4

Returning to the dorm that night, I was a mess—physically and emotionally. I barely slept, haunted by images of Shen Zeyan with that man in the red suit, convinced they'd spent the night together. My hands and feet were cold. No one would ever warm them for me again.

A few days later, when I dragged myself to class, Lin Yuxin intercepted me. She looked haggard, her eyes dull, her voice pitiful.

"Yu-ge, I was wrong. He lied to me. I only now realize you're the one who truly cared for me. Can we not cancel the engagement? I heard you broke up… Let's be together."

I looked at her, feeling nothing but a faint amusement at her audacity.

"Lin Yuxin, I'm gay. Please stop bothering me."

I walked around her and left.

But she wouldn't give up—she started pestering me every day, claiming she didn't care if I was gay.

It wasn't until my mom called that I learned the truth: Lin Yuxin's family was on the brink of bankruptcy, and they were desperate for my family's help. She'd even called my mom, mocking me for being gay and saying all sorts of nasty things. My mother saw through her act immediately—she'd always pretended to be sweet, but her true nature was sharp and mean. Now, even though she begged to renew the engagement, my mom refused.

Back at the dorm, Zhou Yan told me he'd seen Lin Yuxin approach Zeyan too, asking to be his girlfriend. Zeyan replied coldly, "If you keep bothering me or Liang Yu, your family will go bankrupt even faster." Lin Yuxin ran away in tears. Zhou Yan thought Zeyan was just bluffing, but I knew the truth—his family really had that power.

Still, Lin Yuxin didn't give up. She waited outside my dorm, red-eyed and pleading.

"Yu-ge, please, don't be so heartless! My family's really going under! Can't you help me?"

I'd had enough. Why should my family bail hers out? I called the police right in front of her. She was taken to the station and finally left me alone. Not long after, I heard her family had gone bankrupt and her parents fled with what little money they had left.

But things weren't over. One day, as I was leaving campus to go home, a van screeched to a stop in front of me. Several people dragged me inside, pressed a cloth to my face, and I blacked out.

When I came to, Lin Yuxin was there, phone in hand, her voice shrill.

"Give me fifty million yuan and I'll let him go. Otherwise, I'll kill him!"

She let me hear Zeyan's trembling voice on the line:

"Don't be scared, Yu. I'll save you."

Tears slipped down my cheeks.

"Zeyan…"

Lin Yuxin snatched the phone away, glaring.

"Stop wasting time. Transfer the money now!"

She hung up, then kicked me hard.

"Your parents could only give me ten million. I thought I'd try Zeyan too, but he's willing to pay even more! I just want money! It's all your fault—if you'd helped me, my family wouldn't have gone bankrupt. I've lost everything because of you. Now you can die!"

She doused the floor with gasoline, her eyes wild.

I trembled, thinking it was over. I hadn't loved my parents enough, hadn't fulfilled my dreams, hadn't… told Zeyan how I really felt.

I realized, in that desperate moment, that I wanted more time with him. I wasn't gay, but I loved him.

Just as Lin Yuxin flicked her lighter, police burst in, tackling her and her goons. They put out the flame and untied me.

As I was led away, I saw Zeyan waiting outside, pale and frantic. The moment he saw me, he ran over and hugged me so tightly I thought he'd never let go.

"Are you hurt? I wanted to rush in, but the police made me wait—they promised to keep you safe."

He was shaking, his eyes red with tears.

I hugged him back, grateful to be alive.

At the station, my parents were waiting. My mom sobbed, my dad's eyes were red.

"We were so scared… your mom fainted when she got the call and had to be rushed to the hospital."

I hugged them, promising I was fine.

Later, I learned the police had found me so quickly because of the charm Zeyan had given me. Inside was a tracker—his parents had added it after he was kidnapped as a child. He'd given it to me for protection, never expecting it would save my life.

My mom, grateful beyond words, whispered in my ear,

"That handsome boy—how could you let him go? Don't miss your chance, son!"

I shot Zeyan an embarrassed look—he'd definitely heard.

He smiled softly, never taking his eyes off me, as if afraid I'd disappear again.

As we walked back to campus together, our shadows overlapped in the streetlights. I finally turned to him and asked,

"Do you have a new boyfriend now? Or are you still single?"

He shook his head, eyes clear.

"No. You're the only one I've ever dated."

I hesitated, then confessed what I'd overheard at the club.

He grinned, eyes sparkling.

"Liang Yu, were you… jealous?"

My ears burned, but I nodded.

His smile grew even brighter.

He explained, "That guy in the red suit? That's my childhood friend Xu Lin. He's married—his husband lives overseas. Besides, we're both tops. He was just teasing me that night."

The misunderstanding finally cleared, the weight in my heart lifted.

Zeyan looked at me, his voice soft and hopeful.

"Liang Yu… do you maybe, just maybe, like me a little?"

I realized then, for all his status, Zeyan was so vulnerable in front of me—he only dared hope for a little love, because I was straight.

This time, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him—soft, sweet, strawberry-flavored.

"I really, really like you, Shen Zeyan. I love you. I may be straight, but I love you."

He smiled, tears in his eyes.

"I love you too, Liang Yu."

We walked back to the dorm hand in hand. Our roommates cheered when they saw us together again. Soon after, Zeyan revealed his true identity. Zhou Yan and Wu Feng jokingly called him "Dad," begging for favors. Zeyan, half amused, gave them both platinum club memberships—free drinks for life.

A few months later, Lin Yuxin was sentenced to twenty years for her crimes. She paid dearly for her greed and madness.

A year into our relationship, Zeyan was still clingy as ever—insisting on cuddling every night, even in the summer, claiming he was my "pillow."

That summer, we vacationed on an island. In first class, after the flight attendant served our meal, Zeyan leaned in, eyes sparkling, and whispered,

"Honey, give me a kiss."

We'd agreed: in public, he'd call me "husband," but in private, only "wife."

I blushed under the flight attendant's shocked gaze, but what could I do? Zeyan was too affectionate to resist.

That kiss tasted of mint.

Ever since he learned I liked the taste, he always carried mints, popping one before every kiss.

Curled up in his arms, nearly asleep, I heard his gentle voice, meant only for me:

"Wife, I love you."

I smiled and whispered back, "Husband, I love you too."

—The End