Chapter 50 Sofa and Bed

Chapter 50: Sofa and Bed

Yan Zhoubai was about to wave his hand to decline—after all, how could he let his big brother rub his belly?—but before he could utter a word, Zhan Jiayu’s hand had already naturally settled on his stomach and begun rubbing.

Yan Zhoubai immediately sat up, reacting like a startled cat with its fur bristling, and burst into laughter.

He was ticklish on his stomach.

Zhan Jiayu hadn't anticipated this reaction. Seeing Yan Zhoubai spring up so abruptly, he thought he might have touched an inappropriate spot.

Yan Zhoubai grabbed Zhan Jiayu’s wrist to stop him. He needed both hands to hold Zhan Jiayu’s one wrist, and even then, it wasn't certain he could actually restrain him.

“Are you ticklish on your stomach? So sensitive?”

Zhan Jiayu paused his movements and brushed Yan Zhoubai’s hair behind his ear—his sudden movement had disheveled it.

Yan Zhoubai nodded, the smile still lingering on his face.

“Alright then, rest for a while. I have some things to take care of.”

With that, Zhan Jiayu moved to the workstation on the other side and opened his laptop.

Yan Zhoubai lay on the sofa for a while. Once he felt a bit more comfortable, he got up and began wandering around the very spacious presidential suite.

First, he drifted over to Zhan Jiayu’s workstation, though he was careful not to get too close to the computer.

“Make yourself at home. There’s a game console over there, or you can watch a movie if you prefer,” Zhan Jiayu said.

Yan Zhoubai didn’t stand on ceremony. He had approached Zhan Jiayu partly to seek permission, and now he began exploring the room, touching this and that, much like a curious little cat.

Until he opened the wardrobe.

Inside hung a row of colorful clothes, with another row of shoes in various styles below. At a glance, it was clear these weren’t Zhan Jiayu’s style.

Yan Zhoubai took one of the garments and held it up against himself—it seemed to be his size.

“Wow, Zhan Jiayu is really too good to you. Just for a few days in Jiang City, he prepared a whole wardrobe of clothes and shoes,” the System exclaimed in surprise.

“It’s not that serious.”

Yan Zhoubai also found it a bit exaggerated. He looked through all the hanging clothes one by one. Only two suits and a few dark-colored items in the corner were Zhan Jiayu’s; the rest were clearly not his style, and more importantly, not even his size.

“It really is! Are the perks of being Zhan Jiayu’s subordinate this good? I want to be his subordinate too.”

The System stared at the full wardrobe; if it had a physical form, it would probably have stars in its eyes.

“Hmph, no way. You’re my subordinate,” Yan Zhoubai grumbled.

“Hehe, of course.”

Zhan Jiayu was dealing with work emails—he now had to handle double the workload every day.

He genuinely wasn’t very interested in business, referring to domestic ventures, as the industries the Zhan family operated abroad weren’t legal back home. Since returning, he’d realized that Jing City’s old-money families had already carved up the market. He could force his way in with his significant financial advantage, but he saw no need to, as it would only strain relationships with the local families.

So, he chose to collaborate with them instead, investing his wealth. This was the quickest way to gain a foothold in Jing City. Whether a path paved with money was smooth was uncertain, but it was undoubtedly fast.

Returning to the country was his personal decision. He had no plans to abandon the Zhan family’s overseas operations; he had things to do back home.

Zhan Jiayu was usually highly efficient at handling work emails, but today he felt distracted, and his efficiency had dropped significantly.

It was as if a kitten had quietly entered his personal space—the kind that didn’t disturb him, entertaining itself by exploring the room, touching things here and there, occasionally hopping around without making much noise, just little rustling sounds.

It didn’t interfere with his work, but it made him feel restless.

Just as Zhan Jiayu was considering putting off the emails until tomorrow, he saw Yan Zhoubai running toward him, eyes sparkling, holding something.

Upon closer look, it was a cat-themed onesie pajama, with cat ears on the hood and a tail on the back.

The cat pajamas were something he’d specifically asked Chen Chu to prepare for Yan Zhoubai. At the time, he’d thought any cat-themed item would do—he’d always felt cats suited Yan Zhoubai perfectly. But he hadn’t expected Chen Chu to pick one with ears and a tail.

Yan Zhoubai held his phone up to Zhan Jiayu. On the screen, he read: *I love this! It’s a collaboration with my favorite cartoon. I tried to get it last time but missed out.*

Zhan Jiayu hadn’t known about this—Chen Chu had chosen it. Surprisingly, it turned out to be something Yan Zhoubai loved.

He smiled and said, “Glad you like it. You can take the whole wardrobe with you when you go.”

Yan Zhoubai was stunned. All for me?

His shocked expression only made Zhan Jiayu more pleased.

“Yes, take them all. I can’t wear any of these—they were bought specifically for you.”

…

After his shower, Yan Zhoubai stood in front of the mirror drying his hair. He’d always found blow-drying his hair annoying. Since growing it long, his hair had become both lengthy and thick, taking forever to dry. Holding the hairdryer for so long tired his arms, and he often gave up halfway to play on his phone, leaving the rest to air-dry depending on how engrossed he got.

Tonight was no exception. When he got tired after drying it halfway, he decided to take a break and stood at the vanity playing on his phone.

Just as he was fully absorbed, he felt someone gently lift his hair from behind. The sound of a hairdryer followed, a gentle breeze blowing from behind.

Yan Zhoubai looked up and saw Zhan Jiayu in the mirror, standing behind him and drying his hair.

Zhan Jiayu was taller and broader than him, appearing a full size bigger in the reflection.

“If you go to sleep with wet hair, you’ll wake up with a headache tomorrow,” Zhan Jiayu said as he dried.

Yan Zhoubai stood still, obediently letting Zhan Jiayu dry his hair completely.

Once the hairdryer stopped, Yan Zhoubai started to turn but saw Zhan Jiayu holding a lock of his hair, almost like he was fiddling with it.

“Have you ever worn a ponytail?” Zhan Jiayu suddenly asked.

Yan Zhoubai shook his head. He’d never worn a ponytail—the hairstyle he wore at the Daoist temple was more of a bun. What was Zhan Jiayu asking this for?

“No reason, just curious.”

Zhan Jiayu had showered before Yan Zhoubai. Both were wearing the hotel’s white bathrobes, and now they stood so close that even without physical contact, Yan Zhoubai could feel the heat coming off Zhan Jiayu’s body.

Suddenly, he started feeling hot too, especially his face, which felt like it instantly flushed.

“System, what’s going on? My face feels so hot, like it’s burning. This feels really weird,” Yan Zhoubai asked the System in his mind.

“Are Zhan Jiayu and I too close? It feels kinda weird.”

“What’s off about it? It’s normal for a big brother and little brother to be close. He’s willing to share the presidential suite with you, buy you a whole wardrobe of clothes—what’s so strange about him drying your hair?”

The System didn’t see anything wrong. Wasn’t this just what good relationships look like? It showed how much Zhan Jiayu valued Yan Zhoubai as his subordinate.

“Really?”

Yan Zhoubai still felt a bit strange, but he couldn't pinpoint what was wrong, so he brushed off his doubts for the moment.

“Let’s go, it’s time to sleep.”

Zhan Jiayu let go of the strand of hair he was holding and pulled Yan Zhoubai along, leading him toward the bed.

At this point, Yan Zhoubai truly felt something was off. He used a bit of force to pull his wrist free from Zhan Jiayu's grip and quickly typed a message on his phone's memo:

*I can just sleep on the couch.*

“A couch isn’t a bed. We have plans tomorrow, and if you don’t rest well on the couch, you won’t have the energy to enjoy the day.”

Zhan Jiayu couldn’t possibly let Yan Zhoubai sleep on the couch. Even if he had to sleep there himself, he wouldn’t allow Yan Zhoubai to do so. Besides, if Yan Zhoubai slept on the couch, why did he even have Chen Chu claim there were no extra rooms available?

Yan Zhoubai stood his ground, clearly reluctant to sleep in the bed.

Zhan Jiayu sighed softly and said gently, "The bed is over two meters wide. I had them prepare two comforters, so there’s plenty of space for both of us. We won’t disturb each other. There’s really no need to sleep on the couch—the one outside isn’t even half as wide as this bed."

“System, is it normal for a little brother to share a bed with his big brother?”

Although Zhan Jiayu’s words sounded reasonable, Yan Zhoubai was still uncertain, so he turned to the system for help again.

“Well...”

This time, the System hesitated. It’s not like big brothers usually share beds with little brothers—it did seem a bit odd.

“But didn’t we end up sharing this presidential suite with Zhan Jiayu because there were no extra rooms? Sleeping on the couch would be too uncomfortable for you. Besides, didn’t he just say the bed is huge? It’s probably fine.”

Although it felt a little strange, it wasn't about to let its host sleep on the couch. They were here to have fun—why sleep on a couch?

So Yan Zhoubai lay down on the two-meter-wide bed with Zhan Jiayu.

Zhan Jiayu was right—the bed was indeed enormous. There was enough space between them to fit the entire Qin River; they might as well be on separate continents.

But Yan Zhoubai hadn’t expected that, by midnight, this "Qin River" would vanish.

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Author's note: What a huge bed [dog head emoji].