DMMB Chapter 25

Why would a grown man go around repeating the exact words of some little girl?

And besides, was “pretty big brother” even a nickname Qin Zigui was allowed to use?

Sheng Yan felt his ears growing warm.

He hadn’t genuinely missed a target even once since he was ten years old. This was the first time in all those years.

So he had every reason to suspect that Qin Zigui had done it on purpose.

Otherwise, why was it that when the little girl said something similar, he found it cute and amusing, but when Qin Zigui said it, he felt…

He didn’t want to think about what he felt.

He didn’t even like men, so why should he be having all these thoughts about Qin Zigui? What was wrong with him?

It was definitely because of that shooting contest with Qin Zigui in the bathroom the other day. His pride was acting up, making him find Qin Zigui annoyingly handsome. That was all. In reality, Qin Zigui wasn’t even that handsome.

Not as handsome as him, anyway.

Besides, he was a real man. He would never act all sweet and coquettish just to get his way. Unlike certain people who had no backbone and knew nothing but how to use their looks to charm others.

Thinking this, Sheng Yan turned around coldly, reloaded his gun, and fired.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

He hit all the remaining nineteen targets without missing a single shot. That earned him exactly the second-place prize, enough to win the Little Prince crystal ball.

When Sheng Yan handed the crystal ball to Qin Zigui, he also took back his own dragon-shaped sugar candy from him, grumbling disdainfully, “Was it really necessary to go through all that trouble just for a counterfeit Little Prince?”

“Besides, I already have an authentic one.”

Qin Zigui’s answer seemed somewhat unrelated to the question.

After saying that, he casually slipped the counterfeit Little Prince crystal ball into the innermost compartment of his backpack, zipped it up, and only then looked up at Sheng Yan.

“Had enough fun shooting?”

“Not bad. I was just worried that if I kept going, Uncle Long would go bankrupt.”

Sheng Yan leisurely twirled the sugar candy in his hand, eating it at an unhurried pace.

Beside him, Uncle Long was counting the money in his waist pouch with a grin. “Exactly! It’s only because the fair is almost over and I’ve practically finished my business for the day. Otherwise, I’d have to give you a piece of my mind.”

“Come on, I used to give you plenty of business when I was little.” Sheng Yan slung an arm around Uncle Long’s shoulder like an old buddy. “Just from eating your spicy strips, I ended up in the hospital with acute gastroenteritis several times, didn’t I?”

“You still have the nerve to bring that up? You were the one who won the most prizes from my stall back then! Crystal balls, toy pistols, collectible cards, spicy strips—what didn’t I give you?” Uncle Long shook his shoulder in annoyance, trying to shrug Sheng Yan off, though he couldn’t hide his smile. “You brat were born to shoot guns. So, how about now? Are you still shooting?”

“Of course.” Sheng Yan answered without hesitation. “How else do you think I managed to wipe out your entire stall tonight? If you don’t mind, I can come back tomorrow, too.”

“Get lost, get lost! Take your stuff and go. Don’t let me see your face again.”

Uncle Long casually grabbed a few packets of spicy strips and stuffed them into Sheng Yan’s jacket pocket, just as he used to when Sheng Yan was a child. Then he smiled and shooed him away.

Sheng Yan knew this was just the shy way a middle-aged man showed his affection. So he casually picked out a toy gun, paid for it at the highest listed price, and waved lazily at Uncle Long. With an arm around Qin Zigui’s neck, he sauntered off with him.

It was hot in summer, and the sugar candy melted quickly, turning into a sticky sweetness between his lips and teeth. Even his words seemed to carry a hint of sugar.

Sheng Yan, however, didn’t seem to notice. With his arm still draped over Qin Zigui’s shoulder, he said lazily, “You brought me here tonight just to cheer me up, didn’t you?”

His sweet breath mingled with the hot, humid air and brushed against Qin Zigui’s ear, making it almost unbearably ticklish.

Qin Zigui didn’t deny it. With his backpack slung over one shoulder and his eyes fixed ahead, he asked in an indifferent tone, “So, did it work?”

“More or less.” Sheng Yan sounded rather nonchalant, as if trying to prove that he really wasn’t bothered. “Actually, I’m not as upset as you think. Sure, what happened was pretty infuriating, but it’s already in the past. And besides, I like shooting itself, not competitions. So it’s not really that big of a blow. It’s just that…”

Qin Zigui turned his head to look at him. “Just what?”

“It’s just that Xue Yi hit the nail on the head. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with my life from now on.”

Sheng Yan smiled, looking as carefree as ever.

Qin Zigui turned his head forward again and asked, “You don’t want to compete anymore?”

“I do, but why would I compete? Just for medals? I don’t think I’m interested enough in them to spend my whole life chasing them.”

Sheng Yan said it as casually as if it were nothing.

Qin Zigui didn’t respond.

Sheng Yan let out another helpless sigh. “So someone like me will probably end up doing nothing but living off my family’s money, enjoying a life where I never have to worry about food or clothes. A useless rich kid who does nothing all day. Ah, what a tragic life.”

The moment his long sigh faded, everyone in the entire fair who had heard him turned to look at him. Their eyes were filled with unmistakable disdain and resentment.

Sheng Yan felt as though he had been pinned in place by a barrage of murderous glares.

“…”

Qin Zigui offered a belated word of friendly advice. “You know people might actually hit you for talking like that.”

“Obviously. You don’t have to tell me.”

Sheng Yan rolled his eyes in annoyance. He was just about to explain that he hadn’t meant it that way when, before he could get a word out, the expressions of the onlookers gradually shifted from class-based hostility to fear and panic.

“?”

Did he really look that scary?

Before Sheng Yan could figure out what their expressions meant, someone suddenly slammed into him from behind. A gust of wind immediately swept past his side.

A young man wearing a mask and a black cap, with a woman’s wallet clutched in his hand, raced past him. He darted through the crowded, noisy fair and made straight for the exit.

Behind him, a woman and a chubby security guard came running after him, gasping for breath as they shouted, “C-catch him! He’s stolen a purse! Thief! Don’t let him get away!”

These days, the people who still came to fairs like this were either children looking for something new or middle-aged and elderly people hoping to find a bargain. When it came to stamina and courage, very few could keep up with the thief.

The moment Qin Zigui realized this, he instinctively reached out to pull Sheng Yan back. But Sheng Yan had already moved faster than him.

He swiftly took off his backpack and shoved it, along with his sugar candy, into Qin Zigui’s arms. Without a second thought, he planted one hand on a nearby table, vaulted over it, and sprinted after the thief along the less crowded route.

Qin Zigui ground his teeth in frustration. Taking out his phone, he hurried after him.

Outside the fair, the old street was drenched in heavy rain in the middle of the night. Compared with the brightly lit market inside, the street was nothing but darkness and desolation.

The thief was probably a seasoned criminal. After escaping from the most crowded area, he figured no one would be able to catch him. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief and look back to check how far behind his pursuers were—

He turned around and saw a ridiculously handsome guy with incredibly long legs, holding a gun in one hand, charging toward him through the torrential rain with a cold expression.

It looked like something straight out of a movie.

Thief: “???”

Who the hell was this handsome guy?

Why did people need to carry guns just to catch a petty thief these days?!

Was public security really this good now?

He’d only stolen two or three hundred yuan! Was that really such a big deal?!

Overcome by the criminal’s instinctive fear and reverence for socialist law enforcement, the thief didn’t even have time to think. He immediately broke into an even faster sprint.

For all these years, he’d rarely failed in this neighborhood. His success came down to his exceptional skills and parkour abilities. He was especially fast when it came to making his escape after a successful theft. Most importantly, he knew this old district like the back of his hand. He could navigate every twist, turn, and narrow alley, making it nearly impossible for an ordinary person to catch him.

That was why he’d always managed to shake off both his victims and the security guards.

But why the hell was this handsome guy running even faster than him?!

And his reflexes were insanely quick, too. No matter how hard the thief tried, he just couldn’t shake him off!

Even in this heavy rain, the guy chasing him acted as if it were nothing!

And he was still carrying a gun. It was freaking terrifying!

In the middle of the night, under a torrential downpour, in the narrow alleys of the old city, he was being relentlessly pursued by a lone man armed with a gun.

In all his years as a thief, this was the first time he’d ever encountered anything like it.

At that moment, he felt as though he were the villainous protagonist of a Hong Kong crime thriller from the 1990s—ridiculously cool, yet tragically doomed.

He kept running until he was so exhausted that he couldn’t take another step. When he finally looked back and saw that the long-legged handsome guy had disappeared from the rain, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. Leaning against the wall, he bent forward and panted heavily, like a man who had just narrowly escaped death.

“Holy crap, I nearly lost my—Ow! It hurts! It hurts!”

Before he could finish saying the words “dignity in my later years,” someone suddenly kicked him squarely in the back. His entire body pitched forward, and he landed face-first on the ground.

The next second, a knee pressed firmly against his back as his arms were twisted behind him. The pain left him unable to struggle, and he could only howl in agony.

He had been planning to fight back with all his strength, but before he could even try, a gun barrel was pressed against his temple.

“Stay still. For stealing a wallet, you might only get ten days to half a month in jail. But assaulting a police officer is a whole different matter.”

Sheng Yan had grown up in this neighborhood. Back when he was little, he was short and wanted revenge on Pang Hu, so he’d often used his cleverness to lead the older kids on wild goose chases all around the area. He knew the streets and alleys like the back of his hand.

So when he realized the thief had run into a dead-end alley, he simply climbed over a wall and circled around from the other side, catching him completely off guard.

As for the thief, he wasn’t particularly bright or educated. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t have taken up a life of crime in the first place. When he was ambushed and captured, then heard the words “assaulting a police officer,” the first thing that came to mind was a scene from a crime movie.

He asked in disbelief, “You’re an undercover cop?”

Sheng Yan held the little toy pistol he’d picked up from One-Eyed Uncle’s stall. Without even blinking, he replied, “Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t. Just stay still. Once my partner gets here, I can even put in a good word for you and ask for leniency.”

He was sure that, given Qin Zigui’s way of doing things, he would have called the police immediately. Even if he couldn’t run as fast as they had because he was carrying too many things, he should still have no trouble keeping track of their general location.

Sure enough, the moment Sheng Yan finished speaking, the sound of police sirens came from nearby.

The undercover-cop theory was confirmed.

Pinned to the ground with his cheek pressed against a puddle, the thief felt deeply unwilling to accept his fate.

“Guess it just wasn’t my lucky day. Ran into the cops. I’ll take the loss.”

Sheng Yan neither denied nor responded. He simply kept the man firmly pinned down, looking every bit like a cold, experienced police officer.

The thief gave up struggling.

He figured losing to such an elite professional wasn’t so bad.

When the police finally arrived, handcuffed him, and put him in the patrol car, he couldn’t resist turning around just before the door closed. He wanted one last look at his formidable and respectable opponent.

And then he saw a young man who looked unmistakably like a high school student, carrying a backpack over one shoulder, holding a sugar painting, and sheltering beneath an umbrella. He grabbed the supposed “undercover cop” and pulled him under the umbrella. Frowning, as if struggling to hold back his anger, he asked in a low voice, “Are you hurt?”

The elite professional, who had been so cold and experienced just moments earlier, guiltily lowered his head. With both hands behind his back, he answered quietly, “No.”

“Turn around.”

The high school boy looked displeased.

“Okay.”

The elite professional obediently did as he was told.

After one full turn, the boy confirmed that he was completely unharmed.

Only then did his expression soften a little. He returned the sugar painting to the elite professional’s hands.

The thief, who had witnessed the entire exchange, slowly formed a question mark in his mind.

“?”

Something about this didn’t seem quite right.

Before he could figure out what was going on, an older police officer stepped forward and patted the supposedly undercover cop on the shoulder.

“Very well done, young man. Your act of bravery and helping others will be formally commended by our station. But you mustn’t do something like this again next time, all right? You’re a high school student. It was far too dangerous. Do you have any idea how worried your friend was? He nearly called in the city’s criminal investigation squad!”

The veteran officer smiled, his tone teasing and amused.

Qin Zigui stood stiffly, saying nothing.

The thief sitting nearby: “????”

High school student?!

Who was the high school student?!

Could a high school student carry a gun?!

Was this guy messing with him?!

Then the veteran officer smiled again and asked, “And this gun of yours?”

Sheng Yan immediately handed it over obediently. “It’s a toy gun.”

The thief, who had spent quite some time lying face-down in a puddle with a toy gun pressed against him: “????”

A toy gun?!

Finally realizing that he’d been completely fooled by a high school student from beginning to end, the thief couldn’t help exploding into a string of curses.

“Holy fucking hell, you little—! You son of a—”

“Shut up!”

Before he could finish, a beautiful female police officer frowned and snapped, “Who gave you permission to speak? Keep your mouth shut and behave!”

With that, she slammed the car door, cutting off every filthy word he had left to say.

With his hands cuffed, the thief could only press his face against the car window and glare at Sheng Yan through the glass, grinding his teeth in helpless fury as he hurled one silent insult after another.

But Sheng Yan couldn’t hear a single word from outside the car. All he could hear was the veteran officer showering him with praise.

“Young man, you’ve got excellent athletic ability, great stamina, quick reflexes, and a calm head under pressure. You’re not afraid to step up when something happens, and you’re very sharp. You put the safety and interests of ordinary people ahead of your own. You’re a rare talent. You’ll certainly go far in the future.”

Ever since leaving the shooting team, Sheng Yan hadn’t heard such sincere and generous praise from an elder. Apart from Zhu Peng and Gou You constantly showering him with compliments, and Madam Xu’s trademark motherly bias that made him seem perfect in her eyes, there hadn’t been much of it.

He seemed to have grown accustomed to Huang Shuliang chasing after him every day, scolding him for being spoiled, causing trouble, and failing to live up to his potential. So when faced with such genuine admiration and praise, he actually felt a little embarrassed.

The veteran officer smiled and gently patted his head.

“Good boy. Don’t be nervous. This is a good thing. Just come with us to the police station and give a statement. Then you can go home. Otherwise, your friend here might worry himself sick.”

Sheng Yan, who rarely ever got praised for being a good kid, felt the tips of his ears turn red with embarrassment. He sneaked a glance at Qin Zigui, then pretended not to care as he replied, “Sure. No problem.”

Qin Zigui, meanwhile, acted as though he hadn’t heard or seen anything. With a cold expression, he carefully wiped the excess water from Sheng Yan’s face. After that, he didn’t say another word. He might as well have had the words I’m pissed off written all over his face.

It wasn’t until they finished giving their statements and walked out of the police station that he finally spoke, his voice cool and detached. “You’re staying at Grandma’s tonight.”

The rain was pouring far too heavily, and it was already late at night. The fair had just ended, so finding a taxi nearby wasn’t easy. It was also a long way back to Shiwai School. Sheng Yan was soaked from head to toe, and by the time they finally got home, he would probably have caught a terrible cold.

Sheng Yan didn’t argue. He simply replied, “Oh.”

The two of them silently made their way toward the residential compound for government employees behind the police station.

Raindrops pounded against the umbrella, making the silence between them feel even more pronounced.

Sheng Yan felt a little uneasy, with a guilty conscience.

This feeling of guilt had been with him for a long time. If he had to trace it back to its roots, it would go all the way back to his childhood.

Compared to Madam Xu, Sheng Yan’s father wasn’t particularly wealthy. He was simply a very handsome captain of the criminal investigation squad. He had died in the line of duty during a drug enforcement operation while Sheng Yan was still in Madam Xu’s womb. As a result, Sheng Yan had never actually met him.

But perhaps because he had inherited his father’s genes, Sheng Yan had been overflowing with a sense of justice ever since he was little.

A pretty little toddler, armed with nothing but a toy water gun, would imagine himself to be the greatest hero in the world, going wherever he pleased and loudly crying out in his childish voice whenever he witnessed an injustice.

The result? Once he stepped outside the residential compound, he couldn’t beat anyone. Every time, he would come home in tears, crying his eyes out as he went looking for Qin Zigui’s hugs.

Qin Zigui hadn’t been all that old himself back then, and he wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions. The two were also in different grades, so he couldn’t keep an eye on Sheng Yan twenty-four hours a day.

Every time he saw little Sheng Yan come home injured, Qin Zigui would feel both heartbroken and distressed. He was angry, but couldn’t bring himself to get angry. He wanted to scold him, but couldn’t bear to. And even when he patiently explained things to him, Sheng Yan would still go and do the exact same thing again.

It wasn’t until one particular incident, when Sheng Yan impulsively got into another fight and suffered a serious facial injury that nearly left him with a permanent scar, that Qin Zigui finally realized something: Sheng Yan simply had no idea how to protect himself.

So that time, Qin Zigui steeled himself. He put on a stern expression and refused to indulge Sheng Yan, no matter how much he acted cute. When Sheng Yan asked for a hug, he refused that, too. He simply took care of him with a cold expression, without saying a word.

Then, behind Sheng Yan’s back, he went looking for the children who had hurt him and gave them a thorough beating. He came home with injuries of his own.

Only then did little Sheng Yan begin to understand that when someone you care about gets hurt, you feel worried and upset, too. Sometimes, those feelings of worry and distress can even turn into anger.

He didn’t want his mother, his aunts, or Brother Zigui to worry or get angry because of him. So he hooked his little finger around Qin Zigui’s and promised that from then on, before playing the hero, he would always make sure to protect himself first.

Of course, that was easier said than done. It was simply in his nature, and over the next decade or so, Sheng Yan forgot that promise more often than not.

Then Qin Zigui would catch him at it, and get quietly angry. He would take care of Sheng Yan with a cold expression, refusing to speak. Sheng Yan, feeling terribly guilty and uncomfortable, would go to him, act cute, and apologize. Then he would receive another lecture from Qin Zigui, who was naturally motherly and now both angry and worried, about the importance of personal safety.

And the next time, Sheng Yan would do it all over again.

Over the years, this sense of guilt had become an instinct.

Even during the times when the two of them were at their worst and barely speaking to each other, whenever Sheng Yan got hurt, he would try to avoid Qin Zigui altogether. And now, when they had only just made up and were practically inseparable again, that feeling was even stronger.

Sheng Yan’s Chinese grades weren’t particularly impressive. He figured that as long as an idiom conveyed roughly the right meaning, that was good enough. Anyway, he couldn’t stand seeing Qin Zigui with that cold expression, refusing to speak.

So, when they reached the entrance to the residential compound, he stopped and turned to Qin Zigui. With the expression of someone ready to face his execution, he said, “Whatever you have to say, just get it all out now. That way, we won’t end up arguing and making each other miserable later.”

Qin Zigui turned his head to look at him.

Sheng Yan immediately blurted out everything on his mind.

“Like how I shouldn’t have been so reckless and impulsive, shouldn’t have disregarded my own safety, shouldn’t have let my blood rush to my head. That I was stupid, all courage and no brains. Go ahead and scold me for whatever I deserve. Once you’ve finished, you’ll feel better, and so will I.”

As he spoke, he even lifted his chin and puffed out his chest, looking every bit like someone saying, Go ahead and scold me all you want. I’ll still stand my ground.

Qin Zigui simply looked at him in silence.

Behind him stood a courtyard wall completely covered in climbing roses. After the heavy rain, the flowers and leaves had been washed clean. Among them, one rose stood out, particularly defiant. Even against the wind and rain, it insisted on stretching over the top of the wall, reaching toward the sky with an almost reckless vitality.

Beneath the flowers, the wall remained as silent as ever, year after year, quietly supporting their blooms.

They were clearly two completely different kinds of things, yet they were determined to remain intertwined.

Just like how Qin Zigui had known from a very young age that he and Sheng Yan were not the same kind of person.

If the two of them were in the same car and encountered a group of robbers, Sheng Yan’s first thought would undoubtedly be how to protect everyone else in the vehicle. Qin Zigui, on the other hand, would only think about how to keep Sheng Yan safe. He wouldn’t even mind sacrificing everyone else to do so.

That was the fundamental difference between them.

Which was why he had no right to tell Sheng Yan that what he had done was wrong.

The only thing he could do was make sure the wall grew stronger, so it would never fall.

But he hadn’t done a very good job of that.

Remembering how all the uncles, aunts, and older brothers and sisters at the police station had sincerely praised and shown affection for Sheng Yan, and then thinking about Huang Shuliang’s frequent, excessively harsh remarks, Qin Zigui reached out and pressed down the tuft of messy hair that had stuck up on Sheng Yan’s head during the scuffle.

“Don’t you already understand all that?”

Sheng Yan blinked. “Huh?”

“Since you already understand, there’s no point in me saying more. Go inside, take a shower, and change your clothes.”

With that, Qin Zigui turned around, took out his keys, and unlocked the door.

So he was still upset after all.

Sheng Yan wasn’t one to overthink things. He could only judge by what he saw.

He didn’t want Qin Zigui to be unhappy and instinctively wanted to coax him into a better mood. But perhaps they had made too much noise, because the elderly couple inside, who had already gone to bed, had turned on the lights and gotten up.

Seeing the two of them, they asked in surprise, “Zigui, Yanyan? What brings you two here?”

Sheng Yan had no choice but to swallow the words he’d been preparing to coax him with.

Qin Zigui knew his way around the place. He took out the slippers belonging to himself and Sheng Yan and said gently, “Sheng Yan and I went to check out the exhibition fair, but it got too late and the rain was too heavy to find a taxi, so we thought we’d stay here for the night.”

Only then did the elderly couple get a good look at Sheng Yan’s condition.

“Oh dear! Yanyan, how did you get yourself soaked like this? Hurry and go inside to take a shower. Grandpa will get some hot water ready for you. Zigui, you can wash up out here, too. All your things are still in their usual places. We haven’t moved anything.”

Sheng Yan’s grandmother had thrown a coat over her shoulders and was already coming over to make arrangements.

Qin Zigui quickly stepped forward to support her. “Grandma, you and Grandpa should go back to bed and get some rest. I’ll take care of Sheng Yan.”

Sheng Yan also tried to reassure her as he changed his shoes. “Exactly, Grandma. We’re home, so don’t treat us like guests.”

“But it’s not often that you two come back,” the old woman said. She simply wanted a little more time to see her grandson.

Sheng Yan understood what she meant and looked up with a smile. “Don’t worry, Grandma. Since we’re back, we’ll stay for the whole weekend. We won’t leave until Sunday. Now hurry and get some rest.”

Only after hearing that did the elderly couple finally relax. They were getting on in years and couldn’t stay up too late, so after giving them a few more instructions, they went back to bed.

By the time Sheng Yan finished showering and changing, the two old people had already fallen asleep. Only the light in Sheng Yan’s room was still on.

Qin Zigui had changed into his old pajamas. His hair was still slightly damp, and he was reclining on Sheng Yan’s bed, leaning against the headboard with one leg bent. He held a pen in one hand and was looking down at something he was marking.

This was the apartment that had been allocated to Sheng Yan’s grandparents by their work unit back in the last century. It had three bedrooms, two living rooms, and a large courtyard. It had been considered quite impressive back then, though now it looked a little worn and dated.

But the elderly couple had lived there for most of their lives and were accustomed to it, so they’d never moved. The rooms had always been arranged the same way: one for the grandparents, one for Madam Xu, and one for Sheng Yan and Qin Zigui.

Actually, Qin Zigui’s maternal grandparents also had an apartment in the same building, upstairs. But they had passed away when he was young, and since Qin Ru and Jiang Ping were busy with work at the time, Qin Zigui had practically been raised by Sheng Yan’s grandparents. They had loved and cared for him just as much as their own grandson.

No wonder he’d grown up with such a temper.

He’d been spoiled rotten as a child.

Living in his family’s house, he’d practically taken on the role of Sheng Yan’s real older brother, constantly trying to manage every little thing he did.

What gave him the right?

Sheng Yan was an adult now, too, wasn’t he?

Only then did Sheng Yan finally realize, a little belatedly, that Qin Zigui was, at most, just someone his own age with whom he happened to have a good relationship. Why should he be afraid of making him angry? He hadn’t done anything wrong. Why should he have to coax him?

He was, after all, the only legitimate grandson of the Xu family in three generations!

With that thought, Sheng Yan raised his chin toward the old standing fan spinning noisily nearby and asked, “Why aren’t we turning on the air conditioner?”

Qin Zigui was marking the two math tests Sheng Yan had just completed that day. Without even looking up, he replied casually, “No one’s lived here for too long. The air conditioner is broken. I’ll get someone to fix it tomorrow.”

“…Fine.”

Sheng Yan’s attempt to find fault had failed, so he reluctantly climbed onto the bed.

Qin Zigui flipped over one of the test papers. “You sleep on the inside.”

“?” Sheng Yan had intended to sleep on the inside anyway, but he still couldn’t resist asking, “Why?”

“Because you were sitting in front of the fan, and your stomach will get cold.”

Qin Zigui said it as casually as if it were nothing.

Sheng Yan: “…”

Another failed attempt to pick a fight.

Remembering the misery of all those stomach-related colds he’d suffered as a child, Sheng Yan obediently climbed into the inner side of the bed. He lay down properly beneath the thin blanket, with only his head sticking out.

Back then, his grandfather had made the bed especially wide because he was afraid Sheng Yan might fall off. At the time, Sheng Yan had thought he could do absolutely anything on it. But now, with two grown men, both over 180 centimeters tall, lying side by side, the bed somehow felt a little cramped.

Time really did fly.

Sheng Yan didn’t think he was deliberately trying to find something to talk about with Qin Zigui. He simply felt like making an observation, so he said in a rather affected tone, “Time passes so quickly. I just noticed how much older Grandma has gotten. Do you think Madam Xu will get that old someday, too?”

“Yes.”

Qin Zigui answered without the slightest hesitation.

Sheng Yan: “…”

What kind of answer was that?

He finally understood that Qin Zigui had no intention of humoring him tonight. So he decided to throw caution to the wind and snapped through gritted teeth, “Just you wait! I’ll tell Madam Xu. She’ll beat you to death when she hears about this!”

“Mm. I’m terrified.”

Qin Zigui mercilessly drew a big red cross on Sheng Yan’s math paper.

Sheng Yan: “…”

This guy was fucking impossible to appease!

“Qin Zigui! What the hell is your problem?! I wasn’t even hurt this time! And I already told you, if you want to scold me, then just scold me! Who are you giving that cold face to?! You think you’re the only one who can act all cold and aloof?! It’s not like I’m desperate for your attention! If you’re angry, then be angry! At worst, we can just fight—”

“I’m not angry with you.”

“Huh?”

Qin Zigui interrupted him. He turned his head and lowered his gaze to meet Sheng Yan’s eyes, speaking with complete seriousness.

“I’m just wondering why I wasn’t as quick to react as you were. If I’d been faster, you wouldn’t have had to chase after him.”

“…?”

What kind of logic was that?

Sheng Yan had already prepared a whole speech full of arguments to defend himself. But when he met Qin Zigui’s gaze, he could only blink repeatedly as his brain completely short-circuited.

“That’s all I’m upset about. I told you before that I’d protect you, but I didn’t manage to do it. That’s the only thing bothering me.”

As he spoke, Qin Zigui reached out and touched Sheng Yan’s forehead.

“You got soaked in the rain. Go to sleep early, or you’ll catch another cold tomorrow.”

He said it so naturally, but the moment Sheng Yan felt Qin Zigui’s palm against his forehead, his heart began pounding uncontrollably.

This had to be some kind of ominous premonition.

“Qin Zigui.”

Sheng Yan opened his eyes wide and looked at him warily.

Qin Zigui gently smoothed his bangs back. His tone remained casual. “What is it?”

“Don’t you think you’ve been treating me a little too well ever since we made up?”

Sheng Yan figured that even someone as slow on the uptake as himself could tell that this kind of special treatment was definitely not the sort of affection one would normally show a brother.

He looked at Qin Zigui with an expression full of shock and wariness.

Qin Zigui’s heart immediately tightened. The fingertips that had been playing with Sheng Yan’s bangs curled unconsciously. In that instant, he had already thought of ten thousand different ways to explain himself to Sheng Yan.

Then Sheng Yan asked, sounding utterly incredulous, “Don’t tell me you heard my mom say last time that she wanted you to become her godson, and now you’re eyeing my future inheritance?!”

“…”

After a brief silence, Qin Zigui expressionlessly pinched the edge of the blanket and pulled it all the way up, covering Sheng Yan’s handsome but not particularly bright head.

His voice was as cold as the thousand-year-old snow on Changbai Mountain.

“Go to sleep. I’ll buy you some walnuts tomorrow.”

What did he need walnuts for? He didn’t even like eating them.

Sheng Yan pulled the blanket back down and couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on Qin Zigui. He shifted into a more comfortable position, closed his eyes, and prepared to sleep.

He had been staying up late these past few days studying functions. On top of that, he’d competed in the shooting game and chased down a thief today. He was already exhausted, and his head felt heavy and foggy from being caught in the rain. So it didn’t take long before he drifted into a deep sleep.

But he had no idea how much time had passed when he gradually woke up again, feeling unbearably hot.

It was the height of summer, and the humid heat of the night was already difficult to escape. Sleeping on the inside of the bed, with most of the fan’s breeze blocked and a blanket covering him, Sheng Yan felt as though he was sweating all over. His skin felt sticky and uncomfortable.

He was also terribly sleepy. He couldn’t open his eyes or even bring himself to speak, so he simply shoved the entire blanket aside and tugged hard at his pajama top several times until the neckline gaped open, exposing his shoulders and back against the cool bamboo mat.

Only then did he feel a little more comfortable.

And soon, he drifted back to sleep.

But perhaps because the night was growing later, Sheng Yan gradually began to feel cold. Half-asleep and disoriented, he felt an incessant chill creeping through his body.

Instinctively, he began searching for a source of warmth. When he finally found somewhere warm, he didn’t think twice before burrowing right into it. Upon catching the familiar scent of a body, he instinctively rubbed himself against it.

The person he was rubbing against simply cupped the back of his head out of habit and murmured sleepily, “Ah Yan, stop moving.”

The moment those words left his mouth, the person who had spoken suddenly froze.

Three seconds later, his hand moved downward and touched a patch of smooth, delicate skin. Moving his hand again, he felt the boy’s slender, bony shoulder blade.

After a brief pause, Qin Zigui opened his eyes in disbelief and looked down. By the light of the streetlamp outside the window, he saw Sheng Yan lying in his arms, his shirt nowhere to be found, both arms wrapped tightly around Qin Zigui’s waist.

At that moment, all of Qin Zigui’s good manners and self-restraint dissolved into one blood-boiling shout.

“Sheng Yan!”

Sheng Yan seemed to be feeling terribly unwell. Half-conscious, he lay on top of Qin Zigui and frowned slightly in displeasure.

“Don’t yell at me. My head really hurts.”

Qin Zigui closed his eyes and let out a long, deep breath.

He felt that his own head wasn’t doing much better at that moment.

One day, Sheng Yan was going to drive him to an early grave.