Li Lin tried to convince himself it was just someone whose voice sounded like his brother.
But the people in front kept whispering and murmuring, and soon it became clear something was off. Their voices were so quiet that if he hadn’t leaned in carefully, the movie’s sound would have completely drowned them out.
“Pervert! Why are you touching my thigh?”
“I am a pervert. How could I not? I’ve never done this in a theater before.”
“Do you have some kind of exhibitionist thing? You want to do this in a movie theater? You’re way too weird. I can’t hang out with someone like you, you’ll corrupt me!”
“Have you learned nothing already, little one? You can’t escape, you’re trapped in Uncle’s hands.”
“Pfft, who’s playing who? At your age, you better be careful, or you’ll end up in the hospital. Then I’ll find a new uncle.”
“I think so-and-so is going to die next.”
“You’re cursing who?! He can’t die! I like him too much!”
“This plot is way too cliché, right?”
“This is classic! Classic! Not cliché!”
“Honestly, only the effects are worth watching, the story’s too weak.”
“It’s a popcorn movie—you’re asking too much.”
“Little one, isn’t this your birthday? Didn’t I bring you to the movies to make you happy? Can’t you indulge me a little today? Don’t bully me, please?”
Li Lin didn’t understand these two at all. Sometimes it sounded like they were a couple; other times, like rivals. Flirting sounded like fighting, and fighting sounded like flirting.
The more he listened, the more the male voice sounded like his brother—but the more he listened, the more he was convinced it wasn’t Shen Yuan. His brother would never speak in such a rogue, crude, obscene tone, and it was Wednesday—a school day. Shen Yuan had to be in class tomorrow. How could he possibly sneak out for a midnight movie?
Even if he did, who would he be with? Could it really be Qiao Hailou? The other voice sounded… older.
Shuddering, Li Lin shook the thought from his mind.
Despite it being the premiere of his favorite series, the one he had specifically asked to skip school for, he hadn’t been able to focus on the movie at all. All his attention had been on the row in front.
When the movie ended and the lights came up, Li Lin felt his heart jump violently. He fixed his gaze on the two people ahead, silently repeating a prayer: Please don’t be Shen Yuan! Please don’t be Shen Yuan!
Shen Yuan, meanwhile, had never realized how fun it could be to watch a movie with someone else. He had always been independent, even enjoying time alone.
He supported Qiao Hailou. “Uncle Qiao, watch your step. Don’t hurt your old, broken leg.”
Qiao Hailou leaned against him, draping most of his weight on Shen Yuan. “We walked a lot today; my leg hurts a bit.”
Shen Yuan: “Just a few steps… really? Don’t lie. Where does it hurt?”
They stood, but before taking two steps, a voice rang out next to Shen Yuan, shocking him: “Brother! What are you doing here?!”
At first, Shen Yuan thought he was imagining things. But the voice was familiar. Instinctively, he turned—and saw Li Lin standing just a row behind them.
Shen Yuan froze, his body turning ice-cold. He almost let go of Qiao Hailou in shock.
“Hey! Hey!” Qiao Hailou teetered, moaning, “A-Ben, I’m falling!”
Shen Yuan snapped out of it and caught him, holding his hand.
Qiao Hailou’s warm palm reassured him, and Shen Yuan slowly calmed down. Summoning courage, he looked at Li Lin and asked first, taking control: “What are you doing here? You should be at school, Li Lin. Skipping class?”
Li Lin’s face darkened, frighteningly so. “You’re asking me why I’m here? I should ask you—why are you here? And why are you with this old man?”
Shen Yuan’s tone was calm but cold. “I came to see a movie with him. What’s wrong with that?”
Li Lin felt as if a hard stone had lodged in his chest, squeezing the air from him. “It is wrong!”
His gaze was sharp as arrows, fixed on Shen Yuan. Pointing at Qiao Hailou beside him, he asked in shock and pain: “What’s your relationship with this old man?!”
Some remaining audience members glanced over.
Shen Yuan’s biggest fear had always been his family finding out about him and Qiao Hailou. But he had imagined this worst-case scenario before; the longer they had been together, the higher the risk. Now, facing it, he wasn’t as afraid. His only thought was how to convince Li Lin to help him keep it from their uncle.
Li Lin had always listened to him—he could be persuaded.
So Shen Yuan stayed silent, watching Li Lin until he calmed a bit, careful not to draw attention.
Shen Yuan’s silence confirmed Li Lin’s worst fears. Li Lin’s anger flared, eyes reddening, almost in tears.
Most of the audience had left.
A janitor came in, broom and dustpan in hand, giving them a strange look: “Aren’t you leaving?”
Shen Yuan softened his voice. “Li Lin, don’t trouble the janitor. Let’s go outside and talk.”
Supporting Qiao Hailou, they left the theater and sat around a small table in the lobby. Qiao Hailou and Shen Yuan on one side, Li Lin across, glaring at Qiao Hailou.
It was useless—Qiao Hailou wasn’t embarrassed, secretly enjoying himself. But he couldn’t let Shen Yuan know.
Li Lin choked up again. “Brother, what exactly is your relationship with this old man?”
Being called “old man” three times hit Qiao Hailou hard. He clicked his tongue. “Kid, didn’t your parents teach you manners? Call me Uncle Qiao, okay?”
Li Lin didn’t answer before Shen Yuan tugged him under the table, glaring. “Do not open your mouth! Who gave you permission to scold my little brother? Shut up!”
Qiao Hailou had no choice but to remain silent. So brave, he thought. His boyfriend was scolding him in front of a stranger! He’d deal with this later.
Li Lin froze. Even though Shen Yuan defended him, he still felt frustrated.
Shen Yuan sighed. “I really didn’t want you to know, but… Qiao Hailou and I… we’re that kind of relationship. Adult relationship.”
Li Lin was crushed. “But now I already know.”
The brother he had idolized, pure and flawless, was dating a man—and an older man at that, a friend of their father whom they called “uncle.” His worldview was collapsing.
Grasping at straws, Li Lin asked desperately: “Brother, did that shameless old guy force or seduce you first?”
Shen Yuan met his brother’s disappointed gaze. He had shattered Li Lin’s mental image of him, but one must take responsibility for their own choices. Honestly, he said: “No. I sought him out first. I was born liking men.”
Li Lin froze, speechless, tears streaming down, mouth twisting in anguish.
Qiao Hailou couldn’t help smiling. He wanted to record Shen Yuan’s words—they were an official acknowledgment of their relationship.
Seeing him upset, Shen Yuan quickly checked his pockets for a tissue. Finding none, he nudged Qiao Hailou: “Do you have a tissue?”
That little kid! Qiao Hailou checked and found only a handkerchief. “Will this do?”
Shen Yuan wanted to use the handkerchief to wipe Li Lin’s tears, but Li Lin hated Qiao Hailou at the moment—there was no way he would let his tears be wiped with Qiao Hailou’s handkerchief. He pushed Shen Yuan’s hand away forcefully. “I don’t want it!”
Shen Yuan’s hand hit the table with a soft thud. Li Lin paused, then softened, grabbed Shen Yuan’s hand, and sniffled out an apology. “I’m sorry, brother. I didn’t mean to hit you. Does it hurt?”
Even touching Shen Yuan’s hand in front of him was unacceptable! Even if it was his brother, no way! Qiao Hailou quietly grabbed Shen Yuan’s wrist, trying to pull his hand back. “Don’t get handsy.”
Li Lin didn’t let go, tears streaming as he stubbornly glared at Qiao Hailou. Qiao Hailou, of course, didn’t back down either. The two of them just stared each other down, refusing to yield.
Shen Yuan groaned. “…Both of you, let go.”
Qiao Hailou: “He lets go, then I’ll let go.”
Li Lin: “If he doesn’t, I won’t either.”
Shen Yuan, of course, wasn’t going to scold his adorable little brother. He scolded Qiao Hailou instead. “Why are you trying to compete with a sixteen-year-old? Aren’t you embarrassed? Let go first.”
Qiao Hailou: “Not embarrassed.” He didn’t let go. Why should age dictate giving in? If he had to give in to his fiancée, then giving in to a kid? Pfft.
Shen Yuan sighed in exasperation. He thought for a moment and told Li Lin, “I really didn’t expect you to find out so soon. Not long ago, I thought I would have separated from Qiao Hailou before you ever knew.”
Li Lin: “…”
Qiao Hailou: “Huh?” What did Shen Yuan just say?
Both Li Lin and Qiao Hailou were dumbstruck.
Seizing the opportunity, Shen Yuan freed his hand.
Li Lin took a deep breath. Hearing Shen Yuan’s words, he finally revived a little. Tears glimmering in his eyes, he looked at Shen Yuan expectantly. “So… are you going to break up with that old man?” He wished Shen Yuan would end things immediately.
Qiao Hailou frowned, anxious, muttering in displeasure: “And you still call me ‘old man’!”
Shen Yuan, considering carefully, adopted a mock playboy tone and spoke tactfully. “I don’t think what I have with Qiao Hailou counts as a real relationship. It’s more like being apart than breaking up. Li Lin, I know I’ve disappointed you, but I also have… physiological needs. I’m just a normal person. It’s not as pure as you imagine. Qiao Hailou and I are just… messing around.”
Qiao Hailou: “…”
Li Lin’s heart soared. From despair, he was suddenly overjoyed—his brother didn’t like that old man!
But thinking it through, he immediately fell further into despair.
So his brother had been with that old man just for… that reason? He was a healthy teenage boy—surely he understood what Shen Yuan meant by “physiological needs.”
Wasn’t this indirect proof that his brother had slept with that old man? Not just once, but more than once.
And the idea that his brother could associate with such a shameless, uncultured, disrespectful old man… it was utterly shattering.
Li Lin, recalling how his brother had previously lectured him about responsibility—“If you don’t like someone, don’t date. Be responsible as a man”—felt particularly wronged. “Then what about that? You taught me to be responsible! Is this being responsible?”
Shen Yuan flushed. Damn, he had spoken too firmly before. Now he was being contradicted, and it hurt.
He argued, “If you decide to date, of course you must be responsible. I never wanted a real relationship with Qiao Hailou. It’s different with boys and girls. He’s an old man; if I’m not responsible, it doesn’t really matter.”
Qiao Hailou, unbothered by irresponsibility: “…”
Li Lin felt something off in Shen Yuan’s words, but he was so tangled up he couldn’t argue further, confusion and tears written all over his face.
Seeing Li Lin wavering, Shen Yuan pressed on. “Li Lin, I know what I did was wrong. From a societal and moral standpoint, being involved with someone so much older is improper. I was reckless.
“If anyone found out, I’d be embarrassed.
“Can you help me keep this from Dad for now?
“We won’t be together for long. Sooner or later, we’ll separate.”
Li Lin felt terrible, but when he glanced at Qiao Hailou, he flinched. Seeing Qiao Hailou upset, his mood immediately lifted.
Alright, his brother had said enough.
Li Lin nodded, still feeling wronged. “Okay, I’ll help you keep it a secret.”
Glancing at Qiao Hailou, he taunted, “…Then you better break up soon.”
Finally appeased, Shen Yuan relaxed. Li Lin wasn’t going to tell their uncle. “It’s late, and it’s unsafe out. I’ll drive you back to your hotel.”
Shen Yuan drove him there. Li Lin jumped into the passenger seat first, leaving Qiao Hailou to take the back. The hotel was nearby; within minutes, Shen Yuan saw Li Lin safely inside before returning to the car.
Finding Qiao Hailou now in the passenger seat, Shen Yuan sat down and suddenly felt a wave of menace. He turned to Qiao Hailou—
Qiao Hailou smiled, gentle but teasing, almost chillingly warm. “Shen Yuan, you’re just ‘messing around’ with me, right? You’ll break up eventually? You were planning to separate before your family even found out?”