Chapter 5:

~ One Week Later (Still Lan Yue's POV) ~

The last week, Lan Yue had been especially busy, taking care of Shen Li by cooking food, organising his new room, ordering school supplies and applying for Shen Li to begin schooling while tutoring Shen Li in all subjects. There were two things that surprised him, both of which he was slightly worried about but didn't really mind. The first thing was that even after Shen Li's new room was complete (with the bed installed), Shen Li had completely rejected the idea of him sleeping there.

~ Flashback ~

Seeing the installation people out, Lan Yue let out a sigh of satisfaction as he looked around Shen Li's room. When he was looking for furniture, he had sat Shen Li on his lap and knowing that the boy probably wouldn't say what it was he wanted, Lan Yue had simply stayed quiet and scrolled through many different designs of each piece of furniture until he noticed Shen Li taking a liking to something, which he then bought.

Walking into the lounge, he saw Shen Li right where he left him, completing the exercises Lan Yue had set for practice. He laughed under his breath, remembering how he had noticed little footsteps following him after he exited the room to make sure he wasn't leaving, then returning noticeably slower to the couch in an attempt not to be noticed. Secretly feeling a little happy (just a very very little, he told himself), Lan Yue snuck up behind Shen Li and lifted him up suddenly, twisting him around so Shen Li's legs could wrap around his waist. Waiting until the boy in his arms was secure, Lan Yue freed one arm and took the papers from Shen Li's small fist, placing them down on the table next to the couch. Carrying the boy into the newly renovated bedroom, he covered his eyes and set him down on the floor.

"Surprise!" he whispered softly.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes but…"

"But what?"

Lan Yue ran through a list of possible things in his mind, checking off each possibility. Confused, he glanced once more around the room and then back at Shen Li.

"Are you kicking me out of your room?"

What? Lan Yue blinked.

"But I thought it was a temporary arrangement?"

~ Shen Li's POV (don't ask how you can have multiple POV's in a flashback, just roll with it k) ~

"It was...?"

Although he wanted to sound fine, when he said it the words came out all wobbly. He didn't really notice though; he was caught up thinking about Lan Yue wanting him to leave. 'So, it was only me who felt happy being together, huh. So… was I only a nuisance? Should I not have come? Wouldn't Lan Yue be happier if it was like before? As he started spiralling down, a voice cut through the depression surrounding him.

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Shen Li brought an arm to his face and sure enough, it was damp. He hadn't even realised until this point, and it surprised him. He'd stopped crying because of pain long ago… but now that he thought about it, this felt like a different kind of pain.

"U-Umm you can stay in my room! T-Totally! Okay? S-So stop crying? Please?"

Widening his eyes, Shen Li gazed up at Lan Yue. 'I can stay? Really? But… why?' Shen Li couldn't understand. Why did Lan Yue change his mind, and why did he look so worried? Lan Yue's thumb gently wiped his cheek, drying the tears on the boy's face. 'Is, is it because I was… crying? Lan Yue is worried… because I cried?' Shen Li felt warmth bloom in his chest. He felt… happy. Because somebody cared when he cried.

Stumbling forward, Shen Li wrapped his arms around the anxious teenager, burying his face in the boy's chest. He heard Lan Yue breath a sigh of relief and felt a hand softly stroking his hair. Lan Yue began murmuring quietly to Shen Li, feeling his reactions for an answer.

"So you wanna sleep with me?"

Shen Li tightened his arms and, after a short while, nodded. Unbeknownst to him, the older boy could see his red ears sticking out and was going crazy inside (Ahhh he's so cuute, omg I wanna squeeze him to death!!!). Shen Li felt Lan Yue bend down slightly, then was lifted into the air and carried once more, but this time it was back to the place he had slept the night before, the place he felt safe.

~ End Flashback (Back to Lan Yue's POV) ~

Lan Yue had woken up especially early to organise everything for Shen Li's first day at school. As he left the kitchen with the soup simmering on low heat, he gathered all the materials, both the class ones and the notes Lan Yue had made to assist Shen Li's learning and placed them tidily in the small black and blue school bag they had gotten for Shen Li. That was the other thing that had surprised/concerned him in the last week – Shen Li's ability to learn. He had mastered all of the basic things and caught up to where he was supposed to be, while spending less than a few days total on the work. Lan Yue was happy that his munchkin would be able to adapt more easily and learn exceedingly fast, which would undoubtedly help him later in life, but was worried because often, if you're different e.g. you learn faster or you read people easier, you become an outcast. He himself had experienced it during his first few years of school, so much so that when he transferred, he copied the ones around him to fit in and only continued his further learning at home, concealing it from the majority of the people he knew. Once his parents died, there remained no one who was close enough to him for him to trust them with his secret.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the thoughts, Lan Yue headed back to the kitchen. He was gonna make the best lunch for his awesome little guy!