Chapter 43 Part 1

Chi Mo: “Are you willing?”

Li Ran didn’t say yes.

Nor did he say no.

Li Ran lay awake.

This was extremely rare for him.

No lights in the bedroom, thick curtains drawn tight—a pitch-black void. Li Ran blinked, staring dazedly at the ceiling, faintly visible in the gloom.

His mind was full of Chi Mo.

A persistent ghost of a man, haunting him relentlessly.

He didn’t want Chi Mo hurting himself. He wanted him to switch to a healthier, gentler method of self-correction. Then, through gradual habituation, slowly wean off any corrective behaviors altogether.

Chi Mo had agreed to a new method.

…Kissing Li Ran.

In other words, whenever Chi Mo was in a bad mood or felt emotionally repressed and needed an outlet, he’d pin Li Ran down and demand kisses.

Li Ran would have to agree—and reciprocate.

The moment Chi Mo had said it, Li Ran felt a sharp pain in his mouth. The bite wound hadn’t even healed yet, and now they were kissing again…

Li Ran said nothing. He just lowered his head, silently transformed into a little cart, wheeled Chi Mo out of his room, and silently shut the door.

Finally, amid the inexplicable heat rising in his ears, he silently switched off the light, lay down on the bed, and stayed awake until now.

He had no idea how to handle this.

Should he agree or not?

He was straight—there was no way he could like guys… no way he could like his bro.

Right…? No way.

So how could he agree to kissing?

But this was about Chi Mo’s treatment. It was official business, not personal.

Li Ran’s brows knitted together. He pulled the blanket up to his chin and let out a heavy, troubled sigh.

Bzzz—

In the near-midnight silence, his phone vibrated twice. Li Ran’s body jolted under the covers, startling him.

He grabbed the phone to check the message.

Chi Mo: [Sleep.]

Li Ran, shocked: [How do you know I haven’t slept yet?]

Li Ran: [[Stunned Kitten.jpg]]

Chi Mo: [Bluffing you.]

Chi Mo: [You really haven’t slept.]

Chi Mo: [Want a beating?]

“…Ah, so mean.” Li Ran muttered under his breath. He should’ve ignored the message.

Li Ran: [[Frightened Kitten.jpg]]

His body, which had been lying on its side, was now flat on its back somehow, butt pressed down protectively. Li Ran figured Chi Mo had beaten a psychological shadow into him—even without him here, he wanted to rub his butt. Seeing that “want a beating?” line, he hurriedly held up his phone and sent a voice message: “I’m going to sleep right now, for real. Not staying up on my phone. Bro, you gotta believe me.”

Chi Mo: [Mm.]

Chi Mo: [I believe you.]

Chi Mo: [Sleep. Now.]

Ten seconds later, Chi Mo seemed to be scrolling through emojis and finally dug one up: [[Big hand spanking kitten’s butt.jpg]]

Terrified, Li Ran blurted out goodnight, flipped his phone face-down on the nightstand, clutched the blanket, shut his eyes, and didn’t dare open them again.

About half an hour later, Chi Mo slipped silently into Li Ran’s bedroom to check if he was really asleep or faking it. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he listened to the steady, drawn-out breaths for a while, then stared unblinkingly at Li Ran’s peaceful sleeping face like an immovable mountain—until the faint light of dawn.

In past years, when coming to the Chi family for New Year, Chi Mo would only stay one night at Chi Wei’s after returning from the mountain villa. He didn’t want to be a clueless third wheel, so he’d leave the next day. This year, he chose to stay two extra days, taking Li Ran around the place.

And stopping by the head office.

If they left a day late, Cheng Ai Mei and Ye Ze would have to endure one more day of their “prison sentence.”

Their faces were as bitter as squash.

The old couple was good to themselves—staying up late gaming and watching videos, scarfing down fast food and junk, indulging every bad habit they’d skipped in their youth for lack of time or money. They crammed it all into their pinched old age, refusing to let Ye Chengwan worry.

This year, they finally faced retribution. Spending New Year at Chi Wei’s had been pure darkness every day; they’d wanted to bust out and go home ages ago.

Who knew Chi Mo wanted to take Li Ran sightseeing for a few more days? It was the death of them.

Cheng Ai Mei wasn’t acting like a proper grandma. She wanted to secretly egg Li Ran on to go home. He was young—his fussing came off like coquetry, and adults loved to indulge him. Worst case, a cry-fuss-hang routine, and Chi Mo would surely cave.

They’d be home that very night.

Her perfect plan hadn’t even launched when Cheng Ai Mei sensed something off.

These past two days, Li Ran was still glued to Chi Mo, eating and drinking as usual, but the vibe between them was wrong.

Take right now, for example.

Dinner time was approaching. Chi Wei and Ye Chengwan weren’t back from work yet. Li Ran and Chi Mo had worn themselves out touring the head office for two days and returned early today. Li Ran plopped on the living room sofa, an arm clamped around a throw pillow each.

Brows furrowed in worry.

Gotta say, he looked kinda cute.

Chi Mo sat across from him, reaching out: “Where’s that string of Bodhi beads? I was wearing one when I got here. Hand it over.”

Li Ran abruptly clamped the pillows tighter, not looking up, voice muffled: “Not giving it.”

“You getting bold now, huh?” Chi Mo stood up. That dominant pressure surged instantly, making Cheng Ai Mei’s eyelids twitch. She’d heard them return and planned to prod Li Ran into coquetry, but now she thought better—Dog King was in a mood; time to slip away.

But leaving Li Ran alone in the living room worried her. If the kid didn’t get spooked, the Chi-surnamed Dog King might lose it, scare the boy off, and go berserk. That’d make things even messier.

She anxiously yanked back Ye Ze, who was itching to bolt, and eavesdropped on their spat.

Ye Ze muttered: “Stinky old hag, don’t drag me down. Little pervert’s business is none of mine—he’s scary like the big pervert.”

Cheng Ai Mei tsked, clapped a hand over his mouth, and stomped his foot.

They’d underestimated the flawless human mask Chi Mo wore around Li Ran. He’d sooner kill himself than scare the boy.

—Unless Li Ran screwed up. Like, say, falling for someone else.

Chi Mo wouldn’t argue with Li Ran. In the end, he sighed helplessly: “Fine, won’t force you. I’ll go search your bedroom myself.”

“…Go ahead.” Li Ran ducked his head even lower, terrified that if he looked up and their eyes met, Chi Mo would spot the truth: the Bodhi beads were on him.

Searching the bedroom would be pointless. He’d have to search Li Ran.

Birds of a feather flock together—now the kid was picking up little tricks.

Li Ran quietly patted himself on the back in his mind.

Once Chi Mo left, Li Ran exhaled in temporary relief, then hurriedly fished the Bodhi beads from his pocket and shoved them at Cheng Ai Mei to offload the evidence. He whispered urgently: “Grandma, hold onto these for me first. He won’t find them in the bedroom and will definitely search me next. Don’t let my bro find them, okay?” He emphasized repeatedly, “Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely cannot give them to him. Really, really, really cannot.”

Cheng Ai Mei knew a bit about the Bodhi beads’ effect on Chi Mo. She’d tried advising against them at first—to no avail. Pushing further would only deepen his fixation on those unpleasant past memories.

Suddenly handed something so significant, she jolted in shock and shoved it back: “Dear grandson, I wasn’t plotting against you—you can’t frame your grandma like this! We’re supposed to love each other. I don’t dare take this… Fine, fine. My old bones? Cold-faced Dog King won’t do much to me. But if he finds out you hid it, you’ll get the beating. Remember, you owe me one. Tomorrow, you beg Chi Mo to go home. Coquetry doesn’t work? Then cry.”

With that, she clutched the beads tight, stuffed them in her pocket, and struck a hand-in-pocket boss-lady pose. Suspiciously, she asked: “What’s up with Xiao Mo? Dog King’s rotten temper acting up?”

“His parents are coming tonight,” Li Ran grumbled unhappily. “Said they’re eating dinner here. Bro’s really pissed.”

Cheng Ai Mei and Ye Ze exchanged a glance, both frowning slightly.

Li Ran explained: “Today we went to Little Uncle’s company. Little Uncle still had stuff to handle, so he and Uncle Wan are coming back late. We hadn’t even left the building when his parents showed up… Little Uncle was there too, with other people around. His parents just announced they were coming for dinner…”

He wasn’t the type to gossip behind backs. He’d never discussed such things before—not even when surrounded by rumors, true or fake, about others. Li Ran stayed on the crowd’s fringes, never crying or fussing, seeming desireless. He always thought being overlooked was best.

But now, whether really pissed or not, Li Ran wanted to throw a tantrum, to badmouth them. He saw through Chi Wei and Qi Shan’s public stunt: banking on Chi Wei, a big-shot who valued face, not refusing.