When Li Yu'an woke up, he still felt some pain in the back of his head. There was a faint aroma of food floating in the air, which he had never smelled before when he woke up.

"..."

Li Yu'an raised his eyelids and looked around in confusion.

After confirming his surroundings, the memories hidden in his mind gradually came back to him -

too many things happened after work last night. Maybe it was because his heart was too agitated and caused him mental fatigue, or maybe he caught a cold when he ran out of the hospital without caring about anything.

Under the double pressure of body and mind, he caught a fever unexpectedly.

Li Yu'an thought of Yan Cen, and what he had said to him before he fell into a coma -

"Go to sleep, I'll stay with you tonight and I won't go anywhere."

Just a few words shattered all of Li Yu'an's stubbornness and defense.

Li Yu'an suppressed the dizziness that had not completely dissipated, got off the bed in a hurry, and opened the door to confirm something.

Bang.

The sound of the door opening was a bit out of control.

The smell of food in the living room was even stronger than in the room. Li Yu'an was standing at the door of the room. From his perspective, he could just see the busy figures in the kitchen to the side.

Hearing the movement, Yan Cen turned around. Although he was nearly 1.9 meters tall, he was wearing a navy blue apron that didn't fit him well.

Without the elite look at work, he had a homely look.

Their eyes met.

Yan Cen spoke first, "Awake?"

Li Yu'an didn't expect to see Yan Cen after waking up. He couldn't react for a while and could only stare at him, "...Yeah."

Yan Cen quickly washed and dried his hands, followed Li Yu'an's gaze and walked closer, "Are you feeling better? When I tested you again at six in the morning, your fever had subsided."

As he said that, he reached out and touched Li Yu'an's forehead.

Li Yu'an's breathing tightened due to this unexpected action, and his eyes shook slightly.

Yan Cen didn't make too many intimate gestures, "Fortunately, you should not have a fever anymore. Take some medicine after the meal later. You won't feel uncomfortable now, right?"

"Yeah."

Li Yu'an nodded slightly, but his heart was full of doubts.

Was he too feverish and slept too deeply last night? Why didn't he wake up once in the middle of the night? Since Yan Cen didn't leave, where did he sleep last night? Could it be...

Li Yu'an was still thinking about it, when he heard Yan Cen suddenly let out a dissatisfied and worried voice.

"Yu'an."

"Huh?"

"It's winter, and you just ran out barefoot after your fever subsided?"

Yan Cen walked towards the shoe cabinet with ease, took out a pair of cotton slippers, walked over, bent down and handed them to his feet, "Hurry up, put them on."

"..."

Li Yu'an looked at Yan Cen who suddenly bent down for him, and his breathing tightened again.

He quickly stepped into his slippers and took a half step back, "Well, I, I'll go wash up first."

Yan Cen did not stop him, but gently reminded him, "Don't rush to take a shower when the fever has just subsided. If you feel sticky and uncomfortable, wipe it with a hot towel first, and then take a shower later when your body temperature stabilizes."

"There's soup in the pot, I'll wait for you to come out and eat together?" Yan Cen took another half step closer, "Okay?"

"..."

What's good or bad?

If you are willing to stay here, of course it's fine.

Li Yu'an silently tried to keep him in his heart, but he didn't dare to show it too clearly on his face, "Yeah."

As he said that, he retreated back to the room and quickly closed the door with a click, for fear that his restrained emotions would be exposed if he stayed for another second.

...

Ten minutes later, Li Yu'an came out of the room after simply tidying up. Three dishes and a soup were already placed on the not-so-big dining table, and the aroma filled the air.

Yan Cen was serving the soup, "Come over quickly, you didn't eat anything last night, you must be hungry, right?"

Li Yuan came closer and said something that had been brewing for almost ten minutes, "Yan Cen, thank you for taking care of me last night. In the past, I could just boil it down a little bit and the fever would go away."

"Who told you that boiling it down will be fine if you have a fever?"

Yan Cen frowned slightly, thought about it but couldn't bear to blame him, "Try the chicken soup I made, you just needed some replenishment to get rid of the fever, I skimmed off all the fat on the soup and didn't add salt on purpose."

Li Yuan sat down at his eye signal and took the chicken soup, "Thank you."

Yan Cen heard Li Yuan'an's polite thanks, and a hint of helplessness flashed across his eyes.

After what happened yesterday, I'm afraid the other party's heart wall is even higher.

Yan Cen didn't think of forcing his way in, he just said, "By the way, I asked someone to go to the hospital to inquire——" "

Mr. Pei has been rescued for the time being, but he is still in a coma. The worst result has not happened. Don't blame yourself too much for this matter."

Li Yu'an's heartstrings relaxed slightly, and he couldn't help but drink two mouthfuls of chicken soup.

The fresh and not greasy taste accompanied by warmth penetrated into his stomach, completely washing away the fatigue.

Li Yu'an liked this taste very much, and scooped the soup spoon and drank two more mouthfuls.

Yan Cen paid attention to his every move and said with a smile, "Mr. Li, how does it taste?"

"It smells good." Li Yu'an was just making small talk, "I don't have these dishes in my refrigerator, do I?"

Yan Cen asked back, "If you don't have them, I can't place an order to buy them?"

Li Yu'an knew that his question was a little silly, and the redness on his earlobes became more obvious, "Oh."

A glimmer flashed in Yan Cen's eyes, and he deliberately brought up the past, "Last night I was afraid that you would have a serious fever and no one would take care of you, so I took the initiative to keep you, did you mind?"

"..."

Li Yu'an bit the spoon lightly and said nothing.

Yan Cen took off his glasses and sighed seldom, "Do you know that when it was the worst, you had a fever of thirty-nine, and I didn't dare to close my eyes all night. I just sat by your bed and watched over you." He

was clearly stating the facts, but there was a hint of doting in his eyes.

"..."

Li Yu'an's eyes flickered and fell on him, "Didn't you rest?"

Yan Cen rubbed his sore eyes, letting his fatigue show, "I can't lie down on your bed to rest without your consent, so I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes."

Besides, all the food on the table was made by Yan Cen. When the other party said "stay for company", he made everything a reality.

Li Yu'an couldn't escape the emotion in his heart.

He scooped up the almost empty chicken soup in the bowl, and muttered vaguely, "I'm not that particular..."

If you want, you can also go to bed to rest.

Yan Cen really couldn't hear clearly this time, "What?"

Li Yu'an didn't dare to say what was in his heart, and changed his words in a muffled voice, "I want another bowl of chicken soup."

Yan Cen put his glasses back on, but he couldn't hide the smile under the glasses, "Okay."

...

Both of them spent last night on an empty stomach, so they were not polite when it came to "eating" this time.

Seeing that the food on the table was almost finished, Yan Cen gently probed, "Yu'an, what are your plans next?"

Li Yu'an understood Yan Cen's hidden meaning, "I have already expressed what I should say and do in the hospital corridor yesterday."

The word "family" is very beautiful, but they have brought Li Yu'an only endless harm.

"In fact, I have thought about it a long time ago, and I have thought it very clearly-"

"If it weren't for Pei Yi, Sister Yang and the others, if it weren't for YWY Studio, I would have been devastated by this life turmoil, but now it's different." Although

Li Yu'an changed his major halfway through, and his game career after graduation was not smooth, he was still lucky to meet friends who were willing to encourage him, help him, and trust him.

"I really love this game business, and I want to work hard in YWY Studio."

The long-prepared "End of Fog" will be officially launched after New Year's Day, which is what he values ​​most at the moment.

For Li Yu'an, Anyang and the Pei family are all strangers from now on. If you can avoid contact, don't contact them, and if you can avoid mentioning them, try not to mention them.

Yan Cen heard his thoughts and nodded in approval, "Okay."

Some knots need to be solved by Li Yu'an himself; some heartaches also need to be overcome by Li Yu'an himself.

Li Yu'an put down his bowl and chopsticks and hesitated for a few seconds, "Yan Cen, don't you want to ask about the competition that year?"

Last night, he was in the corridor of the hospital and couldn't help but bring up the old things.

Yan Cen looked directly into Li Yu'an's eyes and answered softly, "Yes, I am a little curious, but I don't want you to force it."

He wanted to avoid anything that might make Li Yu'an "sad".

"When I signed up for the competition, the Li family hadn't suffered such a big change. I am a very competitive person and I also wanted to make my academic performance better, so I signed up."

Li Yu'an deliberately blurred the key point and didn't mention the feeling of "secret love" at all.

"Later, something happened at home, and we needed money in all aspects. Then my mother... Anyang said that someone wanted to buy my account and trading plan."

"At that time, I always thought I was great, but in fact, I was a blank slate after leaving school. My connections and money could hardly help me in any substantial way."

"To be honest, this competition account and plan are the only things I can show off."

Yan Cen frowned slightly, "So you sold it?"

Li Yu'an took a sip of warm water and did not mention his entanglement and reluctance at that time. "Well, too many things happened at home, and I really didn't have the energy to manage the competition, so I agreed to let Anyang act as a middleman to resell it."

"Later, I found out that the person who bought the account was Pei Huan."

Originally, Li Yu'an had kept this matter to himself.

After all, both parties in any transaction should abide by the moral bottom line and keep the truth of "replacing the award" to themselves.

"It's been so long, and it's actually meaningless to bring it up again, but I really couldn't help it yesterday. Maybe I'm a very bad person in my bones..."

Li Yu'an paused for two seconds and analyzed himself, "I can't stand Pei Huan living too well, I can't stand all the elders defending him, and I can't stand him pretending to be innocent even though he took everything!"

Li Yu'an took a deep breath and didn't dare to look into Yan Cen's eyes, "To put it bluntly, I'm jealous of him."

These four simple words seemed to cover the mental journey along the way.

Yan Cen did not answer, his eyes under the lens stared at the person in front of him without blinking.

"..."

Li Yuan felt this gaze, but did not dare to look back.

During this time, Yan Cen treated him too well in the name of "friend". Any suppressed emotions would grow wantonly under such tolerance and then become more and more unreasonable.

Li Yuan still remembered Yan Cen's family background, and An Yang's words "unworthy". He also understood that he must rely on his career as his only support now. He did not want to leave himself with any unrealistic hopes.

Therefore, he deliberately showed his worst side to Yan Cen.

If the other party cannot accept it, it is better to take the opportunity to break off this "friend" relationship as soon as possible.

Time was stretched very long and passed very slowly.

Yan Cen's silence made Li Yu'an mistakenly think that he had "confirmed" his answer, and the abyss of "disappointment" expanded rapidly, "Well, we're done, I'll clean up the dishes first."

Li Yu'an's heart, which had just opened a little, closed again, wanting to escape from Yan Cen as before.

Just as he stood up,

Yan Cen, who was diagonally opposite him, suddenly grabbed his wrist, "Yu'an."

Li Yu'an's hand trembled, and the spoon fell back into the bowl.

Yan Cen raised his eyes and stared at him, and thousands of words became the most powerful recognition, "Listen, no one can replace you, so don't be jealous of anyone. From now on, be yourself and do what you really want to do."

There was no disgust and alienation as imagined. Yan Cen told him with the same gentleness as always that

Li Yu'an was Li Yu'an, and there was no need to compare him with others. Any negative emotions should not prevent him from becoming a better person.

"..."

Li Yu'an's eyes instantly warmed up, and he quickly lowered his head to pretend to be busy.

Yan Cen saw through his emotions, but was very tactful and kept his dignity, accompanying him to clean up.

The table was quickly cleared.

Li Yu'an thought of Yan Cen who hadn't slept all night, "Yan Cen, why don't you go back and rest early? I'm fine now, you can clean up here by yourself."

"Okay."

Yan Cen wanted to find an excuse to continue staying at Li Yu'an's house, but he knew that Li Yu'an needed time to "sort himself out", "But before I leave, there's one more thing to do."

Li Yu'an was stunned, "What?"

Yan Cen walked to the kitchen, made a cup of cold medicine from the medicine box, and returned to hand it to Li Yu'an, "Just in case, drink it."

"..."

Li Yu'an stared at the medicine in front of him, rarely revealing a little reluctance, "It's a little hot, I, I'll drink it later, you go first."

Yan Cen saw through it, "Don't want to drink it? Or did you secretly pour it out after I left?"

Li Yu'an whispered, "...No, it's too hot."

"I deliberately boiled warm water, it can't be hot." Yan Cen raised his eyebrows slightly, like coaxing a child, "Come on, I'll give you candy after you finish drinking it."

Li Yu'an felt hot under Yan Cen's gaze, and he didn't want to act too childish, so he suppressed his nausea about the medicine and gulped down two-thirds of it.

"Almost, almost done."

Seeing his bitter face, Yan Cen didn't force him to finish it all, but walked to the door and took out another candy like magic.

"Here."

Li Yu'an's bitter expression eased a little, and he took it with a false heart, "I'm not a child anymore."

Yan Cen reminded him again, "Eat it, don't hold it, there will be more in the future."

"..."

In the future?

Will there really be more?

Li Yu'an thought silently, and a hint of sweetness gathered in his heart.

When Yan Cen left the house, he still held the candy in his hand and was reluctant to eat it.

…

Although Master Pei’s unexpected incident came unexpectedly, Li Yu’an, who had adjusted his mentality, was not greatly affected. Just as he thought—

he had already abandoned the so-called “family”, and now only had his career firmly in his hands.

The studio’s “The End of the Fog” has reached the final sprint stage. As the main operator, Li Yu’an simply threw himself into the project all day.

——Zizi.

WeChat vibrated.

Li Yu’an, who was still checking the publicity and delivery plan, was distracted and opened the WeChat message a little late. It was a blessing message sent by a certain platform—

“Dear VIP user Mr. Li, I wish you a happy New Year’s Day in advance.”

“…”

New Year’s Day?

Li Yu’an suddenly reacted and hurriedly looked at the time displayed on the computer.

Eleven fifty-three, seven minutes from now it will be the new year.

It's already this time? I almost forgot about the important matter.

Li Yu'an rubbed his swollen temples and quickly stopped the unfinished review work at hand.

He picked up his mobile phone and subconsciously looked for the WeChat nickname in the pinned list.

YC.

Li Yu'an clicked on the little orange cat avatar that had not changed for several years as usual, and the message that came into view was still a year ago.

- Happy New Year.

This was the blessing he sent to Yan Cen every New Year's Day in the past, but it had always fallen into the sea and there was no news.

Li Yu'an stared at the New Year's greetings for four consecutive years, and sighed belatedly, "How could I forget, it's not this number anymore."

He clicked on the WeChat number of Yan Cen, who he had communicated with recently, and the chat record between the two stopped yesterday.

Yan Cen flew temporarily to the GM headquarters overseas a week ago. It is said that he had important matters to deal with and it is estimated that he will not be back for a while.

Li Yu'an's fingertips lingered on the mobile phone keyboard. He typed and deleted, deleted and typed again. In the end, there were only four simple and clear words.

- Happy New Year.

Although there is a time difference between the two, Li Yu'an still wants to send blessings to each other at midnight in China.

The time jumped from fifty-five to fifty-six.

Li Yu'an looked at the New Year's greetings that were prepared at the right time, feeling a little nervous and expectant -

maybe the new year is a new beginning, and this time he can get the blessing response he has always wanted.

The moment the thought came up, the WeChat incoming call communication suddenly popped up. It was a call from Yan Cen.

"..."

Li Yu'an was stunned for two seconds in disbelief, and then he hurriedly answered the phone, "Hello?"

Yan Cen's voice came, "What do you want to send me?"

Li Yu'an hadn't beaten the bend yet, "Hmm?"

Yan Cen rarely spoke frankly, "I see that you always show 'the other party is typing', but you haven't sent any messages."

Li Yu'an didn't expect that his hesitation in typing was actually seen by the other party, and his cheeks became hot, "Just, just thinking that it should be New Year's Day abroad, I want to send you a happy new year."

"That's it?"

"Yeah."

Yan Cen paused for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, and suddenly spoke, "Yu'an, are you still busy?"

Li Yu'an looked at the plan on the computer that had not been reviewed yet, "It's New Year's Day holiday, not busy."

Yan Cen's request came from the other end of the phone, "Then let's meet? I've been thinking about it seriously for several days, and I have something to say to you."

Li Yu'an was surprised, "Meet, meet?"

Yan Cen thought for a while, "It's cold downstairs, you go to the window, there are still three minutes, hurry up."

"..."

Li Yu'an's thoughts solidified with this sentence, and his body's instinctive reaction was faster than anything else.

When he reacted again, he had already stood by the window sill and opened the window.

The biting cold wind blew in, but Li Yuans didn't feel cold at all. Instead, her whole heart was boiling and hot because of the figure downstairs.

From a height of ten meters, Li Yu'an saw Yan Cen downstairs.

This person who should have been abroad suddenly appeared downstairs of his house.

Li Yu'an's heart was beating violently, and a thought that he usually didn't dare to think about came to his mind. Before he could sort out his thoughts, Yan Cen's voice came from the other end of the phone -

"I originally planned to go upstairs to find you, but I was afraid that you would feel uncomfortable and want to avoid me, so I just stood here and said it in this way."

Li Yu'an stared at the figure downstairs, and was so nervous that he almost lost his voice, "What did you say?"

"Do you know? In recent years, every household abroad has been preparing to welcome New Year's Day. In the past, I have always been indifferent to these festivals, but this year is different."

"Because I always wonder, how will you spend it?"

"I thought about it so many times that I couldn't help but buy a plane ticket back home."

"..."

Li Yu'an felt his hands trembling, not because of fear, but because of the excitement and nervousness that could not be suppressed.

Even at this time, he still did not dare to think deeply about the meaning of Yan Cen's words.

"I used to think that my personality would never allow me to do impulsive things or say reckless words."

"The second before I saw you today, I was still hesitant and wanted to take it slow, but facts have proved that I can't seem to do it-"

The moment the voice fell, cheers came from all around the community.

Blurry, enthusiastic, and finally summarized into the words Yan Cen said on the phone, "Happy New Year, Li Yu'an."

"..."

Li Yu'an's eyes suddenly became wet uncontrollably. Although they were three stories apart, he felt that he could see the look in Yan Cen's eyes hidden behind the lens.

Like the sea under the moonlight, quiet and gentle.

Li Yu'an stared at the figure blurred by the mist, and suddenly many scenes of the past years flashed through his mind -

from the first time he saw Yan Cen on the award podium, to the countless times they passed by each other in the academy.

From the confused car crash and rear-end collision, to the unexpected reunion, and everything he experienced after the reunion.

His unspeakable feelings suddenly jumped from the first year to the sixth year.

His silent love appeared in the other party's mouth in the most unexpected way.

"Happy New Year, Li Yu'an."

Li Yu'an heard it clearly, and there was another sentence following his name -

"I like you."