Chapter 69

It was as if he were truly perplexed.

Not a trace of lust mingled in.

Suddenly, it seemed Bo Chengyan had grasped a fundamental truth: in traditional societies, relationships followed a chain from dating, to marriage, to raising children, at which point an additional layer of “familial affection” emerged.

It was an evolving emotion, progressing from strangers to familiarity, and finally to a resonance of souls.

Only belatedly did Qi Jing realize that Bo Chengyan had been raising him from the very start…

The sequence of stages had been inverted.

Yet the substance was all there.

Surely, life wouldn’t deduct points for something like this, would it?

The room was utterly quiet.

Qi Jing held onto the man’s shoulders and back, following his gaze. He noticed the door handle had already been turned—why not go in?

Blessed with a youthful heart full of fortune, the boy reached out and pushed the door open.

Clang—

It was like pushing open the chambers of his heart.

The second floor was peaceful and still. Moonlight filtered through the master bedroom window, casting a gentle, serene glow.

“What do you think?”

Bo Chengyan lowered his eyes, his brow shadowing the inscrutable emotions beneath, as if genuinely puzzled.

He seemed to be seeking guidance.

The boy was young; he didn’t know why they weren’t entering.

“Um…”

His vocal cords were still newly formed, tender and childish.

The ability to judge independently and make one’s own choices was an essential step toward maturity.

Qi Jing pondered for a long time before mumbling solemnly:

“I think…”

“Isn’t it?”

People existed propped up by their social roles. Bo Chengyan rarely showed his face, all to keep Qi Jing undisturbed.

This world had all sorts of identities, but only a few were legitimate, aligning with ethics and morals…

He was young; he craved freedom above all.

There was nothing wrong with that.

Qi Jing’s lips were parted, the faint taste of peach bubble water lingering inside—sweet.

Perhaps, just as Lin Se had said, he wouldn’t hide away. He wouldn’t refuse.

Because this was the person he trusted most…

“Mm… ah.”

Their teeth grazed lightly. The boy’s slender chest heaved, their faces indistinct in the night.

Under the moonlight, only a pair of hands climbed toward the shirt buttons.

Click.

The light came on.

Qi Jing was carried to the edge of the bed, his breathing uneven. His waist was encircled as he half-knelt there.

“Why… why stop kissing?”

Bo Chengyan’s gaze was downcast, his expression still one of gentle courtesy, but he pulled the boy closer and said:

“Change out of your outer clothes. It’ll be uncomfortable otherwise.”

Qi Jing felt a flush of shyness. He grabbed the man’s arm, his neck flushed red. “I can do it myself… change.”

Even his words came out a bit dull.

996 was right about that.

Bo Chengyan harbored an unusually intense possessiveness.

Qi Jing had realized it.

But he thought he could accommodate it.

That friend in Harbor City wasn’t exactly…

“Mm.”

His shirt was easily unbuttoned, revealing luminous skin—pale and smooth.

Qi Jing instinctively leaned forward, wrapping his arms around the man’s shoulders and tucking his chin into the crook of his neck.

He couldn’t deal with it.

Like an ostrich, he buried himself and gave up resisting.

The master bedroom’s constant-temperature air conditioning was perfectly comfortable; Qi Jing didn’t feel cold at all.

His ear seemed to receive a light kiss.

The boy’s arm was taken and slipped into a fresh shirt—soft cotton.

Qi Jing was a bit dazed. As he was lifted by the waist and seated on the bed’s edge, he even asked:

“Aren’t we… going to do it?”

Bo Chengyan had been adjusting the sleeves but paused at the words, his jaw tightening slightly.

“Later.”

His voice was low and husky.

Qi Jing was puzzled but softly murmured his assent.

Very obedient.

They had originally planned to go downstairs for dinner.

But somehow, Auntie had sent it up. Qi Jing was already drowsy when he was scooped off the bed.

Fed spoonful by spoonful.

Perhaps accustomed to such care.

The boy didn’t refuse.

He didn’t see it as any particular signal.

Later, they went to wash up. He brushed his teeth thoroughly, and his mouth was even gently pried open for inspection.

Bo Chengyan carried him straight back to the bed’s edge and soothed with downcast eyes: “You can sleep for a bit first.”

The boy had been tended to so thoroughly.

He nodded sleepily, arms around the man’s shoulders, planting a kiss on his chin.

It was overt affection.

And attachment.

It was around eight o’clock.

Dinner finished, body refreshed. Qi Jing fell asleep swiftly.

In the second before consciousness faded.

There seemed to be the sound of running water from the bathroom.

Taking a shower?

From eight to nine o’clock.

The bathroom ran only cold water.

At nine-ten.

Half in a dream, Qi Jing felt his waist drawn up. Before he could fully react, he was settled onto Bo Chengyan’s lap, face-to-face.

The nape of his neck was lightly gripped.

Dazed, the boy only felt the chill—cool on his throat…

The kiss overwhelmed him.

The adult’s minty toothpaste, sharp and stimulating.

He didn’t like it.

Their tongues teased lightly.

Perhaps because of Lin Se’s reminder.

Feed him well. Make him exert less effort.

Prolonged empty stomachs weren’t good for a teenager’s health.

Can’t have him both starving and depleted.

…

In the end, tears blurred his vision.

An adult’s intimate contact was always direct, leaning toward possession and being possessed. As the body was folded open.

Only then did a hint of true inner self emerge.

Society granted everyone equal freedom, but when plunging into love and desire, people always craved the assault of a storm.

~~~

Qi Jing slept until the next evening. His condition was somewhat better this time—no gnawing emptiness in his stomach.

In between, he’d been roused for sugar water.

It had gone fairly smoothly.

But his lower body felt numb, achy and tingling.

When Qi Jing was lifted, his face burned crimson. He didn’t even want to look at the other’s face.

The high, straight bridge of the nose followed a sleek line.

The look of desire wasn’t much different from usual.

Closing his eyes conjured…

His calves nearly trembled.

“Uncomfortable?”

His shoulders were supported, as if speaking to a child.

Bo Chengyan was utterly reliable, broad-shouldered. When he looked down with focus.

But it was that kind of gaze.

The kind where silence might earn a verbal reprimand.

After all, sufficient authority had been established.

“N-No…”

Even his lashes quivered.

Fluttering down.

The boy curled his toes, reluctant to be examined.

But it was futile. His waist was gently tugged; his chin rested on the man’s shoulder as his sleepshirt was rolled up.

His skin had grown fragile and sensitive.

The lightest touch provoked shivers.

“If it’s uncomfortable, you have to say so.”

Qi Jing’s eyes were misty, his skin tingling with coolness.

It was ointment.

Qi Jing idly tugged at Bo Chengyan’s shirt collar, later nibbling it playfully, wetting a small patch with his tongue.

The application paused.

“Little Jing.”

Reluctantly, the boy released his mouth and turned to look, all innocence.

Until he sensed something.

First time awkward, second time familiar.

Qi Jing nearly slid off right away, but he’d forgotten his legs were weak. He couldn’t shift back.

Instead, he settled firmly in place.

Bo Chengyan kept watching him from above, one palm on the slender white calf, kiss marks at the ankle.

“What are you afraid of?”

“Tonight, no.”

A hand supported Qi Jing’s back, easily drawing him closer. He leaned against the man’s shoulder.

His breathing grew uneven.

His earlobes red enough to bleed.

“I-I saw in videos… it doesn’t take that long.”

“Not long.”

Qi Jing still felt bloated in his lower belly. He bit his lip. “Sometimes… it hurts.”

“You have to say.”

Bo Chengyan merely held the boy’s hand, easing apart each knuckle one by one. The bones beneath the skin were delicate.

Like the first imported dolls from the early 2000s.

Perhaps the tone was too steady.

The boy relaxed, nestling into a comfortable spot, the corners of his eyes flushed.

“It went too deep.”

“Made me want to gag. Why?”

Bo Chengyan paused again. Perhaps he simply wasn’t one to seduce—maybe it was the boy’s own poor character.

“I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Mm.”

The boy’s tone was light as he tugged the man’s sleeve.

As if satisfied at last.

Qi Jing leaned against the man’s shoulder, seemingly worn out, murmuring a few disjointed words.

Like complaints.

Then he slipped back into dreams…

Just a little scared.

Reassured by the promise, he drew close again.

No memory for such things.

The bedroom was impeccably clean, with faint elegant incense. The boy in his arms slept soundly.

Eyelids faintly red.

Temperature normal.

Often, such delicateness was cultivated personally by the one in power.

Like after bed matters.

Had to watch constantly. Couldn’t let him wake without you there.

He’d cry.

Raising a person was profoundly difficult. Even now that Qi Jing had grown so much, even with a less introverted personality.

Bo Chengyan still believed himself guilty.

When the boy had first been brought into his arms, he was so small, sullen and taciturn.

A full month of psychological therapy.

Even hypnosis employed.

Desperately needing companionship back then.

Yet he rarely came.

Perhaps viewing him as a pet, or some even colder notion.

But even so.

The boy still showed such dependence, such liking.

He seemed utterly unable to distinguish right from wrong in the real world.

Even after hearing the rumors about being kept as a lover, he accepted them without a second thought.

He had even taught himself how to please.

Afraid of being abandoned… so he refused to take things any further.

Qi Jing was still so young. The confusion of adolescence was easy enough to understand.

From start to finish, the one at fault had been him.

Bo Chengyan held the same position for a long time. Only once the boy had fallen into a deep sleep did he bend down to gently lay him on the bed. The teenager’s cheeks were fair and smooth, his features fresh and innocent.

Propping himself up on his arms, the man watched for a moment before pinching the boy’s chin and brushing a featherlight kiss against his lips.

Just the barest touch of lip to lip.

Then they parted.

~~~

It was probably evening, and the study was utterly still.

The man’s shirt was rumpled but still hung neatly from his frame, accentuating his long, lean build.

Bo Chengyan twisted open a medicine bottle with one hand and swallowed the pills down with a gulp of water, his face devoid of expression. He lowered his gaze and dialed a number.

A few seconds passed.

“Hello? No, it’s evening now—this is my time off—”

“He agreed.”

The man’s voice was low and grave.

The night was profoundly quiet.

The young man on the other end of the line fell silent for a beat. Perhaps because he knew Bo Chengyan all too well, there was no teasing in his tone. He simply asked:

“What happened?”

Time ticked by, second by second.

As Bo Chengyan laid out the full story,

the voice from the phone came through clearly.

“Oh… Baby. My god, what a good kid.”

It was a heartfelt sigh.

Relationships between partners came in all shapes and sizes—some full of conflict, some built on dependence, others marked by polite respect…

There was no hierarchy among them, merely different pairings of souls.

“He didn’t force you into it. I really thought you’d lost control.”

“He sees you as his… guardian figure. And as his partner, too. So he accepted it naturally.”

“The kid’s found an identity he can live with.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“Isn’t there that whole ‘daddy’ thing in the West? Haha.”

Bo Chengyan’s expression cooled. “Lin Se.”

Only then did the other man dial it back, offering a calm analysis.

“No helping it—you’ve already done the deed. You severed his normal family bonds and handled both those searches for his relatives yourself.”

“You got exactly what you wanted. You’re the sole center of his family network now.”

“Feeling a bit guilty?”

“So you called me up for some theoretical backing? To prove you didn’t do anything wrong?”

The young man seemed to shrug—there was a faint rustle of fabric over the line.

“In a way, Bo, you’re damn lucky.”

“That’s all I can say.”

“From a friend’s perspective, dealing with those two awful parents was smart—cut off any future threats. It’s protection for Qi Jing’s physical and mental well-being. I support it.”

“But as your doctor, I have to say your possessiveness is off the charts. You’ve got both his familial and romantic feelings arrowed straight at you. I get why there might be some guilt.”

“Though honestly? Sounds more like psychological satisfaction to me.”

A second or two went by.

Then he asked,

“Have you taken your meds?”