The Gloomy Overseas Student Rewards His Hubby With Some Thirst Traps - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Seine hung up Yu Yan-shuang’s wrinkled and damp underwear to dry.

He stared at it with a look of lingering appreciation for quite a while before rounding the laurel-carved partition of the balcony and stepping back into the bedroom.

Seine was currently in his true home, which had a completely different style from his dorm at school. It was like a literal cathedral—light filled every corner, and the vaulted ceilings, built at a staggering cost, captured all the sunlight. Curated by a renowned designer, every inch exuded the luxury of old money.

Seine despised everything about this place, but he was forced to return once a week for the “cohesion” of the Bath family. Every week, the main branch gathered to pray and eat together.

It was also a fortress—safer than any of his other properties. The most dangerous place was the safest place; Seine’s father would never imagine that his son kept his most “loathsome” collections directly above his own bedroom.

Seine wasn’t worried about the servants. Without his permission, they didn’t dare touch or pry, not wanting to lose a high-paying job—or vanish quietly for knowing too much. Even so, he had a room with a biometric lock for his private items.

Passing through the white bed surrounded by angel statues and vintage oil paintings, he carried the duvet Yu Yan-shuang had “soiled” into the secret room.

Everything was organized: the clothes Yu Yan-shuang had wet before, and the laundry he’d forgotten yesterday. Only the pair of wrinkled underwear was tossed into a specialized cleaning basin. Seine placed the duvet into a collection cabinet alongside specimens, firearms, various queer films, and manga.

There was also a stone sculpture of Yu Yan-shuang slowly taking shape.

Seine methodically took a pair of scissors and cut out the circle of the damp spot on the duvet. It was dry now, leaving only an irregular border. He cut this circle out and framed it.

It was an unexpected harvest.

Seine left the bedroom in a pleasant mood. Despite not sleeping all night, his youthful energy showed no signs of fatigue. He had spent the entire night in his car outside the dorm, handling company business while monitoring Yu Yan-shuang’s sleeping face on video until nearly 3:00 AM.

When he saw Yu Yan-shuang wake up in a cold sweat with a distressed expression and run to the bathroom, Seine had worried something was wrong. He hadn’t expected it to be such good news.

He just wondered who was in Yu Yan-shuang’s dream. If it was a woman… Seine’s mood soured slightly. He needed to find the boy and fish for answers.

He changed into casual clothes. He didn’t have any formal banquets today and couldn’t be bothered with the stiff formality of a suit. His sophomore classes were optional in his eyes, so he skipped them without hesitation. Checking Yu Yan-shuang’s schedule, he saw a class was starting in an hour.

Last night, Yu Yan-shuang had fled in panic, and Seine hadn’t rushed to catch him, giving him some space. But it had been nearly eight hours; that was enough.

Seine entered his study to grab some essential documents, intending to watch Yu Yan-shuang in class, when the butler hurried over. “Mr. Seine, Rodney’s father is here!”

At that moment, Seine’s father, Charles Bath, stepped out of his own study. Their studies weren’t on the same floor—Seine’s was higher up. Between the floors was a winding staircase of deep red rosewood, and in the open space between the rooms stood a massive statue titled Constantine’s Fantasy.

Charles was undoubtedly handsome; otherwise, he wouldn’t have produced a son as flawlessly beautiful as Seine. However, his temples were greying, and his facial lines were deeper, giving him a refined air that lacked the sheer, youthful pressure Seine exerted.

“Seine, do not discuss business with the father of a homosexual in my house,” Charles’s voice rang out—stern, old-fashioned, and perfectly British.

Seine smiled slightly and spoke to the butler first: “Let him in.”

Then he looked at his father. “Father, don’t forget that last year, Rodney’s family earned 30% of the Bath family’s profits.”

Charles gave a disdainful laugh. “Without your guidance, they’d be lucky to earn 5%. Seine, my pride… do not disappoint me. I hope you find a new partner.”

“That’s why I’m meeting him today. I don’t intend to use the Rodney family anymore,” Seine replied. This wasn’t to please his father; it was because Rodney had touched his “reverse scale.”

When the Rodney family first arrived in Chicago, Seine only supported them to challenge his father’s authority. But Rodney had ignored his warning not to touch Yu Yan-shuang and even dared to let Garcia test the boy.

This made Seine extremely uncomfortable. If he hadn’t planted wiretapping software on Rodney’s phone, his relationship with Yu Yan-shuang might have actually been sabotaged. Fortunately, Yu Yan-shuang hadn’t hidden from him; he was still by his side.

“Good. I thought your recent closeness with that Chinese boy meant you’d caught Rodney’s filthy habits. Since you plan to replace them, perhaps I was wrong,” Charles said. His tone was gentle, but his eyes were sharp. “It’s time you met the daughters of our loyal Christian peers. Follow your mother’s arrangements.”

Charles was indeed keeping tabs on him. He probably hadn’t discovered the truth yet, or the negotiation wouldn’t be this “harmonious.”

Seine gripped the railing, a fake smile on his face. “Don’t lump me in with Rodney. I’m not free to see anyone lately.” He dropped the words coldly and walked away.

Unlike Rodney, he wouldn’t miss an important meeting or lose a fortune over a man. That was a stupidity he wouldn’t commit. Furthermore, he despised Rodney’s flighty nature—changing partners like clothes. Seine didn’t start relationships lightly, but once he did, he wouldn’t stop until he was bored.

Four years. That should be enough time to play with the little guy.

Seine met Rodney’s father in the garden. The man was sipping coffee and stood up immediately upon seeing Seine, his smile humble. “Ah, Seine, look at you—always so handsome. I heard your school’s football final against Northwestern is the day before Christmas?”

Seine nodded, his expression indifferent. “Uncle, after this project, I’m changing partners. That won’t change. You can stay and chat as a friend, but don’t mention business.”

“Seine, I—we’ve always—” Rodney’s father stood up anxiously.

Seine interrupted, “Uncle, go ask your son what he did. I gave him a chance. Your family should probably train a new heir.”

The butler smoothly handed over a phone. “Your assistant is waiting for your call.”

Seine nodded slightly to Rodney’s father and ordered the butler to prepare the car as he answered the phone. “What is it?”

“Mr. Seine, you haven’t handled the oil energy group’s affairs for days. There’s a vital proposal. Can you attend the meeting in two hours?” The assistant sounded urgent.

In the driveway, the chauffeur had brought the car around, waiting for Seine’s destination. Seine rubbed his temples.

…

In Class.

Yu Yan-shuang dazedly pulled out his laptop and set up his translator.

Seine… smelled those things. So filthy… So shameful.

Yu Yan-shuang clutched his hair, nearly pulling it out. He had planned to wash the clothes, then the duvet, and dry them before Seine found out. He never expected Seine to stay downstairs all night.

Even though Seine claimed he stayed because he was worried the “injury” would get infected and leave Yu Yan-shuang with no one to care for him if he got a fever, Yu Yan-shuang was still scared half to death. He’d never had a friend sit outside in a car all night while he slept! It was terrifying.

He barely remembered how he had bolted out of the room and run back to his own dorm. He hadn’t been able to sleep for the rest of the night—the dream, the scene, the noisy dorm, the hard bed… it was impossible. He feared he was becoming a “pervert” who liked men.

He opened his laptop, only to have an image of Seine—wearing loose black boxing gear, showing off muscular arms and sturdy thighs—pop up on his screen. Seine was wearing red boxing gloves, looking as if he were about to throw a punch or fist-bump the viewer.

The frozen photo captured his dark blonde hair flying back from the movement, sweat spraying. It was vibrant, full of tension, a kind of violent sexiness.

“Narcissist…” Yu Yan-shuang muttered, his face tight as he clicked the mouse to change the wallpaper.

“Wow, are you a fan of Seine too? This is from the UFC match where he fought up a weight class—77.8kg against 84.5kg. No one believed he’d win, but he took it!”

A girl’s voice came from behind him. Yu Yan-shuang looked back and saw her expression turn to surprise. “It’s you! The boy who’s been close to Seine lately.”

What boy?! Yu Yan-shuang was about to say something sharp, but he realized she was a Chinese girl. A very cute one at that. He decided not to be mean.

“I’m eighteen. I should be called a man,” he corrected unhappily.

The girl’s eyes crinkled. “Sorry, I’m just used to the group chat calling you that. You are a man. You look so cool when you aren’t smiling!”

The corners of Yu Yan-shuang’s mouth twitched upward, his eyes brightening. “Really? Cough. You’re very pretty too, you look like Liu Yifei.”

This made the girl laugh. “Really?”

Yu Yan-shuang nodded solemnly. “I never lie.”

He was just beginning to feel happy when he noticed the classroom becoming noisy. He heard someone whisper Seine’s name and felt a sharp gaze piercing him. He looked back nervously.

Sure enough, Seine was leaning against the back door, a Bluetooth earbud in his ear and an assistant in a suit behind him. He raised a hand to silence the assistant, his expression dark, his eyes fixed coldly on Yu Yan-shuang.

Yu Yan-shuang shrunk his neck instinctively, looking like he’d been caught doing something bad. Why did Seine look like he’d been cheated on?

His phone buzzed. He didn’t even have to check—it was Seine. He didn’t want to look. The memory of Seine sniffing the bedsheet was too vivid. He really didn’t want to see him.

The girl said, “Yu Yan-shuang, I’m Jiang Xuexu. I went to the same high school as you. Can I add you on WeChat?”

It had been so long since he heard Mandarin! “Did you… hear of me? I mean, I transferred halfway through 11th grade. Did you hear anything bad? Like about my brother and me?”

“What? I saw you with my own eyes! You were so cool at basketball. All the girls in my class went to cheer for you. That game was 95 to 26! You were hitting three-pointers one after another. Our class’s boys were cursing you for days, haha!”

She talked about how he had beat up a pervert loitering near the girls’ restroom and how he led a protest against the dean forcing everyone to cut their hair. She didn’t mention the rumors he feared—the ones about him being kicked out of the family and seducing his brother.

Yu Yan-shuang relaxed, his face softening as his eyes sparkled. Jiang Xuexu added, “So many people wanted your WeChat then, but I didn’t get to scan it. Can I now?”

Yu Yan-shuang had a 500-friend limit, and he was full. “Sure, I’ll delete someone to make room.”

He opened his phone, and Seine’s message flashed on the screen: [Yu, when you’re chatting with other girls, do you think about our time at the Seton Hotel, the Glen Hotel, and in my dorm?]

His face turned ugly. Damn Seine. He swiped to delete the message.

He looked through his WeChat. Most were high school contacts. He had already deleted his adoptive parents. He decided to delete his nominal “brother,” Yu Chenzhou.

Surprisingly, the first thread in his inbox was from Yu Chenzhou. He had blocked him long ago, but the messages were still there from this week.

[Yu Yan-shuang, whose watch is that?] [Yu Yan-shuang, you’re close with an American man lately?] [Didn’t you say you don’t like men? You used my passport to check into a hotel with another man?]

The sight of his full name made him remember the night he found out he wasn’t biological. He had been crying in bed when he realized someone was sitting there. It was Yu Chenzhou.

When he tried to turn on the light, Chenzhou stopped him and said coldly, “If you want to keep this life instead of being kicked out, then stay with me.”

That had terrified him. Later, he insisted on leaving to make room for the “real” son. During an argument, his mother overheard them and screamed, “I knew a low-life’s child would be a fox-spirit! You even seduced your brother!”

They shipped him abroad out of fear. Chenzhou had said, “Since you won’t be with me, go out and live a hard life.”

It was hard at first—$200 a month and cold sandwiches. But now he had $30,000 and brand-name clothes!

He deleted the contact and held up his QR code. “Scan.”

Jiang Xuexu reached into her bag for her phone, but something else fell out.

Clatter.

Yu Yan-shuang looked down. His face went from blank to shocked to beet red. On the floor was a piece of fan-made acrylic merch featuring a manga-style Seine and Yu Yan-shuang.

In the art, Seine was holding Yu Yan-shuang in his arms, kissing him passionately. And… they weren’t wearing clothes.

Jiang Xuexu stammered, “Can I… still add you?”

Yu Yan-shuang instinctively looked toward the back of the room. Seine’s gaze moved from the acrylic stand to Yu Yan-shuang. He raised an eyebrow and mouthed: You like that?