After the Addicted Younger Brother Stopped Clinging to His Straight Adoptive Brother - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I was on top of Chen Jiangye, trying to grind out the last few points of Affection, when the System-which had been offline for three years-suddenly let out a piercing alarm.

[It’s the wrong book! This is a male-protagonist power fantasy!]

[The male lead is straight! He can’t stand being intimate with men!]

[Ahhh! That red bar is his Hatred Value! Host, you’re doomed!]

I jolted in fright. The flush drained from my face as I scrambled off him.

“N-No more…”

“Let’s just sleep!”

The handsome, mature man pressed his glistening lips together, amusement sparkling in his flirtatious eyes.

“Are you getting tired of doing it this way?”

“Then we’ll switch to something you like.”

He opened the nightstand drawer, took out a foil packet, and started to tear it open.

Alarmed, I snatched it from him and shook my head like a rattle drum.

“No, no, no! You just got back from a business trip. You must be exhausted! You should get some proper rest. How could I make you tire yourself out even more?”

He froze.

“But every time I come back from a business trip, you cling to me all night and insist on making up for the entire week I was gone.”

My heart pounded as I rushed to answer, “Things are different now, Brother. You’re already thirty. I think it’s time we practiced some restraint!”

The curve of Chen Jiangye’s lips went rigid. His eyes lowered instinctively, and a shadow flashed through them.

“…All right.”

He got up and went into the bathroom. Soon, the sound of running water filled the room.

I hurriedly dumped an entire drawer of ultrathin 0.01 condoms into the trash.

Trembling, I asked the System in my mind, “I distinctly remember transmigrating into a smut novel. How did it turn into a male-protagonist power fantasy?”

The System sighed repeatedly.

[This is my fault. I rushed back to headquarters to report in as soon as I bound myself to you, and I accidentally sent you to the clean-content section.]

[The gay persona you’ve built has already deeply traumatized the male lead. You can’t remain the protagonist.]

[Do your best to lower the male lead’s Hatred Value to zero. I’ll reassign you as the embarrassing male side character from his past and give you a new target to win over.]

[Once the mission is complete, I’ll apply for triple your original bonus.]

Being reassigned as someone’s embarrassing past didn’t sound particularly promising, but the triple bonus made me hesitate for exactly 0.01 seconds before nodding.

“I’ll do my best!”

A long while later, a stifled groan came from the bathroom.

The sound of running water gradually subsided.

The System’s excited shouting distracted me, so I failed to notice anything unusual.

[Ahhh, it’s dropping! It’s dropping! The male lead’s Hatred Value is down to forty!]

[As long as you stop pestering him, his Hatred Value will keep falling.]

[Hurry! Go sleep in the spare bedroom. I think we can get you unbound tonight!]

His Hatred Value had gone down.

Yet I felt strangely uncomfortable, as though a needle had pricked my heart, leaving behind a faint ache.

With my head lowered, I picked up a blanket and prepared to go to the spare bedroom.

Just then, the bathroom door opened.

The man emerged wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. He called out to me, his voice carrying an unusual rasp. “Ah Ran, where are you going this late?”

“I think this bed is a little cramped, so I was going to sleep in the spare-”

Before I could finish, Chen Jiangye’s face darkened and his voice rose sharply.

“Chen Ran, you want us to sleep in separate rooms?!”