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墨書 Inktalez
After a hurried meal to fill his stomach, he lay down beside a large teddy bear. There was someone else on the bear, curled up and hugging it tightly, only stirring slightly with a sniffle as he settled in.
He wasn't asleep; instead, he lay there quietly, trying to sort out his feelings about the future during this brief midday break. It wasn't about work—just emotions. If he confessed now, he could win Song Bunan's love, for he had sensed a similar emotion reflected in the child's eyes over the past few days. But if he were to confess, it would thrust the child into a dilemma of having to confront many adversities.
In front of Song Buxian, Xin Yi had not concealed his feelings at all, knowing that with Song Buxian's keen observation, he couldn't hide anything. So at this moment, their chat interface lingered on a message sent ten minutes before arriving home.
【If you really want to give Bunan a try, my advice is to talk to my Parents first. I don’t mind this kind of thing, but they might not feel the same way, although they truly have no objections to Bunan liking men.】
Attached to this message were two business cards that were instantly recognizable by their avatars. He hadn't dared to click on the friend request yet; after all, nearly forty minutes had passed without him being able to reply to Bu Xian.
But true to form, Song Buxian was decisive and straightforward. Just as he was contemplating whether to solidify this budding romance while admiring Song Bunan's sleeping face, his phone vibrated beside him. Upon checking, he found himself added to a group chat with only four members including himself.
【Dad, Mom, this is my friend who has a crush on Xiao Yao.】
Having never been one for all-nighters, he had fallen into a deep sleep. If it weren't for the phone ringing, he could have continued snuggling with his beloved teddy bear. Still groggy and barely aware of who was calling, he answered the phone and heard a voice he had missed for quite some time.
“Who is Xin Yi? I feel like I know this person; is he related to Bu Xian? Why are you chasing him?”
The other person sounded somewhat tired but remained steady in tone, clearly still waking up as they called him without even straightening their tongue. Song Bunan, adjusting into a more comfortable position while hugging the bear, chuckled and spoke back.
“He's my brother's friend! A super gentle big brother! Brother Hua, you haven't talked to me in ages; where have you been?”
The person on the other end yawned while others murmured softly in the background: “I've been busy lately; I just saw your message now that I've got some free time. Want to come over for dinner today? I’ll introduce you to your sister-in-law.” After mentioning 'sister-in-law', another deep male voice joined in—one that sounded like a muscular man at least six feet tall.
Song Bunan reacted suddenly and jumped out of bed with newfound energy, nearly shouting into the phone: “Brother Hua, you have a girlfriend... boyfriend!”
The other person remained lazily casual: “Yeah, why are you so surprised? If you want to come over, just say so; I was planning on sleeping a bit longer.”
Feeling deflated again, he flopped back onto the bear and replied in a pitiful tone: “I haven’t been feeling well lately; I need to go to the hospital and can’t eat whatever I want. Parents are away, and my brother is on a business trip—I'm all alone at home tonight... But brother Xinyi moved in with me for company. Brother Hua, why don’t you come over tonight with your sister-in-law?”
The man known as Brother Hua on the other end seemed unable to resist Song Bunan's distant charm. After some murmuring with another person on the line, he soon replied that it was fine. Overjoyed, Song Bunan rolled around in his teddy bear's embrace and suddenly noticed an extra blanket neatly placed on the spare pillow beside him along with a note.
【I went to work; if you wake up feeling hungry, there's soup simmering in the pot—help yourself. Xin Yi】
Excitedly clutching the note, Song Bunan felt like an energized fish darting around his bed trying to cool off from all the warmth radiating from within him. He snapped a photo of the note and hurriedly sent it to Xiao Mei, but no matter how he phrased his boastful message, it just didn’t feel right. Thankfully, he ended up sending just a grinning emoji instead.
To his surprise, Xiao Mei replied almost instantly: “You’re acting like you’ve already got him.”
It was a clear jab—a blatant mockery that felt as if she were saying it right in front of him with utter disdain. Especially since she accompanied it with a cold smirk emoji, causing Song Bunan to feel annoyed enough to call her back.
“Xiao Mei, why do you say that? I’m too scared to confess!” After saying this, he realized that there was quite a bit of background noise where she was—like she was in a bustling market. Yet her voice cut through clearly with that mocking tone: “What did I say wrong? You just said you wanted to pursue him but didn’t mention how! Afraid of this and that while trying to date? Dream on.”
Honestly speaking, Song Bunan hadn’t expected such maturity from Xiao Mei. After sharing his “self-analysis,” she—four years younger than him—didn’t hide her disdainful expression and pouted at him like he was just a coward.
“If you’re not crazy, I’ll take your last name, okay? Seriously, who cares so much about a friend’s younger brother? Picking you up and dropping you off, worrying about your safety at night, and casually ruffling your hair—it's like he’s just waiting to confess his love for you! And you happen to like him too, so why not just be straightforward? He’s your dad's boyfriend, for crying out loud! I’d be lucky to find someone half as good as him; if my boyfriend were even a fraction as great, I wouldn’t even think about switching partners.”
Hmm? Song Bunan felt like he had just overheard something monumental, but out of politeness, he refrained from asking the burning questions in his mind. He quietly noted that Xiao Mei mentioned her boyfriend was not treating her well. After hanging up the phone and washing his face, it suddenly dawned on him that Xiao Mei liked guys.
He had understood his sexual orientation long ago and had spent quite some time explaining it to his family before they reluctantly accepted it. His parents debated the issue for a long time, while his older brother took a more laid-back attitude and even helped ease their concerns, though it sometimes felt like he was adding fuel to the fire.
But today, he realized there were so many people around him who were just like him. Brother Ming Hua had a boyfriend, Xiao Mei also had one, and even Uncle Meng, who cooked for him yesterday at Jiang Family Courtyard, was in a relationship with the florist from the courtyard.
With a damp face, he quickly dried his hands and cautiously sent a message to his mother: “Mom, I have a crush on a boy. What should I do if I’m too scared to confess?”
His mother didn’t reply quickly; he waited for what felt like an eternity without any response. Eventually, Song Bunan put away his phone and lay back down on his bed. It was five in the afternoon—sleeping was out of the question, and he had no appetite at all. So he decided to whip up some snacks for Brother Hua and his sister-in-law who were coming over later, hoping Xin Yi would also enjoy what he made.
Without wasting any time, he jumped up and dashed into the kitchen to rummage through the cupboards.
At work, after informing HR that he had successfully filled the position of his personal assistant and handing over Song Bunan's paperwork along with his onboarding documents, Xin Yi noticed their HR’s playful expression. “You and Bu Xian are not only partners but also long-time friends. Both of you are very dedicated to your work; this kid looks just like him. Are you sure you want to place him in your department? Didn’t your last two assistants leave because of you?”
Xin Yi was serious about his work ethic and expected the same from his assistants. Even though this personal assistant role mainly involved serving tea and passing documents, he insisted there could be no mistakes or oversights. Now that his friend had pointed out something many had already speculated about him, he felt it necessary to reconsider—after all, this was Song Bunan.
“Why not just assign him to Bu Xian’s team? That might be a better fit for brothers,” suggested HR as they prepared to stamp the onboarding documents with a red seal.
Xin Yi shook his head lightly to indicate he knew what he was doing. HR then stamped the papers and filed them away.
Song Bunan's workspace was essentially within Xin Yi's office but slightly farther away. It only contained some office supplies and a cactus left by the previous assistant.
Tomorrow would be Song Bunan’s first day at work; Xin Yi planned to discuss job responsibilities with him tonight. As he gathered his bag to leave, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket as if it were receiving hundreds of messages at once.
When he checked the screen, Song Bunan's mother’s profile picture was flashing incessantly with preview messages filled with images.
Recalling how Song Buxian had forced him out of the closet in front of their relatives earlier that day made him feel a headache coming on. He sat back down in his office chair to check the messages. He intended to open Auntie's messages first but found himself drawn to Song Buxian's message instead. The culprit who caused all this chaos sent something brief yet impactful:
“My brother is in trouble; you need to come back now.”
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