LC: Extra 02

Extra 02. House Visit

One day not long after the Hei and Bai couple got married in-game, a peculiar idea struck the final boss.

“Hey, Yao, you’re free in the next few days, right?” Hei QiXuan asked QiYao in a private message in-game.

“…do you need something?” QiYao’s brother would only ask because he thought of some rotten idea. QiYao’s guard was up now. He didn’t bother giving a proper answer.

“I meant to say, it seems to have been a long time since I visited your home. I’ll come take a look tomorrow.”

“…why?”

“You know. Hehe.” Of course QiXuan would be going to see his brother-in-law in real life. QiYao had skipped straight to informing him they were living together already just yesterday.

“…” QiYao certainly did know why his brother was coming. However, there seemed to be no way he could be stopped from coming. What a headache.

Thus, after that night’s “harmonious” exercise, QiYao held XiaoYu, who was already somewhat blanking out from exhaustion, close and told him about QiXuan’s upcoming visit.

“Do I need to do anything?” XiaoYu’s mind instantly woke up at that news.

“No. We just need to log off earlier tomorrow and clean up the place.”

“Oh.” Once he had his answer, XiaoYu’s head drooped and he fell asleep.

Staring down at his lover whose breathing had deepened and slowed down the moment their conversation was done, QiYao couldn’t help but sigh a little inside. Thank goodness they were in-game. They didn’t have to worry about XiaoYu getting injured no matter how hard they went at it. They also didn’t have to worry XiaoYu’s back would hurt so badly in the morning after that he couldn’t get out of the bed. In the future, this feeble body would suffer quite a lot. He had to get XiaoYu to exercise offline more. This was for the sake of their future sexual life.

As if he could sense QiYao’s ungentlemanly thoughts, the sleeping XiaoYu uneasily twisted and shifted. He only calmed down after a few soft pats from QiYao.

The next morning, the two woke up early and, at QiYao’s suggestion, XiaoYu went to the second floor and used the exercise equipment there to stretch out his body that hadn’t gone offline for a very long time. It was a blessing that XiaoYu wasn’t a fervent admirer of Maoism. Some would complain and rant about how extravagant rich people’s homes were, but XiaoYu was merely interested in the things he’d only ever seen before through a TV screen. He had noticed them during the tour when he first moved in here, but he was too shy to mention his interest in the exercise equipment back then. Later on, he was in AO so much that he forgot about them.

QiYao was very satisfied to see XiaoYu excitedly trying out all of the different equipment in the house. If the other grew some more muscles, some more flesh, he might be even more comfortable to hug.

After briefly guiding his lover on the proper ways to use every equipment available and reminding the other not to overexert himself, QiYao went downstairs for a cup of coffee. He then settled down in the living room to languidly savour the winter sunshine while skimming the news for interesting headlines.

Clack. Bang. The sounds came from the front door. QiYao swiftly recalled his brother had the key to this place. He glanced up at the clock hanging on the wall. QiXuan was rather early today.

“Hey, Yao. It’s so rare to see you up this early.” QiXuan was a little surprised and a little disappointed to find his younger brother fully dressed in the living room.

“Morning, brother,” QiYao greeted back, ignoring QiXuan’s teasing.

“I was so hoping I would be early enough to walk into a salacious sight. What a pity.”

“So very sorry for disappointing you.” Counter-attack time. QiYao seriously considered whether it was time to change the locks to his home.

“Where’s XiaoYu? You didn’t go overboard in tiring him out last night, did you?”

“Yao, I’m done playing with them,” XiaoYu’s voice rang out from the stairwell before QiYao could respond. The younger man’s feet lightly and quickly tapped down the stairs. It was clear XiaoYu loved his time with the exercise equipment. He was so giddy from his session that he’d used the word “play”.

“Hm?” Only then did XiaoYu notice there was another person in the house and stared blankly at the other.

“Hehe. Spacing out while staring at me again, XiaoYu?” Today didn’t start out well for QiXuan, so he decided to switch targets.

“Ah, it’s Brother.” The way the other talked was so familiar that XiaoYu immediately realised who the other was just from that. Now that he had something to compare their in-game avatars with, it was clear the two brothers had significantly lowered their looks in-game. In reality, the aura emitting for QiXuan was much more mature and was more like the future version of QiYao than his in-game avatar did.

“Ah, I didn’t know my charms were that powerful. It’s mesmerised XiaoYu over and over again,” QiXuan mused while stroking his chin.

“’No. You just look a lot like Yao.” XiaoYu was a very honest kid.

“…Nonsense. We’re brothers by blood. And it’s he who looks like me, not the other way around.” Slightly defeated, QiXuan started suspecting if QiYao liked XiaoYu just because QiXuan couldn’t beat XiaoYu in a verbal fight.

“You look quite energetic, XiaoYu. Haven’t done any special exercises?” QiXuan shot an evil glance at QiYao. These two were in their honeymoon period. There was no way QiYao would resist thoroughly loving XiaoYu.

“I did. I went jogging,” XiaoYu said.

“…” Someone save him. There’s a communication barrier between QiXuan and natural ditzes.

“Did you sweat, XiaoYu? Go take a shower first,” QiYao spoke up, sensing it was time for him to separate the two. He knew that XiaoYu’s ditzy nature would only win the battle and not the war. The other was definitely not a match for his brother’s wits once they’ve interacted for long enough.

“Oh. I’ll go make some tea for Brother first. What would you like?” XiaoYu asked.

“Coffee. Thanks.” QiXuan then sat down opposite QiYao and the two brothers stared at each other.

Once XiaoYu finished making some coffee and tapped his way back upstairs for a shower, QiXuan shifted his gaze from the staircase back to QiYao.

“I didn’t think he’d look exactly like his avatar. It can’t be he didn’t tweak his appearance at all, right?” QiXuan asked.

“He really didn’t.”

“Very good. That’s strong of him. He looks like he should still be studying in university. Where does he study in?”

“…He was meant to study in University C.”

“That’s not a bad university, but why ‘meant to’?”

“He quit.”

“Why?”

“…Family business.”

“That serious?”

“Yes…do you remember the car crash from before, the one caused by a software malfunction in an SG car?”

“Of course. A few of our products which we’ve produced in collaboration with SG were also affected…he was involved in it?” QiXuan’s acute instincts knew there was no way QiYao would mention an incident from long ago for no reason.

“Yes. XiaoYu was a secondary victim.”

“I remember it was a married couple who were killed. Could it be…?”

QiYao didn’t speak. All he did was solemnly nod.

“I see. Does XiaoYu have any plans now to return to studying?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Why?”

“He can’t leave the house alone currently. His PTSD has manifested as an intense phobia of cars.”

“That’s a rather tricky situation. Any method to overcome it?” Even someone who had as many tricks up his sleeves as QiXuan didn’t know of any proper way of dealing with psychological issues.

“XiaoYu and I are working hard at it, but we need more time.”

“If you need any help, call me.”

“Mn.”

“Who knew that kid would’ve been through so much? He is such a strong and resilient young man.” Especially since XiaoYu’s ditzy and naive nature was left intact.

“Mn.”

“Say, could it really be you haven’t done it yet in real life?” It was time for the depressing topic to be changed to something else.

“Erm…”

“Hahaha!” What an honest little brother QiXuan had. He really raised him well.

When XiaoYu was done with his shower and was back downstairs again, he was greeted with the sight of QiXuan grinning brightly as QiYao’s face was darkened by a cloudy gloom.

“Why didn’t you dry your hair first?” QiYao stood up and pulled the bemused XiaoYu down beside him. He then took the towel still hanging over XiaoYu’s shoulders to dry out the other’s hair. The younger man reflexively tilted his head down, his eyes squinting, as he let QiYao did as he pleased.

Heh. He really acted like a cat, QiXuan internally griped as he had to watch the two lovebirds show off.

“Ah,” XiaoYu piped up. “I just remembered we don’t have a lot of food left in the fridge.” XiaoYu only recalled their dwindling supplies in the fridge halfway through his shower. The thought had passed through his mind last night, but he forgot about it when he woke up this morning.

“We’ll order some more later then,” QiYao said.

“What do you like to eat, Brother?”

“Hm? XiaoYu, you know how to cook?” QiXuan was surprised.

“Yes, a little.”

“Then I want duck breast with romaine lettuce, nuts and cheese, and pan-fried fish fillet with yellow pepper sauce, and smoked turkey salad with a Japanese dressing. For dessert, I’ll have chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream. You can cook what you like for the rest.”

“…I don’t know how to cook those,” XiaoYu said, innocently looking up at QiYao in a bid for help. He couldn’t even remember a single dish QiXuan had just named.

“Ignore him. Just cook what you want.” QiYao shot a glare at QiXuan that said if he really wanted to eat all that, then he could cook himself.

“I’m actually not picky. Anything’s fine,” QiXuan said with a shrug. He knew this wasn’t the place and time for it. After all, the chef was the one in charge. When he made the decision to visit, he didn’t realise he would be getting a free home-cooked meal too. This brat must’ve been having the time of his life here.

“I’ll go order the food then.” XiaoYu shook his head. His hair was nearly dry now from QiYao’s vigorous towelling.

“Go on.” XiaoYu’s hair might look like a rat’s nest now, but QiYao was very proud of his work.

Lunch pleasantly passed by. While XiaoYu wasn’t as skilled as a professional chef from a restaurant, he did his best and the other two men could feel the warmth coming from that effort.

After lunch, the three sat together and discussed the game. While they talked about anything and everything, as soon as the topic turned to anything regarding money, XiaoYu’s eyes lit up and his mind was visibly flipping through calculations as fast as a bandit scoping out a potential rich target. At that, QiXuan’s eyes turned to bore into him.

“XiaoYu, are you interested in financial management?” QiXuan asked.

“Hm?”

“I can recommend you some related books and professionals. The question is whether you’re interested.”

“Mn. I’m interested in it.” XiaoYu had thought about self-learning before but, since he had no experience in society, he didn’t know where to start from. With QiXuan’s help, perhaps he can try it out.

“I think Yao has a few books too. You can try reading those first. Then, I’ll recommend a professional to you. You can also ask her any questions you have in-game too.” That’s the boss of the financing department backing the Heretic Demons. Most people can’t even ask her for help.

“Okay. Thank you, Brother.”

“Thanks for what? Yao’s finances will be yours to manage in the future. I won’t have to worry anymore about him wasting his finances.”

“Hehe,” XiaoYu chuckled.

“…” No matter how much of his money he wasted, QiYao’s savings were enough for him and XiaoYu to live the rest of their lives off of. QiYao really wanted to voice his complaints, but what QiXuan said did just give XiaoYu a goal to work towards. At least his XiaoYu wouldn’t look so down every time anyone talked about work or studying now.

After rummaging through the study, QiXuan did find a few books suitable for XiaoYu to learn from by himself. Under the two elites’ guidance, some of the difficult terminology and their complex definitions were thoroughly explained. Combined with even more tutoring focusing on the practical aspects, XiaoYu finally had some sort of starting knowledge in terms of financial management. Of course, it’d be up to him to improve on that knowledge. It’s impossible for him to understand all aspects of the subject in just one day.

Finally, they were able to send off the great parent after dinner. The couple cleaned up and retired upstairs. When QiYao exited the bathroom, XiaoYu was still reading while lying on his stomach with his head propped up on hands and his feet leisurely swinging up and down, smacking the bed.

“Take a break. You’ve been reading since this afternoon,” QiYao said, plucking the book away. He set it down and pulled XiaoYu into his embrace. XiaoYu had showered before he did and there was a pleasant, refreshing scent coming off the other man. He smelled so nice.

“I want to be able to help you.” XiaoYu now had an aim, a goal to focus his efforts in. QiYao was also the motivation behind his efforts. He really wanted to read more, learn more, so he could help QiYao out as early as he could.

“I know, but you can’t not sleep.”

“Okay.”

“It seems like you’re not tired. Then let’s have some exercise before we sleep, just like in the game,” QiYao said, his hands gently caressing the other’s back.

“…>/////<” Ever since their marriage, the harmonious activity only done between husbands was added to their bedtime routine. It was only restricted to within AO though. They had yet to try it out in reality.

“Can we?” QiYao continued pushing, not giving XiaoYu the chance to hide from embarrassment.

“…Don’t ask me. >////<” Even if they had done it multiple times in the game, XiaoYu wasn’t bold enough to talk about it so honestly.

“I’ll take it as a yes then.” He turned and flipped XiaoYu until the other was below him. Looking down at the face gradually turning into a tomato, QiYao knew that if he teased him anymore, this cat’s fur would frizzle and stand on end.

“…” XiaoYu didn’t say anything. He could deny it or confirm it. His mind was just blank.

“XiaoYu, I love you,” QiYao softly said into XiaoYu’s ear before kissing the other.

“…” Shameless. The only thing XiaoYu could think of was that one word while he was being kissed out of his mind. That sentence just made him surrender completely and let QiYao do as he wished.

But…

XiaoYu very quickly came to regret it. Doing it in real life feels completely different to doing it in-game!

“Mngh. Aaah…Yao, slow down…mmh…aahn…” XiaoYu who had never begged for mercy before but he finally couldn’t hold back.

Unfortunately, his mouth would be covered by another kiss. This silly little fool. Didn’t he know begging during this time was actually akin to teasing him and egging him on? QiYao was already being very considerate and restraining how fast and hard he went because it was XiaoYu’s first time.

That’s what QiYao thought, but no man could completely restrain himself during such moments. Not unless he was a saint.

So they did it once in bed and when QiYao carried XiaoYu into the bathroom to clean him up, they did it again in the huge, comfortable jacuzzi tub.

The result of doing it again led to XiaoYu throwing a tantrum the next morning.

No matter what QiYao said or did, his head remained buried under his pillow. He didn’t dare expose a single inch of his ace.

Sniff…his waist felt like it was broken. The game lied!

Translator’s Notes:

1. Fervent admirer of Maoism: The actual term used here is Fenqing (愤青) which literally means “angry youth”. These “fenqing” were a kind of neoconservatives (in the Western sense and not the actual Chinese neoconservatives) who are extremely patriotic and are very into Mao Zedong’s actions. More specifically, they were fans of how he drastically redistributed wealth through condemning the educated and the rich via shutting out the outside world, focusing mostly on military might and forcing the young city folk to move to rural villages for “some” time (aka some were apparently there for decades) and making the unprepared youths to be “re-educated” via forced labour in poor conditions away from their families and friends.
2. TV screen: An electronic screen would be what the author intended. XiaoYu is from the future with fully automated cars.

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