“Alright, let’s go inside first,” Ji Qingyan said.
Lu Xuecha got up from his embrace, clinging to his arm as he followed closely. Seeing Yu Chiqiu and Ming Xiangwan sitting on the sofa, he greeted them warmly, “Brother Yu, Sister Wanwan.”
He noticed a man sitting in the corner of the sofa, arms crossed, with a sharp gaze and an expressionless face staring at him, exuding a low-pressure aura.
Lu Xuecha tightened his grip on Ji Qingyan’s arm. “Brother Qingyan, who is that person?”
“That’s my friend, Lu Qi,” Ji Qingyan replied, turning to look at Lu Qi. He noticed Lu Qi staring intently in their direction—more precisely, at his arm. What was going on? Who had upset him again?
Lu Qi watched them clinging to each other, feeling deeply irritated. He gritted his teeth, wishing he could pull them apart. How could someone that old still stick to Ji Qingyan like that? Wasn’t he embarrassed?
Ji Qingyan caught Lu Qi’s fierce glare and noticed the faintly resentful, aggrieved look in his eyes. Glancing down at his arm, which was still held by Lu Xuecha, he finally understood the reason for Lu Qi’s anger.
He subtly withdrew his arm and said to Lu Xuecha, “Xiao Cha, why don’t you go rest for a while?”
“Okay, Brother Qingyan.” Lu Xuecha leaned in and whispered into Ji Qingyan’s ear, “That person looks really fierce, like he wants to eat me alive.”
Ji Qingyan patted his head. “He’s in a bad mood. Just don’t provoke him.”
“Oh, got it,” Lu Xuecha replied, instinctively sensing hostility in Lu Qi’s gaze.
“Xiao Cha, come over here to Sister,” Ming Xiangwan beckoned to him.
“Coming, Sister Wanwan,” Lu Xuecha said, walking around the sofa to sit beside her.
Lu Xuecha had fair skin and a pure, pretty face. Having practiced ballet since childhood, he possessed an elegant and refined demeanor that gave him an otherworldly charm.
His family had collaborated with the Ji family on several occasions. After meeting Ji Qingyan by chance once, he couldn’t help but feel drawn to him. Since then, Lu Xuecha would visit Ji Qingyan whenever he had free time.
Ji Qingyan also had a younger brother at home, so when he encountered someone like Lu Xuecha of a similar age, he naturally felt inclined to be more protective.
Yan Yuchen took off his suit jacket and hung it on the coat rack before walking over to sit beside Yu Chiqiu.
“Did the project negotiations go smoothly this time?” Yu Chiqiu asked.
Yan Yuchen unbuttoned his collar and took a sip of water from the glass in front of him. “It went fine. The other company was efficient, so there weren’t any issues.”
“Hey, is that person a new friend of Qingyan’s?” he nudged Yu Chiqiu’s arm.
“Yeah, they’re neighbors too.”
“He’s quite handsome.”
“What, do you fancy him?” Yu Chiqiu glanced at him.
“Not at all. He’s clearly the same type as me.” No matter how handsome he was, he wasn’t Yan Yuchen’s type.
Lu Xuecha suddenly felt thirsty. He looked toward Ji Qingyan, who was selecting a bottle of red wine from the wine rack. “Brother Qingyan, do you have any drinks here?”
Before Ji Qingyan could respond, Lu Qi, sitting in the corner of the sofa, suddenly spoke up, “There’s orange juice and cola on the first shelf of the fridge.” After saying this, he lowered his head and continued playing on his phone.
Skeptical, Lu Xuecha opened the fridge and found exactly what Lu Qi had mentioned. He took out a bottle of orange juice.
Noticing his phone was running low on battery, he asked Ji Qingyan again, “Brother Qingyan, can I borrow your charging cable?”
Lu Qi turned off his phone, stood up irritably from the sofa, and walked over to Lu Xuecha. Without even glancing at him, he opened the refrigerator, took out a can of cola, and said before leaving, “The charging cable is in the drawer of the bedside table in the master bedroom.”
“Wait, how do you know that?”
Lu Xuecha hurriedly called out to him. How could he be so familiar with this place, even knowing the exact locations of things as if he had been here many times?
Lu Qi didn’t look pleased with him and said coldly, “Guess.”
Seeing Ji Qingyan enter the bedroom, Lu Qi took a big gulp of cola, crushed the empty can, and threw it into the trash bin.
Ji Qingyan’s shirt sleeve had gotten dirty. Just as he finished changing clothes, he heard the sound of the door locking, followed by soft footsteps approaching from behind.
There was no need to guess who it was. As the footsteps drew nearer, Ji Qingyan suddenly felt a firm chest press against his back. Lu Qi embraced him from behind, his strong arms tightly encircling Ji Qingyan’s waist as he buried his face in the crook of his neck.
Ji Qingyan let him hold on, sensing Lu Qi’s low spirits. He soothingly stroked the arms wrapped around his waist.
Then he raised a hand to gently pat Lu Qi’s hair and asked softly, “What’s wrong? Who upset you?”
Lu Qi nuzzled against his neck like a clingy puppy. How could he act so intimately with someone else right in front of him and then ask what was wrong? He was practically fuming.
But he didn’t dare vent his anger at Ji Qingyan, only holding him tightly while sulking. In that moment, the fierce young wolf retracted its sharp claws and transformed into an affectionate puppy, burying all his jealousy and sour feelings deep inside.
“Do you like that little green tea?” Lu Qi asked him.
“His name is Lu Xuecha, not little green tea,” Ji Qingyan corrected him.
Lu Qi had no interest in knowing the other’s name. “I don’t care what tea he is. Just answer me—do you have feelings for him?”
The jealousy in his tone was almost overflowing, and Ji Qingyan couldn’t help but chuckle.
“What are you laughing at?” Lu Qi gently shook him.
“I do like him.”
“What?!” Lu Qi lifted his head from Ji Qingyan’s neck, staring at him in disbelief.
“Let me finish. I like him, but not in the way you’d like a romantic partner. Do you understand?”
Ji Qingyan turned around to face him closely. After all that nuzzling, Lu Qi’s hair was slightly messy, but it didn’t diminish his handsomeness in the slightest.
Lu Qi’s anxious heart finally settled. He pulled Ji Qingyan closer, pressing him against his chest, and rubbed his thumb suggestively against Ji Qingyan’s waist. “Hmph, so you still like him.”
Ji Qingyan reached out and pinched Lu Qi’s earlobe, smiling as he asked, “Lu Qi, are you jealous?”
Exposed, Lu Qi’s ears instantly flushed red. He turned his face away, not daring to meet Ji Qingyan’s eyes, and stubbornly retorted, “Why would I be jealous? What do I have to be jealous about?”
Ji Qingyan paused briefly in pinching his earlobe, then lowered his hand and said softly, “You’re right. We’re not in that kind of relationship anyway. I misspoke.”
Hearing this, Lu Qi felt a pang of regret, annoyed at his own hasty words earlier.
“He keeps calling you ‘Qingyan-ge, Qingyan-ge.’ He’s a grown man—isn’t he embarrassed? And he even acts coquettish with you.”
Lu Qi voiced his dissatisfaction like a jealous husband, completely forgetting who had just been nuzzling and acting coquettish in Ji Qingyan’s neck moments ago.
Ji Qingyan sighed helplessly, “He’s two years younger than you, and you have the nerve to say that about him.”
“You’re defending him again.” Lu Qi flared up once more.
“Alright, don’t make me scold you.”
“Hmph.”
“Childish.” Ji Qingyan chuckled.
“Ji Qingyan!”
In a fit of anger, Lu Qi planted a kiss on his cheek, deliberately making a loud “mwah” sound. Ji Qingyan touched the spot where he had been kissed. “Why did you kiss me?”
“To punish you, of course. Who told you to call me childish?”
Ji Qingyan thought to himself, “This isn’t punishment at all—it’s more like a reward.”