Chapter 2: Moe’d to Death

At the door, the courier handed the box to Xie Jing.

“Is it Mr. Jian Mingzhou? Please sign for it.”

Xie Jing looked down at the box in his hands. It wasn’t his stuff.

“I…” He had just begun to speak when a well-proportioned and distinct hand suddenly reached from behind, slapping down on his wrist with a snap.

“Wait, it’s mine!”

Xie Jing turned his head, meeting the upside-down face of Jian Mingzhou.

His smooth hair was a bit disheveled, and he hadn’t caught his breath yet. The hand gripping his wrist was whiter than his. Because of the force, faint blue veins appeared on the back of the hand.

At this moment, Jian Mingzhou’s heart was pounding.

But he had to try to maintain a natural expression, as if he were just casually putting on clothes and strolling over to get the delivery.

The person in front of him seemed to fall silent for a moment. “Uncle.”

Jian Mingzhou glanced at the item information on the box: [Books].

…Fortunately, no inappropriate words appeared.

He breathed a sigh of relief. “Alright, let me sign for it.”

Taking the pen from the still-out-of-it courier, he turned to Xie Jing, who was holding the box.

“Just give it to me.”

Xie Jing handed it over, and in a tone that seemed quite understanding, he said, “Uncle, you don’t need to be in such a hurry. I won’t casually open your deliveries.”

Jian Mingzhou, “…”

Jian Mingzhou: “Because it’s a book a friend temporarily left with me, I was afraid you might open it by mistake—uh!”

Suddenly, his hands felt heavy.

He almost leaned forward, and the next moment, a pair of hands covered his back. A slightly higher body temperature supported him steadily, along with a box of books being lifted.

“Let me do it.” Xie Jing bent his lips, took the carton, and walked towards the house.

“No need to be polite; this is what friends should do,” Jian Mingzhou said. “…”

He closed the door with a turn, slamming it! The puzzled face of the delivery person was trapped in the door crack.

Inside, Xie Jing walked ahead, carrying the carton box.

The broad and solid back faintly showed from under the T-shirt, and a handsome nape was revealed above the neckline.

Jian Mingzhou looked at him.

—Good-looking, well-built, affluent but not arrogant, and good at making jokes.

He casually asked, “Xiaojing, do you have a girlfriend?”

“Huh? No.” Jian Mingzhou blinked.

The person in front stopped, standing at the entrance of the study. Xie Jing turned around and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing; I just thought you should be very popular.”

“Oh… because I’m not interested.” Xie Jing replied casually, then changed the subject: “By the way, where should I put the books?”

He gestured ahead. “Forbidden area?”

Jian Mingzhou, “…”

After helping carry the books to the entrance of the study, how could he refuse entry now?

He opened the study door with his hand and said, “Please.”

Xie Jing raised an eyebrow slightly, took the books and went in.

The study had already been cleaned up long ago, spacious and bright, with nothing worth censoring—clean to the point of being suspicious.

Jian Mingzhou glanced at the sofa bottom, the inner wall of the bookcase, the gaps in the drawers…

His heart tightened slightly as he explained, “Because it’s my workspace, so…”

“Hmm.” A calm response from in front.

Jian Mingzhou looked over, only to see Xie Jing, with his usual casual smile, placing the books steadily without further inquiry.

—

After moving the books, he returned to the bathroom.

Jian Mingzhou seemed to have experienced a disaster. He turned and saw his phone, left on the washstand, still receiving messages.

[Editor]: Hey, where are you?

[Editor]: Too happy to speak? ^0^

“…”

He changed the contact name to [Tian Lei].

[Mingzhou]: Yeah, even my mind is blank. ^_^

[Tian Lei]: I knew it. [Pushes up glasses] Remember to come to the office for the meeting on Monday.

Heh heh. Indeed, this is a fitting contact name for the editor.

Jian Mingzhou closed his phone and opened the shower water with a numb heart.

…

The next day was Monday.

The publishing house where Jian Mingzhou worked had a BL manga department under the largest entertainment publishing company in the industry.

Most of the time, he could work from home and only go to the office when necessary.

Like the weekly meetings.

When Jian Mingzhou left, Xie Jing had already left.

Seeing the not-so-early time, he took a taxi to the company.

The editorial department was in the main building of the company, and when Jian Mingzhou arrived, the meeting was about to begin.

There were about a dozen people in the department, and most of them had already arrived. He was the deputy editor, and at the front was the chief editor, Xia Ye.

As soon as he entered the meeting room, he was greeted with a chorus:

“Hey, the deputy editor is here!”

“Mingzhou, I’ve cut a piece of cake for you on the table.”

“Have you seen the new work by Mr. Cattail?”

Chattering conversations filled the room, and the meeting room was instantly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

It seemed like the lively atmosphere was about to spread to the neighboring department.

A voice finally interrupted the noise: “Quiet!”

Xia Ye frowned, and the eyes behind his glasses became serious. In his thirties, he could be considered handsome, but when he became serious, he looked intimidating.

He swept his gaze around. “Is this a tea party?”

The editors fell silent.

In the quiet atmosphere, Jian Mingzhou sat in his seat and casually glanced at the insulated cup beside Xia Ye. “The snow on the coffee has melted, chief editor.”

“…”

Xia Ye lowered his head with a “slurp.”

The meeting mainly consisted of reporting, updating progress on new works, and planning for upcoming events.

After one meeting ended, people dispersed.

Jian Mingzhou stood up and walked out of the meeting room with the chief editor, who was holding a cup of melted snow coffee.

Perhaps because they were both veterans who had entered the department early, their relationship was good. Otherwise, Xia Ye wouldn’t have specially reserved a set of manga by his favorite artist for him.

Thinking of that set of manga, Jian Mingzhou began to feel a headache.

He didn’t know that such untimely happiness existed in the world!

“Jianqiu, don’t send me BL manga for the time being.”

“Who is Jianqiu? Wait, why?”

Xia Ye stopped abruptly, turned his head incredulously, and the eyes behind his glasses widened slightly. “Tired? Bored? Fallen for someone else?”

“…”

Jian Mingzhou felt that Xia Ye’s drama was more than his salary.

“A child has moved in at home.”

“How old is the child?”

“Very big.”

“…Xia Ye patted his shoulder with pity. “Since when did your vocabulary become so poor? “

Jian Mingzhou:…

He earnestly gestured, “Really,’very’big’.”

“Forget it.” Xia Ye didn’t want to inquire about how big exactly, and as he spoke, he walked along the corridor towards the office area. “But these two months are summer vacation, and there will be many exhibitions later. You can go take a look.”

“There is also a special exhibition for doujinshi, focusing on teacher-student relationships, offices, and forbidden love…”

Jian Mingzhou took a deep breath, his eyes flashing: Oh, oh, oh, oh!!!!

 Xia Ye was momentarily stunned by the sudden interruption. “…”

Then he continued skillfully, “Is it illegal to consume CP openly? You don’t have to hide it. Moreover, this is the BL editing department; even if you’re so excited that you scream, no one will say anything.”

Scream? What’s he talking about?

Jian Mingzhou composedly pursed his lips. “Who would—”

“Ahhh!!!” Suddenly, a scream came from the front. Editor Xiaoyu happened to be passing by, and upon seeing the two of them, he immediately pointed with embarrassment, “What are the chief editor and deputy chief editor talking about behind? Annoying!”

After saying that, he ran off with a string of laughter, “Hahaha!”

Xia Ye, “…”

Jian Mingzhou, “…”

Xia Ye, “Look.”

Jian Mingzhou solemnly said, “Learned.”

—

Off work at six in the afternoon.

Xia Ye drove and conveniently gave Jian Mingzhou a ride home.

The car stopped at the entrance of the apartment building, and as soon as Jian Mingzhou got out, he saw a familiar figure.

Xie Jing was standing not far away, talking to someone.

With a backpack slung over one shoulder, he still had that casually laid-back appearance. There were several people around him, probably friends who trained together and were heading home together.

They were chatting about something.

But Jian Mingzhou always felt that Xie Jing’s gaze was wandering.

The next moment, that wandering gaze fell on him across the space. Xie Jing raised an eyebrow and waved at him, “Uncle.”

The guys chatting in front all stopped and looked over.

Xia Ye hadn’t left yet and, seeing this, leaned against the car window frame and commented, “Quite impressive… Mingzhou, is this the kid living in your house?”

Jian Mingzhou turned his head and said, “Yes.”

See, he described it vividly, didn’t he?

Xia Ye, “…”

At a distance of five or six meters, the conversation between the two was very clear.

Xie Jing’s gaze crossed Jian Mingzhou and landed on Xia Ye, pausing for two seconds. He then nodded calmly and said, “Hello.”

Xia Ye waved and bid farewell to Jian Mingzhou.

After the people left, Jian Mingzhou walked to Xie Jing, amidst the curious looks. “Chatting with friends?”

“Yeah.” Xie Jing introduced, “My uncle.”

“Uncle?” A guy stared at Jian Mingzhou in amazement, then turned to Xie Jing and said, “He’s so handsome. And he looks so young. Why call him uncle?”

Jian Mingzhou couldn’t easily explain the intricacies of their relationship in terms of generations.

“I’m Mingzhou; you can also call me brother.”

“Oh, Brother Mingzhou is good!”

They called him “brother,” and one short-haired guy suddenly nudged the blonde guy next to him, “It’s so easy to say, how come I’ve never heard you call me ‘brother’?”

Jian Mingzhou’s heart skipped a beat, and he gave a slow glance.

Blonde guy, “Why would I call you ‘brother’?”

A short-haired guy restrained him and said, “Quick, call someone.”

A blonde guy laughed, “Nonsense!”

“Haha, hahaha…”

“…”

Jian Mingzhou’s Adam’s apple moved, and he turned his head briskly: …So cute!

“Uncle?” A voice sounded beside him.

He quickly adjusted his expression and turned back. “What?”

Xie Jing tilted his head towards his neck. “Not feeling well? Right here,” he pointed with his finger, “a bit red.”

The laughter of the guys next to him stopped, and they all turned to look at Jian Mingzhou.

Jian Mingzhou realized he had made a mistake and raised the back of his hand to block the slightly red neck. “Not often going out, got sunburned.”

The short-haired guy curiously looked over and whispered, “Pea pod…” He was bumped by the short-haired guy next to him, and he quickly changed his words to, “Man.”

Jian Mingzhou, “…” Thanks; quite elegant.

Xie Jing enjoyed the little farce and finally spoke, “Well, we’ll go back first.”

“Okay, bye.”

As they were leaving, the short-haired guy suddenly called Jian Mingzhou. He patted the shoulder of the blonde guy and grinned.

“Mingzhou, next time we go out, you come along too, okay?”

Jian Mingzhou agreed instantly, “Okay.”

“…” Xie Jing glanced at him beside him.

“So it’s settled, bye!” The group of guys dispersed.

Jian Mingzhou and Xie Jing walked back to the apartment building together.

After walking a bit, Jian Mingzhou was still immersed in the scene just now and hadn’t snapped out of it. It wasn’t until they were near the door of their home that he realized the two of them hadn’t said a word the whole way.

… It seemed like they were returning from a group activity.

But then again, Xie Jing wasn’t the type to initiate small talk.

Jian Mingzhou was about to say something when Xie Jing suddenly spoke, seemingly casually, “Uncle, you seem more interested in my friends than in me?”

Jian Mingzhou hesitated for a second and fell silent instantly.

No, it’s because you’re one person and they are two.

He was just charmed by them.

He pressed his lips together: …Damn! How was he supposed to respond to that?