Xu Yanghe clicks into the chat history between Xie Chun and Yao Xiaofeng.
An explosion of filth and debauchery hits him instantly!
Then, a war of unspeakable emojis!
And even a massive resource dump from Xie Chun!
Xu Yanghe: “…………………………”
Pretending to turn off a non-existent stove switch didn’t take long; Xie Chun was back in a flash.
He turned pale with fright, snatched his phone away, and stood there like a child who had committed a grave sin—hands clasped, looking at Xu Yanghe with cautious eyes.
Xu Yanghe stared back: “……”
“Who is Yao Xiaofeng?” Xu Yanghe finally spoke slowly.
“A… fellow enthusiast,” Xie Chun said softly.
What that “enthusiasm” entailed was blindingly obvious.
Xu Yanghe had half a mind to give Xie Chun a lecture, but he was so exhausted he could barely keep his eyes open. He tossed a throw pillow at Xie Chun. “Go to your room and sleep.”
…
The two retreated to their respective rooms. Before entering, Xu Yanghe gave Xie Chun another meaningful glare. Xie Chun stood there, obediently.
“You’ve been working for twenty hours straight. If you don’t seize this moment to sleep and instead try to watch porn or masturbate,” Xu Yanghe said gloomily, “be careful of sudden death.”
Xie Chun’s face turned white instantly.
“Go to sleep!” Xu Yanghe barked.
…
The Dream of the “Yellow” Flower
Xu Yanghe had a rare nightmare.
In a land far away, there grew a pure little white flower. It was frail, overshadowed by giant trees, and bullied by small animals. Even an evil wizard stole the dew it worked so hard to collect.
Moved by its resilience, the gardener—Xu Yanghe—carefully dug it up and brought it home to nurture it with the best sun, water, and fertilizer.
Finally, the day came for the flower to bloom. Suddenly, a sea of yellow petals flooded Xu Yanghe’s home, covering every inch of the house and burying him alive.
When Xu Yanghe crawled out from the petals, the little yellow flower had transformed into Xie Chun, who grinned at him.
“Why is it yellow?” Xu Yanghe asked.
Xie Chun replied, “Because I am a yellow-seeded flower (a pun on ‘pornographic’ in Chinese).”
Then, he lunged at Xu Yanghe for a hug.
Xu Yanghe snapped awake: “……”
He needed a shower. Standing naked in the bathroom, he suddenly slammed his pants onto the floor in a fit of frustration. “Are you out of your mind!?”
…
The Great Cleanup
It was the weekend. Xu Yanghe had no classes and wasn’t needed at the company, but he felt an immense amount of pressure. He needed a deep clean.
Xie Chun had gone to K-University for two meetings, and since Blue Sea had no shifts, he went to a tutoring gig before returning home in the afternoon.
When Xie Chun arrived, Xu Yanghe was climbing an A-frame ladder. There were two windows in the living room; one was a large floor-to-ceiling south-facing window, and the other was an east-facing window set two and a half meters high.
“Come here and hold the ladder for me,” Xu Yanghe called out. He climbed up and sat on the crossbeam to wipe the glass.
Looking down at Xie Chun, who had stripped down to his usual white shirt in the heated room, Xu Yanghe noticed the phone in his breast pocket. With a swift movement, he reached down and snatched it.
“Give it back!” Xie Chun tried to climb the ladder, but with a gentle push from Xu Yanghe, he lost his balance and stumbled back to the floor. After a few failed attempts, Xie Chun gave up.
“What’s the password?” Xu Yanghe asked.
Xie Chun’s heart struggled; his lips trembled. He didn’t want to say anything.
“I’m asking for the password,” Xu Yanghe looked down. “Don’t you know couples are supposed to check each other’s phones?”
Reluctantly, Xie Chun mumbled a string of numbers.
Xu Yanghe unlocked it and glanced at Xie Chun’s miserable expression. “It’s nothing, just looking at your films.”
He opened a split screen—contacts on one side, photos on the other. He figured if Lin He could accidentally find nude photos while copying homework, Xie Chun probably didn’t hide them well.
With his left hand, he blacklisted and deleted several suspected scammer numbers. With his right, he clicked a video.
Flesh-colored imagery filled half the screen, accompanied by lewd, lingering sounds.
Xu Yanghe frowned in distaste. “This is so… rough?”
“That’s the edited version…” Xie Chun’s face was beet red as he whispered.
Xu Yanghe clicked another one. This one was two and a half hours long, beginning with an artistic shot of blue sky and white clouds.
He looked at Xie Chun with a smirk. “The full version is quite ‘artistic,’ huh?”
Xie Chun hung his head and started biting his nails.
After deleting the scammers and skimming a few more videos, Xu Yanghe noted, “Tsk, why is it always this blonde guy with glasses? Different scenes, different themes, but he’s always there. You like him?”
“Yes,” Xie Chun actually nodded.
What about me? Xu Yanghe wanted to ask.
…
The Confrontation
Xu Yanghe wiped out the browser history and deleted all the videos. As the screen of blonde-haired, blue-eyed men went blank, he said, “You’re young; stop watching this stuff that drains your energy.”
He loosened his grip, and Xie Chun immediately jumped up to snatch the phone back.
“You deleted them? All of them?” Xie Chun looked at his empty gallery in despair.
“Yep,” Xu Yanghe said matter-of-factly.
Xie Chun took a deep breath, and to Xu Yanghe’s surprise, two tears actually rolled down his flushed face.
Ethan!
He would download them all back later using Xu Yanghe’s data!
Xie Chun had never been this angry. He wiped his face and, while Xu Yanghe wasn’t looking, he abruptly hauled the A-frame ladder away.
“Hey!” Xu Yanghe couldn’t help but laugh.
Xie Chun ignored him, walking to the far corner of the room.
“You’re just going to leave me up here?” Xu Yanghe shouted. “Boyfriend!”
Xie Chun stood in the corner, holding the ladder, unmoved.
Xu Yanghe simply jumped down from the beam and strode over. He grabbed Xie Chun by the shoulder, spun him around, and pinned him against the wall.
Xie Chun tried to resist, but Xu Yanghe pinned his wrists to his chest and wedged a leg between Xie Chun’s. Before Xie Chun could react, he looked up to find Xu Yanghe’s face inches away.
Sober but acting as if drunk, Xu Yanghe leaned down and pressed his lips against Xie Chun’s cheek.
Xie Chun froze instantly. The strength left his hands.
Xu Yanghe felt a hint of dampness; Xie Chun’s face heated up so rapidly that Xu Yanghe’s lips felt cold by comparison. He pulled away slightly, turned, and kissed the other cheek.
This time, Xie Chun shuddered from his very bones. He closed his eyes and held his breath.
Xu Yanghe moved closer, their noses brushing. Somewhere along the line, Xie Chun had started smelling like the same detergent Xu Yanghe used, yet there was a lingering scent that was uniquely his own.
Xu Yanghe felt lightheaded. He stayed there until Xie Chun’s breathing slowed. Then, he suddenly pulled Xie Chun closer, showering kisses on his nose, upper lip, and chin.
Xie Chun’s body began to slump.
…
The Aftermath
Since they started living together, things had been “plain water,” devoid of intimacy. This was their first real moment of closeness.
As Xu Yanghe continued to nuzzle and brush against him, that feeling from the morning began to resurface. If he went any further, it wouldn’t be “polite.”
Xu Yanghe let go of Xie Chun, keeping one hand on his waist to stop him from sliding to the floor.
“Is that… all you’re going to do?” Xie Chun whispered with a raspy voice, looking like he was waking from a dream. He pressed his arm against his face, exhaling hot air.
After a few breaths, he suddenly reached out to “attack” Xu Yanghe’s lower half!
“What are you doing!” Xu Yanghe jumped back.
“Can we really not continue?” Xie Chun pleaded.
“No,” Xu Yanghe said righteously. “You pervert.”
“Fine,” Xie Chun gave up. “I’m going to wash my face.”
“Go on.” Xu Yanghe watched him walk toward the bathroom with shaky steps.
Xu Yanghe thought to himself: See, this is what happens when you masturbate too much. You’re weak.
Xie Chun poked his head out from the bathroom. “Actually, I have some savings… maybe I should buy you some traditional medicine…”
“I don’t need it!” Xu Yanghe snapped. “Get out!”
…
The Phone Call
After Xie Chun retreated to his room, Xu Yanghe sat on the floor by the sofa.
What had he just done? He had licked someone’s face.
He pulled out a wet wipe and slowly wiped his mouth. That person’s face had tears, sweat, and had just come from outside. And he licked it?
He felt a strange stiffness in his body, but his mouth still held a lingering, inexplicable fragrance.
His reverie was broken by a phone call. It was Xu Jin.
“Was it you?” Xu Jin asked without a preamble.
“Was that me?” Xu Yanghe replied nonchalantly.
Xu Jin let out a heavy sigh. In the background, Xu Sining’s crying could be heard, followed by two middle-aged women apologizing and taking her away.
Xu Yanghe couldn’t help but smirk at Xu Jin’s chaotic situation.
“The shadow shareholder of that new company ‘Bai You,’ the mastermind meddling in the Sun family’s power struggle… is that you?”
Xu Yanghe didn’t answer, but Xu Jin was already certain. “Are you crazy?”
“Didn’t I tell you not to do anything unnecessary? This will blow over. I’ll talk to Dad when he gets back, and your cards will be unfrozen. Do you have to make such a scene?”
“That old man hasn’t come back yet?” Xu Yanghe gave a cold laugh. “How long am I supposed to wait if I do nothing? Wait for him to settle in Europe? Wait until he dies and you inherit everything?”
“You!” Xu Jin was speechless.
Xu Yanghe said cheerfully, “Don’t worry, brother. When it’s all done, I’ll transfer the company to you. Whether it’s the hotel shares or Xiaoyou Mountain, it’ll all be yours.”