"What are you doing here?" Wang Jiannan scowled.
"Jiejie, are you seriously stalking me?" Xu Jinyao's puffy eyes flew wide open.
"You stalk, Miss Ling?!" Zhou Gao blurted in disbelief.
"Hey, I'm talking to you! You-! You ruined everything! My brother's in a terrible mood and-"
"Jiejie, did you know too? Did you know that Wang Jianyuan liked Ling Xiaoyù?"
"What? Wang Jianyuan likes Ling Xiaoyu? And Miss Ling knows about it?"
"Hey-! Tell me who you really are, alright? How in the world do you know so much?"
"Jiejie, is it true? Do you think he really used me as a substitute?"
"…Wow. What is even happening?"
Ephraim sat in silence, the verbal onslaught hitting him from all directions like machine-gun fire. Only when the three finally ran out of steam did he glance at the newcomers, deliberately ignoring Zhou Gao for the moment.
"And hello to you two as well," he said cheerfully. "I was going to greet you with a hug, but I think my muscles are stretched too much right now. I can't stand up."
Wang Jiannan huffed, jabbing a finger at him in exasperation. "Start with answering me. What are you doing here?"
"I came here for a gym date with my man," Ephraim replied with a sunny smile. "He got caught up in his boxing, so I took the liberty of entertaining myself. Everyone here is just so lovely."
Wang Jiannan was at his wit's end. How did this woman even find this gym? Of all places? Why was he always running into her?
What made it worse was that he had finally, after much persuasion, managed to bring Xu Jinyao here today. In Wang Jiannan's muscle head logic, this place was the most stress-free corner of the earth, the perfect environment to help Xu Jinyao unwind.
Only for them to bump into this "woman" yet again.
He hadn't even had the chance to say another word when Xu Jinyao walked past him without so much as a glance and dropped down at Ephraim's feet. Fingers curled into the fabric of Ephraim's trousers, clutching at his thighs, he looked up with tear-bright eyes.
"Jiejie… Jiejie… Please tell me… did you know? Did you know he liked someone else?"
Ephraim felt an unfamiliar discomfort prickle at the sight of Xu Jinyao so shaken. He had no real experience in comforting people. After a moment's hesitation, he reached down and patted the younger man's head, his gaze softening.
"…Yeah. Sort of… How did you find out?"
Hearing that, Xu Jinyao's expression crumpled further, his tears on the verge of spilling. He sniffled, forcing them back, then lifted trembling fingers to rub at his temples.
"Ah… my head hurts…"
When he stayed silent for a while, Wang Jiannan, standing nearby, cast Ephraim a complicated look before letting out a sigh.
"I told him," Wang Jiannan admitted. "When he came back from having dinner with my brother… well, the atmosphere was ridiculous. My brother was being incredibly overbearing and tried to just... you know... smooth things over by coaxing him to their room-"
"Okay, that was unnecessary. You're embarrassing me." Xu Jinyao cut in with a withered look. "Your story does not need that much detail."
Then he glanced up, only to meet Ephraim's decidedly judgmental gaze.
"You didn't go and bang the night away like he wanted, did you?"
"Of course not!" Xu Jinyao shot back, his grief momentarily forgotten in his exasperation. With a grumbling huff, he sulked, "I slapped him across the face, stomped on his foot, kicked his shin, yelled in his face that we're through, and then ran out of the house."
[Rachel: Wow… glad he didn't overreact.]
[Ephraim: …Rachel. I think I have some really solid parenting skills here. Could you imagine the Xu Jinyao from a few weeks ago giving someone a beating?]
Ephraim nodded in understanding. "And then what happened?"
"And then Wang Jiannan ran after me because it was too dark. He said it was dangerous to walk alone and convinced me to spend the night at his place instead."
[Ephraim: He has a house of his own? Him? A college kid?]
[Rachel: Yeah. Two actually. He just likes his brother's house more.]
[Ephraim: Ugh. The greed sickens me.]
"And in the end, I convinced myself to tell the truth. I'd already pieced together some of my own suspicions about why Wang Jianyuan might have been keeping me."
The more Xu Jinyao spoke, the heavier his tone became. By the end, he was rubbing his temples, looking utterly drained.
"I can't believe this… I won't pursue the matter any further… I'll leave him. Like, seriously."
"You'll really leave him?!"
"You'll really leave him?!"
The twin cries overlapped. Xu Jinyao flinched, his gaze darting between Wang Jiannan and Ephraim, utterly bewildered.
"Obviously. Did I not tell him we were through? What else would I do?" His voice cracked slightly, but his eyes were clear. "I feel awful… He-he meant the world to me… but… I will never stay with a man who never truly saw me. How could I expect him to ever respect me?"
The reactions could not have been more different.
For Wang Jiannan, it was a heavy blow. He truly liked Xu Jinyao—not just for himself, but because he had hoped someone could stand by his brother's side and help him move past his obsession with Ling Xiaoyu.
For Ephraim, however, it was the sweetest news he'd heard in days. He couldn't believe he didn't even need to talk Xu Jinyao into it. But that joy was short-lived.
Because the next moment, Xu Jinyao suddenly turned to him and asked softly,
"But, Jiejie… before that-please tell me, how did you even know about all this?"
Ephraim hesitated, weighing his words. After a brief pause, he exhaled and met Xu Jinyao's gaze.
"Here's the thing. I'm not hiding anything. I will tell you everything. Just… not now. I can't. There's something I need to take care of first. Can you wait? Just a few days?"
"What is it?"
"Oh, you know… things." Ephraim's lips curved faintly. "One of them is convincing the man behind you to help keep you away from Wang Jianyuan... since I don't trust him. I have a feeling he'd sell you out to his brother in a heartbeat."
The words dropped like a stone into still water. All eyes turned to Wang Jiannan. His chest swelled with indignation, but no rebuttal came. He was an honest man—Too honest—and he knew that if his brother asked for something, he might not be able to refuse.
Catching that flicker of guilt, Ephraim arched a brow.
"You know," he said slowly, "you don't actually have to do anything. That's it. Don't help, don't betray. Just… nothing. Is that really so difficult?"
"Shut up. You think it's easy?" Wang Jiannan shot him a look of disdain.
"My brother… it's so rare to see him smile. Ever since Grandma, the only one who truly doted on him, passed away, he's been cold and distant. He never asked for anything, just did what was expected of him… the perfect heir, the perfect son."
He lowered his gaze, fingers curling in frustration.
"And the only person he's ever truly wanted… would not be his. I just want this time to succeed for him. I think Jinyao-gege could change him, you know? Make him like him… make him the center of his world."
[Ephraim: Rachel… Did Wang Jianyuan ever want to be anything else when he was a kid?]
[Rachel: Nope. According to the data, he's always said, 'I wanna be like Grandma and be a cool CEO'-or something along those lines. Then again… maybe he was just acting.]
[Ephraim: Oh… so was he ever, like, starved of something? Denied things he liked?]
[Rachel: I'm not sure. But from what I know, everything he wanted was placed in front of him before he even had to ask. Whatever was popular with kids his age, no matter how niche, it was given to him. I don't think he ever needed anything, so he never learned to ask for it.]
[Ephraim: …Then was everyone in his life super cold to him except Grandma? Only treating him like an heir?]
[Rachel: Wang Jiannan exists, you know.]
[Ephraim: Then what's this guy talking about? Does he not realise his brother's just been a spoiled brat in an emotionally stunted body his entire life?]
[Rachel: Grief takes many forms. Maybe his grandmother's death really did affect him—wait. Give me a moment, I need to check something.]
Ephraim barely counted a single second before Rachel's voice returned.
[Rachel: Well, what do you know, hon… His grandmother had eyes very similar in color to Ling Xiaoyu's… and Xu Jinyao's.]
[Ephraim: …Oh. Ohhhh. I… don't know what to do with that information. What? So he just gravitates toward people with those eyes because he subconsciously thinks they'll coddle him?]
[Rachel: Unresolved feeling, cupcake. It's something like ptsd probably. Perhaps he never knew how to express himself as a kid and the emotions from back then culminated and made him the man he is today.]
[Ephraim: … I see…]