Under the flickering candlelight, Li Quyin stared blankly at Xia Xixi, completely bewildered.
What?
The Shen family?
Shen Bailou?
Bully?
Who was bullying whom?
Li Quyin's mind was a mess. He scrutinized the person sitting opposite him, Xia Xixi, who didn't seem to have discovered his identity.
But if Xia Xixi hadn't discovered his identity, then what did his words mean?
Shen Bailou bullied him? He bullied himself?
Li Quyin remained silent, and Xia Xixi's determination grew stronger upon seeing this.
He didn't understand why the Shen family treated Li Quyin that way, but it didn't stop him from disliking the Shen family even more.
"We are already dating, so I hope you won't hide things from me anymore. I want you to be well," Xia Xixi said with utmost seriousness.
As he said the last sentence, Xia Xixi felt a bit uneasy.
He and Li Quyin hadn't known each other for long, and their relationship was still in its early stages. Wasn't it a bit too forward to say these things now?
But they were already dating, and Li Quyin treated him quite well.
Xia Xixi blinked and, still feeling like he was in a dream, nodded. His fair face was full of sincerity.
That's right, Li Quyin was already his boyfriend.
Being bold wasn't a bad thing.
"Why do you think..." Li Quyin's mouth twitched, and he struggled to keep his composure.
Li Quyin really wanted to ask why Xia Xixi thought the Shen family treated him badly, but he didn't know how to bring it up.
From the moment he met Xia Xixi, he knew that Xia Xixi hated Shen Bailou.
Thinking back to that day, Li Quyin still felt a bit dazed.
When he took the initiative to strike up a conversation, and Xia Xixi turned around to see him, Xia Xixi instinctively frowned, his eyes filled with uncontrollable loathing.
Before being looked at like that by Xia Xixi, Li Quyin had never thought that someone as pure and almost ethereal as Xia Xixi could show such an expression.
As a celebrity, Li Quyin had seen many people's reactions when they recognized him.
There were those who were surprised, those who were delighted, and those who were nervous. But someone who showed such unrestrained disgust, Xia Xixi was the first and only one.
So in that instant, Li Quyin knew that Xia Xixi hated him.
Later, by some twist of fate, he became Shen Bailou's brother, Li Quyin.
Seeing that Li Quyin was still trying to cover up, Xia Xixi lowered his voice and said seriously, "Don't worry, I'll help you."
If he weren't being treated harshly, why would the Shen family never acknowledge that they had another son, as if Li Quyin didn't exist?
Taking a small sip of red wine and slowly swallowing it, Xia Xixi licked his lips.
This wine was really good, and sweet.
Li Quyin's lips moved. He felt he should explain, but looking into Xia Xixi's earnest dark eyes, he couldn't find the words.
Moreover, seeing Xia Xixi seriously saying he would help him...
Li Quyin picked up the wine glass in front of him and took a sip, trying to quell the dry, parched feeling in his throat.
But after the wine went down, the feeling didn't dissipate; instead, it grew stronger.
The burning sensation spread from his throat, making his whole body hot.
He looked away, avoiding Xia Xixi's gaze, afraid that if he continued to look, he wouldn't be able to resist doing something.
Li Quyin grabbed the wine bottle to pour himself another drink, hoping to distract himself, but he found the bottle was already empty.
He was stunned for a moment. When he looked up again, Xia Xixi was happily licking his lips.
In the dim, blurry candlelight, Xia Xixi's thin, slightly pink lips were moist, making one want to bite and kiss them hard.
Li Quyin's breath hitched, and his eyes grew even hotter.
"Sweet," Xia Xixi said, licking his lips again, smacking them contentedly.
Finally, he expectantly held his glass out to Li Quyin, wanting more to drink.
Li Quyin shook the empty bottle, then looked at Xia Xixi across from him, whose cheeks were slightly red, and eyes misty, clearly in a strange state.
"Are you drunk?" Li Quyin's tongue ran over his palate, feeling an intense itch in his heart.
How could Xia Xixi be so unguarded?
Wasn't he afraid he'd do something?
Hearing this, Xia Xixi looked surprised, his eyes wide. He tilted his head slightly, looking a bit dazed. "Drunk?"
He suddenly remembered something and quickly looked down, first feeling his own stomach and then touching his burning cheeks.
After checking himself, he shook his head seriously, "No, I still recognize you. You're Li Quyin, my boyfriend. Hehe."
Thinking about the person in front of him being his newly found boyfriend, Xia Xixi was overjoyed and couldn't stop giggling.
He too now had a boyfriend.
Li Quyin was initially unsure, but now he was certain that Xia Xixi was drunk.
"You rarely drink, don't you?" Li Quyin picked up the bottle and examined it against the candlelight with some disbelief.
This wine was indeed the one he had specially ordered, with a very low alcohol content, almost like fruit wine.
Except for kids who don't drink at all, it basically couldn't get anyone drunk.
After looking at the bottle, Li Quyin glanced at Xia Xixi sitting across from him, smiling from the heart but also feeling inexplicably disappointed. It seemed that everything Xia Xixi just said was drunken talk.
For a moment, his heart had been racing wildly because of Xia Xixi's words.
Li Quyin studied the drunken Xia Xixi.
Xia Xixi rarely got sun exposure, so his skin was very fair. Coupled with his youthful vibe, he gave off an exceptionally clean and beautiful appearance.
But what truly attracted Li Quyin wasn't Xia Xixi's outstanding looks, but his eyes.
Xia Xixi had thick, long, and slightly curled eyelashes, with pupils as dark as if veiled by a thin mist. Occasionally, he would show a hazy and ambiguous gaze, which Li Quyin found breathtakingly sexy.
At this moment, sitting in front of him, the drunken Xia Xixi's eyes were full of that hazy, ambiguous feeling.
Li Quyin looked away, a bit awkwardly, and took a big gulp from his glass.
The sweet wine went down to his stomach but did nothing to calm his restless heart, instead making him want to transform into a wolf even more.
Li Quyin placed the empty bottle aside and didn't intend to open another one, "That's it, just one bottle."
Xia Xixi's lips parted slightly, looking a bit dazed.
He looked at the wine in Li Quyin's glass and then at the empty bottle, feeling that he hadn't had enough.
"Drink again later."
Without the wine, Xia Xixi disappointedly put down his cup.
He licked his lips again as if recalling the taste of the wine.
Across from him, Li Quyin glanced at him deeply, then suddenly buried his head in his food.
After licking his lips, Xia Xixi absentmindedly ate while sneaking glances at Li Quyin.
Li Quyin's lips were neither too thin nor too thick, looking quite kissable...
Xia Xixi raised his hand to touch his own lips, his heart pounding, feeling embarrassed by his recent thoughts.
Li Quyin, however, seemed completely unaware, focusing solely on eating since the beginning.
"Idiot," Xia Xixi muttered angrily, although he didn’t know what he was angry about.
"What?" Li Quyin, not tasting his food, looked up. His mind was filled with the image of Xia Xixi licking his lips.
Distracted, he made up his mind not to let Xia Xixi drink casually in the future.
Even if he did drink, it could only be in front of him.
"Nothing," Xia Xixi shook his head.
This shake made him even dizzier, to the point that he forgot why he was angry in the first place.
Unable to remember, Xia Xixi lowered his head and continued eating.
The chef's skills here were excellent, and the food was delicious, quickly improving his mood.
This improvement was probably partly due to the dizzying feeling as well.
He didn't know why, but he had been feeling a bit dizzy since a while ago. He didn't dislike the feeling; in fact, he felt quite happy.
"Are you full? I'll take you back," Li Quyin said, standing up after seeing Xia Xixi finish eating.
"So soon?" Xia Xixi felt a bit reluctant when he heard it was time to leave.
He didn't want it to end so quickly; this was the first gift Li Quyin had given him.
He stood up, intending to say that he wanted to stay a bit longer to enjoy the breeze, but he stumbled.
Luckily, Li Quyin was prepared and quickly grabbed him, preventing him from falling.
"Strange." After steadying himself, Xia Xixi rubbed his head. Why did it feel like the ground was shaking?
An earthquake?
Xia Xixi took a step to the side, just about to ask, when his body swayed, and he ended up crashing into Li Quyin's arms.
Leaning against Li Quyin's chest, inhaling his scent, Xia Xixi's cheeks grew hot. He didn't dislike this feeling.
Feeling a bit dizzy, he boldly stayed in Li Quyin's embrace, not wanting to leave so soon.
"Good thing you're not Shen Bailou." Feeling guilty, Xia Xixi tried to make conversation.
"Hmm?" Li Quyin's attention was indeed diverted.
"The first time I saw you, I thought you were him. You two look so alike." Xia Xixi looked at Li Quyin's face.
Sometimes he frowned, sometimes he smiled.
He frowned when thinking of Shen Bailou and smiled because of Li Quyin.
"You really look alike," Xia Xixi muttered.
Li Quyin had deep-set eyes and a handsome bone structure. Even when he got older, he would be a charming old man, just like Shen Bailou.
Even though Xia Xixi was reluctant to admit it, he had to.
Thinking of Shen Bailou, Xia Xixi pouted, feeling annoyed.
Li Quyin held the drunken and unsteady Xia Xixi in his arms, feeling conflicted. "...What if I were him?"
"What?"
"I mean, what if I were Shen Bailou?" Li Quyin looked into Xia Xixi's eyes, not missing any of his expressions.
Xia Xixi thought for a moment and then got serious, "If you were Shen Bailou, we would break up, immediately and completely!"
He frowned slightly as if thinking of something utterly intolerable.
He stood up straight, no longer leaning on Li Quyin.
He stared at Li Quyin, but the man in front of him kept swaying, making Xia Xixi dizzy.
Xia Xixi had to cup Li Quyin's cheeks to make him stop moving his head.
Looking into his eyes, Xia Xixi said earnestly, "You are not him. You are nothing like him. You are you."
He felt that Li Quyin was insecure, which was why he had such an absurd idea.
It wasn't surprising. If he had a brother who was pampered by their parents and financially supported by the family business, even if he didn't like him, he would probably feel some jealousy and envy.
However, the person he chose to date was Li Quyin, not Shen Bailou.
"My boyfriend is you, Li Quyin, not that trash Shen Bailou!" Xia Xixi angrily shouted.
"You don't need to compare yourself to that trash. You are you, you're a thousand, no, ten thousand times better than him. He's the one who should be ashamed." Xia Xixi was super fierce, so very fierce!
Looking at Xia Xixi's face so close to him, and listening to his heartfelt confession, Li Quyin felt like crying.
If you're going to confess, can you not insult others in the process?
T/N: I don't know who I pity more, Xixi who is besotted with his enemy or Quyin who is loved and hated at the same time