Chapter 76: Little Star, Don't Be Afraid

At first, Bo Yu didn’t lock up Shen Jixing.

But Shen Jixing was too clever.

Time after time, he found ways to escape from that underground cage, mangling himself, covered in wounds and bruises. In the end, Bo Yu personally locked him in the pitch-black dungeon. “Reflect on yourself. Do you even realize the sheer madness of your actions?”

In the lightless depths of night, Shen Jixing lifted his damp, glassy eyes to him. “Madness?”

Bo Yu was an extremist—he couldn’t tolerate anyone touching what belonged to him. If he deemed something tainted, he would never approach it again.

Shen Jixing knew Bo Yu liked him, and the knowledge nearly drove him mad with anger.

“Sir.” Shen Jixing raised his cool, pale face, letting the heavy chains press upon him. The curve of his beautiful lips was breathtaking. “Madness? I thought it was exhilarating.”

“…”

Click.

The heavy shackles snapped shut.

Shen Jixing watched as the door slowly closed, the last sliver of light vanishing from the world. He slid down to the corner, wrapping his arms around himself.

He wasn’t as strong as he’d imagined.

In that moment, it was as if an aged, gentle hand stroked his head.

“Little Star, don’t be afraid.”

Leaning against the icy wall, he found it almost funny—if that old man in heaven knew how badly he was doing, would he be so anxious he'd spin in circles up there?

Until one night, a torrential rainstorm poured down, flooding the entire basement.

Bo Yu did not become the soft-hearted savior from the stories.

He forgot about Shen Jixing’s existence.

When Mu Si arrived, braving the downpour, he saw the basement door burst open—

On a night when no one came to his rescue, Shen Jixing could only save himself.

He twisted his wrists, breaking free, and escaped the suffocating tide.

Mu Si thought that perhaps now he understood why Shen Jixing had chosen to break up. It wasn’t because he’d learned to behave.

It was simply that, when drowning in the mire, he was not someone who could call for help.

Don’t trouble anyone, Shen Jixing thought.

Mu Si lowered his eyes, averting his gaze, but then Bo Yu’s cold voice rang out: “Free? As long as I’m alive, he’ll never be free.”

Bo Yu never looked back as he left the basement.

His stubbornness and resentment had already made it impossible for him to turn around.

Mu Si watched his retreating figure, so angry his teeth ached. “You really are… asking for it…”

Mu Si left the basement, boots brushing over the fresh green grass.

He thought he’d only muttered a curse under his breath.

“Damn.”

…

Rain drizzled through the deep night.

After the height of summer came the endless rainy season. Zhou Yili dried his hair as he emerged, leaning against the headboard, lost in thought.

The voice that had echoed in the bathroom now replayed in his mind.

“Because I want to pursue you, I don’t want you to be angry.”

“I want to pursue you.”

“Pursue you.”

“You.”

“Shit.” Zhou Yili snapped back to himself, shattering the surround-sound echo in his mind. “What does he mean? Could it be he likes me?”

Shen Jixing actually wanted to pursue him.

Zhou Yili pressed his tongue against his small canine tooth, then bit down on himself.

“Ouch…”

It hurt. It was real.

He tossed the towel aside, his black-blue hair a messy tangle, and lay quietly in bed, clutching the edge of the blanket as he drifted off to sleep.

Three seconds later, he sat bolt upright.

“He really likes me???”

Or maybe Shen Jixing just found him amusing and wanted to play with him again.

But Zhou Yili was no longer the same person as before. Eight years had passed, and he had changed entirely.

Especially his heart.

He’d spent eight years gutting fish at the supermarket, his heart colder than a pudding in winter.

“You think you can catch me?”

A smirk played at Zhou Yili’s lips as he grabbed the little crown and placed it on his head. “Dream on—”

His bedroom door slammed open.

Shen Jixing stood at the doorway hugging a pillow, locking eyes with the princess smiling on the bed, crown atop his head.

“Why are you still wearing that?” Shen Jixing frowned in confusion.

Zhou Yili finally understood what it meant to feel utterly defeated.

He wished he could escape to some happy planet and never return.

“For self-defense. In case you can’t resist pouncing on me in the middle of the night.”

Zhou Yili, his thin shirt askew, leaned back against the headboard with the crown still on his head. “See? How prophetic.”

“…”

Shen Jixing glanced at the wet, dark night beyond the white curtains.

“It’s raining. Can I sleep with you tonight?”

The words sounded overly soft and spoiled, but Shen Jixing still spoke with his usual cool arrogance.

Except when he was in pain, he never softened.

Otherwise, he was always cold as ice.

Only then did Zhou Yili hear the rain outside, but he said, “Why should I? Why would I sleep with you?”

Shen Jixing’s ink-dark eyes flicked his way.

He leaned his slim shoulders against the door, answering lightly, “Because I want to sleep with you.”

Zhou Yili almost choked.

How could someone speak such brazen words with a straight face?

He really wasn’t pretending anymore, was he?

“Are you coming or not? I’m cold.” After a long silence, Shen Jixing prompted him, then, after a moment, cautiously added,

“I’ll wear pants tonight.”

“…”

Zhou Yili’s gaze dropped to his lower half—white pajamas of thin, matching material, looking soft and smooth. The man had an air of moonlit elegance about him.

And yet he was afraid of the rain, just a coward at heart.

Barefoot, too.

No wonder he was cold.

“Zhou Yili!”

The silence stretched so long that Shen Jixing wondered if he was doing it on purpose.

He’d already forgiven the little lion for biting him, but this young master’s attitude was still as obstinate as ever. Shen Jixing gave up trying to argue.

“Stop right there,” Zhou Yili called out. “You’re really something, huh? Chasing someone and still demanding your way, not even letting me refuse?”

He was no pushover either. He yanked the blanket aside and patted the spot beside him with a cool, fierce air.

“Come here.”

Shen Jixing walked over and lay down beside him, saying nothing as he closed his eyes.

Zhou Yili glanced at his reddened ankles—his skin everywhere was like pale jade, but after walking barefoot on the rainy ground, they were flushed bright red.

With a casual sweep of his long leg, he pulled Shen Jixing closer and wrapped a warm hand around his ankle.

Testing the temperature.

Shen Jixing’s eyes snapped open. “What are you doing?”

Zhou Yili lounged lazily in the middle of the bed, his slender, balanced hand encircling Shen Jixing’s ankle, easily able to close his grip.

The thin, silky fabric slid up, revealing a sliver of cold white calf.

The position was hard to describe.

Zhou Yili said, “You walked here barefoot. I’m checking if you’re dirty.”

Shen Jixing found him childish and ridiculous.

“I’m not. I showered.”

He didn’t like being held in his sleep, so he nudged Zhou Yili, murmuring drowsily, “Don’t touch me.”

“…”

Zhou Yili nearly howled with frustration.

Anyone who believed Shen Jixing’s words was doomed.

Was this really how he intended to pursue someone? Where was the sincerity in that?

Zhou Yili let go of his ankle and tugged his pajama leg down, covering the delicate, veined bone.

“With moves like yours, you think you’ll win anyone over?”

His languid, indifferent voice laced with a cold, mocking laugh. “Fine, go ahead. Let’s see if you can…”

But Shen Jixing’s face was already nestled into his pillow, long lashes casting shadows, quietly asleep.

His icy features, so delicate they seemed made of snow, were only gentle and docile in sleep, like a porcelain doll.

“…get my attention,” Zhou Yili finished to himself.

He reached over and switched off the light, plunging the room into darkness.

Then he lay down and pulled Shen Jixing into his arms. Warm, soft, and fragrant—like a delicate porcelain doll resting in the lion’s gentle mane.

“Don’t move. Just let me hold you.”