Yu Qingyue opened his wardrobe and chose a casual outfit: a light-colored turtleneck base layer with the cream-colored sweater Yu Wanlai had given him layered on top, paired with dark gray wide-leg trousers. Though the combination was simple, it was striking, especially since Yu Qingyue rarely dressed like this.

Yu Wanlai had just come out of the bathroom when he heard a knock at the door. He grabbed a towel from the rack and loosely wrapped it around his lower body, then shuffled to the door in damp slippers. Yu Qingyue had come over not only to invite him to the supermarket but also to discuss a hot spring trip. However, he hadn’t expected to see such a sight upon opening the door.

Yu Wanlai’s hair was still dripping, and his whole body looked damp, as if he had just been fished out of the water. His broad shoulders, well-defined chest, and abdominal muscles were all perfectly toned. His skin wasn’t as fair and delicate as Yu Qingyue’s, but his physique was impressive. His waist was lean—though not as slim as Yu Qingyue’s—but in proportion to his broad shoulders, it looked just right.

Yu Qingyue only glanced briefly before quickly shifting his gaze away, his mind going blank for a moment. His ears turned red, and his cheeks gradually flushed pink. Regaining his senses, he instinctively turned on his heel, planning to leave and return later.

“I… I’ll come back in a bit.”

Before he could finish speaking, a large, damp hand suddenly clasped his wrist.

Yu Wanlai had noticed his outfit and his eyes briefly lit up. The fluffy sweater was a new look for Yu Qingyue, who had never worn anything like this before—it was both elegant and soft.

Just as Yu Qingyue was about to leave, Yu Wanlai let go of the doorframe and pulled him into the room instead.

“Why leave? Just stay here. I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

Yu Qingyue’s face instantly grew even hotter. As the door closed behind him, he felt like the room was running out of oxygen, his breathing slightly strained.

Yu Wanlai turned back toward the bathroom to dry his hair but suddenly paused and reached out to touch Yu Qingyue’s head.

Yu Wanlai: …………
He was just checking. Turns out it really was damp.

With a look of mild exasperation, he questioned, “You didn’t dry your hair again?”

If he had taken the time to call him over, he could have dried his hair properly first. Was he planning to go out with half-dried hair like this?

Yu Qingyue touched his own hair in response, his fingers accidentally brushing Yu Wanlai’s fingertips, causing his hand to tremble slightly.

“I-It’s almost dry…” he replied, not very convincingly.

He had intended to dry it, but he’d forgotten after receiving a message from Bai Yi.

Yu Wanlai, unimpressed, slid his hand down to grip Yu Qingyue’s wrist and pulled him toward the bathroom. He plugged in the hairdryer and gestured for him to come closer.

“Come a bit closer. The cord won’t reach that far.”

Yu Qingyue: …………
Taking a deep breath, he reasoned that this wasn’t his fault—Yu Wanlai was the one being forceful here.

Suppressing the heat rising in his face, Yu Qingyue stepped forward until they were nearly toe-to-toe, leaving only a small gap between them.

Gathering his courage, he cautiously rested a hand on Yu Wanlai’s waist. When he saw no reaction, he took another half step forward, leaning softly into Yu Wanlai’s chest, both hands wrapping around him. He lowered his gaze, breathing lightly, too nervous to look up as Yu Wanlai dried his hair.

Once his hair was dry, Yu Qingyue quickly pulled away, retreating like a flustered cat.

When Yu Wanlai started drying his own hair, Yu Qingyue finally snapped out of his scattered thoughts. He raised his hand hesitantly.

“Want me to dry yours?”

Yu Wanlai glanced down at his pale, slightly pink hands and chuckled softly.

“No need. My hair’s short, it’ll be dry in no time.”

Yu Qingyue pouted slightly, unwilling to give up. He reached forward again, voice softening.

“But I want to… Ge~”

Yu Wanlai paused, unable to understand why this person was so insistent on drying his hair. Yu Qingyue rarely even dried his own properly.

But with that sweet tone calling him “Ge,” he knew he was defenseless. No matter how many times he heard it, it always got to him.

Sighing in surrender, he placed the hairdryer in Yu Qingyue’s hands.

As he did, his warm fingers lightly brushed against Yu Qingyue’s palm, sending a faint tingling sensation through him, almost as if those fingers had brushed over his heart as well.

Once his hair was dry, Yu Wanlai grabbed a set of clean clothes from the wardrobe and tossed them onto the bed. He quickly pulled on a shirt, then paused while untying the towel around his waist.

Suddenly remembering Yu Qingyue was still sitting there, he turned back with an awkward cough.

“Um… maybe you should turn around?”

Yu Qingyue had been staring absentmindedly but quickly averted his gaze.

Hearing those words, he pouted.

“Wasn’t it you who dragged me in here in the first place?”

Yu Wanlai froze, realizing he had forgotten he was half-dressed.

After a brief pause, he sighed, thinking, ‘Well, we’re both guys anyway.’

Turning his back to Yu Qingyue, he pulled off the towel and started putting on a pair of shorts.

But Yu Qingyue, flustered, instinctively looked away just before the towel dropped.

He raised a hand to his burning cheeks, fanning his face in an attempt to cool down.

When Yu Wanlai finished dressing and turned back, he was met with the sight of Yu Qingyue’s bright red face, still fanning himself.

Yu Wanlai: …………

He glanced around the room, trying to gauge the temperature.

It wasn’t cold, but it definitely wasn’t warm enough for this reaction.

Stepping closer, he tilted his head in confusion.

“Are you… feeling hot?”

Yu Wanlai wore a dark blue V-neck sweater, revealing a portion of his collarbone, paired with ash-gray regular jeans, and a silver necklace around his neck.

Yu Qingyue felt like his throat was blocked and didn’t say anything. A ridiculous thought suddenly popped into his mind, *”Yeah, you’re trying to kill me, huh?”* When he looked up and saw Yu Wanlai’s surprised expression, he realized he must have accidentally said that out loud.

Yu Qingyue: “…”

He quickly stood up, searching for the right words to cover up. The next moment, he heard a soft chuckle beside his ear as Yu Wanlai reached out and undid two buttons of his sweater, then pressed the back of his hand against Yu Qingyue’s cheek. Seeing Qingyue stare at him wide-eyed, he flipped his hand, gently squeezing Yu Qingyue’s cheeks, making them puff up slightly.

Yu Qingyue’s emotions were all over the place. Exhausted, he slapped away Wanlai’s hands and turned towards the door, saying, “Let’s go.”

As they were about to head out, they ran into Qin Shuang, who was sitting in the living room watching TV. Upon hearing their conversation, Qin Shuang looked at Yu Wanlai in surprise. “You can make tangyuan?”

It was the Lantern Festival, and Aunt Wang had taken the day off. She had been wondering what they would eat that night when she overheard the conversation.

Yu Wanlai nodded, joking, “Yeah, not perfect, but definitely edible!”

Qin Shuang immediately called upstairs to Yu Cheng, telling him to join them for a trip to the supermarket.

Yu Qingyue, standing off to the side, was frowning deeply. He had wanted to go shopping alone with Yu Wanlai—why did his parents have to tag along?

Yu Wanlai noticed his displeasure and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yu Qingyue pressed his lips together. “…Hmph.”
*Like you’d even understand if I told you!*

Confused, Yu Wanlai scratched his head. What did he do wrong?

Suddenly, he felt a piece of candy in his coat pocket. Taking out an orange-flavored hard candy, he unwrapped it and whispered to Yu Qingyue, “Open your mouth.”

Yu Qingyue blinked. “Huh? Why?”

Without waiting for an answer, Wanlai pushed the candy against his lips, feeding it to him just as he subconsciously opened his mouth.

As Yu Qingyue closed his mouth, he accidentally brushed against Wanlai’s fingers. The tangy orange flavor exploded on his tongue, and his brain seemed to short-circuit.

Wanlai withdrew his slightly damp fingertips and, after a brief pause, grabbed another candy for himself. As he rolled it in his mouth, his thoughts wandered back to how soft Yu Qingyue’s tongue had felt against his fingertips just now.

At that moment, Qin Shuang finally managed to drag Yu Cheng downstairs. She had gone up personally to get him since Yu Cheng had been complaining about being too busy and had refused to join them at first.

So, Yu Qingyue’s much-anticipated *two-person* supermarket trip ended up being a group outing with four people.

Even when they reached the supermarket, his mind was still a little foggy, replaying that brief moment with Wanlai’s fingers in his mouth.

The supermarket was lively due to the holiday crowd.

While choosing tangyuan fillings, Wanlai leaned closer to Yu Qingyue’s ear and whispered, “Qingyue, what flavor do you like?”

Yu Cheng and Qin Shuang had gone to the seafood section, so it was just the two of them here.

Qingyue glanced around the nearby fruit stall, blinking in confusion. “You mean these?”

Wanlai nodded. “Yeah. Or if you don’t like fruit flavors, we can go with peanut or sesame instead.”

Qingyue picked up an orange from the pile and held it up. “This one?”

Wanlai took the orange from his hand. “Sure.”

Seeing Wanlai seriously start selecting oranges, Qingyue was surprised. “Wait, can you even make tangyuan with oranges?”

Wanlai smirked. “Of course. You’ve never had it before? Didn’t we—your family—used to have tangyuan every year?”

Qingyue shook his head. “Not really. Maybe once or twice, and it was always peanut flavored.”

His family didn’t really emphasize festive traditions, often just ordering hotel meals instead.

Wanlai realized his question was a bit insensitive after speaking. He stole a glance at Qingyue, and seeing that he hadn’t noticed anything odd, he quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Yu Wanlai gently patted Yu Qingyue’s back twice. “Besides oranges, is there anything else you want to eat? Blueberries, strawberries, pineapples?”

Yu Qingyue nodded directly, then watched as Wanlai’s lips curved into a smile. He didn’t specify which one he wanted, but somehow, Wanlai still managed to get what he meant. Unwilling to give up, he confirmed, “You want all of them?”

Yu Qingyue opened his mouth, his voice crisp, as he lightly wrapped an arm around Wanlai’s waist in a loose hug before letting go. “Yes! Thanks, Ge^[1]Brother~”

Wanlai: ………

Oh well. Seeing Qingyue smile so brightly, Wanlai’s mood also lightened. He hadn’t even noticed how often Qingyue smiled at him lately, almost as if being around him made him especially happy.

In the end, they returned home carrying several bags full of groceries. Recently, most of the household staff had been on leave, only occasionally coming in for half-day shifts, so the fridge was nearly empty. Yu Cheng and Qin Shuang had picked out a lot of seafood—white shrimp, crabs, hairtail fish, clams—with fewer vegetables, limited to winter melon, corn, and baby bok choy. The rest of their haul consisted mostly of steak, ribs, and chicken.

Staring at the kitchen counter, which was almost completely covered with food, Wanlai wiped an imaginary bead of sweat from his forehead. *Goodness, this really is a household of young masters and ladies. So much food—can they even finish it all? It’ll take forever to cook, and I don’t believe they’ll leave leftovers either.*

But Wanlai didn’t dare question them outright.

It wasn’t until he saw Qin Shuang about to toss the live, still-jumping seafood directly into the freezer that he couldn’t hold back anymore.

“…Auntie, how about you and Dad go relax? Qingyue and I can handle this.”

Qin Shuang paused mid-motion, closing the freezer drawer. “But it’s so much food, it’s not…”

Before she could finish, Qingyue also chimed in, being far more direct. “But Mom, wouldn’t it be even worse if you stayed here?”

While speaking, he took the live shrimp from her hands. “Even I know this shouldn’t go in the freezer.”

Qin Shuang’s face briefly flashed with embarrassment, though she quickly masked it well. The truth was, she had never really cooked much herself. The meals she had prepared for Qingyue before were made with the help of two housekeepers. She rarely even went grocery shopping, as most food she encountered was already cooked. For example, she had once thought shrimp were naturally red.

Yu Cheng, naturally unwilling to get involved, had already retreated to the living room to play with the dog the moment Wanlai spoke.

It was all Qin Shuang’s idea to have the whole family spend time together for once.

Once everyone had finally left, Qingyue took a few steps closer to Wanlai, grabbing the hem of his sweater and kneading it softly, not saying a word. He simply stuck close, following Wanlai around wherever he went.

That familiar feeling of breathlessness struck Wanlai again.

Clicking his tongue softly, he emptied the seafood into a water-filled container in the fridge before slamming the fridge door shut with a loud thud.

Crossing his arms, he turned around and looked at Qingyue with a helpless expression.