“I’m so furious! So furious!”
Chen Zhao called Chen Meng and vented for a whole hour. “How dare Qin Er yell at me! Who does he think he is?!”
Chen Meng: “Aww, our baby suffered such a grievance. It’s all Qin Er’s fault!”
Chen Zhao: “Can you even imagine it? He actually grabbed my chin! It hurt so much!”
Chen Meng: “Well, you can’t blame him entirely. Think about it, that watch is his absolute treasure, and you ended up losing it somewhere. It’s already a miracle he didn’t murder you.”
“…What a useless watch! I’ll just give it back to him, forget about getting it repaired!” Chen Zhao said. “I’m going to notify Jiang Yuzhou right now to bring the watch back to me!”
“I’m not continuing with this revenge plan either. Even Wang Lan couldn’t get any leverage over me, so who does Qin Er think he is?!”
As he spoke, he made the call. The phone rang a few times on the other end without any answer. Chen Zhao stomped his feet in frustration, sat down on the edge of a flowerbed, and began drawing circles on the ground while cursing Qin Er.
Suddenly, soft footsteps sounded behind him. Chen Zhao looked back and saw Qin Er walking toward him, stepping through the cool light cast by the streetlight.
No way? Did he come to hunt me down?!
Chen Zhao stood up vigilantly, adopting a defensive posture to face him, so nervous he almost forgot to pitch his voice into a high, girlish tone. “What do you want?”
Qin Er stood there, the night breeze billowing his coat tails. He reached out his hand.
Chen Zhao took a glance. It wasn’t a weapon, it was the pocket watch, resting right in Qin Er’s palm.
???
“How is the pocket watch with you?” Chen Zhao looked up.
“A courier delivered it. You weren’t home, so it was handed to me.”
Qin Er retrieved the watch. “Actually, you could have just told me directly.”
“…I didn’t tell you directly because I was afraid you’d think I was sticking my nose where it didn’t belong,” Chen Zhao said.
The garden was very quiet, but the heartbeat in his ears was pounding heavily. Qin Er looked at Chen Zhao and took a deep breath. “Have you eaten?”
Chen Zhao was a little dazed. Is this old man giving him an olive branch?
What does this mean? It means Qin Er isn’t angry anymore!
In other words, his plan can still go on!
The corners of Chen Zhao’s mouth curled up uncontrollably, his eyes sparkling brightly.
Good, very good. When the time comes, we’ll settle the new and old debts together!
“I haven’t eaten yet, Gege. My stomach is starting to hurt again, and it’s all because Gege yelled at me just now~” Chen Zhao pouted.
Qin Er: “Then…”
“Let’s go home!” Chen Zhao pressed close, clinging to his arm. “I want to eat a meal made personally by Gege’s hands~”
The girl’s softness pressed against him, making Qin Er’s breathing turn heavy. Every pore seemed to catch the girl’s scent.
Chen Zhao opened his mouth, almost about to sneeze, and rubbed his nose.
Did I spray too much toilet water today?
“I’m sorry.”
Chen Zhao looked up. Qin Er was looking down at him with a deep gaze. “I shouldn’t have misunderstood you.”
“…There’s no need to apologize, Gege. It’s because I didn’t explain things clearly. If I had made it clear earlier, none of this would have happened,” Chen Zhao smiled.
Seeing how understanding the girl was, a wave of guilt surfaced in Qin Er’s heart.
“What do you want for dinner?”
“Anything is fine. I like whatever Gege makes.”
“Does your stomach hurt?”
“A little bit, but I’ll be fine once I take some medicine back home.”
“Mm, I’ll cook porridge for dinner.”
“Okay, okay!”
Back at Qin Er’s home, Chen Zhao accepted the medicine fed to him by the man, took it, and leaned back on the sofa to rest.
His frame was slender, with fair, straight long legs. The skirt he wore was a bit short; when he sat down, the fabric pulled up, exposing his porcelain white thighs.
When Qin Er came out of the kitchen, this was the sight that greeted him.
His phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, greedily licking over the girl’s lines, until suddenly, everything was covered by a blanket.
Qin Er raised his eyes. Chen Zhao had wrapped his legs tightly, blinking innocently at him. “Gege, is the food ready?”
Nice try, old man. I won’t let you look. I’ll dangle the bait until you die of anticipation.
“It’s ready.” Qin Er lowered his eyelashes and served the side dishes onto the table.
Chen Zhao shuffled over wrapped in the blanket. “It smells so good! Gege is really amazing.”
Qin Er: “I only cooked porridge.”
Chen Zhao: “Even cooking porridge is amazing. Gege is great at everything he does, and I like it so much!”
Qin Er sat down, and before Chen Zhao could pick up his chopsticks, he said, “Wash your hands.”
Chen Zhao raised his head, and Qin Er gestured toward the kitchen.
“Fine, fine.” What a demanding old master.
After washing his hands and returning, Qin Er had already served a full bowl of porridge and placed it in front of him.
With the man suddenly acting so proactive, Chen Zhao was a bit baffled. However, under the circumstances, he didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down generously to drink the porridge.
The porridge was fragrant, silky, and melted in the mouth, sending a soothing warmth straight to his stomach.
After the incident last time where Chen Zhao left the bowls dirty, Qin Er stopped letting him wash dishes. Once they finished eating, Qin Er automatically took the plates to wash them, while Chen Zhao walked over and volunteered to help put things away.
Qin Er washed a bowl clean, and Chen Zhao casually took it and shoved it into the cupboard.
“Wrong.”
“Huh?”
“It doesn’t go there.”
Chen Zhao looked up in confusion. “If it doesn’t go there, where does it go?”
Qin Er stepped forward, his entire body pressing against Chen Zhao’s back. He reached out, grabbing Chen Zhao’s hand. “Arranged from smallest to largest, in order. Bowls on the first shelf, plates on the second shelf…”
Never in my wildest dreams did I think that one day, putting away dishes would require hands-on instruction like I’m a little kid.
Chen Zhao pouted. “Does it really need to be this complicated…”
What difference does it make as long as it’s in the cupboard?
But Qin Er didn’t think so, “It looks comforting.”
Fine, I forgot Qin Er has obsessive compulsive disorder.
Seeing the girl’s lips slightly pouted in disdain, looking as full and plump as cherries, Qin Er’s gaze darkened with desire.
Thinking of the girl’s perfect proportions, Qin Er felt a fire burning in his chest.
Chen Zhao looked up and saw Qin Er staring straight at him. He blinked playfully, patted his skirt, and said. “Gege, it’s time to say goodnight~”
Qin Er withdrew his gaze. “Mm.”
Chen Zhao trotted out the door and headed home. Closing the door, he hurriedly sent messages to Chen Meng and Jiang Yuzhou.
A few days ago, he had pulled both Chen Meng and Jiang Yuzhou into a group chat to report the progress of his plan.
Ten Days: [Beep beep, latest update: the old man is officially hooked on me.]
Mengmeng: [Awesome!!!]
Ten Days: [All those days of wearing women’s clothes weren’t in vain. It’s seriously exhausting!]
Mengmeng: [You let him look at you every day, so why don’t you let me look? I want to see my pretty cousin too!]
Ten Days: [Wake up, I’m your male cousin!]
Fish Porridge: [What’s the next plan?]
Ten Days: [Keep flirting and make him fall completely in love with me!]
Fish Porridge: [Alright, but even if you’re a guy, you need to stay safe outside. Brother, I’m genuinely worried about you.]
Ten Days: [Don’t worry, I know my limits! Once the mission succeeds, I’ll bolt.]
Mengmeng: [@Fish Porridge, don’t worry, I’ll help him keep an eye on things too.]
Fish Porridge: [Alright, you guys handle it as you see fit.]
Ten Days: [But… I’m kind of out of ideas right now. I don’t know what else I can do.]
Ten Days: [Help me brainstorm!]
Fish Porridge: [Asking me, a guy, how to seduce another guy, is that appropriate?]
Ten Days: […]
Mengmeng: [I got it! Your butt is so perky, you can let him look at your butt!]
Ten Days: [???]
Fish Porridge: [???]
Mengmeng: [No, wait, you guys misunderstood!]
A few minutes later, she posted a video clip in the group chat. It was a scene from Twilight where the male and female leads were on their honeymoon; the female lead was wearing sheer sleepwear, lying on the bed to seduce the male lead.
Mengmeng: [Learn from this! This posture is so graceful and alluring, the old man definitely won’t be able to hold back, hehe!]
Chen Zhao had come across this video before. The female lead was lying on the bed trying to get the male lead’s attention, only for the male lead to exercise restraint, give a helpless smile, and cover her with a blanket.
This video had even been widely parodied by netizens.
To be honest, a pretentious guy like Qin Er might actually just cover me with a blanket.
Chen Zhao covered his mouth and chuckled secretly.
He took off his clothes, humming a song as he went to shower. When he came out, he opened his phone to check his bank balance.
I just extorted a sum of money from Chen Huanyu a few days ago, so why is there only this much left?!
Where did all his money go?!
Chen Zhao counted on his fingers. “Eating, buying clothes, buying snacks, buying this and that… How did it vanish so fast?!”
He wailed, flopping face-down onto the sofa, his slender white legs kicking around like a duck’s.
With the tiny pittance Chen Huanyu gave him every month for living expenses, how could it possibly be enough? But where else could he get more money?
Looks like I’ll just have to find a job… I wonder if anywhere nearby is hiring summer temp workers.
The next day, sunlight spilled into the room. Chen Zhao got up early, quickly finished his makeup, got dressed, and stepped out.
As soon as he opened the door, he saw Qin Er coming out of his house. Chen Zhao trotted over with tiny steps and twirled in front of him. “Gege, do I look pretty?”
Like a colorful butterfly fluttering in front of his eyes, the lighting suddenly seemed to brighten. Qin Er looked down, observing the other’s outfit.
A pink and white ballet style camisole mini-dress, the hem puffing out like cotton candy, with pink and white lace ribbons wrapped around his legs. He looked like an exquisitely wrapped gift.
Dressing so temptingly, where is he going?
Qin Er raised his deep eyes, staring at him. “Going out?”
Chen Zhao nodded. “That’s right, I’m going to look for a job today.”
Dressed like this to look for a job? A lump formed in Qin Er’s chest. “Where do you plan to look for a job?”
Chen Zhao sighed. “I don’t know, I’ll just look around.”
Qin Er narrowed his eyes. “Are you that short on money?”
Chen Zhao nodded. “I am. My… my dad doesn’t really care about me, and my mom passed away very early.”
“The rent here is so expensive. I need a whole lot of money to afford it. Ah, forget it, I’m off to job hunt. Maybe I can find a factory workshop position.”
The mere thought of Chen Wan wearing a short skirt, exposing her bare thighs to be stared at by a bunch of blonde haired factory delinquents, gave Qin Er a bloodthirsty urge.
Just as Chen Zhao took two steps, Qin Er called out to him. “Check your phone.”
“What?” Chen Zhao picked up his phone in confusion.
QE: [Transferred 50,000 RMB to you.]
The gloomy mood was swept away in an instant. Chen Zhao counted the zeroes on the screen, feeling dizzy with happiness.
He felt as though he had been hit by a golden egg; his entire world was spinning. Was he dreaming?
Nope, definitely not!
“Gege?” Chen Zhao looked up in surprise. “This… isn’t very good… I only just met Gege, so how can I ask Gege for money?”
Chen Zhao bit his lip, putting on a troubled expression. “I should still work hard. I can do it! Even if there are lots of mosquitoes in the factory, even if I get heat rash, even if I suffer heatstroke, it doesn’t matter. I’ll just keep some heatstroke medicine handy.”
“I’ll give you your living expenses. There’s no need to go out.”
“But…”
“Be good.”
“Gege, you’re so good to me. I don’t know how to repay you.” Chen Zhao wiped away non-existent tears.
“I know! I bought new little dresses, how about I wear them for Gege to see tomorrow?”
Chen Zhao twirled around, the hem of his skirt swinging in a playful arch.
A flash of white light reflected off his silver rimmed glasses. Qin Er’s gaze drifted from Chen Zhao’s smooth, luscious thighs, clinging to them as it moved upward into the shadows.
“Wear them for me at home. You’re not allowed to wear them outside.”