Chapter 68

A sheet of paper.

What could possibly be so important about it?

It was nothing more than fleeting affection scribbled in ink—the so-called “short paper, long emotions.”

Bo Chengyan hadn’t expected the matter to have a sequel, let alone one that would come back to slap him right across the face.

~~~

The clubhouse manager had prepared a private booth for them.

The decor inside was refined and understated, clearly designed for serious business discussions.

“What’s your name?”

Bo Chengyan sat with his legs crossed in one of the chairs, lifting his eyes toward the young man.

His tone was fairly even-tempered.

“Are you Little Jing’s guardian?”

Rather than answer directly, the young man licked his lips several times. He ignored the empty chair and remained standing, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes.

Bo Chengyan merely glanced his way.

Coolly indifferent.

“J-Jiang… Jiang Ping.”

“Is your father Jiang Zhaoyun?”

The young man froze for a moment, then lit up with delight. He replied earnestly, “Yes, do you know my dad?”

“Little Jing…”

“His name is Qi Jing.”

Bo Chengyan raised his eyelids, fixing him with a cold stare as he said, “And you can sit down. There’s no need to stand.”

Qi Jing had already been on his feet for quite a while. Since they were peers, he couldn’t bring himself to sit either.

Truth be told, he was utterly baffled.

Lost in a fog.

He couldn’t hold back and blurted out, “We’re not that close. Did I take your paper? Was it… A4 size?”

His tone was utterly guileless, born of genuine confusion.

The young man’s face flushed crimson in an instant. He couldn’t bring himself to sit. Instead, he stammered, “N-No, that’s not it. I wrote you a letter, but you never replied.”

“I actually…”

His words came out in fits and starts. His gaze darted about, shadowed by dark circles under his eyes, his shoulders trembling faintly.

He radiated no confidence whatsoever.

“You wrote me a letter?”

Qi Jing frowned in bewilderment. How had he never known about it? Maybe it was the raw honesty in his voice.

The young man across from him panicked at once. “You didn’t get it?”

“I… I…”

Bo Chengyan’s expression remained icy throughout, his gaze steady and unreadable as he observed the other.

Sure enough, Jiang Ping averted his eyes.

“Could I talk to Little Jing alone?”

His voice was barely above a whisper.

Or perhaps it was meant to sound earnest.

Bo Chengyan replied with calm composure, “You’re here for him, yet you’re asking me? That’s hardly respectful.”

His tone carried real weight.

The air in the room plummeted to subzero.

Only then did the young man register the numbness creeping through his body.

Yet a spark of reckless bravery burned within him.

He pressed on regardless.

Qi Jing refused, however, quite firmly. “You can say whatever it is right here.”

A second passed. Then two.

“I really like you.”

Bo Chengyan’s temple throbbed. His jaw clenched rigid as he shot the young man a look.

“It’s true. I mean it—I even wrote you a new one…”

The young man fumbled into his pocket and pulled something out.

With utmost sincerity, he declared, “Didn’t you say you’re gay? I figured… I thought I might have a shot.”

“But you never left any contact info.”

Qi Jing stared in stunned silence.

996 perched on his shoulder, its mouth hanging open, beady eyes unblinking.

What a madman.

“Have your father come pick you up.”

“You have no manners.”

~~~

Bo Chengyan did nothing more than summon the literary youth’s aging father.

He made him deliver ten resounding slaps right there in front of everyone.

Any trace of sincerity evaporated in short order.

—I sent it to the wrong person. I don’t like him.

—This is really the last one. The absolute last.

—Sorry, sorry.

—Dad! Dad! I swear, I won’t cast my net anymore.

—This wasn’t it either. Wrong address. The one from college dumped me too.

—I’ll quit being gay. No—definitely not.

By the end, Qi Jing had gone pale with fright, his wrist clutched in a firm grip as he stammered, “St-Stop… that’s enough.”

Jiang Ping’s face was already swollen beyond recognition.

Traces of blood seeped from his mouth.

Jiang Zhaoyun clearly wasn’t stumbling upon this for the first time. He was livid—truly enraged. He’d fathered this son late in life after years of waiting.

And now this: a gay troublemaker.

Who kept stirring up one mess after another. He shoved the boy forward, his voice quivering with fury.

“Apologize to him!”

The young man glanced up at Qi Jing, his eyes flickering wildly—as if on the verge of laughter, though fear clamped down his lips.

“S-Sorry about that.”

His tone carried an oddly buoyant lilt.

He even craned his neck forward, as if taking a sniff.

Qi Jing had never encountered anyone like this—and from his own class, no less. But they weren’t close at all.

Bo Chengyan’s eyes darkened ominously. “Take him and go.”

“It’s getting late.”

Perhaps the commotion of the dragging was too much; Qi Jing turned his head away, his wrist bone being gently stroked.

“Is he gone?”

The boy’s voice was hushed, as if he were still shaken.

Bo Chengyan glanced over. In the corner by the door, a sliver of space revealed a stained envelope—tossed deliberately in the instant Jiang Ping was hauled away.

“He’s gone.”

Qi Jing started to say something more, but Bo Chengyan cut in mildly, “Don’t you have friends waiting downstairs?”

“Go on and enjoy yourself.”

He spoke as if soothing a child.

~~~

Lin Yuze had craned his neck toward that door a dozen times at least, worry gnawing at him. Why was it taking so long?

“Jiang Ping? How’d you even think of him? I racked my brain and came up empty.”

Huang Ze scowled, thoroughly perplexed.

“Process of elimination.”

“…Fair enough.”

Jiang Yao sucked on her lollipop while scrolling her phone, mumbling around it, “Jiang Ping… this guy’s been doxxed online. He hits on anything that moves.”

“Cheating, threesomes, full-service deals?”

“Drama. And he was just some wallflower in class.”

She shook her head. “People mutate once they hit a certain age.”

Lin Yuze fretted, “No wonder he was so dead set on getting Little Jing alone. Gross.”

“Get this—he even published a paper.”

“Real poetic flair.”

Jiang Yao kept up the banter in her desultory way, but at the sight of the two posted up like statues by the door, she added, “Wasn’t that family showing up?”

“It’s fine.”

Her words had barely landed when Qi Jing returned.

A server trailed behind him.

Pushing a laden cart of food and drinks.

“I’m back.”

He was still a little dazed.

That’s when Qi Jing spotted 996 rolling across the table, sniffing everything in sight. It perked up at his approach.

【All done slapping?】

Eager as could be.

【…】

Lin Yuze asked about what happened next. Upon hearing the details, he frowned and relayed the dirt Jiang Yao had dug up.

“Don’t be so trusting. And don’t go spilling about your orientation—some folks are just…”

“Exactly.”

Jiang Yao nodded along, then tacked on, “Strangers? Best not to chat them up.”

“Friendships aren’t measured by numbers anyway.”

It was as if some longstanding knot had come undone. Qi Jing pushed the awkward episode from his mind bit by bit.

Yet an inexplicable sense of reassurance settled over him.

Likely thanks to those words: “Go on and enjoy yourself.”

“Where’s Huang Ze?”

Qi Jing glanced around. He was nowhere in sight.

Lin Yuze rose. “Let’s play for a bit—there’s games over there. I’ll go find him.”

The booth was superbly soundproofed.

Once the door clicked shut behind Lin Yuze, his nerves settled. He set off in search of Huang Ze.

He headed upstairs to the second floor.

The restrooms were there. Too much to drink, maybe?

But with every step up the staircase, a dull thwacking grew louder—like the sound of flesh meeting flesh.

He was nearing the landing when it happened.

The young man caught his breath. There, slumped by the sink, was a figure.

His mouth was stuffed with a wad of paper.

Yellowish, like that envelope.

He couldn’t even retch it up.

Two or three men loomed opposite. One bowed repeatedly in apology.

Lin Yuze knew him on sight.

He staggered back a few steps.

“Sorry about this. I had no idea he was still hung up on it.”

He sounded resigned to despair.

“No harm done. Just have him swallow his ‘feelings.'”

The tone was disarmingly gentle.

Nearby stood a sharply dressed man who bent down to murmur a reminder.

“Let him have his fun a little longer. He hasn’t caught up with good friends in ages, right?”

“No rush.”

The second floor lay hushed.

Lin Yuze retreated in haste. Faint sounds followed—gulping, perhaps—but that was on them.

He ran into Huang Ze in the stairwell.

“Hey?”

“Where’s that moron?”

“Who? Jiang Ping?”

Huang Ze’s face twisted in revulsion. “Seriously, I’ve never met anyone so repulsive. After what Jiang Yao said, I nearly hurled.”

“And he tried to sneak Little Jing out.”

“I’d have beaten him senseless.”

Lin Yuze’s eyelid twitched. “Yeah… no need for that now.”

It was over and done with.

~~~

In many cases, some things went without saying.

Even if one witnessed something truly vile, silence was often the kinder choice.

After all, the overly innocent required vigilant protection.

The two weren’t at odds.

996 picked up on the subtle data shifts but continued tumbling across Qi Jing’s shoulder like a round little ball.

【He’s got some serious possessiveness going on.】

【I lost the bet.】

The boy looked a touch glum.

【It’s… it’s normal, right?】

Qi Jing blinked in surprise.

【Huh?】

996 pondered. In the end, that smart wristband proved pretty handy after all. A mere spike in heart rate was enough to trigger an alert.

So safe…

【But I still have to tell you about that threshold.】

【He actually has a hard time reaching complete sexual satisfaction—】

“Dismissed!”

“Yay!”

All the classmates jumped to their feet, dispersing amid applause.

Qi Jing hadn’t quite caught that.

Just then, the assistant at the door waved gently in invitation.

Time to go home.

~~~

Still so thoughtful.

Not making an appearance.

Until the car door slid open.

Qi Jing looked up with earnest intensity. “Why didn’t you come pick me up yourself?”

Bo Chengyan’s presence felt oppressively gloomy, but when he turned to glance over, he still extended his hand.

—Come here.

He cradled the young man’s waist with steady support and asked in a mild tone:

“Not appropriate.”

“How would you introduce me?”

“My boyfriend.”

Qi Jing was utterly serious.

“Then who is your family? What would you say if others asked?”

“You’re my family too.”

The words slipped from Qi Jing almost on instinct, but they plunged him into confusion all the same.

How was he supposed to explain it?

Would people think he was… keeping him?

The drive passed in heavy silence.

Until they pulled up at Brocade River Villas.

By the time they stepped out, night had fallen.

The streetlights outside failed to pierce fully into the car. Qi Jing, lost deep in thought, had forgotten to unbuckle his seatbelt.

It wasn’t until the door beside him opened that a hand reached in once more, gentle as ever.

The young man’s eyes shone brightly. He stared for a long moment.

Bo Chengyan’s brow furrowed faintly. He leaned in to undo the belt, worried the boy was still shaken.

But in that instant, Qi Jing threw his arms around him.

“I figured it out.”

Bo Chengyan simply scooped him out of the car. “Mm,” he murmured softly.

The villa blazed with light.

They headed straight upstairs.

How to ease his resistance to location tracking.

How to convince him to wear the smart wristband willingly.

How to keep him under control…

Bo Chengyan held him close. For all the darkness churning in his mind, his expression betrayed nothing.

“You’re my family.”

“And, and the person I like.”

“Does that mean…”

His fingers closed around the bedroom door handle. In the moment it turned—

“Husband?”