Xia Zhixu’s eyes were fixed on him, filled with warm light, even more dazzling and mesmerizing than the stars in the sky. Xu Qichen blinked his eyes slowly, and his gaze, which originally met his own, gradually shifted downwards from the tip of his nose to the peak of his lips.
“What kind of reward do you want?”
Xia Zhixu never expected that after living in several virtual worlds for several lifetimes, the guy in front of him who used to be too shy to even talk, would become so seductive.
“Don’t tease me,” Xia Zhixu let go of his hand and poked his nose.
Xu Qichen took the opportunity to wrap his arms around his neck and raised his eyebrows as if dissatisfied, “Who is teasing who?”
Before Xia Zhixu could react, Xu Qichen flipped them over and pressed him under his body, leaning close to his ear he said, “You haven’t kissed me since we came back from the system.” He gently rubbed his lips against Xia Zhixu’s ear, his voice as light as a veil, “Why?”
Although Xia Zhixu’s expression didn’t change much, his hands kept rubbing against Xu Qichen’s neck with increasing pressure. “Didn’t we just get together?”
Xu Qichen raised his head and, following his tone, retorted, ”Haven’t we already done everything?”
The hand that was originally touching the back of the neck moved to the front and pinched Xu Qichen’s face. Xia Zhixu deliberately laughed mischievously and said, “No, I’m still a baby.”
“Oh…” Xu Qichen nodded meaningfully and kissed Xia Zhixu’s hand with his soft lips. He extended his tongue and licked his palm.
Like a cat drinking from a bowl.
Xia Zhixu covered his mouth and wrapped his other hand around his waist. His breathing became noticeably heavy, but he still refused to let him succeed easily. He even joked, “Classmate Xu Qichen, did you ever think that you would act like this when you were 15 years old?”
The person being mocked took a hard bite of the hand that covered his lips and said, “Like what?”
Xia Zhixu silently mouthed, “Insatiable.”
Distracted, Xu Qichen sat on Xia Zhixu with his legs on either side of him. He deliberately frowned and whispered, “Hey, don’t tell me you’re this frigid in real life too.” After speaking, he couldn’t help but throw back his head and laugh.
The exposed line of his neck looked amazing.
Hearing a sudden thud, Xu Qichen looked and saw that Xia Zhixu had reached out to the bedside stand. His hand was on the photo frame, which was now face down on the table.
“What are you doing?”
Xia Zhixu grabbed his waist and pulled him onto his own body, causing their chests to collide painfully. Xu Qichen was so unprepared that he fell into his arms, trapped in his gaze.
“I originally thought that first love should be pure, and we should have a healthy relationship step-by-step.” Xia Zhixu gently pulled off Xu Qichen’s woollen hat with his hand, and his fingers threaded through his soft hair. “However, to prove to Xiao Xu that I am not frigid, I now have to do something that is not PG.”
Saying that, Xia Zhixu raised his head slightly and, under the starry sky, kissed the tenant who had lived in his heart for ten years. At the moment when their lips touched, electric currents seemed to rush through every cell in his body, causing even his heart to feel the tingling aftershocks.
So this is what true fulfilment feels like, he thought.
Although it was just a light kiss, Xu Qichen had already begun to lose control of his breath. He had spoken so confidently just now, but only now did he understand that even if they hugged and kissed each other a hundred times in the virtual world, it was not comparable to a single touch with the real him.
The warm breath lingered between the two, interweaving an ambiguous atmosphere. Xia Zhixu gently bit Xu Qichen’s full lower lip, and his strength gradually increased until Xu Qichen let out a muffled moan. His tongue took advantage of the opportunity to find the soft tongue hiding within. Neither of them was in a hurry to deepen the kiss, instead, they gently played with each other’s tongues.
Xia Zhixu tenderly held Xu Qichen’s face while his slender fingers softly caressed his cheeks, as if he were a highly cherished porcelain piece. His thumb slowly lowered, approaching his slightly opened mouth, without reaching in. He only lightly pressed and pressed at the corner of his mouth, bringing out some crystal clear droplets that had accumulated inside.
Just as Xu Qichen was completely immersed in this extremely gentle hypnosis, Xia Zhixu suddenly pressed down on the back of his head. The originally gentle tip of his tongue suddenly reached deep, and a foreign sensation hit his throat. Xu Qichen couldn’t help but make a sound, “Wuu…” Like a poor cat, he softened and completely fell into Xia Zhixu’s arms. The perpetrator lightly hooked Xu Qichen’s soft upper jaw with the tip of his tongue. He then gently entangled with his tongue for a while before finally retreating to watch Xu Qichen weakly lie on his chest, his moist lips slightly open, and his eyes covered in a layer of mist.
It was not comfortable to look at him like this, Xia Zhixu lifted him by the waist and shifted them. Xia Zhixu, who was now lying beside Xu Qichen with one hand supporting his head, gently touched his face with the other hand and said, “Xiao Xu, your weakness of limbs just from kissing is really incurable.”
At this moment, Xu Qichen felt a bit embarrassed. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. After coming back from the system, the were several times when he thought Xia Zhixu was going to kiss him, but each time it was a mistake. This time, he finally found satisfaction, and the shame that had gone missing before finally returned to his brain.
“Hey, your face is so red. Do you lack oxygen?” Xia Zhixu touched his neck and said, “The red starts from down here.”
Xu Qichen couldn’t see what he looked like right now, but he could feel a burning sensation on his face.
“So you have a constitution that blushes easily.” Xia Zhixu seemed to have discovered the New World. “Your skin is so white, and when you blush, it looks like a ripe peach.” He bit Xu Qichen’s cheek and said, “Peaches are my favourite.”
“Hooligan.” Xu Qichen’s gradually expanding sense of shame made him dare not face him, so he grabbed the woolen hat was taken off before and used it as an eye mask to cover his eyes.
Unfortunately, it could not cover anything more than his eyes.
As if punishing him, Xia Zhixu kissed his lips repeatedly. “Even though you were the one who tempted me first, you’re scolding me for being a hooligan now. Do you want me to act like a real hooligan?”
Xu Qichen shook his head frantically, “Don’t, your parents are still…”
“So you are still aware ah.” Xia Zhixu tugged at his hat, revealing a pair of wet eyes. He lowered his head and kissed Xu Qichen’s thin eyelids. “You don’t dare to act, but you still have a lustful heart, little coward.”
Xu Qichen abruptly covered his mouth, signaling the end of this conversation. Xia Zhixu nodded at him obediently and lay back down to look at the stars side by side with him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Vb yfjealoei.” Vjalrolfv, We Hlmtfc gfrafv tlr tfjv bc Wlj Itlze’r rtbeivfg, ibra lc atf Zlixs Qjs bc atf mflilcu.
“Sc, atlr lr ws rfmgfa yjrf.” Wlj Itlze mbnfgfv tlw klat j yijcxfa, “Tbe’gf atf bcis bcf ktb ygbxf lc.”
We Hlmtfc rwlifv jcv ifjcfv jujlcra tlr rtbeivfg, “Pa’r j ugfja tbcbg.”
“When I used to suffer from insomnia, I would put it on to watch, and my mood would improve. The moment when the satellite shatters is so beautiful, even if it can no longer exist in the form of a planet, it is worth it.”
Xu Qichen reached out and rubbed Xia Zhixu’s chin, “I seriously suspect that you have a tendency towards self abuse.”
Xia Zhixu patted his hand, “And whose fault is that?”
“I don’t know, I have no idea, but it’s not mine.” Xu Qichen retracted his hand to hug Xia Zhixu’s waist. Breathing in peacefully, he said, “15-year-old Xia Zhixu was indeed a fake sun that shatters at a touch.”
Xia Zhixu didn’t expect him to bring up this matter and looked at him with a smile, “Oh, you still remember?”
“Don’t underestimate the memory of humanities students.”
“Yes, you’re a genius.” Xia Zhixu grabbed his hand and gently pinched it. “It’s been tough for me, too. My instrument of crime was confiscated for ten years, and only returned now.”
Xu Qichen cleared his throat and solemnly said in the tone of Xia Zhixu’s brother. “If you fall in love with an instrument of crime, you must be prepared to be stabbed and left for death.”
Xia Zhixu poked him on the forehead and said, “Do your worst.”
“Say…” Xia Zhixu, lying in bed, stared blankly at the starry sky. “If we hadn’t missed each other back then, what would we be like now?”
Xu Qichen looked at the small universe and remained silent for a moment before speaking faintly. “Supposition is my least favourite sentence structure. The clause following the word ‘if’ is always false, and the outcome makes for meaningless discussion.”
He’s so serious.
Xia Zhixu also hugged him, touched his back, and smiled, “Toddle Xu must have been the coolest child in the whole kindergarten.”
Xu Qichen pinched his arm and whispered, “I think the result now is already perfect. We met when we were not yet mature, and got together at the most suitable age. The timing is just right.”
“En, just right.”
Xu Qichen’s gaze suddenly shifted to the ring in his hand, and then he remembered the matter. He raised his hand to his face and said, “Hey, when did you put this on me?”
“In the car, while you were sleeping.”
“Isn’t that too casual?”
“I bought it a long time ago.” Xia Zhixu held his ring finger, “After so long, I just couldn’t wait to put it on you.”
A long time ago? “When?”
Xia Zhixu pinched his ring finger and said, “In my sophomore year, when I made my first bucket of gold, I ordered this ring and spent all the money.” He laughed and said, “Foolish, right? I didn’t even know if we would ever get together.”
Xu Qichen stared at his hand. The design of the ring was simple, emitting a beautiful platinum luster, with a small sapphire set in the center, like that shattered satellite. He arched upwards, leaned in front of Xia Zhixu, and kissed his cheek. “Didn’t you make one for yourself?”
Xia Zhixu shook his head and said, “Before giving it to you, I wore it on my pinky.”
Xu Qichen took off the ring and hooked his little finger with his ring finger.
“What?”
“Handover ceremony.” Xu Qichen was about to put it on when he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be an engraving on the ring. He lifted it to his eyes and carefully peeked at the French phrase on it.
Mon trésor.
My treasure.
He was stunned, recalling the cane he used in the Republic of China virtual world.
He put the ring back on his ring finger and said, “You got it engraved in French.”
“Because Xia Xiqing told me that you took French as an elective in college.” He pulled Xu Qichen’s hand to him and kissed the ring that was stained with his warmth. “If it’s me wearing it, it’s your name wrapped around me. If it’s you wearing it, it means you’re my treasure.”
“You’ve really thought of everything.”
Xu Qichen remembered the words that Xia Zhixu, wearing Song Yuanyan’s vest, said to him on the cruise deck.
[Leave this spot for me.]
A warm current surged in his heart, realising that he was so cherished without his knowledge. Looking back, the self-blame and self-pity of those days were actually just false sadness.
“Little sun.”
Xia Zhixu was confused, “Why do you call me that?”
Without explanation, Xu Qichen looked at his profile and asked him, “Do you still shine when I’m not by your side?”
Xia Zhixu shook his head.
“Then what do you do when you’re not shining?”
“Accumulate energy.” Xia Zhixu leaned over and kissed Xu Qichen’s lips. “So I can shine for you when you appear.”
If parallel universes existed, Xu Qichen thought the one they were in was surely the one in which they were the happiest. He was sure of that.
The two of them just hugged each other and accidentally fell asleep. It wasn’t until lunchtime that they were awakened by the thumping bedroom door.
“Come out and eat, wake up!”
Xia Zhixu quickly responded and struggled to open his eyes. He found Xu Qichen lying next to him like a little kitten, with his face facing him sideways, and his slightly curled fingers gently gripping his shoulder.
In the virtual world, they had slept together before, but when they returned to reality, he found that this feeling was ten thousand times happier than the simulated one.
He reached out his hand and pinched Xu Qichen’s nose. As he was still drowsy, he opened his mouth, hummed twice, and moved his head, trying to shake off Xia Zhixu’s hand.
So cute. Cute enough to explode.
Xia Zhixu straightened Xu Qichen’s body and turned him over. Then, he kissed his sleeping face carefully, his eyebrows, and eyes, leaving no space untouched. Xu Qichen shoved him away with his hand and said in a sticky voice, “Zhixu… stop messing around…”
This was the first time he had heard Xu Qichen call him that, setting off fireworks in his heart, making him kiss Xu Qichen even more vigorously.
Xu Qichen finally couldn’t stand the disturbance. He opened his eyes and saw Xia Zhixu staring at him, making him want to shrink back into the blanket. Just as he did, he was pulled out and said, “Mom asked us to come eat, get up quickly.”
This made Xu Qichen’s ears heat up.
Why was he being treated like his wife?
Mr. Xia had gone to work, so there were only the three of them at the lunch table. Nevertheless, Mrs. Xia still made a table full of dishes. Xu Qichen glanced at the dining table and saw that half of the dishes were filled with a lot of chili peppers.
“Mom, how am I supposed to eat this,” Xia Zhixu complained.
Mrs. Xia said while setting the table, “It’s not for you. Chenchen, Zhixu said you love spicy food, so I made a few more dishes. Try them.”
Xu Qichen took a large bite out of one of them. It was good. He quickly nodded, “Delicious.”
Xia Zhixu shook his head pitifully and said, “I thought you being here meant I wouldn’t be the lowest-ranking person in this family. How unexpected…”
Mrs. Xia tapped his bowl, “Eat.”
After lunch, Xia Zhixu received a phone call. After the call, he sat next to Xu Qichen. Xu Qichen was using a fork to pick a piece of watermelon. But before he could put it in his mouth, Xia Zhixu grabbed his hand and the watermelon fell into his mouth instead.
“Let’s go out later,” Xia Zhixu swallowed the watermelon. “Xia Xiqing has returned to China, and Chen Fang asked if we would go pick him up together.”
Xu Qichen nodded, “Sure.”
“You agree so easily when it’s about Xia Xiqing.” Xia Zhixu pinched his face and got up to put on his coat. “Let’s go.”
After talking to his mother, they went down to the car. Xia Zhixu suddenly asked Xu Qichen, “Hey, you and Xia Xiqing got along so well in high school. Why didn’t you fall for him?”
Xu Qichen held the lollipop he took from the coffee table in his mouth and answered vaguely, “It’s because we don’t like each other that we got along so well.”
Xia Zhixu looked at him with an expression that said, ‘What kind of logic is that?’
Xu Qichen took out the lollipop and smiled at him, “After all, a coward like me will always be hiding from the person I like.”
Xia Zhixu chuckled and turned the steering wheel, “At least you know yourself.”
They drove to the airport. On reaching, Xia Zhixu stood in the airport lobby talking on the phone, while simultaneously looking for Chen Fang’s figure. Xu Qichen saw Chen Fang before him and tugged at his arm, “Is that him?”
Xia Zhixu followed Xu Qichen’s hand and saw a young man wearing a leather jacket and a one-size shirt. It really was Chen Fang. “Aren’t you nearsighted? How did you see him?”
Xu Qichen squinted, “Intuition.”
Xia Zhixu hung up the phone and walked towards Chen Fang.
“Aiyo Bro, you came pretty quickly.” Chen Fang came up and bumped Xia Zhixu with his shoulder. He saw a tall and fair young man following behind him and was stunned for half a second. “This… Xu Qichen?”
Xu Qichen smiled at him and stood beside Xia Zhixu, “Long time no see.”
Chen Fang was both surprised and happy, and his expression changed again and again within half a minute. In the end, he only patted Xia Zhixu’s shoulder and said, “Well done, congratulations, congratulations, congratulations, congratulations.”
Xia Zhixu pushed his hand away with disdain and said, “Why are you happier than me?”
“But of course!” Chen Fang put his hand into his pants pocket and rolled his eyes. “I wonder who it was who was so broody all the time that I felt sick just looking at him. Xu Qichen, did you know, this guy…”
Before he could finish speaking, Xia Zhixu covered his mouth and said, “One more word and I’ll call your mother and tell her your salary card number.”
Chen Fang quickly shook his head and put his hands together in a gesture of begging.
Watching the two of them, Xu Qichen felt like he was back in high school.
After enough commotion, Chen Fang also became serious and asked, “When did you two get together? So suddenly?”
Xu Qichen glanced at Xia Zhixu as Xia Zhixu replied, “Today, why?”
“Wow, well done.” Chen Fang applauded, “Not bad ah, ten years of pining has finally paid off. The world is really beautiful.”
Next, they walked together towards the arrival gate of Xia Xiqing’s flight. After waiting for a while, they saw people starting to come out. This time, there were too many people, and Xu Qichen’s intuition was no longer effective.
“Speaking of, I also haven’t seen Xiqing in three years.”
Xia Zhixu gave him a light smack on the back of the head, “Don’t call him so intimately.”
Chen Fang gave Xia Zhixu a disdainful glance and said, “If I had known you were going to set off flash bombs today, I should have worn a pair of sunglasses.” As he was teasing him, he saw a thin and tall man walking through the aisle, wearing an oversized white T-shirt and light-coloured jeans. His chin-length hair was tied up halfway, and he was drowsily pushing his suitcase.
“Oi! Xia Xiqing!”
The person whose name was called just lifted his head, looked at them from a distance, gestured OK, and walked towards them.
“Why did you grow your hair so long?” Chen Fang tugged at the back of his head, “I thought it was a girl from afar.”
“Busy helping the professor organize an exhibition, too lazy to cut it.” Xia Xiqing patted his hand and said, “Does any girl have a figure as great as mine?” After saying that, he looked at Xu Qichen and Xia Zhixu with a very playful look. “You two are finally together? If it took another year, my heart would have withered from all the fretting.”
“Are you staying for good this time?” Xu Qichen asked.
“I’m probably not going back.” He was about to continue, but he saw Xu Qichen’s expression change. Someone patted his shoulder. He turned around and saw a girl.
“Uhm…”
Xia Xiqing immediately remembered. “Oh, I nearly forgot.” He pulled off the rubberband holding his hair together and handed it to her. He gave her a false angelic smile, “Thank you.”
“No…” The girl looked very embarrassed. “Uhm, can I have your WeChat?”
The three of them simply watched as Xia Xiqing, with a smile on his face, grabbed Chen Fang’s arm and said, “WeChat… why don’t you ask my boyfriend?”
The girl’s expression changed, but in the end, she weakly withdrew her hand, softly apologised, and then grabbed her suitcase and left.
As soon as the person left, Chen Fang quickly withdrew his arm and looked at the girl’s back, sighing, “Sister, some people are not worth it.”
“My hair kept rubbing on my face when I was trying to sleep, so the girl next to me lent me a hair tie. It’s not my fault.”
Xia Zhixu clicked his tongue and said, “Picking flowers and flirting with grass.”
“Yes, you’re the cleanest, choosing a single tree to water. After nurturing it for ten years, you really harvested this little sapling.” Xia Xiqing grabbed Xu Qichen and said, “Let’s go find a fun place to drink. It’s been so long.”
No one expected that the fun place Xia Xiqing mentioned was the most famous gay bar in the city.
Xia Zhixu looked at the men on the dance floor with an expression that couldn’t be more ugly. He tightly grabbed Xu Qichen’s hand and said, “No, what kind of wine are you drinking here in broad daylight?”
“My nephew ah, don’t you know that there is a saying called ‘illicit affairs are carried out during the day’?” Xia Xiqing went to the bar and asked for a bottle of black beer. He bit the cap off the bottle and glanced at Xia Zhixu’s hand. “Hey, you’d better protect yourself when you enter here. After all, there are only unreliable sisters here. Tall and handsome people like you cannot be more popular.” Then he turned to look at Chen Fang again, “You too, little straight man.”
Xu Qichen glanced at the people around him and instinctively leaned towards Xia Zhixu, holding his hand.
This small act of declaring sovereignty was very beneficial to Xia Zhixu, and he felt happy in his heart. He thought to himself that Xia Xiqing was quite capable of handling things.
Nevertheless, this place was really quite chaotic making Xia Zhixu feel like something would happen.
