Yuri’s eyes fell upon Ling Xinlu, who was holding onto the ladder, climbing up from the side of the pool. He looked at Yuri and Xiaojun in turn with an impassive expression, his cold gaze unwavering. He wiped the water from his face, lightly rubbed his neck, then walked towards them. Xiaojun followed Yuri’s gaze and noticed him.

“Oh, Uncle Xinlu? Uncle Xinlu is here too? What’s wrong, Uncle Xinlu never swims?”

Ling Xinlu stopped in front of her, silently looking down at the girl who was smiling brightly, welcoming him. His face was icy, devoid of his usual polite smile.

He glanced at Xiaojun’s hand resting on Yuri’s arm, his gaze lingering there for a moment.

Xiaojun quickly turned to look at Ling Xinlu, her bright smile full of surprise as she spoke cheerfully.

“I thought you never went in the water, whether it’s the sea or a pool, but now you’re swimming? Then this summer we can go to the beach together! But what’s wrong, Uncle, I thought you didn’t like swimming? The last few times I invited you to go play in the water, you refused.”

Xiaojun murmured regretfully, saying: “It would have been nice to go to Bora Bora last year.”

“Not going. With you.” – Ling Xinlu replied with an impassive expression. He glanced at Yuri then walked to the chair and grabbed a dry towel. When Xiaojun tilted her head and asked: “Why?”, Xinlu replied without even looking at her.

“I don’t want to go into the same water as a shameless woman who likes to touch other people. I don’t want to be distracted and drown.”

Xiaojun was speechless, her eyes wide. Yuri also unconsciously stopped all movement. Hearing those insulting words spoken as if in jest, Xiaojun froze, her eyes fixed on Ling Xinlu for a moment.

She blinked a few times, then her whole face gradually flushed red with anger. She gritted her teeth, looking at Ling Xinlu, then suddenly smiled.

“Oh, Uncle Xinlu too. If your swimming skills are so poor that you could drown, you shouldn’t go in the pool, I’m worried about you. If you keep practicing swimming in the pool because you’re afraid of drowning, then actually drown, it would be even more tragic.”

“……”

And this time, Yuri startled and looked at Xiaojun. Ling Xinlu, who was drying his hair with a towel, glanced at Xiaojun with an impassive face. Ling Xinlu wasn’t someone easily provoked by such words, but it seemed his mood wasn’t good, which was why he seemed so curt.

Ling Xinlu was about to retort to Xiaojun but then stopped, turning his back as if annoyed.

Xiaojun seemed still angry about the insults she had never heard before, so she glared at the back of Ling Xinlu’s head with glittering eyes. She glanced at her watch, seeing it was time to go, clicked her tongue, and then smirked as unpleasantly as possible.

“Well, with Uncle Yuri here, even if Uncle Xinlu drowns, he’ll be saved right away. But before, when you were little, being saved was fine, but now you’re grown up, if Uncle Yuri is put in danger because he saves you, it would become troublesome for others. ––––Instead of having time to vent your anger on others after being slapped, you should practice swimming more diligently.”

Xiaojun emphasized the phrase “practice swimming more diligently” then snorted and turned away. Her angry gaze fell upon Yuri. When looking at Yuri, Xiaojun softened her expression a bit, then spoke in a sweet tone that contrasted sharply with when she spoke to Ling Xinlu:

“See you later, Uncle Yuri. I’ll go ahead.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and walked away. The clicking sound of her high heels on the still-wet tiles carried a hint of anger, but Yuri didn’t hear it.

He didn’t hear the sound of her footsteps fading away from the pool, nor did he notice the sound of the last person who had finished swimming entering the bathroom.

Yuri just stood there. Standing motionless as if frozen, only blinking occasionally. Strange. He felt a bit cold.

It was still the indoor pool, and he wasn’t someone who got cold easily, and he had also dried himself off, but he still felt cold. A chill at the back of his neck, where he was facing away from Ling Xinlu.

He didn’t want to turn around.

Yuri absolutely did not want to turn around at this moment, but the strange silence behind him – to the point that he wondered if anyone was there – worried him, and finally, he slowly turned around. And then.

Yuri, having turned halfway like a rusty machine creaking, saw Ling Xinlu standing there looking at him.

He tilted his head slightly. Hmm? With a puzzled expression, he looked at Yuri as if wondering why that girl had suddenly said those incomprehensible words and left.

“……”

His blinking eyes resembled a child who had just woken up from a nap, unable to distinguish what day it was or where he was. As if he had just heard something he didn’t understand.
However, it seemed that at that moment, Ling Xinlu was more concerned with something else than the words Xiaojun had just spoken.

Yuri suddenly stiffened, his whole body becoming motionless, then turned around rigidly and with difficulty, glancing at Xinlu as if probing his reaction.

‘Why is this man suddenly looking at me with such an expression, as if he’s committed some crime?’

Ling Xinlu looked at Yuri with a puzzled expression. The head that was tilted to one side tilted to the other.

Oh no.

Yuri realized his mistake right then.

Whether Xiaojun left or said anything, he should have maintained a calm expression. He should have pretended not to understand what she was saying, blinked innocently, and blurted out something like: ‘She’s in such a hurry, she must have to pay for the movie ticket and dinner for her friend,’ or at the very least, calmly turned to Ling Xinlu and said: ‘Let’s go back’, and then turned and walked away first.

At the very least, he shouldn’t have stood there frozen, then startled and turned to look at him as if probing his attitude.

And there it was. As expected. That man, who just a moment ago had frowned with a ‘What is that girl saying?’ look when Xiaojun left, now began to change his expression after staring intently at Yuri for a while.

“……Let’s go back.”

Yuri muttered quietly. He reproached himself for not saying this 30 seconds earlier. Then, thinking again, it should have been 25 seconds earlier, he calmly turned and strode off.

But as expected, he hadn’t taken more than a few steps when a gentle voice called out from behind.

“Mr. Yuri Gable?”

Yuri wondered if that man saw his shoulders flinch, then calmly turned around. He put on his usual poker face and replied: “Yes?”.

Ling Xinlu looked at Yuri with an impassive expression. He looked at Yuri with a face devoid of emotion, then tilted his chin towards the chair. On the chair was the box Xiaojun had just brought.

“……This needs to be taken along.”

“……”

Ling Xinlu didn’t seem to be considering carrying it himself.

Yuri silently turned back. He tried not to look into Ling Xinlu’s eyes, focusing only on the box as he approached it.

The box looked large and seemed very heavy, but it wasn’t as heavy as its appearance suggested. But even if it were heavy, he wouldn’t have felt its weight. Because Ling Xinlu was standing less than two steps away, silently observing him.

Yuri lifted the box with one hand and turned around. He wanted to quickly create distance between himself and Ling Xinlu, so he walked faster than before, but that was as far as he got. *Bump*

A hand grasped his arm. Exactly the spot where Xiaojun had just held it, but this hand was larger and smoother. Unlike Xiaojun’s light touch, this hand gripped tightly, so tightly he couldn’t pull away.

“Why are you going alone? Let’s go together.”

“……”

Ling Xinlu spoke calmly. Yuri slowly turned his head. Ling Xinlu looked at him with his usual expression, just without a smile. Then he casually walked alongside him.

Ling Xinlu didn’t say a word but held Yuri’s hand and walked parallel to him. Yuri, being pulled along by Ling Xinlu’s hand, could only remain silent.

The rich aroma of matsutake mushrooms and silence enveloped them until they entered the elevator from the sports floor and arrived home.

Ling Xinlu, seemingly lost in thought, stared intently into space. He leaned against the wall, silently watching Yuri unpack the bag in the kitchen, then suddenly spoke.

“That pervert I mentioned before, thinking about it, he’s a friend of my Big brother.”

“……”

“He’s close enough to go on vacation with my Big brother’s family. It seems my Big brother and he have quite a significant age difference, but my Big brother has friends of all ages, so having a younger friend isn’t strange. But it’s rare for someone to be close enough to be invited to go swimming with the family……”

The knots of the bag kept slipping from Yuri’s hands. Even though he tried to pull hard enough to make his fingernails ache, they wouldn’t loosen.

Yuri tried to focus on untying the knots, trying to dispel Ling Xinlu’s murmuring from behind him.

“Difficult to untie?”

At that moment, Ling Xinlu, who was silently observing Yuri, glanced over his shoulder and stepped closer. He stood close behind Yuri, paused, stretched out his arms as if to embrace him, then grasped the knot Yuri was struggling with.

Yuri’s back touched Ling Xinlu’s chest. His breath tickled Yuri’s ear. Although he murmured: “Who tied this so tight?”, his actions as he slowly untied the knot were very gentle and unhurried, showing no sign of annoyance. Then Ling Xinlu continued speaking.

“Do you know how much I regretted it? As soon as I woke up, I remembered what happened before I fainted, so I gritted my teeth and said: ‘That clingy ghost, I’ll drown him so he’ll never surface again.’ Therefore, my Big brother, a person who knows my personality well, didn’t tell me who saved me. He only advised me: ‘You mustn’t do that to the person who saved your life’.”

“……”

“So, even though I pretended to be remorseful and changed my mind, grinning and asking: ‘I want to thank the person who saved me, who is it?’, he wasn’t fooled.”

Ling Xinlu clicked his tongue and added: “My Big brother is very perceptive, after all.”

Meanwhile, the knot of the bag had been untied, and the box gradually came into view. The exquisitely carved wooden box emanated the aroma of matsutake mushrooms even before being opened. But Yuri no longer had the mind to pay attention to the smell of mushrooms.

After untying the knot, Ling Xinlu’s hand didn’t move away but rested on the table. Yuri was trapped between the table and Ling Xinlu’s arm, but he couldn’t ask him to move or turn around, and could only stand there motionless.

A brief silence. And the one who broke that silence was, again, Ling Xinlu.

“Thank you for saving me.”

A gentle and sweet voice, like a kitten’s meow.

Ling Xinlu, standing close behind Yuri, whispered softly into his ear and then took a step back.

Only at this moment did Yuri slowly turn around.

Ling Xinlu was smiling like a cat. An unreadable smile.

“……I apologize. For not helping you immediately.”

Yuri lowered his head. He didn’t find it strange that he had to apologize despite saving someone. That smile, which only curved the corners of his lips without reaching his eyes, made Yuri feel like he was the one at fault.

Yuri was wondering why when Ling Xinlu’s smiling voice rang out, giving him an answer.

“Isn’t it an apology for not telling me sooner?”

That’s right. That was it.

Yuri glanced at Ling Xinlu. Ling Xinlu was watching him intently. Still with that gentle smile on his lips.

When Yuri murmured: “I apologize” once more, the smile spread across Ling Xinlu’s face.

“It’s nothing. I understand. I’m not a child anymore; I have to think maturely. Saving a drowning person is such a delicate matter. Even a small child, when overwhelmed by the fear of death, will cling to their rescuer with all their might, putting even a strong man in danger.”

Yuri listened silently to the words he himself had once spoken.

He only murmured: “It’s nothing”, when Ling Xinlu smiled brightly and said: “Thank you.”

Ling Xinlu tilted his head, smiling at Yuri for a long while. His eyes were dreamy, as if recalling a distant past.

“I see, so it was Mr. Gable…… Staring at people like that, as expected……”

Those murmured words, as if spoken to himself, rang clearly in Yuri’s ears. Yuri lowered his head in silence, and looked down at his feet like a guilty man.

And then, Yuri suddenly murmured in a voice so low it was almost inaudible.

“……I thought at that time, a flower bloomed underwater……”

“Huh? What did you say?”

Ling Xinlu raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. He bent down and brought his ear close to Yuri’s lips. Yuri looked at the tilted face in front of him, then murmured again.

“I thought at that time, a flower bloomed underwater, so I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It was the first time I saw something so captivating……”

Ling Xinlu muttered: “A flower”, and blinked at Yuri. He stared at Yuri with an incredulous expression, as if about to burst out laughing, then finally he did laugh.

“A twelve-year-old kid being described as seeing a flower bloom underwater and being captivated, captivated…… I really am……”

Ling Xinlu chuckled and spoke in a slightly sarcastic tone, then suddenly fell silent. He frowned slightly, tilted his head slightly as he looked at Yuri, then opened his mouth as if to say something. His lips pressed together, then parted, then closed again.

After a moment, Ling Xinlu, who was squinting at Yuri, spoke.

“Mr. Gable. Your first love……”

As soon as he heard those abruptly spoken words, Yuri startled and averted his gaze. Although he didn’t show any emotion on his face, the eyes of Ling Xinlu, who was observing him as if not wanting to miss even a flicker of expression, narrowed even further.

“……Was who?”

It was clear he was already certain, but he still asked as if to confirm. Yuri blinked once, twice, then sighed. He straightened up and looked at Ling Xinlu.

“It was Mr. Ling Xinlu.”

Ling Xinlu stared blankly at Yuri. Yuri calmly met his gaze, not averting his eyes, and then, Ling Xinlu suddenly smiled.

“So straightforward.”

Yuri shrugged slightly in response. As if to say there was no point in hiding it anyway.

Thinking about it, that was true. Yuri had told Ling Xinlu that he liked him, and Ling Xinlu knew that. Now there was no reason to hide it, whether it was the first or second time he had said he liked him.

Although the term ‘first love’ wasn’t entirely accurate – as he hadn’t felt love when he saw that boy back then – it was clear that this man was the first person to captivate him.

Yuri sighed and continued speaking quietly.

“You were very beautiful at that time. And now too. Beautiful to the point that I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

Ling Xinlu silently looked at Yuri, who was speaking slowly, as if reminiscing. A hint of disbelief, a wry smile, and some other indescribable emotion, stronger than both of those, flickered across his face.

But immediately after, those expressions vanished as if they had never been there.

Cold eyes bored into Yuri.

“Then why didn’t you contact me afterward?”

“Huh?”

“You saved me from the water, then left without waiting for me to wake up. And you never appeared afterward either.”

Yuri just silently looked at Ling Xinlu, the person who would immediately try to drown him and turn him into a water ghost if he had appeared or contacted him and said: ‘I was the one who saved you.’

He had never considered contacting Ling Xinlu after saving him. He had only felt satisfied hearing Ling Tangyun say: “My youngest brother is alright”, and that was enough. Wasn’t that only natural?

Ling Xinlu must also know that he was saying unreasonable things. Yet he still asked Yuri why he didn’t contact him.

“People really don’t change.”

Ling Xinlu suddenly smiled. The corners of his lips lifted, but the smile was somewhat bitter.

“It was the same back then, and this time you’re also planning to leave, aren’t you, Mr. Gable?”

Those puzzling words suddenly rang out. Yuri looked at him with a bewildered expression.

“You pulled me out of the abyss of suffering, to the point where I wanted to die, and then when I feel a little better, you say you won’t renew the contract and leave……”

Ling Xinlu stared intently at Yuri. Looking into those reproachful eyes, Yuri was momentarily speechless.

He had never said those things. He had never said he wouldn’t sign a contract—though he had said he wouldn’t sign a lifetime contract—and he had never said he would leave—though he would leave if a contract wasn’t signed. Yuri looked at Ling Xinlu in bewilderment, the person who was subtly twisting his words to create a completely different story, yet it sounded completely accurate.

But immediately after, he suddenly thought, perhaps Ling Xinlu really did hear those words that way.

Humans are creatures who hear what they want to hear, and everyone interprets the same thing in their own way, so maybe he wasn’t lying.

But.

Yuri thought ‘But’. He couldn’t help but feel frustrated. But. Even so…… If he thought that way, then he wanted to tell him it wasn’t true.

“Let’s renew the contract.”

Yuri said to Ling Xinlu.

The contract period was about to expire. It was time to discuss renewal.

Although Yuri thought that terminating the contract with him was best for Ling Xinlu, it didn’t mean he didn’t want to sign a contract.

It was alright. He could still help him for a while longer. For a few more years.

Ling Xinlu stared intently at Yuri, who was calmly talking about renewing the contract. Those deep black eyes, as if in contemplation, looked at Yuri for a moment, then gave a concise conclusion:

“Sign a lifetime contract.”

“……”

Before Yuri could speak, Ling Xinlu continued slowly,

“Mr. Gable once said that there’s no reason to sign a lifetime contract when you can renew annually, that you wouldn’t sign a lifetime contract. That’s true. No one can predict what will happen, so signing a long-term contract is often foolish, so I thought so too.”

“Then……”

“But,”

Ling Xinlu once again interrupted Yuri, who was about to say: ‘Then let’s just renew the annual contract as before.’

“You can leave at any time.”

He murmured, his face devoid of his usual ceremonial smile. Yuri silently looked at Ling Xinlu, whose face showed no emotion.

Then suddenly, Ling Xinlu flashed a bright smile.

“Mr. Gable, do you know how you looked at me?”

Ling Xinlu took a step closer to Yuri. Seeing him approach, Yuri also wondered how his own face appeared in those dark eyes.

“You looked at me as if I were the most beautiful and precious thing in the world.”

‘Is that so?’

Yuri looked at Ling Xinlu, who was smiling gently at him. The most beautiful and precious thing.

It wasn’t wrong. At least now, he was the most beautiful and precious person to Yuri.

Yuri nodded. His murmured: “That’s right” was so quiet it was almost inaudible, but surely Ling Xinlu, who was observing him, heard it. Ling Xinlu’s smile widened.

“But, even while looking at me like that, you can still leave at any time.”

The low voice, like a sigh, actually turned into a sigh.

“You said you’d contact me on occasions like New Year’s or my birthday, that we would stay in touch long-term. I really don’t understand.”

The sigh gradually turned into a growl. The smile was no longer a smile.

Ling Xinlu stared intently at Yuri without blinking.

“I’ve been thinking a lot. It feels like I’ve been thinking 23 hours a day. Even in my sleep, I feel so uncomfortable I can’t stand it.”

He stopped speaking. He had come right up to Yuri and was looking at him with a puzzled expression.

“Do you like me? Really?”

He asked again. Although the question had been heard just minutes ago, Yuri still thought for a moment before answering.

“Yes.”

“……—Is that so, I thought so too. Looking at me like that, there’s no way you wouldn’t like me. You’re looking at me with those eyes. —But, I really don’t understand.”

Ling Xinlu leaned forward slightly. Just a little, but his dark eyes appeared right before Yuri’s eyes. As if he could see right through Yuri’s heart.

“If you like me that much, how can you live without seeing me?”

His tone wasn’t one of questioning or reproach, but of genuine curiosity.

Ling Xinlu continued to lean down. He brought his nose close to Yuri’s neck. So close it was almost touching, but not quite.

He seemed to relax his shoulders gradually. Then a low voice emerged, carrying a gentleness, a profound gentleness.

“Mr. Gable, I’m very grateful to you. No one has ever made me feel as comfortable as you do. Moreover, that’s right, you’re my lifesaver. So——I’ll make you a very advantageous offer……”

Ling Xinlu took a step back. He smiled as their eyes met. He smiled gently and brightly, then spoke.

“Sign a lifetime contract. Then I’ll give you this.”

His long and white index finger lightly touched Yuri’s chest.

He would give Yuri this.

He said he would give Yuri this, so do as he says.

Ling Xinlu’s smile seemed to say it was a very advantageous offer for Yuri. His generous arrogance.

Yuri stared blankly at him. Ling Xinlu calmly waited for Yuri’s answer; he was saying that if Yuri did as he said, Yuri would have him as a reward.

“……The original contract had a clause allowing me to look at you as I pleased, but this time you’re giving me your whole self……. It’s truly a tempting offer.”

Yuri looked down at his feet for a moment, then asked him.

“How do you intend to give me yourself?”

“In whatever way Mr. Gable desires.”

Ling Xinlu replied concisely.

“I’m saying you don’t need to just look at me adoringly. You can be greedier.”

Ling Xinlu gave a charming smile, saying: “There’s no better offer than this.” That smile was so beautiful that Yuri was once again captivated.

But.

“Why do you want me so much?”

He couldn’t help but ask. Even though he knew that the smile on Ling Xinlu’s face would disappear.

He looked at Yuri, then blinked. He was silent for a moment as if he had never thought about it. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, then slowly he spoke.

“I…… don’t like things that once belonged to me disappearing…… Especially things I like.”

At that moment, a flicker of unease crossed his face, as if he had reverted back to a child. As if something unclear was casting a shadow over his heart. But it was a vague and elusive unease, as if he himself didn’t know what it was.

Yuri fell into thought again, then asked again.

“Do you like me?”

And this time, there was no answer. He just met Yuri’s gaze, as if unsure of the answer. With an expression as if he didn’t even understand what ‘like’ meant.

“Do you cherish me, respect me, and want me to be happy? Even if it goes against your current desires?”

Ling Xinlu still didn’t answer. The expression on his face gradually disappeared.

Seeing him like that, Yuri sighed quietly.

“If not, then you’re making a very disadvantageous deal for yourself.”

But Yuri also didn’t think it was an advantageous deal for himself.

Yuri knew what he wanted in life.

The only thing he had learned in his life, which could be considered both long and short, was that.

“For example,” – Yuri began to speak.

“If I live with someone for the rest of my life, I want us to live for each other. Like what Mr. Ling Xinlu calls ‘bland weeds’, I like a peaceful, quiet, and long-lasting life. Not bestowing favors on each other, not satisfying selfish desires, and not destroying each other.”

Therefore, Yuri wouldn’t accept an offer from someone who didn’t know what they wanted, or an offer that might make him regret later because of momentary desire. That would destroy the other person, and ultimately, destroy himself as well.

“You said you like me.”

Ling Xinlu whispered after silently listening to Yuri speak. Yuri nodded and said: “That’s right”, then continued: “But.”

“Liking someone and living together are two things that are very similar, but fundamentally different.”

“……”

Ling Xinlu didn’t say anything. He just looked at Yuri with an impassive expression, as if he had nothing more to say.

Yuri patiently waited for him to say something, but after a silence long enough to make him certain he wouldn’t speak, Yuri spoke again.

“If Mr. Ling Xinlu wishes, we can renew the contract. When it gets closer to the expiration date, we can sign the renewal paperwork whenever it’s convenient for you.”

Yuri added: “If you want to add any clauses to the new contract—if you agree to renew—please let me know.” But there was no response.