Ch 32: How To Be A Good Lackey

“What should we do, then?” Pei Fangyan asked softly, his tone gentler than it had ever been, as if it could drip with warmth.

Shao Ye lifted his face to look at him. An unnatural flush spread across his cheeks as he said in a daze, “I don’t know.”

Pei Fangyan beckoned to him. “Come here, let me take a look.”

Shao Ye’s mind was still muddled. Bracing himself against the wall, he pushed himself up from the floor, only to forget that his pants were still down. He took a step forward and nearly tripped.

“Careful,” Pei Fangyan reminded him, yet made no mention of pulling his pants back up.

Still, Shao Ye hadn’t completely lost his wits. He simply tugged them off and tossed them into a corner, then strode over to Pei Fangyan.

A faint sheen of moisture clung to his thighs, catching the warm yellow light like a thin layer of honey, sweet and glistening.

Pei Fangyan’s teeth pressed together soundlessly. His gaze traveled slowly upward from Shao Ye’s thighs, pausing briefly at his chest. The clothes on him felt both unnecessary and, at the same time, oddly appealing. His eyes continued upward until they met Shao Ye’s dark gaze.

Clear, yet tinged with grievance.

Pei Fangyan felt his thirst deepen. The tip of his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth. After a moment’s thought, he asked, “What were you doing just now?”

“Using my hand,” Shao Ye answered honestly.

Pei Fangyan smiled, looking every bit like a dependable, upright elder. With complete composure, he suggested, “Then why don’t you try again, Xiao Ye? Maybe doing it one more time will help.”

Shao Ye nodded, finding the suggestion reasonable. He reached out his hand, about to begin, but then paused. He looked up at Pei Fangyan, sensing something faintly off, though his mind had long since stopped working, leaving him unable to grasp what exactly was wrong.

Pei Fangyan seemed entirely unaware. The concern and care on his face looked genuine as he asked, “What’s wrong? Will my being here bother you? But in your current state, I don’t feel at ease leaving you alone.”

Shao Ye let out a small sound of acknowledgment. The words sounded reasonable, even caring. Lowering his head, his fingers moved awkwardly.

Pei Fangyan leaned his elbow on the armrest of his wheelchair, propping his chin in one hand. A faint smile lingered at his lips as his gaze shifted from Shao Ye’s hands to his face, quietly taking in the expression there, a mix of discomfort and pleasure.

In the week after Pei Fangyan was discharged from the hospital following his accident, Steward Liu had most of the pathways in the old residence paved smooth, leaving only a few insignificant ones untouched. He could now move his wheelchair freely throughout the estate. Though daily life had become somewhat inconvenient, for someone who found the entire world unbearably dull, it hardly mattered.

But now…

He glanced down at his legs and, for the first time, deeply realized that losing their function meant losing quite a bit of enjoyment as well.

Whether it was the potency of the medicine or Shao Ye’s lack of skill, a long time passed with no result. Shao Ye grew increasingly irritated, his movements rougher, no longer seeking relief so much as trying to be rid of the problem.

How could that possibly work? Pei Fangyan thought to himself, unconcerned that his own condition was hardly any better.

Shao Ye’s hands were already aching. He could barely continue. Lowering his head, he looked at Pei Fangyan without speaking, his damp eyes blinking faintly. For a moment, Pei Fangyan thought he heard a soft whimper, like a newly weaned puppy.

Shao Ye had been the one to ask for help. In such circumstances, as a trustworthy elder, offering assistance was only natural.

So Pei Fangyan spoke, his tone considerate. “Xiao Ye, do you need help?”

“Help?” Shao Ye repeated, his mind still sluggish. Even if he had been fully conscious, he would have found it strange how Pei Fangyan intended to help.

Pei Fangyan gave a quiet hum and beckoned him again. “Come a little closer.”

Obediently, Shao Ye stepped forward until his calf nearly brushed against Pei Fangyan’s leg.

Pei Fangyan lowered his gaze, once again regretting the lack of sensation in his legs. Still, regret was useless now. He reached out, taking over what Shao Ye had been doing. Perhaps it was because his technique was far better, or perhaps because being helped by another carried a different kind of stimulation.

The sound of breathing soon filled the bathroom again, lighter now than before. Occasionally, Pei Fangyan indulged in small, mischievous variations, watching Shao Ye look at him pitifully, wanting to speak but unable to, only managing to squeeze out broken, indistinct pleas. At such moments, Pei Fangyan would feign sudden awareness, satisfy him, and offer a gentle apology.

Shao Ye, muddled as he was, failed to notice he was being led in circles, again and again.

Once or twice wasn’t enough, so they continued until the effects of the medicine fully passed. By the end, Shao Ye was exhausted, barely able to stand. He swayed and dropped straight onto the floor.

“Feeling better?” Pei Fangyan asked, looking down at him.

When Shao Ye nodded, Pei Fangyan reached up, pulled down two wet tissues, and carefully wiped each of his fingers clean.

Shao Ye looked up at him. Those long, pale fingers seemed carved from fine white jade. The scene from moments before resurfaced in his mind. He felt slightly clearer, yet somehow even more confused. Softly and politely, he said, “Th… thank you, Seventh Uncle.”

Pei Fangyan paused, then pressed his lips together in a faint smile. Every part of him seemed to radiate quiet satisfaction as he replied, “It’s nothing. This is what Seventh Uncle should do.”

If there was a next time, he could come to him again.

Shao Ye’s head began to droop, but he forced himself to lift it again. “I’ll go continue the massage for Seventh Uncle.”

Even now, he was still thinking of that. With both hands exhausted, how would he manage it? Pei Fangyan’s gaze lingered briefly on his chest. Using that instead wasn’t entirely impossible.

In the end, though, Pei Fangyan chose restraint. “No need,” he said. “Take off your wet clothes and go lie down on my bed for a while.”

Shao Ye gave a small response. Sitting right there on the floor, he took off his clothes, accepted the towel Pei Fangyan handed him, dried himself off, then leaned against the wall as if about to fall asleep.

“Don’t sleep here. Go to my bed,” Pei Fangyan told him.

Shao Ye was so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open. Even so, after hearing him, he struggled to get up from the floor, moving as slowly as a giant sloth as he made his way to Pei Fangyan’s bed. The moment he lay down, his eyes shut, and he fell completely into a deep sleep.

Pei Fangyan came over to the bedside, adjusted his sleeping position, then shook out the thin blanket at the head of the bed and tucked the naked body beneath it snugly, leaving only his head exposed. After that, he picked up his phone and called for Steward Liu.

At that moment, Steward Liu was assigning tasks to the newly arrived servants in the old residence. In just a few days, he had already accepted the reality that with Shao Ye by the master’s side, he himself was no longer needed.

What he could not accept was how he had failed to notice that this brat had such a talent for bewitching people.

When he received Pei Fangyan’s call, Steward Liu was first puzzled, then faintly gloating. Could it be that Shao Ye had finally angered the master and been thrown out?

With mixed feelings, Steward Liu knocked on the door to Pei Fangyan’s lounge. His first instinct was to look toward the bed, and there he saw Shao Ye lying there, already asleep for who knew how long, while Pei Fangyan sat beside him in his wheelchair.

Full of questions, Steward Liu stepped inside and asked, “Sir, what happened to Shao Ye?”

“Someone probably drugged him,” Pei Fangyan said. “Go find a doctor to take a look at him, and bring a set of clothes he can wear.”

Drugged? What kind of drug? Sleeping pills? He hadn’t even made a move yet, so who was so impatient? Could it be that massage therapist who had switched careers to being the house doctor?

Steward Liu swallowed all his questions, noted the instructions, and then heard Pei Fangyan add, “Also, check who he went out with today.”

Less than ten minutes after Steward Liu left, the massage therapist who had successfully transitioned into a doctor arrived. He gave Shao Ye a simple examination. There was nothing serious, his heartbeat sounded healthy. With a good night’s rest, the residual effects of the drug would be metabolized. With some recovery over the next couple of days, he would be completely fine.

Who would give him such a drug? Translated on Hololo novels. What puzzled the doctor even more was that someone as fastidious as Pei Fangyan could tolerate someone lying on his bed like this. It seemed he valued this junior quite highly. Could it be that the one on the bed was the next head of the Pei family?

Suddenly, he felt that losing his job as a massage therapist wasn’t such a loss after all.

Pei Fangyan sat leisurely in his wheelchair, reading the financial reports his subordinates had just sent over. In his ears was the steady rhythm of Shao Ye’s breathing. All at once, he felt that life had become interesting again. For a long time to come, he likely wouldn’t feel bored anymore.

Meanwhile, his elder brother Pei Tiancheng was nowhere near as at ease. Over the past few days, seeing that Shao Ye had been behaving well at the old residence and hadn’t caused trouble, Pei Tiancheng had finally relaxed a little and was about to head out to play mahjong with some old friends.

But just as he stepped out the door, he received several calls from his nephews asking which cemetery plots in the city had good feng shui. The shock nearly stopped his heart. When he asked what was going on, they hemmed and hawed without telling the truth.

Pei Tiancheng immediately concluded that something had happened to Shao Ye at the old residence, and likely something serious. Could it be that he had dragged Pei Fangyan out to play soccer?

After brushing them off, Pei Tiancheng quickly initiated a video call to Shao Ye. It rang for quite a while before finally being answered.

He opened his mouth to scold, “Where the hell did you—”

Then he saw that the face on the screen was Pei Fangyan’s. The shock nearly made him drop dead on the spot. His expression twisted as he hurriedly changed tone, his voice trembling as he asked, “…Fangyan, why is it you?”

“Shao Ye is sleeping,” Pei Fangyan said. “Does elder brother need something from him?”

Hearing this, Pei Tiancheng felt even less at ease. If Shao Ye was sleeping, how did Pei Fangyan know?

Something was definitely off.

And why was Shao Ye’s phone in his hand?

“Then… can I take a look at him?” Pei Tiancheng asked with a forced smile.

Pei Fangyan raised a brow, a half-smile on his lips. “What? Elder brother doesn’t trust me?”

Pei Tiancheng hurriedly denied it. “No, no. I just… I just miss him. You know, he’s my only son. I treasure him like a gem. If I don’t see him for a day, I can’t eat or sleep.”

Pei Fangyan gave another soft laugh. Pei Tiancheng couldn’t tell whether he was pleased or not, but fortunately, he didn’t press the matter further. Soon, he turned the camera toward the bed where Shao Ye lay sleeping.

Pei Tiancheng widened his eyes, making sure not to miss a single suspicious detail. Breathing, alive, thank heavens. Another day under the protection of the Bodhisattva.

“Where is he sleeping?” Pei Tiancheng asked curiously. The background didn’t look like the one he usually saw when video calling his son.

“My room,” Pei Fangyan replied.

Pei Tiancheng: “!”

Before he could ask more, Pei Fangyan added, “Anything else? If not, I’ll hang up.”

He definitely had questions, many of them. How had his son ended up on Pei Fangyan’s bed? He had always thought that with Pei Fangyan’s temperament, even if he married in the future, he would still sleep in separate beds. So what was this now?

But it was clear Pei Fangyan had no intention of explaining, and Pei Tiancheng had no choice. After hanging up, he hurried to the Bodhisattva and offered a fervent prayer.

Shao Ye slept straight through until nine-thirty the next morning. The only thing he remembered was returning from the gym and going to give Seventh Uncle a massage. Translated on Hololo novels. Everything that happened afterward was a complete blank.

He blinked, gradually adjusting to the bright light in the room. This should be Seventh Uncle’s lounge on the first floor. Looking around, Seventh Uncle wasn’t here.

He hadn’t even been drinking, so how had he blacked out?

Ah, such a familiar question. Hadn’t someone asked him that before?

Shao Ye patted his head, but still couldn’t remember anything. He even began to suspect that he had been abducted by aliens the night before and subjected to human experiments.

Yawning, he sat up on the bed and stretched his arms. Everything felt sore and exhausted, his stomach was growling with hunger, as if he had been doing burpees all night. And who had stripped off his clothes? Surely it wasn’t aliens making him do burpees naked… those aliens would be oddly humorous.

Shao Ye sat there on the bed, striking the pose of The Thinker. Not long after, the lounge door was pushed open from outside, and Pei Fangyan’s voice sounded by his ear. “Awake?”

Shao Ye lifted his head and looked toward the doorway. Pei Fangyan stood there and said to him, “If you’re up, come out and eat.”

Clutching the blanket, Shao Ye said softly, “Seventh Uncle, I want to take a shower first.”

“Go ahead,” Pei Fangyan nodded.

Shao Ye was just about to get out of bed when he suddenly froze. He remembered that he seemed to be naked, and he had no idea where his clothes had gone. Running around naked in front of Seventh Uncle didn’t seem very proper.

“What’s wrong?” Pei Fangyan asked.

A little embarrassed, Shao Ye said, “Seventh Uncle, I’m not wearing any clothes.”

Pei Fangyan smiled. “What of it? I’m your Seventh Uncle. Do you really need to avoid me?”

Shao Ye thought about it and found it made sense. He lifted the blanket, jumped off the bed, slipped into his slippers, and darted straight into the bathroom.

Seeing his slightly disheveled reflection in the mirror, Shao Ye couldn’t help but open his mouth wide and yawn again. He was still so sleepy. Fortunately, the shower used wasn’t a bathtub, otherwise he might end up reenacting The Death of Marat in a moment.

The sound of running water echoed from the bathroom. Scenes from the previous afternoon played vividly in Pei Fangyan’s mind: Shao Ye standing before him, head tilted back slightly, lips parted, his throat moving as he swallowed, droplets of water sliding down his chest, flowing lower and lower.

Pei Fangyan felt that familiar thirst again. He rubbed his temple, then turned to Steward Liu, who had just arrived, and said, “Go get me a blanket.”

Steward Liu was puzzled. Was the master cold?

The room temperature didn’t seem that low…

—

Author’s note:

[Discussion: Why does an NPC from Neverland, even without any past memories, fall in love with the same person again and again?]

It’s love! It’s love! It’s love from the heart! They’re destined to be together! I won’t allow anyone to tear these lovers apart!

: Is the OP sick? How many times has it been clarified already? Seventh Uncle and the chairman are not the same person!!! And he doesn’t love No. 6!!!!!

: The OP didn’t even name anyone. Why are you reacting so strongly?

: Didn’t name anyone? They practically highlighted “Seventh Uncle” in bold in the title. Who else could it be?

: “Again and again”? Should we dedicate a song about eternal love to the OP?

: Seventh Uncle just asked the butler for a blanket, and now rumors are spreading everywhere, saying he “raises a flag” whenever he sees No. 6

: Yesterday they only aired that koi segment for a short while, and fanfics are already writing No. 6 having three kids

: Um… it wasn’t just a short while. It was a full hour and twenty-three minutes

: Honestly, that’s kind of nice though

: Nice my ass! It’s not your family being rumored as gay

: Better than before when people were saying Seventh Uncle couldn’t perform. At least this proves something

: …

: But we firmly uphold Seventh Uncle’s deeply devoted, restrained, independent persona

: If he really did “raise a flag” for No. 6, that’s not exactly restrained, is it?

: If not, then the “can’t perform” label still hasn’t been cleared. Seventh Uncle fans, what do you have to say about that?

: Isn’t anyone going to stop the OP from spreading rumors?!

: Where did the OP spread rumors? They never mentioned your Seventh Uncle at all

: Come on, the whole forum is like this. Those words in the title can only refer to Seventh Uncle and No. 6. Stop pretending. Where are the mods? Delete this already

: OP? You started a fight and now you’re playing dead? Why not post this kind of thing in your own fandom section?

: I’m the OP. My advisor called me away just now. I just want to say, the people in my title were actually Su Yuexiang and He Jiahui from Stream No. 4 orz

: …

: …

: Look at the title again. Seventh Uncle fans, you’re really good at this

: What do those fans know about shipping? Shipping still depends on you solo fans 👍👍

: Ahhh help, this is too funny

: Where are the Seventh Uncle fans? Why aren’t you laughing now? Is it because you’re just not the laughing type?

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