My father's inheritance is my mortal enemy.

"Hmm." Ruan Ge nodded, and as she got up to leave, she asked, "Senior brother, has President Bo come to see you recently? I haven't seen him at the base for several days..."

"Um."

Zhou Yanshao's expression was not very pleasant.

Ruan Ge didn't dare to ask any more questions and turned away.

Zhou Yanshao closed the door, went back to his bedroom, and lit a cigarette. Ever since Li Bo accepted a cigarette from him once, Zhou Yanshao had stopped smoking. The cigarettes he was currently using were ones that Li Bo had bought on the way to Chengdu the night he left Northern Europe.

Zhou Yanshao took two puffs before removing the gag from Li Bo's mouth. Li Bo was suffocating; his Adam's apple bobbed, and he let out a long sigh: "Smoke less."

Li Bo's voice was hoarse.

Zhou Yanshao finished his cigarette. Li Bo's vision was blocked by the blindfold, so he couldn't see the tall man in front of him looking down at him with a slightly hunched back, somewhat dejected and disappointed.

It turns out that Li Bo had chosen a good "wife" for him a long time ago.

Even on his nineteenth birthday, Li Bo offered himself to him not because he liked him.

Zhou Yanshao's face was a little pale. He used to think about how to make Li Bo like him more. Now he realized that it was a ridiculous thing. Li Bo didn't like him. He didn't like him from the beginning, which is why he kept leaving with other people.

Zhou Yanshao reached out and gently touched Li Bo's cheek with his cigarette-scented hand. His fingertips trembled, his eyelids were deep, and his emotions were hard to discern.

Zhou Yanshao's every word seemed to carry a heavy, breathy tone: "Li Bo..."

"Um?"

Zhou Yanshao remained silent, a tear rolling down his cheek and landing on the back of his hand. He felt as if something was tearing at his chest, making his bones feel like they were breaking one by one.

I've been injured countless times over the years, but none of them have hurt as much as tonight.

It seems like Li Bo can't be warmed up no matter what you do; it seems like his love is something you can't win over no matter how hard you try.

In the past, there was always the excuse of self-interest, but what about now?

Zhou Yanshao didn't know...

Zhou Yanshao only knew that he didn't want Li Bo to leave, but if he kept Li Bo, Li Bo would be in pain and would pretend to love him and deceive him.

Deceiving yourself is a pointless thing.

Zhou Yanshao clearly understood everything and knew all the principles, but he still fell headfirst into the water, bleeding from his head, yet he couldn't bear to let Li Bo go.

Zhou Yanshao wanted Li Bo to stay by his side. He worked for a long time that night, until the early hours of the morning. He was so exhausted that he stayed quietly and couldn't go far.

Zhou Yanshao didn't know how to keep Li Bo, so this was the only way.

The next morning, while Li Bo was still half asleep, Zhou Yanshao had already gone inside. He put his hand outside the blanket, a small movement that made Zhou Yanshao instantly hug him tightly. "Don't move."

"Mmm." Li Bo was very obedient. "Be gentle."

He nestled in Zhou Yanshao's arms, held tightly in his strong embrace, almost like being coaxed, and soon fell asleep again. When he woke up again, his eye mask had been removed, and there was breakfast, a basin of clean water, and a tube of ointment on the bedside table.

Li Bo rubbed his temples, put on his glasses, applied some medicine, washed his hands, ate breakfast, and read for a while.

At noon, before lunchtime, Li Bo heard arguing outside the living room from his bedroom. He could vaguely hear Coach Andrew's voice. A moment later, the door slammed shut, and someone left.

Zhou Yanshao wouldn't give anyone a key to his dorm room, and he certainly wouldn't let anyone into his house easily, at least not recently. Li Bo didn't hear what they were arguing about, but he felt it was probably related to Zhou Yanshao's injury.

Li Bo called out to Zhou Yanshao twice, but there was no response.

Half an hour later, Zhou Yanshao came in carrying the food he bought from the cafeteria, and there was nothing unusual on his face.

This time, however, Zhou Yanshao didn't coax Li Bo to eat like before. He simply put the food on the bedside table, unlocked Li Bo's handcuffs, gave Li Bo some space to move around, and then turned and left without saying a word.

Li Bo called out to him, "Yan Shao."

Zhou Yanshao paused, his back to him: "..."

"Come here, I..." Li Bo wanted to check Zhou Yanshao's injuries.

"I have to go now."

Zhou Yanshao closed the door and left without looking back.

Li Bo frowned and barely ate two bites.

The dormitory door was locked from the inside, so Li Bo couldn't get out. There were no communication devices inside either. Fortunately, there was plenty of space to move around, so Li Bo took a shower and helped Zhou Yanshao pack his things for their trip to Russia in a couple of days.

When Zhou Yanshao opened the door that evening, he immediately saw the neatly packed suitcase in the living room. He placed the food on the bedside table in the bedroom, pulled Li Bo into the bedroom, handcuffed him again, and left.

This time, he still didn't say a word.

Li Bo didn't know where Zhou Yanshao had gone, whether he was sitting in the living room or had gone to the training ground.

Li Bo sat on the bed waiting. He didn't have any electronic devices. He didn't know how much time had passed before the person finally arrived.

Zhou Yanshao returned reeking of cigarette smoke. He didn't say a word, took a shower, and turned off the light when he returned to the bedroom. Having lived in Northern Europe for nine years, he easily found his way to bed in the dark. Before he even lay down, a pair of hands covered the back of his hands.

Li Bo asked with concern, "Are you injured?"

Zhou Yanshao withdrew his hand: "No."

Seeing that no one was asleep, Zhou Yanshao reached his large hand towards the bedside table drawer, his manner even more aggressive tonight than in the past few days.

Li Bo groped for Zhou Yanshao in the dark, worried that he might get hurt, but he was quickly caught. Zhou Yanshao warned, "Don't move."

Zhou Yanshao's tone was icy cold; he used to only speak like that when he was angry.

Li Bo asked, "Are you angry?"

"no."

"What made you angry?"

"I'm not angry."

Zhou Yanshao was unwilling to talk to Li Bo, and no amount of coaxing worked.

The same thing happened the next day.

At noon, Zhou Yanshao brought back food from the cafeteria, including a Siwu soup. Li Bo smelled a faint medicinal aroma.

Zhou Yanshao served Li Bo a bowl of soup, and before blowing on it to cool it down, he tasted it himself first; it was too sweet.

He scooped a small spoonful for Li Bo and asked, "Do you like the taste?"

"Yeah, it's a bit bitter."

"..." Zhou Yanshao paused for two seconds, "This is sweet."

Li Bo explained: "It tastes like medicinal herbs."

Zhou Yanshao didn't say anything.

After finishing their meal and tidying up, they lay down for a while, holding each other. They had training in the afternoon. Li Bo's throat had improved a bit recently. He placed his hand on Zhou Yanshao's arm and gently patted it: "Be careful during training."

"Health is the most important thing."

Zhou Yanshao has many shining qualities, but he also carries many expectations.

For the audience, this is a culmination of a year's work and a source of national pride.

For Li Bo, all he wants is for his loved one to be safe and healthy.

Some people care about how far Zhou Yanshao goes and how high he stands, but Li Bo only cares about whether Zhou Yanshao will get tired.

Zhou Yanshao rarely paid attention to Li Bo, and his tone was fierce: "Li Bo, I don't need your help."

Zhou Yanshao does not need Li Bo's help.

Li Bo never really worried about him or cared about him.

Every feigned approach and show of goodwill is ultimately a prelude to distancing oneself after achieving one's goal.

……

In the afternoon, Zhou Yanshao received a phone call at the training ground from Ning Zhi.

The fifth phone call in seven days.

This time, Zhou Yanshao frowned and accepted the answer.

Ning Zhi didn't call Li Bo by name; her tone was full of accusation: "Zhou Yanshao, is Li Bo with you?"

"What did you do to Li Bo?"

"What else do you want to do to him?"

"He doesn't owe the Zhou family anything! He's already given his life! What more do you want?!"