After dinner, Pei Xu took the dishes into the kitchen.
Qiao Nan was still immersed in the surprise of his birthday gift.
Determined to be a thoughtful and considerate little brother, he eagerly carried two plates and followed him into the kitchen.
Pei Xu initially didn’t want him to help, but seeing the smile brimming in his eyes, he said nothing in the end.
The open-plan kitchen was spacious.
The two stood side by side at the sink—Pei Xu washed each dish and handed it to Qiao Nan, who wiped it dry with a clean cloth and placed it in the dish rack.
They worked in quiet harmony.
“How’s school?”
Pei Xu asked casually, as if just making small talk.
“Not great. Old Li is merciless—I’ve been grinding away at assignments for a whole week.”
Whenever he was alone with Pei Xu, Qiao Nan turned into a chatterbox.
All Pei Xu had to do was ask a question, and Qiao Nan would spill the details of his entire day.
Looking pitiful, he stretched out his right hand in front of Pei Xu, “Look, my fingers are going to be deformed. And the dorm beds are small—Zhao Yutong grinds his teeth at night, so I barely got any sleep…”
He mumbled his complaints while frowning, which—at least from Pei Xu’s perspective—made him look even more adorable.
Like a little kitten coming home to tattle after being bullied, begging for comfort.
As his fingers brushed along the edge of the porcelain bowl, Pei Xu silently recalled the sensation of that soft skin, and gently steered the conversation, “What’s the theme this time? Why’s it such a rush? If you’re that busy with assignments again, just stay here. Uncle Wang can drive you. A few hours won’t make a difference.”
“If I’m swamped with homework next time, I’ll just move in here. And you can be my model—how convenient.”
Qiao Nan blinked and flashed a mischievous smile.
Since Pei Xu insisted on living on his own, then Qiao Nan would just follow suit!
His brother would never really kick him out.
Pei Xu glanced at him, handed over the last bowl, and neither agreed nor disagreed.
Qiao Nan took it as silent approval!
He placed the bowl into the rack, untied his apron, and trailed behind Pei Xu like a little tail.
Remembering what Pei Xu had asked earlier, he started excitedly talking about a recent coincidence during his search for a model.
“Bro, do you remember when you picked me up from the club last week? There was a guy in a black shirt who came with Qian Chuan?”
Pei Xu certainly remembered.
Not only that, he’d asked his assistant to do a full background check on that person.
When it came to anything involving Qiao Nan, he was always sharp.
That day at the club, the guy’s behavior had already set off alarms for him.
It was the kind of eager posture that signaled territorial competition.
Pei Xu hid his emotions and replied calmly, “I vaguely remember. What about him?”
Without needing further prompting, Qiao Nan told the whole “coincidence” story.
“Turns out he’s Qian Chuan’s cousin! That day I asked the agency to send over a figure model, and he showed up—how crazy is that?”
“From the Qin family?” Pei Xu raised an eyebrow with just the right amount of surprise, then slightly furrowed his brow.
“I’ve met the Qin family before. I remember they have two sons, but neither went into fashion. The eldest, Qin Jue, is already working in management at their company. The younger one… I think his name is Qin Feng. He’s been studying art abroad, just got back recently. Supposedly has a bit of a following—he’s even some kind of influencer.”
Qiao Nan’s smile faltered slightly, his elegant brows slowly drawing together.
Just then, Pei Xu casually searched a short-video platform and found Qin Feng’s account—his username was “Feng Huo (Blazing Fire).”
His homepage had both artwork showcases and short videos featuring himself.
Pei Xu clicked one at random and gestured for Qiao Nan to watch.
“That’s definitely him.”
Qiao Nan frowned as he finished watching.
“So he lied to me. He told me he entered the fashion world to chase his dreams, and that his family didn’t support him, so things weren’t going well.”
“Some men love playing up their weaknesses to gain sympathy,” Pei Xu said gently, with the tone of a caring elder.
“I’ve heard his personal life is… quite open. His last relationship was also with a guy around your age.”
He paused here, then continued seriously,
“I’m not here to judge his private life. You’re already in your second year of college—old enough to date. That’s perfectly normal.
But when choosing who to date, you can’t focus only on appearances. Character matters just as much.
And most importantly—stay safe. Don’t act recklessly.”
The first half was okay, but the second half was basically a blunt warning not to fool around.
Although close to his brother, Qiao Nan had never talked about something this personal before.
He’d never really liked anyone, so he’d never needed to discuss relationships.
Now, suddenly faced with this, his cheeks turned red and he stammered in protest:
“I’m not! I don’t even know him that well—we just added each other on WeChat! Don’t jump to conclusions!”
“Okay, okay,” Pei Xu said, letting it go just as easily.
He smiled and ruffled Qiao Nan’s hair:
“Nan Nan is growing up. You should start understanding these things anyway.”
This time, even Qiao Nan’s neck turned red. Gripping his phone, he stormed back to his bedroom.
Pei Xu watched his retreating figure.
The gentle smile at the corner of his lips slowly faded.
He tapped his fingers lightly on the sofa’s armrest, his mouth curling into a cold arc.
***
Because of the sudden “adult conversation,” Qiao Nan felt uncomfortable all the way until bedtime.
He lay with his back facing Pei Xu, fingers flying over the keyboard as he furiously vented to Qian Chuan in their chaotic friend group chat.
[Aaaaah I’m going to explode! I can’t even face my brother now!]
[@Don’tEatSkewers do you know how embarrassed I am right now?! What are you going to do to make it up to me?!]
[Qin Feng is such a scumbag! He’s wasted as a painter—he should go chase a dream in acting!]
[I’ll treat you tomorrow, to apologize. You pick the place.]
Knowing he was at fault, Qian Chuan eagerly joined in the group’s roast session, cursing Qin Feng alongside Qiao Nan.
He was fuming too.
Sure, he knew his cousin was a serial flirt who changed partners more often than clothes, but how was he supposed to know Qin Feng could lie like that?
And to Qiao Nan of all people?
Total betrayal.
Maybe it was the artist in him, but Qin Feng had a particular obsession with collecting “beauties”—male or female, he didn’t discriminate.
Back at the club, Qian Chuan had already sensed that Qin Feng was eyeing Qiao Nan strangely.
But since both their families were prominent, he thought Qin Feng wouldn’t actually cross the line.
He’d warned him, but hadn’t taken it seriously.
After all, there was no shortage of people who had a crush on Little Young Master Qiao.
He never imagined Qin Feng would actually make a move—and get busted by Qiao Nan’s brother no less.
Just thinking about it made him feel utterly humiliated.
Qiao Nan kept ranting for a while until the secondhand embarrassment that made even his toes curl finally eased a bit.
Normally, he would have chatted with his brother before bed, but tonight he just peeked over his shoulder for a quick glance.
The memory of Pei Xu’s serious tone earlier made his cheeks burn all over again.
He huffed quietly and slammed his phone down in frustration.
After silently sulking for a while, Qiao Nan decided to go to sleep early.
Since the usual warm-and-fuzzy bedtime brotherly bonding was clearly off the table tonight, he swore to himself—tomorrow Qian Chuan was going to pay!
Just as Qiao Nan was putting his phone down to sleep, a new message popped up on WeChat.
He pulled his hand back and opened it.
It was from that jerk Qin Feng.
Narrowing his eyes, he clicked into the chat, radiating killing intent.
The message was a location pin for an art exhibit, with a question, “Want to go together this weekend?”
Oh, please.
Was it an exhibit invitation or another excuse for him to show off his acting chops?
Qiao Nan coldly snorted and quickly copied the “Feng Huo” account homepage and sent it to Qin Feng with a final message:
[I think you should consider a dual career. You might just find the film industry suits you better than the art world. 🙂]
Without waiting for a reply, Qiao Nan promptly deleted and blocked him.
Looking at the now clean and empty chat list, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
He put the phone on his bedside table and curled up for a bit.
Eventually overcoming his embarrassment, he slowly turned over and stole a glance at Pei Xu.
Pei Xu was sitting against the headboard, reading a file.
The gold-rimmed, clear-lens glasses perched on his nose added a scholarly elegance to his mature and gentle aura.
As expected, my brother is the best.
Qiao Nan stared for a while, cheeks flushing again.
He shrank under the covers and mumbled, “I’m going to sleep. Night.”
Pei Xu turned to look at him, acting as if he hadn’t noticed Qiao Nan’s awkwardness at all.
He gently patted the blanket and replied in a soft, tender voice,
“Sleep well. Good night.”
Qiao Nan buried his face in the blanket and soon fell asleep.
Hearing his steady breathing, Pei Xu set the document aside and turned off the wall lamp, leaving only the dim nightlight on.
Under its faint glow, he gazed at Qiao Nan for a long time, then reached out and gently stroked his face before finally smiling to himself.
“Nan Nan did very well.”
Qiao Nan thought he had hidden everything perfectly, but Pei Xu had quietly taken in every move and emotion.
Thinking of the scheming Qin Feng, Pei Xu’s expression turned dark once more.
After a moment of thought, he sent a few messages to his assistant Zhao Bo:
[Dig up Qin Feng’s dating history.
Also contact a few big gossip accounts to get the word out.]
***
On Saturday, Qiao Nan slept in until noon.
By then, Pei Xu had already gone to work.
Qiao Nan sluggishly got up, washed up, and was about to raid the fridge for snacks when he saw a sticky note from Pei Xu:
[Lunch is in the fridge. There’s soup in the clay pot too. Eat properly.]
He happily took out the lunch from the fridge, heated it in the microwave, and scooped out a bowl of soup.
After setting everything on the table, he snapped a photo and sent it to Pei Xu:
[I’m eating properly! /cute]
Pei Xu must not have been too busy—he replied quickly, [What time will you be back tonight? Want me to pick you up?]
Today was the day Qian Chuan was supposed to take him out to make amends.
Since Qiao Nan didn’t know how long they’d be out, he told Pei Xu not to bother.
After finishing lunch, he drove Pei Xu’s car to meet up with Qian Chuan.
The place was the same club from last time.
When Qiao Nan arrived, Qian Chuan hadn’t yet shown up.
But a few others, like Xiao Rang, were already there—howling into karaoke mics and dancing wildly. The whole room was chaos.
He immediately backed out.
Taking a sharp breath, Qiao Nan shouted, “You guys go ahead! I’ll wait for Qian Chuan outside,” and covered his ears.
He didn’t have to wait long.
Soon Qian Chuan arrived.
To Qiao Nan’s surprise, Qin Feng was right behind him.
Qiao Nan narrowed his eyes, sending him a death glare:
You actually dared to bring him here?
Qian Chuan’s expression twisted. He jerked his chin toward Qin Feng with a bitter look, “He insisted on coming. I couldn’t stop him!”
Their eye contact lasted just a second, but Qin Feng quickly stepped forward to explain, “Don’t blame Chuanzi. I forced my way here. I just want to explain what happened—and apologize.”
It’s hard to hit someone who’s smiling.
Even though Qiao Nan didn’t care for any explanation, he wasn’t the type to drag things out unnecessarily.
Besides, Qin Feng was Qian Chuan’s cousin.
For Chuanzi’s sake, he didn’t want to make the scene too awkward.
He gave a cold nod and walked into the private room first.
Over there, Xiao Rang had already switched to a slow, romantic ballad—thankfully not as ear-piercing as before.
Qiao Nan casually found a place to sit. Qin Feng instinctively followed, but Qian Chuan grabbed him and yanked him toward the drink table, gritting his teeth:
“If you’re going to apologize, do it right! Please, don’t drag me down again!”
Qin Feng obediently picked up a glass of wine and walked over to Qiao Nan—just as his phone started buzzing madly.
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