Love's Captive Sorrow

Chapter 1

Alexander Hayes got off the plane and headed straight to Adrian Hart's house. After ringing the doorbell, a timid panda-faced child appeared at the door.

"Who are you?" Since when did Adrian pick up a child?

"Who are you looking for?" the panda-faced child retorted.

"I asked first. Hurry up and tell me who you are."

"My brother isn't home."

As Ethan Walker spoke, he tried to close the door, but Alexander Hayes blocked it with his foot. The ten-year-old Ethan was no match for the strength of the eighteen-year-old Alexander, and his indignant little face was full of frustration. Alexander found it rather cute and gave him a light flick on the forehead.

"Ouch! What are you doing?"

Haha, his face is all red now. So amusing.

"Brat, trying to stop me? Go do your homework. I'll wait for your brother to come back and give him a big surprise."

Ethan bit his lip and thought for a while before he remembered what the word following "big" in his English textbook meant.

"Oh."

Alexander carefully looked around Adrian's small living room. The simple, warm tones were just like the owner—clean and gentle. If he hadn't witnessed his sharpshooting skills, he wouldn't believe this was the home of a single police officer. Wait a minute, why is the panda face blushing again?

"Little Panda, get me a glass of water."

"Are you talking to me?"

"Who else? Is there a third person in the house? Little Panda, haha."

This rude guy, though his English sounds pretty good. And that smile... it's really nice.

On a sunny weekend afternoon, Alexander sipped honey water, feeling the sweetness of soon seeing his beloved. Ethan, with his butt sticking out, was lying on the table doing homework, occasionally glancing at the handsome uninvited guest. The kid thought he was being subtle, but Alexander noticed it all.

"Little Panda, what's your name?"

"...Ethan."

"Do you always blush like this?"

"...No, I don't."

"Last year, Adrian hyung was living alone. Where did you come from? Where are your parents?"

Ethan's hand paused, and after biting his pen cap for a while, he softly said, "My dad ran away, and my mom committed suicide."

Alexander's grip on the cup tightened. Adrian hyung has a kind heart; this kid seems to be an orphan he took in. Compassion stirred within him. This child was like himself a few years ago.

"Hey, is there anything you don't understand? I can help you."

"No need. I study advanced math. Even my brother can't do it, so you definitely can't."

Although this person is good-looking and dresses so uniquely, he doesn't seem like a good student. Alexander laughed and pulled Ethan's workbook over. It was a problem involving chickens and rabbits in a cage.

"Twelve chickens and seven rabbits."

"Wow, you're amazing."

Mental math?

"Brat, you dare look down on me? Ever heard of the London School of Economics?"

"No."

"...Just know that I'm awesome."

"Hehe, how did you do it, oppa? Can you teach me?"

"Calling me oppa already? But knowing when to yield is a sign of intelligence."

"What does that mean?"

"...It means you're cute."

"Um."

Blushing again.

Adrian Hart returned home from a call, seeing Alexander Hayes bathed in the evening glow, patting Ethan's head while teaching him.

"Why are you so dumb? Do you know what reverse thinking is?"

"How can you study advanced math with that brain?"

"Why are you using a pen to calculate 25 times 25? It's 625, you dummy!"

Financial genius Alexander Hayes threw down the pen in frustration, rubbing his temples.

"Oppa, don't be mad. Can you explain how you did it?"

Ethan didn't take the criticism to heart. He didn't have the sensitivity and useless pride of kids his age. At ten, he was already practical. Admitting his shortcomings and learning humbly, even if it meant getting scolded, he was happy to do so. This matched perfectly with Alexander's proud but easily appeased temperament.

"Look, there's a trick to squaring numbers ending in 5."

...

Adrian Hart was shocked by Alexander Hayes' patience with Ethan and Ethan's trust in Alexander. It had been almost a year since he rescued Ethan from a fire, and besides himself, he'd never seen the child open up to anyone else. As for Alexander, he was always a hot-tempered ancestor. But, well, that's why I like him.

"Alexander."

"Adrian hyung! I missed you so much!"

"Hey, let go of me first."

"No, I'm 18 now, I can be with you."

"Alexander ah."

"Adrian, are you rejecting me again? A policeman shouldn't go back on his word!"

"No, I like you too."

Ethan perked up his ears to eavesdrop on the conversation in the kitchen. Eighteen, like, be together. Beside the scrawled characters on the scratch paper, Ethan wrote two neat Chinese characters in round handwriting. Alexander.

That night, little Ethan only ate three bites of dinner.