LABMY CH4

When Wei Zhenge’s consciousness had just awakened from sleep, he immediately felt as if he was restrained. There was an undeniable heat coming from his waist, and his hazy mind instantly cleared up.

What he saw when he opened his eyes was a firm chest bathed in the soft, warm glow of the morning light. The muscles were full and well-defined, not exaggerated nor skinny, just perfectly balanced. The abs were distinct, and the lines flowed smoothly.

Undoubtedly, it was an exceptional physique. But the most crucial part was that Jian Yuanbai’s hand was resting on Wei Zhenge’s waist, loosely holding him. Jian Yuanbai’s chin was pressed against the crown of Wei Zhenge’s head, in a protective and intimate gesture.

Wei Zhenge felt uncomfortable. Even between two men, this distance was far too close—close enough for him to feel Jian Yuanbai’s breath brushing against the top of his head.

Because of Jian Yuanbai’s two instances of defending him yesterday, Wei Zhenge didn’t immediately kick him off the bed. Instead, he pried Jian Yuanbai’s hand away and sat up with a frown.

However, the fact that this man had snuck into his bed during the night still made Wei Zhenge feel uncomfortable. They had agreed that Jian Yuanbai would sleep on the bed while he would take the sofa. What was the point of sneaking up here?

So, Wei Zhenge deliberately made some noise, hoping to wake Jian Yuanbai up.

Wei Zhenge knew his biological clock well. It was no later than 5 a.m. right now.

“You’re awake?” Jian Yuanbai, startled by his movements, groggily reached for his phone on the bedside table and glanced at the time. “4:30? Why are you up so early?”

Wei Zhenge, with an obedient expression, answered honestly, “To study.”

Jian Yuanbai’s sharp brows furrowed deeply. Due to his drowsiness, his entire aura seemed heavy, as if he was on the verge of anger.

Seeing this expression, Wei Zhenge’s heart tightened. How could he have forgotten to avoid provoking this man? Just because of yesterday’s incident, he had relaxed his guard and intentionally provoked Jian Yuanbai. That was a mistake.

He regretted it now. If he had known, he would have quietly gotten out of bed. Worried that Jian Yuanbai would use this as an excuse to get angry, Wei Zhenge became even more tense, his face devoid of expression.

He could only watch Jian Yuanbai’s movements.

Jian Yuanbai, with a dark expression, sat up.

Jian Yuanbai lifted the blanket and got out of bed.

Jian Yuanbai stood by the bed and looked at him.

Wei Zhenge’s heart tightened. Was it coming? He looked at the tall man in only his sleep pants. With that physique, he definitely wouldn’t stand a chance in a fight.

Jian Yuanbai saw him sitting there in a daze, assuming that he had gotten up too early and his brain hadn’t fully woken up yet. In a hoarse voice from just waking up, he said, “I’ll go buy you breakfast. Sleep a little longer.”

“How can you study on an empty stomach?”

Looking at the messy-haired and adorably disheveled Wei Zhenge, Jian Yuanbai couldn’t resist reaching out to ruffle his hair before leaving contentedly.

Left sitting on the bed, Wei Zhenge was utterly confused.

Jian Yuanbai was indeed someone the Wei family had hired. Wei Zhenge knew all too well what kind of people his family consisted of. From what they and Fu Pengyi had said, it was clear that Jian Yuanbai was just a gambling addict and a thug.

Wei En liked to flaunt Wei Zhenge’s misery to everyone. He wouldn’t lie about something like this, especially not to his friends, as he cared too much about his reputation.

When Wei Zhenge was carried away from the Wei family yesterday, he briefly considered whether it was all part of Jiang Xuelan’s scheme. For example, Jian Yuanbai’s slap would only make Father Wei despise him even more.

But once his rationality returned, Wei Zhenge knew that was impossible. First, Jiang Xuelan had no reason to set such a trap for him. His status in the Wei family was lower than that of a servant, and the chances of Father Wei giving him the family assets were nearly zero. Second, Father Wei held absolute authority in the family. Even when he scolded Wei Zhenge for upsetting Jiang Xuelan, he was really just protecting his own pride.

If Father Wei found out that Jiang Xuelan had orchestrated the slap, she would be in serious trouble.

So, Jian Yuanbai was indeed hired by the Wei family to humiliate him.

Wei Zhenge rubbed his temples and got out of bed. Jian Yuanbai hadn’t made things difficult for him. On the contrary, he had been considerate in every way.

Being woken up at 4:30 in the morning, although Jian Yuanbai wore a dark expression, he still got up without hesitation to buy breakfast for him.

Wei Zhenge truly couldn’t figure out what Jian Yuanbai was after.

He decided to ask directly.

When Jian Yuanbai returned with breakfast, he saw Wei Zhenge already sitting on the sofa, waiting for him.

Breakfast was soy milk and rice noodles. Jian Yuanbai, as usual, unwrapped the disposable chopsticks before handing them to Wei Zhenge. “Eat.”

The original owner of the house was poor and had no dining table, so they could only eat at the coffee table, sitting side by side on the sofa in silence, slurping the noodles.

Wei Zhenge hadn’t figured out how to start the conversation, while Jian Yuanbai was simply too sleepy and wanted to finish eating quickly and go back to sleep.

Normally, when eating something like noodles with broth, most people would splash oil everywhere. But not Jian Yuanbai. He ate quickly and cleanly, never spilling a drop. Combined with his good looks, he even made eating noodles seem pleasing to the eye.

Wei Zhenge, on the other hand, disliked oily food in the morning, especially the spicy rice noodles Jian Yuanbai had bought. So, he ate slowly while observing Jian Yuanbai.

Suddenly, he realized that from the braised pork rice yesterday to the soy milk and rice noodles this morning, Jian Yuanbai had never once asked him what he wanted to eat. He just bought what he liked.

Wei Zhenge wanted to speak but got stuck on how to address him. He didn’t know what to call Jian Yuanbai.

Maybe it was because he stared too intently, but Jian Yuanbai turned to look at him. “What’s up?”

Wei Zhenge, caught in the act, remained calm. “How should I address you?”

“I’m your guardian now,” Jian Yuanbai said, suddenly more awake. He vaguely knew he couldn’t be too blunt, so he softened his approach. “Your dad treats you like crap. When you turn eighteen, he might even kick you out.”

He stared at Wei Zhenge with burning eyes, making him feel an ominous premonition. “So?”

Jian Yuanbai declared, “Why don’t I just be your dad?”

Wei Zhenge: …

This statement not only stunned Wei Zhenge but also left the system watching Jian Yuanbai’s every move utterly speechless: Host, are you serious?

Wei Zhenge, dazed by the bold statement, suddenly recalled how Jian Yuanbai had once arrogantly told him to call him “Grandpa” back at the Wei family estate.

Although Jian Yuanbai looked incredibly cool and aloof when he said it, Wei Zhenge still felt he was mentally unwell.

And now, seeing Jian Yuanbai’s completely serious expression, Wei Zhenge began to doubt his understanding of this man. Maybe Jian Yuanbai wasn’t as wild and cold-hearted as he thought.

Forcing himself to maintain a natural expression, Wei Zhenge pretended not to hear him. “I’ll just call you Jian-ge.”

Jian Yuanbai’s face instantly showed undisguised disappointment, so obvious that Wei Zhenge’s perception of him as a cold and aloof man crumbled further.

Wei Zhenge thought Jian Yuanbai would push him to call him “Dad,” but unexpectedly, Jian Yuanbai only let out a pitiful “Oh.”

Ever since meeting Jian Yuanbai, everything he did was beyond Wei Zhenge’s expectations.

Wei Zhenge said, “If you’re only doing this because of the contract with the Wei family, you don’t need to go this far. I’ve read the contract. The money isn’t much.”

The Wei family paid 50,000 yuan, which included his tuition and living expenses. The most important clause in the contract was that during the guardianship period, Jian Yuanbai could make Wei Zhenge work in exchange for compensation.

A free laborer with pay—this was probably why Jian Yuanbai agreed to the deal.

However, Jian Yuanbai replied without hesitation, “The key is that you’re good-looking.”

If Wei Zhenge had been ugly, Jian Yuanbai would’ve just wrapped him in a blanket to avoid seeing his face.

Sometimes, Jian Yuanbai’s bluntness left Wei Zhenge speechless. “…Thanks?”

“You’re welcome.”

The awkward silence made Wei Zhengge want to escape, so he simply said, “Didn’t you say you wanted me to cut the rough stone for you?”

Jian Yuanbai replied disinterestedly, “Alright, come on then.”

At the same time, he called out to the system in his mind, “Tiantian~ do you have any stone-cutting tutorial videos for me to watch?”

System: “Don’t call me Tiantian. You’re using the original body’s skills, so whatever this body knows, you know as well. When you encounter the stone-cutting machine, you should be able to operate it automatically.”

There was nothing wrong with this statement, but the problem was that Jian Yuanbai wasn’t using the original owner’s body at all.

But he couldn’t tell the system that, so he said, “I’m just worried something might go wrong. Show me the video, just in case.”

“Aotian, Tian’er, show me the video.”

While it was true that he didn’t call it Tiantian, the system was still furious. It simply threw a video of the original owner cutting stones into his mind and went silent.

Jian Yuanbai followed the tutorial, his movements smooth and practiced. Without years of experience, such speed and precision would be impossible, leaving no room for Wei Zhengge to suspect anything.

“You try it yourself first.”

After saying this, Jian Yuanbai turned and went to the master bedroom.

Wei Zhengge was doing this for the first time, and with only one lesson, he inevitably struggled. Thinking about how he still had to study and couldn’t waste too much time here, he decided to ask Jian Yuanbai for another demonstration.

The door to the master bedroom was open, so Wei Zhengge walked right in.

Jian Yuanbai was sitting in front of the computer, fully focused on something.

Wei Zhengge: ……

He deliberately made some noise with his footsteps, only to see Jian Yuanbai hurriedly closing the page and turning around with a forced calm, saying, “You came at the right time. I’ll teach you how to identify jade varieties so you won’t accidentally damage good material.”

Wei Zhengge felt numb and amused at the same time. He really wanted to tell him that there was no point hiding the page—after all, the title was so big that he saw it clearly the moment he entered.

“What to do when a child refuses to acknowledge their father? Experts offer the following parenting tips.”