Jia Yi looked over Meng Yao's head at the painting Meng Yao was putting the finishing touches on.

"Who is that you're painting?"

"This is my dad," Meng Yao answered simply.

Jia Yi tilted his head slightly as he studied the painting. The man was handsome and he did look a lot like Meng Yao once he studied the image.

"His hair is strange," Jia Yi noted after a moment.

Meng Yao chuckled. Obviously, people here would find short hair strange.

"He was a funny man," Meng Yao said nostalgically as he gazed at the painting, "a total oddball and mystery, even to me."

Jia Yi looked at his eyes and saw a glint of sadness in them. He guessed Meng Yao must miss Minister Liang the same way he still misses his parents. Jia Yi put his arm around his husband.

"Happy moments," he suggested softly. "Think of happy moments and then he'll be here with you."

Meng Yao pupils shrunk with surprise for a second then returned back to normal. He looked up at Jia Yi and smiled.

"Yes, you're right," Meng Yao gave a small chuckle. "He used to love it when I painted. He would say that I and someone he used to know have great talent. I asked him once if that person was his boyfriend and suggested we go see him but instead of answering he brushed me off."

"Maybe that person was linked to a great hurt," Jia Yi mused. "He didn't talk much about the person with you to hide his pain."

"Sometimes he would stay up at night just looking at the stars," Meng Yao shared. "When my painting skills were better, he gave me a description of how this person looked and I painted him a few times for dad but when my dad fell ill my grandfather sold them to make money. That was the first time I ever saw my dad argue with my grandfather. Their argument was strange and even now I'm not sure what they were talking about. Not long after that dad got really sick. Grandfather just said that it was bound to happen - he didn't care at all for his own son's illness. I wanted Grandfather dead at that point."

Meng Yao focused on putting the finishing touches on the painting to take his mind off of the anger he still felt when he thought about that poisonous old man. He had drawn his dad in a hanfu so the man wouldn't look too other-worldly when he hung the finished painting. Jia Yi looked at the painting and then at Meng Yao. His husband was also a mysterious man but he had become a vital part of Jia Yi's world. He smiled and stroked Meng Yao's hair.

"You still have me," Jia Yi observed.

Meng Yao smiled at Jia Yi and put the finished painting down.

"Jiajia, I'm lucky to have you," he said, his voice a little hoarse with emotion.

Meng Yao grabbed Jia Yi and swept him into his arms as he kissed Jia Yi hungrily. In a moment they were beside the bed and Meng Yao gently pushed Jia Yi down.

"Jiajia, you're my family now," Meng Yao said as his fingers quickly removed their clothing. "Do you understand? Don't ever leave me. I'm a jealous man and I could never tolerate that."

Jia Yi was gasping under Meng Yao's sudden forceful, but sensual, attack on his body.

"I might just kill us both if..." Meng Yao's voice trailed off as his mouth was occupied with teasing Jia Yi's sensitive flesh.

Jia Yi looked at him with eyes misty with both love and desire.

"Don't...," he gasped as Meng Yao's hand went lower, "don't be silly. You would never hurt me and I would never leave you."

Jia Yi groaned as Meng Yao gently bit his collarbone, scattering his thoughts.

Meng Yao pushed his member inside Jia Yi as he trailed kisses down his neck.

"I love you, Hong Jia Yi," Meng Yao declared in a fervent voice.

Jia Yi moaned as Meng Yao body tormented his.

"I love you too," he gasped as he shifted his hips to accommodate his husband's movement. "I love you more than I can say."

Jia Yi's hands tightened on Meng Yao's shoulders as Meng Yao's thrusts became wilder and more stimulating after Jia Yi's declaration of love. Meng Yao had never been so demanding during intimacy before but Jia Yi was enjoying it as much as Meng Yao did.

Fa Enlai was playing ball with Ming Xiaobo when Ming Shou Shan arrived. Enlai glared at him before turning his gaze away and focusing on throwing the ball to Xiaobo.

"You honestly cannot still be angry over what I said to man, can you?" Shou Shan asked with exasperation. "He was truly asking for it with such a question."

"He was only curious. He meant nothing by it," Enlai huffed, eyebrows furrowing together.

"Daddy! Daddy! Here!" Xiaobo ran to Enlai and held out the ball.

Enlai took the ball with a smile for Xiaobo. He pointedly kept his back to Shou Shan. The servant next Shou Shan sighed in distress as he observed their quiet conflict. The master's temper wasn't usually like this! Why couldn't Fa Enlai see that it was because the master had feelings for the she-man?

The servant had served his master for many years and had been hoping Shou Shan would move on after the death of Xiaobo's daddy. Xiaobo's daddy had died four months after his birth so the young master had never known his daddy. Master Ming had been unable to move on in the years that followed - at least not until Fa Enlai had appeared.

Enlai was beautiful but it was his personality that caught the master's eye. The fact that Enlai took care of Xiaobo as if he was Enlai's own son had drawn Shou Shan's attention and slowly brought his numb heart to life.

"Nothing?" Shou Shan scoffed, "How could asking such a question mean nothing?"

"Because he has no such feelings for me. Can't you tell that? It's perfectly obvious."

Enlai was mainly upset that this guy had just reminded him of the fact that Meng Yao didn't love him and would never love him. He felt that no one would ever genuinely love him for who he was instead of being drawn to his pretty face.

Ming Shou Shan was surprised by Enlai's hurt expression.