Chapter 1: The Nephew’s Visit

It was mid-afternoon, and sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the study and casting a bright glow on the stacks of books scattered across the floor and desk.

In the halo of floating dust, a man wearing a knitted sweater sat with crossed legs on the sofa. His long eyelashes drooped, and his eyes were clear and moist as his fingers lightly brushed over the opened pages of a book.

Two entangled men.

[Don’t, don’t do this. We’re still in the classroom…]

[I can’t hold back any longer, teacher…! Large hands tightly clamped around the slender wrist between shirt cuffs.]

[Uhh—]

Rustle! The paper suddenly crinkled.

Jian Mingzhou’s face turned completely red as he pressed his lips together, and the hand holding the pages trembled slightly: Oh, oh, oh!

Excitedly, he flipped to the next page.

[Bang! The slender back was pressed against the blackboard, the tie slipping off. Following the exposed neck…]

Buzzing!

The atmosphere of intimacy was abruptly interrupted by a vibrating phone.

Jian Mingzhou almost choked on the breath he was holding. He composed himself and answered the phone, “Hello?”

On the other end, there was a burst of loud crying: “Editor! Save my dog’s life!!!”

Well, this was the third “dog’s life” this month.

Jian Mingzhou exhaled, “What happened?”

“I just realized that some pages of the manuscript I submitted yesterday are out of order!”

“No problem.” The warmth on his face had dissipated, leaving only a hint of huskiness in his voice. “I’ve already sorted it out.”

“Huh? Oh… coming back to life! Thanks, Editor!”

Ending the call, another one came in, “Editor! I’m still short by five or six pages. Can you give me a few more days?”

“Teacher Xiaolu, you’re always pushing the deadline.”

“Because I caught a cold last week, TnT.”

Jian Mingzhou, experienced in this, said, “Tomorrow at the latest, I’ll negotiate with the publishing house.”

“Great! I knew you were the most reliable, Zhoubian!”

“…Don’t call me Zhoubian.

Feeling like a piece of cake

After hanging up with the authors, he called the publishing house. After a half-hour conference, Jian Mingzhou put down his phone and leaned back in his chair.

…Finally sorted out.

He was now a BL manga editor.

With outstanding work abilities and a calm and rational personality, he was doing well in this industry. In fact, Jian Mingzhou, with his prestigious education and attractive appearance, could have chosen a better job initially.

The reason for choosing to be a BL manga editor was simply because he liked it.

Yes, he had a little-known interest.

He liked reading BL.

But Jian Mingzhou considered himself straight.

It was just in his youth, in ignorance, that he accidentally read a BL manga. Initially treating it as a regular comic, he was shocked to see the two male protagonists kissing when he turned the page.

He was so scared that he immediately tossed the book away!

He reminisced for a few seconds, then leaned over to pick it up again: “Strange, let me take another look.”

Just one glance after another.

When he realized something was wrong, one foot was already inside.

…

Buzz! Another vibration interrupted his thoughts.

Jian Mingzhou took a deep breath: “What’s happening this time?”

His well-proportioned hand picked up the phone on the table.

When he saw the caller ID, the breath he had taken was let out. It wasn’t work; it was his college roommate and good friend from university: [Xie Chi].

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Mingzhou, are you busy?” Xie Chi’s voice on the other end carried a gentle warmth.

No good deed goes unpunished, right?

Jian Mingzhou instantly became cautious, casually grabbing a fan fiction novel and flipping through it loudly. His voice was equally gentle.

“Busy as hell.”

“…”

It seemed like there was a pause on the other side, then Xie Chi spoke in a more cordial tone, “Can you spare some time for me in your busy schedule? You live near F University, right? You should be living alone?”

Jian Mingzhou: “Yes, what’s the matter?”

Xie Chi said, “My nephew is having sports training near your place. Would it be convenient for him to stay at your place for a while?”

Snap! The hand flipping the book paused, and the notebook was closed.

Thorns were intertwined on the cover, titled [Rose Garden—Forbidden].

Jian Mingzhou paused for a moment. “How old is your nephew?”

“Uh, pretty big?”

“…” No wonder he performed poorly in Chinese back in the day.

Xie Chi tried to negotiate, “Don’t worry, he won’t cause you trouble; just come over to sleep. It’s because the short-term rental conditions around are not good—we will pay you the rent, is that okay?”

Just coming over to sleep…

Jian Mingzhou thought for a moment. His house was quite spacious, and there was a spare bedroom.

“Forget about the rent; can he do housework?”

He had been immersed in work and manga, and it had been a while since he cleaned the room.

The voice on the other end instantly rose: “Of course he can! Everyone with hands and feet can do it!”

Jian Mingzhou with hands and feet: …

Who was being attacked here?

“Then let him come.”

“Really!? Thanks, Mingzhou; I’ll treat you to dinner next time.” Xie Chi’s voice crackled like lightning and sparks before hanging up, once again solemnly promising:

“Don’t worry, Xiao Jing is very capable!”

…

Xie Chi sent a message saying that his nephew would come this weekend.

The room had already been cleaned up.

Because Xie Jing was coming, Jian Mingzhou’s manga books were temporarily put away. With nothing to do, he moved to the sofa in the living room.

On Saturday afternoon, the sunlight was slightly intoxicating.

The soft sunlight climbed up his gentle forehead, warming the sofa.

Jian Mingzhou rolled on the sofa, burying his head in the pillow.

The manga he read in the morning was just at its climax.

Will there be a confession?

Will there be a [beep] and then another [beep beep]?

Speaking of it, he quite liked the aggressive type in that book, tall and handsome with a bit of dominance.

The size difference was really cute…

His mind was wandering endlessly, and finally, the doorbell rang outside the entrance.

Jian Mingzhou paused in his thoughts: Someone’s here?

He got up, patted his clothes, adjusted his expression, and walked towards the door, pressing the handle.

The door opened.

The golden light filtered through the slightly open door, and the tall figure standing outside the door entered his eyes—

Jian Mingzhou’s pupils shook, fully awake.

What Xie Chi said about being “quite big” was in the physical sense!

The person in front of him had thick black eyebrows, lowered eyelashes, a straight nose, and thin lips. Probably because he was an athlete, his figure appeared compact and smooth, with a shoulder bag casually slung over his shoulder.

Casualness revealed a good upbringing.

“Hello.”

Jian Mingzhou exhaled his almost imperceptible held breath. “Hmm, you’re Xiao Jing, right? Your uncle has already introduced you to me. Come in.”

He reached out to help carry the luggage behind the person.

Xie Jing had already lifted the luggage with one hand and entered the door, bending down to change his shoes. “I can do it myself.” When the door closed, the light dimmed, and his expression became clearer than before.

There was no awkwardness, no deliberate accommodation.

Much more calmly mature than Jian Mingzhou had imagined.

Even calmly and maturely adjusting the shoes that he accidentally kicked crooked when opening the door.

Jian Mingzhou glanced and said, “It’s okay; you don’t have to worry about that.”

Xie Jing closed the shoe cabinet and stood up, his tone indifferent. “Uncle said that because he didn’t give money, I’m here to be a servant.”

Jian Mingzhou:…

What on earth did Xie Chi instill in this guy?

He opened and closed his mouth, finally holding back the dozens of sarcastic comments that were about to blurt out, maintaining a normal expression, and leading Xie Jing to the living room.

“Come over; let me show you around the room.”

“Okay.”

Xie Jing lifted his eyelids to look at the figure in front.

Upright, steady, gentle—the image of an “ideal adult” almost perfectly matched.

He withdrew his gaze indifferently.

Meanwhile, in front, the “perfect adult” Jian Mingzhou was leading the way from the study door as naturally as possible.

Absolutely, I cannot let him find out.

Amidst his alertness, a casually inquisitive question came from behind: “By the way, how should I address you? Should I call you ‘brother’… or ‘uncle’?”

Jian Mingzhou snapped back to reality and said, “Call me ‘uncle’.” Although being called “brother” sounded more pleasant, he couldn’t accept being a step lower in seniority than Xie Chi.

Xie Jing just responded with a sound of acknowledgment: “Uncle.”

His voice was low and lazy, sending a tingling sensation to Jian Mingzhou’s eardrums.

Jian Mingzhou’s shoulder twitched slightly.

He took a step back, standing in the living room. “This is the living room; over there are the dining room and kitchen. Your room is right opposite the living room; next to it is the bathroom; and then over there—”

He pointed to the study and said, “It’s a forbidden area.”

Sealed with some sacred light.

After saying this, he looked at Xie Jing alertly, but Xie Jing seemed uninterested and didn’t inquire. He simply responded casually, “Okay.”

Jian Mingzhou felt a slight relief: Good, it seems there’s no interest in exploring.

—

After introducing the room, Xie Jing went to unpack his luggage.

Jian Mingzhou ordered takeout and invited Xie Jing to join. After dinner, Xie Jing conscientiously got up to tidy up. Being tall and skilled, he folded things up swiftly.

Jian Mingzhou just watched by the side.

It had to be said that people with outstanding looks and temperament stood out in any style.

It was the first time he had seen someone do something as mundane as cleaning up with such ease, as if shuffling cards and placing bets in a luxurious casino.

Just as he was watching, the phone suddenly rang.

Jian Mingzhou looked at the incoming call and said, “Xie Chi?”

A thunderous voice came from the other end immediately: “Mingzhou! What is my nephew doing? Why isn’t he answering the phone?”

Jian Mingzhou looked at the person in front of him and said, “He’s currently… casually collecting garbage.”

Xie Chi, “…”

Xie Chi: “Oh, that’s good. Let him answer the phone.”

Xie Jing had already looked up.

At this moment, his hands were not free, so Jian Mingzhou walked over to him, turned on the speakerphone, and casually asked,

“Did you contact your uncle after you came here?”

Xie Jing glanced at the screen and said, “Sent a text and said, ‘arrived.'”

“Arrived!?” Xie Chi’s voice suddenly rose, incredulously echoing, “Just a thin and indifferent ‘arrived’ sent your uncle away? Is there nothing else to say—are the things packed away? Can you live comfortably? How’s it going with Mingzhou?”

The continuous barrage of questions hit Jian Mingzhou’s eardrums.

Unable to bear it, he couldn’t help but say, “Are you acting like a mom?”

The voice on the other end of the phone abruptly stopped.

Xie Chi cautiously asked, “‘Acting like a mom’?”

A sudden light laughter fell in front of him.

Xie Jing assessed Jian Mingzhou’s face and, with a very light and meaningful tone, said, “Uncle… you understand quite a lot.”

…Damn. That slipped out.

Jian Mingzhou regretted it inwardly, pursed his lips, hung up the phone, casually stored his phone, and said with a carefree attitude, “What’s wrong? Isn’t it just the literal meaning?”

Xie Jing also smiled indifferently and said, “Hmm.”

What’s so funny? Jian Mingzhou furrowed his brows in his heart.

I laughed so beautifully, but it felt weirder than a dog’s comparison.

Feeling laughed at with no reason, he returned a smile and said, “I’ll take a shower first.”

Xie Jing smiled and said, “Okay.”

After saying that, Jian Mingzhou turned and walked back to the bedroom.

When he came out with a change of clothes, he saw that Xie Jing had already finished packing. He crossed the living room and was just about to reach the bathroom door when the doorbell suddenly rang on the other side.

Jian Mingzhou stopped and looked over, puzzled: ?

“Probably my delivery.”

Xie Jing looked over. “Some things are inconvenient to bring, so I had them shipped over.”

Jian Mingzhou nodded and entered the bathroom.

Closing the door, the bright light from the incandescent lamp above fell, making his skin glow. He raised his hand to halfway undress when suddenly his phone on the washstand vibrated, lighting up.

[From: Editor, Unread Message]

Editor? Jian Mingzhou picked up the phone with his clothes still hanging and opened it—

[Editor]: Mingzhou, your favorite manga artist, Xueling, has released a new volume, and it’s your cutest Uniform Love. I’ve reserved a set for you and sent it over with Express Delivery.

[Editor]: It should be arriving soon.

[Editor]: Happy, right? Haha.

Jian Mingzhou:……

Jian Mingzhou:???

Faint sounds of the door opening resonated outside.

His pupils shrank, and his heart exploded: Haha, your uncle!!!