As the three of them headed outside, An Chutang finally got a clear look at the full layout of the family residential building.
Although it was a small building only three stories high, standing in the hallway and looking into the distance offered a view with very few obstructions. Down in the courtyard below, the ground was flat and dirt-packed, and a large jujube tree grew in the southwest corner, still laden with a few unpicked large jujubes, presenting a scene full of vitality. From the rooms along the corridor, various gossipy conversations drifted out.
Taking a few steps further, a middle-aged man was cooking right in the hallway.
Seeing that man accidentally stir a few shredded potatoes out of his wok and then pick them up directly with his fingers to pop them into his mouth, An Chutang wrinkled his nose in mild disgust.
Noticing them approaching, the man spoke up in a booming voice, “Oh! Little Yan, going out for a stroll?”
Li Yan merely gave a cold, faint “hm,” having no desire to converse much with this person.
Yet Zhao Baoguo remained entirely oblivious as he continued, “Sigh, Little Yan, did you really resign?”
Though wrapped as a concerned inquiry, it always made An Chutang feel that this man’s smiling face was somewhat grating. Sure enough,
seeing that Li Yan merely nodded with an arrogant and unresponsive attitude, Zhao Baoguo felt a secret surge of resentment. He thought to himself: Just because you rely on your family background and have an impressive grandfather? Now that old man has retired too, what’s there to act so high and mighty about!
Thinking along those lines, Zhao Baoguo still put on a smile when he spoke. “Aiyah, you young people just love to follow trends. Such a great iron rice bowl, yet you insist on messing around blindly. Calling it diving into the economic sea sounds nice, but isn’t it just profiteering when you strip it down?”
“What did you say?!” Before Li Yan could open his mouth, Li Guangtao lost his temper first, stepping forward as if ready to throw punches at the man.
Li Yan reached out a hand to block him, finally giving Zhao Baoguo a direct, proper look. “Your food is burning.”
Zhao Baoguo froze, then reacted instantly. “Aiyou, my food!”
As the path cleared, Li Yan glanced down at An Chutang. Just as An Chutang was about to ask what was wrong, the next moment, his hand was grasped by Li Yan.
Without giving An Chutang a chance to react, the other man pulled him straight along as they walked forward.
Indeed, Li Yan was testing his bottom line, and also gradually adapting this person who had piqued his interest to his touch according to his own wishes. Regardless of whether the other had liked women in the past, whatever person he had set his sights on, he was determined to win.
[Ding! Holding hands increases life value by one hour.]
Ha, there’s even a perk like this? An Chutang gloated inwardly. This Li Yan wasn’t half bad; was he shielding him from coming into contact with the dirty garbage nearby?
Behind them, Li Guangtao drew a sharp gasp. When had his Brother Yan ever been this close to anyone? Had he just taken his God of Wealth and led him around like a child?
The three of them walked downstairs, each harboring their own thoughts.
They did not head straight out of the courtyard gate. An Chutang obediently let himself be held as they went to a bicycle shed on the western side, stopping beside a military-green motorcycle.
Li Yan picked up the sole helmet hanging on it and placed it directly onto An Chutang’s head.
An Chutang’s eyes lit up with a hint of excitement; he had never ridden a motorcycle before.
Li Guangtao very naturally stepped forward and patted the rear seat of the motorcycle. “Let’s go. Little An, you sit in the middle, and I’ll sit in the back. Brother Yan drives ridiculously fast; if you aren’t careful, he’ll fling people right off.”
Hearing this, An Chutang couldn’t help frowning. The three of them squeezed together?
Even though his impression of Li Guangtao was decent, squeezing together like this was quite hard for him to accept.
While he was hesitating, Li Yan had already righted the motorcycle, turned it around, and then jerked his chin to signal him to get on.
“Uhm,” An Chutang was trying to figure out how to phrase things so as not to seem overly fastidious when Li Yan interrupted him.
“Taozi, ride your own bicycle.”
“Huh?” Li Guangtao scratched his head. “No, why? Didn’t we always ride like this with Qiangzi and the others before? How troublesome is it to split up?”
Li Yan remained entirely composed. “You just go directly to the People’s Market and wait for us there. I’m taking him to the bank first.”
Hearing that, Li Guangtao figured it made sense; the market was closer to this area, and he truly had no need to make an extra trip to the bank.
“All right then, I’ll go head to the market and wait for you guys.”
With that, he didn’t dawdle, turning to hop onto a black bicycle nearby. Waving goodbye to the two of them, he pedaled away in a flash.
Li Yan swung his long leg directly over the motorcycle and straddled it. “What are you dazing off for? Get on.”
An Chutang hurriedly and awkwardly climbed up and seated himself.
“Hold on tight.” The deep voice sounded.
An Chutang immediately broke into a smile. This question he knew how to answer!
Following that, his entire body pressed against Li Yan’s back, and he reached out to wrap his arms tightly around the other man’s waist.
This action caused the body of the man in front of him to stiffen abruptly.
Wondering if his actions had been too obvious, An Chutang hesitated and loosened his grip slightly.
Who would have guessed that the next second, with a sudden roar of the engine, the other directly accelerated and drove out of the courtyard.
An Chutang was jolted and had no choice but to hug the other tightly once again.
Out of his line of sight, however, Li Yan gently curved the corners of his lips.
When the expected system prompt failed to ring, An Chutang anxiously questioned in his mind, “Hey, Qi-Ba! What’s the situation? Playing dead again? I’ve been hugging for quite a while now, why isn’t there any notification about adding health?”
The emotionless system voice replied coldly: [Hugging refers to a face-to-face embrace. A unilateral rear-position forced hold does not increase life value.]
An Chutang wore a speech-resistant expression. “Tsk, your phrasing truly lives up to someone who enjoys shipping sweet pairings.”
With nothing better to do, he simply struck up a conversation. “Then tell me, if things keep developing and my life value reaches a hundred years, what will happen? Could I possibly live forever?”
Thinking of this possibility, An Chutang grew excited.
[What are you dreaming about? However, once your life value plus your current age reaches a hundred years, you can unlock a new page to exchange excess life value for rewards.]
An Chutang curled his lip. “Then tell me, what kind of things can be exchanged at that time?”
[Host’s authority is insufficient; this cannot be answered for you at present.]
Rejected so ruthlessly, An Chutang grew even more curious.
Leaning against Li Yan’s broad back, he felt it would be a shame to let such a good opportunity slip away like this.
His hands moved faster than his brain. Thinking that he needed to increase his life value further, his hand had already started sliding stealthily toward the hem of the other’s clothes.
Finally, An Chutang touched the edge of the other’s jacket.
He knew that today Li Yan was only wearing a thin short-sleeved shirt underneath; as long as his speed was fast enough, slipping his hand inside would make skin-to-skin contact very easy.
His only concern was finding a reasonable excuse to pull it off.
The motorcycle was moving at high speed, and An Chutang knew that if he didn’t act now, they might reach their destination at any moment.
With that thought, his fingertips gave a gentle twitch, and immediately afterward, he leaned close to Li Yan’s ear, speaking in a simulated, casual tone: “The wind is so strong, my hands are so cold!”
The moment the words fell, his hand darted like a nimble little snake straight into the innermost layer of Li Yan’s clothing, pressing flat against his skin.
Li Yan’s body shuddered, his grip tightened, and the motorcycle almost veered out of control.
[Ding! Skin-to-skin contact, life value increases by 30 minutes.]
Having successfully achieved his goal, An Chutang noticed the speed only slowed down slightly and the other didn’t say much else, which made him think even more that his life-extension target was a pretty good guy.
The hand that originally intended to quit while he was ahead somehow failed to pull back, driven by a strange impulse.
There was no helping it.
First, his hands were genuinely a bit cold.
Second, this warm, skin-to-skin tactile sensation was simply too nice to touch.
The muscles on Li Yan’s abdomen were full of elasticity, likely chilled for a second, and braced tight as a drum.
An Chutang couldn’t resist lightly sliding his hand up and down, guessing with envious speculation that there had to be at least a six-pack.
“Cut it out.”
The other’s slightly hoarse and deep voice managed to reach An Chutang over the rush of the wind, scaring him into instantly withdrawing his hand.
Not knowing if his previous movements had been a bit too much,
he felt the other seemed somewhat displeased, and the motorcycle’s speed picked up even faster for a moment.
He had no choice but to bite the bullet and hold on even tighter.
(Life Countdown: 9 hours.)