Chapter 73

Disgust was, of course, out of the question.

Rong Yi didn’t have the courage to say it.

They hadn’t seen each other for three days and two nights, not even a phone call in between.

He missed him.

Missed him very, very much.

Rong Yi showed some concern, “Was the fall serious? Did you fall as soon as you got home? How did you get such a bad scar?”

Leiya coughed, “I’m not really sure either, since I flew back immediately. He’ll be coming over tomorrow, you can see for yourself then.”

Leiya didn’t stay long. She had to return to her crew for filming and flew out that night.

She and Rong Yi weren’t staying at the same hotel. Rong Yi found a small motel near the elementary school. After Leiya finished her small stir-fry, she even packed another serving to take away, leaving quite satisfied.

Rong Yi returned to his motel and checked his messages first.

As expected, his messages were blowing up again tonight.

There were even gossip media wanting to interview him.

It seemed that after tonight, the background of Xiao Yin and the Xiao Family had finally been partially uncovered, and people suddenly realized that this could also be a juicy prestigious family gossip.

Rong Yi’s mind was full of Xiao Yin right now; he had no time to care about prestigious families or anything else.

He called Xiao Yin, but the phone was out of service.

Xiao Yin’s phone only showed out of service if it was in airplane mode.

Rong Yi looked at his phone; Xiao Yin hadn’t mentioned the exact time he would return.

It was very late, and Leiya had probably already gone to bed, so he didn’t want to disturb her by asking about Xiao Yin’s exact arrival time.

Rong Yi checked the time.

A City’s airport was small, with only a few flights. If Xiao Yin was coming, he would have to transfer flights once. The nearest transfer flights were at 6 AM and 2 PM.

He even considered sleeping until 5 AM and then heading straight to the airport to wait for him.

That seemed a bit too crazy.

Rong Yi sent a message to Xiao Yin: “If you get here, come find me. I’ve left the room card under the doormat.”

He then sent his location, washed up, and went to bed.

His dreams were filled with Xiao Yin.

In his dream, the door was gently opened, bringing in a soft yet refreshing scent of mint.

No lights were turned on; the room was very dark, but Rong Yi just knew it was Xiao Yin.

“The room card is under the doormat; anyone could come in. Aren’t you worried?” Xiao Yin lowered his head, his fingertips slipping under the blanket to cover Rong Yi’s hand.

His deep, slightly husky voice alone was enough to soothe Rong Yi, sending a tingling warmth through his heart.

Rong Yi suddenly woke up.

He wasn’t dreaming; Xiao Yin was really there.

In the darkness, the man’s face was shrouded in shadow. He held Rong Yi through the blanket, or rather, he was almost buried in him.

The room was still dark, with the sky just beginning to lighten outside. Rong Yi first turned over to grab his phone and check the time.

4 AM.

His voice was hoarse as he asked, “Wasn’t the earliest flight supposed to arrive at 5?”

“I arrived in a nearby city at 3 AM and called a car to get here as quickly as possible,” Xiao Yin whispered, kissing his neck and gently pinching the tip of his ear as if to comfort him. “Go back to sleep. I came over as soon as I saw your message. I didn’t want to wake you.”

Rong Yi was still sleepy. Knowing that Xiao Yin had arrived, a weight lifted off his chest. He reached out to hug Xiao Yin’s back, his voice dropping from exhaustion.

“Okay.”

“Then I’ll go back to sleep.”

Xiao Yin’s voice was lowered, “Mm. Sleep.”

He started to get up, but Rong Yi immediately grabbed his neck, “Stay and sleep.”

Too tired to argue, Rong Yi pulled Xiao Yin into the bed with surprising strength, dragging him in significantly. Xiao Yin let out a muffled grunt and then chuckled softly.

“Baby, I haven’t showered yet.”

“Tomorrow, tomorrow,” Rong Yi muttered, “Hold me and sleep.”

This unconscious display of neediness was so endearing that it was almost impossible to let go.

Xiao Yin was a bit of a neat freak. Not showering before bed was more painful for him than anything else.

But Rong Yi didn’t care about that and didn’t even think about it. He only remembered that Xiao Yin held him obediently, staying perfectly still until he fell back asleep.

When Rong Yi woke up, Xiao Yin had probably already washed up. Clothes were placed neatly by the bed, and his suitcase stood by the door.

Rong Yi could vaguely hear Xiao Yin doing laundry.

The environment of this motel wasn’t great. It was near an elementary school, not exactly a high-end area. It was a basic room with a large bed, a narrow window facing an alley, and someone was broadcasting about selling steamed rice noodles outside. There were some suspicious stains on the wall.

Yet, this added an inexplicable, worldly allure.

He and Xiao Yin were a part of this.

Rong Yi called out from the bed, “Boss.”

“Mm, you’re awake?” Xiao Yin’s voice came from the bathroom, cool and pleasant. “I washed your underwear.”

Rong Yi blushed a bit and shrank under the blanket. “Oh, okay.”

Xiao Yin seemed to be looking for a place to hang the laundry, as he still hadn’t come out after a while.

Xiao Yin was acting normal, as if they hadn’t been apart for days, just like how he usually was at the club.

Rong Yi waited for a bit, then couldn’t hold back anymore. “Boss, come out for a moment. I want to see you.”

Xiao Yin came out at his words.

Rong Yi lifted his head and finally saw his face clearly.

There was a large piece of gauze over the bridge of Xiao Yin’s nose, and the cut on his face was much longer than Rong Yi had expected.

Seeing the wound, Rong Yi immediately forgot about everything else. He looked a bit anxious. “How did you get such a big cut? Did you fall with your phone? Did you hit something?”

Xiao Yin hadn’t coordinated a story with Leiya beforehand. He paused for several seconds before coming up with an explanation. “I… was helping my mom move a vase and fell. The vase shattered and cut me.”

“Did you change the dressing?”

Rong Yi was still worried and asked for confirmation, “Can I take a look?”

Xiao Yin hesitated for a few seconds, then seemed to think there was no point in hiding it. He removed the gauze to show him.

“It’s a bit unsightly,” Xiao Yin said. “But the doctor said it will heal. My mom insisted on finding a cosmetic surgeon to stitch it, so it shouldn’t leave a scar. Even if it does, it will be very faint.”

Rong Yi focused on the cut.

A long slash ran diagonally across his nose. The stitches were fine, but the blood marks were still faintly visible.

It was very close to his eye.

Rong Yi felt a pang of heartache. “It almost hit your eye.”

“It’s okay.”

Xiao Yin put the gauze back on, leaned against the bed, and pulled Rong Yi into his arms. “See? It didn’t hit my eye. I’m perfectly fine.”

Rong Yi didn’t look very happy.

Xiao Yin held him, gently coaxing him.

“Really, it’s nothing, Captain Rong.”

“They used anesthesia; it didn’t hurt at all.”

“Come home with me for New Year’s this year, okay?”

The sudden change of topic caught Rong Yi off guard. It took him a moment to respond, “Huh?”

“Come home with me for New Year’s this year,” Xiao Yin repeated softly. “You’ve met my younger sister, and my parents really want to meet you too. My mom said we’ve been together for so long, she needs to prepare a proper meeting gift.”

“What about your family…” Rong Yi asked carefully.

“Don’t worry, sexual orientation isn’t an issue for them. They can accept it,” Xiao Yin’s voice was calm and reassuring.

After all, if they didn’t accept it, his mom would cry enough to bring the house down.

That was how he got Xiao’s father’s tacit approval to come back and find Rong Yi.

Rong Yi still felt a bit sad.

He nestled into Xiao Yin’s embrace, staying still for a long while, as Xiao Yin softly kissed his face.

“Leiya texted me, telling me to come quickly.”

“She didn’t know if you could accept my face like this. What if it scars and you don’t like it anymore?”

Rong Yi blushed gradually as Xiao Yin kissed him, over and over.

“I won’t dislike it.”

“I like men with scars,” Rong Yi said quietly. “It’s manly.”

“What if it doesn’t scar?” Xiao Yin continued to kiss him.

“I’ll still like it,” Rong Yi replied.

“You like this face?”

Rong Yi looked at Xiao Yin’s face.

Handsome and rugged, a blend of strength and gentleness, with long eyelashes. He hadn’t met another man as good-looking as this one.

Rong Yi nodded honestly.

“I like it. It’s good-looking. Handsome.”

“So, you only like my face?” Xiao Yin teased.

Rong Yi blushed even more.

He interlaced his fingers with Xiao Yin’s, speaking objectively and rationally, “Of course, I also have improper thoughts about you.”