Heaven was not cooperating.

The overpass was packed solid into a long dragon of trapped cars. Shi Linchuan turned his face and rolled down the car window, wanting to catch a breath of fresh air, only to get a noseful of damp chill instead.

As it turned out, a drizzle had begun to fall from the sky.

Summer weather was inherently unreasonable—this rain fell whenever it pleased, boundless in its caprice. Fortunately, it wasn’t heavy, though it meant traffic would likely clear up even slower now.

Click.

Shi Linchuan simply rolled the window all the way down, extending half a palm out to catch and press against the falling threads of rain.

Pei Yue caught a mere glimpse of the back of the man’s head. Thinking he was in a bad mood, she chuckled to lighten the mood: “If time is really running tight, I’ll contact the organizers and have them swap the award order. We’ll make it in time no matter what…”

Shi Linchuan offered no explanation, quietly letting the drizzle splash against his face.

It wasn’t going to drown him anyway.

His other hand was still clutching his phone.

On the video stream:

Xie Jinghe had already finished walking the red carpet, signed his name with a flourish, and turned to pose for group photos. He deliberately raised his left hand to fix his hair, then adjusted his bowtie and sleeve cuffs—one ostentatious little gesture after another, as if terrified no one would notice.

The comment section and live bullet-chat had long picked up on the clues. Like matching secret codes, they sent a barrage of contextless question marks and short phrases. Many people had already taken screenshots and forwarded them to other platforms for widespread discussion. At this rate, Shi Linchuan’s name might well trend on social media before he even arrived at the venue.

The camera switched to someone else.

Listening to the sound from the speaker while watching the damp, icy rain, Shi Linchuan felt a flush of embarrassment on behalf of that shameless fellow just now. His bangs and eyelashes were dusted with wet moisture, his earlobes burning dry and hot, yet his body remained sitting steadily inside the car…

He was going to see that guy.

Hurrying all the way, Shi Linchuan luckily managed to catch up in the end.

Right now, a huge wave had broken across the internet, yet the venue itself remained calm.

Pei Yue had arranged everything with the organizers beforehand, securing a front-row seat for him and intentionally leaving the seatback unmarked with a name. But who could have predicted Shi Linchuan would be late for so long?

As a result, a conspicuous empty gap was left sitting right in the front row.

Lights shone brightly both on and off the stage.

Shi Linchuan entered quietly through the back door, carrying a slight chill on his shoulders. Moisture condensed on the tips of his eyelashes without moving for a long while, gleaming even brighter than the diamond on his hand.

He didn’t walk toward the front. Instead, he stood in the open space at the edge of the hall, surrounded by a crowd of staff members.

Shi Linchuan was tall—standing a head above those around him—and his vision was completely unobstructed. In a single glance, he spotted the back of Xie Jinghe’s head:

It really was rounder and handsomer than everyone else’s.

Standing on stage, the host happened to reveal the winner for the “Best Actor” award. After teasing the audience briefly, the host loudly called out Xie Jinghe’s name amidst the dazzling lights. The big screen on the side instantly cut to a close-up of his face.

Deep, affectionate eyes, a black suit—he was handsome and dashing beyond measure.

His peers applauded the loudest. As the host invited him to the stage to receive the award, Xie Jinghe stood up with a smile and walked sideways out of the aisle, his left hand gently folded over his lower abdomen as if smoothing out the creases of his suit—his posture polished and flawless.

Standing in the half-light, Shi Linchuan also applauded gently.

He watched as the man climbed the steps to the podium with long strides, looking sharp in his tailored suit. The ring finger of the hand holding the microphone gleamed brightly, captured verbatim by the camera on the big screen and across the live stream, instantly igniting attention both in the hall and online.

For no other reason than this:

That previous variety show had truly exploded into a viral hit.

Countless people in the audience had watched it, and those who hadn’t had at least heard of it.

For Xie Jinghe, tonight was a double blessing. Once the host presented the trophy, he delivered his acceptance speech beaming with pride, expressing his gratitude to a long list of people. Finally, when he reached the words, “And thanks to the person I love, and who loves me…”

A sudden wave of hooting erupted from the crowd below.

“Ooh—”

It sounded unmistakably like teasing.

Xie Jinghe froze for a second. Spotting the director of his film crew looking visibly thrilled and pointing frantically toward the big screen nearby, he couldn’t help following the direction of his finger—only to realize the director had switched the camera feed at some unknown moment.

On the big screen:

A man stood in the dimly lit corner. Realizing what was happening upon seeing themselves on the big screen, the staff members in front of him all scattered to the side in unison, leaving a peculiar vacuum around the man that looked strangely hilarious.

In the next second:

A spotlight chased over and locked onto him.

Shi Linchuan felt as if the air had turned thin; his arms felt as heavy as lead.

He had once promised Xie Jinghe that he would never lie to him again, or else he would run into the street and shout “I love you, Xie Jinghe” ten times at the top of his lungs. The underlying meaning was clear: admitting he was a rogue was easy enough, but asking him to lay his heart bare in public…

Even putting a blade to his neck wouldn’t work.

Yet right now, there was no blade pressed against Shi Linchuan’s neck.

Light spilled all over him. The person on stage looked over from afar, his former composure and stage manners completely abandoned. To Shi Linchuan, he looked like an anxious ant, itching to wave all its legs at once and charge straight into his arms.

While clutching a Golden Statue trophy in those arms, no less.

Suddenly, Shi Linchuan saw the man on the big screen break into a smile. Slowly, he raised both arms from his sides, lifted them above his head, and bent his wrists, awkwardly forming a slightly lopsided heart shape.

It was the heart Xie Jinghe had once passionately offered him, only to be deliberately ignored.

He had awkwardly picked it up, kept it hidden for a long time, and finally decided to return it to him.

—It didn’t matter if others saw it.

—It didn’t matter if it was made public.

—Shi Linchuan simply loved Xie Jinghe, and there was nothing he couldn’t admit.

Having completed this gesture, the man in his thirties felt his face burning hot. Fortunately, those years hadn’t been lived in vain; he still managed to maintain a calm and composed expression, even though the tips of his ears were flushed entirely red, half-hidden beneath his dark hair.

Xie Jinghe’s skin was far thicker than his.

Holding the trophy in one hand and the microphone in the other, he returned a heart right back. Then, taking long strides, he dashed off the stage and slammed fiercely into Shi Linchuan’s embrace, knocking him back two steps. Two hearts beat violently against each other across their chests.

Fortunately, tonight’s award ceremony was nearing its end.

The final award was already gripped firmly in Xie Jinghe’s hand.

The two leaving hand-in-hand didn’t disrupt a thing.

Shi Linchuan grabbed Xie Jinghe’s forearm and slipped far away through the back door. The drizzle outside had stopped long ago, leaving only dark patches scattered across the ground, reflecting fragments of patterns as leather shoes stepped over them. Running until he was completely out of breath, the man behind him finally snapped back to his senses and said frantically:

“…The microphone! I forgot to return the microphone!”

Shi Linchuan stopped, his eyes meeting his.

A few seconds of silence passed.

The two men dressed in formal suits burst into a frantic laugh together. Yet neither was willing to go back. They simply held hands and continued running, walking, rushing into the starry night.

“Linchuan, where are you taking me?”

After pondering for a long time, Shi Linchuan squeezed out a sentence:

“…Let’s go home.”

“I’ll tell you a bedtime story tonight.”

It was going to be a very, very long story.

One that would take a lifetime to tell.

And right now, he was taking Xie Jinghe to his castle.

The butterfly had whipped up a storm, and after the storm passed…

—All things began to grow.