Xi Yu reached the door of his room and raised a hand to close it, but once again, someone stopped him.
“Wasn’t there a mosquito in your room? Sleep in mine tonight.”
With his back to Lu Zhixing, the corners of Xi Yu’s lips lifted in an almost imperceptible smile.
Love was like a web, making those caught in its very center lose their sense of direction.
Just as Xi Yu viewed Lu Zhixing through a filter of innocence, Lu Zhixing was now so overwhelmed by concern for Xi Yu that he could barely think straight.
Such clumsy tricks had once been enough to escape the notice of the Venerable God of Lanxing, who stood above all the gods. At this moment, they also went unnoticed by the obsessive and sensitive Lu Zhixing.
They were such obvious little tricks that anyone watching from the sidelines could see through them at a glance. Yet these two had never managed to see through each other.
It was like a little game belonging exclusively to the two of them. Their tiny schemes were proof that they were loved.
Luo Cheng’an saw through everything from the corner of the room and rolled his eyes, speechless.
“It’s time to eat! Good night, good night? Is this the time to be saying good night?!”
Luo Cheng’an bitterly regretted not having a watch. Otherwise, he would have loved to hurl it straight at their faces.
“What’s wrong with you two?!”
As the old saying among mortals went: Birds of a feather flock together!
………………….
It was Xi Yu’s first time deliberately fishing for a reaction, and his friend had caught him at it. The tips of his ears turned red, but he still did his best to maintain his composure.
Lu Zhixing carefully scrutinized Xi Yu, like an emotionless scanning machine.
To make his weakness seem more convincing, Xi Yu did not go downstairs for dinner. Instead, he told Lu Zhixing that he absolutely had to go down and eat, insisting that he could manage on his own.
After a long pause, Lu Zhixing finally replied, “I’m not hungry.”
Xi Yu did not press him. Instead, he politely explained that he wanted to take a shower before lying down in Lu Zhixing’s bed.
Lu Zhixing’s damp shoes and socks had been left at the entrance. Before entering the bathroom, Xi Yu did not forget to remind him to tell the elders what was happening so they would not worry.
Lu Zhixing agreed. Once Xi Yu had entered the bathroom, he took out his phone to send a message, only to discover that the battery was dead.
He glanced anxiously at the bathroom door, which remained firmly shut. After hesitating for two seconds, he hurried downstairs.
“Not hungry. You eat. Something to do. Don’t disturb us.”
Standing beside the dining table, Lu Zhixing delivered his message in a few terse words. Without even checking whether anyone had understood him, he immediately rushed back upstairs, as though he feared that even a moment’s delay would cause the fragile Xi Yu to suffer even more.
Shen Qing’s knife and fork froze in midair, a piece of tender-looking steak covered in sauce still resting on them.
“What on earth was he babbling about just now?”
Jiang Shuhe chewed her steak, looking equally bewildered.
Luo Cheng’an seemed to have forgotten every last bit of his table manners. His knife sliced through the fibers of the beef, then scraped against the plate with a brief, sharp screech. He sneered.
“Maybe he was saying what a complete idiot he is!”
Luo Yuan smacked Luo Cheng’an on the head and glared at him.
“How dare you talk about my daughter-in-law like that!”
Lu Zheng was the only person at the table who remained unaffected. He said indifferently, “Ignore them. Let’s just eat.”
Lu Zhixing ran all the way back to the bedroom. Almost furtively, he pressed his ear against the bathroom door. Hearing the sounds inside and confirming that Xi Yu was safely taking his shower, he finally began to relax.
He slowly sat down on the sofa and lowered his head in thought.
Actually, he also felt that something was wrong with him. He had been completely irrational, picking fights with Xi Yu for no good reason.
But he couldn’t control himself. It was as though he had to force Xi Yu to choose between himself and himself.
At first, he had genuinely wanted to regain his memories, to remember everything that had happened between him and Xi Yu.
But Luo Cheng’an’s words had made him sensitive. He had begun to resent his past self almost neurotically, splitting himself into two people every time Xi Yu called out the name Zhuxi.
This period had been incredibly difficult for him. He could tell that Xi Yu was suffering too.
Yet even amid all that misery, seeing Xi Yu become flustered and helpless because of Lu Zhixing brought him a secret, almost shameful sense of pleasure.
Lu Zhixing couldn’t control his unhealthy thoughts. He was also afraid that if he got any closer to Xi Yu, he would lose control even further.
He loved Xi Yu so much. He didn’t want Xi Yu to be angry with him.
A rare look of bewilderment appeared on Lu Zhixing’s face.
Xi Yu wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what to do. Lu Zhixing, who couldn’t rein in his possessiveness, was just as lost.
But that brief moment of confusion was soon interrupted by a short scream from inside the bathroom. Lu Zhixing’s face turned pale, and he rushed inside.
“Xi Yu, you—”
The words died on Lu Zhixing’s lips as his gaze fell upon Xi Yu.
The bathroom was filled with swirling steam. Xi Yu lay on the floor, one hand braced against the wall, the body wash foam still clinging to his skin.
His entire body was flushed pink from the hot water, like little flowers blooming across his jade-white skin.
Xi Yu lifted his eyes, misted with moisture. His soft voice took on a slightly languid, almost sticky quality in the humid bathroom.
“Sorry to trouble you, but could you help me? I’m feeling really dizzy. I slipped and fell.”
Only then did Lu Zhixing come to his senses. He crouched down.
Before Lu Zhixing could reach him, Xi Yu moved his hand aside, revealing a bluish bruise on his knee.
Xi Yu was very fair, with a cool, pale complexion. Any injury on his skin stood out like a vivid mark drawn on a sheet of white paper.
He had fallen beneath the shower, and by now, the foam on his body had already been washed away. Only the sweet fragrance of dried roses lingered, mingling with the scent of pear blossoms—a fragrance that, to Lu Zhixing, was practically an aphrodisiac.
“Your clothes are wet,” Xi Yu said, looking rather apologetic. But what came out of his mouth was anything but restrained.
“Why don’t we shower together?”
Xi Yu thought he had made himself perfectly clear, his words practically dripping with temptation. But before he could receive an answer, his body suddenly left the ground. Lu Zhixing had hooked an arm beneath his knees and lifted him up in a bridal carry.
The droplets of water hanging from Xi Yu’s insteps fell to the floor as he was lifted.
Xi Yu looked at Lu Zhixing’s expressionless face and blinked, a little puzzled. Had he not been obvious enough just now?
So he slipped his arms around Lu Zhixing’s neck and leaned weakly against his chest. Even when Lu Zhixing placed him on the bed, he did everything he could to appear dependent on him.
“I hurt a little. Could you stay with me?”
Lu Zhixing was soaked. The seawater had only wet the cuffs of his trousers, but the water from the bathroom had drenched practically his entire body.
“I need to take a shower.”
His eyes were as dark as a bottomless pool.
“Oh, I see.” Xi Yu was remarkably understanding as he released his grip on Lu Zhixing’s shirt. “Then hurry back.”
The bedsheets beneath him had been dampened by the moisture on his body. Xi Yu had already recovered half of his spiritual power, but he made no effort to dry himself or the sheets. Instead, he shifted slightly and leaned against the headboard.
He even pulled the quilt over himself, concealing most of his exposed skin. Only half of one jade-white shoulder and his prominent collarbone remained visible.
Xi Yu gazed at Lu Zhixing with warm eyes. There was a lingering, affectionate quality to his expression, but it wasn’t particularly intense.
After Xi Yu let go, Lu Zhixing turned around and headed towards the bathroom.
Perhaps his wet clothes really were that heavy, because his steps were incredibly slow. He moved forward little by little, making what was actually a short distance seem like an endless journey.
When the bathroom door closed, an indescribable emotion flashed through Xi Yu’s eyes. The smile on his lips faded slightly. Then, with a wave of his hand, his damp body and the wet bedsheets instantly became dry, smooth, and comfortable.
But his heart had grown damp.
He hadn’t even reacted to that? Xi Yu felt that Lu Zhixing was even harder to deal with than he had imagined.
Xi Yu lowered his eyes, feeling rather troubled. But the next second, the bathroom door was flung open with a bang. Before he could react, a hand closed around his neck.
Cool fingers pressed beneath his chin, forcing his face upward as he was met with a kiss that was impatient, fierce, and thoroughly exasperated.
Yet the dampness in Xi Yu’s heart softened with that kiss.
The bedsheets, however, were soaked again by the water dripping from Lu Zhixing’s trousers, leaving dark patches wherever he moved.
“Xi Yu.”
Lu Zhixing’s tongue withdrew slightly, coming to rest against Xi Yu’s lips. His eyes, dark as a midnight abyss, seemed to beckon someone to enter and become trapped within, never to receive the slightest response no matter how desperately they cried out.
“Are you messing with me?” Lu Zhixing asked.
………………..
Lu Zhixing’s upper body was bare, his chest rising and falling heavily. His belt was halfway undone. Just looking at his broad shoulders and narrow waist made it easy to imagine the struggle he had just gone through.
If he hadn’t noticed anything amiss when Xi Yu had made those flushed, breathy little sounds at the bathroom door, then Xi Yu’s earlier display of dependence had been even more like an aphrodisiac deliberately placed outside a cup.
It let him know exactly what it was and what its purpose was. But whether he chose to take it was entirely up to him.
Xi Yu’s attraction to Lu Zhixing was practically fatal, affecting him from the physical to the psychological.
Xi Yu was like a patient master fisherman. Sitting calmly on a high platform, he tossed a little bait onto the hook and cast it into the water, occasionally giving the line a little tug, as though he didn’t particularly care whether the fish took it.
But no fisherman ever truly wants to catch anything other than the fish he’s after.
Lu Zhixing’s heavy breathing brushed against Xi Yu’s face.
With their chests pressed together, the skin that had already dried on Xi Yu’s body grew damp once more.
“Mm.” Xi Yu placed his palm against Lu Zhixing’s chest. He didn’t seem to have much strength, as though he were considering whether to push him away or tease him. His expression was wickedly composed. “I’m messing with you.”
Lu Zhixing stared at Xi Yu for a moment before smiling. He put on an exaggeratedly sweet voice.
“Brother, haven’t you already had your fun with every part of me?”
“You can’t put it that way. This is still my first time.”
Lu Zhixing’s heart skipped a beat.
First time.
That meant Xi Yu had never done this with Zhuxi.
The Mirror of Glazed Shadows had only shown the two of them’s important shared memories. It had never revealed anything like this. He had assumed that two people who were mutually in love must have been intimate countless times already.
Lu Zhixing despised his former self for being so useless, yet at the same time, an overwhelming joy welled up inside him.
It wasn’t really about whether Xi Yu was a virgin. Rather, Xi Yu’s words had been so direct, so unmistakably intended to show him that he was special.
Lu Zhixing’s fingertips traced along Xi Yu’s lips and teeth, rubbing until those lips became as red as ripe cherries, as though they might burst with sweet, luscious juice at any moment.