Chapter Text
Fate has strange ways of connecting people.
Hua Yong and Shen Wenlang first met when they were six years old at a gathering where the Hua and Shen families happened to attend.
While the adults talked about business and power, the children were left to wander.
Hua Yong slipped away from the noise and found himself sitting under a quiet willow tree in the garden.
Silence had always been his comfort.
He was quietly pulling blades of grass when someone suddenly spoke.
"Hey"
Hua Yong looked up.
Standing in front of him was a boy with bright eyes and messy hair, holding what looked like a piece of chocolate in his hand.
Shen Wenlang.
Without waiting for permission, the boy sat down beside him.
"I hate these parties," Wenlang said with a dramatic sigh. "Adults only talk about boring things. My father said I had to come because I'm the heir."
He turned to look at Hua Yong.
"What about you?"
Hua Yong hesitated before answering softly.
"I was told to present myself."
Wenlang blinked, then grinned.
"Then we can be friends."
The smile that followed was so bright that Hua Yong felt something strange happen inside his chest.
For the first time, hua yong felt that maybe....
getting closer to someone wouldn't be so bad.
"Really?" Yong asked quietly. "You wouldn't mind?"
"Why would I mind?" Wenlang asked, tilting his head in genuine confusion.
Hua Yong thought for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"Okay."
And just like that—
their story began.
They attended the same elite school where the children of powerful families studied.
Soon they became inseparable.
Wenlang was loud, fearless, and always ready to fight anyone who dared to look at Yong the wrong way.
Hua Yong was quiet and calm, often just watching Wenlang with silent admiration.
They shared everything with each other.
Secrets.
Fears.
And eventually even the bruises they tried to hide.
Almost every day, they would sneak away to the school rooftop with a small first aid kit they had stolen from their homes.
There, away from everyone else, they would quietly clean and bandage each other's wounds.
It became their little sanctuary.
Their safe place in a world that had never been kind to them.