Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Jiang Songen lay on the bed You Nan had slept in, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

The sheets, pillow, and quilt on You Nan's bed all carried the same faint scent of laundry detergent that clung to him, yet it persistently drifted into Jiang Songen's nostrils.

With every breath Jiang Songen took, his chest filled with that scent.

Still wearing You Nan's pajamas, Jiang Songen rolled over and buried his face in You Nan's pillow.

It was as if he wanted to smother himself in it.

You Nan entered the room from outside and hurriedly pulled him away. "What are you doing?"

Jiang Songen's face was flushed, his neck red too. Usually quick-witted and full of ideas around You Nan, the boy now couldn't utter a single word.

His eyes darted toward the person in front of him.

The style and pattern of You Nan's pajamas were all quite similar; the only difference between what they were wearing now was the color—everything else was the same.

It looked more like matching brother sets.

Jiang Songen raised his arm, the pajamas tightly constricting around the muscles of his forearm.

The clothes were a bit too small and short for him.

"I'm just not used to sleeping here," Jiang Songen blurted out. The vividly handsome boy sat up on the bed, lifting his face, his gaze under the dim light appearing especially tender. "Xiao Nan, can you keep me company?"

You Nan's heart skipped. He gripped the hem of his clothes, composing himself. "If I stay with you, will you be able to fall asleep?"

Jiang Songen noticed the softening in You Nan's attitude and immediately took advantage. "Yeah, and aren't we good brothers? What's the big deal about sleeping together?"

After speaking, Jiang Songen adjusted his breathing and controlled his expression to prevent You Nan from noticing his nervousness and anticipation.

Ah, what was he expecting!

Thinking this, Jiang Songen licked his lips.

You Nan fiddled with his fingers.

You Nan seemed not very bold and quite reliant on him.

He was the one on the bottom, but would the two of them…

"Xiao Nan." Jiang Songen grabbed his hand. Jiang Songen's hand was broader and longer than You Nan's, strong and slender. You Nan instinctively tried to pull away but couldn't.

"Will you stay with me, please?" Jiang Songen smiled, his eyes strikingly vivid. "I sleep very still. However I lie down at night is exactly how I wake up in the morning."

Jiang Songen coaxed him a few more times until You Nan couldn't resist any longer.

He put on a calm front and agreed.

But when he actually lay under the same blanket with Jiang Songen, You Nan was still quite awkward.

The distance between them wasn't very close; the space between them could at least fit another You Ruan.

This was the first time You Nan had shared a bed with anyone other than Yao Xianqing. He thought he probably wouldn't be able to sleep, but to his surprise, he closed his eyes and fell into a sound slumber within less than ten minutes.

Hearing the steady breathing next to him, Jiang Songen knew You Nan was asleep.

He breathed a sigh of relief and turned onto his side, facing You Nan.

"Xiao Nan—" Jiang Songen breathed You Nan's name. The person he called showed no reaction.

The lights in the room were off, with only a glimpse of nighttime visible through the gap in the curtains.

Jiang Songen's heartbeat thumped loudly in the darkness, echoing in his ears.

He slowly edged closer to You Nan's back, sweat forming in his clenched palms.

Finally, his forehead pressed against You Nan's cheek.

The delicate, warm touch put his heart at ease. Breathing in You Nan's scent, his soul felt as if it had found peace.

When You Nan woke up blearily the next morning, he noticed something was off—he felt heavy, as if something was pressing down on him.

You Nan opened his eyes and turned his head, only to see Jiang Songen's devastatingly beautiful face.

The other's breath was soft as a feather brushing against his ear.

You Nan panicked. Lifting his head to look, he realized it was Jiang Songen's arm draped over him.

He didn't know when during the night Jiang Songen had pulled him into an embrace while they slept.

Ah, this…?

Was this what he meant by sleeping still?

Not wanting to wake Jiang Songen, You Nan squirmed, trying to wriggle out of his embrace. But Jiang Songen had him trapped under his arm over the covers.

You Nan didn't manage to free himself; instead, a light sweat broke out on his skin.

You Nan's head emerged from under the covers.

He raised a hand to wipe the slight sweat from his forehead.

What the hell?

How did it come to this?

You Nan couldn't stand being held by someone else. He pushed both hands out from the blanket and pushed against Jiang Songen's face, shoving him away and waking him up.

Jiang Songen had been sleeping comfortably and was forced awake, seething with sleepiness.

But as soon as he turned his head and saw You Nan's face, his annoyance fizzled out as if nothing had happened.

Jiang Songen glanced at his phone on the bedside table. "It's still early. Don't you want to sleep a bit more?"

As he spoke, he turned to look at You Nan, who was sitting up and getting dressed. His gaze briefly swept over the sliver of waist revealed before You Nan felt his gaze and immediately turned around, meeting Jiang Songen's innocent eyes.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Songen patted the bed. "Want to sleep a little longer?"

You Nan said no, scooped up his clothes, and went out to change in the bathroom.

Jiang Songen sighed in disappointment.

By the time You Nan came out, Jiang Songen had also changed back into his clothes.

You Nan cooked corn and pumpkin porridge in the kitchen, while Jiang Songen went to the small room to wake the two little ones for breakfast.

Watching Jiang Songen take care of You Ruan and 007 from behind, You Nan couldn’t help but feel a strangely familiar sensation, though he didn’t know why.

After breakfast, the two older boys and the younger child sat together to do homework.

007 rubbed against You Nan’s shoes, letting out a soft, muffled meow.

"The protagonist shou is so good to you—he actually gave you two hundred energy points yesterday."

Just as generous as Yao Xianqing!

You Nan seemed lost in thought and only responded with an "Uh-huh" after a long while.

You Nan set aside the finished questions and moved on to other assignments. The completed worksheet was then taken by Jiang Songen.

You Nan didn’t try to take it back.

Jiang Songen picked up a pencil and circled the questions You Nan got wrong, checking his steps and marking out the specific incorrect part.

You Ruan looked on eagerly, also hoping for Brother Jiang to check his work, so Jiang Songen went over to look.

"Want to try a different approach for this question?"

Jiang Songen took a pen and wrote on You Nan’s scratch pad, "Like this—swap these two points and see."

You Nan took his studies seriously. He listened attentively as Jiang Songen explained, their heads close together.

You Ruan noticed and tiptoed over to pick up 007, who was sleeping in the cat bed. He placed the kitten on the table, its four paws standing steadily, and pressed his own bare forehead against the kitten’s furry little head.

Just like his brother and Brother Jiang Songen.

007 wasn’t pleased. It stretched out its paw with toe beans and pressed it against the child’s tender forehead, clearly expressing its strong displeasure.

But the child didn’t notice. You Ruan squinted his eyes happily, thinking the kitten was playing with him.

007 was both indulgent and helpless toward You Ruan. It didn’t even unsheathe its claws from its paw pads.

.

Jiang Songen wanted to stay at You Nan’s house again today, but it wasn’t possible.

His mother had already given him strict orders.

"The driver is on his way. Remember to come out on your own! No more of that clingy behavior!"

Jiang’s mom was exhausted. "Staying one day at someone’s house is fine, but two days is pushing it. Besides, you’ve never stayed at anyone’s place before."

"When you were little, I tried to have you stay at your grandma’s for two days, and you refused. You cried so hard late at night that your dad had to go pick you up." Jiang’s mom said irritably, "Why is it that around You Nan, you’ve completely changed?"

Jiang Songen smiled, his eyes crinkling. "My relationship with You Nan is good—better than ordinary brothers."

From the moment he first saw You Nan, he had wanted to get close to him.

Jiang’s mom was speechless. She decided to have her son come home so she could observe him more carefully.

She wasn’t opposed to her son being with a boy; it was just that they were both still young, right on the cusp of adulthood.

"Come home first."

Hearing the seriousness in his mother’s voice, Jiang Songen knew she was serious.

Jiang Songen agreed. He hung up and said to You Nan, "Xiao Nan, I’m heading back now. I’ll call you next time I come over."

You Nan said fine.

Just like last time, You Nan accompanied Jiang Songen out of the alley and watched him get into the car parked by the roadside.

After seeing Jiang Songen off, You Nan was about to head back when he heard someone call his name.

He turned around and was surprised to see it was Yi Jiahe.

You Nan instinctively glanced in the direction Jiang Songen had left, but the car was already long gone.

Yi Jiahe walked into the alley, his expression calm, as if he hadn’t just seen the person he liked coming and going with the substitute he’d chosen.

"What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." You Nan lowered his eyes, avoiding Yi Jiahe’s gaze. "Did you need something?"

"Of course." Yi Jiahe walked up to You Nan and suddenly grabbed his hand, which was hanging at his side. He stuffed several hundred yuan into You Nan’s palm and glanced toward a car parked further down. "Getting in?"

You Nan’s face darkened.

He pulled his hand free, and the red bills fell to the ground. "It’s the break now! And I have to go back. I don’t have time for your antics."

"You don’t want to earn money anymore?" Yi Jiahe’s voice was steady. He bent down, picked up the bills from the ground, and brushed them clean one by one. "If you don’t like the car, we can go to your place."

"Jiang Songen gets to go. So can I."

You Nan gritted his teeth angrily. "Yi Jiahe, aren’t you going too far?!"

"This is just a transaction. I have the right to refuse your unreasonable demands." You Nan, afraid nearby residents might hear, kept his voice low. "What do you take me for? I’m a person, not some thing you can call and send away as you please."

The sky was gradually darkening, and there was some space between You Nan and Yi Jiahe.

He couldn’t clearly make out Yi Jiahe’s expression.

The handsome, distinguished young man’s eyes were slightly red, a few blood vessels visible in the whites.

You Nan didn’t know that Yi Jiahe knew all about everything he’d been through these past few days.

Including him sleeping in the same bed with Jiang Songen.