“This is happiness.”
Jiang Xiuyuan crossed his arms as he looked at the young man, his expression perfectly straightforward.
Qi Jing’s face flushed bright red. He glanced inside the room, then couldn’t help but look over at the man beside him.
The message his expression conveyed was crystal clear.
He was at a complete loss.
After all, it was his first time seeing so many types of dildos—made from all sorts of materials, with every shape and curve imaginable…
Qi Jing’s skin burned all over, and the gloom from earlier had been utterly driven out of his mind.
“Aren’t you having trouble in that department?”
Jiang Xiuyuan’s thinking was straightforward enough. This sort of thing required cooperation between both parties—either the bottom needed to build up their stamina, or the top had to toughen their endurance.
Simple as that.
The room was something like a storage closet, about a hundred square feet in size, with three transparent glass cabinets lining the walls.
They were filled with dildos of every color and variety.
But aside from those, Qi Jing spotted other items too. He walked over for a closer look. “What’s this?”
“That’s a dildo. You stick it inside—feels amazing.” Jiang Xiuyuan leaned casually against the doorframe, looking utterly relaxed.
Without makeup, his features had a somewhat cold edge to them, but every word out of his mouth pushed the boundaries.
And yet he said it all with the utmost seriousness.
After all, the person in front of him was a serious sort.
Jiang Xiuyuan thought for a moment. Better to explain everything properly.
Qi Jing noticed a dog collar and asked curiously, “Do you have a dog?”
“…”
“You don’t need to ask about that one. It’s not for you.”
Jiang Xiuyuan figured people weren’t all that special… just flesh and blood mortals. Plastic ones, crystal ones, jade ones, or flesh-and-blood—no real difference.
The artificial ones didn’t even need tending to. Way more convenient.
All just toys, anyway.
Qi Jing was flushed all over. Sure, he felt a bit embarrassed, but he was genuinely curious.
He’d never seen anything like this before.
What he’d learned from videos was far too limited.
“What’s this one?”
“A masturbator cup.”
Jiang Xiuyuan answered each question patiently and added, “These come in different sizes. Some people are so small down there, they just won’t fit.”
“And this bottle?”
“That’s lube.”
“You can’t use it—foreign brand. Don’t touch.”
Qi Jing circled the room and ended up back at the transparent cabinet. Those models were just too lifelike.
“…”
“I…”
Jiang Xiuyuan tilted his head. “See that stack of boxes down there? Unopened ones. Feel free to take some home and try them out yourself.”
Qi Jing felt like his legs had turned to jelly. He followed the man’s gaze and saw there really was a big stockpile.
“Oh, yeah—I run an online shop too.”
“The manufacturer sends me samples.”
He said it offhandedly.
After a brief tour, they headed back downstairs to rest.
The shock was just too much; he needed time to recover.
Qi Jing sat in a chair, staring blankly at a bouquet of jasmine flowers, lost in a daze.
Until something cold and fizzy pressed against his cheek.
A can of cola.
Ice-cold.
Jiang Xiuyuan frowned as he asked, “I’m starting to worry you’ve got a fever. Why’s your face still so red?”
Qi Jing often gave him this strange mix of open-minded and conservative vibes.
One moment he might be asking how to keep up stamina during sex.
The next, a room full of toys leaves him completely flustered.
Theory and practice weren’t the same, after all.
But Jiang Xiuyuan just didn’t get it. They’d already… done it, so why did he still seem so clueless?
“Ah, thanks—”
Qi Jing reached for it, but the other man pulled it back and asked:
“Do they let you drink this at home? It’s pretty cold.”
Qi Jing nodded vigorously, took the can, and cracked it open himself. Bubbles fizzed up, mirroring the restless heat in his heart.
“It’s because I always pass out halfway through. That’s no good.”
“He doesn’t seem… fully satisfied.”
Qi Jing skipped over the gritty details—he couldn’t spill everything. He just pinpointed his own issue.
How could he build up his endurance?
“Just exercise more yourself, or practice a bit.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Jiang Xiuyuan grabbed Qi Jing’s wrist. Frowning, he said, “No wonder you’re passing out. Your waist is way too slim. At minimum, you need to hit the gym and lift some weights.”
Often, intense physical exertion triggered the sympathetic nervous system, spiking blood pressure and causing blackouts or blinding white flashes.
Low lung capacity led to inadequate breathing, leaving you gasping and in need of mouth-to-mouth.
Building up the body seemed like the only path forward.
Qi Jing offered his little gift: a piece of natural amber enclosing a beautiful butterfly.
He’d picked it up from a secondhand market.
The young man loved pretty things. He’d give away anything he thought was nice as a token of his feelings.
“I think… you look like a butterfly.”
“A Musky Phoenix Butterfly.”
Jiang Xiuyuan paused, his long hair falling forward as he examined the small, stone-like treasure in his palm. Then he smiled.
“I really like it.”
“Qi Jing…”
Some people just had that gift—the ability to make others feel loved.
“Thank you.”
“Happy New Year!”
“Mm.”
Qi Jing’s face was still red as he hugged a pile of stuff and left. There were at least four or five boxes; his backpack could only hold some, so he had to carry the rest by hand.
Winter in Capital City was pretty cold, and right on cue, a light snow began to fall—though it melted on contact with the ground.
Qi Jing tilted his head up. Snowflakes drifted down slowly, one landing on the tip of his nose.
Melting wetly.
But just then, a car pulled up outside the flower shop—a dark gray one idling in park, with someone clearly inside.
Qi Jing frowned. It was a BMW M4, not cheap by any means. The person inside…
He couldn’t help but glance over twice.
At that moment, the window slid down slowly.
The man inside wasn’t a total stranger, but not exactly familiar either.
Chen Zhuo asked, a touch puzzled, “Why aren’t you heading home? Your folks at home are gonna chew you out.”
It was the kind of teasing tone that left a bad taste.
Qi Jing simply replied, “Who’s ‘folks’? I’m an adult now. That’s pretty rude of you.”
“…”
Chen Zhuo raised an eyebrow. He had zero interest in dealing with young people and couldn’t fathom what was going through Bo Chengyan’s head.
Watching the kid eat, checking his schoolwork, dragging him for checkups…
Wasn’t that exhausting enough?
“Coming in hot, huh?”
“…”
Qi Jing had no desire to chat with him. He started to walk away, but Chen Zhuo called out, “Hey, hey—can you do me a favor?”
Snowflakes drifted in the air now. Chen Zhuo opened the door, stepped out, and approached him.
He lowered his head. “Please, I’m begging you.”
It was downright weird.
But Qi Jing agreed anyway.
It was a simple enough request, after all.
~~~
Jiang Xiuyuan sat at the counter, closely examining the little amber piece. His phone lay nearby, screen showing an image of a Musky Phoenix Butterfly—jet black with red markings, a quietly striking beauty.
He hadn’t quite figured it out when the young man who’d just left came back, pointing glumly at a vase.
“Can I take a rose?”
Jiang Xiuyuan frowned. “Want a flower? That one’s wilted. Let me wrap you a fresh bunch.”
He stood to prepare it, but Qi Jing waved him off in a panic.
“No, no—just this one. I… wanna play with it.”
A pretty nonsensical excuse.
Still, Jiang Xiuyuan pulled out the whole wilted bouquet. Frowning, he said, “Pluck it for fun?”
“Don’t just toss it on the street.”
He started to discard the drooping stems, but Qi Jing stopped him. “No, no—give me all of them.”
And so Qi Jing emerged with a bouquet of subpar roses and headed to the street corner.
The BMW M4 was parked right there.
He handed it over.
“Here.”
It was a complicated mess of feelings. Chen Zhuo was a jerk, sure, but he’d gotten the money back for Jiang Xiuyuan.
Hard to say.
The man leaned against his car door, eyeing the bouquet. He plucked out the ugliest stem.
“These were his gift to you.”
“Thanks.”
*
Life’s journey always brings all sorts of scenery, good and bad, shaping how we see the world and deal with people.
Qi Jing clutched his pile of boxes and trudged slowly to the taxi stand. He made it back to Brocade River Villas without issue and even sent the driver a New Year’s red envelope as a tip.
The man was delighted, chatting about how his daughter had gotten into the University of Hong Kong for grad school. The joy was infectious.
Bo Chengyan had told him: The wealthier you are, the more empathy you need.
The more one comprehends the vast universe, the more one pities the humble grass and trees.
After all, money had to give back to society. Gaining wealth legitimately was fine, but not by trampling over ordinary folks’ lives.
That would bring retribution.
Thinking of that, Qi Jing suddenly remembered his assets. He still hadn’t dealt with the ones in Harbor City.
That guy had told him to ask Bo Chengyan…
Let him teach him how.
“…”
Not thrilled about it.
Qi Jing’s ear tips flushed red. He didn’t want to keep getting lectured—and besides, Bo Chengyan had actually smacked his palm once.
Someone else would be preferable.
Just then, 996 popped out of thin air. It shook itself and landed steadily on the pile of cardboard boxes on the ground.
【Hey, what’s this?】
Qi Jing bent down and picked up the thing, changing the subject as he asked, 【What have you been up to these past few days?】
The blue slime’s beady eyes spun round and round, but it merely dodged the question.
【Little Jing, don’t you want to take back your assets? Qingshi asked me to remind you—he might have found out…】
Qi Jing froze in place. As a result, he didn’t notice the potato chip crumbs at the corner of the slime’s mouth.
【I-I haven’t told him yet.】
~~~
Bo Chengyan watched the red dot moving steadily on the screen. From that, he could roughly determine the young man’s walking route, as well as how long he had waited for the cab.
He did not interfere. He simply observed.
The young man was making every choice just as he always did.
Bo Chengyan rose to his feet, preparing to head back. He asked the chief assistant standing nearby, “What’s my schedule like next week?”
The company’s operations were hectic, with many matters still requiring his personal oversight.
The wheels of time kept turning forward. Ling Yue, that vast enterprise sustaining the livelihoods of tens of thousands of ordinary families, could not afford to halt.
No matter whether it would bear the Bo surname in the future.
Ling Yue would endure.
The chief assistant professionally recited his itinerary. But at that moment—
“You don’t need to come with me. Just take your annual leave.”
“I’ll be heading to Macau, with a detour through Harbor City. You might need to handle some of the procedures today—thanks for the trouble.”
What more could the chief assistant say? He immediately and gracefully complied, stepping back.
Even so, he felt a twinge of reluctance.
Working through the holiday paid far more than triple wages.
But as he packed up his things, he noticed a thick red envelope sitting on his desk.
The cover even bore the Ling Yue logo.
Heh heh heh—
The young man leaned against his workstation and tore open the envelope.
Inside was not only a ten-thousand-yuan bonus but also a slip of paper, printed in a uniform running script.
Happy New Year.
I heard President Bo learned calligraphy from his mother?
The chief assistant picked up that uniform slip of paper and examined it closely.
The strokes were vigorous and forceful.
~~~
The lights blazed in Brocade River Villas. Lanterns still hung in the garden outside—ones Qi Jing had made at home a few days earlier.
Back in middle school, he had taken practical classes taught by masters of intangible cultural heritage. He had picked up all sorts of skills here and there.
The house was still littered with remnants of his efforts: cracked porcelain plates, kites that refused to fly, and lopsided Chinese knots…
Over the past two years, there had been times when Bo Chengyan could not make it back. Even if he returned in the dead of night, the young man would already be asleep. All he could do was tuck some New Year’s money under the pillow.
It was just going through the motions.
Auntie was a local from Capital City, so it was a short trip for her. She would come over on New Year’s Eve, mainly to help keep an eye on things.
Qi Jing had been little back then and had no real sense of the holiday. He simply felt the emptiness of the place, a vague loneliness.
Yet he would obediently head upstairs to bed. The next morning, he would find the red envelope under his pillow.
That discovery swept away all the unhappiness from the night before.
But Bo Chengyan often felt that he owed the boy.
…
The New Year’s Eve dinner would arrive right on schedule—no need to worry about that.
However, when he pushed open the door—
The place was empty.
No one was in the living room.
The lights were set to the most energy-efficient mode—a minor drawback. The young man was afraid of the dark, especially in such a large house, so he always kept them on the dimmest setting.
Bo Chengyan frowned slightly. He undid his wristwatch himself and headed upstairs. The door to the master bedroom stood slightly ajar.
A warm yellow glow spilled from the bedside lamp within. Clearly, someone was still in bed.
Still sleeping?
The man could not help but push the door open wider.
But then he heard a faint, vibrating hum.
