Yan Xun initially thought that Chu Tingyun’s hurried dragging of him was because he had suddenly remembered an urgent matter. He didn’t expect that once the car door was closed, Chu Tingyun would press down on him and start kissing him.
“Mmm…”
In the enclosed space, the friction of skin and the mingling of urgent breaths created a sudden and unexpected kiss that was like a spark in the autumn, igniting the dry grass and spreading with the wind.
In just a few seconds, Yan Xun felt his body temperature rising sharply.
Today, Chu Tingyun had switched to a Rolls-Royce, and the back seat was spacious enough, but it felt a bit cramped with two men over 180 cm tall. As Yan Xun was pressed under Chu Tingyun, the weight of the man made their bodies press tightly together.
The man’s dress pants, stretched by the movement, outlined the beautiful lines of his hips and legs and vaguely showed the marks left by the shirt tucked in. The rubbing of the dress pants against Yan Xun’s jeans made a chaotic, subtle sound, but all of this was drowned out by the intimate sounds of their kiss.
“Chu Tingyun… There are people…”
At this time, it was not completely deserted; they could still hear other cars starting and passing by. This meant that even the driver might not have gone far.
Thinking of this, a sense of forbidden excitement, like an affair, spread across Yan Xun’s body, making his mind feel slightly numb. Perhaps Chu Tingyun also sensed this, which only made him more excited.
Chu Tingyun’s kisses were always intense, dominant, and filled with a sense of invasion and control. Yan Xun could only wrap his arms around his waist, bend one knee, and wedge it between Chu Tingyun’s thighs to prevent him from falling off due to excessive movement. It also helped to keep their tightly pressed bodies a bit apart.
“Mmm….”
Chu Tingyun, pressed by Yan Xun’s knee, arched his back slightly, letting out a low groan.
“Yan Xun, you…”
“…?”
Yan Xun was startled by Chu Tingyun’s strange reaction and then noticed that Chu Tingyun had naturally straddled his thigh, with his upper body still lying on Yan Xun’s chest. This position made the line from his waist to his hips particularly striking and eye-catching. There was a small gap at the waistline where the pants and skin did not fully meet.
“Do you like it?”
Chu Tingyun’s face was buried in Yan Xun’s neck, yet it seemed like his head had eyes on the side.
Yan Xun: “…”
He felt slightly shocked by the question, quickly shifting his gaze. Then, the young man pushed the person on top of him and said, “Get up; we’re going home.”
After a pause, Yan Xun turned his head and added, “Don’t do it in the car next time.”
The well-behaved student who has been obedient all his life gets a little stirred when engaging in such activities.
“Really?”
Chu Tingyun bit a slight mark on his neck and leaned close to the young man’s ear, saying, “But I feel like you like it even more than I do, Xunxun. You’re almost making a dent on my belly.”
“……”
Yan Xun’s breath suddenly hitched, and then it became noticeably heavier.
“Chu Tingyun, shut up.”
“Hmm? Xunxun, you used to deny having a bad temper, and now you can’t even be scolded; you’re even scolding me.”
Chu Tingyun was not angry; after all, the shameful tone in Yan Xun’s voice was mostly due to embarrassment.
“Why did you dress so elaborately today and come to the company to seduce me? I’ve already managed to resist for a whole night, so isn’t that considered sitting still with nothing wrong?”
“……”
Yan Xun felt that Chu Tingyun was really good at turning the tables and had redefined what it meant to dress elaborately and sit still. Chu Tingyun was still moving around, not ceasing. Yan Xun pressed for a long time but couldn’t completely restrain him, so he got a bit annoyed and decided to teach him a lesson.
The subtle sound of the belt sliding was followed by a muffled grunt from the man.
“Xunxun… You’re really skilled with using things to tie someone up.”
It was a belt this time, tied around his wrists and then twisted behind his back.
Yan Xun’s ears were burning, but he didn’t respond because he knew Chu Tingyun would soon be unable to speak. From Yan Xun’s perspective, the snow-covered mountains looked like they were experiencing a small artificial avalanche.
At this time, the young man’s left hand firmly gripped his neck, making it impossible to escape, and he even deliberately wiped his hand with water on Chu Tingyun’s face. But the cleanliness-loving man had no time to care about this until much later, when the avalanche finally subsided and everything slowly receded like a retreating tide. Chu Tingyun began to feel a bit uncomfortable.
—He wanted to take a shower.
But there was obviously no condition for that in the car.
Yan Xun found several wet wipes to clean his face. Although it was probably clean, Chu Tingyun still felt uncomfortable.
Extremely awkwardly uncomfortable.
Yan Xun was well aware of this, because every time after it ended, even if Chu Tingyun was tired or sleepy, he always insisted on asking Yan Xun to carry him to take a shower, to be thoroughly cleaned before going to sleep.
He absolutely could not tolerate being sticky.
“All right, let’s go home and take a shower.”
Yan Xun untied the belt from Chu Tingyun’s wrists and even thoughtfully helped him put on his pants and fasten the belt.
Chu Tingyun actually wanted to throw away the pants, but now he had no other replacement and could only grit his teeth and endure it.
“I want to go back to the company to take a shower.”
The CEO’s office was equipped with a large bed for resting and a separate bathroom.
But Yan Xun refused, taking off his own coat and wrapping it around Chu Tingyun’s waist to cover up some not-so-obvious stains on his trousers, then pushing him into the driver’s seat.
“Go home and shower.”
“……No!”
Chu Tingyun was naturally unwilling, but every time he tried to get out of the car, Yan Xun pulled him back.
In fact, over the years, Chu Tingyun had kept up with his exercise habits, and he had fought and never lost in conflicts with others. But in the face of Yan Xun, he was repeatedly defeated in terms of strength.
Yan Xun said his foster father used to be like a hero in books and knew martial arts. Chu Tingyun felt Yan Xun was the one who knew martial arts, because the other party always managed to subdue him effortlessly, and the last time even carried him back from the elevator.
The meticulous Chu Tingyun, dressed to perfection in the morning, was now a mess, with his hair in disarray, his neat and crisp suit wrinkled, his tie crooked, and his waist wrapped in Yan Xun’s sweatshirt.
On the other hand, Yan Xun, wearing a long-sleeve white T-shirt and loose black-gray jeans, appeared more relaxed and casually handsome after the tussle.
“Yan Xun! Let me down! Let me down right now!”
At this moment, Chu Tingyun realized that Yan Xun was doing it on purpose.
Purposely making him dirty, making him uncomfortable, and not allowing him to shower.
Chu Tingyun was very angry.
But at this time, Yan Xun had already settled into the passenger seat and leaned over to help Chu Tingyun fasten his seatbelt.
“If you delay a little longer, you’ll be uncomfortable a little longer. Drive home quickly.”
His voice carried a bit of a smile, clearly a bit intentional and smug.
“……”
Given the situation, Chu Tingyun could only drive the car with frustration.
Sitting like this was really uncomfortable, and he felt his pants were very damp, wishing he could immediately flash back home to take a shower.
While uncomfortable, he also had to stay focused on driving. Chu Tingyun suddenly felt that Yan Xun really needed to learn how to drive.
However, even though it was uncomfortable, Chu Tingyun still drove steadily rather than speeding up.
The journey ended safely as they entered the neighborhood.
Finally home, Chu Tingyun quickly stripped off his dirty clothes at the door and rushed to the bathroom. Yan Xun followed behind to pick them up and put them in the designated dirty clothes area.
The house was equipped with the most expensive washer-dryer set, but Chu Tingyun’s clothes were too valuable, so they were generally collected by specialized cleaning personnel who took them away, cleaned them carefully, and then returned them.
So, in the end, Yan Xun only put the underwear and socks into the corresponding small washing machines. After washing and drying, they were collected and put into the designated spot in the wardrobe.
Previously, Yan Xun wondered if rich bosses only wore new underwear and threw them away after one use.
But in reality, it was not the case, because new underwear would wear out. Even rich bosses were still men.
And according to Chu Tingyun’s obsession with cleanliness, even new ones had to be carefully washed before he was willing to wear them.
It must be said that Yan Xun’s little punishment was indeed effective. After that, Chu Tingyun didn’t make advances in public anymore for several days.
Yan Xun, who was always a practical person, believed in learning to drive immediately if you said you wanted to learn. He quickly found a driving school and a coach.
Driving was quite different from his work skills, and since Yan Xun had been in a car accident before, he planned not to fumble on his own but to learn systematically with a professional coach.
Although Chu Tingyun offered to arrange it, Yan Xun thought it was a small matter and didn’t need to make a fuss.
On the other hand, the driving school coach who received this special student found it quite unusual.
Because the person already had a driver’s license but couldn’t remember how to drive, so they planned to learn from scratch, following the normal beginner’s process, just without taking the test.
No test, such an easy job?
In addition, since Yan Xun paid the regular student fee, the coach happily agreed and said there was plenty of time and the venue was available, so Yan Xun could come anytime.
So, after paying the tuition, Yan Xun went to learn driving early the next day. Chu Tingyun had specifically asked the driver to take him a bit out of the way to drop him off.
This time, Yan Xun didn’t ask what would happen if he was late, because indeed no one in the company would deduct Chu Tingyun’s pay for that.
Yan Xun got out of the car and smiled at the driver as he said goodbye,
“Alright, you can go to work now.”
“Mm.”
Watching the car drive away, Yan Xun then turned to go inside to find the coach.
At that moment, his peripheral vision suddenly caught something, and he stopped. Turning his head, he saw a young girl not far away staring at him.
She didn’t seem very old, but her expression was a bit odd at that moment.
However, when she noticed Yan Xun looking at her, she immediately gave him a sweet smile and seemed to want to come over and talk to him.
“……”
Yan Xun didn’t respond, and without waiting for her to come over, he walked straight inside.
By then, the driving school coach was already waiting inside. The coach was a bit chubby with sparse hair, a very ordinary middle-aged man appearance.
The coach greeted him warmly:
“Hello, Mr. Yan Xun, right? My surname is Liu. You can call me Coach Liu.”
“Hello, Coach Liu.”
Yan Xun politely nodded at him.
“Mr. Yan,”
Before starting the driving practice, Coach Liu explained again,
“You’ve signed up for a small group lesson, not a private lesson, so there will be another student joining you later.”
“Mm, okay.”
Yan Xun was aware of this when he signed up. Chu Tingyun had wanted him to choose the most expensive private lesson, but Yan Xun felt it was unnecessary. Learning with one more person was fine; there was enough time to practice with the car, and it wasn’t as expensive, offering good cost-effectiveness.
Even though he had three million and a wealthy wife, Yan Xun still didn’t have the habit of spending money extravagantly. He preferred choosing a more cost-effective way of spending under the premise of ensuring quality and effectiveness.
However, Yan Xun didn’t expect that the other student joining him for the driving lessons would be the girl who was watching him and smiling at the door earlier.
When she came closer, Yan Xun could see her appearance more clearly.
The girl looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, not tall, around one meter sixty, with a fair complexion, small and thin.
With bangs, big eyes, a round face, and dressed in colorful clothes, she looked like a lively little butterfly.
“Hello, little brother, I’m Ye Lekui.”
She didn’t seem upset by Yan Xun’s previous indifference but instead smiled and introduced herself generously.
Since she was so polite, Yan Xun wasn’t the type to make a girl feel embarrassed. Besides, they would be learning to drive together for a while, so it was best not to let the relationship become awkward.
“Yan Xun.”
So he also introduced himself.
The girl seemed to misunderstand and suddenly asked:
“Hey, what a coincidence, do you share the same surname as me?”
“Yan, as in the word for ‘banquet’.”
Yan Xun corrected her.
“Oh……”
The young girl rubbed her nose and smiled a bit awkwardly.
After that, they didn’t talk anymore because the coach took them both into the car. Coach Liu was obviously a very responsible instructor. He first demonstrated everything, carefully explaining each point, and then let the two of them take turns trying.
Yan Xun learned very seriously, but the girl sitting in the back seat was inattentive, continually sneaking glances at him.
Among the three people in the car, the other two noticed this.
Coach Liu thought that he really shouldn’t have arranged a man and a woman together, but in the end, he said nothing and acted as if he hadn’t noticed.
Yan Xun also pretended not to know, but his attitude toward the girl became even colder.
Because the girl’s mind was completely off driving, and she kept looking for opportunities to talk to him.
“Little brother, how old are you? What’s your birth year and month? Where is your hometown? Are your parents still around? Do you have any siblings?”
“……”
Yan Xun thought this girl was just like someone who was specifically checking his household registration, and frowned immediately.
Ye Lekui quickly noticed his displeasure and realized she had overstepped by asking too many questions.
“Oh, don’t misunderstand, little brother. I was just asking because I felt you seemed approachable.”
She counted on her fingers and said softly,
“If you find it offensive, you don’t have to answer.”
“……”
Yan Xun looked at her for a few seconds and thought that although this girl was quite odd, she didn’t seem to have bad intentions. So he answered.
“I’m twenty-five this year, and I’m already married.”
“Twenty-five?”
But the girl’s focus was not on whether he was married or not, but rather on his age.
The girl’s face showed a bit of disappointment, and she muttered, “Why is it one year older…”
But she still wasn’t quite ready to give up. On a whim, she asked Yan Xun,
“Little brother, are you sure you didn’t get your age wrong? I think you look like you’re twenty-four.”
“……”
Yan Xun didn’t speak, but his look seemed to say, “Do you think I’m foolish enough to forget my own age?”
And, how big is the difference between twenty-four and twenty-five?
Can it be seen with the naked eye?
At this point, Ye Lekui quickly realized she had said something foolish. She lowered her head like a wilted sunflower and mumbled an apology to Yan Xun.
“Sorry, just consider me having a bit of a problem today.”
“……”
Yan Xun remained silent.
He thought the girl was quite cute, but it was a pity that her brain seemed to have some issues.
After this conversation, Ye Lekui quieted down. Although she still occasionally stole glances at Yan Xun in the front seat, she no longer asked any strange questions.
Throughout the morning, Yan Xun learned quickly and well, but Ye Lekui was doing poorly, or rather, she wasn’t paying attention at all.
Coach Liu patiently taught her several times but had to reluctantly remind her to practice more next time.
After the morning session, Yan Xun left.
Ye Lekui followed him slowly, watching him take a taxi away. At this point, she immediately called her best friend to vent her frustrations.
“Hello? Xiao Kui?”
A girl’s voice came from the other end of the line.
Ye Lekui instantly became excited:
“Oh my god! Luo Luo, let me tell you! I met a little brother at the driving school today…”
Before she could finish, the girl on the other end excitedly interrupted her:
“Do you have a photo? How handsome is he?!”
“……I forgot to take a photo.”
Ye Lekui was immediately led astray by her best friend,
“But he is indeed very handsome, very tall; he seems a bit taller than my uncle, with long legs. And he’s not that skinny type, but muscular and well-trained… It’s just that his personality is very aloof. I talked to him for a long time, but he didn’t really respond to me.”
“Wow, your uncle is a solid one-eighty handsome guy? Taller than him? That’s indeed very tall.”
Luo Xiaoyue was excited by her description.
“Cold-faced cool guy, hmm, sounds really good! Why don’t you try again, think of a way, use some tactics to win him over!”
“……”
At this point, Ye Lekui remembered what she wanted to say earlier,
“Oh, I’m not interested in him like that, and he’s already married. I wanted to tell you that he looks a bit like my uncle when he was young, especially when he smiles; he has dimples just like my aunt. It’s like a perfect match.”
“……What?”
Luo Xiaoyue immediately understood why her friend was so excited,
“So you think he might be the missing child from your uncle’s family? Your cousin?”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. I saw him get out of the car this morning and talked and laughed with the people in the car. The dimples were exactly like those on my aunt’s face.”
“I was so excited at the time, my blood pressure shot up to one hundred eighty. I almost ran up to hug him tightly, then called my uncle to fly over to recognize his son…”
Ye Lekui was initially very excited, but as she spoke, she sighed.
“But there’s no such luck in the world. I asked, and the age doesn’t match. That little brother said he’s twenty-five, while my cousin should only be twenty-four if he were still alive. It might just be a coincidence that they look alike.”
After all, there are many people in the world who look alike.
Luo Xiaoyue felt regretful after hearing this: “The age doesn’t match… It probably isn’t him then.”
Her family and the Ye family are family friends, so they know a bit more about the case of the missing child from Professor Ye’s family.
Professor Ye and his wife were both returnees with Ph.D.s, each having achieved significant accomplishments in their respective fields. They only had a son in their thirties, whom they doted on immensely.
That summer, the couple finally managed to coordinate their vacation and took their five-year-old son to the seaside for a holiday. Mrs. Ye, feeling tired from the journey, stayed at the hotel to rest, while Professor Ye took their child to the beach to play.
At that time, it was just before sunset, and the scene was extraordinarily beautiful, with the setting sun casting its glow over the sea.
The child was building sandcastles on the beach with his father, and both were having a great time.
However, not long after, a girl suddenly drowned in the sea. The child knew his father could swim, so he called him to rescue the girl. Professor Ye, anxious, told his son to stay put and immediately went into the water.
By the time he finally pulled the drowning girl out of the water, the beach was left with only the unfinished sandcastle.
It was already dark, and there weren’t many people on the beach. The few who were there had all been attracted by the drowning incident, so no one noticed a child who had been building sandcastles being taken away.
The parents who lost their child were devastated and immediately reported it to the police. However, at that time, surveillance cameras were not widespread in the country, and there were many visitors from other places, making the investigation very difficult.
The couple gave up their work and searched day and night for more than two years but found nothing. Later, the police finally caught a suspected child trafficking gang from that time, but they claimed the child had died of illness on the road.
This news was like a bolt from the blue!
The parents were deeply affected by the news and fell seriously ill. Although they eventually recovered, they did not have any more children, and their lives were left with only work.
Even though they were told their child was dead, they continued searching with a glimmer of hope over the years, but the news was sparse, and whenever they found something, it turned out to be a wild goose chase.
The loss of a child is the greatest human tragedy.
Luo Xiaoyue always sighed whenever she heard about this and comforted her friend:
“It’s okay; don’t think about it. Just consider that you met a handsome guy today; isn’t that a gain?!”
“……Yeah, that’s true.”
Although she said this, Ye Lekui still felt a bit dejected. Perhaps it was because her expectations had been set too high, and now finding it was a disappointment was hard to bear.
“Alright, Luo Luo, I won’t talk to you anymore. I have class in the afternoon and need to go to my uncle’s house for dinner in the evening. It’s almost time.”
Ye Lekui’s home was not in the capital, so she often went to her uncle’s house for meals while attending university there.
“Okay, bye.”
Beep, beep, beep—
Ye Lekui hung up the phone.
However, she still couldn’t let go of the matter. She was distracted during her driving practice in the morning and remained unfocused during her afternoon class, her mind occupied with the image of Yan Xun smiling and talking to people in the car.
It really resembled someone, but why did the age not match?
So annoying!
It felt like an obsessive-compulsive disorder seeing an irregular puzzle, making her feel distressed.
After finally enduring until the end of class, Ye Lekui picked up her backpack and left.
She had to hurry to her uncle’s house for dinner.
Ye Lekui took a taxi at the school gate and arrived at her uncle’s house after about forty minutes.
Ye Cunshan and his wife lived in a free allocated apartment from their workplace, a four-story small villa where they lived on the third floor.
Ye Lekui had visited many times since she was young. When she was little, her parents even wanted her to stay at her uncle’s house for winter and summer vacations, saying that having a child at home could at least be a comfort.
At that time, Ye Cunshan had a big argument with his younger brother, saying that while it was fine for the girl to visit and stay whenever she wanted, they welcomed her anytime, but there was no need to replace anyone with their own son.
They of course treated little Lekui very well and genuinely cared for her, but they always remembered their lost younger son and did not let anyone occupy his place.
So, as she grew up, Ye Lekui developed an obsession with helping her uncle’s family find the lost child.
While climbing the stairs, still thinking about the matter, Ye Lekui found an unfamiliar man standing at the door with her uncle when she reached the third floor.
The man was holding something, as if he had come to deliver a gift.
“Professor Ye, these are local specialties from my hometown. They aren’t worth much, but since you have helped me a lot, I wanted to express my gratitude. Please take care of me in the coming days.”
Ye Lekui frowned slightly upon hearing this and asked in confusion:
“Uncle, who is that person…?”
“Oh, he’s the student from Capital University who is responsible for hosting me this time.”
Professor Ye gave a brief explanation and patted the little girl on the head, saying:
“Go wash your hands quickly. Your aunt has already prepared dinner and is waiting for you.”
“Hehe, I could smell the delicious food from downstairs. I’m starving.”
Ye Lekui said with a grin.
Standing next to her, He Mingyuan had initially intended to greet the girl, but she completely ignored him and went straight to the side of the door, slipping in like a little kitten.
His smile froze for a moment but soon returned to normal. Then he heard Professor Ye say:
“It’s my duty to help students with their questions, but I’m sorry. Our family members have delicate stomachs, so we might not be able to eat these.”
Although the words were polite, the man’s expression and tone were very cold.
“I appreciate the kind gesture, but you should take the items back and share them with your classmates and teachers.”
He Mingyuan had not expected to be rejected. He had chatted quite well with the professor earlier, and their interaction had been very pleasant in recent days.
Given this foundation, he had chosen dinner time to visit, bringing gifts, thinking that at least he should be offered a drink, if not a meal.
“Professor Ye, but…”
“Go back now. It’s getting dark.”
With that, Professor Ye closed the door.
Bang.
The door closed with a bit of a bang.
He Mingyuan’s face darkened, his fists clenched repeatedly, but in the end, he could only leave reluctantly.
Inside the house, Ye Lekui had already washed her hands and was affectionately hugging her aunt.
The lady in her fifties, named Xie Fengjun, although her face showed signs of aging, had a beautiful bone structure and elegant features, exuding a softness accumulated over the years.
“Still acting like a child at this age.”
She poked the girl’s forehead, her tone still treating her like a little child.
Hearing the door, Ye Lekui realized that her uncle had come in alone.
“Eh, Uncle, did he leave?”
“Mm.”
Professor Ye replied briefly, then said:
“Let’s eat.”
Ye Lekui sat down and, after a moment, suddenly asked:
“Uncle, don’t you like the person from just now?”
“Mm? Why do you say that?”
Ye Lekui said seriously: “You didn’t even let him in, and Uncle, you know that every time you meet someone you don’t like, your eyes and tone are so cold, it could freeze someone.”
Professor Ye did not respond.
Recently, the National Engineering Academy and Capital University had collaborated to recruit and train a group of postdoctoral researchers. This was just the beginning of the first phase, with plans to continue if successful.
So it was normal for doctoral students to want to build a good relationship with him.
However, Ye Cunshan disliked those who were too opportunistic. There was also another reason: During a lecture a few days ago, He Mingyuan mentioned some of his former classmates.
Even though he spoke the truth and the student had indeed committed plagiarism, He Mingyuan had chatted amiably with the person, only to turn around and speak ill of them behind their back… Professor Ye did not like that.
But Ye Cunshan did not tell the little girl about these matters, only encouraging her to enjoy her meal.
“Oh.”
Ye Lekui buried her head in her meal. Meanwhile, she kept glancing at Xie Fengjun’s profile.
“Auntie, I’ve missed you so much.”
“Really?”
Xie Fengjun smiled at her, her lips curving up, and her dimples appearing.
Ye Lekui stared at her, even getting a bit lost in the sight, which puzzled both the couple.
“Why are you staring at me like this, Xiao Kui? What’s going on?”
Xie Fengjun instinctively touched her face, checking if there was anything on it.
“Oh, it’s just…”
Ye Lekui quickly thought of an excuse:
“I just think Auntie’s dimples are so beautiful. I envy them and want a pair too.”
She didn’t mention the events of the morning because the age didn’t match, and even if she did, it would only make them sad.
“Oh, really?”
Xie Fengjun was flattered and continued talking:
“Everyone in our family has dimples. It might be genetic. Later, when I had…”
She suddenly fell silent, her smile frozen, and her face turned slightly pale.
Ye Lekui immediately realized she had said something wrong and hurried to apologize. But Xie Fengjun did not blame her; instead, she took a deep breath and continued:
“Later, when I had a child, it was your cousin Ye Chengyi. He also had dimples and looked especially cute when he smiled—so sweet it could melt your heart.”
As a mother, although she was always heartbroken when she mentioned her lost younger son, she did not treat it as taboo.
She feared that if she constantly avoided the topic, she might forget him one day, which would be the real loss.
So, when the topic of children came up again, she spoke naturally:
“When he first started talking, he couldn’t pronounce the characters clearly. He always pronounced Ye as ‘Yan,’ so we decided to give him a nickname.”
“—Yanyan.”
