Chapter 14: The Reasons for Unkindness and Neglect from Father and Mother.

The woman did not praise him, instead she tore up the exam paper and threw it in his face. Fragments of the paper were scattered all around. Before Tang Jie had a chance to react, the woman dragged him into the underground warehouse. The warehouse door was tightly shut and heavy, not something a child like him could easily open from the inside. It was pitch black inside the warehouse, almost no light could be seen. Perhaps it was at this moment that Tang Jie began to develop a fear of the dark.

I remember the last time he slept with Tang Jie, as soon as he turned off the lights, Tang Jie struggled to get up and turn them back on. His face suddenly turned pale, not at all like he was pretending. It seems that this incident has had a significant impact on him.

The woman locked Tang Jie in the warehouse and went out to drink. Unexpectedly, she got drunk and forgot all about Tang Jie. Tang Jie stayed in the warehouse for several days without a drop of water to drink. Everywhere he looked was pitch black, unable to see anything. As time passed, he lost track of how many days had gone by.

The warehouse was dark, but not quiet. He could often hear the sound of rats.

"It's dark here, I can't see anything. In the darkness, I hear the sound of rats, their voices mocking me. My mother doesn't love me, my father despises me, and even a rat wants to ridicule me. I hate it, why do they treat me like this! So... I grabbed that rat. I opened my mouth and bit down on its head with my teeth, it struggled in my mouth. Its tail was long and thrashing, as if it wanted me to let go, but I didn't, until warm blood flowed down my mouth..."

- (Excerpt from "Can You Love Me Today" selected)

This is a description from the original work. Even if I cannot reproduce it verbatim, I can still capture most of it. Pei Lu's memory is exceptional, so it is impossible for him to remember wrongly.

Forget about others, even Pei Lv, the university professor, looks creepy. Just how frightening must this child be? After spending so many days alone in the warehouse, he couldn't bear it any longer and resorted to eating rats out of hunger. Little did he expect that his father would show up the next day. The child's face was full of panic and he looked to his father for comfort, but instead of finding solace, he was scolded and called a madman.

Even the most outstanding and resilient child cannot endure such torture. And so... The originally cute, innocent, and optimistic Tang Jie embarked on the path of darkness, never to return.

Speaking of this, it's all tears.

How come such an unlucky child ends up with parents like these? But you have no choice in the matter. This brainless author just writes it like this. What can you do? If we have to blame someone, it can only be blamed on Tang Jie not being the protagonist. If he were the protagonist, there's no way he would have this attitude.

Every time Pei Lv thinks back to these things, he feels heartache. Although he is only a bystander, he is now involved in this story, and he can't help but feel a little sad. Every time Tang Jie obediently helps him with things, he wants to pat the child's head affectionately.

Pei Lu was lost in thought in the bathroom and did not notice Tang Jie, who had just appeared behind him, secretly hiding in the shadows and watching him. Tang Jie had walked halfway and suddenly turned back, but he hadn't expected that Pei Lu would still be here.

At this moment, Pei Lv was raising his hand to delicately tidy up the scattered hair on the table, putting it into a white bag. His movements were gentle, as if he was handling something fragile.

This was Pei Lu's long-standing habit. In their hometown, it was forbidden to discard any hair that was cut from a child's head after birth. Instead, it had to be stored and then cremated after death. Although the reason was unknown, this tradition had been passed down from their older generations, and Pei Lu had always followed it. Unexpectedly, he also subconsciously applied it to Tang Jie.

Tang Jie stood quietly at the doorway, watching as Pei Lv tidied up his hair before bending down to sweep up the scattered hair on the floor.

Pei Lv was very thin, to the point that the texture of every muscle on his body was clearly defined, making it visible at a glance. When he bent over, his clothes pulled up slightly, revealing a small portion of his waist. Tang Jie could even feel the touch of that piece of skin just by looking at it from afar; it must be very smooth.

Looking from a distance, the exposed slender waist was fair, almost to the point of being fragile. Tang Jie furrowed his brows unconsciously, feeling somewhat unhappy. How could a man... look so fair, with skin as delicate as a woman's?

However, Tang Jie was clear that after the man took off his clothes, the structure of his body and every muscle were exactly the same as his own. He was a man, not a woman. But...what was this feeling that arose from the depths of his heart? It was like the innate desire a man feels towards a woman. How could he feel the same way towards the man in front of him?

Looking at that slender waist, Tang Jie felt as if his own body had undergone some changes.

The face of the handsome young man suddenly turned extremely red, as if he had been drinking. His body started to feel numb and tingly. He didn't even dare to call out to the man, and hurriedly ran back to his own room.

The young man lay sideways on his own bed, his fingers...

A suppressed sound began to emerge from his mouth, as if he was enduring something.

The young man was well aware of this feeling. After all, he was already considered an adult at the age of eighteen, so he should be used to this kind of bodily reaction.

But this is not normal, he clearly saw that it was a man, how could he have this kind of feeling for a man...

He simply had some unusual fondness for him, but it didn't mean he had any romantic feelings towards this man. His emotions towards the man were gratitude, curiosity, and a slight liking, but he shouldn't have that kind of desire that a man has for a woman. What's wrong with him?

Pei Lu, who was unaware of the truth, now stood outside the young boy's bedroom door. He rhythmically tapped it three times with his hand, but did not receive any response from the young boy.

At this time, the young man was still lying on the bed, afraid to speak, fearing that if he opened his mouth, the other person would hear his abnormality.

"Xiao Jie, are you in the room? Is there anything you need to wash? I can help you put it in the washing machine." The man's voice was very gentle, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. Even though it usually sounded like a divine melody, at this moment, it felt like a death knell, repeatedly urging Tang Jie, causing him to panic.

"Xiao Jie? Are you inside? If you don't answer, I'll come in," Pei Lu couldn't wait any longer, but how could Tang Jie actually let him in.

"I was taking a bath inside. Pei Lv, don't come in..." Tang Jie's voice sounded strange, but Pei Lv didn't think much of it.

He has always respected the privacy of children, so he obediently refrained from intruding.