Chapter 1324: EXPOSE

LUO YAN froze. Shen Ji Yun's words hit him like a freight train. Their first anniversary. That was what had been nagging at the back of his head. He knew he had forgotten something important, but he hadn't realized it was this important. Guilt flooded through him. He had completely forgotten about their anniversary. Sure, the actual date was tomorrow, but that didn't change the fact that it had slipped his mind entirely.

"I'm sorry, Brother Ji Yun, I forgot," he said, the words tumbling out. "I do have a gift, I bought it last week, I just didn't think—the actual date is tomorrow, so in my head I filed it for tomorrow, you know? I didn't think you'd want to celebrate today, so I left it at home, but I promise I'll give it to you tomorrow, I swear—" He stopped himself, took a breath, and tried to slow down. "I'm sorry. I really am."

Luo Yan's words tumbled out in a rush, tripping over each other as he spoke. He nearly bit his tongue twice in his rush to explain. He worried Shen Ji Yun would think he didn't care, that he had forgotten on purpose. But the more he talked, the more his explanation sounded like a string of excuses. He stopped abruptly, mortified, and looked down, his face burning.

Shen Ji Yun watched Luo Yan ramble and felt a warmth spread through his chest. His boyfriend was adorable when he panicked like this. "It's fine, Yan Yan. I'm not angry. I don't care if you forgot or didn't have a gift. The important thing is that we're spending this moment together. And you're right, it's not even tomorrow yet, so you haven't actually forgotten. I'm the one who got ahead of myself."

"Brother Ji Yun, you can't just spoil me like this," Luo Yan said with a pout. "I was wrong to forget. You should call me out when I mess up like that. What if I get used to you always forgiving me and start taking you for granted? We can't have that. In this relationship, we should be equal. You can't always be the one giving. We both need to put in the same effort."

Shen Ji Yun smiled. "The fact that you're even saying that proves you won't let it happen. You'd stop yourself before things ever got to that point."

He was confident of that. Because he knew Luo Yan. He knew his boyfriend would never take advantage of him. That was just who Luo Yan was.

Luo Yan was still pouting, but he reached for the other ring, the one with Shen Ji Yun's name carved inside. He took Shen Ji Yun's left hand and slid the ring onto his ring finger. "I'll give you my gift tomorrow, before the party."

Shen Ji Yun chuckled. "I'll look forward to it."

Luo Yan gave him a helpless look, then leaned in and kissed his lips. "I really like the ring. It's beautiful," he said against his mouth.

Shen Ji Yun pulled him into a hug, a quiet happiness settling in his chest. Hearing that Luo Yan liked the ring was all that really mattered.

***

Luo Wei Tian checked his wristwatch. It was past ten in the evening, and Luo Yan still hadn't returned to the mansion. Luo Wei Tian had arrived a little after six, hoping to surprise his son and wish him a happy birthday in person. Originally, he, Luo Ren, and Luo Jin were scheduled to fly to B City tomorrow, but he'd decided to come a day early to be there for Luo Yan's actual birthday. He hadn't expected his son to be out this late.

Sun Xiulan had mentioned that Luo Yan was out working on a project, but Luo Wei Tian had assumed he would be back by seven or eight. He hadn't expected his son to still be out at this hour.

He wanted to send Luo Yan a message and ask when he'd be back, but that would reveal that he was here, which would ruin the surprise. If Bai Ze were home, he could have asked his nephew to message Luo Yan instead. But Bai Ze wasn't back yet either.

Were university students really this busy?

He couldn't sit still inside while his son was still out, so he decided to wait outside instead. He had been pacing along the garden path near the gate. That way, when Luo Yan finally arrived, he could open the gate for him himself.

Luo Wei Tian was about to give in and message Luo Yan when the clock neared eleven. Then he heard the sound of a car engine outside stopping in front of the gate. He knew his son hadn't asked the driver to pick him up, so the car either belonged to Bai Ze or was a taxi Luo Yan had taken home. If it wasn't either of the two, then the vehicle wouldn't have stopped in front of the gate and would just pass by.

If it was Bai Ze, he would have already pressed the buzzer to let the house know he was at the gate. But a few moments passed, and no buzz came. Luo Wei Tian hadn't heard the car drive away either. The engine had stopped, so whoever was driving had turned off the car. That meant they weren't just dropping someone off and leaving. But if Luo Yan had taken a taxi, why hadn't he gotten out and rung the doorbell yet?

Luo Wei Tian ran out of patience. He walked to the small gate and pushed it open, determined to see what was going on for himself. But the moment he stepped outside, he froze.

He saw his son wrapped in another man's arms. The light was too dim to make out the man's face, but he could see clearly what the man was about to do. He was leaning in to kiss Luo Yan.

On the lips!

Luo Wei Tian didn't stop to think. He grabbed the man by the arm and pulled him away from his son. "What do you think you're doing?"

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