Chapter 43
By the black car, two men leaned against it, pressed close together. One of them was wrapped up so tightly that not a bit of skin showed, except for his slightly trembling hands resting on the taller man’s shoulders.
At the words “book a room,” Xie Ning’s slightly unfocused face tilted up a little. His water-bright lips parted in surprise, just enough to clearly reveal the swollen, reddened tongue inside, as though it had been thoroughly devoured.
His voice was full of shock. “Wh-what?”
The way he looked—confused and innocent, almost as if he had been startled—was unbearably endearing.
Afraid he would misunderstand, Pei Zhi hurried to explain, “That’s not what I mean.”
In a low voice, he said, “Your brother is drunk, and it’s already late. It’d be better to send him to a hotel. We’d only be getting a room as a convenience, not for anything else.”
He said it with a perfectly upright expression, as if no one in the world were more proper and honorable than he was.
Seeing him put on such an act, Xie Ning gave him a thoughtful look. “Really not for anything else?”
“Of course,” Pei Zhi said. “I promise.”
This was hardly the first time Xie Ning had heard Pei Zhi make promises.
Whenever it came to Xie Ning, Pei Zhi always swore with complete conviction. Yet in the end, his actions would prove that his promises meant absolutely nothing. Worse, he would even shamelessly coax and tempt Xie Ning.
He clearly knew that once Xie Ning’s skin hunger was satisfied, his mind would become slower and duller, leaving him half a beat behind in thinking. And yet Pei Zhi would still take advantage of that state, luring him into parting his lips wider and letting the kiss grow deeper.
Xie Ning looked at Pei Zhi with what he thought was a calm, deliberate gaze, as if purposely sizing him up.
But in Pei Zhi’s eyes, Xie Ning had been kissed until he could barely stand. His long lashes were damp with tears, and the corners of his eyes were flushed with a seductive wet redness.
Pei Zhi’s Adam’s apple bobbed again. He bent down, and Xie Ning’s brows immediately drew together. Almost on reflex, he turned his head away, showing only a tense profile. His swollen lips pressed tightly together, as though guarding against someone.
The fire Pei Zhi had only just managed to put out was instantly lit again—just because he had looked at Xie Ning for one more second.
He cupped Xie Ning’s face in both hands. His breathing grew heavier, and although he looked impatient, he still restrained himself as he asked, “Can we? Book a room?”
“I really won’t do anything.”
Xie Ning knew those words were only worth hearing, not believing. For adults—especially adults who both had desire, and who were in the middle of something ambiguous like this—even just being close could start a blaze, let alone lying on the same bed.
Both of them knew exactly what might happen without it ever being said aloud.
And the fact that Pei Zhi was wearing such a righteous gentleman’s expression instead made Xie Ning want to laugh a little. It even made him want to tease him.
Slowly lifting his damp lashes, Xie Ning asked, “Can you even drive right now?”
He rose slightly on his toes and leaned close, as if listening to Pei Zhi’s breathing. It was as rough as a wild beast’s.
His brows drew together faintly. His beautiful, cold face looked almost troubled. “You seem pretty excited.”
Pei Zhi really was excited. He had only just barely calmed down a little, and Xie Ning’s gaze immediately heated him back up again. Lowering his head, he rubbed his face against Xie Ning’s cheek and said in a hoarse voice, “I can drive. Are you cold? If you’re cold, get in first. I’ll stand here and let the cold air blow on me for a little longer.”
Xie Ning wasn’t cold in the slightest. If anything, he was practically overheating. Wrapped in two coats and pressed against the car while being kissed, his whole body was still burning hot.
And yet Pei Zhi, who only had on a black wool base layer, didn’t seem cold at all. Xie Ning casually reached out and touched him. Everywhere he felt was warm.
“Why don’t you cool off in the car instead? Crack the window open. It’ll have the same effect.”
Xie Ning was afraid Pei Zhi might actually catch cold.
But Pei Zhi was still rubbing against his neck like a large dog, his short rough hair brushing against Xie Ning’s cheek and making it itch. Xie Ning leaned back slightly to avoid it, then lightly patted Pei Zhi’s back and said softly, “Stop rubbing. Be good.”
He had meant to calm Pei Zhi down a little.
Instead, the hot breath falling on his skin only grew heavier.
Pei Zhi, all six-foot-three of him, bent deeply at the waist and buried his face in Xie Ning’s neck, breathing hard. While inhaling the scent lingering there, he said with strained difficulty, “Kiss me, okay?”
“Baby, kiss me.”
It sounded almost like a spoiled plea for affection.
The endless stream of hot breath falling on his neck made it feel as though that patch of skin were about to be steamed through.
Xie Ning lifted a cool hand and held Pei Zhi’s face. Tilting his chin up slightly, he pressed a kiss to Pei Zhi’s lips. Then another. As they breathed, white mist escaped from between their lips and blurred the place where the tips of their noses touched.
“Like this?” Xie Ning asked.
Pei Zhi was satisfied. He let Xie Ning hold his face, even obediently tilting a little to one side, rubbing his own hand against Xie Ning’s palm.
“Yes. Like that.”
He took Xie Ning’s hand, opened the passenger-side door, and said, “It’s cold outside. Let’s get in.”
Actually, Xie Ning wasn’t cold at all. If anything, he felt too warm. It was just that his hands had been exposed to the wind without gloves, so of course they’d gotten a little cool.
Once Xie Ning was seated in the passenger seat, Pei Zhi quickly circled back to the driver’s side, locked the doors, pulled Xie Ning’s hand over, and placed it at his own neck to warm it.
Even that wasn’t enough.
Tilting his head slightly under the soft overhead light, which made his features look especially deep and gentle, Pei Zhi breathed warm air onto Xie Ning’s hand and kissed it with obvious tenderness.
“Wait, stop kissing it.” Xie Ning tried to pull his hand back, but Pei Zhi wouldn’t let him. “I’m really hot. I want to take my coat off.”
Outside, with the wind blowing, Xie Ning had already felt overheated. Now in the car, with the heater on and warm air blowing directly at him from the front, he felt like he was about to start sweating.
Pei Zhi said “Okay,” leaned over, helped him take off his coat, and neatly folded his scarf too. That scarf couldn’t go back on for now, though—Pei Zhi had gotten a bit too carried away during the kiss and had ended up dropping it on the roof of the car.
A scarf that had gotten dirty obviously couldn’t go back on Xie Ning.
After helping him take off the coat, Pei Zhi held onto Xie Ning’s hand again under the pretense of “cooling off.” Even during his so-called cooling-off period, he refused to let go.
If the car hadn’t been such a limited space, he probably would have pulled Xie Ning onto his lap and used his own body heat to warm him properly.
“Pei Zhi.”
Xie Ning suddenly called his name.
Pei Zhi had his face pressed to the back of Xie Ning’s hand. He slowly lifted his eyes, and when their gazes met, Xie Ning continued, “Those people you saw earlier are my brother’s friends. Some of them are still in high school.”
No—that wasn’t quite right. Some had already gotten university offers. But close enough.
Pei Zhi seemed thoughtful.
Xie Ning couldn’t help asking, “What are you thinking?”
Pei Zhi lightly kissed Xie Ning’s fingertip and looked at his face. “If I were still in high school, I’d still like you.”
Then he asked, “What were you like in high school?”
Xie Ning had originally thought Pei Zhi had gotten upset because of those boys, and that his possessiveness had shown because of that. Wasn’t that the case?
Actually, he hadn’t guessed wrong. Pei Zhi was just very good at pretending.
Outwardly, Pei Zhi acted like he didn’t care, but in truth every nerve in his body was focused on Xie Ning, afraid of missing even one piece of important information.
Xie Ning thought back for a moment and answered honestly, “No different from now.”
To Xie Ning, his high school self really wasn’t very different from who he was now. If he had to point out one difference, it was probably just that he had looked a little younger then.
But what Xie Ning understood from the question wasn’t what Pei Zhi had really wanted to ask.
Still, seeing the way Xie Ning was seriously thinking back now, the details of the past didn’t matter that much anymore.
Playing idly with Xie Ning’s fingers, Pei Zhi said, in a tone of great seriousness, “Mm. Just as beautiful.”
Then, after a pause, he added, “Just as easy to fall for.”
Xie Ning’s lips curved faintly.
“What are you smiling at?” Pei Zhi asked.
“I don’t know,” Xie Ning said. “I just suddenly wanted to laugh.”
“Because I’m funny like this?” Pei Zhi asked. “Because of the way I’m completely bewitched by you?”
Xie Ning leaned closer, shortening the distance between them. Their breaths mingled as he looked directly into Pei Zhi’s eyes. He seemed genuinely puzzled, as if this were the first time he’d realized it.
“So you’ve been bewitched by me?”
The light from the roof wasn’t especially bright. If anything, it was a little dim. But reflected in Xie Ning’s eyes, it seemed dazzling, as though Xie Ning himself were glowing while looking at him.
“Xie Ning,” Pei Zhi murmured.
Then he added, “Baby.”
Xie Ning answered with the softest little “Mm?” almost only a breath of sound, the trailing note carrying a faint hook that tugged at the heart.
The light before his eyes was slowly blocked by shadow as Pei Zhi moved closer and closer.
In the end, Pei Zhi wrapped his arms around Xie Ning’s waist and pressed his face to Xie Ning’s chest, rubbing against him with deep dependence.
“Before I even realized I liked you, I already liked you.”
“I was captivated by you a long time ago.”
A faint current seemed to run through Xie Ning’s body, from his ears to his limbs.
He stared blankly at Pei Zhi. It was strange—there wasn’t even that much direct physical contact between them right now, and yet he still felt an extremely strong sense of satisfaction.
As though it felt even better than kissing or hugging.
Like standing by the sea in spring and being wrapped in warm ocean wind. Or like eating chilled watermelon in a country courtyard in summer.
If physical contact brought satisfaction to the surface of the skin, then right now, it was as though Xie Ning’s soul were soaking in something warm and comforting.
Pei Zhi lifted his head and said, “Baby, your face is really red.”
Xie Ning lightly pressed his lips together and avoided that burning gaze. The corners of his eyes shone with dampness under the light. “I’m a little hot.”
“Maybe it’s too warm in here. Want me to crack the window?” Pei Zhi asked with maddening consideration, not calling him out on anything.
Xie Ning gave a vague hum in response.
He hadn’t felt it before, but now that they were in the cramped space of the car, with Qi Ran passed out drunk in the back seat, he suddenly had the absurd illusion that he was flirting with Pei Zhi in public.
He reached to press the window button—
And then that aggressive presence suddenly swept over him.
His hand was caught under a much larger one, and his whole body was pulled into Pei Zhi’s arms.
His lips were pried open in an instant. Before he could even react, hot, forceful breath and a kiss took his breathing away.
Pei Zhi’s tongue pushed in roughly, carrying all that heat into his mouth with it.
There was still someone in the back seat.
Xie Ning tensed so hard he didn’t dare move. His eyes kept darting toward the back in fear that Qi Ran might wake up and see them. He was too nervous to struggle, desperately swallowing back any little sounds, his shoulders trembling faintly.
Pei Zhi kissed him like a greedy wolf, twisting around his tongue and devouring him over and over, swallowing him deeply. His sucking grew stronger and stronger, and the sticky sounds of kissing filled the air beside their ears.
Xie Ning’s face was bright red, a fine sheen of sweat appearing on the tip of his nose. When Pei Zhi finally let him go, a silver strand stretched between his lips and snapped against the skin around his mouth.
His eyes were dazed. Both hands clutched tightly at the front of Pei Zhi’s shirt. He looked as though he’d been kissed stupid, his mouth still hanging open, the tip of his tongue peeking out a little, saliva slowly slipping down.
Like he’d been frightened.
Like something terribly pitiful.
Pei Zhi rubbed the back of Xie Ning’s neck, watching his lashes tremble and stick out all messy. Slowly, he cleaned up around Xie Ning’s mouth, kissing away every bit of saliva that had leaked out.
Licking him clean as he went, he asked, “Want to look at the stars?”
“The stars?” Xie Ning blinked at him with wet eyes, then turned to look out the window. The weather had been nice lately, but there were hardly ever stars at night. Besides, in the city, stars were always rare.
“Mm.”
Pei Zhi pressed the button beside the sunroof. In an instant, the satin-like roof revealed a brilliant starry sky, each star bright and exquisitely clear, as if they were sitting under the vastness of the universe itself.
Xie Ning froze for a moment. He reached out, and a patch of starlight landed on his fingertips, as though the unreachable stars had descended from the sky.
Pei Zhi took his hand and kissed it.
“For now, just make do with this,” Pei Zhi said. “Later I’ll take our baby to see real stars.”
The coaxing tone in his voice made Xie Ning feel oddly self-conscious.
The way Pei Zhi spoke really did make it sound like he was soothing a child.
…
Pei Zhi had already booked the hotel in advance, and it seemed this hotel was one of his family’s businesses too.
Before the car had even fully pulled up, a line of staff was already waiting at the entrance. Before Pei Zhi had even properly parked, a valet was already taking the car, while others moved to help the dead-drunk Qi Ran out of the back seat.
“This is the room card,” the manager said respectfully, handing it over. “And this is the spare card. If you’re worried about that gentleman’s condition, you can use the spare to check on him. The two rooms are close together, right next door.”
The arrangements were extremely thoughtful.
Pei Zhi took the room cards and pressed them into Xie Ning’s hand. The manager’s gaze followed automatically—and when he saw Xie Ning standing beside Pei Zhi, something like astonishment flickered through his eyes.
Even after years in the business, after receiving so many guests, it was the first time he had seen someone with such striking looks and presence. For a moment, he forgot to look away.
Then his line of sight was blocked by a taller figure.
Pei Zhi’s gaze had turned cold and gloomy, his possessiveness not the least bit hidden. He adjusted Xie Ning’s hat, apparently unwilling to let anyone look at him for even one second too long.
The manager immediately lowered his head and said with utmost respect, “Please, let me take the two of you to your rooms.”
Held close at Pei Zhi’s side, Xie Ning found the lobby pleasantly warm. In fact, he felt hot, so he reached up and tugged off his hat. Soft strands of hair slipped free from beneath it. The slightly messy hair weakened his usual cool aloofness, replacing it instead with something more lazy and bright.
While gently combing Xie Ning’s hair with his fingers, Pei Zhi asked, “What do you want for a late-night meal later? You didn’t even have dinner.”
Actually, Xie Ning wasn’t very hungry. He wanted a shower and sleep far more.
But Pei Zhi had taken it upon himself to help Xie Ning’s mother keep an eye on his meals, so eating had become a matter of great importance to him.
Xie Ning thought for a moment and said, “Just some seafood congee, I guess?”
“Anything you can’t eat?”
“I’m not picky.” Xie Ning shook his head, then added in a much smaller voice, “Just don’t put scallions in it.”
He hated the smell of scallions.
The same person who had just said he wasn’t picky immediately followed it up with a food restriction. Maybe he realized that sounded a little awkward, because he said it very quietly.
So cute.
That was what Pei Zhi thought again.
The way he seriously and softly listed his food preferences was cute. The slight embarrassment on his face was cute too. It was strange—no matter what Xie Ning did, Pei Zhi seemed to view him through some softened glowing filter. Everything about him was unbearably cute.
The moment they stepped into the elevator, before the doors had even fully closed, a tall shadow fell over Xie Ning’s vision.
Familiar breath and scent surrounded him in an instant, stealing away his ability to breathe before he could even blink.
Hot, forceful air fed straight into him as their lips ground together. Pei Zhi’s tongue shoved roughly into the seam of his lips, bringing all that damp heat with it.
This was the elevator.
Xie Ning’s first thought was that they might be seen. He instinctively pressed his knees together and tried to struggle—but his wrists were seized and pinned above his head, while Pei Zhi’s knee forced his legs apart. His knees were made to spread, and his whole upper body arched back as Pei Zhi kissed him with the force of a storm.
Most of the time, they only kissed in places with dim, intimate lighting.
But the elevator was brightly lit.
There was even a mirror beside them.
Whether he looked up or to the side, Xie Ning could clearly see Pei Zhi hooking and dragging at his tongue as he kissed him.
He could see his own tongue being slowly wrapped up and sucked, hear the sticky wet sounds of kissing.
Hot white breath escaped from between his lips in a rush, and in an instant the roots of his lashes turned damp. His red, swollen tongue was dragged and distorted, his mouth full of a foreign breath and taste. He trembled helplessly.
At last he managed to turn his face a little to the side—only to see himself in the mirror.
His expression was completely dazed. His wrists were pinned over his head. The corners of his eyes were red and wet from being kissed so relentlessly. He looked utterly unable to resist.
This was the second time he’d seen himself kissing so clearly.
He froze.
He even forgot to struggle, simply staring at the unfamiliar version of himself in the mirror.
The base of his tongue ached from all the sucking, and yet the tip was still being dragged out and devoured. His cheeks were being sucked until they almost looked distorted. Pei Zhi’s straight nose pressed into the soft flesh of his face, making it cave inward again and again. Xie Ning’s expression was starting to look almost pained. In the tangle of breath, he finally couldn’t help it and let out the smallest little whimper.
The next second, Pei Zhi abruptly turned his head and met Xie Ning’s lost gaze in the mirror, his satisfied, dark eyes lit with dangerous desire.
The elevator had already reached the designated floor. The doors had opened and then closed again. Because no one had pressed anything, it simply remained suspended there.
And they had been kissing for a very long time.
Afterward, Xie Ning finally couldn’t bear the oxygen-starved feeling anymore and pushed Pei Zhi away.
Still unsatisfied, like a starving wolf, Pei Zhi seemed ready to chase him down for another kiss—but noticing the elevator had arrived, he put on an innocent act and said, “When did we get here? Why didn’t it make a sound?”
Xie Ning wiped at his lips with the back of his hand and found them drenched. His brows were faintly furrowed, his whole body still soft and weakened.
Without saying a word, he stepped out of the elevator, clearly upset.
The room card fell to the floor by accident. Pei Zhi picked it up and hurried after him, his voice sounding almost aggrieved.
“Baby, why are you ignoring me?”
“You…” Xie Ning wanted to say something, but he didn’t even know how to phrase it. “You really are…”
“Really bad?” Pei Zhi offered.
“Yes.”
Really, truly bad.
Kissing him on purpose in the elevator, and doing it so hard. And not only that—he had pinned both of Xie Ning’s wrists over his head and deliberately shoved his knee between his legs to force them apart.
Because of the sheer difference in their size and strength, even if Xie Ning struggled, there was only so much he could do. He was like some small animal caught in the jaws of a predator, with no choice but to be devoured.
Xie Ning had already known that Pei Zhi wasn’t as cold as he looked on the outside. Through those overheard thoughts, he had known Pei Zhi had a childish and slightly wicked streak in him.
What he hadn’t known… was that Pei Zhi could be this bad.
And being called bad seemed to put Pei Zhi in an excellent mood.
He took Xie Ning’s hand and kissed it. “Cute.”
“Baby, the way you throw a fit is so cute,” Pei Zhi said. “It feels like you’re acting spoiled.”
Xie Ning truly didn’t know what to say.
First of all, he wasn’t “acting spoiled.” He had just been too startled to know how to respond. And second… in Pei Zhi’s eyes, did absolutely everything he did look perfect? Adorable? Lovable?
Pei Zhi was really beyond saving.
…
Xie Ning thought that dangerous things before bed really weren’t good for sleep.
At the very least, he was now completely wide awake.
His breathing was still uneven, yet Pei Zhi still wanted to pin him down and kiss him some more. Xie Ning shoved Pei Zhi’s face away and said hoarsely, “No more kissing.”
His gaze drifted downward for a moment.
His legs had been knocked around badly.
He bent one knee a little, as if giving Pei Zhi a subtle reminder. “If you keep this up… how am I supposed to sleep tonight?”
With Xie Ning around, Pei Zhi seemed as though he’d been injected with hormones, always in an excited state.
When Xie Ning nudged him with his knee, Pei Zhi’s scalp instantly tingled as though shocked. He had to breathe for a moment before saying in a low voice, “Then should we take a shower? A shower will fix it.”
They had just spent a long time kissing, and during it they had been clinging tightly to one another. Xie Ning’s skin hunger had been thoroughly satisfied.
He lifted his flushed, content eyes and cast a sideways glance at Pei Zhi. “Together?”
“Yes.”
Pei Zhi held Xie Ning’s face, kissed the corner of his lips, then his ear. “Together.”
Xie Ning glanced at him again.
Straight-faced, Pei Zhi said, “I think you still smell a little like alcohol. We can shower together, and I’ll wash you.”
Xie Ning had only taken a few small sips of alcohol. What smell of alcohol could possibly still be left? And even if there had been any, how could it have lingered until now?
But Xie Ning didn’t call him out.
Instead, he gave a soft laugh.
Pressed over him, Pei Zhi could clearly feel the little tremor of laughter in Xie Ning’s chest.
Xie Ning lay there, every pore in his body relaxed and open, his tone carrying a lazy softness. “I thought maybe you just wanted to use the alcohol as an excuse to fool around.”
But Pei Zhi asked, “Do you like me?”
Xie Ning countered, “Would liking you mean it’s okay to fool around after drinking?”
“No.” Even if Pei Zhi wanted it badly, he could still endure it. He pressed his ear to Xie Ning’s chest and listened to the beat of his heart. “But I want to know whether you like me.”
Xie Ning had never once clearly said the word like to him.
They held hands. They hugged. They kissed. They lay on the same bed, already dangerously close to crossing lines.
And yet Xie Ning had never actually said he liked him.
Pei Zhi felt uneasy.
Of course Xie Ning liked Pei Zhi. Otherwise he never would have done so many things with him. Xie Ning had always feared accidents and hated unexpected disruptions, but when he really thought about it, it was true—he had never actually said those words.
Before answering, Xie Ning asked, “What about you?”
The one being questioned somehow became the one leading the conversation.
Without hesitation, Pei Zhi said, “I really like you. I only like you.”
The directness and speed of that answer made Xie Ning freeze for a second. His mouth still held the aching sensation from all the kissing. Looking into Pei Zhi’s bright, serious eyes, his face suddenly heated up. Turning his head away, fingers clutching at the bedsheet, he said in a very small voice, “…Me too.”
“What is ‘me too’?”
Pei Zhi was relentless.
He kissed around Xie Ning’s mouth and down his neck, scattering kisses everywhere, almost as if marking him with his own scent.
Again and again, he pressed for the answer.
Xie Ning couldn’t handle it. He could only breathe out little broken sounds and finally say, “I like you.”
It was as if fireworks exploded in Pei Zhi’s head.
His blood surged wildly, his breathing went ragged, and he caught Xie Ning by the chin, forcing him to look straight at him.
But to Xie Ning, openly expressing his feelings like this was incredibly embarrassing. He so rarely did such a thing. He kept avoiding Pei Zhi’s gaze and immediately tried to change the subject. “I should go check on my brother—mmph.”
His mouth, which had only just gotten a break, was swallowed again.
The kiss after saying “I like you” somehow tasted different.
It left Xie Ning limp all over, his usually cool face flushed until it looked almost indecently sensual. He tried to pull away, but Pei Zhi clamped tight around his waist and forced him to endure the storm of kisses.
The wet, sticky sounds of kissing filled his ears. Xie Ning had to tilt his neck back, swallowing over and over again around the saliva between them.
When Pei Zhi finally let him go again, Xie Ning looked completely sated, his swollen lips hanging open, exposing the thoroughly kissed, flushed interior of his mouth, warm white breath still spilling out.
He looked far too enticing.
Like he’d just been fed to the point of satisfaction.
Pei Zhi had both arms around his waist, and almost without thinking he lifted the hem of Xie Ning’s shirt just enough to expose a narrow strip of pale skin. The moment he caught sight of it, he yanked the shirt right back down and pulled Xie Ning hard into his arms.
“Hm?”
Xie Ning found it strange. “What’s wrong?”
With remarkable restraint, Pei Zhi said, “I’m not thinking anything inappropriate.”
“Don’t you want to?” Xie Ning asked.
“Am I allowed to?”
Xie Ning gave him a light look, without much force behind it, his tone equally soft. “Depends on how you behave.”
“What do you mean? I… we really can do it?”
Pei Zhi’s blood burned in an instant, then he forced himself calm again. His emotions rose and fell like a roller coaster. “No, no. I’m still courting you. I can’t go all the way.”
He was actively trying to brainwash himself.
This was the same person who kissed him like a man possessed, and yet now he was saying something so conservative that it came off as oddly innocent.
Xie Ning found it a little funny.
Resting a hand lightly on Pei Zhi’s chest, his flower-bud-like fingertips pressed down ever so slightly. “Did I ever say ‘go all the way’?”
At once, Pei Zhi understood what he meant.
If they weren’t “going all the way,” then there were still many other possibilities.
His breath caught, but then he saw the faint smile in Xie Ning’s eyes and understood immediately. “You’re teasing me.”
For him, heaven and hell were separated by no more than a blink.
He buried his face in Xie Ning’s neck, sounding almost wronged. “You’re always teasing me.”
Xie Ning let him drool all over his neck and said, “You started it by saying weird things.”
Pei Zhi refused to admit that. He simply kept kissing Xie Ning’s neck, starting his “marking” routine all over again. Breathing in the scent rising from Xie Ning’s skin, his mind completely gone, he panted, “Baby… you smell so good.”
Xie Ning didn’t particularly think he smelled good.
He just thought it tickled.
Still, he lazily gave an “Mm” as a sort of response.
“You answered.” Pei Zhi sounded delighted. “Before, when I called you baby, you never responded.”
“Because it’s too mushy,” Xie Ning said.
Wasn’t baby something you called children? Putting that kind of label on an adult like him felt strange no matter how you looked at it.
But Pei Zhi clearly loved using those names.
“Doesn’t it feel mushy now?”
“I guess once I got used to it, it didn’t feel quite as mushy anymore,” Xie Ning admitted.
“Baby…”
Pei Zhi lifted Xie Ning’s face again, clearly wanting another kiss. “Stick out your tongue.”
Xie Ning looked at him.
Maybe because he was in such a good mood, he actually stuck out a little bit of his tongue and let Pei Zhi catch it in the air and suck on it.
Once it started, Pei Zhi lost control again. He pinned Xie Ning against the bed and kissed him hard, the repeated wet sounds of swallowing filling the room. Their kisses grew deeper and deeper, the temperature around them seeming to rise by several degrees.
“What am I supposed to do?”
Lying over him, Pei Zhi said hoarsely, “Baby’s little baby is up.”
“You…”
Even if Xie Ning could now accept being called baby, the way Pei Zhi had put it was still far too advanced for him. He turned his head away. “Don’t talk like that.”
“Then should I put it more directly?” Pei Zhi bent to his ear and rephrased it in much cruder, more explicit terms.
Xie Ning’s pupils widened instantly. His face immediately flushed hot.
He’d been raised with impeccable manners. Since childhood, he had barely even said a curse word, much less heard something as vulgar and direct as that.
His breathing grew fast from sheer embarrassment, and the moisture in his eyes increased.
Pei Zhi hurriedly softened. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m awful. I’m shameless. I’m a pervert.”
But even so, in a restrained and urgent voice, he asked, “Can I just look?”
Then he gave one of his usual guarantees.
“I’ll only look. I won’t do anything else.”
Xie Ning didn’t answer.
He only looked at him, eyes damp and flushed with humiliation, and that alone was enough to make his opinion clear.
“Fine. I won’t look.”
“Actually, it’s not that I don’t want to.”
Pei Zhi suddenly said that.
He held Xie Ning tightly. Even though he was so aroused it almost hurt, he still forced himself to endure it, only hugging Xie Ning and kissing his cheek.
Completely opposite to the way he’d kissed him fiercely earlier, he sounded almost timid now, his voice quiet.
“It’s that I don’t dare.”
Xie Ning gave a faint little scoff. “When you were kissing me until I almost suffocated, you didn’t seem scared then.”
“I really can’t control it,” Pei Zhi explained hoarsely. “Your tongue is so soft. So good. Inside your mouth is soft and hot, and there’s so much—”
“…Stop talking.”
“Mm. I won’t.”
He tightened his arms around Xie Ning and rubbed against him carefully. “Come here. Let me hold you.”
In the quiet suite, only the sound of their somewhat uneven breathing remained. And so they really did just hold each other.
After all that intimate kissing, what came next was simply a hug.
Looking at the flushed, damp-faced Xie Ning in his arms, Pei Zhi felt a sense of satisfaction unlike anything he had ever known.
Suddenly, he asked, “Baby, if we start dating later, what do you want me to call you?”
Xie Ning lifted his wet lashes and gave Pei Zhi a light look, then closed his eyes and said, “Wife.”
He said, “I like it when you call me wife.”
It was rather strange.
When Xie Ning could still hear Pei Zhi’s thoughts, Pei Zhi almost always called him wife in his head. But ever since they entered this ambiguous stage between them, Pei Zhi had hardly ever actually said it aloud. He almost always called him baby or darling instead.
Pei Zhi froze for a second.
Then he became wildly excited.
Holding Xie Ning’s hand, he planted several kisses on his face in quick succession. “I like calling you that too.”
“But I didn’t dare before. I was afraid you’d think I was pushing my luck.”
Pei Zhi actually looked a little shy as he glanced at Xie Ning’s face. His Adam’s apple bobbed.
After a brief moment of eye contact, he leaned close to Xie Ning’s ear and said it very softly:
“Wife.”
A tingling sensation spread from his ear through the rest of his body.
Xie Ning felt as though he were wrapped in a warm current of electricity. Lifting his eyes, he deliberately said, “I don’t think I’ve agreed to date you yet.”
“I’m courting you now, so let me pre-spend one ‘wife.’”
Pei Zhi looked like he was about to die from how beautiful Xie Ning’s expression was. He started kissing all over Xie Ning’s face again, calling him in a daze, “Baby, wife…”
But then Pei Zhi grew a little lost.
With careful caution, he asked, “What do I have to do for you to agree to date me?”
“Could I maybe get a little insider information, Teacher Xie?”
Of course Pei Zhi had already made plans and strategies in his head, but he was afraid the things he was offering might not be what Xie Ning actually wanted.
Xie Ning slowly lifted his lashes and stroked Pei Zhi’s face. “Cheating?”
“That’s not cheating,” Pei Zhi said. “That’s reasonable assistance.”
Pei Zhi was practically pressing down over Xie Ning. The moment Xie Ning shifted upward even a little, Pei Zhi followed him.
Now he was kneeling with both legs spread on either side of Xie Ning, like some huge beast crouched over him, making Xie Ning look even smaller beneath him.
He looked at Xie Ning with complete seriousness, utterly oblivious to the fact that this posture only made the obvious shape in his clothes stand out even more.
He didn’t care about that at all.
He only watched as Xie Ning’s long, pale legs moved slowly.
Then Xie Ning lifted one foot and placed it against Pei Zhi’s abdomen.
He wasn’t actually putting any real force into it. The pressure was feather-light. He only wanted to tease Pei Zhi a little.
But Pei Zhi’s reaction…
It was strange.
To him, such a light touch seemed almost unbearable. He lowered his head and looked at that small pale foot, while his muscles swelled and tensed with excitement.
The contrast in their skin tones made his eyes redden.
Xie Ning wasn’t wearing socks. The soft, sensitive sole of his foot could clearly feel the ridges and tension of Pei Zhi’s tightened abs beneath it. Thinking he might have hurt him, Xie Ning eased off a little.
That foot, so small and so white, rested against the darker skin of Pei Zhi’s waist. Xie Ning was already pale to begin with, but the skin of his foot, unexposed to sun and used to little walking, had an even smoother, more luminous whiteness.
Blue veins traced along the top of it, making his nails look pink and soft like flower buds. His rounded toes occasionally slipped into the grooves of Pei Zhi’s abs, making him look all the more delicate and fragile.
When Xie Ning finally spoke, his voice still sounded weak, as if he were only mentioning it casually.
“If you make me happy, I’ll agree.”
The tip of his foot pressed lightly against Pei Zhi’s abs, slowly grinding, softly rubbing. His toes hooked at the line of Pei Zhi’s waist, and his voice held a lazy, careless softness.
He looked at Pei Zhi, whose heated gaze remained locked on him. His tone was slow, and so was the movement of his foot.
Then his ankle was suddenly seized, and his foot was forced to press down farther.
The sole of his foot met something burning hot without warning, and Xie Ning let out a startled little sound.
Half-reclining against the pillows, his wet eyes met Pei Zhi’s gaze—one that looked almost on the verge of collapse. Breathing lightly, he finished the rest of his sentence.
“…If I’m happy, then I’ll be your wife.”
