Wei Qing stays in the bathroom longer than he intends, dealing with an unexpected Pavlovian response. Namely, in the form of his rebellious third leg… which has, because of some unfortunate decisions, been fed a steady diet of bathroom-adjacent fantasies and is now confused as to their purpose here.
Damn traitor, what have you done with my life-and-death compatriot?
Instead of heading back out and seeing how to further irritate his brother, he is dealing with an unwanted erection. Dealing with it by ignoring it, because feeding the maladaptive response is the worst thing you can do in this kind of situation, right? He’s pretty sure he read that in one of his books. Or maybe saw it in porn…?
Fifty-fifty, as far as his sources of sexual education go.
Either way, this is his third round of hand-washing, hips angled towards the cold granite in the hopes of getting the message to his misbehaving member. For those keeping score at home, not working so far. But at least he’s not exposed as anything more than an extremely hygiene-conscious young master to anyone who enters. And who knows? Probably, all he needs is for one of those uncles with tufts of hair sprouting from their ears to show up and call him ‘sonny,’ and his libido will be shriveled into submission.
He doesn’t get an uncle though.
He gets Xiao Lirong– the excellent yacht boy that he had transformed into a dreadful research assistant. Handsome and lithe in black pants and a white shirt, suspenders and a vest making him look younger than he is, freer than the rest of them in their suits and ties. It’s debonair and dangerous.
Wei Qing’s dick is thrilled. Wei Qing himself is not.
Well, in times of inner turmoil– it’s best to avoid eye contact and wash his hands a fourth time. Obviously. Xiao Lirong will get the hint and scamper off to do his business, and all will be right with the world. A complete non-event, not even worth bringing up at the water cooler.
Of course, that’s not how it goes. At this point, just call him cursed.
No, Xiao Lirong decides his business is Wei Qing. He doesn’t even have the decency to spend fifty seconds in a stall pretending that this is a coincidence and not a planned meeting. Nope, cocky motherfucker just walks over, soft and silent, with his eyes cast submissively downwards but his lips quirked up in invitation.
And yeah, at this moment… Wei Qing can see what the old him saw in the guy.
Why he’d bed him and like it so much that he’d want to keep him in his periphery for future booty calls.
After all, as someone who feigned confidence, being approached so nakedly by someone that actually had it was deeply appealing. Not to mention, Xiao Lirong is objectively beautiful. Peach blossom eyes, skin that he must spend hours caring for, fringed by softly falling hair and a smile that is sweet with just the slightest edge of tart. The overall effect is of a good boy willing to sin (for you, and you only) and Wei Qing’s body reacts, even if his soul is well and truly tired of such contrived affection. Even if he knows exactly who he wants.
“Ah, Wei-ge… are you enjoying the party?” That voice- That’s not the voice of the office, that’s the voice he used when they were in bed together. Soft and husky and secret. Wei Qing hates that he can suddenly remember it. Remember it well. Wei Qing is pretty sure in his old circle, this is known as ‘soft and breedable.’ Kill him.
So how to shut this down?
“It’s fine.” He channels his most boring self, his inner Qiwan. Xiao Lirong just takes it as encouragement.
“Wei-ge sounds so stressed~” Danger, definite danger- “Maybe Wei-ge can take me home? I still remember how to relax Wei-ge best~”
Xiao Lirong runs his fingers up his suit and spins Wei Qing’s body effortlessly away from the sinks. Even though he’s small and weak– evidently, Wei Qing is weaker. Too weak to hold fast, barely strong enough to back himself up until he’s flat against a paper-towel dispenser, thirty seconds away from—
Probably getting blown in the bathroom again.
God. Dammit.
“If. You’re. Finished.”
That voice. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Wei Qing freezes, Xiao Lirong hops away like a rabbit. Yue Fei is staring daggers at them from the alcove. Didn’t… didn’t hear you come in- “-Get out.”
“Now.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Wei Qing doesn’t intervene, so Xiao Lirong wisely decides against pressing his luck, hurrying out of the place like he’s fleeing a crime scene. Wei Qing thinks that instinct might be correct, with how obviously infuriated Yue Fei is. Is this what happens when you’re about to get murdered? If so…
Wei Qiwan, please do me the honor of blaming yourself for this.
—
Tef Mfl ibmxr atf vbbg jcv rajixr abkjgvr tlw. Tfq, vfolclaf wegvfg nlyfr.
“Wei! Qing!” Close, too close, close enough to- “Is this your idea of good?” Close enough to see Wei Qing’s reaction, sneer down at it in a way that’s as pretty as it is piercingly savage. “If I realized you were incapable of attending a function without fucking someone, I would have arranged an escort.”
“Tef Mfl! Ktja’r cba ojlg, P kjrc’a-”
Yue Fei invades his personal space further, slamming a palm against the wall and caging Wei Qing with his body as well as his aura. Nothing about this is master and subordinate. Not right now. It’s might makes right, and Yue Fei is unequivocally the one running the show. His eyes are so black, in this light, with these emotions.
“You weren’t what? Hard at the idea of being propositioned by an employee? About to be serviced in an unlocked restroom? Why? Because Wei Qiwan didn’t want to walk close to you?” Yue Fei snorts, voice dripping with derision. “Look at yourself and tell me how unfair I’m being.”
Ccv atf qgbyifw lr, obg jii tlr lccfg aegwbli, Qfl Hlcu lr tjgvfg atjc fnfg. Rba yfmjerf bo Wljb Olgbcu jcv atf wermif wfwbgs tf fcufcvfgfv. Rba fnfc yfmjerf bo atf rfaalcu. Dea yfmjerf Tef Mfl lr lc ogbca bo tlw, rb nfgs jcugs ja mjamtlcu tlw yflcu yjv–
Wei Qing wants to be punished, in the way he and TYY sometimes play at. Caged in and made to admit his wrongs on his knees before being lovingly forgiven and caressed and pampered. He wants Yue Fei to scream at him, grab him, demand the truth– and then–
And this is the part that no one (least of all him) understands–
After the vicious dressing down, what he really needs is for Yue Fei to believe him. Trust him. Love him. All the power struggles and little games and strange thoughts he has boil down to the same craving: to finally be important enough to be loved, even as he fucks up. Especially then. To be chosen. And ever since Yang Wushe had shed pretense… Yue Fei is the only person that can possibly give that to him. So yeah, back pressed against the wall, space invaded… He wants this. In all sorts of ways he shouldn’t.
His brain is officially broken.
—
This isn’t a fantasy, it’s a disaster! And he has to find a way to explain his way out of this. To tell just enough truth that Yue Fei believes him, but not so much that he ends up confessing to someone who is clearly fed-up. Dying was easier than this. He hangs his head, voice small.
“Yue Fei… I- I really did just come to freshen up. I didn’t plan to meet him. I didn’t want to. I-” He sighs and grinds his head against Yue Fei’s immoveable chest. “I want to be good. Honestly. I don’t know why it’s like this. I just wanted to wash my hands. Being… hard… doesn’t mean I was going to– you saw me back away at least, right?”
He looks up, pleading, and whatever Yue Fei reads in his eyes is enough for him to sigh and step away. It’s true. For all the embarrassment, an erection is not consent. Law and Order even did an episode on it.
“It is also my negligence. Habits are habits for a reason.” There’s a clear thread of disappointment in Yue Fei’s tone, but Wei Qing can’t expect better. Not given his history, and how that had looked. It wasn’t a jump to conclusions so much as a small step. Not even a bunny hop.
Yue Fei adjusts his cuffs and side-eyes the erection that is still rather prominent in the light gray suit. His negligence there as well. He should have anticipated and chosen a darker, heavier fabric for Wei Qing. Maybe an athletic cup, for good measure.
“Well… go handle it.”
Wei Qing’s brain breaks.
“Do you mean…?”
“Or what? Do you want me to invite Mr. Xiao back in? Or tie a jacket around your waist?”
“No, it’s just… I mean…” He looks between the stalls and Yue Fei, begging him to understand. He does. Except for where he doesn’t.
“I’ve heard, and seen worse.”
…Fair.
Wei Qing meekly turns on the taps (sue him, he’s shy!) and heads into the farthest possible stall. And then the real problem presents itself, the problem of how very idiotically turned on he is by everything that’s just happened. Especially by the look in Yue Fei’s eyes as he stalked over to him, like he was going to devour him whole, use that as a means of keeping him good and obedient.
A long lick of a palm that tastes of soap and panic.
Then, Wei Qing turns his own tie into a gag, as he unzips and allows himself to give in to this wicked brokenness. He backs up, like he’s against a hard chest instead of veneered wood, tilts his head back, allows his eyes to squeeze shut as he imagines that Yue Fei is the kind of person to listen at the door. Coins jostle in his pockets, the links of his watch catch against his pumping wrist. He moans and bites and arches, rolls his shoulders and snaps his hips and when he comes, with an eagerness and a speed that is downright juvenile, there’s only one name being muffled behind his lips.
Xiao Lirong never enters into it.
And then-
Ha-
Ha- Ah- Haa-
Then there is the panting return to earth. The cleanup, the shame. The embarrassment of the too-loud flush in the bathroom that highlights the ineffectiveness of the left-open taps. The saliva that discolors the rumpled tie as it pops out of his mouth, the snag in the embroidery where his canine caught and pulled when he was mindless. Stuffing himself back into his boxer-briefs, zipping back up, patting his cheeks and wondering if they look as feverish as they feel. He doubts it–
He would have to be ablaze to match.
—
Wei Qing washes his hands a fifth time. His poor cuticles will never recover from this. Yue Fei watches. Hands him a towel. Fixes his tie, fingers skimming over the damp as an eyebrow arches. “I’d say take it off, but that will invite speculation.” A tug to tighten things back up to standard. “Order soup and we can pretend you spilled.”
Wei Qing nods and steps away, thinking rather desperately about soap and old grandmothers, before this level of aftercare can send him back into the stalls for round two. Thank god for refractory periods, because there’d be no way of explaining his way out of that one.
“Soup’s good.”
There it is ladies and gentlemen, the smooth words of a practiced Casanova, the careful banter of someone who graduated at the top of their class. Pray for him.
Yue Fei follows him out, fingers rubbing unnoticed at his side.
—
“Finally back?” Wei Qiwan addresses himself to the jug of water between them. Ah, sibling bonding. “You missed your receptionist winning a… desk plant… costume contest?”
Clearly, the emcee had taken Wei Qing’s suggestions seriously. He perks up a bit, even as he orders soup he doesn’t particularly want. He doesn’t forget to pour Wei Qiwan more of the wine he despises as his nerves settle.
“She always had that in the bag, you should see what she does with Ren Ren.”
“Whomst?”
“Our team cactus. What kind of CEO are you? Where’s your dedication~?”
“Says the man who has worked 72 days in the last three years.”
“Whose fault is that?” Wei Qing’s bitterness isn’t suppressed, and banter turns to something more serious.
This time, Wei Qiwan doesn’t answer him. The conversation ends, and the rest of dinner is the kind of stiff, stillborn thing to which they’ve become accustomed. Wei Qing is saved from mindlessly eating by Yue Fei at his side, who arranges his plate and refreshes his drink with an attention to detail that is disarming enough to even break into the painful silence of eating with his brother.
If he was a little less self-absorbed, he might notice how Wei Qiwan has no one to serve the same function. How very, particularly alone he is. But he’s not, so he doesn’t.
Yue Fei does though. And even though he knows it risks sending Wei Qing into a tailspin, he takes a break from babying his master to text the event supervisor, requesting egg custard to the President’s table. Wei Qiwan’s favorite. Having served both men in his last life, Yue Fei knows that Wei Qiwan is better at taking care of himself than Wei Qing…
But just barely.
In these small moments, there’s nothing wrong with giving him a little nudge towards living. After all, if Wei Qing keeps behaving, tonight notwithstanding, then maybe, just maybe, there was a future being made here. One that demanded they do something other than stay in this holding pattern of deep hurts and hidden justifications. If he wasn’t going to walk away…
Then it would be nice, if the two of them could grow the fuck up and learn how to walk together again.
Yue Fei looks over his shoulder at Wei Qing’s still-drying tie. Recalls exactly what led to his perfect ensemble being so abused. Right. One thing at a time. Nevermind any plans for the future if he can’t keep Wei Qing from falling dick first into whatever person propositions him last. Really, really makes him want to just lock his master up and properly discipline him.
Not that he would.
—
Wei Qing beats his record for attendance by two hours, managing to close out the official ceremonies without a single makeout or punchout or blackout. A real win, though many, many people end up losing office bets as a result of it. He even outlasts Wei Qiwan, who heads out at exactly ten, so that ‘the employees might relax without fear of the big boss being around.’
Wei Qing is beaming as he turns to Yue Fei.
“See! I did it, I even beat him, tell me that’s not good behavior?” Come on, praise me, please!
Yue Fei leans conspiratorially forward, and Wei Qing is temporarily distracted by the impulse to try to count his eyelashes. Such a sharp-planed face, such an attractive man. And all his, as long as he’s good enough! That’s the contract!
“It would be better if you weren’t loudly gloating… but yes. Master Wei was very successful. Many noticed.”
“Including you?”
“Yes. Including me.”
“Great, then let’s go home before I jinx it!”
Yue Fei huffs out something that sounds lovelily like laughter and helps pull out his chair. Wei Qing feels half-drunk on the sound of it, so very excited that he even grabs a cocktail on the way out. He did it, he really did it, that bit in the bathroom aside, he proved he could mostly be an adult for an entire night!
Even with Wei Qiwan being a freeze-out old shit.
Sure, maybe this is the bare minimum for other adults, but he hadn’t exactly been functional for awhile now. So he’ll take the handicap and enjoy his win. Even if it had been bumpy at times, the important thing is… Yue Fei is pleased. Pleased enough to laugh. Pleased enough to laugh, and he’d still managed to annoy his brother, without making a complete ass of himself in public.
Best of both worlds, who knew it was possible?!
He feels like a Disney princess.
Author’s Corner:
Ah, I lied, I can’t bear to do even a small cliffhanger this early in our relationship. Have an unscheduled update. 
For what it’s worth, I think a running theme here is Wei Qing not giving himself enough credit. He’s terrified that he’ll end up doing something he shouldn’t with Xiao Lirong, because Yue Fei is something good in his life, and Wei Qing had lost all ability to believe in himself. Although he’s slowly working to recover, he’s still in a mindset that he ruins his own life, ruins everything good he touches, so when he’s exposed to a temptation and has an unwanted reaction to it, his first assumption is ‘Dammit, here I go again, proving why I’m unworthy.’
Reality doesn’t necessarily match Wei Qing’s inner thoughts, especially when it comes to his own ability and agency.
I also promise Yue Fei isn’t a yandere and there is no little black room in this work. These two just have dramatic brain circuits.
Thanks for the chapter~
I’m hooked! Great writing – I can hardly wait for more! 💙
I don’t mind a little black room play but I don’t think our diligent little Yue fei will like the guilt.
thanks for the chapter <3
Noes, I caught up :'( I really love the story so far, thank you for the chapter~
Thanks you for the chapter. I can imagine that Yue Fei’s mind was more in the gutter that he was bargaining for…
I really felt for him in that deer- in – the -headlights moment. It’s so confusing when your body is conditioned to respond and your mind recognizes the moment when it would normally be asked to leave for night.
Oh poor Wei Qing. I really feel for him. Poor bby ….
thank you for the chapter.
Sooo ~ i just read all the chapter titles and can i just say it made me fall in love w this story even more!! I just love the writing, the pacing, the awkward but deep love and chemistry between the leads…one of my favourite stories from now on <3
“He feels like a Disney princess.” If you want me to die laughing, you could have not found a better sentence 😂
Thanks for the chapter !