At this moment, Zhou Lan thought of Wei Chen.

His past with Wei Chen was like a dream, but he was the only one who was unwilling to wake up from that dream.

They had travelled to many places together, to the snowy mountains, to the grasslands, to the most pristine tropical rainforests…

Those places, far away from the civilised world but full of danger, didn’t make the young people feel afraid, but feel more passionate.

They made love there, as if holding a mysterious ritual.

He thought they would never be separated, that their lives were intertwined, that they together had experienced so many things that others might not experience once in their lives.

Until they shed their wildness, their passion, and their tenderness.

He remembered that day very clearly; he was sitting in his office, still planning their future.

Wei Chen told him he was getting married.

Zhou Lan laughed at that time. He thought Wei Chen’s joke was simply too unsavoury and thought of teaching him a good lesson after work.

Make him cry and beg for mercy.

But everything was real, cruel, blood-red, red like that joyful invitation.

The happy red colour, in his eyes, was overflowing with blood.

Wei Chen was bisexual, he always knew it, but he still confidently gave the initiative in the relationship to the other side.

They broke up seven years ago, and he tortured Wei Chen for seven years, and also tortured himself for seven years.

Even when he first saw Shen Yun, it was because of that peach blossom mole that was the same as Wei Chen’s that he was attracted to him.

But today, he was holding this lifeless person in his arms, feeling distressed, but not because of Wei Chen.

He was no longer the person he was years ago, and he would no longer be so naive as to give everything to someone else to control.

What he wanted would be tied tightly to his side, held tangibly in his hand.

There would no longer be any room for escape, whether it was the person or the body.

He even wondered, what if he had been strong enough back then and said to Wei Chen, don’t go, follow me!

Would Wei Chen have stayed, clinging to him forever?

Did all that generosity and lack of neediness he carried with him because of his confidence also make Wei Chen insecure?

He had never asked this, not having the courage to do so, and seeing no point to do so.

But at that single meeting every year, he could see that Wei Chen was doing well.

He had his own family, had his own children, had long been permeated with tender feelings by life.

And he had also long withdrawn from those years of the earthly things, and only Zhou Lan was left behind.

He couldn’t tell whether it was love, or unwillingness. For so many years, he had been unwilling to let go.

There was no future for a long time, there was just torture, but even if it was just torture, he still wanted to hold it in his hand.

Just like at this moment.

Shen Yun slept heavily in his arms, and he didn’t wake up until noon the next day, when the sun was shining outside.

The cicadas were chirping as if singing a passionate, desperate song of sacrifice for life.

It was annoying and worthy of respect.

The air conditioning in the room was turned up, but he was covered with a thin quilt, so he felt safe.

Zhou Lan was sitting on the edge of the bed reading a financial magazine.

Seeing Shen Yun awake, he put down the magazine and walked over, smiling and rubbing his hair, “You really can sleep.”

Shen Yun remembered his gaffe in front of him yesterday and couldn’t help but blush and bury his head in the pillow to play dead.

Zhou Lan pulled him up in amusement, “Get up and eat.”

Shen Yun lowered his head and smiled. Zhou Lan took him in his arms, biting his ear, and asked, “I’ll help you dress?”

But his hands were not honest, kneading his waist.

Shen Yun bit his lip and pushed him away, putting on the clothes Zhou Lan handed him. The size was just right.

He narrowed his eyes, letting his obscure expression sink into the abyss before it was revealed.

The table was filled with food. Shen Yun looked at Zhou Lan suspiciously. Zhou Lan smiled, “Delivered from a restaurant.”

Shen Yun took a bite; slowly chewing, he asked, “Tomorrow is your birthday?”

Zhou Lan looked at him, “Yes, are you coming?”

Shen Yun didn’t say whether he was coming or not, and said, “I’ll prepare a gift for you first.”

Zhou Lan pursed his lips and smiled, saying, “Eat more, you’ve lost weight, it hurts to hug you.”

Shen Yun’s body temperature seemed to be a little lower than normal, it was comfortable and cool to hold him in his arms.

They didn’t see much of each other this summer, but in all possible conditions, Zhou Lan held him in his arms and didn’t want to let go.

He knew that he was thin not because he ate too little, but because he was sickly.

But Shen Yun never said anything, and Zhou Lan couldn’t see through what was really going on in his mind.

What he could see was only the mask on his face, and the corner of his face that was occasionally revealed under the mask.

Even that corner was often so desperate that he didn’t dare to look at it more.

Shen Yun went to choose a pair of crystal cufflinks and casually put them in his bag.

He thought, let’s go, it’s Zhou Lan’s birthday after all.

While he was seriously considering whether to wear another tie, his mobile phone rang.

It was an unfamiliar number. Shen Yun picked it up and a very nice voice came over.

The voice said bluntly, “Hello, this is Lin Jianyang, is it convenient to meet?”

They made an appointment at Xiao Bo’s bar.

Lin Jianyang smiled slightly when he saw Shen Yun, “Actually, we’ve met.”

Shen Yun nodded; he remembered that the last time he accompanied Zhuang Yan to an event, Lin Jianyang followed Zhou Lan.

Lin Jianyang looked at Shen Yun carefully. The last time they met, he only felt that the other party had a good temperament, but he didn’t have time to take a closer look.

Shen Yun was very pretty, especially his eyes that were beautifully moist and delicate, but not exactly stunning.

Lin Jianyang was a little puzzled at first, until Shen Yun turned his head to light a cigarette, and as soon as Lin Jianyang saw a small peach blossom mole at the corner of the eye, he came to a sudden realisation.

When he first saw that photo, the gentleness emanating from Zhou Lan made his heart tremble slightly, and for the first time he had a sense of crisis.

He had followed Zhou Lan for five years, but he had never seen that gentleness in him.

He had gained fame, fortune and status from Zhou Lan, and the only thing he had not gained was this touch of gentleness.

It wasn’t that there were no regrets. For so many years, his heart had been set on Zhou Lan, but Zhou Lan’s heart hadn’t been on him.

But it was an unbalanced relationship in itself. As long as there was no one else in the other party’s heart, Lin Jianyang could accept such a relationship.

But Shen Yun came out of nowhere.

Fortunately, he was just a substitute, no big deal!

Shen Yun looked at Lin Jianyang’s exquisite face, wary and solemn at first, but slowly showing some understanding.

That wariness dissipated without a trace, but a mocking smile spread out from his eyes.

It was as if it was the tip of a needle, sticking straight into his face, making him feel uneasy inside.

He asked softly, “Do you want to talk about President Zhou’s problem?”

Lin Jianyang’s mood improved at a speed visible to the naked eye. He smiled and said, “To talk about Brother’s problem.”

One called him President Zhou, the other called him Brother, the closeness and distance were immediately made obvious.

Shen Yun nodded. Lin Jianyang said, “I hope you can leave him. If you have any conditions, I will try my best to satisfy you.”

Shen Yun smiled, “I don’t need anything from you, just, why don’t you talk to him?”

Lin Jianyang narrowed his eyes, “Are you refusing?”

Shen Yun looked at him, “Not really, it’s just that some things are not up to me alone.”

He pursed his lips contemplatively; such a relationship was too embarrassing, and everything he said was wrong.

Lin Jianyang nodded, “I know Brother. He won’t let go of a new toy before he gets tired of playing with it. But even if he isn’t tired of playing with it, you can still show your attitude, right?”

Shen Yun smiled indifferently, “What about you?”

Lin Jianyang froze for a moment; his face was a bit embarrassed, he snorted and said, “How am I the same? Brother Zhou and I have been together for five years, and we will keep going in the future.”

Shen Yun looked at him seriously for a few moments; this seemed to be a bit unexpected for him. He stubbed out his cigarette and nodded, “Since you are so sure that you will keep going, why did you come to me?”

His words were somewhat sharp. Lin Jianyang pursed his lips, but Shen Yun continued, “Don’t worry, I’ll try to do my best to stay as far away from him as possible.”

Zhou Lan’s desire to control made it impossible for him to make more promises, so he could only say “try to do my best”.

He had thought that Lin Jianyang was just like him, just a toy that Zhou Lan summoned to warm his bed when he was lonely.

As soon as Lin Jianyang’s last words came out, he felt sick, instinctively disgusted with himself.

He hated everything that destroyed other people’s relationships, had he even gone and done it himself?

Although he wasn’t really sure, and Lin Jianyang’s words might not be very credible, he was still sick and couldn’t stand it.

He closed his eyes and once again experienced Gao Xi’s despair.

If he himself had done those things, what face did he have to avenge Gao Xi?

Lin Jianyang left but Shen Yun didn’t move. He could feel the coldness and despair as his blood slowly drained away.

It wasn’t until Xiao Bo put a cigarette in his mouth that he sighed.

Xiao Bo wore a turtleneck to hide the hickeys on his neck.

Shen Yun stretched out his cold fingertips and rubbed them on the line of hickey marks, “Got a room with someone again last night?”

Xiao Bo smiled, “Yeah, he was good at it.”

Shen Yun lowered his eyes as he said, “I feel tired seeing you like this.”

Xiao Bo said, “I also feel tired seeing you like this. What kind of thing is that Lin Jianyang, daring to come and pretend to be the rightful wife?”

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