Don't you know what I want from you?

After finishing the last mouthful of pork rib soup, Ye Yizhou, comfortably full, wiped his mouth with a napkin in satisfaction and said to Yan Qingdu:

"Let's go. You don't have much time left."

"Hm?" Yan Qingdu looked puzzled.

"To register our marriage."

"In such a hurry?"

"Want to check today's date? Or what day of the week it is? I wonder which of us is in more of a hurry!"

Ye Yizhou opened the calendar on his phone and held it in front of Yan Qingdu, grinning with delight at his predicament.

The facts were as follows:

Madam Yan's birthday banquet was at six on Sunday evening.

Today was Friday.

The marriage registration office operated on weekdays, Monday through Friday.

So, how much time did Yan Qingdu have left to register his marriage between now and six on Sunday evening?

Yan Qingdu withdrew his gaze. Although he and Ye Yizhou had reached a preliminary strategic agreement on the marriage alliance, he hadn't expected to register it so soon.

Still, compared with having to deal with a whole crowd of people, Ye Yizhou was the better option, and he seemed especially entertaining and adorable.

"Let's go!"

Yan Qingdu stood without the slightest hesitation.

Ye Yizhou rose with him, lifting a hand to his lips to hide a chuckle and lowering his eyes to conceal the mischievous gleam in them.

Sitting in Yan Qingdu's passenger seat, Ye Yizhou held two little red booklets, a faint smile on his lips. He was clearly in a good mood.

"Hm?"

Ye Yizhou pulled his vibrating phone from his trouser pocket. Seeing the caller ID, he broke into a wicked grin.

"Hello." Ye Yizhou sounded perfectly serious.

"..." There was a brief silence on the other end before a very quiet, cautious question came. "Is this a bad time to talk?"

Having successfully fooled his father, Ye Yizhou laughed aloud. "Not at all. It's perfectly fine."

"Then why are you putting on that serious act?" Ye Chongli complained, speechless.

"Isn't being polite something everyone should do? I'm always polite when I answer the phone!" Ye Yizhou sounded innocent, successfully earning a glance from Yan Qingdu.

Leaning sideways against the seat back, Ye Yizhou looked up at Yan Qingdu and pressed a slender finger to his lips, signaling him not to speak.

With his sparkling eyes and upturned lips, Ye Yizhou looked just like a mischievous little devil.

Yan Qingdu cooperated without a word, turning back to focus on driving.

"Have you and Yan Qingdu finished eating?"

"It's almost five in the afternoon. We'd be done even if we'd been eating an imperial banquet."

They had done far more than finish lunch. They had even gone back for their household registration booklets and registered their marriage before the office closed.

"You didn't say anything out of line over lunch, did you?" Ye Chongli asked tentatively.

Ye Yizhou was puzzled. "What do you mean by out of line?"

"You said you were going to ask him about a marriage alliance. You didn't actually ask, did you?"

"I did!"

"You asked?" Ye Chongli's voice trembled a little. "What did he say? He isn't going to decide it's time to bankrupt the Ye family, is he?"

"I wanted to offer myself to him, not send him to his grave. Would that really warrant so much hatred? Turning me down would be enough, without bankrupting our family."

Amused by his father's wild imaginings, Ye Yizhou laughed. "What do you take him for, the king of hell on earth?"

"Ahem, ahem."

After a few fake coughs to cover his embarrassment, Ye Chongli got to the point. "So what did he say?"

"You're good. You guessed right. The first thing he said was, 'Do I look like someone who needs a marriage alliance?'" Ye Yizhou sounded helpless.

"How are you feeling now?" Ye Chongli sounded quite worried.

"Ah, heartbroken."

Ye Yizhou let out a long sigh, filled with obvious regret and disappointment.

Stopped at a red light, Yan Qingdu kept looking sideways at Ye Yizhou, amusement in his eyes. He really loved acting, and he really got into character.

The Oscars truly owed him a statuette.

"Hahahahahahaha!"

A burst of excited laughter suddenly came through the phone. It was so loud that Ye Yizhou frowned and held his phone farther away in disgust.

Only his own father could laugh that loudly upon hearing his son was heartbroken.

"Hahahaha-cough, cough!" Ye Chongli was so excited that he only stopped after laughing himself into a coughing fit.

Only then did Ye Yizhou put the phone back to his ear, his tone flat. "Go ahead and laugh. You'll have more chances later."

"What do you mean?" Ye Chongli immediately grew wary.

"You'll find out. Remember to drive the car I left downstairs at the office back home. Bye."

With that, Ye Yizhou hung up, giving Ye Chongli no chance to speak.

"You're not telling him?"

Yan Qingdu asked casually as he drove.

"He's a little too happy today. I'll wait until he's in a bad mood, then tell him to cheer him up. Aren't I such a dutiful son?"

That was what Ye Yizhou said, but his expression perfectly illustrated how impossible it was to hide the urge to stab someone.

Just as Ye Jing'an had said: "a loving father and a dutiful son."

"We're here. Let's get out."

Yan Qingdu parked in the underground garage and spoke to Ye Yizhou.

Yan Qingdu walked around to the trunk and took out the suitcase inside.

When Ye Yizhou had gone back for his household registration booklet, he had also packed a few changes of clothes into a suitcase to bring along.

"What's this?" Yan Qingdu had asked in confusion at the time.

Ye Yizhou frowned. "What do you mean, wanting to live apart when we've only just registered our marriage?"

"I didn't think it through."

Yan Qingdu readily admitted his mistake.

Registering their marriage wasn't playing house. They had truly become a family.

Pushing the suitcase, Yan Qingdu stood beside Ye Yizhou as they waited for the elevator upstairs.

Ye Yizhou tentatively hooked one of his fingers, turning to watch Yan Qingdu's reaction.

Yan Qingdu glanced down without saying anything or pulling his hand away.

That silent acceptance felt like encouragement.

More boldly, Ye Yizhou took Yan Qingdu's hand, his eyes curving like a child who had been given candy, happiness written all over his face.

Ye Yizhou was six years younger than him, twenty-four this year, and only two years out of university.

Compared with him, Ye Yizhou really was more like a boy who needed coaxing.

But he hadn't been like this when Yan Qingdu first met him.

So innocent and romantic now?

Yan Qingdu looked thoughtful.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened, and Yan Qingdu stepped inside, carrying the suitcase in one hand and holding Ye Yizhou's hand with the other.

Yan Qingdu lived in a spacious, single-floor apartment with private elevator access.

Yan Qingdu registered Ye Yizhou's fingerprint for the front door lock, then opened the door and let him enter first.

Ye Yizhou changed into slippers at the entrance and began looking around.

The decor was predominantly black and gray, minimalist and modern. Everything was neatly arranged and very clean, but it looked cold.

"Here."

Yan Qingdu came out of the bedroom and handed Ye Yizhou something dangling from his hand.

It was a round elevator access token attached to a keychain of the Little Prince holding a fox.

"You have something this cute?"

Ye Yizhou accepted it and looked it over several times in his palm. He liked it so much that he couldn't resist teasing him.

"My mother likes these little things. She gave it to me ages ago, but it's been sitting unused. You might as well use it."

When Yan Qingdu had gone to the drawer to find the elevator access token, the keychain had been right beside it.

His first thought had been that Ye Yizhou would definitely like a cute little trinket like this.

Sure enough, judging by how he couldn't put it down, he really did like it.

"Go entertain yourself. I'll make dinner."

As he spoke, Yan Qingdu took off his suit jacket and laid it over the arm of the sofa, tipping his head back slightly as he pulled off his tie and tossed it onto the jacket.

His long, well-proportioned fingers undid his cuff links, and he rolled his sleeves up his arms.

The muscles of his forearms formed smooth lines, and even a little exertion brought his veins into clear relief. They looked powerful.

Every movement truly exuded irresistible charm.

Yan Qingdu really was the god of effortless allure.

Ye Yizhou made no effort to hide his admiring gaze.

When Yan Qingdu entered the kitchen, Ye Yizhou followed and considerately offered, "I'll help."

"Can you cook?"

Taking the ingredients for dinner out of the refrigerator, Yan Qingdu looked at Ye Yizhou standing in the kitchen doorway and asked.

Ye Yizhou gave an awkward but polite smile. "No."

"Then by helping, you mean..."

"You can have me wash vegetables, chop things, that sort of work." Ye Yizhou assigned himself tasks.

Yan Qingdu unwrapped the ingredients and asked as he washed them, "Have you done that before?"

"No, but I've watched. Watching is as good as doing. I'm an experienced hand."

Although Ye Yizhou didn't know how, he spoke with utter confidence and considerable pride.

The corners of Yan Qingdu's mouth lifted slightly. Ye Yizhou's answers always felt reasonable yet unexpected. He was entertaining, and adorable too.

"Chef, give me a job! I'm ready."

Ye Yizhou rolled up his sleeves, brimming with enthusiasm.

"Dinner's fairly simple tonight. There wasn't much to wash, and I've already finished prepping everything. Next time!"

In the time they had spent talking, Yan Qingdu had already finished the preparations, swift and efficient.

Ye Yizhou pouted. "Fine. Next time for sure."

Yan Qingdu pan-seared two steaks and made pasta and creamy clam soup. Everything tasted delicious.

When Yan Qingdu came out of the shower, he found Ye Yizhou in white silk pajamas, lounging lazily on the sofa with a glass of red wine in his hand.

"Mr. Yan, happy wedding day."

Ye Yizhou tilted his head back against the sofa, a smile on his lips.

His fair face was flushed, his gaze a little hazy, pinpricks of starlight shimmering in his eyes as he raised his wineglass.

"Happy wedding day."

Yan Qingdu bent to pick up the other glass from the table, sat beside Ye Yizhou, and raised it to clink against his.

Yan Qingdu took a sip of red wine. He had barely set his glass down when Ye Yizhou threw himself at him.

Instinctively, Yan Qingdu caught him around the waist and gathered him into his arms, afraid the little drunk would fall.

Ye Yizhou's warm breath fell against Yan Qingdu's neck, tickling him.

"Tonight is our wedding night."

"Mm. What do you want to do, then?"

Yan Qingdu's voice was deep and magnetic, like Satan beguiling hearts, luring his prey step by step into the trap of its own accord.

"Don't you know what I want from you?"

Ye Yizhou smiled, his voice carrying a tipsy, seductive sweetness, and boldly leaned in to kiss Yan Qingdu's lips.

He knew.

Yan Qingdu lowered his head and kissed him back, fingertips gently stroking his soft hair.

Yan Qingdu looked at Ye Yizhou in his arms, his lips red without a touch of color, his expression hazy and alluring with desire. His faint fragrance lingered with every breath.

Yan Qingdu's gaze darkened, and he picked Ye Yizhou up and carried him toward the bed.

Suddenly lifted into the air, Ye Yizhou nervously wrapped his legs around his waist.

He admitted it: Ye Yizhou was adorable, and very seductive.