Chapter 1074: Gentle Neighbor

Xue Yuanjing returned home already at 2 a. m.

His whole body ached; the blows landed where they wouldn't easily be noticed, and though he wanted to call the police he worried he might have provoked someone, so he could only swallow his anger.

After changing his shoes and walking in from the entryway, he saw that the light in Zhong Yu's bedroom suite was still on, the door ajar, and faintly heard the sounds of filming.

Xue Yuanjing loosened his suit tie and pushed the door open.

From the doorway he saw the living room brightly lit, a handsome youth leaning half against the sofa.

Zhong Yu was trying on the outfit he would film tomorrow—a smoky‑blue ancient‑style long dress draped over his shoulders, with delicate crystal accents resting below his collarbones, his fair skin seeming to glow.

His black hair fell to his waist, bare feet jumping on the carpet while he hummed a tune, like a carefree little fox.

Whenever filming a costume‑change short story with a different theme, Zhong Yu would imagine himself as the protagonist, even chatting with the air made him very happy.

But in Xue Yuanjing's eyes it was simply bizarre.

"Why are you talking to the air again?"

A male voice laced with anger came over, startling Zhong Yu into turning around; he saw Xue Yuanjing reeking of alcohol, full of anger and drunkenness.

In an instant, the color drained from Zhong Yu's face.

His painful childhood memories seemed to replay, and he instinctively thought Xue Yuanjing was about to strike him.

Zhong Yu shrank behind the sofa, the liveliness from moments ago vanished, and he timidly showed half his face, "You… you're drunk, aren't you?"

But he had clearly said before… that he doesn't like his future partner drinking.

After drinking, everyone seemed to turn frightening, just like when his father drank too much… it always came with endless quarrels and domestic violence.

"Who has a social engagement without drinking! We've barely been together, and you're already making unreasonable trouble."

Xue Yuanjing had come home already angry, and now he let it all out under the pretense of an excuse.

Zhong Yu shrank further, clutching the sofa cover, the man before him gradually merging in his memory with the demonic father.

The fear left him barely able to breathe.

"I… I'm sorry, I was just trying on clothes. I wasn't talking to the air…"

"You think I'm deaf?" Xue Yuanjing snorted coldly.

Yet the half‑face revealed by the youth behind the sofa was truly bewitching—red at the corners of his eyes, mist filling his gaze, looking at him stirred a desire to humiliate.

Xue Yuanjing flung his tie aside, played with it in his hand, and slowly walked toward the sofa, looking down at the fearful Zhongyu.

At that moment, Zhong Yu had almost given up struggling.

He knew he couldn't escape.

A strike from the tie would hurt the arm, but not as much as a belt; his father's beatings had even taught him which spots wouldn't show up on camera.

Fear made Zhong Yu's legs go weak, the alcohol smell made him nauseous, yet he dared not react in the slightest—it was like a nightmare.

As Xue Yuanjing was about to close in, a bell signal rang from his pocket; he impatiently readied to silence it, but the name that appeared was Xu You's.

For no reason he panicked, thinking it was still about the club incident, and hurriedly left the room to take the call.

Zhong Yu lay stiff on the sofa for a long time before slowly regaining strength, tears welling as he rose.

His long hair fell like silk behind him, half‑covering his pale little face.

He took several deep breaths but couldn't quell the turmoil in his stomach, rushed to the toilet, and knelt beside the bowl retching.

Until he couldn't bring anything up, Zhong Yu slowly stood, looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, and patted his chest to comfort himself.

"It's okay… don't be afraid."

"Tomorrow will be fine, this place is safe, the room…"

Zhong Yu's breath hitched, he dashed out and locked the bedroom suite door behind him, only then did his sense of safety return.

He softly hiccuped, washed his face clean, lost the desire to try on clothes, removed all his makeup, curled up under the blankets clutching a fluffy cushion, and fell asleep.

He left the light on, so the bedroom stayed bright, with not a hint of darkness.

——

Dawn.

Zhong Yu slowly poked his head out from behind the bedroom suite door and at once saw Xue Yuanjing having breakfast in the open‑plan dining area.

Xue Yuanjing also saw him, put down his coffee cup and walked over; last night's anger had vanished, leaving him gentle and guilty.

"Sorry, Xiao Yu, my social engagement last night was important, that's why I drank a little too much—did I scare you?"

His voice was full of remorse as he slowly reached out his hand toward Zhongyu.

He also gestured toward the table, "I ordered the pasta you love from your favorite place—come try it."

Zhong Yu came out, already smelling the food, his mood lifted a bit, and he gave a small smile, "Thanks."

But he didn't take his hand, kept some distance as he walked to the dining area and sat down, eating the pasta in silence.

Yet Xue Yuanjing could see at a glance that he still bore a grudge.

If it were before, Zhong Yu would happily praise it, quirkily say today's pasta tasted better than yesterday's, and chatter away during the meal about what he'd be filming.

Xue Yuanjing lowered his eyes, ladled a bowl of lean‑meat porridge for Zhong Yu, and said, "I know you don't like me drinking; I'll definitely try to avoid it from now on."

Zhong Yu looked up at him; the living room's bright light shone, and Xue Yuanjing seemed not the same person as last night.

But in his impression, anyone who gets drunk turns into someone else.

"I know," Zhong Yu replied softly, taking the bowl of porridge, "Drinking isn't good, but socializing is necessary… I understand."

"If I ever come home drunk again, Xiao Yu, just don't see me—you can even kick me out."

Xue Yuanjing gazed at Zhong Yu, made a joke, his handsome face bright.

Zhong Yu also curled his lips and laughed along, the mood easing considerably, "Sure."

"I'm heading to work now—wish you a smooth shoot today, Xiao Yu."

Xue Yuanjing always says that before going to work, reaching out to ruffle Zhongyu's head.

Zhong Yu instinctively dodged backward.

The atmosphere stiffened for two seconds; Zhong Yu looked at Xue Yuanjing, whose eyes still held a smile, took his hand, and gently shook it.

"Goodbye." Zhong Yu's tone was very obedient.

Xue Yuanjing didn't suspect much, after all, he had known from the start that Zhong Yu was quite afraid of intimate relationships.

If he wanted to sleep with Zhong Yu, he'd probably have to wait a while. He grabbed his briefcase and left the Main Gate.

Zhong Yu puzzledly touched the top of their head, seemingly not understanding why they had to avoid.

Clearly, Zhong Yu had still been feeling excited about Xue Yuanjing before.

It seemed… that feeling had disappeared since last night.

Eating the salty noodles that didn't quite suit their taste, Zhong Yu concluded that they had still been frightened last night.

It seemed that no feeling could be perfect; the noodles' taste was different, but they were still delicious.

Xue Yuanjing had already been very good to them, at least completely different from their parents.