When Xu Ze woke up, his whole body burning with heat, the room was bathed in warm yellow light.
It was already afternoon.
The fan was still blowing.
Xu Ze pulled the blanket down a little and let out a long breath.
He was lying flat on his back now.
When he turned his head, Xu Ze vaguely saw Lu Heyang still sitting in the chair in front of the desk, one hand supporting his chin, seemingly watching him.
The afternoon light passed through the curtain and fell across Lu Heyang, making his entire figure seem almost unreal.
Xu Ze’s eyes moved slowly several times.
His gaze traveled carefully from Lu Heyang’s fingers, to his shoulders, chin, nose, and brows and eyes.
His gaze wasn’t clear.
His eyelashes hung low, and he was in that hazy state between dreaming and waking.
If Lu Heyang coming to his house at noon had really happened in reality, then Xu Ze was certain that the Lu Heyang in front of him now was truly a dream.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the courage to look so openly into Lu Heyang’s eyes.
Xu Ze didn’t often dream about Lu Heyang.
There weren’t even a few times a year.
He didn’t want to dream about him, because the gap between dreams and reality was too great, and waking up afterward easily left him feeling depressed.
But whenever he did dream of him, Xu Ze cherished those moments especially dearly.
He kept his eyes fixed on Lu Heyang without moving, then turned his body onto his side as well, quietly meeting Lu Heyang’s gaze.
Lu Heyang’s left hand rested on his knee.
It suddenly moved.
Xu Ze’s attention was immediately drawn to it, and he looked at Lu Heyang’s left hand.
The five fingers were fair and long, the joints sharply defined.
The pad of his index finger rested against his knee, gently rubbing back and forth in small movements.
Xu Ze watched for several seconds.
He had no idea why, but that tiny movement somehow made his face and ears grow hot, and even sent a numb sensation down his spine, as if Lu Heyang’s finger were brushing across his back.
Xu Ze swallowed.
An alpha in his susceptible period couldn’t withstand this kind of temptation.
He felt extremely ashamed of his own imagination.
His face burning red, Xu Ze turned over, presenting his back to Lu Heyang.
It was too hot.
Xu Ze reached up, grabbed the collar of his T-shirt, and pulled it upward, taking the shirt off and exposing his bare back.
Even though this was a dream, Xu Ze somehow felt that Lu Heyang’s gaze behind him had weight, pressing down against his back.
Xu Ze took several breaths.
Then he turned back over once again.
His clear, translucent pupils reflected Lu Heyang’s figure.
The blanket was still covering him at the waist. Xu Ze lifted his right leg and hooked it around the blanket. After struggling like that for several seconds, Xu Ze finally reached his hand down and slipped it beneath the blanket.
He panted and took a moment to recover before opening his eyes. He realized that even then, he still had not woken up. Then he saw Lu Heyang stand up and walk toward the bed.
Xu Ze stared blankly as he approached. Lu Heyang planted one hand beside Xu Ze’s pillow and leaned down. Xu Ze looked at that face from such a close distance, unable to find a single flaw—perhaps there was no perfect person in the world, but Lu Heyang’s face could be perfect.
Xu Ze’s lower lip was a little swollen from biting it. He felt that Lu Heyang’s features shouldn’t be this clear. Whenever he dreamed of him before, it always seemed as though there were a veil between them, making it impossible to see him clearly. Xu Ze reached out with his clean left hand. It had been dislocated last night and still hurt now. He wanted to touch Lu Heyang’s face. He didn’t dare do anything else; he only wanted to touch it once.
But before he could touch Lu Heyang’s face, Xu Ze saw Lu Heyang frown slightly, and then his hand was pinned down.
Lu Heyang called him, “Xu Ze.”
The only sound in the room was the rotating fan. Xu Ze stared blankly up at Lu Heyang, and his eyes gradually became clear.
The transition from a flushed face to completely drained of color happened in an instant. Xu Ze’s face turned pale, and an expression of despair and lifelessness appeared on it.
He could imagine what he looked like right now. His injuries weren’t healed, the corner of his mouth was still swollen, and he was drenched in sweat from his susceptible period—and after looking this miserable, he had actually been fantasizing about another male alpha.
How would Lu Heyang see him now? Xu Ze didn’t dare think about it for even one more second.
He couldn’t speak. It felt as though his throat were packed with sand, and his thoughts had stopped at the moment he realized what had happened, unable to produce any meaningful response.
“Dr. Zhuo asked me to remind you to remember to take your medicine and check your temperature,” Lu Heyang said. He released Xu Ze’s wrist and instead pressed a hand lightly against his sweat-covered chest, speaking casually. “He also asked me to ask whether your lungs still hurt.”
His hand rested directly against Xu Ze’s skin, allowing him to feel the rapid beating of his heart beneath his palm.
Xu Ze’s entire body stiffened. It took him a great deal of effort before he managed to shake his head once.
“Good.” Lu Heyang’s hand moved to the back of Xu Ze’s neck and held it. “Change the suppressant patch every three hours. It’ll work better that way.”
As he said this, he gave the back of Xu Ze’s neck a light squeeze, as if he were trying to reinforce Xu Ze’s memory of changing his suppressant patch.
“Okay.” Xu Ze’s voice was so soft it was almost inaudible. He spoke hoarsely. “You should go home.”
Lu Heyang straightened and looked down at Xu Ze for several seconds. Xu Ze had already closed his eyes and buried his face in the pillow. The blanket was still draped over his waist, exposing his upper body and part of one leg. The hazy light by the window illuminated the reddish marks and sweat on his body, while the areas covered with gauze and Band-Aids also showed faint redness around the wounds.
It was a full five minutes after he heard the door close that Xu Ze finally sat up in bed.
He looked hardly any different from a walking corpse. Dragging his feet, he went to get a clean pair of underwear and some clothes, then opened the door and headed toward the bathroom.
As he passed through the living room, Xu Ze saw that the insulated lunch container was still sitting on the dining table—Lu Heyang had forgotten to take the utensils with him.
That meant that when school started next week, he would have to return them to him in person.
Xu Ze had never encountered so many problems all at once.
And who still doesn’t know that Lu Heyang is a perfect gentleman?
(while touching Xu Ze’s chest muscles)