Chapter 34
Who would have thought, Xing Xu is actually so timid, Ye Xiyao muttered in his heart.
From the moment the car crash explosion happened until they returned to Ye Xiyao’s home, Xing Xu had been holding Ye Xiyao’s hand tightly—not just holding it, but wrapping his large, rough hand around Ye Xiyao’s slightly smaller fingers, completely enveloping them in his palm.
While walking, he stuck close to Ye Xiyao, each step closer than the last, as if he wanted to stick to Ye Xiyao entirely.
Ye Xiyao wanted to remind him that he was about to be squeezed into the corner of the wall.
But seeing the silent and serious expression on Xing Xu’s face, he figured he might have been really scared, so he decided to let it go and said nothing.
When the squeezing became too much, Ye Xiyao simply reached out and hugged Xing Xu’s arm, gently patting his back to comfort him, “It’s okay, don’t be scared.”
Xing Xu lowered his head to look at him, as if he had something to say, but Ye Xiyao waited for a while and only got a head pat in return.
As they entered the apartment building, they happened to run into another resident also heading upstairs. The three of them entered the elevator together.
The man suddenly looked at them with a surprised expression—Ye Xiyao guessed he wasn’t looking at him, as he still considered himself a person with little presence.
Maybe he was looking at Xing Xu.
Ye Xiyao had always thought Xing Xu was very handsome, and in a bold, striking way. Despite the sharp, cold contours of his face and his arrogant eyes that made him seem unapproachable, Ye Xiyao knew that he was actually a very gentle person—at least in Ye Xiyao’s opinion.
More importantly, Xing Xu was incredibly tall, much taller than the average man, so just standing there, he attracted attention.
Even Qin Zai, who was over 1.8 meters tall, looked half a head shorter standing next to him, and Ye Xiyao appeared even smaller in comparison.
So Ye Xiyao thought it was perfectly normal for Xing Xu to turn heads.
Ye Xiyao didn’t pay attention to the man’s gaze, assuming he was just looking at Xing Xu, and reached around to press the button for their floor.
But the man didn’t move.
As the elevator ascended, Ye Xiyao wondered if he was blocking the man from pressing his floor, so he offered to help, “Which floor are you going to?”
There was no answer.
Confused, Ye Xiyao looked up at the man, whose face immediately turned red, and he shook his head like a rattle, then nodded, and finally stammered, “Any… any floor is fine.”
Ye Xiyao: “?”
Before he could ask further, his view was suddenly blocked.
Xing Xu had stepped in front of him, shielding him from the man.
Technically, he was now standing between Ye Xiyao and the man.
In a tone Ye Xiyao had never heard before, Xing Xu spoke with a cold, harsh edge as he demanded, “Which floor? Apartment number. Speak.”
Ye Xiyao, curious why Xing Xu was asking for the man’s apartment number, suddenly realized that since the man hadn’t pressed his floor, Xing Xu must have assumed he was another stalker.
The man, frightened by Xing Xu’s intense aura, stammered for a long while, “I… I…”
Xing Xu: “If you can’t speak, you’ll die right here.”
Ye Xiyao: “???”
The man: “!!!”
Terrified by Xing Xu’s threatening presence, the man finally remembered that he was going to the 7th floor. However, the elevator had already passed it, and three seconds later, it reached Ye Xiyao’s floor.
As the elevator doors opened, Ye Xiyao stepped out first, but when he turned back, he saw that Xing Xu was still staring down the man.
Xing Xu already had a height advantage, and now, with his aura intensified by layers of anger, he looked ready to explode at any moment. The man, trembling and on the verge of tears, was visibly shaken.
Ye Xiyao felt a bit torn.
He understood Xing Xu’s suspicion, but the man did look familiar, like he was actually a resident of the building. After thinking for a moment, Ye Xiyao gently tugged on Xing Xu’s arm.
Xing Xu, thinking Ye Xiyao was scared, walked over to the elevator entrance and blocked Ye Xiyao again. Then, he continued to interrogate the man, “You—”
Before he could finish, the man suddenly burst into tears, “Big brother, I was wrong! I shouldn’t have looked at him! I’m sorry, really sorry. It’s all my fault for having no experience, no sense, for never having seen such a beautiful person before. I lost my mind and couldn’t control my eyes. I deserve to die. I swear, from now on, if I see your wife in the elevator, I’ll close my eyes. I… I’ll go home and bang my head against the wall and die right now, please don’t get angry! Anger is the devil, big brother!”
Xing Xu: “Huh?”
Ye Xiyao: “Huh?”
The man frantically pressed the elevator’s close button, jabbing it so hard that sparks nearly flew out, and muttered nonsensical apologies, “Happy New Year to you both, big brother and sister-in-law!”
“……”
Xing Xu stood straight and took a step out, clearing the way for the elevator door.
The metal door closed amid the man’s cries of ‘big brother, sister-in-law.’
Moments later, the elevator descended and indeed stopped at the 7th floor.
Xing Xu silently looked at Ye Xiyao.
Ye Xiyao’s face was pale with anger, “He went too far!”
Xing Xu awkwardly rubbed his brow and half-heartedly agreed, “That guy needs a beating, talking nonsense. Don’t take it to heart.”
Ye Xiyao was still upset, “Why did he call me ‘sister-in-law’?”
Xing Xu almost couldn’t suppress a smile and said lightly, “Exactly, why did he call you ‘sister-in-law’?”
Ye Xiyao: “I’m a guy too, he should’ve called me ‘big brother’!”
Xing Xu: “Exactly, you too…”
Xing Xu paused, “Huh? That’s what you’re mad about?”
Ye Xiyao: “Why wouldn’t I be mad? If he called me ‘big brother’ and you ‘sister-in-law,’ wouldn’t you be angry?”
Xing Xu thought about it seriously for a moment and said, “No, I wouldn’t.”
“What?” Ye Xiyao thought he misheard.
Xing Xu emphasized, “If you want to be ‘big brother,’ I wouldn’t mind being ‘sister-in-law.'”
Ye Xiyao: “…”
Suddenly, he wasn’t angry anymore.
Or rather, it wasn’t that he wasn’t angry, but more like he was stunned into silence by Xing Xu’s words.
He turned, expression blank, and started walking toward the door of his apartment.
Xing Xu followed closely behind, stepping on his heels, grinning as he called out, “Big Brother Little Bao, wait for Sister-in-law!”
Ye Xiyao didn’t look back, grumbling, “Don’t call me that.”
It sounded so ridiculous… both “big” and “small” at the same time.
When they reached the door, just as Ye Xiyao was unlocking it, Xing Xu suddenly reached out from behind and opened the door handle for him. Taking advantage of this position, Xing Xu rested his chin on Ye Xiyao’s shoulder and gently pushed him inside as he said, “Tell me what you like to hear me call you, and I’ll go along with it.”
–
Ten minutes later, Xing Xu was in the kitchen, wearing an apron that didn’t quite fit him, holding a spatula, and looking rather pitiful.
Ye Xiyao stood with his arms crossed, smiling sweetly, “I like hearing you say ‘Dinner’s ready.'”
Xing Xu paused, then could only smile wryly and agree, “Alright…”
His gaze lingered on the roly-poly doll on the bookshelf for a moment before he casually looked away and began preparing dinner for Ye Xiyao.
Ye Xiyao wasn’t idle either. After picking the dishes, he started helping out. He grabbed some vegetables from the fridge and hurried over to the counter to wash the knife.
But before he could turn on the faucet, the knife was taken from him.
“I’m better at chopping. You find something else to do,” Xing Xu said.
Ye Xiyao blinked at him, thought for a moment, and asked, “Then should I peel the potatoes?”
“No,” Xing Xu replied.
“How about I cut up some fruit for you?” Ye Xiyao suggested.
“No.”
“Then maybe I…”
“No.”
“But I haven’t even said anything yet!” Ye Xiyao protested.
Xing Xu nodded, “You could also do nothing at all.”
Ye Xiyao finally realized what was going on. “You don’t want me to handle the knife, do you? Why not?”
“No reason,” Xing Xu avoided his questioning gaze, lowering his head to wash and chop the vegetables. “I’m just good with a knife.”
Ye Xiyao believed him, bursting into laughter, “But you still need to be careful. Last time you…”
Halfway through, he stopped talking, but Xing Xu raised his eyes to look at him.
“Why didn’t you finish that sentence?” Xing Xu raised an eyebrow, “What happened last time?”
Last time, Xing Xu had also planned to cook for Ye Xiyao at his place, but a dull knife ended up cutting a small wound on his hand.
After that…
Ye Xiyao had held Xing Xu’s finger, sucking the blood for quite a while.
Oh God, someone save Ye Xiyao.
It suddenly dawned on him that he had already exposed far too much in front of Xing Xu.
If Xing Xu were the kind of person who liked to get to the bottom of things and forced him to explain, Ye Xiyao wouldn’t have had any excuse—
How could he possibly explain why, when he said he was hungry, he ended up drinking Xing Xu’s blood?
Why, after drinking blood and still not feeling full, did he end up clinging to Xing Xu for a kiss?
Even the person Ye Xiyao had injured before—he clearly looked bigger and stronger than Ye Xiyao, yet he was seriously wounded and knocked unconscious, while the obviously weaker Ye Xiyao was completely unharmed.
So many flaws. If Xing Xu just caught onto one and questioned him, Ye Xiyao would be exposed!
“Go play on the side for a bit,”
Xing Xu, seeing Ye Xiyao looking so guilty and at a loss, felt both a pang of softness and a lack of readiness to confront him directly. So, he offered an out, “Dinner will be ready in an hour. Grab a snack or take a shower… Yeah, you should definitely shower.”
Ye Xiyao sighed in relief, completely ignoring the second half of Xing Xu’s words, and replied, “Then I’ll go shower first.”
Though it was clear that Xing Xu let him off the hook, the question still weighed heavily on Ye Xiyao’s mind.
He had a feeling that without complete honesty, his relationship with Xing Xu would always remain in this awkward in-between. Xing Xu might have let him off once or twice, but wouldn’t he become suspicious over time?
Could there really be someone in this world who wouldn’t mind kissing a person full of secrets?
Ye Xiyao gave Xing Xu a quiet glance, and when Xing Xu noticed, he quickly looked away and dashed toward his wardrobe. “I’ll find you something to wear after your shower tonight!”
Xing Xu asked, “You have something I can wear?”
Ye Xiyao rummaged around with all his might, pulling out his largest T-shirt and holding it up for comparison before dejectedly admitting, “…No.”
Xing Xu, as expected, let out a laugh, “Go shower, I’ll take care of myself.”
Ye Xiyao followed his advice and went to shower, though at that moment, he hadn’t fully understood what Xing Xu meant by “take care of myself.”
It wasn’t until it was time to sleep that he finally got it.
Xing Xu’s “taking care of himself” meant that without clothes, he simply wouldn’t wear any.
Well, not entirely—he was still wearing pants, but his upper body was completely bare, still carrying the moisture from his recent shower.
Such a tall figure, standing beside the bed, he looked like a mountain.
A shirtless mountain.
Ye Xiyao wasn’t exactly shy—after all, it wasn’t like he’d never seen a man’s body before. He looked in the mirror every day.
But Xing Xu’s body was very different from his own.
Lying on the bed, Ye Xiyao unconsciously reached out and poked Xing Xu’s abs.
Xing Xu took a sharp breath, looking down at Ye Xiyao’s actions with a complicated expression.
“Last time, when I touched you, I thought you were just a video game NPC, so I wasn’t that shocked because I thought it wasn’t real.” Ye Xiyao evaluated objectively, “Now that I know it’s real, I’m really impressed.”
His fingers were long and soft, bringing a light and gentle sensation as they touched Xing Xu’s body.
But Xing Xu’s reaction was anything but gentle.
His body tensed, breathing deepened, heart raced, and veins bulged—all of which Ye Xiyao didn’t even notice.
He was still sincerely asking Xing Xu for fitness tips, “How did you train to get this? Do you need to control your diet?”
As Ye Xiyao talked, his fingers slowly traced the contours of Xing Xu’s abs, moving downward until they stopped at a spot that felt a bit inappropriate.
Just as he was about to pull his hand back, it was caught by Xing Xu.
His hand, now completely out of his control, was pressed against Xing Xu’s lower abdomen and, under the pressure of Xing Xu’s grip, gradually moved downward.
Ye Xiyao finally sensed that something wasn’t right.
Xing Xu’s pants were noticeably tented, and the veins in his lower abdomen pulsed dangerously under Ye Xiyao’s touch. Everything about this screamed danger.
Ye Xiyao jerked his hand, but Xing Xu didn’t let go.
“You want me to teach you how to train?” Xing Xu squinted slightly, staring at Ye Xiyao’s now nervous and blushing face. He said, “What do you like?”
He pressed Ye Xiyao’s hand, guiding it to roam over his body.
“Here? Or here?” With each place he touched, Xing Xu would ask Ye Xiyao.
Ye Xiyao pursed his lips, staying silent, watching helplessly as his hand was dragged closer to a place that couldn’t be mentioned. Finally, he spoke up, “I… I don’t want to touch anymore.”
“Not curious about how I train anymore?” Xing Xu asked with a smile.
Ye Xiyao’s ears burned red as he stammered, “That place can’t be trained!”
“How would you know without trying? Want to feel for yourself?” Xing Xu’s dry voice was hoarse and deep. “Maybe you’d like it.”
“Let me go.” Ye Xiyao, using his free hand, desperately smacked Xing Xu, “I don’t like it.”
Xing Xu knelt on one knee at the edge of the bed, leaning down, still holding Ye Xiyao’s hand, which was resting at his waistband. Desire and reason teetered on a razor-thin edge. He coaxed softly into Ye Xiyao’s ear, “But baby, I want you to like it.”
Baby.
Recently, many people had been calling Ye Xiyao “baby.”
But only when Xing Xu said it, did Ye Xiyao feel a tingling sensation in his ears, as if a feather had lightly brushed his heart.
He couldn’t understand how Xing Xu made those same two words sound so different. There was a tenderness, insatiable but not annoying, one that didn’t make Ye Xiyao want to resist.
So, he really did… very cautiously… touch.
Xing Xu’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his whole body burning hot. He leaned over Ye Xiyao, his hands braced on either side of him, and with a hoarse, soft voice, he said, “Good baby, help me this one time, I promise I won’t do anything else. Just once, okay?”
The sensation of his heart itching was unfamiliar.
Ye Xiyao’s fingers curled slightly. Xing Xu’s voice sounded so sincere, and his pleading expression seemed so pitiful. Ye Xiyao decided to comply with what Xing Xu wanted.
With his eyes slightly red, he looked up at Xing Xu and obediently asked, “So, how… how should I do it?”
Upon hearing that, Xing Xu paused for a moment.
After a long silence, he let go of Ye Xiyao, stood up, and hung his head in the shadow, sighing heavily.
Just as Ye Xiyao thought Xing Xu had something else to say, the next moment, Xing Xu suddenly leaned down, grabbed his face firmly, and kissed him hard on the mouth. It was a fierce, almost biting kiss, as Xing Xu gritted his teeth and muttered, “…I’m going to die by your hands someday.”
Then he abruptly disappeared into the bathroom, without even turning on the light, and turned on the cold water, letting it rush over him.
