Qin Fang: 【Do you have any idea how much you angered your grandfather last time?】
Qin Fang: 【Did all my years of raising you go down the drain?! You disappoint me so much!】
Qin Fang: 【I’ve picked out a few more girls for you. You are getting married whether you want to or not. No one else but you is fit to be the heir to the Qin family.】
Qin Fang: 【Don’t disappoint me, Little Er.】
Don’t disappoint me.
Qin Fang had been saying this exact phrase ever since he was a child.
A sharp, tearing headache suddenly struck, accompanied by a high-pitched ringing in his ears. Qin Er clutched his head as cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
The green light flashed, and the car behind him honked repeatedly. Qin Er slowly leaned back against the seat, his breathing gradually evening out, before stepping on the gas pedal to drive forward.
Chen Zao was sprawled lazily on the sofa eating fruit. The housekeeper had already finished cooking and left, leaving the echoes of the TV filling the villa.
Hearing a faint honk from outside, Chen Zao hurriedly swallowed his grape, pulled down the skirt resting on his belly, and sat up properly with his knees turned inward.
When Qin Er stepped into the living room, Chen Zao was sitting obediently on the couch, winking at him. “Brother, you’re back so early.”
Seeing that the man didn’t respond, Chen Zao realized Qin Er’s complexion looked rather off.
“Brother?” Chen Zao walked over and was startled to see Qin Er’s pale lips and cold, distant gaze. “Brother, what’s wrong?”
Qin Er approached, pulling Chen Zao’s waist into his grasp with a murky look in his eyes. “You stayed here all day today. Did you miss me?”
“…Missed you, of course I missed you.” Seeing the man’s dark mood, Chen Zao didn’t dare cross him and lied through his teeth.
Hearing this, the corners of Qin Er’s mouth curled up slightly, and the irritation from the earlier phone call instantly dissolved. He looked at Chen Zao, staring at the peak of his lips. “Since you missed me, is there any actual action?”
Dog man, wanting to kiss me again.
Whatever, I’ve already kissed him twice anyway. One more time won’t kill me.
Chen Zao pretended to tuck his hair back shyly, leaned up, and planted a loud kiss on the man’s cheek. Just as he was about to retreat, a large hand pressed against his waist, drawing his entire body flush against the man. The latter lowered his head and captured his mouth.
“Mmh…” Chen Zao closed his eyes, keeping his teeth firmly shut.
The man’s tongue probed twice at the seam of his lips, unable to knock the door open. Opening his eyes slightly, Qin Er looked at the girl’s tense expression, feeling a raging fire ignite within him.
He pinched Chen Zao’s chin. “Open up.”
Chen Zao shuddered. A moment later, he obediently parted his lips. The moment his mouth opened, the other’s tongue slid in, nudging against his upper teeth and prying them completely apart.
He was held in a deep, immersive embrace as the man kissed him passionately, making wet, soft sounds echo in the quiet air.
Chen Zao still wasn’t used to this. He wanted to push the man away, but he couldn’t budge him. His tongue tried to dodge the man’s relentless pursuit, but it was useless, the tip of his tongue was kissed into complete numbness.
Qin Er’s hand moved from his back to the nape of his neck, sliding into his hair to stroke it back and forth.
Chen Zao: !!!
The wig is going to get pulled off!!
With a flash of inspiration, he quickly grabbed the man’s hand, brought it to his chest, and intertwined their fingers.
This gesture clearly pleased the man. Qin Er swept aside the clutter on the table and lifted him onto it.
“Brother!” Chen Zao gasped, locking his legs tightly together.
He wasn’t wearing tight pants underneath!! If he spread his legs, Qin Er would instantly see he was a guy!
However, in Qin Er’s eyes, this reaction was merely the girl being overly innocent.
The more she acted this way, the more enticing it was. Qin Er reached out, stroking his smooth, delicate thigh…
With a quick swoop, Chen Zao slipped right out from under his arm.
Qin Er: ?
Chen Zao ran behind the man. “Hehe.”
Qin Er lowered his brows. “Come here.”
Chen Zao said, “Brother, this is my first time dating, I’m not ready yet.”
Qin Er chuckled. “Earlier you were taking those kinds of photos and wearing those kinds of clothes, and now you tell me you’re not ready?”
“…But I like taking things step by step,” Chen Zao argued. “You’re my first love, and I treasure this deeply. So we have to enjoy everything slowly. Don’t you think so, Brother?”
These sweet words fell on Qin Er’s ears and proved immensely effective. He turned and pulled out a chair. “Let’s eat.”
“Okay, okay.” Chen Zao let out a heavy sigh of relief, deliberately sitting directly across from the man to keep his distance.
Qin Er looked at him, gave a soft chuckle, wiped his hands clean with a disinfectant wipe, and placed his pocket watch on the edge of the table.
As Chen Zao ate, his eyes darted around until his gaze landed back on the pocket watch. “Brother, do you always wear your pocket watch?”
“Mm, every day.”
“When do you take it off?”
Qin Er gave him a meaningful look with his deep eyes. “When taking a shower.”
Old man, why are you flirting.
Chen Zao silently swallowed his meat. Seeing that he kept eating meat, Qin Er said calmly, “Eat more vegetables.”
Chen Zao quickly picked up a few vegetable leaves to nibble on. “So… can I ask who gave you that pocket watch?”
Qin Er raised his head. Chen Zao quickly added, “If Brother doesn’t want to say, it’s fine. I was just asking casually.”
“An elder,” he said.
“Oh, okay.” Chen Zao lowered his head to eat.
He noticed that whenever the pocket watch was brought up, Qin Er’s mood turned sour. What on earth was the reason behind it…
After dinner, Qin Er cleared the dishes. Chen Zao ran up to his room, shut the door, and tapped on his WeChat Moments.
Scrolling casually, he immediately saw a new post from Lili.
Lily: [Darling, who else would give me such nice things if not you~]
The tildes gave Chen Zao a wave of goosebumps. He clicked on the picture. Lili was showing off two more bags, each more expensive than the one he had posted.
Heh, trying to compete with me, huh?
Chen Zao picked out an even more expensive bag from the ones Qin Er had bought, and posted it along with a photo of yesterday’s candlelight dinner.
Wanwan: [The bag my brother gave me, plus ninety-nine roses! He’s so thoughtful! Who else would give me such expensive gifts if not you~~]
Two more tildes than you, let’s see who wins!
After posting, he tossed his phone onto the bed and sniffed himself, time for a shower.
Chen Zao walked into the bathroom and turned on the showerhead to let the water run, not expecting Qin Er to walk in.
“Brother?”
Qin Er stepped inside. “I’ll help you wash your hair.”
“Huh?” Chen Zao looked up, failing to react for a second. “Wash what?”
Qin Er grabbed a clean towel. “Wash your hair.”
“Wa-wa-wash my hair?!” Chen Zao leaped back. Seeing Qin Er walking closer, he repeatedly refused, “No need, Brother! I can wash it myself.”
What a joke! Let Qin Er wash his hair?! If the wig got washed off, how could he survive this?!
Qin Er didn’t think it was a big deal. “It’s just washing hair, no trouble at all.”
“It’s a huge trouble for me!” Chen Zao said. “I have so many steps for washing my hair! Like… applying conditioner, hair oil, and straightening it. It’s super tedious, so I’ll just do it myself.”
He pushed Qin Er out the door and said with a beam, “I’m showering now. Bye-bye, Brother.”
The door slammed shut. Chen Zao leaned against the sink, his heart pounding wildly.
My god, staying with Qin Er carries way too high a risk of getting exposed!
He tried to calm his nerves and think of a backup plan in case Qin Er insisted on getting intimate with him again.
Holding hands or sharing a small kiss was tolerable, but if Qin Er tried to do something more to him… No, no way, that was terrifying!
Got it! A thought struck Chen Zao, he decided to run away for a bit to take cover.
With that in mind, he immediately messaged Jiang Yuzhou, asking if he was free to go on a trip together anytime soon.
Fish Porridge: 【Why the sudden trip? You’re not executing your grand plan anymore?】
Tenth: 【It’s precisely because the grand plan is going TOO smoothly that your bro can’t handle it anymore!】
Fish Porridge: 【What?】
Tenth: 【Anyway, pack your bags right now. We leave tomorrow!】
Putting his phone away, Chen Zao shot a guilty, sneaky glance at the door before stripping off his clothes to shower.
After bathing, to prevent Qin Er from volunteering to blow-dry his hair, he pretended to turn on the hairdryer inside the bathroom to blow-dry the wig before stepping out.
Qin Er was sitting in the living room reading a newspaper. Chen Zao built up his courage and said, “Brother, I have something to tell you.”
“Mm?”
“I’m going on a trip with a friend tomorrow.”
Chen Zao clearly saw Qin Er freeze. Closing the newspaper, his tone turned chilly. “A classmate?”
Chen Zao: “Mm.”
Qin Er uncrossed his legs, stood up, walked over to stand right in front of him, and asked from above. “A guy?”
“A girl!” Fearing that Qin Er wouldn’t let him leave, Chen Zao lied, “I’m already dating you, how could I go out with a guy? I only have eyes for you, Brother, no one else.”
Qin Er: “What about that childhood friend from that day?”
“Ah?” Chen Zao played dumb. “So Brother was jealous back then?”
“Honestly, you cute little jealous baby.” He tapped the man’s chest with his small fist. “I just love seeing you get jealous for me. But I’m definitely going out with a girl this time, so rest assured.”
Qin Er: “Alright.”
He patted Chen Zao’s head. “Come back early.”
Chen Zao: “Mm! I’ll definitely come back early. Don’t miss me too much, Brother.”
Qin Er chuckled softly. “Mm.”
The next day, after Qin Er left for the hospital, Chen Zao set off as well, flying to Nancheng with Jiang Yuzhou.
It was scorching hot in the summer, so they hid inside the hotel and didn’t go out.
Chen Zao lay on the bed wearing a sheet mask. “Finally escaped! Every single day I had to guard against that old guy Qin Er trying to kiss me. It was driving me insane.”
Jiang Yuzhou was using a mineral water bottle as a dumbbell to workout. “I told you long ago, walking into the tiger’s den means taking down the enemy at the cost of your own skin.”
Chen Zao: “But I’ve held out for so long! Giving up halfway would be such a waste. Whatever, a kiss is just a kiss, it won’t kill me. As long as I can protect my butt, I’m good.”
Jiang Yuzhou: “Only you could pull this off. If it were me, I would’ve called the plan off on day one.”
Chen Zao: ?
Annoyed, he ripped off the facial mask and got out of bed to put on his shoes.
Away from Qin Er, even the air outside smelled fresher.
Chen Zao happily feasted on crawfish and drank beer with his best bud. Once night fell and the weather cooled down a bit, they went out to stroll the streets.
The streets were lined with food stalls. Chen Zao ate to his heart’s content. Back at the villa, Qin Er was always controlling him, refusing to even let him eat ice cream.
Now that he was here, he was like a monkey unburdened by its chains, he wanted to eat everything he saw, craving spicy, sour, and sweet flavors, with as much ice cream as possible.
Just as he was licking his third ice cream cone, Qin Er called.
Seeing the caller ID, Chen Zao froze. He gestured for Jiang Yuzhou to come back and hold his ice cream cone, then walked to a quiet corner to answer: “Brother.”
Qin Er: “Have you eaten?”
Chen Zao: “Yes.”
Qin Er: “What did you eat?”
Chen Zao glanced at the nearby barbecue stall, sizzling with fragrant oil and billowing smoke and said into the phone, “Home cooked food.”
Qin Er: “What dishes?”
Chen Zao looked at the stall again, watching someone walk away holding lamb and beef skewers covered in extra spicy chili powder, and said, “High quality protein.”
Qin Er: “The truth?”
Chen Zao wiped a bit of chili powder from the corner of his mouth. “Of course.”
The voice on the other end gave a soft chuckle. “You know the consequences of lying to me. I’ll ask one more time, did you eat ice cream?”
Chen Zao’s butt tightened instantly, and he stammered in fear, “No… No I didn’t!”