Uncle Li led Xie Huai into the side courtyard.
They’d barely stepped in when a rubber ball rolled out from who-knows-where, landing neatly at Xie Huai’s feet.
He bent down to pick it up.
Uncle Li explained with a chuckle,
“Some of the side-branch young masters were bullying Young Master Ziyang earlier. Master Xu got woken up by the noise and started throwing balls at them from the balcony. First time I’ve seen him that mad.”
The entire Shen household was blatantly biased—they all favored Qi Xu and stood on his side.
This morning the side courtyard was full of yelling and chaos, yet not a single servant showed up.
Not until everyone had left did anyone come to clean up the mess.
Xie Huai could already tell it was Qi Xu’s infamous morning temper.
Sleep is sacred, he thought, rolling the ball between his fingers, remembering the summer day they first met on the garden wall.
Funny how fate worked. He’d been reading inside when a butterfly flew in and landed on his book.
He’d stepped out to release it, only to find the weather so nice he decided to read outside.
If not for that butterfly, would they have missed each other entirely?
Even with their families being friendly, it wouldn’t have been the same.
Back then, Qi Xu had his guard up around him.
And as for Xie Huai himself—he was just curious. Honestly, it had started out like watching a drama.
Rich family melodramas were nothing new: illegitimate children fighting over inheritance, turning the whole family into a battlefield.
Especially ones involving switched babies.
But Qi Xu had never played into it.
He never tried to claim anything. Never even acknowledged his identity.
Instead, he turned and walked in the complete opposite direction from the Shen family—with his head held high.
Xie Huai still didn’t understand how someone just barely eighteen could be so clear-headed, so utterly uninterested in power.
What had he gone through in those eighteen years?
Qi Xu had layers—mysteries Xie Huai couldn’t quite unravel.
And that mystery pulled him closer.
By the time he realized he’d strayed from the path, he was already falling for him—his first real crush in this lifetime.
Qin Huansi once joked that before turning eighteen, Xie Huai only had feelings for tin robots.
But that year, he hadn’t even declared a college major he liked.
At eighteen, he fell for a person.
He’d failed to protect that robot.
Now, he wasn’t going to repeat the same mistake.
He wanted to protect him, and walk the road ahead together.
He handed the ball to Uncle Li.
“Just his morning temper. He’s not usually this cranky. I’ll go calm him down.”
Uncle Li chuckled.
“That’d be great. I heard he didn’t even finish his cranberry cake at lunch.”
That was serious.
Qi Xu always finished his cake.
Xie Huai quickened his pace and headed toward the inner room.
Qi Xu was sprawled on the couch, lazily tossing a rubber ball while talking on the phone with Li Kaixing.
“You and Su Kehao can go to the banquet. I can’t make it.”
“Why not? It’s finals week. You gonna take my makeup exams for me?”
Across the room, Shen Ziyang ran over holding a ball. Qi Xu casually tossed the one in his hand, and the kid happily ran off again to fetch it.
Like a fully automated energy-draining machine.
From the other end of the call, Li Kaixing heard the thump-thump of little feet.
“Qi-shao, did you get a pet?”
“Nope. Not a pet. Just a curly-haired little guy who needs to burn off energy,” Qi Xu replied.
Otherwise, the kid would be all over him, climbing into his lap with those sparkly cartoon eyes asking if he could learn how to throw the ball too.
Left with no better options, Qi Xu told him: “If you want to learn to throw, start by learning to fetch.”
And just like that, the ball-fetching boot camp began.
Li Kaixing still didn’t get it.
“Isn’t ‘curly-haired’ just code for a toy poodle? Or a bichon? I still prefer big dogs. So much cooler to walk around with.”
Qi Xu was technically still on the call, but half his attention was already on Shen Ziyang.
Even though the sound of the door opening was nearly silent compared to Kaixing’s booming voice, he heard it instantly.
He sat up from the couch and looked toward the door—Xie Huai was walking in.
“I gotta go. Something came up,” Qi Xu said into the phone.
Li Kaixing protested, “What do you mean ‘something came up’? We were in the middle of talking about the project!”
Qi Xu replied simply, “I’m busy falling in love.”
Li Kaixing: “…”
“…Wishing you and the boss lady eternal happiness.”
Qi Xu ended the call just as Xie Huai walked toward him, removing his coat.
Without missing a beat, he caught Qi Xu mid-air as the other jumped into his arms.
That’s when Qi Xu noticed how tired Xie Huai looked. He brushed under his eye gently with his thumb, concern clear in his gaze.
“You didn’t sleep at all last night? Didn’t get a night nurse?”
Xie Huai looked exhausted. Qi Xu started to climb down, but was stopped—Xie Huai kept a firm grip on his thighs, refusing to let go.
It was only when he had Qi Xu in his arms that he felt at ease.
“I slept a little. I’m fine.”
He paused. “I heard you didn’t finish your cake. Did someone piss you off?”
Qi Xu rolled his eyes. “It was a four-inch cake. What am I, a pig? And besides, I handled it. I’m not the type to stew in anger—I deal with it on the spot.”
Xie Huai chuckled, brushing his lips over Qi Xu’s forehead.
“Oh, I know. Vengeance is swift with you. You even kicked me out of bed.”
Qi Xu: “…”
How was that even the same thing?
Just then, Shen Ziyang came back with the ball. This time, Qi Xu had thrown it all the way into the study, where it had rolled under a bookshelf. It took quite the effort to retrieve.
Unluckily, he walked in just in time to see his big brother cuddled in the arms of their eldest brother.
“Brother,” he said innocently, “you’re so grown up—why do you still need to be carried?”
Qi Xu, not exactly thick-skinned, quickly tried to wriggle out of Xie Huai’s arms.
Xie Huai gently set him down on the couch.
Then he answered the kid’s question with a calm smile:
“Because he’s my baby.”
Baby—such a soft and precious word.
Qi Xu had never imagined someone would one day call him that.
He’d spent most of his life being disliked or barely tolerated.
Calling him human was generous—most people hadn’t even seen him that way.
“Unwanted” didn’t begin to cover it.
And now, the one calling him baby was Xie Huai—the person he liked.
A thousand emotions surged through him, too complex for words.
So this was what it felt like to be cherished.
Xie Huai noticed the joy sparkling in Qi Xu’s eyes and felt some of his own heaviness lift.
Later, Qi Xu found out Xie Huai hadn’t eaten yet, so he stayed to make sure he finished lunch.
After that, he all but pushed him into the bathroom to shower and rest.
Xie Huai came out wearing Qi Xu’s pajamas, but hadn’t even bothered to button them properly.
He climbed straight into bed—and immediately wrapped his arms around Qi Xu.
Qi Xu was replying to messages in the work group chat when someone suddenly pounced on him, sending his phone flying.
At this point, he’d realized something—whenever something happened, his phone always took the hit for him.
Luckily, this time it just bounced to the foot of the bed.
Qi Xu didn’t bother reaching for it. He lay back, wrapped an arm around Xie Huai’s neck, and asked softly,
“Want me to nap with you for a bit?”
It was already after lunch, and he was getting a little drowsy himself.
But the one who should’ve been catching up on sleep clearly had no intention of resting. Xie Huai was getting up to mischief at the side of his neck.
Qi Xu was used to it by now—thankfully, it was winter. He could cover up any suspicious marks with turtlenecks and scarves.
The buttons of his pajama top had already been undone. Xie Huai’s touch made him laugh involuntarily. In his own room, there was no need for restraint.
“You little mutt,” Qi Xu muttered playfully before pulling Xie Huai into a kiss.
This bed had become their private world of pleasure.
Xie Huai’s possessiveness was intense—but only when it came to Qi Xu.
And truthfully, Qi Xu had no problem indulging it.
Xie Huai’s lips found his collarbone and bit down gently, claiming it. His hand wandered down, brushing over Qi Xu’s slim waist, before sliding under the edge of his pajama pants.
Qi Xu finally realized something was off.
This wasn’t some playful pup—it was a wolf.
He quickly caught Xie Huai’s hand, trying to keep things from going further.
He looked composed, but his breathing had noticeably quickened.
“I thought we were supposed to be sleeping?” he said, eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Xie Huai’s eyes darkened. “Who said we can’t sleep afterward?”
Qi Xu still didn’t let go.
Then Xie Huai leaned down and traced his tongue over Qi Xu’s throat.
“Don’t you want to?” he murmured.
Qi Xu closed his eyes for a second, struggling with his own reactions.
His breath was uneven, and Xie Huai knew exactly where he was most sensitive.
Eventually, almost helplessly, Qi Xu released his grip.
Maybe he should’ve known he was inviting trouble the second he let Xie Huai in.
But his mind was already turning to mush—he wasn’t thinking straight.
Xie Huai guided his hand lower, whispering against his ear,
“Help me out.”
No one else had ever touched Qi Xu there before—not even himself.
He was flushed, dazed, just moving on instinct.
He wasn’t really trying to please—but the way Xie Huai breathed, the color blooming across his face, told Qi Xu everything.
He was excited.
Qi Xu knew something was wrong.
He’d felt it from the very first moment he saw Xie Huai.
That intuition—he only had it when it came to Xie Huai.
Maybe it was about their relationship. Maybe Xie Huai was anxious, even insecure.
And that just didn’t sit right.
Xie Huai was supposed to be confident, untouchable—someone who always stood tall and proud.
Realizing that this man’s unease was tied to him made Qi Xu’s heart ache a little.
It felt like Xie Huai’s entire world revolved around him.
He couldn’t help but wonder—
This same time in their last life… what were they doing?
Their first New Year’s together, at the Shen family’s estate.
Ah, right.
Back then, he had returned to the Shen family home, only to be met with a barrage of criticism.
In the end, he lost it at the dinner table—slammed down his bowl and chopsticks, turning the family gathering into a chaotic mess.
He’d been overwhelmed by injustice and resentment, and he needed a release.
So he snapped.
But now, today, here he was…
Entwined in the most intimate way with Xie Huai—the same person who had once been like a stranger to him in his previous life.
No secrets, no defenses, just complete vulnerability.
He’d walked away from a so-called family that had never truly cared about him…
And in return, he gained a love so rare, it was priceless.
Just one person—Xie Huai—was enough to fill every hollow part of his heart.
Outside, it was bright daylight—snow-covered ground, freezing air.
But inside the room, the lights were dim, and the heat between them kept rising, bringing a flush to their cheeks.
Xie Huai moved slowly, tenderly, as he whispered to Qi Xu,
“Baby.”
Qi Xu arched his slender neck, sweat trickling down his face, his blood still burning hot.
His hand faltered just as his mind went blank, and Xie Huai grasped his wrist, continuing the movement himself.
Xie Huai clearly took longer to finish.
By the time it was over, Qi Xu had come back to his senses, completely spent—he didn’t even want to lift a finger.
Only after a bit of complaining did Xie Huai finally let him off the hook.
Then, while Xie Huai cleaned up, Qi Xu lay sprawled on the bed, drained of all strength, the only thing still moving being his eyes.
When Xie Huai came back and pulled him into his arms again, he chuckled at Qi Xu’s state.
“What did you even do to be this tired?”
Qi Xu just bumped his forehead against Xie Huai’s shoulder in silence.
With a bit of coaxing, he fell asleep within seconds.
Xie Huai gently brushed his fingers along Qi Xu’s cheek.
Behind his eyes, the post-ecstasy calm had returned.
No one knew what he was thinking… but eventually, satisfied, he wrapped his arms around Qi Xu and closed his eyes.
