Flirting with a Cunning Doctor

Not two days after Ye Cheng moved in, several people came to visit.

It was a wealthy-looking middle-aged couple bringing along a young man, who was none other than their son.

Tang Chen, of course, remembered that man—the very same one who had mocked him at the restaurant last time, whom he had wanted to punch until Ye Cheng stopped him.

The couple entered with their heads lowered, apologizing tactfully:

“Our son is still young and immature, speaking without filtering his words. Young Master Ye, seeing that it’s not easy for us as parents, giving him a bit of a lesson is enough.”

As they spoke, they yanked their son forward, forcing him to bend over and apologize.

The young man was entirely unwilling, but pinned down by his parents, he could only mutter a line:

“…I’m sorry.”

Ye Cheng said nothing, instead turning his head to look at the person beside him.

Tang Chen sat on the sofa watching them. Crossing his legs, he said unceremoniously:

“Hm? What did you say? It was too quiet, I couldn’t hear you.”

The young man glared:

“You…!”

But his parents immediately tugged at his clothes. Gritting his teeth, his expression hideous as he stared at Tang Chen, he roared fiercely:

“I’m sorry! Did you hear that?!”

Tang Chen made a show of rubbing his ears.

“I’m still young, only a year older than you, actually. My hearing is quite good.”

Ye Cheng maintained a gentle expression, asking contextually with flawless etiquette:

“Uncle, Auntie, as the saying goes, disaster comes from the mouth. I believe paying more attention to how one speaks is quite an important matter, don’t you think?”

The middle-aged man gave a fake smile:

“You make a very good point. If only my son were that sensible.”

When the visit ended, the butler escorted them out. Listening intently, one could vaguely hear the middle-aged man’s deliberately lowered curses:

“Don’t provoke them ever again! I don’t have time to clean up your mess every single time!”

Back in the living room, Tang Chen looked at Ye Cheng and raised an eyebrow:

“What did you do?”

“I simply used my family’s influence to suppress them a bit.”

Businessmen valued profit above all else. Avenging Tang Chen was part of the reason, but if the company couldn’t benefit from it, they wouldn’t have let him do it.

Tang Chen:

“Bullying others with your influence?”

Ye Cheng hooked a sliver of a smile.

“You could say that.”

“Feels pretty good. A fox flaunting the tiger’s might—and I’m that fox.”

Tang Chen lay back on the sofa, propping up his legs, a punchable, arrogant smile gracing the corners of his mouth.

Ye Cheng, however, found the sight very pleasing to the eye—just like a home-raised kitten that had successfully snatched a dried fish, flaunting with its chin tilted up.

He couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch his soft cheek. The texture was too good; he was getting a bit addicted.

Being touched, Tang Chen froze. He immediately shoved his hand away as if startled, his earlobes flushing a deep crimson as he barked with feigned fierceness:

“What the hell is wrong with you!”

Ye Cheng pinched him once more before drawing his hand back, laughing:

“It’s just a pinch. Why such a big reaction? Like a girl.”

Tang Chen glared:

“Psycho.”

Jumping up from the sofa, he feigned a calm and chic exit, though his retreating figure practically fled upstairs in a flurry.

Ye Cheng narrowed his eyes, laughing leisurely—heh, this really was too entertaining.

Because staying at home meant being relentlessly flirted with by a certain someone, Tang Chen simply ran off to find Yu Shijian to play video games. Playing with him carried absolutely no pressure.

Over the past few days, the rumor that Tang Chen was now protected by Young Master Ye had already spread through their circle.

Even when he was dining with Yu Shijian at a restaurant outside, the upright boy couldn’t help but ask:

“Are you and Ye Cheng together? I’ve heard before that he doesn’t care about gender. Don’t let yourself get tricked by him; it’s not like men can get married.”

Tang Chen gave a soft “tsk.”

“What do you mean he tricked me? I liked men to begin with.”

“…Huh?!”

Yu Shijian was utterly dumbfounded. Instantly recalling his usual daily interactions with Tang Chen, his expression turned highly uncomfortable.

“Hey, hey. Do you think homosexuals just throw themselves at any man they see? With your looks—I wouldn’t even be interested.”

Tang Chen rested his chin on one hand, putting on a look of utter disdain.

Yu Shijian grew furious:

“What the hell? What’s wrong with me that you wouldn’t even be interested?!”

Tang Chen smiled shiftily:

“Oh my, do you actually want me to like you then?”

“Don’t derail the topic, you know exactly what I want to tell you.”

Yu Shijian glared at him, his face shifting through several expressions as he hesitated to speak. Ultimately gritting his teeth, he still said rapidly,

“Ye Cheng is preparing to get engaged—specifically to the young mistress of the Chen family!”

Tang Chen froze, his brows knitting together.

“Are you serious? Where did you hear that from?”

Noticing Tang Chen’s instantly altered expression, Yu Shijian felt a bit of regret, but this kind of thing was better known sooner than later.

“Heard it from my dad, it’s pretty much set in stone. Don’t think I made it up to lie to you; I even took a secret photo of them going to a jewelry store to pick out rings. Look, so intimate.”

As he spoke, he handed his phone over, but Tang Chen only spared it a glance, his expression very calm.

Yu Shijian chose his words carefully:

“I’ve looked it up. Homosexuality is a psychological phenomenon caused by external factors like social or family environments during the development of one’s personality. Your situation must be caused by postnatal stimulation. Come on, I’ll accompany you to see a psychologist.”

This guy was all action and no talk, standing up directly to pull Tang Chen along.

Tang Chen was speechless:

“Just what era’s data did you look up? This is merely a different biological trait of mine, perfectly normal. I’m not sick, why would I see a doctor.”

Yu Shijian nodded:

“Mn, you’re not sick. We’re just going to have some tea with a psychologist, don’t be nervous.”

This was glaringly perfunctory—the textbook way of not triggering a patient. Tang Chen couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“Yu Shijian, are you looking for a beating?”

“I already said you’re not sick, can’t you just trust me? What’s so good about a rigid man anyway, let alone a reckless playboy like him? Isn’t your bro just afraid you’ll suffer a loss? For the sake of some broken man, are we not going to be brothers anymore?!”

Seeing his impatient look, Yu Shijian’s fragile heart shattered instantly. All these years of friendship built over video games, the brotherhood of trusting someone with your back—it was going to break just like that?! Talk about bros before hoes!

The overly imaginative, upright boy felt he was about to die of grievance, the anger on his face flaring up even more. The people in the restaurant almost thought they were about to start a fistfight.

“Fck! Yu Shijian, has your brain rotted away?! Do you think you’re starring in a melodrama?! Brothers are brothers! I said I’m not sick, yet you insist on taking me to a doctor. If it were you, would you be fcking happy?! And who says being with him means I’m the one suffering a loss?! Do I look like a soft bun that anyone can just bully?!”

Tang Chen’s face was flushed red with anger as he barked straight back unceremoniously.

Stunned by his immense momentum, Yu Shijian froze for a good while before asking blankly:

“Your meaning is… you’re the one on top?”

Tang Chen was practically driven to laughter by anger.

“Do you think the one on top is the one who holds the dominant position and doesn’t suffer a loss?”

Yu Shijian was a bit dazed:

“…Is it not?”

“Hurry up and pack away that feudal, ancient mindset of yours. What era is this? Don’t tell people you know me when you walk out. To actually substitute that mindset of male superiority into this… even normal dating demands equality between genders nowadays, alright? At most, it’s just a matter of who is more proactive. If you let one party in a relationship hold complete control while the other purely accepts, that kind of deformed relationship is bound to collapse sooner or later.”

Yu Shijian:

“Your meaning is… versatile?”

Tang Chen raised an eyebrow:

“You’ve researched quite a lot of things.”

“Good good study, day day up.”

Yu Shijian scratched his head with a chuckle, then added,

“Ah, but it’s pretty hard to imagine you pinning Ye Cheng. It made me keep thinking about you while I was researching…”

Instantly realizing he had misspoken, he shut his mouth rapidly, casting a guilty glance at Tang Chen.

“Thinking what about me?”

Tang Chen tilted his head, his smile growing even more brilliant.

“It seems you’ve always underestimated me. This brotherhood really can’t be salvaged anymore.”

“Hey, I admit I misspoken, alright?”

Yu Shijian quickly tried to salvage it, muttering inwardly. He was clearly the one in the right lecturing him at the start, so how did it turn into an apology?

Tang Chen smiled, patting his shoulder, his words holding a layer of profound meaning:

“Keep it up. Let’s see to what extent you can persuade me, and whether you can bring me back to the ‘right track’ or not.”

Yu Shijian was dazed by his shifting attitude, but he still nodded.

“Mn, that’s a given. We’re brothers, after all.”

Times were progressing, and the social atmosphere was becoming more open, but people’s acceptance of homosexuality was ultimately still not high. If the relationship between two men was exposed, they would absolutely become targets of public criticism.

As a brother, he naturally didn’t want him to end up with such a fate.

When Ye Cheng returned to the villa, Tang Chen had already requested the kitchen to make french fries, matcha cake, and spicy chicken wings for afternoon tea half an hour ago, eating while watching TV—supremely comfortable.

The moment a commotion came from the entryway, signaling a certain someone’s return, he immediately put down the chicken wing he was holding, wiped his hands clean to destroy all evidence of his gluttony, and sat up quite properly.

He asked:

“Where did you go?”

His tone sounded a bit like an interrogation.

Looking at his rigid back, Ye Cheng walked over and sat down beside him. He noticed that the boy was pursing his lips with a expressionless face, his hands resting on his thighs clenched into fists—clearly not as indifferent as he appeared on the surface.

Ye Cheng’s lips curled slightly as he revealed it without any reservation:

“The family arranged a blind date, hoping I would enter an arranged marriage with the young mistress of the Chen family. I was accompanying her just now.”

“You… are getting married?”

“Probably.”

Tang Chen bit his lower lip tightly, trying his best to suppress his fluctuating emotions. His face was full of stubborn defiance, yet his eyes uncontrollably reddened.

Ye Cheng put on an expression of surprise.

“What’s wrong? Did someone bully you?”

“No. When I went to the kitchen just now, they happened to be chopping onions inside, that’s all.”

His personality was just this awkward and dishonest, hiding all his vulnerability away to lick his wounds alone, absolutely refusing to let anyone see.

Watching him like this, Ye Cheng couldn’t help but narrow his eyes—

‘Truly too cute. I can’t resist wanting to bully him ruthlessly, just to make him cry even harder.’

This blind date was merely a suggestion from his family, not a mandatory match. Once a family business grew large enough, there was absolutely no need to exchange marriage for resources.

He could entirely choose according to his own wishes.

But he didn’t intend to explain it clearly. Tang Chen had always been this awkward; even the fondness and favor in his heart were blurred.

In that case, it would be better to simply deliver a shock to let him clearly realize exactly what kind of position Ye Cheng occupied in his heart—if he didn’t grab hold of it soon, he was going to lose his chance.

To put it simply, Ye Cheng had flirted with the boy to the finish line and was now sitting back, waiting for a confession.