New York.

Qi Huai heard from the hired help, Amanda, that the house next door was finally occupied. They moved in last night. They were Asian, but she didn’t know which country they were from.

Qi Huai laughed after hearing this. “Amanda, you stayed up late again, didn’t you? Were you on the phone with your boyfriend again?”

Amanda was furious. “Young master, don’t always be concerned about my love life. You’re already seventeen, it’s time for you to fall in love. Find a girl, dear, and release some of that pent-up energy of yours!”

Skateboarding, surfing, computer games, swimming, and those robot toys she couldn’t understand. In short, her handsome young master spent almost all his time on these things. Oh, and teasing her about fighting with her boyfriend!

Fall in love, child. Once you’ve loved, you’ll know why couples in love fight. You men are all the same!

She left in a huff after complaining. Two hours later, she brought Qi Huai a plate of freshly baked cookies with LOVE, LOVE… all LOVE written on them in cream.

And then she left a plate of FUCK for herself.

Qi Huai: “…”

He picked up a cookie and carefully took a bite. He was relieved to find that there was no bitter taste of tears. Then he took the porcelain plate into the yard.

The doghouse was empty. At the maximum range of the dog leash, a beagle was crazily biting the leg of a deck chair, enjoying it as if it were chewing on a sugarcane.

“…Bubble, don’t eat everything,” Qi Huai fed him a cookie. “Eat this, but you can only have two… Fuck!”

The dog’s head shot out, and its eager teeth bit on the porcelain plate with a “clack.” Qi Huai was startled and quickly tried to pry open the dog’s mouth. “Let go! Let go! Stupid dog! I’ll give you all the cookies! Don’t eat the plate! Do you want to die?!”

A man and a dog fought over the plate. Qi Huai cursed wildly, and the dog whimpered non-stop, barking even more nastily than Amanda when she was cursing her boyfriend.

After eating the cookies, the dog went to lick Qi Huai’s face. Qi Huai’s face was covered in cookie crumbs and dog saliva, which was disgusting.

“Bubble, I should have gotten a border collie to deal with you…”

The next second, Qi Huai’s sports shorts were pulled off by the beagle because a piece of cream had fallen on them.

“Bubble!”

Pfft—

A light laugh suddenly came from not far away. Qi Huai looked up and only then did he realize that there was a person’s head sticking out of the swimming pool next door.

Water droplets condensed on the other’s fair skin. His black hair and eyebrows were all wet. He was leaning on the edge of the pool with both arms, “observing the battle.” He was clearly swimming and had been attracted by the sound of Qi Huai and the dog, so he had poked his head out to see.

A boy about the same age as Qi Huai.

I’ve been discovered…

Yoon Nam-hyuk shrank back into the pool in embarrassment. He felt that it was impolite, so he poked his head out again and waved at Qi Huai. “Hi…”

This time it was Qi Huai’s turn to laugh. “You’re very shy.”

“I’m not,” Yoon Nam-hyuk frowned.

Qi Huai: “Then why are you hiding? Come out and talk.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk looked away. “…I’m not wearing any clothes.”

Qi Huai raised an eyebrow. “You’re not even wearing pants?”

Yoon Nam-hyuk’s eyes widened. “Of course I am!”

“…Then why are you hiding? You’re still shy,” Qi Huai smiled, pushed the dog away, and walked towards Yoon Nam-hyuk. “My name is Qi Huai. What’s your name? Where are you from?”

Yoon Nam-hyuk reached for his towel.

“I’ll accompany you, alright?” Qi Huai took off his shirt with one hand, balled it up, and wiped the cookie crumbs from his hair with the inside of his shirt, revealing his beautifully toned body. “Here, I won’t wear it either.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk’s breath caught, and his ears instantly turned red.

He didn’t say a word, pulled the towel over himself, and turned to leave. His entire neck was pink. It was hard to tell if he was shy or angry.

The wet swimming trunks clung to his skin, highlighting the curve of his buttocks and his slender legs. Only then did Qi Huai notice that there were a few scars on the other’s side waist. When he was leaving in a hurry, he didn’t forget to cover them with the towel.

Qi Huai loved sports and often got injured. He could tell that those scars, in that place, were not from sports.

So it’s not shyness, it’s fear of me finding out?

Qi Huai suddenly felt a little guilty.

He washed off the cookie crumbs and dog saliva. After thinking about it, he felt that he had done something wrong, so he asked Amanda to pack a bag of normal cookies without LOVE and FUCK written on them and went to the door to apologize.

The cookies were packed in a white baking paper bag, tied with a baby blue ribbon, looking very summery.

Qi Huai inexplicably thought of the swimming pool in the garden next door, the beautiful person and the blue water, and the rippling water.

Stop it…

Qi Huai ran to the next door with the cookies and knocked on the door. Unexpectedly, the person who opened the door was not the “baby blue mermaid” he had imagined, but an elegant and beautiful lady.

“You are…?” The other was surprised by Qi Huai’s uninvited visit, but then she saw the bag of cookies and suddenly understood. “Are you a neighbor?”

“Mm… yes.”

“Are you here to give a welcome gift to your new neighbor?” 

Qi Huai coughed lightly. “Actually, I’m here to apologize.”

“Apologize?”

Qi Huai rubbed his nose. “Just now, I might have misunderstood your son a little. I want to apologize.”

Ms. Hyun: “Misunderstood? With Nam-hyuk?”

Nam-hyuk.

Mmm, it sounds good.

Ms. Hyun invited Qi Huai to stay for dinner. She said that she and her son had just moved in and planned to stay for about a year. If possible, she hoped that Qi Huai could get in touch with her son more, and maybe they could become friends.

Qi Huai immediately agreed.

Therefore, when Yoon Nam-hyuk came downstairs, he had no idea that the guy who took off his clothes at the drop of a hat was sitting at his dining table.

“Why are you here?” Yoon Nam-hyuk stopped on the stairs.

“I came to find you, Nam-hyuk,” Qi Huai said with a smile.

Yoon Nam-hyuk’s eyes widened. “How do you know my name?”

“Your mother told me, Nam-hyuk.”

The thick-skinned guy kept calling him Nam-hyuk, Nam-hyuk, Nam-hyuk. Yoon Nam-hyuk was annoyed. “What’s your name? What’s your name?”

Qi Huai held out his hand. “Let’s shake hands and make up. Don’t be angry with me, okay?”

Yoon Nam-hyuk pursed his lips and placed his hand in Qi Huai’s palm. But the next second, he stumbled and was pulled into Qi Huai’s arms. His nose almost broke from the impact.

“What are you doing!”

Qi Huai gestured awkwardly. “…I just wanted to bump shoulders. Why are you so light?”

“You’re too strong!”

The handshake failed, and the shoulder bump also failed. The two sat down at the dining table one after another, speechless for a moment.

Qi Huai thought for a moment and pushed the cookies on the table to Yoon Nam-hyuk. “Here, a gift for you. Sorry about what happened in the garden just now.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk stared at the cookies and couldn’t help but ask, “Dog cookies?”

Qi Huai quickly clarified, “No, they’re human cookies. Well, actually, they’re the kind that both humans and dogs can eat. I just share a little with Bubble every time.”

That’s right, a plate was already considered a little for a beagle.

Yoon Nam-hyuk fiddled with the ribbon on the package. “He’s called Bubble? That’s cute.”

Qi Huai immediately said, “You like him? I’ll give him to you.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk: “…No.”

Dinner was Korean food. Because there was a guest, Ms. Hyun made a little more: vegetable bibimbap, tofu soup, egg rolls, pan-fried salmon and shrimp, plus a few cups of fruit and vegetable smoothies.

Yoon Nam-hyuk ate slowly, while Qi Huai was a bit fierce because his cookies had been eaten by the dog and he was hungry.

Ms. Hyun covered her mouth and smiled. “You’re eating so well. Can I call you Xiao Huai?”

Qi Huai nodded. “As you wish. My mother also calls me that.”

Ms. Hyun smiled. “Okay, thank you for giving cookies to Little Hyuk, Xiao Huai. Do your parents have any dietary restrictions? In a few days, after I’ve tidied up the house, I’ll go and return the gift.”

Qi Huai finished his smoothie and wiped his mouth. “My father can’t eat spicy food very well. My mother loved it, but she passed away.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk paused.

Ms. Hyun quickly apologized.

Qi Huai smiled. “It’s okay, it happened many years ago.”

After that, Qi Huai often came to Yoon Nam-hyuk’s house for meals, and at the same time, he would bring some food and toys.

At first, it was cookies, cupcakes, and apple pies made by Amanda. Later, occasionally, he would also make his own stewed beef, roasted ribs, and so on.

Yoon Nam-hyuk seemed to like his homemade food very much. Ms. Hyun would also look at Yoon Nam-hyuk in surprise and say, “Oh my, Little Hyuk is eating more than usual today.”

Qi Huai would just smile. “It’s delicious, right? I made it.”

“What? You made it?” Yoon Nam-hyuk’s eyes were about to pop out. He seemed to have a hard time imagining that the person who could take off his clothes with one hand and fight with a beagle every day could make such delicious food.

Qi Huai: “Thank me, and I’ll make it again tomorrow.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk held back for a while. “Thank you.”

Qi Huai laughed loudly and put his arm around the other’s shoulder. A teenage boy’s body temperature was high, his palms were hot, and his strength was also great. Yoon Nam-hyuk’s right shoulder bumped against the other’s chest, and his left shoulder was held by the other’s hot hand. The goosebumps on the back of his neck immediately appeared, and his heart pounded.

He felt his face turn red, so he desperately told himself to calm down, calm down. Then he looked at Ms. Hyun’s expression and found that she was smiling and talking to Qi Huai, not paying any attention to him at all. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Sure enough, Mom didn’t know, so she would ask Qi Huai to play with him more and be friends with him.

If she knew he liked boys, she probably wouldn’t be able to accept it, right?

Qi Huai’s father was very busy, so busy that he hadn’t been home for nearly two weeks.

Amanda was originally hired to cook for Qi Huai, but recently Qi Huai had been eating at the neighbor’s house often, and even went there every afternoon. Amanda was happy to be free and spent a lot of time fighting with her boyfriend.

There was no one at home. Amanda’s voice was surprisingly loud. Yoon Nam-hyuk could even hear a series of F’s from inside the house. He couldn’t help but run to the yard to take a look.

“What are you looking at?” Qi Huai tiptoed to Yoon Nam-hyuk’s back and said softly.

Yoon Nam-hyuk jumped. “You scared me!”

Qi Huai laughed. “Why are you like a little rabbit, jumping at every little thing?”

He followed Yoon Nam-hyuk’s gaze to his own house, and his expression suddenly became strange. “Are you peeking at Amanda? You like this type?”

Amanda was a black lady in her early twenties, with a very exaggerated waist-to-hip ratio and a fiery personality. She could do very sexy twerking dances. She used to be the head chef of a small pink restaurant in New York, specializing in baking and Mexican food, and she knew a little about Western food.

Yoon Nam-hyuk was speechless. “What nonsense are you talking about? I was just looking… I thought she was fighting with you.”

“With me?” Qi Huai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “I wouldn’t dare to fight with her. She’s fighting with her boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Yoon Nam-hyuk was amazed. “They sound like enemies.”

But it was true, his parents were also like enemies, just the kind who didn’t fight because of face.

Yoon Nam-hyuk kicked Qi Huai’s calf. “Do your parents fight?”

Qi Huai lay on Yoon Nam-hyuk’s bed, hugged his pillow, and closed his eyes. “No. They’re very busy and don’t see each other much, but their relationship is still pretty good. They celebrate Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, and stuff, and leave me at home alone.”

“Oh…”

That’s great, Yoon Nam-hyuk thought.

“What about your parents?” Qi Huai asked. “Do they fight? Is their relationship good?”

Yoon Nam-hyuk closed the window, blocking out Amanda’s increasingly loud voice. “Not good, they’re divorced.”

Qi Huai opened his eyes. “…Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Yoon Nam-hyuk took out a large box of game cards and started to choose a game.

“Then are you going to live in the United States in the future? Are you going to stay here? Which high school are you planning to go to? I’ll transfer to accompany you,” Qi Huai suddenly sat up, rested his chin on Yoon Nam-hyuk’s shoulder, and stared at the other’s side profile.

“I don’t know,” Yoon Nam-hyuk moved his shoulder. “It’s hot.”

Qi Huai narrowed his eyes. “Yoon Nam-hyuk, you’re lying. If you don’t tell me, I’ll go ask your mother.”

“You’re so annoying…” Yoon Nam-hyuk pursed his lips. “I’ll probably stay for about a year. That’s what my mother said. I’m not going to high school here. I’ll have a private tutor first. I don’t know about the future yet.”

Qi Huai was stunned. “You dropped out of school?”

For a high school student, what could have happened to make him suspend his studies and go to another country to live for so long?

He wanted to ask, but after thinking about it, he didn’t.

“Mm, I dropped out,” Yoon Nam-hyuk nodded and held out the game cards to Qi Huai. “Are you playing? Choose one yourself.”

Why did you come to the United States?

The superficial reason was that his parents were divorced, and his mother said she wanted to take him out to relax. In the final analysis, besides his parents’ long-gone feelings, the main reason was that Yoon Nam-hyuk had been beaten by Yoon Tae-min, and it was very serious.

As for the reason for the beating, it was because Yoon Tae-min had discovered a few comics he had bought.

Actually, the content of the comics was not too excessive. 95% of it was about the pure campus love between two boys. But Yoon Tae-min would rather his eighteen-year-old son be watching AV than watching a love story between two men.

Yoon Tae-min was furious. He dragged Yoon Nam-hyuk into the study and asked him, “Do you have a boyfriend? Have you ever had one?”

Yoon Nam-hyuk shook his head with a pale face. “No.”

“That’s good,” Tae-min said. “You don’t have one now, and you shouldn’t have one in the future. You’re a child of the Yin family. Keep this to yourself. You can’t even tell your mother, understand? When you’re 25, I’ll find you a good woman to marry. Then you’ll know how good it is to live a normal person’s life.”

Yoon Nam-hyuk took a step back. “Mom is also living a normal person’s life, but she’s not happy. Marriage shouldn’t be—”

Yoon Tae-min picked up a table lamp and hit Yoon Nam-hyuk on the waist.

Yoon Tae-min: “I didn’t give birth to you to talk back to me. You should study hard, inherit the family business in the future, and don’t think about those things. If you embarrass me, I’ll kill you!”

Yoon Nam-hyuk said, “It was my mother who gave birth to me, not you.”

Yoon Tae-min was furious. He beat Yoon Nam-hyuk severely, wanting to let his son know what fear was.

The reason why Yoon Tae-min didn’t want Yoon Nam-hyuk to tell Hyun Si-young was because he knew that with Hyun Si-young’s personality, she would support Yoon Nam-hyuk without hesitation even if she knew he liked men. This would definitely become a big joke in the upper-class circle.

However, Yoon Tae-min did not expect that their marriage, which was only held together by interests, would immediately end after Hyun Si-young found out that Yoon Nam-hyuk had been beaten.

Hyun Si-young divorced, divided the family property, and directly split the Woosan Entertainment that she had founded in half. No matter how troublesome or reluctant she was, she had to divide it. If Yoon Tae-min didn’t agree, she would take her son to a press conference, get him examined at the hospital, and let the whole world know about the Yoon family’s ugly affair.

Yoon Nam-hyuk’s matter had not yet had time to embarrass Yoon Tae-min, but Hyun Si-young had done it first. Yoon Tae-min said Hyun Si-young was crazy.

Hyun Si-young said yes, the decision to marry you was a decision that only a madman would make. Many women have been foolish, and I have been foolish too, but I can’t continue to be foolish just because I can’t bear to part with Wushan. Let’s just stop here. We should all stop here.

It took more than a year for the company to be completely divided. Yoon Nam-hyuk’s injuries were also almost healed. He didn’t know if Yoon Tae-min had told his mother the reason for hitting him, so he had been anxious all along.

Hyun Si-young was very busy during that time, and they didn’t have time to talk about this. Yoon Nam-hyuk also didn’t know how to say it.

He was afraid that his mother would find out, and he was also afraid that she wouldn’t. It was hard to describe that feeling. It was probably like you wanted to seek the recognition and support of your closest relative, but you were also afraid that you wouldn’t get it, so you were worried.

Until a few weeks ago, Ms. Hyun suddenly said to the depressed Yoon Nam-hyuk, “Little Hyuk, let’s go to the United States for a while, to get away from this depressing country and relax. We can also suspend your studies for a while. I’ll find you a private tutor.”

Just like that, he met Qi Huai.

That very reckless person, who seemed to be draped in sunlight, had barged into his world.