Even A Heartthrob Can Lose A Puppy - Chapter 8

 

“What is it?”

Si Yu asked He Yun with a smile.

He certainly knew what it was.

The only thing that could make He Yun appear outside his door at this hour with that bewildered expression of someone entirely unfamiliar with the harsh realities of the world and the nature of power was that whole mess with Yu Wen.

Which was just as well, saving him from dragging this out any longer.

In He Yun’s mind, Yu Wen’s tearful grievances, the arduous path of pursuing an education, and the casual way Si Yu had held up an index finder representing ten thousand pounds flashed continuously.

He said in a deep voice, “Yu Wen came to find me just now.”

Watching the puzzled expression on Si Yu’s face, He Yun asked, “He said you forced his parents to make him drop out and return to China. Is that true?”

The hand Si Yu had resting against the doorframe slowly lowered, and a flicker of disbelief surfaced in his striking amber pupils.

“Do you think I would do something like that?”

Listening to Si Yu’s hoarse voice, He Yun even wondered if he was being overly aggressive.

Softening his tone, he replied, “I didn’t think that, which is why I came to ask you.”

Si Yu turned his head away. The light caught the tip of his exquisite nose, leaving a starlight-like gleam, and even his lowered eyelashes seemed to shimmer.

“You believe him, but you don’t believe me.”

He Yun opened his mouth, pausing for a long moment before speaking. “On my way here, I saw the news of his withdrawal in the group chat. It is indeed true.”

Si Yu lifted his head, his lips and brows trembling slightly. “Then how did you jump to the conclusion that I was the one who did it?”

“Si Yu, I didn’t conclude that you did it,” He Yun took a step forward, “That is why I came…”

“Fine, I admit it. It was me.”

He Yun froze in place, his dark eyes trembling slightly.

“He took candid photos of me and was planning to sell them to gossip reporters.”

“Just because of that?”

Feeling as though millions of ants were crawling over his skin, He Yun asked again to confirm, “Just because he took photos of you, you threatened his parents and forced him to drop out?”

Crossing his arms over his chest, Si Yu raised his chin. “That’s right.”

The cold lighting falling from overhead made his naturally striking features look even colder and more ruthless, resembling a masterwork painting in a museum that thousands admired yet no one could touch.

He Yun still refused to believe it.

“Do you know that doing this ruins his future? There were clearly better ways. Why did you have to do it like this?”

“Why?” Si Yu chuckled, tilting his head to lean against the doorframe with the lazy grace of a cat. “No reason. Just because I can.”

He Yun felt as though he had been struck by lightning.

“Just like how I can casually hand someone ten thousand pounds, or make him regret every single thing he’s ever done.”

Si Yu stepped closer to him, bringing along his familiar rose fragrance.

“He Yun, should I say you’re too naive, or that you just don’t understand me well enough?”

He Yun watched as Si Yu’s hand brushed against his chest, sliding open the zipper of his black windbreaker as if toying with a novel plaything.

“I have always been this kind of person.”

He Yun stood rooted to the spot, forced to watch as Si Yu turned around and retreated back into the dim shadows.

“Very disappointed?” Si Yu asked, his back to him. “Then just pretend you never met me.”

Si Yu gave He Yun no room to catch his breath.

The door closed with such finality that all He Yun caught was a flash of tears at the corner of his eye.

Was he joking with him?

He Yun stood outside the locked door, longing for Si Yu to pull it open, flash his usual smile, and tell him this was just another one of his pranks.

Yet, until the hotel security patrol made their rounds, He Yun never saw Si Yu again.

Not just that night, but the following day, the second day, and the third day remained the same.

Si Yu never appeared again.

He Yun stared at the empty seat thoughtfully left behind by his classmates, listened to his restaurant coworkers’ curious inquiries, and gazed at yet another giant poster being lowered down on the department store wall, maintaining his usual silence.

He remained silent, slipping back into his routine: attending classes, rushing assignments, working shifts, and returning home—a life resembling stagnant water.

Si Yu’s appearance felt like a magical Christmas gift received in advance, destined to be confiscated before the clock struck twelve.

He was clearly the one who had done something terrible; why was he the one struggling to accept it?

He Yun couldn’t fathom it.

Nor could Nie Shuang understand why Si Yu hadn’t told He Yun the truth.

“It was clearly that Yu Wen whose grades were forged. President Shen had someone scare him, and he dropped out out of a guilty conscience. It even saved President Shen the money to transfer him to Beijing Film Academy.”

Nie Shuang walked over to Si Yu, who was watching television.

“If you care so much about that He kid, why don’t you just tell him directly?”

“What do you know? A little lovers’ quarrel spices things up.”

Si Yu yawned at the boring Premier League broadcast. “Say, do these players have massive name recognition in the UK?”

“Of course. In this part of the world, everyone watches football.”

“Is that so?”

Seeing a flash of cunning in Si Yu’s eyes, Nie Shuang felt an immediate sense of impending doom.

He asked, “What are you planning?”

Si Yu raised his chin toward the screen. “Take a look. Which one is good-looking?”

Nie Shuang glanced at the players on the broadcast and casually named a jersey number.

“Mm, that works too.”

“Hey, what on earth are you trying to do?”

Si Yu stretched lazily and chuckled. “Going on a date.”

“Put your phone away, customers are coming.”

He Yun closed out of Instagram, picked up the menu, and walked toward the two-seater table in the corner by the window.

“Good night, sir. Here’s the…”

He Yun’s hand froze as he extended the menu.

It wasn’t because he recognized the elite striker who had just scored a hat-trick in the Premier League, but because of Si Yu sitting across from him, lifting a hand to gently hook down his face mask.

He and Si Yu locked eyes in silence for three seconds.

Si Yu looked away first.

He Yun lowered his gaze and began reciting the chef’s recommendations for the evening.

“Okay, so is there anything that you don’t like to eat?”

“Asparagus,” Si Yu took a small sip of ice water. “I hate asparagus.”

He Yun gripped his pen a little tighter.

“You know that guy?”

“No, I don’t.”

He Yun lowered his eyes and stepped back to the side.

Their dining duration outlasted Si Yu’s previous solo visit.

The world-famous British striker gestured wildly as he recounted the intense moments of extra time.

Meanwhile, Si Yu rested his chin in his hand, gazing straight at him with a look of pure adoration and admiration, nodding and chiming in at intervals.

Acting as the ultimate listener.

He played the part to perfection with shining eyes, slightly arched brows, and lips parted in gentle surprise.

He Yun had no doubt that the hormone-fueled striker would promise to “dedicate” his next match’s opening goal to him.

Simply to catch another one of Si Yu’s soft, lowered-gaze smiles.

He Yun looked away. He had never felt time pass so slowly.

After changing his clothes, He Yun grabbed his umbrella and stepped out of the restaurant.

The moment he popped it open, Si Yu appeared right before his eyes.

The plume of warm breath, the damp strands of hair, the slightly squinted eyes.

The one who called out Si Yu’s name first was his own advancing stride; the one who sheltered Si Yu with an umbrella first was his male companion for the evening.

Si Yu was shielded into the luxury car, vanishing from He Yun’s sight once more.

A burning, aching sensation spread from He Yun’s heart through his entire body.

What kind of emotion was this?

He Yun asked himself.

“Do you wanna go to my place…”

“Knock it off.”

Glancing sidelong at the hand moving away from his shoulder, Si Yu kept his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror.

In the mirror, He Yun’s figure grew smaller and smaller until he disappeared entirely.

Suddenly, Si Yu chuckled.

Seeing Si Yu step out of the car with a wide grin plastered across his face, Nie Shuang looked thoroughly perplexed.

He called out through the bathroom door, “Bro, even if you’ve been single for nearly twenty-two years, you don’t need to scout out two true loves the moment you land in London, do you?”

Blowing bubbles in the bathtub, Si Yu declared with absolute certainty, “There is only ever one true love.”

With that, he rolled over, rested his chin on the edge of the tub, and snapped a selfie.

Si Yu, who had been inactive for ages, swept across domestic and international social media platforms with a close-up face selfie, instantly shooting to the top of global trending topics.

“bubbletub [cloud][cloud][cloud]”

[Mom, what am I looking at! Bubble Yu!]

[Wet hair, red lips, flushed cheeks, and bubbles! Someone come quick, His Majesty is summoning the Jade Consort tonight!]

[Alright, still not as good as last time’s white shirt wet look.]

[Being a fan of a major European film grand-slam winner is great. Any regular minor celeb would get dragged for pandering and sex-baiting, but here it’s called art!]

[Ah-Yu looks in such a good mood. He didn’t even post on IG the day he won his award.]

…

He Yun scrolled through a comment section overrun by colorful kisses, heart emojis, and multiple languages.

His gaze stopped on Si Yu’s reply posted one second ago:

“ssssy: Yep, in a super great mood tonight~”

He Yun pressed down on the screen, extinguishing the room’s sole light source.

Darkness began to creep in, much like the unheated December in London, where an aggressive chill seeped through every crack.

He needed to sell the apartment as soon as possible.

He Yun rolled over, feeling as though he had found the cause of his insomnia.

Meanwhile, another group wide awake that night were the international students in the UK.

A viral rumor exploded across the student circles: [Did you know? RUA is re-auditing last year’s Chinese admissions grades, and it might even affect other schools!]

“Did you send out all the messages?”

“Sent.”

Nie Shuang nodded.

Crouching on the floor and watching Si Yu do Pilates bright and early in the morning, he asked, “Are you seriously doing this just to make He Yun misunderstand you and then clear your name later?”

“Mmhmm.”

Si Yu closed his eyes and extended his arms.

“Tch, tsk, why go through all this trouble!”

Nie Shuang scrambled up.

“That football player yesterday fell head over heels and took you out to dinner within three minutes of meeting you. I refuse to believe He Yun is harder to crack than him.”

Si Yu kept his eyes shut, slowly lifting his arms, chest, and shoulders. “You don’t understand. He Yun is extremely difficult to pursue. Just smiling at him isn’t nearly enough.”

Nie Shuang indeed didn’t understand why Si Yu bothered with spa days and hair styling, acting as if he were preparing for a wedding.

“Because He Yun is coming to find me tonight.”

Si Yu blinked at the mirror.

[RUA-SOA&H-MA-2021]

[Still rushing due dates today?: Is that person in the rumor really Yu Wen?]

[Rich enough to treat you to fish cakes: I just found out too. Yu Wen dropped out for grade tampering. I actually thought something happened to his family.]

[Loving essays even more today: Auditing grades is fine, but if this is true, it’ll impact future international student quotas.]

[Su, the sincere gentleman, he: It’s guaranteed they’ll tighten visa checks.]

[Scale-balancing master: Congrats to RUA for trending globally for high tuition fees, and now going viral again.]

[Book-carrying boy: Grade tampering… Yu Wen is something else.]

[Fish flipping pages: There were already fewer Chinese students admitted last year. Yu Wen, you’ve done all evil!]

…

He Yun stood at the street intersection, watching the endless stream of pop-up chat boxes, feeling they couldn’t keep pace with the rhythm of his own heartbeat.

He needed to see Si Yu right now.

Knock, knock.

Hearing the knock, Si Yu stood up and opened the door.

The brilliant light in his eyes dimmed abruptly the moment he saw who stood outside.

“Have you had enough playing around?”

Shen Que stood on the threshold, removing his black leather gloves.

“Mom, don’t close the window too tight.”

He Yun pushed the window open to a thirty-degree angle, the maximum opening allowed for psychiatric ward windows.

“Darling, how can you do things yourself?”

Sitting on the sofa, the elegant deep-brown-haired British woman lowered her book and began searching around her.

“Huh? Where is the bell?”

He Yun walked over to her, knelt on one knee, and gently grasped her searching hands.

“James is on Christmas break. His second daughter, who studies in Berlin, is coming home. Remember?”

“Oh, I remember. What about the others?”

“Right, some are still at the estate preparing for the Christmas banquet.”

The woman let out a soft sigh, then gently stroked He Yun’s face.

“Darling, was your trip pleasant? I called you back from Finland simply because your father’s banquet this time is far too important, but I don’t want him drinking too much.”

He Yun smiled. “Mm, everything is fine. Mom, you can call me back anytime.”

The woman shot him a mock-angry look. “That won’t do. My darling should be a photographer visiting every pretty place in the world, not stuck staying by our side.”

He Yun lowered his gaze, the ring on his index finger dimming along with it.

“I have no idea what sort of business crisis your father has run into.” The woman cupped her chin. “If it’s truly necessary, we can sell some of our overseas properties. Beverly Hills, for instance—goodness, they simply love throwing parties.”

“Alright. If needed, I’ll make sure Father sells the West Coast house first.”

He Yun picked up a blanket from nearby and draped it over her shoulders.

“Your father modified your trust fund. Is twenty thousand pounds a month still enough?”

“It’s enough.”

He Yun stood up, poured her a cup of hot tea, and avoided meeting her eyes.

“Darling, you seem to be hiding something from me.”

“Mom, you’re imagining things.”

The woman smiled as she stood up, resting her hands on his shoulders from behind. “Did Mom’s phone call interrupt your Christmas date?”

He Yun froze, then shook his head.

“How could you fool Mom?” She pinched He Yun’s nose. “Alright, off you go. If she’s willing, you can bring her back to the estate for Christmas.”

He Yun raised an eyebrow and picked up his backpack from the floor.

“Mom, I’ll head out then. Once the weather warms up a bit, I’ll take you…”

“How dare you come see me! It’s all you and your father! Your filthy Eastern blood has brought shame to my family!”

A sudden, unexpected nosedive.

He Yun instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, heightening his tactile sensitivity as he felt the hot tea stream down his cheek and into his collar.

The woman’s sobs rang out, and he slowly opened his eyes.

He Yun pulled a tissue from the table, walked over to the woman standing in place and weeping bitterly, and gently wiped the tears from her face.

“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry.”

The sounds of screaming and shattering objects startled the nurses in the hallway.

They rushed in, pinning the tea-pot-wielding woman down.

“It’s fine.”

He Yun brushed off offers for medical treatment.

He grabbed a stack of gauze, pressed it against his forehead, and walked out of the ward.

22:03.

He Yun put his phone away and still stepped into the hotel elevator.

Pressing firmly on the wound that was still seeping blood, he smoothed his hair and knocked on the door.

Si Yu wasn’t in.

He Yun breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down to sit against the wall.

At least he could wait for the wound to form a scab before seeing him.

Yet until the distant Big Ben chimed midnight, Si Yu still hadn’t appeared.

He Yun walked along the nearly deserted street, the street corner festive lights seemingly swallowed up by the dark night.

What could Si Yu be doing?

Perhaps he was at some upscale restaurant; no, restaurants were already closed.

Perhaps he had already made new friends, maybe…

“Why are you only just getting back?”

A nerve somewhere in He Yun’s brain seemed to snap instantly.

Exhausted and sleepy, Si Yu had squatted by the apartment entrance for so long that standing up required a tremendous effort.

Seeing He Yun still standing motionless in place, his grievances welled up all over again, yet ironically, he was the one who had chased him away in the first place.

“Even if, even if you didn’t want to see me, you still…”

Si Yu’s words were cut short as He Yun pulled him into an embrace.