“Don’t leave me, please.” For the first time, Li Heyuan pleaded with such humility, his eyes filled with fear of abandonment and an unconcealable sense of loneliness.
Li Shu’s heart softened. He sat beside the bed and explained patiently, “I won’t leave, I’m just going to freshen up. Wait for me here, it won’t take long.”
“Don’t…” Li Heyuan grabbed Li Shu’s wrist, not daring to exert too much force yet unwilling to let go. Countless experiences had taught him that once he let go, he would never see Li Shu again.
But he couldn’t go against Li Shu’s wishes, so he just held on stubbornly and refused to release his grip.
Li Shu knew he wasn’t fully sober yet; reasoning with a drunk person was futile. They were immersed in their own world, blocking out anything they didn’t want to accept, only leaving what they desired in their hearts.
Li Shu didn’t bother arguing with a drunkard so he gently ruffled the man’s hair like he used to do and said, “Then let’s go wash up together, okay?”
Li Heyuan indeed needed to wash off the smell of alcohol, or it would linger in the blanket all day and turn unpleasant.
Li Shu stood up, and with his gesture, Li Heyuan also got up from the bed. He didn’t let go of Li Shu’s hand. Li Shu didn’t say anything either and led him towards the bathroom.
He fetched a small stool and placed it by the bathroom door. Li Shu settled Li Heyuan onto it, but with his long arms and legs, Li Heyuan had nowhere comfortable to put them and had to curl up awkwardly. Li Shu grabbed a towel and basin, filled the basin with warm water, and brought it over to Li Heyuan.
While doing these tasks, Li Shu was under Li Heyuan’s supervision. It seemed that Li Heyuan thought that this way Li Shu would not suddenly disappear, and he no longer made a fuss about insisting on staying close to Li Shu.
After wringing out the towel, Li Shu wiped the face of the man who was sitting obediently on the small stool. He seldom did this kind of caretaking, and he wasn’t very proficient at it. Sometimes he pressed too hard, leaving a red mark on Li Heyuan’s face, which must have hurt a little.
The man tilted his head up obediently, letting Li Shu do what he wanted, like a well-behaved child. He didn’t make any noise or a fuss, only watching Li Shu with his deep black eyes.
“Close your eyes.”
Li Shu’s every word and action was reassuring. After cleaning him up, Li Shu quickly washed up, took out a hotel bathrobe and helped Li Heyuan put it on. He changed his own clothes as well.
After confirming that Li Shu wouldn’t leave, Li Heyuan was very obedient and did whatever he was told. After finishing, he even looked at Li Shu with an expectant gaze, as if waiting for praise.
This Li Heyuan was exactly like the boy in his memories. Li Shu remembered that the boy used to come to him to verify every new thing he learned. Back then, Li Heyuan would look at him with the same bright eyes that made it impossible to refuse.
After spending a lot of effort to settle him in bed, Li Shu turned off the main light, leaving only a small bedside lamp on. Then he lay down on the other side.
After all the tossing, Li Shu was already tired. In his half-asleep state, he felt his hand being wrapped by a large hand. He wanted to pull away, but he was too sleepy to open his eyes. He moved a bit and realized that the owner of that hand had no intention of letting go, so he had to let him be.
The breathing next to him gradually calmed down, and the shallow sleep turned into deep sleep. The small lamp on the bedside diligently illuminated this small world. The light was not too bright and not dim, just enough for one to see the things in front of him clearly without disturbing the other party’s sleep.
After a while, the man, who should have been deeply asleep, opened his eyes. His eyes were clear, devoid of the drunkenness from earlier. The man lay quietly, and after a while, he tilted his head and saw the familiar face beside him as he hoped. The warmth in his hand also reminded him that this time, he had really caught the person.
—Caught firmly in the palm of his hand.
This time, no matter what happened, he would never let this person leave again.
Watching Li Shu’s peaceful sleeping face, Li Heyuan felt he couldn’t get enough of looking at him. This person had already been engraved into his bones and imprinted on his heart, a treasure he had lost and regained.
He thought he would never see him again in his lifetime, and didn’t know what had sustained him until today. Heaven didn’t disappoint him and his wait was not in vain.
As if aware of the gaze on his face, Li Shu stirred. Li Heyuan immediately froze, closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. He didn’t meet the awakened Li Shu and instead got a warm body that was half asleep.
As he turned over, Li Shu successfully rolled himself into Li Heyuan’s arms.
With the warm and fragrant beauty in his embrace, Li Heyuan’s breath almost stopped. He held his breath, trying not to reveal any flaws.
After waiting for a while, the room was still quiet. The person in his arms continued to breathe steadily, showing no signs of waking up. It seemed he was just turning over to find a more comfortable sleeping position.
Obviously, the sleeping position that made him feel at ease was in Li Heyuan’s arms.
Once he confirmed the person was still asleep, Li Heyuan relaxed his body, adjusted his position, and pulled the young man closer. In that moment, all the rifts in his heart were smoothed over, and all his unease and fear disappeared.
When he woke up, it was already late morning the next day.
After a busy night, Li Shu opened his eyes and found it was already ten o’clock. The room’s curtains were tightly drawn, keeping out all light. His phone had been set to silent mode, and he found himself alone in bed; Li Heyuan’s whereabouts were unknown.
Li Shu propped himself up and sat up, pulled together his half undone bathrobe, then got out of bed to change clothes.
The moment the curtains were opened, the sunlight rushed in, and couldn’t wait to cover the young man standing by the window, as if a god had descended from heaven.
This was the scene Li Heyuan saw the moment he opened the bathroom door.
The young man stood in front of the window with his back to him, dazzling sunlight pouring down, dreamlike and surreal, as if he could fly away at any moment. Li Heyuan’s heart shook. The person before him didn’t belong in this murky world; he should belong in the untainted realm of the heavens, not dragged into this endless worldliness.
But he wouldn’t let go.
He quickened his pace and walked to Li Shu’s side, just as Li Shu turned around at the sound of footsteps.
When their eyes met, something exploded in his mind. Li Heyuan forgot his purpose, staring blankly at the person before him. This was the person he had longed for day and night, the treasure he had finally found again.
Li Shu didn’t know what Li Heyuan was thinking, but he saw deep emotions in Li Heyuan’s eyes. They were so familiar, ones that had accompanied him for many years. Some things didn’t need verification; the answer was already obvious.
The ringing of the phone interrupted their silent confrontation; it was Li Shu’s phone, he had just turned off silent mode. He let go of the curtain, picked up the phone, and answered the call. It was from Zheng Jiarong, one of his roommates.
Zheng Jiarong didn’t have much to say; he had just returned from traveling abroad and learned that Li Shu was staying at school this vacation. He wanted to invite him out for a meal, along with two other classmates from their class. Before the original owner fell in love with Ruan Muyan, he had good relationships with classmates and had many close friends. After falling in love with Ruan Muyan, he devoted all his heart to Ruan Muyan and ignored his friends for a long time.
Zheng Jiarong also wanted to use this opportunity to mend Li Shu’s relationship with his classmates, and Li Shu naturally did not refuse.
Li Heyuan heard everything and walked up to Li Shu, asking, “Do you need me to apply for leave for you?”
Li Shu put away his phone. “No need, President Li.”
“… ” Li Heyuan wanted him to call him in a less formal way, but now Li Shu was just an ordinary college student. Li Heyuan knew this was his Sir that he had been waiting for, but he didn’t know why Sir had become someone else, nor did he know if his hasty recognition would cause trouble for him.
Such a thing was incredible and touched on the blind spot of science. Li Heyuan didn’t dare to easily expose the truth. If revealing the truth meant Sir would leave again, he would rather keep these words in his heart forever.
Just being able to see Sir again made him very content.
Li Shu was still waiting for Li Heyuan to take the initiative to speak. He was unsure how much Li Heyuan remembered from last night but given Li Heyuan’s personality, he would definitely be suspicious when he found that they were sleeping in the same bed this morning. Li Shu waited and waited, but Li Heyuan never spoke.
It was as if the memories from last night had completely disappeared, including this morning’s segment. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Li Heyuan seemed to have no plans to bring up this topic again, so Li Shu could only put it aside.
The work here had reached its final stages and was busier than before. Li Shu was very capable and the professor completely entrusted him with a certain part, so he continued to be busy after work hours.
Knowing how busy he was, Li Heyuan didn’t disturb him. Li Shu, who was completely absorbed in his work, was unaware of the sensation he had caused outside.
As the president of the He Group, every move Li Heyuan made was under scrutiny. He had never intended to cover up this matter. In addition, he and Li Shu were often seen together, so it was difficult not to attract attention.
The abnormal behavior at the drinking party had pushed this matter to a new peak, and there were even unreliable rumors outside like “President Li drowned his sorrows in alcohol for love.”
Li Heyuan didn’t care about these things, he had never cared about what others said about him, but there were people who cared on his behalf, and Gu Yi was one of them.
Their friendship of so many years had shown him how his friend had come to where he was today. Thinking of the person he had seen that day made him somewhat uneasy: who was that person, and what was the purpose of getting close to Li Heyuan?
No matter how wild his imagination was, he couldn’t believe the most incredible answer. After persuading Li Heyuan for several days, he finally got Li Heyuan to agree to let him meet the person.
The location was set by Gu Yi. As they entered the restaurant, they met another person downstairs. The person was leaning against a black car right in front of them.
“President Li, you brought me to B City and then left me aside. What’s the meaning of this?”
Li Heyuan frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“You were guarding against me not seeing the person, so I took the initiative,” Klaus stood up and walked towards Li Shu. “Sir, Let me introduce myself, I’m Klaus. If you need anything…”
Before he could finish, Li Heyuan interrupted him with a warning tone. “Klaus!”
Klaus stopped talking, but his hand didn’t stop moving. He handed a black business card to Li Shu.
Having waited for a while without seeing anyone following, Gu Yi turned back. “Why haven’t you come up…”
Seeing another person here, he was puzzled. “Huh, Klaus, what are you doing here?”
