Ever since Lu Qing heard what he said, he had been standing there in a daze for over ten seconds. 

Yu Li thought the other party was unwilling but couldn’t refuse because he was the employer, so he remained silent. Yu Li said, “Why aren’t you saying anything? I just had a sudden idea. If you don’t want to, it’s okay. I can find someone else…”

“I want to!”

Before Yu Li could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the man who had snapped back to reality. At this moment, Lu Qing was somewhat like that silly Alaskan dog Uncle Chen raised at the Old Residence, his eyes shining brightly as if he was about to jump up and excitedly pounce on someone.

“I want to, don’t find someone else!”

Yu Li didn’t expect such a reaction from him. He blinked and swallowed the words, “I can find another way.”

Looking at Lu Qing’s slightly excited face, Yu Li said, “As long as you’re willing…”

Lu Qing also realized his reaction was too obvious. He took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and then asked, “What exactly do you need me to do?”

“Actually, there’s not much to do…” Yu Li was also doing this for the first time and couldn’t come up with specific examples. He could only vaguely describe to Lu Qing, “Just… however couples interact, you do the same with me? Just make others think you’re my boyfriend so they won’t bother me.”

Lu Qing repeated, “I’m your boyfriend.”

Yu Li: “…”

Yu Li: “You’re not.”

Lu Qing almost blurted out, “How can I be?” but swallowed it back.

The man said, “So, however couples interact, we interact the same way, right?”

“Yeah…” Yu Li nodded, feeling that Lu Qing was repeating what he had just said.

“I got it.” Lu Qing stared intently at Yu Li, “Shall we start now?”

Yu Li felt a tightness in his chest from his gaze and hesitantly nodded.

The next second, his hand was grabbed by a broad and strong one. The man’s nimble fingers interlocked with his, holding him tightly without a word.

Feeling the warmth from his left hand, Yu Li was stunned. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Lu Qing say in a voice so gentle it could almost drip water, “Baby, let’s go home.”

At that moment, Yu Li’s eyes widened, and a wave of heat rushed to his face.

Under the eager gazes of other students in the corridor, he was led forward by the man.

Wait, wait.

Looking at the broad and tall back of the man in front, Yu Li’s mind was in chaos.

Is this what he meant by having Lu Qing as a shield???

…

On the way back after leaving the school gate, Yu Li was still in a daze.

His gaze drifted several times to the person focused on driving, then moved away in a tangle.

Should he ask?

But how could he ask?

He had asked Lu Qing to treat him like a boyfriend, and Lu Qing had indeed slipped into the role in a second.

Although it was too sudden and caught Yu Li off guard… it only showed that Lu Qing’s professionalism as a bodyguard was too high, executing the employer’s task immediately.

There seemed to be nothing to ask.

Thinking of this, Yu Li dismissed the idea of questioning Lu Qing.

After running around outside all day, Yu Li was tired. He quickly ate dinner and went back to his room to shower. Coming out of the bathroom, he flopped onto the bed, feeling all soft and sleepy.

So tired…

Yu Li listlessly opened his phone and glanced at the class group messages.

Tomorrow, each dormitory needs to send someone to pick up the clothes for military training. The day after tomorrow, the opening ceremony for military training will be in the morning, and the seven-day training will officially start in the afternoon.

He’s a day student, so he has to go to school again tomorrow.

He doesn’t want to go.

Yu Li sighed.

He needs to find someone to help him.

Yu Li opened the chat with Lu Qing and sent a “1.”

A few dozen seconds later, there was a rush of footsteps outside the door.

“Bang!”

The door was opened from the outside, and the man, bare-chested with only a thin towel wrapped around his lower body, barely covering the important parts, boldly entered the room.

Yu Li, lying on the bed, was shocked. After realizing it, he raised his voice a notch, “Why aren’t you wearing clothes!”

Lu Qing glanced down at the towel around his waist and explained, “I just got out of the shower and received your message. I was afraid it was urgent, so I came up quickly.”

“…” Yu Li looked at the man’s exposed upper body, indeed still with water droplets that hadn’t been wiped dry, rolling down and dampening the corner of the towel.

The bright light shone on the well-defined muscles, each line distinct and powerful.

Especially the two prominent pectoral muscles, they looked very touchable…

Yu Li glanced a couple of times, feeling an inexplicable itch in his hands.

He grabbed the soft plush toy by the bedside and squeezed it a few times before saying to Lu Qing, “Tomorrow, you need to go to the dorm to get the military training clothes. I don’t want to go, you go.”

Lu Qing always agreed to Yu Li’s instructions.

Going to Jiang University tomorrow, he could also register the car’s license plate in the system, making it easier to pick up and drop off the Little Young Master in the future.

After Lu Qing left, Yu Li’s mind was filled with the image of the man’s firm muscles just now. He regretfully looked at his hand and touched the plush toy a few more times.

But the more he touched, the more tasteless it felt.

No matter how good the plush toy felt, it was still soft, definitely not as elastic as pectoral muscles…

But asking Lu Qing now if he could touch his pectoral muscles, Yu Li really couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Maybe when they’re more familiar…

Just as this thought was halfway through, the familiar footsteps sounded again outside the room.

Lu Qing, now dressed, knocked on Yu Li’s door with a plate of cut fruit.

Without the pectoral muscles to look at, Yu Li lay there not wanting to move, not even wanting to lift his head, lazily opening his mouth to him, looking very obedient.

“Feed me.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed uncontrollably. Lu Qing sat by the bed, picked up a piece of evenly cut cantaloupe with a toothpick, and fed it to Yu Li’s mouth.

As Yu Li ate the fruit, Lu Qing lowered his eyes, watching the boy’s slightly puffed cheeks, the lips moistened by the cantaloupe juice, and the small, wet, red tongue when his lips parted.

The sound of swallowing was particularly noticeable in the quiet room. Yu Li’s chewing gradually slowed, and he asked somewhat indistinctly, “Do you want some?”

Lu Qing shook his head, his voice a bit low, “What I want to eat isn’t this.”

Yu Li’s angle didn’t allow him to see the dangerous look in the man’s eyes. He just asked in confusion, “Then what do you want to eat? I’ll have someone bring it tomorrow.”

His gaze swept over the Little Young Master’s lips as he spoke. Lu Qing closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and changed the subject, “Little Young Master, about what you said today, about being your boyfriend…”

Yu Li corrected, “It’s a shield.”

Lu Qing: “…Okay, about being your shield, to make it look more convincing to outsiders, my way of addressing you and our usual physical contact might be much more intimate than before. If you mind, you can stop it anytime.”

Yu Li was silent for a moment, then asked, “Like holding hands? Like you calling me… baby?”

Lu Qing nodded seriously, “Yes, couples in love are like that, even more intimate.”

Yu Li nodded, then shook his head, “Physical contact is fine, but don’t call me baby.”

Only his mom had called him that since he was little. Hearing it from Lu Qing was too cheesy, and it was too direct. He just needed to look like a couple with Lu Qing.

Lu Qing immediately understood Yu Li’s implication.

Although he already knew Yu Li had no other intentions towards him, hearing it still inevitably brought a sense of disappointment.

The man exhaled lightly and followed Yu Li’s words, “Then I’ll call you…?”

“When we’re outside, just call me Xiao Li like Xiao Yu and the others do,” Yu Li said.

“Xiao Li,” Lu Qing called.

Yu Li: “Mm, just like that.”

Lu Qing stared at him, “Xiao Li.”

Yu Li: “Mm.”

Lu Qing: “Xiao Li.”

Yu Li: “?”

Lu Qing: “Xiao…”

Yu Li made a pause gesture, loudly saying, “Stop calling, what’s your purpose!”

Lu Qing’s lips curved slightly, seemingly in a good mood, his slightly hoarse voice filled with deep joy, “Afraid of calling wrong, just getting used to it.”

Yu Li lay back down, muttering softly, “Stop calling, it’s a bit weird.”

Lu Qing obliged, poking another piece of cantaloupe and feeding it to Yu Li’s mouth, “What’s weird?”

Yu Li, with the sweet melon in his mouth, lowered his eyes without speaking.

Of course, it’s weird. So many people call him Xiao Li, but none look at him like Lu Qing does, as if wanting to devour him whole.

Is it because he got into character too quickly, or…?

Yu Li bit down hard on the cantaloupe in his mouth, closing his eyes, “I don’t want to eat anymore. You can have the rest. I want to sleep now. Turn off the light when you leave.”

“Okay.”

Lu Qing responded quickly. After a while, Yu Li heard the sound of the man getting up.

In the rustling, Yu Li opened his eyes.

The toothpick he had used was now in the man’s mouth, his lips slightly curved, as if he was savoring a sweet candy instead of a toothpick.

But just as Yu Li looked up, before he could see more, the room’s light went out in an instant.

In the darkness, the man’s voice was low.

“Goodnight, Xiao Li.”

Yu Li’s ears tingled slightly. After a moment of daze, he softly replied, “…Goodnight.”

Having received his response, with a soft “click,” the door closed, and Lu Qing’s figure was no longer visible.