“He treats him like a wife”—Pei Yu ultimately didn’t say this out loud.

He thought about it a bit more and figured he might be overthinking things. After all, Lu Qing had just become Yu Li’s bodyguard on the day of his coming-of-age ceremony. They’d only known each other for a few days, so how could Lu Qing suddenly treat Yu Li like a wife out of nowhere?

Lu Qing was earning a high salary from the Yu family, a daily wage that couldn’t be compared to those online gaming companions. Money can make the world go round, so taking extra care of Yu Li was perfectly normal.

Convinced by his own logic, Pei Yu slapped his forehead and cursed himself, “Pei Yu, you love-struck fool, shut your brain!”

That slap snapped him back to reality, and Pei Yu could finally look at Lu Qing with a normal perspective.

Good-looking, great physique, all muscles, can fight, plays games well, and can cook—calling him an all-rounder wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

Pei Yu poked Yu Li’s shoulder and whispered, “He seems to know how to do everything. No wonder you don’t have any other servants in your villa.”

“I really don’t want too many people living in this house,” Yu Li replied. “This way is pretty good.”

Pei Yu sighed and looked up at the crystal chandelier on the ceiling. “Yeah, living alone is awesome. Once school starts, I can move out of my house. I heard Jiang University’s dorms are nice. Are you really not planning to live on campus?”

Yu Li shook his head without hesitation. “No.”

“Alright then—” Pei Yu wailed, “If my family bought me a villa here too, I wouldn’t want to live on campus either.”

Yu Li glanced at him. “You’re an adult now. The Pei family has so many properties; they should give you a few, right?”

Pei Yu pouted. “Yeah, right. They guard against me like I’m a thief.”

Like Yu Li, Pei Yu was the youngest in his family, but their treatment was worlds apart. While Yu Li was showered with love and care, Pei Yu had been bullied by his family before he turned ten.

Pei Yu wasn’t born to Madam Pei but was the child of Pei’s father from an affair, a so-called illegitimate child.

When the affair was exposed, Madam Pei caused a huge scene at home, even the old master Pei, who was living out his years in the Old Residence, found out.

Pei Yu’s mother didn’t know Pei’s father was married when they were together. Not only was she unlucky to be the third party, but she also got a bad reputation.

Pei’s father, embarrassed by the scandal, gave Pei Yu’s mother some money to leave town, while Pei Yu was taken in by the old master Pei, who claimed him as his own.

In short, it was just the usual dirty business among wealthy families. Most people were used to it and stopped talking about it after a while.

But as the victim, Pei Yu was often bullied by his two older brothers when he was young. During one banquet, his second brother surrounded and humiliated him with others, and it was the passing-by little Yu Li who saved him. That’s how they met and became good friends.

Thanks to Yu Li, Pei Yu’s life in the Pei family improved a lot after that banquet.

“I remember, the old master Pei treats you quite well, right?” Yu Li’s clear eyes turned, and he smiled at Pei Yu. “He’s old, soft-hearted, and nostalgic. You should visit the Old Residence more often.”

Pei Yu looked at Yu Li, their gazes meeting in the air. The former suddenly beamed, as if he thought of something. “Alright, I’ll listen to you. I’ll move back to the Old Residence for the next half month.”

Maybe because he had a plan in mind, Pei Yu, who initially said he’d stay at the villa for two or three days, decided to leave the next morning after waking up.

Back in high school, he was too busy with exams to visit the Old Residence. Now with a goal, Yu Li didn’t stop him, yawning as he went downstairs to see him off.

It was much earlier than his usual wake-up time. As they went down, Lu Qing was running on the treadmill in the gym, fully dressed.

Pei Yu glanced twice and turned to Yu Li. “Didn’t you say he doesn’t like wearing clothes when he exercises? Why is he dressed so warmly today?”

Yu Li also looked twice, thought for a while, and finally said, “Maybe because you’re here, he’s embarrassed.”

Pei Yu: “…He’s embarrassed in front of me but not in front of you?”

“Why do you talk so much?” Yu Li, with a dark face, shooed him out. Pei Yu laughed and got into the car that came to pick him up, disappearing down the villa’s driveway shortly after.

“Little Young Master.”

Lu Qing’s voice came from behind.

Yu Li turned around to see the man standing by the treadmill, looking at him. “Wasn’t he supposed to stay for two or three days? Why did Young Master Pei leave today?”

“He had something to do, so he left early.”

Yu Li replied, slowly walking to the sofa, pondering whether to go back to his room to sleep or just lie on the sofa for a while.

With his question answered, Lu Qing cheerfully got back on the treadmill. Yu Li listened to the sound of running, glancing up.

In the time he was thinking, Lu Qing had taken off his shirt, his powerful muscles boldly displayed in front of Yu Li.

For some reason, Pei Yu’s words echoed in Yu Li’s mind—

“He’s embarrassed in front of me but not in front of you?”

Yu Li: “…”

Yu Li simply leaned back on the sofa, facing the gym, and openly watched.

Since Lu Qing was so comfortable, there was no reason for him to feel awkward.

Isn’t a well-trained body meant to be seen?

As Lu Qing ran, he felt a familiar gaze on him.

He glanced sideways and saw the Little Young Master leaning against the soft armrest of the sofa, his beautiful almond eyes slightly narrowed, watching him without any disguise.

Lu Qing’s breath hitched, instinctively puffing out his chest.

Whether it was his imagination or not, he thought he heard a faint chuckle from the sofa.

Lu Qing kept a straight face, not daring to blatantly look in Yu Li’s direction, but he straightened his back even more. Compared to his earlier slightly lazy movements, he now seemed much more serious.

He maintained this posture until the treadmill automatically slowed down at the set time. Pretending to wipe his sweat, he nervously and expectantly glanced toward the living room.

However, the imagined scene of “accidentally meeting Yu Li’s eyes and sparking an exciting moment” didn’t happen.

The Little Young Master was still leaning against the sofa armrest, but at some point, he had fallen asleep.

The boy had his eyes closed, his slender body slightly curled, his chest gently rising and falling, looking like he was sleeping soundly. He must have fallen asleep quite a while ago.

Lu Qing paused, striding over to the sofa, picking up the thin blanket from the backrest, and gently covering Yu Li with it.

He stared at the boy’s peaceful sleeping face for a while, only returning to the gym when Yu Li turned over, startling him. But this time, Lu Qing didn’t continue running. Instead, he picked up his phone and took a picture of his sweat-covered chest muscles.

Lu Qing: [Chest muscles.jpg]

Lu Qing: [Is there anywhere that’s not perfect? Why can Xiao Li fall asleep watching me run like this?]

At this time, Qin Yue had just arrived at the company. Standing at the door of the President’s office, he opened the message and rolled his eyes dramatically in front of the secretary.

Qin Yue: [Going crazy early in the morning]

Qin Yue: [Did you eat undercooked beans and get poisoned?]