Liang Fang returned home in a good mood, setting little BaoBao down and letting him run off to the living room as he returned to his office. Sitting down at his desk, he waved his hand and a person practically materialized in front of him. He narrowed his eyes, voice low as he said, “Find out anything and everything about Lai Ning.”

The other nodded and disappeared as quickly as they came. Liang Fang felt a small smirk threaten the cross across his lips, and he closed his eyes, imagining the sharp and cold look in those heterochromatic eyes. He hadn’t fallen in love with the other at first sight or anything stupid like that. No, the other had simply piqued his interest. Someone who hadn’t even so much as flinch upon seeing him, even going as far as to look even slightly bored… It was definitely a first for him. Being in the entertainment industry, he has seen too many people with too many hidden agendas that it gets tiring after a while.

To meet someone as seemingly honest and blunt as Lai Ning was a refreshing breath of fresh air. Luckily for Liang Fang the little firecracker had his name tag on or otherwise he’d have a slightly harder time finding out anything about him, because he had a feeling the other wouldn’t grace him with his name if he asked following BaoBao’s checkup. He finally let a smirk lift the corners of his mouth as he opened his eyes and saw Liang Jin standing in the doorway, staring at his brother with his stone-cold face.

“You look happy.” Liang Jin said, walking forward and sitting on a free chair.

Liang Fang raised an eyebrow, “Was it that obvious?” He sounding condescending to others, but Liang Jin could hear the amusement clear as day in his voice.

“You’ve been looking gloomy as of late, and come home today after BaoBao’s checkup happy. What happened?” Liang Fang smiled, enjoying his brother’s cut-to-the-chase attitude. It reminded him of a certain somebody…

“Do you remember that cute little vet I told you about on the phone?”

Liang Jin raised an eyebrow, prompting him to continue.

“Well, he reminded me a bit of you, JinJin, but a bit more… feisty.” He said slowly, his eyes flashing for a moment. “He had quite the sharp tongue, don’t you know~”

“Is that so… For someone to catch your attention, they must be quite special indeed.”

“Not like that~ He’s quite the cute little firecracker, is all. A fun pastime, if you will.”

“Well, when put that way, I might start to feel sorry for the other.” Liang Jin said, expression unchanging.

Liang Fang rolled his eyes. He was well aware that Liang Jin was not as cold as he looked or sounded; in fact, he was a rather sociable person. Not nearly as sociable when compared to Liang Fang, himself, but much more sociable than others would be led to believe. He smiled at the thought of Little Firecracker’s annoyed expressions, excitement welling up inside of him for the first time in years.

“Don’t say it like that, I’ll be gentle~” Liang Fang teased, ignoring his twin’s eye roll. “Is little brother curious as well?”

Liang Jin shot him a glare but he tactfully ignored that as well, a pleasant smile on his lips. After a few moments, he sighed. “Of course I am. I haven’t seen you acting like this in years, how could I not?”

“Is that so…” Liang Fang narrowed his eyes, his smile deepening. “Well, elder brother is looking him up, so let’s look at his information together when it gets here~”

Liang Jin simply nodded before getting up. “Well, if elder brother insists, then I’ll just go along with it.” He emphasized ‘elder brother’ with such disdain it nearly made Liang Fang snort. “I’ll go back to working, then.”

Before he stepped foot out of the room, Liang Fang called out, “Ah, that’s right! Little BaoBao has to go back for a checkup in a few days and unfortunately I’ll be going out for a shooting the day after tomorrow so I’ll have to trouble younger brother for it~”

Liang Jin’s eyebrow twitched, but unfortunately Liang Fang couldn’t see it, and most likely would have ignored it either way. Liang Jin slowly turned his head back and, upon seeing his brother’s mischievous grin, sighed, accepting his fate. “Fine. I’ll take BaoBao back in three days. Is that sufficient enough?”

“Yep! Thank you, JinJin~” With that, Liang Jin left, leaving Liang Fang alone in his office. After a few moments, his smile faded into a small, yet gentle, look, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Lai Ning, huh…” He tasted the name on his tongue, repeating it a couple of times before deciding he liked it. He sat up, stretched, and grinned. “Well, Little Firecracker… Let’s hope you can entertain me for a while, hm?”

* * * * *

Three days passed and, as he said, Liang Jin actually brought BaoBao back to the clinic for a follow up. As much as he didn’t want to, Liang Jin was never one to go back on his word, and even he could admit that he was worried over little BaoBao’s condition. Though it was his brother’s dog, the cute, fluffy, tiny thing wormed its way into his heart as well. It wasn’t his fault the pup was too loveable. So, he put BaoBao in a carrier and made his way over to the clinic, driving as careful as possible as to not jostle the sleeping pup.

He pulled up to the building, grabbed the carrier from the passenger seat and leisurely made his way in, expression set to its normal cold aloofness. The automatic doors slid open and he was met with a wave of sharp, cool air. He almost shivered, forcing it down, but he couldn’t stop his eyebrows from furrowing slightly; he was never good with the cold, unlike his older brother. Sharp eyes surveyed the area as he walked towards the counter, ignoring the wide-mouthed look from the employees.

Liang Jin was just as famous as his brother and had long grown used to everyone’s staring. However, unlike with his brother, people didn’t clamour over to try and talk with him. While Liang Fang gave off a welcoming and gentle aura, Liang Jin was like the edge of a sharpened knife, able to easily cut through other’s skin if you even dared to stand too close to him. The two were as different as night and day, but their appeal was on equal grounds. The two females at the counter blushed madly at his cold stare and, upon glancing down at the carrier and seeing BaoBao, hurriedly left, neither speaking to Liang Jin.

He frowned slightly, unhappy with the service, but stayed quiet. He had glanced at their name tags and neither had the name ‘Lai Ning’, the name he had gotten from his brother’s attendant after some probing, so he wasn’t all too concerned with their attitudes. Someone who had caught the infamous playboy’s attention wouldn’t be affected by something as simple as someone’s aura. He waited for only a minute or two before someone opened the door the two employees had vanished behind.

Liang Jin glanced up at them and felt his heart stop as he stumbled slightly despite standing still, nearly dropping BaoBao in the process. The other frowned at his actions and hurried over to take the carrier, sending Liang Jin a warning glare, before promptly turning around and going into a waiting room, not saying a word. Liang Jin took a moment to regain his composure before hurrying after them, suddenly able to understand his brother’s sudden good mood.

This person was the mysterious ‘Lai Ning’, and Liang Jin was not above saying he was the most beautiful person he’s ever met. Thin shoulder-length blonde hair tied in a low-hanging ponytail that was haphazardly thrown over his shoulder, snow-white skin, supple lips, and his most eye-catching feature: his eyes. One a brilliant gold and the other a charming blue. Liang Jin had never seen anyone with two different colored eyes, though he had heard of the condition, but now he could only lament how the heavens treated angels differently.

Yes, in his mind, Lai Ning was simply an angel the had descended from heaven, with such beauty and grace it didn’t even matter that his face showed less expression than a polished rock. Liang Jin was what most people on the internet would call a ‘face dog’, and never outwardly denied it when confronted about it by his brother but wouldn’t call himself as such. He still had some self-respect. However, he was always one quick to fall, especially if the other party was attractive. Male? Female? That didn’t matter so long as their appearance matched his preferences.

However, he never pursued his feelings, always only watching from the sidelines. After all, they were all usually only momentary infatuations, disappearing after a few weeks time. None of them lasted; besides, those with beautiful faces were only a dime a dozen. He could always find someone just as or even more beautiful. That was what he used to think, but Liang Jin couldn’t help but feel ashamed to even compare the person in front of him with any of the other multitudes of others he had momentary infatuations with.

Lai Ning was a phoenix amongst a flock of chickens. All of them were essentially birds, but only Lai Ning could soar above the rest, projecting grace and beauty while still carrying an appearance and temperament of unhidden aloofness. While Liang Jin’s was mostly just a front, Lai Ning’s was completely natural; he wouldn’t bother pretending to like something he didn’t, he wouldn't bother putting up a front for things he didn’t believe in. Liang Jin felt that his soul had become drunk just by looking at the young man, doing his best to push down the blush threatening to color his cheeks.

Even if Liang Jin could rationally point out that he had faintly felt this way before for a few others with an almost otherworldly appearance, it was pushed down by the fact that it was never this strong before. Liang Jin never truly believed in love at first sight but even he couldn’t deny his heart leaping and stuttering at the sight of the other male.

“It seems he’s gotten better. His cold should be gone now.” Liang Jin snapped out from his internal fantasyland and basically basked in the clear, cool voice of the blonde, feeling even stronger that the other was an angel.

“Is that so. I’m glad.” Liang Jin murmured, forcing down the pink bubbles threatening to spill from his stomach.

Lai Ning spared him a glance, seeming to have caught his hoarse voice, but didn’t say anything about it. “Since he’s all better, he doesn’t need to come back anymore. Take better care of him in the future.”

Liang Jin felt his heart sink; no, it was over already? Just like that? It hadn’t even been five minutes! “Are you sure? Maybe he should have another checkup in a few days, just to be sure.” Please, don’t throw me out so soon. We haven’t even formally introduced ourselves!

Lai Ning waved his concerns away, rubbing his temples with his other hand. “I’m not naive enough to send a patient away if there really was something wrong with them. This little pup is fine now and it’d be redundant to keep seeing him.”

Then, what about this patient? I have a serious case of heartache! Liang Jin cried out in his heart, but kept an unconcerned expression on his face. Just as he was about to throw out another excuse to try to keep seeing the vet, BaoBao let out a little yip, tagging his tail happily as he licked Lai Ning’s hand. Lai Ning stared down at the dog, eyes widening slightly in surprise, as an idea popped into Liang Jin’s head.

“See? Little BaoBao wants to keep seeing you. You wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings, now would you?”

Lai Ning didn’t respond to his words, but Liang Jin could see the flash of conflict in the other’s eyes that disappeared so quickly he was almost sure he’d just imagined it. However, after a few moments of silence, the blonde sighed, giving in. “Fine. I’ll see BaoBao again in a few days. But this will be the last time.” His tone was firm, but Liang Jin could see the way his eyes softened at BaoBao’s happy twirling, clueing him into the blonde’s probable only weakness.

Liang Jin bit the inside of his mouth, fighting back against a triumphant smile. BaoBao, good job! “Why don’t you just come over to my home for a simple home checkup?”

“I can’t, I have other patients to tend to.” Lai Ning immediately rejected.

Liang Jin felt a slight sting at the blatant rejection but he soon noticed the other’s pale complexion and deep bags under his eyes. Another idea sprung up, and he couldn’t help but blurting out, “It seems that you look quite tired. A little break from work could help you. How can you tend to the other patients without properly taking care of yourself first?”

Lai Ning frowned slightly, pursing his lips, and Liang Jin felt that his throat had suddenly gone parched. He swallowed heavily, knowing that he’d gotten the other by the way his eyes betrayed his internal struggle. This time it took a little longer, but the other eventually caved, letting out a deep sigh. “Fine.”

Celebrating internally, Liang Jin wrote down his address on a sticky note and left in a happy mood. He might not have exchanged numbers with the other, which he had wanted to as soon as he suggested the home visit, but he wasn’t too disappointed. After all, he had another chance. On his drive home, he let out the smile he’d been holding back, warmth tickling his heart. For once, his older brother had done something good.

In a different city, Liang Fang sneezed, frowning as he felt a slight shiver run up his spine.