Chapter 69
Shi Ye’s palm rested on his slightly rounded belly.
Xia Fengsheng’s waist was very slim, but as an adult man over 180 cm tall, his frame was by no means small by ordinary standards. In fact, he stood out in a crowd wherever he went, always noticeably taller than the people around him.
Long arms, long legs. To most people, Xia Fengsheng counted as a very big guy, yet Shi Ye’s hand could still cover most of his abdomen.
Xia Fengsheng narrowed his eyes faintly as he looked at him, those eyes seeming as if they could pull a person right in.
Shi Ye’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He swallowed.
After eating their fill, it was as though the carbs had gone straight to both their heads. Neither of them was thinking clearly anymore.
Xia Fengsheng’s scent drifted around him, and in Shi Ye’s mind there were only two words.
Go home.
—
“Sheng’er… Sheng’er?”
Inside the large flat rented by Dawn Studio, Qin Buming pushed at Xia Fengsheng’s shoulder. Ever since he had come to the studio and sat down on the sofa, he had been nodding off nonstop. His head was dipping so frequently he was practically turning into a woodpecker.
If he kept nodding like that, his neck was going to snap.
Out of a senior brother’s sense of duty to look after his junior, Qin Buming decided to wake him up.
He called him for a minute or two before Xia Fengsheng finally opened his eyes with a blank face and said in perfect seriousness, “What? I’m listening.”
Qin Buming: …
Listening to what? He had not even started talking yet.
The studio was currently on break, and there were not many classes at school either. Everyone was in that loose, relaxed state that came with vacation. Qin Buming was curious what exactly had worn Xia Fengsheng out this badly.
Seeing how drowsy he was, Qin Buming said, “What did you do last night? You’re this sleepy? Go sleep in the break room.”
There was a bed in there. It was much more comfortable than the sofa.
During the vacation period for Dawn Studio, Zhan Shengyao had said in the group chat yesterday that today she was making fresh vegetable juice for them to drink. Qin Buming happened to be busy writing his thesis lately, and once again it had come to that annual season where he was supposed to graduate.
He could not even remember which “Tianlin year” this was anymore; all he knew was that the thesis was still just as soul-crushing as ever.
Zheng Xing had simply slept in the studio last night, and the other three had all come early this morning.
The moment Qin Buming walked in, he saw Xia Fengsheng nodding off like crazy.
What on earth had he been doing last night?
Xia Fengsheng caught the key word in his sentence and said sternly, “Nothing got done.”
His eyes were full of ambition, with towering unwillingness hidden inside.
It was as if some invisible flame was burning around him.
Qin Buming: ?
Nothing got done? What was he trying to do?
It had been a long time since Qin Buming had seen Xia Fengsheng look this fiercely driven. When he had been dozing earlier, with his eyes closed and that cold, proud aura about him, he had looked almost otherworldly. Now that those ink-black eyes were open, they were filled with sheer unwillingness.
What kind of thing could leave Xia Fengsheng unwilling like this?
Qin Buming found it novel, but thinking about it more closely also made him uneasy. It had better not be something serious. Concerned, he asked, “Sheng’er? What’s wrong?”
Xia Fengsheng’s cold face remained silent.
The next second—
Xia Fengsheng: Psyduck clutching his head in agony.
Qin Buming: !
For a split second he thought the person in front of him was Shi Ye.
Sure enough, after spending too long with someone, your actions and habits really did start to resemble theirs more and more.
If he had gone full Psyduck mode, then it probably was not anything too serious after all. Qin Buming’s heart settled a little.
Just then, Zhan Shengyao called for Qin Buming from the tea room because the blender she was using to make juice had broken.
“Old Qin, come help take a look! The machine won’t work!”
She had clearly assembled it according to the instructions, so why would it not spin?
Qin Buming got up from the sofa to check what was going on at Zhan Shengyao’s side, while Xia Fengsheng remained seated, gazing at the scenery outside the window.
Outside, everything was lush and green. In reality, Xia Fengsheng’s head was full of yellow thoughts.
He was still unwilling about not having managed to eat Shi Ye yesterday.
After they came back from the ramen shop, he had thought that, with the mood at its peak, the two of them could finally move on to the next step. Who would have thought that right after the shirts came off, they would not be able to go any further?
Xia Fengsheng had seen Shi Ye shirtless plenty of times. He had seen enough that it no longer felt like anything special.
But Shi Ye, on the other hand, had never seen Xia Fengsheng’s upper body truly bare before.
Back when they were soaking in the hot spring, Xia Fengsheng had still been wearing swimwear, covering himself up tight. He did not like exposing skin. Even in summer, he only wore short sleeves occasionally.
Usually, even in looser clothes, at most you could glimpse a bit of collarbone and chest. Beyond that, nothing.
But now that the clothes were off, Xia Fengsheng’s upper body was on full display.
Because so many formal occasions required him to wear suits, he went running and worked out regularly. He had the textbook handsome lean-muscle build.
His chest was not flat either; there was a subtle curve formed by training, and on top of that his skin was naturally pale, so the sight of his chest… before either of them had even taken their pants off, they had already toppled into the big bed.
And in the end, they still did not get anything done.
By the time the first stage was over, both of them had already sobered up enough to start feeling embarrassed again, too shy to continue any further.
Before falling asleep last night, Shi Ye and Xia Fengsheng had made an agreement: they absolutely had to come up with a way to overcome this shyness.
There was no time limit. Whoever thought of a solution first would tell the other first.
Last night, during that first stage, aside from staring at the ceiling, Xia Fengsheng had mostly been covering his own eyes with his hand and had hardly dared to look down. It was too mortifying. Even now, the moment he shut his eyes, all he could see was Shi Ye sucking on his chest.
His fingers pressed at his brow as he regretted all over again that things had not gone to the finish. He was an adult; of course he felt desire toward the person he liked.
But every single time, it was just too embarrassing.
Not long after, Zhan Shengyao came out of the pantry with her homemade vegetable-and-fruit juice. There were four cups in total, all green. One for each of them.
Zhan Shengyao said, “I looked up the recipe online. One cup of this is worth ten boxes of supplements.”
They had all been so run-down from work a while back. Time to make up for it properly with this vegetable juice.
Xia Fengsheng lowered his head and sniffed the juice in his cup. It smelled like grass.
For a moment, he felt as if he had transformed into a cow on the prairie.
Zhan Shengyao raised her glass. “Cheers!”
The other three clinked glasses with her, then let out a “moo” and started drinking.
The taste was not exactly delicious, but it was not unpalatable either. Thinking about the bitterness of life… Xia Fengsheng got as far as the opening of the thought and then could not continue.
Lately, he had been very happy.
At noon, Zheng Xing suggested going to a restaurant near the school to eat. Xia Fengsheng had no objection, and Zhan Shengyao thought it sounded fine too.
Qin Buming told them to go first and grab a table. Restaurants around Jing University were packed every day at lunchtime, and waiting an hour for a table was common. He still had some things to finish, and would head over later.
Zheng Xing drove, and the few of them went to the restaurant near the school.
.
“Damn, you’re only getting up now?”
His roommate came back and saw Zhou Qiong, his hair sticking up like a chicken nest, stretching on the bed. The roommate had gone to the library at six in the morning to check?? and do data work, and after exhausting himself the whole morning, he had come back to the dorm intending to rest for ten minutes.
Who would have thought that when he opened the door, Zhou Qiong had only just woken up?
The contrast between their fatigue and Zhou Qiong’s refreshed ease was painfully obvious.
“Yeah, so what?” Zhou Qiong groped for his phone to check the time and only then realized it was already past eleven. He added, “Isn’t this a perfectly normal time to get up?”
Not everyone was a beast of burden like him, after all.
Looking at his roommate’s haggard face, yellowed and gaunt from slaving over his thesis every day, Zhou Qiong felt inwardly delighted, though he said nothing.
Being born well was a skill. Ordinary people simply could not manage it.
His roommate left early and came back late every day. Sometimes when Zhou Qiong had already finished gaming and was about to sleep at some godforsaken hour, the other guy’s computer would still be on, and he would be sitting at his desk clawing at his hair in misery, agonizing over graduation.
Zhou Qiong, however, did not need to worry about graduating at all. All he had to do was crook a finger, and an article someone else had written through blood, sweat, and tears could become his.
Sometimes he wanted to tell his roommate not to bother trying so hard anymore. What was the point? Even if he got a doctorate, once he stepped out into the world, he would still just be working for people like them. Did he really think a diploma alone could let him leap across class boundaries and soar into the sky? The toad was dreaming.
But he never said it aloud. Zhou Qiong hummed a little tune while sitting at the desk ordering takeout. Looking over at his roommate, who was seizing his brief rest before heading back out again, Zhou Qiong smugly told himself he was a kind person—far too above humiliating the hopes of common people like that.
If his roommate knew how thoughtful he was, he would probably cry with gratitude.
Once the takeout order was placed, a new message popped up on his phone. It was from his uncle.
Yang Liwan.
The sudden message startled Zhou Qiong.
Yang Liwan: “How’s your graduation thesis? Did you get it from Xia Fengsheng yet?”
Sitting in his office with a face full of irritation, Yang Liwan felt miserable. Without Xia Fengsheng working like an ox and a horse for him, he had been so busy lately his feet barely touched the ground. He could not reach Qin Buming either—messages went unanswered, as if one by one they had decided to revolt.
At the same time, he had found out that Qin Buming and Xia Fengsheng had started a studio together with several others.
It looked like they really intended to break free of his control altogether.
The thought made Yang Liwan want to laugh in disdain. Did a few green kids banding together really think they could take him on?
He had not clawed his way to his current position as an associate professor at the nation’s top university by eating free rice.
Still, now that Xia Fengsheng was gone, many matters had indeed become far more cumbersome and urgent.
Back then, Xia Fengsheng had been the capable right-hand man Yang Liwan had chosen carefully from among the crowd. In a place like Jing University, where geniuses were everywhere, the fact that he could still stand out on his own said everything about his value and ability.
Then Yang Liwan remembered his nephew’s unfinished graduation thesis. He wondered whether he had gotten it yet, so today he sent a message to ask.
Zhou Qiong replied: “Uncle, I’ve already got it.”
He really got it?
Yang Liwan’s fatty, heavily creased eyelids shot open. He had not expected Zhou Qiong to actually manage to get the thing out of Xia Fengsheng’s hands.
Xia Fengsheng was as clever as a fox. For an ordinary person, competing with him intellectually was impossible.
Although he had lost his memory, half a year had already passed—he should have been on the verge of recovering by now.
Yang Liwan had avoided approaching him personally because he feared Xia Fengsheng would use his amnesia as a pretext to play tricks and destroy his articles and data.
Who would have thought Zhou Qiong would actually be this capable?
Yang Liwan: “Send it over. Let me take a look.”
Zhou Qiong quickly pulled out his computer and inserted the USB drive containing Xia Fengsheng’s computer files. He found the file labeled “graduation thesis” and sent it to Yang Liwan.
After sending it, he felt entirely refreshed.
There, was not the graduation thesis problem solved?
He looked at his roommate’s back, contempt in his eyes. Only an idiot would personally write every word of his own thesis.
On the other end, Yang Liwan clicked open the file Zhou Qiong had sent over.
The next second, a tidal wave of curses came rushing at him.
“Ever since Pangu split heaven and earth apart, Yang Liwan has been a pig, his face like the aftermath of a massacre, his entire being a taboo among the Hui. In ancient times, villagers chased him with rakes for stealing their crops. After several thousand years, he has grown smarter: if someone ever comes after him, he will run straight into a halal restaurant. He possesses a kind of magic that makes anyone who sees him immediately want to vomit. In private, he is forever looking for feed to stuff himself with…”
Yang Liwan stared at the words on the computer and instantly went red with fury.
ZHOU QIONG!!!!!!
—
Meanwhile, at the restaurant, Xia Fengsheng and the others sat around the table as the waiter laid out the dishes one by one.
Once the food was all served, Qin Buming arrived late.
His timing was impeccable—he showed up exactly when it was time to eat, without making his friends wait any longer.
For a moment, Qin Buming felt impressed with himself.
And right behind him came Zhou Qiong, who had rushed over after seeing a school-forum post saying Xia Fengsheng was eating here.
The moment Zhou Qiong entered the place, he stormed straight toward their table, radiating rage. Together with his square face, he looked like an enraged potato freshly dug out of the dirt. He came in right on Qin Buming’s heels.
The first thing Xia Fengsheng said when he saw Qin Buming was, “Did the taxi not auto-charge your phone? Why did the driver follow you in?”
Zhou Qiong: …
Damn it.
He grabbed Xia Fengsheng by the collar. “About the thesis—did you do that on purpose?”
How dare he toy with him like this? What the hell were those things in the graduation thesis file?
The file he had sent Yang Liwan was full of nothing but insults directed at the man. Tens of thousands of words, and not a single line repeated. Yang Liwan had called him up and cursed him out so viciously that Zhou Qiong’s face had gone green after opening the file and reading it through.
Xia Fengsheng had done it on purpose. He had to have known he would do whatever it took to get hold of the article.
So he had deliberately written up a file labeled “graduation thesis” and left it there for him to take.
And the other papers on the USB drive were all useless drafts too—either already published or half-finished, completely unusable.
“You did this on purpose just to mess with me!”
Xia Fengsheng smiled. “Mess with you?”
It was his first time seeing someone both this stupid and this shameless.
Qin Buming stepped forward and yanked Zhou Qiong’s hand off Xia Fengsheng’s collar, shoving him back.
Xia Fengsheng’s expression did not change. He merely raised his hands and smoothed his collar slowly, his contemptuous gaze settling on Zhou Qiong as though he were looking at an ant.
“If I were actually messing with you, it would not even require me to lift a hand.”
Zhou Qiong was perfectly capable of being stupid enough to run in circles all by himself. Stealing files and not even understanding what he had stolen.
Looking at Zhou Qiong’s twisted, furious face, Xia Fengsheng said in a cold voice, “If anything, I ought to thank you. If you had not stolen it, I would never have gotten the chance to curse your uncle like that.”
Just imagining Zhou Qiong sending that file marked “graduation thesis” to Yang Liwan made Xia Fengsheng want to burst out laughing.
How could someone so stupid exist?
To steal something and not even check it first. His parents must have used every possible method to preserve that pregnancy back then.
“So what—you stole my work, and now you have the nerve to come here and make a scene with me?” Xia Fengsheng said. “You’ve really got quite the face on you.”
Zhou Qiong spat out, “You—”
Xia Fengsheng cut him off. “Couldn’t you tell?”
Zhou Qiong frowned. “Tell what?”
Xia Fengsheng said, “Why would a student who won’t graduate until next year have a graduation thesis already finished on his computer?”
Zhou Qiong froze all over.
“You’re simply stupid beyond belief,” Xia Fengsheng murmured close to him. “Idiot.”
Even more idiotic was that he had actually come to find him and complain about it so self-righteously.
Thinking his uncle was an associate professor and Xia Fengsheng just a student, thinking that put him one level above him, and that Xia Fengsheng would not dare do anything to him.
It was precisely because there were so many beasts in this society who abused their power that a fool like this could be produced.
The commotion drew attention. Customers all around began looking over.
Since the restaurant was close to the school, almost all the diners were Jing University students. Xia Fengsheng had appeared on the school forum a few times, so someone recognized him. Soon people were peeking at Zhou Qiong, who was making trouble for Xia Fengsheng, then lowering their heads and whispering among themselves.
Zhou Qiong hated him so much his teeth itched, but with Xia Fengsheng’s side having four people and the advantage in numbers, he did not dare do anything rash.
“Just you wait. Let’s see whether you can graduate this time next year.”
With that, he turned and left in a hurry.
Xia Fengsheng did not so much as blink at the threat. His relationship with Yang Liwan had long since reached the point of mutual destruction.
If Qin Buming could not graduate smoothly this year, he was not going to sit still either.
Come to think of it, he really ought to thank Zhou Qiong. That idiot’s unlawful little stunt had handed him another bargaining chip.
—
“Mmh… ah…”
Xia Fengsheng had his arms around Shi Ye’s head, eyes closed.
Shi Ye lifted his face from Xia Fengsheng’s chest, the corners of his mouth damp, his eyes hazy. “Can you call me husband?”
Xia Fengsheng opened his eyes just a sliver to look at him. “Hus—”
“My god!”
His partner yanked the thin blanket off him in one go.
Shi Ye, suddenly exposed to the air: O.o?
What the hell?
He propped himself up from the sofa in the studio, the dream cut off halfway through. Xia Fengsheng had just been about to call him husband when he woke up just like that.
Yesterday he had not heard it, and now even in a dream he had missed it.
Shi Ye immediately broke down and snatched back his blanket.
“What are you doing!”
The blanket—his security blanket—had been given to him by Xia Fengsheng. One day Xia Fengsheng had asked whether he took naps at noon, and when Shi Ye said yes, Xia Fengsheng had found him a thin blanket to use while sleeping.
He had been right in the middle of a sweet dream, only to be woken up like this.
His partner jumped in fright. “Well… I came to tell you to write the song.”
The song was not finished. And here he was sleeping, sleeping, sleeping, under the blanket with a blissful face. Anyone seeing him would think he was at home.
The man silently swallowed the words back down. He should have waited until Shi Ye woke up.
Shi Ye rubbed the back of his neck as he sat up. “Didn’t I tell you already? I’ve got no inspiration.”
Composing and arranging both needed inspiration.
No inspiration, my foot.
His partner wore the expression of someone utterly unconvinced. This time the song they needed was supposed to be a sweet love song. Lately Shi Ye came to the studio practically bubbling with little pink hearts—one glance and anyone could tell he was in the honeymoon stage of a romance. How could he possibly be incapable of writing it?
He was dragging his feet, that was all, his mind full of nothing but his relationship.
Every time they went looking for him, he was holding his phone and searching all kinds of nonsense online.
—One hundred sweet ways to get along with your lover.
—The secret to staying with the person you love forever.
—How can I get my lover to cuddle up to me on their own.
He searched everything except writing the song.
This could not go on. He had to make Shi Ye finish the song as soon as possible.
Preferably while Shi Ye was still drowning in this syrupy sweet state.
After waking Shi Ye from his nap, the partner returned to the workroom.
He took out his phone and messaged Chen Jiyan to ask who Shi Ye listened to most.
That afternoon, while Shi Ye was sitting in front of the equipment absent-mindedly arranging the music, his phone buzzed with a message.
Sweetheart: What are you doing?
Sweetheart: I bought some little toys. Come back tonight and let’s play together.
Shi Ye immediately picked up the phone and replied, “What little toys?”
Video games?
The other side fell silent. A few minutes later, a photo came through.
Inside the picture was a whole spread of sex toys.
Shi Ye: O.O
He could not help recalling what they had said before bed last night—they each had to find a way to overcome their shyness.
If they used toys first, then over time they would get less shy, and slowly they would be able to handle direct physical contact too.
Staring at the items in the photo, blood rushed to Shi Ye’s head.
“I’m coming back right now.”
Sweetheart: Finish your work before you come home.
The reply was cold and merciless, utterly Xia Fengsheng in style.
Shi Ye instantly became as energized as if he had been injected with chicken blood. He turned on the composition equipment and began furiously writing the score.
The melody came out smoothly. After drafting one version, he listened carefully and revised the parts he did not like.
Once he slipped into work mode, he became completely focused. By four in the afternoon, after spending three hours shut in the workroom, Shi Ye had finally finished the song and shot out of the studio like a bullet.
His partner: ?
What had just flown past?
But looking at the completed draft in his hand, the man burst into joy. It was high quality. Perfect.
On the way home, Shi Ye was practically kicking up dust. He had just parked in the lot when his phone rang.
It was Ding Qizhen.
The moment he picked up, Ding Qizhen’s despairing voice wailed, “It’s over. I got scammed out of three million.”
Shi Ye frowned. Scammed?
“You didn’t download the national anti-fraud app?”
Ding Qizhen went on to explain. Ever since childhood, he had never really had any expensive hobbies. Before college his interests had basically been limited to things like gaming. But after going abroad to study, he had fallen in love with going out on yachts, and he had bought one under his own name. Even without taking it out to sea, a yacht cost millions a year just in maintenance.
This morning, Ding Qizhen had gotten a call from an insurance company saying they could cover two years of yacht maintenance for just three million.
He had thought it was real, so he transferred the money right away. After all, it sounded like a good deal—it was much cheaper than what he normally paid to maintain the yacht.
Who knew that when he called back, the number had become a dead line?
After hearing it, Shi Ye had a headache. He could not understand how Ding Qizhen had fallen for such an obvious scam.
Ding Qizhen whimpered, “You don’t understand. You just haven’t met the scam that’s meant for you.”
Shi Ye laughed. As if that could happen to him.
After comforting Ding Qizhen a few times, he hung up. He still had to hurry home and play with the toys.
Once home, Shi Ye rushed excitedly into the living room, only to find Xia Fengsheng sitting on the sofa reading some files.
Shi Ye went over and sat down beside him, face full of anticipation. “Let’s play with the toys right now.”
Xia Fengsheng removed his frameless glasses. “What toys?”
Shi Ye blinked, stunned. “Didn’t you buy a bunch of… toys?”
Xia Fengsheng looked baffled. “No.”
Shi Ye froze in place, as if something had suddenly occurred to him. He grabbed his phone in disbelief.
On WeChat, there were two contacts both named Sweetheart.
Shi Ye’s trembling finger tapped into the Sweetheart who had said they had bought toys, and up popped his partner’s Moments page.
Shi Ye: …
He blacked out on the spot.
You just haven’t met the scam that’s meant for you.
—
Being shy whenever they were together while fully awake was not a sustainable arrangement. They could not keep sneaking around in the middle of the night like thieves every time they wanted intimacy.
After finishing the documents, Xia Fengsheng began searching online: What should I do if I’m always shy around my lover?
The top comment said: Once you’ve cooked together, it’ll be fine.
The answer was brief and to the point.
Xia Fengsheng frowned. He was an adult; of course he knew what “cook together” meant here.
But would that not be too fast? They had only just gotten to the stage of lips touching. No, last night they had made further progress—his chest was fine now too.
On the other side, Shi Ye had not been idle either. He was asking almost the same question online.
They could not keep restricting all their affection to the middle of the night after falling asleep.
The internet’s answer for him was: Good cooking is the key to a long-lasting relationship. Even if you argue every day, as long as one person cooks well, you won’t break up.
Shi Ye’s face turned red. By “cooking,” did they mean in bed…?
The two of them were both highly action-oriented. The moment they got their answer, they immediately turned to each other to put it into practice.
Shi Ye said, blushing, “Shouldn’t our relationship move one step closer now?”
Xia Fengsheng raised his eyes. “You saw that solution online too?”
Shi Ye nodded.
In matters of romance, the two of them were strikingly in sync.
Something subtle spread through the air between them.
They did not even go back to the bedroom. Right there in the living room, dry wood met fierce fire. With no technique whatsoever, they simply pressed their mouths clumsily together a few times as a sort of warm-up.
Nowhere under heaven was there another pair warming up like these two.
Since stripping in front of each other made them shy, then they just would not strip. They would keep their clothes on and only undo the essential bits.
Once they “cooked” to the finish, they would naturally stop feeling shy. Then eventually they would be able to take all their clothes off and cook properly. Other intimate things would also fall into place.
Soon, after kissing a few times, Xia Fengsheng could feel himself heating up. And yet at this point, both of them were still perfectly neatly dressed.
He patted Shi Ye’s waist. “Shi Ye, turn around.”
Shi Ye obediently did as he was told.
Behind him came the soft rustling sound of a belt being undone.
Shi Ye’s heart trembled with excitement. Xia Fengsheng was too embarrassed to undo his pants in front of him.
The next second, Xia Fengsheng’s hand touched his butt.
Xia Fengsheng said, “Pain is normal.”
Shi Ye: ?????
