Pei Xu carried Qiao Nan out.
At first, the drunk man was quite well-behaved, but when Pei Xu put him in the passenger seat and buckled him in, he started to fuss.
“I’m not going back, I want to drink more.”
He twisted his body to push Pei Xu’s hand.
Because he’d had too much to drink, his body temperature was slightly higher than usual, and when it pressed against Pei Xu’s arm, the burning heat almost seared into his heart.
Pei Xu stiffened for a few seconds, his Adam’s apple bobbing a few times.
He painstakingly adjusted his breathing and patiently coaxed him, “Nannan, be good. If you drink too much, you’ll have a headache tomorrow.”
“Let me be in pain, my brother doesn’t even care about me, why… why should you care…”
Qiao Nan was clearly very drunk, unable to even recognize Pei Xu.
But he apparently still remembered the argument he had with Pei Xu during the day.
Now, bringing up old matters, the more he thought about it, the more pitiful he felt, and he sadly sniffed, still unable to stop his tears from falling.
He hung his head, not making a sound.
His bangs fell forward, covering most of his eyebrows and eyes.
Pei Xu couldn’t see his red eyes, only transparent drops of water falling one by one, heavily striking his heart.
Although Qiao Nan was a bit spoiled, he rarely cried.
He preferred to act cute and spoiled in front of Pei Xu, his beautiful, captivating “peach blossom eyes” curving into charming smiles.
No matter what request he made, Pei Xu couldn’t bear to refuse.
But now, he sat in the passenger seat, hanging his head and quietly weeping.
Like an abandoned, homeless kitten.
Pei Xu felt his heart being clutched, both sore and painful.
“Nannan, don’t cry.”
Pei Xu leaned over and lifted his face, gently wiping away his tears with his fingertips.
His voice was also hoarse.
“How could I bear not to care about you…”
He just couldn’t face him anymore.
And he didn’t dare to face him anymore.
The surging desires in his heart were becoming increasingly uncontrollable.
He was soberly aware that he was sliding towards danger, so he could only use his remaining sanity to force himself away.
He just hadn’t expected Qiao Nan’s reaction to be so intense.
So intense that… it made him happy, giving rise to delusions.
Pei Xu closed his eyes, forcing himself to suppress the dark thoughts that had been rekindled, and pulled out a tissue to wipe his face.
Qiao Nan tilted his face, cooperating.
His misty “peach blossom eyes” were slightly narrowed, incredibly well-behaved.
He gazed steadily at Pei Xu for a long time, then suddenly reached out and hugged his neck, almost hanging from him, pleading in a soft, coaxing tone, “Brother, please don’t move out, okay?”
His voice still had a hint of a sob.
Like a kitten, he buried his face in Pei Xu’s neck, rubbing against him.
The intimate touch of skin against skin made Pei Xu freeze.
He maintained his leaning posture, delicately savoring this undeniable closeness, almost unable to suppress a sigh.
The beast locked in his heart stretched out its sharp claws through the pried-open door.
Pei Xu hugged him back.
His palm covered the back of Qiao Nan’s head, pressing him forcefully towards himself.
Because he was using too much force, the veins in his arms bulged and stood out.
“Qiao Nan…”
He stroked Qiao Nan’s hair, leaning into his ear, and called his name word by word in a very low, deep tone, “But I don’t want to be your brother.”
His hand slid down the curve of Qiao Nan’s neck, counting the distinct vertebrae, and with a strong possessiveness, he gripped his waist, making him press intimately against himself.
This was the action he had always wanted to do every time Qiao Nan, without any reservations, hugged him and acted spoiled.
He wanted him to clearly feel his desire.
He wanted him to know that he wasn’t just his perfect brother, but also a man with desires.
Being hugged too tightly, Qiao Nan couldn’t move.
The alcohol prevented his muddled brain from thinking, much less understanding Pei Xu’s words.
Qiao Nan reluctantly moved his head, vaguely questioning, “Brother?”
Pei Xu suddenly woke up.
He struggled free from the dark vortex, painstakingly released the hand tightly gripping Qiao Nan’s waist, and put him back in the passenger seat.
“I’ll take you home.”
Almost frantically, Pei Xu buckled Qiao Nan’s seatbelt, quickly closed the car door, and got into the driver’s seat to start the car.
Qiao Nan turned his head to look at him, with a hazy uncertainty, “Together?”
Pei Xu paused, then remembering that Qiao Nan would black out when he drank too much, he hummed in affirmation, coaxing him.
Qiao Nan smiled happily, obediently gripped the seatbelt, and waited to go home.
***
When Pei Xu drove the car into the underground garage, Qiao Nan was already asleep.
His face was tilted towards Pei Xu, his carefully styled hair messy from the earlier commotion, bangs hanging haphazardly over his forehead, covering his delicate and beautiful eyebrows and eyes.
Pei Xu turned on the car’s interior light, and under the dim illumination, he meticulously and greedily looked at him.
Qiao Nan’s appearance combined all the best features of his parents.
His skin was as delicate as fine porcelain, his facial features exquisitely sculpted, especially his “peach blossom eyes,” which always carried a subtle, alluring charm when they moved.
Since junior high, the love letters in his desk drawer had never stopped.
Pei Xu reached out and lifted his bangs, revealing those beautiful, tightly closed eyes.
He was sleeping soundly, his eyeballs moving regularly beneath his thin eyelids, causing his thick eyelashes to tremble along with them, flicking, flicking, scratching at Pei Xu’s most hidden itch.
The lingering passion surged again.
Pei Xu almost let himself lean over, his lips lightly, ever so lightly, touching his eyelashes.
The trembling eyelashes brushed against his lips, more unbearable than he had expected.
Pei Xu’s breathing instantly deepened, flames ignited, his throat dry, his Adam’s apple uncontrollably bobbing up and down.
Simple two words squeezed out from his parched throat, leaving only an almost inaudible, blurred gasp. Pei Xu’s lips slowly moved down, then suddenly stopped just as they were about to touch the soft lips.
Qiao Nan’s lips were full and plump, with a small “lip bead” in the middle of his upper lip.
This just-right plumpness softened his somewhat cold features, which were due to their exquisite refinement, making him appear a bit softer.
Pei Xu had countless times fantasized about whether these lips would taste as soft as they looked.
Now the answer was right in front of him.
Yet he remained frozen in a “just about to touch” posture, rationality and emotion silently warring.
After a long time, Pei Xu’s body stirred slightly, his lips almost brushing Qiao Nan’s chin as he moved past, lowering his head to unbuckle his seatbelt.
He got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, opened the car door, carried the unconscious Qiao Nan out, and walked into the elevator.
The elevator slowly ascended from the second basement level, chiming “ding” when it reached the second floor.
Pei Xu walked out of the elevator holding Qiao Nan, still the loving, perfect brother.
“How much did he drink? He’ll probably have a headache tomorrow morning.”
When Pei Xu’s car entered the underground garage, Uncle Wang had already heard the commotion and had arrived on the second floor in advance.
“He drank a lot. Ask Auntie to make some hangover soup, feed it to him, and then he can sleep,” Pei Xu said.
He carried Qiao Nan into the room, quickly changed him into his pajamas, and tucked him into bed.
“No class tomorrow, so let him sleep in a bit longer.”
***
“Yes, yes,” Uncle Wang replied, seeing him adjust his clothes and make to leave again, he chased after him, asking, “Is Young Master still going out so late?”
He had a hesitant expression.
“Young Master Qiao will probably be unhappy if he can’t find you tomorrow.”
Clearly, during the time Pei Xu went to pick up Qiao Nan, he had already learned about the brothers’ argument earlier that day.
Uncle Wang had worked for the Qiao family for decades and had watched both brothers grow up since childhood, so he naturally knew how deep their bond was.
Especially for Qiao Nan, Pei Xu was probably closer than his parents.
Pei Xu paused, not turning his head. “Yes, the company has an important meeting tomorrow morning, so I won’t be staying at home.”
After speaking, without waiting for Uncle Wang to try and make him stay, he hurried downstairs.
Uncle Wang looked at his retreating back, shook his head, and sighed, “What a mess.”
***
At 12 PM, a hungover Qiao Nan groaned and crawled out of bed.
He stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind a complete blank.
After a long while, he suddenly jumped up, pushed open the door, and poked his head out to look at Uncle Wang on the first floor.
“Uncle Wang, how did I get back last night?”
“Young Master is awake?”
Uncle Wang put down the bill in his hand and went upstairs.
“Young Master Pei brought you back. Are you hungry? Aunt Chen made some congee this morning; have some to settle your stomach.”
Hearing that Pei Xu had brought him back, Qiao Nan couldn’t hide his smile.
He grabbed the railing and leaned over, looking around downstairs.
“Where’s my brother?”
“…He went to the company.”
Uncle Wang’s expression hesitated slightly, not telling the whole truth.
“It’s already twelve o’clock; how could he still be at home?”
Qiao Nan caught the hesitation on his face, and his smile instantly faltered.
He asked with a sullen face, “What time did he leave?”
Uncle Wang couldn’t withstand his gaze and could only tell the truth.
“He left right after bringing you back yesterday.”
Seeing Qiao Nan’s face completely fall, he quickly tried to comfort him, “Young Master Pei said he had an important meeting this morning, that’s why he had to rush off…”
Qiao Nan refuted his words expressionlessly, “It’s the Dragon Boat Festival holiday today. What meeting is he going to the company for?”
Without waiting for Uncle Wang to answer, he went back to his room and slammed the door shut.
Throwing himself onto the bed, Qiao Nan restlessly rolled around a few times.
When he saw the framed photo on his bedside table, he abruptly sat up and flipped the photo face down on the desk.
Still not satisfied, he threw Pei Xu’s pillow, which was beside him, onto the floor, picked up his own pillow, and ran out barefoot.
Uncle Wang was still at the door, pondering how to talk sense into him when he saw him storming out again with his pillow.
“I’m moving back to my own room, Uncle Wang, please have someone clean it up for me.”
“Isn’t this—”
Halfway through his sentence, Uncle Wang realized that Qiao Nan was currently sleeping in Pei Xu’s room.
The brothers had a good relationship, and Qiao Nan particularly liked to cling to his brother, even wanting to sleep together.
From the age of six or seven until now, twenty years old, his own room was neat and almost empty, while Pei Xu’s room was completely packed.
So much so that the servants had grown used to it.
Uncle Wang watched him storm into the room across the hall, chasing after him, repeatedly saying, “I’ll have someone change the bedding first.”
Qiao Nan returned to his own room, looked around, and found everything displeasing.
Finally, he curled up on the sofa chair on the balcony.
***
With his chin resting on his knees, Qiao Nan took out his phone and scrolled through it.
WeChat messages: 99+.
He opened them with anticipation, only to find them all from his group chat with his mischievous friends.
“So much nonsense,” Qiao Nan muttered unhappily, setting the group chat to “do not disturb” and continued scrolling down.
The list had messages from Qian Chuan, messages from classmates, and new friend requests, but none from Pei Xu.
The dissatisfaction in his heart began to grow exponentially.
Qiao Nan puffed out his cheeks and tapped into Pei Xu’s profile, angrily changing his original nickname from “Dearest Brother.”
He exited and looked at the conversation list displaying “Pei Xu.”
Only then did he feel a little relieved.
Staring at the new nickname for a while, he then raised his phone, aimed it at the room, took a photo, and posted an update on his Moments: [Moved house :)].