The little crybaby in the group, the young master is a softie

Ming Xi looked at him half-kneeling on the ground, and most of the anger in her heart dissipated. "It's good that you know! The bright moon on the sea is full of eyes. If they see you..." As he spoke, his eyes reddened again. "I was really scared. I searched the whole room but couldn't find you. I thought you were discovered by Su Xiang, or left on your own..."

"No," Yin Hen interrupted him quickly, gently stroking the skin of his ankle with his thumb. "I promised you not to cause trouble, and I won't go back on my word. When I went out this morning, I avoided all the patrols, bought chestnut cakes, and came back immediately without even walking any further. And why would I leave without saying goodbye? I should at least tell you before I leave."

Mingxi sniffed, looked down at his hands wrapped around her feet, and lowered her voice: "Then next time you want to go out, you must discuss it with me. You can't run around on your own anymore."

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Yin Hen nodded with a smile and pointed to the oil paper bag on the bedside table. "The chestnut cake is still hot, do you want to try it?"

"Then get up first. The ground is cold. Also, Su Xiang might come over soon. Go back to the cubicle and hide. Don't come out again."

Yin Hen followed his words and stood up, picked up the oil-paper bag and handed it over: "Got it, I'll go back now. Eat it quickly, it won't taste good if it gets cold." He watched Ming Xi take the chestnut cake and raised his hand to touch the top of his head, "Don't be angry anymore, okay?"

Ming Xi pinched the edge of the oil-paper bag and curled his lips. "I'm not angry, I'm just... I'm worried something might happen to you." He broke off a piece of chestnut cake and handed it to her. "Take a bite too. It's the softest when it's fresh out of the oven."

Yin Hen lowered his head and took a small bite. "It's even better than yesterday's cake. This trip was worth it."

"Even if it's delicious, we can't take any more risks." Ming Xi placed the remaining chestnut cake on the bedside and pushed him towards the compartment. "Come in quickly."

Yin Hen retreated inwards following his force, and stopped when he reached the door of the cubicle. He turned and looked at him: "If Su Xiang stays in your room for a long time today, don't force yourself to make excuses. I'm not hungry or bored in there, just stay with him."

……

For the next two days, Mingxi had to pretend nothing had happened during the day as he went to and from school with his two brothers, and then at night he would rack his brains to find excuses to take the food back to his room. The days were more exciting than ever, like dancing on the edge of a knife, dangerous, yet addictive.

Su Xiang has been spending unusually long time in his room recently. Sometimes he would lean on the sofa to process documents, and sometimes he would hug him and watch movies at the head of the bed. This should have been an intimate gesture, but it made Ming Xi nervous.

Such tension was like an airtight net that wrapped him up so tightly that he could hardly breathe, and even his dreams at night became uneasy.

In the middle of the night, Mingxi suddenly woke from a dream, the scene in the dream still vivid in his mind: Su Xiang had somehow discovered Yin Hen, and the two of them were fighting in the room, smashing the furniture to pieces. Su Xiang's fists landed on Yin Hen with great force, and finally Yin Hen fell in a pool of blood, his eyes still staring straight at him...

He turned his head and saw Su Xiang lying beside him sleeping soundly in the moonlight coming in from the window.

Fortunately, it was just a dream.

Mingxi breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense body softened instantly. The other party seemed to sense his uneasiness in his sleep, and subconsciously stretched out his arms, hugged him in his arms, rested his chin on the top of his head, and patted his back gently as if comforting a frightened little animal.

The familiar body temperature wrapped around him, and Mingxi's heart settled down a little. His tense nerves slowly relaxed, and his eyelids began to feel heavy.

“Click~!”

But just when he was about to fall asleep, there was a soft sound, the sound of the thermos lid being opened.

Ming Xi slowly raised his head, narrowly avoiding fainting. Yin Hen had actually emerged from the cubicle, a cup in hand, and was tiptoeing toward the water dispenser beside the desk. His shadow, stretched long by the moonlight, nearly touched the bed.

Ming Xi waved his hands frantically at Yin Hen with stiff fingers, silently saying "go back" with his mouth, his eyes full of panic, afraid that Su Xiang would be woken up.

Yin Hen didn't expect that Ming Xi was still awake. When he saw his actions, he was stunned for a moment, then made a gesture, walked more lightly, quickly took a glass of water, and quietly retreated back to the cubicle.

……

The morning light shone through the gap in the curtains onto the end of the bed. Ming Xi opened his eyes drowsily and reached out to touch his side. There was only a slight coolness on the pillow. Su Xiang had already gotten up.

He walked to the window in his slippers and opened the curtains, letting in warm sunlight. Thinking of Yin Hen in the cubicle, Ming Xi felt itchy and sweet in her heart. She hummed a little tune while changing her clothes and thinking about breakfast.

Su Xiang didn't call him this morning, so the restaurant must have left some freshly baked croissants and salted egg yolk porridge that Yin Hen had never tasted before, so he had to bring back two more servings.

Today is the weekend and we don’t have to go to school.

Ming Xi walked to the restaurant with a plan in mind. He was thinking: after taking breakfast back to the room, he would sneak out with Yin Hen while Su Xiang was busy with his work. Should he go to the back mountain to pick sweet and sour wild strawberries first, or go to the creek at the foot of the mountain to catch small fish?

Hehe...it's beautiful just thinking about it.

"boom--!"

"Snapped--!"

Before he reached the restaurant door, a dull crashing sound came from the side yard. Ming Xi paused and turned to look in confusion.

Upon seeing this, the blood in his body froze instantly, and he lost all his soul.

In the open space of the side yard, two figures were fighting bare-handed. One of the figures was very familiar to him: Yin Hen, who was supposed to be in the compartment. At this moment, he was slightly hunched over, his arms blocking with sharp force.

And the person who fought with him was actually Su Xiang!

His shirt sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and he swung his fists at Yin Hen with ferocious force, leaving no room for maneuver. The two men fought back and forth, the bluestone slabs beneath their feet making a soft creaking sound, and the surrounding potted plants were shaken by the strong wind.

Mingxi's mind flashed back to last night's nightmare. The image of Yin Hen lying in a pool of blood overlapped with the fight before him. An intense fear overwhelmed him like a tide. His vision went black and he collapsed.

When he woke up again, a faint fragrance lingered on his nose. Ming Xi blinked, and his blurry vision gradually became clear. He was lying on the bed in the room, and Yin Hen was sitting beside the bed, safe and sound. Seeing that he was awake, he immediately came over:

"Mingxi! How are you feeling? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

He stared at Yin Hen blankly, then touched his face, "I...are we dead?..."

Yin Hen was amused by his words, "Silly, do we look like we're dead?" He handed a glass of warm water to Ming Xi, "Drink some water to calm down after waking up."

"But I clearly saw you and Su Xiang..."

"That wasn't a fight, it was a sparring match," Yin Hen explained with a smile. "Actually, I contacted Master Cang Yuan yesterday. He came over this morning to talk to Su Xiang and agreed to let me stay at Haishang Mingyue to do odd jobs. This way, I can stay by your side without having to hide anything."

Ming Xi was stunned when he heard this. When he realized what Yin Hen meant, he sat up suddenly and said, "You said... can you stay in Haishang Mingyue openly? No need to hide in the cubicle anymore?"

"Yeah." Yin Hen nodded. "From now on, I don't have to sneak around to get food, and I don't have to worry about being discovered by Su Xiang. If I want to go pick wild fruits or catch fish together, we can go anytime."

Mingxi nodded vigorously, leaning closer to Yin Hen and lowering his voice, "It's good that he can stay, but we still have to keep it a secret from Su Xiang. Have you forgotten how he sulked and smashed my favorite fish lantern when I said a few more words to you? If he knew we were still so close, he would probably be sulking again."

As they were talking, the door was pushed open, and three chubby little figures rushed in like little cannonballs.

"Brother Xi! Hug me!"

The first one to rush over was Yuanyuan, holding a fairy wand sparkling with diamonds in her soft little hands. Her little head nodded as she ran. When she reached the bed, she opened her arms and tilted her chubby little face to ask for a hug.

Mingxi was so adorable that she quickly bent down and carried him to the bed, poking his puffy cheeks: "Yuanyuan, why are you so well behaved today? Where did you get the fairy wand?"

"Dad gave it to me!" Yuanyuan held the fairy wand high in the air, her voice still a little leaky. "He said this can work magic and brighten up Brother Xi's room!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Tuantuan followed. She had two pigtails and grabbed the edge of the bed with her little hands. She climbed up on tiptoe. After struggling for a few times, she shouted anxiously, "Brother Xi! Tuantuan wants to come up too! Tuantuan wants to be held too!"

Lingling ran to Yin Hen, raised her little head and asked: "Big brother, who are you? Do you want to play with Brother Xi? I know there are a lot of fireflies in the back mountain. They will glow at night. We can go catch them together!"