Forbidden Love with My Stepbrother

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The moment Lucian finished speaking, Adrian’s ears flushed bright red, and the color didn’t stop there, spreading down toward his face.

“Why aren’t you answering? Hmm?”

“W-why are you asking that?” Adrian stammered, nearly biting his tongue. “I’m not done with you yet!” he snapped again, as if acting fierce could chase away his embarrassment.

Seeing Adrian so flustered and flushed like a boiled shrimp, Lucian felt thoroughly satisfied. He replied,

“It’s nothing. Just gathering user feedback so I can improve the service next time.”

For a moment, Adrian didn’t know how to describe what he was feeling.

It was as if two currents of emotion were tangled inside him, impossible to sort out.

On one hand, he felt relieved, the knot that had weighed on him for years had finally been explained. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed at being so directly confessed to by his own brother. Anyone in his place would have a hard time staying calm.

Besides, they had been apart for five whole years, long enough for people to change, for things to no longer be what they once were.

Even though the misunderstanding had been cleared up, that familiar feeling from the past couldn’t simply return in an instant.

At the very least, right now, standing in front of Lucian, Adrian still couldn’t be as at ease as he used to be.

Seeing that Adrian was still silent, his expression uncertain as if he didn’t know how to respond, Lucian spoke first,

“I’m serious.” He looked straight at him. “What do you think of me? Would you consider dating me?”

“But… but we’re brothers.” Adrian’s voice wavered slightly.

He was completely flustered, confused by Lucian’s feelings, and by the nature of their relationship. If they ended up together, how was he supposed to face their parents?

“We’re not brothers.” Lucian cut him off decisively, getting straight to the point.

Adrian shook his head, still stubborn. “But I’m straight.”

“Are you sure?” Lucian asked, a faint hint of amusement in his eyes.

“S-sure.”

“Then yesterday, when I kissed you…” He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping. “How did it feel?”

The moment the question fell, Adrian’s face flushed bright red.

He didn’t want to answer, because even he didn’t know what he had felt when he thought back to that kiss.

Embarrassment quickly turned into irritation. He drew back his foot and stomped hard on Lucian’s shoe, snapping,

“You shameless jerk!”

With that, he turned and ran off, looking flustered as if he were fleeing from something.

Lucian stayed where he was, watching his retreating figure, unable to hold back a laugh. His voice followed after him, “Come home early after class this afternoon. I’ll be waiting. I brought you lots of gifts from abroad, come back and open them!”

Adrian kept running at full speed, not looking back, only tossing out a curt reply,

“Got it!”

In the character illustration class, Adrian sat blankly in front of his easel, his gaze unfocused, completely unable to concentrate.

Lucian’s figure, and the words he had just said, kept replaying in his mind over and over again.

Did he… like men? Of course not. He was straight!

Though he had never been in a relationship, he had always found himself more drawn to the female form than to men. When sketching, he instinctively preferred drawing female characters.

To him, the soft, natural curves of a woman’s body held a unique kind of beauty, both harmonious and captivating.

More importantly, he had never felt any kind of desire toward another man. That is… until Lucian came back.

At the thought, Adrian suddenly jolted.

His cheeks flushed, the heat quickly spreading to his ears, turning them bright red with no way to hide it.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you working?” Jeff, the classmate sitting next to him, noticed him zoning out and spoke up.

Adrian startled and turned to look at him. He hesitated for a moment, as if debating whether to say it out loud, then finally asked,

“Jeff… if a guy who’s always liked girls suddenly starts liking guys… is that normal?”

He paused for a moment, his voice dropping even lower, “Then… would that still count as being straight?”

Jeff raised an eyebrow and replied casually, “As long as they’re good-looking, does it really matter if they’re a guy or a girl?”

After all, they were art students, people who pursued beauty. In many cases, gender didn’t seem all that important.

Jeff glanced at Adrian, his gaze gradually turning intrigued.

“So? You turning gay or something? Who is it? Good-looking?”

At that, he even deliberately drew out his tone, teasing,

“How good-looking does someone have to be to make our department’s heartthrob question his sexuality?”

Lucian’s image surfaced in Adrian’s mind once again.

Was he… good-looking? There was nothing to criticize. Tall, long-legged, broad-shouldered with a narrow waist, and sharp, masculine features that were hard to look away from.

At the thought, Adrian nodded unconsciously.

“Really that good-looking?” Jeff pressed, clearly intrigued.

Adrian snapped out of it and quickly shook his head.

“Not good-looking?” Jeff narrowed his eyes, a hint of suspicion creeping into his gaze.

Adrian flustered, answering in a rush:

“I-I don’t like him. I’m not gay… yet.”

Even he didn’t realize it - the difference between “not gay yet” and “not gay” was worlds apart.

Jeff was about to say something more, but just then, the professor walked into the classroom.

The two of them immediately fell silent, lowering their heads and pretending to focus on their drawings, as if they hadn’t been talking about anything unrelated at all.