Chapter 18
One bed?
Ordinarily, the bed type in a suite was a king bed, enough for two people to sleep on.
The bedroom was decorated with extreme elegance. The sheets were smooth and snow-white. The bathroom was not far away, separated only by a layer of faintly visible frosted glass. Pei Zhi’s mind went blank for a moment.
For the next three days and two nights, was he really going to sleep on this bed with Xie Ning?
The air conditioner had not fully cooled the room yet, but Pei Zhi’s throat had already gone dry for no reason. The two pillows pressed close together seemed to represent the two of them tonight. He looked at Xie Ning. “I forgot to ask the front desk for twin beds. Should we change rooms?”
Then he added, “Not sure whether it can be changed.”
If there were spare rooms, then of course it could.
Xie Ning did not mind. They had already slept pressed together often enough in the dorm, and if they really had to sleep in the same bed, his skin hunger syndrome might even benefit from it.
Not that he wanted to take advantage of that. It was just that sleeping in the same bed was perfectly normal between friends. If he acted awkward and fussy about it, that would only make him seem overly delicate.
Pei Zhi sat down on the edge of the bed, doing his best to look calm, but his mind was a complete mess. The bed was so soft that sitting on it felt like it might swallow him whole.
Xie Ning said, “I’m fine with either.”
The bed beside him sank slightly too, and a faint fragrance drifted over. Pei Zhi’s limbs stiffened as he looked at Xie Ning’s exquisite profile, as though carved from ice and snow.
As if feeling guilty, he turned his head away. “I’m fine with either too.”
Neither Xie Ning nor Pei Zhi had brought much luggage, so there was not much to unpack. Besides clothes, Pei Zhi had also brought some disposable items, apparently taking Xie Ning’s cleanliness obsession into consideration.
Pei Zhi was putting a fresh sheet over the comforter. Xie Ning wanted to help, but Pei Zhi stopped him. “Just sit there and rest. I’m almost done anyway.”
Pei Zhi seemed determined to handle all the “housework” himself. Xie Ning could not do anything about it, so he sat down on the sofa. “I’ll check whether there are any group notifications.”
A group chat titled “One Thread of Fate” was especially lively. The members were discussing the detailed schedule. The hot spring villa had many public areas open to guests, such as the movie zone, fruit zone, massage zone, game zone… Some services required extra payment, but most were included in the ticket.
[Su: Okay! After the enthusiastic discussion, we’ve decided to soak in the hot spring at 18:00 this afternoon, then go to the game zone afterward. Don’t go to the wrong place, okay? It’s the public game zone, not the executive lounge. Our room cards can’t get us into the executive lounge~ hehe. Also, the owner here is super nice and even gave us a whole case of good wine!]
[rc: Then I’m definitely going to get you drunk later @09, no escaping the drinks!]
[…]
The chat was bustling with energy. A lot of people clearly already knew one another. They kept tagging each other and joking around.
Xie Ning memorized the 18:00 time and exited the chat.
Another one popped up: “The Temptation of Returning to Dorm 505.”
[Nian Gao: Holy crap! Daddy Pei, how come we can actually go to the executive lounge too? I checked the official website, and I was drooling over the executive lounge.]
[Nian Gao: Daddy Pei! Beauty Xie!! Are you done unpacking yet? Chen Xi and I, two total country bumpkins, are ready to go! Why is this menu in French? I can’t read it?! Ohhh, there’s a Chinese version too… Hurry up and come!!!]
Xie Ning replied with “coming soon,” and by then Pei Zhi had already finished changing the sheets.
The look of surprise on Xie Ning’s face made Pei Zhi want to laugh a little. “When I was little, I used to travel around competing with my coach all the time. I’ve always done these things myself.”
Xie Ning froze for a moment, and Pei Zhi added, “Besides, I’m already this old. If I can’t even handle something this small, that would make me pretty useless.”
After a moment of silence, Xie Ning said softly, “…Alright. I can’t do it.”
“You’re different.” Pei Zhi helped Xie Ning put on a brand-new mask. “If there’s anything you need to do, I can do it for you. If I know how, doesn’t that basically mean you know how too?”
[I don’t care. I just want to be wife’s servant. Wife is heaven, wife is earth. Spoiling wife and loving wife is the only way to have no worries. My wife doesn’t need to do housework. I’ll do it.]
[Wife will always be a treasure.]
Warm body heat lingered behind Xie Ning’s ear. Pei Zhi was moving very carefully, trying his best not to touch Xie Ning’s skin. But they were too close together, and some contact was impossible to avoid.
Xie Ning’s face was small, making the mask look oversized on him. His brows and eyes held a trace of helplessness. “You’re way too double-standard.”
Pei Zhi raised an eyebrow slightly, then wrapped an arm around Xie Ning’s shoulder. At this moment he turned rather domineering, lowering his head to look at Xie Ning’s face. “I am double-standard.”
…
The executive lounge was on the sixth floor, and the room card was required to access it.
Xie Ning and Pei Zhi entered the elevator side by side. Just as the elevator doors closed, Pei Zhi bent down and leaned close to Xie Ning, saying something unknown to him. Xie Ning looked helpless.
When the elevator reached the sixth floor, some students passing by looked surprised. “Why did they go to the sixth floor? That’s the executive lounge, right?”
“Because they upgraded their room type? I think he even upgraded it for his roommate too,” one of them said casually. “Pei Zhi’s family must be really rich.”
A person’s usual spending level could reveal quite a lot about their family background. For example, Pei Zhi—although he usually kept a low profile and had never talked about his family—was clearly a well-off second-generation rich kid.
One boy in trendy streetwear thought back to what Pei Zhi had been wearing earlier. It was a designer ready-to-wear outfit, and his shoes were a limited edition pair that had been resold up to a ridiculous price.
So yes, he was definitely rich.
…
The executive lounge offered cocktail service. The few of them each casually ordered a drink, then went to pick up some small desserts.
Xie Ning was not very hungry and only took a mini croissant.
The sound of conversation continued endlessly around them. He ate in a refined, elegant manner, and a faint trace of moisture clung to his pale lips, making him look deeply alluring.
The endlessly talkative Chen Xi suddenly fell silent. He sighed. “Sometimes I really think that with so many temptations in this world, it’s actually very hard to stay true to yourself.”
Gu Nian mumbled through a mouthful of food, “So that rich lady was willing to pay a fortune to use a steel brush on you and you said no, and now you regret it?”
“Get lost, get lost, get lost.” Chen Xi blackened his face. “What I mean is, being in the same dorm as Xie Ning is seriously a huge test of a person’s willpower. Your face is really just… damn, like this.” He gave Xie Ning a thumbs-up.
“Every morning when I wake up and see you, I have to check whether I’m still straight. Once I confirm it, I can relax. Great, another day of being straight.”
Chen Xi spoke earnestly, completely unaware that Pei Zhi’s hand, which had been peeling grapes for Xie Ning, suddenly froze and turned toward him with scrutiny and wariness.
Gu Nian grinned. “Are you secretly using this chance to test Beauty Xie’s boundaries? Outwardly a straight guy, but actually already bent, just trying to feel out whether you’ve got a shot with him…”
Pei Zhi’s fingers tightened, and the grape pulp turned into mush between them. Sticky juice ran down his fingertips.
He stared at his wet fingers, looking annoyed.
Xie Ning pulled a tissue for him. Pei Zhi did not move, only stared at Xie Ning. Xie Ning raised his eyes to meet his, leaned over slightly, and helped wipe Pei Zhi’s fingers clean.
That faint fragrance drove away the restless agitation in his mind. Pei Zhi’s mood instantly improved. With his clean hand, he caught Xie Ning’s wrist in return. “It’s fine. I’ll do it.”
He could not let Xie Ning’s hand get dirty.
Thinking that, Pei Zhi wiped his hand clean, picked up another grape, skillfully peeled it, and fed it to Xie Ning.
“Get lost, get lost, get lost. I’m seriously straight, okay? One hundred percent pure straight.” Chen Xi rolled his eyes. “Even if Brother Pei turned gay, I still wouldn’t. And even taking ten thousand steps back, if I really did turn gay, seeing Brother Pei act this clingy with Beauty Xie every day would make me die of jealousy.”
“Shut up.” Pei Zhi did not want to hear this topic anymore. Turning his head, his arrogant face softened. “Are the grapes sour? If they are, we won’t eat them.”
“They’re not sour,” Xie Ning said after a pause. “But I don’t want any more. I’m kind of full.”
Wearing a bathrobe, Xie Ning seemed to lose some of his usual cold distance under the light above his head. The faint shake of his head and that hesitant expression gave him a fragile softness.
Xie Ning really was beautiful.
It was not only his superior appearance. His temperament was outstanding too, and his talent added even more. All of it together made him especially captivating.
Even when Xie Ning was expressionless, that cold, glamorous face still stirred a faint flutter in Pei Zhi’s heart.
Pei Zhi’s gaze lingered too long, too directly. Xie Ning swallowed the croissant in his mouth and turned his head to ask, “What’s wrong?”
His face suddenly moved closer. Pei Zhi almost pressed right up to him as he asked, “Can I touch your face?”
“Touch my face?”
“Mm. It looks soft.”
Xie Ning felt a little helpless. He looked at Pei Zhi calmly. Pei Zhi asked, “Can’t I?”
Xie Ning said, “No.”
Still unwilling to give up, Pei Zhi asked, “What would happen if I did?”
Xie Ning shot him a sidelong glance. “I’d feel really good.”
For a moment, Pei Zhi thought he might have heard wrong. His deep, handsome face filled with shock.
Gu Nian laughed so hard his shoulders shook. “Brother Pei, why are you being so clingy? You keep pestering Beauty Xie, always touching him here and there. It’s only because his temper’s good.”
“You’re seriously acting like you’ve got skin hunger syndrome.”
Hearing that, Pei Zhi began to reflect. Was he really that clingy? Was that why Xie Ning would not let him touch his face?
When the phrase “skin hunger syndrome” was mentioned, Xie Ning’s fingers twitched unconsciously. He lowered his long lashes and reached for his glass, trying to hide the guilty feeling.
He was distracted, and he took a sip of alcohol without noticing that he had swallowed too much. The strong liquor burned straight up his nose and to the top of his head, making his tear glands sting instantly.
Pei Zhi immediately reached out to catch him. Gu Nian offered him an empty glass, but Xie Ning’s cleanliness obsession made it impossible for him to spit the drink out. He could not get past that mental hurdle.
One mouthful of alcohol slid down. Xie Ning’s stomach grew warm, and his head turned light and hazy too. Fortunately, he had not drunk much—it was only that he had swallowed too fast, and the strength of it hit him hard in the moment.
“Are you okay?” Pei Zhi asked in a low voice, holding Xie Ning by the shoulders.
Xie Ning shook his head. “Mm.”
There was a little alcohol on his lips. He looked dazed. Pei Zhi pulled over a tissue, folded it into a triangle, and gently dabbed at the corners of his mouth.
Gu Nian checked the time on his phone and then looked at Pei Zhi, who seemed in no hurry at all, probably not going to finish wiping him down anytime soon. “It’s almost six. Chen Xi and I are heading downstairs first, okay? You two hurry down and meet us.”
Pei Zhi said, “Mm.”
He was focused on wiping Xie Ning’s mouth, too lazy to add even one more word.
Now only the two of them remained in the executive lounge. Xie Ning stared at Pei Zhi’s eyes, his consciousness momentarily slow to catch up, leaving him looking blank and innocent. A faint flush bloomed over his pale cheeks from the alcohol, and his lips were wet and gleaming.
They were very close, and still drawing closer.
Only when the tip of Xie Ning’s nose bumped into something did he belatedly tilt his head aside.
Pei Zhi reached out, pinched Xie Ning’s chin, and turned his face back. Their noses touched again, and their breathing tangled together.
Pei Zhi asked, “Drunk?”
Xie Ning said, “I’m not drunk. The alcohol just hit a little hard, and my head feels kind of dizzy. I’ll be fine after a bit.”
Pei Zhi said, “If your head’s dizzy, then you’re drunk.”
Xie Ning really was not drunk. With such a tiny sip, how could he possibly be drunk?
He simply had not fully recovered from the burn yet. It was like suddenly knocking against the edge of a wall—the pain hit sharply in that instant, not fatal, but still needing a little time to settle.
No matter how Xie Ning explained it, Pei Zhi insisted that he was drunk. Or perhaps he could tell Xie Ning was not actually drunk and simply wanted an excuse to tease him.
He reached out and lifted Xie Ning onto his lap, giving it the grand excuse that he needed to keep an eye on a drunk person.
In the end, Xie Ning stopped explaining. Sitting on Pei Zhi’s lap, his face was tinged red—not from embarrassment or irritation, but from the alcohol.
The size difference between them was too great. There was simply no way for him to break free. One of Pei Zhi’s arms stretched across his back, while the other circled his waist, enclosing him in a fully wrapped embrace.
Xie Ning smelled very good. It was not a strong scent, but it was truly intoxicating. At first, Pei Zhi could still sniff discreetly. But later, that fragrance mixed with a faint scent of fruity wine and became a little intoxicating.
A sudden hunger rose inside Pei Zhi, urgent and difficult to endure. He kept breathing in Xie Ning’s scent, but it still felt like nowhere near enough.
Not enough, not enough. Far from enough.
Pei Zhi kept sniffing at Xie Ning with no real order, and the breath he exhaled made Xie Ning itch. Xie Ning helplessly slid his fingers into Pei Zhi’s hair. “Sniffing all over the place… are you a dog?”
The warmth of Xie Ning’s fingertips against his scalp sent electric tingles through him. Like an addict hooked on a drug, Pei Zhi wanted to smell him even more closely. He answered vaguely, then pressed his face against Xie Ning’s neck and buried himself deeper, breathing in Xie Ning’s scent in long, deep pulls.
Because they were so close, the silver chain at Pei Zhi’s neck kept rubbing against Xie Ning’s skin. The friction and the pressure of it sinking into his flesh stirred up Xie Ning’s skin hunger syndrome, and a layer of mist rose in his eyes.
The pendant slipped out from Pei Zhi’s collar and slid into Xie Ning’s neckline. The sudden cold against his skin made Xie Ning let out a soft involuntary sound.
The breeze tapped at the glass. Warm air from the lounge poured toward them, and together with the fragrance, it heated Pei Zhi’s face. A layer of sweat rose on his forehead, and even the chair beneath him began to feel unbearably cramped.
The skin at the side of Xie Ning’s neck had been rubbed into a mottled pink. As though bewitched, Pei Zhi suddenly wanted very badly to lower his head and bite it.
His breathing grew heavy and uneven. In a hoarse voice, he called, “Xie Ning.”
“You smell so good…”
