Jian Yang covered the stack of “gifts” that couldn’t be seen by others with two pieces of clothing and hid them away, thinking that he should find a time to give them to Guan Ciyan.

Even if he’s not… capable, there’s no need to feel inferior—changing positions can still be enjoyable.

It just means he probably can’t be with Jian Buqing, since Jian Buqing definitely can’t be a top.

Having made up his mind, Jian Yang’s heart, which had been racing like a startled deer, finally settled down. He picked up his phone and saw his heart rate spike to 180.

9:52 AM!!!!!!

Oh no!!

He was late, he was late!

Before drinking last night, Wen Ye had already reminded him not to drink because the swelling the next day would make it impossible to film.

Not only did he get drunk, but he was also late. Even though his relationship with Wen Ye was good now, he couldn’t keep stepping on the director’s nerves like this. Jian Yang didn’t even have time to dry his hair—he yanked the door open and bolted out.

As he passed the kitchen, he saw a stranger.

A giant—probably around 1.88 meters tall. With that towering chef’s hat, he had to be at least 2 meters.

“Excuse me, who are you?”

Jian Yang stopped in his tracks.

Guan Ciyan emerged from behind the chef, holding a whisk, with a bit of flour on his nose. He looked like a dazed, clumsy big cat. Four words popped into Jian Yang’s head: Kind of cute…

Oh god, how could he use “cute” to describe Guan Ciyan?!

“You’re up early today,” Guan Ciyan set down the whisk and rubbed his face.

Jian Yang nearly lost control of his expression.

If he hadn’t rubbed it, it would’ve been fine—but now there were three more streaks of flour on his face.

“Ah,” Jian Yang held back a laugh, “I gotta go, I’m late.”

As funny as it was, work was more important.

“You don’t have any scenes this morning.” Guan Ciyan pulled him back. “I had them move your scenes to the afternoon. You usually don’t wake up this early.”

Jian Yang was a master at sleeping in. After drinking so much last night, he should’ve been asleep until the afternoon, but work was on his mind, so he had forced himself awake at nine-something.

“Ah, you rearranged my schedule again?”

“You don’t like it?”

“No,” Jian Yang dragged out his tone, “I just feel bad for the others. But I do have the most scenes, so I guess it’s fine if they go first.”

“Mhm.” Guan Ciyan’s lips curled slightly.

That smile… was hard to describe. It didn’t look like something Guan Ciyan would do—was that… shyness? Jian Yang wasn’t sure if he was overthinking things or if something was wrong with Guan Ciyan. Either way, something felt off.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh,” Guan Ciyan turned to the chef and said something in French.

The chef nodded at Jian Yang and left. Jian Yang didn’t understand, watching the chef walk away. Guan Ciyan frowned, then gave Jian Yang a slight tug. Jian Yang lost his balance and stumbled into his chest.

“Why did you suddenly pull me?”

Guan Ciyan expressionlessly set down a plate of blueberry cake. “Try it.”

“Oh.” Jian Yang picked up a fork and reached for the cake.

Guan Ciyan suddenly pulled the plate away. “Go sit at the table.”

Jian Yang: …My fork just touched the cake.

He had no idea what was up with Guan Ciyan again, but he was used to his mood swings. Whatever. He moved to the dining table.

The cake was… decent. Not bad, but clearly not made by the master chef from earlier. That French chef looked like he could make cakes worth 3,000 yuan each.

“You made this?” Jian Yang asked.

“Not good?” Guan Ciyan countered.

This was his third attempt.

“It’s alright.” Jian Yang didn’t want to crush his confidence.

“That’s good… I’ll make it for you in the future—”

“Don’t bother.” Jian Yang grabbed Guan Ciyan’s hand.

With a professional chef guiding him, this was the best he could do. If he tried on his own in the future, would it even be edible? Should Jian Yang eat it or not?

Guan Ciyan’s face dropped. “You don’t like it?”

“No,” Jian Yang blurted out, “if anyone’s cooking, it should be me for you. Since when does the boss cook for the employee?”

“But I want to cook for you.” Guan Ciyan said without thinking.

Jian Yang: …Crap. Did he get addicted to kissing last night?

Guan Ciyan’s expression shifted abruptly, and he turned his head away. He was clearly thinking about something inappropriate.

A single drop of blood trickled down from his nose…

“Sir, are you okay?” Jian Yang quickly led him to the bathroom.

“What’s wrong?”

Jian Yang: He’s not sick, is he? This is a BL novel, not a K-drama!

Guan Ciyan: “It’s nothing. The weather’s hot—I got overheated.”

“Wait here, I’ll make you some mung bean soup.”

Guan Ciyan handled things himself in the bathroom and changed into a fresh set of clothes. By the time he came out, Jian Yang was already busy in the kitchen. He expertly turned on the stove, added water—without needing to ask after every step, Is this the right amount of water? Is this considered high heat?

Today, Jian Yang was wearing a hoodie with pink and white paintbrush-like patterns on the back, along with loose denim shorts. His naturally dried hair was a bit messy, with a few strands stubbornly sticking out at the crown of his head.

Leaning against the doorway, Guan Ciyan watched him work, and for a moment, he thought—Actually, keeping Jian Yang at home wouldn’t be bad at all. Why does he need to be out in the entertainment industry, showing himself to the world?

Obedient, homely, and even good at cooking.

“It’s almost ready,” Jian Yang said with his back to Guan Ciyan. “Did you drink any water this morning? Sir, have some warm water first. It’s easy to overheat in the summer.”

Overheating—he was the reason for it, yet here he was, teaching him how to cool down. Guan Ciyan obediently drank two big glasses of warm water.

Jian Yang carried out the mung bean soup, and the two sat across from each other, drinking it together.

The mung beans had been pressure-cooked until soft, the rock sugar made it sweet but not cloying, and the ice cubes cooled it just enough—refreshing and healthy.

Guan Ciyan smiled. “You’re right. I really shouldn’t cook in the future.”

Jian Yang agreed immediately. “Yeah! Just tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll make it for you.”

Guan Ciyan suddenly looked up, his gaze direct, landing on Jian Yang’s face.

Jian Yang: “What is it?”

Guan Ciyan thought: I want to eat you.

But he only shook his head and said, “Eat up.”

---

In the afternoon, Jian Yang went to film. By the time he returned at night, the room was quiet, with only a small floor lamp by the entrance still on.

“Sir?” Jian Yang realized he hadn’t seen Guan Ciyan at the set all afternoon.

He knocked on Guan Ciyan’s door, but the room was empty.

Standing there for a moment, he went to the living room. As he turned on the light, he saw the jar of rose sugar still on the dining table from when they drank mung bean soup earlier.

They had just had lunch together, and now, Guan Ciyan had disappeared.

Jian Yang put the sugar jar back in the kitchen, then went to shower and sleep.

It wasn’t the first time this had happened—nothing unusual.

A kiss doesn’t mean anything. If Guan Ciyan wanted to, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of people lining up to kiss him.

Jian Yang reassured himself, humming a tune as he showered. Afterward, he prepared to memorize his lines for the next day. The script only had two thin pages left—he was about to wrap up filming.

Once this movie was shot and released, his value to Guan Ciyan would also come to an end. Their collaboration would be over.

With this film as his foundation, his career would be smoother going forward. And Guan Ciyan would have his next project, and the next after that—finding the next person to make money for him and serve his interests.

Jian Yang flipped through his final lines. He could finish memorizing them tonight.

Time was running out. He took out the “gift” he had bought for Guan Ciyan and, while the room was empty, placed it in the bedside drawer.

After putting it away, he suddenly worried—What if Guan Ciyan doesn’t come back?

Would that mean Guan Ciyan would be haunted by the shadow of “not being able to” for the rest of his life?

After thinking it over, Jian Yang took out his phone and sent a message:

“Sir, did you return to the company? Did you arrive safely?”

At that moment, Guan Ciyan was frantically signing documents. The procedures for purchasing an island were complicated, requiring his signature at various stages. Especially the land transfer—he couldn’t buy it outright but had to process it through a development project. His assistant couldn’t handle it alone, so he had to step in personally.

He had planned to leave while Jian Yang was filming and make it back by evening, but things turned out to be more complicated than expected. He got so caught up in work that he forgot everything else.

Seeing Jian Yang’s message, he checked the time—11:30 PM.

He called back.

Jian Yang’s eyes widened slightly—Guan Ciyan actually called him back.

“Sir?” Jian Yang answered.

Guan Ciyan felt as if all his worries had been washed away. “Mm. Why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“Just got back not long ago.” Jian Yang glanced at the bedside, where a pile of adult toys lay. Guilty as hell.

“I had some business to take care of and needed to come back.”

“Alright.” That strange feeling crept up in Jian Yang again. Why is Guan Ciyan talking to him like he’s reporting his whereabouts to a wife?

“Don’t overwork yourself, sir. Make sure to rest, too.”

Guan Ciyan thought about how Jian Yang would react when he received the island—excited yet nervous. “Jian Yang, you really liked that fanfic you sent me, didn’t you?”

“Which one?” Wait, does Guan Ciyan want to read smutty fanfics with a dominant top 1?

“The first one. The one about gifting an island.”

“Oh, yeah, I liked it. Why?” Jian Yang didn’t understand.

“Nothing. It’s just… I liked it too.”

Huh… Guan Ciyan had such pure and romantic tastes?

Jian Yang: “Want me to recommend a few more?”

Guan Ciyan: “That won’t be necessary.”

“Oh,” Jian Yang brushed past it lightly. “Have you been really busy lately?”

Guan Ciyan couldn’t help but chuckle. Whenever Jian Yang got nervous or guilty, he would start using formal speech. Normally, he was all you-you-you, but he still remembered the first time he ran away from home and argued with him, calling him a damn bastard.

But he liked this little act of Jian Yang’s—especially when he pulled these tricks for his sake. His voice softened: “Mm, I’ll be busy for two more days. I’ve arranged for the chef to make you breakfast every morning. Don’t eat outside food.”

“Oh,” Jian Yang nodded while hugging his phone. “Two days, got it. Sir, take care and get some rest.”

Hanging up the phone, Guan Ciyan quickly returned to the meeting room and addressed the team handling the acquisition of a maritime foreign trade company, “I’m leaving tomorrow. If there’s anything that needs my attention, report it now.”

Meanwhile, Jian Yang placed the adult toy by the bedside, shut the door, and went to sleep.

Since Guan Ciyan wouldn’t be back for another two days, he still had time to disinfect the toy the next day and write a detailed user manual—to protect Guan Ciyan’s fragile ego.

---

The next afternoon, after filming, Jian Yang confirmed his shooting schedule with the director. He would wrap up in less than a week.

Opting for efficiency, he finished two hours early, returned to Guan Ciyan’s hotel room, took out the beginner-level massager, and carefully studied the instruction manual.

He had read about this thing in plenty of novels, but this was his first time touching one in real life. To be honest, the texture wasn’t great—the material was too hard, nowhere near as nice as touching Guan Ciyan’s chest…

Stop! Stop! What the hell am I thinking?!

Jian Yang grabbed an alcohol wipe and meticulously disinfected the massager. But afterward, the strong alcohol smell was unpleasant, so he took it to the bathroom and washed it with Guan Ciyan’s usual body wash. Like a curious cat, he brought it close and sniffed.

“Smells nice. It’s the scent Guan Ciyan is used to. He probably won’t reject it now, right?”

After washing and wiping it down, Jian Yang felt a sense of accomplishment—he had helped Guan Ciyan find a way to handle his personal needs. A small repayment for all the effort Guan Ciyan had put into him.

Maybe when they eventually parted ways, Guan Ciyan would be willing to end things on good terms and see him off properly.

Who knows, he might even introduce him to a couple of projects? At the very least, the company transfer should go smoothly—he wouldn’t make things difficult for him.

Thinking about it put Jian Yang in a good mood. He hummed a little tune and, in his carelessness, accidentally pressed the massager’s switch.

Bzzzz—the sudden vibration sent water flying all over him.

“Ahhh!” Jian Yang, who had just taken a bath, was now soaked again.

The temperature had been rising daily, and the wet clothes clinging to his body felt uncomfortable. But he wasn’t done cleaning the massager yet.

Muttering to himself, he pulled open Guan Ciyan’s wardrobe. “He’s not coming back tonight anyway—wearing something of his won’t hurt.”

The wardrobe was filled with nothing but dress shirts and suits. Jian Yang frowned. “Why’d he bring so many? Feels like he’s planning to live here long-term.”

He pinched the most ordinary-looking white shirt with two fingers and pulled it out. “This one’s probably the cheapest.”

Since his own sleepwear was soaked, and there was no way he could fit into Guan Ciyan’s pants, he let the oversized shirt hang down, covering his backside. Then, he continued wiping down the massager with diluted alcohol wipes.

Once he was done, he held the massager against his lower body and mimicked the motions described in the manual.

Would using lube really make it painless, like the instructions said?

How is this even supposed to fit?

Click—

The door lock turned.

After pulling an all-nighter working overtime with his subordinates, Guan Ciyan appeared in the doorway.

And there, in his hotel room, was the person he had lost control over countless times but never dared to touch—wearing his shirt, holding a little toy, looking completely bewildered as he tried to shove it inside himself.