Chapter 62: Mastering the User Manual
[Note: The chapter title is a pun. (x? y?n kè fèi) sounds similar to (làn shú yú x?n), meaning “to be thoroughly familiar with something.” The original phrase plays on words to suggest someone knows the “user manual” (metaphor for someone’s body) inside out.]
Xie Sicheng was massaging Chi Wang’s foot.
Chi Wang lay there without getting up, showing a bit of a lazy attitude.
Xie reminded him, “You can start applying the stretch mark cream this month.”
Chi Wang blinked. “Oh, I remember.”
Xie paused for a moment, tilting his head slightly to look at him. His eyes were as deep as a pool, and in a low voice, he said, “I can help you.”
Chi Wang replied warily, “No need, I can do it myself.”
Xie said nothing more.
After massaging for a while, waiting for the bruise to dissipate and the swelling to reduce, Xie released his hand. He placed Chi Wang’s leg back under the quilt and said, “Let’s sleep.”
The lights went out, and the room plunged into darkness. However, Chi Wang couldn’t fall asleep.
It wasn’t that he wasn’t tired; he was restless and irritable, which was why he uncharacteristically played with the quilt and his own leg.
Chi Wang twisted and turned under the covers, trying to find a comfortable sleeping position, but no matter how he moved, he couldn’t find one.
The room was warm, the temperature just right, yet he felt a bit hot. He couldn’t help but stretch his leg out of the quilt, pressing it on top of the blanket.
Noticing his movements, Xie asked, “Can’t sleep?”
Chi Wang replied, “…Yeah, feeling a bit hot.”
“Hot?”
The room temperature should be quite comfortable; this was the first time Chi Wang said he felt hot.
Xie reached out to touch Chi Wang’s face. Startled, Chi Wang said, “What are you doing?”
Without speaking, Xie’s palm rested on Chi Wang’s forehead. Realizing his intention, Chi Wang said, “I don’t have a fever.”
Xie got up, turned on the nightlight, and lowered the temperature of the central air conditioning.
After finishing, he looked down at Chi Wang.
At this moment, Chi Wang had pulled down the quilt, revealing his entire face and a section of his neck. Because he was lying down, his hair was tousled upwards, exposing a smooth, fair forehead that accentuated his picturesque features—rosy lips and white teeth.
…Tonight, Chi Wang’s lips seemed especially red, like cherries brimming with juice.
Xie instinctively averted his gaze, but in doing so, he noticed something else. Under the thin quilt, Chi Wang’s body was stirring without his consent.
Xie: “…”
Chi Wang hadn’t noticed yet. His beautiful eyes were covered with a thin layer of mist, shimmering as he looked at Xie, muttering, “But don’t set it too low; the quilt is too thin.”
Xie remained silent, quietly raising the air conditioning temperature by one degree. Then he turned off the light and lay back down.
Chi Wang placed his hand outside the quilt, then lifted it to rest beside his head. Just as he turned over, he felt Xie’s chest pressing against his back.
Chi Wang’s body tensed up. In a low voice, he said, “Don’t crowd me.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt Xie’s hand reaching over, placing his palm on Chi Wang’s waist.
Just as Chi Wang was about to speak, Xie’s voice came from behind, his usually clear and indifferent tone now tinged with suppressed desire. “You need help.”
Before the words had fully left his mouth, Xie’s hand slipped into the loose waistband of Chi Wang’s pants, swiftly and accurately grasping the lifeblood of Chi Wang’s existence.
Chi Wang: …
Chi Wang was stunned. Before he could stop him, Xie had already begun to move, as if he had mastered the user manual of this matter, his technique skillful and practiced, causing Chi Wang’s whole body to tremble.
The words of protest reached his lips but were swallowed back down.
This was a completely different experience from self-reliance. Chi Wang bit his own fist to prevent himself from making any inappropriate sounds. His other hand reached into the quilt, bravely trying to stop Xie.
But Xie’s hand was large; he turned around and held Chi Wang’s hand, “seizing the emperor to command the princes,” guiding him to move together.
Chi Wang: …
He arched his back, his whole body trembling, but instead pressed closer to Xie, almost entirely enveloped in his embrace.
To prevent Chi Wang from breaking free, Xie draped a long leg over him, firmly controlling him in his arms.
This was a one-sided domination; Chi Wang had no ability to resist. Soon, a burst of white light surged in his mind, and a gasp inadvertently escaped, carrying a soft moan. His whole body was drenched in sweat, as if he had been fished out of water.
Their hands overlapped under the quilt. Xie’s damp fingers slipped between Chi Wang’s, evenly spreading the essence on his innermost skin, teasing him subtly.
Perhaps because he was still young and had seldom done such things, Chi Wang’s refractory period was very short.
Chi Wang almost couldn’t keep his fist in his mouth, his voice carrying a hint of panic. “…Stop! Stop!”
Chi Wang’s burning ear was right by his lips. Xie planted a light kiss on his ear tip, his voice hoarse as he said, “It’s not enough.”
*
More than half an hour later, the room was brightly lit.
Chi Wang had changed into a new pair of pajama pants. Clutching a pillow printed with Patrick Star under his arm, holding his old pajama pants in one hand and his phone in the other, he said to Xie, “I’m leaving. Bye.”
Xie: “…”
The corners of Chi Wang’s eyes still held traces of damp redness. As he turned to leave, his legs were a bit weak, and he almost stumbled. He steadied himself by gracefully dropping to one knee.
Chi Wang didn’t feel embarrassed about this. He naturally got up from the floor and was about to reach out to open the door when Xie got out of bed, took a quick step forward, and pressed his hand against the door.
He pressed his lips together, his voice cold and deep. “I was helping you.”
His voice was still somewhat hoarse, carrying a restrained sensuality.
Chi Wang’s cheeks were still flushed, his fair skin tinged with a rosy glow like the morning sun. Hearing Xie’s words, he said mercilessly, “I didn’t ask for your help.”
Recalling the intense experience just now, he felt an inexplicable anger. He wasn’t sure if he was mad at his own hardware being uncooperative in his own hands but responding like a system reboot in someone else’s, or at Xie for acting on his own and ‘plucking’ him three times. Is he even human?
His legs were weak from being ‘plucked.’
Xie lowered his eyes, his thick eyelashes concealing the emotions in his gaze. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Next time, I won’t touch you.”
Chi Wang:
There’s a next time?
Chi Wang complained inwardly but didn’t voice it, lest he seem overly argumentative.
He felt a bit unable to face Xie. This matter was beyond his capacity to handle.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t watched certain videos—if any guy says he hasn’t, he’s downright lying.
But watching and actually experiencing it were two different things, somewhat hard to accept.
Too stimulating.
Wait, you might say he’s carrying Xie’s baby, so they must have done ‘that,’ but he has no memory of it. Without memories, he can barely consider it as never having happened.
Isn’t that reasonable?
In any case, this was too much for Chi Wang.
So stimulating that Chi Wang found it hard to face Xie’s… hand.
He turned his head, his gaze falling on Xie’s hand pressed against the door. Xie was very tall, half a head taller than him. His palm was naturally broad and thick, his fingers well-defined, long and strong, nails neatly trimmed.
A very good-looking and masculine hand. It was this very hand that had mercilessly bullied him during his special moments. Now, when Chi Wang looked at Xie’s hand, his expression had already changed.
There’s no going back; some things can never return to how they were.
This was no longer just an ordinary hand.
This was his “happy place” (x).
Patrick Star dumbfounded.jpg
Chi Wang suddenly calmed down.
He had no experience; when faced with this kind of situation, his first thought was to run away. But on second thought, why bother? Lately, he had been feeling inexplicably restless, and couldn’t resolve it himself. Xie was indeed helpful.
At least Xie was thoroughly familiar with the ‘user manual’ of his special needs and could provide some relief.
…No, even if he didn’t want to dwell on it, this was too fast and smooth, making him seem a bit unprincipled. But heaven knows he hadn’t opened that ‘user manual’ many times himself.
Chi Wang’s mind turned, deciding to retreat for now; at least he couldn’t be too unprincipled. After all, he was a morally upright successor of socialism, well-versed in Marxism and Mao Zedong Thought.
So Chi Wang said somewhat coldly, “No need. I’m going back to sleep. Move aside.”
Xie’s hand was still pressed against the door. In a low voice, he said, “Without you, I can’t sleep.”
Chi Wang looked at him, then lowered his head in thought, and handed his pillow to him. “Here, use this.”
During his final exams when he stayed in the dormitory, Xie hadn’t been unable to sleep; when asked, he found out Xie had been sleeping with his pillow. It seemed that Xie’s insomnia was quite flexible—he could advance or retreat.
Xie: “…”
He gazed deeply at Chi Wang and said in a low voice, “I don’t want the pillow; I want you.”
Chi Wang kept a straight face. “Move aside. If you don’t, I’ll get angry.”
Hearing this, Xie was silent for a moment before withdrawing his arm.
Chi Wang opened the door, gave him a glance, and handed him the soiled pajama pants. “If you can’t sleep, wash my pajama pants. Remember to use the vanilla-scented detergent pods; I like that fragrance.”
“…” Xie took the pajama pants and finally asked, “When will you come back?”
Chi Wang lifted his chin. “Well, that depends on my mood. If I’m in a good mood, I’ll come back earlier.”
Xie nodded. “Understood.”
Chi Wang slipped away.
Back in his own room, he leaned against the wall, pressing his ear to listen. Soon, he heard the humming sound of the washing machine.
He really can’t sleep, huh?
Chi Wang was about to lie down when he heard faint sounds from the other side of the wall.
Chi Wang: !
He quickly realized what Xie was doing.
His face reddened, and he hurriedly moved away from the wall. He patted his face, fluffed the quilt that hadn’t been slept in for a long time, and slid into bed like liquid.
After being ‘plucked’ three times, his nerves indeed relaxed a lot. His whole body felt languid and a bit weak. Sleepiness surged up exponentially. He closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep.
On the other side, Xie took a cold shower. Sitting on the bed, his whole body chilled, he picked up the quilt and sniffed it. The quilt still retained Chi Wang’s strong scent.
He lay back down, enveloped in Chi Wang’s fragrance.
Tonight, he didn’t sleep a wink.
[Note: The phrase “Patrick Star dumbfounded.jpg” appears in the text, referencing a popular meme featuring Patrick Star with a blank or confused expression, used to convey shock or disbelief.]
- “Seizing the emperor to command the princes” : A Chinese idiom meaning to control a powerful figure to exert authority over others. Here, it’s used metaphorically to describe Xie holding Chi Wang’s hand to guide his actions.
- Patrick Star: A character from the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. Chi Wang’s pillow is printed with Patrick Star, indicating his fondness for the character.
- “Happy place” : A playful expression suggesting that Xie’s hand has become a source of pleasure for Chi Wang. The “(x)” indicates a correction or playful insertion, mimicking online slang or memes.
