Chapter 26

Qi Jing was already hungry. When he got the reply that the elevator was out of order, he nodded and dug into his meal.

Still, his heart felt fuzzy with unease.

Did the other man know he had kissed him?

Would the aphrodisiac have clouded his mind?

Qi Jing’s grip tightened slightly on his chopsticks until Bo Chengyan asked, “What are you thinking about?”

The boy froze for a moment.

He had heard that question many times before.

Even someone as oblivious as Qi Jing had noticed the pattern. His eyelids drooped as he placed some food into his rice bowl and carefully set down his chopsticks.

He looked up.

It was just like answering a question in class.

“I’m not thinking about anything. Why do you always ask me that?”

Behind the flowers on the dining table, 996 happily slurped down a long strip of bacon. A flash of white light streaked across its beady eyes.

It seemed to glitch for a second.

Bo Chengyan’s expression didn’t change, and he made no effort to hide anything. “Because I want to know.”

Perhaps it was his control freak side acting up.

A rather dark emotion.

“Of course, you don’t have to tell me.”

At that moment, he turned polite and refined again.

Qi Jing sometimes couldn’t read the man’s intentions. He pursed his lips. “Actually, I wasn’t thinking much—”

Clang.

The vase on the table suddenly toppled over, spilling water everywhere.

Before Qi Jing could react, he was scooped up by the waist.

996 still had a half-eaten petal in its mouth and stared blankly as water drenched its head. It had only gone for the petals because the meat felt too greasy.

It seemed to have tugged on something.

Not a drop of water touched Qi Jing. He was too busy glaring at the culprit on the table.

Bo Chengyan set him down from his lap and pulled out the chair to his right. In a gentle voice, he said, “Sit here.”

A fresh serving of breakfast was brought over.

Qi Jing took the chopsticks, feeling under immense pressure. Hadn’t he just eaten? He might end up stuffed.

When Auntie came over, she looked puzzled. As she cleaned up, she muttered, “How did this happen? Did I not set it properly?”

Brocade River Villas spanned three stories, inside and out exuding refined elegance. Not only were the exterior walls and windows adorned with meticulously tended rose bushes, but fresh flowers were delivered daily for the interior as well.

Bo Chengyan simply said mildly, “It was just an accident. No need to put flowers on the dining table next time.”

“Understood, sir.”

The little mishap passed quickly.

But when he turned to look at Qi Jing, the boy was staring off in one direction, shaking his head.

Bo Chengyan followed his gaze.

That spot was completely empty.

~~~

As soon as they returned to the bedroom, Qi Jing let out a long breath and picked up 996. “You can’t eat when there are people around. You’ll get discovered like that.”

【…The meat was too greasy.】

Ever since discovering that human food could make it feel tingly, 996 had grown even more enthusiastic about trying everything, determined to sample every kind out there.

But it hadn’t achieved that goal yet.

【No big deal if we get caught!】

The blue slime floated over to the desk, plopped down, and grumbled:

【It’s not like it’s the first time anyway…】

Qi Jing pulled out a chair and sat, his cheeks a bit flushed. He still hadn’t quite settled his mood.

Not until 996 started explaining the solution.

【Here’s the thing—my last mission deviated from the plot too, and it’s actually pretty simple to fix.】

The boy looked up, his face full of confusion.

【Switch protagonists.】

996 said earnestly: 【The world perspective is from the protagonist bottom’s side, so his love interest is the other protagonist.】

Qi Jing nodded as if he half-understood. With drooped eyelids, he said, “I know that.”

“Isn’t it Bo Chengyan?”

【…】

996 felt aggrieved just thinking about it, nursing a grudge that kept it from eating or sleeping in peace.

Less than thirty minutes, and it had been whisked away from the restaurant to a hotel.

Hah, so what if it ate a couple slices of your meat!

【Ditch him!】

Qi Jing blinked in surprise and looked over. “Ditch him?”

His tone was full of bewilderment.

996 simply said: 【First things first—we need to find that top escort.】

~~~

Things didn’t unfold as expected at the start. Qi Jing never got the chance to move out, and he couldn’t even find his luggage.

996 had gone off again, saying it needed to scan for ducks within a ten-mile radius. Back then, it had been so thrown off that it hadn’t paid attention to who had pinned down the protagonist bottom.

Qi Jing’s mission now included helping Ruan Heng find his one-night stand.

“…”

But he had barely spoken to Ruan Heng.

He only knew the guy was at Capital University.

Capital University?

Qi Jing perked up. He needed to go to Capital University to find Ruan Heng. So, in the week before classes started, he mustered his courage at the dinner table and voiced his idea:

“I want to live in the dorms.”

Bo Chengyan frowned at him. These days, he came home every day, mostly just to keep him company at meals.

He had just wrapped up the hotel aphrodisiac incident, and now this.

“Why?”

Qi Jing pursed his lips and said earnestly, “Lots of college students live in dorms. I want to experience it too. Maybe I can make some new friends?”

Bo Chengyan thought he might say something discouraging—like how the dorm beds were narrow, the conditions poor, with frequent water or power outages and complicated social dynamics…

But in the end,

what came out was: “All right.”

“Little Jing should make some new friends.”

Qi Jing hadn’t expected it to go so smoothly. His eyes lit up, and he even ate an extra bowl of rice.

Finally, he waved happily. “Then I’m heading upstairs first.”

And off he went.

Bo Chengyan sat there for a moment longer, vaguely feeling that Qi Jing wasn’t as clingy as before. The boy’s enthusiasm came and went quickly.

That was normal.

Yes, normal.

~~~

Early September.

Huang Ze went abroad according to his parents’ plans, Lin Yuze was studying at a university in Shanghai, and Jiang Yao—surprisingly to everyone—had enrolled in National Defense University.

Not only had she scored high enough, but she had chosen a highly rigorous program.

As the young lady of the Jiang family put it, “Why assume I’d study humanities or social sciences? I have grander ambitions. Is national defense only for boys?”

She was radiant and full of vigor.

Qi Jing had no clue about his paleontology major, but any low spirits vanished quickly. He was truly happy for his friends.

Ever since arriving here, what he had gained far outweighed what he had given.

The group got together one last time. Under the big tree at the school gate, bathed in the sunset glow, Huang Ze asked, “Little Jing, who was the guy who picked you up from the karst cave? I didn’t even see him.”

There was a hint of jealousy in his tone.

Lin Yuze frowned. “You ask about this stuff all day—”

“It was my sponsor.”

Qi Jing looked up candidly and said so. After a thought, he added, “He’s good to me.”

Jiang Yao arched a brow slightly.

She said mildly, “That’s good.”

Huang Ze, usually so carefree, hadn’t expected that to be the truth. Pity welled up in him immediately, and he pulled Qi Jing into a bear hug.

“Ah, I won’t see you anymore. Will Little Jing miss me?”

Under the tree’s shade, Lin Yuze yanked him away. “Don’t you know how heavy you are?”

“Haha, you really have gained some weight…”

The girl crouched on the ground, pointing and teasing.

“I’ve been working out! Can’t you see my biceps?”

Huang Ze hurriedly flexed for them, fuming.

Qi Jing stood to the side, feeling wonderful.

Their shadows stretched long in the sunset.

High school life was over.

For some reason, Qi Jing felt a bit empty. He waved goodbye to his friends, then turned around.

His heart skipped a beat.

Because across the tree-lined avenue, someone was waiting for him.

~~~

Qi Jing started off walking, but he couldn’t hold back and broke into a run. He skidded to a stop by the car.

Panting hard.

He had no idea why.

Bo Chengyan was leaning against the car door. He naturally reached out, took Qi Jing’s wrist, and tucked him into the passenger seat.

“No driver?”

The boy looked up innocently and asked. Bo Chengyan raised a brow slightly from outside the door.

Qi Jing had never seen him drive.

“I am.”

They made it back to Brocade River Villas without a hitch. Before Qi Jing could eat, he was led to the study.

Dusk had fallen outside, and the rose bushes swayed by the window.

“Don’t just stand there. Come sit.”

Qi Jing didn’t come to the study often. It was where Bo Chengyan sometimes worked, complete with a massive desk.

But only one chair.

He was firmly guided over.

His fair skin stood out brightly against the dark chair. The boy looked up at Bo Chengyan retrieving some documents, unconsciously biting his lip.

He had no idea what was happening.

Until a brand-new ID card, household registration book… and a thick stack of documents appeared on the desk.

Qi Jing went blank for a moment.

“You’re an adult now. I’ve had your household registration transferred out.”

Qi Jing’s face paled slightly. He hadn’t known at first that his registration was under the Bo family. He only learned it after going to Macau, and since then…

He had grown lax in fulfilling his duties as the goldfinch…

His sense of self was slowly becoming more independent.

“Are you kicking me out?”

Qi Jing could barely bring himself to look at the documents on the desk. Instinctively, he gripped the armrest, feeling the urge to bolt.

But Bo Chengyan blocked him.

“Why would you think that?”

“But…” The young man tilted his head back to look up, his eyes misting over.

A subtle sense of satisfaction welled up in Bo Chengyan’s heart.

It lasted for several seconds.

Qi Jing felt a gentle wipe at the corner of his eye, followed by a large hand sliding from his neck into his hair in a soothing motion.

The touch was brief.

“You’re an adult now, so of course you need your own independent household registration. The one in Macau is just a stopgap—I won’t let you bear any obligation to support others.”

Only then did it dawn on Qi Jing that he had never actually seen the original Household Registration Book.

He had never met that “relative” in Macau, either.

“Once you start university, you’ll have all sorts of forms to fill out. A household registration in the Capital City will be much more convenient.”

“Nothing else will change.”

Qi Jing’s eyes were red at the corners. His gaze fell on that thick stack of documents. What were those?

“It’s my Inheritance Distribution Document.”

“And your shares.”

“Congrats on heading to college.”

~~~

Two days earlier—

Lin Se couldn’t quite wrap his head around one thing. While sending the assistant to fetch the prepared medicine, he couldn’t hold back and asked, “You’ve agreed to let Little Jing live in the dorms?”

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

It was a statement of fact.

Bo Chengyan replied calmly, “He’s an adult now. Entering this entirely new university environment, he needs to make friends quickly, and the dorms provide the perfect platform for that.”

Lin Se narrowed his eyes slightly and drawled, “You’re really not worried about him dating someone?”

“College guys… age is just a minor advantage.”

The words were blunt, but they were also a well-meaning reminder.

Bo Chengyan, however, didn’t seem fazed.

He simply said calmly:

“Little Jing should go out and see the world, of course.”

“Then he’ll realize home is better.”