Chapter 3

Chapter 3

At those words, Jiang Tiyan pulled him onto his lap, his hand hovering uncertainly over Qi Yanyu’s thigh.

Qi Yanyu let out faint sounds of pain, his ashen face and disheveled black hair leaving no doubt this was real pain.

The screen had gone black after the livestream ended, so no one could see their movements or hear their conversation.

Yet the comments in the livestream chat continued to go wild with theories, with fans and netizens eagerly speculating:

“Ahhh! I think I managed to screenshot that person!”

“What did I miss? Why did Jiang Tiyan’s livestream go black?”

“Am I seeing things? Did Jiang Tiyan’s boyfriend just come out to act all clingy?”

“Didn’t Jiang Tiyan’s friends say he’d have to go back and inherit the family business if he failed as an actor? Could this be his society-approved boyfriend?”

So, despite the oddness of it, Jiang Tiyan’s fingers finally pressed down, working the inner muscle of Qi Yanyu’s thigh.

His manager’s panicked calls came through, and Jiang Tiyan swiped them away impatiently.

In his line of sight, the man’s eyes were tightly shut, his brows furrowed in a pained, restrained expression.

The original Qi Yanyu was a blue-blooded aristocrat—outwardly aloof, always followed by attendants, and sucked up to constantly wherever he went. A life of privilege, born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

Many in their circle had even paraded pretty boys before him in attempts to brown-nose.

But after Qi Yanyu cut ties with his family for Zhou Yuan’s sake, the flattery from their social circle dwindled significantly.

After his phone blew up with over a dozen calls from his manager, Jiang Tiyan finally noticed Qi Yanyu’s expression showing some relief.

Only then did he leisurely pick up the phone, only to be met with an earful from his manager:

“If you don’t restart that livestream right now, the entire entertainment industry will think you got it on live! Our company has never had to do damage control like this. Please, Young Master Jiang, can’t you save the affection for later?!”

Jiang Tiyan arched a dismissive brow. “Is it really that serious?”

As he spoke, he tightened his grip on the man in his arms. “Alright, stop bothering me. I’ll go back on soon.”

After hanging up, Jiang Tiyan reopened the livestream. The chat was blowing up so fast it was nearly unreadable.

Not that he cared—his agency would spin this.

He adjusted the camera angle slightly, ensuring only his chiseled features were visible, with nothing below his shoulders showing.

In his arms was the great Qi heir.

The man’s cramp had left him teary-eyed and ghost-white. Irritated, Jiang Tiyan kept one arm wrapped around him, preventing him from sitting up and appearing on camera.

With his other hand, he committed to playing nurse, massaging Qi Yanyu’s trembling leg.

Netizens, noticing Jiang Tiyan’s return but the strangely adjusted camera angle, immediately turned into sleuths:

“Is Jiang Tiyan still holding his little boyfriend in his arms?! Help!”

“Did Jiang Tiyan just get it on live?!”

Jiang Tiyan’s sudden reappearance left the hosts and fellow actors both shocked and eating this up.

The host turned to Jiang Tiyan: "Tiyan, where did you go just now?" It was also an opportunity to give Jiang Tiyan a chance to explain and give him an out.

Jiang Tiyan’s appearance was like moonlit dew—striking yet aloof. His expression at the moment was composed and unruffled, without missing a beat:

"My cat was throwing up milk. I went to check on it."

The netizens blew up the chat even harder:

"Probably not a cat, but a clingy little boyfriend who demanded Jiang Tiyan’s cuddles first thing in the morning!"

"Didn’t Jiang Tiyan say he doesn’t like small animals? Since when does he have a cat?"

"Is he okay then?" The host smiled gently, with concern.

Jiang Tiyan’s hand didn’t stop, still pressing against the soft thigh of the person in his lap. With his phoenix eyes half-lidded, he replied, "Of course he’s fine. He’s not that fragile."

He was mocking Qi Yanyu.

Even as he spoke these hypocritical words, he glanced down at the Qi heir apparent curled up in his lap.

Like a cat huddled against his legs, the man’s body was curled tightly, his eyes shut. His face was tense, but because the massage wasn’t working, Qi Yanyu grabbed his hand.

Jiang Tiyan’s expression stiffened.

Qi Yanyu’s voice was low and muffled, his face contorted in pain: "Press harder… I can’t straighten my leg…"

Some spasms were painful enough to make a person scream, but he hadn’t made a sound—showing impressive restraint.

Distracted, Jiang Tiyan missed a question the host had just asked. He glanced at the man in his arms. Though dressed in suit pants, his legs still felt slender, with little flesh to them.

His spread palm and fingers could almost wrap halfway around Qi Yanyu’s thigh, making the massage look downright indecent.

The female lead actress giggled, playing along: "Tiyan, did your cat throw up milk again?"

Jiang Tiyan’s phone buzzed with seven or eight new messages, all from his manager fuming but trying to stay professional while reminding him about the question the host had asked a minute ago.

He glanced at the notifications—about the host’s question:

"What kind of girls do you like in real life?"

Jiang Tiyan’s gaze landed on the man whose expression had relaxed under his touch.

Pale skin, disheveled black hair—he looked thoroughly wrecked. A stark contrast to the domineering figure he usually cut in their circles.

"I like…" Jiang Tiyan deliberately averted his eyes, "someone obedient."

The word "obedient" couldn’t be further from Qi Yanyu.

An hour later, Jiang Tiyan ended the noon livestream.

"Jiang Tiyan suspected of bringing a man home," "Jiang Tiyan’s livestream interruption," and "Jiang Tiyan’s cat throwing up milk" rocketed to the top three trends, all tagged 'trending.'

A single call from him could have taken all these hashtags down.

But he didn’t. Then again, he might’ve been preoccupied.

Well before the stream concluded, Qi Yanyu had actually fallen asleep in his arms.

Whether he’d passed out from pain or slipped back into a drunken sleep was anyone’s guess.

Seeing the man's sickly pale skin, Jiang Tiyan's sharp eyes narrowed.

By the afternoon, a knock sounded at Jiang Tiyan's apartment door.

At the same time, Jiang Tiyan's phone rang with an unknown caller: "Tiyan, it's Qi Muyao. My men are outside your apartment—they're here to take Qi Yanyu home."

Qi Muyao was Qi Yanyu's elder brother and the patriarch of the Qi Group.

Jiang Tiyan knew Qi Yanyu didn't have a good relationship with his family. Whatever happened to Qi Yanyu should be handled by his own relatives.

Worried that Qi Yanyu might face punishment at home, Jiang Tiyan spoke up for him: "Brother Muyao, Qi Yanyu has been keeping to himself lately. He hasn't caused any trouble, has he?"

"Come over for dinner sometime," was all Qi Muyao said before hanging up.

Jiang Tiyan turned to look at the man, unsure if he was even awake yet.

Hesitating, he said, "Your family is here to take you back."

Still suffering from a hangover, Qi Yanyu's reaction was unreadable. Jiang Tiyan left himself an out by saying, "If you don’t want to go back, I can refuse to open the door."

Qi Yanyu knew that the moment he stepped out of Jiang Tiyan's home, he’d be dragged back.

He understood his elder brother’s tyrannical, controlling nature all too well.

Even if Jiang Tiyan didn’t open the door, his brother would call and berate him.

Yet Qi Yanyu simply said, "I'm going back."

When the door opened, sure enough, over a dozen of the Qi family’s guards stood outside. The entertainment reporters had already been cleared away by Qi Muyao’s call.

Qi Yanyu was escorted home in a private car. Back in the real world, his family estate was nestled within a lush estate.

The car brought him back, and for the first time since crossing into this world six months ago, he returned home—only to find it exactly the same, down to the last detail.

The manicured garden was filled with his elder brother’s favorite vibrant blue and purple hydrangeas. Seasonal flowers, flown in fresh, adorned the garden year-round.

Even the estate’s lawn remained a verdant carpet through winter.

As he stepped inside, the butler’s face was as familiar as ever.

The butler led Qi Yanyu to the study.

No sooner had he stepped inside than Qi Muyao’s voice came from behind. His elder brother’s first command was for him to kneel.

Being pragmatic in this borrowed skin, he dropped to his knees.

The man before him was no different from his real-life elder brother.

The only distinction was that, in this world, his brother despised him even more.

In an icy, contemptuous tone, the voice above him asked, "How have you been wasting your time these past six months?"

Since crossing into this world, Qi Yanyu had spent most of his time away. When he first arrived, he had needed a wheelchair for a short while.

For half a year, he had stayed outside, had never once returned to the Qi family home.

He knew he’d catch hell back at the Qi family.

Yet he also realized that even if he didn’t return, Qi Muyao would haul him back sooner or later anyway.

Qi Yanyu knelt and said, "Doing just fine."

His elder brother shot him a glance.

He lived to defy them.

Fearless, with the attitude of "might as well die fast and get it over with," he asked, "How long do I have to kneel today?"