Chapter 21: Qi Yu’s Secret Obsession

Before Qi Yu left, he reminded Jiang Mian that he should contact him if anything happened.

Only after receiving Jiang Mian’s obedient reply did he reluctantly leave.

Once he stepped outside, he headed straight for the underground parking garage without the slightest hesitation.

He walked over to his car, opened the door, and got inside before taking out a tablet.

As the screen lit up, he operated it for a moment, and live footage from every corner of the house appeared clearly on the screen.

Leaning back against the driver’s seat, Qi Yu traced the outline of Jiang Mian with his slender fingers on the tablet.

The hypocritical mask on Qi Yu’s face had completely fallen away. Deep in his eyes was a twisted obsession suppressed to the absolute limit, and his tone was light, carrying a hint of sick delight.

“What a silly Baby. You walked into a stranger’s home without the slightest precaution.”

If he really were a completely bad person, what would happen to this innocent and adorable young man?

Perhaps he would be locked up like a little bird that had lost its freedom…

At the thought, Qi Yu couldn’t help covering his eyes with one hand and letting out a soft sigh.

But he couldn’t bear to do that.

It was only their second meeting, yet he already liked him so much…

****

Jiang Mian played with Xiaobai for a long time. When he noticed that Xiaobai had grown tired and fallen asleep, he couldn’t help lying down on the soft blanket as well.

He closed his eyes, and his breathing gradually evened out.

Through the surveillance footage, Qi Yu saw this. Afraid that Jiang Mian might catch a chill and get sick, he worriedly returned to the house and brought a blanket over to cover him.

Only after that did he tiptoe carefully back to the car and continue watching Jiang Mian.

The system, which had witnessed the entire thing: […]

Could this guy have never actually left and just been crouching outside the whole time?

Putting everything else aside, he certainly had the potential to become a thief.

Considering that he was at least a gentleman and hadn’t tried anything inappropriate, the system decided not to report him to Baby.

Jiang Mian slept for a little over half an hour before slowly waking up.

He stretched, yawned, and the blanket covering him slipped down.

He looked at the blanket that had fallen onto his legs, then glanced around in confusion.

When he saw Xiaobai, he suddenly understood.

He figured Xiaobai must have brought the blanket over for him.

Noticing that Xiaobai was still asleep, he lowered his movements and made even less noise.

Because he had pressed his face against the blanket while sleeping, a faint red mark had been left across his cheek.

He himself was completely unaware of it. Like a little kitten, he rested his cheek against one hand and sat there spacing out for a while.

He didn’t want to go back yet. Lu Fu was always saying strange things to him.

And when was Qi Yu coming back?

Where had Lu Huaijin gone?

Was Lu Jianglian sick? He wouldn’t start biting people, would he?

Jiang Mian’s thoughts wandered aimlessly for quite some time before he slowly sat up and headed toward the bathroom.

On the way, Jiang Mian inadvertently noticed a potted flower sitting on the windowsill.

A fresh, pleasant fragrance drifted into his nose with the breeze, making him sniff a few times.

He leaned closer and looked at it curiously. Unable to resist, he took a tiny bite from one of the petals.

His eyes immediately lit up.

It smelled so good, and it tasted good too!

It was even tastier than all the flowers he had eaten before!

Qi Yu, who had been watching him the entire time, was unusually stunned.

System: [??]

It exclaimed in surprise.

[Baby, are you hungry?]

Hearing the system’s question, Jiang Mian came fully back to his senses.

He instinctively licked his lips and quietly replied.

[I’m not hungry yet. It’s just been a long time since I’ve eaten one, so I couldn’t resist.]

He had almost forgotten that he was currently in someone else’s home.

After saying that, Jiang Mian guiltily glanced around.

Once he confirmed that Xiaobai hadn’t woken up and Qi Yu still hadn’t returned, he secretly let out a sigh of relief.

He wasn’t actually that greedy for food. It was all because the flower smelled so good.

Afraid that Qi Yu would discover that he had secretly bitten one of his flowers, Jiang Mian thought for a moment and cleverly rotated the flowerpot around.

That way, the petal with the bite mark faced inward. Qi Yu probably wouldn’t notice.

After doing something naughty, Jiang Mian became extremely self-conscious and didn’t dare touch anything else. He obediently sat on the sofa and played with his phone.

The moment Jiang Mian opened it, he saw that Lu Huaijin still hadn’t replied.

Lu Fu, however, had sent him another pile of messages.

The first one had been sent just after Jiang Mian left. After that, Lu Fu sent another message every so often.

Lu Fu: [Why aren’t you home? Did you go looking for my brother? I heard you shouldn’t be too clingy when you’re dating.
It’ll make the other person feel suffocated, and in the end, they won’t cherish you. #How to Reduce Excessive Dependence in a Relationship#. #How Exactly Are You Supposed to Date?#. #A Thirty-Year-Old Man Is at the Turning Point of Aging#]

The system couldn’t help commenting.

[Isn’t he afraid Lu Jianglian will find out and kick him out of the family?]

He was blatantly trying to steal his brother’s boyfriend!

Qi Yu stared at Jiang Mian’s phone screen through the surveillance footage and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Lu Fu?

Was this the Lu Fu he knew?

What was Jiang Mian’s relationship with Lu Fu and Lu Jianglian?

What did he mean by saying you shouldn’t be too clingy in a relationship?

Was Jiang Mian dating someone?

And the videos Lu Fu had sent Jiang Mian were strange too.

Qi Yu felt as though he had vaguely figured something out, but he wasn’t completely certain.

Even though he hadn’t interacted with Lu Jianglian many times, he knew that he was the chairman of the Lu Group, a ruthless business tycoon whose reputation was well known in their social circle.

Back when the Lu family had been in turmoil, Lu Jianglian had been only around twenty-two when he took advantage of the chaos to consolidate his position. That alone was enough to show how deep his schemes ran.

Moreover, it was rumored that he had no interest in either men or women and was a workaholic who had nothing in his eyes except work.

Someone like that dated?

Jiang Mian had no idea he was being watched. He casually clicked on one of the videos and watched as the person in it continued talking about things he couldn’t understand.

He tried to make sense of it.

In the end, he failed.

Jiang Mian exited the video and sent a pineapple-cat sticker to indicate that he had received the messages.

The moment Lu Fu received the notification, he shot upright from the sofa as though resurrected from the dead.

Lu Fu: [Did you watch the whole video? I think everything they said makes a lot of sense. I’m only twenty-three this year, right in the prime of my youth, and I even have a six-pack. If you think that’s not enough, I’ll work out for an extra hour every day from now on and try to get an eight-pack.]

By now, Jiang Mian only recognized about half of the characters, which was already quite impressive.

He thought Lu Fu was simply asking whether he had watched the videos.

This time, he didn’t reply with a voice message. Instead, he slowly typed out a few pinyin characters.

Jiang Mian: [Mm-hmm, I watched it.]

Lu Fu was confused.

He watched it?

And that was it?

What about everything else he had said afterward? Had Jiang Mian just completely ignored it?

He was so clingy with his brother, yet so cold toward him.

What blatant favoritism!

Lu Fu felt a little defeated.

After replying to Lu Fu, Jiang Mian checked the time. It was already five-thirty in the afternoon, yet Qi Yu still hadn’t returned.

Beep beep.

The sound of someone entering the password came from outside. The door opened, and Qi Yu walked in.

Jiang Mian turned his head toward the doorway. The little tuft of hair on top of his head was sticking up messily.

“You’re back. Then I should go home too.”

Lu Jianglian would be home at six.

“Mm. Do you want to stay for dinner before you go? You’ve worked hard taking care of Xiaobai.”

Qi Yu changed his shoes at the entrance and spoke to Jiang Mian with a perfectly natural expression.

“There are a lot of ingredients in the refrigerator. I can’t finish them all by myself in a short time. They’ll go bad, and it would be such a waste.”

Jiang Mian tilted his head.

“I eat a lot.”

Qi Yu smiled.

“Then that’s perfect.”

Jiang Mian pressed his lips together.

“Then I’ll tell my family.”

The last time he had gone out for barbecue with Lu Huaijin, he had forgotten to tell Lu Jianglian. As a result, Lu Jianglian had prepared a lot of food and waited for him at home. When Jiang Mian never came back, he had ended up throwing it all away.

Qi Yu nodded.

“Okay.”

Jiang Mian called Lu Jianglian, and the phone was answered almost immediately.

Lu Jianglian, who had left work early and was already driving home, heard the special ringtone and assumed Jiang Mian had called because he missed him.

Whenever he spoke to Jiang Mian, his voice instinctively softened.

“Baby, I’ll be home soon. What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll take you out for dinner.”

As for Lu Fu, who was still squatting around at home, Lu Jianglian thought it was already generous enough that he hadn’t kicked him out.
There was no way he was going to let him freeload dinner too.

Let him order takeout himself.

Lu Jianglian felt absolutely no brotherly affection whatsoever.

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