BTMDY Chapter 58

Xu Suihe needed someone by her side at all times. Since they couldn’t afford to hire a full-time caregiver, her grandparents took turns looking after her.

 

So the job of prepping for New Year’s Eve dinner ended up falling on Lin Wangye and Shi Yuan.

 

On New Year’s Eve, Lin Wangye slept in, only waking up naturally. When he picked up his phone, he saw that his alarm hadn’t even gone off yet.

 

He shot Shi Yuan a message, then lay in bed a bit longer before finally dragging himself up. He washed up slowly, took his time getting dressed, and once he was all set, he carefully opened his door and peeked out.

 

According to what Lu Chengxuan had said yesterday, the Lu family’s patriarch was supposed to land early in the morning.

 

But Lin Wangye had been dead asleep by then—middle of the night, pitch dark, deep in a dream. He hadn’t heard a single thing. So now he wasn’t even sure if the guy was home yet.

 

The hallway on the second floor was empty, and it was dead quiet by the stairs.

 

If someone was in the living room downstairs, he figured he’d at least hear some kind of noise.

 

Since Lu Chengxuan said he had to attend the Lu family’s New Year gathering on the first day of the year, Lin Wangye had been mentally preparing himself all night.

 

But the thought of meeting Lu Chengxuan’s dad still made him a bit nervous.

 

Brother Lu already gave off serious boss energy just by standing there—his dad was probably even more intense.

 

After pacing back and forth in his head for a bit, Lin Wangye finally chickened out, shut the door, and sent Lu Chengxuan a message from inside the room.

 

[Xiao Lin Offers Himself: Brother Lu!!!]

 

[Xiao Lin Offers Himself: I’m awake, Brother Lu!]

 

[Xiao Lin Offers Himself: Did your dad come back? Is he home? Are you home? Should I go greet him?]

 

[Lu Chengxuan: He’s back.]

 

[Lu Chengxuan: My parents and I are out. The house is empty. Do whatever you want.]

 

[Xiao Lin Offers Himself: Okay!]

 

[Xiao Lin Offers Himself: I fell asleep last night and missed the midnight blessing—Happy New Year’s Eve, Brother Lu! Wishing you health and good luck with everything!]

 

[Lu Chengxuan: Happy New Year’s Eve.]

 

[Lu Chengxuan: [Transfers you 888]]

 

[Xiao Lin Offers Himself: Thanks, Brother Lu!]

 

[Xiao Lin Offers Himself: Please say hi to Uncle and Auntie for me!]

 

[Lu Chengxuan: 1]

 

The moment Lin Wangye got the confirmation that no one was home, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

 

He hadn’t even done anything wrong, but still, he felt like a prisoner just released from a long sentence—finally seeing the light of day. He flung the door open and practically bounced his way downstairs, only to find that the massive Lu residence really was completely empty.

 

Looked like even the housekeepers had the day off for New Year’s Eve.

 

Normally, the Lu family’s villa had four or five maids working inside. Outside, there were people handling the landscaping and cleaning. Lin Wangye had never bothered counting, but just the ones he recognized by face easily added up to over a dozen.

 

Rich families really lived differently.

 

Back at the Lin house, they’d only ever had two maids at most.

 

Feeling a little hungry and seeing Shi Yuan hadn’t messaged yet, Lin Wangye wandered into the kitchen to grab something to eat. While he was heating up some milk, he suddenly heard the door behind him open.

 

He turned to look—it was the butler.

 

“You need help, Xiao Lin?”

 

“Nah, I got it,” Lin Wangye waved him off and said casually, “Uncle Liu, I didn’t know you were still around—I thought everyone had gone on holiday.”

 

The old butler smiled, eyes crinkling. “I’m technically off duty too. But my daughter’s studying abroad, so I didn’t go anywhere.”

 

“Ah, makes sense.” Lin Wangye nodded, then grinned from ear to ear. “Happy New Year’s Eve!”

 

“Happy New Year.”

 

After exchanging greetings and making sure Lin Wangye didn’t need anything, Uncle Liu turned and quietly left.

 

Lin Wangye grabbed some bread and canned luncheon meat from the fridge and threw together a simple sandwich for breakfast. Just as he finished off the last of his milk, his phone chimed—Shi Yuan messaged saying he was already at the gate.

 

Lin Wangye jumped up right away, took a few quick steps, then suddenly screeched to a halt. He ran back, rinsed his glass clean, tidied up the table, and then headed out.

 

As the metal gate slowly slid open, Lin Wangye dashed out and launched himself at Shi Yuan.

 

“Happy! New! Year’s! Eve!”

 

Laughing, Shi Yuan opened his arms wide and caught him easily. Lin Wangye wrapped his arms around Shi Yuan’s neck and climbed up like a koala, hanging on tight. Shi Yuan held him steady, voice soft and warm.

 

“Happy New Year’s Eve.”

 

Lin Wangye tugged on his ear and yelled, “Call me babe!”

 

His voice rang out clear and bright, full of energy, so loud that a passing scooter even turned to look.

 

Shi Yuan kissed him gently on the lips and smiled. “Happy New Year’s Eve, babe.”

 

Lin Wangye nuzzled the side of his face and said softly, “I like you.”

 

The way he moved and spoke—it was full of clinginess and affection, like he couldn’t help but rely on him. It was almost spilling out of him. Shi Yuan’s heart melted into a puddle. He slid his fingers into Lin Wangye’s hair and gently stroked his head.

 

“I like you too.”

 

They stayed wrapped around each other like that for a good while before Lin Wangye finally climbed down. He tiptoed up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, grabbed his hand, and tugged him along. “Come on, we gotta hit the market. If we’re late, all the fresh stuff’s gonna be gone!”

 

There was a huge market not far from where they lived. It was cheaper than the supermarket, and most importantly—everything was fresh.

 

So they had already planned yesterday that Shi Yuan would take the bus from the hospital around noon, meet up with Lin Wangye, go buy some meat and veggies, then head home to prep for New Year’s dinner. After that, they’d bring the food back to the hospital and spend the evening there together.

 

Except for the hospital, everything else was within walking distance.

 

Originally, Lin Wangye had also planned to stay at the hospital with Shi Yuan through the first day of the New Year. But before he could even tell him, something came up and the plan had to change.

 

Walking hand in hand toward the market, Lin Wangye chatted idly.

 

“I was gonna spend tomorrow with you too, but Brother Lu said there’s a family dinner at the Lu house and he’s bringing me along.”

 

“His family?” Shi Yuan asked. “You don’t really know them, do you?”

 

Lin Wangye nodded like crazy. “Exactly! I didn’t wanna go at first—aside from his mom, I barely know anyone in his family. But then he said there’d be red envelopes. I mean, free money from the sky—I can’t just say no to that, right? So I agreed.”

 

As he spoke, he held up five fingers.

 

“Five thousand! Just say ‘Happy New Year’ a couple times and do a few bows, and boom—there’s our living expenses for a few months, maybe even the whole year!”

 

But instead of being happy about the extra money, Shi Yuan’s first reaction was to look at him, a little worried. “They’re not gonna make things hard for you, right?”

 

Truth be told, that thought had crossed Lin Wangye’s mind too.

 

But when it came to Lu Chengxuan, he had complete trust.

 

He also understood where Shi Yuan was coming from—wary that nothing in life came free, just wanting to protect him. So he explained, “I don’t think so. Brother Lu wouldn’t screw me over for no reason.”

 

Shi Yuan thought about it for a second, then nodded. Yeah, it made sense.

 

“True. Lu Chengxuan looks all cold and distant, but he’s helped out a lot.”

 

“Exactly.”

 

Thinking about how much he used to hate this guy in his last life, Lin Wangye couldn’t help feeling a little emotional.

 

“Brother Lu’s the type who looks cold but is super warm on the inside. Didn’t I tell you about the whole esports hotel thing? Once the place actually opens, it might not take long before the income becomes steady! I really believe we’ll turn a profit fast, and then I’ll open a bunch of branches and reach the peak of life! When that happens, you can quit your job at the pottery shop and come work with me at the hotel—it’ll be way easier.”

 

Shi Yuan smiled, eyes crinkling. “Boss Xiao Lin.”

 

Lin Wangye looked down and mimicked pushing up a pair of glasses, trying to act all serious. “It’s President Lin, thank you.”

 

Shi Yuan half-jokingly, half-sweetly replied, “Happy New Year, President Lin.”

 

Lin Wangye grinned from ear to ear, gently squeezed Shi Yuan’s knuckles inside his pocket, then leaned his head on his shoulder and rubbed it softly. “Everything’s going to get better and better. You’ve gotta have faith in me.”

 

As time flowed by, Shi Yuan couldn’t help but think back to when Xu Suihe had just been admitted to the hospital.

 

Down at the end of a hallway, Lin Wangye had hugged him gently from behind and asked what he could do to make things easier.

 

Shi Yuan thought he had hidden it well.

 

But the heavy sense of unease he carried had already been noticed long ago.

 

That had triggered a strong sense of insecurity in Lin Wangye—one that hadn’t gone away even now. He was still, in big ways and small, always trying to comfort Shi Yuan, in whatever way he could.

 

Shi Yuan regretted it deeply.

 

If he could go back in time, he would’ve never chosen to hide things in such a clumsy way that ended up burdening Lin Wangye without even realizing it.

 

But the closer he got to Lin Wangye, the harder it became to ignore the anxiety buried deep inside him.

 

It’s brutal—when you meet someone you’d give everything to protect, only to realize in the most critical moments how small and powerless you actually are.

 

He needed to get stronger. Fast.

 

Shi Yuan gripped the boy’s hand tighter, met his eyes with a gentle but firm gaze, and smiled. “Okay. I’ll do whatever President Lin says.”

 

The moment those words landed, Lin Wangye lit up with happiness.

 

He started talking non-stop about how Lu Chengxuan had basically signed off on the plan, how they now had a complete framework and a working prototype, and how they were just about ready to kick it into motion.

 

This wasn’t exactly Shi Yuan’s area of expertise.

 

Especially when it came to games and esports.

 

But he still listened seriously, and every time Lin Wangye glanced his way, he responded with a warm, encouraging smile.

 

But once they reached the market, Lin Wangye was completely stunned.

 

He’d been to this place plenty of times before but the regular market and the New Year’s market were two completely different beasts. It was packed wall-to-wall with people all scrambling to stock up for the holiday.

 

The two of them held hands tightly, afraid they’d get separated in the crowd. They pushed their way through for what felt like forever before finally buying everything they needed. The moment they stepped outside, they both felt like they could finally breathe again.

 

Because of Xu Suihe’s treatment, she had to avoid a lot of foods.

 

And Grandpa and Grandma weren’t young anymore—their digestion wasn’t great either. So the New Year’s dinner had to be on the lighter side.

 

They’d bought food that was high in vitamins and protein—fish, mushrooms, baby bok choy, that sort of stuff.

 

As they walked back toward Shi Yuan’s house, Lin Wangye turned his head and asked, “You haven’t been back in a while, have you?”

 

“It’s been a long time,” Shi Yuan replied after thinking for a second. “Ever since Suihe transferred hospitals, the new place is too far, and my grandparents took all the daily stuff with them to stay there. I haven’t been home in over a month.”

 

“It’s been even longer for me. I kinda missed this place.”

 

They chatted while walking, and soon, they were near the entrance of the alley where Shi Yuan’s house was. It was the kind of old city neighborhood that really came alive during the New Year. Street vendors were everywhere, little stalls at the corner, and people selling produce right from their tricycles, shouting to grab attention.

 

Lin Wangye stomped his foot and grumbled, “If I’d known, we wouldn’t have squeezed through all that chaos just to grab some tomatoes!”

 

Shi Yuan was about to tease him about fighting off grannies for scallions and tomatoes, but then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a few men standing by the alley, smoking.

 

His smile froze. His face changed in an instant, like he’d been struck by lightning.

 

“Huh?”

 

Before Lin Wangye could even react, he was yanked around and pulled away without warning.

 

A skinny, middle-aged man in a black padded jacket looked toward them, sensing something. But all he saw was the bus stop and some ads nearby. He flicked the ash off his cigarette and turned back.

 

Still confused, Lin Wangye stood at the bus stop, blinking at Shi Yuan. “What’s going on?”

 

Shi Yuan’s face gave nothing away. He reached over and pulled up the hood on Lin Wangye’s jacket.

 

“I just remembered—we’re out of seasoning at home. No one’s been there in ages, so the electricity might be out too. Take the groceries back to the Lu house. We’ll just order some food from a restaurant for New Year’s Eve dinner.”

 

“Oh, okay.”

 

Lin Wangye didn’t think much of it. He nodded.

 

“Sure, but I promised Suihe I’d make her steamed shrimp. You think any restaurants will have that during the holidays?”

 

“If they don’t, you can just make it at home in a couple of days and bring it over.”

 

“True! Alright, let’s drop the food off in the fridge first, then head to the shopping street and see what’s open!”

 

With that, the two of them headed back the way they came.

 

As they crossed the street, Shi Yuan threw a sharp glance back at the alley, eyes scanning the group of men smoking. His grip on Lin Wangye’s hand tightened.

 

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