After the Young Master’s Death, He was Kissed by His Mortal Enemy! (BL) - Chapter 36

Shen Ran had assumed Xiao Dong would say he wanted to find his parents.

He was already mentally prepared to launch into a needle-in-a-haystack mission.

Even if he’d been abandoned, surely a child who chased his parents onto a busy road still wanted to be with them, right?

But Xiao Dong’s answer caught Shen Ran off guard.

The little boy looked up at him, eyes full of longing.
“I want a home. They can’t see me. That place isn’t my home.”

Shen Ran’s heart clenched. He reached out and gently pulled Xiao Dong into his arms.

A child so young, forced to suffer something like this… it was just too much to bear.

Every time he saw this quiet, lonely Xiao Dong, Shen Ran couldn’t help but think of his own past self—lost and helpless.

“Xiao Dong, this place can be your home.”

Anyway, now that he was living with Cheng Yi, this apartment was left unused. Giving Xiao Dong a place to stay here—he could count that as doing one good thing.

Xiao Dong’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Really,” Shen Ran said, nodding.

“Then can I go upstairs and play with Gege?”

“Uh… let’s not do that,” Shen Ran scratched his head, trying to explain things reasonably. “Upstairs isn’t mine—that’s another Gege’s home. You have to ask permission before visiting someone else’s house, right?”

Xiao Dong nodded obediently.

“That Gege can’t see you, so he can’t give you permission to come over, okay?”

Xiao Dong was clearly a very understanding child. He didn’t fuss or argue, just nodded again:

“Mm… I understand. Thank you, Gege Shen Ran.”

Xiao Dong wasn’t the mischievous or energetic type. As a little spirit, he was quiet and well-behaved—just having a “home” to stay in already made him visibly happy.

Shen Ran gave him a few more gentle instructions—don’t run around, don’t cause strange phenomena, and absolutely don’t scare people.

“Gege, no one else can see me. Only you can,” Xiao Dong said earnestly. “I’m a good kid. I don’t scare people.”

Fair enough.

Nothing to worry about then—as long as he didn’t get scared, everything would be fine.

Having settled Xiao Dong in, Shen Ran grabbed the breakfast and rushed upstairs.

Back at Cheng Yi’s place, he bumped right into Cheng Yi coming out of the bathroom, toothbrush in his mouth.

Their eyes met.

“Yo,” Cheng Yi raised a brow, looking slightly surprised. “I was wondering where you went when I woke up. So you were out getting breakfast?”

“Of course!” Shen Ran replied brightly. “After making President Cheng work so hard for me, the least I could do was let you sleep in while I got us some food!”

He even stood straight, like a soldier reporting for duty, face serious and proud.

“…Smartass.” Cheng Yi huffed a short laugh. “Wait a minute, I’ll be done soon.”

Truth was, when he woke up and didn’t see Shen Ran, Cheng Yi had panicked.

It had to be because of what he’d done last night. He’d been too forward, too abrupt. Shen Ran couldn’t accept it—so he’d run away.

Cheng Yi had already braced himself for this outcome last night while smoking on the balcony.

That was why he sat there like a zombie for a while, taking forever to come around. Even getting dressed and brushing his teeth had been mechanical and spiritless.

Honestly, he had no idea why he’d even dared to hope Shen Ran would like someone like him.

The fact that Shen Ran hadn’t slapped him awake in the middle of the night already meant he was being very forgiving.

Dressing sluggishly, Cheng Yi hadn’t even bothered to fix his bedhead.

What was the point, when Shen Ran wasn’t here to see it?

For someone as disciplined as Cheng Yi, he’d even felt the rare urge to skip work entirely.

He had certainly not expected that while aimlessly wandering the apartment, toothbrush in mouth, he’d suddenly bump into Shen Ran—back from buying breakfast.

In that moment, Cheng Yi’s eyes lit up.

Shen Ran hadn’t left.
He hadn’t run.
He had just gone to buy breakfast.

And if that was the case… didn’t it mean Shen Ran wasn’t upset about what happened last night?

If Shen Ran wasn’t angry, then maybe—just maybe—a tiny part of him had already begun to like Cheng Yi?

Did this mean the day he could finally stand openly by Shen Ran’s side—replacing that guy Chen Xu—wasn’t so far off?

His mind racing with possibilities, Cheng Yi suddenly felt nervous. So when they sat down to eat, he defaulted to his usual teasing tone:

“Egg-stuffed pancakes are already cold. I see you’re trying to sabotage me into getting food poisoning, Boss Shen?”

The second he said it, Cheng Yi regretted it immediately.

What was he even doing, saying something like that out of nowhere? Shen Ran was sure to blow up again any second now!

But to Cheng Yi’s surprise, Shen Ran didn’t snap at him this time. In fact, he didn’t even show the slightest trace of annoyance:

“Cold? Let me try… yeah, it’s a little cold. I can reheat it in the microwave if you want—wouldn’t want you getting a stomachache.”

Shen Ran didn’t get mad because… he was feeling guilty.

If he had come straight back after buying breakfast, it definitely wouldn’t have gotten cold.

But he had taken a detour to bring Xiao Dong home, and that delay had eaten up quite a bit of time—enough that the food had gone lukewarm.

Cheng Yi had been so good to him, and yet Shen Ran handed him a cold breakfast… it really was a bit thoughtless.

So now, the two of them sat across from each other at the dining table, silently chewing on slightly cold egg pancakes, each with their own thoughts swirling inside.

Shen Ran: So… what exactly is our relationship now?

Cheng Yi: So… does Shen Ran like me at all? Even just a little?

Both of them wanted to ask.
Neither of them knew how.

They were both afraid—afraid of hearing an answer they didn’t want.

So, after finishing their food, they both rose from their seats with matching, wordless smiles.

“…It’s about time. Shall we… head to the office?”

“Yeah, yeah! We really should!”

Shen Ran insisted that he’d be the one driving today—and that they’d take his car.

“Let’s switch it up—take turns driving. I swear I’m a great driver, and my car is pretty great too!”

As he spoke, Shen Ran slapped the passenger seat with enthusiastic piapiapia smacks.
“Cheng Yi! Come on! Get in already!”

Come on in! Hurry up! Get in—get in…

Cheng Yi cleared his throat and replied, “…Alright. I’m coming in.”

On the way to the company, Shen Ran’s phone, tucked inside his pants pocket, began to buzz.

“Hmm, looks like someone’s calling me. Cheng Yi, my phone’s in my pocket. Can you grab it and answer for me? I’m driving—it’s not safe.”

Shen Ran kept his eyes fixed squarely on the road, focused and unbothered.

He had learned his lesson the hard way. After getting into a serious accident during a drag race with friends, he had developed driving habits that were stricter than anyone else’s.

Answering the phone while driving? Not a chance.

Cheng Yi obliged, reaching over toward Shen Ran’s jacket pocket.

“Hey—not the jacket. Pants pocket! It’s in my pants pocket!”

Shen Ran said it without thinking, unaware of how that sounded.

He didn’t notice the way Cheng Yi’s expression suddenly turned… complicated.

Pants pocket?

Cheng Yi’s gaze lingered for a second on Shen Ran’s slightly parted legs. His throat bobbed as he swallowed unconsciously.

“…Alright. I’ll get it.”

Reaching over slowly, his hand slipped into Shen Ran’s pocket.

And before his fingers could find the phone— the first thing he felt was Shen Ran’s body heat.