In Jiangzhou, where every inch of land was precious, lay a villa district with over seventy percent greenery. Nian Le gazed at the standalone villa before him—it looked more like a hotel—and couldn’t help lowering his head again to double-check the address Hou Huohuo had sent him.
Back in freshman year, when they had just met, Hou Huohuo had once borrowed Nian Le’s shampoo, foam all around his mouth, while casually claiming he was a third-generation rich kid. Watching him beg toothpaste off others, Nian Le had laughed it off.
Only now did he realize everything Hou Huohuo said back then was actually true.
At home, a three-story villa complete with a swimming pool, and spontaneous trips whenever he felt like it.
At school, though, he was always forgetting to buy daily necessities—just a step away from asking to borrow Nian Le’s underwear.
If he guessed correctly, this was exactly the “double life” Hou Huohuo was aiming for as a rich heir: experiencing ordinary life.
As the sky darkened, Nian Le stepped forward and rang the doorbell. After waiting a long time, the house remained silent.
According to his roommate’s earlier description, the servants had the day off, his mother had already been taken to the airport, and his younger brother was in a rebellious phase—so it wasn’t impossible that no one was home.
After ringing in vain several times, Nian Le lowered his head, studying the smart lock for a while.
This type of lock could be set with a temporary password—he could have easily asked for a ten-day code to come and go conveniently.
Jiangzhou had four distinct seasons, and now, just past the start of autumn, the temperature differences between day and night were large. Standing outside waiting would only get colder. Nian Le took out his phone, ready to message Hou Huohuo for the code, when suddenly, he heard movement from the front door.
The door slowly opened halfway. The villa inside remained unlit, but the courtyard lights faintly outlined a figure.
It was a boy who had opened the door, but his build was surprisingly tall and strong.
Broad shoulders, clearly defined arm muscles, a black tank top barely concealing his full and well-proportioned physique, narrow waist tapering powerfully, long legs that made up nearly nine heads in height—he was even more than ten centimeters taller than Nian Le.
Looking closer, Nian Le noticed a cast on the boy’s right forearm and hair that hadn’t been cut in a long while—black, slightly messy natural curls brushing his shoulders. The alternating light and shadow revealed facial features almost flawless beneath the dimness. The mixed-blood sharpness lent a cold, striking beauty. Combined with his nearly 1.9-meter height, the oppressive aura was overwhelming.
Slowly lifting his head, Nian Le met that cold, thorn-like gaze. After a brief two-second delay, he realized with difficulty—this must be the “rebellious younger brother” his roommate had mentioned.
That height.
That build.
Nian Le could hardly imagine how powerful a rebellion from such a younger brother might be.
Rather than saying his roommate’s family went traveling, it was more like they had fled for refuge.
In this moment, Hou Huohuo’s tone of weeping with joy finally made concrete sense.
“Hello.” Nian Le steadied himself, tried to ignore the danger in the air, lifted his head toward the younger brother—who looked at him as if he owed him eight million—and gently wheeled his suitcase forward, smiling warmly.
“My name is Nian Le. Your family asked me to take care of you. I’ll be staying here for—”
Before he finished, the boy raised his hand to shut the door.
Expecting a rebellious teenager to be difficult, Nian Le quickly wedged his suitcase in the doorway at the very last moment. Confirming the boy couldn’t close the door, he smiled lightly, not retreating an inch.
If he retreated now, he might as well sleep under a bridge. The streamer had said—that was the last resort.
Huo Weiran’s brows furrowed tightly.
Before opening the door, the bell had already rung over ten times. Through the video intercom screen, he had seen how the courtyard lights cast a warm glow around the visitor. Though not perfectly clear, it was obvious the man was in his twenties, his appearance decent, manner gentle, with a refined air about him.
The suitcase at his side implied he intended to stay for a while. But someone like that couldn’t possibly be here to replace the servants.
“Ever heard of arranged marriages in Huaguo? … If you keep this up, I’ll go find you a little spouse right now, let them marry you off and keep you in line!”
His mother’s harsh words echoed in his ears. Looking again at the young man standing at the door, a sinking premonition washed over him.
His father had once said that his mother’s family in Huaguo was wealthy, and she herself was quick-tempered. If she said she wanted a limited-edition car one day, she had to have it in her hands the next.
This morning, she had threatened him; by evening, she had already sent someone. She worked faster than buying a car.
The doorbell rang again, his brows knitting tighter. The man clearly knew someone was home, and if he didn’t open, the other wouldn’t give up easily.
Thinking of words to refuse, Huo Weiran placed his left hand on the doorknob, blocking the entrance with his body. Lowering his gaze at the boy his mother had sent, his eyes carried such icy rejection it nearly solidified.
Before he could speak, to his surprise, the man looked up at him with calm eyes, and even beneath his cold expression, managed a gentle, serene smile.
“My name is Nian Le. Your family asked me to take care of you.”
The boy’s voice was clear and smooth. If there had been any doubt before about his identity, now it was undeniable.
The little spouse sent to his doorstep.
Huo Weiran’s face darkened as he raised his hand to shut the door, refusing him outright. But as if already expecting it, the man shamelessly shoved his suitcase into the doorway, blocking it in time.
“It’s not easy to find a hotel around here.” Nian Le steadied his suitcase, pushed the door open with one hand, and smiled.
Huo Weiran stepped back two paces, his gaze cold and sharp.
Taking advantage of the moment, Nian Le quickly pushed his suitcase inside, closed the door behind him, and turned on the lights. When he looked again, he found that the younger brother had retreated several more steps, his eyes full of wariness, putting a large distance between them.
Nian Le stayed quiet for a moment. He knew some people didn’t like others getting too close—especially someone in their rebellious phase—but still, this felt a bit strange.
Did he really look like he was going to eat someone?
“How should I address you?” Nian Le tried to close the distance between them, asking gently. But the younger brother’s gaze grew even colder, as though he had recalled something unpleasant.
Asking for a form of address the moment he walks in?
Trying to confirm his role as fiancé the first time we meet?
The atmosphere grew awkward. Noticing the cast on his arm, Nian Le changed the subject to break the silence.
“What happened to your arm?”
The moment he asked, the air dropped to freezing point. Nian Le didn’t know what went wrong, but he watched as the expression before him shifted from guarded to a look that could nearly cut ice.
“She didn’t tell you?”
Nian Le searched his memory, then shook his head.
Hou Huohuo really hadn’t mentioned his younger brother’s injury. If he had, Nian Le wouldn’t have asked now.
Huo Weiran’s chest tightened. He turned his face away, avoiding the other’s expression.
Rather than saying his mother had invited someone here, it was more like she had tricked him here. She hadn’t told him about his current condition.
He was no longer the prodigy who once dominated the racetrack. He was just a broken body dragging itself along—a cripple.
“Well, now you’ve seen it.”
Huo Weiran forced his voice into something neutral, his expression indifferent.
No one liked a flawed partner. Along with his ruined career, even daily life was full of inconveniences. Every time he went out, he had to endure strange looks from others.
No matter how much his mother praised him, or what promises she made, once someone saw the reality, they would know they’d been deceived.
“I’ve seen it.” Nian Le looked at his indifferent face and realized—he did care deeply about how others saw his condition.
“The door’s right there.” Huo Weiran turned and headed upstairs, not wanting to say more.
Nian Le followed his gaze to the door, stunned for a few seconds before quickly reacting.
“I’m sorry for bringing it up,” he said quickly, “but I’ve already promised your family—I won’t leave just because of a few difficulties.”
“You’re injured, which means you need my care even more.”
Huo Weiran’s steps faltered on the stairs. Instinctively, he turned slightly to glance at the “partner” his mother had chosen for him.
His features were gentle, his expression calm, and his eyes carried no disappointment at all—only a clear, genuine sense of apology.
It was as if he didn’t see his disability as a problem. Instead, he seemed puzzled why he would even think of leaving. He even… seemed more determined to take care of him because of it.
The emotions in his gaze were steady and warm.
No trace of disgust. No trace of rejection.
That meant—at first glance, this man hadn’t been scared off.
And he even intended to stay.
Troublesome.
Huo Weiran quickly looked away and continued upstairs, his expression even colder.
“I won’t like you.”
No one liked a partner forced on them by their mother. Even more so, Huo Weiran didn’t believe in marriage at all. Now, in his fall from grace, that decision was only firmer.
Standing in place, Nian Le pressed his lips together, suppressing the smile threatening to rise.
So it really was a rebellious phase—leaving behind one last harsh line, “I won’t like you,” before retreating.
It was only for ten days or so. If they didn’t get along, they could simply avoid each other. Both Hou Huohuo and Madam Huo had agreed—whether he liked it or not, he was staying.
Watching the younger brother disappear upstairs, Nian Le messaged Hou Huohuo for a temporary password to the smart lock. Hou Huohuo generously replied that there were over a dozen guest rooms in the villa, and he could change rooms every day if he wanted. He even gave Nian Le the driver’s contact info, assuring him he could request any groceries through him, all free of charge. It was practically full room and board.
Happily adding the driver’s contact, Nian Le finally had time to look for a guest room.
The first floor was open-plan, dining and living together, with a display hall next to the living room. Inside was a massive rotating racetrack model, with dozens of tiny race cars on it—so finely detailed they dazzled the eye, every one radiating the aura of money.
The open kitchen was also on the first floor. After familiarizing himself with the layout, Nian Le carried his suitcase upstairs and found that both the second and third floors had guest rooms. He casually picked one close to the stairs on the second floor.
After a whole day of travel, dropping onto the soft, wide bed felt like pure bliss.
The Yixin Cup was still two days away. After a quick shower, Nian Le checked the distance from his current location to the competition venue: over an hour on foot, twenty-seven minutes by bike, and just twelve minutes by car.
In a city as big as Jiangzhou, that was about as convenient as it got!
As he was checking the routes, his phone buzzed with new messages from Hou Huohuo, asking if he had settled in.
Smiling, Nian Le typed back: “All moved in. Thanks, Huohuo.”
Hou Huohuo quickly replied, a bit nervous: “No need for thanks between brothers. Did you meet my little brother yet?”
Thinking back to the shock at the door, Nian Le took a deep breath. “Yes.”
Hou Huohuo: “Little Nian Nian, his name is Huo Weiran. He’s my half-brother. Just call him Xiao Ran. He grew up in Australia with his dad and only turned eighteen last month. He’s a professional race car driver, but he had an accident not long ago. His mood hasn’t been great—he’d probably even kick a passing dog right now. Please bear with him, Little Nian Nian. On behalf of me and my mom, thank you!”
Nian Le paused, then typed back: “Please don’t worry, Auntie.”
Compared to hotel fees of a thousand yuan per night, cooking a few meals and enduring a bit of resistance from the younger brother was really nothing.
The next morning, with the groceries the driver had delivered, Nian Le carefully prepared breakfast and knocked on the younger brother’s door. But no matter how long he waited, Huo Weiran never came out.
So, Nian Le ate alone, then took a taxi to the venue to get familiar with the track.
That afternoon when he returned to the villa, Huo Weiran still hadn’t come downstairs. Nian Le figured he might have eaten something else and simply didn’t want to share a table with him, so he finished his meal alone, doing his best not to waste any food.
An entire day passed without seeing Huo Weiran—perhaps he was deliberately avoiding him. Nian Le thought the ten days would quietly continue like this, but the next morning, while he was cooking, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him.
Looking up in the direction of that gaze, he saw Huo Weiran standing on the second floor, staring down at him with an unpleasant expression. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but his eyes were far from friendly.
“Good morning, Xiao Ran.” Remembering the name his roommate had told him to use, Nian Le greeted him with a smile, a bowl of beaten eggs in hand.
“What would you like for breakfast?”
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