The Unwelcome Visit

At night, everyone lay in their own beds.

Until dawn, Lu Xingyan didn’t fall asleep.

He also heard Xu Yi occasionally turning over.

Lu Xingyan held back and didn’t immediately press Xu Yi. After all, he didn’t know what kind of situation Xu Yi was facing.

He could give Xu Yi two days, until the weekend when they could discuss it privately at home.

In the morning, Xu Yi still said nothing, pretending nothing had happened.

He was distracted, as if that phone call had been no big deal.

Lu Xingyan had no choice but to wipe the corner of his mouth with his hand.

Suddenly touched, Xu Yi seemed to snap back to reality and looked at him with reddened eyes.

But there was still lingering fear and grievance in those eyes.

Lu Xingyan felt a pang in his heart. He couldn’t stand seeing Xu Yi like this.

Unable to hold back, Lu Xingyan pressed his lips together and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Xu Yi took a moment to calm down, then shook his head. “Nothing.”

Those past, humiliating memories—Xu Yi didn’t want to tell anyone. Not even Lu Xingyan or Li Yuan.

Seeing Lu Xingyan frown at him, looking as if he wanted to say something but stopped, Xu Yi forced a smile and lied, “I just had a nightmare last night. Don’t overthink it.”

Since Xu Yi had said that, Lu Xingyan didn’t feel it was appropriate to press further.

He changed the subject and took out his phone. “Aren’t we going to your place this weekend? Send me the address.”

Xu Yi almost forgot about that. He paused and said casually, “How about next week? I have something to do this weekend.”

Lu Xingyan didn’t speak, just stared at him. “What is it? Can’t you tell your lover?”

Xu Yi frowned with some impatience. “Are we really that close?”

He was telling the truth. Xu Yi felt he was just atoning for something, and Lu Xingyan himself preferred girlfriends—not a girlfriend with a d*ck.

After saying that, Xu Yi felt it came out a bit harsh, but he saw Lu Xingyan turn away silently, not saying another word.

Fine, that worked as a brush-off.

In the following days, although they still moved together, they stopped talking.

Even Li Yuan could feel the silence in the dorm.

But he couldn’t get anything out of either of them.

Forget it, couples always go through cold wars. It’s not something to tell others. They’ll make up anyway.

By the weekend, Lu Xingyan still wasn’t speaking to Xu Yi. They were clearly in a cold war, but Xu Yi, contrary to his usual habit, didn’t go home on Friday afternoon.

Lu Xingyan almost thought the other was giving him a chance to make up.

But just as he was about to speak, Xu Yi turned and left as if he hadn’t heard.

Forget it.

Early Saturday morning, Xu Yi had just woken up when he saw Lu Xingyan heading out.

Watching his back, Xu Yi had a fleeting urge to ask for help.

But he quickly suppressed it rationally.

Feeling uneasy, Xu Yi returned to the entrance of his neighborhood. A slight movement from the wall made him look over in fright.

It was just a cat.

He was jumpy for nothing.

He wondered if there were any visitors today.

They had already come.

Xu Yi took a deep breath, rubbed his face to relax it so he could look fiercer, then walked toward his building.

At least he hadn’t run into his uncle and his family halfway.

Xu Yi pressed the elevator button, his eyes fixed on the floor numbers.

It stopped at the sixth floor.

Ding. The elevator door opened, and the figures of a family of three gradually came into view.

He walked forward with disgust on his face. “What are you doing here?”

Opposite him stood a sharp-faced middle-aged couple and a round, chubby little boy.

His uncle spoke first, his face full of smiles. “What do you mean? Your father passed away, so of course we have to come and take care of our nephew.”

“I’m already an adult. I don’t need that.” Xu Yi stepped back.

He wanted to hide in the school and not come back, but these people would surely find out and make a scene, eventually causing trouble at school.

If he could handle it at the doorstep, it would be good enough.

When his parents died, his uncle’s family was supposed to take care of him, and the money had already been given to them.

But they took the money and reneged, leaving him to live alone in this house.

Fortunately, his father had set up a card for him years ago with a few hundred thousand yuan, enough for Xu Yi to barely get by.

At the age of eight, Xu Yi would stand on a stool to cook himself barely edible meal after meal.

Later, during his voice change, he learned to fake his voice and became a game companion, earning a decent amount.

He lived at school during the week and ordered takeout on weekends.

In the past two years, when they heard that this house had been designated as part of the school district for a key elementary school, they wanted to take it over.

His aunt folded her arms and snorted sarcastically, deliberately loud. “What an ungrateful brat without parents. Your uncle’s family comes and you won’t even invite us in for tea.”

Xu Yi’s fingers tightened on his bag for a moment. His parents had passed away too early; their memory was too vague. But being talked about like that still hurt.

Xu Yi closed his eyes and let out a cold laugh.

His uncle, as if entitled, pushed his fat son forward. “Just put the house in my name. This…”

His aunt’s eyes gleamed with cunning. “Anyway, your three-bedroom apartment…”

“Yeah, cousin, we’re supposed to help each other,” the chubby boy said, smiling smoothly, as if he had rehearsed the lines.

Xu Yi stared at these so-called only relatives of his, feeling like he couldn’t shake off this nightmare.

No matter how he refused, they would slowly track him down at school.

“What a big story,” a familiar voice rang out from behind him. “I’ve recorded the whole thing.”

“If I send this to the schools in this district, I doubt any of them would dare to accept your family.”

Xu Yi instinctively turned around and saw Lu Xingyan walk out from the corner, holding up his phone.

He didn’t know when Lu Xingyan had arrived.

Hearing this, his uncle lunged forward with a fierce expression, trying to grab the phone. Although Lu Xingyan probably wouldn’t lose in a physical fight, these people fought dirty—scratching and pulling hair.

Xu Yi suddenly thought of something and shouted, “He’s a famous influencer. If you don’t want to be doxxed, get lost.”

Upon hearing ‘influencer’, his aunt’s eyes lit up. She tugged at her husband’s sleeve and looked at the obviously extraordinary young man with some anticipation. “Hey, are you Xiao Yi’s classmate? Could you take our kid and make him an influencer too?”

There were many cute little influencers online who posted funny daily videos. If a big influencer would mentor him…

Their son was so cute. If he got famous, why bother with school?

Lu Xingyan had probably never seen such shameless people. He gave a perfunctory smile. “Yeah, this kid has potential. Why don’t you leave me your contact info? I guarantee he’ll get famous.”

His aunt immediately scribbled down her phone number and WeChat ID, handed it to Lu Xingyan, then winked at Xu Yi. “Make sure to contact us. We’ll come visit you again.”

That was a threat: Xu Yi had better get her son famous.

And just like that, the family bustled away.

Xu Yi listened to the sound of the elevator leaving, then slid down weakly against his door.

This wasn’t a long-term solution.

“You followed me?” Xu Yi guessed without much thought.

Otherwise, how could Lu Xingyan have found this place?

“I was afraid you’d get into trouble. I felt something was off,” Lu Xingyan admitted openly. “Do you need me to deal with them?”

Xu Yi lifted his eyelids wearily. “Can’t be done. They’re harder to shake off than a plaster.”

“Now you see. My life is a mess.”

“If you want to leave early, then don’t get mixed up with this trash.”

Xu Yi was somewhat self-destructive. Anyway, it was always the same ending—once that family found him, it was endless pain.

Lu Xingyan walked up to Xu Yi.

Because Xu Yi was sitting on the floor with his back against the door, he had to look up to see Lu Xingyan.

The sunlight from the window behind Lu Xingyan was dazzling, making his face hard to see.

Lu Xingyan reached out a hand and pulled him up. Only then did Xu Yi see Lu Xingyan’s expression—not as relaxed as before.

It was terrifyingly fierce.

Xu Yi had nowhere to retreat. Behind him was the door, and an arm was blocking his side.

He had no choice but to focus on Lu Xingyan, unable to escape.

The other lowered his head slightly, almost enveloping him in his embrace.

Then he spoke in a low voice.

“Open the door.”

“Let me in. We need to have a proper talk.”