By the time his consciousness drifted back, it was already close to noon.

Shen Yanzhou rarely slept in until this hour. The object that had remained inside his body for so long last night had already been withdrawn.

However, his body had been thoroughly worn out by that man, and his waist felt incredibly sore.

He vaguely remembered that amidst the surging warmth, the man had held him for a while before carrying him to the bathroom. He had cleaned his body thoroughly, inside and out, patiently using his fingers to clear everything out bit by bit before wiping him dry and carrying him back to bed.

Finally, the man had held him tightly in his arms, kissing him over and over again.

Kissing was usually a prelude to better intimacy.

So, why did he still kiss him afterward?

Shen Yanzhou didn’t know, nor did he want to overthink the man’s intentions.

He turned over to find the space beside him empty and cold to the touch. It seemed the man had woken up and left the bedroom quite a while ago.

Propping up his sore and exhausted body, he managed to lean against the headboard and reached for his phone, which had slid down next to the pillow.

He was still a bit concerned about the phone call Shen Xici had made to him last night. Normally, a brainless fool like Shen Xiuming hanging out with a bad crowd wouldn’t cause much trouble, but now that he was getting close to Fu Sihan, Shen Yanzhou couldn’t afford to ignore it.

He wondered how things were progressing.

Shen Xici still hadn’t called him back.

Shen Yanzhou dialed back, but the call went unanswered.

Was he busy?

He tried calling again, but it still went unanswered.

Could Shen Xici have spent the night with an Omega and was still sleeping it off?

Shen Yanzhou frowned. Not thinking too much of it, he finished washing up, changed into simple pajamas, and went downstairs.

Just as he reached the corner of the stairs, a rich, savory aroma rushed into his nose.

Compared to the usual business dinners at four or five star hotels filled with heavy meat dishes and expensive delicacies, he much preferred authentic, old style Hong Kong flavors. When his mother was alive, she loved to tinker with Hong Kong style cuisine, though she had absolutely no talent for it. Thinking back now, he felt a twinge of regret that he hadn’t praised her cooking back then.

“You’re awake? Why didn’t you sleep a little longer?”

The man walked up to him and scooped him up in a bridal carry without a word. Shen Yanzhou rolled his eyes at him. This guy was getting bolder and bolder, lifting him up without even asking for permission.

“Does it… still hurt here?” The man’s large, warm palm covered Shen Yanzhou’s lower back, massaging it with just the right amount of pressure.

“What do you think? Whose fault is it?” Shen Yanzhou raised his fist, wanting to punch him, but the man caught his hand in his palm.

“Rock, paper, scissors, I win.” Seeing that he was upset, the man wanted to cheer him up, but when he saw Shen Yanzhou looking at him with utter speechlessness as if looking at an idiot, he bowed his head and admitted his fault. “It’s all my fault. Once you have your strength back, you can hit me however you want.”

“But right now, I’m worried it’ll hurt your hands.”

“If you knew that, why didn’t you finish earlier last night?” Shen Yanzhou pulled his hand back, remembering how this person had lingered inside him last night, messing around for hours without letting it end. Even after it was over, he insisted on holding him for over half an hour without pulling away.

“Because I couldn’t bear to let go. I was too greedy.” The man blushed and nuzzled the side of his face with his nose.

Shen Yanzhou turned his face away to avoid his gaze. “Put me down, I want to eat.”

“Alright.” The man carried him to the dining table, but instead of putting him on the hard dining chair, he sat down first and had Shen Yanzhou sit face to face on his lap.

“You…” Shen Yanzhou was about to lose his temper.

“This chair is too hard and uncomfortable.” The man wrapped his arms around his waist, letting his sore body settle firmly onto his solid thighs, explaining with a perfectly serious face, “I’m soft and warm. Besides, your arms are sore too, so holding a spoon will be tiring. Let me feed you.”

Shen Yanzhou: “…”

He really was a shameless dog who always took a mile when given an inch.

But he really had no energy left to make a fuss. Having a human cushion as a chair was indeed much more comfortable than hard wood.

A steaming clay pot sat before him. When the lid was lifted, a rich savory aroma drifted into his face.

It was a pot of beef congee with an egg.

The congee base was simmered until the rice grains were barely visible, thick and white. The top was layered with thinly sliced tender beef, and nestled in the spaces between the beef was a plump, round raw egg yolk, glistening with a crystalline golden light under the rising steam.

Sanqianwan picked up the spoon and gently poked open the warm egg yolk. The golden liquid flowed slowly along the texture of the beef, eventually blending completely into the piping hot white congee.

He scooped up a spoonful of congee, blew on it carefully, and brought it to Shen Yanzhou’s lips.

“Taste it. This beef hasn’t been bloated with water, it’s the tenderest cut.”

Shen Yanzhou opened his mouth and took it in. The egg yolk added a silky texture to the congee, and the sliced beef was so tender it practically melted in his mouth. A single bite soothed his empty stomach, sending a wave of comfort through his entire body.

The taste was surprisingly good.

“It’s decent,” Shen Yanzhou commented reservedly. After eating half a bowl and regaining some strength, he found the man’s feeding too slow, so he took the spoon straight from the man’s hand and began scooping the congee himself.

Sanqianwan didn’t stop him, but the hand that had been massaging his lower back slid forward.

His rough, calloused fingertips gently rested against Shen Yanzhou’s flat stomach through the thin silk pajamas.

It was very soft there, rising and falling slightly with Shen Yanzhou’s movements as he drank the congee.

The man propped up his chin with one hand, his gaze instantly turning dark and unreadable.

Last night, it was right here.

Because of his lack of restraint, this place had bulged high, revealing his shape beneath the thin skin.

He remembered how those warm folds beneath this layer of skin had squeezed him both desperately and greedily, and how he had poured all of his hot, brimming seeds right into this spot.

He felt that his part was entirely made for Shen Yanzhou, only temporarily kept with himself but completely belonging to the person drinking congee in front of him. Otherwise, why would it start getting restless again after only a short while?

The man rested his chin in the crook of his neck, burying his nose deeply into the side of his neck, greedily inhaling the scent of roses on him like an addict.

“Hmm?” Shen Yanzhou was drinking his congee when he suddenly felt the hand on his stomach restlessly moving around, kneading him with a moderate pressure. He pushed the furry head away. “I’ve finished the congee. How much longer are you going to linger?”

“I won’t linger. Let me carry you to the back garden to take a look.”

With that, the man carried him into the back garden. The garden was a complete mess after the typhoon passed, with broken branches and fallen leaves covering the ground.

But under the sheltered corridor of the garden, an illegal structure stood out conspicuously.

It was a makeshift doghouse the man had cobbled together using discarded wooden planks, tree branches broken by the wind, and some cloth obtained from who knows where. It was exceptionally ugly and completely crooked.

“What do you think?” Sanqianwan carried him over to the pile of junk. “I spent a long time hammering away at it just now. It’s absolutely sturdy.”

“It’s ugly… but rather unique,” Shen Yanzhou commented objectively.

Just then, a bright yellow duck bill poked out from the entrance of the ugly house.

The originally scrawny little Chinese pastoral dog squeezed its way out of the cramped opening with difficulty. Dragging its injured leg, which was still wrapped in thick bandages, it hopped out.

Because the hood of its hoodie was a bit too large, it covered its eyes, making it wobble as it walked. It looked like a rather dim witted fat duck that had just hatched from its shell.

“Awoo~” Sensing the scent of the two men, the puppy let out an excited bark. However, with its vision blocked by the hood, it bumped headfirst into Sanqianwan’s calf.

Not feeling any pain, it sat right down on the man’s leather shoe. Tilting its head up, its goofy little face revealed wet, black bean eyes staring up at the two men holding each other above.

Although the floor tiles in the garden had been swept, the dampness characteristic of a typhoon day kept rising up.

Shen Yanzhou looked up at the heavy clouds still weighing down over Victoria Harbour, wondering how many more days this typhoon would last.

“Its leg was just set. Sleeping outside in this kind of weather isn’t suitable.” Shen Yanzhou reached out a finger and tapped the little creature wearing the yellow duck hoodie.

“Bring it inside.”

“Set up another bed for it in that sheltered corner of the living room for now.”

With that, he added, “And, well… before bringing it in, wipe its paws clean.”

Hearing this, the smile in the eyes of the man holding him practically overflowed.

Tough on the outside, soft on the inside.

He clearly just felt sorry for the puppy.

“Alright.”

“As you wish, I’ll move its home right away.”

In the living room, a vinyl record spun slowly on the gramophone as the needle glided across the grooves, filling the room with Bach’s G Major suite.

Shen Yanzhou rarely had moments where he was completely at leisure like this.

Usually, his time was consumed by countless financial reports, meetings, and business dinners. Only on days like this, trapped inside by a typhoon, could he have time truly to himself.

When he rested, he loved to read. Aside from financial management, he read almost any kind of book.

He sank lazily into the soft sofa with a gray cashmere blanket draped over his knees. His fair, smooth ankles exposed outside swayed gently to the rhythm of the music.

In his hands, he held Gabriel García Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera, the rustling of the turning pages exceptionally quiet.

But in reality, he hadn’t actually processed many of the words.

Because from not far away, a gaze with an incredibly intense presence clung to him like something tangible and sticky.

Sanqianwan was setting up a home in the corner of the living room for the sweet smelling little duck puppy.

Kneeling on the floor, his movements were very light, even gentle. He carefully smoothed out the velvet cushion and placed the puppy’s favorite pink chew toy right in the center.

“Awoo…” The puppy in the yellow duck hoodie circled its new bed clumsily.

Because the hood of the hoodie was too large, it kept slipping down and covering its eyes. Unable to see the way, it wobbled forward and tumbled straight into the man’s embrace, scratching blindly with its front paws while whimpering affectionately.

The man reached out his large hand and scooped up the silly little thing. His rough fingertips gently adjusted the hood backward, revealing two wet, black bean eyes, before giving its soft belly a couple of scratches.

But his mind was clearly not on the dog.

Every time he scratched the dog, he would turn his head.

To look at the person on the sofa.

He watched Shen Yanzhou’s long, downcast eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.

He watched his slender, jade like, well defined fingertips as they turned the pages.

He watched his fair collarbones rise and fall with his breathing, still bearing the ambiguous hickeys left behind from when he had sucked on them intensely during last night’s passion.

Shen Yanzhou noticed it.

Because that gaze was simply too burning hot.

Pretending not to notice, he forced his gaze onto the pages, but the words seemed to dance before his eyes, refusing to form coherent sentences no matter what.

Finally, as he turned another page, using the book as a shield, his peripheral vision uncontrollably stole a glance toward the corner.

Only to crash directly into the man’s staring eyes.

There was nowhere to hide.

Their gazes met silently in midair.

Sanqianwan smirked at him while cradling the silly little duck puppy in his arms, his smile carrying a hint of rogue charm.

Flustered, Shen Yanzhou raised the book to cover half his face, leaving only his slightly upturned phoenix eyes visible as he feigned composure and gave the man a fierce glare.

As if to say: What are you looking at? Do your work.

The smile at the corner of the man’s mouth deepened.

Lowering his head, he grabbed one of the puppy’s chubby paws and waved it in Shen Yanzhou’s direction.

Then, looking into Shen Yanzhou’s eyes, he silently mouthed two words.

Beautiful.

The book completely blocked Shen Yanzhou’s face, yet the man simply dropped the puppy back into its bed, walked over, and naturally sat cross legged on the thick carpet.

He reached out, placing his fingertip on the corner of the page, stopping Shen Yanzhou from turning it.

“What is this book about?” he asked.

Unable to pull the book away, Shen Yanzhou stopped trying to turn the page and said calmly, “Just like the title says, it’s a love story between two people during a cholera outbreak.”

“It tells of a man who waited fifty one years, nine months, and four days for a woman,” Shen Yanzhou’s voice was soft. “He waited until her husband died and she became free again.”

“Why wait?” the man countered.

“Because… she was someone else’s wife, because of societal conventions, because…” Shen Yanzhou replied.

“There are no becouses,” the man interrupted. “If the protagonist really liked her, how could he just stand by and watch her marry someone else?”

“Then what would you do if it were you?”

“If it were me, I would just take her by force,” the man replied seriously. “Even if he hates me, he can only hate me while in my arms.”

Shen Yanzhou replied, “But the female lead didn’t like him at the time.”

“Then make her like you until she does,” the man said as if it were a matter of course. He leaned in closer. “Aside from writing letters and waiting around to touch his own heart, did this male lead actually do anything else for her?”

Shen Yanzhou recalled the plot of the book, his expression becoming strange. “Probably… declaring that he maintained his spiritual virginity for her, all while sleeping with six hundred and twenty three other women.”

“Master, which do you think is harder to control, the body or the heart?”

“We’ve been intimate more than once.” The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared at Shen Yanzhou’s indifferent, thin lips. “Even if it’s just physical compatibility… do you like me even a little bit?”

Shen Yanzhou looked into the man’s eyes, paused for a moment, and said indifferently, “Don’t overthink it. We are adults just getting what we need from each other.”

Not rejecting his advances didn’t mean accepting his feelings.

The man’s eyes quickly dimmed. Letting out a bitter laugh, he asked seriously, “Then what if… I’m just saying what if.”

“If one day you have someone you love very, very much, would you still sleep with me?”

It was a tricky question.

But Shen Yanzhou answered with certainty, “No.”

If there is no love, the body might give in to temptation.

But if he truly fell in love with someone, he wouldn’t tolerate a third person, either physically or mentally.

“So, the heart is the hardest thing to control, isn’t it?” the man asked again.

“Because when you love someone, your body instinctively stays faithful to them. Since the protagonist of that book could sleep with over six hundred women, it proves he didn’t love her at all, or rather, his love was just a self absorbed illusion.”

“So how can that be called love?”

The man stared at him with a burning gaze. “Do you remember how I answered when you asked me why I had never done it with anyone else?”

“You said… because you hadn’t met anyone you wanted to do it with,” Shen Yanzhou recalled.

“Actually, I lied that day,” the man replied. “Because I have someone I love very, very much. No one else will do except him.”

Looking at his gaze and hearing his words, Shen Yanzhou felt his breathing grow a bit erratic. He didn’t know what to say.

Buzz. Buzz.

Suddenly, the abrupt and urgent vibration of a cell phone shattered the thick atmosphere.

Shen Yanzhou grabbed his phone. A completely unfamiliar string of numbers was displayed on the screen.

Normally, he wouldn’t even glance at this kind of spam or telemarketing call, choosing to hang up and block the number immediately.

But right now, in this awkward atmosphere, it was better for him to answer it.

“Hello.”

The other end of the line was very quiet.

There was no enthusiasm from a salesperson, nor any static from a spam call.

“Mr. Shen?” spoken in a rather non standard Cantonese.

Shen Yanzhou’s brows furrowed.

In Hong Kong, someone who could obtain his private number and speak in such a tone was definitely up to no good.

“Who are you?”

The person on the other end let out a low chuckle. “Who I am isn’t important. What matters is that I have a grand gift to present to you, Mr. Shen.”

“Mr. Shen, your younger brother is currently in my hands.”

“Who did you say?”

“I said…” the person on the phone spoke unhurriedly, “your younger brother, Shen Xici, is in my hands right now. As for whether he gets to return to you in one piece, that will depend entirely on your sincerity, Mr. Shen.”