So embarrassing. Shen Yuan thought silently that Xiao Lin really had grown up—at least physically. He shouldn’t treat him like a kid anymore. And he absolutely could not keep sharing a bed with him in the future.
He struggled hard to pull himself free.
That finally made Li Lin “wake up.” In truth, he had woken up earlier. He’d noticed the situation he was in, felt mortified, yet couldn’t bring himself to let go. He hesitated, thinking he’d hold his brother for just a minute longer, then sneak off to the bathroom to deal with it. One minute turned into another, and he dragged it out until Shen Yuan woke too.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered, hurriedly playing dumb. He even faked a yawn and rubbed his eyes, hoping Shen Yuan wouldn’t see how red and burning his ears were. Li Lin might already be a big boy, but apart from studying and gaming, he’d never done anything romantic. Sure, he’d joked around with guys at school—dirty jokes, talk about pretty girls—but he had never really been in a relationship. At least, he didn’t think so.
Back in middle school, he was already tall and decent-looking, enough to be voted class heartthrob and even school heartthrob. Naturally, girls sent him love notes. When the boys around him started getting girlfriends, he vaguely followed along and accepted a confession from a pretty, top-student girl.
Back then, he had proudly told Shen Yuan about his very first girlfriend—showing off, really. He knew his brother had never dated anyone.
Shen Yuan wasn’t very happy about it.
Li Lin didn’t know exactly why, but seeing his brother unhappy because he had a girlfriend made something hot and tight rise in his chest, swelling and pressing inside him.
Shen Yuan said, “What kind of attitude is that? You’re being careless. I’ve noticed you haven’t been focused on studying lately—so it’s because you’re dating. Dating is something serious. Don’t talk about it like you’re picking vegetables at the market. Tell me, do you really like that girl?”
So that was the reason. His brother thought he’d turned into a bad kid. For some reason, Li Lin felt a little disappointed. And Shen Yuan’s question hit straight at the truth.
“She’s… cute…” he muttered.
“I didn’t ask whether she’s cute,” Shen Yuan said. “I asked how much you like her. Are you serious? A girl’s feelings are precious and fragile. If you’re going to date her, you need to be responsible.”
Li Lin was stunned. He couldn’t bring himself to lie and say he really liked her. A moment’s hesitation was enough for Shen Yuan to see right through him. Shen Yuan grew genuinely angry. “How did you turn out like this?”
Li Lin protested, hurt, “B-but that’s what everyone else does. They’re just playing around. Do I really have to treat it like we’re getting married? I wasn’t thinking that far.”
“If you don’t like her, why are you dating her?” Shen Yuan said. “Look at your dad—would he ever do something like that?”
“They said…”
“If they say something, do you just believe it? Are you stupid?”
“You can only date a girl if you truly like her!”
After thinking it over, Li Lin realized Shen Yuan was right. And he honestly didn’t like the girl that much. So he told her the truth—that he didn’t actually like her—and said they should break up.
His first romance lasted all of three days, ending with a slap across the face.
After that… Li Lin never dated again. He remembered what Shen Yuan had told him. And he simply hadn’t met a girl who made his heart race. None of them compared to his brother.
Besides, watching his friends date made him feel that girls were a hassle—dragging their boyfriends shopping after school and on weekends, making them carry bags, getting upset for no reason and demanding to be coaxed, all sorts of tedious “tests” of a boyfriend’s devotion. It all sounded exhausting. Given the choice, he’d rather go home and play games. Why date? Was gaming suddenly boring? Was there suddenly too little homework?
Li Lin’s heart was pounding now—so fast it felt like it might kill him—especially with Shen Yuan glaring at him in embarrassment and anger.
Shen Yuan said, in a tone that was half-scolding, half-resigned, “…You’re hard.”
Li Lin never expected Shen Yuan to say something like that—not exactly obscene, but definitely skirting the edge. Normally someone Shen Yuan’s age would already know about such things, but Li Lin had never heard him say anything dirty. He had never caught him watching porn, never seen anything inappropriate lying around. Since they were young, Shen Yuan had always been the responsible, behaved one—polite, disciplined, almost ascetic.
So hearing him say something even remotely sexual sent a sharp jolt through Li Lin, his face going instantly beet red.
Shen Yuan suddenly couldn’t meet his eyes either. He turned his head, flustered. “G-go take care of it yourself. You don’t need me to teach you, right?”
There was no point pretending innocence anymore. Li Lin muttered an obedient “okay,” dragged himself off the bed, and went to the bathroom.
Then it hit him—so Shen Yuan understood things after all. He couldn’t help wondering: did his brother ever do this kind of thing himself? What would he look like? What kind of sounds would he make? He had no idea how to picture it. He tried to match the scenes he’d seen in videos onto Shen Yuan, but it didn’t feel right. No, his brother wouldn’t be like that. He’d be restrained, embarrassed, finishing quickly and quietly, trying not to make a sound—but unable to stop a few soft noises from slipping out.
Half a month later.
Since Uncle had asked Master Zhang to make Shen Yuan’s suits first, they were completed. Paired with the leather shoes and wristwatch Uncle gave him, he looked properly put together.
He double-checked everything he needed to bring, and after making sure nothing was missing, he drove alone to Qiaohai Building.
During this period, he hadn’t contacted Qiao Hailou, and Qiao Hailou hadn’t contacted him.
Shen Yuan guessed maybe Qiao Hailou had gotten bored and was deliberately ignoring him. Maybe the whole “I’m not cutting you off” thing had been a lie—meant to make him think things were still ongoing, so he’d worry and wait. And if Shen Yuan couldn’t help asking about it, Qiao Hailou might smile and say, “Great, now I can dump you,” achieving the humiliation and revenge he wanted.
The more Shen Yuan thought about it, the more convinced he was that this theory made sense.
At the reception desk of Cuiran Jewelry, he reported in. Of course, the one he contacted wasn’t Qiao Hailou—Qiao Hailou was at the absolute top of the company. Why would someone like him spare time on a newbie like Shen Yuan?
Shen Yuan had heard of the brand. For students in his major, there were only a few companies worth aiming for. Cuiran wasn’t a new brand, but its performance had been poor, its designs mediocre. Two years ago it was nearly bankrupt, then bought by an unknown investor who poured money into it—new designers, sweeping reforms—and within a year, the brand revived. Now they have five hundred stores nationwide.
Now Shen Yuan knew the mastermind behind it was probably Qiao Hailou. He had to admit, Qiao Hailou had good instincts and skill.
Since Shen Yuan entered through his stepfather’s connection with the big boss, once he checked in at the front desk, Qiao Hailou’s secretary came down to get him.
The receptionists were all polished and pretty. While waiting, Shen Yuan—who was good at adjusting his manner to fit whoever he was talking to—chatted with them casually. He wasn’t nervous at all. There was no harm in building good rapport, whether he needed it later or not. After he changed his look, interacting with people had become so much easier. When he returned to school the first few days, several girls even tried to add him on social media to “make friends.” He accepted, but didn’t pursue anything deeper. He was naturally attracted to men.
He felt he was perfectly polite and not flirting, but the receptionists still ended up pink-cheeked and bright-eyed.
A moment later, they saw a familiar figure approaching and quickly straightened up, smiles vanishing.
Shen Yuan turned as a professional-looking woman walked toward him. High heels clicked sharply on marble; a black-and-white Chanel suit highlighted her tall figure. She wasn’t stunning, but impeccably made-up. Her expression was a bit stiff—probably from cosmetic work—and she looked around thirty. She also looked like she was having a bad day.
Shen Yuan figured this must be Qiao Hailou’s secretary. He smiled politely and said, “Hello, miss.”
She nodded, giving him a quick once-over. Her brows eased almost instantly, her tone softening, and she asked in mild disbelief, “Confirming—are you Shen Yuan?”
He nodded quickly.
She smiled. “I’m Bai Lu. You can call me Sister Lu.”
Bai Lu dutifully brought him to his desk, giving him a quick rundown of his position in the elevator.
Cuiran was expanding rapidly. With big funding, they were in full growth mode. The planning department’s design division was split into teams based on product lines—gold, palladium, platinum, silver, jadeite, and diamonds. Based on Shen Yuan’s résumé and design samples, the department head had assigned him to the diamond team.
After settling him in and giving a few more instructions, she returned to her own office—looking completely different from when she’d left. She had gone out annoyed; she came back glowing.
A coworker asked, “What’s up, Sister Lu? You looked like you were on your period earlier. Now you’re smiling. What good thing happened? You were even grumbling that picking him up was ‘killing chickens with a butcher’s knife.’”
Bai Lu sighed dreamily. “Well, originally yes. But that Shen Yuan doesn’t look like his résumé photo. New haircut, no glasses—he looks like a different person. God, I haven’t seen a young man that handsome in ages. Small face, long legs… Even the celebrities we hired for ads weren’t half as good-looking. And if I’m not mistaken, he’s wearing Scabal. That suit must be custom from the old tailor. And he’s got a Patek Philippe on his wrist…”
She stopped because she noticed Qiao Hailou standing at the door, having heard everything. Something in his chest itched like ants crawling.
“You’re talking about Shen Yuan?”
He always knew the kid was good-looking, but his usual style had been hopelessly outdated. He changed his hair? He’s wearing a suit? What kind? How good does he look?
And Bai Lu wasn’t someone easily impressed. For her to praise someone that much—just how good did he look?
Qiao Hailou told himself sternly: No. He had held out for half a month already. If he went now, he’d be the one losing face. He had to regain the upper hand.
Hold. Hold!!
But Bai Lu, who knew him well, nodded. “Yes, Shen Yuan—the one you asked me to pick up. The Li family’s young master is gorgeous.”
Qiao Hailou frowned, clicking his tongue, inhaling sharply. No use. He couldn’t hold it back…
He’d just take a quick look. Just one glance.
So the CEO of Cuiran Jewelry snuck away without telling anyone, crept to the design department’s doorway, and peeked inside.
He spotted Shen Yuan instantly.
Shen Yuan was surrounded by colleagues, smiling as he talked to them. The moment Qiao Hailou saw his polished, politely smiling face, time seemed to freeze. His head buzzed, his vision blurred—everyone around Shen Yuan faded until only he remained.
His heart skipped twice. His mind went blank.
It took several seconds before he felt alive again—able to breathe.
Damn it. Staring at Shen Yuan, Qiao Hailou cursed inwardly with a kind of helpless fury:
Of course. That little thing fits my taste way too damn well.