The real young master thought he was hated by everyone - Chapter 102

“…And then I asked him if Aunt Luo had that idea after hearing from Mom on the phone that I was being brought back home, which made her decide to return to the country.”

Li Heng slowly swallowed the pearl tapioca from his milk tea before continuing, “But then Luo Zhi shook his head and told me that wasn’t the reason.”

He asked that not because he thought badly of Aunt Luo, but because he was curious about that dream — the one that Xie Duzhi had mentioned, the one from the parallel world.

After all, in that dream, he had stayed at the Xie family’s for almost a whole year — maybe even longer, but he never knew about Aunt Luo and Luo Zhi’s existence. They never came back.

“He said, Aunt Luo decided to return to the country because she suddenly dreamed of Mom that day.”

Xie Duzhi raised his ear slightly without making a sound, “What kind of dream?”

“I don’t know.” Li Heng shook his head honestly, then handed the milk tea to him, asking if he wanted to drink.

 “I didn’t add any extra sugar.”

Li Heng emphasized, and when he saw that Xie Duzhi wasn’t planning to drink, he reluctantly gave up on his indirect kiss idea and continued the topic.

“Aunt Luo doesn’t remember the content of the dream, but after waking up, she recalled that Mom seemed really sad in the dream.”

Then she went to find some astrologer, dream interpreter, tarot reader, and even sought advice from a reclusive Native American. Eventually, she received some instructions from a handful of corn ashes.

— Of course, Li Heng tended to believe that at that time, Aunt Luo was probably comforted by the reclusive Native American and, because of the dream, began missing Mrs. Xie, which led her to return to the country.

“Could it be that she dreamed of that parallel world too?” Li Heng’s imagination ran wild. “But since she wasn’t familiar with the people there, that’s why she didn’t remember much of the dream, only recalling Mom.”

He started to think that his parallel world self might really be dead. “I can feel her love. If she later finds out I really died, no matter how I appeared in the dream, or whether it disappointed her, she would definitely feel sad.”

Before he finished speaking, he heard Xie Duzhi clearly “tch” and couldn’t help turning his head to look at him.

“It’s possible.” Xie Duzhi’s face remained calm, with no sign of embarrassment or awkwardness.

Li Heng paused, then resumed his place at the end of the fried yogurt queue. “Strawberry flavor?”

“Strawberry and kiwi double mix.” Li Heng glanced at the electronic screen menu.

“Milk tea is milk tea, fried yogurt is fried yogurt — and fried yogurt isn’t sweet.”

He firmly shut down Xie Duzhi’s potential refusal, prepared to lay everything out in one go, and continued with a very clear mindset, “Also, I actually wanted to eat kiwi.”

Xie Duzhi stayed silent and said “oh” softly.

“Can I also have some strawberry?” Li Heng didn’t expect him to ask.

Without thinking, he immediately refused, his voice a little dry: “…No, that one’s for me.”

“…I’ll give you a piece, no, at most three pieces.”

Xie Duzhi laughed lightly. Li Heng felt like he’d been outplayed. Before surrendering, he decisively shifted the topic, “What about other possibilities?”

“She might have wanted to find a reason to turn it into motivation, to persuade herself, hence the dream.”

Xie Duzhi continued, “As far as I know, she’s always been in touch with a private psychologist because of work stress and past emotional baggage.”

“…Ah?”

Li Heng was about to ask how he knew that but decided not to dwell on the small details.

What mattered was whether Aunt Luo’s psychological condition had improved compared to before and whether she was gradually letting go of the past.

“Out of personal interest, I’ve investigated Aunt Luo and Luo Zhi.”

Xie Duzhi openly admitted, “I also have the contact information of her psychologist.”

Li Heng was still a bit confused.

“We could learn the content of her dream through the psychologist.” Xie Duzhi continued, “Oftentimes, rather than forgetting the dream, it’s more that the dream is hidden in the subconscious.”

Using techniques like hypnosis or fully relaxing the nerves can help bring up fragments of the dream.

“Do you think this might not be a good idea?” Li Heng hesitated, “Aunt Luo is, after all, Mom’s good friend.”

No matter what Aunt Luo thought of the rest of their family or whether she loved them, she truly cared for Mrs. Xie and considered her the best of friends.

She hadn’t done anything bad. The worst she had done was speak ill of Xie Duzhi out of her own self-interest.

But then again, who could be free of selfishness? The only difference was how much or how little selfishness people exhibited.

“This won’t harm Aunt Luo at all.” Xie Duzhi didn’t understand his meaning. “On the contrary, it could help alleviate her psychological pressure.”

“…No, I’m not saying it’s harmful to her.”

Li Heng explained, a little helplessly, “What I mean is that contacting the psychologist directly feels a bit… well…”

He thought for a moment, “…It gives off a villain vibe.”

The normal process should be for them to visit Aunt Luo, get her consent, and then contact the psychologist for hypnosis to reveal the dream’s content. Instead of contacting the psychologist directly and risking violating professional ethics, it just doesn’t sit right.

Xie Duzhi paused, then smiled lightly.

“Because this is what I think is the quickest and most feasible way.”

He pondered for a moment before speaking, “If we go to visit her, there’s a chance she might refuse. She might not even admit to having had such a dream.”

Rather than trying to convince her, it seemed easier to go straight through the psychologist.

Though this method wasn’t entirely above board, it wasn’t exactly underhanded either.

They weren’t looking to use any dirt on Aunt Luo or threaten her. They just wanted to satisfy their curiosity.

Xie Duzhi had initially thought he didn’t care about parallel worlds. After all, it was something uncontrollable.

However, the existence of the parallel world had become a thorn in his heart.

The version of him that didn’t exist in that parallel world meant that he would never meet Li Heng, would never be able to help him, and would never have the chance to like him.

Xie Duzhi didn’t show it, but he cared deeply about this matter. This could be seen from the fact that he had recently started getting his team involved with physics research teams from various universities.

Especially when he thought of Bai Ruan, the “Xie Duzhi” in the dream. It made him care even more.

It wasn’t jealousy; it was heartache.

Feelings of love are complicated, and late at night, he sometimes had fleeting thoughts of wanting to hide someone away, to keep them all to himself.

A person’s star — or perhaps their sun — held a powerful attraction for him.

But compared to possessiveness, he wanted that person to be seen by everyone, loved by more people, treated kindly, and shine gently and brilliantly.

He couldn’t accept the development of the parallel world.

“…You think too highly of me.”

He hesitated before adding, “I’m essentially a businessman.”

“I didn’t think you were that great either.”

Li Heng couldn’t help but retort. Over the past few days, he had noticed that Xie Duzhi had many ulterior motives.

The school forum once had negative comments about him, but compared to himself, he thought Xie Duzhi was the one who should be labeled as the “bad guy.”

And just like how he couldn’t help but want to see him embarrassed, Xie Duzhi also seemed to enjoy seeing him flustered or stuck without a rebuttal.

“You remember what you did yesterday, don’t you…”

Before Li Heng could finish listing the things Xie Duzhi had done, someone quietly poked him from behind.

Turning around instinctively, Li Heng saw a girl wearing a headband with a bow and a lolita dress. She looked quite young.

She had a few companions dressed similarly standing next to her.

“Uh, there are a few spots ahead in the line.”

Li Heng heard her speak, her voice small and fast, probably because of embarrassment.

The line had indeed opened up three or four spots, looking a bit awkward.

Behind them, there were others still in line.

His brain exploded with heat, his face turning bright red.

“Sorry, we didn’t notice earlier,” he apologized flusteredly, pushing Xie Duzhi forward a few steps to fill the gap in the line.

He stared at the tiles on the floor, wishing he could spot a seam to slip into unnoticed.

Before he was reminded, he had completely forgotten that he had ordered a double-flavored fried yogurt and was still in line for it. He had been so caught up in talking to Xie Duzhi that, after discussing the fried yogurt, he had entirely pushed the order out of his mind.

Though it was only a few minutes and didn’t cause much trouble to others, he still felt quite embarrassed.

“…Why didn’t you remind me?” He nudged Xie Duzhi with a hint of unintentional complaint in his voice, eyes drifting.

In reality, both he and Xie Duzhi had forgotten they were in line. Xie Duzhi himself hadn’t noticed either.

Although Li Heng had been the one called out earlier, Xie Duzhi also felt the awkwardness and discomfort of the situation—like making a simple math mistake.

“I didn’t notice,” he admitted honestly, stepping forward a bit—just as another customer picked up their fried yogurt order and walked away.

“Next time, I’ll pay more attention,” he reassured Li Heng, and strangely, beyond that brief moment of awkwardness, he didn’t feel any particular need to reflect on the mistake.

It was as though the oversight wasn’t really an oversight, or perhaps, in the context of love, it was a natural and important part of the process—a flaw that should be accepted rather than seen as a mistake.

“Next time, I’ll make sure to pay attention too,” Li Heng mumbled softly.

After picking up the fried yogurt, they wandered through the mall’s lower level, surrounded by the steamy aromas of various foods, before heading up to the elevator.

Li Heng kept his gaze on the elevator steps as they rode up. Once they stepped out, he hesitated before speaking, “Duzhi, I was thinking… should I symbolically pursue you?”

“…What?” Xie Duzhi was puzzled.

“I mean, I’ll pursue you,” Li Heng’s face heated up as he remembered what Luo Zhi had said earlier about ‘green out of blue.’ “Like, I’ll send you flowers at work every day, or bring you dinner when you’re working late.”

“You have class every morning,” Xie Duzhi replied very logically, even to the point of seeming out of touch with romance, “And finals are coming up, so you’ll have exam month and exam week.”

Plus, Li Heng was still staying in a dorm where even blow dryers were considered banned items, not to mention cooking.

“…I was just giving an example.” Li Heng blushed even more, realizing how impractical it sounded.

Thinking of exams, his confidence faltered, especially because of economics. “Mainly, it feels like we’re moving too fast. If we confess, and Mom or my second brother asks, it might cause some misunderstandings.”

It was fine with his mother, who had always been very open-minded, and would only tease them a little. But his second brother, Xie Sizhi, might not be so understanding.

Li Heng imagined what would happen if, after a family meal, he suddenly held Xie Duzhi’s hand and announced they were together.

He’d be bombarded with questions like “When did this happen? Who pursued whom?” and so on.

He certainly couldn’t just admit that he had invited Xie Duzhi to the amusement park to test the waters, and that they ended up holding hands before leaving the park.

Xie Sizhi would likely think that Xie Duzhi had been plotting all along and cause a scene.

In a way, Li Heng thought Xie Sizhi was even more like a “mom” than his actual mother.

“Then let him misunderstand,” Xie Duzhi raised an eyebrow, nonchalant.

After all, whatever Xie Sizhi thought, it wouldn’t change the fact.

He would eventually have to accept it.

“…That’s a bit cruel to my second brother,” Li Heng said, not reproachfully, but imagining his reaction and finding it rather amusing. “He’ll probably explode.”

If he were a zodiac animal, he would certainly be a pufferfish.

—Wouldn’t it be better if he just exploded?

Xie Duzhi thought to himself, though he didn’t express it.

If Xie Sizhi reacted quickly and angrily, cutting off all communication with them and other family members who supported their relationship, it might actually be better.

Xie Duzhi didn’t want to waste time on him.

He’d rather spend his time pampering their Siamese cat, giving it extra meals, and continuing to soften it up—he remembered the discordant noises the cat made when they lived at Linfeng Bay.

Back then, whenever they sat down to chat, the cat would knock over cups in the kitchen, or walk over with a cat toy in its mouth while they were talking.

But now, when they sat together, the cat had learned to lie quietly, waiting for them to finish their conversation.

What was the point of trying to pacify Xie Sizhi?

“No matter whether he accepts it or not, we’re already together,” Xie Duzhi put it more tactfully.

“Duzhi, I’ll still send you flowers,” Li Heng, who had been planning to send flowers, said. “I’ll find a good flower shop with fresh flowers and set up a subscription service to deliver them to your office every day.”

“Your office has a vase, right?”

Li Heng was already thinking about what flowers to choose, knowing that while red roses weren’t his least favorite, other flowers might better match the impression Xie Duzhi gave.

“…Is this advice from Gu Mingyue?” Xie Duzhi couldn’t stop himself from sighing.

Li Heng blinked. “How did you guess it was Mingyue?”

He hadn’t mentioned him at all in front of Xie Duzhi today. When replying to Gu Mingyue’s messages, Xie Duzhi had been helping him peel crabs.

“Only he would give advice that sounds romantic but is actually impractical,” Xie Duzhi replied, giving face by not commenting further.

Gu Mingyue had never been in a relationship.

Whether it was the amusement park suggestions, the chatting wheel, or sending flowers, he could spot the influence of certain posts he had read before.

“Isn’t sending flowers a good idea?” Li Heng couldn’t understand why it wouldn’t work.

“It’s just unnecessary to send them every day,” Xie Duzhi replied.

Fresh flowers don’t spoil that quickly—one bouquet could last an entire week or even longer on a desk.

“That’s true,” Li Heng agreed, imagining the scene of Xie Duzhi’s office full of flowers.

Even if he didn’t mind the hassle, his employees would probably be shocked.

“But I can’t think of anything else to show my affection for you,” Li Heng said, a little distressed.

He liked him openly, and was unafraid to tell him what was on his mind. “It seems like there’s not much I can do.”

He had plans to learn how to drive so he could drive them home on weekends, allowing Xie Duzhi to rest in the passenger seat. But that would have to wait until the winter break.

As for cooking meals for him or making snacks when he worked late, it was possible, but the opportunities were limited.

He was at school on Mondays and Fridays, Xie Duzhi worked, and on holidays, they would be home with family cooking for them.

Plus, Xie Duzhi rarely worked late now; he made sure to call Li Heng to sleep on time and even reminded him to drink milk.

When he worked, there wasn’t much Li Heng could help with.

On the other hand, Xie Duzhi took care of him in every way and even made time on weekends to tutor him in economics.

He was too good to him.

So, Li Heng also wanted to give more and let him clearly feel his affection, just as he felt it for him.

Xie Duzhi didn’t know how to answer his question or solve this confusion.

He had never thought about whether he gave more or less, nor did he believe that love had to be expressed through any specific actions.

But he could understand Li Heng’s dilemma. Love comes with anxiety; when you like someone, there’s a kind of nervousness, a fear of wanting to speak but holding back.

He also felt that he hadn’t done enough, that his love wasn’t enough.

Once Li Heng finished speaking, he realized he had already come to terms with it.

They both lacked romantic experience, so it was normal to feel confused about emotions like this. Perhaps, if they left the confusion for now and didn’t dwell on it, it would resolve itself naturally in the future.

And right now, Li Heng was still a student, while Xie Duzhi had already started working, so their lives didn’t intersect that much.

When Li Heng graduated and entered the workforce—perhaps even joining the family business—they would naturally spend more time together, and there would be more ways to express affection.

Li Heng thought about it for a moment and decided to put this topic aside for now. He shifted the conversation back to discussing their plans to go public with their relationship.

That was the most pressing issue: going public.

He wanted to sit with Xie Duzhi at home, holding hands while watching TV or doing other things, instead of sneaking around, locking the door to the room where Xiaozhi was, hiding away.

As for Mrs. Luo’s dream… he could go back and ask Luo Zhi first, using the name of solving the knot, and see if Luo Zhi could help. Then, they could plan it step by step.

He had originally thought that Xie Duzhi wouldn’t answer right away, but suddenly, his hand was held tighter, so he looked up at hin.

Xie Duzhi was looking at him too, his gaze softening from a cold, glacier-like look to clear spring water as it landed on him.

“You liking me is already more than enough,” he said softly.

Li Heng realized that he was nervous.

Maybe Xie Duzhi didn’t even realize it himself, but when he was nervous around Li Heng, he subconsciously pressed his lips together.

Just now, while speaking, he had been pressing his lips together.

“Duzhi, I think just liking isn’t enough,” Li Heng replied directly. “If I were working, or if you were a student like me, we could do a lot more things together.”

If they were both students…

He could save a seat for him at the library when he went early, bring him breakfast, queue at his favorite food stall at lunchtime, or take care of his deliveries, sneakily leave fruit or other surprises on his desk in the dorm.

Work would be the same.

Except the library seat-saving would become toast or brewed coffee, and queuing for meals would turn into waiting for him to finish work, then cooking dinner together and eating together…

Xie Duzhi had no rebuttal.

Indeed, they had already expressed their feelings and become a couple, but there wasn’t much time they could spend together day-to-day.

Even though they were both patient enough to wait, waiting could still be quite agonizing.

“Winter break is still so far away,” Li Heng calculated the dates and sighed. “I hope our school’s winter break is a little longer.”

“…There are still things we can do,” Xie Duzhi suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence that had lingered since they left the mall.

“What?”

“We can do something like we did at the amusement park,” he said, instinctively looking away.

—Something like what they did at the amusement park. Kiss him.