Jiang Cenglan was completely subdued by Li Que.
He really was too young. Too green, too naive. His ability to read people was far from mature, and he had clearly underestimated Li Que’s mastery of… adult entertainment.
Because after raiding the nightstand, Li Que opened the wardrobe next and dragged out, from its very bottom, an entire storage box filled with a dozen more colorful, limited-edition thermos cups.
Jiang Cenglan, from the depths of his soul, could only feel profound RESPECT.
“Richard,” he said with sincere disbelief, “I honestly didn’t think you’d actually do this. I don’t even know where to begin complaining…” His damp hair was still dripping water, but neither of them paid attention to that small detail. “Given our current relationship, I really have to ask: do you seriously have to go this far? Do you have absolutely no trust in me?”
The corners of Li Que’s eyes curved at the word trust, his expression meaningful and sly. For a fleeting moment, Jiang Cenglan thought he saw a fluffy fox tail wagging behind him.
But the vision quickly faded, so he didn’t think much of it.
Li Que coughed lightly, suppressing a smile. “Sweetheart, I can’t be the only one sleeping alone while you stay here playing Toy Story. So I’m taking all these with me.”
Jiang Cenglan’s eyes widened. “You really don’t trust me!”
Li Que chuckled. “Be good. Don’t pout. But if you beg me nicely, I might consider leaving you a cute little toy I can control remotely.”
Jiang Cenglan had to admit he was a little tempted. Just imagining it made him feel deliciously filthy.
But then he remembered the mountain of final projects waiting for him.
So, grinding his teeth, he refused.
In the end, Li Que could only help towel-dry Jiang Cenglan’s hair until it was halfway dry before leaving with his carry-on suitcase full of “toys.” At the door, Jiang Cenglan clung to his sleeve, pouting reluctantly.
“Something that can be remotely controlled… Richard, you’re totally a Dom, okay? Have you really never considered switching teams and becoming a top?”
“No.”
Li Que flicked his forehead with a finger, smiled in that effortless, devastating way of his, and finally left, completely satisfied, under Jiang Cenglan’s dazed and lovestruck gaze.
When the door shut, Jiang Cenglan stood there, feeling hollow inside.
After two straight days of chaos and only brief naps, he’d already been exhausted the moment he got back. His ingrained sense of hygiene made him shower even through the fatigue… by now, he should’ve been passed out on Li Que’s multimillion-dollar mattress, sleeping like the dead.
But Li Que’s surprise return had jolted his nerves wide awake.
So after thinking for a bit, Jiang Cenglan decided to talk to someone.
His first instinct was to call his roommate, but then he remembered that Pei Zi was probably still… dealing with Zhang Ruien. Faced with such an unexpected turn of events, Jiang Cenglan decided to just close his eyes and play dumb. That’s what Li Que had told him to do. After all, his boyfriend had assured him that Pei Zi looked like a wild top, with both bipolar disorder and excellent combat skills. Meanwhile, Zhang Ruien was a limp-dicked straight guy. Between them, only Zhang Ruien could possibly end up the victim.
Of course, Jiang Cenglan had immediately argued, “But our Zizi’s a great beauty! A top-notch Omega from a novel! That scumbag doesn’t deserve it anyway!”
But Li Que narrowed his eyes, his tone dangerous. “Sweetheart,” he bitterly said, “don’t praise other men in front of me.”
The sticky, flirtatious atmosphere in the car earlier was best left unmentioned. Still, every time Jiang Cenglan thought of that part, his head still hurt.
Let’s just pretend that what’s happening right now in my apartment is a real-life Mortal Kombat match, he told himself. One where Pei Zi was single-handedly KO’ing Zhang Ruien.
Feeling slightly better after that self-comfort, Jiang Cenglan swiped through his contacts and decided to call his Senior.
A woman chasing deadlines would never be asleep at that hour.
And to prove that, the call barely rang once before she picked up. However, her voice sounded irritable.
“Hello?”
“It’s me, Senior.” Jiang Cenglan’s voice was soft and gentle.
“Fuck!” The Senior instantly perked up at the sound of him.
Hardly anyone in their circle hadn’t at least heard of Jiang Cenglan’s leaked scandal. Being a woman on the fashion frontlines, she even knew a few inside details. She’d promised to keep quiet about the incident at the trade show and had deleted both the official photos and her own posts from social media, but curiosity still burned her alive.
And now, hearing Jiang Cenglan’s tone, late at night, all wistful, she could tell he wanted to pour his heart out. So she held herself back from interrogating him immediately and, sure enough, Jiang Cenglan spoke up first, giving her a vague outline.
“Senior,” he sighed, staring at his diamond-cut reflection in the crystal glass, “can you believe it? We’ve already hit a trust crisis. How long can love like this really last?”
“…”
After a long silence, the Senior finally spoke, each word precise.
“You’re telling me he gave you a flat worth over a hundred million to live in, moved out himself because you said you were busy, and before leaving, he just took away the toys from the bedroom so you couldn’t play with them?!”
“It’s not like that…”
“Not like that?!” she snapped. “You’re what, twenty-something, and you still need toys?! Are you playing with Jellycats or Disney plushies?! God, I can’t. Do you want me to hook you up with the owner of a Yiwu1 factory instead?”
“Stop talking to me about love, kid! Get lost!”
The call was cut off.
Jiang Cenglan stared at his WeChat window for a few seconds, then typed a sticker, an exasperated “speechless” JPG, followed by:
“Senior’s so mean… You didn’t even comfort me… just sent me a Yiwu ad.”
Feeling oddly content with himself, he smiled softly and snuggled into the blankets. Outside, a gentle rain began to fall again, as if New York was determined to wash away every trace of Manhattan’s summer stench. Drifting off to the rhythm of the rain, Jiang’ Cenglan’s mind wandered to one final thought:
His Senior must not be very experienced in that field…
Because what Li Que had carried away in that suitcase wasn’t Jellycats or Disney.
It was JBcats and Durex2.
…………….
When the alarm rang in the morning, Jiang Cenglan jolted upright on reflex.
He sat there on the bed, head hanging down, body folded nearly in half. When the rush of blood made him feel a wave of nausea, that was when Jiang Cenglan truly woke up. It was his own little trick to prevent himself from going back to sleep. Unpleasant, yes, but effective. Even Pei Zi had scolded him more than once, saying that his habit was seriously unhealthy.
Yawning, Jiang Cenglan got up to wash up.
He’d come here to stay on a whim and hadn’t brought a single piece of luggage. But that wasn’t a problem since he and Li Que were almost the same build, and even their shoe sizes matched. The casual clothes in Li Que’s wardrobe were free for him to choose from, and there were brand-new, disinfected underwear and socks as well.
In just twenty minutes, Jiang Cenglan had turned himself into a young master straight out of an old-money family. Hugging his sketchboard, he went downstairs since his first class started at eight-thirty.
In front of the building, he saw the man already leaning against the cream-colored Bugatti like a car model, wearing a dark green Ralph Lauren cashmere crewneck sweater, and looking…
Devastatingly handsome.
Jiang Cenglan froze for just one second, then broke into a bright smile and ran over. He tilted his head up to plant a kiss on Li Que’s chin and asked, “How did you know my class schedule?” At that hour, there was no other reason for Li Que to be there except to drive him to school.
“When I went to your apartment yesterday morning, I saw it taped behind the door,” Li Que replied. “I memorized it.”
Li Que ruffled Jiang Cenglan’s soft, puppy-like hair and gestured for him to get in the car. The weather was perfect for a convertible, neither hot nor cold, and there weren’t many people on the streets in the morning. Li Que drove at an easy pace, while Jiang Cenglan wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air like a little dog.
“You didn’t wear any cologne today, but there’s a faint mint scent… Is that from the throat lozenges I gave you yesterday?” He couldn’t help but feel proud, and even the tiniest detail made him want to take credit.
But of course, it was little details like that that moved people most.
“Yeah,” Li Que said, “If you’d kissed my lips just now, I might’ve shared the one in my mouth with you.”
“It’s too early for this…” Jiang Cenglan groaned, rubbing his cheeks, trying to stop Li Que from radiating any more charm.
Li Que chuckled softly and mercifully changed the subject. “You look really good today.”
Jiang Cenglan was also wearing Ralph Lauren, a burgundy V-neck cardigan over a shirt, giving him a refined campus look. His trousers and leather shoes matched in tone and style.
By coincidence, the two had picked the same brand and similar style, their colors contrasting instead of matching, which somehow made it look even more like a couple’s outfit. The synchronicity delighted Jiang Cenglan. He decided that from now on, he’d put more effort into dressing up, since he had to bring out his full arsenal for seducing a man!
Halfway there, Li Que parked by the roadside so Jiang Cenglan could grab his pre-ordered latte and coconut croissant. They ate breakfast together in the car before continuing to school.
“Should we stop a bit earlier?” Jiang Cenglan asked. “If you pull right up to the gate…”
“It’s fine,” Li Que said.
The Bugatti came to a neat stop right at the entrance, instantly drawing the attention of students heading to their morning classes.
Li Que produced a heavy kraft paper bag from somewhere and handed it to Jiang Cenglan, saying, “I’ll pick you up this afternoon.”
Jiang Cenglan nodded and said bye-bye.
As usual, he tried to walk into the campus as naturally as possible, but he could feel all the eyes on him. Some people even took out their phones to snap photos when he’d said goodbye to Li Que.
However, Li Que had said it didn’t matter, so Jiang Cenglan told himself the same thing. It was fine. Just act like always.
Until he ran into the Senior who’d abruptly hung up on him last night.
The young woman, in heavy makeup, heels, and a tight pencil skirt, looked him up and down. Her eyes gleamed with teasing amusement as she smiled at the clearly flustered yet trying-hard-to-stay-calm Jiang Cenglan, so she drawled in a singsong voice, “Good morning, honey. Congratulations on your new relationship!”
Jiang Cenglan froze for a few seconds.
All around him, classmates, familiar and unfamiliar faces, some he might’ve shared a classroom with at some point, passed by. None of them were overenthusiastic; they simply greeted him casually before moving on.
“Good morning.”
“Congratulations!”
“Have a nice day.”
“Wow, hot guy~.”
“Bless your love!”
“…”
Jiang Cenglan greeted each of them back, awkward at first, but gradually more natural.
He took his seat in the lecture hall. For the first time, he gathered the courage to open the gossip post from the other night. He’d had his phone with him all day yesterday but hadn’t dared check how much the rumors had spread. So with the goodwill and courage he’d just collected, Jiang Cenglan tapped the rainbow circle icon on Instagram.
Less than two minutes later, he buried his face in his arms, praying that the burning heat on his cheeks would fade before the rest of the class arrived.
Li Que had changed his Instagram bio to: “Yes, I’m in love.”
……………….
Jiang Cenglan hadn’t asked about what happened with Zhang Ruien afterward. After their transaction ended, he received a sum of money in his account. Li Que said it was financial compensation for Zhang Ruien’s previous theft of his design drafts.
Given the circumstances, their nationalities, and where the incident had occurred, Zhang Ruien’s actions, though vile, didn’t legally amount to imprisonment. As a designer himself, Jiang Cenglan understood that perfectly well.
So he accepted the compensation, chose to let go of that person, and focused on his present life.
He didn’t ask Li Que about it either, since Jiang Cenglan felt sorry for him. In his eyes, the one most deeply hurt by it all was Li Que, not him. A seven-year marriage had taken up nearly a quarter of Li Que’s life so far. He’d endured all that pain alone, and out of love, and perhaps selfishness, Jiang Cenglan didn’t want that person’s name to appear in their lives ever again.
Still, Jiang Cenglan was curious about Pei Zi’s situation.
Very curious.
In fact, the next day, Pei Zi reached out first, but only to tell him that he’d better not come back for now.
Jiang Cenglan agreed right away. “Alright, I’ll stay at Richard’s for a while,” he replied. “But you’ve got to tell me, why don’t you want me to come back?” So far, he pretended not to know anything about Pei Zi and Zhang Ruien’s affair.
“My bipolar’s acting up,” Pei Zi answered.
Maybe realizing how flimsy that excuse sounded, two minutes later, Pei Zi sent a photo.
It was a mirror selfie: he was wearing a tank top, his body looked fine, but his face didn’t, sporting a large bruise on his cheekbone and a split at the corner of his mouth.
[Waiting for the wind to blow]: What happened?! Who hit you?!
[SomeKindOfBeauty]: A fight. I joined a boxing club.
[SomeKindOfBeauty]: Don’t worry, I’m the one who got off easy.
[Waiting for the wind to blow]: [thumbs-up emoji]
Brother Pei really had too much pride… Jiang Cenglan laughed so hard inside. He immediately called Li Que to share the whole thing, chattering away for twenty minutes before Li Que interrupted.
“Are you actually busy?” Li Que asked. “You refused to let me come upstairs because you said you needed to study. But you still have time to worry about other men’s problems and gossip on the phone.”
“You’re right, I should be drawing!” Jiang Cenglan smacked his forehead, muttered to himself, and hung up.
For Chinese people, studying was always the top priority. Jiang Cenglan said that period was especially crucial for him, but when Li Que looked it up online, it said that every stage of a Chinese person’s life was crucial!
So… since studying was “important,” even if he suspected Jiang Cenglan might be avoiding him on purpose, Li Que couldn’t do much about it. For the next week, he diligently played the role of the devoted pursuer, picking Jiang Cenglan up and dropping him off, taking him out to eat, or bringing him takeout.
But, being Li Que, “peacocking” was practically embedded in his DNA.
Therefore, soon, Li Que made his move.
One night, while Jiang Cenglan was staying up late to draw, he suddenly received a message.
Who could be messaging him at that hour? He glanced at the clock on the desk, seeing that it was almost 2 a.m. He was in the middle of a creative rush and figured the disciplined supermodel was probably asleep. It was most likely an ad or spam, so he ignored it.
He kept drawing, meticulously adjusting every line, testing patterns on his miniature dress form, working until nearly five before finally stretching and setting down his pen.
He’d completely forgotten about the notification. A trivial thing, after all.
After washing up, he rubbed his eyes, climbed into bed, and reached for his phone to set a later alarm, since he still had classes in the afternoon.
And that’s when he noticed the message wasn’t spam at all. It was a WeChat notification.
Yawning, Jiang Cenglan tapped it open, thinking maybe it was a friend from back home, but no. It was Li Que.
Li Que?!
So he opened the chat, and then the image.
Two seconds later, Jiang Cenglan shot upright in bed.
Dim lighting, dark-gray sheets, suspicious wet spots, a perfectly sculpted thigh, and a close-up selfie showing only the lower half of a face.
And, glistening in the corner… that damn purple JBcat limited-edition thermos!
Outrageous! It was practically a pornographic image!
A surge of wicked heat rose inside him. His eyes burned as he stared at the photo. He even tried scrolling down, but there was nothing else. Just that one photo. No voice message as he’d half-expected.
With one hand between his legs and the other trembling over the keyboard, he typed:
[Waiting for the wind to blow]: You’re eating alone?!
[Waiting for the wind to blow]: Are you even there?! Shy.jpg
Jiang Cenglan was practically on the verge of drooling.
- Yiwu is known as “the world’s capital for small commodities” and boasts China’s largest wholesale market, so they probably manufacture all kinds of “small commodities”:))) ↩︎
- Based on what information I have available, I would guess that JB is some brand of lube, so Jiang Cenglan is making a play on the Jellycats toy brands by calling it JBcats instead, implying he’s talking about some different type of toys :)) And I guess everyone knows what Durex is, so no need to explain that one. ↩︎
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