Chapter 22
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In May, when Sui Yang was nineteen, it felt like a clear boundary between dreams and reality.
Before May, there were good and bad times, but it was only after May that he had to face the true challenges of life.
At the end of March, a person who was owed money and used to work as a subcontractor heard that the widow of Sui Gaozhuo lived in Baoqi Garden. Every day, he would send his henchmen to wander outside the residential area.
The lawsuit was almost over at that time. Although the security guards at Baoqi Garden were responsible, Sui Yang still forced his mother and grandmother to hide in Yuhai. He made excuses to stop Xie Min from coming home with him and lived alone in his room.
Xie Min seemed difficult to handle on the surface but secretly followed Sui Yang’s decisions. During that time, Sui Yang felt a lot of negativity and had to deal with various incidents. His mood was low. Xie Min quietly stayed by his side, understanding and obedient. Even when Sui Yang teased him, he would blush and playfully push Sui Yang with a warning, “If you say that again, don’t blame me for hitting you.”
Xie Min’s push didn’t actually hurt Sui Yang. The pain Sui Yang recalled later was exaggerated.
On a Friday in early April, after school, Sui Yang walked to the side gate of the residential area and saw a few people holding banners with red letters on white cloth. The contractor stood beside the banners, and the security guards of the residential area were trying to persuade them to leave.
The contractor was smoking and recognized Sui Yang. He threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his boot. “The young master has returned home.”
Sui Yang didn’t avoid him and explained once again the content they discussed on the phone—his father had left behind a huge debt, and he couldn’t afford the money right now. He promised to repay him once everything was settled and requested some more time.
“You can’t come up with a hundred thousand?” The contractor didn’t believe it and sneered at him. “Chairman Sui used to tell me that the red envelopes he gave his son for his birthday had seven-figure amounts. Young Master, I can’t enter this residential area, so you shouldn’t try to get in either. Whether a hundred thousand is a lot or not is another matter, but I can’t break my own rules. If people find out that I can’t recover such a small amount of money, how will I collect payments in the future?”
The security guard on the side suggested that he should report the contractor’s illegal behavior to the police, but the contractor ignored it and arrogantly said, “Go ahead and report.”
Sui Yang didn’t want to get into a conflict or cause trouble for the residential area, so he stopped the security guard and said, “It’s fine.” Then he went to the library.
Xie Min arrived at the library later than usual that day. They spent some time together, and suddenly Xie Min leaned closer and whispered, “Today, my dad and Xie Cheng are not at home. Do you want to come with me?” Xie Min said with a mischievous smile, trying to entice him, “I’ll show you my childhood photos. You haven’t been to my house before, right?”
Xie Min’s invitation to visit his house coincidentally aligned with Sui Yang’s inability to go home. It seemed like a fortunate timing. However, since Xie Cheng and his father weren’t at home, it couldn’t have been arranged by Xie Min. Therefore, Sui Yang didn’t suspect anything at the time.
They left the library after eight o’clock, took the No. 12 bus, and transferred to Line 3.
Xie Min’s house was located in a villa area in the old town. The house had been there for a while, and the greenery was well-maintained. The iron fences surrounding each individual house were covered with small flowers, filling the night air with a pleasant fragrance.
The road was quiet with no one around. Xie Min and Sui Yang walked side by side, their arms occasionally brushing against each other.
Xie Min’s hand moved restlessly, as if he wanted to hold hands but was too shy to do so. Xie Min pretended to be calm, but his mischievous nature was always adorable. Sui Yang teased him, “Do you know what grade of students walk swinging their hands?”
Xie Min turned his head and glared at Sui Yang, about to get angry. Sui Yang quickly grabbed his cold hand.
Xie Min’s hand was soft and cold, and his lips were often cold too. Perhaps it was because of his fiery temper that the heavens provided him with this cooling effect.
Compared to Sui Yang’s former mansion, Xie Min’s house was not very big. Each floor was approximately a little over a hundred square meters. However, it wasn’t decorated in the trendy luxurious style of the time. Instead, it had a more French touch, and the selected artworks displayed great taste.
Sui Yang praised Xie Min’s beautiful home, but Xie Min wrinkled his nose. “It was designed by a friend of my dad when he was studying abroad.”
“I don’t know if you’re aware,” he mentioned the name of a famous designer that Sui Yang’s mother had talked about before, “but when it was being decorated, my dad secretly complained about how expensive the designer’s fee was. It was several times more than what others charged, almost matching the cost of the renovation itself. In the end, my dad couldn’t help but negotiate the price, and they even had a big argument.”
Xie Min’s nanny didn’t live with them, so the house was very quiet with only the two of them.
Carrying his backpack, Xie Min walked ahead, leading Sui Yang upstairs. Then he turned around and introduced, “Xie Cheng and I live on the second floor, and my dad is on the third floor.”
Sui Yang looked at his chin and vaguely felt that he was speaking more than usual.
As they climbed to the second floor, there were separate corridors for the east and west sides. Xie Min said he lived on the east side, while Xie Cheng resided on the west side.
“This is my study,” Xie Min pushed the door open and turned on the lights. “The photo albums are here.”
The study was spacious, with two walls covered in bookshelves. However, there were only a few rows of books displayed. Sui Yang glanced at them and noticed that among the limited collection of books, there seemed to be a few sets of comics.
A dark wooden desk was positioned near the window, which didn’t quite match the typical student atmosphere. It was cluttered with papers, pens, and a closed laptop, reflecting Xie Min’s personal touch.
Xie Min walked to the bookshelf, crouched down, and took out several photo albums from the bottom shelf. “I was cute when I was little. Out of all the grandchildren, I was my grandmother’s favorite. Every year on my birthday, she would take me to have artistic photos taken.”
He placed them gently on the desk, and Sui Yang took a quick glance. There were six hardcover photo albums.
The first album had a cover featuring a baby with a pacifier, with big eyes that were even cuter than those in formula advertisements.
“Are there only six albums?” Sui Yang asked casually while flipping through the pages.
“She passed away when I was seven,” Xie Min explained.
Sui Yang apologized, “I’m sorry.” Xie Min smiled, revealing a mature expression that he rarely showed, and said, “It’s okay. Look at these photos.” Xie Min leaned in beside him, helping him turn the pages and whispering, “There’s no Xie Cheng in any of them. Xie Cheng is ugly and mean, my grandmother didn’t like him.”
“This is my grandmother,” he turned to a page, introducing the elderly lady in a cheongsam who was smiling while holding him.
While chatting and looking through the photo album, they came across a revealing photo of Xie Min when he was three years old. As soon as they turned to that page, Xie Min quickly covered it with his hand and said, “No one used to see this. I forgot to destroy it.”
Sui Yang laughed, and Xie Min shoved him playfully. “No laughing allowed.”
In the photos, Xie Min gradually grew older, and his features became more similar to his present self. He stopped smiling in the pictures. At the age of six, Xie Min learned to put his hands in his pockets, lifting his chin high, exuding a cool demeanor.
After flipping through the album, Sui Yang helped put it back. Xie Min leaned against the edge of the desk and suddenly called his name, “Sui Yang.”
Sui Yang turned to look, and Xie Min, wearing a white short-sleeved school uniform, supported his hands on the table with his arms, which were fair and slender. He lowered his eyes and said, “Why don’t you ask about my mother?”
Sui Yang remained silent. Xie Min told him, “I don’t have a mother.”
“I don’t know who my mother is, so I never mention her,” he said. “Of course, Xie Cheng doesn’t either. Because there’s no high-class lady suitable for my father, and he doesn’t want to share his wealth with anyone. Actually, after my grandmother passed away, there was a time when I really wanted to find my mother. I even secretly tried to open my dad’s safe, but I found nothing. I don’t know where he keeps my mother’s information.”
Sui Yang stood up and walked closer to him. Xie Min tilted his face slightly upwards, meeting Sui Yang’s gaze.
Xie Min had grown much taller since they first met, but his cheeks still retained a hint of baby fat. His eyelashes were long, and he focused intently on Sui Yang. His eyes held nothing back, making Sui Yang feel that any additional words at this moment would be superfluous.
Xie Min said, “Sui Yang,” and continued, “I used to feel bored being alone. My home doesn’t feel like a real home. No one cares about me, and there’s no one to accompany me. But it feels different now.” Xie Min smiled shyly at Sui Yang. “Sui Yang.”
Outside the study, it was a spring night in April in Yuhai. The evening breeze gently rustled the leaves.
Xie Min’s hand left the desk and lifted up. It seemed like he wanted to embrace Sui Yang but didn’t know how, so he shyly kissed Sui Yang’s lips.
Xie Min usually enjoyed being lazy and mischievous, like a mischievous demon. But when he was serious, he became as sweet as the only angel belonging to Sui Yang.
“No matter what happens,” Xie Min asked Sui Yang, “can we always be together?”
Sui Yang held Xie Min’s waist and kissed Xie Min, exchanging love and secrets.
The mess left by his father, the burden in the house, disappeared for a brief moment in Xie Min’s study. At that moment, Sui Yang lost his rationality and the ability to think about reality.
Xie Min was like his only lifeboat in the vast ocean, allowing him to sleep peacefully amidst the boundless expanse of water.
Every day since leaving Yuhai, Sui Yang seemed to have never truly moved on from that spring night. He couldn’t forget the expression and voice of Xie Min at that moment.
Today, the little bunny once again wasted twenty-four hours in Yuanguang. It was evident that he wanted to go back to work, but he could only sleep in Sui Yang’s bed.
Sui Yang renovated this house and hired the same designer who had a falling out with Xie Min’s father. Sui Yang expressed his desire to have a similar design to the classmate’s villa designed by that designer in Yuhai. The designer showed a perplexed and annoyed expression, stating that the style was outdated and that he had very poor memories of designing that house.
However, Sui Yang insisted stubbornly and offered a generous sum, so the designer begrudgingly accepted the project, grumbling along the way.
The study, in particular, was a result of Sui Yang’s obsessive requests and concerns. The designer went to great lengths to find the original blueprints from over a decade ago. The study was nearly identical, right down to the desk purchased from the same model found in the market.
During Xie Min’s stay at Sui Yang’s house, he never mentioned this matter. Sui Yang didn’t know if Xie Min had noticed or if he was silently cursing Sui Yang’s eccentricity in his heart.
Suddenly, Sui Yang wondered if this was also a reason why Xie Min wanted to leave him.
But now the little bunny remained silent.
It slept while wearing the tiny clothes Sui Yang bought for it. Sui Yang turned on the desk lamp, but it didn’t wake up. Sui Yang gently touched the cloth-covered paw of the LEGO bunny with his finger.
The fabric felt soft to the touch, reminiscent of a real bunny if one didn’t discern too closely.
Sui Yang, aware of his own boredom, extended his hand and covered the bunny, gently moving its ears.
The little bunny seemed to react, kicking its hind legs in the air and flipping over, turning its back to Sui Yang.
When customizing the small clothing, Sui Yang forgot to remind the shopkeeper to leave a space for the round LEGO rabbit tail. As a result, the tail lifted the clothes slightly, creating a comical appearance, which made Sui Yang unexpectedly laugh.
He mouthed the words, “Xie Min,” without making any sound, coaxing the little bunny to turn towards him.
The bunny, lost in its dream, started throwing punches and kicks into thin air. Suddenly, it grabbed hold of one of Sui Yang’s fingers and began sleep-talking, “No, I don’t want to get up.”
Just like when he used to struggle to wake up in the mornings for school, pretending not to hear the alarm clock and resorting to coaxing, he buried his head in Sui Yang’s embrace.
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