1 The beginning in the middle

"Your child is really well behaved, not like mine at all. I had to promise him a new car toy to attend this party with me," Li Yechao laughed with faked amusement. For him, this was only an opportunity to get closer to potential business partners.

"Haha, yes, Huobai is really well behaved, sometimes he feels like an old soul," Zhang Nanchuan laughed with sincerity. For him, this was an opportunity to have fun with people who understood his world.

They both looked at the young children on the other side of the room, who were playing in the children's corner.

This party was organized by Jin Weiwu and his wife, Huang Wei, who dearly adored their two sons. Thus their business parties were always full of children. And it was widely known that CEO Jin wildly despised people who threw away their own children just to attend business.

Jin himself had his older son by his side, stroking his head and introducing him to his friends. The younger son was in the children's corner together with other children his age.

Li Yechao smirked and hoped that once in his life, his son would finally be good for something and he would make a good friend with the son of Jin Weiwu. And he couldn't be further from the truth.

"You snotty brat, give me that train! It's mine!" the little Li shouted at little Jin and yanked him forward, trying to get the toy train they were arguing about.

"Young Master Li, please stop this," his babysitter tried to stop him, frightened, looking around if someone saw it. It would be really bad if young master Li would annoy the young master Jin. He would get punished by his father.

"Look, here you go, this is yours, and this is his!" Another kid showed up with a similar train in his hand and gave it to young master Li.

Li Yixing looked at the person briefly, but his eyes were full of surprise when he saw the kid that did this to him. So good looking, like a star. He blinked a few times and almost dropped the train when the kid spoke up.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I hate when someone argues," the kid said and walked away. Li Yixing was stunned and his babysitter even more.

The little child and she did not know to which family the kid belonged, but it must have been someone very fashionable. He had expensive clothes on, soft-looking, but so stylish. Black jeans on, with red checkered half-skirt and suspenders from the same material over a black shirt. Before she could even wake up from the daze she was in, young master Li followed the kid and disappeared from her sight.

"Who are you?" Li Yixing asked when he caught up with the kid, but he only raised his brows and continued to walk without answering him.

"Hey! Hey, you!" Li Yixing shouted again and stopped walking. The kid sighed and stopped too. He turned around and looked at Yixing with annoyance on his face.

"What?" he asked, not hiding his displeasure of being stopped and told what to do.

"When we grow up, I will marry you!" Yixing shouted and stomped on the ground. Huobai looked at him with utter shock on his face then simply turned around thinking only one sentence.

'This brat is complete nuts.' And he walked away.

***

Huobai hazily woke up from this weird dream. And he felt weird warmth and weight on his chest. It was even weirder because he never slept naked. He always wore silk pajamas, unable to fall asleep otherwise.

"Ehm, I… I never thought it would be this quick… I just came in to say that Yitian made breakfast," Huobai heard Chao's voice and recalled the dream he had again.

Could it really be it? Or did he just fantasize about the names of his new friends? And what the heck was Chao talking about?

Huobai tried to get up, but the warm weight held him back down. And it was worse. The thing that laid on him mumbled something in a deep, low voice.

Huobai was so startled by that sound that he didn't care about the person on his body and sat up, shaking the person off.

"Hey, what are you doing?! Ah, why does my back ache so much?" Yixing muttered while rubbing his back. He sat up and blinked a few times at Huobai, who was watching him with a horrified expression.

"I will leave you here, to... sort this out…" Chao chuckled and closed the doors behind him.

Both Yixing and Huobai were sizing each other and given that they were both naked, lying on a Yixing's bed and just a while ago, Yixing was complaining about back pain. They knew what happened.

But Huobai didn't know how it could happen. It was something he shouldn't have done. Never. Not in his condition. He never wanted to get this close to someone.

He got up from the bed, and without any hint of embarrassment or shame, he collected his clothes and put on his pants and t-shirt.

In all honesty, Yixing watched him, charmed by the play of muscles and skin, that made him involuntarily swallow. It made him so stunned that he forgot to ask where Huobai was going.

"This had never happened. And it will never happen again. Don't tell anyone, and I will talk to Chao," Huobai said after he was done with putting on his clothes, and opened the door.

When he was just ready to walk out, he glanced at the half-naked Yixing for the last time, his heart aching from the emptiness he felt while rejecting everything that happened.

But then Huobai simply sighed and walked away, leaving Yixing totally stunned, unable to say anything back.

"You wish! You will be mine," he said to himself and smirked. It wasn't in his character just to let someone leave him like this. Especially someone who allured him.