In the yard, besides piles of scrap, there was a rickety tricycle. Shen Leyuan hid there hoping to hitch a ride when the lame scavenger went out to collect more junk.
But misfortune never came singly—the creditors headed this way just as the scavenger’s voice rang out from the house.
“Who’s there?”
No one answered. The scavenger poked his head out suspiciously.
The yard was empty.
Shen Leyuan was on the second-floor balcony—he’d been carried up there.
His face was buried in the cool bro bodyguard’s broad, solid chest. A black suit collar loomed before his eyes, while heated arguments about “Is Shen Leyuan at your place?” drifted from below between the scavenger and the burly man.
Once it was safe, the bodyguard released him.
Shen Leyuan clutched his pounding heart and stepped back half a pace, silently asking: What are you doing here?
The bodyguard tapped his earpiece. The answer was obvious.
It was the big boss’s orders.
The big boss knew his reputation in the neighborhood, knew trouble was coming, so he’d deliberately kept the bodyguard nearby—maybe even ordered protection. Otherwise, the timing wouldn’t have been so perfect.
Was the big boss actually that nice?
Shen Leyuan didn’t know. He only knew the cool bro bodyguard was seriously badass, like his sunglasses had a game minimap showing enemy-free paths. They dodged and weaved, scaled a few walls, and slipped out of the neighborhood.
That broad, imposing back was pure cool factor.
It just reeked a bit.
Shen Leyuan sniffed himself, then stealthily leaned closer to the bodyguard and sniffed him. All his words boiled down to one: “Uh… how about we hit the showers first?”
The bodyguard turned his expressionless face toward him. After a long moment, he nodded.
…
They returned to the villa around one in the afternoon.
Before even spotting the big boss—or stepping inside—Shen Leyuan heard Little Deer’s voice, laced with tears: “Teacher—”
The boy rushed down the stairs, whining through sobs: “Teacher, why are you only back now!”
QAQ, does that mean you don’t want Little Deer anymore?
He launched into a flying hug, embedding himself in Shen Leyuan’s arms.
Good thing we just showered.
Shen Leyuan hugged Little Deer back, the thought popping up at the worst time.
The bodyguard passed them quietly.
Little Deer’s delicate nose twitched in the air. His pupils contracted slightly, and he suddenly yelled in anger: “Stop right there!”
The bodyguard kept walking as if he hadn’t heard.
Little Deer chased after, grabbing the bodyguard’s clothes. He tiptoed, sniffing the man’s arm and neck while tears pattered down.
“Teacher!” he shrieked. “Did you do naughty things with him!”
Shen Leyuan: …?
Little Deer’s chain reaction left him baffled: “Huh?”
Little Deer acted like a jealous husband catching his wife cheating, breaking down: “You both smell the same! You must’ve kissed and hugged! Why let him kiss and hug but not Little Deer? It’s not fair!”
The bodyguard visibly stiffened from the fallout.
Shen Leyuan laughed helplessly, prying Little Deer off him: “What are you talking about? We just showered together. That’s hotel body wash.”
What???
Little Deer burned with envy: “I want to shower with Teacher too!”
Shen Leyuan: You’re trying to get me killed.
That super-jealous ghost father of yours… whatever, the big boss doesn’t seem like the novel version. Won’t curse him yet.
He cooed gently: “Once Little Deer masters everything Teacher’s taught you, how about a shower as your reward?”
“No!” Little Deer whined, pointing at the bodyguard. “Why’d you reward him!”
Shen Leyuan: …???
Little Deer’s brain works in mysterious ways.
“No, I didn’t reward him. What does this have to do with rewards?”
With cool bro bodyguard right there, Shen Leyuan cringed at his image. “Can we talk upstairs?”
Little Deer stubbornly refused: “No! I want my reward too!”
He’d woken before dawn. Teacher wanted no disturbances, so he’d painfully held out until mealtime to find him—but Teacher was gone.
Daddy said Teacher ran away and wouldn’t come back.
The boy couldn’t name his panic, just clung to Teacher’s waist, drawing reassurance: “Little Deer wants to stay with Teacher! Little Deer wants lots of rewards!”
Shen Leyuan, clueless about the details, felt a splitting headache.
“Let’s go upstairs and talk it out,” he repeated wearily. “Teacher didn’t sleep last night, hasn’t eaten today, and now I’m exhausted and my head hurts. Little Deer’s such a good boy—you’ll let Teacher rest first, right?”
Little Deer’s eyes brimmed with grievance: “No! I want to shower with Teacher now!”
Why can the bodyguard and not me?
The bodyguard even went out playing with Teacher! I wanna go out too!
His head throbbed worse.
Shen Leyuan took a deep breath, pulled out his phone to call in the nuclear option. But as it connected, his own voice echoed faintly from above.
He froze, looking up.
The big boss met his gaze expressionlessly, unknown how long he’d been watching.
“Mr. Lin.” He gave an awkward greeting.
The big boss’s distorted voice came from the phone: “Mm?”
He didn’t seem mad—no hulking guard dog nearby either. Shen Leyuan relaxed a fraction, probing: “How long have you been here?”
The big boss glanced indifferently at him, then at Little Deer: “Want to shower with Teacher?”
Little Deer nodded tearfully: “Mm…”
Shen Leyuan instantly relaxed completely.
Ghost father or not, no way he’d let his pretty eighteen-year-old son shower with an adult gay guy. I’m safe!
Lin Yuan: “Then go shower.”
Huh???
Big boss, you… Shen Leyuan’s vision blackened.
Ten minutes later, new clothes in hand and Little Deer wrapped around his waist, Shen Leyuan entered the bathroom with the tragic resolve of a heroic sacrifice.
Lin Shilu’s hands trembled with excitement. The moment they were inside, he shoved things at Teacher: “This is Little Deer’s body wash, this is Little Deer’s shampoo, this is Little Deer’s ducky, this is Little Deer’s kitty towel, and this, this…”
Like a three-year-old kid.
But no kid was that gorgeous—skin like fine jade carved by masters, or sweet milky jelly begging to be licked and tasted. Even his toes were adorable, like plump pink pearls.
At some point, Little Deer had hugged Shen Leyuan.
His clothes were soaked through, tugged downward by Little Deer’s grip: “Take them off~ You promised a shower together. Don’t you want to shower with Little Deer?”
Shen Leyuan’s vision swam, reason hanging by a thread: “I…”
Little Deer choked up: “Does Teacher dislike Little Deer?”
In his daze, Shen Leyuan struggled: “No, Teacher likes all his students equally.”
All? Who’s besides me???
Little Deer’s eyes widened. He cupped Shen Leyuan’s face: “Is Little Deer not pretty? Not beautiful enough? Does Teacher like Little Deer? Only Little Deer? Teacher—”
Steam dampened everything, turning Shen Leyuan’s lips glossy and red.
Little Deer swallowed hard, murmuring: “No one dislikes feeling good… If Teacher does it with Little Deer once, he’ll like Little Deer…“
He leaned down for a soft kiss.
Closer, closer—he was almost there. Shen Leyuan summoned his last strength to block with a hand and rolled his eyes back, fainting.
Little Deer: …
Little Deer: !!!
Panicking, Little Deer fumbled for his phone and called, bursting into wails: “Daddy, Daddy! Teacher suddenly died!”
On the screen, the young man lay pale and unconscious.
Lin Yuan expressionlessly soothed the child.
Learning Teacher had just fainted, Little Deer wailed harder: “Everyone wants to kiss Little Deer—why doesn’t Teacher? Is Little Deer not pretty anymore?”
Lin Yuan’s gaze lingered uncontrollably on the boy before sparing the young man a glance.
No food since last night, steamy bathroom heat—fainting was normal. But right at the kiss? Accident… or…?
“Daddy!” The boy flung himself at the monitor, pretty face streaked with tears: “Did Little Deer get ugly?”
Lin Yuan traced his on-screen features virtually, voice warm: “No.”
“Then why’d Teacher faint? Shouldn’t he kiss Little Deer first? He’s doing it on purpose! He must be!”
The boy’s voice sharpened. He suddenly straddled the young man’s waist, fumbling with his belt, muttering obsessively: “My body’s pretty—he said so. He said he’d like me after, only me…”
“Little Deer.”
The man’s indifferent voice came from the phone.
Little Deer froze, held his breath, shut off the phone, and stubbornly wrestled the belt.
A darker warning echoed from the monitor: “Stop!”
Bodyguards poured in, tearing Little Deer off Shen Leyuan. His cries pierced Lin Yuan’s ears through the screen. He gripped the Rose Brooch between his fingers, squeezing his eyes shut against the chaotic farce.
Long after, a bodyguard reported: “Young Master cried himself to sleep.”
Lin Yuan: “How many did it take?”
“Four.”
The room fell silent, save for the man’s fingers tapping his wheelchair armrest. The screen looped the morning’s tug-of-war between Shen Leyuan and Little Deer, cool bro bodyguard stiffly nearby.
“You’re my most trusted subordinate,” Lin Yuan said.
“Yes.”
“Take a vacation with those four. Come back in a while.”
“…Yes.”
