The weekend sunlight always seemed lovelier than usual. Shining through the sheer curtains onto the picture frame on the bedside table, it made He Lezhi's smiling eyes in the photo look so gentle.

Zhou Muyao opened his eyes, his head splitting with pain. After a moment, he climbed out of bed, first going to relieve his nearly bursting bladder, then walking out barefoot.

"Lezhi?"

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The living room was filled with sunlight. In the bright light, even tiny dust motes had nowhere to hide, dancing slowly and gently before one's eyes.

Zhou Muyao saw He Lezhi, neatly dressed, sitting on the chaise lounge part of the sofa. His back wasn't perfectly straight, and his head was turned to look out the window.

"Lezhi!" Zhou Muyao ran over joyfully and threw himself onto He Lezhi.

He buried his head in the crook of He Lezhi's neck, rubbing him with the stubble on his chin. He Lezhi's hand came up subconsciously; he would always catch the big dog that might fly at him at any moment, and then hold him.

"Why are you all dressed?" Zhou Muyao's pounce made it impossible for He Lezhi to sit up, so they both fell back. Zhou Muyao lay on his side, hugging him. He felt sick from drinking last night and kept whining.

He Lezhi placed one hand on the back of Zhou Muyao's head, gently stroking his hair.

"I feel awful..." Zhou Muyao nudged him with his forehead, whining, "Take care of me."

He Lezhi lay flat on his back, looking up at the ceiling. He seemed out of it, his gaze a little vacant.

When Zhou Muyao finally noticed something was wrong and lifted his head to look at him seriously, He Lezhi finally spoke: "Xiao Hei."

"Hm?" When Zhou Muyao looked at someone, his eyes always seemed clean and innocent, completely filled with that one person, focused and full of affection.

He Lezhi asked, "Do you remember what you said last night?"

Zhou Muyao froze for a moment, then tried hard to recall. "I don't remember. Did I make you mad again?"

He buried his head again, nuzzling him and saying, "I drank too much, don't be angry with me."

Zhou Muyao knew he was a handful when drunk. He closed his eyes and said, "What kind of nonsense did I say? Tell me, let me hear my crimes this time, and then we can discuss and decide on a punishment."

He Lezhi didn't say a word, just stared calmly upwards as if in a daze.

'I must have said something really out of line this time,' Zhou Muyao thought. 'This is a serious mistake.' But He Lezhi never held grudges, and his anger never lasted long. Once he calmed down, he would never bring it up again. He Lezhi wasn't a difficult person; he was tolerant and gentle, especially spoiling Zhou Muyao. Zhou Muyao couldn't live without him.

And loved him dearly.

"I must have been shameless again," Zhou Muyao said repentantly. "I was wrong."

After an unknown period of silence, during which Zhou Muyao seemed to have dozed off again, he heard He Lezhi say in his usual tone, "Go wash up. We're going out."

"Hey, okay!" Zhou Muyao agreed readily, not even asking where they were going.

Before getting up, he lay there and looked at He Lezhi, then kissed his cheek. After the kiss, he rolled over and off the sofa, scrambled up from the floor, and went barefoot to the bathroom.

He Lezhi never minded Zhou Muyao's goofy, boyish charm; he actually quite liked it, finding him amusing.

Friends would sometimes say Xiao Hei was like Lezhi's silly son. He Lezhi would be protective and say, "How are we silly? We're just simple."

But that was only in front of people he knew. In front of strangers, Zhou Muyao could be quite intimidating—a tall, lean, dark-skinned handsome guy. With a mask on, he gave off a 'stay away' vibe.

Over the years, there was always something going on around Zhou Muyao, and he attracted a lot of guys. On this point, He Lezhi trusted him. Zhou Muyao could handle it very clearly himself, neither hurting anyone nor getting entangled endlessly.

The two of them had never had a falling out over such matters in all these years. Once, during the New Year, when their friends brought it up, they even joked about Zhou Muyao, saying, "Anyone might fool around, but not our Xiao Hei. Xiao Hei's brain is all water except for Lezhi."

They liked to joke about Zhou Muyao, saying He Lezhi had poisoned Xiao Hei. He Lezhi didn't much like being the topic of conversation, so he stood up and said, "I'm going to the restroom."

Sitting next to him was Han Fangchi, who stood up to let him pass and said, "You guys are really asking for it."

So it wasn't just He Lezhi; even their friends who knew them didn't think Zhou Muyao would mess around outside their relationship.

Zhou Muyao got ready quickly and neatly, wearing a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, and changed his shoes at the door.

"I'm ready, Lezhi," Zhou Muyao said obediently.

He Lezhi got up from the sofa, went to put on his shoes as well, and walked out silently, closing the door.

His attitude let Zhou Muyao know he must have made a huge mistake yesterday.

In fact, he was already starting to panic while washing up, not knowing what he had done, so he didn't dare say much.

Once in the car, Zhou Muyao asked, "Where are we going?"

"Your company," He Lezhi said.

Zhou Muyao was taken aback. He blinked and asked, "What are we going there for?"

"Drive," He Lezhi gestured.

Zhou Muyao didn't dare ask again and obediently started the car.

On the way, Zhou Muyao tried to ask a few times, but He Lezhi remained silent.

Zhou Muyao tried hard to remember what he had said last night, but unfortunately, not a single bit of memory from the previous night remained; it had all been taken away by the alcohol.

Perhaps because he was flustered, it wasn't until they were halfway there that Zhou Muyao remembered and said, "I forgot my phone."

He Lezhi took it out of his pocket and placed it in the cup holder on the center console. "I brought it."

"Okay." Zhou Muyao didn't reach for the phone and continued driving. "No matter what I said last night, Lezhi, I was wrong."

He Lezhi turned his head to look outside without responding.

He Lezhi didn't get angry easily, and when he did, it wasn't this kind of silent treatment. As they got closer and closer to the company, Zhou Muyao grew more and more panicked.

"Lezhi, just tell me first, what did I do last night?" Zhou Muyao parked the car in the downstairs parking lot, grabbed He Lezhi's wrist, and said, "Stop scaring me. I'm completely unnerved."

He Lezhi pulled his hand away and said, "From now on, don't say a single word. Do whatever I tell you to do. We'll talk when we get back."

"What are we going to talk about when we get back?" Sweat started to form on Zhou Muyao's forehead. He frowned. "Just explain it to me first, so I can at least be prepared."

Only then did He Lezhi turn back to look at him directly. This seemed to be the first time He Lezhi had properly looked at him since Zhou Muyao woke up that morning. He cleared his throat, paused for a moment, and then said, "Then you can be prepared for this: the thing you fear most might happen today."

Zhou Muyao's heart skipped a beat, as if he had suddenly plummeted from the tenth floor, a huge sense of weightlessness washing over him.

Before he could react, He Lezhi had already opened the door and gotten out of the car.

Zhou Muyao couldn't remember at all what he had said last night, but the moment his greatest fear was mentioned, an answer immediately popped into his head.

He followed silently behind He Lezhi into their company's office building.

There were only a few colleagues working overtime in the building on the weekend. The security guard greeted them. Zhou Muyao went through the turnstile first, then scanned his face for He Lezhi.

He Lezhi said, "To your workstation."

Zhou Muyao didn't dare make a sound and obediently led the way.

There were only the two of them in the elevator. Zhou Muyao leaned against the handrail with his hands behind his back, his eyes downcast, not looking at He Lezhi. His mind was a mess, a mix of emotions making his fingertips tingle, unsure of what awaited him.

And yet, for a brief moment, he felt a sense of relief, as if the tip of a knife had finally fallen.

When the elevator doors opened, Zhou Muyao stepped out first, leading the way.

After getting out of the car, he hadn't asked any more questions, nor had he tried to stop He Lezhi from coming up. Their long-standing rapport made Zhou Muyao very obedient. Although he didn't know what He Lezhi wanted to do, he knew that nothing could be stopped now.

Along the way, there were several doors, which Zhou Muyao opened one by one with a face scan. He Lezhi walked behind him, his shoulders and back straight.

The office was empty. Zhou Muyao walked to a cubicle, and He Lezhi glanced at the desk before sitting down directly.

On the desk were Zhou Muyao's Marvel figurines, almost all of which were bought for him by He Lezhi. Zhou Muyao liked them, so He Lezhi would buy him one from time to time.

He Lezhi turned on the computer. It required a password, which he typed in without a second thought.

"Phone." He Lezhi held out his hand to Zhou Muyao, who was standing beside him.

Zhou Muyao clutched the phone in his hand. As he handed it over, he called out, "...Lezhi."

He Lezhi didn't respond, logging into Zhou Muyao's WeChat. The computer was a bit slow, and the WeChat interface took a long time to pop up. He Lezhi stared straight at the screen, his expression calm and composed.

There was sweat on Zhou Muyao's forehead. The moment WeChat popped up, he pressed down on the hand He Lezhi was using to hold the mouse.

"Lezhi." Zhou Muyao's tone sounded extremely pained. He sometimes used this tone to act spoiled, and He Lezhi would give in to him, but usually, he was just pretending to be pitiful. This time, he was sincere. He leaned down, looking at He Lezhi at eye level. "Can I just tell you myself?"

He Lezhi moved his wrist, breaking free from his hand, and said, "No need."

Zhou Muyao was about to speak again when He Lezhi said, "Stand aside."

In Zhou Muyao's WeChat contact list, there was a contact with an Iron Man profile picture and no nickname. Zhou Muyao wasn't in the habit of clearing his chat history; even a chat with a delivery person would have a line or two of conversation, albeit from two or three years ago. This contact had no chat history on Zhou Muyao's phone.

He Lezhi searched for this contact on the desktop WeChat. Before clicking on it, his movement paused for a few seconds.

He first lowered his gaze, looking at the two Iron Man figurines on Zhou Muyao's desk for a moment. When he raised his eyes again, he was back to normal, looking no different than usual.

If not for the slight, unnoticeable tremble of the thumb holding the mouse.

Zhou Muyao didn't struggle anymore. His gaze fell blankly to the side.

He Lezhi clicked open the chat box, and the chat history appeared on the screen. There were only three messages, from the week Zhou Muyao had just started his job.

The other person asked: Want to come out? Found a place you'll like.

Zhou Muyao: I'm not in Beijing anymore. Don't contact me again.

The other person: Oh, congrats.

In all the time since, there hadn't been another conversation.

Looking at just these few messages, it might not be considered incriminating evidence.

"That's it?" He Lezhi looked at Zhou Muyao.

Zhou Muyao pursed his lips and said nothing. The sweat on his forehead became more prominent. He didn't meet He Lezhi's gaze.

He Lezhi turned off the computer and stood up.

Zhou Muyao followed behind him. The two of them retraced their steps, going out through door after door, went downstairs, and got into the car.

On the way back, He Lezhi drove, and Zhou Muyao sat in the passenger seat.

Neither of them said a word the entire way. He Lezhi drove very steadily and not too fast. He drifted slowly with the flow of traffic, crossing the bridge, driving along the expressway, turning into the narrow residential road, and finally parking the car in a space. It seemed as if everything was proceeding as usual, as if nothing major had happened.

The car's engine was turned off. He Lezhi opened the door, got out, and walked straight to the elevator lobby, not turning back to wait for Zhou Muyao as he usually did.

He Lezhi was never like this.

The few times he had gotten angry were nothing like this. He was a person who hated trouble. He found arguing troublesome and didn't like to debate, so when there was a dispute, he would rather take a step back.

To He Lezhi, arguing over trivial matters was completely unnecessary.

This unfamiliar state made Zhou Muyao panic.

He Lezhi washed his hands as usual, then sat on the sofa. Zhou Muyao came over and sat next to him.

Both were still wearing the clothes they had worn out. He Lezhi still sat very straight, while Zhou Muyao's shoulders were slumped, his gaze empty.

"Should we talk?" He Lezhi finally spoke.

Zhou Muyao grunted in affirmation and said, "I'll tell you everything."

He Lezhi asked him, "How did you meet?"

Zhou Muyao said, "Schoolmates."

He Lezhi asked again, "Slept with him?"

Zhou Muyao immediately shook his head.

He Lezhi looked at Zhou Muyao, his lover. Young and handsome, with sincere eyes and a serious expression. They had been in love for many years, and even at this moment, He Lezhi still loved him as much as he did at the very beginning.

Yet right now, as He Lezhi looked at Zhou Muyao's handsome face, he knew there were many more questions he should ask, but he suddenly felt it was all pointless.

He had always felt that lovers interrogating each other about another person was a ridiculous and laughable affair, yet here it was, happening right now.