By the time the aircraft arrived at the Yan family estate, it was already midnight.
The people in the estate had not completely gone to bed yet. The lights on the third and fourth floors of the east wing were still on. On the fourth-floor balcony, a girl in a white nightgown was leaning against the railing, enjoying the late-night breeze.
Lu Qiao was really drunk—much more so than the last time.
Yan Qiu had coaxed him the entire way, eventually getting him to relax and curl up in his arms, where he slept for two hours. Now that he had been woken up, he was still dizzy and dazed.
Yan Qiu carried him off the aircraft. Once Lu Qiao was standing steadily, he looked up and, with one glance, spotted the girl on the fourth-floor balcony.
Before Yan Qiu could react, Lu Qiao threw himself at him and wrapped both arms around him in a bear hug. Then, all of a sudden, his wings spread out.
Amid the startled cries of the servants nearby, the wings burst through the shirt he was wearing in an instant. Once the pair of wings had fully emerged, they immediately wrapped themselves around Yan Qiu.
Yan Qiu: “……”
He couldn’t help laughing. “What are you doing?”
Lu Qiao was lying against his chest, his expression extremely serious. Lowering his voice, he whispered suspiciously, “That girl is looking at you.”
Yan Qiu glanced up and to the side. Of course, now that he was completely wrapped in wings, he couldn’t see anything at all. All he could see was a sea of white feathers.
But Lu Qiao quickly reached up and covered his eyes.
“Don’t look!”
The corners of Yan Qiu’s lips lifted. He said pleasantly, “That girl still has to stay at the estate for another day. It’s impossible for me to not look at her at all.”
“Why is it impossible?!” Lu Qiao protested. “You’re not allowed!”
Yan Qiu removed Lu Qiao’s hand and lowered his head to look at the man in his arms, his eyes filled with amusement. When he spoke again, his voice was low and gentle.
“Okay. If you say I can’t look, then I won’t look.”
Lu Qiao was satisfied.
Once satisfied, he thought for a moment before suddenly picking Yan Qiu up horizontally and flying into the air.
The move came completely without warning. The smile on Yan Qiu’s face froze, while the servants around them let out another round of startled cries.
“Young Master!”
“Mr. Lu, that’s dangerous!”
Yan Qiu calmly raised a hand, signaling them not to worry.
Lu Qiao was flying toward their room, but their room was on the back side of the house. On the way there, Lu Qiao deliberately flew around toward the east side.
As he flapped his wings past Weng Ruan’s balcony, Lu Qiao even showed the tall man in his arms to the girl, wearing an arrogant and domineering expression as if he were proudly showing off his prize.
Yan Qiu silently and wordlessly turned his eyes away.
Weng Ruan, meanwhile, was completely dumbfounded. She had only been standing on the balcony spacing out for a while and watching this husband-and-husband couple. How had they suddenly started flying?
And the handsome young man looked drunk. His eyes were obviously not quite right either.
She nervously called out, “That’s really dangerous! Hurry and get back down!”
Lu Qiao hugged Yan Qiu tightly and raised his chin confidently.
“No way. My flying is very steady!”
After saying that, he earnestly told Yan Qiu, “Don’t worry. I absolutely won’t let you fall. Even if you do fall, I’ll be your cushion.”
He rubbed his forehead against Yan Qiu’s and said softly, “I’ll protect you.”
Weng Ruan’s eyes went wide.
Holy crap, was this young man sweet!
Yan Qiu cleared his throat lightly, and a smile returned to his face.
“You said we’d live and die together. If we really fell, how could you be my cushion?”
Lu Qiao frowned and thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.
“No. We can’t die together. Who knows what the world after death would be like? We still have to work hard to stay alive. Only if we’re alive can we stay together.”
The stars stretched endlessly in the distance. In the night, the young man flying through the air on pure-white wings murmured,
“I want to protect this world. That way, beautiful things like this can continue to exist, and you can continue to exist too……”
Weng Ruan looked completely bewildered.
Why had he suddenly started making a chuuni declaration?
Yan Qiu stared at Lu Qiao for a moment. Then he reached out and gently turned Lu Qiao’s face toward him.
“You are also the most wonderful existence in this world to me, Lu Qiao.”
Lu Qiao blinked.
By now, the man’s eyes had already grown deep.
The next second, an angry shout came from directly above them.
“—What are you two doing?!”
Lu Qiao jumped in fright. He looked up and saw Grandma Yan also wearing pajamas, leaning over the railing of the fourth-floor balcony and staring at the two of them in disbelief.
Apparently, she had been drawn over by all the commotion they were making.
The old lady angrily shouted, “Are you two drunk?! You’re drunk and you’re still flying? Get down here right now!”
Lu Qiao shuddered, and his courage immediately disappeared.
He said in a daze, “S-Sorry!”
After saying that, he obediently landed on the ground, though his legs nearly gave out underneath him.
This time, Yan Qiu picked him up horizontally.
He looked up at the old lady, nodded, then carried Lu Qiao toward the back of the house with long strides.
When they reached the bedroom, Lu Qiao was placed onto the bed. He murmured softly,
“That scared me to death.”
Yan Qiu chuckled.
Lu Qiao then mumbled sleepily, “I’m so tired……”
“If you’re tired, go to sleep,” Yan Qiu said quietly.
Lu Qiao slowly blinked twice. His eyes soon closed, and he fell into a peaceful sleep, his cheeks flushed red.
Yan Qiu quietly watched him for a while before lowering his head and kissing him, gently pecking his lips, cheeks, and earlobe.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Yan Qiu said.
The door opened.
Grandma Yan entered with a stern expression. She glanced at Lu Qiao and lowered her voice.
“You two were way too reckless! Lu Qiao was drunk. How could you let him fly around like that? What if he fell—”
“Shh—” Yan Qiu said softly. “Grandma, when he wakes up tomorrow, he’ll know he was wrong.”
Grandma Yan glared at him.
“You really can’t bear to let anyone scold him, can you?”
Yan Qiu gently rubbed Lu Qiao’s head and smiled.
“He’s always been very well-behaved.”
The bedroom fell silent for a moment.
The old lady calmly asked, “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” Yan Qiu looked at the sleeping man, his voice gentle and unhurried. “I’m sure that I’ll love him forever.”
A few seconds later, Grandma Yan sighed.
“I always hoped you would get married and have children as soon as possible…… Forget it. It’s not easy to meet someone who’s willing to live and die with you.”
After a pause, she said,
“You two need to have a good life together.”
Lu Qiao slept until ten the next morning, once again breaking his personal record for sleeping in.
When he woke up, his head was still a little dizzy, and he was somewhat dazed.
Yan Qiu sat down beside the bed and handed him a glass of water. Lu Qiao drank it all in one go.
After finishing the water, his mind finally cleared a little. His small face immediately went through a series of expressions—blankness, shock, and utter disbelief!
Yan Qiu looked at him with interest.
“You remember? I thought you forgot everything that happened the day before every time you got drunk.”
Lu Qiao’s face flushed bright red.
He snatched the terminal from the nightstand and shakily started going through his messages.
—Sure enough, they were all from his friends at the training center. Every single one was cursing him for being such a bad friend, asking how he could have kept it from them for so long.
There were also plenty of jokes about how he’d acted all sweet and clingy in Yan Qiu’s arms yesterday.
Clingy my ass!!!
Lu Qiao confirmed that the memories of what had happened the night before were real.
He covered his face and wailed,
“I can’t face them anymore!!”
The thought that everything he had done last night had been witnessed by the servants at the estate, that girl, and Grandma Yan made Lu Qiao so mortified that he wanted to die.
He trembled as he asked, “How could you not stop me!!!”
Yan Qiu propped his chin on his hand and looked at him. After thinking for a moment, he asked,
“Why should I have stopped you?”
Lu Qiao: “???”
Yan Qiu: “It was cute.”
Lu Qiao: “……”
He was so angry he nearly passed out, his entire body falling backward.
Yan Qiu caught him in one motion, then gave him a long, smiling kiss, continuing until the furiously ruffled little bird had finally been smoothed back down.
Lu Qiao listlessly went back to reading the teasing messages from his friends, wishing he could delete every single one.
But suddenly, he noticed one particular message from the vice-director of the training center.
Vice Director: “Now that’s what I call a big move. [Picture]”
The picture was a screenshot of a celebrity blogger’s Xingbo post.
The Xingbo post had been published at one in the morning. By now, the number of reposts, comments, and likes on the image was already astonishing.
The post read:
“Ahhhhhhh! I went to my male god’s house today, and just now I got force-fed a huge serving of PDA by my male god!!! My male god’s little boyfriend is way too cute and sweet. It feels like my male god is going to be completely melted by all that sweetness every single day!!! I’ve officially got no chance anymore, and neither do any of you. Waiting for the wedding announcement. [Well-behaved] P.S. I got my male god’s permission before posting this Xingbo, hehe!”
Lu Qiao’s heart skipped a beat.
Although he still didn’t quite understand what was going on, out of caution, he opened Xingbo to take a look.
The first thing he saw on the trending searches was the phrase:
“Yan Qiu Wedding Announcement.”
Lu Qiao was stunned.
He clicked on it.
The first thing he saw was a summary post from a marketing account. The gist was that at one in the morning, a well-known Yan Qiu superfan and celebrity blogger had posted on Xingbo saying that her male god had a man.
Her male god was obviously Yan Qiu, and everyone had known for a long time that the blogger really was acquainted with the Yan family.
Judging from how excited she was, what she had said was probably true.
And so, Xingbo had exploded starting at one in the morning.
Whether it was marketing accounts or the blogger’s post, the comments were filled with people mourning their lost love.
“No way. Yan Qiu?!”
“I’ve always wondered whether Yan Qiu had been locked with someone too. My friend even told me Yan Qiu was asexual, and then THIS happened!!!”
“Ahhhhhhh! A little boyfriend?!!! It really is a little boyfriend!!!! Sob sob sob! So I never had a chance from the very beginning!!”
“I’ve been dumped, I’ve been dumped. I’ve cried for an hour. Also, can I ask—Is the little boyfriend really that sweet? I want some PDA. [Chin in hand]”
“She got her male god’s permission before posting it??? WTF, why does it feel like I just got fed a mouthful of PDA too? [Goodbye]”
Lu Qiao hurriedly tugged on Yan Qiu and pointed at the Xingbo post in shock.
“This celebrity blogger…… Don’t tell me she’s……”
He pointed toward the east.
Yan Qiu glanced at it and calmly said,
“Yeah, it’s her. She asked me before she posted it yesterday.”
Lu Qiao silently stared at the man.
Yan Qiu said calmly,
“She didn’t reveal any information about you. She only announced that I already have a partner. That’s good.”
As he spoke, he suddenly seemed to remember something.
He opened Xingbo on his own terminal, found Weng Ruan’s post, and tapped on it.
Lu Qiao’s eyes blurred for a moment.
When he came back to himself, he asked,
“…What did you do?”
Yan Qiu raised an eyebrow.
“You saw it. I forgot to like it last night.”
—This guy had just liked that girl’s Xingbo post!!!
Lu Qiao immediately refreshed Xingbo again.
In just two seconds, someone with sharp eyes had already noticed that Yan Qiu, who practically never used Xingbo, had liked the celebrity blogger’s post.
The comments exploded again!
……At this point, Xingbo had completely lost its mind!!!
Lu Qiao didn’t know how to describe his feelings.
He seemed a little annoyed, but also a little excited?
Anyway, he excitedly kicked Yan Qiu and softly scolded him,
“Why are you joining in on the fun?!”
Yan Qiu grabbed Lu Qiao’s ankle and teased,
“An official confirmation, so you won’t get jealous again in the future?”
“……”
Lu Qiao was rendered speechless by that one sentence.
In retaliation, he kicked Yan Qiu with his other foot.
The man simply grabbed him and pulled him over, making him cry out in surprise as he was dragged flat onto the bed.
Then Yan Qiu leaned over and kissed him, sealing his mouth shut.
The two of them didn’t come downstairs until noon.
Once they came downstairs, everyone’s meaningful looks nearly pierced straight through Lu Qiao.
He forced himself to maintain an appearance of calm. He behaved perfectly throughout the entire meal, eating obediently and keeping his mouth shut out of embarrassment.
Yan Qiu’s mother kept covering her mouth and laughing.
After the meal, Grandma Yan spoke.
“Lu Qiao, come with me for a moment.”
Lu Qiao froze.
Sweat immediately poured down him.
H-He was going to get scolded, wasn’t he……
Yan Qiu put an arm around his waist and said softly,
“It’s okay. Don’t worry. Grandma won’t scold you.”
Lu Qiao was still nervous.
He looked anxiously at Yan Qiu, then at Yan Qiu’s parents.
Finally, he stood up and lowered his head as he followed the old lady upstairs and into a study.
Thinking of how angry Grandma Yan had looked the night before, Lu Qiao was already frightened.
He was definitely going to get scolded……
Just as he was thinking this, Grandma Yan walked around behind the desk and pushed a box on top of it toward him.
“Open it and take a look.”
Lu Qiao froze, somewhat confused, and walked forward.
It was called a box, but it was actually about the size of a small chest.
Lu Qiao opened the lid and was instantly blinded by the dazzling collection of jewelry inside!
He stared in shock, completely unable to understand what Grandma Yan meant.
Grandma Yan said coldly,
“Actually, when I first heard that Yan Qiu and you had been locked together, I was very unhappy.”
Lu Qiao: “……”
He swallowed hard.
“I’ve always wanted to wait for the younger generation to get married so they could quickly give me grandchildren. I didn’t care who Yan Qiu married. Even if it wasn’t Weng Ruan, that would have been fine. But another man…… I really had a hard time accepting that.”
Grandma Yan frowned.
Just when Lu Qiao’s hands and feet had gone completely stiff, she continued,
“But I never expected that you would awaken my son.”
The old lady was silent for a moment before slowly saying,
“I truly am very grateful to you for that. Having met you is a blessing for our Yan family.”
Lu Qiao froze.
“I also know that I was being a little old-fashioned. And once that child Yan Qiu makes any decision, no one can shake him.”
Grandma Yan continued speaking to herself.
“Trying to change his mind would be a fool’s dream. So when I found out that he and you had been locked together, although I was very unhappy, I immediately gave up trying to fight it.”
Lu Qiao: “……”
S-So she gave up that easily?
Grandma Yan looked at the jewelry in the chest for a moment before saying softly,
“There are too few couples who are willing to give everything for each other. The two of you have already reached this point, so I won’t say anything more.”
Lu Qiao knew that Grandma Yan had probably heard the silly things he’d said while flying through the air with Yan Qiu in his arms the night before.
He felt a little embarrassed.
Grandma Yan patted the chest.
“These were originally prepared for Yan Qiu’s wife. Now that his wife has become you, you probably won’t have much use for these either. But since they were already prepared, I’ll give them to you anyway. If you don’t have any use for them, you can give them to someone else or sell them for money. It’s fine.”
Lu Qiao: “!!!”
She was way too easygoing about this!
He nervously said,
“I won’t sell them. I’ll keep them somewhere safe. Thank you…… Grandma.”
Grandma Yan’s personality was completely beyond Lu Qiao’s expectations.
Hearing him say that, she only replied calmly,
“It’s fine. Keeping them just takes up space anyway. They’re not anything precious. Don’t put them on a pedestal just because they came from me.”
Before Lu Qiao could respond, Grandma Yan continued,
“By the way, you seem a little concerned about Weng Ruan? Yan Qiu told you about some things from the past, right? Don’t worry. I brought her here this time because I wanted her to meet the son of another friend of mine. I’m setting her up on a blind date. Yan Qiu is yours. No one’s going to steal him from you.”
Lu Qiao wanted to crawl into the ground.
He said, mortified,
“I-I’m sorry!!”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. Getting jealous is a normal reaction.”
Grandma Yan found Lu Qiao’s sudden apology somewhat baffling.
“Oh, don’t misunderstand. I’m absolutely not being sarcastic. I always talk like this. What do you young people call it again—right, KY?”
Grandma Yan said expressionlessly,
“I’ve always been very KY when I talk. I hope you don’t take it personally.”
Lu Qiao was practically on the verge of tears.
“I won’t! I won’t take it personally! I’m sorry, Grandma!!!”