Chapter 2 You’re Already Making a Mess

Chapter 2: You’re Already Messing It Up

“We’re here.”

A voice spoke near his ear.

Li Wangyue snapped out of it, realizing the car had been sitting there for a while, and Ting Zhenxi had been waiting.

Li Wangyue quickly unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Thanks, sorry for the hassle. I’ll talk to Uncle next time, so you don’t have to waste your time driving me. You’ve got your own work to deal with.”

Ting Zhenxi was always ghosting everyone, too busy to track down, partly because Ting Huayi was breathing down his neck. Lately, it was even worse—the PR department at Huacheng was swamped after Ting Huayi moved his mistress in right after his wife died, sparking gossip and even rumors about how she died. Ting Huayi didn’t give a damn, leaving Ting Zhenxi to clean up the mess. On top of that, the Central-South Joint Foundation was shaking up its leadership, and the new team seemed iffy about Huacheng’s young heir…

That morning, even though Ting Zhenxi barely slept the night before, Ting Huayi had scheduled meetings and social engagements, and still made Ting Zhenxi go out of his way to drop Li Wangyue at school.

Li Wangyue had no intention of troubling Ting Zhenxi, but he couldn’t say no to Ting Huayi. Besides, he really wanted to hang out with Ting Zhenxi more.

Especially alone, especially when he was “stuck” in the passenger seat, like the camping gear in the back was on his side. It was such a good opportunity that he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

He wasn’t some nice, forgiving saint; he was a selfish, low-down bastard.

Just this once—first offense, right?

Forgive him for being greedy.

“I’ll come on my own next time.”

He said it politely to Ting Zhenxi, knowing he wouldn’t get an answer.

As usual, Ting Zhenxi ignored him, sitting in the car on a call. Li Wangyue got out and softly shut the door.

As soon as he stepped into the main teaching building, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out.

A strange number, a short text.

“Baby, did you dream about me last night?”

Li Wangyue’s face went dark. He gripped his phone, took a few deep breaths, and forced himself to reply calmly, “Stop harassing me. We’re done. Why make this so messy?”

A long pause, then a flippant three-word reply that hit hard: “I want to.”

Li Wangyue was pissed. “What do you want?”

The other side replied casually, “For kicks.”

Li Wangyue felt drained. “What’s fun about that?”

“Watching you not be able to get rid of me. That’s fun.”

…

So childish. The guy couldn’t take a hint or listen to reason.

Li Wangyue regretted it big time. He shouldn’t have said yes just because the guy chased him so hard. Now, even after breaking up, he couldn’t shake him off.

Back then, he was too messed up. His mom got dragged through the mud for her secret affair, and he had such twisted feelings for his mom’s lover’s son.

He knew he’d never get anywhere, but the more he knew, the more he gave in, trapping himself in a mess he couldn’t get out of.

Qin You was a research assistant at the med school next door. They met at an after-party for a school joint event, and Qin You started pursuing him openly.

Crazy, intense, like he couldn’t live without him. Back then, Li Wangyue thought it was love. He was pathetic enough to want someone that obsessed with him too.

He accepted, but the ending was terrible. In just two months, everything went to hell.

Qin You got more irritable and paranoid, cutting him off from his friends, even pushing him to come out to his mom. Li Wangyue couldn’t handle it and called it quits.

Qin You refused and kept harassing him.

…

Li Wangyue wasn’t the type to easily regret things. He believed that once a decision was made, he had to bear the consequences, and every relationship deserved respect—badmouthing afterward was undignified. But he really thought that getting involved with Qin You was the worst mistake he’d ever made.

Leaning over the sink, he splashed cold water on his face, his mind full of anxiety, his throat burning with frustration.

The exhaustion from last night and the ache in his body all came crashing down. He was so tired, unable to deal with his crazy ex-boyfriend’s nonsense anymore.

He had a lot to do today. He was busy too. The professor’s students had brought seedlings from the nursery for a report, and he needed to listen intently and give detailed, practical feedback. Last quarter’s project had errors—the runoff simulation layer’s parameters were off, and the riverside landscape’s planned gradient needed recalculation. And then…

And then there was Ting Zhenxi, who might come home tonight. He wanted to see him again but didn’t know when.

He really shouldn’t have stayed up late; the more he did, the harder it was to sleep.

But luckily, he had a “unique advantage”—he couldn’t sleep anyway and needed medication to do so. So it didn’t matter whether he stayed up voluntarily or not.

Ting Zhenxi was the only hope in his suffocating life. The desires he couldn’t suppress only burst out like a spring when restrained, so he had to spread them across the trivial details of daily life—a stolen glance, a brush past, an awkward conversation.

Hearing his voice, seeing him, breathing in his scent, fantasizing about the waist beneath that pure white T-shirt, washed by cold water.

Only then could he prevent the flood from overwhelming him in a destructive way, leaving him no chance to regain control.

He simply had no energy or time to keep tangling with Qin You.

Li Wangyue dried his hands, casually blocked the unfamiliar number, and fixed his reflection in the mirror, trying to look normal.

His class didn’t start until ten, so he had some time. He poured a cup of warm water in the office, opened his computer, and reviewed the students’ analysis reports.

Luckily, the professor didn’t have many students, and they were easy to manage. Li Wangyue was only physically tired; the inner satisfaction was enough to keep him going.

People gradually came into the office, turning the once-quiet space noisy. Li Wangyue put on his headphones and sat at the desk by the window in the corner, looking at his computer.

He liked this desk. Sometimes, when the professor had a class at two in the afternoon and needed his teaching assistant, he couldn’t go home to rest, so he’d nap here during lunch when no one was around.

Occasionally, students looking for a study room would barge in, disturb his sleep, then apologize frantically and back out cautiously. He’d smile at them, watching their young, vibrant faces, awkward and restrained, and he couldn’t get angry.

The window was large, overlooking the school’s lake. By the library, there was a grove of cedar trees—tall, straight, with pyramid-shaped crowns, elegant and handsome, evergreen all year round.

A breeze would occasionally blow in, carrying the woody scent of cedar, a mix of dry plantiness and warm resin, and after rain, the dampness of moss.

He liked sitting here, even for a whole day, more than he liked going home.

—Of course, that was when he lived in the old neighborhood.

Now, nothing could compare to being where Ting Zhenxi was.

Even if that villa estate was as cold as a coffin, just knowing Ting Zhenxi lived there too, separated by a wall, was enough to set his heart ablaze.

Li Wangyue had looked enough at the greenery and water outside the window. His eyes were clear, his heart calm. He let out a long sigh and continued working.

During this time, the planning team called several times to confirm details about the riverside landscape. Li Wangyue had no intention of dwelling on who made the mistake or how the data error slipped through multiple review layers, rendering nearly the entire initial draft unusable.

Dwelling on it now was completely pointless. The real priority was to work overtime to get the new plan into model testing and revise the draft for the bid.

The morning class wasn't too heavy, and the students were easy to manage. During the presentations, he naturally sat in the audience, listening attentively, occasionally offering professional and incisive critiques, and sometimes guiding groups to learn from each other and engage in discussion.

He had a busy schedule ahead. In the afternoon, he needed to take all the materials to the hospital for Professor Liu to review when he had time. The professor was also pushing for it, as everyone cared about the students' futures. Then, he had to head to the city's teaching research office for the research group's itinerant evaluation meeting...

Despite the heavy workload, Li Wangyue handled everything smoothly and kept it all in order.

After a quick lunch, Li Wangyue hailed a cab to the hospital. Professor Liu was sitting up in bed, wearing reading glasses, helping a student with their thesis.

The white-haired old man frowned slightly, pen in hand, hesitating to write.

"What was this kid thinking? Placing the activity area here, how are visitors supposed to get in, and where will the water drain?" The professor scratched his head in frustration. "If it rains, all the water will pool on the grass, and people stepping on it will automatically wash their shoes..."

Li Wangyue heard this as he entered and couldn't help but smile.

He briefed the professor on the students' performance, handed over the materials, and chatted for a while. They talked about everything—the professor was his mentor, but also like an elder.

As he was leaving, the professor pulled out a large box from the drawer and pressed it into his hands.

"What's this?"

"Calming tea," the professor insisted, pressing it into his hands. "A student brought it to me a few days ago. I tried it, and it's decent, though the taste is bad. But it cools you down and reduces inflammation, and it settles the mind. Take it home and give it a try."

The professor knew Li Wangyue had trouble sleeping, after accidentally finding out. Back then, Li Wangyue was so anxious he'd pull all-nighters in the studio, and the professor would catch him arriving early for work.

He owned up to his sleep problems, sometimes needing medication to fall asleep, but promised the professor he'd get regular checkups. If there was a physical issue, he would seek medical attention promptly.

Li Wangyue felt bad for Professor Liu, knowing this old professor was worrying about his trivial matters, and it made him uneasy.

So he accepted the professor's kindness.

The box contained chrysanthemum, lily, lotus seed hearts, and other ingredients, along with mulberries and goji berries to balance the flavor, and tremella for nourishing yin and moistening the lungs...

Li Wangyue didn't hold much hope, but accepting it couldn't hurt.

He remembered Ting Zhenxi seemed to have trouble sleeping too.

He said he didn't sleep a wink last night. Li Wangyue wasn't sure if that was true, but he was still worried.

Right as he left the hospital, he ordered a cab to go to the auditorium, but as he waited, he got a message saying the meeting was postponed.

Li Wangyue canceled the ride as soon as he got the news and decided to take the metro. Even though it wouldn't take him straight home, and he'd have to walk a long stretch—at least half an hour—to reach the villa, he had nothing pressing to do, so walking was fine by him.

Ting Zhenxi probably wasn't home anyway, so there was no need to rush.

The sky slowly turned heavy and gloomy. It was clear just a moment ago, but now dark clouds gathered.

The weather was unpredictable and annoying.

Luckily, he'd brought an umbrella. He always kept one in his bag, always thinking about the worst-case scenario.

Just in case.

As soon as he entered the subway station, the rain came pouring down, hammering on the pedestrian bridge roof, loud and irritating. The subway was cold and stuffy.

He got home in the afternoon. The house seemed empty. Li Wangyue checked the garage—empty too. No one was back yet.

Ting Zhenxi probably wasn't home either.

Li Wangyue stood at the door, shook the umbrella to get the rain off, and hung it on the hook by the door.

His pants were splashed with mud. He grabbed a tissue, bent over, and carefully wiped his shoes and pant legs clean. He hated the wet, muddy feeling—it was gross, and would mess up the carpet Ting Zhenxi bought.

After a while, when his pant legs and shoes were clean, Li Wangyue looked up. The blood rushed to his head when he stood up, and his vision went dark. He lost his balance and stumbled backward.

He bumped into someone with his back.

Li Wangyue instinctively turned around. A pair of calm eyes stared down at him.

Really close.

Outside the porch, the rain was coming down in sheets.

The tall man's frame blocked the dim light from the rain, making him look very still. His features were striking, handsome, and imposing, with an unintentional hint of aggression on his expressionless face.

Li Wangyue's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively stepped back, his back hitting the door.

"You're back?" he said, trying to sound normal, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed his surprise.

He wondered why Ting Zhenxi was back at this hour. He thought Ting Zhenxi was supposed to be out all day.

"What are you doing?" Ting Zhenxi spoke.

The words were a question, but his tone was flat, like he didn't expect an answer.

Li Wangyue opened his mouth, his voice raspy. He cleared his throat and said, "I walked from the subway station. I've got mud on me. I didn't want to get the carpet dirty; it'd be a pain for the housekeeper to clean."

Ting Zhenxi said nothing. His eyes dropped, scanning Li Wangyue's wet pant legs, then went back to his face.

"You're already getting it dirty."

Li Wangyue looked down and realized he was standing on a doormat, its color was so close to the floor he hadn't noticed. The mud from his shoes had already stained it.

He'd made things worse.

It made him look hypocritical and fake—doing the deed first, then trying to say nice things, only to get caught red-handed. Especially since Ting Zhenxi came from a wealthy family and had been through the cutthroat world of power and deceit since he was young, seeing through the fake acts of hypocrites. In the eyes of this sharp young man who knew human nature, his hypocrisy was pretty much a done deal.

Any excuse would just sound like an excuse.

Li Wangyue was too embarrassed to say anything else. His face burned with embarrassment, so he pressed his lips together and stood there.

Ting Zhenxi looked at him for a second, put his umbrella away casually, pulled out his keys to open the door, brushing past Li Wangyue.

Li Wangyue tactfully stepped aside.

He'd been in the way, not knowing how long Ting Zhenxi had been waiting. Earlier that morning, Ting Zhenxi had told him to get out of the car because he was taking too long, but now he couldn't even be bothered to talk.

Li Wangyue silently cursed himself for being so slow.

Ting Zhenxi was too close when he passed, and his scent brushed past Li Wangyue's nose, mixed with the damp rain and the smell of plants, making it seem even weaker.

Li Wangyue looked down, not daring to look directly, but his breathing got a little deeper, almost without him noticing.

Behind him, the door clicked shut. Li Wangyue slowly came to his senses, grabbed another tissue, and carefully wiped the stains and raindrops off his clothes before gently pushing the door open and going inside.

All afternoon, Ting Zhenxi stayed in his room and didn't come out. Li Wangyue didn't see a single glimpse of him.

He stayed in his room, so Li Wangyue couldn't remain there either. He sat on the sofa with his laptop, occasionally looking up to drink water, pretending to casually glance at the second-floor corridor, where he could see the top corner of Ting Zhenxi's door.

He revised the design plan, waiting for when Ting Zhenxi might come out, so he wouldn't miss it.

But Ting Zhenxi never left the room.

Night fell, and the house remained quiet, with only the housekeeper bustling in the kitchen.

Ting Huayi and Li Ping weren't coming back today. The housekeeper said Mr. Ting usually didn't stay here either—this place was only for the young master to live in alone.

Li Wangyue felt a bit surprised.

A momentary pause flickered in the housekeeper's warm smile, followed by a deep sense of pity and compassion. She glanced back at the closed door on the second floor and lowered her voice.

"Originally, Mr. Ting lived in the old mansion. This estate belonged to Mrs. Ting. After she passed away, it was left to the young master. Actually, the house is old and hasn't been lived in for a long time—it's not really livable. But the young master refuses to move away because..."

Before she could finish, a door opened and closed on the second floor.

The housekeeper quickly stopped talking, discreetly wiped her eyes with her fingers, and returned to the kitchen to work.

She didn't finish her words, but Li Wangyue could guess.

In an instant, the shame and guilt in his heart grew even stronger. He had even gotten that rug dirty.

A dark figure slowly came down the double staircase. The man looked tired, not as straight-backed as usual, wearing black loungewear with sleeves that were a bit long, wrapping around his arms, only half his hands showing. His long fingers rested on the railing as he strolled down.

His black hair was a little messy, wild and untamed, his eyelids half-closed, looking tired.

When he stopped at the landing, his gaze swept across the first floor, briefly meeting Li Wangyue's eyes before looking away.

Was he sleeping all afternoon...

Mixing up day and night—it really wasn't healthy.

Ting Zhenxi walked straight to the dining room, opened the fridge, took out a bottle of iced soda, and tipped his head back and drank.

His Adam's apple bobbed. Perhaps he was very thirsty after just waking up, so he drank fast and sloppily. Some soda he couldn't swallow in time dripped down his chin, which he casually wiped away.

Li Wangyue held a warm mug of water, slowly turning it in his hands.

Chugging ice water like that—can his stomach even handle it...

Li Wangyue was truly worrying too much.

After much deliberation, he still went back to his room, took the calming tea the professor had given him, and went to the kitchen to ask the housekeeper if she could brew it.

Even though Ting Zhenxi might not drink anything he offered, Li Wangyue had to do it.

If he was ignored, or even had it thrown back in his face, that was to be expected.

He knew the worst-case scenario, so he wouldn't be disappointed.

He never got disappointed by bad outcomes.

He was used to it.