Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"What 'wild man' are you talking about?"

Lu Tingchao poked his head out from behind Su Ningyu, clearly displeased. "Fei Xiuqi, what nonsense are you spouting?"

Fei Xiuqi stopped in front of Lu Tingchao, with Su Ningyu still between them.

Unable to simply pull Lu Tingchao away, his eyebrow twitched in irritation. "Am I talking nonsense?"

The sea breeze lifted Fei Xiuqi's shirt, revealing his well-defined muscles.

He leaned in close to Lu Tingchao's ear. "Chao Chao, your eyes, your expression, every step you take—they all bear the marks of being with a man."

Fei Xiuqi's throat bobbed slightly. "Or... do you really think I'm some naive young guy, stringing me along and playing with me, hmm?"

Lu Tingchao: "..."

It was a very aggressive move.

Everything from Fei Xiuqi's expression to the cocky arch of his eyebrow revealed a side of him that perhaps had never been shown before.

Lu Tingchao took a nervous step backward, instinctively reaching out to clutch at Su Ningyu's shirt.

But his hand was enclosed in the young man's warm grasp.

Lu Tingchao: "!"

Lu Tingchao looked up at Su Ningyu blankly.

The ratty white shirt no longer seemed so unappealing against his tall, upright frame.

Su Ningyu's broad shoulders completely blocked Lu Tingchao behind him. "Sir, everything you just said is Teacher Lu's private business. Please mind your language."

"Oh?"

Fei Xiuqi smirked.

His gaze lingered on Su Ningyu for a brief moment, sweeping over his unremarkable clothes and the white sneakers on his feet.

Fei Xiuqi laughed. "Chao Chao, is this your new game? What's it called, 'Rescuing a Prostitute'?"

Lu Tingchao felt they weren't on the same wavelength.

He thought for several seconds before curiosity got the better of him. "...What's 'Rescuing a Prostitute'?"

Fei Xiuqi reached out to touch Lu Tingchao's face, but Su Ningyu swatted his hand away.

Fei Xiuqi tsked. "What a stray dog that only recognizes its owner."

Fei Xiuqi said, "BB, don't you want to know what 'Rescuing a Prostitute' means?"

Lu Tingchao peeked out from behind Su Ningyu.

Fei Xiuqi crooked a finger at him. "Baby, come over here, and I'll tell you."

Lu Tingchao: "..."

Lu Tingchao shrank back. "Tell me or don't. Su Ningyu, let's go in."

Su Ningyu was immediately compliant.

He picked up the suitcase with one hand and took Lu Tingchao's hand with the other, not even sparing Fei Xiuqi a glance as he headed straight for the "Love Cottage."

"'Rescuing a Prostitute' means picking someone up from the trash heap, Lu Tingchao."

Fei Xiuqi suddenly called out to Lu Tingchao.

Lu Tingchao looked back, confused.

Fei Xiuqi's gaze fell on his collar, and he suddenly smirked. "BB, do you really think you can find anything decent from a trash can? Take a good look at what sort of trash that guy next to you is."

Even Lu Tingchao, oblivious as he was, could sense the aggression in Fei Xiuqi's words now.

Fei Xiuqi walked over. "You didn't let him touch you, did you? What can he give you? Is that outfit he's wearing even worth fifty bucks? Chao Chao, what did he do to you? Did he satisfy you? Does he know how much one meal or one piece of clothing costs for you? Can he even afford to support you..."

Lu Tingchao stiffened for a moment, then a rage surged through him.

After all, his temper had been spoiled since childhood, but unfortunately, he couldn't hold his own in arguments with outsiders—he only knew how to push around those close to him.

Provoked by Fei Xiuqi, Lu Tingchao's face burned with anger. "Fei Xiuqi, are you insane..."

"It's alright."

Su Ningyu stopped Lu Tingchao.

The male college student's humiliation seemed to flash in his eyes for just a moment before they grew slightly red.

He quickly used the back of his hand holding the suitcase to cover his eyes, then shook his head. "Teacher Lu, don't get angry because of me. It's not worth it."

Lu Tingchao grew even angrier. "Of course it's worth it! You're a top-tier university student trying to make a living, and you're being insulted for no reason! Just wait—I'll get him to apologize to you!"

"There's no need, Teacher Lu!"

Su Ningyu reached out and grabbed Lu Tingchao.

Perhaps because he used too much force, Lu Tingchao, already unsteady on his feet, stumbled backward and fell directly into Su Ningyu's arms—

Lu Tingchao was startled and instinctively grabbed Su Ningyu's shoulders, tilting his head back to try to steady himself.

Meanwhile, Su Ningyu happened to lean down to help Lu Tingchao stand up.

In that split second.

Their lips brushed lightly against each other.

It was a soft, mint-scented kiss.

Lu Tingchao was stunned.

Immediately after, his pretty face flushed completely red, and he scrambled backward in a fluster. "S-sorry, Su Ningyu... I really didn't mean to take advantage of you! I..."

Su Ningyu seemed slightly stunned as well.

He lowered his head, glanced at Lu Tingchao for a moment, then reached up as if in disbelief and touched his own lips.

Lu Tingchao: "..."

Lu Tingchao grew even more embarrassed. "Um..."

Su Ningyu shook his head: "It's alright, Teacher Lu, it was an accident."

Lu Tingchao: "Yeah, exactly! Exactly! An accident! Please don’t take it to heart!"

Su Ningyu’s eyes seemed a bit confused and puzzled, but he nodded dutifully: "I understand. I'm not worthy to kiss Teacher Lu."

Lu Tingchao: "Ah…?"

Lu Tingchao sensed something was wrong: "No, that’s not what I meant…"

Su Ningyu, however, picked up the heavy suitcase again and said to Fei Xiuqi: "Sir, as you can see, Teacher Lu and I are completely innocent. Please stop twisting facts and slandering Teacher Lu’s reputation for no reason."

Fei Xiuqi laughed: "No reason?"

Fei Xiuqi took a step forward, reached out, and with a gentle pull, drew Lu Tingchao into his arms: "BB, did I do it for no reason?"

Lu Tingchao’s mind was still stuck on Su Ningyu’s earlier words: "...Ah?"

Fei Xiuqi reached out and gently brushed Lu Tingchao’s lips: "Chao Chao, is it that Zhuang Ji can’t satisfy you, or that another man can’t satisfy you, making you start to like this younger guy?"

Lu Tingchao’s fingers were gripped by Fei Xiuqi, and he finally snapped out of it belatedly: "What?"

Fei Xiuqi tilted his chin up: "How old is he?"

Lu Tingchao: "...He’s only nineteen."

Lu Tingchao was exasperated: "He’s my assistant, Fei Xiuqi, can you get it through your head? Is your mind only filled with those kinds of things?!"

"Originally, it wasn’t."

Fei Xiuqi rested his chin on Lu Tingchao’s shoulder, looking at Su Ningyu with a contemptuous gaze. "I’m very busy, BB, but the moment I see you, all I want to do is sleep with you."

Lu Tingchao: "..."

Even with his thick skin, Lu Tingchao found the situation in front of him utterly bizarre.

He couldn’t break free from Fei Xiuqi and was afraid Fei Xiuqi might say something even crazier that would scare Su Ningyu, so he gestured toward the villa: "Su Ningyu, go put the suitcase inside and wait for me in the room."

Su Ningyu seemed hesitant.

Lu Tingchao repeated the command, and only then did Su Ningyu leave, glancing back repeatedly.

The door of the "Love Cottage" closed again.

Fei Xiuqi’s voice whispered in Lu Tingchao’s ear: "That boy is too poor; what great things could he possibly achieve?"

A slow, lingering kiss landed on Lu Tingchao’s neck, as if trying to slowly cover up the marks left before.

The man’s voice was low and husky: "I should be the one to sleep with you first... Chao Chao, I’m so angry."

Lu Tingchao managed to turn around, finally facing Fei Xiuqi.

He lifted his face: "I’ll say it one more time, he really is just my assistant. Fei Xiuqi, if you talk nonsense again, I’ll walk off the show."

Fei Xiuqi held Lu Tingchao’s hand and coaxed: "Is BB angry?"

Lu Tingchao pursed his lips: "No."

Fei Xiuqi: "Then I won’t say it. BB has finally come back to me; I’ll make you happy."

Lu Tingchao said coldly: "...Whatever, it’s only the last two episodes anyway. Fei Xiuqi, I don’t like your type."

"But I'm crazy about you, BB."

Fei Xiuqi seized the moment to kiss Lu Tingchao’s forehead again. "Devin likes you too; he wants you to come back to Hong Kong and be our family's prized addition."

Lu Tingchao shook his head: "I don’t like Hong Kong; the houses are too small."

Fei Xiuqi: "That won’t be a problem, BB. I’ll sign over the villa in Happy Valley and the estate to you. The fireworks over Victoria Harbour will bloom for you, and all of Hong Kong will celebrate the Fei family growing."

Annoyed, Lu Tingchao pushed Fei Xiuqi away: "Anyway, I’m not going... I’m going back to my room. Isn’t the recording tomorrow?"

"It’s tomorrow, but I've missed you so much."

Fei Xiuqi grabbed Lu Tingchao’s wrist and pressed it against his own chest. "I know you moved out from Zhuang Ji’s place, but I couldn’t find your current address. Who is that man I don’t know?"

Lu Tingchao lowered his head.

A gleam of triumph appeared in Fei Xiuqi’s eyes: "If it’s not that boy from earlier, then does he know you’re secretly here with me, recording a dating reality show behind his back?"

Lu Tingchao: "..."

Lu Tingchao remained silent.

Because Mo Lingnan didn’t know.

After being asked if he watched variety shows, Lu Tingchao had hesitated, wavered, couldn't decide, but in the end, he still didn’t say anything.

Lu Tingchao didn’t know why he hadn’t said anything.

Perhaps...

Lu Tingchao thought, he was just that bad.

Stringing along Mo Lingnan while also stringing Fei Xiuqi along.

Sleeping with Mo Lingnan while recording a dating show with another man.

"Because you don’t have faith in him either, BB."

Fei Xiuqi clasped Lu Tingchao’s fingers, pulling him entirely into his embrace.

With a slight pause in his steps, he pushed the slender figure in his arms into the nearby rose garden in full bloom.

Lu Tingchao’s favorite red roses quietly bloomed in the night.

Tangled branches and thorns sprawled like a messy, forbidden painting.

The dim moonlight illuminated a corner.

A bedroom on the second floor of the villa had its light turned on, and the window opened.

Fei Xiuqi pinned Lu Tingchao’s left hand against the villa’s outer wall, held his right hand in his own, then lowered his head and kissed him amidst Lu Tingchao’s pushing, resistance, and confusion.

"My baby already failed once in those seven years with Zhuang Ji, so you’re scared, aren’t you?"

Fei Xiuqi’s voice was low and melancholic, like the deepest incantation from the depths of a jungle.

He breathed softly into Lu Tingchao’s ear, making the person in his arms tremble again and again. "BB can love many people, but you just don’t want to love one person alone."

The moonlight caught in Lu Tingchao's eyes.

He almost imperceptibly shook his head: "No... Fei Xiuqi, don't kiss me..."

But Fei Xiuqi bit Lu Tingchao's fingertip.

Lu Tingchao went rigid.

Fei Xiuqi planted soft kisses along Lu Tingchao's fingertip: "I really, really like Chao Chao... so much that my whole body aches. Can Chao Chao love me?"