Seeing him nod, Pei Xu’s smile grew even brighter.
He actually stopped working, then got up and walked behind Qiao Nan, whispering into his ear, “The password is 1524. Nan Nan can open it herself. 1524 is exactly the combination of both our birthdays.”
Qiao Nan had an instinct that Pei Xu’s tone held some ill intent, but his curiosity got the better of him. After a slight hesitation, he still went to enter the password.
Pei Xu stood just a breath away behind him, his smile inscrutable.
The keypad lock beeped, and Qiao Nan instinctively glanced back at him before opening the door and taking out the folder inside.
The folder was just like the one holding the sketches—each was neatly organized by date.
Only this time, the quantity was much greater, filling an entire cabinet.
Pressing his palm on the folder’s cover, Qiao Nan’s heart inexplicably began to race.
He thought maybe it was because the person behind him was standing too close, creating a pressure he couldn’t shake off. He took a quiet, deep breath before flipping open the folder—
Photos inside flashed before his eyes, and his pupils contracted slightly.
His movements froze.
After several seconds, like a slow-reacting machine, he began to flip back through the pages.
One page, two pages, three pages—
All of them were photos of him.
The developed photos were carefully placed inside transparent sleeves.
Some were taken at school, some at Binjiang Villa, and some outside the bar… Most were from behind or side profiles; there were fewer front-facing shots.
The photography felt very casual, as if secretly taken without his knowledge.
Qiao Nan looked back at the person behind him, his eyes full of panic and confusion.
His eyelashes trembled violently, and it took a long moment before he gathered the words to ask, “Where did these photos come from?”
“I had Old K take them.” Pei Xu didn’t try to hide his meaning and told him everything plainly: “You were almost kidnapped in high school, so your uncle and aunt deliberately hired a bodyguard to secretly protect you. They were too busy, so I found someone—Old K.”
Qiao Nan understood.
He closed the folder, the anxiety in his heart easing somewhat.
Then he shot him a glare and muttered, “Why did you have Old K secretly take photos of me?”
Secretly taking photos was one thing, but developing them, too?
It was as if he was afraid no one would know he was a pervert otherwise.
“Don’t you know the reason, Nan Nan?”
Pei Xu’s arm reached past him toward the bookshelf, casually pulling out a book and flipping it open. His fingers gently caressed a photo.
“When I miss Nan Nan too much, I look at these pictures.”
Qiao Nan thought, We see each other every day; what’s there to miss?
But then he recalled the time Pei Xu moved out and deliberately reduced contact, and he immediately fell silent.
A wave of emotion surged.
He looked up at the man before him, whose brows were gently furrowed, as if faintly revealing the turbulent waves beneath a calm sea.
Those waves crashed over him layer by layer, as if trying to drag him into a deep whirlpool—but he didn’t want to escape.
“That many photos aren’t necessary.”
Qiao Nan muttered, lowering his head.
“How would I know who Nan Nan is meeting at school, or if you’ve secretly started liking someone…”
Pei Xu’s voice grew heavy, as if recalling something unpleasant.
“Like Qin Feng, or Xie Ruanruan.”
This guy was digging up old grudges again.
Qiao Nan was speechless: “That’s all just your wild imagination! What does it have to do with me?!”
Pei Xu nodded: “It’s all because Nan Nan is just too likeable.”
He pressed close from behind, pinning Qiao Nan against the bookshelf, and bit his earlobe with a hint of punishment: “Sometimes I really want to lock you up at home.”
He didn’t hold back, and Qiao Nan hissed in pain, convinced there were definitely teeth marks on his ear.
Then he remembered a sketch Pei Xu had drawn—the black chains extending from the head to the foot of the bed, fastening all his limbs…
His body trembled slightly, goosebumps crawling up his spine to the back of his neck.
Qiao Nan actually felt that Pei Xu really had such thoughts, and he whispered, “Why do you have so many perverted hobbies?”
His voice had a slight nasal tone, almost like a complaint.
Pei Xu studied him and, seeing no disgust or fear in his eyes, smiled.
He flipped Qiao Nan around so they faced each other and leaned down to kiss his lips, his teeth biting hard as if wanting to chew him up and swallow him whole: “Is that still not enough?”
Is that not enough?
Qiao Nan was forced to tilt his head back, his breathing dominated by Pei Xu, nearly suffocating, and stammered brokenly, “What… else?”
Pei Xu covered his eyes with a hand and whispered into his ear, “I’ll tell you slowly later, Nan Nan.”
Qiao Nan felt like he didn’t really want to know.
When his limbs went limp and he was carried back to the bedroom, he stared blankly, thinking that if this was already hard to handle, what would life be like if Pei Xu let loose completely?
His eyes followed the moving man, his whole body puffed up like a little pufferfish: “I want to get dressed!”
The man wrapped casually in a towel heard this and went to the wardrobe to get him some sleepwear.
But what he took out wasn’t Qiao Nan’s sleepwear, but his own shirt.
He gently pulled him out from under the covers and carefully helped him put it on.
Qiao Nan twisted and turned, refusing to cooperate. “Where’s my sleepwear?! You had it prepared before.”
Pei Xu paused for a moment, then said without a hint of burden, “I threw it away.”
Qiao Nan: “?”
“There’s only this.”
Pei Xu’s deep gaze fixed on him, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips as if expecting him to refuse: “Nan Nan, if you don’t like it, you don’t have to wear it.”
In the end, Qiao Nan angrily put on his shirt and glared at him, cheeks flushed.
Silently cursing: Pervert!!!
After New Year’s Day, there wasn’t much time left before the Spring Festival.
Although Qiao Nan was on winter break, Old Li couldn’t bear to see them idling with nothing to do.
Before the break started, he assigned five or six major assignments, so Qiao Nan had no time to go out and mess around with friends and could only bitterly grind through homework at home.
He used to have a separate Painting Studio, but after making up with Pei Xu, who had become clingier, he moved all his easels and tools into Pei Xu’s study.
Pei Xu was busy working in the study, and Qiao Nan painted on the other side.
Today, he wasn’t feeling inspired.
Looking at the chaotic canvas, he tossed his brushes aside and quietly tiptoed over to Pei Xu.
Pei Xu was concentrating on reading a document.
Qiao Nan ducked under his arm and sat in his lap, humming softly, imitating a spoiled child.
Pei Xu pressed a hand on his back and lowered his head to kiss his forehead.
“What’s wrong?”
Qiao Nan leaned against his chest, his paint-covered hands unwashed, carelessly smudging Pei Xu’s white shirt.
“Mom and Dad are coming back tomorrow.”
Pei Xu glanced at the computer and hummed, “Uncle and Aunt have always come back around this time, haven’t they?”
Qiao Nan sighed and puckered his lips.
“Forget it.”
Then, pouting, he tried to wriggle out of Pei Xu’s arms.
Pei Xu held him down, smiling as he kissed his lips again: “Don’t be afraid. I’ll handle everything.”
Qiao Nan froze, mumbling, “What do I have to be afraid of? Even if my dad finds out, can he kick me out of the house? If he dares, my mom will definitely stand up to him.”
He should be the one afraid of Pei Xu.
But Pei Xu remained calm, acting like it was no big deal.
He kissed the top of Qiao Nan’s head and rubbed him closer into his embrace: “Don’t move. Stay with me a while.”
Qiao Nan could only reluctantly adjust his position and snuggle into Pei Xu’s arms to play games.
Three days before New Year’s Eve, Qiao Shi’an and his wife returned to Nanjiang.
The usually quiet Binjiang Villa was bustling with warmth and laughter.
Relatives and friends came and went every day, only returning to silence on New Year’s Eve itself.
The family of four didn’t go to a hotel.
They hired a chef to prepare the reunion dinner at home.
The atmosphere around the table was very harmonious.
Halfway through the meal, Zhou Ruo suddenly asked about Pei Xu’s love life: “How’s your relationship going? When will you bring her home for us to meet?”
Qiao Nan froze, the ceramic soup spoon in his hand clinking sharply against the bowl.
He nervously sat upright, his eyes flickering between Zhou Ruo and Pei Xu.
Pei Xu’s expression remained calm and indifferent: “After the New Year. I’ll ask his opinion, then bring him home.”
Zhou Ruo didn’t suspect a thing and smiled happily: “Good, tell her not to be nervous. Our family isn’t old-fashioned. We don’t care about background; as long as the person is good and you like them, that’s enough.”
She had privately discussed with Qiao Shi’an and thought that Pei Xu’s suddenly appearing girlfriend probably didn’t come from a good family, or else there would have been some rumors.
But given the current state of the Qiao family, their children didn’t need to marry for alliance.
It would be great if they could join powerful families, but if the partner was from an ordinary background, they weren’t the kind of strict, unyielding parents who would forbid it.
Pei Xu nodded in agreement, promising to pass on the message.
Qiao Shi’an also joined in, a bit more serious, sharing tips about meeting the parents, which Pei Xu nodded to one by one.
Only Qiao Nan sat awkwardly beside them, pretending to listen with curious interest.
After finishing the reunion dinner, the couple called relatives and friends to send their greetings.
Qiao Nan took the opportunity to pull Pei Xu upstairs with a tense expression: “Where did you suddenly get a girlfriend to bring home?!”
Meeting the parents right after the New Year—that would reveal everything!
With his dad’s bad temper, if he saw Pei Xu with him, it would be like an explosion of fireworks!
They’d both be waiting to be kicked out!
Qiao Nan’s nervous expression was so adorable that Pei Xu couldn’t help but chuckle, pinching the back of his neck and whispering, “I told you, leave it all to me. I’ll convince them.”
Qiao Nan shrank his neck, suspicious: “What good plan do you have?”
Pei Xu said, “It’s hard to explain for now. You just have to remember: whatever Uncle and Aunt ask, you agree. Don’t argue with them.”
He stroked Qiao Nan’s cheek seriously, “They love you very much. Don’t let them get hurt.”
Qiao Nan’s expression froze.
After a moment, he looked away and whispered, “I know.”
But he couldn’t help worrying: “What if my dad doesn’t agree and gets angry?”
Pei Xu comforted him with a kiss on the forehead, calm and unhurried: “Don’t you trust me, Nan Nan?”
Qiao Nan nuzzled into his embrace, softly humming, “Not really.”
From childhood until now, Pei Xu had never broken a promise.
He calmed down for the moment and hummed, “Then I’ll trust you this once.”
Pei Xu ruffled his hair.
“Let’s go stay up for the New Year.”