Watching the two of them finish all the food she brought, Qin Shuang took the empty lunch boxes and hurried off to the headquarters.

Yu Wanlai noticed Yu Qingyue’s unhappy expression when he was eating. He leaned forward, over the edge of the bed, and gently touched the fluffy, soft top of Yu Qingyue’s head. “Little brother~ What’s wrong? Why the long face? Weren’t you fine before going to sleep yesterday? Did you not sleep well last night?”

Hearing the nickname again, Yu Qingyue gritted his teeth and grabbed Yu Wanlai’s hand, lowering his head so his expression couldn’t be seen. “No, I slept really well.” It really was a good sleep—though he fell asleep late, it was the most peaceful sleep he had in these past few days. After thinking for a moment, he still mustered up the courage to raise his head and meet Yu Wanlai’s eyes, speaking in a tone that seemed like a request but carried an undeniable firmness, “Can you not call me ‘little brother’ anymore?”

Yu Wanlai’s eyes widened, and a slight bitterness surged in his heart. What was going on? Before, he had just been told not to call him “little brother” at work, but now it seemed he wasn’t allowed to call him that anywhere? This made him unhappy. He wanted to pull his hand back but couldn’t. Yu Qingyue stubbornly held onto his hand, staring at him silently, waiting for a response.

Yu Wanlai: “…………” Why can’t I call you that? After all I’ve done for you, you’re still injured, and you’re pushing me away?

Seeing Yu Wanlai’s reluctance, Yu Qingyue’s grip loosened slightly. Did he really just see him as his little brother? But in the next second, his determination to change things only grew stronger. For now, anything was fine, but he believed things would change in the future. He would make it happen.

“…If you don’t stop calling me that, I won’t call you ‘brother’ anymore. Anyway, you’re not my brother, you know it. We don’t have any relationship!”

Yu Wanlai’s gaze trembled. He didn’t want to hear this anymore. He wanted to cover Yu Qingyue’s mouth and make him stop talking. He lowered his head and let out a self-deprecating laugh, “Oh, got it.” Fine, he wouldn’t call him that anymore. He had plenty of little brothers anyway, and this one wasn’t needed. Hmph!

Yu Qingyue, hearing Yu Wanlai lower his head, couldn’t see his expression but heard his reluctance in the words. Embarrassed, he blushed and added, “You can call me Yueyue or Qingyue, whatever you like, is that okay—bro?”

Hearing this, Yu Wanlai’s heart softened, and his mood instantly brightened. He curved his lips into a smile. Though he still wanted to call him little brother, he didn’t know why he was so attached to that nickname. Perhaps it felt the most intimate and special to him. Yu Wanlai raised his head and looked at Yu Qingyue, nodding in agreement, “Okay! Got it, Qingyue.” Fine, he would agree, but in the future, he would call him however he wanted.

He had been surprised earlier, not expecting this outcome. But… he found it a bit strange—why could he accept calling Yu Qingyue “brother” but couldn’t accept being called “little brother”? Aren’t those two titles supposed to go together? The male lead is really weird!

Thinking this, he just asked out loud, and then watched as Yu Qingyue’s face slowly turned red.

Yu Qingyue was relieved that Yu Wanlai didn’t understand these complicated feelings but also disappointed that Yu Wanlai’s feelings for him seemed so simple. He hesitated, “…Because, because…you’re not my brother.” Unable to find a proper excuse, he ended up resorting to this explanation.

Yu Wanlai: ??? You’re the one who’s sick! Or is it me? Why suddenly can’t I understand what you’re saying? Just listen to yourself, you’ve been babbling nonsense all morning! Am I getting too old? Is the age gap of two years this huge???

Finally, Yu Qingyue tiredly withdrew his hand, waved it dismissively, and said weakly, “Alright, alright, do whatever you want.”

He then hugged the pillow and lay down on the bed, not moving. At this moment, sunlight had started to stream into the room, its beams sliced into small pieces by the window slats and spread across the bed, warming Yu Wanlai’s back.

Yu Qingyue watched Yu Wanlai, who was bathed in light, and his affection couldn’t be concealed. However, Yu Wanlai was not looking at him, and even if he were, with his utter lack of awareness, he wouldn’t have noticed. He would only think that he was being such a great brother! And with that, he would keep going deeper down this path.

Watching him, Yu Qingyue rolled his eyes at Yu Wanlai, thinking he was so foolish. After a while, Xu Ran came to the hospital to deliver some documents, which diverted Yu Qingyue’s attention, and he got busy with work.

Yu Wanlai, lying on the bed, turned his head and waved at Xu Ran, “Are you leaving already? Not staying a bit longer?”

Xu Ran, who had finished packing the documents to take back, politely said, “No, I don’t want to disturb your rest. I’ll leave now.”

Yu Wanlai smiled brightly, warmly saying, “No, no, not disturbing at all. Come often in the future.”

Xu Ran: “…”

Yu Qingyue shot Yu Wanlai an exasperated look before turning back and saying, “Alright, you can head back to the company now. Call if you need anything.”

When Xu Ran was about to leave the room, Yu Wanlai waved at him one more time, and Yu Qingyue walked over and blocked his view.

Suddenly, Yu Wanlai felt the shadow of Yu Qingyue covering his head, and he looked up in confusion. “What’s wrong?” His voice was cold, tinged with sarcasm. “They’ve already left for a while, why are you still staring? Want to go with them?”

Yu Wanlai asked in disbelief, “Huh?” What was this sudden change in attitude?

Yu Wanlai weakly tested, “So, can I look at you then?”

Although Yu Qingyue knew that Yu Wanlai didn’t mean anything by it, his earlobes still turned red. He coughed lightly and turned his gaze away. “I… well…”

He couldn’t quite bring himself to finish the sentence.

Yu Wanlai suddenly seemed to realize something, clapping his hands as he figured it out. “Ah, I get it now. You’re craving bubble tea, right? Then give me my phone… By the way, I still haven’t seen my phone. Where did it go?”

As he said this, he sat up and began looking around the room.

At this, Yu Qingyue glanced at Yu Wanlai again with some strange thoughts. He hadn’t paid attention to it before, but when the police handed him the broken phone, he took a closer look. When did Yu Wanlai start using such a cheap phone? Didn’t he always want to have the same things as him? Thinking about it now, there were other obvious changes in him—suddenly playing the violin, cooking, no longer scheming or causing trouble, as if he had become a different person…

Yu Wanlai, feeling uncomfortable under Yu Qingyue’s gaze, touched his face, “What… What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”

Yu Qingyue shook off the chaotic thoughts in his mind, dismissing his own thoughts. He couldn’t possibly have changed that much. He didn’t answer Yu Wanlai’s question, but bent over and took a new phone out of the nightstand drawer.

The phone was still in its packaging, and the replacement SIM card was neatly placed inside the box.

Yu Wanlai took the phone that Yu Qingyue placed on the bed, examined it, and found nothing unusual. He sighed in relief.

As soon as his gaze lifted, it was caught by the slim waist in front of him, the deep curve of the waist leading to a rounded, perky backside. The pants were tailored well, accentuating the figure perfectly.

Yu Wanlai swallowed, leaning forward and reaching out. Just as Yu Qingyue was about to straighten up, he felt a faint touch on his waist. His body stiffened immediately, and his fingers tightened around the phone, almost crushing the box.

Yu Wanlai tugged at Yu Qingyue’s loose shirt, pulling it back until no skin was visible before preparing to let go. Feeling the stiffness in his body, Yu Wanlai blinked, confused. He glanced at him with concern, saying, “Make sure to dress properly. It’s still cold, don’t wear so little.”

While speaking, Yu Wanlai reached out and touched Yu Qingyue’s lower back through a thin layer of clothing, saying, “See, it’s still cold.”

Yu Qingyue’s breathing became steady again. He straightened up and gave Yu Wanlai an exasperated look before throwing his phone onto the bed and sitting in the chair Xu Ran had just been sitting in, not choosing the one in front of Yu Wanlai. He had thought that Yu Wanlai was… but no, he was just overthinking. He was done for. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in the chair. “New phone, just like mine. You should use this one from now on.”

It was the same, but Yu Wanlai’s was black while his was white.

Yu Wanlai opened the box and took out the phone. Since it was something given to him, of course, he wasn’t going to turn it down. However, he turned his gaze to Yu Qingyue to confirm. “It’s the same as yours?” Not that he disliked clones, right?

Yu Qingyue’s gaze shifted for a moment, but then he met Yu Wanlai’s eyes without fear. After all, this fool would never figure out what he meant, so why feel guilty? “Yes, the same. I wasn’t sure what brand you liked, so I just bought the one I use. I think it’s good.”

Yu Wanlai caught the key point and smiled with a glint in his eyes. “So, it’s my dear—Qingyue who bought it for me?”

When the word “dear brother” almost slipped out, he quickly adjusted his tone under Yu Qingyue’s intense stare.

Yu Qingyue’s gaze dropped, and he lightly tugged at his shirt. “So… do you like it?”

Yu Wanlai inserted the SIM card into the phone and waited for it to turn on, his voice filled with excitement. “Anything you buy for me, of course I like it.”

Yu Qingyue, pleased, returned to the chair in front of Yu Wanlai.

While waiting for the milk tea, Yu Qingyue remembered something he needed to say and became more serious.

“Bro, about what happened with the Bai family last time, Bai Yi hasn’t reported it to the police yet. Based on this incident alone, we can’t do anything to his second brother. Grandfather Bai will definitely protect his people. So Bai Yi wants to hold off for now and deal with it all at once later.”

Yu Wanlai frowned, a bit confused. Why was he telling him this now? It felt like it had been almost a month since then.

Yu Qingyue thought Yu Wanlai might be concerned about how they were handling it. He had spent some time avoiding Yu Wanlai, and they didn’t have time to discuss it. It was only now that he remembered and brought it up. He paused, nervously asking, “…Bro, do you have any thoughts on it? If you want to deal with it now, I can help…”

He completely forgot that he had already promised Bai Yi and had no qualms about selling out his teammates.

Yu Wanlai interrupted him. “It’s fine, there’s no need to mention this to me. It’s not really targeting me.”

If Yu Qingyue hadn’t brought it up, he would have forgotten. He had stumbled into the situation by accident, so there was no need to disrupt their plan.

Yu Qingyue let out a sigh of relief but still asked with some concern, “You really don’t mind? If you do, I can help you. I have the evidence. Although that person won’t be severely punished, if we apply pressure, they’ll be locked up for a few days.”

Yu Wanlai waved his hand and smiled, raising his hand to pat Yu Qingyue’s head. “I really don’t mind. Just follow the plan you started.”

Yu Qingyue gently took Yu Wanlai’s hand off his head and held it in his own. His tone became a bit more subdued. “…There’s still one more thing. The person who injured you is still under investigation, but the biggest suspect is… Qi Heng. He might have tried to fake an accident and then kidnap me.”

He didn’t finish the last part of the sentence.

Upon hearing this name, Yu Wanlai was stunned for a moment. When he realized who it was, he looked at Yu Qingyue in shock, pulling his hand away. “That’s not… wow, seriously! What kind of person does that? Even a tiger won’t eat its own cubs! No matter how distant the relationship, he wouldn’t directly run me over with a car, right? Why?”

Yu Wanlai withdrew his hand, and Yu Qingyue suddenly felt empty-handed. His heart filled with panic, a mix of guilt and fear that Yu Wanlai would blame him, knotting tightly around his chest.

Yu Qingyue looked up at Yu Wanlai, his tone urgent but unsure of what to say, trying to figure out how to prevent Yu Wanlai from being angry with him, speaking with some caution, “You… bro—”