An Yubei's soft voice frayed Ji Shang's nerves and tugged at his heart.
His baby was scared. His baby needed him.
But he couldn't hold An Yubei right now. He would crush him.
Ji Shang had a sturdier build and weighed more than An Yubei, so naturally, he couldn't be on top. He should be underneath.
An Yubei blinked uneasily. "Big brother?"
He didn't know why Ji Shang wasn't speaking. His silence only made An Yubei more frightened.
The uneasy An Yubei began overthinking. Does big brother not want to hold me?
Does he not like me again?
This is so worrying. Should I coax him?
Just as An Yubei's thoughts were running wild, Ji Shang suddenly wrapped an arm around his waist.
A moment later, An Yubei was lifted into the air, pressed close against Ji Shang's body.
Ji Shang rolled over, leaving himself underneath and An Yubei on top.
Now he could hold him.
An Yubei lay on Ji Shang, who wrapped his arms around his waist and gave it a squeeze. "I'm holding you, Xiao Bei. Don't be scared."
An Yubei lay on Ji Shang in relief, the panic in his heart disappearing completely.
Actually, he wasn't truly scared. He just felt upset after being tricked by Li Liang.
His poor judgment of people had harmed Ji Shang and Lu Jinsheng. More than anything, An Yubei felt guilty.
He lay against Ji Shang's chest, quietly listening to his heartbeat, and said softly, "Big brother, I'm sorry. I won't play with strangers ever again."
An Yubei began reflecting on himself. If I hadn't trusted Li Liang so easily, none of this would have happened.
I should have listened to big brother. I shouldn't have played with strangers.
Ji Shang couldn't see An Yubei's expression, but from his voice, he could imagine how guilty his baby felt.
His baby was still too innocent. He didn't know how sinister the world could be, so he couldn't see through people.
But that was all right. With him by his side from now on, he certainly wouldn't let An Yubei suffer.
"Xiao Bei, this isn't your fault. People's hearts are too complicated."
"Don't blame yourself. We just need to find a way out."
An Yubei lay against Ji Shang's chest, idly tracing circles over it with a fingertip. "But big brother, I really did do something wrong. You should punish me, or I won't learn my lesson."
It was like when he had lived in the orphanage as a child. He always got up at night to use the bathroom, and the auntie looking after them would tell them to get into the habit of not getting up at night.
Otherwise, she would have to get up and go with them.
Before, they hadn't needed anyone to accompany them, but a few days earlier, something had happened to a child who went to the bathroom alone, so the orphanage director had required them to be accompanied.
The auntie didn't want to get up, and she didn't want anything to happen to the children, so she could only tell them not to get up at night.
An Yubei had a habit of getting up at night that he couldn't break, and he didn't want to pee in a bottle, so he went to the bathroom himself.
When the auntie found out later, she beat him severely. An Yubei remembered that pain and never dared get up at night again.
An Yubei thought that as long as Ji Shang beat him, he would remember the pain and learn his lesson.
"Big brother, hit me."
Once it hurts, I'll learn my lesson.
Ji Shang rubbed An Yubei's bottom, his heart aching. "How could I bear to hit you?"
"So you made a mistake. What's the big deal?"
"Do you remember what I told you? You can do anything. I'll always be there to back you up."
Ji Shang kneaded a little too hard, and An Yubei gave a soft whimper. "I understand."
"You little fool. No more overthinking."
An Yubei nuzzled comfortably into Ji Shang's arms. "I understand, big brother."
Ji Shang gripped An Yubei's waist and had him sit on his own waist. "Xiao Bei, check whether there's a mechanism on the coffin lid."
An Yubei obediently sat up, but because of his height, he had to hunch over.
It was too dark inside the coffin for An Yubei to see, so he couldn't tell exactly where Ji Shang's waist was and ended up sitting a little off target.
When his bottom settled down, An Yubei heard Ji Shang give a muffled grunt, as though he was a little uncomfortable.
Noticing something was wrong with Ji Shang, An Yubei quickly asked, "Big brother, what's wrong?"
Ji Shang swallowed and tried to sound calm. "Nothing. Look for the mechanism!"
An Yubei said, "Oh," then hunched over and began feeling around for a mechanism inside the coffin lid.
He alternated between rising and sitting, making Ji Shang extremely uncomfortable, while An Yubei had no idea what was happening and remained focused on feeling around.
Before long, Ji Shang couldn't take it anymore and gripped An Yubei's waist, his voice low and husky. "Xiao Bei, stop moving."
An Yubei was puzzled. "Big brother, what's wrong?"
Unable to voice his suffering, Ji Shang could only grit his teeth and say it was nothing.
Supporting An Yubei with his palms, he moved him forward a little before finally breathing a sigh of relief. "There probably isn't a mechanism inside the coffin lid. It needs to be opened from outside. We can only count on Lu Jinsheng."
"Lu Jinsheng's time in the dark room should be almost up. Let's wait a little!"
"All right, then!"
Staying hunched over was tiring, so An Yubei simply lay back down on Ji Shang.
Waiting like this was rather boring, and there was little sense of time in the darkness, so An Yubei began chatting aimlessly.
He asked about this and that, learning everything about Ji Shang.
Mostly, he was curious about Ji Shang. There hadn't been much about him in the book. After a brief introduction to Ji Shang, the Ji family had gone bankrupt and exited the story.
To An Yubei, Ji Shang was still rather mysterious.
"Big brother, what kind of person do you like?"
Ji Shang hadn't had a romance storyline in the novel, so An Yubei was curious about what sort of person could become his sister-in-law.
Ji Shang raised a hand and kneaded the back of An Yubei's neck. "I like someone soft, cute, and fond of acting spoiled. Someone like you, Xiao Bei."
There was a hidden meaning in Ji Shang's words, but An Yubei completely missed it.
"Wow, so you like that kind of girl, big brother. I do too!"
Who wouldn't like a sweet, cute girl?
"You like girls?" A dangerous note crept into Ji Shang's voice, but An Yubei didn't notice.
His chin poked into Ji Shang's chest as he said, "Yes. Girls are the cutest people in the world."
People had pursued An Yubei in his previous life too, but unfortunately, he had turned them all down.
Without exception, the reason was that he was too poor.
Who could bear to make a girl suffer alongside them?
An Yubei fantasized happily. "Someday, I'll find a girlfriend and treat her really, really well. I'll give her all my money, and she can buy whatever she wants."
An Yubei wanted to spoil his girlfriend like a little princess. That was what a man should do.
Find a girlfriend?
His baby even wanted to date?
Ji Shang frowned, his face full of displeasure.
He gave An Yubei's plump bottom a moderate smack. "No dating while you're too young."
An Yubei froze. "...!"
He said he couldn't bear to smack my bottom. Why did he go back on his word?
What did he say wrong this time?
"Big brother, I'm already an adult. I'm about to start university. That doesn't count as dating too young."
People could even register their marriage while at university now. It wasn't unreasonable for him to date.
Ji Shang was utterly overbearing. "Xiao Bei, you're not allowed to date. You're not allowed to leave me."
An Yubei had only been talking about finding a girlfriend. He might not actually find one. It all depended on fate.
"I understand, big brother. I won't date."
"Good boy, Xiao Bei!"
An Yubei's neck felt a little itchy, and he happened to touch where his Adam's apple should be. Despite being a man, he didn't even have one.
Curious, he reached out and touched Ji Shang's Adam's apple.
Big brother's Adam's apple is big and round, like a marble. Why don't I have one?
Hmph. It's not fair.
His fair, tender little hand toyed with the Adam's apple as though it were a marble.
Ji Shang swallowed, and An Yubei laughed excitedly. "Big brother, your Adam's apple moved! This is so fun."
Ji Shang caught An Yubei's restless little hand and said in a low voice, "Stop playing, or I might play with you."
An Yubei: "...!"
I don't even have an Adam's apple. What is big brother going to play with?
Ji Shang's body stiffened, as though a fire were burning inside him.
For the first time, he realized that being able to hear someone else's thoughts could be a torment too.
He was going crazy.