Ti Xiao stood there, completely dumbfounded.
Why was Xiao Yao outside the door???
Xiao Yao blinked in surprise when he saw Ti Xiao. He quickly took a step back and looked up at the apartment number.
Third floor, east unit—he hadn’t come to the wrong place. This was indeed his grandparents’ home.
But why was Little Ponytail here?
Xiao Yao remembered that Ti Xiao had said he was visiting his professor today. His major was oil painting…
Then that was it. Xiao Yao smiled and looked at the still-confused Ti Xiao.
The two of them stood frozen at the doorway, staring at each other without moving, until Du Liyue poked her head out from the study. “Yaoyao is here? Come in, come in, let Grandma see if you’ve lost weight.”
“Grandma.” Xiao Yao crouched down, letting Du Liyue rub his face.
“Oh dear, you have gotten thinner. Living abroad and not eating well, I bet.” The elderly lady looked at him with concern. “I made all your favorite dishes today.”
Ti Xiao struggled to close the door, unable to process what was happening.
What the hell? Was the world only a square meter big? Why did he keep running into people he knew? Someone please calculate the psychological damage caused—three bedrooms and one living room worth of shock.
Sheng Xiao emerged from the studio, covered in paint. When he saw Xiao Yao, he smacked his forehead. “Ah, I forgot! I forgot my grandson was coming today too.”
“Well, since you’re both here, stay and have dinner together.” Sheng Xiao pulled Xiao Yao over and introduced him to Ti Xiao.
“Let me introduce you, Xiaoxiao,” the old man said. “This is my grandson, Xiao Yao.”
Ti Xiao didn’t know whether to tell Sheng Xiao they already knew each other or just pretend they didn’t. *But I do know him, professor…*
After introducing Xiao Yao, Sheng Xiao then turned to introduce Ti Xiao. “And this is Ti Xiao, my favorite student.”
Ti Xiao was about to see how Xiao Yao would react when he suddenly heard him say, “Nice to meet you.”
Huh? Was this guy really pretending they were strangers, like some poetic first encounter?
Ti Xiao glanced at Xiao Yao, who was smirking playfully, and instinctively pursed his lips. *Fine, keep pretending. Let’s see how long you can keep this up.*
At dinner, Ti Xiao and Xiao Yao ended up sitting next to each other, while Sheng Xiao and Du Liyue sat across from them.
“Eat more, Xiaoxiao, no need to be polite with your professor,” Du Liyue said, piling food onto his plate. “Yaoyao, here’s your favorite—carrots.”
She was so busy serving them food that she barely ate herself.
This resulted in Ti Xiao’s bowl being filled with carrots as well. He wasn’t sure if he should eat them or not—he didn’t like carrots, but he didn’t want to seem picky at his professor’s house.
Just as he was hesitating, a hand reached over and swiftly picked out all the carrots from his bowl and ate them.
The elderly couple across the table saw this and blinked in unison. Sheng Xiao cleared his throat. “You two… know each other?”
“We do,” Xiao Yao answered.
“We don’t,” Ti Xiao said at the same time.
“Huh?” Ti Xiao quickly corrected himself. “I mean, we do, we do.”
*You were just pretending not to know me, and now you suddenly change your tune?*
“Why do your answers not match?” Sheng Xiao raised an eyebrow. “So, do you know each other or not?”
“We really do,” Xiao Yao said, glancing at Ti Xiao, who was now focused on shoveling food into his mouth. “He’s my neighbor. I never expected him to be your student, Grandpa.”
Du Liyue, whose hearing wasn’t the best, completely missed the awkward exchange and continued serving them food. She absentmindedly remarked, “You two look quite compatible sitting together.”
Ti Xiao, mid-bite, felt his ears heat up.
Back when Du Liyue was still teaching at the academy, she used to say this to every attractive pair of students she saw walking together. Almost everyone at the Chinese painting institute had been teased by her at some point.
Even though Ti Xiao knew she was just casually saying it, his heart still started beating faster. He wanted nothing more than to bury his face in his bowl.
Xiao Yao, whether to humor his grandmother or just to mess with Ti Xiao, deliberately raised his voice and said, “Mm, I think so too.”
When they were leaving, Du Liyue was still holding onto her grandson, fussing over him. Ti Xiao stood politely by the door, not looking their way, but he still overheard their conversation.
On the way home, Xiao Yao sat in the driver’s seat and suddenly said, “Earlier, I tapped on the car, and a cat actually ran out.”
He looked like he was expecting praise.
Ti Xiao, now free of the painting he had left at his professor’s house, sat in the passenger seat.
*So what do you want me to say? Good job? Well done?*
“Hmm…” Ti Xiao thought for a moment. “On behalf of the little cats, thank you.”
Hearing that, Xiao Yao chuckled, in an obviously good mood for the rest of the ride home.
Ti Xiao watched his focused side profile as he drove and couldn’t help but recall what he overheard at his professor’s house.
Something about flowers and a… cemetery?
He was incredibly curious but decided not to ask.
—
“A few days from now, it might snow,” Ti Xiao said, looking at the weather forecast on his phone. “Does it snow often in the UK?”
Although Xuancheng was a northern city, it rarely snowed. Ti Xiao had only seen heavy snowfall a few times in his life.
“It’s alright, not too heavy,” Xiao Yao replied, pushing a shopping cart through the crowd.
With only a week left until the New Year, the supermarket was packed with people stocking up for the holiday. The festive atmosphere was growing stronger.
Ti Xiao and Xiao Yao had already planned out their New Year’s Eve dinner and were now shopping for ingredients together.
“There are so many people,” Ti Xiao remarked.
Even though Xiao Yao was tall, he was still struggling in the crowded supermarket—let alone Ti Xiao, who was much shorter and had disappeared in an instant.
“Hold onto me,” Xiao Yao frowned, extending an arm toward Ti Xiao.
As soon as Ti Xiao grabbed onto his arm, someone in the crowd called his name.
He turned around and immediately felt a wave of awkwardness wash over him.
Of all people—it just had to be his old high school crush.
“Ti Xiao! Long time no see!”
Ti Xiao unconsciously tightened his grip on Xiao Yao’s arm. “Long time no see…”
“You’re still so reserved around me? That whole thing was so long ago, don’t dwell on it,” the former classmate said.
Xiao Yao raised an eyebrow. *What thing?*
Ti Xiao cursed in his mind. *Great, thanks for bringing that up.*
“Well, I’ll be off then, Ti Xiao. See you around,” the classmate chatted for a bit longer before being dragged away by his girlfriend.
*Oh, thank God. Just go already.*
Ti Xiao was dying of embarrassment. *Dude, you just dug up all my past humiliations right in front of the guy I’m trying to impress.*
Xiao Yao stayed quiet, but a sour feeling started bubbling up inside him. Without thinking, he held onto Ti Xiao’s hand a little tighter.
*Why do I feel jealous?*
That feeling lingered all the way until dinner. Halfway through, Xiao Yao received messages from a few friends who had returned to the country. He immediately set his chopsticks down to reply.
“I’m going out the day after tomorrow,” he said with a smile. “I won’t be coming home that night.”
“Alright, I’ll just order takeout,” Ti Xiao replied casually. That day would be the 28th of the lunar month—just two days before the New Year. *Must be someone really important if he’s making time for them now.*
But when the day arrived, Xiao Yao still made dinner for Ti Xiao before heading out. He couldn’t bear to let him eat takeout.
Ti Xiao sipped on a bowl of sweetened Laba porridge as he started sketching a New Year’s greeting illustration.
Compared to Ti Xiao, the ultimate homebody, Xiao Yao’s life was much more dynamic—he worked out, went out to the movies, and generally had a colorful social life that didn’t revolve around Ti Xiao.
But Ti Xiao still wanted to be that *one* person he always came back to.
Maybe it was because the New Year was approaching, but the heating felt weaker than usual, as if the gas company had slacked off. Luckily, his cat, Xiao Hulu, made for a great hand warmer.
Hugging Xiao Hulu, Ti Xiao stood by the window and peered outside. *Will it snow tonight?*
*And… will Xiao Yao be cold wearing such thin clothes again?*
—
Meanwhile, Xiao Yao had just arrived at the bar. His friends were already there, standing up to greet him with hugs.
Li Yi was there too, and he had brought his partner along. Noticing that Xiao Yao had come alone, he asked, “Hey, where’s your little shorty? Why didn’t you bring him?”
Xiao Yao shot Li Yi a cold glance. Li Yi, pretending to be scared, dove into the arms of the man beside him. “Tsk, are you this fierce with your little one at home too?”
*Not fierce at all.* If anything, he wanted to scoop him up, squeeze him, and kiss him every single day.
Li Yi’s teasing drew the attention of the others, who all chimed in with their curiosity. With no way out, Xiao Yao had to explain himself.
“No way, you still haven’t told him?” Li Yi’s jaw practically hit the floor. “And here I was asking you if you—wait, don’t tell me—”
“I never said I did,” Xiao Yao took a sip of his drink. “I was planning to tell him in the next few days.”
“You better not.” Li Yi scoffed. “New Year’s is just around the corner. Think about it—you’ve been hugging him, taking him to the doctor, cooking for him, and you still haven’t confessed? If you’re not serious, don’t tease. You get that, right?”
Xiao Yao swirled his glass, watching the amber liquid glint under the club’s flashing lights. The deafening music echoed in his ears, but his mind drifted back to the other day—when they ran into Ti Xiao’s old classmate.
*The guy he used to have a crush on.*
The more he thought about it, the more irritated he got. The alcohol wasn’t helping either. He turned to see Li Yi kissing the man he was sitting with, and his mood soured even more.
Ti Xiao’s cheeks were soft, his whole body was, too. His hair was smooth with a hint of brown, and he had two little dimples when he smiled. He was adorably dazed when he just woke up, loved sweets, and had an even sweeter way with words. He was kind to animals and kids, and everything about him was just—
*I want all of him.*
His cuteness, his sweet words—*everything.*
As that thought settled, Xiao Yao tilted his head back and downed the rest of his drink in one go.
“You’re leaving already?” Li Yi asked as Xiao Yao grabbed his keys and put on his coat.
“Yeah,” Xiao Yao pulled open the door with a frown. “I’m going home to set things straight.”
—
Ti Xiao was mid-livestream, cracking jokes for his fans. When he heard knocking at the door, he quickly took off his headset. “Hold on, hold on, I’ll be right back—haha, I swear, the second half of this joke is even funnier!”
Outside the door, Xiao Yao was breathing heavily. The motion-activated light in the hallway hadn’t turned on, leaving him standing in the dark with only the sound of his own breath.
Since he had been drinking, he left his car at the bar. The walk home wasn’t far, but for some reason, as soon as he rounded the street corner, something snapped—he broke into a run.
The moment Ti Xiao opened the door, he was hit with the fresh scent of winter. He sniffed the air a couple of times. “Whoa, you’re back early. Is it snowing outside?”
“No.”
Just then, the hallway light flicked on, illuminating Xiao Yao’s face. His gaze locked onto Ti Xiao, and he took a step forward.
The sudden pressure made Ti Xiao instinctively step back, but before he could retreat further, Xiao Yao reached out and pulled him into the hallway.
The crisp, intoxicating scent of Xiao Yao filled Ti Xiao’s nose as he looked up at him.
Xiao Yao was wearing a simple black sweater over a white collared shirt. With his black-framed glasses on, he had a scholarly air about him—just a little different from usual.
Ti Xiao hesitated, sensing something was off. “Wh-why aren’t you saying anything?”
Outside, snow had begun falling without them noticing—big, soft flakes drifting silently down from the sky. The air was thick with the scent of snow.
Xiao Yao took a deep breath, as if making an important decision. He stared at Ti Xiao without blinking.
Then—he lifted a leg, planting his foot against the wall, trapping Ti Xiao in place.
*Wait, what?*
Ti Xiao stiffened, glancing at the long leg that had suddenly cornered him. *This—this isn’t how you do a kabe-don, is it?!*
His heartbeat spiked, pounding like a drum in his chest, and his whole body buzzed with excitement.
*Is… is this finally happening?!*
The crisp, fresh scent of Xiao Yao was laced with a subtle hint of alcohol, wrapping around Ti Xiao like a warm, intoxicating breeze. His breath, hot and heavy, carried an unmistakable feeling—
*Affection.*
“Wh-what’s up, Xiao Yao? Why are you blocking me?”
Right when it mattered most, when everything was falling into place—Ti Xiao’s inner cowardly goldfish instincts kicked in.
He seriously considered ducking under Xiao Yao’s leg and bolting back into the apartment.
*Oh my God, Ti Xiao, you absolute loser!*
While Ti Xiao’s mind was in utter chaos, Xiao Yao’s was just as much of a whirlwind.
His drunken mind had formulated a perfect plan—call him out, block the door, confess, and then take him home.
But now that he was actually doing it, he realized—
*It’s a lot harder than I thought.*
His head felt dizzy from both the alcohol and the moment itself. Looking at Ti Xiao, trapped against the wall, Xiao Yao furrowed his brows.
*Screw it.*
With deliberate emphasis, Xiao Yao spoke, “Ti Xiao, I want to be with you.”
“Do you agree or not?”
