Jiang Chiyan narrowed his eyes, his fingertips undoing the top button at Xiao Cheng's collar, and asked him, "No regrets?"
Xiao Cheng's whole body tensed. He was so nervous that he knocked his head against Jiang Chiyan's chest, but he shook his head firmly. "No regrets. Whatever you do to me, I, I... like it all."
Jiang Chiyan's gaze deepened.
He stood up, went around the room, and locked every door and window that could be locked.
Then Jiang Chiyan turned off both his and Xiao Cheng's phones so they wouldn't be disturbed.
Once everything was done, Jiang Chiyan walked up to Xiao Cheng, bent down to pin him beneath him, and lifted his chin. Pointing at his clothes, he said hoarsely, "Do it yourself. Be good."
With trembling fingertips, Xiao Cheng obediently undid his buttons.
The next morning.
Jiang Chiyan reached out and tucked the covers around Xiao Cheng.
He leaned down and gently kissed Xiao Cheng's brow, the tip of his nose, and his slightly swollen lips, then suddenly chuckled softly.
In certain respects, Xiao Cheng was as innocent as a blank sheet of paper.
Whatever Jiang Chiyan wanted to do, he tried his best to cooperate.
Last night, Jiang Chiyan had made Xiao Cheng say all sorts of things, both things he should and shouldn't say, and call him all sorts of names.
Jiang Chiyan's mind was filled with the sight of Xiao Cheng pleading with him, his eyes rimmed red.
Jiang Chiyan got up very quietly, picked up his phone very quietly, and went downstairs to the kitchen very quietly.
As soon as Jiang Chiyan turned on his phone, a string of messages popped up.
-[Jiang Chiyan, you two are living together???]
-[Jiang Yuan, you two took nine of the top ten trending spots, eighteen of the top twenty, and thirty-two of the top fifty. Impressive!]
-[Chiyan, my son hasn't even held a girl's hand, and you've already lured your boyfriend into the bedroom.]
-[Xiao Cheng has a slim waist. Don't crush him.]
-[I have a daughter-in-law?????]
The notifications kept popping up for a full five minutes, and they were still chiming.
WeChat: 999+.
DingTalk: 9999+
Weibo direct messages: 1 million+
Jiang Chiyan frowned, swiped down to open his phone's quick settings panel, and tapped airplane mode.
The world finally fell silent.
Then...
Jiang Chiyan connected to Wi-Fi and searched online for breakfast recipes, intending to cook some plain rice porridge and stir-fry two tasty dishes.
But Young Master Jiang had rarely set foot in a kitchen.
When he had lived alone before, he had only known how to cook dried noodles and instant noodles.
And so-
While washing the rice, he splashed water all over himself.
While frying eggs, he ended up with bits of cooked egg all over the pan and raw egg all over his hands.
While adding salt to the stir-fry, he accidentally dropped the spoon he was using to scoop the seasonings into the wok...
Jiang Chiyan reflexively reached in to retrieve it, and his fingertips were instantly scalded red.
Three hours later.
Jiang Chiyan went upstairs carrying a clay pot of plain rice porridge, golden fried eggs, and vividly green stir-fried vegetables.
To be precise.
It was a pot of rice that smelled slightly burnt because he hadn't added enough water.
Golden fried eggs with visible fragments of eggshell.
Vividly green stir-fried vegetables whose roots didn't seem to have been fully trimmed off.
Young Master Jiang carried breakfast into the master bedroom.
Xiao Cheng wasn't sleeping very peacefully. His brows were tightly furrowed, as though he were having a nightmare, and his lips moved slightly.
Jiang Chiyan set down the breakfast tray and approached. When he leaned down, he heard Xiao Cheng talking in his sleep...
-"Mom, don't hit me. Please stop hitting me."
Jiang Chiyan's eyes narrowed, and the air around him turned frighteningly cold.
His fists clenched, veins bulging on the backs of his hands and his wrists.
Suddenly, someone hugged Jiang Chiyan's arm...
He turned his head and saw Xiao Cheng clutching his arm to his chest, looking deeply insecure, rubbing his head against his shoulder and trembling uneasily.
Jiang Chiyan took two deep breaths, reached out, and gently stroked Xiao Cheng's head.
"Be good. Don't be afraid. I'm here."
"No one will dare hit you again. Whoever lays a hand on you... I'll lay a hand on them!"
After saying that, Jiang Chiyan reached over, picked up Xiao Cheng's phone from the nightstand, and turned it on.
He suddenly really wanted to ask Lu Ting what exactly Xiao Cheng had been through.
As soon as Xiao Cheng's phone turned on, a call came in.
The caller ID flashing on the screen read: Mom.
Jiang Chiyan gave a cold laugh, pressed the answer button, and lowered his voice. "Hello?"
A woman's voice came from the other end. "Xiao Cheng, Mom has something to tell you."