A Wrong Note

At the thought, Yu Xinyan unconsciously quickened his steps considerably, even nearly missing a step and falling. Luckily, he caught the handrail in time.

But the commotion still made Song Nianxing and Yuan Man turn to look at him at the same time.

Yu Xinyan hurriedly leaned against the handrail, then smoothed his hair with feigned nonchalance and smiled elegantly. "Morning."

Song Nianxing looked at him, then at the unresponsive Yuan Man. Though puzzled, he still smiled politely and replied, "Morning."

Only after he finished did Yuan Man follow with a "Morning" of his own.

Then Yuan Man turned back to Song Nianxing, gestured toward the castle building blocks on the table, and teased him with a smile. "Wow, Senior Shen put this together, right? I came downstairs for water last night because I was thirsty and saw him working on it. I asked him, but all he said was something about keeping his word. So, did one of us make some kind of promise with Senior Shen?"

Song Nianxing's ears instantly flushed red. He rubbed the tip of his nose. "W-well, um, I'll go make breakfast for everyone."

Yuan Man chuckled with a rather doting air. "Why are you stammering now? I never said Senior Shen made a promise with you. And you're offering to make us breakfast? With your cooking skills... tsk, you're not planning to serve us some kind of assassination special because of what I just said, are you?"

"You!" Song Nianxing exclaimed indignantly, but he really was too inarticulate to think of anything to counter Yuan Man with. All he could do was turn his back and head toward the kitchen. "I'm not talking to you anymore."

"No can do." Yuan Man followed him without another word.

Yu Xinyan, who had taken in every moment of their interaction, unconsciously furrowed his brows.

He sat down on the sofa, but his gaze kept straying toward the two in the kitchen.

Something was wrong!

Very wrong!

Normally, whenever he greeted Yuan Man like that and said good morning, Yuan Man would definitely be screaming in his head like some lovesick creep.

But not this time! Not a single sound!

Was he not good-looking today?

Yu Xinyan touched his face.

Hmm, no, he looked the same as always.

Or was it because today's outfit wasn't to Yuan Man's taste?

He lowered his head to look at his clothes.

That couldn't be it either. Even when he wore pajamas at the company apartment, Yuan Man lusted after him like crazy. Ahem!

Then why?

Was it because he hadn't sent him a heart-fluttering message last night?

At that thought, Yu Xinyan's memories of last night resurfaced.

After washing the dishes last night, he had gone to the villa's back garden, where there was a piano. He had just been about to practice and had only pressed a single note when Yuan Man came looking for him, saying they needed to complete an intimacy task.

As luck would have it, they had both drawn the task of looking into each other's eyes for thirty seconds.

Figuring neither of them could gross the other out any more than the other could, he agreed.

The two of them sat down together at the piano.

The piano was his greatest strength. He had even specifically chosen a piece he could play with his eyes closed without missing a single note, intending to show off in front of the cameras and Yuan Man.

To tell the whole world that he was no pretty-faced good-for-nothing.

So he played while maintaining eye contact with Yuan Man.

Everything went well at first, until, just before the thirty-second timer was about to go off, Yuan Man suddenly beamed at him.

Doing this task makes me... really want to give my husband a kiss.

Usually, Yuan Man said things far more outrageous and explicit, so by rights, this remark was nothing much.

Yet at that moment, he looked at the light filling Yuan Man's eyes, then at the little mole perched on the tip of his delicate, slightly upturned nose, before his gaze finally settled on those closed, soft red lips.

His mind instantly dissolved into chaos, with only one feeling remaining clear-he wanted to kiss him too, wanted to know what it would taste and feel like.

Beneath his fingertips, Yu Xinyan played a wrong note in the piece he had boasted he could play backward with his eyes closed.