In Love with an Idiot by Shui Qian Cheng (Chapter 8)

Hi y'all! Sorry this update took a bit longer--real life got in the way. In any case, our darling Xiao Lin Zi reveals his true colors, and the relationship between our CP heats up.

As per always: I am not a professional translator, I tend to take liberties with my translation and try to translate the spirit rather than the word of the original Chinese, and I apologize for any inaccurate translations.

Thank you! If you have any questions please leave a comment!

Jian Suiying went home for dinner on Friday night and fought with his father, again.

See, this was why he didn't like going back there. Going back meant looking at that oh-so-loving family of three, complete with a kind mother and filial son, which was that's more than enough for him–not talking about food here. But his father just had to drag him back there once every month. He figured that his father was afraid that people would say he's leaving his ex-wife's son all alone. If he had a choice, though, he’d really prefer his father to actually leave him alone, and save him the trouble.

Dinner was fine and they chatted about some useless things. It was after dinner that his father called him into the study, and asked him a bunch of questions regarding the direction of his recent investments.

His old man held a relatively large share in his company, and nothing he wanted to know, big or small, could be kept a secret from him.

His father believed he had diverted too much of the funds. Real estate and non-performing debts were both investments with long payback periods, so there was a risk of the capital chain rupturing in the meantime. However, Jian Suiying felt that everything was under his control. After this many years in the business world, he was not that stupid.

The two of them raised their voices at the first difference in opinion and started yelling at each other. Obviously, in the end they both left unhappy.

While heading downstairs, Jian Suiying was too busy stewing in his anger to pay attention to where he was going, and his foot accidentally hit a big porcelain vase at the bottom of the staircase.

He didn't remember seeing this the last time he was here. In a fit of anger, he kicked it over. Luckily, there was thick carpet lining the floor, and the china was safe and sound.

He looked around the room, and yelled at the people staring at him: "Which dumbass put this crap here?"

Two servants looked at each other, neither daring to speak.

Jian Suilin and his mother's expressions suddenly changed.

Jian Suiying could actually tell at a glance that this was Zhao Yan's work. Sneering, he said mockingly, "You think you get to call this place home just because you live here? Whose house is this? And does a certain someone have anything to do with it? Think about it--actually think about it, and stop putting a bunch of garbage in other people’s houses, or'll throw it out the next time I see it.” and afterwards left without sparing a single glance at Zhao Yan and Jian Suilin, head held high.

Zhao Yan's whole body trembled, her face frighteningly pale. A long-suppressed, defiant resentment started to materialize in her gaze, and Jian Suilin put an arm around her shoulder, giving her a few gentle shakes. He stared at the porcelain vase that was pathetically strewn across the floor, and an increasingly dark, unreadable look grew in his eyes.

Jian Suiying's driving on the way back was noticeably more unstable compared to usual, and it was not until he'd driven three or four kilometers that he gradually pulled himself out that volatile state. Feeling a little unsafe, he parked the car on the side of the road and lit a cigarette with the windows open.

After stopping, he suddenly didn't feel like leaving anymore. Thus, he took out his phone and, after looking at the screen for a good while, sent a message to Li Yu: "What are you up to?"

After a while, a reply came from the other end: "I’m on the web."

Jian Suiying asked, "What are you up to on the web?"

"Watching a movie."

It was just a few lines of meaningless conversation, yet they unexpectedly calmed Jian Suiying down. He recalled Li Yu's white, jade-like face, his nimble and slender fingers as he tied his tie--and felt a small flame jump around in his chest, enveloping his whole being as if he'd been placed in an oven. It was nice.

He forwarded a link to Li Yu via email. It was a two-minute video sent to him by an internet friend on a gay forum he frequented. High-definition, uncensored, real freaky stuff.

After sending it he told Li Yu to check it out, telling him it was something interesting.

The video had a very innocent-sounding title, but then Li Yu remembered that it was forwarded to him by the likes of Jian Suiying, and had a feeling that it wouldn't be anything good, so he turned the volume down before opening it. Sure enough, it landed straight into a sex scene–one of those double penetration scenes, to boot. Li Yu’s head went blank, and he quickly closed it with a guilty conscience.

A message from Jian Suiying arrived at this very moment: "Doesn't that kid look a bit like you?"

Li Yu knew that damn mouth of Jian Suiying's was acting up again, so he speedily replied, "Looks more like you with that impressive waist strength". After sending this, Jian Suiying's deflated expression appeared in his head and he started laughing.

Jian Suiying’s old face couldn't take this, so he quickly responded: "Go fuck yourself!"

He threw the phone onto the car seat and thought that he’d really brought this on himself–and that the brat’s becoming more and more of a bastard with each passing day.

He restarted the car, ready to go home. Not long after he started driving, though, Li Yu called. Jian Suiying initially didn't want to answer it, but he couldn't help himself--after all, it was far too rare that Li Yu would take the initiative to call him.

"Hey." Jian Suiying said not-so-good-naturedly.

Li Yu asked, "What were you trying to do by sending me that?"

"Giving you young chicken a taste of the world."

Li Yu snorted: "What were you trying to do by avoiding me these past couple of days then? Scared?"

Jian Suiying “fuck”ed out loud. "Me? Scared of you? Li Er, are you not scared that your life would fold in half from this blatant lie?"

Li Yu didn’t feel like arguing with him: "For the project in Qinhuangdao, I've gotten a copy of all the documents you asked me for. I’ll fax them over tomorrow."

"I don't accept faxed documents, you bring them over yourself."

"Since when did you not accept faxed documents?"

"Since just now." the corners of Jian Suiying's mouth unconsciously curled up as he spoke.

Li Yu sighed: "I have class tomorrow and training afterwards."

"You can't even skip class?"

Li Yu said hopelessly, "Okay, I'll be there around noon."

The next day, when Jian Suiying left his house, instead of heading straight to work he first drove to the salon, intending to give his hair a fix-up.

But, in the end, because he’d never gotten his hair trimmed in the morning before, the store manager who usually took care of him wasn't there, and Jian Suiying didn't have time to wait for his arrival. By then Li Yu could have arrived at the company. It was just his luck that there was a new boy in their shop–a pretty good-looking one too–so he asked for him.

This kid was probably an apprentice: very good-looking, but comparably inexperienced. Jian Suiying, however, was not paying attention to his own hair. Checking the boy out through the mirror’s reflection, he was thinking such sexy collarbones he had, such tender skin he had, and thus couldn't resist exchanging a few more words with him.

But after the kid was finished with his hair, Jian Suiying’s jaw dropped to the floor. Who the fuck was that stupid-looking cunt in the mirror…?

Young Master Jian exploded on the spot and ended up hurling a few choice words at the boy. Everyone in the shop knew to not get on his bad side, so they lined up in a row and all apologized to him. The boy himself was about to burst out in tears.

The store manager just so happened to arrive at this moment, and his face turned green the second he saw Jian Suiying. He could only get Jian Suiying to sit down and fix it himself. Men didn’t have that much hair, and not much could be done in terms of damage control. In the end, Jian Suiying bit the bullet and said: "Just give me a buzz cut."

The store manager thought over it for a bit–yeah, that’s the only available option here.

Jian Suiying watched as his originally stylish hair was reduced to this state, and both anger and regret filled his heart. No word describing how ugly his expression was at this moment could be an over-exaggeration. 

Fortunately he was a good-looking guy, and he could still be considered handsome even with a buzz cut. But the fastidiously flamboyant gay man that was Jian Suiying grew more dissatisfied the more he looked at it.

The boy was still tearfully apologizing to him by the time he stood up to leave. Jian Suiying glanced at him, still found him pretty delectable-looking, so he didn't bother lashing out with him.

As the store manager Vince sent him to the door, Jian Suiying asked, "Is that boy new here?"

Vince had known him for at least seven or eight years. He was well-known in the Beijing fashion circles, and due to his numerous contacts, he often acted as a sort of pimp for these Beijing princelings. He'd introduced several of Jian Suiying's paramours, and with a single movement of his eyeballs, he understood what Jian Suiying was thinking: "He's new here. If you hadn’t asked for him yourself, we’d never dare to let him touch your hair. He’s good-looking indeed, but I'm not sure about his background. How about I look into it on Mr. Jian’s behalf?"

Jian Suiying nodded casually: "Well, if he feels like it, he can stay with me for a couple of months."

"No problem, I'll sent you a message later. Have a good day, Mr. Jian."

He had originally planned to get a change of style with this fix-up, hopefully with something that, with a single glance, would render that kid unable to move. Yet he had to be unlucky this early in the day–look at him, he’s almost bald!

After making it to the company, his subordinates’ slightly gobsmacked expressions made him feel like even more of an idiot. After getting inside his office, he sulked for a long time, and ultimately blamed Li Yu for everything that transpired this morning. He decided to give Li Yu a good rough-up at his arrival. He wouldn’t be able to find psychological peace with himself otherwise, after doing such stupid things because of him.

Li Yu, wearing a tracksuit, didn't arrive until it was almost time for lunch break. As soon as he opened the door to the office and saw Jian Suiying's hair, he burst out laughing.

Jian Suiying almost flipped the table: "What? Not everyone can pull off this look."

Li Yu didn't dare say that he’s not quite pulling it off either, so he could only try holding in his laughter.

Jian Suiying got even more angry at this. He'd been worried about not being able to find something to complain about with him, but then he saw those clothes, and he perked up. Pointing at him, he said, "How many times have I told you to not come to my company dressed like this? Trying to embarrass me, huh?"

Throwing the documents onto the table, Li Yu looked down at his clothes: "I told you that I have training in the afternoon, but you insisted on me coming, and I'd need to leave immediately. I don't even have time to change clothes after getting back, so I could only wear them to school."

"It’s just some sandbags, what’s the big deal about hitting them a bit later than usual?"

"My coach is very strict. And it's not just being late, it's about attitude." Li Yu glanced at him, "Since you insisted on me delivering these to you, read them quickly and tell me right now if you have anything to say. I have to leave right after you finish."

Jian Suiying was even more angry at this: "I have to beg you to come to the company? Why are you in such a rush? Training is important, and work is not? How much money do you make from a game? Learn to prioritize."

Li Yu sincerely felt that he couldn't communicate with this guy. You just always had to go with what he’s saying. It's all fine if he went against you, but if you dared to go against him? Some choice words if you’re lucky, an ass-kicking if you’re not. Li Yu really wanted to ask Jian Suiying this: who gave you this crappy attitude, and how did you stay alive until now?

Seeing Li Yu's silence, Jian Suiying was a little disappointed. Leaning back into his chair, he very slowly flipped through the documents, taking his time with a piece of A4 paper.

Li Yu finally got impatient: "Can you hurry up?"

Jian Suiying had been looking for a fight, and he was worried that Li Yu wouldn't be talking back to him. The second he heard this from Li Yu, he perked up and said: "Your writing’s messy. I’d wanted to finish this quickly, but I have to understand what you’re saying first, right?”

Li Yu "tsk"ed: "Then you take your time and let's talk later. I really have to go."

"You stand right there and leave when I tell you to. Kids these days have no manners."

Ah, Li Yu got it now. Jian Suiying’s picking on him, again. He didn't know what he did to offend this guy: was he still holding a grudge over their last time in the car?

Memories of that experience immediately caused a disturbance in Li Yu’s composure.

These past couple of days, he’d tried his best to warn himself to not think about it, but the more he suppressed those memories, the stronger the desire to just let them all go.

Last night he'd opened the video that Jian Suiying sent him once more, and couldn’t stop himself from thinking of Jian Suiying as he looked at the way that boy moved. Jian Suiying's demanding attitude scratched at his heart like a cat’s claw, teasing him again and again.

Finally, Jian Suiying finished flipping through the few sheets of paper and slapped them on the table: "Re-do this."

Li Yu had expected this. He raised his eyebrows, picked up the documents, and got ready to leave.

Jian Suiying stood up after him and said from across the table: "Hey, did I let you go?"

Li Yu paused for a second. Then, suddenly turning around, he headed back, hooked an arm around the neck of a confused Jian Suiying, and kissed him.

This was the first time that Li Yu’d taken the initiative, and it put Jian Suiying in a daze, thinking that he was dreaming.

In all of their previous physical entanglements, he had been the shameless one, and he never thought that Li Yu would take the initiative to kiss him. After being stunned for about two or three seconds, he immediately gathered his bearings and wrapped both arms around Li Yu's waist, responding enthusiastically.

Neither let go until they were almost out of breath.

Jian Suiying's breathing was unstable, and his lips were red and swollen as he looked at Li Yu in disbelief.

Li Yu smiled: "Isn't this why you called me all this way over?"

Jian Suiying stared at him with glass-like eyes, before smiling in return: "Smart aren’t you?"

Jian Suiying had forcefully kissed him this many times--if he hadn’t noticed a pattern by now, then he might as well have the memory of a goldfish. Instead of getting attacked by Jian Suiying, he might as well take the initiative.

Jian Suiying's hand slid down from his waist and jokingly patted his butt: "If this part smartens up too, Brother Jian will definitely love you well and won't yell at you ever again."

Li Yu suddenly wrapped his arms around his waist and squeezed it tightly, causing both their lower halves to be pressed tightly together. Li Yu looked at him with a faint smile, his heat blowing into Jian Suiying's face, and said, half-jokingly and half-seriously : "Why haven’t you given up yet?"

Jian Suiying pinched his buttocks and said with an evil smile: "I don't know the meaning of ‘give up’."

The two of them were in this tension-filled situation when there was suddenly a knock on the door.

Jian Suiying shouted: "Who?"

Secretary Liang's voice came from outside the door: "President Jian, your cousin is here again."

Jian Suiying went limp upon hearing this, and he awkwardly let go of Li Yu: "Go sit over there."

After some time, Secretary Liang opened the door.

Jian Suiying looked up. Xiao Lin Zi was the first to come in, and the bruise-nosed, swollen-faced, dejected, unlucky-looking brat following him was none other than his good-for-nothing cousin Bai Xinyu. At this, Jian Suiying felt a burst of satisfaction, and wondered who was this guy that just did what he’d always wanted to do. If he ever figured out the answer, he's giving this guy a big red envelope.

After entering the door with this tragic-looking face, Bai Xinyu stammered: "B-brother".

Jian Suiying gave him a look of angry disappointment and said: "You're never up to any good when you come looking for me. Speak."

Bai Xinyu looked at Li Yu with some trepidation.

Jian Suiying also took a look at Li Yu. Ultimately, he decided to save this twenty-something boy some face and said to Li Yu, "You can head back first."

Li Yu stood up and looked at Jian Suilin, who nodded at him.

It was only after Li Yu had left that Bai Xinyu finally stammered out the whole story. He kept an eye on Jian Suiying's expression the entire time, ready to run the second Jian Suiying exploded.

The more he listened, the uglier JIan Suiying's face got, and his fists were clenched so hard, you could hear his bones crackling.

So this kid gambled away more than three million yuan in soccer. His uncle had, in his anger, given him a severe beating and told him to go fend for himself this time. But his aunt was, after all, a soft-hearted person, and since her husband's anger was at its peak and she couldn't talk him down, she could only have Bai Xinyu talk to him instead.

Bai Xinyu's gambling problem could be traced all the way back to high school. God knows how many debts his family had to pay off over the years---seriously, his aunt and uncle were worried sick about this son of theirs.

See, this was why Jian Suiying had no respect for this kid: he didn't know a thing about making money, but knew all-God-fucking-hell about blowing it; if his aunt's constitution was any weaker, she'd be seriously ill or straight up dead.

Jian Suiying slammed the table and yelled: "Your own father doesn't want to deal with this crap, why are you coming to me? Motherfucking hell, even if the mafia went chop-chop on you and turned you into dog food one of these days you'd be asking for it at this point!"

Bai Xinyu was about to cry: "Brother, please help me. This is definitely the last time! I won't do this again! Y-you go talk to my dad, or you can lend me some... "

"Bullshit. The sun would rise from the west before you're actually sorry. You..." Jian Suiying's whole body was shaking from anger and he could barely speak.

Of all her siblings his mother had been the closest with Bai Xinyu's mother and, after his mother died, his aunt had taken good care of him. To him, his aunt was like his second mother. Such a gentle, kind, and scholarly woman--and the one mistake she made in life was to spoil her only son rotten, to the point of turning him into human waste.

Bai Xinyu sniffed with reddened eyes: "Brother, please help me. If you don't help me, they'll beat me to death. I really won't do this again."

Jian Suiying spat: "Save you? I'd much rather you die! Auntie and Uncle worked so hard for that money, and it's still not enough for your bullshit!"

Bai Xinyu sobbed: "Brother, please help me, I want to make money, too."

Jian Suiying didn't even have energy left to give him a good beating. When he was younger he'd frequently discipline Bai Xinyu on his aunt and uncle's behalf, because back then Bai Xinyu was so spoiled, he was not afraid of his parents at all. Jian Suiying was, in fact, the one person he was afraid of, because Jian Suiying would wave his fists about and give him a beatdown anytime.

As a result, even after he'd grown up, Jian Suiying was the only one who could handle him when his aunt and uncle couldn't do anything.

Looking at this worthless cousin of his made Jian Suiying's head hurt. He's thinking that perhaps he treated Jian Suilin a little better later on because, in comparison to Bai Xinyu, Xiao Lin Zi was not that loathsome.

Speaking of Xiao Lin Zi. He asked, "Why did you follow him in?"

Jian Suilin said: "I bumped into him at the company."

Jian Suiying looked at Bai Xinyu and said, "Xiao Lin Zi, you leave too."

Bai Xinyu raised his head and pleadingly looked at Jian Suilin, terrified that Jian Suiying would beat his ass the second Xiao Lin Zi left.

Jian Suilin obviously wouldn't offend Jian Suiying on his behalf. He immediately got up, giving Bai Xinyu a pat on the shoulder before leaving.

Jian Suiying stood up and, step by step, approached him.

Bai Xinyu jumped up from the sofa in terror.

Jian Suiying walked up to him in one large step, grabbed him by the collar, and slammed him against the wall. His stern gaze piercingly cut into his skin.

Bai Xinyu started begging for mercy out of sheer fear: "Brother, brother."

Jian Suiying grabbed him by the chin and hissed: "Listen up Bai Xinyu. You should burn incense and thank Buddha for being born into a good family. If it weren't for auntie, I'd never bother with you. I don't care whether you're sincere or just giving me empty promises, this better be the last time that you pull this crap. If this happens again you're on your own, and I won't give a shit even if you were being dismembered alive. You understand?"

Bai Xinyu was shaking all over as he glanced up at Jian Suiying with teary eyes.

Jian Suiying let him go: "Get out."

"Brother, what are you going to..."

"I'll talk to your dad."

"But my dad doesn't seem to have the money..."

Jian Suiying sharply glared at him: "Whose fault is it that your father doesn't have money? You think I'm just going to give you money?"

Bai Xinyu immediately fell silent.

"Scram."

Bai Xinyu didn't dare stay any longer and quickly fled.

Jian Suiying had to pace several circles around the room before he could even his breathing.

If he hadn't introduced his aunt and uncle to some investment and business opportunities, they wouldn't even be making enough money for this brat.

Jian Suiying was the oldest and most promising of his generation on both his mother's and father's side. Whenever they lecture the younger generation he'd inevitably be used as an example, and whenever something comes up he'd be inevitably asked for help.

He himself was the impatient sort that's too lazy to give a damn about other people, but he'd been raised as the future head of the family. As unconventional as his actions and ideas may be, he's unexpectedly cognizant of the rise and fall, honor and dishonor of the family as a whole, as well as the need to continue the bloodline and pass on the family name.

Thus, no matter how loathsome he found Bai Xinyu, he would never abandon him. No matter how much he hated Zhao Yan, he would set Jian Suilin up well in life. To him, family were people you took care of no matter what. He could do and say whatever the hell he wanted behind closed doors, but he would never let outsiders bully them.

Jian Suiying eventually sat on the sofa and smoked in a daze, forgetting to even eat his lunch.

As Bai Xinyu walked out of the company with a face like his mom had died, someone called out behind him.

He turned his head and saw that it was Jian Suilin.

Jian Suilin walked up and said with a gentle smile, "Brother Yu, are you alright?"

Bai Xinyu nodded and sighed. He was still a little embarrassed and didn't want to talk..

Jian Suilin wrapped an arm around his shoulder: "Brother Yu, are you hungry? Here, how about I treat you to lunch? Let's have a nice chat."

Bai Xinyu stared at him confusedly, head full of questions as he was half-pushed out by him.

Jian Suiying was tired from working all day, and it was past eight o'clock by the time he got home.

When he went to find his aunt and uncle, he felt that they had gotten significantly older, even though it'd been only two months since they'd last seen each other. He felt quite unhappy about this.

God knows where Bai Xinyu's mucking about at this time. Thing were already like this, yet he didn't even make it home for dinner, and in the end, Jian Suiying had to be the one to eat dinner with the two of them. At the thought of that disappointment Bai Xinyu, Jian Suiying angrily thought that if the kid hadn't been his cousin, he'd be the first in line to end him.

While he was haphazardly leaned against the sofa Li Yu popped into his head again, so he took out his phone and made a call. The phone rang for a long time before someone picked it up, and Li Yu was panting on the other side.

Jian Suiying asked: "What you up to? Still training?"

"Yeah, training's not done yet." Li Yu replied, still panting, "What's the matter?"

"Where are you?"

Li Yu said: "Why do you ask? You want to come over?"

"I just want to watch--I had never seen live boxing before."

"I think we'll be done by the time you come."

"Just tell me where you are, I'll head over now."

Li Yu told him an address, and Jian Suiying perked up and headed out after grabbing his coat. Thinking that he'll be seeing Li Yu soon, he felt energy in his body again.

It was already past nine o'clock when Jian Suiying arrived at the place where Li Yu was training at. Sure enough, just about everyone had left with the exception of Li Yu and someone he was talking to.

In the beginning neither of the two speaking at noticed him, so Jian Suiying just stood at the door and looked at Li Yu, eyes roving over his wet, sweaty body. Li Yu was wearing a gray-black tank top and dark blue shorts, a few strands of hair sticking wetly to his face; his boxing gloves had been thrown down to his feet, and he was working his fingers around while talking.

His clothes were soaked through with sweat. His figure was not as muscular as the boxers previously in Jian Suiying's imagination--he had a more slender figure, with very well-proportioned and aesthetically pleasing muscles throughout his entire body. His pectoral muscles were plump, but not exceedingly so; his waist was just the right size; and those strong, slender legs were ridiculously tempting. Whether dressed or undressed, he had the aura of a model.

Jian Suiying was just looking at him when a bunch of less-than-appropriate images started emerging in his brain, and he immediately felt his body going funky. Li Yu was really an absolute stunner--would Jian Suiying have been this addicted to him if he hadn't looked like this? The kid was dangerous, seriously.

He stood there for half a minute before the janitor standing next to him noticed him: "Excuse me, may I help you?"

Jian Suiying said: "Oh, I'm waiting for someone."

The two of them hadn't been loud, but the gym was wide, empty, and quiet, and their conversation quickly reached Li Yu's ears. As soon as Li Yu turned his head, he saw Jian Suiying with his hands in his pockets, leaning against the door frame and staring at him with a half-smile on his face.

Li Yu nodded at him and turned his head back to continue talking with that person.

That person also took a look at Jian Suiying and asked, "Your friend?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then, let's stop here. It's a bit late today anyway."

Jian Suiying came over, glanced at that person, and nodded to each other in greeting.

After the man left, Jian Suiying immediately asked, "Who was that?"

"My coach."

"That young?"

"He's in his thirties, I think..." Li Yu wiped his face with a towel and looked at Jian Suiying, "I told you that we'd be done by the time you come. If I hadn't been waiting for you, the coach wouldn't have caught me alone and given me a talking to."

Jian Suiying pulled the corners of his mouth into a smile, eyes slightly squinted as his gaze lingered on Li Yu's face. There was a blazing undercurrent of tension in the room when their eyes met mid-air, and it was only growing stronger.

Jian Suiying had never felt like this before, where his heart raced, his mouth dried, and the blood in his whole body boiled all just from making eye contact with this one person, making him want to just have sex with this person crazily.

To him, who had never needed anything in life aside from excitement, this was extremely exciting, and this discovery made Jian Suiying giddy.

At this moment the janitor called out from the door: "Remember to lock the door when you finally leave."

Li Yu's eyes were still fixed on Jian Suiying, and he replied casually, "Okay."

The place immediately became quiet, and it was so quiet, you could hear a needle drop.

Jian Suiying stretched out his hand and frivolously hooked a finger around the straps of Li Yu's tank top: "Go take a bath, you're covered in sweat."

No matter how you looked at it, this sounded like one of those flirtatious complaints between couples. Li Yu's heart trembled, and his hand, which had been holding the towel, unconsciously clenched harder.

Li Yu almost didn't dare look into Jian Suiying's particularly seductive eyes. God knows how many times Jian Suiying, that playboy, had done this before, staring at people with such a naked gaze--he couldn't do it.

He slightly nodded his head, turned around, and walked to the lounge.

Jian Suiying followed behind him.

Li Yu held the doorknob and stopped in his tracks.

Jian Suiying tilted his neck and waited for him to open the door.

Li Yu slowly opened the door, then turned around and grabbed Jian Suiying's arm, dragging him in.

Jian Suiying was quite happy to take a bath with him, but what he'd wanted to ask was whether he could at least let him take off his clothes. He just bought this set of clothes yesterday and hadn't had enough time with them yet, so they couldn't touch water.

Li Yu was obviously not that careful, for he dragged him into the shower room, turned on the shower with a bang, and then pressed him against the wall and kissed him.

The two of them hadn't made love for more than a week, and, at this moment, they were like wolves who had been hungry for several days, biting each other desperately and pulling at each other's clothes...

The two of them were so tired that they were about to collapse, and they had to lay down on the bench in the lounge for a long time. In the end it was Li Yu who put his own clothes on Jian Suiying, and only then did they leave.

Li Yu sent Jian Suiying off to the car first. Necks entwined, the two of them kissed for half a minute before letting go, and then he said: "You go first."

Jian Suiying looked lazily at Li Yu, hands still hanging on his neck: "Get in the car."

Li Yu asked: "To where?"

"Let's go to my place. Tomorrow is a holiday, so stay with me for a couple of days." He said this without any intention of further input from Li Yu, "Get in."

Li Yu lowered his head and thought about it for a while, before walking around to the co-pilot seat and getting in.

Jian Suiying drove Li Yu back to his place.

This wasn't the first time that Li Yu had came to this place, but this time, his mood was quite different from all the others.

Back sore and legs weak, Jian Suiying collapsed onto the sofa as soon as he entered the room. He pointed at the kitchen: "There seems to be some food in the refrigerator. Go make something, I'm starving to death."

Li Yu looked at Jian Suiying, who was lying on the sofa like a pile of limp noodles, and wanted to laugh.

He made a simple bowl of noodles and brought it out for Jian Suiying to eat, but after calling for him twice, there was still no response. Upon coming closer, Li Yu realized that Jian Suiying had fallen asleep.

He put the meal on the coffee table and patted Jian Suiying's butt: "Get up, weren't you the one who wanted to eat something?"

Jian Suiying opened his eyes with some difficulty: "No, I'm sleepy..."

Li Yu picked him up and sat him on the sofa: "Get up, eat."

Clinging to his neck, Jian Suiying bit at his chin and said hoarsely, "How about you feed me?"

Li Yu laughed, "Sit up properly for me first."

At this, Jian Suiying actually sat up. Right as Li Yu was going to feed him, however, he got embarrassed and immediately started eating out of his own bowl like a normal person.

He hadn't eaten lunch or dinner and, on top of that, had just performed such strenuous activities, so he's literally starving right now, and he gulped everything down with a couple swipes of his hand.

"You know what, Xiao Li Zi--you're a pretty good cook. Had a lot of practice?"

"I lived alone back when I was in middle school."

Jian Suiying put down the bowl and pinched his cheek: "Your cooking skills have qualified you to be my wife."

Li Yu gave a laugh and made no response as he ate by himself.

It was Li Yu who cleaned up after dinner; Jian Suiying just sat on the sofa with the computer in his arms, and laughed non-stop at God-knows-what. After he finished, Li Yu came over to take a look and, as it turned out, Jian Suiying was browsing a forum; one look at the advertisements on the top of the webpage and he knew it was a gay forum.

"What are you looking at?"

"Looking at some posts, they're pretty interesting..." Jian Suiying glanced at Li Yu and, suddenly, gave a malicious smile, "Do you want to watch some movies? I have quite a collection."

Li Yu sat next to him and said, also with a smile: "And I can practice the skills I learn on you?"

Jian Suiying glanced at him: "Can you do it? How about me?"

Li Yu gently pinched his waist: "Can you do it?"

"I can if you let me."

Li Yu pursed his lips and smiled: "You have a beautiful imagination."

Jian Suiying was not very happy at this: "Fuck, is your ass made out of gold or something? Will it kill you to let me do you once? I have given you three turns, how about you reciprocate the favor?"

Li Yu said: "I'm not like you, I can't do that."

"What do you mean 'I'm not like you'? Do you not have a fucking hole down there or something?"

Li Yu frowned and said, "Can you watch your language a bit...? What I mean is, you're born gay and I, I'm not, I can't do that."

Jian Suiying was utterly disappointed and once again realized the difficulty of effective communication with straight men. Forget it, it's his fault for falling for this guy. If this time ain't it, there's always next time; life is long, there's no way that he won't get to top Li Yu at least once.

Although he told himself this, Jian Suiying was still annoyed. He threw the computer to the side and went back to the bedroom to sleep.

After he'd went and laid down, Li Yu followed him in, slid into his bed, and hugged him from behind. He rubbed his chin against his neck; didn't speak, just rubbed his head like that. All the rubbing around made Jian Suiying laugh--Li Yu's puppy-like ways of flattering him were not very clever, but it made him feel sweet from the bottom of his heart.

Jian Suiying turned around and looked at that pretty face of Li Yu's, and the more he looked at it, the more he fancied it. He fancied it so much, he wished to swallow him down in one gulp.

Li Yu moved closer and kissed Jian Suiying's nose and mouth.

During this back and forth, the two got aroused again.

Having brought this on himself, Young Master Jian was pressed into bed by Li Yu for another two hours. In the end his limbs were like cotton and he couldn't make a single sound from his throat.

The two had an extraordinarily unhinged two days this weekend; in these two days, they didn't take a single step out of the house and, save for eating and sleeping, spent all their time making love, washing up, or both at the same time.

Even Jian Suiying, who had tried all the exciting things there were to try, had never experienced such insanity. He and Li Yu made good use of just about all possible opportunities the place offered: bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchen, and even the balcony--they left their mark in all these places. No matter how incompatible their personalities were, their compatibility in this matter was astonishingly high. After two days they'd tried a lot of freaky moves, and they had an illusion of being intoxicated, as if nothing in the world existed and nothing was worth thinking about, aside from them and the all-consuming love they made.

It was to the extent that, when Jian Suiying woke up on Monday morning and was supposed to go to work, he felt as if everything had been an extremely obscene wet dream. This dream was embarrassing to think about, yet left endless memories to be savored.

A cold season hit, and the capital suddenly dropped in temperature. The temperature never climbed back up, and everything had officially entered winter. Although the weather had cooled, the relationship between Jian Suiying and Li Yu gradually heated up, and they were getting along like ordinary couples.

Since the novelty hadn't worn off, the two of them invariably met up once or twice a week, and sometimes they'd be sticking with each other the entire weekend.

Jian Suiying knew how to have fun, and he brought Li Yu, a poor student who just left the ranks of the college entrance exam, along for many interesting experiences, and introduced him to many people in the circle. It should have been Li Xuan's job, weaving Li Yu into the intertwined family-political networks of Beijing, but Li Xuan wouldn't be transferred back for a few years, and Li Yu had been away from Beijing for several years, so there was definitely some lacking in the area of interpersonal relationships. Jian Suiying wanted him to integrate as soon as possible, it will help him in his future career.

Eventually, the buddies who were close to Jian Suiying noticed the tension between the two of them. However, all kinds of weird stuff went down in the circle, and Jian Suiying himself didn't want to make it obvious, which also meant that he didn't want others to know. Thus, no one with eyes would talk nonsense as long as they don't want to offend him. This made Li Yu heave a sigh of relief, and he was able to calmly contact these princelings who were at most one, two, or three people away from his father.

Of course, the difference in their personalities was right there, so they still bicker every couple of days. Only after actually being with Jian Suiying day and night did Li Yu understand just how difficult it was to get on this person's good side. Fortunately, in spite of his age, Li Yu was a relatively calm and tolerant person. This was unlike Jian Suiying, who, if something didn't go his way, would need to fight Li Yu. Usually, the issue ended up being resolved in bed.

If you put aside Jian Suiying's short temper, though, he was actually a good lover, and he treated Li Yu well. He'd give the expected small gifts every now and then, as well as bring late night snacks to his school at one or two o'clock in the middle of the night on several occasions. Sometimes he'd go watch Li Yu train after work and just sit there for three or four hours straight, just to eat together with him. He'd even prepare clean clothes. When Jian Suiying wanted to get on your good side he's really something, hitting all marks in gentility and romance. But when he's angry at you he could anger you to death without any compunction, and all sorts of nasty stuff would come out of his mouth. He'd also do things like soak Li Yu's phone in 84 Disinfectant because he'd talked to a female classmate for ten minutes, without any sense of guilt. Jian Suiying's contradictory personalities sometimes left Li Yu dumbfounded.

Just like this, with a bumpy, undefined relationship where fights started and ended at the bed, half a year had passed in the blink of an eye.

The Chinese New Year would be in a few days, and the company was maniacally busy during that time. One of Jian Suiying's newly developed properties was going on sale during the Chinese New Year's, and everyone in the company was doing a lot to prepare for it.

Both Li Yu and Jian Suilin's schools were on vacation, and both came to help Jian Suiying out, but Jian Suiying was so busy that, although he saw Li Yu every day, he didn't even have time to give him a wink.

Jian Suiying had bumped into a few roadblocks while working on this real estate project and asked a few people for help. Now that the property was open for sale, he'd prepared four units as gifts. He handed over the matter of gift-giving to Jian Suilin and then forgot all about it. He hadn't expected it to be these four units that went wrong in the end.

With the end of the year approaching, Jian Suiying was really, really busy, not only with the company's affairs, but also the exchange of gifts and relationships. His phone would ring almost every few minutes.

When he saw that the caller ID was Jian Suilin, he didn't even feel like answering it. It was only when Jian Suilin sent a text message with "urgent" on it that he picked it up.

As soon as the phone was picked up, there's something off with Jian Suilin's tone, and he said a little timidly: "Brother, something happened on my end..."

Jian Suiying said wearily: "What's wrong? You're a man, don't start fretting about the second something happens."

"So about that unit you told me to give to Director Fan...Brother Yu knows."

"Who? Bai Xinyu? How did he know?"

"I've had a lot of contact with him recently due to that piece of land. He treated me to lunch today, and when I went to the bathroom, he flipped through the folder I left on the table... I, I didn't know that he would go through my stuff like this. And when I came back, he asked me what I was doing with this real estate information and whether I was giving some houses away.”

"Fuck. You told him?"

"No, I didn't tell him, but he, for some unknown reason, turned out to know Director Fan's niece. At that time I'd just obtained a copy of her ID card, so he asked me whether this was for Director Fan."

Jian Suiying snorted coldly: "This kid can't do anything else, but he's unexpectedly sensitive to this sort of thing, You, too. How could you just leave this stuff lying around? If you can't even do this, what can you do?"

Jian Suilin said: "Brother, I'm sorry."

Jian Suiying sighed: "One more person who knows is one more uncertain factor, especially Bai Xinyu, that simpleton with a crack in his brain... Have you told him to not run his mouth?"

"Yes, I told him to not tell others. I figured he's family after all so he shouldn't be talking nonsense, but..."

"But what?

"He asked that the matter be left to him."

Jian Suiying frowned: "What do you mean?"

"Brother Yu said that his parents are currently working on a hotel construction project which needed Director Fan's help, and he wanted to take this opportunity to contact him."

"Fuck. For this kid to come up with this plan of borrowing flowers to offer Buddha (borrowing flowers to offer Buddha--basically using other people's things to get on someone else's good side) is a big breakthrough in his IQ. Shit, he can't make money from the outside world and all he knows is to manipulate his family."

Jian Suilin said cautiously: "Brother, what do you think?"

"Of course you can't leave it to him. If you let him handle something that's supposed to be simple, it might go wrong."

"Then……"

"You caused this yourself, so go deal with it yourself. In any case, don't let him get involved in this matter, and don't let him talk outside. Our family is not afraid of such trivial things, but we have to be careful. And if something goes wrong in your hands, you will be the one responsible for it. Understood?"

"Understood."

"I'm busy so I can't deal with you right now. Keep important things safe in the future, and if this shit happens again, you're to stop making trouble for my company."

"Brother, I'm sorry..."

Jian Suiying had already hung up the phone before he could finish.

Thinking about all the work and human relationships made his head hurt. Thus, he didn't take this matter with Bai Xinyu very seriously. He knew Bai Xinyu quite well--although he was idle and lazy, he was relatively timid and had no evil intentions. When he had time he'll just call him and tell him to keep his mouth shut. There should be no problem.

However, two days later, he received a call from his aunt. As soon as Jian Suiying looked at the caller ID, he knew what's going to happen. Sure enough, his aunt very roundaboutedly asked him to let Bai Xinyu help Xiao Lin Zi out with the house on the phone, so that he could have a chance to contact Director Fan.

His aunt had went out of her way to call him, Jian Suiying really couldn't refuse, so he could only agree. After thinking about it, he felt that it would not be difficult to just transfer the ownership of the house to the relatives of those people, and there should be no major problems, so he called and told Xiao Lin Zi to monitor the matter well and just let them handle it.

Soon, the company had its annual holiday. After being tired for so long, Jian Suiying was finally able to take a breath and rest.

That day Li Yu was reading a book while nestled into the sofa at his house, and Jian Suiying laid on his lap playing PSP, off-handedly talking about matters in the company. He told Li Yu the deal with those four houses, revealing some dissatisfaction toward Bai Xinyu in the process.

The hand holding the book stilled slightly, before Li Yu said expressionlessly: "This cousin of yours is a big trouble. Even if Suilin is in charge of this, there is a great risk."

"Oh? Why do you think so?"

"Suilin has to call him brother after all. If Bai Xinyu did something wrong, or went a little too far--can Suilin directly call him out? Of course not. I think this matter has the potential to go very well, given Suilin's prudence, but since you'd brought Bai Xinyu into this matter you have to bear the responsibility for any mistakes, and don't blame Suilin."

Jian Suiying put down the PSP and rolled his eyes at him: "Damn, you make everything sound so scary. It's just a property transfer, what's the worst that could happen? Get all the materials ready. pass them into the window, and you're done. Bai Xinyu just wanted to take the opportunity to kiss Director Fan's ass or something. Besides, do you think he'll be the one preparing these materials? It's pretty much Xiao Lin Zi's job anyway."

Li Yu turned a page in his book and stared at the typeface without blinking: "I also think there shouldn't be anything wrong with this matter, but since you mentioned it, I will casually share my opinion."

Jian Suiying threw the PSP to the side and hugged his waist: "Say, what have you been staring at this whole time? It's a holiday, how about you rest your eyes?"

Li Yu didn't look at him and just replied, "You rest your eyes by playing video games?"

Jian Suiying pretended he didn't hear that. With a flick of his hand, he knocked Li Yu's book to the side, as he said with a smile, "Look at me, and rest your eyes."

Li Yu finally looked down at him.

Jian Suiying raised his hand and hooked it around his neck, pressed his head down, and kissed him.

Li Yu also bent down in cooperation and planted a few kisses on his face.

Jian Suiying became energetic all of a sudden. He reached into Li Yu's clothes and felt around his waist, hurriedly pulling on his clothes.

Although the two of them had just done it in the morning, in the grander scheme of things they hadn't had time to do it for more than ten days, and right now Jian Suiying wanted use his time with Li Yu to the fullest and relieve this longing. The two of them were definitely familiar with each other's bodies, and soon got lost in the passion, releasing their desire for each other which had pent up over this period of time.

Li Yu's brother also came back for Chinese New Year's. Jian Suiying had dinner with him twice, and on the second time he brought along the person in charge of the feed company. He had a good talk with Li Xuan based on the situation of the land as reported by Xiao Lin Zi last time and planned on continuing the operation.

If everything went well, they could get those 200 acres of land for free, and so far, Jian Suiying felt that it was. He didn't spend a penny, helped out a friend, and got a piece of land without doing anything.

Jian Suiying and Li Yu went back to their respective households for Chinese New Year's eve. Facing a room full of relatives, Jian Suiying found his face stiff from talking and head dizzy from drinking, and he thought this all very boring. He's decided: next year, he's not celebrating the New Year in Beijing. Even going to Qinhuangdao to accompany his grandfather would be better than facing a room full of noisy people.

Jian Suiying was now the mainstay of the Jian family, and inevitably everyone, both older and younger, wanted a drink with him. Even his alcohol tolerance couldn't handle this, and in the end he genuinely couldn't drink any more. His calves were trembling with each step.

Jian Suilin had drank several glasses of alcohol on his behalf and was feeling a little uncomfortable also. Seeing that Jian Suiying was dizzy, he leaned into his ear and asked, "Brother, are you okay? How about I help you into the room?"

Jian Suiying hiccupped, hooked an arm around his neck, and said in a low voice, "L-Let's go..."

Jian Suilin helped him up and explained to the people at the table: "My brother really had too much to drink, I'll help him in to have him rest for a while."

A cousin of Jian Suiying was still yelling: "Don't sleep too much, it's only past ten."

Jian Suiying waved his hand and staggered back to the room with Xiao Lin Zi's support.

Xiao Lin Zi helped Jian Suiying into his own room and put him on the bed.

Jian Suiying wasn't that far gone, and he asked, "Isn't this your room?"

"I'm afraid that you'll dirty your own bed and won't be able to sleep at night." Jian Suilin took out a few napkins and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Jian Suiying closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and felt something wrong with his breathing. Knowing that he had really drunk too much, he said in a daze: "The red envelope I gave you tonight, don't just randomly spend it. Find something to do with yourself--you aren't young anymore,  you have to get some ideas in your head."

"Don't worry, big brother."

"What about the deal with those houses?"

"Everyone's on holiday for Chinese New Year's, but everything can be done after it's over. It's nothing complicated."

"That, uh, Bai Xinyu. Is he causing any trouble?"

"No. He has a very positive attitude, in fact."

"Hmm, keep an eye on him...tell me anytime you see something."

"Okay."

"You can leave now, I'll sleep for a bit."

"I'll stay with you for a while. I don't want to drink any more either."

Jian Suiying didn't chase him away again, and he laid on the bed with all four limbs relaxed and eyes closed in repose. After an unknown amount of time Jian Suiying's breathing steadied, and he was seemingly asleep.

Jian Suilin got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face. He drank some water, and, after sobering up a bit, sat down on the bed and looked at Jian Suiying. He touched Jian Suiying's hair for a bit--it was a little wet. He was sweating from the alcohol.

He hadn't seen his brother sleep so defenselessly in front of him in a long time. If he knew just what thoughts he had about him, he probably wouldn't even dare close his eyes.

Jian Suilin's hands moved from his hair to his forehead, and his fingertips were like feathers, dancing lightly on his face, from the center of his eyebrows, to his nose, and finally to his lips. Jian Suiying's lips always looked soft, though his mouth was filthy and relentless and rarely anything nice.came out of it.

He gently pressed the pads of his fingertips. They were really soft.

Jian Suilin's heartbeat suddenly got faster, and, looking at those slightly parted lips, he felt a deep, expansive yearning. He called softly: "Brother."

No response.

"Big brother, are you asleep?"

Still no response.

This encouraged Jian Suilin, and he slowly bent down, tremblingly approached, before finally putting his lips on Jian Suiying's.

At that moment he stopped breathing. He didn't dare move, for fear of waking Jian Suiying. The feeling of lips pressing into each other--how should he describe it? It was warm, soft, and a little wet; you can clearly feel the other's breathing and the heat of their body, as if you're exchanging some warm, ambiguous energy, filling yourselves with each other.

Jian Suilin couldn't help sticking out the tip of his tongue and cautiously licked his lips.

That soft and warm feeling was truly irresistible.

Just when he was hesitating whether to stop or to boldly continue his exploration, Jian Suiying suddenly muttered something and hooked an arm around his neck. Jian Suilin felt something press into the back of his head before he fell down uncontrollably, landing into a deep kiss with Jian Suiying.

Jian Suilin's eyes widened and he felt that his heart was about to jump out of his chest. He was nervous and wanted to run away immediately, but he couldn't help but want to stay where he was.

Jian Suiying only rubbed against him once before his hands drooped, and he muttered something.

Jian Suilin felt like suffocating; he didn't even dare to breathe too quickly. In his nervousness, he heard Jian Suiying saying something.

He was uttering two syllables, a person's name: Li Yu.

When Jian Suilin finally made out what he was saying, he could only feel blood rushing to his head, his vision going blurry, and a wave of utmost anger and jealousy instantly flooding his whole body.

Half of his body was shaking.

Li Yu.

He's calling for Li Yu.

Jian Suilin abruptly stood up. Looking at Jian Suiying, who was knocked out on his bed, he tightly clenched his fists.