The Retired CEO's Guide To Being Spoiled-Chapter 253: The Anchor

The faint morning sunlight pierced through the layers of curtains, scattering streaks of shimmering golden light across the wooden floor of the spacious living room. The next morning, neither of them was in a hurry to leave the house. Julian Sterling wore a set of soft silk pajamas, sitting cross-legged on the plush rug placed next to the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Resting on his thighs was a large graphic drawing tablet. Julian Sterling was highly concentrated on drafting the background for the virtual reality game project into which he was pouring a great deal of his heart and soul.

Because too many things had happened over the recent period of time, his sketch was still nowhere near completion. Julian Sterling wanted to take advantage of this peaceful lull to completely finish handling the remaining backlog of his work.

On the screen, a magnificent world full of contrasts was gradually appearing. There were majestic palaces deeply imbued with ancient culture, featuring curved tiled roofs and carved wooden pillars; however, floating amidst the sky above them were colossal battleships along with the sharp, cold metallic lines of the interstellar federal era.

From the kitchen, Ethan Caldwell stepped out, holding two cups of piping hot coffee that emanated a fragrant aroma. He did not speak up to disturb the young man’s concentration, merely placing one cup down quietly on the small table nearby, and then very naturally sat down right behind Julian Sterling’s back.

The distance between the two of them narrowed, close to the point where Julian Sterling could feel the warmth radiating from the man’s broad chest, along with the rhythmic breathing exhaling lightly into the air.

"Right here..." Ethan Caldwell suddenly spoke up, his low and deep voice ringing out right next to Julian’s ear. He stretched out his long arm, wrapping it around Julian Sterling’s shoulder, his slender fingers pointing at a hidden corner on the drawing: "If you place the light source of the artificial stars from this angle, the shadows of the pavilions casting down onto the spaceship will create a better visual effect."

Julian Sterling flinched slightly, but still obediently maneuvered the stylus to test out Ethan’s words. However, when drawing to the boundary where the ancient wooden material of the pavilions intersected with the metallic shell of the spaceship, his strokes became somewhat stiff, failing to create a natural sense of harmony. He frowned, erasing and redrawing it a few times yet still remaining unsatisfied.

Seeing Julian struggling, Ethan Caldwell did not withdraw his arm but directly pressed his large palm over Julian Sterling’s hand that was holding the pen. The warmth from his flesh was immediately transmitted over, causing Julian Sterling to tremble slightly.

"Loosen your grip a little." Ethan Caldwell’s deep and warm voice echoed right above the crown of his head. The man gently enveloped Julian Sterling’s hand, guiding the tip of the pen to move across the screen: "Do not try to distinguish the boundaries too rigidly. At the point of intersection, the metal can reflect the color of the wood, and the wood will also be tinged with a bit of the cold light of the metal."

Under his guidance, the stiff and dry strokes gradually became significantly softer and more natural. However, Julian Sterling’s attention at this moment had completely strayed away from the drawing. The current posture made the two of them look as if they were fully embracing each other. Julian was enveloped by the extremely pleasant scent of coffee mingled with the masculine fragrance of shower gel from the person behind him. Every small movement of Ethan Caldwell rubbed against the thin layer of clothing, sending a numbing current of electricity running down Julian’s spine.

"What kind of world do you want to create?" Ethan Caldwell suddenly asked, his hand still not releasing Julian’s hand.

Julian Sterling tilted his head slightly, his line of sight accidentally colliding with the profound gaze of Ethan Caldwell, who was looking at him attentively from an extremely close distance. He pursed his lips, speaking in a low voice: "I want to create a place where the players feel both familiar and strange at the same time. It is like... they are suddenly pulled into another world, helpless and lost, but they can still find brilliant things to continue existing."

These words were actually the innermost voice of Julian Sterling himself ever since he woke up in a daze within this unfamiliar world. He did not know whether Ethan Caldwell could understand the profound sense of loneliness hidden within that sentence, but the man’s eyes suddenly became incredibly gentle.

Ethan Caldwell let go of the drawing pen, shifting to gently massaging the joints of Julian Sterling’s fingers, which were a bit stiff from holding the pen for too long. He looked straight into Julian’s eyes, his voice firm and carrying an imperceptible coaxing tone: "They will not be lost. As long as there is an anchor point in that world, no matter how strange it is, it will also become home."

In that tranquil moment, the complex virtual world on the screen seemed to fade away completely, and the only sound Julian Sterling could hear clearly was the continuous, accelerating heartbeat within his own chest. He saw the reflection of himself inside the man’s pitch-black eyes, an image that was extremely obedient and peaceful. It seemed that the anchor point Ethan Caldwell mentioned had already silently appeared in his life.

Ethan Caldwell smiled, reaching out a hand to help Julian Sterling tuck a soft strand of hair lingering on his forehead to the back, not letting it cover Julian’s eyes. The tips of the man’s fingers absentmindedly brushed against the warm skin on Julian’s cheek, caressing it with lingering affection for a brief moment before pulling away.

Without the need for any flowery confessions of love, the quiet atmosphere, the mutual understanding in work, and the intimate, rubbing gestures at this moment had become the most authentic language. Little by little, they pulled the two pieces of a puzzle that had originally started from a commercial marriage tightly together, creating an intensely powerful vibration that could not be denied.