Brothers After the Breakup

Qin Qi is a natural-born scumbag. He turned Jiang Hanqing gay, and now he wants to break up.

But he can't bear to give up Jiang Hanqing's braised beef, so shamelessly he comes up with a lousy idea: "People say you can still be friends after a breakup. Why can't we still be brothers? Send me another two jin of braised beef, and I'll have my mom send you some Xinjiang raisins! Sounds like a fair trade, right?"

Jiang Hanqing glanced at him without answering. He calmly smoked a few cigarettes, until Qin Qi was so restless he could hardly sit still. Then he slowly pressed out the cigarette. "I suppose it could work, but one jin of beef gets you a whole box of raisins."

Qin Qi said excitedly, "So you're saying yes?"

Jiang Hanqing was perfectly calm. "Why not?"

Qin Qi was pretty happy.

After all, dating Jiang Hanqing hadn't made him happy, but being brothers did.

He thought cheerfully, It'd be great if I could be brothers with Jiang Hanqing for the rest of my life.

**

While dating Qin Qi, a top-tier star and pretty-boy idol, Jiang Hanqing never used his boyfriend's fame to get ahead. He was so obscure he was practically unrecognizable.

Later, after Qin Qi dumped him, Jiang Hanqing rode the wave of the "brotherly love" Qin Qi offered him and rose straight to the top.

Once he became famous, Qin Qi took pride in him.

Netizens called Qin Qi a pretty-boy idol.

Qin Qi: "My brother's got real talent! Please follow him!"

Netizens accused Qin Qi of publicity stunts.

Qin Qi: "My brother doesn't need publicity stunts. He's got real talent! Please follow him!"

Netizens called Qin Qi uneducated.

Qin Qi: "My brother's a top student, just one point shy of a perfect score in Chinese. He writes lyrics, composes, sings, and does it all himself. He's incredible! So talented! Please follow him!"

Netizens called Qin Qi neither masculine nor feminine.

Qin Qi: "My boyfriend, I mean, my brother, is super manly. He can go seven times in one night! He's incredibly talented, please follow him!"

Netizens: Qin Qi's really fallen off. He's so desperate to ride Jiang Hanqing's fame that he even wants to fake a couple image with him. Too bad they have zero chemistry!

Qin Qi: "I'm not faking anything. We really are... Mmph!"

Jiang Hanqing covered his mouth and finished the sentence for him: "...brothers."

*Blurb 2:

Jiang Hanqing was so obscure he nearly left the industry. He dated a top-tier star for two years without ever riding his boyfriend's fame. Then they broke up, and he finally did ride it.

Though it was in the form of "brotherly love."

Now everyone knows he's loyal and devoted to his brothers. People eager to become his brother are lining up, and plenty of others want to take their "brotherly love" a step further.

Qin Qi was baffled and hurried to warn him: "Brother, this guy's got bad intentions toward you! He doesn't sincerely want to be your brother! He actually wants to... wants to..."

Jiang Hanqing understood. "I know he wants to date me."

Qin Qi patted his chest. "Good. His hand's almost on your thigh. What a bad guy. You'd better protect yourself."

Jiang Hanqing: "I'm doing it on purpose."

Qin Qi: "..."

Jiang Hanqing: "Come on, we're adults."

Qin Qi: "..."

Jiang Hanqing: "Or you could do it. You're already a seasoned pro."

After the seasoned pro finished the job,

Qin Qi's face was bright red as he stammered, "So, what are we now...?"

Jiang Hanqing patted him with perfect innocence and an utterly righteous expression. "Don't worry. Even though we helped each other out, we're still good brothers!"

P.S.

1. Jiang Hanqing is the gong, Qin Qi the shou. A cool guy who'll go along with anything you do x a naturally scummy, half-breed husky chatterbox.

2. A ridiculous, melodramatic story about chasing your ex after dumping him.

Theme: Dating without the intention of getting married is just being a scoundrel.