruan thought he’d left him for something better, huh?
With a malicious smile, Shen Xingyun decided this was something he absolutely had to share with his ex.
