Chapter 31: I hope you don’t regret this

Yet Lin Feng felt as though a predator were crouching before him, patiently watching its prey. He trembled and lowered his head.

"You’re afraid because of this?" Huo Yizhen asked gravely.

"You seduced me. You were the one who expressed your feelings for me. You did all of that, and now you’re telling me that you never once thought about what the people around us would think?"

His gaze sharpened.

"Are you mocking me? Now that you’ve gotten what you wanted, you’re trying to shake me off? What do you think I am? Some cheap condom you can throw after using?"

Tears welled up in Lin Feng’s eyes. He shook his head frantically.

"I’m just afraid." His voice trembled. "What if people talk? What if they say we’re immoral? What if the people outside find out?"

His breathing grew increasingly unsteady.

"People’s words may seem light, nothing more than casual remarks spoken in passing, but they can also weigh as heavily as a mountain."

Lin Feng finally raised his tear-filled eyes to the man.

"Won’t you be affected too, Uncle Huo? Have you really thought about what will happen if the outside world discovers what’s happening between us?"

"Are you kidding me?" Huo Yizhen snapped. "We’re not even blood-related. You’re just someone who calls me uncle."

He let out a frustrated laugh.

"And even if the outside world finds out, so what? Nowadays, homosexuality is—"

He suddenly stopped halfway through his sentence.

"What the hell? Why am I even explaining this to you?"

Hou Yizhen took a deep breath, brushed his hair back, and forced himself to calm down. Then he turned his gaze back to Lin Feng.

"Are you really determined?" His voice had turned cold. "You know I’m just not talking about sex. What you’re about is having an ambiguous relationship with me, your uncle. Have you made up your mind even if it means I will never come back here again?"

Lin Feng’s body trembled. He raised his head, his eyes already red as tears gathered in them.

"But you promised." His voice shook. "You said you’d come visit me twice a week. You promised."

"You sure just want all the benefits and not the responsibilities. How fucking selfish." Huo Yizhen let out a cold laugh. "I did promise you, but that is because I haven’t realized back then that you’re just treating me as a joke."

His expression darkened. "How was I supposed to know you hadn’t even thought this through?"

God! Where did the boy’s brain go? What smart boy? This guy was clearly an idiot who did not bother thinking.

Lin Feng softly tried to explain. "I’m not playing with you."

The man’s eyes narrowed. "Stop joking, Lin Feng. You blatantly expressed your affections to me. You were the one who wanted a relationship with me. But after everything happened, you’re suddenly telling me that you never seriously considered the consequences."

His voice became sharper. "If that’s not treating me like a fool, then what is?"

Deep down, Huo Yizhen knew he had little right to say any of this. At the beginning, he himself had not taken this relationship seriously either.

But he was Hou Yizhen!

His pride refused to accept one thing—the possibility that Lin Feng would be the one to walk away first.

Hou Yizhen could not accept the thought that, just when he had finally begun considering this strange relationship, Lin Feng would be the one to retreat.

"You know I like you, Uncle Huo!"

For the first time, Lin Feng raised his voice. His eyes were red as he stared at the man before him.

"You know I love you." His voice trembled. "Why are you saying these things when you know that I am not just playing around?"

"I just don’t know what to do." The boy lowered his head and covered his face with his hands.

"Uncle Hou, this isn’t only about me. You’re also a man. You’re the one who has to go outside and interact with people every day. You know how harsh people can be."

The man stood still in front of Lin Feng, but he dared not look up. He did not want to see a look of disgust or disappointment on the man’s face.

His fingers tightened around the blanket.

"I’m afraid. I’m afraid I won’t be able to endure that kind of scrutiny. That’s what I am worried about."

"Then don’t think about it." The man’s voice suddenly sounded. It was calm, a tone that left no room for argument.

"Why should you care about what other people think? Will their opinions make you rich?"

A large, tanned hand reached out and pinched Lin Feng’s chin, tilting the boy’s head up.

The man’s calm, pitch black gaze met the boy’s confused, amber eyes.

"Will they kill you? No." He stared directly at Lin Feng. "The only person hurting you right now is yourself."

Silence filled the room.

Then Huo Yizhen suddenly laughed.

There was no warmth in his laughter.

"Fine. I hope you don’t regret this."

His expression once again became indifferent.

"As you said, I promised to visit you twice a week. I’ll keep my word. But don’t expect anything more from me."

With that, he turned around and strode out of the room.

The door slammed shut behind him.

Bang!

The loud sound echoed through the room. It sounded especially harsh on Lin Feng’s ears.

Lin Feng sat frozen on the bed, his mind in complete disarray.

He felt as if something was slipping away from his hands, like grains of dust falling to the ground.

Lin Feng had finally made up his mind to bury his feelings and quietly adapt to this unfamiliar world.

Yet now, he no longer knew what he should do.

He loved Huo Yizhen, perhaps more deeply than he should.

But he was also afraid of what people would say if their relationship ever came to light.

Yet again, Lin Feng found himself standing at a crossroads.

One path led toward Huo Yizhen.

It was a road shrouded in uncertainty, one where he could follow his feelings and remain by the side of the man he loved.

But it was also a path that frightened him—a path that could leave him wounded beyond repair, because the man could leave him just as easily as the man had accepted him.

The world would also scorn him for being immoral, engaging in a shameless relationship with his elder, who was also a man.

The other led away from Huo Yizhen, away from the person he had loved for so many years.

That path was uncertain as well, but it offered the possibility of living an ordinary and peaceful life in this strange new world. He would have the chance to find a path for his career, be accepted by the world, and live without worrying about people’s words.

Lin Feng remained sitting there in silence.

He knew in his mind what was the right answer, yet his heart refused to let go.

He truly had no idea which choice to make.