Yu Wanlai took a deep breath. Just mentioning this made him clench his teeth in anger. He pulled up the corners of his mouth in a sarcastic smile, crossed his arms, and leaned back in his chair, looking at Jiang Cheng. “You dare to think like that? Sorry, I’m the older brother of the male protagonist—”

He ground his teeth, continuing through gritted teeth, “You really think so highly of yourself!”

Jiang Cheng scratched his head and chuckled, “Oh, what’s there to thank me for?” Then he realized something, and with a bit of guilt, looked at Yu Wanlai. “…You’re the villain, huh? But I remember, later, he’s not…” He covered his mouth, afraid to say more. Yu Wanlai’s gaze was terrifying, and Jiang Cheng trembled, scared!

Yu Wanlai’s fist, hidden in his arm, tightened. “What about your identity?”

Jiang Cheng waved his hand, and once again got distracted by trying to wrestle some noodles out of the pot. Without much care, he responded, “Hey! Naturally, I’m not as big a villain as you. I’m just some random person.”

Yu Wanlai’s fist tightened even more. After a pause, he smirked, his voice tinged with coldness, “…It’s fine. If I die, I’ll take you with me.”

Jiang Cheng: …………

Yu Wanlai picked up the slotted spoon beside him, and soon a few pieces of wide noodles were placed into his own bowl. Jiang Cheng swallowed, enviously staring at the translucent noodles. He could already imagine their chewy texture. Hmm~ Normally, she would’ve just grabbed them, but today, she didn’t dare… She could tell her boss was a bit upset.

Jiang Cheng: Although he wasn’t in any danger, he had turned into a woman!!! How was he going to date in the future? Dating a guy would feel like being gay, dating a girl would feel like being a lesbian! Help! The more he thought about it, the scarier it became!

By the time they finished eating and paid the bill, it was almost 9 p.m. When they were waiting for the car, Jiang Cheng saw a milk tea shop not far away. Thinking about the milk tea he didn’t get to drink earlier that day, Yu Wanlai walked over. After dropping Jiang Cheng off, he left a cup of milk tea for him, then shut the car door without hesitation and left.

A gust of wind blew Jiang Cheng’s scarf up. He pulled his hand back from the air and turned to walk home. Having a boss really was great—there was hot pot and milk tea. He chuckled to himself.

Yu Wanlai, still smelling of hot pot, didn’t lose the scent even when he got home. It was very quiet inside the house. There was no one in the living room, so he went straight upstairs.

Knock knock— A few knocks on the door, and Yu Qingyue opened it to see Yu Wanlai, still carrying a chill on him, and smelled a strong spicy scent. He frowned and took a step back. “What’s up?”

Yu Wanlai raised his hand, offering the other cup of milk tea. “Here, I brought you one.” Then, not feeling completely reassured, he explained, “…Look, I really just went to eat hot pot. I didn’t do anything wrong. You can smell it, right?”

Yu Qingyue: …………

He could smell it. He nodded and took the milk tea. “Got it.”

He said this and was about to close the door.

Yu Wanlai hurriedly stopped the door. “You know what that means, but you haven’t said if you believe me.”

Yu Qingyue gave him an exasperated look and pushed against the door. “I believe, I believe! Now go away!”

Knowing full well that he smelled like hot pot, Yu Wanlai still leaned closer.

After receiving an affirmative answer, Yu Wanlai loosened his grip, and the door was slammed shut with a “bang.”

After taking a shower, Yu Wanlai lay on his bed but still couldn’t sleep. So, he really couldn’t return to his original world, unless he faked his death. Before, he had held onto a bit of hope, thinking that even if he died as a villain, he might still return to the original world, but now he had completely given up. He lay flat on his bed, staring at the ceiling, which was pitch dark and nothing was visible.

Yu Qingyue glanced at Yu Wanlai again. He had been acting strangely these past few days—listless. It wasn’t that he had made a mistake at work or anything, but whenever he had free time, he would just stare out the window. Sometimes, even when Yu Qingyue called him multiple times, he wouldn’t respond unless Yu Qingyue physically tapped him. Thinking back to the events from a few days ago, Yu Qingyue fell silent. Could it be that he had been heartbroken? He cleared his throat and felt his ears turn red. “What’s been going on with you lately?”

“I didn’t mean to stop you from having a normal relationship or anything; I was just reminding you not to act recklessly.” After saying this, he waited for a response, but after a while, he still hadn’t heard anything from Yu Wanlai. Turning his head, he saw that Yu Wanlai was staring off into space again. Yu Qingyue clicked his tongue, his face growing cold as he bent two fingers and knocked on the table. “Are you listening to me?”

Yu Wanlai heard the sound and turned his head to look at Yu Qingyue. “Hmm? What’s up, little brother~”

Yu Qingyue: ………… He had no choice but to repeat what he had just said. Yu Wanlai, still confused, wondered where this had come from. He nodded in a daze, “Oh, got it.” Yu Qingyue thought he had cleared things up, so he turned back to continue working. After a while, he took a deep breath in frustration and suddenly turned his head to glare at Yu Wanlai. “Why aren’t you working and just staring at me?!”

Yu Wanlai smiled with his lips pressed together, resting his chin on his hand. “What do you think about me getting a cat?”

“Can we even have a cat at home?” Yu Qingyue had no idea what was going on with this person, but he was really busy. Being watched so closely was making it hard to focus. “I don’t know, but stop staring at me! Turn your head!”

With that, he turned back to the computer screen, irritated. Yu Wanlai, looking at his angry side profile, curved his lips into a smile. His mood seemed to lighten a little. It wasn’t so bad staying here after all.

…Today, Yu Wanlai didn’t go home with Yu Qingyue. By the time he arrived home with two cages, it was almost 10 p.m. However, he wasn’t in a hurry because tomorrow was Saturday, and he could sleep in.

After speaking with Yu Qingyue at noon, Yu Wanlai went to a pet market after work. The market was filled with all kinds of pets—fish, turtles, cats, dogs, rabbits, and even snakes, lizards, and spiders. His eyes were almost overwhelmed by the variety. In the end, he chose a pale white Munchkin dwarf cat and a Samoyed puppy. They were both tiny and fluffy, and when Yu Wanlai saw them, his heart softened. After much hesitation, he couldn’t decide which one to pick, so he ended up buying both.

The cat and dog were still very small and obedient. They were quiet the whole way home, occasionally making soft whimpering sounds. When Yu Qingyue went downstairs to get water, he saw Yu Wanlai with the two cages in the living room. The fluffy balls inside the cages were hidden from view. Frowning, Yu Qingyue walked over and lowered his voice, “Are you really getting a cat? Two of them?”

This person was quick—he said he’d get a cat, and now he had two. Yu Wanlai, who had intended to wave and greet him, couldn’t move his hands because of the cages, so he gave up and was about to speak when Yu Qingyue interrupted.

“Yeah~” Yu Wanlai said as he raised the right cage higher for Yu Qingyue to see, “And there’s also a dog.”

Yu Qingyue glanced down. The Samoyed inside the cage, frightened by the unfamiliar environment, curled up into a ball. When it locked eyes with Yu Qingyue, it was as if those sparkling, water-like eyes held his gaze. Yu Qingyue was silent for a long time. He looked up at Yu Wanlai and was surprised that this person had a good eye for choosing pets.

Although they were small, the two cats and dogs together were quite heavy, especially since the cages were hard to carry. Seeing that Yu Qingyue had been staring at the puppy for a long time without moving, as if interested in it, Yu Wanlai simply bent down and placed the two cages on the floor.

However, he didn’t place them on the carpet, fearing the little creatures might make a mess. As soon as he set them down, his stomach rumbled loudly. He hadn’t eaten dinner yet. Yu Wanlai glanced at Yu Qingyue, who appeared a bit fluffed up after his shower, and smiled lightly. This must be what they say about like attracting like.

“I’ll leave them here for now. If you want to, you can take them out and pet them. I’ve already bathed them and vaccinated them,” he said. Knowing Yu Qingyue was particular, he emphasized, “They’re very clean now.” Luckily, he went to the pet store in the evening, or if it were daytime, the cats and dogs might have had to wait for their bath.

After speaking, Yu Wanlai walked toward the kitchen. He was starving and needed to eat. He opened the fridge and found bananas, so he grabbed one to eat while he searched for something else. The Yu family rarely had leftovers, so by this late hour, he didn’t want to cook from scratch. After rummaging for a while, he found some leftover rice. He sighed lightly, then took out a few eggs and found a small packet of shrimp paste made by Wang Ma in the freezer.

Ten minutes later, a fragrant shrimp paste fried rice was ready. He scooped it into a bowl, the white steam rising from the rim. Since the kitchen was relatively cool, he carried the fried rice into the dining room, but he felt that eating only the fried rice was a bit dry, so he went and squeezed two glasses of orange juice. Thinking that Yu Qingyue was still awake, he left the kitchen, holding one glass of juice, and walked directly to the living room.

When he arrived, Yu Qingyue was sitting on the sofa, staring eye to eye with the puppy in the cage. The puppy’s eyes were round and bright, staring directly at the human not far in front of it. Yu Wanlai couldn’t help but smile at the scene. It was amusing—Yu Qingyue wouldn’t even pick it up, just watching it with open eyes without moving.

“I squeezed an extra glass of orange juice. Here, drink it?” Yu Wanlai bent down and placed the juice on the coffee table in front of Yu Qingyue. He then squatted down, opened the cage, and took out the puppy. The puppy whined twice, and Yu Wanlai grabbed it by the back of its neck, lifting it up. The sudden shift in weight made the puppy’s furry legs paddle a few times until its paws touched the ground, and it calmed down.

Yu Qingyue looked at the puppy suddenly placed in his lap, his body stiffening involuntarily. He glared at Yu Wanlai, his voice through gritted teeth, “Take it away! Who told you to put it on my lap?”

Yu Wanlai raised an eyebrow, looking slightly amused. “What? Would it have been better if I just threw it on the floor?”

Yu Qingyue paused for a moment, then didn’t move. His hands rested by his sides as he lowered his lashes, once again locking eyes with the little puppy in his lap. The puppy raised its paw and pawed at the button on Yu Qingyue’s shirt. When it didn’t get a response from him, it opened its mouth and was about to bite down. Yu Qingyue’s body became even stiffer.