There was a reason for it.

Lu Zhiyan deliberately slowed his pace and walked to Song Zicheng. He slowly squatted down and looked at Song Zicheng, who was curled up in a ball with his head against the door as if he had fallen asleep.

He looked down at Song Zicheng's long, thick eyelashes, reached out and gently patted his shoulder. Song Zicheng was a light sleeper, and he woke up after just one pat.

"Why are you sleeping here on such a cold day?" Lu Zhiyan asked.

Upon hearing the voice and seeing the person in front of him, Song Zicheng immediately stood up. However, he had been sitting for too long, and his legs were sore and numb. He had no strength at all, and he was unsteady on his feet. He almost fell, but fortunately, Lu Zhiyan was quick-witted and grabbed him.

Song Zicheng was startled and immediately said, "I didn't see the message you sent me a couple of days ago. It wasn't that I didn't reply on purpose. I had a fever and didn't remember to check my phone. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."

Song Zicheng spoke slowly and deliberately, his hands hanging in front of him, his fingers tightly clasped together. His voice was urgent and a little hoarse, and his head was lowered, making him look listless.

As soon as he finished speaking, he stood there, looking at Lu Zhiyan with a pitiful expression. When Lu Zhiyan heard what he said, he remembered the message he had sent a couple of days ago.

He cleared his throat, glanced at Song Zicheng, and said as he opened the door, "It's nothing, there's a reason for it, just remember it later."

Upon hearing Lu Zhiyan's words, Song Zicheng, who had been tense and stiff all over, immediately relaxed his furrowed brows and gradually eased up. Standing outside the door, he looked at Lu Zhiyan's back and softly said, "Okay."

Lu Zhiyan poured two cups of hot water from the kitchen. When he came out, he saw Song Zicheng still standing blankly outside the door, his face pale and lifeless. The wind blew, and his hair was a little messy, with a few strands sticking tightly to his face, giving him a rather strange look.

"Come in! What are you standing there for? The cold wind is blowing straight into the room."

Song Zicheng cupped the steaming water in his hands, blew on it, took a sip, and immediately felt his blood warm up again.

"Have you eaten yet?" Lu Zhiyan asked.

Song Zicheng shook his head: "Should we cook now?"

"No need, I just asked someone to buy two bowls of wontons and send them over. They'll be here soon."

Actually, Lu Zhiyan had eaten dinner when he had his social engagement that night, so he wasn't hungry. When he entered the house, he glanced at the surveillance footage on his phone and saw that Song Zicheng had been waiting at the door for two hours.

"Why didn't you text me when you came?" Lu Zhiyan asked, taking a sip of wonton soup.

Song Zicheng put down the bowl, his hands pressed tightly against the sides: "I was in too much of a hurry, I didn't remember."

After finishing a bowl of steaming hot wontons, the chill on his body was gone. Perhaps because the underfloor heating was on too much, Song Zicheng's face gradually turned red.

Lu Zhiyan leaned back, his eyes narrowing unconsciously as he looked at Song Zicheng, his face showing disbelief. He knew that Song Zicheng couldn't possibly have forgotten; he simply didn't want to or dared not send it to him.

Lu Zhiyan clicked his tongue softly, silently wondering to himself, "Am I really that scary? I don't even dare to send a message?"

Song Zicheng finished eating and left without lingering, still wearing his coat.

Did I let you leave?

As soon as Lu Zhiyan spoke, Song Zicheng's back stiffened. He slowly turned around, lowered his head, and said weakly, "Can we postpone today? I'm still sick."

Lu Zhiyan was taken aback by these words, and his face darkened again. He looked at Song Zicheng and said coldly, "What if I insist on doing it?"

The living room was silent, the ticking of the clock even more pronounced. Song Zicheng, who had been looking down, lowered his head even further and remained silent.

That's pointless. You got scared so easily?

Lu Zhiyan stopped teasing him, opened her phone and sent a message: "I'll have Uncle Liu take you home."

"No need, I can go back by myself."

Lu Zhiyan ignored him until Song Zicheng spoke up as he was leaving: "Remember this, I will collect the debts from these two days. Your illness is not just your problem. If you get sick again, I won't let you off so easily."

Song Zicheng responded in a low voice, but rolled his eyes as he turned to leave, muttering, "Who can control whether they get sick or not? I think you're out of your mind."

Before leaving, he casually threw the trash down. The snow was falling heavily, and in no time, the whole ground was covered in white. As soon as Old Liu saw him come down, he immediately got out of the car, opened his umbrella, and walked over.

Song Zicheng was somewhat surprised. He had never seen the fifty- or sixty-year-old Liu in front of him before, but Liu recognized him.

"Thank you, Uncle Liu," Song Zicheng said, holding up his umbrella.

Old Liu smiled at him, his face full of kindness: "You're really good-looking, no wonder Xiao Lu likes you."

"What?" Song Zicheng didn't hear what he said.

"It's nothing, get in the car quickly."

"Thank you, Uncle Liu. It's so cold, and you still went to the trouble of driving me back. Please be careful on your way home," Song Zicheng said to Uncle Liu before getting out of the car.

Old Liu watched the figure gradually disappear into the corridor and nodded as if satisfied: "He's a kind child."

"Uncle Liu, now you see, don't come after me with questions anymore," Lu Zhiyan said while leaning back on the sofa and making a phone call.

On the day Song Zicheng didn't reply to his message, Lu Zhiyan was sulking alone in his office when Uncle Liu came to bring him lunch and immediately noticed that Lu Zhiyan was in a bad mood.

"What's wrong? Why are you so angry?"

"nothing".

"Don't try to fool me. I've never seen you this angry in all these years. Is it that brat Lu Zhize?"

"no".

"Are you in a relationship? Did your partner upset you? What does the young man look like? Let Uncle Liu take a look."

Lu Zhiyan, who was still angry, was amused by Lao Liu's series of incomprehensible words. He said patiently and speechlessly, "No, Uncle Liu, I'm not in a relationship, I'm not dating anyone."

Old Liu seemed to believe him without a doubt. He nodded and didn't say anything more, but after he left, he would occasionally send messages to Lu Zhiyan on his phone.

"If you're dating, you should tell Uncle Liu, and he'll give you his opinion."

"You're not getting any younger. Let's not even talk about marriage yet, you should still date."

"What does that young man look like?"

Lu Zhiyan has always regarded Lao Liu, who is not her biological father but is more like a father to her, as the closest person to her besides her mother.

As this man grew older, he liked to urge Lu Zhiyan about important matters in life. To stop him from nagging every day, Lu Zhiyan asked Old Liu to take Song Zicheng home tonight.

When Song Zicheng got home and sat on the sofa, he still couldn't understand why Lu Zhiyan had let it go so easily. The same journey, but the feelings on the way there and the way back were completely different. He was worried all the way there, but he felt relaxed on the way back.

Song Zicheng didn't have the time or energy, nor did he want to think about it anymore. It was just a transaction. Lu Zhiyan didn't hold it against him, which saved Song Zicheng the trouble of figuring out a solution. He had no intention of trying to figure out someone who was completely unrelated to him, especially someone he disliked.

Song Zicheng shook his head, walked to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and heated up the dinner that Jiang Yuebai had cooked.

Song Zicheng has always regarded Jiang Yuebai, whom he has known for more than ten years, as a younger sister and a family member. He is grateful that Jiang Yuebai stayed by his side during his lowest point.

But ever since he discovered that Jiang Yuebai's feelings for him were unusual, Song Zicheng was filled with worry and helplessness. He didn't want to deceive her, but he had to harden his heart and sever Jiang Yuebai's feelings for him.

So he came out.

He still clearly remembers that after he finished speaking, he didn't dare to look at Jiang Yuebai's reaction. He felt helpless, and although he couldn't bear it, there was nothing he could do. He felt that he didn't deserve Jiang Yuebai's kindness to him.

He thought the two of them would gradually become strangers, but Jiang Yuebai actually enrolled in the same university as him. Although they were in different majors, they were still in the same school.

Song Zicheng couldn't describe the help Jiang Yuebai had given him. Sometimes, when he was sleepless in the middle of the night, he would blame himself for liking men. But even if he liked women, Jiang Yuebai deserved better.

Since Song Zicheng recovered from his illness that day, his business with Lu Zhiyan has been going very smoothly, and he spends most of his time cooking.

Lunch, dinner, and occasionally a late-night snack.

Song Zicheng had always felt that his cooking skills were average, and he only knew how to cook some home-style dishes. But Lu Zhiyan seemed to have a problem with his taste buds, and he wanted to eat Song Zicheng's cooking almost every day.

Gradually, the once quiet and deserted apartment became more lively, and the once empty refrigerator was now crammed full.

Aside from not being used to being in bed with Lu Zhiyan, Song Zicheng handled everything else in an orderly manner, trying his best not to let Lu Zhiyan find any fault with him.

Song Zicheng had thought it through clearly. Since it was a transaction, everyone was getting what they needed. He desperately needed Lu Zhiyan's help to treat his younger brother's illness. Even if he had a lot of dissatisfaction and resentment in his heart, it was nothing compared to his brother.

Over the past three years, he has experienced so many things, big and small. At the beginning, fear, pain, and sadness accompanied him. But after the passage of time, his temperament has been tempered and he has become much more peaceful.

When Lu Zhiyan asked him to do something, he would never say a word. Except in bed, even if he was being roughed up, he would rather bite his lip until it bled than make a sound.

“Baby, don’t hold back, let me hear you moan,” Lu Zhiyan said in a seductive voice as she lay behind Song Zicheng.

Song Zicheng buried his head in the pillow, keeping his mouth tightly shut and not uttering a sound.

"I said, I asked you to speak up, but you can't hear me, can you?" Lu Zhiyan's voice changed, filled with danger, and the deep tone made people shudder and break out in a cold sweat.

There was still no sound.

Lu Zhiyan's face fell instantly, his back teeth clenched tightly. His dangerous yet alluring eyes narrowed slightly as he stared nakedly at Song Zicheng's smooth back. Suddenly, he thrust his hips forward, stimulating Song Zicheng to the point of speechlessness, letting out a sweet groan.

Upon hearing this voice, Lu Zhiyan's lips curled up slightly. He reached down and slowly touched Song Zicheng's spine, then bit Song Zicheng's earlobe, grinding it gently with his teeth, mumbling, "So beautiful."

Before Song Zicheng could even speak, everything before his eyes quickly became blurry, and even his hearing seemed to disappear. He could only hear his own voice intermittently. He was extremely ashamed, but he couldn't control himself.

Gradually, he lost consciousness.