Probably because the two of them were among the earliest members of this department, they had a very good personal relationship. Otherwise, Evelyn Cooper wouldn’t have specially saved a set of his favorite manga for him.

...Thinking of that set of manga, Matthew Clark started to get a headache again:

He never knew there could be such untimely happiness in this world!

“Andrew Foster, don’t send me any more BL manga for the time being.”

“Who’s Andrew... Wait, why?”

Evelyn Cooper suddenly stopped, turning around in disbelief, his eyes behind the glasses widening slightly. “Tired? Bored? Fallen for someone else?”

“……”

Matthew Clark felt his drama was even more than his salary.

“There’s a kid living at my place now.”

“How old is the kid?”

“Very old.”

“……” Evelyn Cooper patted his shoulder with a bit of pity. “When did your vocabulary become so limited?”

Matthew Clark: …………

He gestured sincerely. “It really is ‘very old’.”

“Forget it.” Evelyn Cooper didn’t want to dig into exactly how old, and as he spoke, he walked down the corridor toward the office area. “But it’s summer vacation for the next two months, and there will be a lot of exhibitions. You can go check them out.”

“There’s even a special exhibition on fan works, focusing on teacher-student, office, forbidden lo—”

Matthew Clark took a sharp breath, his eyes lighting up: Oh oh oh oh oh oh!!!!!

Evelyn Cooper was caught off guard by his reaction, “……”

Then he coaxed, “Is it a crime to openly ship CPs? You don’t have to be so secretive. Besides, this is the BL editorial department—even if you fangirl out loud, no one will say anything.”

Who’s fangirling out loud!

Matthew Clark pursed his lips with restraint. “Who would—”

“Awooo!!” Suddenly, a loud cry came from ahead. Editor Little William happened to be passing by with some water, and upon seeing the two of them, immediately pointed with a coy gesture, “What are the chief editor and deputy editor talking about back there~~~ So annoying!”

She ran off with a string of laughter, “Hehehehehe!”

Evelyn Cooper, “………”

Matthew Clark, “………”

Evelyn Cooper, “See?”

Matthew Clark solemnly, “Lesson learned.”

-

Work ended at six in the evening.

Evelyn Cooper drove and gave Matthew Clark a ride home on the way.

When the car stopped under the apartment building, Matthew Clark had just gotten out when he saw a familiar figure.

James Bennett was standing not far ahead, chatting with someone.

A backpack slung over one shoulder, still with that casual, laid-back look. There were a few peers around him, probably friends from training, heading home together.

They were chatting about something.

But Matthew Clark always felt that James Bennett’s gaze was wandering.

The next second, that wandering gaze landed on him from a distance. James Bennett raised his eyebrows slightly and waved at him, “Little uncle.”

The boys chatting in front all stopped and looked over.

Evelyn Cooper, who hadn’t left yet, stuck his head out of the car window and sized things up. “Very old... Matthew, is this the kid living at your place?”

Matthew Clark turned his head. “Yeah.”

See, his description was pretty accurate, right?

Evelyn Cooper, “……”

Even from five or six meters away, their conversation was clear.

James Bennett’s gaze passed over Matthew Clark and landed on Evelyn Cooper, pausing for two seconds before nodding calmly. “Hello.”

Evelyn Cooper waved and said goodbye to Matthew Clark, then left.

After he left, Matthew Clark walked up to James Bennett under the curious gazes of the group. “Chatting with friends?”

“Yeah.” James Bennett said to the others, “My little uncle.”

“Little... uncle?” One of the boys stared at Matthew Clark in surprise, then turned to James Bennett. “So handsome? And he looks so young... why call him uncle?”

Matthew Clark didn’t want to explain the generational battle.

“I’m Matthew. You can call me ‘bro’ if you want.”

“Oh, hi, Matthew bro!”

The group called him “bro.” One boy with a buzz cut suddenly bumped the blond boy next to him. “You say it so easily—how come I’ve never heard you call me ‘bro’?”

Matthew Clark’s heart skipped a beat, and he glanced over slowly.

The blond boy said, “Why should I call you bro?”

The buzz cut boy put him in a headlock. “Come on, just say it once.”

The blond boy laughed, “You’re crazy!”

“Haha, hahahahaha...”

“……”

Matthew Clark’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he quickly turned his head away: ...So cute!

“Little uncle?” A voice came from beside him.

He quickly adjusted his expression and turned back. “What?”

James Bennett tilted his head, looking at his neck. “Not feeling well? Right here,” he pointed in the air, “it’s a bit red.”

The laughter in front stopped too, and all the boys turned to look at Matthew Clark.

Matthew Clark cursed himself for slipping up, raised the back of his hand to cover the red at the base of his neck. “I don’t go out much, got sunburned.”

The blond boy looked over curiously and whispered, “Pea pri...” His arm was bumped by the buzz cut boy, and he quickly changed, “...nce.”

Matthew Clark, “……” Thanks, that’s quite poetic.

After watching this little farce, James Bennett finally spoke. “We’ll head back now.”

“Oh, bye.”