Chapter 123: THE BEST FORM OF LOVE IS ACTION

The mansion was quiet when they got home. Wang Chengli appeared at the entrance to take their things and let them know dinner would be ready in forty minutes before disappearing back into the house.

Guiying dropped his bag and headed for the stairs when Liuxian said, "Come with me first. There’s something I want to show you."

He was already moving toward the east wing.

Guiying followed, curious to see what he had planned.

Liuxian stopped in front of a door that had always been closed for as long as Guiying had lived there. He pushed it open and stepped back.

Guiying looked inside and said nothing for a long moment.

Surprise flashed across his face.

North-facing windows ran the full length of one wall, letting in the flat, consistent light photographers spend their careers chasing.

Below them, a long solid work surface ran wall to wall, with storage built underneath—flat files for prints, deep drawers, a row of hooks.

On the surface, a professional monitor sat beside a compact film scanner and a light table glowing soft and even in the dimming light.

Against the opposite wall, deep shelving stood mostly empty, waiting to be filled.

In the corner, a darkroom door stood slightly ajar. A red safelight glowed faintly through the gap, and the faint chemical smell of a fitted and ready space drifted out.

He walked in slowly, running his hand along the work surface, stopping at the light table, looking down at the even white glow.

Then he turned around.

"Why did you do this for me?" he said. "I just said it in passing... I wasn’t asking for any of this."

"I know you weren’t," Liuxian said. "But I had a feeling it would be something you wouldn’t mind doing." He looked at the room briefly. "Photography, pottery, sculpture, painting... whatever direction you want to take it, the space is yours. Maybe it becomes something you love. Maybe it doesn’t. Either way, it’s yours now."

Guiying looked at him for a moment, then at the room, then back at him.

"That’s really sweet of you..." The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. "You’re taking this husband role to a whole new level."

"That’s because I like you," Liuxian said with a smile.

The room went completely still.

Guiying stared at him.

Did he...

Did Liuxian just say _like_?

"What?" Guiying said.

"You heard me correctly," Liuxian said, with the same composure he brought to everything, like he hadn’t just rearranged the entire atmosphere of the room. "I like you. A lot. I can’t tell you yet to what extent... but I’m not going to stand here and pretend otherwise."

Guiying looked at him.

He looked at the room.

Then looked back at Liuxian.

His brain was doing several things at once and producing nothing coherent from any of them. Apparently, his body decided to skip the coherent part entirely, because he took Liuxian’s face in both hands and kissed him—direct, certain, and warm, the way you kiss someone when words are taking too long and this is faster and more accurate.

Liuxian kissed back, pulling Guiying into his arms gently.

When Guiying pulled back, Liuxian was looking at him with an expression that had come entirely undone from its usual composure—open in a way that only surfaced in specific moments, the kind Guiying had started collecting without meaning to.

"Dinner’s in forty minutes," Liuxian said quietly.

Guiying looked up at him. "You wanna eat after all this?" He gave a quiet laugh. The lightness dropped from his voice. "Thank you..."

"No need," Liuxian said. "You’re working hard to build a better life. Doing anything to make that easier makes me happy."

Guiying was quiet for a moment, eyes moving across the room—the light table glowing softly, shelving waiting to be filled, the darkroom door standing slightly open.

He hadn’t asked for any of this.

Hadn’t even known he wanted it.

He turned back and leaned against Liuxian’s shoulder without saying anything else, and they stood there in the doorway of the new room while the house settled quietly around them and Beijing went dark outside the north-facing windows.

Guiying was deep in thought. Liuxian had confessed, but he didn’t know how to reply. He wasn’t going to deny it.

But he also wasn’t sure of his own feelings to reciprocate.

"Don’t feel pressured. I can wait. We’re married, you’ll fall for me eventually."

Guiying gave him a knowing smile. He was so confident, and why not?

Who wouldn’t want a husband like Liuxian?

"Is your brother coming back since we’re back?"

Liuxian shook his head. "Moying’s about to start living his own life. He doesn’t need to stay under my shield anymore."

"I got him an apartment. He’s a big boy with a job, so it’s normal for him to have his own place."

He walked Guiying out of the room.

Guiying acknowledged it, and Liuxian had been wise enough to give his brother room to shine—enough for him to make independent decisions while asking for advice in between.

"That makes sense. Growth needs space. A gardener gives the flower water, sunlight, and care, then lets it grow on its own. Under that quiet support, it blooms fully, and people can’t help but stop and admire it."

Liuxian laughed. That was an interesting way to put it.

He loved Guiying’s sense of humor.

"I love that logic. You basically summed it up."

"That’s because you’re a good older brother. Your thoughts and actions toward your siblings are clear. The best form of love is action. I know your siblings can tell you love them."

Liuxian stopped and pinned Guiying against the wall. Guiying didn’t mind—they were close to his room anyway.

Liuxian’s face was expressionless, but a myriad of emotions flashed through his eyes.

"Then can you tell that I love you?"

Guiying’s face reddened. What a teasing question.

He straightened, wanting to give Liuxian a proper answer.

"Yes. Right from day one, you’ve never been indifferent toward me, even when you didn’t like me. You set clear boundaries and you never crossed them."