Chapter 47

Chapter 47

They had indeed met as children.

Ying Xi abruptly looked up, his gaze locking with Li Yang’s, who happened to be looking his way.

Catching the flicker of surprise in his eyes, Li Yang set down the delivery box and slowly came to a stop beside him. "What’s wrong?"

His gaze inadvertently fell on the photo displayed on Ying Xi’s phone, and Li Yang instinctively leaned in closer.

The child on the left, with a cold expression, was unmistakably Ying Xi—distant and aloof, just as he was now.

Before Li Yang could focus on the child on the right, he suddenly shuddered.

That face was identical to the one he had seen in his dreams.

Li Yang’s gaze shifted right. The other child was him.

Or rather, the original Li Yang.

The moment he saw the photo, Li Yang’s mind went blank. His breath hitched, and a strange unease washed over him. His mind reeled as fragmented memories flooded in, making it impossible to discern whether they were merging with the original host’s memories or something else entirely.

The classroom buzzed with chatter, but the sounds around him grew distant. His hands, hanging at his sides, trembled slightly. It took him a long moment to react, and he silently clasped his hands behind his back.

"We met when we were kids," Ying Xi said, his voice deep and deliberate. "Our fate was sealed back then."

"Yeah." Li Yang’s face stiffened as he averted his gaze, his spirits inexplicably dampened.

He couldn’t explain why he felt this way, nor did he notice how rigid his body had become, standing stiff as a board.

He wanted to explain that it wasn’t him, but the words hovered on his tongue before being swallowed back down. Li Yang exhaled slowly.

"What’s wrong?" Noticing his odd reaction, Ying Xi reached out to touch his forehead—his temperature was normal.

"Nothing," Li Yang said quietly, catching his hand and lowering it. "I’m just shocked we actually met before."

"I bumped my head when I was little, so I don’t remember," Ying Xi said softly. "What about you, Yangyang? Do you remember? I’d love to hear about our childhood."

Unfortunately, he didn’t remember either.

Li Yang pressed his fingers to his temples. The memories weren’t unfamiliar—rather than merging with someone else’s, they felt like his own.

But every time he tried to grasp them clearly, they slipped away like smoke.

In the end, all Li Yang could recall was the dream he’d had, while everything else remained fragmented and blurry.

"I can’t remember clearly," Li Yang said vaguely. "Maybe I hit my head too."

Ying Xi couldn’t help but laugh, playfully ruffling his hair. "I’ll ask Grandma. She probably knows."

He paused, then leaned closer. "Yangyang, do you want to meet her?"

Li Yang hesitated, instinctively wanting to refuse, but the word slipped out as a quiet "Okay."

He touched his cheek, giving Ying Xi a faint smile before returning to his seat, deep in thought.

*

Ying Xi’s grandma had once lived in Mingwan neighborhood but later moved to an apartment downtown to be closer to his parents.

Before arriving, Ying Xi called ahead.

Grandma was playing mahjong when she picked up, surprised. "Xiao Xi? You rarely call. What’s up?"

Ying Xi seldom reached out unless he needed something.

His personality had earned him plenty of complaints over the years.

As Li Xu once said, even those who liked him would eventually grumble, "What kind of person is this?" before cutting him off completely.

"I wanted to ask you about my childhood," Ying Xi said quietly.

Grandma: "Oh, so you’ve remembered something? There are old photos of you at the house. Go take a look if you’re curious."

"I’m on my way to your place," Ying Xi said. "I’d like to talk to you in person."

There was a pause on the other end before shuffling sounds indicated movement.

Grandma: "Come on over. It’s been too long since I’ve seen you."

Ten minutes later, the door swung open to reveal Grandma, her chestnut curls framing her face.

Spotting Li Yang beside Ying Xi, she gasped, grabbing his hand excitedly and pulling him inside.

"You’re Xiao Xi’s friend, right? How did you two meet? He must’ve driven you crazy with that temper of his. Hm? Why are you wearing a ring—Xiao Xi too? Oh! I get it now. You’re together!"

Her remarkably smooth face lit up as she put two and two together, her eyes darting between them in astonishment.

"So, are you here to tell me you’re engaged?"

"No," Ying Xi said. "Grandma, doesn’t Yangyang look familiar to you?"

Grandma paused, studying Li Yang from head to toe before gasping. "Now that you mention it, he does."

Despite her warmth, Li Yang couldn’t help feeling uneasy—especially knowing he was about to hear stories of the original host and Ying Xi’s past. He felt an inexplicable tension.

"I remember now! Weren’t you the kid who lived across the street?" Grandma smacked her palms together, gripping Li Yang’s. "Yangyang, right? I remember you so clearly."

"Everyone else was too scared to talk to Xiao Xi with that icy face of his, but you—you squeezed his cheeks and told him how pretty he was, begging him to play with you."

Li Yang blinked, pointing at himself in disbelief. "Me? Squeezing his cheeks?"

Was the original me really that bold as a child?

How had he grown up so quiet?

"Of course!" Grandma pulled him down onto the sofa, chuckling at the recollection. "You even told him off for sulking, saying if he didn’t want to play, he should just say so. And Xiao Xi actually agreed! After that, you two became thick as thieves."

"Back then, Xiao Xi didn’t attend school there, but whenever he stayed with me during breaks, you two were joined at the hip. It’s a shame your family…" Grandma sighed regretfully. "Your parents argued a lot back then. Before long, they moved away with you."

Her words felt so familiar, yet Li Yang couldn’t recall specifics.

What was strangest of all, he didn't feel like he was hearing about someone else’s story—it was as if he’d lived it himself.

But he wasn’t the original host. He was the real Li Yang.

Had he never crossed over into a book at all?

"You were still in elementary school then, only came up to here." Grandma gestured to a height, grinning from ear to ear.

"You were the only kid in the whole complex who'd play with Xiao Xi. Everyone else steered clear of him. Look how big you've gotten—are you and Xiao Xi an item now? I always felt there was something fated between you two, and now it seems it's true."

The gentle voice reached his ears but struggled to penetrate his mind. Li Yang felt increasingly spaced out, feeling as though his soul had detached from his body, leaving him with an out-of-body feeling.

It wasn’t until Ying Xi’s warm palm settled on his wrist that he snapped out of it, blinking before letting out a small laugh. "After all this time, Grandma, you still remember so clearly."

"Of course! After that, he never had another friend around," Grandma said.

"Grandma, could you tell us about our childhood from the beginning?" Ying Xi spoke softly.

Hearing this tone from him and seeing his gentle expression now, Grandma clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Love sure changes a person. I never thought you'd settle down with anyone."

She lowered her head, recalling for a moment before telling them all about when they were kids.

Li Yang listened intently, his jumbled memories slowly coming into focus as she spoke.

During the summer vacation when he was ten, his parents’ relationship was still harmonious, and they had just moved into a new place.

Back then, Li Yang was full of energy and friendly, always eager to play with others.

But since they were new, he hadn’t made friends with any of the kids yet to join in their games.

Until one day, when he pushed open the door and saw Ying Xi standing there with a blank face in the hallway.

Other kids his age were either talking about what was new, discussing cartoons, or bragging about their newest toys.

Only Ying Xi was different—standoffish, standing there with cold indifference, his delicate features giving off serious don't-talk-to-me vibes.

Li Yang couldn’t help but be drawn to him.

He walked a full circle around Ying Xi once, asking for his name.

Ying Xi didn’t even blink, not moving a muscle.

Li Yang had never seen someone so beautiful before and thought he might be one of those mannequins mentioned in TV shows. He reached out and pinched Ying Xi’s cheek, tugging lightly.

The warmth of human skin startled him, and he jerked his hand back, eyes going wide.

"You’re alive? Then why are you just standing here without saying anything?"

Ying Xi looked down at him, silent.

That cool, too-good-to-talk silence was too striking. Unable to resist, Li Yang went up on his toes and pinched Ying Xi’s cheek again, telling him how pretty he was.

Ying Xi had heard that a million times before and showed no reaction—except when Li Yang stumbled while pulling back, he caught his arm to steady him.

"How old are you?" Ying Xi finally spoke his first words.

"Ten. Probably around your age?" Li Yang asked. "Want to go downstairs and play? No one plays with me, and no one plays with you. We’d make perfect playmates."

Ying Xi looked away. "You talk too much. I won’t play with you."

Not put off, Li Yang grinned. "But you barely talk at all! That means we balance each other out. If you don’t want to play, we can watch TV at my place."

Excitedly, he pushed open his own door and waved Ying Xi inside. "Come on! My parents aren’t home. We’ve got a whole three hours to watch whatever we want."

The memory paused there, the rest blurring by in fast motion.

It ended with the two of them laughing as they tumbled in the snow.

Li Yang wasn’t sure if these were his own memories or something else.

Frowning, he pressed fingers to his temples, staring at the floor for what felt like ages before recovering.

"You must have seen each other after that, but I can’t recall the details," Grandma mused. "Yang Yang, don’t you remember? Xiao Xi took a bad fall later and forgot a lot of things."

Li Yang had assumed the head injury was just some story—but it turned out to be true. Blinking in surprise, he shook his head.

"I’ve forgotten a lot of my childhood too."

"Well, the fact that you’ve found each other again means it’s fate." Grandma clasped their hands together, eyes twinkling. "Stay together for a lifetime."

The two stayed for dinner before leaving.

Before parting, Grandma reminded them, "Come by more when you’ve got time. It gets too lonely here by myself."

Li Yang nodded with a smile, and they said their goodbyes.

"Fate really is strange," Ying Xi said quietly as he rested his head against Li Yang’s shoulder in the car.

Li Yang tilted his head, resting it against the car door, pretending not to hear Ying Xi’s words.

Ever since seeing those photos, he'd been going back and forth about telling Ying Xi the truth.

After all, there might come a day when he’d leave this place and return to reality.

"What’s wrong?" Ying Xi asked, noticing his tightly pressed lips and slightly furrowed brows, as if wrestling with an unsolvable problem. He reached out, brushing his fingers against Li Yang’s brow.

A shadow loomed, and when Li Yang came back to himself, his vision was filled with an enlarged hand.

He opened his mouth, the words right there, ready to spill out—only to notice the faint tremble in Ying Xi’s fingers. He blinked, thrown off by the tremor.

The warmth of Ying Xi’s breath against his palm was burning hot against his skin, and straight to his heart.

All these little feelings came together, so intense they threatened to spill over at any moment. Ying Xi’s gaze lingered on Li Yang’s long, dark lashes and flawless skin, his throat working slightly.

As he withdrew his hand, his thumb couldn’t resist brushing against Li Yang’s lowered eyelid.

The motion was swift, yet it made the younger man shiver.

"You—" Li Yang started to speak but stopped when he met those deep, dark eyes—now full of something that set off warning bells. His lips parted, then abruptly closed. "Never mind."

Ying Xi straightened, staring down at his empty palm, still able to feel that damp, heated breath. It crawled through his veins like ants, igniting a chaotic, insatiable longing.

"We’re here." The car stopped. By the time Li Yang stepped out, Ying Xi was still staring at his hand, his expression inscrutable.

Puzzled, Li Yang studied his fingers, initially thinking there was something on them—only to find nothing upon closer inspection.

Instinctively, he grabbed Ying Xi’s hand, unbuckling his seatbelt while pulling him out of the car.

"Ying Xi, we’re home."

The night was unusually still, the air cold and silent. The boy’s clear, soft voice rippled through the thick darkness.

Before Li Yang could withdraw his hand, Ying Xi tightened his grip, interlacing their fingers with a faint smile. "Let’s go home."

The nearly uncontrollable urge was smothered by the intimate gesture. Hand in hand, they walked into the building.

Even though they’d held hands before, Li Yang’s heartbeat still raced uncontrollably. He reflexively tried to pull away.

The grip on his hand instantly tightened, as if Ying Xi wanted to fuse their very bones together, to consume him whole.

Li Yang’s pupils dilated silently. His body’s instinctive sense of danger made him struggle.

"Ying Xi, you’re hurting me."