After Falling for the Handsome CEO - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: He Can Never Compare to Xie Li

The image of Shen Jin’s face that had flashed through Yan Yu’s mind was like a night-blooming cereus—appearing for a fleeting moment before vanishing without a trace.

While Yan Yu wouldn’t deny that Shen Jin suited his tastes, and that teasing him was genuinely enjoyable…

At the end of the day, he could never compare to Xie Li, who had occupied a place in his heart for years.

Between him and Shen Jin, it was mostly a relationship of desire.

Truly… is that all it is?

When this thought surfaced, Yan Yu felt a momentary sense of bewilderment. He instinctively remembered the way Shen Jin smiled at him—so pure, a smile that came from the depths of his soul.

Shen Jin was introverted; his ears would turn red when teased, and he would start to stutter…

Xie Li narrowed his eyes. He noticed that Yan Yu, who had just been flirting with him, had suddenly zoned out. In his memory, whenever Yan Yu was with him, his attention was always focused entirely on him.

But lately, he had started spacing out more often. Why?

An alarm bell rang in Xie Li’s mind, but he smiled as if nothing was wrong. “A-Yu?”

Called back to reality, Yan Yu forced a faint smile. He kept his arm around Xie Li’s waist and said softly, “Let’s go, time to head back. What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll have the chef prepare it for you.”

“Let’s talk about dinner later,” Xie Li smiled. “You just bought me breakfast and ate with me; I’m not hungry right now.”

The word “breakfast” made Yan Yu’s smile stiffen. He vaguely remembered something—something he had completely forgotten in the excitement of Xie Li’s company.

A soft, gentle voice, filled with an irrepressible joy, echoed faintly in his mind: “A-Yu, I bought so many groceries today, including lots of things you like. Can I make breakfast for you tomorrow morning?”

He had replied with a low chuckle: “Sure. It’s hard work for you, but I’m looking forward to it.”

“It’s not hard, not hard at all,” the person had said over the phone with a silly laugh. “It’s fun, I’m happy to do it.”

Yan Yu had chatted with him for a few more minutes before hanging up. Right after, Xie Li had called. Xie Li’s soft, light-hearted voice, tinged with a bit of playfulness, had plucked at his heartstrings…

And so, he had forgotten everything else.

He had come to the hospital this morning knowing Xie Li was in poor health. He had bought a nutritious breakfast, delivered it while it was hot to the ward, ate with him, and was now preparing to take him back to his private villa…

One event followed another so quickly that Shen Jin had been erased from his mind.

“What… what time is it now?” The question slipped out of Yan Yu’s mouth instinctively. He felt a strange emotion stirring within him, though he couldn’t quite name it.

“Hmm?” Xie Li didn’t know why he was suddenly asking for the time, but he answered with a smile, “It’s almost ten o’clock.”

Almost ten. He was nearly two hours late.

Shen Jin was a busy person. Seeing that he hadn’t shown up, surely he wouldn’t be foolish enough to keep waiting; he had likely gone home long ago.

Thinking this way, the guilt Yan Yu felt for breaking his promise and forgetting the appointment vanished. He felt that things were better this way.

If Shen Jin was unhappy about being stood up tomorrow, Yan Yu would simply apologize and tease him until he smiled again. Shen Jin wasn’t the type to throw a tantrum over such small matters.

Relieved, Yan Yu turned his full attention back to Xie Li. “Let’s go then. We’ve just moved in, and there are many things that need to be prepared.”

The two walked side-by-side out of the hospital, smiling.

Behind their smiles, Shen Jin stepped out from a corner, still clutching his breakfast box. He silently watched them leave, watching Yan Yu tease the beautiful boy with a tenderness and attentiveness that was undeniable.

It wasn’t until they turned a corner and disappeared from sight that Shen Jin looked down at the breakfast in his hands. His pale lips curled into a bitter smile, and he spoke in a voice only he could hear:

“It’s cold… it’s been too long. The breakfast is cold.”

Cold. It was no longer edible, and there was no way to give it away now.

After all, A-Yu had already eaten breakfast—with someone else. He had specifically bought breakfast for that person and eaten it together.

This cold breakfast of his didn’t need to be delivered anymore.

Shen Jin felt as though breathing had become difficult. His chest burned with a sharp pain, a sensation he had never known until he met Yan Yu. Since then, a constant stream of new, painful emotions had followed.

He walked back dejectedly to a deserted corridor—the same one where he and Yan Yu usually joked around or ate breakfast together. Now, with no one around, he sat on a bench and opened the box he had prepared so carefully.

Even though it was cold… even though the food wasn’t worth much money and Yan Yu might not have valued it anyway, he couldn’t bring himself to throw it away.

He picked up his chopsticks and put a piece of lotus root—Yan Yu’s favorite—into his mouth. As he chewed the flavors the other man would have liked, he realized the person himself wasn’t there.

He lowered his head, taking one bite after another, eating with agonizing focus. His head bowed lower and lower as he whispered to himself, “I wonder if the taste would have suited you. I actually quite like it…”

Suddenly, a single tear escaped his eye. With a soft patter, it fell onto the carefully prepared breakfast that the other man had completely disregarded.