Chapter 46

In the end, Jiang Yi still showed it to him, but the camera flashed by quickly, just a hurried glance. Yang Yunran said, “Who are you trying to anger by being so fast?”

“Take it off. I’ll turn off the light,” Jiang Yi said and then turned off the light. In the darkness, Yang Yunran could hardly see anything, just a vague shadow of Jiang Yi’s face. He said a bit gloomily, “I didn’t see anything.”

Jiang Yi’s voice sounded in the dark, even deeper, “What do you want to see?”

Yang Yunran replied, “… You guess.”

Jiang Yi seemed a bit helpless, “I’ll look when I get back. It’s not convenient with the video.”

“Oh, it really isn’t convenient,” Yang Yunran thought. Over the past few months of their relationship, their biggest interactions were hugging and touching. Yang Yunran often used the excuse of study pressure to get Jiang Yi to help him. His self-control wasn’t great, and if Jiang Yi showed a bit of tenderness, and lowered his head to kiss his face or nose, Yang Yunran couldn’t resist at all.

Talking about this in the middle of the night made it easy to overthink. Yang Yunran shook off the messy thoughts in his head and heard Jiang Yi say, “It’s late, you should go to sleep.”

“Alright…” If they kept talking, Yang Yunran might have to deal with things himself, so he decided to stop the conversation.

“Then I’ll kiss you,” Yang Yunran said, moving close to the screen and lightly kissing it. The sound was so faint that it was almost inaudible, like the sound of a shell breaking. Jiang Yi held his breath, and his eyelashes trembled.

Yang Yunran lowered his eyes and said, “Can you kiss me too?”

Jiang Yi leaned back against the headboard, and then moved closer to the screen. In the night mode, his approaching outline was filled with noise in the dark.

His lips lightly touched the screen for a second, then slowly moved back.

Yang Yunran said, “I can’t see, what are you doing?”

Jiang Yi said softly, “I’ll kiss you when I get home.”

Yang Yunran thought it would just be a kiss on the cheek or chin or something like that. Even so, he felt quite happy. It was a kind of romance and intimacy he hadn’t experienced while being solitary all the time, so he agreed cheerfully.

After the video call ended, Jiang Yi turned the light back on and searched for some videos to watch.

A while ago, the hospital had sent him a similar email, but Jiang Yi had turned it off after watching it for a minute, feeling somewhat repelled at the time.

This time, he watched for five minutes at double speed, but Yang Yunran’s words “I want to do it with you,” lingered in his mind.

Jiang Yi was on a business trip for four or five days. Yang Yunran was busy with work and study, often having to go to school. In the mornings, he would still do a short live stream, singing to his online audience.

Meanwhile, Zhou Kai took over his account, cleaned up his private messages, and found a very strange small account.

“Baby, it’s me!! Evan!”

Yang Yunran’s boyfriend, Evan?

Zhou Kai thought it was Evan who had deleted his own messages. He clicked into the messages to take a look and saw that this person had crazily sent dozens of messages.

“I secretly used my phone to send you a private message!! Baby, please reply to me TAT”

“I’m stuck in the show, and they have taken away our phones. Every day I’m practicing singing, it’s so exhausting. I used my agent’s phone to register this account, and I have to log off soon. Baby, please reply to me.”

“The recording will finish soon. If nothing goes wrong, I should debut. The company is really supporting me!”

This fan hadn’t sent any photos, but the content of the dozens of text messages was enough for the sharp-witted Zhou Kai to piece things together.

“Evan? Recording a show? Practicing singing every day? This sounds like Jiang Yi…”

Since Jiang Yi’s agent was his subordinate, Zhou Kai was aware of the details of the talent show and the company’s trainees.

However, he wasn’t entirely sure if it was Jiang Yi, so he saved the screenshots of the messages and deleted the original chat history.

He called his subordinate agent: “Xiao Du, did Jiang Yi borrow your phone while at the show?”

“Yes… Kevin, he used it twice.”

Zhou Kai: “What did he use your phone for?”

“Once he asked me to help him look up some internet singer named… uh, named…”

Zhou Kai: “Haliyeh”

Xiao Du: “Yes, that’s the name! I was puzzled too. Why was he looking up that person? Kevin, how did you know?”

“Never mind, don’t ask Jiang Yi about it anymore. We’ll deal with it after the show finishes.” Zhou Kai had a headache. It seemed that Jiang Yi really was the crazy small account sending messages to Yang Yunran. Did these two date? Or what? He couldn’t understand why Yang Yunran had two boyfriends named Evan.

However, he didn’t bring it up with Yang Yunran. Bringing up an ex out of nowhere would just be annoying. It looked like Jiang Yi was harassing Yang Yunran, so he would just deal with Jiang Yi.

As for Yang Yunran, Zhou Kai called to remind him: “When you’re dating your current boyfriend, don’t be too high-profile. It’s best not to show off your love online. If you break up in the future, there’s a risk of things blowing up.”

Yang Yunran unhappily said, “Kevin, why are you talking like that? I’m not going to break up!”

“Uh, sorry.” Zhou Kai felt a bit awkward. He had assumed Yang Yunran, a rich young master, was just playing around.

Yang Yunran: “Also, have you been contacting my boyfriend frequently? Why?”

Zhou Kai: “Because…” He…

Couldn’t really say it was because I offered him 300,000 to persuade Yang Yunran, but couldn’t even get a meeting and got blocked instead.

Zhou Kai said, “Because I wanted to sign him…”

As expected. Yang Yunran asked, “What did he say?”

Zhou Kai replied, “He… didn’t know, and he didn’t refuse, then, for some reason, he seemed to have deleted me.”

Yang Yunran was silent for a moment, feeling uncertain. Finally, he said, “I think Evan is quite suitable for being a star. If there’s a suitable opportunity, try contacting him again.”

Zhou Kai thought Yang Yunran was arranging a job for his poor boyfriend and agreed, “Oh, okay, but he blocked me. How can I contact him?”

“Bear with it; he has a bad temper and doesn’t like giving face to others,” Yang Yunran said. “I’ll give you his email. He prefers using email. For my sake, he’ll be more lenient with you.”

Yang Yunran didn’t want to hinder Jiang Yi’s career. Although he thought Jiang Yi would make a good scientist, doing research doesn’t make money, and Jiang Yi might have other ideas. He couldn’t block his boyfriend’s path.

Zhou Kai agreed, “Do you have his personal information? Any acting experience? What are his strengths?”

“He… is good at doing experiments,” Yang Yunran said.

Zhou Kai: “?”

Yang Yunran: “And he’s handsome, has a good figure, beautiful eyes, and nice hands.”

Zhou Kai: “Can’t sing or dance?”

“Not really,” Yang Yunran said. “But he’s handsome.”

Zhou Kai: “To be a male star… being handsome is enough.” He wasn’t worried about the one million slipping through. Lin wouldn’t miss that million and wouldn’t go ask Evan, “Did you take my million?” And Jiang Yi hadn’t taken any money, wouldn’t tell Yang Yunran, and Yang Yunran wouldn’t ask Lin, “Did my boyfriend take your million?”

These people didn’t miss a million; only he did.

Yang Yunran agreed to join the variety show, wanting to earn the 1.2 million performance fee. Zhou Kai arranged a new assistant for him, saying, “I’ll have him fly over next week. This assistant has a ten-year contract and will take care of your daily life and help you with work.”

“No need, I don’t need anyone to take care of my daily life. Let’s talk about it when I get back.” Yang Yunran hung up the phone.

Jiang Yi was coming back tomorrow.

Jiang Yi had been on a business trip for a week, and they talked on the phone every night. Yang Yunran found that this longing made the days feel like years.

In the evening, Yang Yunran called him as usual but found that his phone was off.

What’s going on? No battery?

An hour and a half later…

Several hours ago, they had exchanged messages, with Jiang Yi saying he was attending a dinner party and even sending a photo to Yang Yunran.

Could he have gotten drunk?

This speculation made Yang Yunran slightly uneasy. He called Jiang Yi periodically.

Finally, the call connected.

There were sounds of rain on the other end, the noise of raindrops hitting the car window.

“You finally turned on your phone.” Yang Yunran opened the curtains, looking at the rain outside. “Is it raining in New York too? It’s raining in Boston.”

“It’s raining,” Jiang Yi said. “I had some issues earlier, so I couldn’t reply.”

Yang Yunran asked, “Did your banquet end? I just found out your academics have so many dinner parties. Do you have dinner every day?”

“It’s different banquets,” Jiang Yi said. The main reason was that, as a young scientist with breakthrough achievements, who rarely made appearances, William brought him to network with peers, leading to various social gatherings. Jiang Yi wasn’t the smooth-talking type, unable to fit in, especially with some well-known but academically mediocre individuals whom he couldn’t flatter.

He didn’t like participating in these activities.

He preferred going home and seeing Yang Yunran. Holding him in his arms while sleeping rather than waiting until tomorrow.

So Jiang Yi packed his bag and rescheduled his flight to the airport.

It rained heavily in May. The sky was overcast, with turbulent clouds and rain splashing against the airplane window.

After an hour-long flight, it was a foggy, overcast day when Jiang Yi landed. He picked up his bag and exited the terminal, hailing a taxi.

He gave the driver Yang Yunran’s address and called him back.

They chatted about random things. Yang Yunran asked, “I noticed your tone is different. Did you drink?”

“Attending the banquet… yes, I had some champagne.”

The black luggage bag was on Jiang Yi’s right side. He sat on the left side of the taxi’s backseat. Outside, the traffic was busy and somewhat congested.

“Aren’t you allergic? Why didn’t you listen?”

“I’m not allergic,” Jiang Yi said.

Yang Yunran exclaimed, “That time you went on a date with Emily, you clearly said you were allergic.”

“That was… a lie. And I wasn’t on a date with Emily; I’ve explained the reason before.”

“You lied to me?!” Yang Yunran was shocked. “You aren’t allergic to alcohol, so why did you lie to me?”

“I forgot,” Jiang Yi said, closing his eyes. He recalled that it was because Jesse had commented that his face looked very red, like an allergic reaction. Jiang Yi didn’t want Yang Yunran to know the real reason, so he lied about it.

Jiang Yi lowered his voice, feeling…

Jiang Yi softly said, “Forgive me for lying to you, Yunran.”

“…Alright, alright. But you owe me compensation.” It wasn’t a big deal, but because of the misunderstanding about Jiang Yi’s alcohol allergy, Yang Yunran had never dared to force him to drink.

“What kind of compensation do you want?” Jiang Yi asked.

Yang Yunran replied, “Buy me a souvenir? It doesn’t have to be expensive, a fridge magnet will do.”

“I bought something, but it’s not a fridge magnet. You might be disappointed.”

Yang Yunran said it didn’t matter, “As long as you got me something, it’s fine.”

Jiang Yi said, “I’ll give it to you later.”

When Jiang Yi was in New York, he didn’t have much free time. He heard about a store where the violins were custom-made and very famous. Not being a royal, he had to queue up. Each violin cost $120,000 and wouldn’t be ready for six months.

After placing the order, he went to a suit store to pick out a formal suit for Yang Yunran to wear at his graduation ceremony. He got the size from Professor Chen, who was a bit puzzled. Jiang Yi said, “I want to give him a graduation gift.”

Professor Chen replied, “You two have a good relationship now, huh?”

Jiang Yi said yes.

Professor Chen added, “I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it, but baby likes boys. However, he has a boyfriend, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Jiang Yi asked, “Who’s his boyfriend?”

Professor Chen said, “I kind of forgot, I think his name is something like Fan. They might have broken up though. Haven’t you met him?”

Jiang Yi coldly said no, “They broke up a long time ago.” Then, he rudely hung up on Professor Chen.

Because of the rain, Yang Yunran couldn’t take the dog for a walk, so he had to let Harry solve his business in the bathroom. Ten minutes ago, Jiang Yi said he had something to take care of, so they ended the call.

Yang Yunran was at home, feeding the dog, when he heard the doorbell ring. Who could it be at this hour? Yang Yunran wondered as he went to open the door. When he opened it, he was stunned for a few seconds before he reacted.

Jiang Yi stood there wearing a dark blue suit from the dinner party, looking very formal and well-fitted, like a custom-made piece, highlighting his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

He rarely dressed like this, exuding an air of nobility.

Yang Yunran rubbed his eyes, “Jiang Yi?!”

“Home now.” Jiang Yi put down his luggage and garment bag, and immediately felt Yang Yunran pounce on him, along with a dog from the side, whining and yelping. But his hands were only available to hug Yang Yunran.

For about ten seconds.

“I forgot my umbrella.” Jiang Yi, damp from the rain, pushed Yang Yunran away and simultaneously pressed down on the Samoyed’s head, “I’m wet. Let’s hug later.”

“Now…

“Hug now hug！” Yang Yunran loved unexpected surprises. He hugged Jiang Yi tightly and spun him around. “Why did you come back early? I’m so surprised and happy!”

The words “I missed you” weren’t easy for Jiang Yi to say out loud, although his chest felt full and ready to burst with emotion. Instead, he said, “I changed my flight last minute.”

Yang Yunran rubbed his face against Jiang Yi’s damp shoulder, his nose nuzzling Jiang Yi’s neck. “Did you use some cologne? You smell so good.”

“It’s just the hotel’s shower gel,” Jiang Yi replied.

“What brand is it? I want to buy the same one!” Yang Yunran felt it might simply be Jiang Yi’s natural scent that he liked, but his curiosity was piqued.

Jiang Yi said he forgot, “I’ll call the hotel and ask.” Then he stepped back, closing the door with one hand and loosening his tie with the other, pushing Yang Yunran away slightly to take off his wet jacket.

“Your pants are wet too; you should take them off,” Yang Yunran said as he went to the bedroom. “I bought you some pajamas; let me get them for you.”

Jiang Yi agreed and went into the bathroom. Since he had stayed over at Yang Yunran’s place a few times, he had his toiletries there.

Seeing Jiang Yi rinsing his mouth, Yang Yunran asked, “Are you that tired? Do you want to sleep now?”

“I drank some alcohol, so I’ll shower and then sleep,” Jiang Yi replied, splashing cold water on his face, water droplets clinging to his cheeks. He unbuckled his belt and told Yang Yunran, “Wait for me outside.”

Yang Yunran didn’t intend to watch his boyfriend use the restroom, so he obediently closed the door. Jiang Yi came out quickly, his belt undone and hanging loosely around his waist. Yang Yunran handed him the new pajamas and underwear. Jiang Yi looked up and asked, “Do you want to watch me change?”

“Yes,” Yang Yunran nodded. “Is that not allowed?”

“No, you can watch whatever you want.” Jiang Yi’s long, slender fingers unbuttoned his vest and shirt. It was an ordinary task, but with Yang Yunran watching, it suddenly felt different.

Yang Yunran simply felt like he hadn’t seen Jiang Yi in so long and missed him terribly, so he couldn’t take his eyes off him.

Jiang Yi made eye contact with Yang Yunran for a couple of seconds, then turned slightly and quickly took off his clothes. With his side turned, his veins were visible, making Yang Yunran’s ears turn a bit red as he secretly hugged his fluffy alpaca plushie.

“I bought you a suit to wear for your graduation ceremony,” Jiang Yi said as he changed quickly. Yang Yunran, distracted, asked, “Is this my gift? Where is it?”

“In the box next to you,” Jiang Yi replied, changing into his robe and walking to the sofa. Yang Yunran opened the box and took a peek, “This looks expensive.”

“It’s not very expensive,” Jiang Yi said.

Since it was a niche brand, not easily found everywhere, Jiang Yi didn’t think it would be a big deal.

“Considering it’s Armani or Prada, Yang Yunran didn’t really have a concept of it but knew it definitely wasn’t cheap. It must have cost tens of thousands.

“Thank you, Brother. It looks great; I really like it. I’ll wear it for my graduation ceremony!”

Jiang Yi asked, “Don’t you want to try it on?”

Yang Yunran replied, “I’ll try it later, maybe tomorrow…”

He stretched out his arms to hug Jiang Yi, loosening the belt that had just been tied to Jiang Yi’s robe. Yang Yunran said, “I think I must have separation anxiety. I can’t bear to be apart from you. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

Although Jiang Yi felt the same, he didn’t reply. As Yang Yunran gently stroked his head, his cheek pressed against Jiang Yi’s chin, eyes closed, slowly caressing. Jiang Yi’s hands naturally slipped into his pajamas, each feeling the other’s reactions and emotions.

“Do you want to?” Jiang Yi asked as he held him. Yang Yunran nodded, blushing so much he couldn’t lift his head. Jiang Yi lowered his head to kiss his forehead, his lips touching Yang Yunran’s temple and the tender skin behind his ear, slowly caressing.

Yang Yunran indeed had little restraint. After struggling to hold back for a while, he collapsed on Jiang Yi, tears streaming, his breath hot against Jiang Yi’s chest. It took at least two minutes for him to come back to his senses.

Jiang Yi’s clean hand touched his face. “Have you been under a lot of stress recently?”

Yang Yunran raised his head. “Are you mocking me?”

“No,” he said, focused, with a hint of a smile. Yang Yunran bit his shoulder. “You’re a bad person. You’re amazing. You have psychological problems.”

The bite left no marks, more like sucking and kissing. Yang Yunran kissed his neck and Adam’s apple. Jiang Yi endured silently for a while, showing patience. When he took the initiative, Jiang Yi tilted his head slightly, their lips meeting.

Yang Yunran thought it was accidental and hesitated. “Sorry,” he said. Jiang Yi lowered his eyelashes, his throat moving, and whispered softly against him, “It’s okay.” Then his fingers threaded through Yang Yunran’s black hair, guiding his head down.

Yang Yunran froze in surprise, his heart racing. Could Jiang Yi’s barrier against kissing be lifted now? He didn’t have time to ask as Jiang Yi didn’t respond, tilting his head slightly to a position that fit their faces and skulls better, lips pressing together, and breaths mingling. Yang Yunran tentatively touched his tongue to Jiang Yi’s lips, finding them sweet.

Jiang Yi eventually showed it to him in the end, but the scene flashed by in an instant, only a hurried glance. Yang Yunran said, “Who are you trying to infuriate by being so quick?”

“Turn it off, I’m turning off the lights,” Jiang Yi said, and then turned off the lights. In the darkness, Yang Yunran could barely see anything clearly, just vague shadows, possibly Jiang Yi’s face. He said somewhat frustrated, “I didn’t see anything at all.”

Jiang Yi’s voice echoed in the darkness, becoming even lower: “What did you want to see?”

Yang Yunran replied, “…Guess.”

Jiang Yi seemed somewhat helpless, “Wait until I come back to see, it’s inconvenient on video.”

“Oh, it’s not very convenient.” Yang Yunran had been dating him for these few months, and their most significant interaction was hugging and cuddling. Yang Yunran often used the excuse of heavy study pressure to ask Jiang Yi for help. He didn’t have much self-control; if Jiang Yi acted a bit tender and kissed his face or nose, Yang Yunran would instantly lose his defenses.

It was easy to overthink things in the middle of the night. Yang Yunran shook off the clutter in his mind and heart Jiang Yi said, “It’s late, you should go to sleep.”

“Alright…” If they continued chatting, Yang Yunran might have to handle it himself. He decided not to chat anymore!

“Then let me give you a kiss.” Yang Yunran leaned towards the screen and lightly kissed it on his phone, making a faint, almost inaudible crackling sound like breaking a shell. Jiang Yi held his breath, his eyelashes trembling.

Yang Yunran lowered his eyes and said, “Can you kiss me too?”

Jiang Yi leaned against the headboard, lowering his head close to the screen. In night mode, numerous noise dots appeared around the contours as he approached in the darkness.

Their lips lightly touched the screen for a second before pulling away slowly.

Yang Yunran said, “I can’t see anything, what are you doing?”

Jiang Yi whispered, “Kissing you back home.”

Yang Yunran thought it was just a kiss on the face or chin, and although he felt happy about it, it was a romantic and intimate experience he rarely had alone. So, he happily agreed.

The video call ended, and Jiang Yi turned on the lights again, searching for some videos to watch.

A similar email had been sent to him by the hospital a while ago, but Jiang Yi had quickly closed it after watching for a minute. He had felt some resistance at the time.

This time, he watched for five minutes at double speed, but Yang Yunran’s words “want to be with you” kept lingering in his mind.

Jiang Yi was away on a business trip for four or five days, and Yang Yunran was busy with work and studies, often going to school. He would still livestream for a short while in the morning, singing for the fans in the livestream room.

Meanwhile, Zhou Kai took over his account, cleared the private messages, and found a strange small account.

“It’s me, baby!! Evan!”

Evan, Yang Yunran’s boyfriend?

Zhou Kai initially thought of deleting his own Evan, but when he clicked into the messages, he saw that this person had sent dozens of messages somewhat crazily.

“I sent you private messages secretly with my phone!! Baby, please reply TAT.”

“I can’t leave the production team during the show. My phone is being monitored every day, and practicing singing is so tough. I registered this account using my manager’s phone, and I’m going offline soon. Baby, please reply.”

“I’ll be done with recording soon, and if all goes well, I’ll debut. The company is very supportive of me!”

This fan didn’t send any photos, but the dozens of texts revealed enough information for Zhou Kai, who was a knowledgeable person, to make connections.

“Evan? Recording on a program? Practicing singing every day? Why does this sound like Jiang Fan…”

Because Jiang Fan’s manager was his subordinate, Zhou Kai would also inquire about the talent show contestants. However, he wasn’t entirely sure if it was Jiang Fan, so he saved the screenshots of the messages and deleted the original chat records.

He called his subordinate manager, “Xiao Du, did Jiang Fan use your phone while on the show?”

“Yes… Kevin, he used it twice.”

Zhou Kai asked, “What did he do with your phone?”

“One time, he asked me to search for some internet singer, called… called something…”

“Haliyeh?” 

“Yes, yes, that’s the name! I was wondering why he was searching for this person. Kevin, how did you know?”

“It’s nothing. Don’t ask Jiang Fan about it now; we’ll talk after the show’s recording.” Zhou Kai had a headache. It seemed that Jiang Fan was indeed the one who sent those crazy messages to Yang Yunran using a secret account. Did these two have a romantic relationship or what? He didn’t understand. How come Yang Yunran had two boyfriends named Evan?

However, he didn’t bring it up with Yang Yunran. What’s the point of mentioning an ex? It seemed that Jiang Fan was entangling Yang Yunran, so dealing with Jiang Fan was the priority.

As for Yang Yunran, Zhou Kai called to remind him, “When you’re dating your current boyfriend, don’t be too flashy. It’s best not to flaunt your relationship online; there’s a risk of a messy breakup.”

Yang Yunran replied unhappily, “Kevin, why are you saying this? We’re not breaking up!”

“Um, sorry,” Zhou Kai felt awkward. He had assumed Yang Yunran was just casually dating.

Yang Yunran continued, “And why were you frequently contacting my boyfriend before? What’s the reason?”

“Because…” Zhou Kai hesitated. He couldn’t say it was to offer him 300,000 to persuade Yang Yunran, as the guy had blocked him without agreeing to meet.

“I contacted him because I wanted to sign him…”

Indeed. Yang Yunran asked, “What did he say?”

“He… didn’t know, didn’t refuse, then for some reason seemed to have blocked me.”

Yang Yunran fell silent, unsure of what to think. Finally, he said, “I think Evan would be good as a celebrity. If there’s a suitable opportunity, you should contact him again.”

Zhou Kai thought he was arranging a job for Yang Yunran’s less affluent boyfriend and agreed, “Okay, but he’s already blocked me. How do I contact him?”

“Just bear with it. He has a temper and doesn’t like to give face,” Yang Yunran said. “I’ll give you his email; he prefers using that. For my sake, he might be more tolerant of you.”

Yang Yunran didn’t want to hinder Jiang Yi’s career. Although he thought being a scientist would be fine for Jiang Yi, research doesn’t make money, and Jiang Yi might have other ideas. He couldn’t block his boyfriend’s path.

Zhou Kai promised, “Does he have any personal information? Has he acted before? What is he good at?”

“He… is good at experiments,” Yang Yunran said.

Zhou Kai: “?”

Yang Yunran added, “And he’s handsome, has a good figure, beautiful eyes, and nice hands.”

Zhou Kai: “He can’t sing or dance?”

“Not really,” Yang Yunran said. “But he’s handsome.”

Zhou Kai: “Being handsome is enough for a male celebrity.” He wasn’t worried about the million-dollar deal being exposed; Mr. Lin didn’t need it and wouldn’t ask Evan, “Did you get a million from my sister?”; and Jiang Yi hadn’t taken the money and wouldn’t tell Yang Yunran, who wouldn’t ask Mr. Lin, “Did my boyfriend take a million from you.”

These people don’t lack a million, only him.

Yang Yunran agreed to take the variety show; he wanted to earn the 1.2 million appearance fee. Zhou Kai arranged a new assistant for him and said, “I’ll have him fly over next week. This assistant has just signed for ten years. He’ll come to take care of your life and help you work.”

“No need, I don’t need anyone to take care of my life. Let’s talk about it when I get back,” Yang Yunran hung up the phone.

Jiang Yi was returning tomorrow.

Jiang Yi had been away on business for a week, and they talked on the phone every night. Yang Yunran found that longing made the days seem long.

At night, as usual, Yang Yunran called him but found his phone was off.

What’s going on, is it out of battery?

An hour and a half ago, they had exchanged messages, and Jiang Yi said he was attending a banquet and even sent a photo to Yang Yunran.

Could he be drunk?

Such speculation made him slightly uneasy, and after a while, he called again—

Finally, the call went through.

On the other end of the phone came the sound of rain hitting the car window glass.

“You finally turned on your phone,” Yang Yunran opened the curtain and looked at the rain outside, saying, “Is it raining in New York? It’s raining in Boston too.”

“It’s raining,” Jiang Yi said. “Just had something come up, couldn’t reply.”

Yang Yunran: “Has your banquet ended? I just found out, why do you scientists have so many banquets? Do you have a banquet every day?”

“They’re different banquets,” Jiang Yi said. As a young scientist with groundbreaking achievements, he rarely appeared. William brought him over, and it was inevitable to interact with colleagues in the industry. All kinds of tricks, Jiang Yi was not smooth, unable to blend in, unable to compliment people with great reputation and third-class academic status.

He doesn’t like to participate in these activities.

Instead of attending banquets, he would rather go home and see Yang Yunran. Hold him in his arms to sleep, rather than waiting for tomorrow.

So Jiang Yi packed his bags and changed directly to the airport.

It rained heavily in May, with dark clouds rolling and mixed air and rainwater washing on the glass of the aircraft’s port windows.

One hour’s flight, the foggy overcast day, Jiang Yi took his luggage from the terminal and waved a taxi.

He reported the address of Yang Yunran and called him back.

The two talked about some things, and Yang Yunran said, “I found your tone of voice is not the same, did you drink?”

“Attending a banquet… yes, drink a little champagne.”

The black bag was placed on the right side of Jiang Yi’s right hand, and he sat on the left side of the back seat of the taxi

Yang Yunran said, “It’s okay. Just knowing to buy a gift is good.”

Jiang Yi replied, “I’ll give it to you later.”

He didn’t have much free time when he went to New York. He heard there was a shop famous for handmade custom violins. Since Jiang Yi wasn’t royalty, he had to queue up. Each violin cost $120,000 and wouldn’t be ready for over six months.

So after making a reservation, Jiang Yi picked out a suit for Yang Yunran that he could wear to his graduation ceremony at a suit store. The size was what he had asked Professor Chen for, which puzzled Chen a bit. Jiang Yi explained, “I want to give him a graduation gift.”

Professor Chen remarked, “You two seem to have a very good relationship now.”

Jiang Yi confirmed it.

Chen continued, “By the way, did I mention that Baobao likes guys? But he already has a boyfriend, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Jiang Yi asked, “Who’s his boyfriend?”

Chen said, “I kind of forgot… something Fan. They might have broken up. Haven’t you met him?”

Jiang Yi replied coldly, “They broke up long ago,” and hung up rudely on Professor Chen.

Due to the rain, Yang Yunran couldn’t take the dog out, so he had to let Harry go to the bathroom. Jiang Yi mentioned he was busy ten minutes ago, so the call ended.

Yang Yunran was feeding the dog at home when he heard the doorbell. He wondered who would come at this hour and opened the door. In that instant, he was stunned for several seconds before realizing—

Jiang Yi was dressed in a navy suit, which looked very formal and custom-made, outlining his broad shoulders and narrow waist perfectly.

He rarely dressed like this, exuding an air of elegance.

Rubbing his eyes, Yang Yunran exclaimed, “Jiang Yi?!”

“I’m home.” Jiang Yi put down his luggage and garment bag. Immediately, Yang Yunran and one of the dogs rushed over, whimpering. Jiang Yi could only embrace Yang Yunran.

It lasted about ten seconds.

“Forget to bring an umbrella.” Jiang Yi, damp from the rain, pushed Yang Yunran away slightly and patted the Samoyed’s head. “I’m wet. Wait a moment before you hug me.”

“Hug now, hug now!!” Yang Yunran liked surprises and unexpectedly hugged him, spinning around. “Why did you come back early? I’m so surprised! So happy!”

“Said I missed you.” These three words weren’t easy to say. Indeed, at this moment, Jiang Yi’s chest felt full, as if his emotions were about to overflow.

Jiang Yi lowered his head. “Changed my flight at the last minute.”

Yang Yunran nuzzled his damp shoulder with his face. “Did you spray perfume? You smell so good.”

“It’s the hotel’s shower gel. Too fragrant,” Jiang Yi said.

“What brand? I want to buy the same!” Yang Yunran felt he just liked the scent on his skin and sparked his desire to purchase.

Jiang Yi said he forgot. “I’ll call and ask later.” He closed the door with one hand behind his back, loosened his tie with the other, and took off his wet coat.

“Your pants are wet too. Shouldn’t you take them off?” Yang Yunran went to the bedroom. “I bought you pajamas. Let me get them for you.”

Jiang Yi agreed and went into his bathroom. Having stayed overnight at Yang Yunran’s place several times, his toiletries were there.

Seeing him rinse his mouth, Yang Yunran asked, “Are you tired? Going to sleep soon?”

“I drank. I’ll shower and sleep later.” Jiang Yi washed his face with cold water, droplets hanging on his cheeks, and unbuckled his belt. He told Yang Yunran, “Wait for me outside.”

Yang Yunran had no intention of watching his boyfriend use the toilet and obediently closed the door. Jiang Yi soon emerged, belt loose around his waist. Yang Yunran handed him new pajamas and underwear. Jiang Yi looked up. “You want to watch me change clothes?”

“Yeah.” Yang Yunran nodded. “Can’t I?”

“Fine, you can watch.” Jiang Yi’s fingers, distinct in their articulation, unbuttoned his vest and shirt, an ordinary act made suddenly significant by Yang Yunran’s gaze.

Yang Yunran just felt it had been so long since he’d seen him, he missed him terribly, and he really wanted to see him. He couldn’t take his eyes off him.

Jiang Yi’s and his eyes met for two seconds. Then Jiang Yi turned slightly and quickly stripped off his clothes. As he turned, his body was half draped over his legs, veins standing out. Yang Yunran felt a bit flushed and quietly hugged his camel hair.

“Bought you an outfit for graduation,” Jiang Yi changed quickly. Yang Yunran absentmindedly replied, “Is this my gift? Oh, where is it?”

“In the box over there.” Jiang Yi finished changing into his robe and walked over to the sofa. Yang Yunran opened it and looked. “This seems expensive.”

“Not very.”

Because it was a niche brand, not the usual Armani or Prada, Yang Yunran didn’t really have a concept of its value, but he knew it wasn’t cheap; tens of thousands for sure.

“Thank you, brother. It looks great, I love it. I’ll wear it at graduation!”

Jiang Yi asked, “Don’t you want to try it on?”

“Not now. I’ll try it on later, maybe tomorrow…” He extended his arms to hug Jiang Yi, who had just fastened his robe’s belt and had it loosened by Yang Yunran. Yang Yunran said, “I must have separation anxiety. I can’t be away from you. I wouldn’t be able to stand it.”

Though Jiang Yi felt the same way, he didn’t reply. As Yang Yunran caressed his head, his cheek pressed against Jiang Yi’s chin, eyes closed, slowly caressing. Jiang Yi’s hand naturally slipped into his robe, both feeling each other’s reactions and emotions.

“Want to?” Jiang Yi held him and asked. Yang Yunran nodded, his face too flushed to lift. Jiang Yi lowered his head, kissed his forehead, and his lips touched Yang Yunran’s temple and the tender edge of his ear, rubbing slowly.

Yang Yunran really had no restraint. He tried to hold on for a while but couldn’t. He ended up crying on Jiang Yi’s chest, his breath burning hot against Jiang Yi’s chest. It took him at least two minutes to come back to his senses.

Jiang Yi’s clean hand caressed his face. “Feeling stressed lately?”

Yang Yunran lifted his head. “Are you mocking me?”

“Not really,” Jiang Yi replied, his gaze focused with a hint of amusement. Yang Yunran bit down on his shoulder. “You’re a bad person. You’re amazing, you’ve got psychological problems.”

This kind of bite didn’t leave any marks, so it was more like sucking and kissing. Yang Yunran kissed his neck and Adam’s apple. Jiang Yi endured silently for a while, also restraining himself. At his initiative, Jiang Yi nodded slightly, bringing their lips closer together.

Yang Yunran thought he had accidentally paused, saying, “Sorry.” Jiang Yi lowered his eyelashes, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and softly said to him, “It’s okay.” Immediately, his fingers slipped into his dark hair, gripping the back of his head and pressing down.

Yang Yunran froze in surprise, his heart racing wildly. Had his brother overcome his kissing aversion? But he didn’t have time to ask as Jiang Yi didn’t reply either. He tilted his head slightly, adjusting their angles to fit their faces and skulls better, and their lips met in a kiss. Their breaths intertwined. Yang Yunran tentatively extended his tongue, licking Jiang Yi’s lips, and found them sweet.