Chapter 119

Chapter 119

Fifty Affection Points isn't much. But it was the most Ji Mian had received since arriving in this world, compared to the measly three or five points he'd gotten before.

Yu Chuang turned his head when he heard the term, his gaze meeting Ji Mian's, who then casually averted his gaze.

Yu Chuang remembered that Ji Mian was slightly older than him, so the term "brother" just now probably wasn't directed at him.

He looked at the photo frame on the table, deep in thought.

Pei Qing was much older than this person, rumored to be around twenty-eight or twenty-nine. It made sense for him to address him as "brother."

Yu Chuang felt an inexplicable discomfort, as if something uniquely his had been snatched away.

He frowned, wondering where this feeling had come from.

"System, Yu Chuang is my brother, right?"

"No."

Ji Mian picked up on the tension in the system's voice and hesitantly asked, "...System?"

"How should I know?"

"If you don't know, why did you say 'no'?"

"..." The system's mechanical voice held a note of annoyance. "Every time your brother appears, the plot goes off the rails. If the plot hadn't fallen apart in the last world, we'd have enough Affection Points to retire by now!"

"...We?"

The system explained, "I've told you before that the system isn't so different from you Taskers, except we take on less risk, have lighter workloads, and don't cycle through small worlds like Taskers do. So naturally, we earn much less."

"Before you, I've mentored plenty of Taskers. We're just under twenty thousand points shy of the hundred thousand mark..."

"Sorry, without your brother, we wouldn't have racked up so many points so fast." The system sighed. "The closer we get, the more impatient I feel."

So that's the deal...

Ji Mian could kind of understand where the system was coming from.

He felt that way too. Since the last world ended, with just over ten thousand points to go, he'd grown impatient, always pushing to go faster.

Ji Mian said, "I promise to stick to the plot this time and not mess with the worldline. Don't worry, System."

The system replied, "Mm."

After reassuring the system, Ji Mian quietly studied Yu Chuang's back.

Originally, he hadn't planned to do anything to the stand-in in the plot. He just wanted to sign the contract and occasionally call the person over to verbally push the progress along.

But now it was different. Knowing who the person in front of him was, Ji Mian felt completely unburdened.

He sat down on the soft sofa in the bedroom, one leg casually propped up on the table in front of the sofa.

Ji Mian curled his lips and spoke, "Hey, you, come here."

Yu Chuang glanced at him and walked over.

"Sit."

Yu Chuang perched on the edge of the sofa.

"Tsk, sitting so far away, scared I’ll bite?" Ji Mian raised his eyebrows. "Closer."

Yu Chuang: "..."

He scooted over next to Ji Mian, their thighs nearly brushing.

His hand at his side was suddenly enveloped by something soft and warm. Yu Chuang’s expression froze, and he glanced down stiffly to see Ji Mian caressing his hand.

"..."

Just endure it, he told himself.

It’s just a hand—no big deal...

Yu Chuang's palm was much larger than Ji Mian's. Ji Mian, like a shameless old rogue, stroked the back of Yu Chuang’s hand, but his palm wasn’t big enough to cover it, so he used both hands to grip it, squeezing the knuckles and massaging the veins.

He feigned calmness until he glanced up and noticed Yu Chuang’s jaw clenched, his face tense. Ji Mian ducked his head, shoulders shaking slightly.

Worried his stifled laughter might give him away, he released Yu Chuang’s hand.

Before Yu Chuang could even exhale, Ji Mian suddenly threw an arm around his neck.

Ji Mian’s cool nose brushed against his neck, and Yu Chuang stiffened, fingers digging into the sofa as he fought the urge to shove him away.

Soon after, Ji Mian shifted his leg from the table to Yu Chuang’s knee. He clung to Yu Chuang like an octopus.

Yu Chuang’s temples pulsed, alternating between feeling violated and finding Ji Mian’s clinginess bizarre.

Why’s he so worked up over hugging a stand-in?

Earlier, this guy claimed he wasn’t good enough to sleep with him, and now, on day one, he’s all over him.

After a few minutes, Ji Mian finally stifled his laughter, released Yu Chuang, and lifted his head.

His cheek, pressed against Yu Chuang’s collar, bore faint red marks when he pulled away.

Still, he didn’t back off, spending the next half hour tugging Yu Chuang’s hair and pinching his ears.

Yu Chuang stared blankly at the ceiling, letting Ji Mian have his way.

Ji Mian frowned at his expression, displeased. "What, not into it already?"

Yu Chuang pressed his lips together. "No."

Ji Mian chuckled, giving Yu Chuang’s cheek a couple of pats. "Then quit looking so gloomy—you’re killing the vibe."

"..." Yu Chuang swallowed his frustration.

Don’t blow up—this guy did cover the surgery fee. Stay calm.

Even the system stepped in: "Too much. The original owner just ogled him—he didn’t go all handsy like you!"

"Oh..."

The system murmured, "Why do I get the feeling you’re having fun messing with your brother?"

Ji Mian hesitated for a moment: "...No. I'm just staying in character."

The system saw right through it but kept quiet.

After a few worlds, even its host had picked up some mischief.

Ji Mian toned it down a bit, dimmed the bedroom lights, fired up the wall projector to watch a movie, and while watching, he continued to fiddle with Yu Chuang's hands.

At this moment, he remembered something.

"System, why does my brother need money so badly?" When the six hundred thousand arrived, he noticed Yu Chuang's reaction, clearly showing he needed the money for something important.

"Sorry, I don't have much info on that. Yu Chuang is just a minor character in the original story, and I don't have many details about him."

"Alright, I'll ask around and see what I can find out."

Yu Chuang looked down at his reddened hand and fingers, his lips twitched, not getting what was so appealing about his hand.

His palms were calloused, and his fingertips rough. His fingers were a bit longer, at best, but not as soft as many girls' fingers—that's what men usually go for, right?

But the one touching him had fingers soft as cotton.

After a while, seeing Ji Mian didn't seem to have any other plans, he slowly relaxed.

*

Ji Mian headed out after lunch.

No one knew where he was off to, leaving Yu Chuang alone at the Ji Family.

He remembered what Ji Mian told Li Song when they signed the contract, asking Li Song to find some work for him.

So Yu Chuang stayed put at the Ji Family.

But Li Song's response was: "Mr. Yu, if you're tied up, feel free to head out. No need for you to handle these chores."

"Didn't he say..."

"The young master was just making small talk. You mean a lot to him."

Yu Chuang: ...Special in what way?

He suspected the butler used this line with every one of Ji Mian's lovers.

"I can tell Mr. Yu is a serious guy. Being with our young master, you must've hit some rough patches?"

Yu Chuang smiled faintly and didn't answer.

He wasn't about to air his family's dirty laundry.

Seeing his reaction, Li Song tactfully stopped probing and said, "You are the young master's person. If there are any requests you find inconvenient to bring up to the young master, feel free to come to me. I will do my best."

Yu Chuang wasn't sure where the Ji Family's butler got so much goodwill for a lover, or if it was just politeness?

Still, he nodded politely: "Thank you."

"Mr. Yu, are you still in university?" Li Song said, "If you have things to attend to at school, you can leave first. Just come when the young master needs you."

Yu Chuang indeed had things to attend to, but not at school.

He had to go to the hospital to pay the fees, and today was also the day he promised to accompany Yu Xing to the hospital.

After a moment of hesitation, he stood up and left first.

Yu Chuang went to the hospital to settle the surgery and treatment costs, then headed to the ward to see Yu Xing.

Yu Xing was just twelve years old, but he already carried a bit of his older brother’s presence. Despite his sickly look and thin frame, his eyes were sharp and lively, like a steady young wolf.

He spoke calmly: "Brother, you should focus on your studies. Uncle Chen is here to take care of me at the hospital, so you don’t need to visit so often."

The Uncle Chen Yu Xing mentioned was a caregiver Yu Chuang had hired to watch over him.

Before, Yu Chuang had been busy earning money to cover the medical bills and couldn’t spare the time to care for Yu Xing himself. Though he was desperate for money, Yu Chuang knew that if Yu Xing suffered from poor care, no amount of money would make a difference. In the end, he hired someone.

"Not much has been happening lately, don’t worry about it," Yu Chuang said, patting Yu Xing’s head before quickly pulling his hand away.

Yu Xing noticed the clear exhaustion on his brother’s face and stayed quiet.

Both brothers were equally quiet.

Yu Chuang sat by the hospital bed for over two hours, but they barely spoke a word to each other.

They were nowhere near as close as most brothers. All their energy went into just trying to survive, leaving little room for anything else.

Yu Chuang absently rubbed his knuckles, staring at Yu Xing’s gaunt face. He wanted to be a good older brother, but he always came up short.

He wasn’t attentive enough, and he was too emotionally distant. He hadn’t expected this to be true even with his own younger brother.

Yu Chuang often felt that if someone else were in his shoes, they would have raised Yu Xing to be more lively.

Unconsciously, he tried to imitate a certain shadow, but unfortunately, that shadow was too elusive and too perfect in his imagination. He could only manage a poor imitation, barely becoming a wooden shack that could only provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Nothing more than that.

After watching Yu Xing finish his dinner, Yu Chuang took the bus back to school. That day, he had spent nearly five hours on the road.

He arrived at school at eight in the evening, which was still the earliest he had returned in recent days. His roommates were quite surprised.

Yu Chuang didn’t rest when he got back. He opened his computer and spent over two hours coding.

It wasn’t until 10:30 PM, when the dormitory was about to turn off the lights, that he finally paused. He was the last one to go to the bathroom. His computer was still on, fully charged, ready for him to continue working after the lights went out.

Yu Chuang looked at the half-length mirror in front of the sink. His reflection didn’t look great, with dark circles under his eyes. The manager at the restaurant the previous day had been right—his dark circles were indeed quite heavy.

He frowned, feeling a bit disheveled himself.

How could that guy have the nerve to touch him with a face like this?

"In our line of work, appearance is very important," was a phrase often repeated by the managers at both the Meidun Club and the restaurant.

Yu Chuang pressed his lips together.

After coming out of the bathroom, he sat back at his desk and stared at his computer for half a minute.

Out of professionalism, Yu Chuang silently closed his laptop and, for the first time in two months, went to bed before 11 PM.

On his first day of "selling himself," he surprisingly managed to get a good night’s sleep.