The penthouse at Yanlan Bay was brightly lit.
Small appliances and daily items were placed in the kitchen, clothes went into the wardrobe, and miscellaneous items were organized into the guest room. Compared to previous moves, this time everything was calm and methodical, with moments of warmth and teasing in between—
For example, while organizing the wardrobe, Lu Chen opened one of the closets, lifted the stack of his own suits and shirts, and removed them all from the rods, placing them neatly in another closet to make room for He Xiaoyuan’s clothes.
He Xiaoyuan said, “No, leave them there. Just give me a drawer; I’ll fold mine.”
But Lu Chen took He Xiaoyuan’s clothes from the suitcase and hung them up anyway.
He Xiaoyuan’s eyes scanned the room. Lu Chen’s clothes were either hung perfectly straight or neatly organized, and he couldn’t help but silently admire them. They were so many, so stylish—he had previously thought men’s suits were just a few basic styles and shirts were mostly white, but seeing Lu Chen’s wardrobe, he realized men could have so much variety.
He thought, “Wow,” and his expression said exactly that: wow~
Lu Chen noticed and asked, “What’s the ‘wow’ for?”
He Xiaoyuan: Huh? Did he really just say “wow”?
Lu Chen then said, “Money is made to be spent. Spending it on yourself—on clothing, food, living—there’s nothing wrong with that.”
He Xiaoyuan, curious, asked, “Can you actually wear all these clothes?”
Lu Chen: “There are over three hundred days in a year.”
You do the math.
He Xiaoyuan exclaimed, “Every day something different?”
He bent down, picked up clothes from the box, and handed them to Lu Chen, who was closer to the wardrobe.
Lu Chen took them and hung them neatly. “Why not?”
He Xiaoyuan, busy with his hands, replied while chatting: “Then after a year, you buy new ones again? Every day without repeating?”
Lu Chen’s calm expression said, as if it should be obvious: of course.
After handing over the clothes, He Xiaoyuan clapped, shaking his head: “No wonder you’re a big boss.”
“Even Xiao Meng, who loves shopping, hasn’t bought clothes like this, and she’s a girl.”
Lu Chen, sensing an undertone, asked, “How’s that?”
He Xiaoyuan, curious: “Does my salary even cover a year’s worth of your clothes?”
Lu Chen silently hung the clothes, glancing at him without replying.
He Xiaoyuan: Wow~
Lu Chen chuckled: “Not that extreme.”
He Xiaoyuan then asked, “How much are your socks usually?”
Hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?
Lu Chen said quietly, “They’re custom-made. The silk comes from the cocoon spun within three days of a cicada’s new shell, crafted through six hundred steps by a master with over twenty years’ experience, with gold and diamonds. One pair costs 100,000.”
He Xiaoyuan: “……”
He burst out laughing: “You’re kidding!”
Lu Chen was speechless: “Socks are just socks. Ordinary socks—how expensive can they really be?”
He Xiaoyuan had a thought: “You didn’t even buy the socks yourself, did you? Chen Jun handled it, and you probably don’t know the price?”
Just then, He Xiaoyuan picked up a rolled-up tie from the suitcase. Lu Chen took it from him, motioning to pull him over and stuff the tie in his mouth to make him talk nonsense.
He Xiaoyuan backed away laughing: “Just joking! Just joking! Okay, okay, I was wrong!”
They packed watches, ties, and other accessories into the island drawers. Opening one, He Xiaoyuan saw the black velvet compartments holding a neatly arranged collection of watches, cufflinks, ties, and pins, and he was amazed.
Especially the watches—lined up on watch pillows, row by row, column by column. At first sight, it was stunning.
He Xiaoyuan remembered the 200,000 watch he had gifted Lu Chen and blurted out while looking at Lu Chen: “Does the one I gave you even qualify to go here? Or should it just sit on the bathroom counter?”
He added: “Your bathroom counter isn’t worth tens of thousands per unit, right?”
Lu Chen: “……”
Where else would you put a watch if not here?
He raised his left wrist, lightly turned it, and revealed the watch under his sleeve—it was exactly the one He Xiaoyuan had given him.
“Right here.”
He Xiaoyuan laughed, “So you’ve been wearing it all along.”
Lu Chen, curious, asked, “In your mind, do big bosses never behave like normal people?”
He Xiaoyuan chuckled along, “I just… saw all these watches lying around and thought maybe the one I gave you doesn’t really belong here.”
The implication was clear: the watch he had gifted might not be worthy to rest among Lu Chen’s collection.
Lu Chen held out his hand: “Come on, you.”
He Xiaoyuan: ?
Lu Chen grabbed He Xiaoyuan’s arm and pretended to push him onto the island countertop. “In my heart, you’re the most priceless one. Come on, lie down in there.”
He Xiaoyuan laughed. “No, I’m too big. I won’t fit. Okay, okay, I was joking.”
Lu Chen pulled him closer, kissed his forehead, his nose, then his lips. “Bad little kid.”
The final touch to complete the unpacking was He Xiaoyuan placing the silver panther brooch he checked and touched every night before bed into a drawer on the bedside table.
Looking at it neatly arranged, he smiled, feeling that satisfying sense of completion after a move.
He gently closed the drawer.
Going downstairs to the living room, Lu Chen approached, handing him a box of milk with a straw.
He Xiaoyuan took it, sat on the sofa, and took a sip. “You really treat me like a kid, huh.”
Lu Chen replied, “Be good. One box every night—it helps you grow taller.”
He Xiaoyuan drank and said, “At this rate, I’ll be taller than you soon.”
Lu Chen sat beside him, running his hand gently over his hair. “Then be taller. Whose kid can’t be taller than their dad?”
He Xiaoyuan snorted. “Don’t take advantage of me.”
Lu Chen reached over, took He Xiaoyuan’s hand holding the milk, moved the box away from his mouth, and leaned in to kiss him. A bit of milk touched his lips, which he licked off. Then, looking at him closely with a deep, heated gaze, he said, “Now that we live together, maybe we need ‘house rules’?”
Just like when they had first started dating.
He Xiaoyuan thought for a moment and nodded. “Sure, rules.”
“Okay, what rules?”
Lu Chen: “Me?”
“Yes.”
Lu Chen, sitting close, thoughtfully outlined the first rule: “Before bed every night, we kiss for at least ten minutes before saying goodnight and heading to our own rooms.”
He Xiaoyuan: “……”
The second rule: “No restrictions on where hands go or what they do.”
He Xiaoyuan: “……”
Third rule: “Whatever happens naturally, let it happen naturally.”
He Xiaoyuan: “……”
He asked, “For example?”
Lu Chen answered bluntly, “For example, when I kiss you, if things get… a little too far and I want to take off your clothes…”
He Xiaoyuan immediately shoved the straw into Lu Chen’s mouth.
He swallowed.
What kind of wolfish words were these?
He Xiaoyuan, speechless, asked, “So this is your idea of living together to build intimacy? I thought you weren’t the impatient type in some areas?”
Lu Chen pulled the straw from his lips, a playful, restrained smile on his face. He held He Xiaoyuan’s shoulders and leaned in to kiss him—yes, exactly what he had just described. But men… you know, men’s mouths are tricky.
This time, along with the deep, passionate kiss, Lu Chen’s hands moved a bit—tugging He Xiaoyuan’s shirt slightly out of his pants and slipping inside.
He Xiaoyuan shivered.
Lu Chen’s hand traced up and down his flat, smooth stomach. Half of He Xiaoyuan’s awareness was caught up in the kiss, while the other half could clearly feel the hand’s movements—cool, ticklish, electric.
He raised his free hand and pressed it against Lu Chen’s wandering hand through his shirt.
Lu Chen kissed him again, voice low and husky: “Xiaoyuan… baby… let go.”
He Xiaoyuan pressed harder, determined not to let the hand wander further.
But could he really stop it? Not at all.
Soon, the hand tried to go further.
He Xiaoyuan shrank back, caught in the intertwining kiss, and hurriedly said, “Stop.”
His voice was urgent.
Lu Chen paused, kissed his lips, then moved down to his chin, Adam’s apple, and neck.
He Xiaoyuan tilted his neck back, still holding the milk, restraining his fingers from squeezing. The milk stayed safely in the box.
After a few more kisses, Lu Chen finally stopped. He cupped He Xiaoyuan’s face, kissed the corner of his mouth, and said, “Our Xiaoyuan is really good.”
He Xiaoyuan laughed, surrounded by the mingled scent of milk and their closeness. “You still treat me like a kid.”
Lu Chen responded with a soft “Mm,” but he was right—Xiaoyuan was just 22.
22—so young.
Lu Chen’s emotions surged, and he couldn’t hold back. “I’ll take care of you, okay?”
He Xiaoyuan laughed lightly. “Who asked you to? I have a job.”
Lu Chen buried his head in He Xiaoyuan’s neck, taking a deep breath.
Yes. This was exactly what he wanted.
He wanted intimacy, to be together morning and night, to hold, kiss, and comfort each other. He wanted Xiaoyuan to be his, and he to be Xiaoyuan’s.
Every second, fully, completely theirs.
He wanted all of Xiaoyuan.
This was the true thought of 33-year-old Lu Chen.
Mature and steady as ever, yet he felt like he was in his twenties again, alive with thoughts, emotions, and actions.
That’s probably what it’s like to truly love someone.