I'm the One Who Wants to Take Advantage of Brother Jing

The two chatted for a while longer, and Jiang Nian took the opportunity to ask:

"Brother Jing, is the place you're living in now the apartment we used to rent?"

Cheng Jing took his hand and held it tight, openly admitting:

"Yes. I wanted to buy it, but the landlord wouldn't sell."

"Oh~"

Jiang Nian was in a wonderful mood, so he volunteered an admission of his own:

"When I went there looking for a place, I also asked the property management office about renting that apartment, but they said it was already rented out."

When he finished, they shared a smile. Some things went unspoken, known only to the two of them.

Ah, the feeling of being in love was back. It had to be said, love hormones were one of the most healing things there were.

For a while, neither spoke. Jiang Nian leaned against the man beside him, and Cheng Jing slipped an arm around him as they watched TV, occasionally discussing the news with him. It was as though they had returned to the days when they were together.

But Jiang Nian was feeling a little restless. He glanced at the time and saw that it was almost eleven. Biting his thumb, he pretended to ask casually:

"Brother Jing, are you staying tonight? I really have been having nightmares lately. I want you to stay and keep me company."

Was his boyfriend really this calm after rekindling their old flame?

He had always been calm and outwardly reserved despite his passionate side, and after his time in the military, he had grown even steadier. It felt as though he and Jiang Nian belonged to different generations.

What he had said earlier about not sleeping together was now null and void. To be frank, he wanted to sleep with Cheng Jing. Now, immediately!

"..."

After agonizing over it for quite a while, Cheng Jing still shook his head.

"No. Although the current mission is considered complete, I won't be able to stay with you at ease until I've sent Yang Kai away. Don't think too much about it. If you really can't sleep, you could take some medicine..."

Sleeping poorly took a heavy toll on the mind. If it went on too long, it would be hard to recover from the resulting nervous exhaustion.

"All right, forget the medicine..."

Jiang Nian sighed softly, then suddenly turned and sat sideways in his lap. Bracing his hands on Cheng Jing's shoulders, he pressed their foreheads together and asked again:

"Then when are you leaving? If you're not in a hurry, how about comforting your restless boyfriend? Maybe I won't have any dreams tonight."

He had always been the shameless one when they were together before, anyway, so he didn't feel embarrassed at all. His boyfriend was so handsome. He'd be a fool not to take advantage.

"..."

Cheng Jing stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled and raised a hand to the back of his neck.

"I was worried you'd think I was taking advantage of you when we'd only just gotten back together... Besides, I can't stay."

"Not at all. I'm the one who wants to take advantage of Brother Jing."

With that, Jiang Nian leaned in with a smile and bit his lips, neither too hard nor too gently. His voice trembled a little:

"It's okay if you can't stay. Just comfort me first... Brother Jing, I missed you so much."

The negative emotions from two lifetimes couldn't be subdued by a few words and a hug.

Seeing how nervous he was, Cheng Jing kissed his cheek and asked:

"Do you want a drink?"

Jiang Nian chuckled softly.

"No. I wanted a drink earlier to work up the courage to ask you for a loan, but I don't need it now... I can still go wild without alcohol."

They had been apart for so long that he felt a little inhibited at first, but he relaxed once things got going.

"Mm."

As they nestled close together, Cheng Jing held him and warned:

"Jiang Nian, now that you're back, behave yourself and stay with me. If you run away again, I'll break your legs and throw you in a cage!"

Jiang Nian huffed softly.

"I won't run. I'm sticking to you for the rest of this life, even if I die."

"Good."

Cheng Jing was very satisfied. He gently stroked Jiang Nian's ring finger, thinking he should get a ring to put on it as a mark of ownership.

While he was on leave after completing the mission, they could also get their marriage certificate.

Dating for too long without getting a marriage certificate was also playing the scoundrel.

Cheng Jing didn't leave until after Jiang Nian had fallen asleep. He left him the car and keys, and also spoke to the hotel staff.

It was already past two when he got home. Yang Kai was still awake, sitting on the sofa, watching TV and blowing clouds of smoke. When he saw Cheng Jing, he looked over with mild scrutiny.

"Brother Cheng, where did you go tonight?"

"You're still up this late? Smoke less. You're still young."

Cheng Jing didn't answer. He turned on the other air purifier. After a few months of this guy living here, the whole place smelled of smoke.

Fortunately, he had expressly forbidden Yang Kai from entering his room. Otherwise, Jiang Nian would surely have been put off when he came over.

"I was waiting for you. The mission may be over, but I was worried when you didn't come back so late."

As Yang Kai spoke, he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. He looked up at Cheng Jing for a moment, and his expression changed.

"That's the smell of hotel body wash. Did you just come back from a hotel?"

Cheng Jing sat down across from him.

"You drink and smoke, but your nose is still that sharp. You undercover agents really are impressive."

"Brother Cheng."

Yang Kai stared straight at him and asked again:

"Where did you go?"

Cheng Jing frowned.

"Didn't you already smell it? A hotel. The mission's over, so I had to relax somehow."

Yang Kai pursed his lips and asked, sounding jealous:

"With that fellow townsman of yours?"

It was a sharpness that came with the job.

"..."

Cheng Jing didn't answer. Unless necessary, he didn't like the people around him, especially someone in Yang Kai's line of work, knowing about Jiang Nian. But since Yang Kai had guessed, he didn't want to deny it either.

He was still happy about getting back together with Jiang Nian.

Yang Kai knew he had guessed right. For some reason, he felt irritated and couldn't resist lighting another cigarette. After taking a deep drag, he went on without waiting for an answer:

"Jiang Nian, right? You haven't been yourself since you saw him today... I thought you two used to have a thing, but it turns out you're still seeing each other. But the way he reacted when he saw me wasn't like the official partner... Is he your kept lover?"

Jiang Nian's reaction had been so natural that even with Yang Kai's eye for detail, he hadn't been able to spot the slightest clue.

Cheng Jing denied it:

"We've been together since back then... He was just cooperating with our work. He's the official partner. I don't keep lovers."

If he were capable of keeping a lover, he wouldn't have been unable to stop thinking about that little bastard.

Yang Kai understood.

"But I heard Sister Huang Qian say you had a white moonlight... that losing him was so painful it was like you'd lost your spouse, and you still couldn't let go."

Cheng Jing nodded.

"Mm. The spouse I lost came back to life."

Just now, he had changed his marital status to married. Let's see who still dared laugh at him!

"Huh?"

Yang Kai was stunned at first, then realization dawned.

"So that's it... It's him. I was wondering..."

Then he looked over with a touch of resentment.

"Brother Cheng, I like you. You should know that, but we each had our jobs to do during the mission. Now that it's over, do I still have a chance?"

Jiang Nian's most striking feature was his pair of peach blossom eyes. His features were gentle, and there was always a hint of a smile when he looked at people. He really did seem like the heartless type who could keep someone hopelessly hung up on him. Yang Kai hadn't expected Cheng Jing to fall for that type too. He was basically beyond saving.

When Huang Qian had been running her mouth, Cheng Jing had already prepared himself for Yang Kai to bring things into the open. So he wasn't surprised, nor did he feel much of an emotional stir. He met Yang Kai's gaze and answered seriously:

"Yang Kai, we're working partners. If a person only gets one chance in their life to truly fall for someone, then I've already used mine. To be honest, I don't like men. No one but him will do."

Did it count as Jiang Nian having turned him gay?

Of course not. After all, that sort of thing could only happen if it went both ways. It was just that he had always been the more passive one:

He hadn't been able to resist when Jiang Nian pursued him, and had been helpless when that unfilial son dumped him. When the little bastard came back to him, he couldn't even bear to stay angry for long. The moment Jiang Nian shed a tear, he wanted to kiss him, hug him, and lift him up high.

It was like a habit that sprang from instinct, one that applied only to Jiang Nian.