Yan Qi showed up a bit later than Cheng Jin expected, arriving a whole half month after he returned to the Imperial Planet. At that moment, Cheng Jin was busy sketching the design for an order of formal wear. When he heard the doorbell ring, he casually asked his little robot, “Cheng Cheng, who’s there?”

Ai Xue and You Li Ka had just visited yesterday, so it shouldn’t be them.

The little robot opened its screen and connected to the outside camera, quickly responding, “Young Master, it’s Young Master Yan Qi!”

Hearing that name made Cheng Jin jump. He almost instantly dropped his pen and scrambled under the table, saying frantically, “Don’t open the door! Don’t respond! Pretend I’m not home!”

The little robot cheerfully replied, “Don’t worry! Cheng Cheng won’t open the door without the owner’s permission!”

Squatting under the table, Cheng Jin felt a bit reassured. He said, “That’s good! From now on, if you see Yan Qi, don’t open the door!”

“I understand!” The little robot seemed curious again. “Why are you under the table? Are you checking if Cheng Cheng cleaned properly? I promise it’s super clean! I’m a little cleaning expert!”

“Ah, haha, it’s nothing! I just sat down for a bit because I got tired,” Cheng Jin said awkwardly, feeling that his reaction was a bit over the top. The security at home was good, and as long as he didn’t open the door, Yan Qi couldn’t just barge in. Thinking this, he quickly got up, but just as he was rubbing his waist, he heard a loud alarm coming from the door. The security system was going off! Cheng Jin panicked and asked, “What’s going on?”

The little robot said, “Someone is climbing over the wall, Young Master! You should call the police!”

“Huh? What? Call the police?” Cheng Jin saw the little robot about to dial the emergency number and quickly stopped it. “No way! If we call the police, they’ll know I’m home, right? Forget it! Let him climb; there’s still a door inside. He definitely can’t open it.” Even as he said this, Cheng Jin felt a bit uneasy. He had grown up with Yan Qi and knew exactly how relentless he could be. Yan Qi was definitely the kind of person who would go to any lengths to achieve his goals, and he would eventually confront him.

But it absolutely couldn’t be today.

His husband happened to be at the military base. Although he had told Cheng Jin to contact him if anything happened, Cheng Jin still couldn’t bring himself to disturb him.

The little robot tilted its head, clearly puzzled. Cheng Jin swallowed and said, “You should go back to the charging room. It’s fine.”

Once the little robot left, Cheng Jin felt even more anxious. The security system blared for a full five minutes before it finally stopped. Cheng Jin remembered that the wall around his house was over four meters high, and it wasn’t easy for an average person to climb in. Just as he was reassuring himself, there came a loud bang at the front door.

“Cheng Jin! I know you’re inside! Open the door! If you don’t, I’ll find someone to tear down your house!” Yan Qi’s voice was as furious as ever, maybe even more so than before.

Cheng Jin had initially thought of staying hidden, but upon hearing the word “tear down,” he couldn’t hold back any longer. Fueled by a burst of anger, he rushed to the living room and shouted, “You dare!”

Yan Qi sneered coldly from behind the door. “So you’re finally willing to show yourself? If you don’t open the door now, let’s see if I dare!”

Cheng Jin was so furious that his hands shook. “This is a General’s home! If you dare to tear it down, that’s illegal!”

Yan Qi said, “I’ll count to three. If you don’t open the door, I’ll have someone come tear it down! One!”

Cheng Jin was startled by that number. His earlier courage vanished, and upon hearing “two,” he hurriedly reached out and opened the door.

There was no way around it; he was a coward.

After all, he had never gotten the upper hand against Yan Qi. The other person always had the advantage, and he was genuinely a bit scared.

But seeing Yan Qi now, he was taken aback. In just under three months, Yan Qi had lost weight, and his face looked worn and haggard, with stubble that made him look nothing like his usual suave and handsome self. If Cheng Jin got a little closer, he could even smell an unpleasant odor on him.

Cheng Jin wrinkled his nose and couldn’t help but ask, “How long has it been since you showered?”

Yan Qi stared at him intensely and hoarsely asked, “Where’s Xu Ge?”

Though he already knew Yan Qi had some kind of relationship with his brother, seeing one of the parties involved made Cheng Jin feel awkward. He replied, “I don’t know.” Since his brother was trying to avoid him, it was clear that Yan Qi had done something wrong, so no matter what, he couldn’t tell Yan Qi where his brother was.

Hearing his response, Yan Qi’s eyes narrowed dangerously, and he said each word slowly, “Tell me!”

Cheng Jin felt a chill run down his spine, bracing himself. “What kind of look is that? Are you going to hit me? Go ahead! If you dare to lay a hand on me, my brother will never forgive you!” He even purposefully puffed out his chest.

But Yan Qi didn’t seem to notice that Cheng Jin was pregnant. Instead, he focused on the other meaning behind his words. “So, Xu Ge is really okay? He… he’s not dead?”

“Pah! My brother wouldn’t die!” Cheng Jin adjusted his clothes. “But he doesn’t want to see you, so don’t look for him! I won’t tell you where he is either.”

Yan Qi clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. “Of course I’m going to look for him! I have to find him!”

His demeanor frightened Cheng Jin a bit. “Are you looking for my brother… to get revenge on him? Yan Qi, I don’t understand how you two got entangled together! There’s such a big age difference…”

Yan Qi snapped back, “What do you know?”

“You… you’re insulting me again…” Cheng Jin’s face flushed with anger, and he shouted, “Even if I don’t understand the details, I can guess that you must have forced my brother into this! My brother only liked women in the past, and the sisters-in-law he brought home were all beautiful girls. How could he willingly get involved with you? He’s not gay!”

Yan Qi didn’t seem interested in arguing with him over that. He just asked again, “Where’s Xu Ge?”

“I already said I won’t tell you!” Cheng Jin frowned but quickly softened his tone. “Yan Xiao Qi, to be honest, you’re really quite good-looking, and you’re still young. You’re a billionaire now. What kind of person can’t you find? If you want to have some fun, don’t look for my brother! When you were a kid, my brother treated you really well, didn’t he? He was kinder to you than your own brother! So just leave him alone and don’t disturb him; he has it tough too.”

“I won’t let go.” Yan Qi’s gaze burned into him, as if he was looking through him at someone else. “I’ll never let go!”

His firm declaration sent a shiver down Cheng Jin’s spine. “But my brother doesn’t like you…”

“Who says he doesn’t like me?”

Cheng Jin felt a bit uncertain and raised his voice, “If he liked you, why is he avoiding you?”

Yan Qi countered, “Didn’t you also avoid Lu Tao?”

When it came to debates, Cheng Jin could never win against Yan Qi. He couldn’t find a reason to refute that statement and eventually just said, “Regardless, I won’t tell you! Don’t come looking for me; if you have the guts, go find him yourself!”

“Do you think I haven’t looked for him?” Yan Qi’s voice was hoarse, his eyes bloodshot. “In three months, I’ve searched eighteen planets. But this star system is too big. I just want to see him as soon as possible.”

Seeing Yan Qi’s sorrowful expression stirred something in Cheng Jin. He was naturally a soft-hearted person who couldn’t stand seeing others in pain. However, thinking of his brother, he managed to suppress those unwanted thoughts. But then Yan Qi’s next action made him widen his eyes in shock, and he instinctively stepped back.

Yan Qi actually knelt down in front of him.

Kneeling…

No matter which planet you were on, kneeling was an incredibly serious gesture of respect—usually reserved for parents and gods. Even proposals only involved kneeling on one knee. Yet now, the proud and arrogant Yan Qi was kneeling before him!

Once Cheng Jin processed this, he almost instinctively said, “Yan Xiao Qi, are you crazy?”

Yan Qi stared at him intently and said, “Please tell me!”

“I can’t betray my brother! What are you thinking? Even if you kneel all day, I can’t betray my brother!” Cheng Jin was so frightened that he couldn’t hold back anymore and reached for Lu Tao’s communicator, saying, “Husband, save me…”

When Lu Tao rushed back, Yan Qi was still kneeling on the ground. Cheng Jin didn’t dare approach and instead found a spot to sit far away, trying hard to ignore him. But his gaze kept being drawn back to Yan Qi.

Yan Qi looked… really a bit pitiful.

They had grown up together, so Cheng Jin knew just how stubborn and proud this man was. He wouldn’t back down even after losing a fight and would keep going even after getting beaten to a bloody pulp. He often defied his parents, acting as if nothing could ever make him relent.

And now, he was kneeling before Cheng Jin just to find out his brother’s whereabouts.

Could it be that he truly had sincere feelings for Cheng Jin’s brother?

Fei Li had left a communicator with Cheng Jin’s brother, but because the signal wasn’t great, the two brothers could only contact each other at set times. At this time, there definitely wouldn’t be any signal at his brother’s place. Cheng Jin couldn’t help but feel a bit sorry. He secretly turned on the camera on his communicator and snapped a picture of the kneeling Yan Qi. After hesitating for a moment, he sent it to his brother.

When Lu Tao returned and saw Yan Qi kneeling, he was a bit startled. He first walked up to Cheng Jin and asked, “Did he hurt you?”

Cheng Jin, looking gloomy, pointed at his chest. “My heart has been severely injured!”

Lu Tao pulled him behind him and met Yan Qi’s gaze. “You gave up halfway; you shouldn’t come to pressure Xiao Jin now.”

Hearing his husband call him “Xiao Jin,” no matter how many times he heard it, it always made Cheng Jin feel sweet inside. But he was also puzzled, “What did he give up on?”

“Searching for the sixth route together.”

That jogged Cheng Jin’s memory, and he couldn’t help but want to give his husband a thumbs up, saying “Well done,” but he managed to hold back.

Yan Qi glared at Lu Tao with anger in his eyes. “You should have shared the information with me instead of waiting until you found him to kick me while I’m down. Not only didn’t you tell me the address, but you also intentionally went to so many planets to throw me off track! General, you’re really not being fair.”

Cheng Jin couldn’t listen to this anymore and popped his head out to say, “That’s not true! It was my brother’s request! My husband was just helping us!” He added, “Could you please get up? You’re scaring people like this.”

Yan Qi looked determined. “I won’t get up unless you tell me where he is!”

Lu Tao took a deep breath and said, “Yan Qi, how about letting Xiao Jin contact his brother first? If his brother insists on not wanting to see you, then you can find him on your own. Don’t keep pestering Xiao Jin. If he’s willing, we’ll tell you.”

Yan Qi stared at them, and after a few seconds, he said, “Okay.”