One or two hours later, Jiang Yan knocked on Jiao Bai’s door. His long hair was held back by a silver headband. He had ink smudges on his face and on the corners of his lips. Looking quite the sight, he asked a baffling question.

“How’s your English?”

Jiao Bai didn’t want to respond, but he couldn’t withstand Jiang Yan’s intense gaze so he replied conservatively, “Average.”

“That won’t do.” Jiang Yan brought the hand he had hidden behind himself to the front, revealing a large bag, and emptied its contents onto the floor beside Jiao Bai’s bed.

They were all original English books.

“I relied on these to improve my English. When I left West City, I thought about throwing them away, but then I decided to send them to South City. I figured I might give them to a friend someday. I never expected they’d come in handy so soon,” Jiang Yan squatted beside the pile of books, tilted his head up and blew a kiss at Jiao Bai. “To thank you for providing me with inspiration to finish my song, I’m giving you all of these.”

Jiao Bai’s face was cold and heartless. “Thanks, but I don’t need them.”

“Just because you don’t need them now doesn’t mean you won’t need them in the future. There’s no harm in learning more.” Jiang Yan’s face sparkled with enthusiasm. “You’re in your senior year, right? Your university entrance exam is next year. This can help you improve your reading skills and vocabulary—there are plenty of benefits.”

Jiao Bai was speechless. Jiang Yan wouldn’t just give him English books for no reason. Could it be that Shen Ji liked people who could speak English well?

That wasn’t right. Didn’t he only require his bed partners to be beautiful and flirty?

He had another question.

Jiao Bai asked calmly, “How did you know I’m in my senior year?”

“Mr. Shen received a call from his son last night.” Jiang Yan adjusted his hair, “I overheard it while I was pretending to be unconscious.”

Jiao Bai’s mouth twitched. “Is pretending to be unconscious your specialty?”

“That’s the only way to take a break, and it’s far more effective than drinking ten cans of Red Bull.” Jiang Yan patted Jiao Bai’s hand affectionately, like a senior imparting his experience. “Under normal circumstances, it’s best to pretend twice in one night. You can’t do less than that. Otherwise, you’ll get so exhausted you won’t be able control your facial expressions, and you’ll look ugly to our sponsor. But don’t do it too many times either, or else our sponsor won’t be able to enjoy himself to the fullest. Got it, my dear?”

Jiao Bai shook off his hand. Ohrr nee!

The teasing glint in Jiang Yan’s eyes faded. “Aren’t you going to ask me what I overheard?”

Jiao Bai countered, “Do you dare to say it?”

“I don’t dare,” Jiang Yan stood up and bent over close to Jiao Bai. At this close intimate distance, he studied Jiao Bai for a moment and chuckled. “Do you know why? Because you’re a nasty, devious person, and you’ll sell me out.”

Jiao Bai: “...”

Jiang Yan didn’t provide any evidence to support his claim, and didn’t seem to care. He sniffed the scent of medicine on the clothes of the person on the bed. “The first time I saw you was in the private room at Diye. You were sitting next to Mr. Shen with an invisible rope around your neck. When I saw you in Mr. Shen’s room in the early morning, I could sense you tugging at that rope and could feel how urgently you wanted to tear it off…”

“I’ve lived one way long enough so I wanted to change to another way of living,” Jiao Bai replied nonchalantly.

Jiang Yan wasn’t a friend on his list with an activity level, so he didn’t need to plan out their interactions.

They could be friends.

Just the kind that exchanged friendly banter—not the type that opened their hearts to each other.

Jiao Bai suddenly became curious about something. “Does he usually make you kneel down to take off his shoes and put on his shoes?”

Jiang Yan poked Jiao Bai’s protruding collarbone. “That’s the job of a dog. I’m a lover.”

Jiao Bai had nothing to say.

“You’re no longer a dog now.” Jiang Yan’s hand slipped into Jiao Bai collar.

Jiao Bai grabbed the kdbgdqntr hand and pulled it out. He chuckled twice. “So I’ve been promoted, then.”

Jiang Yan was taken aback and then started laughing heartily. His laugh wasn’t the slightest bit artificial, but relaxed and hearty, making him look vibrant, beautiful and captivating.

This was the second time Jiao Bai had made him laugh today. He just felt happy.

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this happy.

I don’t know how long this state of happiness will last.

Jiang Yan hummed the new song he had just written as he headed back to his room. The housekeeper came to ask, “Young Master Yan, I need to prepare dinner, but I’m not sure what the person inside likes or whether there’s anything they don’t eat.”

“Just follow the dietary restrictions for someone with broken bones for now. You can find something online.” Jiang Yan’s hands on his sides flicked in the air as he continued to refine the song in his mind. “When Mr. Shen arrives in the evening, he’ll provide you with the meal plan.”

The housekeeper looked sceptical. Impossible. Mr. Shen usually doesn’t come here two days in a row.

Jiang Yan could tell what the housekeeper was thinking, and yawned. “Just prepare for it.”

Jiang Yan thought he had it all figured out, but something happened that he didn’t expect. Around four or five o’clock, he was picked up by a car sent by his sponsor and never came back.

No one knew where he had been taken or what had happened to him.

In the evening, several people came to Shangming Garden and moved out all of Jiang Yan’s belongings.

The housekeeper had cooked for many boys in this house and knew that each of them would eventually face this day. Having seen it happen so many times, she was used to it, but she still couldn’t help but sigh.

Let’s not talk about the previous ones and just talk about Young Master Yan. He has no shortcomings other than his penchant for wearing women’s clothing. He plays the piano, sings well, and is also good-looking.

His smile is simply stunning—more gorgeous than the flowers in the neighbourhood.

Why can’t he look for a job outside and be more grounded? Being supported by someone may bring in a lot of quick and easy money, but ultimately, it’s not a respectable way to live.

After the housekeeper finished lamenting, she went to close the door. The silhouette of her employer suddenly appeared in her line of sight, startling her.

She thought to herself that Young Master Yan had been right after all.

“Mr. Shen, you’re off work now.” The housekeeper quickly brought him his slippers.

Shen Ji changed into slippers and headed to a room in the northern side of the house, but when he reached the door, he turned around and left. He said to the housekeeper while undoing his cufflinks, “Go call him to come out for dinner.”

“He’s coming out to eat?” The housekeeper said hesitantly while observing her employer’s expression, “It takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. He needs to stay in bed and avoiding moving about for the time being in order to heal properly.”