Six pairs of eyes met, and Yu Li sprang away from Lu Qing’s hand as if electrocuted. He held onto the window frame, trying hard to make his expression look less stiff. “Bro, why did you suddenly come here without giving me a heads-up?”

Yu Huaiyuan didn’t say a word, just raised his hand to open the car door. Yu Li glanced at his expression, made a gesture to Lu Qing with the hand behind his back, and then got out of the car under his brother’s watchful eyes.

He was a bit flustered, but not too much.

His brother’s knock on the window was perfectly timed. Yu Li hadn’t even had the chance to do anything with Lu Qing before being interrupted. Although the posture was ambiguous, it wasn’t to the point where it couldn’t be explained.

Lu Qing also got out of the car, respectfully greeting Yu Huaiyuan with a “President Yu.”

Yu Huaiyuan glanced at him without responding, just looked at Yu Li’s face and asked again, “What were you two just doing?”

“Nothing at all?” In just a minute, Yu Li had adjusted his slightly panicked state. He responded to Yu Huaiyuan’s gaze without any guilt of being caught doing something wrong, and countered, “Bro, the lighting in the garage is so dim, maybe you saw it wrong?”

As he spoke, he lifted his hand, tugged at Yu Huaiyuan’s sleeve, and gently shook it.

“I just stayed a bit longer after school to do some extra drawing, so I came back late. Did you wait too long and get angry?”

Feeling the tug on his sleeve, the frost on Yu Huaiyuan’s face melted a bit. He poked Yu Li’s forehead with a bit of exasperation, “You just know how to change the subject. Do you think your brother is the type to get angry over such small things?”

Actually, Yu Huaiyuan didn’t use any force with that poke, but Yu Li still gave his brother face by covering his head and retreating, speaking softly, “Bro, what did you see that made you so angry? We didn’t do anything, don’t wrongfully accuse us.”

Yu Huaiyuan glanced at him, then looked directly at Lu Qing, who was standing not far behind Yu Li, and raised his chin towards him, “You tell me, what were you two just doing?”

Lu Qing’s heart was racing, but he kept a calm face and said, “Just now, the Little Young Master said something got into his eye and it was uncomfortable, so he asked me to blow on it. Just as I was about to, President Yu, you knocked on the door.”

Yu Huaiyuan squinted his eyes slightly, “Is that so?”

Upon hearing this, Yu Li quickly glanced at Yu Huaiyuan. Seeing that he wasn’t looking at him, he decisively raised his hand and rubbed his left eye hard. After confirming that tears had come out, he immediately put his hand down and echoed Lu Qing’s words, “Yeah, bro.”

Yu Huaiyuan was both angry and helpless, “You stop talking.”

Yu Li tugged at his sleeve again, “Why can’t I talk? Lu Qing didn’t lie to you. Look at me, my eye is all red.”

Sure enough, Yu Huaiyuan leaned in to look at his face. Seeing Yu Li’s left eye all red, with glistening tears in his eyes, he immediately felt a pang of heartache, “It didn’t look like this just now, how did it suddenly get so red?”

He said this while pulling Yu Li’s hand, not having the time to interrogate Lu Qing further, and directly led him into the villa, “Quickly rinse it with water, I’ll give you some eye drops later.”

Yu Li was being pulled along, and took the opportunity to glance back at Lu Qing, who was still standing there. He placed his right hand on his lower back and made a “follow me” gesture.

Lu Qing let out a long breath, locked the car, and followed with large strides.

Yu Huaiyuan’s sudden arrival was unannounced, so after Lu Qing entered the villa, he put on an apron and headed to the kitchen.

Thinking that at this time, the other party probably hadn’t eaten either, Lu Qing planned to make a few more dishes to try and improve his impression score.

On the sofa, Yu Huaiyuan was administering eye drops to Yu Li. Hearing the sounds from the kitchen, he looked up but didn’t comment, lowering his head again.

Instead, Yu Li took the initiative to introduce, “Bro, stay for dinner later. Lu Qing’s cooking is really good, you’ll definitely like it.”

“You have quite a high opinion of him,” Yu Huaiyuan said ambiguously.

Yu Li’s heart skipped a beat. He knew Yu Huaiyuan was still suspicious, so he couldn’t praise Lu Qing anymore and had to switch to praising someone else.

“He’s the bodyguard you chose for me, and he can cook too, so of course, the evaluation is high. It’s because you have good taste and know me well.”

He said this while wrapping his arm around Yu Huaiyuan’s, his eyes curving into crescents, “Thank you, brother.”

Since childhood, Yu Huaiyuan couldn’t resist his brother’s coquettish attacks. He wanted to put on a stern face and ask a few more questions, but after several failed attempts, he sighed helplessly and took out an invitation from his bag, placing it in Yu Li’s hand.

“The company’s recent collaboration project was a perfect success. President Qin is hosting a banquet to celebrate and has invited many of Jiang Cheng’s elites. This is the invitation he asked me to give you.”

“President Qin? Qin Yue?” Yu Li opened the invitation and, sure enough, saw Qin Yue’s name in the invitee column.

Although he hadn’t met this Second Young Master Qin, Yu Li had a high opinion of him because he had given him a surprisingly delightful coming-of-age gift.

“Yes, this banquet is purely for celebration. Besides the company’s board members, their children and families are also invited,” Yu Huaiyuan said, adding, “The banquet is in two weeks, and each invitation allows you to bring one person. You…”

Yu Li nodded, placing the invitation on the coffee table, “Got it, brother. I’ll bring Lu Qing. If anything happens, he can protect me, so don’t worry.”

Yu Huaiyuan: “…”

What did I say that made you know?

As they spoke, the aroma of dishes wafted from the kitchen as they were served one by one. Yu Li, already hungry, couldn’t help but lean over the sofa back to look towards the kitchen.

At this moment, Yu Huaiyuan seemed to notice something, frowning.

The next second, Yu Li felt a hand on the back of his neck, lifting him like a kitten.

“Bro—?”

Yu Li looked at Yu Huaiyuan in shock and confusion, “What’s wrong?”

Hadn’t they already fooled him? Why did his brother’s expression seem even angrier than before?

It didn’t take long for him to understand why Yu Huaiyuan had that expression.

“What’s this on your neck?” Yu Huaiyuan pointed at the red mark on the back of Yu Li’s neck, “When did you get it?”

Another damn hickey.

Yu Li’s smile froze, his eyelids drooped slightly, and his eyes darted around. He whispered, “If I tell you, you won’t scold me, right?”

Yu Huaiyuan’s brows furrowed even tighter, “When have I ever scolded you?”

Yu Li raised his hand, pulling at his collar, “This is because a few days ago, I was sketching in the villa’s garden and accidentally fell asleep. I might have touched something unclean on the grass, so I had an allergic reaction.”

Yu Huaiyuan immediately became anxious, “Allergic? Why didn’t you tell me? I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“No, no, no.” Yu Li pressed down on his brother’s shoulder, “Lu Qing gave me some allergy medicine, and it’s almost healed now. No need to go to the hospital.”

Yu Huaiyuan stared at the mark, looking at it over and over, “Really no need?”

“Really no need. It’s not serious.” Seeing that he had fooled him again, Yu Li breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did Yu Huaiyuan finally sit back down.

Seeing this, Yu Li couldn’t help but sigh, “Bro, it’s a good thing you’re a lifelong solo.”

Yu Huaiyuan: “?”

Yu Li chuckled softly.

Thanks to his brother being a lifelong solo, otherwise, anyone else wouldn’t have believed his nonsense.

But soon, he couldn’t laugh anymore.

The birth of a lie requires countless lies to cover it up.

Moreover, Yu Li never expected his brother to visit suddenly, with no preparations made, leaving many loopholes.

After dinner, Lu Qing didn’t disturb the brothers’ chat, acting like a transparent person and went to the dishwasher to arrange the plates.

Yu Huaiyuan suggested going upstairs to take a look, and naturally, Yu Li wouldn’t refuse.

“I only came to see this villa once after it was renovated. At the time, I thought it was too big, and you living here alone might feel too empty,” Yu Huaiyuan said as he climbed the stairs, “But now it seems you’re quite used to it?”

“It’s fine.” Yu Li nodded, “Xiao Yu occasionally comes to play, and there are guests in the second-floor guest room. Besides, I spend most of my time at school, so there’s nothing to get used to.”

“That’s good.” Yu Huaiyuan was relieved, taking out his phone to transfer 200,000 yuan to Yu Li, “I didn’t bring any gifts for you this time, so take this money and buy whatever you want. If it’s not enough, let me know.”

One of Yu Huaiyuan’s hobbies was transferring money to Yu Li. Whether happy or not, he would transfer money. Yu Li was used to his brother’s habit of showering him with money and accepted it graciously, “Thank you, brother.”

Arriving at Yu Li’s room door, Yu Huaiyuan pushed it open, feeling satisfied with the room he had personally discussed with the designer and customized for Yu Li.

However, when his gaze swept over the bed, it was immediately drawn to the dark pillow that stood out against the light blue sheets.

Following Yu Huaiyuan’s gaze, Yu Li’s smile froze, and he instantly felt a chill run down his spine.

It’s over!!

It’s over, over!!

Lu Qing had been sleeping in his room these past few days, and the pillow hadn’t been taken away!

How to explain this? How to explain this!

The next second, Yu Huaiyuan’s voice came through, “Xiao Li, whose pillow is that on your bed?”

Yu Li answered honestly, “Lu Qing’s.”

Yu Huaiyuan let out a cold laugh, “You’ve only known him for how long, and you’re already close enough to share a bed?”

“It’s not sharing a bed…” Yu Li’s mind had never worked so fast, “It’s because last time it rained heavily, and there was a big thunderstorm in Jiang Cheng. Didn’t you message me asking if I was scared?”

Yu Huaiyuan looked at him quietly, “Didn’t you tell me you weren’t scared?”

“Yeah.” Yu Li said with confidence, “Because that night, I had Lu Qing come up to keep me company, so I wasn’t scared.”

Yu Huaiyuan: “It’s been a while since that rainy night. How come he kept his pillow in your room after just one night of keeping you company?”

“Because I didn’t let him take it.” Yu Li started to forcefully cover up, “The weather forecast showed rain for several days, so I had him leave the pillow. Anyway, he has another pillow in his room. In case it thundered again, it would be more convenient to have his pillow in my room.”

Yu Huaiyuan was almost amused by Yu Li’s reasoning, “Yu Xiaoli, are you deliberately trying to annoy your brother?”

“I’m not.” Yu Li looked at Yu Huaiyuan with those glass-like eyes, full of reproach, “Bro, what’s wrong with you tonight, saying all these things? Are you doubting me?”

Yu Huaiyuan said angrily, “If I hadn’t seen anything, would I be saying these things? His pillow is on your bed, and as your brother, can’t I even ask?”

“It’s not… I didn’t mean that.” Yu Li softened his voice, pulling Yu Huaiyuan to sit on the bed, coaxing him softly, “Brother, don’t be angry. I know you care about me, but Lu Qing and I aren’t what you think. I’ve explained it to you, but you won’t listen. From the moment you walked in, you’ve been doubting me and speaking to me so harshly. I haven’t seen you in so long…”

As he spoke, his eyes welled up with tears, instantly extinguishing the anger brewing in Yu Huaiyuan’s heart.

With a long sigh, Yu Huaiyuan pulled out a tissue from the bedside table, wiping Yu Li’s moist eyes, softening his voice, “Brother is worried about you. You just turned eighteen, and I’m afraid you’ll be deceived. I didn’t mean to be harsh.”

Yu Li looked at him with teary eyes, “So, brother, do you believe me now?”

Yu Huaiyuan sighed again, “I believe you, stop crying.”

Hearing this, Yu Li immediately smiled.

Knock, knock—

The door was knocked from outside. Yu Li wiped his moist eyes and looked towards the sound, “Come in.”

Then he turned to Yu Huaiyuan, “Brother, you see? He needs my permission to enter my room.”

Yu Huaiyuan didn’t say anything, just looked at the door with a not-so-friendly gaze.

After Lu Qing came in, he walked straight to the bedside table, placing a plate of cut fruit there, and said to the two, “President Yu, Little Young Master, have some fruit.”

At this moment, Yu Huaiyuan stood up, “No need, it’s getting late. I should go.”

Yu Li also stood up, “Leaving so soon? Bro, let me see you off.”

“No need.” Yu Huaiyuan turned around, looking at Lu Qing, “Lu Qing can see me off.”

Yu Li: “Bro…”

Yu Huaiyuan picked up a toothpick with a piece of cantaloupe, raising his hand to feed it to Yu Li, “Eat your fruit. Lu Qing, come with me.”

Yu Li looked at Lu Qing, their eyes meeting in the air. Lu Qing shook his head at Yu Li, then turned around, following Yu Huaiyuan out of the room.

In the stairwell, the footsteps were heavy, and neither spoke first.

It wasn’t until they reached the front door on the first floor that Yu Huaiyuan stopped, looking steadily at Lu Qing.

He spoke, “Xiao Li explained everything to me tonight.”

Lu Qing: “President Yu…”

Yu Huaiyuan’s tone was unreadable, “Although some of the reasons were far-fetched, he’s my brother, and of course, I’ll believe him.”

“Lu Qing, Xiao Li chose you among many, naturally for a reason. But the bodyguards I prepared for my Xiao Li aren’t just you.”

“Do your job well. I’ll be leaving now, you can go back.”

Lu Qing stood there, watching as Yu Huaiyuan’s car disappeared into the night.

It was clear that although Yu Huaiyuan might have believed Yu Li’s explanations, he still had his suspicions.

This was a warning to him.

Lu Qing took a deep breath, feeling a bit annoyed with himself for being too complacent, not realizing anything was wrong even with the villa lights on and an extra car in the garage.

If Yu Huaiyuan had arrived a second later, he might have been packed up and thrown outside the Epiphyllum Mansion by now.

Keeping his distance from Yu Li was something Lu Qing couldn’t do, but there was one thing he had to heed Yu Huaiyuan’s words on—

Do his job well.

He was now the Little Young Master’s bodyguard and friend with benefits. He was doing a good job as a bodyguard, and he couldn’t slack off on his duties as a friend with benefits either.

The man closed the villa door, turning to find the Little Young Master to claim the unfinished good morning kiss.

However, as soon as he returned to Yu Li’s room on the third floor, he was met with a pillow thrown right at him.

Yu Li stuffed the pillow that belonged to Lu Qing into his arms, standing at the door with a serious expression, “We almost got caught by my brother this time. He’ll definitely be more vigilant in the future. If we’re exposed, we’re done for. From now on, you’re not allowed to sleep in my room, and you can’t kiss me outside. If there’s anything, I’ll contact you on WeChat. You should leave now.”

Lu Qing, holding the pillow, was mercilessly pushed out the door, his heart shattering into pieces.

“Xiao Li? President Yu has already left, no need to be like this, right?”

Yu Li’s voice came from inside the room, “You don’t understand my brother. He’ll definitely check on me later, so be prepared.”

Lu Qing opened his mouth, holding onto a last hope, “Then, what about the good morning kiss you promised me?”

With a creak, the door opened a crack. Yu Li’s fair and delicate face peeked out from the gap. He glanced at Lu Qing, who was full of anticipation, and spoke with a hint of sincerity, “Mwah. There, kissed you. Now go downstairs.”

Bang!

Before Lu Qing could react, the door closed in his face once again.

This time, Lu Qing even heard the sound of the door being locked from the inside.

In the third-floor hallway, the tall and sturdy figure of the man stood there, full of disbelief.

A cool breeze blew through the window, lifting the lone fallen leaf on the ground.

The room was silent, a scene of desolation.

…

…

The Epiphyllum Mansion was a distance from Yu Huaiyuan’s private residence. At this time, there weren’t many cars on the road, but it still took about half an hour to drive back.

After locking the door, Yu Li took a shower and then lay on the bed alone, ready to deal with his brother’s surprise checks at any time.

As he lay there, he felt a bit unaccustomed.

He glanced at the spot near the edge of the bed. Last night, Lu Qing had been lying there with him, doing face masks together. Now, in this large room, he was the only one left.

With a light sigh, Yu Li, like a long cat, slid from the head of the bed to the wall.

Tonight seemed to have been successfully fooled, but he knew his brother wasn’t so easily convinced. To make his brother let down his guard, he had to keep his distance from Lu Qing for a while.

At least until the next time he saw his brother, they couldn’t have any more boundary-crossing behavior. Not just sleeping together, even holding hands or kissing was out of the question.

After all, his brother had the key to his villa, and now that he was suspicious, the risk of exposure was too high.

Just as he was thinking about his brother, Yu Huaiyuan’s video call came through.

Yu Huaiyuan should have just arrived home, and he wasted no time in calling to check on him.

Yu Li sighed.

Even though he was eighteen, he couldn’t escape his brother’s mindset of treating him like a child, which wouldn’t change anytime soon.

Answering the video call, Yu Li looked at his brother, who appeared travel-worn on the screen, and spoke softly, “Bro, you’re home?”

“Yeah.” Yu Huaiyuan nodded, skipping any small talk and getting straight to the point, “Switch to the rear camera and show me your room.”

Yu Li: “…”

Yu Li grumbled loudly but obediently switched to the rear camera, “You still don’t believe me. Look, I’ll show you under the bed, the closet too. There’s only me in the room.”

He said this while walking to the door, giving the lock a close-up, “I’ve locked the door.”

“Good, well done.” Yu Huaiyuan nodded, and not long after, Yu Li’s phone vibrated. When he checked, Yu Huaiyuan had transferred another 200,000 yuan to him.

Yu Li grumbled as he accepted it.

After checking Yu Li’s room, Yu Huaiyuan didn’t plan to keep the call going. He said, “Go to bed early, you have an early class tomorrow.”

“Got it.” Yu Li climbed back into bed, “Bro, you’re only in your thirties, but you’re more nagging than Mom and Dad.”

Yu Huaiyuan didn’t feel attacked at all, “As long as you know. Brother’s hanging up.”

Yu Li switched the camera back, waving at Yu Huaiyuan, “Bye-bye, brother.”

After hanging up, Yu Li turned off the lights, lay down on the bed, and pulled the stuffed toy that had been pushed to the corner into his arms, giving it a good rub.

No chest muscles to touch today.

He could only find a substitute to hug to sleep.

…

For the first time in days, Lu Qing didn’t fall asleep holding Yu Li, and he felt an emptiness in his arms. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling in a daze.

It’s easy to go from frugal to luxurious, but hard to go from luxurious to frugal. Having finally gotten used to sleeping in Yu Li’s bed, being suddenly kicked out with his pillow, Lu Qing felt a chill in his heart.

Yu Li said they needed to keep their distance for a while, but who knew how long “a while” would be.

The more Lu Qing thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. Unable to sleep, he got up, dressed, and went out.

It wasn’t too late, so he went to the usual jogging path around the Epiphyllum Mansion, running laps against the night breeze.

The Epiphyllum Mansion was quiet at night, with only the sound of his light breathing and the rustle of his shoes on the ground.

On the fifth lap, his phone suddenly started vibrating in his pocket.

Lu Qing’s first thought was that Yu Li couldn’t get used to not having him around and was calling him back to sleep.

However, when he took out his phone with a hopeful heart and saw the caller ID, his smile fell.

[“President Yu” is inviting you to a video call]

Only then did Lu Qing remember what Yu Li had said when he was pushed out of the room—

“You don’t understand my brother. He’ll definitely check on me later, so be prepared.”

What he thought was Yu Li’s exaggerated remark turned out to be a perfect prediction.

He stopped running, brought the camera close, aimed it at himself, and clicked to connect.

Soon, Yu Huaiyuan’s indifferent face appeared on the screen.

“President Yu,” Lu Qing said.

In the camera, Lu Qing was sweating profusely, panting heavily.

Yu Huaiyuan paused, and in that moment, the red mark on Yu Li’s neck flashed in his mind, setting off alarm bells. He blurted out, “Why are you sweating so much? What are you doing?”

“Lu Qing, did you forget what I just told you? Do your job…”

Before he could finish, Lu Qing extended his arm, rotating the camera 360 degrees, showing his current environment without any guilt—

Starry sky, tree shade, stone pavement.

Houses, grass, Lu Qing in sportswear.

“President Yu? I’m night jogging, what’s up?”

Yu Huaiyuan: “…”

Silence, silence was the bridge of Cambridge tonight.

Yu Huaiyuan touched his nose, awkwardly laughing.

“Hehe, nothing, nothing, just calling to check on you.”

“Night jogging is good, strengthens the body, a great habit. Keep it up.”

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now.”

With that, he quickly hung up the call.

The phone emitted a “beep… beep…” busy tone, and Lu Qing stood there, his expression a bit indescribable.

He wondered if Yu Huaiyuan had been influenced by working with Qin Yue for too long, turning into a family heir infected by Qin Yue’s yellow virus.

Hearing someone panting made him suspicious, seeing someone sweating made him feel like he was facing a great enemy.

Truly, seeing the world through yellow-tinted glasses.