Ethan Caldwell and Julian Sterling cuddled for a while. By the time Ethan Caldwell stabilized his emotions and finished sharing everything he knew about CORE, several hours had already passed. Right at that moment, his phone rang with a chime. Ethan Caldwell glanced at it. It turned out that Felix Tate had arrived. He then patted Julian Sterling’s waist a few times, signaling: "Let us go, we should go find the guys."

"Hmm?" Julian Sterling lifted his head from the man’s chest: "Find who?"

"Besides Kieran Talbot , Louis York and Felix Tate have also arrived secretly. They are currently in Kieran Talbot’s room. Get changed, I will take you to meet them."

As he spoke, Ethan Caldwell stepped out of bed, rummaging through the suitcase to find clothes for Julian Sterling. Truth be told, he did not want his precious baby wandering around in front of those guys in sleepwear. Julian Sterling’s figure was much smaller compared to theirs, looking utterly adorable as he was enveloped in the silk pajamas.

It was just that being indoors, having just woken up and not wearing pajamas would surely raise the suspicions of those who were currently monitoring them.

Ethan Caldwell sighed, reluctantly grabbing the black silk pajamas that Julian Sterling had brought along, and putting them on the younger man. While carefully buttoning up the shirt for Julian Sterling, the man’s face darkened.

His adorable baby, who gave those stinky bastards the right to see him looking like this!

Julian Sterling sat on the edge of the bed, the pajama shirt draped loosely over his shoulders, its hem falling perfectly right at the top of his thighs. Seeing the man’s somber gaze, Julian cupped Ethan’s face with both hands and asked: "What is the matter?"

"I do not want you to meet them."

"Hmm?" Julian Sterling tilted his head in confusion: "We have all met before, have we not? What is it, did you just have a fight with them?"

But Julian recalled that Ethan Caldwell had not even picked up his phone to text anyone earlier, so there probably was not any time to argue. Yet why would he suddenly not want Julian to meet Kieran Talbot and the others? It was obvious that earlier Ethan Caldwell himself had mentioned how much those guys admired Julian now, at least for being able to handle Ethan Caldwell’s crisis this time.

No argument, nor were they looking down on him.

Why would Ethan suddenly not want him to see them?

Then, Julian Sterling heard his man, the person who had always been built up with the image of a domineering CEO, speaking world-shaking words with a cool face, now pouting and huffing out a sentence: "Why do they have the right to see my precious baby in such an adorable state? I do not allow it!"

Julian Sterling: "..."

Hubby, it seems like your character setting has completely collapsed.

Amused, Julian Sterling lifted the man’s pouting face and planted a loud kiss on his cheek: "They only get to look, you are the only one who gets to hold me and embrace me in your arms."

Then, without giving the man a chance to react or say anything more, his fair and soft hand gently touched the man’s slightly stubbled chin. The coarse texture transmitted to his fingertips, creating a stark contrast. Julian Sterling tilted his head slightly, intentionally pouting his lips to tease: "Go shave, it looks so ugly. If you keep looking like this, I will not even bother looking at you anymore."

Ethan Caldwell’s biological makeup caused his facial hair to grow quite quickly. It seemed that his body’s metabolism was incredibly robust. That was probably the reason why, despite being a general director for so many years, enduring all sorts of work pressure, and overthinking, his black hair still remained very thick. He did not completely fit the typical image of middle-aged directors with beer bellies and balding heads often seen in the workplace. Or well, since this world was originally a novel anyway, there were definitely special requirements to maintain such a perfect image for the characters.

But in general, Ethan Caldwell’s beard grew fairly fast; normally, the man would shave every two or three days. Perhaps there was too much work this morning, so Ethan Caldwell had not taken care of it, leaving his chin with a light layer of stubble.

However, Ethan Caldwell did not listen to him at all. The man rested his chin in the crook of Julian Sterling’s neck, rubbing gently. Ethan Caldwell’s beard had not grown long yet, just slightly sprouting, making his chin look a bit shadowed. But rubbing against the sensitive skin of the neck still tickled a little. Julian Sterling giggled, pushing the man’s head away: "Stop it, what is with you today?"

Although he said that, Julian Sterling still pressed his palm against that stubbled chin, rubbing it gently.

It really tickled.

Julian Sterling giggled.

He knew that Ethan Caldwell’s mood was still not very good right now. After all, having just torn open his emotional wounds and bringing up his painful past, there was probably still something unsoothed within his heart. His deep gaze from earlier still seemed to linger with a hint of indescribable sorrow. Therefore, Julian Sterling only wanted to use his own way to coax this man. He proactively leaned up, wrapping his arms around Ethan’s firm waist a little tighter, wanting to pass his warmth over to the other party to dispel the dark thoughts.

The two of them sweetly clung to each other for a while longer, whispering a few soft words of comfort. A long time later, when the man’s breathing had stabilized, Ethan Caldwell finally held Julian Sterling’s hand as they strolled leisurely toward the elevator, heading to Kieran Talbot’s room. The corridor was very quiet at this moment, the warm yellow lights shining down on the backs of the two people who were holding hands tightly.

At this point, Julian realized that Doctor Kieran Talbot’s room was arranged really far away. This distance ensured absolute privacy for every area in the house. But recalling their playful session earlier, remembering those ambiguous sounds, his cheeks flushed red, and he finally understood the reason why this man had arranged the guest room in such a secluded corner. It was definitely so that no one could disturb their private space.

Leading his precious baby along, Ethan Caldwell stopped in front of the entrance. He merely knocked on Kieran Talbot’s door twice perfunctorily, then turned back to play with Julian Sterling’s hand instead of banging loudly on the door like before. He intertwined his ten fingers with Julian’s slender ones, stroking them from time to time. Ethan Caldwell today looked just like an overgrown child, always wanting to stick closely to his most treasured possession.

Julian Sterling just let his husband do whatever he wanted, the corners of his lips still maintaining a gentle smile. After all, people often said that when a man was beside the person he loved the most, he would reveal his true nature as a giant child. Julian gently smoothed out the creases on Ethan’s shirt, his eyes overflowing with indulgence.

It was just that the affectionate, playful scene between the two did not last too long before the wooden door in front of them opened, emitting a soft creak.

Kieran Talbot appeared with a somewhat sluggish demeanor. He was also wearing pajamas, his feet shuffling in fuzzy slippers, and his hair was a messy, tangled bird’s nest, making him look as if he had just taken a very deep sleep to regain his energy. He had even intended to put on a bit of an act, pretending to be exhausted to complain about being woken up halfway. As a result, the moment he opened the door, what struck his eyes was Julian Sterling standing completely engulfed in Ethan Caldwell’s embrace, his hand being held by the tall man, who gently brought it to his lips to give it an affectionately spoiling bite.

Kieran Talbot: "..."

Suddenly getting force-fed dog food until he was completely full; these annoying people in love!

"Come in, do not stand there acting out a romantic drama, I do not have the money to hire you two as actors." After saying that, Kieran Talbot stepped aside, watching Ethan Caldwell lead Julian Sterling inside.

Kieran Talbot could not help but roll his eyes.

Should he go find a lover too? But dating required taking the time to get to know each other, going out to eat, and going on dates. After spending all that time, he might find they were not compatible, break up, and then have to look for someone else, and in the end, it was not even guaranteed he would find someone to his liking.

Even if he found someone to his liking, he still had to spend time nurturing the relationship, and after getting married, he would still need to keep the initial spark alive.

The more he thought about it, the more his head ached; perhaps living together with a bunch of equipment in the biomedical research lab was much better.

Kieran Talbot sighed, closed the door, and walked back inside. He felt that he really was not suited for love at all.