Duan Xiubo was fully wrapped up—wearing a large mask, a hat, and a thick scarf—yet his long neck still peeked out from the scarf as he craned his head toward the airport exit.
Mi Rui looked on with dismay. “Duan, can’t you just stand quietly? If someone takes a picture of this, it could ruin your image.”
Duan Xiubo touched his face and looked around. Indeed, many passersby were glancing his way, captivated by his aura. Being too handsome really was a burden.
Luo Ding’s appearance immediately caught Duan’s eye, lighting up his world. Before Mi Rui even noticed Luo Ding, Duan excitedly called out, “Luo Xiaoding!”
Luo Ding waved back at him. Gu Yaxing and Mi Rui immediately felt a surge of anxiety, fearing the two might throw caution to the wind and embrace or kiss passionately in front of the entire airport. If that happened and some reporter or bystander snapped a picture, there would be no way to explain it.
Fortunately, the managers retained a shred of sanity. Gu Yaxing’s outstretched arm made a sudden detour to Wu Fangyuan, and Mi Rui tightly clenched his own pant leg. Their artists, however, weren’t newbies anymore. They had experience handling such situations, so the two simply stopped and smiled at each other from a distance.
Duan Xiubo was the first to react. Even behind his sunglasses, it was clear he was smiling from ear to ear. He removed his long scarf and began wrapping it around Luo Ding, saying, “It’s much colder here than back home. It’s already below freezing. Did you bring enough warm clothes?”
While Duan fussed over Luo Ding, Wu Fangyuan stared at the hand holding his sleeve and finally asked, “Mr. Gu, haven’t you been here before? There are security guards everywhere; we won’t get lost.” He felt a bit guilty, as he had been the one to accompany Luo Ding on previous trips. The company had paid for the tickets and lodging, but Gu Yaxing, the boss, had never been abroad, only sending employees.
Gu Yaxing straightened up and waved for the hopelessly lost Wu Fangyuan to grab the luggage, then followed Luo Ding out of the terminal. Mi Rui leaned in, laughing, and whispered, “Where did you dig up this treasure, Wu Fangyuan?”
Glancing at Mi Rui’s gloating face, Gu Yaxing chuckled. “You should ask Luo Ding.”
“Are they friends?”
“Childhood friends, inseparable since birth.” That wasn’t an exaggeration; they’d grown up together in an orphanage and started working together. Now that Luo Ding was successful, who knew—Wu Fangyuan might have been his protector when they were younger.
However, when it came to Luo Ding’s background, Gu Yaxing was absolutely tight-lipped. He wouldn’t reveal anything, not even to Mi Rui.
Mi Rui sighed. “No wonder.” Someone like Wu Fangyuan wouldn’t easily find such a good job serving Luo Ding. But perhaps Luo Ding liked that he was a bit clueless. People’s preferences were unpredictable.
The group discreetly left the airport, with Duan Xiubo snatching Luo Ding’s backpack and handing it to Mi Rui to carry. He then slung an arm around Luo Ding’s shoulder, ready to express how much he’d missed him. Suddenly, a burly man in a black suit blocked their way.
They stopped instinctively. Luo Ding, a bit face-blind when it came to foreigners, still found the man familiar. After a moment, he remembered the man as one of Duan Xiubo’s bodyguards from previous trips to Los Angeles.
The man spoke in a language Luo Ding didn’t understand, nodding respectfully toward him. Duan Xiubo smiled, patted the man on the shoulder, and exchanged a few words. The bodyguard, looking uncomfortable, stepped aside.
As they exited the airport, Luo Ding saw the reason for the interaction: a row of gleaming luxury cars waiting in the parking lot!
The lineup included two Jaguars, two Porsches, and a stretch limousine in the center. Another black-suited bodyguard stood rigidly by the car door.
Luo Ding felt Duan Xiubo take his hand, and when he looked up, Duan’s expression didn’t seem happy.
“Our car is over there,” Duan said, quickly leading Luo Ding away from the line of cars. The bodyguard by the door blinked, unsure whether to follow, but was stopped by his colleague.
While an argument broke out behind them, Duan led them to a low-key, simple van that, in terms of comfort, was no worse than the stretch limo.
Noticing Duan’s grumpy mood, Luo Ding, being considerate, didn’t ask what had happened earlier. Gu Yaxing wasn’t the gossiping type, and while Wu Fangyuan was curious, he never asked questions he wasn’t supposed to.
Duan’s mood improved after a bit of sulking, and he smiled at Luo Ding. “Congratulations on your Golden Lion nomination.”
When the nominations were announced, the two hadn’t been together, and the congratulations over the phone hadn’t felt quite right. Now, seeing the joy on Luo Ding’s face made Duan truly happy.
Luo Ding grinned. “You’re congratulating me? We’re both nominated for Best Actor, so now we’re rivals.”
The two managers sat in the front, with an assistant in the back. Duan and Luo Ding were initially seated separately, but Duan insisted on pulling their seats together.
He laughed heartily at Luo Ding’s words, hugging him tightly and pressing his forehead to Luo’s. “I don’t care about the award nearly as much as I care about you.”
Luo Ding hesitated for less than a second before hugging him back.
Duan’s good mood was partly an act.
As the car turned onto a familiar road, Luo Ding, glancing out the window, realized they were heading toward the castle again.
He quickly spoke up. “Wait, just drop us off at the Hilton downtown. The company’s already booked the rooms…”
Mi Rui, now wary of ignoring Luo Ding’s opinions, glanced at Duan Xiubo through the rearview mirror. A flicker of annoyance crossed Duan’s eyes as he tightened his grip on Luo Ding. “What’s wrong with staying at our place?”
Our place, he says…
Seeing Duan’s serious expression, Luo Ding fell silent for a long moment, eventually choosing to remain quiet.
Gu Yaxing, likely seeing the castle for the first time, discreetly took in the sight as they arrived. Wu Fangyuan, having been there before, was much more at ease, politely handing their luggage to the servants and settling into the same room assignments as last time. When Luo Ding’s room ended up being next to Duan Xiubo’s, Gu Yaxing paused slightly.
Luo Ding clearly remembered locking his door, but after his bath, he walked out in a bathrobe only to find Duan sitting cross-legged on his bed.
“…” Luo Ding frowned and checked the door. It was still locked. “How did you get in?”
Duan grinned at his expression, laughing as he collapsed onto the bed. Propping himself up on his elbows, he teased, “Take a guess.”
Luo Ding watched him for a moment, raising an eyebrow as he began searching the room’s walls. He smiled slightly when he opened the wardrobe, noticing how the previously tidy hangers were now a mess, clearly arranged in haste. Digging through the clothes, he finally found a hidden latch embedded in the wall, barely noticeable unless one was looking closely.
With a sigh, Luo Ding thought to himself, *This guy… if he wanted to stay with me so badly, he could have just said so instead of pulling all these tricks…*
Duan, now standing behind him, watched as Luo Ding discovered the secret door. Laughing joyfully, he suddenly scooped Luo Ding up by the waist, easily lifting him into the air.
Luo Ding was fit and muscular, but not exactly light. Yet, Duan handled him effortlessly, tossing him onto the bed with ease.
In the next second, Duan leaped onto him, pinning Luo beneath his larger frame. He buried his head in Luo Ding’s neck, rubbing against him like a cat seeking affection.
Luo Ding couldn’t help but laugh, stroking the back of Duan’s head as if soothing a pet. In a quiet voice, he asked, “What’s going on? What happened at the airport today?”
Duan continued rubbing against him for a while before answering slowly, “It was my father.”
“Hmm?”
“He came back, hoping I’d return to him.”
“And you don’t want to go?”
“Right.”
“Then what’s bothering you?”
“…” Duan propped himself up on his elbows, looking down at Luo Ding. “Huh?”
Luo Ding sighed, smiling at the sight of Duan’s slightly longer hair brushing against his fingers. “You’ve already made up your mind. Why let it trouble you? Just do what you’ve decided.”
After a moment of staring at Luo Ding, Duan sighed in defeat, collapsing back onto him, making it hard for Luo to breathe.
Duan then began complaining about his father, speaking softly but with clear resentment.
“He never cared about me or kept track of my life. When I was little, he’d even forget my age…”
“When I told him I wanted to leave, he didn’t even try to stop me. He just signed the papers immediately. I have to schedule appointments through his secretary just to see him…”
“Before you ran into him at the hotel that time, I’d already heard he had a new son. When I ignored him and walked away, he had Yu Shaotian send me a message, threatening to cut ties with me…”
As Luo Ding gently stroked Duan’s back, he could hear the intense emotions behind the calm words. It was clear that Duan had harbored these feelings for a long time. Growing up in such an environment, even Luo Ding couldn’t help but think it was a terrible way to raise a child. Without love, how could a kid not grow up twisted? At least Luo Ding had experienced a warm and loving childhood with his parents in his past life. Duan, however, had been left with nothing but material wealth—a child truly left behind.
It was a miracle Duan hadn’t turned out worse.
“And then?” Luo Ding asked when Duan stopped talking.
Duan rolled off him, relieving some of the pressure on Luo Ding’s chest. With a sly smile, he continued, “You know what’s funny? My dad, an old man, was so confident in himself. He didn’t even suspect a thing when his much younger wife had a kid.”
Luo Ding blinked. “What do you mean…?” Then it hit him. His eyes widened. “No way…”
Duan burst out laughing, curling up on the bed in amusement. “The kid stayed at home until he was 18 months old, and when they finally took him out, my uncles immediately noticed something was off. When they told him, he flipped out. But after the DNA test came back, he looked like he’d been struck by lightning.”
The laughter didn’t last long. Duan quickly grew quiet again, no longer finding it funny—just satisfying.
“Forget about him,” Duan said, sitting up halfway, brushing a hand through Luo Ding’s soft, slightly damp hair. His gaze was serious. “Luo Xiaoding, let’s live our lives together. None of this has anything to do with us.”
Luo Ding placed his hand over Duan’s, quietly murmuring an affirmative sound.
After a pause, Duan suddenly said, “Let’s get married.”
“…” Luo Ding blinked, caught off guard. “Huh?”
But Duan was dead serious, his mind running wild with concerns. “Do you think being unfaithful is genetic? What if I turn out like my dad and can’t stay loyal? He’s signed prenups since his first marriage, and he still acts like that. I don’t want to be like him. I’ll move us abroad, we’ll get married, and we’ll sign a prenup—whoever cheats leaves with nothing. That way, I won’t turn out like him.”
Luo Ding blinked, baffled. He had never seen someone so eager to push themselves into a potential disaster.
Duan nudged him. “What do you think?”
Luo Ding felt a bit moved but mostly embarrassed. He shoved Duan. “Get lost!”
Duan’s eyes widened in shock. “You don’t agree?!”
Seeing the expression on Duan’s face—one that clearly said, *If you don’t agree, does that mean you are going to be happy with the new and get tired of the old in the future? Say it! Say it!*—Luo Ding decisively wrapped his arms around Duan’s neck and pulled him down, silencing him with a kiss.
Duan could be incredibly romantic at times, but when he was being practical, he could be shockingly blunt. Even Luo Ding, who wasn’t one for fancy words, found it hard to keep up.
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