Chapter 9

Qi Liangqin pulled the thin blanket over himself and brought it close to his nose, as if he could catch a hint of Yan Bozong's scent.

But it was just a feeling, faint and elusive—perhaps nothing more than his own imagination. Maybe the blanket only carried the light fragrance of laundry detergent. Who knew? But even the mere thought of it was enough to satisfy him.

Beside him, Yan Songwei had stopped snoring and was sleeping soundly. Qi Liangqin turned his head and looked at Yan Songwei's silhouette. Perhaps, on many nights like this, the Qi Liangqin in the novel had also stared at him, fantasizing that the man lying next to him wasn't Yan Songwei, but his brother, Yan Bozong.

Qi Liangqin seemed like a man with no regard for propriety, shameless and reckless, yet at the same time, deeply devoted. It was as if he were trapped in his own inner demons, suffering unbearably, forced to use other men as an antidote—both wicked and pitiful.

That night, he had a beautiful dream, so sweet that he drooled in his sleep. He was caught between fire and water in his dream when suddenly, he was kicked awake. He immediately opened his moist eyes and looked at Yan Songwei.

Yan Songwei was staring at a certain spot below. Qi Liangqin followed his gaze and suddenly realized he was pitching a tent.

He sobered up in an instant, his face burning with embarrassment. He quickly clamped his legs together.

"Having a dream?" Yan Songwei asked with a smirk, clearly up to no good.

Qi Liangqin sat up and pulled the thin blanket over his lower body. "No, it's just... isn't this normal for men in the morning?"

"Looks like you've got plenty of energy." Yan Songwei, shirtless, revealing his toned upper body, smirked. "How long has it been since you let off some steam?"

Qi Liangqin lowered his head and said nothing. Yan Songwei playfully stretched out his foot and gave him a nudge—but he hadn't expected Qi Liangqin to be so easily toppled over. Watching him fall, Yan Songwei burst into laughter. "What are you so shy about? We're both young men. As long as my family doesn't find out, I don't care if you get yourself a boyfriend. I'm a reasonable person—I won't make you live like a widow."

Wrapped tightly in the blanket, Qi Liangqin muttered, "I'm still young, there's no rush."

Yan Songwei swaggered off to wash up, leaving Qi Liangqin to sigh in relief and lie back down, replaying his dream from earlier.

It was, in fact, a rather normal dream. In it, Yan Bozong was swimming in the outdoor pool while he sat nearby, watching the way his long, agile body moved through the water like a fish. Yan Bozong was really handsome, he thought. Yan Bozong was a real man, he thought.

After a while, he suddenly felt the urge to pee, so he got up and went to the bathroom. However, Yan Songwei was already inside and called out, "Wait your turn."

There were two bathrooms on the first floor, so Qi Liangqin crossed the living room to use the other one. He pushed open the door, relieved himself, washed his hands, and was about to leave when he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He paused, then turned back, leaning over the sink to get a closer look.

The face in the mirror still felt somewhat unfamiliar to him. Every time he saw it, it put him in an incredibly good mood.

He suddenly recalled a Korean movie he had watched before, 200 Pounds Beauty. In it, the female lead, once an overweight woman no one loved, underwent plastic surgery to become a breathtaking beauty. Overcome with emotion, she cried and said to the mirror, "Even crying looks beautiful now."

Perhaps only those who had once been plain-looking could truly understand this kind of joy. What could beauty bring? Almost everything. Life became infinitely easier because of it.

"So young," he murmured, shaking his head with a sigh. He touched his own face and chuckled, "So handsome."

He was so delighted by his own reflection that he smacked his butt with both hands, clicking his tongue in satisfaction. Practically skipping with joy, he turned around—only to almost crash straight into someone's chest.

Yan Bozong stood there, looking at him with a complicated expression.

…

"...Bro... Big Bro…" Qi Liangqin stammered out.

Yan Bozong responded with a simple "Mm," then stepped past him into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

That left Qi Liangqin standing there, completely frozen.

Had Yan Bozong seen everything? Heard everything?

This was beyond embarrassing. Yan Bozong must be thinking he was the most shameless, self-absorbed person he had ever met.

But this was only the beginning—because what came next would be even more humiliating. And it had everything to do with the bathroom in front of him.

The Yan family's house was an H-shaped villa with two floors. Madam Yan and Yan Yuan occupied the entire second floor, with one room on each side and an additional rooftop garden. The first floor was divided into four sections: two guest room areas with four rooms in total, plus the two master bedrooms belonging to Yan Songwei and Yan Bozong.

In total, there were six bathrooms—two upstairs and four downstairs. Two of the downstairs bathrooms were located in the guest room areas. However, since Madam Yan was a businesswoman with a guarded personality, the family hadn't hired any live-in servants, except for Aunt Chun, who had been working for them for over twenty years.

Though a housekeeping company came in weekly for deep cleaning, Aunt Chun still had to manage the daily upkeep of both floors, which was already exhausting. To lighten her workload, the guest rooms were rarely used, and Aunt Chun only cleaned them every few days.

As a result, only two bathrooms downstairs were regularly in use—one on Yan Songwei's side and one on Yan Bozong's side.

In the novel, Qi Liangqin, burning with passionate longing, was thrilled to hear that his brother-in-law, Yan Bozong, had returned. The excitement stayed with him all day. However, as the head of Shengda Corporation, Yan Bozong had work to attend to. After coming home, he left again and hadn't returned all day.

Unable to quell his restless desires, Qi Liangqin found an excuse—claiming that the bathroom on his side was out of order—so that he could use Yan Bozong's bathroom to shower that night.

While bathing, he deliberately left the door unlocked, slightly ajar. His youthful, dewy skin gleamed under the cascading water, his long, slender body stretching indulgently beneath the showerhead.

But Yan Bozong never happened to walk in. These things weren't always up to fate.

However, Qi Liangqin was nothing if not scheming—he made sure to leave something behind in the bathroom.

Thinking about these scenes from the novel, Qi Liangqin wobbled back to his room, lost in thought.

Yan Songwei had already finished freshening up and was now grooming his hair, looking relaxed and refreshed. "Qingqing wants to have dinner together today. I'll text you the location after work," he said, issuing it more as an order than a suggestion.

Qi Liangqin went to brush his teeth. As he brushed, he began daydreaming again.

He really did think Qi Liangqin was stunning—his beauty radiated the fresh scent of youth, like sun-warmed grass. Sticking out his tongue, he saw how small and round it was, soft like a serpent tempting someone to sin. He extended it further, curling the tip to scoop up a bit of toothpaste foam from the corner of his lips.

Suddenly, shame washed over him. A crushing sense of embarrassment swallowed him whole.

It was as if he could already see his future self—sticking out that very tongue, shattering the illusion of innocence, and seducing Yan Bozong without restraint.