Chapter 30: “Your Underwear Is Very Cute”
The moonlight was lonely. Half of Jian Huaiyi’s face was buried in his light blue scarf, his exposed ear red from the cold. He could hear the soft, crunching sound of footsteps pressing into the snow, each step beating against his eardrums with a grainy texture.
Lu Cheng had left. He likely wouldn’t be bothering Jian Huaiyi again.
After all, no matter how profit-driven he was or how much he wanted to partner with the Jian family, he wouldn’t pursue someone who already had a “boyfriend.”
Jian Huaiyi asked Liang Xun, “When did you get here?” His voice was muffled by the scarf.
“Not long ago. I had a meeting this afternoon and only arrived near the end,” Liang Xun said.
Jian Huaiyi blinked. No wonder it was Assistant Qin who went on stage.
As expected, a mere auction wasn’t important enough for a major CEO like Liang Xun to attend in person.
The streets were nearly empty. The dim yellow light of the streetlamps spilled onto the snow, dyeing the white ground with a warm hue.
“You think that red agate ring is nice, too?” Jian Huaiyi chatted idly with Liang Xun.
Some snow had caked onto the side of his shoe, and he gave his foot a hard shake to dislodge it.
“It’s alright,” Liang Xun replied.
Jian Huaiyi raised an eyebrow, teasing, “So generous, President Liang. You had Assistant Qin light the sky lantern for something that was just ‘alright.’”
Liang Xun’s fingertips brushed against Jian Huaiyi’s palm. His expression was nonchalant. “I saw that you liked it, so I bought it.”
The curve of Jian Huaiyi’s eyes gradually flattened. He couldn’t stop a cough from escaping, and he pulled his scarf up higher, almost using it as a face mask.
They had reached the car. Jian Huaiyi quickly opened the door and slid in, sinking into the passenger seat and yanking off his scarf. He caught a glimpse of Liang Xun walking around from the back of the car.
After fastening his seatbelt, Liang Xun handed the gift box he’d been carrying to Jian Huaiyi.
“I don’t…” Jian Huaiyi’s refusal was on the tip of his tongue, but then he remembered his big brother’s request and accepted it.
I’ll pay Liang Xun back with something else later.
“Thank you,” Jian Huaiyi said, enunciating each word.
Liang Xun looked at him, stung by his polite attitude. He pressed his lips together, deciding he had to make things clear.
“You don’t have to thank me. What’s mine is yours. If you need it, you can spend my money however you like.”
Jian Huaiyi couldn’t hold back another cough, a flush of red blooming at the corners of his eyes. He urged, “It’s cold. Drive.”
Liang Xun immediately started the car.
The warm air from the vents fogged up the windows. The wipers swung back and forth, clearing the mist from the glass.
Back at the villa, Jian Huaiyi immediately went to take a hot shower. The entire house was enveloped in warmth from the heating. After his shower, he wore only a silk pajama top, his face flushed pink from the steam, a hairdryer in his hand.
Liang Xun emerged from the study carrying a safe. Jian Huaiyi had a bad feeling and quickened his pace.
“Jian Huaiyi,” Liang Xun called out to him. He opened the safe and, under Jian Huaiyi’s wary gaze, first took out a stack of documents, followed by a pile of red property deeds. He said to Jian Huaiyi, “These are all my current assets.”
He was like an emperor returning from a victorious campaign, pointing to the lands below and boasting, “Look, this is the empire I have conquered.”
Jian Huaiyi: “…”
His eyes swept over the thick stack of deeds. He looked up at Liang Xun and said faintly, “Are you showing off your wealth to me?”
“Of course not.” Liang Xun looked helpless at first. He touched the contracts at the bottom, then tensed his jaw and changed his tune. “You could see it that way. I suppose I’m quite wealthy. There’s no risk of bankruptcy in the next ten years, so you don’t have to worry about spending it all.”
Jian Huaiyi couldn’t help but fall silent again.
So, Liang Xun thought he was refusing to spend his money because he was afraid there wasn’t enough of it.
Truly the brain of a straight man.
So one-track-minded.
Jian Huaiyi took a deep breath and tossed the towel at Liang Xun’s chest, which he caught instinctively. The youth’s slender fingers pressed onto Liang Xun’s shoulders, pushing him toward the bathroom.
As he pushed, he said, “Okay, darling, I get it. You’re very rich. I’ll spend your money when I get the chance. Now go take a shower. I’m tired.”
He shoved Liang Xun into the bathroom and slammed the door with a click. The tension in his shoulders finally eased.
Idiot straight man.
“I didn’t grab a change of clothes.”
Liang Xun’s voice came from inside.
Jian Huaiyi held the door handle and said emotionlessly, “I’ll get them for you.”
Finally, silence.
Hearing the sound of running water, Jian Huaiyi went to the balcony and randomly grabbed a pair of Liang Xun’s underwear, then brought them along with his pajamas to the bathroom door.
“Your clothes are at the door.”
Then he went upstairs to rest.
About ten minutes later, Liang Xun walked into the bedroom, drying his hair. He was wearing pajamas with only two buttons loosely fastened, his chest muscles bulging, revealing their smooth contours with every movement.
Jian Huaiyi glanced over, put down his book, turned off the light, slid under the covers, and closed his eyes—all in one fluid motion. He felt the mattress dip beside him. His curled lashes drooped, then fluttered.
Pathetic.
Jian Huaiyi cursed himself internally.
We’re both men. It’s not like I haven’t seen it before.
The scent of cologne mixed with potent hormones filled his nostrils. He frowned, feeling as if he were being enveloped by a giant fireball. He couldn’t help but open his eyes, only to see Liang Xun staring intently at him.
Jian Huaiyi: ?
His lips formed a straight line as he forced himself to remain calm. “What’s wrong?”
Liang Xun stared at him, his light-colored pupils filled with confusion, but no other emotion.
“I washed the clothes and hung them on the balcony,” he said.
Jian Huaiyi was even more confused. “What clothes?”
Seeing his clueless expression, Liang Xun pressed his lips together again. His voice was low, tinged with a subtle nervousness.
“My underwear.”
Jian Huaiyi: ?
Liang Xun’s lips tightened once more. His handsome brow was furrowed, and his dark eyes flickered as he offered an unnatural compliment. “Your underwear… is very cute.” His long legs were half-bent, and the fabric was stretched taut over a considerable bulge in the middle.
Whose underwear?
What’s cute?
Jian Huaiyi’s vision went black. He instinctively looked down at Liang Xun, his eyes landing on a lean, powerful waist. Below it, the gray waistband of a pair of underwear peeked out.
An unacceptable suspicion formed in his mind.
Jian Huaiyi blinked slowly. Liang Xun’s face appeared before him, replaying like a movie.
His palm pressed against the bedsheet, his fingers gradually clenching.
No, it can’t be.
He struggled to keep his tone even, but his voice trembled. “I grabbed the wrong underwear, didn’t I?”
Liang Xun didn’t speak, which was a silent confirmation.
Jian Huaiyi’s vision went black again.
How… can… a person… screw… up… so… badly!
Liang Xun was wearing his underwear!
His!!!
And he had personally delivered it to him!!!
I want to die.
Jian Huaiyi closed his eyes, and the world went dark. That single thought echoed endlessly in his mind.
So why did Liang Xun have to go and wash the clothes? Did he think I was some kind of pervert with an underwear-swapping fetish?!
Liang Xun watched as Jian Huaiyi dove under the covers like a small animal burrowing into a cave for winter hibernation. Only a single, pearly-white earlobe was visible, and soon, even that disappeared.
After a long while, he lowered his dark eyes and, with a feeling that was either relief or regret, lay down and pulled the covers over himself.
Jian Huaiyi had to go on a business trip. It was expected to last a month.
At the breakfast table, Jian Huaiyi’s expression was neutral as he methodically cut a piece of fried egg and put it in his mouth.
“Yeah, the company assigned me to a project at the last minute. It’ll probably take a month. I didn’t want to go, but Big Brother Jian personally gave the order, so I have no choice.”
Hearing this, Liang Xun immediately put down his chopsticks and asked, “Where are you going?”
Jian Huaiyi paused before replying, “It hasn’t been decided yet.”
“Okay,” Liang Xun said, his dark eyes thoughtful. “Let me know when it’s confirmed. I’ll see you off.”
Jian Huaiyi nodded guiltily and mumbled, “Usually it’s just to a nearby city, not far. I’ll just go with the company people. No need to trouble yourself.”
He needed some time to himself to cool down.
But he was afraid Liang Xun would overthink it, so he had to fabricate a business trip to get away for a while.
This is so pathetic.
That was the only thought in Jian Huaiyi’s mind as he walked out of the villa with an empty suitcase.
Utterly and completely pathetic.
Liang Xun didn’t even seem embarrassed. He had probably already forgotten the whole incident. What was he getting so worked up about?
But he was already out. If he went back now, wouldn’t Liang Xun think he was crazy?
Jian Huaiyi steeled himself and left in the car.
“Little brother!” Eldest Brother Jian strode forward, wrapped an arm around Jian Huaiyi’s neck, and planted a kiss on his cheek. “What brings you to my place all of a sudden?”
Jian Huaiyi dropped the empty suitcase in the living room and turned to his brother. “I’m staying here for a month.”
Eldest Brother Jian owned several properties. He would usually stay at one of them if he had a late engagement and couldn’t make it back to the main family residence. But there were also times when he intentionally didn’t go back—for example, when his “sister-in-law” needed him.
He was stunned. “A month? That long?”
He had thought his little brother was just visiting for a night on a whim to bond with him. A month was indeed a bit long.
Something was off.
Eldest Brother Jian’s eagle-sharp gaze swept over Jian Huaiyi as he muttered, “Something’s not right with you, Second Brother.”
Jian Huaiyi undid his cuffs and looked his brother in the eye. “Not welcome?”
Eldest Brother Jian’s expression immediately changed. He grinned. “Welcome! Of course you’re welcome! I wish you’d stay here, Huaiyi. What’s a month? You can stay for a lifetime! It’s not like I can’t afford to support you.” He looked at the elegant and cool young man before him, a hundred emotions welling up. He remembered how he had wished upon every star for this little brother to finally arrive.
After he was born, he had experienced fatherhood at a young age.
At the time, Mrs. Jian and Old Master Jian were busy with their careers. When Jian Huaiyi was hungry, he was the one who fed him formula. When he cried, he was the one who held and soothed him. At night, when he couldn’t sleep, he was the one who patted his back until he drifted off.
His feelings as a first-time father were so intense that when the third brother, Jian Luojia, was born, Eldest Brother Jian could only be a brother to him.
He couldn’t care for Jian Luojia the way he had for Jian Huaiyi. Firstly, he didn’t have the energy. Secondly, Jian Luojia had been an ugly baby—wrinkled and dark, nothing like the little snowball Jian Huaiyi had been, who was both beautiful and adorable.
Eldest Brother Jian wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye. “Little brother, I have something tonight and might be back late. Don’t wait up for me. Just eat and go to bed, okay?”
Jian Huaiyi waved a hand to show he understood.
Then it dawned on him. “Big Brother, you’re not coming home tonight?”
Eldest Brother Jian bit his lip shyly and drew out his words. “Aiya, little brother…”
Jian Huaiyi raised an eyebrow, understanding dawning. “Sister-in-law is calling?”
“Well, your sister-in-law has a few days off and insists on coming to keep me company. I told her she didn’t have to, but…唉, women are so clingy. Your big bro had no choice but to reluctantly agree.” He looked utterly pleased with himself.
Jian Huaiyi: “…”
“Stop pretending.”
Eldest Brother Jian wiped the lovesick grin off his face and cleared his throat. “Anyway, I’ll be coming back late these next few days. Don’t wait up for me, little brother.”
“I know. I won’t,” Jian Huaiyi said coolly.
Eldest Brother Jian was both relieved and heartbroken. But seeing the time, he gave Jian Huaiyi a few more instructions and left for the office.
Once his brother was gone, the world became quiet.
Jian Huaiyi took a leisurely stroll around the villa and discovered a greenhouse in the backyard. It was filled with potted plants, but they hadn’t been watered in a long time, their leaves yellow and withered.
He frowned, found a watering can and a small shovel, and began to tend to the plants.
Before he knew it, evening had fallen. Since his brother had told him not to wait, Jian Huaiyi ordered takeout on his phone, ate, and then went upstairs to shower.
Perhaps it was because he was sleeping in a new bed, but Jian Huaiyi lay down early and couldn’t fall asleep. It wasn’t until after midnight that he finally started to feel drowsy. Suddenly, a noise came from downstairs.
“Baby, don’t go tonight, okay?”
At the top of the stairs, a tipsy Eldest Brother Jian leaned against the wall, his arm around a woman, breathing into her ear.
The woman tugged on his bow tie, her wavy brown hair wrapped around his fingers. Her red lips parted. “How much did you drink this time?”
Eldest Brother Jian smiled foolishly, his charming eyes drooping with a lazy light. “Not much. Don’t worry, baby, I can still get it up.”
The woman’s lips curved into a smile. She hooked her arms around his neck, and the two of them began to kiss.
At the second-floor railing, Jian Huaiyi quietly watched the scene unfold.
A few seconds later, he turned, went back into his room, grabbed his coat from the bedside, and silently went down the other staircase to the living room.
Behind him, the intense sounds of kissing and panting intertwined. Jian Huaiyi, expressionless, climbed out through a window. The moonlight was cold and heavy. He stuck his hands in his pockets and got into a taxi.
“To Yunshui Yiju.”
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