Yingqu Liuzi was pampered by her wealthy daddy.

Shen Yu'an was well-liked at school.

He has a gentle personality and a good temper. His eyes crinkle when he smiles, and he rarely refuses to help his classmates.

In addition, he was one of the few Asian faces in the department, and he was also clean-cut and good-looking, so he was always quite popular among his classmates.

But this "popularity" has recently undergone a change that makes Shen Yu-an somewhat uncomfortable.

The story begins last week.

There was a boy in the department named Liam, a British man, tall and thin, with a sunny smile.

He and Shen Yu'an were in the same grade but different classes. They had met a few times before, but were just nodding acquaintances. However, after their chance encounter in the art studio last week, Liam suddenly started appearing frequently around Shen Yu'an.

On the first day, he "happened" to sit next to Shen Yu'an in the studio, offered to hand him paints, and chatted for a few minutes.

The next day, he "happened" to be behind Shen Yu'an in line at the cafeteria, paid for his coffee, and said, "You treat me next time."

On the third day, he "happened" to pass by Shen Yu'an on his way home from get out of class and said that since it was on his way, they could walk together.

Shen Yu'an didn't pay much attention at first, thinking it was normal for classmates to help each other.

But on the fourth day, Liam said in the studio in front of a group of people, "Ian, are you free this weekend? I know a great gallery and I'd like to take you there."

They called out to each other very affectionately, and all the students around looked over, some even whistling.

Shen Yu'an felt a little awkward and was thinking about how to refuse when her phone vibrated. It was a message from Xize: "Arrived."

He felt like he had found a savior and quickly packed his things: "Excuse me, I have to go now, I already have plans for the weekend."

After saying that, he hurriedly ran out of the art studio.

Liam watched his retreating figure, smiled, and said to the person next to him, "He's so cute."

Shen Yu'an didn't hear this.

But someone heard it.

That afternoon, as usual, Xize waited for Shen Yu'an at the school gate. After Shen Yu'an got into the car, Xize asked him how his day was, and he said it was fine.

He had nothing to do with Tiriam.

It wasn't that I intentionally hid it; I just felt it wasn't worth mentioning. It was just normal social interaction between classmates, and there was no need to tell my husband.

But Caesar knew.

Five minutes before Shen Yu'an got into the car, his assistant sent him a message with a photo attached.

The photo was taken in the art studio, through the window from the outside. In the picture, a blond boy is smiling and saying something to Shen Yu'an, who is looking down slightly.

The message consisted of only one sentence: "I have frequent contact with someone at school, do you need to know?"

Xize glanced at the photo and then turned off his phone screen.

He did not reply to his assistant's message, nor did he ask Shen Yu'an any questions.

On the way home that day, he was as quiet as usual. Shen Yu'an was drawing in the car, and he was looking at documents next to her. Everything was normal.

But the driver noticed in the rearview mirror that the boss's fingers were constantly stroking the signet ring.

That was Caesar Lester's habit when he was thinking.

The next day, Liam came again.

This time he was even bolder. Shen Yu'an was painting an oil painting in his studio when Liam moved a chair over and sat down next to him, chatting as he watched him paint.

He praised Shen Yu'an for his good sense of color and for his bold use of the brush.

Shen Yu'an paused, holding the paintbrush, and awkwardly said, "Thank you."

"Ian," Liam leaned closer and lowered his voice, "I'm serious, are you really not free this weekend? That gallery is really great, we can go see the exhibition and have dinner together."

Shen Yu'an moved her chair to the side, creating some distance: "Liam, I really have plans."

"What's the arrangement? With whom?"

"With friends."

"Boyfriend or girlfriend?"

Shen Yu'an was taken aback by the question, and almost dropped his paintbrush: "It's just... a friend."

Liam, seeing his reaction, laughed: "Then why are you blushing?"

Shen Yu'an did blush. Not because of Liam.

He remembered that Caesar had said, "You are a very important friend."

Liam took his blushing as something else and was about to say something more when the studio door was suddenly pushed open.

Shen Yu'an looked up and saw someone he never expected.

Nishizawa stood at the door.

He wore a dark charcoal coat over a dark gray suit, and his tall, aloof demeanor seemed out of place in the studio filled with the smells of paint and turpentine.

There was a moment of silence in the studio. Everyone looked at the imposing British man standing at the door, a man whose presence was clearly not that of an ordinary person.

Xize's gaze swept across the entire studio before settling on Shen Yu'an in the corner.

The gray-blue eyes lingered on Shen Yu'an for a second before shifting to the blond boy standing too close to Shen Yu'an.

Shen Yu'an had never seen Xize with that kind of look in his eyes before.

That gaze was like a sword that hadn't been drawn; just by being there, it made people feel threatened.

Liam stared at that gaze for three seconds, and the smile on his face froze.

He subconsciously moved his chair back half a meter, increasing the distance between himself and Shen Yu'an.

Xize then looked away and stepped into the studio.

He walked up to Shen Yu'an, lowered his head, and said in his usual calm and gentle voice, "I finished early today, so I came up to check on you. Did I bother you?"

Shen Yu'an shook his head, stood up and packed up his art supplies: "No, no, I just finished painting."

Xize naturally took the art supply box from his hand, gently put his other hand on Shen Yu'an's lower back, and led him outside.

Caesar paused half a step as he passed Liam.

He turned his head to look at the blond boy, a very faint smile playing on his lips.

"Are you Ian's classmate?" Xize's voice was calm, even polite, and his speech was neither fast nor slow.

Liam felt a little breathless under that gaze, and his voice tightened: "Y-yes, my name is Liam."

Xize nodded slightly, without introducing himself, and simply said, "Are you free this afternoon? Would you like to have a cup of tea?"

The tone was an invitation, but the look in his eyes left no room for refusal.

Liam swallowed hard. "Yes, I'm free."

"Four o'clock, the teahouse across from the school." After saying that, Xize led Shen Yu'an out of the art studio.

Shen Yu'an sat in the car, holding a hot cocoa in her hands, her heart pounding with anxiety.

"Sir, would you like some tea from Joriam?"

"Um."

Why?

Xize glanced at him sideways, his gray-blue eyes holding something Shen Yu'an couldn't understand: "Get to know your classmate."

Shen Yu'an felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he just said "Oh" and lowered his head to drink his cocoa.

Four o'clock in the afternoon, at the teahouse across from the school.

This is a very stylish English tea room.

Usually, the people who come here for tea are elderly British ladies, but this afternoon, a tall man with an aura that was completely out of place was sitting in a corner.

Xize sat by the window, with a pot of Darjeeling tea and two tea sets in front of him.

He glanced at his watch; it was 4:02.

Liam was two minutes late. As he walked in through the door, he immediately spotted the man in the corner.

Even when that person is sitting in the corner, they still have an undeniable presence.

When Xize saw him, he slightly raised his hand in greeting.

The movements were small, but they carried a calmness that made people want to obey.

Liam walked over and sat down opposite Caesar.

He had specially changed his shirt and styled his hair today, but after sitting down, he realized that he was nothing compared to the person opposite him.

Xize poured him a cup of tea and pushed it towards him.

"This Darjeeling is good."

"Th...thank you." Liam took the teacup with both hands, his fingertips trembling slightly.

Xize picked up his teacup, gently blew on the steam, and took a sip.

"Liam," Caesar began, his grey-blue eyes looking up at the person opposite him from above the rim of his cup, "you're in the same class as Ian?"

"Different classes, same grade."

"How long have you known each other?"

"Just... a week or two."

"One or two weeks." Xize repeated the three words, his tone very flat, but the pauses between each syllable were longer than in normal conversation, long enough to make one's heart pound.

Liam tightened his grip on the teacup.

Xize leaned back in his chair, looking very relaxed, with his long legs crossed, one hand on his knee, and the fingers of his other hand tapping lightly twice on the table.

The knocking was slow, tap, tap, with about a second between each knock.

despair.

despair.

Each sound felt like a blow to Liam's nerves.

"You like him?" Caesar asked.

Straightforward. Without any preamble.

Liam was a little stunned by those four words. He opened his mouth, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out, "I...I think he's cute, and I want to know more about him."

Xize nodded slightly, his expression unchanged.

He picked up his teacup, took another sip, and then spoke, word by word.

"He's sensitive to the cold, so he always brings a coat when he goes out in winter, and he always keeps hot drinks in his car. He doesn't like being stared at when he's painting; it makes him nervous, and the more you look at him, the worse he paints. He can't eat anything too spicy, but he likes the sweet and sour flavor in Chinese food. If he doesn't sleep past 11 p.m., he'll feel sleepy the next day, but he won't say it when he's sleepy; he'll just secretly rub his eyes."

Caesar put down his teacup and stared straight at Liam with his grey-blue eyes.

"Are you aware of these things?"

Liam was stunned. His mouth was open, but he couldn't utter a single word.

He had only known Shen Yu'an for two weeks, and all he knew was that his name was Ian, that he was Chinese, and that he had a very handsome smile.

Looking at his stiff expression, Xize's smile returned.

His lips just turned up slightly. But that tiny curve made Liam feel like a rabbit being watched by a lion.

"He's still young, all alone in London, with no family." Caesar's voice softened a little, but the oppressive feeling didn't lessen; instead, it intensified with the gentler tone. "What he needs is care, not pursuit."

He emphasized the word "take care" when he used it.

Liam understood.

This man wasn't introducing Shen Yu'an's situation; he was marking out territory.

Every detail, every piece of information, tells Liam the same thing: you've known him for two weeks, but I know everything about him.

Xize stood up.

He took a business card from the inside pocket of his coat, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards Liam with his fingertips.

The business card was dark gray and had only one name and one phone number on it.

But Liam saw the surname—Leicester.

Leicester.

Even if he were completely ignorant, he would know what that surname meant in England. Hereditary dukes, a century-old noble family, the House of Leicester.

He looked up at the tall, aloof man before him. The man was looking at him calmly, but something hidden beneath that gentle gaze sent a chill down Liam's spine.

"I'll treat him to tea," Xize said softly. "Take good care of him at school from now on."

This sounded like a request, but Liam knew it wasn't.

The real meaning of "take good care of him" is that you can be his classmate and his friend.

But nothing more.

Xize picked up the coat draped over the back of the chair, turned around, and left.

When he left the tea room, Liam was still sitting there, his Darjeeling tea already cold. His palms were sweaty.

That night, Shen Yu'an received a message from Liam in her apartment.

"Ian, I'll have to postpone the art exhibition we talked about. I've got a lot of homework lately. I'm sorry."

Shen Yu'an breathed a sigh of relief after reading the message.

He didn't know how to refuse, but now that the other party said they weren't going, it was perfect.

He replied, "It's okay, we can talk about it next time."

After sending the message, he put down his phone, snuggled into the cashmere blanket, turned on the TV, and randomly picked a program to watch.

He had no idea what had happened that afternoon.

He only remembered that when Xize came to pick him up, his expression was as calm as usual, and everything was exactly the same as always.

But Shen Yu'an noticed a small detail.

When Xize was fastening his seatbelt today, his finger paused briefly below his collarbone, for less than half a second.

Then the hand was withdrawn, and the car was started.

Shen Yu'an touched the spot that had been touched, her heart beating a little fast.

What he didn't know was that Caesar had solved a potential "problem" in less than fifteen minutes that afternoon.

There were no threats, no arguments.

Elegant. Restrained.

But beneath that smile lay a bottomless possessiveness that Shen Yu'an had never seen before.

Caesar Lester would never say "he's mine" to anyone.

He doesn't need to say anything.

He will let everyone see for themselves.