Xia Zichen turned over in bed, one arm slipping out from beneath the covers, exposing the scattered love bites across his neck and collarbone.
Gu Xu, who was sitting beside the bed in his pajamas reviewing documents, looked over. His expression softened. He gently pulled the blanket back up and tucked Xia Zichen in again.
Xia Zichen’s closed eyelids fluttered before slowly opening. Still half-asleep, he looked at Gu Xu and said hoarsely,
“Morning.”
Gu Xu leaned over and kissed his still slightly swollen lips.
“Go back to sleep for a while.”
Xia Zichen shook his head.
“If I sleep any longer, I won’t be able to fall asleep tonight.”
Gu Xu casually swept the documents off the bed and onto the floor. Pulling back part of the blanket, he covered Xia Zichen’s naked body with his own, gently spreading those long legs apart.
He kissed him deeply as he entered the place that was still soft and tender from being thoroughly loved the night before.
The sudden intrusion drew a soft moan from Xia Zichen.
The last traces of sleep instantly vanished.
Somewhat resentfully, he smacked Gu Xu lightly on the back.
“My waist still aches.”
Smiling, Gu Xu kissed his sensitive ear and neck.
“Just once.”
Helpless, Xia Zichen wrapped his arms around Gu Xu’s neck, surrendering to the intimacy that brought pleasure and release to them both.
Ever since Shengchen had stabilized, Gu Xu’s enthusiasm for this side of their relationship had only grown.
At first, he had been mindful of Xia Zichen’s class schedule and never overdid it.
Now that Xia Zichen was in graduate school, although he was still busy, his coursework wasn’t nearly as demanding as it had been during undergrad.
On top of that, the moment Xia Zichen graduated from college, the two of them had flown overseas and legally registered their marriage.
Now, Gu Xu could do as he pleased.
Everything was perfectly legitimate.
For his part, Xia Zichen rarely refused him.
As long as Gu Xu didn’t go too far, he simply indulged him.
Fortunately, Gu Xu had become excellent at controlling himself.
Whenever Xia Zichen had classes the next day, he always exercised restraint so his husband wouldn’t end up unable to get out of bed.
After so much experience together, Xia Zichen had also discovered something.
As long as he stayed quiet, Gu Xu usually wouldn’t lose control.
The moment he couldn’t hold back his voice…
He was doomed.
Unfortunately, Gu Xu knew his body better and better with each passing day.
Remaining silent became increasingly impossible.
And Gu Xu never allowed him to suppress himself anyway.
So by the end…
Xia Zichen could only resign himself to his fate and let Gu Xu do whatever he wanted.
When Xia Zichen woke again, it was already afternoon.
Gu Xu had reheated the congee they had bought the night before and brought it into the bedroom.
The two of them ate their first meal of the day together with a few simple side dishes.
As for Gu Xu’s cooking…
Xia Zichen really couldn’t praise it.
Nor did he expect Gu Xu to learn.
So whenever Xia Zichen slept in, Gu Xu either went out to buy breakfast or reheated food prepared the previous day.
That was far easier for him than actually standing over a stove.
Gu Xu was certainly brilliant.
But intelligence and cooking were two entirely different things.
Cooking relied on experience.
It required adjusting flavors according to personal taste.
Not simply weighing ingredients exactly as a recipe instructed.
After lunch, Gu Xu went to wash the dishes.
Meanwhile, Xia Zichen called Xia Yuze.
The phone rang several times before it was answered.
“Zichen?”
“Yeah, Dad. Gu Xu and I are coming over for dinner tonight.”
They had already discussed it the night before.
Now that his father had Qiao Chuqin, they naturally spent less time eating together, preferring to enjoy their own life as a couple.
“Huh? Today?”
Xia Yuze sounded genuinely surprised.
“What?”
“Chuqin and I are at the airport.”
“Our flight to Bali leaves soon. We’re going away for a few days.”
“I see.”
“Then have fun, Dad. Have a great trip with Uncle Qiao.”
Xia Zichen was already used to it.
Whenever Qiao Chuqin had free time, he took his father traveling somewhere.
At first, Xia Yuze had always informed him beforehand.
Eventually it happened so often that he stopped mentioning it.
After all, if his son needed him, he could always call.
Not long after Qiao Chuqin successfully proposed, the two of them officially registered their marriage.
Afterward, they bought a new house and began their married life together.
Back when Xia Yuze had still been alone, Xia Zichen often worried he might feel lonely.
Whenever they had free evenings, he and Gu Xu would accompany Xia Yuze for dinner.
Sometimes Gu Yan joined them as well.
Later, Qiao Chuqin became part of those dinners.
Eventually, he attended every single one.
After the marriage, however, Xia Zichen no longer worried about his father being lonely.
The regular dinners became weekend family visits instead.
Only now…
The family included Qiao Chuqin as well.
It finally felt complete.
The entertainment company jointly founded by Qiao Chuqin and Gu Yan had been developing smoothly.
The once arrogant young master had transformed into the perfect family man.
Unless an engagement was absolutely unavoidable, he always went home for dinner with Xia Yuze.
If he truly couldn’t decline a social event, then as long as Xia Yuze was willing, the two of them attended together.
By now, everyone in their social circle knew Young Master Qiao was happily taken.
Some even joked that he had become hopelessly whipped.
Since neither Xia Yuze nor Qiao Chuqin was home, there wasn’t much point in going over.
After finishing the dishes, Gu Xu found Xia Zichen absentmindedly sitting on the sofa.
He reached over and ruffled his hair.
“What’s wrong?”
“My dad and Uncle Qiao went traveling.”
“We don’t need to go over anymore.”
Placing a cushion behind his still sore lower back, Xia Zichen thought for a moment.
“How about we stay at the family estate tonight instead?”
Originally, they had planned to spend the night at Xia Yuze’s place before returning to the Gu residence the following afternoon, having dinner there, and then heading home.
“Sounds good.”
“I’m fine with whatever you want.”
Gu Xu nodded.
Xia Zichen called the Gu residence to let them know they would be coming for dinner.
The butler cheerfully agreed and promised to prepare all their favorite dishes.
Ever since Gu Xu first brought Xia Zichen home, Mr. and Mrs. Gu had spent much more time living in N City.
Whenever they were there, Xia Zichen accompanied Gu Xu home once every week to share a meal with them.
That evening, they drove to the Gu family estate.
Before they even entered the house, they heard someone plucking the strings of a guzheng.
The player…
Was Madam Gu.
Half a year earlier, she had visited Gu Xu and Xia Zichen’s home.
After seeing the guzheng in their living room and hearing Xia Zichen perform a piece for her, she had been completely captivated by the elegant traditional instrument.
As soon as she returned home, she contacted a teacher and began learning.
Of course, at her age she wasn’t aiming to become a concert performer.
As a hobby, though, it was wonderful.
“Madam, Fourth Young Master and Young Master Xia have arrived,” the butler announced.
Hearing this, Madam Gu immediately stopped playing and hurried into the living room.
“Perfect timing!”
She grabbed Xia Zichen before he had even sat down.
“Come teach me this part. My teacher explained it, but I’ve already forgotten.”
“At least let the child sit down first,” Mr. Gu said from the sofa.
“It’s fine.”
“I’m not tired.”
Xia Zichen smiled.
After all, he had only just gotten out of the car.
“Or better yet,” Gu Ao said as he walked downstairs with a helpless expression, “have our little demon play something that actually sounds good.”
“I’ve been listening to Mom practice all afternoon.”
“I’m about to suffer qi deviation.”
“I know I’m supposed to support your hobby…”
“But every now and then I need proper music to save me.”
Recently, Gu Ao hadn’t been very busy, so he had stayed in N City.
Gu Han’s work had also stabilized, and whenever he had days off, he returned to the family estate as well.
Only Gu Yan remained incredibly busy.
Sometimes they wouldn’t see him for an entire month.
“Oh, right.”
Madam Gu suddenly remembered something.
She returned from the side room carrying a box and handed it to Xia Zichen.
“This is for you.”
“It was finished a couple of days ago.”
Curious, Xia Zichen opened the box.
Inside was a complete set of guzheng finger picks carved from white jade.
The jade was smooth, translucent, and carried a gentle, elegant luster.
“Last month, Gu Ao brought back a piece of jade from Myanmar.”
“I couldn’t think of any jewelry I wanted.”
“And giving it away felt like a waste.”
“So on a whim, I had these made according to the size of your fingers.”
Smiling, Xia Zichen accepted them without ceremony.
“I love them.”
“Thank you, Mom.”
“Thank you, Third Brother.”
He genuinely liked them.
They possessed a graceful artistic beauty.
Though…
He had no intention of actually using them to play.
Jade was too fragile.
If he accidentally broke them while performing, it would be such a shame.
Displaying them at home seemed like a much better choice.
After dinner, the family chatted for a while before everyone returned to their own activities.
Gu Xu and Xia Zichen stayed overnight at the Gu residence.
After living there often enough, Xia Zichen no longer felt the slightest bit uncomfortable.
After showering, the two of them headed into the study.
Each opened a laptop and logged into Sword’s Edge.
After a full year of meticulous planning and development, Shengchen had officially launched the highly anticipated online game.
From closed beta onward, it had been explosively popular.
When open beta began, so many players flooded in that the servers nearly crashed.
Gu Xu, together with the planning director and technical director, held an emergency overnight meeting and opened the servers originally scheduled for the following month.
Only then did the pressure ease.
After continuous testing and improvements, Sword’s Edge had fully stabilized.
Its player base continued climbing steadily.
It had already become the newest trendsetter among domestic MMORPGs.
Its partnership with Qiao Chuqin also guaranteed exceptional production quality.
Combined with Qiao Chuqin’s mature international marketing strategies, the game’s influence had spread overseas.
From the very beginning of open beta, everyone from Sky Maple Pavilion transferred over together.
Once again, they built a new legend under the same guild banner.
Interestingly, while leveling, Xia Zichen discovered countless familiar character names and guild names.
After asking around, he learned they had all migrated from Sword Soul.
Many players from other games had also arrived.
Naturally, there were plenty of brand-new beginners as well.
All of this made the world extraordinarily lively.
The local chat channels were constantly filled with players recognizing old friends.
No matter which game they’d previously played, they always seemed to find familiar faces here.
Meeting the same people—or the same guild—in an entirely different game created an indescribable sense of warmth.
Even former enemies became friendlier.
Even when they still fought each other…
It felt more like affectionate rivals.
[Guild] Dancing Grace:
Twenty-five-player Emperor’s Capital Ancient City raid starts in thirty minutes. Sign up with me if you’re joining.
[Guild] Midnight Stalker:
Why are you organizing today? Where’s Jianlang?
Not everyone from War Underworld Hall had transferred.
Only An Jing, Tang Hui, and several longtime friends came over together.
After discussing it, Jianlang and Tang Hui decided everyone would simply merge into Sky Maple Pavilion.
Tang Hui and An Jing also became vice guild leaders.
To make everyone easier to recognize, they all kept their old Sword Soul character names.
It almost felt as though none of their friendships had changed.
Only the game itself had become even better.
[Guild] Dancing Grace:
Guild Leader has to help Baicaozhe finish his dailies first.
Otherwise Baicaozhe will beat him up at home.
[Guild] Jianlang:
Daily run forming.
Need one healer and two DPS.
Baicaozhe will just AFK follow me.
Don’t expect him to do damage…
[Guild] Love at Third Sight:
Where’s Vice Guild Leader Baicao?
[Guild] Jianlang:
Taking a shower.
[Guild] Sunflower:
Whoa…
My imagination just went wild.
Nosebleed.
[Guild] One Season Blossoms:
Nosebleed +1.
Guild Leader, hurry in there.
We all know you can’t wait. Hahaha.
[Guild] Matchmaker of Fujoshi:
So much BL energy…
Nosebleed +2.
[Guild] Charming Light Blue:
Nosebleed +N…
Last Lunar New Year, both Luo Ji’s and Mo Xiang’s families had finally relented, allowing them to come home together for the holidays.
It was, in effect, an acknowledgment of their relationship.
They were already financially independent.
As parents, even if they had once been angry, so much time had passed that those feelings had long since faded.
No matter what…
They were still their children.
Compared to their sons’ sexuality, years of longing weighed far more heavily.
Accepting them became the natural conclusion.
After struggling together for so many years, finally receiving their families’ blessing filled both Luo Ji and Mo Xiang with relief and joy.
To celebrate, they treated Gu Xu and Xia Zichen to dinner.
The two were genuinely happy for them.
Love belonged to two people…
But the support of family was equally important.
Only when both families accepted the relationship could love truly flourish.
[Guild] Ink Without Trace:
Invite Shen Chen and me.
[Guild] Jianlang:
Got it.
[Guild] One Season Blossoms:
Whoa! The legend himself!
Greetings, Great God!
[Guild] Love at Third Sight:
Long live the Great God!
Let me hug your thigh!
[Guild] Sunflower:
Great God!
Please let me worship you!
[Guild] Miss Chrysanthemum:
Sunflower, the Great God’s husband is going to beat you up.
[Guild] Sunflower:
Great God’s husband, I’m sorry!
I’ll just lick my screen instead…
[Guild] Chen Xi:
…
Outside the capital city, endless fields of sunflowers swayed beneath the breeze.
Ink Without Trace, dressed in black, stood shoulder to shoulder with Chen Xi, dressed in white.
Chen Xi traded all the freshly gathered sunflowers to Ink Without Trace for safekeeping.
Within Sword’s Edge, Ink Without Trace remained the elegant DPS he had always been.
Chen Xi was still the graceful healer with flowing robes.
Only now…
Chen Xi’s avatar had become an adorable young man.
He barely reached Ink Without Trace’s shoulder.
His long hair drifted gently between them, carrying an unmistakable intimacy.
Though they were both men…
They looked perfectly matched.
“Let’s head to the dungeon entrance and wait for Mo Xiang and the others,” Gu Xu said.
“Okay.”
Xia Zichen nodded.
He summoned a two-person mount.
After climbing aboard, he pulled Ink Without Trace up behind him.
With a sharp neigh, the white horse galloped across the endless sunflower fields.
Their perfectly matched silhouettes stretched into the distance.
Just like the sunflower’s meaning…
Their love symbolized loyalty, admiration, and the courage to pursue the happiness they desired.
[End of Extra]