——Deep in the quiet of night.

Lu Yuwen slipped out carefully, deliberately slowing his movements as he closed the door, not wanting to wake the woman sleeping upstairs.

He turned to leave and heard the creak of a gate from next door. The gate swung open.

Li Li walked out from the courtyard of his own home.

He was wearing casual house clothes, his hair slightly disheveled, his expression dark — as if he’d rushed out on a moment’s notice, or as if he’d been waiting a very long time.

The two men came face to face at the entrance. Li Li fixed Lu Yuwen with a hostile stare.

“Here to see Man Man?” Lu Yuwen raised the corner of his mouth, greeting him first, a trace of something brazen running through his smile. “Man Man’s already asleep.”

“You……” Li Li’s back teeth clenched tight.

He was furious.

At first, he’d watched with detached contempt, waiting to see when Lu Yuwen would finally leave the Su household. But as time dragged on, he was seething.

What on earth had Su Man and this man been doing in there for so long?!

A dinner that somehow stretched to four or five hours?! Even if they’d been having the most wonderful conversation in the world, it couldn’t possibly take this long!!

Now, the insufferable man had finally come out through that door, and had the nerve to stand there and tell him: Man Man’s already asleep.

No man alive could tolerate a provocation like that.

Bastard!

Absolute bastard!!

Li Li glared at Lu Yuwen with scorching intensity and took two steps forward——

Before he could get any harsh words out, Lu Yuwen spoke first, his tone warm and even, every word saturated with mockery: “If something was never yours to begin with, you’d do well to let go sooner rather than later, little boy.”

Li Li: “……”

Lu Yuwen glanced at him with a small smile, adjusted his collar with unhurried ease, and walked away in excellent spirits.

Li Li stood in place, his chest heaving violently. Several times he almost surged forward, then thought better of it — it would be beneath him.

He watched helplessly as Lu Yuwen’s figure grew smaller in the distance.

He breathed in deeply, pulled his gaze back, and fixed it on the gate of the Su household right in front of him. He wanted to charge in there and demand an explanation.

But he’d only just had a falling-out with Su Man. Going to her now would be as good as conceding defeat.

From the time they were small, this was how it had always been between them: whoever spoke first after a fight had lost.

In the past, when he’d wanted to make peace but didn’t want to give ground, there had been no shortage of ways to get Su Man to speak to him first. But this time……

Li Li bit down hard, swallowed his fury, and went back inside.

It was the middle of the night. He didn’t want the two of them to argue loudly enough for the whole street to know.

Back at home. Lying in bed. Thinking of Su Man asleep nearby, thinking of Lu Yuwen’s parting provocation, thinking of the other man calling him “little boy”……

A flame burned and smoldered somewhere in his chest, scorching him, keeping him twisting and turning, unable to sleep.

He was furious beyond endurance.

Absolutely insufferable.

Li Li finally couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed his phone and dialed——

Long, drawn-out rings, one after another in no hurry, until Li Li was ready to reach through the phone and drag the person on the other end awake!

After three or four rounds of ringing, Su Man finally picked up.

“Hello……”

Her voice was blurry and confused with sleep.

In stark contrast to his own frantic urgency, Li Li’s fury intensified!

“Su Man!” he ground out through his teeth. “What were you and that man doing in there just now?! Keeping a man in your home this late at night! Have you got any decency left?!”

Su Man: “……”

She asked in bewilderment, still half-asleep: “What are you talking about?”

She wondered if she was still dreaming. This had to be a dream.

Li Li pressed through his teeth, “Are you really that desperate to throw yourself at someone?!”

Su Man froze for a moment — and then fully woke up. Blood rushed straight to her head, and she was furious beyond measure!

She drew in a breath, ready to let loose on Li Li with everything she had. A flood of curses surged up all at once, all of it jamming in her throat, blocking her voice, and not a single word came out!

In the end, all she could do was breathe hard with rage, and finally she snarled: “You’re insane!!!”

Then hung up. The phone hit the floor with a loud crack!

The moment she’d done it, Su Man immediately regretted it.

Not because she was upset about the phone — she was upset about herself!

She should have given him a proper earful before hanging up!!!

—