The moment Xie Xiran hit the like button, his fans received a notification.
Tapping into the link, they found that it was an explanatory statement issued by the production team.
?? Who on earth is this Bai Shu?
Just as they noticed a trending search tag bearing Bai Shu’s name and clicked on it, a wave of youthful, fresh energy washed over them.
Alright, never heard of him.
Must have been a slip of the finger.
The fans didn’t pay it much mind, but it did leave them with a vague impression of Bai Shu.
Clutching his jigsaw puzzle, Xie Zhuyi poked his little head out from the doorway.
Hearing the rustling sound, Xie Xiran put down his phone and turned around.
“Big brother,” Xie Zhuyi said timidly.
He was somewhat afraid of his older brother, and this sudden announcement that Xie Xiran would be spending some time accompanying him left him feeling overwhelmed and undeserving.
He had long known that his older brother was an exceptionally capable person, but the time they spent together was sparse, and his older brother didn’t seem particularly concerned with him. After all, Xie Xiran was extremely busy, and opportunities to meet were few and far between.
Perched on the back of the sofa, Xie Xiran raised a hand and waved it toward him: “Zhuyi, come here.”
Xie Zhuyi pressed his lips together and walked over to stand in front of Xie Xiran.
Xie Xiran vigorously ruffled his hair: “Don’t worry. In a couple of days, older brother will find you a playmate. His name is Doudou, and he’s very cute.”
Xie Xiran had just spent the entire time watching his boyfriend’s live stream from start to finish.
While being thoroughly melted by Zhushu’s cuteness, he had grown quite fond of Doudou as well.
Doudou was adorable, and Xie Xiran planned to pull up Bai Shu’s eating broadcast video to watch while he ate dinner later.
Come to think of it, he and Zhushu had never even shared a meal alone together yet.
Xie Zhuyi tilted his head: “Is it Doudou the younger brother?”
Xie Xiran nodded: “That’s him. You know him?”
Xie Zhuyi shook his head: “I’ve heard of him, but I don’t know him.”
He knew that his older brother held unusual feelings toward Bai Shu, and that this program included Bai Shu’s family. His younger brother was around the same age as him and was named Doudou.
Meanwhile, while distracted as he watched cartoons with his younger brother, Bai Shu pulled up Xie Xiran’s live stream on the side.
Gazing at the extraordinarily dashing man on the screen, Bai Shu couldn’t help rolling around on the sofa in a fit of bashful joy.
Doudou was suddenly blindsided by his older brother’s tackle. Turning around, he discovered his older brother grinning from ear to ear, looking almost like he was about to twist into a furry caterpillar.
Doudou: …
Oh my, my love-struck older brother. Truly a cause for deep concern.
Seeing his older brother acting this way, Doudou suddenly felt that his older brother might genuinely commit foolish excesses just like in the book.
What kind of magical charm did Xie Xiran even possess?
Creeping closer, Doudou decided to go on a spying mission.
Sneaking up right in front of his older brother and craning his neck to look, he spotted a man right there on the screen of his phone.
His sleeves were half-rolled up, revealing a white button-down shirt that hinted at underlying muscle. With a slender physique and stray strands of hair falling across his eyes, he radiated an intensely deep and captivating aura.
So, so this is the man who completely bewitched Zhushu?
Enviously, Doudou eyed the man’s physique.
Right at that moment, a miniature version of Xie Xiran popped up next to him on the screen, wearing the exact same expression and sporting a similarly tight little face.
Doudou stared intently until he couldn’t hold back a sudden sneeze: “Achoo”
Startled out of his wits, Bai Shu made his phone dance wildly in his own hands. Oh mother.
“When did you walk over?” Bai Shu asked, thoroughly spooked by his younger brother.
Turning his head to look at the television, he saw that the end credits were already rolling.
“Why didn’t you say anything after you finished watching?” Bai Shu asked, feeling a slight pang of guilt.
He had gotten so absorbed in watching his boyfriend that he had completely forgotten all about his little brother.
Covering his face in mortification, Bai Shu blushed.
Sliding across the sofa on his little tummy, Doudou expertly wedged himself into his older brother’s arms, pulled his hand away from his face, and blinked mischievously.
“Hehehe, that was your boyfriend just now, right?”
Bai Shu felt a bit awkward. What was this kid plotting now?
He nodded: “Don’t mention this to Mom and Dad. We just started out and aren’t ready yet.”
Pouting his little mouth unhappily, Doudou immediately put up his guard even before anything had properly begun.
Acting like a pint-sized adult, the little fellow stood up by gripping the back of the sofa, glared fiercely at his older brother, and delivered a demonic whisper: “Break up! He’s not good enough for Zhushu!”
Doudou lacked solid backing, but his confidence remained unwavering!
“H-he’s too tall! He’s going to beat Zhushu up in the future!” After racking his brain for a long time, Doudou came up with a supplementary reason.
Bai Shu was utterly defeated by his little younger brother. Pulling Doudou’s tiny hands to make him sit down, he explained:
“Let’s see here, your older brother is 26 years old this year, not 6 and not 16 either. I already have the right to choose a partner. He is someone older brother likes, and he’ll be moving in to live with us in the future. Older brother hopes you can accept him sooner rather than later.” Bai Shu felt a minor headache coming on.
His younger brother seemed excessively averse to the idea of him dating.
Dropping his lips into a pout, Doudou cried out in despair: “Is he going to move into our house as a freeloading live-in son-in-law too?!”
That would just make him a good-for-nothing freeloader!
The wicked mother-in-law was going to chase that freeloader right out of the house!
Slapping a hand to his forehead, Bai Shu collapsed in defeat: “No more family dramas for you from now on!”
What on earth kind of nonsense was he absorbing from those shows?
Scooping up his younger brother, Bai Shu carried him upstairs: “Time for bed, right now.”
Gazing at the soft, adorable little brother lying on the bed with his big eyes wide open, Bai Shu felt he had reverted right back into a little angel.
Clutching the corner of his older brother’s shirt, Doudou looked utterly reluctant to let go.
“Doudou wants older brother to sleep with me.” He needed to keep a close eye on his older brother.
Helpless, Bai Shu squeezed himself into the child’s small bed, his ankles sticking out past the end. Propping his head up with one hand while patting his younger brother with the other, he coaxed softly: “Be a good boy, Doudou.”
Doudou happily closed his eyes, though he kept peeking open one eye at a time to check on his older brother.
Before long, he rolled over and burrowed himself straight into his older brother’s arms.
Bai Shu was losing his mind. Was this little troublemaker going to sleep or not?
Xie Xiran’s side had already wrapped up, and it was almost time for their routine phone call, yet here he was still putting a kid to bed.
Fortunately, the little propane tank finally drifted off to sleep right against his chest, his tiny mouth parted in a soft pout while his small hands clutched the fabric over Bai Shu’s chest as if clinging to him for dear life.
Seeing his younger brother like this, all of Bai Shu’s exhaustion from the day simply melted away.
He pressed a kiss to his younger brother’s cheek, tucked the blanket securely around him, and slipped out of the bedroom door with only a small nightlight left glowing.
Doudou gave an unconscious little twitch.
Pausing mid-motion, Bai Shu looked back to see the child sleeping soundly with flushed little cheeks, and only then did he tiptoe quietly out of the room.
The video call rang the moment he stepped out.
Heading downstairs before picking up, Bai Shu answered, “Hello.”
Hearing Bai Shu’s hushed tone, Xie Xiran couldn’t help chuckling softly: “What are you up to?”
His tone softened as well.
Curving the corners of his eyes, Bai Shu was amused by him: “My little brother just fell asleep after a long battle trying to coax him.”
Bai Shu popped open a bottle of soda to refresh himself.
Xie Xiran stared intently at him, letting out a soft sigh at the sight: “Sigh.”
Finishing his soda, Bai Shu asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”
Xie Xiran kept his gaze locked on the video feed until the tips of Bai Shu’s ears turned red, then smiled and said, “Nothing. Just wishing I could turn into your younger brother.”
Bai Shu’s knees went weak, his heart fluttering warmly at the teasing remark. Too shy to look at the man on his screen anymore, he stammered out a nervous laugh: “Haha, ha, maybe you’ll get your chance.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, his face turned beet red.
Damn it, what on earth am I saying? Was he planning to coax Xie Xiran to sleep the exact same way he coaxed Doudou?
In response, Xie Xiran simply replied, “Then I’ll just wait for it.”
The two of them fell silent for a moment. Pressing a hand to his frantically pounding heart, Bai Shu suspected his boyfriend was doing this entirely on purpose.
Checking his watch, Xie Xiran said, “It should be arriving soon. Open the door and take a look.”
Right at that moment, the doorbell chimed. Curious, Bai Shu wondered: What could it be?
Could it be that the man himself had shown up in person?
He carefully checked the background of Xie Xiran’s video feed he was still sitting inside his own house.
Only then did Bai Shu let out a breath of relief. Good thing he didn’t come over right now. If he ran into Doudou, the kid would probably throw another endless tantrum.
Earlier, he had worried about how his parents would react to Xie Xiran, but instead, the first obstacle they faced was his younger brother’s fierce rejection of him.
For some inexplicable reason, deep down in Doudou’s mind, he firmly believed Xie Xiran wasn’t good enough for his older brother.
Even though he was clearly the one who wasn’t good enough for Xie Xiran.
At the same time, Bai Shu sometimes suspected that fateful night might have just been a dream.
On the night Xie Xiran confessed to him, he had thought he was dreaming and agreed without a second thought.
Then he had drifted through a hazy fog and abruptly found himself taken as Xie Xiran’s partner.
The doorbell rang a second time, dragging Bai Shu back from his wandering thoughts. Glancing at the outdoor security monitor, he saw a delivery worker standing outside.
Opening the door, he greeted him, “Hello.”
The delivery worker smiled and handed over the package: “Hello, this is a bouquet of flowers sent by Mr. Xie.”
Flustered and caught off guard, Bai Shu clumsily caught the massive bundle of flowers, feeling utterly overwhelmed: “Thank you.”
“No problem, goodbye.”
The delivery worker departed.
Struggling, Bai Shu hauled the flowers inside. My word, what a massive bouquet.
An adult man like him could barely get his arms around it.
At that moment, Xie Xiran’s voice drifted through the phone: “Do you like them? Is your mood feeling a bit better now?”
A sour, aching sensation pricked at the bridge of Bai Shu’s nose. So he was trying to cheer me up all along.
Hurriedly pulling his emotions together, he offered an explanation: “Huh? My mood has always been great.”
He let out a dry, awkward laugh.
Gazing at him earnestly, Xie Xiran said, “My goal in this is marriage, so looking after my future partner’s emotional well-being is also my responsibility. You can talk to me about anything that’s on your mind.”
Bai Shu adjusted the angle of his phone so the camera wouldn’t capture his face.
Only then did he speak up: “I guess I just felt a bit overwhelmed with anxiety, worrying that our situation might bring a burden to your career and affect your future plans.”
A parenting variety show was completely unnecessary for Xie Xiran.
He never participated in reality television, yet he had broken his own rule purely for his sake.
Bai Shu worried that something going wrong on the show might negatively impact Xie Xiran.
With that, he deflated like a punctured tire.
Xie Xiran hadn’t expected this to be the underlying reason, and his heart melted completely.
He wanted nothing more than to reach straight through the screen and pull his precious baby into a hug.
“You don’t need to carry any burden. This decision was made long ago; my parents want me to spend more time interacting with Zhuyi. As you know, his personality is a bit reclusive, and since he’ll be starting school soon, they wanted me to bring him out to experience more social contact.”
Hearing that made Bai Shu feel somewhat better, even though he knew Xie Xiran was mostly just comforting him.
“When the time comes, I’ll need your help looking after things,” Xie Xiran said, softening his tone.
Bai Shu nodded immediately. Then, remembering that the camera couldn’t see him nod, he hastily picked the phone back up and gave an affirmative reply: “I’ll make sure to bring Doudou along to play with him, you can count on that.”
Seeing him bounce right back to his usual self, Xie Xiran finally relaxed as well: “I trust you.”
Unable to withstand the intense warmth in those eyes, Bai Shu hastily blurted out, “I’m going to go look at the flowers now, hanging up first!”
With that, he bolted.
Having woken up suddenly from a desperate need to pee shortly after falling asleep, Doudou rubbed his eyes as he toddled downstairs, only to find his older brother gazing foolishly at a massive bouquet of flowers.
Doudou: !! Our base has been infiltrated and stolen!