BTMDY Extra 9

“Anyway, that’s basically how it went.”

 

“Vincent, right? I’ll have someone check him out.”

 

“Good!”

 

“Wanting him to actually get expelled isn’t very realistic.”

 

“No need. Just use your Nordic connections to let him know I’m not someone to mess with. That’s enough!”

 

“Got it.”

 

Shi Yuan was pretty popular at school. Almost everyone Lin Wangye had met through him was genuinely his friend. Lin Wangye had joined their social circle mainly to fit in, so it stung a little when that playboy sneaked in and caused trouble.

 

And of course, the guy just had to poke the family’s big jealous bear for no reason.

 

It ended up dragging poor Xiao Lin into a mess too, and one small slip turned into a whole night of chaos.

 

By the time he woke up naturally, the sun was high, almost noon. After freshening up, Lin Wangye popped the breakfast Shi Yuan had prepared into the microwave. With nothing else to do while waiting, he called Lu Chengxuan to fill him in on the situation.

 

At first, Lin Wangye hesitated about whether to say anything.

 

It wasn’t a huge deal—just some trashy playboy trying to flirt—but considering the guy had some background locally, letting him linger could cause bigger trouble later.

 

To prevent things from escalating, Lin Wangye decided to unleash a little mysterious Eastern power.

 

Talking to Lu Chengxuan was always simple and efficient.

 

Once Lin Wangye explained the situation over the phone, Lu Chengxuan immediately understood his intentions and agreed without hesitation.

 

By the time zone difference is accounted for, it was already very late back home.

 

After a few casual words, Lin Wangye was about to hang up when Lin Shen’s voice came through, along with a video call request.

 

Once connected, Lin Shen realized from the camera that they weren’t at home—they were in the office.

 

“Still working late on a double shift, huh?”

 

In front of his subordinates, Lin Shen could still hold the sharp, commanding CEO image. Privately, though, he was lazy and laid-back.

 

Especially during overtime—it was more like half-dead than alive.

 

He wasn’t sure how long he had been working, speaking slowly and without energy: “Yeah… it’s been busy lately. Every year around this time is a string of shopping festivals and a ton of annoying little tasks.”

 

“Didn’t seem this busy in previous years.”

 

“Every year’s different.”

 

Lin Shen sighed lightly. When he subconsciously reached for his pen, he remembered it was the fountain pen Lu Chengxuan had given him last birthday. Spinning it could spill ink everywhere, so he put it down and continued: “Your birthday’s coming up soon. I realized I haven’t had a honeymoon yet, and it’s been a while since I spent your birthday with you. So I thought I’d finish work early and head to Sigwell to hang out with you.”

 

Hearing that, Lin Wangye’s eyes lit up instantly.

 

“Yay! Come play with me!”

 

“Not that simple!”

 

Lin Shen glanced at the mountain of work on his desk and gritted his teeth in frustration.

 

“Who told you to have your birthday on damn Double Eleven? Online, offline events all clashing—so annoying! We’ve been working overtime every day, just trying to get everything done before we leave. Otherwise, when the critical time comes and we’re both out of the country, a ton of problems will pile up. We’re not like you, just able to drop everything and run off for love like unemployed kids!”

 

Lin Wangye knew his dad got irritable when working overtime, and that just scolding a bit made him feel better, so he wasn’t annoyed at all. Grinning, he leaned toward the camera:

 

“Dad, didn’t you say my real birthday is on Qixi? Double Eleven was your idea. I’ve been celebrating it this way for years. Even if you don’t like it, you can’t blame me. Come on, is it my fault I can’t control my birthday?”

 

“Let’s just see if we can get all this stuff done. If not, we’ll have to push it back.”

 

“No need to rush for my birthday anyway. A little later is fine. Just don’t overwork yourselves.”

 

“Got it.” Lin Shen nodded. Noticing that the camera only showed Lin Wangye for a long while, he casually asked, “Where’s my daughter-in-law? He must be in a bad mood. Send him out to take the scolding.”

 

The microwave dinged. Lin Wangye walked over, took out the food, and replied,

 

“He’s in class.”

 

“Oh right, I forgot he’s still in school. Must be so busy.” Lin Shen slapped his forehead and leaned closer to the screen. “Hey, what do you have in your hand?”

 

“Breakfast.”

 

Lin Wangye set the food on the table, sat down, and switched the camera to the rear view to show him.

 

“Shi Yuan made it before he left. But I woke up too late, so it’s basically lunch now. Look—pork chop, cod, fried egg, and just add a cup of milk, and it counts as a proper meal.”

 

Lin Shen sighed. “Poor kid, eating all this with zero real substance.”

 

“Can’t help it,” Lin Wangye also sighed, switching the camera back, frowning. “Three meals a day here are already pretty good, but it’s nothing compared to home. Back there, you can just go to any specialty restaurant anytime.”

 

“Why don’t you cook yourself? Most ingredients are available, right?”

 

“Sure, but cooking proper Chinese dishes back home takes too much time. Shi Yuan just doesn’t have that kind of time, and I don’t want him to be tired. Plus, he absolutely won’t let me touch the cooking…”

 

“Hmm? Why not?”

 

Lin Wangye looked a bit embarrassed, eyes darting away before explaining: “I once got a craving for braised pork. When I was caramelizing the sugar, I almost set the kitchen on fire, and even cut my finger by accident. Then I got the idea to make green pepper pork strips, and cut myself again. After that, he refused to let me near the knives, saying I’m not cut out for it…”

 

“You okay now?” Lin Shen asked.

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Lin Wangye felt touched under his dad’s concerned gaze on the screen. He raised his finger to show him: “Just a tiny cut. Healed long ago.”

 

No sooner had he said that than his dad’s side erupted in laughter.

 

Lin Wangye’s face fell, black lines practically appearing on his forehead, as he listened to his dad’s booming “hahahahahahaha” for what felt like forever. Then, finally catching his breath, he seemed genuinely grateful for the burst of fun in an otherwise dull overtime and muttered, half-joking, half-exasperated:

 

“My bad… I raised a little useless creature.”

 

“Can’t help it, too hard.” Lin Wangye pouted while pouring the warm milk into a cup, shaking his head helplessly. “I can do burgers, sandwiches, desserts, that’s fine, but I really… am not a Chinese cuisine kind of person.”

 

“No worries. If you can’t, you can’t.”

 

Lin Shen raised an eyebrow, standing casually as he spoke, looking completely unconcerned:

 

“Remember, as long as you’re a useless little thing, no one can take advantage of you. Just have Xu Suinian serve you, that’s it. He’s not unwilling anyway.”

 

Even though his dad had never touched a single thing in the kitchen—never even washed a bowl—Lin Wangye wasn’t embarrassed by this kind of comment. He just nodded, unsurprised.

 

“Alright, I’ll eat now. Won’t bother you at work.”

 

“Okay, hang up.”

 

After ending the call, Lin Wangye set his phone aside. He was curled up with his tablet, scrolling through videos for something to watch while eating, when he suddenly heard the door open.

 

Shi Yuan was back, carrying two plastic bags.

 

Their apartment was on the second floor, and the floor-to-ceiling windows let just the right amount of sunlight in at noon. The bright rays filtered through the leaves, scattering mottled patterns across the living room.

 

The boy, spoon in hand, sat at the table, and their eyes met by chance as he looked up.

 

Every day, coming back from school, Shi Yuan looked forward to this exact moment.

 

A simple, quiet happiness bloomed naturally.

 

Just having the person he cared about quietly by his side felt like a strange kind of power, one that could silently stitch together the lingering wounds from darker days.

 

Every corner of life seemed dusted with sugar.

 

Every bite, every moment, was sweet.

 

“I knew you’d probably just be waking up now.” Shi Yuan closed the door behind him, slipped on his house slippers, and put the bags away in the cupboard.

 

Lin Wangye put down his spoon. “Why are you back so early?”

 

“Didn’t you say yesterday you wanted braised pork ribs? Came back to make them for you.” Shi Yuan walked to the table, and seeing that Lin Wangye hadn’t really eaten yet, he relaxed and ruffled his hair: “Good thing you haven’t eaten yet. Can you wait a bit?”

 

“I can, not that hungry anyway.”

 

Without thinking, Lin Wangye put down his chopsticks, but a faint worry crossed his face: “But I already heated all this up. If I don’t eat it, it’ll go to waste. Can we save it in the fridge for tonight?”

 

“Sure.” Shi Yuan picked up the plate. “Then I’ll just put it away for now.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Lin Wangye obediently nodded, stood, and ran to the kitchen to wash his chopsticks and spoon. Returning, he saw the cup of warm milk still on the table. He lifted it for a sip, only to be stopped.

 

“Be good, don’t drink it.”

 

Lin Wangye blinked, confused, turning to look at him.

 

Shi Yuan, having just taken the ribs out of the bag, stepped forward in time to take the glass from him. He lightly tapped Lin Wangye’s forehead:

 

“Don’t drink milk on an empty stomach. It’ll upset your stomach.”

 

“Oh… you told me before. Just forgot for a moment.”

 

Shi Yuan laughed, poking his nose playfully, then lifted the glass and drank the milk in one go. Walking to the sink to wash the cup, he asked:

 

“Haven’t I taught you these things before?”

 

In this context, Lin Wangye quickly realized that the ‘before’ he was talking about was referring to their previous life.

 

After learning the truth, aside from the first couple of days when Lin Wangye had mentioned many stories from that other timeline, the two of them didn’t really talk about those things often in their daily interactions.

 

Still, Lin Wangye could sense that Shi Yuan cared a little.

 

This jealous little thing, though he never said it out loud, was possessive enough that he couldn’t even tolerate another version of himself from a different time.

 

Lin Wangye knew this very well, so he rarely brought it up.

 

But when Shi Yuan was willing to mention it himself, Lin Wangye, as if encountering something new and exciting, quickly jumped in:

 

“I didn’t really like milk before. I always had soy milk or porridge for breakfast.”

 

Shi Yuan’s curiosity was immediately piqued. “Oh? So why do you drink it now?”

 

“Back when I first came here, I didn’t have any money. My dad was arguing with the family and also broke. Still, we had to eat. He liked milk, so sometimes he’d get me a bottle too. Over time, my taste adapted, and I started to think it wasn’t bad at all.”

 

“I see.”

 

Shi Yuan put away the washed cup, took the ribs out of the bag, rinsed them under running water, and asked again:

 

“So your food preferences now are different from before?”

 

Braised ribs didn’t really need any side dishes. Standing next to him, Lin Wangye found he didn’t even have space to help, so with nothing else to do, he idly rolled a tomato back and forth on the counter, thinking as he answered:

 

“Not really. I still like the same things I used to. You know what I like to eat. If I had to say what’s different… maybe I’m less picky now. Haha, back at Dad’s place, whatever the housekeeper made, I had to eat it. Didn’t feel right to be picky.”

 

Shi Yuan listened patiently, recalling that first meeting when Lin Wangye had squeezed into that tiny, shabby home with him. Even after all this time, it still left a sour feeling.

 

He’d known Lin Shen for years and understood his nature.

 

That man spoiled his son endlessly, raising him gently, pampered without ever saying no.

 

This little young master, having grown up being held in the palm of a hand, was suddenly thrown into this unfamiliar environment and immediately put under Lu Chengxuan’s care—he had never endured a day of hardship.

 

Yet this same person insisted on staying with him in a place where the air conditioning didn’t even work in the freezing winter.

 

If it weren’t for the heavy love in his heart, how could he willingly do that?

 

By now, Shi Yuan had long accepted that Lin Wangye’s pure, intense love essentially came from another timeline and had spread to him.

 

But it was still hard to convince himself not to care about who came first.

 

It was like picking up a kitten: you care for it meticulously, and it depends on you completely. The more you love it, the more you can’t help but wonder if it remembers the person who cared for it before.

 

Shi Yuan knew these thoughts were wrong, even unhealthy.

 

But he couldn’t stop worrying about Lin Wangye. This worry had become obsessive—to the point that even when he fully possessed Lin Wangye in this timeline, he felt petty about the other self from the past timeline having even a little memory of him.

 

Having been together for so long, Lin Wangye knew Shi Yuan too well.

 

Even a pause of a few seconds was enough for him to notice Shi Yuan’s brief distraction. He slid over to stand next to him, tilted his head to look into his eyes, blinked a few quick times, and wrapped his arm around him, pressing close.

 

“What are you daydreaming about again, Mr. Shi?”

 

Caught in the act, Shi Yuan didn’t rush to hide it. He kept busy washing the ingredients, a small smile curling at his lips as he admitted,

 

“Had a little bit of old-fashioned jealousy. Xiao Lin, come here and cheer me up.”

 

“Ahh…”

 

Lin Wangye didn’t even need to guess. He immediately felt helpless, resting his chin on Shi Yuan’s shoulder with a sigh, teeth gritted as he pretended to scold him harshly:

 

“Xiao Lin gives you two punches!”

 

Shi Yuan didn’t get annoyed either; the smile on his face deepened, and he teased casually,

 

“Xiao Lin wouldn’t dare.”

 

“Of course not!”

 

Lin Wangye rubbed his chin against Shi Yuan’s shoulder a few times, then turned his face gently to press against him, whispering,

 

“I know, for you that’s a different version of yourself. Accepting it calmly is hard. But think this way—if everything had followed the original path, you’d eventually become him. I would have fallen in love with you at another point in time.”

 

After saying it, Lin Wangye even felt that what he’d just said made perfect sense.

 

Logical! Definitely comforting! Spot on!

 

But he never expected Shi Yuan, after hearing it, to shake his head without hesitation, turn off the tap, and look at him seriously.

 

“I don’t want everything to follow the original path. I want you to be well, even if you don’t love me at all.”

 

Lin Wangye’s proud, self-satisfied expression froze instantly.

 

When their eyes met, his pupils trembled slightly. Only now did he realize, too late, that he had said the wrong thing.

 

Regarding the other version of himself, Shi Yuan cared, but it wasn’t a point of resistance. He could handle it easily, didn’t need comforting, and even teasing about needing consolation was just joking.

 

But the ending in that other timeline—that was his real pain point.

 

Lin Wangye instinctively searched for words to make amends. His lips moved, but no sound came out. He clenched his fists, panicked.

 

Seeing Shi Yuan’s eyes redden in an instant, he acted quickly, washing the grease off his hands with soap, drying them, and immediately pulling Lin Wangye into his arms. He gently patted the back of his head.

 

“It’s okay, it’s okay. My fault. I said the wrong thing.”

 

At every turning point in life, Lin Wangye had never lacked protection. This had shaped him—his childlike heart never faded with age, always buried deep inside.

 

If he stumbled, he was the kind of kid who would cry if comforted too soon, but otherwise would struggle to get up alone.

 

Hearing Shi Yuan take the blame for him, Lin Wangye’s nose tingled. He fought to hold back the tears, wrapping his arms around Shi Yuan’s waist, red-eyed, sniffling.

 

“Xiao Lin would never stop loving you. This time, it was just a little early…”

 

“I know.” Shi Yuan’s fingers ran gently through his hair, his voice soft to the extreme: “I would never stop loving Xiao Lin either. This time was just a little early.”

 

In that instant, the two timelines seemed to fold into one again.

 

The answer that Lin Wangye had been owed, the one he had felt deprived of, was finally, truly made whole.

 

The intimate embrace didn’t turn into a love-laden kiss. Shi Yuan quietly held the boy he treasured in his arms, using the gentle caress resting on his head to soothe him without words.

 

Outside, the sunlight remained brilliant and dazzling.

 

Time flowed like an endless river. Fortunately, luck had favored them, letting a lost soul drift safely onto the shore, not far from love.

 

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