The sweat on Chen Mo's eyelids clung to his lashes, making him appear more fragile with each blink. However, he stubbornly pressed down on the hand gripping his waist and locked eyes with the person in front of him. “If you dare carry me out like this, believe me, within half an hour, the whole school will think we’re in a relationship.”

His voice was hoarse, his breath weak.

Xi Siyan raised a brow, recalling what Xi Jianxing had said outside the restroom earlier. Although he hadn't been keen on listening, his memory was impeccable.

“‘Love that cannot be expressed’?”

Chen Mo ground his teeth. “That’s Guo Yiyang and his gang making things up!”

“So?”

“So just leave me be. I’ll be fine in a minute.”

Xi Siyan snorted softly. Without another word, he bent down and lifted Chen Mo into his arms.

Lighter than expected.

The thought flashed through his mind as Xi Siyan said, “If I ignored a classmate who looks like he’s about to collapse from pain just because of some rumor, even if the law wouldn’t come after me, I’d never live it down morally.”

Chen Mo, now fully aware that he was airborne, glared at him. “Do you really have that high a moral compass?”

Carrying him out of the restroom, Xi Siyan glanced down at the boy in his arms. “Do you have some kind of misconception about me?”

Bullshit, Chen Mo thought, glaring coldly.

As soon as they left the restroom, Guo Yiyang had already called for reinforcements.

A group of teenagers, no older than seventeen or eighteen, stormed down the hallway of the KTV, making quite a scene.

From a distance, Chen Mo could hear the sound of sneakers squeaking on the tiled floor.

“Is he unconscious?”

“Didn’t they say it was just a stomachache? It looks serious.”

“Xi-ge, is he okay? Should we call an ambulance?”

Chen Mo felt a bunch of people closing in around him before he had the chance to speak. He heard Xi Siyan’s voice above him, calm and composed. “He’s not unconscious. The car’s outside. We’ll take him to the hospital for a checkup.”

Several people volunteered eagerly, “I’ll go with you.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Chen Mo couldn’t hold back any longer. His voice was stiff as he said, “I’m still alive. You don’t need this many people to carry a body.”

The chest he was leaning against rumbled with two soft chuckles. “Seems like he’s doing alright,” Xi Siyan said. “Guo can come along, the car can’t fit everyone.”

Guo Yiyang, walking beside them, accidentally made eye contact with Chen Mo.

“Doesn’t this feel familiar to you?” Guo Yiyang asked.

Chen Mo, expressionless, replied, “I don’t have amnesia.”

Old Guo shut his mouth.

People with stomachaches sure have bad tempers.

As the group’s tension eased, they realized how surreal the scene was. Chen Mo had completely overturned the image everyone had of him. Tonight’s events were already explosive, especially after his unexpected coming-out. At first, when someone had returned to the room saying that Chen Mo had gotten drunk and was throwing up in the restroom, everyone had speculated that he’d been heartbroken and was drowning his sorrows.

But then Guo Yiyang had come back, saying Chen Mo was on the verge of passing out from vomiting, nearly scaring everyone to death.

It turned out he was just having a bout of gastritis.

Still, now everyone was wondering how someone who could single-handedly take down a group of people was now being carried around, pale and drenched in sweat.

If not for his sharp tongue and the fact that the guy carrying him wasn’t exactly soft-spoken either, it might have looked... somewhat romantic.

“Put me down,” Chen Mo demanded.

“And then what, you roll to the hospital?” Xi Siyan shot back.

“I can walk.”

“Sure, like a tortoise with four wobbly legs?”

“...You think parading around with a gay guy in your arms makes you look cool?”

“Do you tell everyone you meet that you’re into guys? Play dead, I’ve got an image to uphold.”

“Xi Siyan.”

“Mm?”

“You’re not going to be successful in the future because of that mouth of yours.”

“Thanks. I can be successful just by sponging off my family.”

From the private room to the KTV’s entrance, everyone else was left speechless.

Usually, Xi Siyan wasn’t the type to verbally spar with people. He was calm and well-mannered, occasionally throwing out light insults like calling Qi Lin a dimwit. But as it turned out, when he really wanted to roast someone, most people couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

Take Chen Mo, for example—he’d left the usually fiery Ms. Bai speechless in class and driven the dean of their grade into a rage. But now, as they reached the entrance, Chen Mo had his eyes closed, resigned to his fate.

On Friday nights, the entertainment venues were packed with young people.

At the bright entrance of the KTV, groups of boys and girls stood chatting or waiting for their friends. A typical evening turned into something unusual when a tall, dignified young man walked out of the revolving door, carrying another boy dressed in a plain white T-shirt. A stir immediately began.

The commotion only grew when the young man headed straight for the most inconspicuous luxury car parked by the curb.

Once Chen Mo was settled inside and the door closed, the car quickly merged into the flow of traffic, leaving behind the group of boys standing awkwardly by the entrance, receiving curious glances from every direction.

It was probably the first time they’d felt the overwhelming allure of wealth so clearly.

“Rich young master with his delicate little wife?”

“...Chen Mo will snap your neck, believe it.”

“If Xi-ge doesn’t snap your neck, he’ll probably lock you in the basement of his 300-square-meter mansion. A hundred years later, the police will find your bones, and when they check the database, they’ll realize you never existed.”

“Damn, you guys are scary.”

Meanwhile, in the car, Chen Mo sneezed as the pain in his stomach gradually subsided. Leaning back against the seat, he closed his eyes, not particularly bothered by the mess he’d made of the evening.

The car’s air conditioning was set to a cool temperature.

Guo Yiyang sat quietly, like a well-behaved quail, while Xi Siyan, sitting next to him, was busy typing away on his phone.

“Uncle Lin, raise the temperature a bit,” Xi Siyan said without lifting his head.

Uncle Lin glanced at the boy in the backseat, whose complexion was still poor, and adjusted the temperature. “Are you sure it’s not just a lingering cold? Sometimes a cold can cause stomach discomfort.”

Guo Yiyang immediately explained, “No, it’s because he drank.”

From the front seat came a quiet chuckle. “Last time? Uncle Lin has met Xi-ge’s classmates before?”

Uncle Lin smiled. “Just once.”

By the time Chen Mo realized that Xi Jianxing was also in the car, it was too late.

Since he was technically an elder, this was also why, despite Guo Yiyang’s presence, the atmosphere in the car was so quiet.

Although Xi Jianxing was technically Xi Siyan’s elder, he wasn’t much older than Yang Zhi. He turned halfway around, his slanted eyes full of mischief, and smiled at Chen Mo. “Ah-Yan didn’t introduce us earlier, but I didn’t expect to meet under these circumstances. You probably don’t recognize me.”

Chen Mo looked at him. “I recognize you. I’ve seen a photo of you with my... brother.”

Xi Jianxing’s smile didn’t falter. “Your brother, huh? Quite the ambitious one.”

Xi Siyan looked up from his phone and directed his gaze forward. “Still not sober?”

“I’m perfectly sober, just saying hi to the kid,” Xi Jianxing replied with a grin, then turned back to Chen Mo, still smiling. “It must be tough putting up with Ah-Yan. Since our families are close, if you ever feel dissatisfied with him, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

Chen Mo smiled back. “Sure, thanks, Uncle.”

Chen Mo had no intention of taking those words seriously.

No one in the Xi family was simple.

Xi Jianxing, with his sharp mind and charm, was the only member of the Xi family who wasn’t tied to any family business, but he was also the family’s last line of defense. He might joke around and act familiar with people like Yang Zhi, but in truth, Chen Mo doubted there was anyone in the Yang family he genuinely liked, aside from the old patriarch.

About twenty minutes later, they arrived at the same hospital as before.

Chen Mo underwent a gastroscopy.

The doctor, holding his test results, examined them for a while before saying, “Acute gastritis. It seems like your condition has been ongoing for some time.”

Sitting on the examination stool, Chen Mo replied, “It started as chronic gastritis with peptic ulcers, recurring for about three years now.”

The doctor paused.

Behind Chen Mo, Guo Yiyang sucked in a sharp breath.

It wasn’t that the diagnosis sounded particularly scary, but when someone knows their medical condition so well, it’s clear they’ve been dealing with it for a long time.

An old patient.

And not even eighteen yet.

Three years ago, Chen Mo would have been what, fourteen? Fifteen?

Anyone seeing these test results would have a hard time believing the story that his adoptive parents had doted on him, that he had been well taken care of. Guo Yiyang had even seen the scars on Chen Mo’s body.

It was... a feeling that the world should have exploded by now.

At the entrance to the doctor’s office, Xi Jianxing, now mostly sober, glanced inside before turning to his nephew, who seemed unaffected by what he’d just heard.

“Don’t you have anything to say about this?” he muttered.

Xi Siyan glanced at him.

“Cold-hearted,” Xi Jianxing muttered.

He looked inside again and sighed. “That Yang family son, I have to admit... he’s surprising. If I were in his shoes, I would’ve lashed out at the world a long time ago. But look at him—he still had the decency to call me Uncle in the car, even though he was in so much pain. He didn’t make a fuss and cooperated through the entire exam.”

Xi Siyan checked his watch.

“It’s time for you to go home,” he said, signaling it was time for Xi Jianxing to leave.

“What about you?” Xi Jianxing asked.

“I’ll see if I can get him a hospital bed,” Xi Siyan replied, glancing at the nurse who was now administering an IV to Chen Mo.

“Well, I take back what I said about you being cold-hearted.”

Xi Jianxing had no intention of staying long. Seeing that everything was stable, he prepared to leave.

But before he left, something seemed to occur to him, and he turned back.

“Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you and the kid in there?”

The term "kid" made Xi Siyan’s brow furrow deeply, and he warned, “He’s seventeen, at least 1.78 meters tall, and if your alcohol isn’t wearing off yet, I’ll personally take you to the sink and douse you with cold water.”

“Touchy, aren’t we?”

“Do I look touchy to you?”

Xi Jianxing nodded, then said, “Alright, then. Just wanted to mention, the Yang family’s like a cat that’s tasted blood now. If they had a daughter, they’d probably be trying to throw her into your bed. Oh, and by the way, Yang Qian’an is eyeing the Beichuan project. Even if they don’t have a daughter, getting their son in your good graces wouldn’t be too bad.”

“Oh, and another thing,” Xi Jianxing continued, “The Yang family has no plans to pin their hopes on that one in there.”

He chuckled, amused by his own words, and gave his nephew a once-over before adding, “Who would’ve thought, the main attraction everyone’s been searching for all night is here with the least favored Yang family son, who’s already come out of the closet. Funny how the world works, isn’t it?”

Ignoring the cold glint in his nephew’s eyes, Xi Jianxing laughed and left the room.