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

Passing through the winding path in the woods, a fairyland-like valley suddenly opens before your eyes.

"Wow! Butterflies!"

Yuanyuan, holding a fairy wand, rushed into the grass first, chasing a blue butterfly around the flowers, her baby voice full of excitement.

Tuantuan reached out to grab the pink butterfly that landed on the dandelion, but before she could touch it, the butterfly flapped its wings and flew away. She was not discouraged, but chased it into the distance with a giggle.

Lingling squatted by the shallow stream, touched the water with her hand, and called out crisply, "Brother Xi! There are little fish here!"

Yin Hen sat on the bluestone by the stream, Ming Xi beside him, looking at the three little kids and smiling. He tilted his head, a little curious, "Whose are these three children...? They seem so close to you."

The smile on Mingxi's face faded a little, and he said softly: "They are all Su Xiang's children."

"What?!" Yin Hen turned his head suddenly. "Didn't he always say that he loved you the most? How could he have children with someone else, and three at once?"

Ming Xi lowered his eyes and was silent for a moment before he slowly spoke: "Su Xiang is that kind of person. When he is good to me, he is really good. He will remember everything I like and will stay with me when I am sick. But he... can never control himself.

I'd argued with him so many times before. Every time I caught him getting close to someone else, I'd get so angry I'd ignore him for days. He'd always hug me and apologize, promising to change, saying he cared about me the most. But then he'd forget about it again. It happened so often, I became numb to it..."

"What kind of talk is that?" Yin Hen interrupted him, his tone filled with indignation. "He's taking advantage of your soft heart and bullying you like this? He says he likes you, but he has a child with someone else and asks you to take care of it, and he still wants you to compromise? This is too much!"

As he spoke, he reached out and grasped Mingxi's shoulders, his eyes extremely serious. "Mingxi, are you really not going to come with me? Let's leave Haishang Mingyue and go to the Demon Realm, or somewhere else. There's no Su Xiang there, no such awful things, and we don't have to be sneaky anymore, and we don't have to worry about other people's faces anymore."

Ming Xi lowered his head, staring at his clasped hands. "I... I can't leave. If Su Xiang... knew I ran away, I don't know what he would do. Besides, if I leave, those who are usually nice to me might also be implicated."

"You're always thinking about others, but what about yourself?" Yin Hen's voice got closer. "Mingxi, have you ever liked me? Even for just a moment, even when I was telling you interesting stories about the demon world, or when I brought you chestnut cakes, did you ever feel a little moved?"

"You... stop talking nonsense!" Ming Xi turned her head away abruptly, avoiding Yin Hen's gaze. "We can't do this, absolutely not. This... is wrong."

Yin Hen gently turned his face and made him look at her again, "Why is it wrong? Just because Su Xiang can have three wives and four concubines and can trap you by his side, you don't even have the right to like someone? Ming Xi, look at me and tell me, do you really not have any feelings for me?

When you are with me, you laugh and make noises. But in front of Su Xiang, you are always cautious and dare not even laugh. Do you think I can't see it? You are really happy when you are with me. "

Mingxi's heart was beating violently. He looked at Yin Hen's face, which was so close to him, and saw the undisguised burning passion and expectation in his eyes. His voice was intermittent:

"I... I don't know... I just know that we can't do this. If Su Xiang finds out, he'll kill you. He really will! I was scared to death when I saw you fighting with him today. Last night I dreamed of you lying in a pool of blood. I..."

"No," Yin Hen reached out and hugged him in his arms, "I won't let him hurt you, and I won't let anything happen to myself. As long as you want, we can continue like this."

It keeps going like this...

Secretly falling in love under Su Xiang's nose?

Before he could figure it out, Yin Hen suddenly lowered his head and gently kissed his cheek.

The kiss was light, like a feather falling, tentative and cautious, but it ignited Mingxi's nerves. He suddenly retreated

"You! What are you doing?!" He was shocked and panicked, and his voice changed.

Yin Hen did not make any further movement and stopped where he was. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it." There was regret in his voice, and the reprimand that Ming Xi was about to say suddenly could not be uttered.

"Don't...don't say such things again in the future," Ming Xi broke the silence first, "I think we...it's better for us to keep our distance."

-

In the next few days, Yin Hen never looked for Ming Xi again. Everything that happened in the valley that day seemed like a fleeting illusion.

Yin Hen stayed at Haishang Mingyue as a handyman, his days were incredibly busy. Perhaps because he'd calmed down, even Su Xiang, who usually disliked him, was willing to talk to him. Occasionally, when they shared a meal together, Yin Hen would only discuss Haishang Mingyue's work with Su Xiang, ignoring Ming Xi, who sat next to him.

But Mingxi's heart could never return to its former peace.

He couldn't help but pay attention to Yin Hen's every move, the tone of his voice, the way he drank water, and even the occasional glance from the other party, which could easily disrupt his heartbeat.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Su Xiang's voice suddenly rang in his ears. Ming Xi was so scared that his hands trembled and his chopsticks almost fell to the ground.

Su Xiang picked up a piece of peeled crab meat and put it into his bowl. "The porridge is cold. Don't you like it? Then ask the kitchen to make you another bowl of sweet food."

"No, no need..."

Ming Xi hurriedly lowered his head to drink his porridge. He stole a glance at Yin Hen from the corner of his eye. Yin Hen just raised his eyes and their eyes met. Yin Hen's eyes were indifferent and he quickly looked away, continuing to talk to Su Xiang about the warehouse.

Mingxi's heart felt like it was being pricked by a needle, a little depressed, and a little bitter. She had clearly said that she would keep her distance, but seeing that Yin Hen was really obedient, she couldn't help but feel disappointed.

After dinner, Su Xiang went to handle official business, and Ming Xi sat in the pavilion in a daze, unconsciously pulling the leaves of the potted plants on the stone table with his hands.

"Brother Xi!" Yuanyuan ran over holding a windmill, followed by Tuantuan and Lingling. He stuffed the windmill into Mingxi's hand and said, "Look! Uncle bought this for us. It can spin!"

Mingxi forced a smile and helped Yuanyuan hold the windmill.

When the wind blew, the windmill whirred, and the three little kids surrounded him and clapped their hands, but his attention kept drifting towards the corridor. Yin Hen said he was going to tidy up the warehouse, and he wondered if he would pass by here.

Said that Cao Cao Cao Cao arrived.

Yin Hen came from the end of the corridor carrying a toolbox. His hair was a little messy due to the wind, but it looked a little neater than usual.

Ming Xi subconsciously stood up, then sat down hurriedly. Yin Hen approached, saw him, paused, then nodded as a greeting, and then wanted to move forward.

"Wait a moment!"

Yin Hen stopped and turned to look at Ming Xi, a hint of confusion in his eyes. The three little kids also stopped playing around and looked at them with their round eyes.

He swallowed and asked quietly, "...Is the warehouse messy? Do you need help?"

Yin Hen was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said calmly: "No, I can handle it myself." After that, he turned and left, his back quickly disappearing around the corner of the corridor.

"Brother Xi, why are you unhappy?" Tuantuan came over and tugged at the corner of his clothes with her little hand. "Is big brother ignoring you? I'll go talk to him for you!"

"Don't go..." Ming Xi quickly grabbed the little girl and forced a smile, "I'm not unhappy, I'm just a little tired. How about we go pick some strawberries? The strawberries in the garden should be ripe."

"Ooooh~ Let's pick strawberries!"

“Pick the biggest and reddest ones!”

"Pick some for mom to eat. I love mom!"

-

College life was dull and tedious for Mingxi. He could not understand the complicated professional vocabulary and could not fit into the environment.

He has been slower than other children since he was young. If he had not used connections to get through the back door, it would be unknown whether he could be admitted to high school given his intelligence level.

Su Yang was kindhearted and offered to help him review what he had learned that day. However, this kindness was undoubtedly torture for Ming Xi.

Every day in the study, I would sit on pins and needles listening to Su Yang talk about things that sounded like hieroglyphics. I would sit there for an hour at a time and feel dizzy.

He was about to give up, and wanted to refuse Su Yang's kindness several times, but he swallowed the words back when they came to his lips. This unspeakable entanglement could only be suppressed in his heart.

While this seemingly twisted mentality is actually quite easy to explain, it's essentially a form of reverse compensation and extreme breakthrough for inner needs after experiencing long-term emotional deprivation and trauma.