The real young master thought he was hated by everyone - Chapter 101

Li Heng fastened his scarf and opened the car door to step out.

He had arranged to meet Luo Zhi at 3 PM, but before leaving, he had been in Xie Duzhi’s office, helping with some simple tasks.

For example, serving tea, adjusting document formats for better readability.

Neither Xie Duzhi nor he had the habit of arriving exactly on time, and it was just after 2:30 PM.

He didn’t rush into the café. Instead, after getting out of the car, he walked over to the driver’s side and knocked on the glass mysteriously.

The driver immediately lowered the window, and Li Heng saw Xie Duzhi, looking confused, as he stretched his hand inside to ask for some candy.

Xie Duzhi helplessly gave him a few pieces of candy. “You can order juice at the café.”

“I know, I’m not planning to order coffee.” Li Heng said, “I just suddenly felt like having some candy.”

“—Are you really going to wait for me here?”

He pulled his hand back, then leaned his head closer. “What if Luo Zhi wants to talk for a long time? Won’t you be stuck in the car waiting for a while?”

Although the car had air conditioning and a dedicated air purification system, he instinctively felt uncomfortable staying in the car for too long.

“We can go in one after another. You can wait at a different table.”

Also, Xie Duzhi hadn’t eaten much during lunch, busy handling documents. Once he finished, he immediately came to drop Li Heng off.

Waiting for him in the café, Xie Duzhi could also have some afternoon tea and snack a bit.

The café surely wouldn’t be without Tiramisu.

“I’ll just wait here.” Xie Duzhi shook his head.

The café Luo Zhi picked wasn’t very large, and there might not be other available seats. Even if there were, it would be easy to spot them.

Xie Duzhi was confident that he wouldn’t feel awkward sitting in the café, but he wasn’t sure whether Luo Zhi could completely ignore his presence.

“Alright then.”

Li Heng didn’t insist. “There are still some coffee cookies that mom baked last time in the car. Remember to eat them.”

“I’ll try to make it as quick as possible so you’re not waiting too long, and then we can go have dinner.”

He was about to retract his head to formally say goodbye to Xie Duzhi when Xie Duzhi suddenly reached out and pressed on his head.

“Your hair is a bit messy,” he said.

By the time the window rolled up again, Li Heng couldn’t tell if Xie Duzhi had just wanted to mess with his hair or if his hair was actually messy, or both.

He quickly gave up on thinking too much, feeling like he was slowly losing control over Xie Duzhi—after the tactic he had read about in a tree hole yesterday worked, it seemed like Xie Duzhi had unlocked a new world.

Xie Duzhi had always been talented in academics, and even though last night his friend Gu had confidently given him many tips, Li Heng still felt like he couldn’t handle it.

It had only been about 72 hours since they expressed their feelings for each other, so why had their positions switched so thoroughly?

…Could it really be that personality determines everything?

Lost in thought, Li Heng pushed open the café door, scanned the room, and was about to sit down when he saw someone waving at him from the corner.

Luo Zhi was already there and seemed to have been sitting for quite some time.

Li Heng hurried over and sat down. “Sorry, I didn’t pay attention to the time and came a bit late. Sorry to keep you waiting, Luo Zhi.”

“Actually, I was the one who came too early.” Luo Zhi said, holding a coffee cup and handing him the menu, asking what he wanted to drink.

Li Heng ordered a regular freshly squeezed orange juice and a small piece of matcha mousse. Luo Zhi rang the bell to notify the waiter.

“Luo Zhi, did you want to talk to me about something?” Li Heng asked directly.

It wasn’t just because Xie Duzhi was waiting outside, but he also felt a strong sense of confusion.

Luo Zhi hadn’t stayed in S for long after returning. He was often invited to other cities for solo violin concerts or to join orchestras.

Li Heng knew about this mostly because Luo Zhi’s mother had recently started a new business and had been busy, but she would still occasionally bring local specialties like Yun Jin to visit.

When he returned home, Mrs. Xie would always tell him, “Your little Zhi has come back from somewhere and brought you gifts.”

Though Li Heng didn’t have much interaction with him, the frequent exchanges of gifts helped maintain some connection—they couldn’t possibly accept gifts without thanking the person. 

Sometimes, when Luo Zhi was away, Li Heng would politely check the weather in his city, chat a little with him, and then end the conversation with something like “I have class” or “I’m heading to the library.”

Li Heng felt there was nothing he couldn’t talk to Luo Zhi about in writing. Their relationship wasn’t distant, but it was far from intimate enough to casually chat about various personal matters face-to-face.

Just like he had said about Xie Duzhi, Luo Zhi was merely a very ordinary childhood playmate. Apart from childhood, they hardly had anything in common.

Moreover, Luo Zhi knew he wasn’t fond of talking about childhood topics. Unlike Luo Zhi’s mother, who occasionally met him and would frequently bring up “When you were little, you used to do this or that.”

Li Heng even felt that Luo Zhi was aware of his discomfort with “childhood talk” and therefore didn’t mention those things again. Most of their chats were about funny incidents he’d seen in the orchestra.

“There’s also a possibility that I just wanted to invite you out for coffee.”

Luo Zhi smiled slightly, pursing his lips.

“In that case, it would be more appropriate for you to invite my older brother. He could talk to you about the violin.”

Li Heng blinked and joked back.

He had never learned any musical instruments and had long forgotten the musical notes and scales he had once dreamed of.

The only instrument he could play was the harmonica, and only one song: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”—it was taught to him by the old man who sold cakes next to the orphanage.

But he didn’t think it was anything to be embarrassed about and planned to play it for Xie Duzhi one day.

“That makes sense. Next time, I can invite Shenzhi out for coffee.” Luo Zhi’s smile deepened. “That way, I can let the busy man relax a bit.”

After the waiter brought Li Heng his matcha mousse and hot orange juice, Luo Zhi didn’t keep him in suspense anymore. “That day at the amusement park, I happened to see you and Duzhi going out alone, and after that, I kept thinking, do you admire him?”

Luo Zhi’s tone was light and casual. “…So I invited you out for coffee to ask you directly.”

After all, written words can easily lie.

Li Heng suppressed his surprise and the thought of “Did I really act that obvious?” and took a sip of his orange juice.

He didn’t deny it and nodded after clearing his throat. “Yes, I do admire him.”

And they are already together now.

“…I really didn’t misjudge.” Luo Zhi sighed with a bitter smile. “So, are you gay?”

“I don’t know.” Li Heng thought carefully about the question. “Maybe, or maybe not.”

Rather than defining himself by terms like heterosexual or homosexual, it was more accurate to say that his orientation was Xie Duzhi.

As long as it was Xie Duzhi, it didn’t matter what it was.

“I’ve never liked anyone other than Duzhi, and I won’t like anyone else.”

Who in this world could be better than Xie Duzhi?

“I see.” Luo Zhi let out a light sigh. “Then, I’ll wish you two the best in advance.”

“Why did you ask that, Luo Zhi?” Li Heng was still curious.

It’s not that he felt that Luo Zhi was meddling too much, but rather he was curious why Luo Zhi cared about this matter. His admiration for Xie Du Zhi shouldn’t have anything to do with him at all.

“Maybe it’s because I’m gay,” Luo Zhi responded, already adjusting his mood. He rested his chin on his hand, and the chain of his glasses swayed slightly. “Before I went abroad, I considered whether I should pursue you.”

Li Heng nearly choked on his orange juice.

“Surprised?” Luo Zhi raised an eyebrow, finding it amusing.

In fact, it was precisely because he had entertained such a thought that he chose to give the violin as a gift. That violin had originally belonged to a famous but stingy collector. Luo Zhi had played a month of pieces for the person and told them that he planned to give the violin to his future partner, which allowed him to buy it at a high price.

But now, it seemed unnecessary to tell the backstory of the gift.

“Very surprised.” Li Heng didn’t know where to put his hands. “…Because apart from when we were children, I haven’t really seen you much, Luo Zhi.”

Could it be that Luo Zhi had fallen for him at first sight? He looked like Xie Fu Ren, but not to that extent. Plus, he had spent a lot of time abroad and should have seen all sorts of handsome men by now, so his taste should be immune.

Why would Luo Zhi think about pursuing him before returning to the country? It couldn’t be because of some childhood joke, could it?

“That’s true,” Luo Zhi took a sip of coffee. “I didn’t want to pursue you because I had any special feelings for you.”

Even now, Luo Zhi didn’t have any feelings for Li Heng beyond that of a neighborly older brother. Every time he brought something back, it seemed more like a habit than affection.

“It was because of Luo Shi,” he smiled slightly. “Although you might not accept it, under the premise that you already have someone you admire, I should apologize for my previous intentions and the way Luo Shi encouraged me.”

Li Heng was even more confused.

“Luo Shi, my mother, has very complicated feelings toward Bai Yi.”

Luo Zhi explained, “In her school days, she had a subtle admiration for Bai Yi, didn’t like Bai Yi’s other friends, and especially hated those who pursued Bai Yi.”

“When Bai Yi started dating, and during college, she quickly married Xie Shu, and that admiration officially ended. Later, she met a suitor in college whose personality resembled Bai Yi’s youth, and that’s when she married my father.”

Of course, Luo Zhi didn’t mention that after marriage, his mother discovered that her choice of husband wasn’t ideal, and there was a period where she hated all men, including him.

“But her marriage wasn’t very happy. There were also some financial disputes, and things with my father got pretty ugly. Bai Yi found out about her situation, scolded her for not telling her sooner, and helped her clean up the mess.”

“After that, she moved with me to live next door to your family, and we became neighbors.”

At this point, Luo Zhi paused, seeming to zone out for a moment. He wasn’t even sure whether his mother had named him with his father or with Bai Yi in mind. His father’s name contained “Jun,” and Bai Yi’s full name was “Bai Jun Li,” so his mother’s desire for them to become real family made sense.

“She always wanted to be real kin with Bai Yi,” Luo Zhi continued, slightly more tactful. “And she regretted that you weren’t a girl.”

“So, the childhood joke, in fact, Luo Shi took it seriously in her heart, is that it?” Li Heng stayed calm on the surface, but inside, a storm was brewing.

“That’s one way to think about it, but it was only after I moved abroad that I realized I liked the same sex.”

Luo Zhi spoke candidly, “Of course, I didn’t hide my orientation from her.”

“So, you happened to like the same sex, and then I was brought back to my family, and under Luo Shi’s encouragement, you decided to pursue me?” Li Heng still found the reasoning a bit hard to accept. He even thought that Luo Shi might have gone too far.

“Quite overbearing, right? I think so too,” Luo Zhi seemed to understand his thoughts. “But after all, she’s my mother.”

“Of course, just because she wants something doesn’t mean I should do it. I had my own reasons.”

Luo Zhi admitted that his true intention in arranging this meeting was for his own selfish reasons. “I do like the same sex, but I didn’t think I would fall in love with anyone. I just didn’t want to grow old alone.”

So his initial idea was to follow his mother’s suggestion, return to China, and see Xie’s younger brother. If Li Heng also liked the same sex, then he would pursue him; if not, he would just forget about it.

But when Luo Zhi returned, Li Heng still hadn’t realized his feelings, and he couldn’t bring himself to feel any romantic attraction to the boy, who had left a deep impression on him from childhood.

“That day, when I saw you and Xie Duzhi at the amusement park, I guessed that you might admire him, and I started thinking about apologizing.”

Luo Zhi smiled gently, clear and honest. “Even though it didn’t really affect anything, I did intend to use you without your knowledge.”

Li Heng felt a sense of relief for some reason, shaking his head. “Luo Zhi, you don’t need to apologize to me.”

“You never made me feel forced to like you in that way, and your thoughts are healthy. You just… well, ended up with me as your potential partner because you didn’t have anyone else.”

Luo Zhi chuckled, “So, have you started pursuing Xie Duzhi? The way he looked that day, I don’t think he knows yet.”

“…We’re already together.” Li Heng stirred the fruit bits in his juice, suddenly feeling awkward.

Luo Zhi’s smile faltered for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.

“Not bad… You’re more decisive than Bai Yi was back then.” He said with a bit of awkwardness, “You could say you’ve surpassed her.”

Li Heng suddenly felt even more uneasy, now worrying about how to come out to his family—and maybe even to his friends.

…Would they oppose his relationship with Xie Duzhi just because it happened too quickly?