Lu Zhixing’s body temperature was low, and his lips and tongue were cool as well. Whenever they kissed, there was always a difference in temperature between them. But now, both of them were cold, so there was no such contrast. It was as though their sweet, moist tongues had become one.
…………………..
Lu Zhixing pried open Xiyu’s teeth and entwined his tongue with Xiyu’s, tightening his grip around his wrist at the same time.
Xiyu was pressed against the backrest. The spoon slipped from his hand and fell against his chest. The ice cream melted, smearing across his clothes in a cold, sticky mess.
Lu Zhixing’s lips and tongue moved downward, settling over the half-melted ice cream. He swept it up with the tip of his tongue.
As though afraid of getting Xiyu dirty, he was very careful. His hands rested on either side of Xiyu’s waist. He lowered his head to lick the ice cream, yet his eyes lifted to look at Xiyu.
Xiyu’s breathing suddenly grew heavier. He gazed at Lu Zhixing’s pitch-black eyes and the tip of his crimson tongue.
Through the thin layer of clothing, Lu Zhixing licked the ice cream clean from Xiyu’s chest. The cold sensation spread, then gradually turned scorching hot.
A small stain remained on the pure white fabric where the ice cream had melted. Lu Zhixing seemed determined to clean it away completely, gently biting and sucking at the spot.
The movie continued playing. Its fairly loud soundtrack concealed Xiyu’s increasingly heavy breathing, yet he could still hear his heartbeat thundering like a storm, as though it were about to leap out of his chest.
Lu Zhixing’s mouth was very cool.
Xiyu’s mouth was cold, too, so there wasn’t much of a temperature difference when they kissed. But the rest of his body was warm, burning hot.
Whenever Lu Zhixing touched him elsewhere, the contrast in temperature was astonishing.
* (You guys don’t like this part.)
By the time Xiyu knew how much time had passed, he had already lost track of the movie’s plot.
As his unfocused gaze drifted across the screen, a character who had been a good person suddenly turned into the villain. He shouted that he would make the entire world perish alongside him, then pulled the pin from a grenade with a loud click.
Xiyu’s mind was sluggish. He felt as though the grenade had exploded right inside his chest, its blast reverberating in time with his heartbeat.
His hand was still clutching Lu Zhixing’s hair. His jade-white fingers were tangled in the black strands, creating a sight that was difficult to describe without a hint of sensuality.
Lu Zhixing’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Slowly, he straightened up and leaned over Xiyu, lowering his head to capture his lips.
The two cups of ice cream left to one side had already melted halfway. Yet sweetness still lingered between Xiyu’s lips and teeth, making the bitter, metallic taste that accompanied Lu Zhixing’s kiss all the more noticeable.
The corners of Xiyu’s eyes were still red, and his clothes were disheveled. Two buttons had somehow come undone, revealing a stretch of jade-white shoulder.
He looked like someone who had drunk too much. His body had long since gone limp, and he rested lazily against the backrest. When he tasted the bitter, metallic flavor, his brows furrowed slightly. With barely any strength left, he placed his hand on Lu Zhixing’s shoulder and pushed.
“It’s so bitter.”
Lu Zhixing adored this side of him. He teased, “It’s sweet.”
Xiyu tilted his head back slightly, exposing his pale neck, which resembled a piece of exquisite jade. For some inexplicable reason, Lu Zhixing’s fingertips began to itch. He raised a hand and loosely encircled Xiyu’s neck.
His heart was overflowing with love and tenderness for Xiyu, yet, for no reason he could explain, he felt an urge to close his fingers around that slender neck.
Xiyu’s eyelashes trembled. He slowly turned to look at Lu Zhixing, showing not the slightest intention of avoiding him.
It was as though he were willing to entrust his very life to Lu Zhixing.
The feeling was overwhelming. Lu Zhixing was desperately thirsty, consumed by a strange and inexplicable sense of awe. Never before had he been so painfully aware of just how deeply Xiyu loved him.
He felt that even if he tightened his fingers right then and there, stealing Xiyu’s breath and life away, Xiyu would willingly accept it.
“Xiyu,” Lu Zhixing rasped, his voice low and hoarse. “I want to have sex with you.”
He had Xiyu’s lips between his teeth, so his words came out muffled and indistinct.
Xiyu’s mind was blank and bewildered. He hadn’t quite heard what Lu Zhixing had said. He wanted to lean closer to listen, but with his neck held in place, he could only look at Lu Zhixing in confusion.
“Hmm?”
The sound escaped his throat with a slight upward lilt, a simple expression of puzzlement.
With his palm pressed against Xiyu’s neck, Lu Zhixing could feel his Adam’s apple move as he spoke. That small sound was veiled in an ambiguous, intoxicating intimacy.
Lu Zhixing said nothing more. Instead, he answered Xiyu with his actions, both gentle and forceful.
Xiyu had little strength left. Completely relaxed, he let Lu Zhixing do as he pleased.
He felt as though he had fallen into a cloud made of cotton candy, surrounded by a thick, sweet fragrance. The sensations became almost unbearable, and he reached out to pat Lu Zhixing’s cheek.
That gesture meant one thing: Stop.
They had comforted each other like this many times before. Between the intimate contact of their bodies, love and desire had always intertwined.
But Xiyu still had enough reason left to know they couldn’t continue, which was why he patted Lu Zhixing’s face.
In the past, no matter how reluctant Lu Zhixing had been, he would always obey.
Today, however, Lu Zhixing’s movements paused for only an instant. The next second, he turned his head and bit down on Xiyu’s fingertip, applying a little pressure.
Xiyu had risen to the pinnacle of power, both as a demon and as a god. That meant he had witnessed countless scenes of bloodshed and suffered injuries of all kinds.
But no one knew that he was actually very afraid of pain.
Perhaps he had been born sensitive. Xiyu was keenly aware of every sensation, including pain.
Under ordinary circumstances, this wouldn’t have amounted to much. The pain itself wasn’t particularly severe.
But perhaps he had been too comfortable lately. He hadn’t been injured, and Lu Zhixing had been clinging to him and teasing him affectionately, making him very happy. As a result, the nerves that had remained taut for so long—because of his hatred, his desperate desire to return to the Ninth Heaven and reunite with his disciple, and finally the activation of the execution formation—had gradually relaxed.
Now, he found himself less able to endure suffering.
The happiest, most carefree period of Xiyu’s life, apart from the days when his mother had still been alive, was this recent stretch of time. There was no hatred, no pain, only the person he loved.
People tended to become a little spoiled when they were loved. Xiyu supposed he was no exception.
Take this moment, for example. The bite wasn’t particularly painful, yet he almost sighed as he murmured, “It hurts.”
There was something almost plaintive about that single word.
Lu Zhixing’s self-control shattered in an instant.
He clearly couldn’t bear the thought of Xiyu being hurt, so he released the fingertip from his teeth and gently enveloped it with his tongue. He sucked on the pink fingertip until it turned a vivid red, as though soothing him.
The furrow between Xiyu’s brows smoothed out. He seemed quite pleased with being appeased like this.
Lu Zhixing felt that Xiyu was like a proud, pampered cat. It took an immense amount of love and coaxing, along with an almost humble willingness to please, just to make those dark, glistening eyes turn toward him.
He had to treasure Xiyu with the utmost care, Lu Zhixing thought.
Yet that single word, hurt, whispered beside his ear moments ago, had struck him like a deafening thunderclap.
It made him want to hear it again.
Or perhaps, more accurately, he wanted to make Xiyu hurt.
It was a deeply contradictory feeling. Xiyu was like a beautiful, fragile porcelain vessel. Lu Zhixing wanted to witness the beauty of its shattering, yet he couldn’t bear to loosen his hold and let it truly break.
Lu Zhixing grew feverishly hot, calling his name again and again.
“Xiyu… Xiyu…”
It wasn’t until their clothes had been removed that Xiyu realized something was wrong. He pressed against Lu Zhixing’s hands and began to resist.
“No…”
I can’t take Lu Zhixing like this, Xiyu thought.
Lu Zhixing stopped. He looked at Xiyu’s face, twisted with desire and discomfort.
“You don’t want this?”
It shouldn’t be like this. He could feel that Xiyu wanted him just as much as he wanted Xiyu.
Then why couldn’t they?
Xiyu pushed Lu Zhixing away. As he caught his breath, the fragrance of pear blossoms spread through the air. He pulled up the clothes hanging around his arms, covering his jade-white skin and the mottled red marks scattered across it.
His voice was hoarse.
“Wait until you recover your memories.”
In an instant, Lu Zhixing felt as though he had been plunged into an ice cave.
………………..
To a certain extent, Xiyu wasn’t a particularly open-minded person.
On the contrary, he was quite traditional.
He had always believed that the wedding night should come only after the wedding ceremony was complete.
Even when he had just realized his own feelings and still didn’t know whether Zhixu loved him, he had already made up his mind that if Zhixu refused him, he would take him by force. Yet even then, he had thought there ought to be a grand wedding first.
Only after the ceremony was complete would it be proper for him to pull Zhixu into his arms and indulge in every kind of wild, unrestrained intimacy.
It shouldn’t happen now.
It shouldn’t happen while Zhixu was still suffering from amnesia.
Xiyu lowered his eyelids. The lingering sensations made his dark lashes tremble slightly, and his fingers shook almost imperceptibly as he fastened his buttons.
Lu Zhixing watched him for several seconds before climbing off him. His gaze was deep, carrying a trace of menace that Xiyu had never seen before.
The day before New Year’s Eve, Xiyu was still at the company dealing with a stalled project that required his attention.
Lu Zhixing’s mind was now no different from an ordinary person’s. Perhaps because certain things remained deeply ingrained in his subconscious, he was perfectly capable of handling various company matters.
After Lu Zheng discovered this, he practically dragged Lu Zhixing back to the company by force. He then boarded a flight to City S with his close friend and his wife.
Shen Qing had suggested earlier that they spend the New Year in City S. Now that the weather had grown increasingly cold and a thick layer of snow covered the ground, Shen Qing—who couldn’t tolerate the cold—had finally prompted Luo Yuan to pack their luggage and leave ahead of schedule.
That left Lu Zhixing and Xiyu behind, along with Luo Cheng’an, who had taken Shen Tan away that day and had not appeared since.
There was still more than a month until the Lunar New Year, and the company had a few matters left to settle. Xiyu had promised that he would join them in City S as soon as he finished handling everything.
Luo Yuan had now entrusted the company entirely to Xiyu, and Xiyu had certainly lived up to his expectations. By the end of the year, he had doubled the headquarters’ net profits. And he had achieved that in just two months since joining the company.
The shareholders who had initially objected to Xiyu’s sudden appointment—and to the handsome young man he had brought along with him, though he no longer brought him around now—were grinning from ear to ear when they saw the year-end financial reports.
Xiyu couldn’t be bothered to exchange pleasantries with them. He wrapped up the meeting as quickly as possible.
Even so, by the time the meeting ended, it was almost five in the afternoon.
Lu Zhixing had spent the past week at the A City branch of the Lu Group.
Xiyu trusted Lu Zhixing’s abilities. During the first two days, he had stayed by Lu Zhixing’s side because he was worried that Lu Zhixing might not be comfortable working alone. But after realizing he had been worrying unnecessarily, he relaxed and focused on handling the affairs of his own company.
Xiyu had been working overtime for several consecutive days, hoping to finish the year-end business as soon as possible so that he could take Lu Zhixing to City S.
His spiritual power had recently begun to return little by little. But A City was far too cold, and Lu Zhixing still hadn’t recovered. Xiyu wanted to take him somewhere warm to spend the New Year.
It would be the first time the two of them celebrated the Lunar New Year in the mortal world.
The New Year in the mortal world was lively. Everywhere one looked, the atmosphere was filled with festive cheer.